Poker Tips For You

Goodbye Online Poker. I really thought I knew ya.

2011-12-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well it has finally happened. I often prided myself on being open minded. I believed that people are inherently good. I thought that if you behaved yourself throughout the year, Santa Clause would visit with great stuff. I was wrong. As it turns out, there is no Santa Clause.

There was a time when I would listen to people lash out at online poker. They would say things like "It's ridiculous. It's rigged. They're criminals." I would always give the benefit of the doubt to the service providers. Usually, chalking it up to the belief that those complaining were just really bad players. After all, on one of the sites, I was doing quite well.

Then the cards started crumbling down. The investigations started a number of years ago. The government did the best they could to control or limit these online poker companies in their operations. My first reaction was the belief that they were jealous they weren't getting a piece of such lucrative operations. So of course, they're going to try and shut them down. I was also of the mind set that nobody would consider jeopardizing such a cash cow by doing things that they shouldn't.

As it turns out, there's a good chance I was wrong. After the cheating scandals and the limitations placed on money transfers by the American government, it has only seemed to get worse. Forget for a moment there is a possibility you are playing against bots who represent the house. Or, forget the possibility the online poker program is working against you. Forget all the conspiracy theories you have ever heard. Imagine that somehow the actual operation of an online poker site from a technical standpoint, is completely on the level. There's only one explanation for what has happened with Full Tilt. With all the success they supposedly have had, if the government's accusations are correct, it could all be dirty.

I remember wondering why would any of these online poker companies risk the gold mines they possess when the first accusations began to circulate years ago. And then I remembered Enron. And then I remembered Adelphia Communications Corp. They do it because it's never enough. They do it because they think they can get away with it. If the accusations are true, it casts doubt everywhere.

It can't be ignored that the online poker site I have played at from time to time over the years, has lost many players. It is only a fraction of the size it was back when I could say I was making money on it consistently. Where there used to be ten tables going at the level I enjoy, now you are lucky to find one. And it is rarely full. There are a number of explanations for it. The government crackdown on American players is highly likely. But those who really want to play can find a way. Instead, they clearly choose not to.

I would also have to say that hanging on against a single challenging opponent after you flop a set has become more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I wouldn't go so far to say that it is rigged or that I'm playing against the computer program thinking it's a live player, although, this may very well be the case. I won't say it. I'll simply say, it's so hard to win now, I just don't see the point.

It is so much more enjoyable to go to a casino and play with people and cards I can see. If you play your best game and make the right decisions, sometimes you will win and sometimes you'll take the beats but if you win a little more than you lose, you'll make money in the long run. That's all it is about. As for online poker, it just doesn't seem to be the case... anymore.

I hope the accusations against Full Tilt are proven to be false. I hope that none of the online gaming community is engaged in elicit activity. I hope when you sit down to play online the program is not designed to slowly siphon off your money. I hope that your chances of success in an online game are exactly the same as a brick and mortar casino. However, when it comes to my hard earned money, I have to be able to do better than just hope.

If you are one of those people who decided that online play is still great and exciting and maybe you are even making money, I congratulate you and wish you all the best. I will be cheering for you from the rail.

Brian Lazanik and James Patinson bring the laughs for a great cause

2011-03-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

Brian Lazanik was hilarious as he riffed about everything from his grandmother to basketball. He had the whole group rolling from the moment he started. Every once and a while Lazanik would key in on somebody in the front row. One time it got so intense that he had one of the ladies claim if she laughed any harder she would have to run to the bathroom. That Brian Lazanik was hysterical. He also happens to be one of the nicest guys we've ever met.

James Patinson was smooth as silk and got the show started. He talked about how great it was that we could all get together for a great cause and not to forget about comedians with the next event. Nice try James. He had great stuff about politics and the environment and I think by the end of the night, he may have gotten a couple numbers. That James Patinson is one funny operator. We couldn't have asked for a better comedy portion of the evening.

Our first shot at the Cards for a Cause event seemed to go off without a hitch except for the table sizes. Next time we'll be sure to get more diet soda. Couldn't believe how fast it went. I agree with Brian Lazanik that our good friend Mr. Nelson had something to do with it. Crazy guy.

In any event, we had just over three hundred people show up and between the tournament and the show, everybody seemed to have a great time and we raised a few bucks on top of it all. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it again soon. We'll be shooting for a larger venue, that will indeed help with the overcrowded tables which I assume would have been somewhat chaotic if everybody decided to play. Just as an aside, the craziest beat of the evening has to go to Alex for losing after flopping a full house to a one-outer straight flush...on the river. It's only about a seven gajillion to one. Woo Hoo! Congratulations to Derek Jessup, our first winner. Hold that plate up with pride Derek. Lucky guy.

Thank you again to our amazing comedians Brian Lazanik and James Patinson for donating their time. Special thanks to Marcy and Linda for all the great food and fixings and running a fantastic kitchen. You ladies really made me miss my mom. Yes you were that fantastic. Finally, thank you again to everybody for making it such a great event. Hope to see you all again soon.

Full Tilt Tournament Offers Something for Almost Nothing

2009-11-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

For those of you interested in the various online challenges I have discussed in previous posts, Full Tilt offers a tournament that makes for a good beginning.

Firstly, the challenges I have referred to are the Chris Ferguson and Daniel Negreanu challenges where they are taking nothing, as in the case of Ferguson or a couple bucks, as with Negreanu, and turning it into tens of thousands of dollars using smart bankroll management.

Full Tilt has a tournament every day at 8:15 p.m e.s.t. where for just $1 you can win a share of $10k. The reason this is a good tournament for those interested in the challenge is for several reasons. First, it only costs one dollar. Or, you can use Full Tilt points that you accumulate from playing on the site. It doesn't take many points or much to accumulate enough to play in the tournament therefore, you can enter for next to nothing.

The other cool thing about it, as far as the challenges go, is that it pays out to just over the top one thousand entrants. Now that's a lot of pay spots. Keep in mind that there are usually over nine thousand entrants, so it is a pretty thick field to get through. However, the structure makes it quite viable to finish in the money.

You will not become rich playing this tournament. I have entered it several times and have finished in the money most times. However, it takes a very long time and usually the payoff is small. To give you an idea, my best finish was 30th and I made $20. That was after seven hours! Pretty crazy I thought. However, it didn't cost me anything, and would work well towards building a beginning stack for the challenge.

If any of you are interested, give it a shot and let me know how it goes. Especially, if you are trying the challenge out for yourself. Good luck!

Patrik Antonius and Isildur1 Battle Continues on Full Tilt

2009-11-19T09:02:00.000-08:00

Full Tilt appears to be the place for high stakes confrontation. Last night I decided to check out the big rooms to see if anything interesting was happening after having heard about the record breaking pot won by Patrik Antonius over Isildur1 from Sweden.

Surprisingly or not, both Patrik and the swede were at it again. In a heads up battle that spanned more than one table the two were going at it with what appeared to be well over a couple million spread out over the tables.

Is it just me, or is that a tremendous amount of confidence in an online site to leave that much cash with them. Let's say there was some kind of problem with the site, it goes down and you can't access your million. Who do you call? What if every time you call the line is busy? A lot of people who play at Full Tilt would probably be calling as well to figure out what had happened. The big difference however, is that you left them with over a million. What if they never come back? Who do you call then? I'm sure it wouldn't happen.

Anyway, the battle raged for a while and to be honest, I watched for a little bit but then got bored and decided to move on. The most entertaining part about watching Patrik and Isildur1 were the constant comments coming in from everyone else who were observing. It was pretty hilarious. Each one seemed to have some opinion or advice for the two players. I was more fascinated with the fact that there were several hands were more money was exchanged than most of these railbirds will earn over several years. With each passing hand there was enough money passed to account for something significant. Hey there goes a Mercedes. That was three months in St. Tropez. Hey, I think that was my house!

It was entertaining for a while but then, I had to move on. I believe Patrik Antonius was victorious again for about a million. Or was it Isildur1.

Patrik Antonius Wins the Largest Online Pot in History... So Far

2009-11-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Some of you might have heard about this already and some may not. Here it is:

The place was Full Tilt. The table was "Royal Guard".

The players were Patrik Antonius and Isildur1. When the hand started both players were sitting with over $400,000.00. I know most of you play online with this amount of money most of the time so I'm sure you can all relate. Personally, I like to save that kind of money for dog race betting.

Without going into too much more detail than is necessary, by the turn, Patrik Antonius was all in and Isildur1 only had a little over $11k left over. When the cards flipped up, both players were tied with two pairs A's and Q's. Both had draws to break the tie with just the river remaining and who hasn't seen an exciting river card online before.

This hand and river was not to be an exception. An 8 came giving Patrik an inside straight and he scooped the pot for a grand total of $878,958.50. That should buy a few more shirts and hair cuts.

The action at Full Tilt, particularly in the PLO section seems to be getting fast and furious. Perhaps the arrival of Tom "Durr" Dwan has a little something to do with it. Surely, the future will have more stories to tell in the "millions". Keep in touch, there may be a new record any day now.

Great new home game "Anaconda" keeps poker interesting and insane all at the same time.

2009-11-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

In the past when discussing various poker games I have mentioned one of my home games that I have every week with a group of friends who really enjoy crazy bingo type poker.

For those of you who don't know, bingo poker games are those that are far more dependent upon luck than any real strategy.

The newest bingo poker game that has gripped my home game with a fever is one that we call Anaconda. Don't ask me where the name comes from. All I can tell you is that when it gets a grip of you it can really take your breath away. I know, terrible puns.

Regardless, poker at home will never be the same once you introduce this game to your friends. The pots can get huge and the action is furious. It is a limit type game with a high low split. It is not based on traditional poker hands but is instead a point based game. All cards are worth their face value with pictures worth ten and Aces worth one or eleven.

Five cards are dealt out across the middle of the table face down. Each player is then dealt five cards of their own. The game begins by turning over one of the cards in the middle. If you hold that card in your hand, you have to lay it down face up on the card in the middle of the table. With each turned card a betting round ensues. By the end, which ever players remain make a determination as to whether they want to go for the high end or the low end. This is done by secretly placing one chip or two in your hand then simultaneously exposing it with the other players at the end.

Here's where it can be fun. You also have the option of going for both the high and low on a sweep. If you win, you get the whole pot. If you lose one, you lose it all and the other player or players take it all. Finally, if you mange to get rid of all the cards you were holding in your hand after the cards are turned up in the middle, you win the whole pot.

Sound fun and easy? You have no idea what you are in for. Trust me your poker home game will never be the same. That snake is vicious. Good luck.

Is online poker rigged? The debate continues.

2009-11-16T09:14:00.000-08:00

After my last posting I received some feedback explaining that the reason for my difficulty online stemmed from the reality that the programs on most online sites are rigged for action. This is something I've addressed before but have remained unclear on as far as a final decision.

There was an interesting story done by 60 Minutes last year about the question regarding whether online poker sites were rigged and if any kind of cheating was going on. The story is readily available online if any of you are interested in seeing it.

It is not surprising that some would respond to me in that way given the types of experiences that seem uniform to many engaging in the online poker experience. However, there are the arguments that because so many more hands can be played online, that the bad beat experiences and combination hands just "appear" to be more frequent.

In any event, both sides to the debate have legitimate positions and it is up to each person's own experiences to make a determination. I've heard people swear that their online experiences have been nothing but positive while others have gone completely in the other direction.

During my recent discussions with somebody on this matter they suggested a fun experiment. Log on to one of the sites with a friend and go into a heads up room. That way you can check with one another the number of times each of you are in play simultaneously when the flop comes down. It you both make hands on a frequent basis at the same time, it may be evidence of rigging. If it doesn't happen, maybe it isn't. Regardless, it sounds like an interesting experiment. Do it online with a poker buddy then try it for the same number of hands at a friends house with a deck of cards and see what kinds of results you get.

One thing is for sure. The question of online poker being rigged will be one that floats around for a while to come.

Negreanu enters the ring for a version of the Ferguson Challenge

2009-11-15T10:33:00.001-08:00

First I would like to apologize for taking so much time off of writing the blog. I really have been crazy busy with all kinds of things going on.

That's enough of that.

So Daniel Negreanu announced that he has started a challenge with online poker over at Poker Stars. It is similar to Chris Ferguson's challenge which I have commented on in the past. The format that Negreanu has laid out is interesting and may also be feasible.

His basic rules, although subject to amendment as he has mentioned, are pretty straight forward. He will attempt to turn $10 into $100,000.00 over a few years using straight forward strategy and a solid small ball approach with good bankroll management.

He started at $.01/.02 and has since moved up to $.02/.05. The rules go like this. He must have a minimum of 500 times the big blind and he can never buy in for more than 1/5 of his existing bankroll. That is pretty much it. He has left it open to amendment as he moves up to the higher levels but this has yet to be put into action.

Now, in the past when reviewing and trying out Chris Ferguson's challenge, I had my doubts. Simply because his rules were incredibly strict, particularly as they apply to bankroll management and playing in the micro levels online make it incredibly difficult to move forward. If you want more details about his challenge you can check out a couple of my earlier entries.

So I decided I would take a swing at Negreanu's challenge. Firstly, I would like to say I don't believe I am of the same calibre player as Daniel or Chris but I believe I can hold my own. Secondly, I believe that playing initially at the lower levels, most players are on similar play fields only because things are happening that wouldn't happen with better players at higher levels because people in the "micros" don't care about pushing all-in at anytime just for the hell of it.

Anyway, I started out and much like Daniel, I made it through to the next level. Having gotten my role up to $25, I was able to graduate to $.02/.05. That being said, the difficulty now ensues. If I get busted with one buy in that takes me down to $20 and according to the rules, I have to drop back down. In fact, with any session that I drop down beyond $25 I am supposed to drop down. At such low levels, the play is pretty bad but the luck factor is kicked up a couple notches. Needless to say, it has been difficult getting out of this position while adhering to the rules.

I was of course curious to see how Daniel had been doing and found out something interesting. Negreanu had commenced the challenge around the beginning of the year. He had posted over at Full Contact Poker near the end of January that he had moved up to the next level and also outlined all his sessions for anybody who may be interested. However, there hasn't been another entry from him since. This could mean many things. He may not be continuing with the challenge, he may simply not be posting his progress at the moment or he may be having difficulty.

Personally, I think it is incredibly difficult to pull it off. Both Negreanu and Ferguson's challenges are crazy tough. This is not to say they are impossible. I just think the nature of play in the micro levels online combined with strict bankroll guidelines make it tough to move.

I have tried the challenge on both Full Tilt and Poker Stars and I am of the mind set that it is incredibly difficult to move forward and make anything online. I take crazy beats one after the other in close proximity to one another and every time I think I'm about to move forward I get knocked down again. I have come to the conclusion that I am a super online donk. If anyone has figured out a way to conquer the repetitive low percentage underdog hands from taking you out with such high frequency, I would love to hear from you.

