Legalizing Online Poker in California — A Bad Bet or Not?

California, as we all know, is one of the states hit hardest by the recession, that the state is now having problems looking for a new source of income to augment its loss.  One potential source of new revenue can come in the form of online poker, but the question is, is it going to be a good bet?  Or a bad bet?

Lobbying for and Supporting the Legalization of Online Poker

The State of California has made changes in its gambling plans and is now really promoting its state lottery as well as the growing Indian casinos that proliferate in the area, but it seems that its efforts are not enough to give the state its fiscal fix.  Furthermore, both the state lottery and the casinos have failed to deliver their promise.

Right now, a partnership is being created between one of the State's wealthiest gambling tribes and one of the State's largest card room owners to lobby for the legalization of online poker in California.  [Read][more...]

Managing Your Bankroll — The First Strategy in Poker

Many poker pros could have had bigger bankroll and bigger earnings if they only understand proper bankroll management, but because they do not understand the concept of bankroll management, they lose huge amounts of money.  Money that should have been theirs now goes into the pockets of their backers, the people who manage their bankroll for them because they simply cannot.

Compiled here are some guidelines on understanding and managing bankroll. [Read][more...]

Prevalence of Energy Drinks and the World Series of Poker

With a major poker tournament like the World Series of Poker, competitors in the said tournament must have endurance and the power to stay alert and focused to get to the final table.  They would also need all their concentration to not only focus on the hands they hold but to also study their opponents to get a good read on them.  Due to stress, players sometimes lose their concentration and not play their optimum best.

There was a noticeable trend among poker players at the WSOP tournament to beat this, and that was to guzzle down lots of energy drinks at the table.  The question now is, is the energy drink doing more harm than good?

Advantages of Energy Drinks at the World Series of Poker

WSOP asks a lot from poker players.  Those who are aiming for the final table have to sit at their tables for almost 12 hours, and this routine gets repeated every day for five to six days.  [Read][more...]

Are Poker Books Worth The Read

Poker players learn how to play through different ways.  Some learn early in life by watching the friendly Saturday night game at their home.   Some play a number of hours and days on free Internet sites for play money.  Players that are use to learning a subject by reading about it are likely to buy books on poker.

The quantity of books on poker has grown like mushrooms after a warm night of rain.  Doyle Brunson's book started the fad of big time players writing books on the subject.  Brunson's book was a bible of how to play and made many bad players better than average.  Barry Greenstein's book has thoughtful ideas on how to play in a logical manner that many would consider tight play of a hand.

Many players could not write a book about playing as they are a little crazy in their play and that would be hard to emulate.

A relatively new and inexperienced player would be wise to read any book on starting hand values with their ranking among hands.  [Read][more...]

The final stage of any Holdem Tournament

Almost without exception the final stage of a Holdem tournament comes down to two players with a ton of chips playing Heads Up.  This is far different than at the beginning of the tournament when each player had the starting stake.  Heads up is different in play and starting hand value.  Players try to take away the power of the other player's hand by betting aggressively.  The starting hands are not even noted in poker books in many hands, as they are so low in quality.  The play at times seems to be a card version of the game of chicken and who is the best bluffer.

If a player gets a quality stating hand, they can only hope that their opponent has one too, only of lower value.  At this stage of the game, the players are ready to end it as quickly as is possible.  A lowly pair may generate a rather large bet after the flop and the other player never knows for sure whether the better is bluffing or they have a hand.  To make it worse, give the caller a small pair that is just a bit higher than the better.  This is the way the final part of tournaments usually goes. [Read][more...]

Huck Seed the new Half Millionaire

Huck Seed was the victor in the 64 player National Heads Up Championship by beating a pair of Tens with a pair Kings.  Vanessa Rousso, the latest female poker all-star, held the Tens.  Her score was only a cool quarter of a million for finishing in second place.  Huck Seed has been a familiar face in many big tournaments in recent years.  His WSOP main event win and three other bracelets are testimony to his playing skills   A Montana native who gave up being an Electrical Engineer, an a Graduate of Cal Tech, is one large gambler both in bets and his 6 foot 7 inch frame.  Next time you see him in a TV tournament, watch for the laid back, few words, fellow at the table.  That is his natural style of play and is in sharp contrast to a player like Hellmuth.

Math and poker go together and Huck Seed is another example of the natural combination of the two skills.

Mean while Vanessa is having some kind a run playing poker these days.  She is Gods most dangerous creation, a good-looking woman with brains.  She also is a college player and a Law School student. [Read][more...]

Heads Up Update and a Mish Mash

The NBC Heads Up Championship has eliminated more than half the field.  Some of the big name players have been turned out and some are still alive and playing.  The Miracle player Blandino Gines was eliminated the first day by Barry Greenstein and now Barry has joined him on the sidelines.  Others are still in the fight like the well-known Daniel Negreanu.  Skill is at a premium, but getting some good cards at the right time will go a long way.  The interesting story about this tournament is it will not be aired on TV until April of 2009.  By then it will be over and the new champion will be known for over a month.

Another news bit is the coverage of the latest lady poker player in the pro ranks doing so well playing in the tournaments and getting an offer to be in the Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated.  Vanessa Rousso is hot in more ways than one as a poker player, still alive in the Heads Up Championship, as a very nice looking woman and as a Law Student at the University of Miami.  This lady has it all going in the right direction.  That is a lot of activity going on in one person's life male or female. [Read][more...]

Connectors Suited or Otherwise

Talk about a starting hand that has believers and non-believers.  Watch any tournament and you will soon see who is willing to play this hand and who folds it immediately.  The point is this: some very good players are willing to play this hand all the time out of the gate.  Others would never do it at any time.  Being of the playing school, these are the reasons for it not being that bad of a starting hand.

It can be discarded after the flop if it is totally missed and it can be a great trapping hand if the flop falls friendly toward the two cards.  An opponent with a big pair will think they have a lock on the hand.  Slow play a set or two pair and this hand can score big time.  A straight or a flush is even better although not as well hidden.  Some very big name players play this hand all the time from the start.  Farha and Negreanu do it all the time in tournaments and cash games.

Big pairs and Ace King get beat all the time in poker games.  As often as not it is a small set or two pairs that cuts the head off.  The very best players use this starting hand a great deal early in tournaments when the anties are small and less painful when lost.  [Read][more...]

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 in a live game.  The difference in a live game and one on a poker screen are like honey is to vinegar.  There is no comparison for players that like the feel of a real table and reading players that is part of poker in a live game.  The winter months have kept them stuck playing in the virtual world where there is no sound or smell or anything remotely like the game over a felt table.

Each year as the snow melts these computer poker players come out to see if the real game of poker still exists in a real poker room or a real casino.  As they soon learn, the real game is alive and well.  The poker room managers have been waiting for winter to unleash their missing players that were captives of the computer world.  [Read][more...]

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...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »