Playing Poker Like A Champ!

Victor Ramdin To Host Poker Camp At Meadows Poker Room | Pennsylvania Poker Players

2011-02-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

Victor Ramdin To Host Poker Camp At Meadows Poker Room | Pennsylvania Poker Players

Come join hundreds of poker players the weekend of February 18th, 2011 to meet Victor Ramdin as he teaches poker camp at the Meadows Casino in Washington PA.

Registration is free and several players will have the opportunity to play cash and satellites against Victor Ramdin.

The action begins on Friday February 18th at 10:00am and registration is encouraged by calling the poker room at 724 503 1700.

WSOP Satellite Event Wheeling Island Casino Poker Room

2011-01-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

Wheeling Island will feature a WSOP satellite event on Saturday January 29th at 1pm in the showroom. Wheeling Island Casino and Racetrack is a WSOP satellite location.

This no limit holdem poker tournament event will give away one $10,000 seat + $6000 in Cash to the winner with expected cash prizes to the final table (based on number of entrants). The buy in is $130 with an optional rebuy of $70. Your initial buy in will get you 10K in chips plus a dealer add on of 1500 (for $5). The rebuy of 10K in chips can be added at anytime your intial chips are at or less than the original starting stack.

Several local pros from the tri-state area are expected to play as well as Darvin Moon, the 2009 Runner up in the WSOP (World Series of Poker) main event. Darvin won more than $5 million dollars for his $130 satellite seat.

The Main event of the WSOP will be held on July 7th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Jody, floor supervisor at Wheeling Island casino, will floor the poker tournament on Saturday afternoon. The staff is able to accommodate up to 220 players at this event.

Registration is open now until the first level of the tournament, however early registration is encouraged to ensure you do not get locked out. (I already bought my seat!)

Get in there and good luck, hope to see you all Saturday!

Any questions, Visit the Poker Room or call 877-WIN-HERE ext. 1785 for complete details.

Successful Sit N Go Poker Lessons

2010-11-25T12:15:00.001-08:00

Successful Sit N Go Poker Lessons

Sit and go poker also known as SNG is one of the best ways to build and maintain your poker bankroll.

The overall risk, unlike a cash game, is limited to your buy in, and the fact that you will have to beat out a limited number of players gives you a better opportunity to win.

Local casino poker rooms as well as every online poker room offers a sitngo poker in a variety of field sizes.

The majority of live casino poker rooms will permit a sign up list for players interested in a sit n go. If you want to play more sit n go poker, ask the floor staff at your poker room to start a list and make an announcement. You can also mingle through the poker room asking if anyone is interested in playing a sit n go.

Read more about Sit N Go Poker lessons in this article...Successful Sit N Go Poker Lessons

Successful Sit N Go Poker Lessons

2010-11-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

Successful Sit N Go Poker Lessons

Sit and go poker also known as SNG is one of the best ways to build and maintain your poker bankroll.

The overall risk, unlike a cash game, is limited to your buy in, and the fact that you will have to beat out a limited nu,mber of players gives you a better opportunity to win.

Local casino poker rooms as well as every online poker room offers a sitngo poker in a variety of field sizes.

The majority of live casino poker rooms will permit a sign up list for players interested in a sit n go. If you want to play more sit n go poker, ask the floor staff at your poker room to start a list and make an announcement. You can also mingle through the poker room asking if anyone is interested in playing a sit n go.

Read more about Sit N Go Poker lessons in this article...Successful Sit N Go Poker Lessons

Meadows Poker Tournament Nets $21K Win | Pennsylvania Poker Players

2010-11-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Champion Jim Hoy takes down the Meadows Poker tournament, Hunters Extravaganza, for a cool $21,000.

The field of 89 players included 4 WPT (World Poker Tour) circuit players as well as several professional poker players from the area.
Read all the details at the official Pennsylvania poker players blog.

Meadows Poker Tournament Nets $21K Win | Pennsylvania Poker Players

Mt Airy Casino Poker Room Massive $290K Bad Beat Jackpot | Pennsylvania Poker Players

2010-11-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Mt Airy Casino Poker Room Massive $290K Bad Beat Jackpot | Pennsylvania Poker Players

The Bad Beat Jackpot has reached an enormous $291,000 at Mt Airy Casino Poker Room in the Poconos.

Largest Jackpot in PA History.

Read the whole story....

Mt Airy Casino Poker Room Massive $290K Bad Beat Jackpot | Pennsylvania Poker Players

Free Poker Games Texas Hold Em Poker Playing Tips | Win Online Poker Tournaments

2010-11-02T00:21:00.000-07:00

Free Poker Games Texas Hold Em Poker Playing Tips | Win Online Poker Tournaments

Full Tilt Poker Enforces Ban On Poker Bots

2010-10-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

Full Tilt Poker Enforces Ban On Poker Bots

As reported on the FullTiltrigged.info site, Full Tilt has banned more than 1400 accounts for using poker bots.

Seems like we were right all along!

Read the full story here.... Full Tilt Poker Enforces Ban On Poker Bots

More Ways to Discover Your Poker Strategy

2010-09-13T04:03:00.000-07:00

As poker players, we are always looking for ways to improve our game, and ultimately increase our bottom line. Of course the regular methods of reading articles, blogs and poker books are helpful, one of the most overlooked ways to improve your poker game is in the radio media.

Over the last few years, poker radio shows have become more popular (as well as internet radio and podcasts). It is common to find professional poker players sharing their knowledge of the game on live radio stations. This is a good opportunity to expand your knowledge of the game through sincere talk from many pros.

I recently was introduced to such a radio show called House of Cards Radio hosted by Ashley Adams, author and professional poker player. The show is well formatted, wherein Ashley brings poker strategy to the listeners each week. Featuring professional poker players as well as game theorists and strategists like the recent show with Joe Navarro (former FBI profiler) on poker tells.

I was invited by Ashley to appear on the show to talk about Poker in Pennsylvania, since PA has recently allowed casino gambling in the state. My main focus, of course, is poker playing in the live casino.

The show is aired nationally on several networks as well as Internet radio stations available throughout the week. In addition, there is a section where listeners can retrieve archived shows and listen to programs they have missed.

I encourage all my readers to use this venue as a great resource for furthering your poker education by going to http://www.houseofcardsradio.com. This weeks show features Myself and Gary Locke from New England Gaming News and will air at the following times on these stations.

Wednesday, 6 PM WPIC 790 AM West. PA / Eastern Ohio
Wednesday, 7 PM HamiltonRadio
Wednesday, 8 PM HardnoseSportsRadio
Thursday 7 PM ESPN Radio New Hampshire (WGAM)
Thursday, 9 PM WIFI 1460 AM New Jersey
Friday, 4 PM WIFI 1460 AM New Jersey
Saturday 8 AM ESPN Radio 96.7 FM West. PA / Eastern Ohio
Saturday, 10 PM TalkRadioX and KTRX 1650 AM Texas
Sunday, 5 PM TalkRadioX and KTRX 1650 AM Texas
Sunday, 7 PM HoldemRadio

For a complete list or to hear the Internet Broadcast go to the Station List

Just remember, this is one more way you can improve your game and become a better poker player!

Resources:
Ashley Adams Bio
Ashley Adams' Books
Winning 7-Card Stud: Transforming Home Poker Chumps into Casino Killers
Winning No Limit Hold'em
Pa Poker Players Blog

The Poker Face – Reading and Being Read

2010-09-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

Every poker player is quite familiar with the 'poker face' and the importance of it in the game. However, is reading your opponents poker face more important than the projection of your own poker face? The reading ability you acquire through years of playing poker and the aptitude to recognize different situations is only half the battle when it comes to playing an effective game of poker.

The other half is the projection of your Poker Face and how you can easily convince or manipulate your opponent into believing you. One of the best players with the greatest reading ability is undoubtedly Daniel Negreanu. I personally met Daniel at the WSOP in 2008 and was just amazed at his outgoing personality and his targeted reads at the poker table. A lot can be learned from Daniel and how he is able to project a convincing poker face to his opponents.

While many poker players will try to cover up their face with sunglasses, hoodies or hats, or even cover their face (ala Phil 'unabomber' Laak), many pro poker players have learned that revealing your poker face and using deceptive countermeasures are far more effective in misleading your opponents.

As a side note, Daniel Negreanu along with several other professional poker players have started a grass-roots movement to ban sunglasses and hats at major live poker tournaments.

Before you can work on your poker face, you need to learn more about the body language of the face and what tells are derived from it. Doyle Brunson once said,

"If I can see your eyes, I can see your hole cards."

Although this may scare a player into believing they need to cover their eyes with sunglasses or a hat to prevent a pro from learning the secrets of their poker hand, the reality is that, Doyle, or any experienced pro, does not need to see your eyes. That statement is merely a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the real tells people give away when they play poker.

The truth is, that the poker face is not just resigned to the face, it is more about body language as a whole and the behavior of a person in a certain situation. I always amaze my daughter with the fact I know when she is not telling me the truth, just as any parent is usually able to do, not because I can read her mind, rather I am familiar with her body language, mannerisms and behaviors.

Those are the basic keys to having the ability to read your opponent, and furthermore they are the keys to you projecting your poker face to lead your opponent into believing what you want them to believe. So remember, when playing poker, putting on your poker face is not about hiding your hand, rather it is about telling your opponent what you want him to believe you are holding!

An excellent book on the subject is from a magician and mentalist, known as The Mind Reader. His book is called The Poker Face and gives great tips and strategies for reading body language and detecting lies. It is available as an instant download at http://pokerface.caligonia.com

Midnite Madness Live Poker Tournament - Meadows PA Poker Room

2010-08-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Nearly 60 late nite poker players abandoned their hopes of turning in early this past Saturday night and instead opted in to playing the newly featured 'Midnite Madness' Tournament held at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington PA.

The tournament was the brainchild of poker room manager Peter Lau and Princess of Poker Donna Lapia in an effort to give tournament players a venue to satisfy their late night urge to play a poker tournament. Similar events are held at major casinos across the USA, however, the Meadows tournament brings a little added flavor!

The starting stack is a very generous $12,000 with a dealer buy add on of $1500 ($5 gratuity). The blind levels, in keeping with the '12' theme of a true midnite madness, are 12 minutes long. Players can expect plenty of play for their $50 buy in especially since there are no antes throughout the tourney coupled with the generous starting stack.

With a total of 58 players and a first place prize of $835, the shuffle up and deal announcement was made at just a minute after midnite. Play moved along fairly swiftly as the players adjusted to a faster blind level. By Level 10, with blinds at 2K and 4k, the bubble broke as the remaining 10 players convened to their final table.

Action at first was quite soft as shortstacks found places to double up while the big stacks (including the final table chip leader Carl C. of Washington PA) waited patiently for their chance to KO opponents. Finally with 4 minutes remaining in Level 16 (blinds 10K - 20K) the final 4 were battling it out as the shortstack pushed his 35K all in against the BB who made the call for an additional 15K.

The shortstack tabled Ace 2 suited while the BB reluctantly turned over his 9 5 off. Dealer Micheal spread the flop of 6 3 7, burned and turned an 8 and brought down an irrelevant river 4, giving the BB a winning 7 card straight. With about 780,000 in play that Left the 3 remaining players (Carl, Chuck and Pat) to enter level 17 after nearly 3 and a half hours all with fairly even stacks.

Floor manager John, as well as several other players gathered near the final table to watch the action. Carl C, the overwhelming chip leader throughout most of the tournament raised all in with KQ of hearts on the button against the pocket 10's of Chuck in the BB. Micheal spread a board of J 2 9, giving Carl a glimpse of hope on a gut shot or over card, however the 6 and 5 on the turn and river exasperated Carl's hopes of a first place finish as Chuck scooped in the pot. Carl's third place win netted him nearly $250.

Heads up began and ended quickly on the second hand as Pat made a move against Chuck showing 10 5 off to Chucks Q 8 suited. The board ran out J 7 2 2 6, giving Chuck a Queen high win to take down the $835 prize. Pat's second place finish rewarded him with a little over $420.

The Midnite Madness tourney is an exciting tournament to play in and will be a staple every Friday and Saturday night. Registration begins at 10:00pm on Friday and Saturday evening. Buy in is $50, Hope to see you there!

7 Card Stud Live Poker Tournament At The Meadows

2010-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

28 players anxiously awaited the arrival of the first live 7 card stud tourney in Pennsylvania, this past Sunday afternoon. Spreading a game such as 7 card stud sometimes is difficult in many casinos, not so much that the game is unpopular, rather it is underpopulated in many areas.

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, PA aims to change that idea as a multitude of players in this area are just as well versed in the many varieties of poker aside from Texas Holdem.

Nowadays, when people talk of poker, Texas holdem is the game that comes to mind, yet a lot of new players (as well as the old school players) are venturing into and honing their skills in these ancillary games that at one time were mainstays of every poker night across the USA. Even major venues, such as the WSOP (World Series of Poker) features an annual bracelet event in 7 Card stud.

Peter Lau, poker room manager, announced last week that the Meadows will feature a special 7 card stud tournament every Sunday after several players approached him with their request. The turnout, according to Peter, was more than he had expected and the players were more than happy with the field size.

Several of the players at Sunday's tourney were satisfied and proud that The Meadows was willing to host a tourney with them in mind. The Meadows has taken a step toward becoming a true poker venue, as they also plan Omaha tourneys as well as mixed games at the players request. It is quite refreshing to see that a poker room is willing to accommodate all poker players in any variety of the game and not just offer texas holdem as the only option. Three cheers for customer service!

It is my hope that the 7 Card stud tournaments will continue to grow and attract more players each week, as Peter intends to hold the tournament every Sunday at 3:00pm. I also am anxious to see if a potential tournament satellite into the WSOP for the 7 card stud event could materialize as interest grows.

For all you stud players out there, drop by the Meadows and let Peter or the staff know you want to see more of the game, I am confident, they will listen to us, the players!

For more information on the Meadows, their Poker Room or Tournaments, please contact Peter Lau, myself or the Pennsylvania Poker Players website.

Good Luck and hope to see all you stud players next week!

Meadows Live Poker Tournaments Schedule Released

2010-08-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

The Meadows Poker Room has released their schedule for live poker tournaments held every day.
More than 50 tournaments are open each month with a variety of buy ins and types.

DAY	TIME	TOURNAMENT	BUYIN+ENTRYFEE	LEVELS	CHIPS*
Monday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
	7:30pm	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
Tuesday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
	7:30pm	No Limit Hold'em	$50 + 15	18 min.	5000
Wednesday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
	7:30pm	No Limit Hold'em	$100 + 20	18 min.	6000
Thursday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
	7:30pm	No Limit Hold'emBounty Hunter	$50 + 15($10 Bounty)	18 min.	5000
Friday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
	4:00pm	No Limit Hold'emSit n Go Frenzy	$50 + 15 and$100 + 17	20 min.	2000
	7:30pm	No Limit Hold'emTurbo 55	$40 + 10	10 min.	5500
Saturday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$50 + 15	20 min.	5000
	3:00pm	No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack Grinder	$200 + 25($25 Bounty)	18 min.	10000
Sunday	10:30am	No Limit Hold'em	$30 + 10	18 min.	4000
	3:00pm	7 Card Stud	$40 + 10	18 min.	3000

* Dealer add-on $1000 Bonus Chips - $5

The Blind Structure for the $40 and $65 Tourneys is as follows:(Structure for the Deepstack, Sit N Go and Stud, to be announced)

Level	Ante	Blinds (SB - BB)
1	-	25 - 50
2	-	50 - 100
3	-	100 - 200
4	25	100 - 200
5	50	200 - 400
	10 Minute Break
6	100	400 - 800
7	200	600 - 1200
8	300	800 - 1600
9	300	1000 - 2000
10	500	1500 - 3000
	10 Minute Break
11	500	2000 - 4000
12	1000	3000 - 6000
13	1000	4000 - 8000
14	2000	6000 - 12000
	10 Minute Break
15	3000	8000 - 16000
16	3000	10000 - 20000
17	5000	15000 - 30000
18	By	Director

Additional Information is found on the PA Poker Players website.

Players Advantage - New Poker Player Article

2010-08-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Players Advantage, a column in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review published an article on new players to the poker room this past weekend. Mark Gruetze, Administrative Editor for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review interviewed me recently and wrote an informative article for new poker players entering what is now a thriving casino business in Pennsylvania.

Read the article at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Also see a list of the four local casinos (The Rivers, The Meadows, Mountaineer Casino and Wheeling Island) and their offerings of poker games at Live Poker Room @ Players Advantage.

Mark Gruetze has been a recreational gambler for more than 30 years, focusing on blackjack, video poker and poker. He is administrative editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

First Poker Tournament in PA Well Received

2010-08-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvania's first legal poker tournament took place today at the Meadows Casino and Racetrack in Washington PA. I arrived at 9:30, just to avoid any potential rush of tournament players and was relieved to see that there were just a few signups.

Tension was a little thick as the poker room management(Peter Lau and Donna Lapia, readied the tables along with help from the well-expereinced poker dealers on staff. In addition, several 'suits' were hanging around (puportedly PGCB and Upper level Meadows management) ready to oversee what would historically be the first legal poker tournament in Pennsylvania.

I registered and took a late breakfast and coffee break in anticipation of playing in this tourney. When I returned to the Poker room at 10:28 am I was surprised to see 5 tables filling up for the tournament. What a great turnout! Especially since the tournament was not announced or advertised.

After a brief settling, the tourney got underway.