If somebody pushes all-in preflop with pocket 4's and I have pocket AA and I call, we go heads up and he spikes a 4, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do anymore. Do I fold the AA preflop? This type of thing seems to happen way too frequently for me to overcome. I know that low percentage hands will hit from time to time, it is just the incredible frequency that occurs online that gets me. Often, only a few hands apart. In the meantime, I will stick to "brick and mortar" games for my income and leave the online gains to the magicians.

Good luck all and hope to hear from you, especially if any of you are in the midst of trying the challenge.

Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino Does it Again!

2009-07-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino never fails to amaze me with its surprises. Not only was it the site for the taping of the new season of High Stakes Poker this past December, but the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino still has one of the most entertaining poker rooms in Vegas.

I know many of you will have different opinions on this one. However, if you want to have a good time while visiting Vegas, you'll have a hard time beating the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino for entertainment value. I say this for many reasons.

The Golden Nugget is located in old town. So, if you are a sucker for nostalgia you will probably really enjoy it. The poker room there is also small. It doesn't really compare to the monster poker rooms in some of the hotels on the strip, but I assure you it will keep you entertained.

The best approach to hitting this unique poker room is to go in with a relaxed state of mind. This is probably good advice for all poker sits in general, but I would especially recommend it for this particular room. I would especially make this recommendation if you prefer limit poker instead of no-limit. The reason for this I believe is obvious. Limit is going to attract many more casual players who will be there just to have a good time and the more of them that are sitting at your table, the more likely you will be getting the bad beat end of the stick.

The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino is a blast and it was especially enjoyable during this year's World Series. Congrats to all my friends who cashed this year. If I'm not so busy the next time around I will definitely see you there.

Improve Your Poker Reads... From Television!

2009-02-14T06:53:00.000-08:00

There have been many different articles and opinions written about how people can improve their poker reads at the table. I've written a few about how to catch a liar at the poker table. Your should check them out.

The science I applied has since been put into a television show called "Lie To Me." It is a new show starring Tim Roth. Roth plays a doctor who is hired by various agencies to come in and investigate suspects and witnesses to crimes and try and tell if they are lying. It is a fun show.

What is more interesting is that the show is based upon the work of Dr. Paul Ekman. In a nutshell, he studied thousands of people and their expressions in an attempt to determine their state of mind, emotion and whether or not they were being truthful. The work is fascinating.

Even more interesting is how the information can be applied at the poker table. If you are one who enjoys talking to your opponents during play, this is an incredible tool. It is not to say that you can become a master of reading after reviewing the material one time. In fact, it will probably take you a considerable amount of time to get a grasp of it. Regardless, there are countless tidbits available that can help you to improve your reads.

Who knows. Maybe you can become the next "Dr." of poker reads. Enjoy and good luck.

Onlie Poker Tournaments Love The Pocket Pair

2009-02-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

As far as the online poker tournaments go that I have engaged in recently, there appears to be a truly remarkable phenomenon the likes of which I have not experienced in my many days of playing poker. The online poker tournament experience, seems to have the market on this particular phenomenon.

For some reason that I could not even begin to explain, there are a remarkable number of times during sit and go poker tournaments that play online, that I see multiple players being dealt pocket pairs at the same time. It is truly remarkable. I can't remember that last time I sat in a casino and saw so many pocket pairs in a poker tournament in such a short period of time.

I know that some of you may be thinking, well, there are way more hands dealt to you online when you are playing in a poker tournament than when you play a tournament in a casino. This may be true. However, I doubt that you can remember that last time you saw three or more players pick up pocket pairs in a casino tournament at the same table multiple times during the same session.

I'm not talking about it happening once during the entire tournament. It happens several times. It really does amaze me how many times it happens in a single sit and go. In any event, it has either resulted in my quick exit from these tournaments or my quick tripling up. Both have happened several times.

I would love to know if anyone out there is having the same experience. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. At the very least, it is keeping things interesting.

Bellagio Has Best Poker Room in Las Vegas

2009-02-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

It wasn't too long ago that I was out in Las Vegas having the time of my life, as I usually do there, going from hotel experience to hotel experience. While in a poker game with a buddy of mine we got into a debate about which poker room in Vegas is the best.

This is clearly one that will cause considerable debate. For me there was virtually no question. I will favor the Bellagio ten times out of ten. The hotel for starters is spectacular. Not that most of the hotels on the strip are not, but the Bellagio really has its you know what together.

My buddy is more of a nostalgic kind of player. He claims that without any debate, the best poker room is at Binions. He loves the history of the room. It is a good size with a decent number of games going at any time. It is located in old town, which is always a fun place to visit. And who doesn't like the shady stories attached to that place.

For me, you can't beat the environment at the Bellagio. You have a huge choice of games available to you and who knows who you might see there in the way of pros. You might even get to pick up a few tips. I like Binions but the environment makes me laugh. The floor seems to suck your shoes down as you walk across the room and I'm always afraid to brush up against the walls there. I'm not quite sure what is on them anymore.

I'm sure there are many opinions on this topic but I for one will forever be a Bellagio type of guy. That room has been very good to me.

Chris Ferguson Poker Challenge... Slow going for now

2009-02-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

For of those who continue to follow my escapades, this Chris Ferguson accomplishment online is still one that I deem remarkable. However, I am not giving up. I am of the firm belief that if any one person can accomplish an online poker achievement like that, so can another person. Maybe even another person.

The games continue to be a challenge. Playing poker in the lower levels on most sites is incredibly difficult to move forward since the rake is so high in comparison to what you can win and so many players choose to play out they're entire hands to see what happens.

There are definitely certain games that I find somewhat easier poker as opposed to others. That is not to say any one game is easier than any other in general. However, there are definite factors that seem to arise in online play that seem to make certain games easier to move forward in than other games. I will discuss more of this in the future if I somehow manage to continue moving forward.

The good news is that no poker game in this remarkable Chris Ferguson challenge has yet to take my minuscule bankroll away as of yet. I will continue to fight and hopefully come out the poker champion of building a roll from nothing. Only the bizarre world of online poker holds the answers.

Full Tilt Poker Gets Amended Complaint From Clonie Gowen

2009-02-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

The fight between Full Tilt Poker and Clonie Gowen continues. For those of you not familiar with the legal battle that has been going on between Full Tilt Poker and Clonie Gowen, it has all been laid out in her complaint and is available to the public. Here it is in a nutshell.

Clonie Gowen alleges that in exchange for her promoting Full Tilt in a variety of different ways that she was promised a 1% share in the company which she values at four billion dollars and as such believes she is entitled to a forty million dollar pay out. Full Tilt and their affiliates claim there was no such agreement. Clonie Gowen was at one point supposedly offered a six figure settlement which she refused. She also claims that other members of Team Full Tilt, of which she was a member, had received disbursements in accordance with their deals but she did not.

The battle continues. What is most interesting is that she was obviously promised something in exchange for the promotional work she did. I dont' think she offered to work and promote a gambling company for the goodwill and warm feelings it would have given her. Then again, I don't really know her. I suppose anything is possible.

Regardless of the deal, it should be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Party Poker Not What It Used to Be

2009-02-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

The party seems to have really left Party Poker. It is one of the sites that I am experimenting with trying, much to my dismay, to repeat the great Chris Ferguson's 10k accomplishment from nothing. It is not easy going.

First off, the micro games where I am forced to dwell until I get any kind of roll started are brutal. Everyone is obviously playing for fun and doesn't really care about blowing a buck or two. I can't really blame them. There isn't much in terms of any real poker playing going on and who can expect anything different at that level. It is fun but there doesn't seem to be much hope in moving the roll forward.

The real unfortunate part about Party Poker now seems to be the incredibly lower membership. They just don't seem to have many players there at all any more. What is worse is that if you are interested in playing any other game besides Hold Em, there are very few games available. This kills me because Party Poker is where I used to make the most money online but now it is hard to keep a game going. For instance, if you enjoy playing stud, you will see at Party Poker tons of vacant tables. There just isn't any interest.

When I used to make money at Party Poker, I used to only enjoy playing the ten player tables. Now, those tables are few and far between if you want to play anything higher than $2/4. As such, even if I do manage to get some kind of roll started and want to rise up out of the micro limits, unfortunately, there isn't many games to go to.

What I have noticed in the games I have played now at Party Poker is a phenomenon that never used to occur. If you play at Party Poker now you will experience your game breaking up. That never used to happen before. So in addition to struggling to find a game that I enjoy, there is no guarantee that game will even last for long. The whole experience is unfortunate and I would love to know why so many people have left or choose not to play at Party Poker now. It isn't as if the federal legislation limiting American money transfers is the only reason. Americans are still playing at other sites. Poker Stars doesn't seem to be experiencing the same drop off. I'm sure Americans are still playing there.

If anybody knows the reason that Party Poker seems to have become so unpopular, I would love to know. I would also love to know how I could get more games going that I enjoy playing over at Party Poker but I suppose that would mean more players would have to come back to Party Poker. Therefore, somebody tell me what has happened to the party at Party Poker. I will keep you posted as I try to duplicate Ferguson's incredible achievement at Party Poker even if they only have one or two tables going.

Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas Electronic Poker Should Fold

2009-02-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

I get that we're living in the electronic age when it comes to poker. I understand that hotels like the Excalibur in Las Vegas want to usher in the electronic era and welcome new technology. I get it that poker players at the Excalibur in Las Vegas may be predominantly beginners. This is no excuse for the poker room at the Excalibur in Las Vegas to have gone completely electronic. I tried it. I really don't get it.

You play poker to make money. No question about it. However, a big part of the experience is watching your opponents. You watch how they handle their cards and their chips. You watch their reactions to the dealer and how the cards are laid out. You study how they interact with the dealer when things go well and when they don't. Perhaps you just enjoy interacting with a dealer. You use the interplay to see if you can affect the others to do as you please. Maybe, you just enjoy the company.

At the poker room of the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas, all of the above are gone. You become one of the mindless, sitting at another video terminal that could basically be anything. You have no connection to the cards or the chips. You never really know much of anything because the program owns you from the moment you check in. This is what online poker is all about and I don't go to Las Vegas to play online poker.

When I go to play poker in a casino, I want to know that everything is as I see it. I don't want to be a part of a computer program, which is what we all become when we play online. I want to see the dealer. I want to know that he or she is a real person. I want to see that deck of cards. I want to see the cards come off one at a time and skim across the felt. I want to see how the chips go in. Every bet is a little different from the last but each will tell me something. The poker room at the Excalibur hotel in Las Vegas wants to take that away from me. I won't have it.

It is a real shame because I always enjoyed visiting the Excalibur hotel in Vegas. It was one of the first ones I ever stayed at and I love the way it is connected to the Luxor, Mandalay Bay and New York New York. I can only hope that this electronic trend for the world of poker will not catch on with the rest of Las Vegas. I could hardly imagine the Belaggio poker room ever going electronic. If that sad sorry day ever happens, I guess I'll be spending a lot more time in Atlantic City.

Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino Presents Split Tens

2009-01-29T07:11:00.000-08:00

Recently while playing at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas I was reminded about the difference between online play and B&M casinos.

When playing seven card stud and you are starting off with split tens, it is probably best that your opponents are not showing anything higher than your ten. Sure it is possible that they are starting with a higher buried pair or even a rolled up anything, but as time passes and you gain more experience with your opponents, you will learn to read for that.

However, online with the split starting hands under jacks, I have for one reason or another experienced a remarkably high percentage of hands where I hit trips on either fourth or fifth street. The game at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino clearly helped me come back to reality. It would appear that hitting those trips as frequently just didn't seem to happen and I often found myself getting to fifth street with nothing more than a pair under jacks that I would have to fold out.

Strange how that happens. That being the difference in the types of hands I make playing online in comparison to when I am not. The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino is probably my favorite old town casino in Vegas and a great place to be brought back to your senses.

Remember when playing in live B&M games only start your stud hands with premium hands. Jacks or better split and best to have something building like a straight or flush as well. Those trips are only going to hit a small percentage of the time.

Great seeing everyone at the game, by the way. Will hopefully be heading out there again soon to learn that maybe aces up really do have a chance to win after all, despite my online experiences.

Harrahs Announces the 2009 World Series of Poker Schedule

2009-01-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

The schedule is up. The most prestigious event in the poker world will once again be arriving at the Rio all suite hotel and casino in Las Vegas. The tournament will run from May 26 to July 15 2009. There will be 57 bracelet events available for you to test your chops at with many favorites returning.

Among the most popular tournaments coming back to the Rio hotel are the 50k H.O.R.S.E, always popular with the cafeteria crowd. Also there will be a 40k buy-in NLHE event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the series. That should be another popular entry for the riff raff.

Many 10k and classic $1,500 tournaments will also be offered followed the ceremonious Main Event which once again will delay the play of the final table until November. The tournament organizers having enjoyed the result from last year's experience.

It should be one to remember. I'm just gonna head over to my piggy bank and grab my entry for the H.O.R.S.E. tournament. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you there. Better brush up on your Razz. If you are looking for me I will be in the spa at the Rio all suite hotel and casino.

Online Poker Tournaments: Explore your options

2009-01-27T05:43:00.000-08:00

In the continuing saga of trying to duplicate Chris Ferguson's 10 or 20 thousand dollar accomplishment online from nothing, it continues to be a struggle by the way, I have discovered something interesting with the online poker community.

There happens to exist on a couple online poker sites, the opportunity to play a variety of different games. During the boom, you couldn't get me off of the hole em tables. I was making money consistently and I could do it quickly. I only had to sit for a short period of time and I could win more than enough for that session. It was great.

Then something happened. To this day I can't quite explain what it was but it definitely happened. Suddenly I couldn't win a hand anymore. I'm not talking about cold cards. I'm not saying that for a couple days I was getting the bad end of things. I could not win anymore. It didn't matter if I was up against the whole table or just one opponent, it just wasn't happening at all anymore. So, I realized it was time to give it a rest.

I cashed out a chunk of my chips and gave up on online play for a while.

Recently I discovered a rather entertaining trend. On the sites that offer a variety of games, I am able to win once and a while again. That's right, I have started winning again. It is still crazy. The challenge is immense. However, it would seem that with games that aren't as popular as hold em, I seem to have gained a bit of an edge again.

It would seem that with traffic having died down considerably online and hold em still being the most popular game, that if you are a decent player at the other games, you stand a chance of coming out ahead more often than not.

This could be due to more players exploring the other games but not quite knowing how to play yet. Also, a large part of the gamble aspect of hold em seems to diminish in the seven card games. Whatever it is, it is slowly working and seems to help a little in the exploration to duplicate Chris Ferguson's accomplishments. It is still not easy and I am a long way away from victory, but I have started along the path. If you are looking to expand your opportunities with online poker, you may want to explore what some of the other games have to offer.

