The 6st season of High Stakes Poker will air February 14, 2010. Changes include new co-host Kara Scott who will be replacing A.J. Benza.
We’re into the sixth season and we felt like it was time to freshen it up. Our feeling was that we wanted viewers to be in the room with the players. Gabe and A.J. did a good job, but they were disconnected from the action.
Starting lineups for the
Day 1:
Dwan Ivey Negreanu Esfandiari Minieri Gus Hansen Andreas Hoivoid Phil Hellmuth
Day 2:
Dwan Ivey Negreanu Antonius Dennis Phillips Lex Veldhuis Andrew Robl Barry Greenstein
Day 3:
Dwan Ivey Negreanu Benyamine Elezra D. Brunson Matusow Elky
The 6st season of High Stakes Poker will air February 14, 2010. Changes include new co-host Kara Scott who will be replacing A.J. Benza.
GSN Vice President of Programming and Development David Schiff said;
We’re into the sixth season and we felt like it was time to freshen it up. Our feeling was that we wanted viewers to be in the room with the players. Gabe and A.J. did a good job, but they were disconnected from the action.
A new episode of Poker After Dark is coming out. It's a special episode with UFC fighters Randy "The Natural" Couture, Dan "Hollywood" Henderson and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer. Along for the match are Full Tilt Pros Patrik Antonius, "The Professor" Howard Lederer and Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren.
I've watched Bruce Buffer play and he's a great player! I watched him play at 2007 WSOP and he outplayed Chris MoneyMaker but got unlucky. Buffer talked about the show on his blog: BufferZone. He said Henderson impressed him and Couture was a cerebral player. It should be a great match!
UFC 106
I watched the UFC 106 preliminary fights on Spike TV on the weekend, I haven't seen the main card yet. My favourite fight was the Kendall Grove Vs. Jake Rosholt fight. Rosholt slammed Kendall 3 times, he's a strong dude! Rosholt was overpowering Kendall but lost after getting caught in a triangle submission.
Randy Couture fought at UFC 105 and clearly lost the match 29-28 but the judges gave Couture the win. I understand the reasonsing for the judges decision. The match meant everything to Couture, if he loses this match then it may very well be his last fight. Couture mentioned he was going to take his last run at the light heavy weight title before retiring. I think it's amazing that he is still fighting at this high level at age 46!
A new episode of Poker After Dark is coming out. It's a special episode with UFC fighters Randy "The Natural" Couture, Dan "Hollywood" Henderson and UFC announcer Bruce Buffer. Along for the match are Full Tilt Pros Patrik Antonius, "The Professor" Howard Lederer and Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren.
I've watched Bruce Buffer play and he's a great player! I watched him play at 2007 WSOP and he outplayed Chris MoneyMaker but got unlucky. Buffer talked about the show on his blog: BufferZone. He said Henderson impressed him and Couture was a cerebral player. It should be a great match!
There are a bunch of other Poker After Dark episodes coming up soon including $150,000 Buy-in Cash Game with Tom "Durrrr" Dwan which should be good!
UFC 106
I watched the UFC 106 preliminary fights on Spike TV on the weekend, I haven't seen the main card yet. My favourite fight was the Kendall Grove Vs. Jake Rosholt fight. Rosholt slammed Kendall 3 times, he's a strong dude! Rosholt was overpowering Kendall but lost after getting caught in a triangle submission. I heard the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin was a close fight.
Randy Couture fought at UFC 105 and clearly lost the match 29-28 but the judges gave Couture the win. I understand the reasonsing for the judges decision. The match meant everything to Couture, if he loses this match then it may very well be his last fight. Couture mentioned he was going to take his last run at the light heavy weight title before retiring. I think it's amazing that he is still fighting at this high level at age 46!
In Limit Hold 'em, the big blind is one of the toughest position to play. You're out of position, and that's never a good thing, but usually, you'll be getting excellent odds to continue with the hand. Against a single opponent who has raised, you'll be getting better than 3 to 1 and, in most hands, you're no more than a 2 to 1 dog. The problem is, you'll often find yourself going into the flop with shaky cards and, at that point, you're sure to face some tough decisions.
Before I talk about some tricky situations that develop in the big blind, I want to note that you can make your life a little easier by folding some hands pre-flop. If you're holding a medium Ace and you're facing an early position raise from a player who you know plays only good cards up front, then fold. It may seem like you're getting a nice price to continue, but in this spot, you're only going to get into trouble. When you miss the flop completely, it's going to be tough to continue and, if you hit an Ace, you may lose a lot to a hand that has you dominated. I'd rather play 6-7 against an early position raise from a tight player than A-7.
There are some hole cards that are just hopeless. If I'm facing a raise from any position and I find something like J-2, T-3, or 9-4. I'm going to surrender the hand.
The really difficult situations arise when you hold a mediocre hand, something like A-8 or pocket 6s, and you face a raise from late position. Many players will raise with just about anything in the cutoff or on the button, so it's tough to know where you stand with these medium strength hands.
What should you do?
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. My best advice is to vary your play so as to take advantage of a particular opponent's tendencies. For example, if you hold A-8 in the big blind and face a late-position raise from a player who tends to be a little weak after the flop, you should probably re-raise pre-flop and then follow up with a bet on the flop most of the time. Against this type of player, this kind of action will force a lot of folds.
If the opponent who raises in late position is tricky and very aggressive post flop, I'll often call the pre-flop raise and then check-raise on most flops, whether or not I got a piece of the board. Even if the check-raise doesn't win the pot, this move helps keep a tough, aggressive player off balance.
Of course, you'll need to consider the flop as you move forward in the hand. If you call a pre-flop raise with pocket 6s and see a flop of T-Q-K, there's little point in going to war. Give your opponent credit for some hand that beats yours and look for a better spot. But this doesn't mean that you should be willing to give up on anything less than top pair.
Against a single opponent, I'll play second pair pretty aggressively. Sometimes, I'll lead at the pot with this hand, and sometimes, I'll check-raise with it. Taking this aggressive approach with a shaky hand allows me to play my big hands in the same manner. When my opponents see me check-raise, they won't know if I'm making this play with as little as second pair or as much as a set.
As I said earlier, playing from the big blind in limit poker is tricky. In my opinion, it's one of the toughest spots in all of poker. My best advice is that you should stay alert to your opponent's tendencies and look to mix up your play. If you're on your game, it will be tough for other players to put you on a hand while you'll have a pretty good idea of what they're doing.
In No-Limit Hold 'em, one of the trickiest and, sometimes, scariest situations occurs when you bluff at a pot on the flop and get called. The turn brings a blank and you're left with a big decision: Do I fire a second bullet and continue with the bluff?
Recently, while playing in the World Poker Tour event at The Mirage, an opponent launched a double-barrel bluff against me, and he got me to lay down the best hand. It was early in the tournament and I was in late position. My opponent, a pro whose play I respect, raised from early position, and I called with Ac-4c. The flop came A-J-7, rainbow with one club. My opponent bet out and I called. The turn brought a blank, and my opponent put out a very large bet.
I was in a tough spot. It was early in the tournament, and I didn't want to call off most of my chips with this hand. I was pretty certain the bettor wouldn't have fired a bet of that size with something like A-K or A-Q. With a hand like that, he'd have to worry that he was beat, and he'd probably try to get to the showdown as cheaply as possible. I figured he either had a very big hand - maybe a set of Jacks - or not much at all.
In the end, I decided to lay down my pair of Aces. My opponent then showed pocket Kings.
I give my opponent a lot of credit for playing the hand well. He had a good sense for how much heat I was willing to take. His play illustrates the most important consideration when deciding if you should continue with a bluff: Your opponent's mindset.
If you're up against an opponent who is unwilling to play without a very big hand, firing the second bullet can force them to make some bad lay downs. To make this work, however, you need to estimate the price a particular player is willing to pay, and then bet more than he seems capable of handling. In the hand I discussed above, my opponent zeroed in on a price I couldn't stomach.
Sometimes, a meek player will get stubborn and try to get through a hand by calling you down with something like second pair. You need to have a sense that he's trying to get through the hand in this way, then price your bets so that he won't be able to call.
If, however, you're against a guy who has shown a willingness to call any bet of any size with just about any hand, then you need back off and wait till you flop a monster.
In the end, the most important thing is to know your opponent. If you're attentive at the table and pick up on the tendencies of those around you, you'll find some nice opportunities for double-barrel bluffs.
That said, I should note that I'm far more willing to bluff on multiple streets in cash games than I am in tournaments. If I get caught running a big bluff in a cash game, I'll re-buy with the knowledge that my actions will force some bad calls later in the session. In tournaments, if I bluff off my chips, I'm on the rail.
As your no-limit game develops, study your opponents and identify those who are vulnerable to bluffs on multiple streets. As you develop this skill, you'll pick up some key pots and become a more profitable player.
Here are the latest 2 free full length videos from Pokersavvy Plus/CardPlayer. If you want access to all the CardPlayer/PokerSavvy Videos than you can sign up for a free 7 day here.
SirWatts $215 Live Tournament Play - Poker Pro Mike Watson plays in 4 online tournaments and teaches plays how to build a Big Stack when approaching the Final Table.
LearnedFromTV $325 Mixed Game Tournament - Poker Pro Mike Watson plays in 4 online tournaments and teaches players how to become a 'Big Stack' and reach the Final Table.
Halloween is fast approaching and I thought what better way to celebrate then with some hot poker babes! Some of the outfits are from Alice in Wonderland, I haven't seen any of the movies or read the book. I heard there's a new Alice in Wonderland coming out in 2010 with Johnny Depp
In an earlier article, Perry Friedman gave some guidelines as to what you should be looking for at the start of a Seven-Card Stud hand. Perry concentrated on third street, when you make your initial decision to proceed with the hand or not. For this tip, I'd like to go further down the road and talk about fourth street.
When playing Stud, fourth street is the last of the smaller betting rounds. On fifth street, the bets double, so if you decide to play beyond fourth street, your investment in the hand is going to be hefty.
On fourth street, I look to see if an opponent has picked up a card that has a relation to the door card (the first up card). If fourth street builds straight or flush possibilities for my opponent, I'm likely to muck a lot of hands; if it appears to be a complete blank, I'll usually continue.
For example, say one player open-raised with the Qd as a door card, and I called with split 8s and a suited 6. If he catches a total blank (something like the 2c) on fourth street and bets, I'm likely to continue and see if fifth street brings either of us any help. On the other hand, I will probably dump the hand if my opponent catches anything between a Ten and an Ace, and I don't improve.
I won't know for sure if a Ten, Jack, King or Ace helps my opponent's hand, but at that point, his board presents too many warning signs for me to continue. Many players will enter pots when they start with three big cards, so any high card on fourth street has the potential to make my opponent a big pair or get him closer to a straight. Either way, my eights are pretty flimsy.
Another sort of situation develops when I catch two-pair on the turn. Say that I started with a split pair of 8s and a 6. My opponent open-raised with the Qd and I called. The turn brings me another 6, giving me two pair. My opponent catches a blank and bets.
In a spot like this, I think raising is a big mistake because the two-pair is well hidden. If I raise on fourth street and happen to catch a boat on fifth or sixth street, it will be almost impossible for my opponent to continue with the hand after my show of strength. He'll have to assume that I've hit and he'll fold to a bet. If, however, I just call on the turn and then hit a 6 later in that hand, my opponent may continue with his pair of Queens.
Moving on to a third example, say I have Kings in the hole with the 6d as my door card. Again, assume my opponent open-raised while showing Qd on third street. In this spot I'm likely to just call my opponent's raise on third street. If I were to re-raise with a 6 as my door card, I'd be announcing that I held a big pocket pair. My opponent would probably fold and I wouldn't get any value out of a nice hand.
After I call the third-street raise, I'm hoping that the turn brings a card like the 8d. If my opponent then leads at the pot, I'll raise, hoping to give the impression that I'm on a draw. Once my opponent has that impression, he'll probably call my raise on fourth street. If fifth street appears to be a blank, he'll probably call a bet there as well. I'll be building a nice pot while holding a strong hand.
These are just a few situations you might run into on fourth street. If you play your hand correctly at this point, you stand to pick up some big bets on later streets when things go well, and save some bets when things go south.
The popular $50 free promotion from Poker770 is coming to an end on Oct. 31. There is still time to sign up, just register here and send an email to promotions@poker770.co.uk with your login and bonus code 50DOL. For more infomation about the bonus, click here.
1) Click the above banner 2) Download pokerroom 3) Create real money account 4) Send email to promo@poker770.com mentioning your login and the code: 50DOL.
Example:
I would like to receive free $50, my username is _______, bonus code is 50DOL
Once the $7,70 is credited to your account, choose your table and start playing!
Then, you must accumulate enough hands and you will get your $22 bonus.
After Oct.31, you can still receive free $7.70 bonus. Simply send the code bonpok instead of 50DOL.
I like listening to music while I play. Lately I've been listening to VA Dance Summer 2009, it puts me in a good mood:) Anyone else listen to music while playing?
The other day, I logged into my Lucky Ace Poker account. I had $25 in there and when I logged in I only had $5. And there is no transaction history at Lucky Ace so I contacted their support. They said since I haven't used my account in 6 months, I have to pay an "administration fee at a rate of 10% of the balance in the account" every month until I log back in. And that I agreed to this in their terms like they expect every player to read the fine print..
At the end of the email, it said this: "David, at LuckyAcePoker.com, we believe in a warm welcome." Then they offer me a deposit bonus like I'm going to play there after they took my money, lol. I emailed them back asking for the $20 back but they haven't replied yet.
Anyway, had a little fun with the $5 and went all in first 8 hands. Won all 8 hands and $18:) Played a little more and made a big bluff (video above). I was pretty sure he was weak..He probably had a king. Going to cash out now.
Update: Turns out the entire Pacific Poker Network has this administration fee rule so I wouldn't play at any of the following pokerrooms:
That's what I call robbery. Why wasn't I contacted? I'm not going to play at Lucky Ace unless I get my $20 back.
> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:44:18 +0000 > From: support@luckyacepoker.com > To: david_david_3@hotmail.com > Subject: Re: [R] LuckyAcePoker - Forgot Password (KMM32093274I1819L0KM) > > Dear David, > > Thank you for contacting us, my name is Islyn a member support > representative. > > David please be advised that should you not use your account for six > months, your account is then considered a "dormant account". Hence the > reason as to why now you have logged in the bankroll is now $5.00. > > To further explain the six-month period will run from the date of your > last login to your account. > In the case of a dormant account, the Company will charge a monthly > administration fee at a rate of 10% of the balance in the account, on > the date that it became dormant. > > David, the administration fee shall be deducted from the dormant account > commencing from the last day of the sixth month in which the account is > inactive, and occurring on the last day of every month thereafter, until > the balance of the account has reached zero. > > In the event that you log into your account during the ten-month period > during which the administration fee is charged, the Company will cease > to charge the administration fee but shall not be obligated to return to > you any monies deducted from the account at such time. > > This information is very explicitly stated on our Site User Agreement, > to which you agreed when you ticked the "I agree to the Terms & > Conditions" box at the bottom of your account registration page. > > I hope this clarifies this matter, and thank you for your understanding. > On another matter, please too provide your date of birth to ensure your > details are update correctly for record keeping purposes. > > David, at LuckyAcePoker.com, we believe in a warm welcome. That's why we > hand you 25% of your Welcome Bonus instantly, before you even sit down > at your first table. > There will also be an EXTRA 75% waiting for you once you have > accumulated the required amount of point . Click here for more details http://luckyacepoker.com/en-GB/playersclub/Promotion.aspx?promotion=WelcomeBonusℑ=WelcomeBonus.gif > > > > > > Kind regards, > Islyn. P > Member Support Representative > support@LuckyAcePoker.com > www.LuckyAcePoker.com > ***************************************************** > Tell a Friend about LuckyAcePoker and earn $50. Visit > www.luckyacepoker.com/taf now for more details. > ***************************************************** > NOTE: Please do not disclose your password to any > individual/organization claiming to represent or representing > "LuckyAcePoker.com". If you receive any e-mail or phone call from anyone > requesting you to provide your password, please report it to us > immediately. Our Member Support Department is available 24/7 to assist > you via e-mail at support@LuckyAcePoker.com > > > > > Original Message Follows: ------------------------ > USER: geneyus1 > FULL NAME: David Bergeron > Account Type: Money Play > PHONE: > EMAIL: david_david_3@hotmail.com > Date of Occurrence: 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM > Question/Comment: Hi, I received $25 free bankroll from bankrollmob.com > but only have $5 in account now. Can you check account history please > and thanks.
Here is the final episode of 2m2mm. If you missed the previous episodes, you can watch them all on Pokertube.com (Just search for 2 months). You can also watch some bonus scenes on the Official 2m2mm Site. You can also read more about the show here.
Part 1:
Part 2:
This is by far one of my favourite poker shows and I really hope they have a second season! My favourite part of the season was Ansky dressing up in a pink dress and tutu!
Sun Poker is on the IPoker network. Third biggest poker network, behind Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker. So there are lots of players, only problem is they don't accept US Players. IPoker is one of my favourite places to play, lots of loose players. They have double or Nothing Sit and Gos that are fun and really easy to cash in.
Sun Poker has a nice deposit bonus as well as recurring monthly bonuses. For a deposit bonus of 100% up to $600, enter coupon code: p600
Tony "Bond18" Dunst is a well known online MTT pro. At age 20 he won a package on Party Poker for the Aussie Millions and nearly final tabled his first live event. In 2006 he made a run in the WSOP ME, finishing 198th. He switched to online MTT’s and found 2+2, where he began to learn what he was doing wrong and fixing his game. Tony plays 8 hours of online poker every day and moderates the MTT forums on 2+2. He also writes a blog at tworags.com as well as articles for pokernews.com and pocketfives.com. Tony is thrilled to be making training videos and we're excited to have him on board.
The Card Player Pro/PokerSavvy Plus team of pros includes Michael “SirWatts” Watson, Justin “WPTHero” Rollo, Dani “ansky” Stern, Tony “Bond18” Dunst, Andrew “Foucault” Brokos, Christian “Charder30” Harder, Tom “LearnedfromTV” Chambers, and Evan “_Fisherman” Roberts.
Be sure to check out these 2 new free full length videos from Poker Savvy here.
If you want access to all the CardPlayer/PokerSavvy Videos than you can sign up for a free 7 day here.
Played the Pokerstar's Win a Porche event and MDC Freeroll today. I got knocked out early in both. First one, short stack moves all in. I have nines and have to call. Big stack behind finds queens and gets quad queens by the river. Second one, I picked up tens and was going to raise to ~200 but decide on just calling and try to hit another 10. Dealer raises to 150, folded to me and I should have raised to ~550 but decided to call. Flop, check called and check raised all in on turn. He called and hit his flush. He had a lot of outs, I should have played more aggressive preflop. Anyway, here is a video. More videos coming soon, I've just been busy moving to a new apartment.
Pitbull Poker Pitbull Poker has closed. They had some superusers who cheated other players and now forced to close. If you have money in there it then you can pretty much kiss it goodbye. I had $41 sitting in there for months, I should have withdrew it.
