Small Pairs Win Too

Many poker tournament winners got there playing small pairs and betting then right.  Pairs of threes, fives and sixes are seen winning many pots in TV tournaments.  Early in the tournament when the blinds are small, this type hand can win some big pots.  This can happen when the flop is set and the pair turns into three of a kind.  This hand if that happens can set up an expensive pot for a big pair or two pair.  If the player holding the small pair slow plays the hand hoping the opponents make a big pair or two pair and he catches the third card for the set this sets the trap.  This can make a lot of money early in the tournament and allow the player to be more aggressive due to the larger chip stack

Negreanu and Hansen play these kinds of hands all the time.   If you see them playing a hand like this, watch how they manage their bets.  This can be a lesson in real time on how to bet the hand for maximum profit.

If the flop does not help the player, they should bail out if the betting gets too stiff. [Read][more][...]

A Genuine Story Inside of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship

NBC National Heads-Up Championship starts this weekend (5th thru 8th) and places some of Professional Pokers top players in a Heads-Up elimination situation.  The 64 players can be broken down into Pro Players, Celebrities and winners of Satellite tournaments.   The Poker Pros is a list of well known players who have won many of the most prestigious poker tournaments between them.   There are three online satellite winners with one of them being a great story that proves the idea of «Only in America»

Blandino Gines, a 52 year old out of work handy man, won entry by playing in a free satellite tournament at Poker Stars.  He outlasted a huge field, by moving up over again in elimination tournaments, until he finally beat the last other survivor in the tournament.  This win was worth $1000, a flight to Las Vegas and four nights at Caesars for a party of two.  The best part of the win was the entry into the tournament, which amounted to $20,000. [Read][more][...]

Poker Stories Bad Beats Calls of Courage

Poker playing and the history of poker go hand-in-hand.  Poker stories are generated every day somewhere in the world.  The story could come from a major tournament or from a weekly home game.  Many stories are about a bad beat or a miracle draw that a player pulled off or was the hapless victim of the luck of the deal. Poker stories are part and parcel of playing the game. The variables that can happen in any given hand can give such unlikely results that players can have the toes curled with the deal of a card.  Later when discussing the events of the game the players involved, in such a hand, will tell stories that are amazing in their dissimilarity.  Unless you were a witness to the hand in question you would not realize that they were discussing the same hand.  It comes down to a mater of perspective from the winner or the loser of the hand.

Bad Beats are constant grist for the mill as they are a remembered hurt.  The winner may well forget the incident.  The loser may remember the hand the rest of their life. [Read][more][...]

Is Poker Addictive Like Other Forms of Gambling

The answer is it can be for some people who are compulsive and have little will power or just crave the action.  Gamblers Anonymous has a twenty-question form that will help a person realize that they are addicted or becoming addicted.  Some of the key questions are items like have you missed work or school due to gambling?  Have you borrowed money to play? The second part of this question is and the only way you could pay it back was by winning.  Has your gambling or playing caused family problems or caused you to lie?  Many of the questions are so general that many people will answer yes to some of them, but they are not really addicted.  Gambling and drinking have one thing in common to the non-addicted person.  They can really take it or leave it alone at their will and do not have or feel the need to gamble.

One of the addictive traits of a person with this compulsion is that they do not feel alive unless they are in action.  If this becomes an overpowering feeling then the person needs help from people who understand the problem and have found ways to beat the desire to play. [Read][more][...]

Distinctive Names for Poker Hands

Poker is a game of many variables and climatic situations.  Players have developed a group of distinctive names for many starting hands in Holdem that are obvious or in some cases need a certain explanation.

A pair of Aces has for a long time been known as Pocket Rockets or Bullets.  But the hand 10-2 is not as well known unless you are a follower of the great poker player, Doyle Brunson.  Doyle won two WSOP tournaments in a row holding the same starting hand.  His two hands are now known as a Brunson, the 10-2.

Some starting hands have taken a name from the movies, TV shows or real people.  A pair of Kings is known as King Kong or Cowboys.  A pair of eights is known as Snowmen.  King Queen is known as a Marriage.  A pair of sixes is known as Route 66 after the TV show.  A pair of sevens is known as Sunset Strip.  A pair of Jacks is known as Fishhooks or Hooks.  Two tens are known as Dimes.  A pair of fives is known as Speed Limit.  A pair of twos is known as Ducks. [Read][more][...]