Best of luck!

Chris Ferguson Freeroll Challenge

2009-01-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

The saga continues. As I have mentioned in the past, I am continuing to try to match Chris Ferguson's incredible achievement of building a $10k roll from nothing. I am the first to admit that I am not at Chris Ferguson's level as of yet but I am extremely interested in seeing the viability of getting to somewhere from nothing.

The challenge continues to be surviving beyond the initial freeroll. I have been playing a little on Poker Stars as of late because I have found that surviving the freerolls on other sites has been next to impossible. With the initial freeroll on Poker Stars you can win a ticket to another tournament where there is a chance to finish in the money. I am not sure if Ferguson took this route initially. I believe he played on Full Tilt where there may have been money waiting at the end of the initial freeroll.

I have managed to acquire a few tickets to subsequent tournaments with payouts. The best finish I have had so far in those subsequent tournaments is a winning of $1. Needless to say, it has been tough. Playing the micro games afterwards with Chris Ferguson's rules I haven't been able to move forward. That is proving to be the hardest part to date. If anyone has any tips I would love to hear them.

Anyway, I considered surviving the freerolls an accomplishment since everyone playing doesn't care and you really have to play solid AND get lucky to survive. I will keep you posted how this plays out.

Party Poker Slowing Down Still

2009-01-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

So it has been a while since the federal government has passed legislation condemning certain types of online monetary transfers. As such, it made it illegal for many U.S. players to play online poker.

The one site that seems to have continued to suffer considerably from the government's decision is Party Poker. The word "suffer" of course is relative. I am sure that Party Poker still does relatively good business. Their returns must be substantial considering the appeal of their site to players around the world.

Party Poker recently revamped the appearance of the site. It looks good and is easy to navigate. However the one fact that can not be denied is the considerable drop in membership. Party Poker has since opened up all kinds of gaming sites including Backgammon and Blackjack. I'm sure there are still plenty of people who enjoy playing those games online although I can't imagine why you would.

The poker games have dropped off considerably. There are definitely not nearly as many tables going as there used to be and the action has slowed down considerably. I used to enjoy the $5/10 limit games on Party Poker with ten player tables and today you are lucky to find one table like that going.

As far as Party Poker poker games, it would appear that the most action and busiest tables are all in the basement at the micro levels. As you should know, the rake down there is heavy so it is difficult to move forward at all. What you will find there still, no matter what games you choose to play are the infamous ridiculous rivers. That's what makes that site fun! Crazy action. That may also have something to do with why the traffic hasn't picked up much on the site. I'm sure if American players really wanted to keep playing there, they could figure out ways to do it. Obviously they haven't.

A real shame actually. The site used to be a lot of fun. However, as I mentioned earlier, I'm sure they are doing just fine.

Freeroll Tournament Potential Winnings

2009-01-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

A considerable amount of time has passed since last I wrote, however that has more to do with getting extremely busy than anything else. This is not to say I have given up in any way on my determination to see if being successful in freeroll tournaments can't eventually lead to the building of a bankroll. There may be some money available and possibly even some truth to the amazing accomplishments of Chris Ferguson in this area.

Since I last spoke to you about my endeavours in this arena, I have entered a couple freeroll tournaments with some success. Generally what happens is I enter the freeroll where I hope to finish high enough that I gain a ticket to another tournament where there is some payoff for finishing high enough in that. So it is a two tier process. So far, I have achieved some limited success.

I have finished high enough on one occasion to move onto the second tournament where I finished in the money. Hang on to your hats. I made $1.00. It has been crazy almost impossible to move that money up. I have won a couple more qualifying tournaments and am trying to win another $1.00. I will let you know how that goes.

In the meantime, it has been hard to see how Ferguson could have made 10 or 20k in one year doing this considering how hard it is to move from the micro limits. However, I am not saying it is totally impossible, just simply a crazy hard challenge. I will keep you posted.

Gaming Commission Responds to 60 MInutes Story

2008-12-03T06:11:00.001-08:00

As expected, there have been responses to the 60 Minutes story that ran this past Sunday about cheating scandals that took place at Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet online poker rooms. The responses have come in answer to the accuracy of information put forth by the news agency and mostly from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission who were definitely painted as the bad guys in the story.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission currently registers and regulates more than 60% of the existing online poker play. The KGC expressed a belief that several issues were omitted from the 60 Minutes report despite having given that information to the news agency during their research for the story.

Namely, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission has pointed out that most if not all of the monies lost by players on the sites during the course of the cheating scandals has been reimbursed. UltimateBet has allegedly refunded something like twenty million to its victimized players.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission also wanted to emphasize the scandal occurred while both Absolute and UltimateBet were owned by Excapsa, a public company, and not its current owner, Tokwiro Enterprises, who has been promised a payment from Excapsa of 15 million.

Additional issues brought up by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission that appear to have been missed by 60 Minutes include the change of gaming software in an attempt to prevent further cheating in the future as well as a criminal complaint against the alleged cheater Russ Hamilton.

The story has thrown both the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and online poker under the microscope once again and one can only hope that the right decisions will be made in regards to future operation of this lucrative gaming enterprise.

Tran and 60 Minutes Make Poker News Weekend

2008-12-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to JC Tran for taking down the PartyPoker premiere League III title this past weekend and adding an additional $300,000.00 to his winnings this year. Tran is definitely on a roll. He took down a determined Tony G who was holding the lead for most of their heads up battle but outlasted the Aussie, sending him home with second place and 150K for his efforts. Not too shabby.

60 Minutes and the Washington Post covered the Absolute Poker maybe Utltimate bet cheating stories this Sunday. There have been mixed reviews on the way the story was handled. Some don't like the way some facts were glossed over while others were emphasized. There was mention of interviews with top players that took place during the World Series that some people wanted to see but were not aired.

In the meantime it is questionable how the Kahnawake Gaming Commission will come out looking after all the buzz has settled. However you want to look at it. The truth is out there. The cheating happened. A former WSOP champion was named as one of the primary cheaters in the scandal but not much was mentioned in the stories about him. Who knows how closely the commission is regulating. There is talk of over 80 cheating accounts implicated in the scandal. Both Absolute and Ultimate were purchased by somebody in connection with Kahnawake. What else do you need to know. You take a risk playing on the sites. End of story. If you are concerned, keep your money offline. If online play is working for you, more power to you. Don't be surprised if more stories follow.

Poker Online Bites Again

2008-11-30T11:42:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-29T08:15:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-16T11:05:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-14T06:47:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T06:17:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-06T04:53:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T10:11:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-01T18:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Online Poker Taking Down Pros

2008-10-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to note that I am on record as not being the biggest fan of online poker. I will still play today in freerolls and try to accumulate free money when I have the time. For the most part however, I will not invest any of my own money online anymore.

Part of my original concern was that it was a program. It was something that I have absolutely no control over. The other aspect of it is that poker has a large trust element involved. I have to trust that everything that is happening is genuine. I have to believe that there is no questionable practices involved. Sometimes with what I have seen, it gets difficult to maintain that trust level.

When online poker became huge with the boom of the past six or seven years, it didn't take long before "celebrity" endorsements became the norm. Now, you can't turn on a tournament or some kind of poker event without it being either sponsored by some online company or without seeing tons of promotion for online sites. Most of this is perpetuated by some of the more popular pro players that are regular fixtures at these events.

Consequently, I was under the belief that in all likelihood these guys don't play online with their own money. I was of the opinion that much of the cash they are playing with online, is provide for by the site they are playing at. After all, their regular appearances on the site make for good promo.

That being said, an interesting trend has developed and has become "news" in the poker world. One of the Full Tilt pros has been having some trouble as of late. Apparently, Patrick Antonius is in the hole online for over a million. To most people walking around, including those trying to grind it out in the beginnings of their poker careers, a million is a sizable chunk of change. However, I would imagine that although nobody likes to lose, it isn't necessarily that devastating to Antonio.

It is also online. It may very well just be credit numbers. He is obviously involved in some kind of endorsement deal with the site. I wonder if it is even his own money? Or even if it is money at all? I know that sounds strange but what is even stranger is that one of the endorsed pros on the site is starting to look like one of their biggest online losers. Apparently, there are only a few players in the hole for more.

This is all kind of odd. I don't imagine it is considered the best promotion for the site when one of its pros is hurting that bad. After all, if Antonius can't win online, what chances do most other players have. Why would a pro stick around and keep tossing off stacks of his hard earned coin online when he could save it for more optimum circumstances? It is strange.

Then again, it may just be brilliant marketing. The news of Patrick's struggles may attract more eyes and in turn result in new player accounts. Perhaps people who didn't know about that particular website are now considering trying it out. Anything is possible. It is peculiar and will be interesting to see if as time passes, more pros fall into the same kind of online disarray.

Poker Tournament News

2008-10-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

The EPT in Budapest continued with day 1b showing a new leader by the end of the day's action. Mauro Corsetti took the lead with 135,000 in chips. Several of the rushing frenchmen were eliminated as well as some notable favorites. Hitting the rail were Noah Boeken, Max Pescatori and Julian Thew. Thew probably took one of the more impressive beats of the day having flopped a seemingly unbeatable set of threes only to be crushed by an even more impressive flopped set of tens.

It should make for an interesting coming together as the chip leaders from both starting days come together for the official day 2. I of course will wait for the results to come in because to be honest, this tournament is far away and I am busy with some other things. How about that for honesty.

I was also thoroughly impressed with Clonie Gowen's win of the World Poker Open Main Event. She managed to smash through the predominantly male dominated field to take the title. I should say I thought for the longest time that she wasn't as good as some believed but she has definitely shown her chops. Impressive, that only she and Phil Helmuth have won the Poker After Dark weekly three times. I will say that along with several other of her achievements, she is definitely a player worth watching. She will in all likelihood, continue to post some impressive victories. Go Clonie!

Poker Online Sit and Go Tournaments

2008-10-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to take a swing at a few sit and go tournaments. It has always been the one kind of play I enjoyed consistently online. I always enjoyed the aspect of the final table as well as the fact that if you finish in the top three, you are in the money.

Back a few years ago when I used to play more frequently online and actually believed it was a viable source of an income stream for me, I would hit up the sit and gos on a regular basis. Originally, when I was playing at a particular site where I tended to have a winning record, these single table tournaments were good to me. I found that people played loose, made a lot of mistakes and it wasn't long before I was in contention to finish in the money. I enjoyed it.

I feel like things have changed. Again, this is a computer program we are talking about so I know it is odd to say it feels like things are different but it really did feel that way. The play seems to be the same from the players. It has remained loose and unpredictable. The outcomes and the combinations are what seem very different.

For example, I was sitting with pocket kings in late position and saw an early position raiser boost it up to three times the big to continue, followed immediately by another player who pushed all in. Now this always drives me a little insane online but I have come to expect it of the sit and go tournaments. What made me think about it for a couple moments was that it was still early and there was no reason to risk my whole stack. I figured I might just sit and wait for the maniacs to play each other out. My patience got the better of me and I just decided to call, knowing full well there was only one hand that was beating me at that moment.

I should tell you, I always expect the ace to hit in situations like this, having put one of these two nut jobs on A,K. Anyway, the first raiser called the all in and our hands were exposed before the flop came down. The first guy had pocket jacks, the all-in nut job had pocket eights and I was feeling a little better. I was immediately expecting to see an eight on the flop. Turns out it came down A, 2, 10, and I was feeling even better. Please note, the A did hit.

I ended up winning the hand and actually going on to place second in the tourney. I mention this story not to share in my message of play tight and aggressive and it will pay off. Rather, the scenario that continued to unfold during the course of this one sit and go. That showdown of players with pocket pairs happened four times during that one tournament. Each time there were at least three players involved. I can't remember the last time I saw so many hands where three players were dealt pocket pairs at the same time in the same game during such a short period of time.

Back when I used to play more frequently, that never seemed to happen as frequently. It did make stop and wonder each time I saw it happen. It just seems like these long shot combinations of hands are far more frequent online. Then again, maybe I've just learned how to pay attention. Let me know about your experiences.

Day One of EPT in Budapest

2008-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 1a of the EPT in Budapest has been completed. The organizers of the event attempted to cap the registration at 500 players but the interest and traffic heading into this first time venue was overwhelming. They agree to expand it to 540.

After the first day the field has been narrowed down to 90. Included in the group of superstars felted and out are Marcel Luske and Barry Boatman. It is unfortunate because Luske always brings so much personality to every event he participates in. We'll have to keep an eye on his protege the young Mr. B. Not even sure if he is still in as we are writing this but we'll know soon enough.

It is definitely one for the women as the first day wrapped up. Annette Obrestad stands above the pack with the lead and is the only player currently with more than 100K in chips. She is followed by Arnaud Mattern and Sorrel Mizi.

I'm not going into too much detail as far as exact chip totals and what happened with what hand and who got popped at the bubble. This is poker. It is the EPT in Budapest and everything can change on a dime. The London leg of this tour saw daily leaders eliminated on following days so there's no parade yet.

Stay tuned, it promises to be a pretty good tournament. Then again, we're not there so how good can it really be?

Pocket Tens Poker Showdown is Eerily Familiar

2008-10-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Decided to try to boost some residuary online earnings this past weekend so I competed in a NL Holdem event. For those of you who have caught a couple of my earlier articles regarding online play, you would have discovered I'm not the biggest fan. That's not to say I still don't find it entertaining.

That being said, I was moving along at a relatively good pace and playing some solid poker. That just means I was keeping it tight and doing my best not to freak out when three players show down huge pocket pairs all against each other... again.

I was in late position with a good size stack when an opponent second to under the gun raised up going about two and half times the big blind. Every body folded around to me and I decided to flat call with pocket tens and see what the flop brought.

At this point I was already concerned that he was sitting with a larger pocket pair but I wasn't certain yet. The good news was that I had him covered nearly 4.5 to 1 and odds were if the overs didn't come, he'd be hard pressed to scare me out. However, I wasn't completely sold on the commitment. I hadn't invested that much.

The flop came down nine high with two diamonds and he bet into me immediately. I started to get that feeling. This is something I characteristically wrestle with any time I decide to play online. That flop made be believe one of two things was actually happening. Either my opponent just flopped the nut flush draw or he was sitting with the over pair.

I wrestle with the belief in the back of my mind that the online program will always make it difficult for me to fold a hand like this. I decide to raise him up to find out where I am. He immediately goes all in. This convinces me that he is on the draw and I have the sick feeling that I am going to be drawn out. I tend to only get this way with online play and don't carry the same kind of concern in a casino. I call taking into consideration it's not many more chips to me and I'm pretty sure at that moment I have the best hand. The turn brought a brick, which also brought an inside straight draw for me, followed by a third diamond on the river.