Pokerstar's Porsche Event I just deposited and going to play in the Pokerstar's Porsche Event on Sunday October 18 13:00 ET. Still time to deposit and play in it for free if you haven't yet. Deadline to deposited is October 18 11:00 ET. Check this post for more information: Win a Porsche Event
Off Topic Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup movie is out now. It's a movie about 9/11 and how it was an inside job. Official site: www.loosechange911.com/ You can watch a trailer there and a few sites stream the whole movie.
Father Andrew Trapp, also known as "Father Rambo" because of his love of paintball, played 3 headsup sit and gos on the Million Dollar Cash Game. First against a John Sally, retired NBA basketball player , actor and talk show host, then against Vanessa Rousso and finally against Daniel Negreanu. Fr. Andrew beat all 3 and won $100,000. He will use his winnings to help build a new church for the parishioners at St. Michael Catholic Church in Garden City, S.C.
Since Fr. Andrew won all 3 matches, he will play in a sit-n-go against other Million Dollar Challenge winners to see who will face Negreanu in the show's final round of play (for the $1 million) in December.
Poker is one of my hobbies. I play it with family and friends. It’s a way for people to come together, have fun and enjoy each other’s company. There’s no moral issue. Even if I didn’t win any money, it would be an opportunity for people across the country to see that there are still young men choosing to be priests, and that one can be joy-filled and have fun as one serves God.
Hey Guys, I'm just watching Pokerstar's Million Dollar Cash game. The Password for $20k MDC Freeroll is MONEYMAKER (All Capitals). To enter, open up Pokerstars, click tournament tab, click regional (North America only) and scroll down to Oct. 11 18:25 $20k MDC Freeroll. Registration starts at 17:25.
If you haven't signed up for Pokerstars yet or don't have a real money account yet then delete your cookies and register here for $600 bonus!
Pokerstars is having a 20k Freeroll this Sunday, Oct. 11th at 18.25 ET. It's called $20k MDC freeroll and to enter you have to watch Pokerstar's New show "Million Dollar Cash Game" at 16:00 on Global (same Sunday) and write down the password which will be revealed during the show.
Here's how to enter the Win a Porsche Event, Restricted to North America only.
Getting in on the action is easy. All you have to do is simply make a first real money deposit or reload your PokerStars account between September 28-October 17. You’ll be rewarded with a seat in the Win a Porsche freeroll tournament, taking place at 13:00 ET, Sunday October 18. Players that finish in the top 100 will walk away with a share of the added cash prize pool. But best of all, the winner will get a Porsche Cayman S - one of the best sports cars in the world!
If you are making a first deposit, you’ll need to enter the code ‘NEWCAR’. Players who are re-loading their account need to use the code ‘WINCAR’. After that, simply register for the tournament and take your seat.
If you haven't signed up for Pokerstars yet or don't have a real money account yet then delete your cookies and register here for $600 bonus!
ESPN is out with their new body Issue Magazine. In it, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen and Jen Harman playing some cards, naked!
Its pretty funny that Negreanu is wearing his Pokerstars patch covering one of his nipples. I guess luckily for Harman she had a big chip stack covering hers.
Harman was a little nervous at first:
“I got a phone call from one of my friends at ESPN,” said Harman. “He said that it was going to be a good shot and that it would be done with a lot of class.”
So, Harman accepted. As did Kid Poker, the Poker Brat, and the Prince of Poker. Negreanu declined the photoshoot at first but later accepted:
“It’s not like they were going to have Patrik Antonius or Gus (Hansen) there,” said Negreanu. “I said, ‘I can fit in with this group.’”
Daniel said the shoot wasn't that bad:
“I worked out (beforehand). I had a nice tan going,” said Negreanu. “I sucked my belly in, and I was good to go.”
A couple of years ago, I was wandering a Vegas poker room after busting out of a tournament. I was looking to play a No-Limit ring game, but the higher stakes games had long waiting lists. I decided to take an open seat in a $2-$5 game.
When I sat down, I did a quick assessment of the table. There were a bunch of young guys -- I guessed they were in town for some college road trip. The others were retirement age. All seemed very concerned about the money they had on the table. They were playing very timidly and I was certain that I was by far the best player at the table.
How was I going to attack this group?
I open-raised the next 67 hands. Actually, that's something of an exaggeration. But from the moment I sat down, I was willing to raise to $20 or $25 in any position with almost any cards, and I was talking it up as I did. "Raise it up again!" I'd say after popping it for the 15th consecutive hand. I was trying to give the impression that I was a certifiable lunatic.
To my opponents, I seemed reckless but, at this table, there were strategic advantages to this style. First off, I was benefiting from a tremendous amount of information. If I raised with something like 4-9, I knew this group of opponents would get rid of any marginal hands that could cause me a lot of trouble. So, if I happened to hit trip 9s on the flop, I wouldn't need to worry that I was out-kicked by a hand like 9-T or J-9.
These guys would only call with hands like pockets 7s or A-Q. In fact, there were so few hands that they'd call with that I always had a very good idea of where I stood. But they had no idea what I held. Given this disparity of information, I knew when I could pick up a pot with a bet on the flop -- which was most of the time.
I was making a fair amount of money by raising with trash and betting the flop when I actually found a big hand, pocket Kings. I raised the standard amount, to $25. Then the small blind came alive and re-raised me. I then came over the top in a ridiculous way: I moved all-in for $4,000. My opponent was in agony. He let everyone know that he had pocket Jacks and that against any other player he'd fold. But me -- given the nut case that I was, he felt he had to call, and that's what he did.
This guy was so convinced that I was crazy that he made a huge mistake. He bought into the act and failed to realize that in all that seemingly maniacal play, I never risked much. I had convinced him that there was no difference between a $25 raise and a $4,000 raise.
You might want to experiment with this approach in your No-Limit play, but before you go out and start splashing in every pot, I have a few suggestions:
Make sure you're at a table of weak, timid players. Against a group of calling stations or tough opponents, this style will not work.
Play at a limit that's well within your bankroll. Part of your advantage should be that the money on the table really does mean a little less to you than it does to everyone else.
Use this style more in a casino than online because it can be easier to pick up tells when you're face-to-face with weak opponents.
Be sure you're the best player at the table.
If all of this works out, give it a shot. You may find that being a "maniac" can be profitable and a lot of fun.
Thomas "boku87" Boekhoff started his 2nd Pokerstar's Challenge. Earlier this year, Boku turned $100 into $10,000 in 14 days. This time he will attempt to turn $5 into $100,000 in 1 year. He started on July 15th and is currenly at $21,454.05. Lately he has been feeling sick and not playing very well.
Boku's Sharkscope Graph
Boku has already went broke, he lost the $5 because of high variance in the 0.10 SNGs. Boku grinded playmoney and wanted to sell it but Pokerstars doesn't really want to support selling play money chips so Pokerstars gave Boku another $5 stake. Many people believe he has lost the challenge and should have built up his bankroll playing freerolls like which was originally planned.
2 Months Two Million I watched some episodes of 2M2MM. Erica Schoenberg was in one episode. She played headsup with Dani "Ansky" Stern. I think she was flirting a little, like asking Dani if he had a girlfriend and telling him she's a little too old for him, lol. What do you guys think? You can watch all the 2M2MM videos at Pokertube. Here is the video with Erica Schoenberg:
Money Bookers So, I finally have my new $US Dollar MoneyBookers account up and running. Just received verification letter and deposited funds into it. At Action Poker, I deposited with my old MoneyBookers account and tried withdrawing with my new MoneyBookers but Action Poker sent the money to my old MBs and payout was denied. I might have to deposit with the new account before I can withdraw.
Holdem Manager I was thinking of going with Holdem Manager unless someone can convince me Poker Tracker 3 is better. To get HEM, I was thinking of depositing at Pacific Poker so I can get Holdem Manager for "Free". Not really free, have to earn 75 Status Points which works out to about $38 in tourmanet fees which is better than HEM new for $80. I would do HEM free at Players Only deal, which is $36 in tourmanet fees, but I already signed up for $50 free at Player's Only from Bankrollmob. Anyway, check out HEM for free here.
Say you're playing in a low-stakes ring game. The blinds are $.50 and $1, and it's folded to you in middle position. You find a nice hand - pocket Tens - and bring it in for a standard raise of three times the big blind. It's folded around to a player in late position, who re-raises the minimum amount, making it $5 to go.
I've seen this sort of play repeatedly in the past few months while researching my next No-Limit Hold 'em book by playing in low-stakes games. Every time I've been faced with a minimum re-raise, I've been up against a monster - pocket Kings or Aces.
A player who opts for the small raise may think he's being crafty by getting me to put a little extra money in the pot while he holds a big hand. But this is not a profitable play. There are two major problems with the minimum raise.
I've already mentioned the first problem: My opponent has telegraphed his hand. And making good decisions is pretty easy when you know exactly what your opponent holds. The second problem is mathematical. My opponent is giving me 5 to 1 to call the additional raise. (In this example, my extra $2 will give me a chance win $10.) When I make the call, I know that I stand to win a very big pot. My implied odds - the money I stand to make if I hit my hand - more than justify the call. If my opponent started the hand with a $100 stack, I could get paid at a rate of 50 to 1.
So I call and see a flop. If there's no Ten on the board, I'm done with the hand. And if there is a Ten, I'm going to wipe my opponent out. As I said, poker is a pretty easy when you know what your opponent holds.
What's the proper play when you hold Aces and a player has raised in front of you? Find the "Bet Pot" button and click it. Put pressure on a player who you know is starting with a second-best hand. Who knows, if he's got pocket Queens or A-K, he may be willing to put his entire stack in pre-flop. If he holds something like Jacks or Tens, your big raise will minimize your opponent's implied odds.
