Vladimir Beyne Geshkenbein Talks about the London PKR Heads-Up Grand Slam

Among the many poker pros that participated in London's PKR Heads-Up Grand Slam, it was Vladimir «Beyne» Geshkenbein who walked away with the grand prize that amounted to $120,000.  But before he bagged the title and the grand prize of the said event, he also won the APPT Macau High Roller Event, which took place last September.

In an interview, Geshkenbein talks about the tournament as well as some tips on how to play poker and win the game. [Read][more...]

Keeping Your Mouth Shut Can Help Your Poker Strategy

It cannot be helped that there will always be a loud poker player at a table who will try the patience of his opponents.  Sometimes, this is a part of their strategy to confuse his opponents, and oftentimes, it is their way of hiding their poker tells.

Now, if you are thinking that being the loud player at your table is a good enough strategy, then here are some valid reasons why keeping your mouth shut is a better one.

Less Talk, Less Mistake

Yes, you are confusing them with all your loud talks, but what if you inadvertently said something that others can use against you?  What if you accidentally gave away some relevant information about the hand that you are holding or about the move that you are going to make? [Read][more...]

Chris Ferguson on His Poker Strategies

Chris Ferguson, a professional poker player known in the poker world, divulges his poker strategies.  Although he does not claim that his strategies always work, it has been proven to work for him, and look where his poker strategies took him.

A Background on Chris Ferguson

He tells his story of how he started from scratch and how, from zero bankroll to millions of dollars, he turned his fate around.  Ferguson started taking advantage of freerolls to start his poker bankroll, and although he would win a dollar or two from his poker games, it would always send him back to zero.  With patience though, he was able to put up a reasonable bankroll to actually play in games that call for paying a buy-in fee.

With this method, you can now see the first poker strategy that he employed — bankroll management.

Poker Strategies to Learn from Chris Ferguson

His first poker strategy was to learn how to properly manage his bankroll.  [Read][more...]

Strategize and Learn How to Adapt to the Different Poker Games

In these hard times, you need to learn how to adapt and formulate strategies in order to recoup some of your losses.  The same can be true in your poker game.  Nowadays, you no longer need to depend on what you know and what works for you, but you have to really get in there and learn more strategies.

Since there is a big difference, too, when you play online poker from live poker, it will do you very well to learn strategies from both.  This way, you get to make the right decisions when you play, be it online or live.

Understand the Flops

While it will do your online poker game good if you habitually build big pots when you play against multiple players, this is actually a big mistake if you play in live poker.  By this strategy, you allow yourself to miss the flop and open the game for other players to hit.  What you should do then in live poker is to increase your raise, especially if you have a good hand, and increase your calls if you have a tentative hand.  [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...]

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...]

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...]

Poker and Books

Pokers has arrived as a study from books and not just from the play in dark smoke filled rooms in the back of a Honky Tonk.  Many of the old time players that learned that way have now written great books on how to play better poker.  The great Doyle Brunson comes to mind immediately as his books have been the bible for many of the newer poker pros that are seen on TV.  Since then, many of the big stars of today have taken the time to put into words their opinion on what works to make a player a winner.  The Internet has given many young players the needed number of real hands in real time to give them actual playing experience.  In the old days of only playing in live games, this hand and playing time experience only came from hours of real time play.

Learning the math and the way to play hands is well worth the time-spent reading.   Now, any player can find many solid books on the various poker games including both cash games and tournaments.  This time spent is cheaper than learning by losing in situations you may have avoided if you had done the reading.  This will still happen, but cutting these expensive lessons to a minimum by reading is a far cheaper way to learn. [Read][more...]

When to move up in the table limits in Holdem

New players to Holdem should start at a limit that is well within their stake money and only move up in limits when they are consistently winning at the starting level.  As a player moves up in the table limits the opponents will become tougher to beat.  The higher the limit of play usually means more playing experience.  New players should take this into consideration when deciding to play at a higher limit.  The one valid reason that a player should make the move is they have been winning at the lower limit.  Another factor is the fact that the player may have the resources to play at just about any limit.  But make no mistake about it; each limit will raise the playing skill of the players that a player has to play against.

In tournaments it does not matter, as the only consideration is the entry stake and tournament fee.   In a cash game the higher limits can be somewhat intimidating to a new player if they start out on a losing streak.   This may well happen as the skill level will be better and this could make a big difference to an inexperienced player. [Read][more...]

Why Omaha HiLo is a good players game

Experienced players in Omaha HiLo have a big edge against new players to the game.  Winning hands are far different than what you see in Holdem for example.

A pair of Aces can easily win a Holdem pot.  In Omaha this hand has a far lower chance of winning the pot.  There is a very simple reason for this in Omaha.  Each player starts the hand holding four cards instead of the two you see in Holdem.  Three of a kind is a decent hand unless there are three suited cards in the Flop or one pair.  If this is the case, then it is likely that another player may have a flush or a full house.

Every winning hand in Holdem needs to be better as a rule in Omaha as each player has nine cards to make a hand.  In Holdem there are only seven cards for each player.  If the game is no-limit, you can protect your hand by a large bet, but many players that play Omaha are very willing to gamble on a draw.  Good Holdem players have to reset their way of playing when they are playing Omaha HiLo.  [Read][more...]

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