Now I'm sick. My opponent's card are revealed to show the A,K, of diamonds. I knew it. I've seen it so many times online when I have those pesky pocket pair that linger above the flop. Of course if a picture card had flopped, I wouldn't have invested another penny. However, I was sure I was good on the flop when he pushed all in and I was just as sure that I was going to get sucked out. It just happens too frequently, particularly when my opponent is pot committed.

This is the kind of hand that drives me crazy those pocket tens or jacks when there's a raise up front and the flop comes down all under me. I especially dread it online. Let me know how you would play it and if you feel the same way as I do about online play.

Pokerstars.com Brings The European Poker Tour to Budapest

2008-10-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

For the first time in five seasons the EPT is going to Hungary today. It should be interesting to see who is willing to go over there. They are expecting a field of approximately 500 to each put in an entrance fee of 4000 euros. That should make for a pretty good kitty.

Numerous Poker Stars sponsored players are expected to be there including Luca Pagano, Noah Boeken and crowd favorite, Marcel Luske. The Europeans competing are deep with talent and the field for this event should be one of the most challenging ever. It will be interesting to see what North American players decide to make the trip over, if any go.

Included in the high calibre competition will be Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier who just took down a World Poker Tour win over the weekend, dispensing with all competition at the final table in just over five hours.

Hungary native Valdemar Kwaysser is hoping a home field advantage will do him well to take down his competition. Far from being a household name as of yet on the European poker tour circuit, Kwaysser sees this event as a good chance for him to up his ante. He has one major tournament win on the PokerStars Latin American poker tour having won the Costa Rica leg during its first season.

The tournament begins today at 1p.m. CET and is expected to finish on Saturday.

Good luck all!

Canadian World Series of Poker Finalist Favoured

2008-10-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not making note of this or creating a record just because the guy is Canadian. Well maybe I am. Who cares! There is no denying this guy is great. Scott Montgomery will be appearing at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table on November 9th and he will be carrying the support of a nation on his shoulders.

Sure, the nation supporting him is known for back bacon and beer. Sure, the nation supporting him is mostly frozen solid for most of the year. Sure, the nation supporting him released Celine Dion out into the world. We are really sorry about that. However, we are a nation of Canadians and we will be standing behind the young phenom that is Scott Montgomery.

Look, he has all the credentials to be great. This kid is university educated in mathematics. He graduated with a bachelor of mathematics from the University of Waterloo which just so happens to be where? That's right, in Canada! As the world knows, we put out the greatest mathematicians on the planet. Or was that cheeseburgers? Doesn't matter because having a comprehensive background in mathematics is definitely a plus in poker, especially at a No Limit Championship final table. Did I mention that he is going in with the third largest chip stack when the action begins? For those of you doing the math, that is a pretty good place to be.

Here's a little something, Montgomery cashed in all three of his first major buy-in tournaments. That's not too shabby considering he had a sizable field to contend against each time, they were his first buy-in tournaments ever and he is Canadian. There aren't too many pros working today who got off to that kind of start in their tournament careers. Most of the those pros haven't even visited Canada. I only mention that because it's hard to play poker well up there because it's so cold.

Montgomery is going to be coming to that table with a no holds barred attitude. He is already a self-proclaimed crazy when it comes to hand selection. That is bound to challenge the sensibilities of his opponents. He is also coming with a considerable amount of respect from the poker community with several big names pros pegging him as the man to beat. Montgomery is in the best place mentally. He believes he is going to win but at the same time he will play like he doesn't care. That makes for a very dangerous combination. What the young guy doesn't want to say is that he probably already got way further against this monster field than he originally expected so for him its a win/win from here on in. Everyone knows that to make the final table at the Main Event you need to get lucky. When you happen to be skillful as well, that is deadly.

Carrying with him a strong positive mental attitude as well as the respect of those meeting him at the table, this Montgomery will definitely be a poker pro to contend with on November 9th. I would be putting my money on the Canadian.

Andy Bloch Talks Poker and Blackjack Supremacy

2008-10-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

Students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas were given a treat this week. They were allowed an inside peek into the mind and dealings of poker pro Andy Bloch as he spoke to them about poker and what it was like being part of the now infamous MIT Blackjack Team that got his name and face on the black list of casinos around the world.

For those of you who have been living in a hut in Bulgaria these past thirty years or so, the MIT Blackjack Team took Vegas for millions and inspired a Hollywood movie, 21, that was loosely based on the adventure of Bloch and his compatriots.

While discussing the origins of the team getting together, Block shared with the students the inaccuracies that popped up during the film. For instance, he was never approached while at school, as the film would lead you to believe. That would have been far too risky and out in the open. The group was way to secretive for that. In fact, it was during a home poker game at a friend's house that he was approached by a team member. Also, he noted that the signals that appear to have been used in the film by team members to alert the "high roller" of a hot table, were not what they used while operating the ring.

Bloch told the students that there were definitely moments in the movie that he could relate to. Specifically, he liked the depictions of team members grabbing up freebies from wherever they could as he recalled team members often stealing things from the casinos to bring back to the dorm. He also claimed that it was standard for the high roller members of the team to adopt fake names and identities because back when they were operating, it wasn't uncommon to be able to check into a hotel with or no identification at all.

Bloch of course also talked to the students about his present career as a professional poker player and the effects his experience has had on his play currently. He spoke about his family and how they supported him and how everyone now follows his career closely. He also mentioned what it is like to go from operating in secret counting cards to being internationally recognized as a professional poker player. Undoubtedly, he may have altered the destinies of a few young minds.

Poker Players Will Bring No Limit Strategy to Your Limit Game

2008-10-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

The title of this article is a little deceiving. Really what it should be called is something more like, "Poker players will find any excuse they can to call you in a limit game." The reason the title reads the way it does is because often the rationale I hear at a limit game for wild play is something that I hear a lot in No Limit games.

I can't count the number of times the cards are turned over after the river bet and somebody, almost always the losing player, says something like 'what were you thinking?' It usually comes up out of frustration and is probably a good way to alleviate the steam.

My favorite kind of example happened to a friend of mine recently at a game we were playing. The table was full and we were playing $10/20 limit hold em. My buddy puts a raise in from early position and immediately everyone except one guy close to the bottom folds. I can tell my friend is a little put off because now he's just playing for even money and the table had been giving pretty good action.

The flop comes down K-10-4 rainbow. My buddy bets out, the other guy calls. The turn comes 7h. My buddy bets out. The guy calls. The river is the two of hearts now making three hearts on board. My friend checks, the other guy bets out and my buddy calls. The guy shows down Qh, 3h for the flush. My friend has a set of kings the whole way. He just mucks them. He looks up at the guy and says "good hand." Before the guy can say thank you, some other dude says "what the heck were you thinking?", to the guy with the flush. Oh, he didn't say heck. The guy answers by saying something like that he just figured if the cards came down right he could make some good money.

Now, I'm not sure what he meant exactly. If you are in a hand and the cards come down right for you, you can always make some money. I think he meant something a little different because I kept listening to him talk. He was trying to explain that if the player raising up front has a big hand and he has two crappy cards that kind of work together and the flop comes down in his favor, he could make a lot of money.

There are a few issues with what he was trying to say. First off, after the raise, he was the only caller, so he was only going to get even money. Not the best kind of odds in poker for a garbage hand. The next obvious thing was that it was limit. So, he was limited considerably in what he could win. This sort of plays into the first point. I think he was presenting the No Limit argument that he heard some pro talk about when referring to the opportunity to take a lot of chips off an opponent with a big starting hand when the board comes your way. The problem here is, it isn't no limit. There weren't any other players to boost his pot odds, either existing or implied, and I haven't even mentioned the best part. The flop was nowhere near him.

My friend never said anything except 'good hand.' We both wanted this guy in the game. We wanted to smack the idiot who was trying to give advice at the table. It's been said a million times and I'll say it again, why would you ever want somebody you are playing against to start playing better? Just let it go.

Players in a limit game will always have a justification to call you. Especially the bad ones. They don't care that the odds are bad or the likelihood of them making a hand is slim or even that they need two running perfect cards to make a hand. That's why my friend just checks and calls the river. We had been watching this guy play for a while and we knew he just liked to play. We also knew that any two cards were possible.

It's funny how when asked, those kinds of players can never say, "I just wanted to see all five cards turned over and see if I make a hand." That would be honest and I would accept that answer. Instead, they usually feel the need to express some kind of strategy that almost always demonstrates they don't know what they are doing. I like that too. I would love it if somebody sat down and just explained that they were going to play the game like a slot machine and keep tossing their chips in until the end every time and see if they win. That kind of player would be easy to play against.

Remember, in limit play, the players will have so many creative ways of justifying why they are playing when they shouldn't. All you have to do, is take advantage and know who they are. When they are coming up with all those creative explanations, all they are really saying is, "I like to play." That's OK too. I just don't know why people can't say it. The better you become at reading these players, the better off you will be in the long run and the more money you will take from them as well. When you get really good and the cards flip over at the end, you will never here yourself say, "What the heck were you thinking?" You'll already know the answer.

Poker Players are Mysterious

2008-10-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

There are some poker players in the game today that have led very transparent lives. There are poker players like Helmuth and Brunson who have been so open about their lives and how they got to where they are today, that a perfect stranger could almost audit their entire playing histories.

Some of these players make it easy to tell where their money has come from because they took down a big tournament. Players like Jamie Gold and Joe Hachem, can show multi-million dollar bankrolls for poker simply because they each took down a huge tournament. Each of them had relatively successful day jobs, so they could bankroll themselves as well if they wanted to for cash games and other tournament play.

There are other players that have gone on the record as saying that they have investors when it comes to tournament play. They managed to garner a good reputation in the poker world as an earner and as such, may not ever have to front a buy in again. These kinds of deals I would imagine are pretty common in the poker world.

I would imagine that players like Chan and Brunson who have been playing for years and have grinded out very successful careers for themselves, must look at the younger generation in awe when realizing they just have to take down one big tournament now and instantly, they are in the game. The tournament pools were infinitely smaller when the old school masters started out on the circuit and so was the prize.

So what about all these young players whom we have never heard about? What about these players who come out of nowhere to participate in big tournaments or get invited to big cash games? Who are they? Where did their money come from? I often wondered about a few of the best players today and how young they were when they were starting out and yet they were playing on the world stage. There they were with big money going in and they were losing. How did these guys afford that before their corporate sponsorship kicked in? That stuff has always been interesting to me.

So I suppose this post is more of a question than anything else. For those of you out there who think you might have the answers, I would be curious to hear from you. Just to satisfy my own curiosity about how these players that apparently come out of nowhere are participating at the top levels. You can't tell me that each and every one of them is a descendant of the wunderkind Unger. So when you have some answers, let me know.

Top Five Poker Players In The World

2008-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is definitely the kind of thing that provokes debate. That doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I am posting this list in hopes of generating conversation on the topic. It is definitely a classification that is difficult to justify. The reason for that is because there are so many different types of players. There are guys that play almost exclusively in tournaments and there are guys that play exclusively in cash games. There are guys who prefer the Internet, and there are guys who only play brick and mortar casinos.

There are also many different types of poker games. Where one player is great at Stud, he may be terrible at Omaha and so on. There may be many players, and I'm sure there are, who are fantastic but have chosen to stay out of the public eye for one reason or the other. I salute them for finding joy and prosperity in their anonymity.

With all those things taken into consideration, here is my list for top five poker players in the world in no particular order.

1. Daniel Negraneu. For whatever reason, this guy embodies everything you need to be a champion poker player in both tournament and cash play. He genuinely doesn't seem to care about the money ever, and seems to have a history of that kind of mindset, which is probably crucial to becoming a great player. He makes the correct move almost every time based upon his read and situation. He also happens to be one of the best readers of other players that I have ever seen. He has mastered that skill, which I'm sure has allowed his bankroll to grow exponentially over the years. Great tournament player with a no holds barred style of play and killer in cash games.

2. Phil Ivey. Phil is simply one of the most perfectly rounded players in the game. Although, he does have the occasional tendency to chase his losses in a cash situation, he also possesses the remarkable ability to walk away when things are not going well. He is incredibly even tempered and seems to possess great discipline. He doesn't appear to let downturns affect his game or he is the best at concealing that. He is a machine in tournament play and has never been afraid to take a risk. Phil also seems to have the admiration of many career players who classify him as the best player in the game today. That must be one dangerous cash player.

3. Barry Greenstein. What can I say about this guy that hasn't been said in the past. He is another remarkable player with skills that have been admired and studied by the elite of the poker community. He is a killer tournament player despite the fact that he now donates most of if not all his winnings to charity. His style of play is emulated and worshipped by pros around the world. He has been around a long time with a remarkable level achievement covering several games and not just one. He just recently won a world series belt for Razz. Consider taking a break if he ever sits down at your cash game.

4. Doyle Brunson. The godfather. The teacher of generations of players. I don't think anything else needs to be said.

5. Howard Lederer. This is another player who is incredibly talented and very well respected in the poker community. He has amassed a very respectable tournament record and is no stranger to final tables. He much like Daniel, has an uncanny ability to read other players. He is so good in fact, that it is not uncommon for other players to do everything they can to conceal their faces when in a big hand with him. Provoking that kind of fear in other players alone should get him on this list. He also has an unmerciful and devastating cash game. He knows pretty much everything there is to know about the game. He isn't considered The Professor for nothing.

That's the list. I apologize if your favorite guy or gal isn't included. These are just my humble choices and they apply only to players who are currently alive. Had the list been best players ever, I can assure you that Stu Unger and Chip Reese would have been in there.

Granted there are many others who could be considered including Helmuth, Seidel, Chan, Harman, Cunningham and more. I chose to only pick five so it wouldn't be agonizing getting the list together and as you can see, it already is. If you have other picks I'd love to hear about them.

Poker Secrets and Great Advice are in Rounders

2008-10-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Rounders is probably one of the best poker movies ever made. There hasn't been a decent one made since. The film came out in 1998 and undeniably contributed to the poker boom that was to follow. Not to long after the movie there were Internet poker rooms popping up all over the place and people decided they would actually watch it on television because of the introduction of the hole cam.

To be honest, I was amazed that people actually were deciding to sit at home and watch other people play poker on TV. If it wasn't for that hole cam, I don't think it would have ever taken off the way it did. I can assure you that Rounders made watching poker at home interesting for spectators.

I really enjoy watching that film for so many reasons and it is amazing how it never seems to get old or dated in any way. You can't really lose considering the cast. There is Edward Norton and John Turturro, the two of them have to be two of the best working actors today. They step into a film and you are guaranteed something amazing. I think John may be one of the most under rated actors of our generation. I don't know many guys who can take on as diverse a range of roles as he does.