You should be wary of minimum raises at other stages of a hand, as well. Say you raised pre-flop with A-K and one player called. You hit top pair top kicker on a K-8-4 board. You bet out the size of the pot and your opponent min-raises you. At this point, you need to be very concerned that your opponent has hit a set. You have to wonder why he'd be raising an amount that almost begs for your call.
My advice here is twofold: first is that you should all but eliminate the minimum raise from your game. In some rare circumstances when you hit a full house or quads, it might be appropriate, but that's about it. Second is that alarm bells should go off whenever you see a min raise. Your opponent probably has a big hand and you need to proceed accordingly.
$100 free at Pokerstars from PokerStrategy Traffic: Very High Minimum age: 18 US players accepted
Bonus Information
$50 free up front and $50 in your pending bonus if you deposit.
The 50$ bonus:
To clear the 50$ you'll have to collect 500 VPPs (Frequent Player Points system of PokerStars) within the first 90 days. If you don't do so the starting capital will be retracted from your account. Once you clear the 500 VPPs you can withdraw
The 50$ deposit bonus:
It is a 100% up to $50 first deposit bonus. This means in order to take advantage of the full $50 bonus, you need to deposit $50. If you deposit $25, you will receive a $25 bonus. You have 183 days to clear the bonus.
In order to clear the bonus you need to collect 10x as many VPP as the amount of the bonus you are clearing. That means in order to utilize the full bonus you need to deposit $50 dollars and earn 500 VPP.
That means to clear the entire 50$+50$ bonus you need 1,000VPP.
Sign-up Instructions
Step 1: If you have ever visited the Poker Stars website, delete your cookies and uninstall all Poker Stars software before continuing! Make sure your browser accepts all cookies! If your Security or Privacy level in your browser is set too high, it may block the (perfectly harmless) cookies that need to be set to track you properly! Step 2:Register with PokerStrategy via this link Step 3: Complete the PokerStrategy Quiz Step 4: Choose Pokerstars and follow the instructions PokerStrategy give you Step 5: When you get your money, you're ready to start playing!
How to earn FPPs at Poker Stars
1. Earn FPP credits for cash game play
First Frequent Player Point (FPP) is awarded for playing a hand in which the rake reaches:
* $0.40 for fixed limit poker games with stakes $1/$2 and lower * $0.40 for NL/PL poker games with blinds $1/$2 and lower * $0.40 for 1-on-1 poker games (this applies only to 1-on-1 tables, not to regular tables which have only two players seated) * $1.00 for all other games
Second FPP is awarded for playing a hand in which the rake reaches:
* $2.00 for all 6-max tables (this doesn't apply for games being played 6-handed at 10/9/8 player tables - just 6-max tables) * $3.00 for all other tables
Third FPP is awarded for playing a hand in which the rake reaches $5.00.
You do not have to bet in a hand to receive points!
2. Earn FPP credits for tournament play
Five (5) FPP credits are awarded for each $1 in tournament fees paid.
For example, playing in a poker tournament with $20 buy-in and $2 tournament fee, each player will be awarded 10 FPP credits. *Note that partial Frequent Player Points are always rounded to the nearest whole number.
In a $5 buy-in Sit & Go poker tournament with only a $0.50 fee, 3 FPP credits (instead of 2.5) will be awarded to each player who played poker in the tournament.
In a $5 buy-in 4-player Heads-Up Sit & Go poker tournament with only a $0.25 fee, 1 FPP (instead of 1.25) will be awarded to each player who played poker in the tournament.
More about PokerStrategy
PokerStrategy is the world's biggest poker school! They offer you an entire poker education for free. You will get $50 starting capital plus $100 bonus to start your poker career. That means you do not have to deposit your own money. The offer is absolutely free and without any obligation. You are not agreeing to any sort of financial or legal duties, neither a bank account nor a credit card is needed!
PokerInside is offering $10 sponsorships at BetMost. There is a limited amount of sponsorships per day so you will often see "Try again tomorrow!". So check back at different times of the day.
Sign-up Instructions
1) Register with PokerInside via this link 2) Click "My PokerInside" in the top toolbar 3) Click "BetMost Poker - $10.00 USD" and follow the directions 4) Create a MoneyBookers account here if you do not already have an account. 5) PokerInside will send you $10 to your MoneyBookers account and then just deposit it into your BetMost account. You will get First deposit bonus and Tokens for first depositors Freerolls. 6) Now you're ready to start playing!
After you receive $10 from Betmost, you will be able to get a $50 No deposit Pacific Poker bonus. Just check Pokerinside for more details.
MoneyBookers I was using my MoneyBookers account to deposit and withdrawal from pokerrooms. I thought it was free but I lost 1.99% on every transaction because of hidden conversion fee. Since almost all pokerrooms deal in USD, I wanted my account in USD. But MoneyBookers told me since I already made transactions on the account that I cannot change the currency from Canadian dollar to US dollar. And that the only way would be to close the account and create a new one. So I did, I withdrew all the money and created a new MBs account in USD. And now I'm just waiting for verification letter in the mail(3-5 days). I heard I could verify by sending them a bank statement but I'll just wait for the letter.
