February 16th, 2010
There’s a lot of hype and mystique ladled on to the would-be poker genius. Between the enormous popularity of the game thanks to widespread TV coverage along with the easy thrill and compulsion that comes from making money and having fun, it’s hard not to see the poker boom as something that has been waiting to happen. Now all these poker pros who for years just sat around back tables and in small casino rooms trading each other’s money and running the big games, like Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan and the like, have turned from gambling icons, to gaming icons, known by even the most casual poker player. Poker mythologies of this sort are, by and large, good for the poker game. They help to develop a level of renown and celebrity that attaches a new league of hope and aspiration to the common player, especially seeing it attached to new guys like Chris Moneymaker and Jamie Gold. It keeps not only a fast paced action for the players already in the trenches, but a further feed of new money, sometimes known as “dead money,” to help keep the tables alive and feeding. As silly as some of the illustrious ties can seem to these pros, at the end of the day we should be thankful for them, and for what they bring to the game beyond just cash.
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January 25th, 2010
There frequently comes the point in quite a few regular online poker players’ careers where they reach the question, Should I make the jump from my day job into the world of professional poker online? It can be difficult, after spending hours in the evening in your underwear raking up pot after pot for high profits playing a game you love, to get bac up in the morning and go in to face the desk of your regular day job.
Making that leap, though, from the serious hobbyist to the make it or break it poker online player can be a difficult, if downright impossible commitment for a lot of people.
What, then, really defines a professional from an amateur?
Many would say that living off of poker as one’s sole source of income need be the criteria, and that might be true, but then how much does it matter whether you call yourself a pro or not? If you are making good money, and still have the safety of your day job, are you not reaping the benefits excess money in a style you enjoy? Sure, losing that anchor that would allow you to play longer, and presumably, then, make even more from the felt, can be tempting, but all it takes is one bad swing to turn a game you love into a deal breaker.
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January 12th, 2010
The online poker world was abuzz about Phil Ivey’s appearance at this year’s final table of the WSOP Main Event. Most poker online pundits consider Ivey to be the best player in the game today and favored Ivey to win even though he was one of the short stacks going into the Final Table. Ivey played a pretty tight online poker game, but could not seem to get any traction, eventually going out in 7th place. At one point, he held pocket Jacks against Jeff Shulman’s pocket 7s. Shulman, who had been playing a very tight game all through the Main Event, raised with the 7s putting Ivey on a very tough decision. The two are friends and frequently teased each other at the table. Ivey knows that Shulman was playing a very tight game, so that raise made him pause and lay down his Jacks, the better hand. It was a clear illustration on how table image, instead of actual cards, can add leverage to one’s play. During another hand, Ivey held A-8 against Joe Cada’s pocket 4s. Cada was short stacked and went on the attack with an all-in bet. Neither an Ace nor an 8 materialized for Ivey, so Cada doubled up and Ivey’s stack dwindled. The final blow for Ivey came when he went all in with A-K against Darvin Moon’s A-Q. The flop brought 6-6-Q, pairing Moon, and the turn 3 and river 5 missed Ivey completely, ending his run at the 2009 Main Event .
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January 4th, 2010
We all know that we are supposed to keep track of our poker wins and losses for the IRS. In theory, we are supposed to keep incredibly detailed logs that show when and where we played, and what we bet on each hand. I sincerely doubt that any of you out there take a pen and paper to the table to record your wins hand by hand for the tax man. It’s just not a feasible scenario and would ultimately result in far more entries in the losses category than the wins column. As much as we may despise the intrusion, however, we are still required to keep a log. How then do we compromise the IRS’s need for detailed information with proper poker style? The best compromise is t keep a daily log. This should not be a huge problem for most players because you need to know how much you spent anyway for bankroll management. Just list how much you won, where you played, the game you were playing, and the date and you should be fine. No one likes to do paperwork, but doing this properly will keep you out of jail. Staying out of jail means more poker games, so it’s a win-win situation.
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December 15th, 2009
When we first start playing poker online, most of us think that we are the best poker players the world has ever seen. We think that we are so good, we are unstoppable. Even if you are not introspective enough to see the flaws in your own early game, think of the hot shot players that you have seen at the beginners table. These new players think that the world is their oyster just because they have looked over a few poker websites or read a few books. You probably were one of these players at some time.
I am probably not the first person to mention this, but over confidence can hurt your game. It gets in the way of actually learning from your early experiences. If you are not willing to recognize that you make mistakes, how are you supposed to learn from them? The only way that you can grow and develop as a player is to leave the overconfidence at the door. On top of all the detrimental effects to you actual poker skills, no one likes to play with an overconfident player. You will end up fleeced of your bankroll and without friends to play with if you let your confidence overrun the bounds of reason.
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October 5th, 2009
Hotels in Glasgow are near the city’s central shopping zones. If you fancy a to eat you will discover a complete array of Dining houses to suit all preferences and pouches close to them. You can likewise search for Glasgow’s night clubs, pubs and bars without having to think about transport. Choosing from an array of hotels, including budget hotels, business hotels and affluent hotels, you can conveniently record your reservations online.
Famous tourist destinations are even within immediate distances to several of the hotels in Glasgow. One of these hotels is Sandyford Hotel. You can rely that their rates are more cheap than those who claim likewise.
