texas-holdem-poker

An experienced Texas Holdem Poker player will know all there is to know about how and when to make a probe bet, and what they are good for. These are the players who will use a probe bet to test the seriousness of their opponents, and usually at the latter stages of a hand; possibly after their opponents have checked to them on more than one occasion.

Probe bets made in Texas Holdem games should rarely be aggressive. Thinking players will usually refrain from using the probe bet option until at least after the flop and sometimes even on fourth street or at the river. Probe bets come after players have checked into the flop and sometimes even after.

Players will use the probes bet option to find out if an opponent is either holding a strong hand and wants to trap or if they are holding a weak hand that they are hoping to improve at minimum cost.

That’s why the player making a probe bet at Texas HoldEM poker needs to be conservative about the size of their bet which should never be any larger than half of the pot.

The value of probe bets very much depends on the situation. They should be gauged on how a player feels about the strength of their hand and those of the other players still left in the hand. Constantly making probe bets can turn out is an expensive tactic as they will either scare a weaker opponent off or cause them to re- raise to protect their hand.

On the other hand there a large number of Texas Holdem Players who don’t like to check and will try and stay in a hand as long as they can even though their hand is not as strong as they would like. With these types of players making probe bets can be the most effective as they will either call on a weak hand as they can’t resist staying in the hand, or develop some sense and fold.

However in the long term probe bets costs player money while not necessarily improving their position in the hand.

That’s why the option to make a probe bet can be an expensive luxury and Texas Holdem players who fail to understand that principal will eventually come to the realisation that this form of information gathering can be an expensive one if used too often.

To understand more about how probe betting can work for a Texas Holdem Player click on www.pokerstars.co.uk

The PokerNetwork Aussie Millions Online Poker League may be quite a mouthful of words, but the organizers of this brand new online poker league are hoping that they will be received with the same enthusiasm that the poker world has shown other organizations of its same kind, and to show that they can be just like the big names, they will kick it off by hosting a series of poker tourneys, and up for grabs are fabulous cash prizes.

The People Behind PokerNetwork Aussie Millions Online Poker League

The PokerNetwork Aussie Millions Online Poker League is a partnership between PokerNetwork and Party Poker, one of the famous online poker rooms in the internet right now.  They are hoping to see a huge number of their players in the Aussie Millions this coming 2010, hence, they will launch the online poker league.  And they will kick it off with their very own poker tournament.

The Tournament

The launch of this online poker league will be on November 2, 2009 at exactly 8 p.m. AEDST, and as stated above, it will be kicked off by a freeroll tournament that will award huge prizes.  The first prize is a ticket worth $70 to the Aussie Millions, while the second prize is an Ultimate Dealer Button.  The third placer gets a deck of playing cards, which is a KEM Narrow Jumbo deck, and the fourth placer gets a free one-year subscription of PokerNews Magazine.  The fifth placer also gets to take home a deck of playing cards from the PokerNetwork.

This poker tourney will consist of ten events in a time period of five weeks, and they will be open to participants every Monday and Thursday nights where they compete in No Limit Hold'Em events.  The winners of each event get to take home the prizes mentioned above.

The Added Bonus

Aside from this, players can use the free cash they received from availing of the Party Poker $50 Free Promotion, which is still being offered right now.  You can use the free cash worth $50 to purchase a seat into the league.  And what is more is that you do not even have to make any deposit to avail of this promotion.

For more details regarding the league and to know more about its schedules, you can visit the website of PokerNetwork Aussie Millions Online Poker League.

So, grab this wonderful opportunity now and get into the 2010 Aussie Millions.

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• When to make a large bet in No Limit
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Gambling problems are now becoming a major concern in Australia, especially since the country acknowledges that they seem to have the most number of gamblers in the world.  With this, it also goes to show that they have the highest number of gamblers with gambling problems.  For this reason, steps are now being made to rectify this problem or at least to reduce the increasing numbers.

The New Laws

Tasmania's Bartlett Government is now going to enforce new laws when it comes to casino games.