The Basics:

The buy-in is $40 with a $5 dealer add on bonus, initial chips: $4,000, add-on $1,000.
The structure was player friendly considering the amount of chips as the blind levels were 18 minutes long with starting blinds at $50 and $100.

The tables were hand dealt (the final table used the shufflemaster), however the hands per hour were above average.

42 players registered to the tourney with a payout scale going to the top 5:

1st $567.00
2nd $315.00
3rd $189.00
4th $113.00
5th $ 76.00

The Play

Most of the play at my table was soft with just a little aggression in the early blinds, I ended the first break (at level 5) with a little more than 10K in chips and the field had narrowed to 34.

Although I had played hundreds of low stakes tourneys at Wheeling Island the last few years, this first PA Poker tourney lacked the uber-aggression and complacency commonly seen at the latter. The dealers and staff were very attentive to the level-ups. Although there was problems with the tournament clock in the beginning, (frozen at one point), it was quickly reset, while play continued without missing a beat.

Dealer pushes were done quickly and extra effort was made to ensure the tournament moved along. Going into level 7 (600 and 1200, 200 ante), we were down to 18 players, I sat close to the average with 12K in chips. The final table convened during the 9th Level (1000 and 2000, 300 ante) with 10 players remaining.

The Final table was moved to a poker table with an automatic shuffler and play resumed quickly as seats were assigned. During the break the 100 chips were raced off, and play continued. We had made a deal for the bubble boy, which encouraged two shortstacks to move in and shortly thereafter we were down to the final 5.

With 3 minutes remaining in Level 10 (1500 and 3000, 500 ante), the bubble broke and 5 players remained to capture the title of the winner of the first poker tournament in PA. I lasted until 4th place (Level 11) moving all in on the button with 33 against the BB who showed A6os, flopping a 6 to end my run to be the first winner. Shortly thereafter player 3 went down and heads up play commenced at level 12 (3,000 and 6,000, ante 1000).

Lasting less than 10 minutes, the two players got it all in when the button limped and the BB shoved all in, getting a quick call from his opponent. The tabled hands were (Button) AA, (BB) 4 6os. The flop came down 3 4 4, enough of a sweat for the AA as a turn came down blank and the river Ace giving the champion aces full.

The tourney ended around 2:45pm, with congratulatory handshakes for both players as Peter Lau escorted the entrants to the cage.

Personally, this is one of the better tourneys I have played in recent years as the relaxing and serene atmosphere along with the cordial nature of the poker room and players made it an enjoyable experience overall.

Now that we have that first cash out of the way, let's get onto the big tourneys!
Starting next week, the Meadows will announce their full schedule and it will be posted on the Pennsylavania Poker Players blog at http://pennsylvaniapokerplayers.info

Meadows Poker Tournaments First In Pa Poker Rooms

2010-08-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

An unofficial announcement was made today that the Meadows Poker Room in Washington PA will begin poker tournaments on Friday August 6th, 2010 at 10:30am. The first legal poker tournament in Pennsylvania is a $40 buy in no limit Texas Holdem tourney with a 4000 starting chip stack.

The official announcement will come from the Meadows Poker Room management (Peter Lau, Donna Lapia and Jamison McCombs) by early Friday Morning. The Poker dealers, players and staff have all anxiously awaited the announcement over the last few weeks since the opening of the southwestern PA Poker Room.

This is a great opportunity for all the area's poker tournament players to come out and hone their skills in one of the best poker rooms in the region. I personally am excited to see the poker tournament opportunity come to this area, and will post to this blog the turnout, payouts and winners in the tournaments for this weekend.

ADVISORY: come early! the tournaments start at 10:30am Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and it is possible the tournaments will get capped if too many show up.

For more info, go to the Official Pennsylvania Poker Players Blog

Harrahs Sells Rio All Suite Casino and Hotel Leaves Future of WSOP Unanswered

2010-08-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Rumors circulating over the last few weeks that Harrahs Entertainment is selling the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino finally emerged as the truth yesterday when it was 'unofficially' announced that an 'as of yet unnamed' conglomerate has purchased the property.

This leaves a void as to where the November Nine will play the Final Table of the 2010 WSOP main event and further, where future World Series of Poker events will be held. Needless to say the expansive space of the amazon room, as well as the plentiful space and parking available for the thousands upon thousands of visitors each year during the WSOP series and main event could well be in jeopardy.

However, given the fact that the last several years has seen an explosive growth of participants in the WSOP series events (from 5,000 to over 7,000), it is likely the decision to sell was based on factors already considered by the Harrahs Management. Such as a new, larger home to the WSOP.