The centrally located Hilton Glasgow Hotel is 8 miles from Glasgow Airport and merely minutes away from Glasgows shopping districts. It is really accessible to Glasgow Science Centre and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Glasgow Airport is a little bit far from the business center of the city and so it is really worthwhile to count on booking with short-term scheme in a hotel in Glasgow unitedly with extended parking. Fixing such an arrangement is very favourable because it renders you time to take a breather before your departure.
Short term packages as well as long-term parking arrangements are available in numerous Glasgow hotels. Booking a extended parking scheme in a hotel in Glasgow will already include an night long check. From there, you’ll get adequate time to take a breather and prepare for the next day.
Take for example Lomond Airport Hotel placed at Paisley. If you require to stop near to the airport, then this hotel would be a good choice. If you are just looking for reasonable lodging, then Dryesdale House or Paisly Guest House would be your best selections.
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June 24th, 2009
Skating on ice is tough. You have to have some strong ankles and legs if you ever want to become a speed skater. Just standing up on ice with skates on is tough for the majority of people, but going very fast on skates is something that only a small amount of people can do. How fast can people go on ice skates? You can get up to 30 mph on the blades of ice skates. In order to go that fast you have to get the blades to be pretty thick so they can hang with the force that they are put under.
Speed skating takes a lot of training and commitment, they have to eat healthy and they can even take a supplement or two to help improve their performance. The core gets a great workout while doing this, but the muscles that get worked the most are the glut muscles. They have to work super hard to get the body moving up to 30 mph. The hand swinging can really help get the momentum going in the right direction and doing this can burn off even more calories then just the ice skating. Most of the speed skaters wear helmets because once you get up to that speed you want to protect your noggin just in case you pay a visit to the hard ice with it.
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April 7th, 2009
A friend of mine played at a poker event in the Foxwoods Poker Classic casino this week. It was a $600 buy-in event. 740 players entered. The starting stack was 6,000 and the blinds were 50 minutes long.
300/600 50 ante - middle stage of the tournament.
My friend, who practiced playing online poker, had about 32,000 chips and limped with J, 10 in middle position - 2 others limped too, and the small blind completed. The big blind checked and they saw a 5-way flop.
It came out : Q 10 9. The blinds checked, my friend checked, the player behind him checked, and the player in last position made a bet of 2500 (slightly less than the size of the pot). My friend was the only player to call.
The turn brought an 8. Now that my friend made his straight, he led for 5,000 and his opponent shoved for 13k.
It was 8k more for my friend to call, and the pot was now 26,000. He was getting 3-1 on a call, but had to decide if he thought he had the best hand, a chopping hand, or the worst hand. If he made the call, he would still have 14,000 chips left over.
His opponent had KJ for the nut straight and the river did not help my friend.
Did he make any mistakes, and if so, where?
My initial reaction was that he should not be limping with J, 10 ever. If his opponents were so weak that he knew they would not raise him and he could get away with a cheap limp, he should have just been raising to begin with. If he raised, he still might have gotten called by the KJ in late position, but we might have some more information to play against. Limping also means that you are building a big, potentially multi-way pot in which a lot of hands could catch a piece of. It will be very hard to bluff at this kind of a pot, so you can only proceed on a flop where you are extremely comfortable. 2nd pair with an open ended straight draw might feel nice heads up, but not so much against 5 players.
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February 6th, 2009
Poker is not just about cards but also involves complex psychology. More experienced poker players know this, and learn to adjust their thinking to factor in more than just the cards in front of them. They also consider what other players might be thinking.
Because poker is a game of deception, savvy players modify their behavior and betting to try to get their opponents to draw erroneous conclusions. Likewise, they observe their opponents playing and betting style to get a read on each individual hand. When a game has good seasoned players, the levels of thinking transcend the cards and the players are playing the player. This is where bluffing and slow playing a monster hand become effective strategic techniques.
When you know your opponent thinks at this more complex psychological level, then you must adjust your play accordingly. You consider what your opponent thinks you have versus what is actually in your hand. For instance, you are holding suited connectors and the flop misses your suit, but you hit second high pair. You bet it to represent that you have paired the King that is out there. You are trying to influence your opponent’s thinking. Continuation bets and raising on the turn and river may force the fold.
However, if your opponent strictly plays only their cards without considering what other players are holding or thinking, you will probably not get them to lay down with a bluff. This is how bad beats happen. Against these players, simple adhere to the basic elements of good poker. Play only premium hands and raise with the nuts. You probably can’t influence this type of player’s thinking.
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December 5th, 2008
After a long, hard battle, and a long day of losing in poker I was in the middle of a rally to break even at the blackjack table. When I was getting close to the original stack I had lost playing poker and wanted to win back, I felt gutsy and put down a large bet-about a quarter of my overall bankroll. Already sweating, I watched as an eleven fell in front of me. I looked up at the dealer’s show card and saw a 5 looking back at me. The smart move would be to double down on my hand. But doubling my bet was a scary proposition.
I whistled softly, thinking about my prior poker misfortunes and said “It’s looking sketchy…”
The dealer looked at both of our cards and gave me a little bit of blackjack wisdom.
“It’s only sketchy because of the money in the hand.”
Wow. I felt like a coward, but she was right. I was letting the big bet intimidate me out of making the right choice. I doubled down and she busted, putting an exclamation point on her statement.
If it’s a good idea when there’s $5 on the table, the odds are just as good when there’s $50 on the table. When you play, don’t change your habits based on what’s in the pot-know your strategy and stick with it.
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