One, come 9 pm, patrons of public gaming areas will no longer be served any food and alcoholic beverages.  Two, public gaming areas are ordered to brighten up their rooms by improving their light conditions. Three, the gaming industry is ordered to reduce the cash denomination that their machines can take from $10 down to $5.  Four, pubs and casinos as well as clubs will be prohibited to pay out any amount that is higher than $1,000 to gamblers who have won in pokies and keno.  Likewise, gamblers will also be prohibited to cash in cheques from their gambling winnings on the same day that they have received it from any gambling establishment.

The Problems Encountered

Although this new law will surely decrease the dangers posed by gambling, it cannot be denied that it will meet a lot of problems along the way.

There are a lot of poker machines scattered all over Tasmania, and this industry is being monopolized by the Federal Group, a casino and gaming machine operator.  About 30% of these machines are situated in working class areas as well as in communities that are economically challenged, although the Federal Group refuses to share the exact locations of their poker machines.  However, nothing could be done when it comes to reducing the number of these machines because it will go against the contentious deed of agreement made by both the State Government and the Federal Group, despite some very valid arguments that the numbers of poker machines on financially-challenged areas be reduced.

The government might be concerned about the increasing numbers of its citizens suffering from gambling problem and addiction, but when it comes down to addressing the root of the issue, especially reducing the number of poker machines in Tasmania, the government then hides behind the deal it made with the Federal Group.

Although the new laws might reduce the number, it can be said that as long as there are poker machines, there will always be gamblers who will gamble their money away, and as long as the government does not address this issue, their citizens will always be at risk.

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• US Lawmakers Ask to Postpone the UIGEA
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One of the poker pros who have created big waves in the poker world is Michael Tureneic.  He was born in Sweden where he also grew up, and over the course of his poker career, he has accumulated more than $1.2 million in poker winnings alone.

Recent Tournaments

In August 2009, Tureniec participated at the Partouche Poker Tour, which was held in Cannes.  He got into the final table where he is also the leading player with the highest stack of chips.  The final table for the main event of this poker tournament will be on November 21, the first prize of which amounts to €1 million.

After his stint in Cannes, he then went on to play at the three-day event of the English Poker Open, which was held in Nottingham.  In this tournament, he landed the second place and took home a cash prize of £120,000.

About a week or so after the English Poker Open, Tureniec went on to participate at the WSOPE Main Event, but he was out of the game by the second day of the main event.

He might have busted at Day 2 of the WSOPE, but this certainly did not stop him because he later on played at the EPT London where he landed the runner-up place.  He admitted though that the field as a bit tough, and at the end of Day 1, his chip stack was a bit low, so he knew he was coming in on Day 2 short-stacked.  He opted to go all-in during the early part of Day 2 and was out of the game.

In the same tournament, Tureniec also participated in the High Roller's Event but landed only the 17th place out of the 75 players that have participated in this event.

Michael Tureniec on Poker Tips and Strategies

Tureniec also plays online poker, but he prefers participating at live tournaments more than he likes playing online poker.  However, he shares one basic strategy that can be utilized in both, and that is to adjust your game depending upon the players on the table.

He states that players are far more cautious when they are playing at live tournaments because more cash is on the line, and by knowing this, you can take advantage of the situation and adjust your game strategy to your advantage.

For now, Tureniec is waiting for the Partouche Poker Tour Final this coming November.

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• Mish Mash of current poker news bits
  William Hill Poker has joined in the pushing of the London Pub Poker Tourneys.  This big name online casino and poker name will help to make this London group of Tournaments a bigger event, as it will catch more news cycles.  The fact that William Hill lends its prestige to this local tournament is good [...]
• Barry Shulman on Winning the 2009 WSOPE Championship
  Barry Shulman, CEO of CardPlayer, won the 2009 WSOPE Championship after a heads-up play with Daniel Negreanu. These two big names in the poker world each took their turn getting rid of one opponent after another until they were left as the last two players competing for the major prize.  The game lasted about five hours, [...]

A few more weeks to go and it is the start of the World Series of Poker Main Event.  This is the highlight of this major poker tournament, and many poker players and fans of the game are getting excited as November fast approaches.  The November Nine are going to take their seats and battle it out on the felt table, and this will surely be a sight to see as the world's top poker players are going to compete for the title of champion and all that it entails, including one of the biggest prizes in the poker world, the most coveted WSOP bracelet, and fame, of course.

What the Year 2009 Saw

It was, indeed, a very exciting year for the World Series of Poker as it saw a huge number of participants and attracted some of the world's top poker players.  In fact, it can be said that this year was far more exciting than last year's, and it cannot be denied, too, that there were a lot of newbies to the WSOP who have shown tremendous poker skills, making waves in the poker world and creating names for themselves in the process.  But, of course, the players who grabbed the attention of many were still the poker pros, especially those that have gotten into the November Nine.

A Look at Phil Ivey of the WSOP November Nine

One of the lucky November Nines is Phil Ivey.  He is considered as one of the greatest poker players the poker world has ever known.  In fact, this 2009 WSOP alone, he has once again shown how fearsome and formidable he could be as an opponent on the poker table by not only making his presence known but also by adding two more WSOP bracelets under his belt.  Truth be told, Ivey has managed to break a number of world records all throughout his poker career.

This poker player surely is somebody to watch out for during the Main Event, and his fans are sure to expect something exciting from the best all-around poker player.

The WSOP tournaments have brought out the best skills in some average players, pushing them into the limelight.  This is perhaps just one of the many reasons why many poker players are participating in this world-famous poker series, and this is also why the WSOP is going to be here for many more years to come.

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• The Durrrr Challenge
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PokerStars is going to bring its name out of the poker world as it becomes one of the sponsors of the English National Rugby Football Union.

Although this very popular poker site has been the sponsor of many sporting events like football teams and racing teams, it seems that there really is no stopping PokerStars as it offers sponsorship to the Rugby Union, which is bound to be a good step for both industries.

The Deal

The English Rugby Football Union is the umbrella group of the country's national rugby team, and the deal between them is bound to be a win-win deal.

For two years, PokerStars will serve as the RFU's online gaming partner, and this deal gives them the right to sell tickets as well as receive any merchandising rights.  Another benefit that PokerStars will receive from this partnership is that the site will also increase its popularity in Britain, especially since the site is going to be advertised during matches.  PokerStars wants to become known not only in the Internet gaming world, especially in online poker, but in other sporting circles as well, and this will prove to be a good step for them.  Furthermore, being the sponsor of the RFU, this world-famous poker site gets to become a member of a very prominent sponsoring circle, the likes of which include Nike and O2.

And in return, the RFU is also going to receive major exposure and attract the interest of American players, especially since little is known about the game in the USA.  By making PokerStars their sponsor, the association is hoping to increase its popularity internationally as well as bring their game to other parts of the globe.

Celebrating the Success of the Sponsorship

To celebrate the success of becoming the sponsor of the RFU as well as to start promoting the association, PokerStars celebrated in a big way.

PokerStars is offering a signup bonus that amounts to as much as $600 to new members, which is roughly the equivalent of £400.  This cash bonus can be used by its new members to play poker for free.  PokerStars is also holding tournaments at their online poker rooms, and one of the prizes includes free tickets to upcoming events of the RFU this November in countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.

If all goes well between these two very different industries, then we can expect that this two-year relationship will last for more years to come.

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• UltimateBet Becoming Mac Friendly
  If before computer users opt to use Microsoft Windows, now, more and more users are switching over to Apple Mac.  Not only do they find the Apple Mac more reliable, but it also offers better security than Microsoft Windows.  But there is one drawback to this though in terms of gambling online.  Gamblers using the [...]

We all know what Bodog is also famous for, right?  It is their Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed Tournament, which the online casino always holds every Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.  The buy-in fee for the said tourney is at $162 with a rake of 8%.  The players are given a starting chip stack of 5,000, and the blinds are going to be increased every quarter of an hour.

But this Sunday's most awaited tourney was cancelled, earning the irritation of the players that have signed up for the said tournament.

A Bad Sunday

It was a bad Sunday indeed for the 400 plus registrants who signed up to participate in Bodog's guaranteed $100,000 tournament as the online casino left the players hanging.