I am sure, the answers have adequately been addressed by Harrah's as to where the new WSOP events will be held as well as the logistics of accommodating the massive crowds. Speculation and rumors circulating tend to believe that Harrah's will utilize one or more of its other 7 properties on the Las Vegas strip for the new home of the WSOP.

I personally would like to see the events held closer to the Strip as when I played the WSOP, the daily commute from Harrahs to the Rio was just a bit brutal (both in terms of time and money).

As with most of the Harrahs brands, the WSOP is sure to have the media's attention when it finally decides to reveal to the public their intention on where they will hold the 2011 WSOP.

Poker Tournaments Coming to The Meadows Casino

2010-07-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Inside information from sources close to the Meadows Casino & Racetrack have informed me that by the middle of August 2010, The Meadows will offer No Limit Texas Holdem Poker tournaments!

What a great opportunity for all the poker players in this area as the poker tournaments will be the best in the tri-state region according to the lineup of types of tournaments and given the fact that there are a large amount of tournament players in this area.

First up, The Daily tournaments will be modest buy-ins at $40 and $65 featured in the morning and one in the evening. These tourneys will offer 4000 - 6000 in tournament chips with a player friendly and generous blind structure.

Weekly Big Buy-in poker tournaments are scheduled on Wednesday evening Bounty Hunter and a Saturday Deepstack with 12,000 in chips!

Midnight Madness is sure to be the most fun poker tournament of all! The Midnite Madness will offer $12,000 in chips, 12 minute blinds and you guessed it, starts at Midnite every Friday and Saturday night.

In addition to all this action, The Meadows poker room is also offering a Sit n Go Frenzy every friday with non stop sit n go tables open as shorthanded (6-max) and full 9 player tables. A quick way to build your bankroll for the cash games.

For full details, check out the upcoming announcement on the official Pennsylvania Poker Players website

Meadows Poker Room Announces Shuffle up and Deal!

2010-07-04T05:08:00.001-07:00

The Meadows poker room at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino located just outside of Washington PA announces their Poker Room schedule for this week.

July 5th: Open to the public, play money games. This practice session will help dealers become familiar with an actual game setting and allow the public to get a feel for the real casino environment. No actual real money wagering will take place during this practice day. Th public is invited to sit down at the tables and experience the various games. Times are from 8 am to 10 pm.

July 6th: Charity Day (INVITATION ONLY), This is a real money wagering test day mandated by the PGCB (Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board). From 2 pm to 10pm, anyone who has received an invitation may attend the table games where real money wagering is permitted (up to $5 max). Proceeds from this event will benefit the United Way of Washington County.

July 7th: No table Games (Regular casino is open) This day is the off day for the PGCB review.

July 8th: (Upon approval)Opening Day for the Table Games! Starts at 6am and will run 24 hrs. a day. Poker, Blackjack, three card, roulette and craps. This is the official opening day for the table games and the Poker Room.

Come out and meet the staff, the players and have a great time in one of the most beautiful casinos in Pennsylvania!

Questions? email or join the Pennsylvania Poker Players official news at http://pennsylvaniapokerplayers.com

Pennsylvania Poker Players Celebrate!

2010-05-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

Now that the Pennsylvania legislature has finally allowed Pensylvanians to play Poker (and other table games) in our local slots casinos, we can dispense with traveling 50 or more miles to casinos in our neighboring states!

It was only a matter of time, and now that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) is beginning to approve licenses for the 9 established casinos in the Commonwealth, PA residents can now enjoy playing the game of poker closer to home.

As of this writing, the following casinos have received approval from the PGCB to begin offering table games:

The Meadows (Washington, PA)
Presque Isle (Erie, PA)
Hollywood Casino (Penn National Race Course)
Mount Airy Casino Resort (Mount Pocono, PA)
Sands Resort (Bethlehem, PA)

Of course, my casino of choice will be the Meadows as it is only a few miles from my home! I have played at Wheeling Island for the last two years and will not miss the drive (about 40 minutes each way).

The Meadows will offer poker players a large amount of opportunities and a varied selection of games, including some of the best tournaments in the tri-state area!

The poker room manager, Peter Lau, is formerly the Poker room manager of Wheeling Island as well as having more than 20 years experience at other casinos such as Foxwoods.

The Meadows will offer WSOP satellites as well as some very exciting tournament and poker cash games. Although nothing is set in stone at this point, the Meadows anticipates opening their poker room in the early part of July, 2010.