Better Players can be Bluffed

The one rule of poker that new players have a difficult time learning is that it is not a sin to lay down the winning hand after the river card is dealt.  Players who never do this are not yet as good a player as they can be or should be. Good players can be bluffed out of pots and made to lay down a winning hand.  In fact sometimes it is easier to bluff a very good player than it is to bluff the table calling station that never folds a hand.  Good players will replay the betting in their mind and come to a conclusion of whether they think they have the winning hand or not.  If the bluff was carried out right, the good player may well fold a hand that would win.

No less a player than Daniel Negreanu has stated this fact.  His idea is do not do it too often, but never become a calling station all the time.  If this becomes a tendency it will make it harder to book winning sessions.  Players that compute pot odds all the time are given a slight edge in this situation as the odds enter into their calculations about the hand they hold. [Read][more][...]

How Some Player Get Entry Help to Some Tournaments.

If a player is looking for entry help in a tournament, there are two ways to get this help.  The player can enter a small entry fee satellite and win it, thereby getting the entry in the tournament.  The other way is to pay the full entry fee straight up and guarantee that you will get to play.   This is the problem if the player cannot come up with the full fee.  Many players can go to their friends and sell percentages of themselves for the tournament.  But what if that does not work out.

The answer could be a website called ChipMeUp and offer to sell a percentage to people who want to invest in a good player for a big tournament.   This is an interesting way to get the fee for a big tournament and not bother your friends.

Many name players have used this fee service to get money for a specific tournament.

If the player does well in the tournament, the investors get their money back with a very decent return.  [Read][more][...]

Ace Queen Holdem Mystery

Ace Queen is a mystery starting hand for some players and a starting hand that other player seem to love.  When this author plays this hand the flop seems to come with a king in it and miss both of these cards.  Other players seem to make it work.  The question is why and or how come.  There is no logical reason for this disparity of results that seems to prevail when different players play this hand. Doyle Brunson said this was not one of his favorite starting hands.   Other players on TV like this hand.  They have had very good luck with it in live play or online play.   If you watch enough TV tournaments, you will see players draw to this hand all the time, with some missing it and some making it.  Doyle seems to have had my luck with this starting hand, or he would not nave stated that this hand was not a favorite of his.

From a math standpoint it is a good starting hand, however Ace-King, Kings or Aces is far better. This hand is one of those that a player grits their teeth and plays hoping the Flop will be generous.  Truthfully I would rather draw to a pair of tens than this hand.  However I have seen other players catch both an Ace and a Queen on the flop. [Read][more][...]

Sunday Night is the First High Stakes Poker Game of the 2009 Series

This 2009 season first that will appear on Sunday Night is a long awaited event by many avid poker players who enjoy the skill and daring players exhibit on this show.  Rumors are about that the stakes to sit down are going to be higher and this means that there will be some outrageously major size pots.  With more money in the game the temptation on solid hands will be to wager a good deal more to get as much profit out of the hand as is possible.  Two big hands that come together in the same pot will cause fireworks and the winner will smile and the loser will have to suck it up and play on.  Since this is the players' money the hurt will be real in terms of losing their own money and also doing poorly on the show.  Every player at this game has an ego to prove in real money that they are as good or better than any other player at the table.  The money score will tell the tale that is for sure.  Some of these players can easily afford the loss they may endure, but some are not as well off as the others.  [Read][more][...]

Stay Focused on Poker when Online

When a player is online at a casino that offers both poker and other casino games, the temptation is to try a few slot spins or some Baccarat.  This is okay if the player really only risks a very small percentage of his stake.  The problem is these games can be very easy to lose sight of playing poker and actually can hook some players.  You read about poker pros that win easily at poker and then lose large amounts on table games or sports.  This is the problem with the other forms of gambling on the net.  The player has no edge at all like they do in poker and it catches up quickly when the losing streak sets in.  Do not bet on games with serious money where you have no edge.  This should be all good poker players' commitment to keeping their poker stake together.

A decent poker stake will keep the player in the game and they can weather the bad beats and the run of crappy cards and poor flops.  This is true because a solid poker player should be able to wait until the hands turn around and give them a chance at some larger pots.  If the stake has been decimated by table games, this could endanger the poker playing also. [Read][more][...]

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