It was almost an hour before the flagship tournament starts that Bodog announced via a pop-up message that the tournament was cancelled and that participants will be given their refunds in line with the online casino's policy when it comes to tournament cancellation.  One of the presumed reasons why the online casino's tournament was cancelled was because the tournament received less than the expected numbers of participant to be able to push through with their tournament.  With the fewer number of participants last Sunday, it seems that Bodog was not able to gather the amount it needs for the guaranteed prize pool, despite the fact that they have aggressively promoted their tournaments in the weeks that passed.

More Bad Luck

After canceling their flagship tournament barely an hour before the tourney started, it seemed that fate was not yet finished in giving Bodog more bad luck.

Soon after their announcement, the websites of Bodog as well as their software crashed.  The technical problems that their websites and software were going through might have been a contributing factor to the reason why their tournament was cancelled, and looking back, it will make a better explanation than simply saying that the tournament was cancelled because of lack of participants.  Furthermore, Bodog's reputation will suffer all the more if the online casino does not give refunds to the participants of the said tournament last Sunday, according to their tournament cancellation policy.

Up till now, the online casino has not yet given any comprehensive answer as to what happened last Sunday.  Let us just hope that it was indeed a technical problem that led to the cancellation, not the lack of players last Sunday.

See also

• Titan Poker’s Big September Million-Dollar Poker Tournament
  Do you want to get a chance to bag some money in a tournament?  Then you, as well as other poker enthusiasts in the Internet, will surely be glad of what Titan Poker has in store for you this coming September.  This big poker site has a million-dollar guaranteed prize pool up for grabs to [...]
• The Brand New PokerNetwork Aussie Millions Online Poker League
  The PokerNetwork Aussie Millions Online Poker League may be quite a mouthful of words, but the organizers of this brand new online poker league are hoping that they will be received with the same enthusiasm that the poker world has shown other organizations of its same kind, and to show that they can be [...]

Being a good poker player does not mean that you only need poker skills to make it to the top.  In fact, you will need more than just poker skills to become famous and become just as rich as the popular poker pros.

What you need to have is something very basic, but it will be the foundation of your poker fame and money, and this is bankroll management.

Choosing the Buy-In Fee

If you want to earn money in poker, you have to have discipline.  You should know how to make use of your bankroll successfully, without it disappearing into thin air.

So, if you want to join a tournament, you should choose a buy-in fee that should not exceed 1% of your total bankroll.  This way, you get to protect your bankroll should you lose, and if you do lose, you will not lose all your bankroll as opposed to joining tournaments with a large buy-in fee.

Now, when you feel confident enough in your poker skills as well as in your bankroll management method, then that is the only time that you could try tournaments with larger buy-in fees.

Building Your Bankroll

Let us say that you chose a tournament with a small buy-in fee of $3 and let us say, too, that you have built your meager bankroll from $300 to $3,300, does this mean then that you can jump from an average buy-in fee of $3 to $33 because your bankroll is now $3,300?

No.  In fact, this is where most players go wrong.  Winning big money in one game does not mean that you can jump into the higher limit cash games.  It is advisable that you set aside your winnings and build your bankroll more, so if your starting bankroll was $300, then you need to double it.  Only when you have reached a bankroll worth $1,000 (or more times your starting bankroll) and have gathered a decent score for yourself can you only say that you have gained enough experience to climb up a higher level and participate in larger buy-in fee tournaments.

Remember, if you want to make a living out of playing poker, you should have discipline when it comes to the amounts that you bet and the amounts that you have to set aside to build your bankroll on.  With good bankroll management, in time, you will notice that you are earning money more than you are losing it.

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• Weeks to Go before the World Series of Poker Main Event
  A few more weeks to go and it is the start of the World Series of Poker Main Event.  This is the highlight of this major poker tournament, and many poker players and fans of the game are getting excited as November fast approaches.  The November Nine are going to take their seats and battle [...]