Holdem Manager So far it looks like I'm going to get Holdem Manger. It's cheaper than Poker Tracker 3 and I heard it has more advanced stats. I tried it out too but the only problem I found with it is that it doesn't datamine on Pokerstars. PT3 analyzes and tracks the first 30 hands before you play a hand. 30 hands is not much if your 4 tabling but it still gives you an idea on how your opponent plays.
$20 Rebuy Tournament I missed my friend's $20 rebuy tournament on Saturday. I was just too tired. I worked like 9 hour day on 3 hours sleep and if I lost $100 in the rebuy tourny than I wouldn't be happy. I Haven't played in the tournament yet, my friend hosts it about once a month. About 30 players play, 4-5 place in the money with 1st place taking $1000.
$3k Challenge To start off the challenge, I will probably finish my Ultimate Bet $100 Free Bankroll I got from YourPokerCash in January/08. It was my first free bankroll I received and there is no time limit to complete it that I know of. To compete it I have to play 2500 hands which shouldn't take too long. I could probably finish in 2 days. After that, I'll try Party Poker Gift Offer from BankrollMob. The gift offer is quite a good deal because you get $25 free from Party Poker and Bankrollmob pays you $50 which you could deposit into party poekr account or to an ewallet.
After losing all his money in a card game, Ismail Sheikh decided to keep playing and staked his 18-year-old daughter. Satyajit Bandhopadhyay, a senior police officer investigating the case reported:
"Ismail lost the game again and Mustafa walked away with the girl."
The incident occurred in the Indian village Satgharia. Village Locals said Ismail, who is in his late 30s, lost all his money to Mustafa Sheik from the neighbouring village of Sultanpur. Panchayat member Saidur Rahaman said Ismail was “a known gambler...But this time he crossed all limits.” The panchayat and a group of people went to Sultanpur, the next day and brought back the girl home.
On hearing the story, Ismail’s angry father, Naimuddin, threw him out of the house. Ismail’s wife said she was worried about her daughter’s future. Malda police said they were investigating the incident.
Players get excited when they flop two pair because they know they're in a great position to take down a pot. But often, two pair is not nearly as powerful as it seems. This is especially true when holding bottom two pair or top and bottom pair. These hands may look dominant on the flop, but they're usually quite vulnerable.
For example, say you're playing a No-Limit Hold 'em ring game. There's a standard raise to four times the big blind from middle position. You figure the player has A-K or maybe a middle or high pocket pair. Everyone folds to you on the button, where you find 5d-7d. You've got favorable position and a hand that can flop some powerful draws, so you decide to call. The blinds fold, and the flop comes 5c-7h-Ks. This is great. Not only do you have two pair, but it's very likely that your opponent has a piece of this flop, with top pair top kicker or maybe an over-pair. He bets into you, and you have to decide what action is best.
I've seen some players smooth call in situations like this, but that is not a wise play. When you have bottom two pair and your opponent has an over-pair or top pair/top kicker, you're not as big a favorite as you might think. Your opponent has five outs - cards that will counterfeit your two-pair - which gives him a very live draw. You're a 75% favorite to take the pot, and that's great, but it's not the type of statistical edge that justifies slow playing.
The better play is to raise and put your opponent to a decision right there. Many players overplay top pair and over-pairs, and will either call or re-raise all-in. That gives you the chance to put all of your money in the pot as a big favorite. If he puts a bad beat on you at that point, so be it.
Is it possible your raise will force your opponent out of the pot and kill your action? Sure, if he's sitting with a pair of Queens or Jacks he'll likely fold, but against that sort of hand, you'd have no chance to win much of a pot anyway. Your opponent would probably check to you and then fold to any bet on the turn. And as Howard Lederer pointed out in a recent tip on playing sets, if a blank comes on the turn and you raise at that point, you'll be sending an indication that the turn card helped you in some way. He'll have to assume that his lone pair is no good.
There will be occasions when you flop bottom two pair or top and bottom pair at the same time your opponent catches top two pair or a set. When that happens, you're going to go broke. In fact, you should lose your stack in most situations like this. If you're not willing to risk a lot of chips in this kind of hand, you're probably not doing enough to maximize your pots when your hold the best hand.
When you find yourself holding two pair, play them aggressively and get your money in on the flop. It's the surest way to get the maximum profit from a strong but vulnerable hand.
In an earlier article, Perry Friedman gave some guidelines as to 
Say you're playing in a low-stakes ring game. The blinds are $.50 and $1, and it's folded to you in middle position. You find a nice hand - pocket Tens - and bring it in for a standard raise of three times the big blind. It's folded around to a player in late position, who re-raises the minimum amount, making it $5 to go.
Players get excited when they flop two pair because they know they're in a great position to take down a pot. But often, two pair is not nearly as powerful as it seems. This is especially true when holding bottom two pair or top and bottom pair. These hands may look dominant on the flop, but they're usually quite vulnerable.