If you would like to receive notice when the Poker Room opens, as well as information on any PA poker casino, click the PennsylvaniaPokerPlayers.com website and join the newsletter!

Good Luck and hope to see you at the tables!

Great Poker Gift For Your Valentine

2010-02-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

This Valentine's Day do something extra special for your sweetheart by entering them in the WSOP (World Series of Poker)!

Wheeling Island Casino Hotel and Racetrack in Wheeling WV will host a WSOP satellite event on February 14th 2010 at 1:00 pm (EDT) in the spacious showroom on the main casino floor.

The event is a $130 entry with ONE optional rebuy of $70. Once your chipstack is below the starting stack of $10,000 you may rebuy an additional $10,000 in chips for $70.

The blind levels are 20 minutes and start at 25 - 50. The complete blind structure can be viewed here.

The event will award at least one $10,000 WSOP main event seat and $6000 in extra cash for expenses. The final table will be paid. (*based on a minimum of 132 players)

Take your sweetheart to an early Valentine lunch at the exquisite Pointe restautarant or the fabulous buffet featured on the main casino level. Wheeling Island also features all table games including blackjack, craps, roulette, 3 card poker, 2000+ slot machines and of course a 20 table poker room with all types and limits of games.

Take a chance to win your WSOP seat this year and you and your sweetheart may be able to honeymoon in fabulous Las Vegas this July!

If you have any questions or need assistance for the tournament contact the Poker Room Manager Peter Lau at 1 877.943.3546 or by email at plau@dncinc.com

Good Luck! Hope to see you there!

What a Rush! Rush Poker at Full Tilt

2010-01-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

Full Tilt poker just introduced a new way to play poker, called Rush Poker. User input and suggestions helped to formulate this new method of online poker with a twist. Much like speed poker or the turbo Texas holdem tournaments, Rush Poker has a twist that will keep you addicted.

I took the opportunity to try out this new way to play poker online and here is my review of Full Tilt’s Rush poker.

The way the game works is you register in a ring game (cash game poker) and buy in for your desired amount. The game is not a poker tournament, rather a regular cash game. The twist is you are playing against hundreds or even thousands of other players as each table you sit down to will rotate the players.

When you first join a Rush Poker game, you are set at a table with 8 other players, and dealt your hole cards. If you choose to fold your poker hand, you are immediately sent to another table with 8 different players.

To facilitate even more speed in the game, you can ‘quick fold’ before action is on you, to go to the next table. If you do not like the poker hand dealt to you, simply click quick fold and BAM! You are at another table.

The speed in which you are dealt hands is incredible, as I played for one hour and saw 312 poker hands! In a normal online poker cash game, that would be about 5 hours of play, and in live poker, that’s about 12 hours play.

In addition to the speed in which you are deal hands, there are a few more advantages to Rush Poker: the changing players, elimination of cheating or colluding and better hand selection.

The Changing Players

Since each table you are moved to has 8 other players and there are usually hundreds of players in the game, the chances of you seeing the same people again are slim, (although it happens). This is an advantage, because if you bluff or slow play or trap, these opponents may not see you again, and hardly have time to take notes on your play.

Elimination of Cheating / Colluding

This is a big plus! Since the players constantly rotate and the odds of any two players sitting at the same table are greatly minimized, poker cheating and colluding becomes practically non-existent.

In a normal game, two or three players can easily dominate a table using text, instant messaging or any number of other methods to communicate their hole cards to each other, giving them an advantage over other players.

Colluding becomes harder and therefore the Rush Poker game becomes a better game.

Better Hand Selection

One of the hardest things for poker players is the wait between hands and folding constantly until they get a good hand. Sometimes I personally have sat one or two hours without seeing a quality hand and scooping a big pot. When I played Rush Poker, I saw 312 hands and was able to win 26 pots that tripled my buy in!

The hands come a lot faster and it seems to me that people were a lot more selective about their starting poker hands. This adds to a good game, as you have a less chance of poker bad beats when a guy is so bored he plays a junk hand and hits a miracle card to river you.

Faster poker, it appears to be the next wave in online poker, as more sites are adding turbo texas holdem tournaments, but Full Tilt is the first to introduce this new idea to the poker cash games. I look for PokerStars to add a competitive method soon as It will catch on quickly with poker players.

Learn more poker strategy by visiting the How To Win At Poker Blog

Darvin Moon Poker Challenge Kicks Off!