UltimateBet has captured the attention of many online players from all over the world, but not the way that they want to get noticed.  In fact, it can be said that any news that comes out of UltimateBet is not a very good news for them at all.  And with the bad image that they seem to have earned for themselves, they are now scrambling to re-establish its name, which was once a good name.

The New Project

It cannot be denied that UltimateBet's reputation has suffered from subsequent negative publicities, earning hurtful criticisms from their players as well as business partners.  Although it might be true that any publicity, be it good or bad, is still exposure and will surely bring business, this is not so in the case of UltimateBet as they experienced a decline in their revenues.  Hoping to earn the trust of its players once more as well as the attention of other interested parties of their industry, UltimateBet has decided to launch a new site that caters to the German.

Just last week, UltimateBet has released to the public its intention of launching a site, which they will call UltimateBet.de.  In general, this is mostly like their main site, but this time, their target market is the Germans, and their new site will be developed completely in German.

The Offers

Of course, their new site will also be offering poker tournaments, but aside from this, they will also be providing up to date news about their poker tournaments, which will be held in Germany as well as the Czech Republic.

The very first event of their newly-created series of live poker tourneys will be held on October 24, 2009, Saturday, and this will take place in Cologne, Germany.  The buy-in fee for the said tournament is relatively small at only €25, but the first prize is huge.  Whoever wins the tournament will get to take home the first prize of a brand new Mercedes Smart Car, which can be considered as one of the world's most fuel-efficient cars.  This car also belongs to one of the most eco-friendly cars in the world.

The second tournament of the series will be held on November 11, but this time, it will take place in Aulendorf, Germany.  Although they have not yet disclosed any information about the prizes, it is a known fact that UltimateBet will give away at least two free seats in its S100,000 tournament, which is being held weekly.

See also

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• Winter Weather and Live Poker
  With spring just around the corner, live poker rooms and casinos are waiting for the players that have been holed up at home to come out and play.  The players have had a belly full of the bad weather and being stuck playing in front of a computer are getting restless and ready to play [...]

It is another sad event for the poker game as it meets resistance in the form of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.

Poker, being a favorite card game as well as a game that has proven to be very lucrative, is being offered in bars across the Prince Edward Island, but the new policy provided by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation bans poker and its tournaments, particularly Texas Hold'Em, from being played in the bars.  The bars could either keep hosting poker tournaments and risk losing their VLT machines or ditch poker and keep their VLTs.  That was the only choice given to them, and it seems like the bars are going to choose the latter.

Not a Good Thing

Banning the bars in Prince Edward Island from hosting poker tournaments is not a good thing, and the owners of these bars express their disgust over the new policy.  But they admit that they really cannot do anything about.

Although these poker nights have been something to look forward to in Prince Edward Island's bars, it seems like the lottery is being threatened by the growing popularity of poker in the island as it competes for revenues.  So they laid down new rules — hold poker tournaments and lose your VLTs.

Of course, the bar owners were enraged over the new policy and did not like it one bit, but it seems like they have no choice on the matter and will probably decide to let go of their poker tournaments, difficult it might be for both the bar owners and the players.

Atlantic Lottery Corporation's Side

Jennifer Dalton, spokeswoman for the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, said that this is only a new set of rules, but that enforcing this new rule will be up to the province's hands.  She admits that it is not within their jurisdiction to enforce their new rule, but that putting the rule into effect is within the power of the province.

Although this still angered the bar owners, Atlantic Lottery Corporation is going to get its demand because, upon interviewing the bar owners, majority of them say that the poker tournaments are not worth the risk of losing their VLT machines.  In fact, some of them have now stopped hosting these poker tournaments to comply with the new rules set forth by Atlantic Lottery Corporation.

With this new policy, it seems like the Red Shores Casinos of Charlottetown and Summerside are going to see an increase in their revenues as they will now be the only areas left were poker and its tournaments can be played.

See also

• Third Way to Poker Tournaments and The Satellite game
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• The Asian Poker Tour Closes
  Many poker fans are now talking about the recent ending of the Asian Poker Tour.  The said tournament was a 12-day event held at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel and Casino in Macau, and it has seen many poker pros who have signed up for the APT.  The number of registrants was up from last year's [...]