Matt Damon is good too. Although, I don't think the producers of Team America would agree. He does a great job of depicting the conflicted Mike McD. The other thing that made the film great was the dialogue and the way it captured the living breathing culture of poker players in the big city. The exchanges between Damon and Norton are classic. I remember after I saw it for the first time, I wanted to watch it again immediately to catch some of the language they were using.

What is even more interesting is how there are countless bits of advice littered throughout the film that are great for any budding poker player or seasoned pro. Right from the beginning, McD introduces the audience to the notion of spotting the sucker at the table. If more people accepted his truism, there would be a lot less money out there considering the volume of players that would get up and run within the first half hour.

There are two bits of advice that come out sort of indirectly. The first is Turturro talking to Damon in the poker room the first time he is contemplating playing the no-limit game that ends up costing him his bankroll. The advice is simply, play the game where you have an edge. McD is presumed by Knish to be outclassed at the no limit game he is considering. On that night, he was right. The notion of putting your whole bankroll into play is a little crazy and unnecessary but if you're going to go for it, that is definitely the ultimate. Ultimately, not a good decision.

The other piece of advice that comes up throughout is to take your time. This is great advice. You should always think of your poker career as a marathon and not a sprint. You just have to win a reasonable amount most of the time. This can and is done by career players all the time. By not putting all your hopes into any one hand, you will have a much more balanced game and come out ahead more often. Remember, there is always another hand.

There are a bunch of other great things to pick up from the film but you should really check it out again for yourself. There's no telling when another great poker movie is going to come along.

Poker After Dark Revelations: The Internet

2008-10-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

In connection with a couple things I have posted in the past about poker on the Internet and in answer to questions I get from friends and poker buddies, this is an interesting little story.

This week I was watching Poker After Dark. I believe it was the first week that the show has converted to a cash game. All previous broadcasts had been tournament format with the winner taking all.

This week they had the legendary Doyle Brunson with Gabe Kaplan, Eli Elezera, Patrick Antonius, Howard Lederer and Dee Tiller. If I have misspelled any one's name I am sorry. It was definitely a good table. These are all very experienced players and each brought a unique style to the game.

It is always fun to watch these great players go at each other at the table. You are usually guaranteed to see some great moves and I learn something new every time I watch. The thing I have always enjoyed the most about Poker After Dark is all of the banter that takes place around the hands. Sure it is fun to watch the hands played out and to see how these pros do it, but I like the other stuff that is going on because it is all very natural and you get some additional insight that you otherwise would never know about.

Here is what I am talking about. Early on in the episode I was watching, Eli Elezra was sitting with the chip lead. He was playing really well and catching great cards. That is an unbeatable combination. At the other end of the spectrum was Patrick Antonius. He was down over $100K and just couldn't get anything to work. When he wanted to make a move, he would run into hands and when he had cards there wasn't much of a pot. He would later say he was suffering from jet lag and wasn't playing his best game.

As time went on somebody at the table asked Antonius if he had won a pot. Antonius responded that he had won a couple. Elezra jokingly then said to Antonius that if he went broke he could always go play on the Internet and win it all back. Antonius then responded to Elezra by saying that he had lost sooo much money online that it wasn't funny. I'm paraphrasing but he said something like that. Tiller then immediately chimed in and said that he didn't know anybody who was winning online. This is where it got interesting.

To really get the picture, you had to see the players at this moment. The best part is that Tiller, Brunson and Kaplan are all wearing cowboy hats at the time with captions promoting Doyle's Room.Net on them. Obviously, this is a poker site endorsed by Brunson or is actually his, the exact deal, who knows. So imagine for a moment, a professional player on national television, obviously getting paid to endorse an online poker site, blurting out that he doesn't know anybody who wins playing online poker. It was beautiful to watch because the reaction at the table suddenly became very sombre.

It was as if Tiller had forgotten what he was wearing on his head and was just speaking honestly. Nobody else at the table said anything for a few moments. I believe Tiller even repeated his declaration that he didn't know anybody who wins online. Finally after a few uncomfortable moments, Brunson says, "somebody must be winning."

They went to a commercial right after that. I thought the moment spoke volumes for those people curious or suspicious about online play. Here's a guy who is supposed to be endorsing an online site and he doesn't seem to support it. At the table, were a few players who are very heavily behind a couple of online sites and they don't have anything to say in response. If ever there was a moment that gave you a little insight into the world of online poker, I'd say that was it.

What exactly you make of that exchange is entirely up to you. I just know that if I was supposed to be endorsing somebody's product on television and I was discouraging people from using that product, I imagine that would enrage the people I was supposed to be supporting. I know my alleged endorsement wouldn't come off terribly genuine. Also, if I had an investment in a product or service that was being questioned or criticized on national television, I think I would have done something to defend it. However as I said, the final "read" on this occurrence is up to you.

Poker Tells: Catching a Liar at The Poker Table - The Eyes

2008-10-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

This series of articles has been fun for a multitude of reasons. Most prominent among them is the fact that I can just see people now closely studying each other at the poker tables to the point where everyone gets uncomfortable. That would be hysterical. What you should also generally keep in mind is that some people at a poker table are naturally uncomfortable. That is to say they will be putting out all types of cues all the time. This stems from several different causes.

The first reason you may be getting multiple conflicting cues from another player is because they are confused or don't really know what they are doing. This kind of player you will figure out quickly as far as their play is concerned but their physical tells will be perplexing. Other people are just uncomfortable around people but they really enjoy poker. These folks are entertaining just to be around. Eventually they either get comfortable or find another way to entertain themselves. Whatever the case, when a player is giving out confusing signals, you will have to sort it out quickly. It is another important reason for you to pay close attention to your opposition.

In the continuing saga of spotting the misrepresentation at the table, today I will examine an area that you have looked at quite often and is simultaneously the most protected by players in poker. That is of course the eyes. Many players wear sunglasses in their attempts to hide from you at the table, but as I have revealed to you other areas to focus upon, these people will just seem silly to you in the future. The next time you see one of them, you should explain to them that their eyes get plenty of protection from the sun indoors. See if you get a laugh.

For those players who choose not to wear sunglasses at the table with you, there are cues to watch for. The eyes are the windows to the soul and they also indicate misrepresentation. If for example, you ask somebody a question and the eyes go up and to the left, that is a sign that the brain is attempting to recall information, often information that has been recorded as pictures in the mind. When you see the individual's eyes up and off to the left they are "seeing" those pictures in the mind. When something comes up as part of that recall that they don't want to share, their eyes respond by darting right, away from the information. At that point, the misrepresentation is then the construction of a "false" picture that did not come up with the original recall but one the teller believes will help answer the question to their advantage.

For example, your opponent puts in a bet at the turn and you ask them if they made their boat. If you watch carefully, you can see their eyes recall their hole cards momentarily and then they will make a decision about how to answer you or of course, not to answer you at all. You know that if while they are answering you their eyes are darting right, it is a clear indication of some kind of fabrication that they are making up on the spot. That would be quite different than if they are looking straight into your eyes.

These are subtle eye movements that will give you a tremendous amount of information. Again, you will have to get a feel for your opponents to see when they are acting and when they are responding without thinking about it. The eyes will often be great at getting information for quick questions as the movement will indicate sincerity or preparation to fabricate almost immediately.

Keep checking back as I will continue to provide valuable tips on how you can spot all kinds of great tells from your opponents at the poker table.

Poker Tells: Catching a Liar at The Poker Table - The Mouth

2008-10-23T12:25:00.001-07:00

If you have been following this series of tips, you will have picked up on the primary focus of this article. That is how to take advantage of your opponents "tells" when they are attempting to misrepresent themselves at the poker table. As I have mentioned in earlier articles, the "tells" become evident as a result of physical manifestations of the misrepresentations. Simply put, the brain struggles to cope with conflicting information that results in the body doing something that the person telling the lie has no control over.

In previous articles I have discussed how to watch hand gestures for valuable information. Also how the feet and lower body have the ability to unconsciously communicate a person's true feelings. The next part of the body to pay attention to is the mouth and how it is revealed to people when a person is being genuine with them as opposed to when they are being dishonest.

When a person is smiling and being open and honest with others, there is a muscle called the zygomatic muscle that comes into play and supports the smile. When a person is faking a smile, the zygomatic muscle is not used and the consequence is that the surrounding skin and muscle groups do not get the support from the zygomatic which results in a visible twitch around the corner of the mouth. This response is automatic and can not be helped. A visible facial twitch in a poker game can become invaluable at the appropriate times.

Study of facial recognition and responses have been conducted for years. A pseudo-science known as phrenology once examined the correlation between the shapes and sizes of a person's skull, to their capacity for certain types of character traits. Over the years the study of the skull lost support and a more focused examination of the face to precedent. It was discovered and believed by some that the facial muscles were actually responsible for various emotions experienced by individuals. When that belief, it was concluded that by manipulation of the face, various emotions could be imposed on test subjects. Therefor, it was concluded that emotions could be manually manufactured in an instant by simple manipulation of the face.

Whether or not the hypothesis is supported today, there are certain aspects of the study which continue to stand up to the test of time. Specifically, the mouth is a strong indicator of whether the test subject is experiencing happiness and satisfaction or sadness and dissatisfaction. For example, if the test subject was content, the lips would appear to fill up, the mouth would open slightly and the corners would turn upwards. Conversely, if the test subject was sad or displeased, the lips would deflate, the mouth would close up and the corners would flatten out or turn downwards. This information applied to the poker table is invaluable.

Imagine a flop comes down and while examining your opponent's face you see the corners of his mouth turn upwards and his lips part. It would be a safe assumption that the flop has hit him and he is satisfied with his current situation. Alternatively, if after a flop comes down you ask your opponent how well that hit him and he just looks at you and smiles with a small twitch, it is reasonable to assume that he isn't that pleased with the flop. It is important to realize that these responses are autonomic. Your opponents are unaware of them.

You will have to watch your opponents closely for these cues because often they will happen quickly. Keep in mind that this type of read will be a little different for each player for the simple reason that everybody is a little different. You will have to study your opponents closely and learn what the "tells" share with you about their state of mind. Learn to develop this reading skill and you will see your bankroll benefit in the long run.

Poker Tells: Catching a Liar at a Poker Table - The Feet

2008-10-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite series of tips to date that I have been giving out. It deals exclusively with studying the people in the game that you are in at the poker table. With careful study of your opponents, you will learn to gauge their actions more accurately and become better at determining when they are being honest and when they are trying to misrepresent themselves.

In an earlier article I mentioned the foundation for this series. That is, when a person "tells" a lie, the brain has an internal conflict. One part of the brain encourages the lie, seeking a particular outcome, while another part of the brain is confused and seeks something different. The internal conflict tends to manifest in physical indicators that will give an astute player a considerable edge at the poker table. This may be the origin of poker "tells" for all we know. Whatever the origin, these are the physical cues that a player must learn to decipher to use in making decisions during the course of play.

Last time I mentioned how you should watch the hands for key indications of a misrepresentation. There is another area of the body that tends to give away a lie quite effectively. When a person is attempting to misrepresent to another, they are very much aware of their upper body. Specifically, they are often focused on the mid-chest to the top of the head because they know that is the area being observed by the person they are communicating to. As a result, they tend to have a considerable amount of focus and control over that area.

However, when a person is lying or attempting a misrepresentation, a part of the body that is often not being observed will manifest the internal conflict I mentioned earlier. In this case, the feet and legs will begin to shake or jiggle in a particular fashion. What is important to realize is that people who are misrepresenting themselves often are completely unaware of this. The physical manifestation and motion of the feet and legs are completely unconscious to the "teller", while an astute observer can pick it up.

For example, a player may be representing a flush as a result of a big turn or river card and you choose to ask them if they have it. Keep in mind the representation has already been made. Therefore, their action combined with your question can create a lot of pressure, even if they choose to not answer. The physical shaking of the legs and feet can be directly observed or if you are across the table, you can see them "bobbing" as a result of this until they become aware of it. It may only occur briefly but if you are paying attention, you can't miss it.

The feet or legs responding to a misrepresentation may be difficult to see when seated at a poker table, particularly if you are seated at opposite ends of a table. However, the fact that your opponents are seated, will actually make this tell easier to pick up. As noted, the shaking of the foot or leg from a seated position will generally cause movement of the upper torso. Another interesting thing to watch out for at this juncture are hand movements that attempt to alleviate the pressure or the lower body movement once the player becomes aware of it. Watch for the hand to actually move toward the leg as if to stop it. Also, stay aware of the hand attempting to "cool" off the body by fanning past the face or touching around the neck.

Keep in mind, a skillful experienced player may attempt to use some of these cues to his advantage by representing a lie when it is not. Remember, by inquiring of the player if that is what they are doing will also render certain cues. However, false representation of "lying" cues would be exceptional and only really good actors can pull it off without appearing to be performing.

In any event, remember that these cues can manifest a little differently in every person. Keep a mental record of what they mean as you watch other players in action. When you have been able to master the meaning of each signal in the players you are against, you will see a marked improvement in your ability to read and profit from your opponents misgivings.

Keep checking back for interesting tips on picking up valuable physical tells from your opponents.

Poker Tells: Catching a Liar at a Poker Table - The Hand

2008-10-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

If there has been something over the years that I have always enjoyed it's been studying human behaviour. There are not too many places in the world that you can examine unique aspects of human behaviour more than at a poker table. The reason for this is the simple fact that a poker player's situation is constantly changing during the course of a session. During that time, the player has to adapt in order to achieve the greatest benefit from that session. The other thing that is interesting to watch are the different personalities people bring to the table and how those personalities cope with the ever changing environment.

One thing that poker players are constantly trying to use during the course of a game to their advantage at the table, are personal representations. A player may try to act in a particular way in hopes of getting a particular result from other players. A player may say something in hopes of gaining information from others or perhaps to also achieve a particular result. In doing so, a player will be either genuine or disingenuous. Here are some of the ways you can tell if another player is misrepresenting or just "putting it on."

What you have to keep in mind is that when somebody is misrepresenting at a poker table, there is a conflict that goes on in their brain just as if they were telling in other type of lie. There is one part of the brain that wants to see them benefit from the misrepresentation and supports the action, while another part of the brain is confused and fights it. The result comes out in physical manifestations. At a poker table, these manifestations are referred to as tells. This is the moment where the "liar" is actually giving himself away and sometimes you have to be pretty sharp to catch it.

The first thing to know is that by telling a lie, it actually creates an increase in body temperature. The surface of the skin becomes warmer and the individual telling the lie becomes aware of the increase in body temperature and will do something to release heat. A classic example of that is the hand going to the side or back of the neck. This is an area of the body where people become quite aware of temperature changes. The hand motion will be something to watch. For example, a player puts in a bluff bet when it is their turn and upon bringing their hand back towards their body, it goes upward towards their head and neck. Upon reaching their head, the hand may make a swiping motion, or pull briefly on the collar area of the shirt as if to be "letting out some steam."

Sometimes this hand movement is much more subtle in more experienced players. They have learned to control this reaction. Lesser experienced players are more inclined to give it away. Sometimes, by studying your opponent after the raise, you can see them fighting to alleviate the "heat" that they are creating for themselves. In which case, the hand will be inclined to come back towards the body in some way, often followed by the player trying to do something else to mask the inclination to alleviate the pressure.

To gain even more information at this moment about the bluff, you can ask a question of your opponent to see if they will give away a little more. A player who is fighting the urge to let his hand naturally alleviate the pressure, may then become more inclined to forget about their hand and respond verbally while allowing the hand to do what it may. This is often an unconscious reaction and something you have to be watching closely for. In any event, the hand will be searching the body for an opportunity to release some heat.

If you can become astute at catching the hand movements of your opponents, attempting to cool themselves down, you will become that much better at picking up misrepresentation tells at the table. Keep checking back as I will be giving more tips on spotting the lie in your opponents with upcoming articles.

Limit Poker is The Same Wherever You Play Limit Poker

2008-10-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

I want to clear up something that I have heard discussed numerous times. I was recently playing in a $5/10 limit game in Toronto while I was waiting to go play at a $10/20 table. The game had a lot of action. It didn't seem to matter if there were raises happening in early position or not and people didn't seem to care what came down on the flop. Numerous players came in with any two cards and often played deep hoping to improve their hands.

After playing for about ten or fifteen minutes, one of the players closer to me stated that you wouldn't see this kind of play at higher limits. He claimed that this was a product of low limit play and that so many players kept seeing lots of flops and chasing crazy hands because it was so cheap to do so.

I didn't think much of it except I noticed that this was the lowest limit offered by that room on that day. It would appear that anybody wanting to play poker who were looking for the lowest limit possible were going to play at tables like the one I was sitting at. There is something to be said about the players who hunt out the "cheapest" game. They do tend to be more recreational type players and have looser tendencies.

Not long thereafter my name was called to go join a $10/20 game. I gathered up my chips and went and took my seat. The game had an interesting mix of players that seemed to change regularly as for some reason, there always seemed to be somebody getting up every half hour or so. Regardless, after about three hours I decided to take a break and head over to the bar to order a snack. Not long after I was joined there by a gentleman who was sitting in my game. He introduced himself and was quite friendly. We talked about the game and it wasn't long before he made an interesting remark. He said that the game was a little more loose than he was used to and that he believed there were better games at higher limits.

There you have it. Within the span of a few hours, I hear two different players at two different levels of limit play, claiming that higher limit games are better and the players are not so loose. This is a misconception I run into quite regularly. It is interesting that these types of statements are often made by players who don't play higher limits.

Here is all you need to know. Limit play is limit play wherever you go. I think the Beatles wrote a song about it. It doesn't matter if you are playing $2/4 limit at Hollywood Park or $400/800 limit in Geneva, it is all relative. Players who sit in limit games tend to gravitate to levels that they feel comfortable with. The amount of money doesn't matter because their games tend to be the same. There are loose players, there are tight players and there are a whole bunch in the middle. This disparity of players can be found at every level.

If you are a loose player who can only afford to buy in for two hundred dollars at a time, you will play loose and wild probably at a $5/10 game. If you are a loose player who can only afford to buy in for one thousand dollars, you will probably play loose and wild at a $20/40 game. The limit doesn't matter. The amount of money is relative to the bankroll of the player. I watched a crazy $400/800 limit game on television not too long ago where pretty much everybody at the table was determined to see flops. They didn't care how many raises went in pre-flop. They wanted to play.

Don't craft your game in the lower limits thinking that you are becoming a great player and you will be rewarded when you move up because there will be less maniacs trying to suck out on you. They exist at every level. Play your best game always and learn how to read other players. That way it won't matter what level you play. You want to be able to play well and make good decisions against a multi-player game just as you would in a tight match up.

Limit players are limit players wherever you go. Limit poker is a great game. Learn to master it and don't worry about classifying things that you don't have any control over. If you want tighter games at the levels that you play, then look for them. If you can't find them, get good at the games that are available to you until you are able to find games where you will have an even greater edge. No matter what, the more you practice and play, the better you will become. The skills you develop will be available to you at every level of play.

Poker Secret: Make Friends at the Poker Table?

2008-10-22T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have often been proud of the fact that I get along well with people. If you put me in a room with groups of folks I don't know, I can find new friends. It is a gift. I have always enjoyed finding the best in people. It also happens to be something that serves me well at a poker table.

It did take a little time. When I first started playing poker, I wasn't sure how to interact at the table. After all, when you sit down, you are telling everyone there that you would like to make some money and it has to come from somewhere. The fact that you are sitting down to take other people's money sometimes makes it difficult for them to see you as a friend.

There are of course, many people who will not want to have anything to do with you at a poker table. They get into their game and they are not there to make friends. That's fine. You don't need them. You really don't need any of them. But if you can get to know a couple of them it can help.

In particular, you may want to consider getting to know the person immediately to your left. This can come in handy especially when you are in late position. For example, if the person to your left happens to be an aggressive player, you will probably not want to be raising at all of the typical moments that you normally would. The reason for this is that you might choose to allow the aggressive player to raise for you. This would then allow you to re raise when the bet came back around to you, which in turn builds a nice pot and represents a very strong hand.

If you were to find out that the player to your immediate left is a very tight player, than by raising you can always gauge the strength of his/her hand. This will be extremely valuable especially when you are in late position and it is left to you to open the betting.

More importantly of course, if you can make friends with the player to your right, you may be able to get what I call the "unimaginable." That is information you would never receive unless you were friends. For example, you are in middle position with an OK hand and you want to limp in and see if you can flop a monster. You do not however want to have to call a subsequent raise from any player behind you. If you were a friend with the player on your left you could actually ask before you put your chips in if they were going to raise or not and they will probably tell you. Now, they could always raise regardless, but you will be able to get some kind of read that otherwise would be unavailable. A lot of the time they will tell you they were going to fold anyway.

By making friends with the players around you, you can get a lot of information about how they will play subsequent hands and why they make the decisions that they do. Very often, friendly players can't help but share their wisdom and their opinions. It is only the very best that are able to sit and chat with you continuously without talking about the game at hand. When they do start talking about the game, that is when you start gaining information.

Don't get me wrong. There will be times when you sit down and you won't want to have anything to do with the people around you. They may be drunks, they may be abusive or just down right ridiculous. Whatever the reason, don't always feel like you have to make friends. I have just found that most of the time, it is more beneficial than it is hurtful. You should also keep in mind that if you are probing for information, try not to be too obvious or loud. You don't want to share that information with everyone else at the table.

So get out there and work on your people skills.

Poker Secret: Beware The Queen of Hearts

2008-10-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day on the strip in Vegas and what better way to spend it than inside away from the sun, sitting at a poker table playing cards. I was in a great frame of mind and decided to go into the Bellagio to play some $10/20 limit.

The table was made up of what I would call a good mix of players. There were a couple tourist types who were playing every hand. They were having a few drinks and just having a good time. There were a handful of OK players who were doing their best to appear as though they knew what they were doing and going out of their way not to play too stupid. Finally, there were a couple really good players who also appeared to be controlling the table to a certain extent.

For a little while when I first sat down, the chips were not flowing in any particular direction. Everyone seemed to have their share of wins. There were a couple players who definitely were not doing well at all but aside from them, nobody else was really running away with it. I was doing alright. I had not played many hands for the first hour or so and might have been up a little bit.

Not too long after, the gentleman to my immediate right got up and decided to call it a day. I really wasn't even paying that much attention at that time, I was more focused on the play that was going on. The person who filled his seat turned out to be a woman. She was a beautiful woman. She had long red hair and big green eyes and was very shapely and knew how to dress herself up. She was wearing a low cut top with a blazer and fitted slacks. She was very well put together in every way and she knew it.

It wasn't long before I struck up a conversation with her. I found out she was in town with some girl friends. They had decided to make it a "girls" trip and they were having a great time catching shows and playing lots of table games.

She mentioned that she really enjoyed poker and that it was her first time playing poker in Vegas although she had visited before. From her play, I could tell that she had definitely played somewhere before.

The conversation with her stayed light and fluid for what must have been another hour at least. I decided to get up and get something to eat. When I sat down with a banquet burger I realized that I had not played a hand for almost the entire time that she had been sitting next to me. This wasn't necessarily because I was getting cold cards, I was so distracted by this woman, that I had decided unconsciously that I wasn't going to play. I was having a much better time just chatting with her.

In the meantime, I have no idea how many pots I missed out on. I also suddenly realized that I stopped watching the game. This meant that I wasn't focusing on my opponents and their style of play and therefore, I was missing out on some very valuable information. I also couldn't even remember the kinds of hands I was folding before the flop.

On occasion, a beautiful woman will have this affect on a player. A lot of the time, these are very smart women who know exactly what they are doing. When I returned to the table she was still playing so I grabbed my chips and wished her a good day. The best thing I could do was leave the table. Clearly, I was distracted by this woman and it was cutting into my stack.

If you find yourself sitting at a table with somebody that you find so attractive that it is getting you off your game, go home or just try another table. I usually prefer to leave all together because I might find myself at another table still trying to catch a glimpse of her. She might have just been there having fun but I wasn't about to watch my stack slowly bleed away because I wasn't concentrating on the game. It's always nice to have an attractive person at the table, as long as they aren't putting you of your game. Trust me on this one, save the socializing for the bar and always bring your best game to the poker table.

Chris Ferguson Poker Challenge is Virtually Impossible

2008-10-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Some time ago a friend of mine approached me with a plan. He had read a story about Chris Ferguson and he wanted to try it out. Basically, without investing a penny, Chris Ferguson allegedly went from absolutely nothing online to having twenty thousand dollars. When he hit his 20K goal, he donated it to charity.

The way in which he achieved this was by sticking to a few basic rules of bankroll management. First off he would never sit down to any cash game or sit n go with more than 5% of his bankroll. He would never sit in a multi-table tournament with more than 2% of his bankroll. Also, if he was in a no limit or pot limit game and the money he had on the table was equal to 10% of his bankroll he had to leave. I'm pretty sure those were the rules. For the most part, I agree that those rules are a really good strategy. In fact, I implement a very similar bankroll management strategy that I would advise all players to try out.

In the meantime, my buddy is trying to do it and he is getting nowhere quickly. The hardest part is getting started because you have to compete in a freeroll tournament where there is some cash for the top finishing players. Usually it is a few bucks but only up top. It's really hard to get up there because you are playing against thousands of other players who just don't care because it is a freeroll so everyone is playing crazy hoping to grab a lot of chips fast.

Before I forget, Ferguson also mentioned that he never played for more than ten hours a week trying this out. This becomes a critical factor in my assessment.

I decided to try it out as well just to see if I could go further faster than my buddy. Well, I was running into the same kind of problems. I couldn't even get those first couple of bucks because I kept getting my big hands crushed by some guy who would go all in with 8, 3 off because he just didn't care.

Finally, I managed to finish in the money. It took weeks of periodic play. I now had $1. That was my best finish so far. So I decided to try to implement Ferguson's play and see what I could do. Another point to be noted, Ferguson allowed an exception to his rules in order to get started whereby he could always enroll in a tournament or game for a minimum of $1. This obviously makes sense since in the beginning he would never have enough to satisfy the rules. So I decided to go hit the tables.

I took my $1 to some micro limit hold em games and went at it. I could not move forward to save my life. The rake is so huge in relation to the pots at the micro limits that even when you win, you are barely moving. Needless to say it wasn't long before that $1 was gone. It was back to the freerolls. I finally had a good finish and managed to take home $5. I figured this would give me a little breathing room. I was able to take down a couple sit n gos and start to move it forward in the small limit games. My strategy was to win a few cents at a time and see what happened. I didn't care how long it took.

Although I was able to move up a little bit, most of the time I would just keep sliding back down. The beats on line at the lower limits are ridiculous because everyone plays like its play money because for the most part it is. Everyone down there is just playing for fun and I can't blame them. The same thing was going on in the tournaments. Even when I was going strong in a tournament, it took several hours and even after that, I wouldn't necessarily finish in the money. In a tournament you always need a little luck and if it doesn't come, you don't get paid. After playing only one multi-table tournament and a few sit and gos there wasn't much time left in the ten hour allotment for the week. I would have to wait for the following week. Usually, the same patterns would repeat.

All this to say, I don't really think it is possible to do what Ferguson did without a little help. Perhaps people saw him playing at their tables and would lay off. Even more diabolical, perhaps the site he was doing this at was helping him out. He obviously has an endorsement deal with the site. I don't know what it was, but I feel safe in saying that it is just too hard in the low limits to move forward on a regular basis and there are just too many people playing for fun down there for you to ever have an edge or chance of building a roll. Remember, this is all in conjunction with Ferguson's rules, if you stick to them, I strongly believe it is impossible to do what he did. If any of you have done otherwise, I would love to see your results. If you are thinking about trying to do it...best of luck!

Online Poker Has Changed Completely

2008-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have never been a big fan of the online poker experience. When I play, I like to be able to see my opponents and the cards. Playing online I realize I am just a part of a computer program and as such, I feel like I am just giving up a tremendous amount of control. There have been plenty of stories about scandal with online sites and how there are "bot" players that are sent in to mop up everyone else. I never heard these kinds of stories in all the years I have been playing in casinos.

There was a period of time a few years back when the online poker sites were just getting popular and it seemed like everyone was trying it out. It was great because you never had to leave your home and could play virtually whenever you wanted. The other fun thing about online play was the fact that you got dealt so many hands so quickly that you could get done whatever you wanted in a short period of time and then have the rest of the day to do whatever else you wanted.

A few years back I went on a pretty good run online for about seven or eight months. I stuck primarily to limit hold em and I wouldn't play for more than an hour at a shot. I made money most of the time. Then a strange thing started to happen. Regardless of what I tried, or how many other people were in a hand with me, suddenly, it was almost impossible to win. I started to slide and my sits went from averaging an hour to about fifteen minutes. The reason for that was because I had a rule. If I took two bad beats in a row at a given table I would change tables. If I had to change tables more than twice, I was done for the day. Needless to say, I started finishing up very quickly. Before I took any serious loss to the bankroll I had built up, I cashed out and called an end to my regular online playing.

I would still drop in from time to time but it was never the same. It was always difficult to win. What really turned me off was the number of times I was going to a flop with only one other player and losing every time. That's enough to turn anybody off the game for a long time. I resolved that I would only try the game out for tournaments and not risk any of my roll on line anymore.

As it turns out, most of my play was in casinos and I really would not go to online play much at all. Recently however, I dropped in to one of my old online haunts just to see what was happening. Turns out everything has changed. There are only a fraction of as many players at the site anymore. I'm sure the Federal government outlawing certain Internet cash transfers for Americans had something to do with that. However, it seems like there is more going on.

When I went to the old limit games that I used to play which was $10/20, I found that most of the time there wasn't any game available. This in comparison to a time when there were so many tables and not a single seat because it was so busy. Now, nothing. Not only that, when I did see a game start up, it was the tightest play I had ever seen.

It would appear that a lot of players have started to feel the same way about online play. Clearly, they are not interested and the beats the sites were handing out became too much and too unusual to stick around. The sites appear to be only a shadow of what they once were. To be honest, I think they are getting what they deserve. If you asked me, I'd say stick to games where you can see your opponents and watch the deck being dealt out.

Dress For Success At the Poker Table

2008-10-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

When I first started playing poker, I received what I thought at the time was some good advice. I dropped into the Golden Nugget to play some $5/10 limit, ordered and iced tea and sat down. I was wearing walking shorts and a t-shirt and I must have looked tired because whatever I did other players always stuck with me or tried to bet me off my hand. I took a break and went to grab something to eat when a gentleman who had been playing at my table approached me.

He mentioned that he felt like the other players were really coming after me and he thought it was kind of funny because it didn't matter what I did they either didn't believe me or felt inclined to draw me out. He said he thought it was because of how I was dressed. I wasn't sure what to make of his comment. He said that I looked like a tourist, which I was at the time, and he figured the regulars at the table were gunning for me believing that I didn't know what I was doing or that I was just playing for fun. His advice was to try out darker or more neutral colors and to stay away from the shorts and t-shirts.

At the time I figured it was pretty good advice. After that day, I would generally only show up wearing slacks and mostly browns and blacks. Once in a while I would throw the baseball cap on as well. I did notice a change at the tables. Other players started taking me a little more seriously and it didn't seem like the entire table would come after me every time I was in a pot. This made me happy and I figured I was on to something.

However, several months ago I was playing in a $10/20 limit game when a gentleman joined the table. He was heavy set and he was wearing cargo shorts, flip flops and a colorful cap tipped upwards. He was quite jovial and was friendly with virtually everyone who he chose to speak to. When he wasn't in the hand he would joke with the dealer and send out good wishes to those who were playing. He was a likable character.

There was something more interesting however. He wasn't playing many hands. When he did play, his hands were premium and he played them hard and he got action. Afterwards I noticed that he had taken down several pots and was preparing to call it a day. It was something new that I had realized. He was a very good player. However, he wanted to get action and not let on that he was a regular. His attire clearly made him appear to be a tourist but in fact, he was anything but. So it would appear that he chose to use his appearance to his advantage. It probably ended up making him considerably more money than he would have made if he looked all serious and professional.

There you have it. Depending upon your plan of attack, dress accordingly. Always remember that guy you think is a tourist may just be a lot more than you bargained for.

Poker Talk: How Well Does It Work

2008-10-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

There have been countless poker games that I have sat in on where there was all kinds of conversation going on. Sometimes people will be talking about their families, other times they will be discussing their jobs. It isn't uncommon for people to just start talking about current events and to have a very casual demeanour about them. A lot of time, especially in lower limit games, people will talk about poker.

People love to talk about poker. I find that the lower limit you are playing in, the more advice the poker players at the table are willing to share. They always like to give their opinion about how well other people at the table are playing. These kinds of players will especially enjoy talking about how other players should have played previous hands.

Sometimes people who talk a lot at a poker table suddenly stop talking once they decide to participate in a hand. Other players suddenly talk more when they are playing. All of these players seem to be implementing some kind of strategy that they believe works for them. The question of whether you should talk at a poker table and how you should talk has always been interesting to me.

By no means should you ever sit down and completely fight the urge to say anything at all. If you sit in a game in complete silence, especially if you are a tight player, people will read you as very serious and always put you on monster hands when you play and in all likelihood you will not get much action. I've always enjoyed being natural at the table. I will talk about all kinds of things but I will almost never comment on the game. The reason is simple. I don't want people knowing how I think when it comes to the game. I also don't want to be encouraging bad players to play better.

I've never understood why anyone would lecture a bad player about a bad play. Whey on earth would you want them to improve? I know it usually happens after they lay a bad beat on somebody but that will not be the rule. Most of the time, bad play will pay you off, so stay away from the lectures. I also love when another player will say "I would've done this..." or "I did that because.." Some people can't help themselves and if you pay attention, you will get a great line on their play. So I never discuss my play at all.

I like to keep the people around me relaxed so that they feel more inclined to share information with me. It will improve my game and give me an edge. I will stick to talking about the weather or sports or something else. You should also be aware that if you are talking, other people will be putting reads on you. They will be trying to figure out what kind of player you are and the more you chatter, the easier that becomes. Unless of course you are setting them up, in which case, good on you. Most people however, are not good at that. It takes practice.

So in summary, I wouldn't be completely quiet but I wouldn't be a chatter box either. I will always encourage conversation from other people and I am constantly using chatter to gain information and appear relaxed. The more confident and relaxed I appear, I find the more respect my play receives. That's just me. It could change on any given day and I will adapt my table talk accordingly. Keep these tips in mind the next time your neighbour asks "So where are you from?"

Poker Limits are Good For Your Bankroll

2008-10-20T07:04:00.001-07:00

There are numerous opinions about setting limits to your play in a cash game with interesting logic behind each one. Often I find that the logic that is applied to the decision of setting limits or not relates to how that particular player wants to play as opposed to how they should play. Here is what you should probably consider doing in regards to limits especially if you are a developing player.

I should clarify that limits for that sake of this discussion relates to putting a limit on your losses during a particular session. It does not relate to the limit game you are playing at. I will save that for another time.

There are many players, pros included, who will say that they don't put a limit on what they could lose for a particular session. Instead, they say they will continue playing as long as they feel they are playing their best game. To me, that type of thinking is inherently flawed. It is great that while you are playing you feel as though you are always playing your best game. That is essential. However, if while you are playing your best game you are tossing your whole roll away, it is probably a good time to call it a day.

There are people who believe that setting a loss limit on a given session limits the way you will play and doesn't give you the opportunity to fight back from the ebb and flow that can be characteristic of a poker sit. This has some truth to it. If you were to sit down and immediately go on a run of cold cards and losing hands that within the first little while you hit your loss limit for that sit and had to go, you might feel completely discouraged. You might start thinking that playing is a waste of time and that you are not giving yourself a chance. You would be wrong.

I have seen players go on monster slides where they have gotten killed for huge amounts of cash and stayed to play until they were tapped out. I've seen losing runs where players determined to get it back, sat hours for marathon sessions just to break even and leave feeling they had done good by themselves. I have seen players go up a little bit and then run losing streaks to the point of getting felted and rebuy multiple times in hopes of getting back to that place of being up a little that never comes. All of these things are unnecessary.

When you are playing poker you can not be caring about the money. If you are concerned about the money, you are losing before you sit down. That may sound contradictory to setting a loss limit but it really isn't. You should play your best possible game without caring about the money. When you do that, you have the best chance of coming out ahead. By setting a loss limit, you allow yourself the opportunity to come back and fight another day. Remember, playing like you don't care about the money is a strategy, your bankroll is still your life blood and you have to be respectful of it. Any given day of play is just one day, you will have an eternity of sits ahead of you where if you are playing your best, you will come out ahead.

You can't win every session. You only need to win most sessions and not loose more than you win. By setting a limit on your losses you protect your bankroll and actually make it easier to play like the money doesn't matter. For example, if you put a loss limit of 4% of your bankroll on any given session, you will never feel fearful about playing hard, smart and aggressive poker because in the event that you do hit your limit, it poses very little risk to your overall roll. That is how the two strategies work well together. Alternatively, if you have no limit, you leave your roll at risk and could hit that slippery slope of playing to get even in a game where that never comes.

Play smart and play solid with a cap on your loss and you won't be afraid to stop and say, there is always tomorrow. With a solid bankroll strategy in relation to your losses, you are sure to have a regular increase in your bankroll over time.

Poker on Television is Very Different from The Game You Play

2008-10-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to me how often I will be in a game where somebody will do something ridiculous and claim it is how some pro would play the same situation. I always enjoy quietly listening to how somebody has watched some player that they admire on television, and then claim to know how they play. You can only tell a little bit about your favourite pros by watching them on television.

There are a few things you have to keep in mind when watching players on television. First of all, many of them are paid to appear. That means exactly what it sounds like. Shows like Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker are television shows first and gaming events second. Meaning, they want to attract a viewing audience so that they can continue to grab their big sponsorship money. They ask professional players that they think will attract a particular demographic to play so that you, the viewing audience, will watch.

Most of the time, the television shows you see have players who are competing with other people's money. They are being given the cash to play. Usually by the producers of the show. Many of the games are not even for real. This is so you can see a lot of exciting moments and watch the big pros that you emulate, do things they normally would not do. Imagine, how long you would watch these guys play on television if they kept getting runs of bad cards and just chose to hardly play. Probably not very long.

When the pros are on television playing for real, again it isn't their money because it is a sponsorship appearance. You have seen these hundreds of times. A pro will be sponsored by a gaming site for example, and they will be wearing a baseball cap or wind breaker with the company's name all over it. That company in turn, pays that player to appear and often gives them the playing money to compete with. It is not often that they are playing with their own money in those situations and again will play differently than if it was their own cash at stake.

The other time to be weary of what you are watching is during tournament play. Usually when you see a pro playing on television, you are seeing how they would play at that stage in a tournament. However, you have to realize first off, that tournament play is very different from cash game play. What you also have to realize is that where you are in a tournament, meaning, early stages as opposed to final table, will vary your style of play. All of this, will be different from how you play in a cash game. Most of the televised tournament play that gets broadcast is final table play. This tends to be more aggressive and open since the players are already in the money and are trying to win the whole thing. You will generally not get to see these players at the early stages because it is boring and not worth televising hours of folding.

Poker on television is also generally a showing of the most interesting hands. You are not getting to see every hand played out. So a player who appears to play a lot of hands on television, isn't actually playing that many hands but rather the show has been edited to appear that way. What you should also be aware of is how these shows are structured. I can assure you that if the session is slow and uneventful, the producers have juiced it up to keep it interesting for viewers.

These are several things you should keep in mind when watching poker on television and play your cash games accordingly. Remember, poker on television is much like most things on television, it is designed to entertain you, not educate you.

Spotting The Fish in Poker is Half The Fun

2008-10-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

There is a great line in the movie Rounders where Matt Damon says that if after the first hour at the table you can't spot the sucker, than you are the sucker. It might have been after the first half hour. I'm not sure. In any event, it is still pretty true.

The sucker at a poker game has many different names. Often times they will be called the fish or the bird or a monkey. It is fascinating that they are mostly animal names. At some point I will have to look up the origin of how those names began. As if there was a time that people couldn't find enough other people to play in their poker games and they let their pets sit in. Consequently, the pets played really badly. Hence the origin of the names.

I would imagine that some animal trainers would be quite insulted by the presumption that certain animals are dumb and would make bad card players. I'm sure there are many monkeys that have been trained to do some things that people don't do very well. I understand that some monkeys have even learned how to use modern tools while others have even learned sign language. I guess that is pretty smart.

Regardless of where the name comes from, spotting the sucker or fish or whatever you choose to call them is invaluable. The reason for that is because they will often be the players that you make most of your money from. The better players will take chances from time to time but will not do so if it requires an unreasonable amount of risk. The bad players or fish, can't tell the difference between a bad decision and a good one.

Most of the time it is easy to spot the bad player because they are always taking big chances. They get their money in when they are not favorites to win, or better, they will make moves such as a raise, when they are up against huge hands. You can never get enough of this kind of play. In fact, if I am in a game where there are an abundance of these kinds of players, it is often difficult for me to leave. The reason is obvious. When I win, I will be taking down much larger pots than I should because of my opponents' poor play.

Generally you can't miss the sucker. They go all the way with inside straight draws or they will do the same when they need two perfect running cards to make their hands. They draw to hands that often are not even winners. They will always embrace low percentage possibilities of winning and they make all the classic blunders such as: they call when they should fold or raise, they bet when they should check, they raise when they should fold etc. These are all pretty obvious indicators. This is why it is believed that if you can't spot the sucker at a table, it is probably you.

You should be weary of the fish who is hitting. If the sucker keeps hitting the long shot hands they will start to feel unbeatable. They will inevitably play more hands, they will throw in way more chips than they should and they will act quite often without thinking. This is because they believe they are "on a run" or that "they can't lose". With a player like that there isn't much you can do because they are willing to leave most of the outcome to chance. I would advise you stay clear until they feel their wave has passed. You don't want to start taking consecutive bad beats from a donkey, there's another one of those great names, because it will put you into the wrong frame of mind and you too might start making bad decisions.

Spot the fish and take their money while you can. Stay away while luck is on their side. By making the right decisions in hands with the suckers you will see your bankroll flourish.

Poker and Booze Make for a Great Time To Make Money

2008-10-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

There have probably been more times than you can remember that you sat down to play and you watched somebody order a drink. Maybe you have even done it yourself. Perhaps you had a long day, or you just wanted to unwind and relax. Whatever the reason, I am positive that you have witnessed people drinking at a poker game. In fact, I would go so far as to say that some people don't play without a drink by their side. A bottle of beer or a mixed drink of some kind with straws or umbrellas can always be seen somewhere at a poker table.

There is good reason for the popularity of alcohol at a poker game. For one thing, depending upon where you play, drinks might be free. That means you can plow them back and only have to worry about tipping your wait staff. You had better be tipping your wait staff. It is typical for many players to enjoy drinking while they play. It relaxes them and sometimes they will have been sitting for a long time. Whatever the reason, alcohol can often be found at the poker table. The issue becomes one of judgement.

If you are the kind of person who enjoys an occasional drink, save it for another time. If you have been sitting in a game for a while and feel like you need a drink, that's actually your body telling you that it is time to get up and go. You can grab a drink after you leave the table. Here is what you need to know. Alcohol is a mood altering depressant drug. Are there any other drugs you would continue to consume while playing? Probably not. Although, on many occasions I have seen players take breaks for that very reason.

If you are going into a depressed state while sitting in a game, you are going from a state of heightened awareness, to one where your cognitive functioning is slowing down. In so doing, your brain is actually functioning slower. Simply put, your judgment is affected and you are unable to make clear decisions. On many occasions I have seen people drinking at the games I am in I will hear them say things like "I didn't realize it was my turn." or "I didn't even see the flush up there." These are all indicative of somebody whose judgement has been impaired.

During the course of a game you have to do your best to maintain your emotional stability and play strategically, deliberately and with careful deduction. Alcohol's first effect as it reaches the outer brain is to distort your judgement and lower your inhibitions. While people may say that a couple drinks relaxes them, as they continue to imbibe alcohol, they become susceptible to feelings of anxiety, depression and uncontrollable aggression. Some might say that an aggressive mind set is good for poker, however, it is only effective if it is controlled aggression. Everything else that comes along with it can only damage your game and reduce the likelihood of a profitable session.

The message is simple. When playing, stay away from the booze. However, a drinker at a table will in all likelihood be a provider for you. They are likely targets for the more attentive players at the table. They will make more mistakes on average and correspondingly, get themselves into more situations that can be profitable for you. So if you are playing with drinkers, watch to see how their games are being affected. If you see they are making a lot of mistakes, get in there and take advantage. Anybody who is willing to get smashed at a poker game knows the risk and deserves to take a beating.

Now I know some of you are saying that you actually play better after a few drinks. In that case, go to it. If you honestly believe that your game improves under the influence of alcohol then don't let me stop you. In fact, I'd love to be at your table if you plan on drinking continuously. Seriously, stick with whatever works. It is simple science that continuous drinking during a poker game will lead to diminished judgement and poor decision making.

Now some of you might be thinking, hang on didn't Scotty Nguyen just take down a bracelet at the World Series HORSE championship this year in Vegas. The answer would be yes. The next question you might have could be, 'wasn't he drunk out of his mind when he did it?' The answer to that is, who knows. He might have been drunk or may not have been. What you need to remember is that Nguyen is a seasoned veteran. He had been to the Series many times before. He had played many of these guys many times before and he really knows what he is doing. If you want to take the chance and get wasted and hope you can play like him, be my guest. I would say that most of the time Scotty knew exactly what he was doing and he had his opponents thinking what he wanted them to in order to take advantage. My advice would be not to use him as an example.

Best idea for the long run is to stay away from drinks at the table, especially if you are building a bankroll. Keep an eye out for those players who are drinking and make reasonable assessments about their play in determining if they are worth going after. If you keep yours eyes clear and your ears open, you will continue to have an edge over players who choose to do otherwise.

Poker Table Choice Is Critical

2008-10-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here is something I don't see discussed very often. Let's say you've decided to head over to your favourite casino for a day of poker. You get there and you sign up for whatever game it is you want to play. You ask the guy taking down your name approximately how long he thinks it is going to be before you get called to come and take a seat. He tells you that he doesn't have any idea. There are several people on the list before you so it could take a while. Unless of course a bunch of people get up at the same time, vacating a bunch of seats and then you get called. Either way, he hasn't been very helpful giving you the information you were looking for.

At this point you look at the board and realize that although there is a small chance the list of names ahead of you could move quickly, you decide it probably won't, so you go to grab a coffee and a snack.

While you are grabbing your coffee, you realize they have the game going on the big screen so you sit down to watch for a little. Your team is playing today and you forgot about the game so figure this should be a good opportunity to catch up and enjoy. Eventually, you start to get low on your coffee, so you go for a refill. While filling up you run into a buddy that you haven't seen in a while so you spend the next fifteen minutes or so playing catch up. Just as your buddy is about to start telling you about what happened at his aunt Helga's last Thursday they call your name to come and take a seat. You say your farewells and head over to the poker pit.

The pit boss is kind enough to show you to your seat. You sit down and buy in immediately, or you bought in at the cage, depending on the type of casino you play at, and you post right away. After about five minutes of play you realize the game is crazy. Raisers in early position are not discouraging callers. People seem to be calling bets regardless of their starting hands. It seems as though most of the people at your table are playing as if they are not even looking at their hole cards. Everyone seems to be playing like they are pulling slot machines. This would be great if you were in the mood today for a crazy game but you aren't. You decide to call the pit boss over and ask for a table change. He puts you on a list...again. Now how do you know if your new table will be any different?

Let's rewind for a moment. What you know for sure about yourself today is that you are not in the mood for a crazy game. When you first arrived you realized there was a list and you would have to wait. That was a great opportunity.

When you first arrive and sign up to play at any casino you will have some time to survey the lay of the land. This is where you should be checking out the tables to see who your opponents are likely to be. If you see that all the tables are crazy and you definitely don't want to play crazy, it is probably a good day not to sit down. If you don't take the time to survey the tables and sit down in a crazy game, while you sit there waiting for a new table to become available it will cost you. Especially if you get sucked into a hand. After spending all that time waiting, you go and sit down at your new table only to find out they are crazy too. Now you may just get up and call it a day. That would be the right thing to do. Or, you may talk yourself into staying and trying to play your best possible game since you are already there and you waited so long to be seated etc.

It doesn't cost you anything when you first arrive to have a look around and determine how the games are going. If you don't like the looks of tables, or more importantly, if the games going don't appear to provide you with an edge, then don't sit down. Don't let it bother you that you arrived at the casino with the intention of playing. This is your bankroll we are talking about and you have to be smart about it. Don't put your money into any game if you don't think your advantage is in place. This is a good time to also start developing a relationship with the pit bosses who run the poker pit. If you find a game that you like, let them know which table you would prefer to sit down at. That way when your name comes up, they can hold off for you until a seat opens up at that table. If the casino you play at won't let you do that, just have them roll your name until a table comes up that you like. If it doesn't you haven't lost a cent.

Remember, game selection is very important while you are building a bankroll and developing your game. It can make a big difference as to how your day will go. The last thing you want to do is sit down at a table that causes you to play way off your game. Be prepared to be selective when you show up. You only want to play in games where you have an edge. Taking time to study the play of others while you are not at the table will also give you valuable information that you can use when you do decide to sit down. There will always be a few critical things in poker that you can't control. You had better take advantage of those things that you can. Game selection will always be up to you and good choices mean good money in the long run.

How To Maximize The Online Poker Experience

2008-10-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

I continuously receive numerous inquiries from friends and acquaintances to share with them the techniques I used in developing how to make a profit with online gaming. In particular, there has always been considerable interest with online poker. I previously wrote an article about online poker and I strongly believe that everything I mentioned in that article stands true. However, for those people who have done the research and are still interested in taking a swing at making a profit through online gambling, this is how to increase your odds at winning with online poker sites.

1. Avoid the micro limits. With every poker site you will have the lowest limits possible you can play at. These are often referred to as the micro limits. The reason these games should be avoided at all costs is because you simply can't beat the rake in the long run. The rake is the amount the site will take from every pot you play. With every game played, a rake goes to the house. The micro limits on every site tend to take the highest percentage in relation to the pot thus making it virtually impossible to ever make a profit. Keep in mind the micro limits are only for recreational players, not for anyone interested in making money on these sites.

2. Manage your bankroll. This is of critical importance for anyone playing online. Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the virtual world and forget you are playing with real money. It may feel like a video game but it isn't. Treat you money the same as if you were walking into a casino with it. Try to avoid ever having more than 5% of your bankroll in play at any time. This type of money management will never leave you in jeopardy in the event of taking a bad beat or hitting a series of cold cards. Remember you want to be able to play your best game without ever worrying about the money. Bankroll management is the key.

3. Set limits. The online experience is considerably different from sitting in a casino game. You are going to play way more hands than you would in a casino, therefore your fatigue factor will not come into play until you have seen considerably more hands than you would in casino. Therefore, online you may play as many hands in an hour that would otherwise take you three hours in a casino. As such, you should set limits accordingly on your play. I tended to do it by wins or losses. Once I hit a certain amount either way I quit the session. I also never sat for more than an hour. You will find that online play can become tremendously addictive and setting limits will keep you fresh and able to make good decisions.

4. Consider specialization in the unpopular. In business as in many other things, those who specialize in high demand skill sets do well as a result of their experience and lack of competition. Poker can be the same way. If you chose to get good at games that aren't quite as popular as others, you will see a steady stream of profit from those trying those games without the proper skill and you will not have as much competition. So for example you may find it easier in the long run to earn a profit at Razz games than you will at Hold em games.

5. Stay focused. It is easy while playing online to get distracted. If you are playing at home, turn off the TV or radio while you are playing and definitely don't surf the web. Just pay attention to your game. A lapse in focus can easily cost you at a poker table and it should never be due to a distraction that could have been easily avoided. Instead, tune in to your game and maintain a peaceful environment for optimum results.

Poker Players Different Poker Personalities Mean Profits For You

2008-10-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous article, poker players have a variety of different personalities. With each kind of player, there are different things to watch for which means that your play will be constantly evolving. With every player comes a different personality which means you will also have to pay very close attention to how the game that you are in is changing from hand to hand. Depending on what kind of player you are, this continuous change in the game will determine whether you change your game, stay the same or change tables all together.

There are for the most part three categories of players that I have discovered. There are the recreational players who come to a casino to have fun. They don't really care if they are going to win or lose. Of course, they would always rather win. For the most part they could be playing any game in the casino but they might decide to try poker on any given day for any variety of reasons. They will tend to play poker much like they would any other game in the casino. They make their bet and wait to see what happens, leaving most of the outcome to chance.

The next group of player is the poker student in development. This could be any person. They tend to have participated in home games for quite a while. They enjoy the game and are looking to develop to another level of play. They have read a few books on the subject of poker strategy and poker etiquette and will do their best to implement what they have read. They have also watched a lot of poker on television and have probably chosen a professional player that they emulate. They will also tend to claim to know more about the game than they really do but they are not too terrible as players.

The final group are the pros. These are people who play poker for a living. They generally know what they are doing. They don't have a day job because they rely on poker as their primary source of income. Depending upon what level of play you venture out to, you may or may not encounter a real pro at your game in a casino. They tend to gravitate to games where the income potential is substantial enough to make it worth their time. You will generally not have a hard time spotting them at a game.

I mention these three primary categories of players but there are subcategories within each that I will discuss at another time. For now, just try to focus on recognizing each of these types of players for the following reasons.

If your game is made up of predominantly recreational players, it will be a loose game. That means there will be lots of action with far more players seeing each hand and generally the pots will be somewhat larger. This is not to say that if the other category players are at your game it couldn't be loose, it still could be, but with a preponderance of recreational players, many more of them will play a larger percentage of low probability hands on a much more frequent basis. The other categories of players generally will not do this. With a large percentage of recreational players in your game there will be more of an element of chance involved and it will be more of a challenge for you to protect your hand. You will have to adjust accordingly. Once you have adjusted, the pay off for smart play against a group of recreational players can be great. Just don't get frustrated when they hit those miracle cards against you. That's the chance you take with these opponents.

With developing players at your table, you will want to keep your eyes and ears open constantly. They tend to "think out loud" in that they share a lot of their strategy at the table. This will help you in developing your play against them. They are also a little easier to read in that they have developed a style of play at the moment that they are sticking to while they are working on their game. They generally will not stray from their game plan. These players are very aware of things like position and hand strength, which they should be, but their actions in conjunction with these things are always the same. They don't change gears very often. Paying attention to these kinds of patterns of play will earn you large profits in the long run.

Finally, the pros will be your greatest challenge. The reason is because they can change their games up on the fly and even alter playing during the course of a single hand. If they think you are looking for a piece of information, they will mislead you if it means they think they can take down the pot with the play. They are constantly implementing strategy. Another thing to keep in mind is that the chips are generally just a part of the game to pros. This means that the money is not really a concern to them. They are just trying to play the best game possible in order to reap the greatest rewards in the long run. As such, they will also have aspects of their game that you can take advantage of, so pay attention.

I prefer a game that has a mix of all these types of players. Too many recreational players means too much luck will be involved. I don't like to have to rely on luck to win every time. Too many pros generally means the pots will be a lot smaller because there will not be as many mistakes made or crazy hands pursued. The developing players won't make too much of a difference because they tend to be a balance of both of the other groups so they are kind of a mixed table in and of themeselves.

Generally, I like a poker game with just two or three recreational players, a couple pros and a mix of the rest. This will generally make for decent pots and a good game that I can follow and play appropriately. Remember, keep an eye on the personalities playing in your poker game and you stand to make some pretty good profit.

Poker Secret: What the Poker Pros Don't Share In Their Books

2008-10-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

If you are just getting into poker I am sorry to say that you just missed a wave. The game became hugely popular a few years ago with the internet poker boom and huge television coverage. The game is still very popular but it has kind of cooled down a little bit. If you have been playing in your home games and doing well, that's great. If you are thinking of venturing out to the casinos and trying your luck, there is something that you should know.

Most people when they start to get excited about playing poker in the casinos are doing it for fun. That means, a lot of the players you will encounter are recreational players. They are not much different than people in the casino who are playing slot machines and roulette. They have played poker before, they have a general understanding of the game and they want to throw their cards into the mix and see how things go.

Some of the people you will encounter at a poker game in casinos will be more like you. They have researched the game, they have played for a little while and they are looking to broaden their gaming experience. They will not necessarily be as free wheeling as the first group but they will still be willing to get in there and gamble from time to time but they will also be implementing some strategy.

The final group you will encounter are the pros. These people are in there playing all the time. They have a pretty good understanding of what they are doing and they rely on their winnings from the game as their primary source of income. These groups make up varying combinations of people that you will encounter at any given table on any given day. The more you play, the better you will get at spotting them.

The main thing I wanted to mention in this article was in regards to reading books about poker written by the "pros". There are a ton of books out there claiming to help you out with your poker game. For the most part, what they are good at is giving you a basic understanding of strategy in conjunction to the basic principles of the game. What the books don't really discuss are the dynamics of opponents and how they relate to the information in the books.

Here it is. The pros give you all kinds of pointers in these books. Then you watch them on television. You see them at the final tables in tournaments. You might even get to see a brief biography about one player that you admire and you see that they have a big house a nice car and a huge bankroll. You start to figure that if you follow the information they shared in their books, you too have a chance to follow in those footsteps. There are several more things you need to know.

A lot of these pros, while they were developing their bankrolls, did so when poker was more a "back room" game. This is to say that gambling was illegal and you had to go hunting to find a decent game. As a result of this, many of these players tended to play with the same small group of opponents over an extended period of time. This is very important to keep in mind. Since they played with the same group most of the time, they really got to know each other and their games very well. This is extremely important in poker strategy. They also were not sitting in cash games with nine or ten people. Their games were made up of five or six people. This of course is also very important to keep in mind because it would make it easier for you to protect your hand with less opponents to worry about.

Remember at the beginning of this article when I mentioned all the different types of players you will encounter? The pros didn't have to worry about this when they were starting out because they had a much smaller community to focus on. Regardless, of what they say, that smaller community made it easier for them to implement strategy and luck became less of an element. What is interesting is that the big pros still today play in games with a concentrated circle of opponents because most people can't afford to play at their level.

Essentially, the message of this article is that while you are developing your game, don't get frustrated. It takes time and you have a much bigger challenge in front of you than most pros did when they started simply due to the fact that you have larger games that you have to sit in on with so many different types of opponents. Keep your eyes open and play smart.