2010-01-13T22:25:00.000-08:00

The Darvin Moon Poker Challenge kicks off today at the Wheeling Island Casino Hotel Racetrack with the first of four events, a $125 buy in No Limit Texas Holdem tournament. The expected field size is about 150 players with an anticipated prize pool of over $15,000.
Each event in the Darvin Moon Poker challenge will award points to the final 20 as well as cash prizes. The points will be tallied on a leaderboard with the person getting the most points, eligible to play Darvin Moon heads up for $2000 (added by the house).

I will be playing in the event, all four of the events as well as structure and satellites are listed at Pokerline.org go over and check it out!

Wheeling Island is offering a special room rate during the challenge of $59/night, you can call the Hotel @ 1877 WIN HERE.

If you have any questions or need assistance for the tournament contact the Poker Room Manager Peter Lau at 1 877.943.3546 or by email at plau@dncinc.com

Good Luck! Hope to see you there!

How To Win Texas Hold em Poker Games

2009-12-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Texas hold em poker games have recently become one of the hottest activities on and off the Internet. Live poker tournaments can be found in practically every major city and casino worldwide.

This new wave of entertainment has even become known as the newest sport. A sport where anyone, regardless of age, physical prowess, or experience can have an opportunity to compete with professionals side by side in a competition that produces many millionaires each year.

Merely playing in a Texas hold em poker game, does not necessarily mean you can win it, just like with any sport or competition, you must acquire and posses a special skill set to find yourself getting further and winning. The key to winning Texas hold em poker games is experience.

That experience can come from actual play or from practicing in online poker tournaments in the multitude of available pokersites. In addition to playing Texas hold em poker games, one must continually try and improve their game by using the knowledge of each game and apply it to future competitions.

Texas hold em poker games are primarily what is known as situational. That is to say, each situation you are involved in has a unique set of circumstances, which may or may not be repeated the next time you play. The reason is the deal of the cards and the variety of people playing in each poker tournament will change each time you play.

For example, when you are dealt pocket Aces in a Texas hold em poker game, you can not just assume the correct move is to raise or go all in. It largely depends on two things. One is the position in which you are sitting and the other is the style of players at your table.

If your table has several aggressive players that like to raise every hand and you are sitting before them (in early position), it may be a good idea to just limp in (do not raise). The hope is that one of your more aggressive opponents will raise giving you the opportunity to make more money in the pot.

If your table is tight and rarely anyone raises, and you are in late position (or last to act pre-flop), you may want to raise after several players have come in to the pot. This may get them to fold and allow you to just take the pot down now.

Texas hold em poker games are easier to win if you can obtain enough information on your opponents, and use the knowledge of different situations to play against these opponents. First, learn the different styles of how to play position, when to bluff, when to fold (different situations) and then put that knowledge to work and gain the experience you need.

A simple plan of attack that you formulate beforehand will give you the confidence and knowledge to win more Texas hold em poker games in the future.

Get more poker tips and poker strategy by getting your FREE copy of How to Succeed as a Professional Online Poker Player.

The Cash Out Curse Is it Real In Online Texas Holdem?

2009-12-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

Lately, a lot of people have begun to question the honesty of several online pokersites, due in part to recent scandals involving players on particular sites. Many have gone so far as to claim that online poker is rigged and that a winning player is penalized for making withdrawals. This is known in the poker community as the ‘cash out curse’

Typically, a player that has won a large sum of money or has consistently played well and won several big cashes, goes to withdraw a portion of their winnings. Suddenly they are attacked by a seemingly inevitable curse that causes them to constantly lose game after game, forcing them to reload their account with more money.

Many claim that the poker sites, to keep people from cashing out their winnings, perpetrate this cash out curse. No matter how hard one would try to convince someone that this is just a fable, the losing player can not be convinced, as they continue to complain that online poker is rigged and that when they cash out they go on a losing streak because the poker site wants them to keep their money online.

Although the notion of a ‘cash out curse’ may seem ridiculous, it is entirely possible that a pokersite can (and often does) control the cards of a particular player. This is accomplished by the fact that everything in an online poker site is regulated by computer-generated codes and programs under the direct control of the owners of the site.

Read more at EzineArticles The Texas Hold em Cash Out Curse. . .

Daniel Negreanu Blasts Shortstackers

2009-11-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

While sitting at a $100-$200 cash game on Pokerstars, Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu (KidPoker) went slightly on tilt and began blasting the shortstacks at the table. The max buyin was $20,000 with a minimum buy in of $4,000. Daniel had come to the table with $20,000 and shortly built it up to nearly $38,000 when his pocket Aces got cracked by pocket Kings.

Daniel was in early position and raised to $1200 while middle position player re-raised to $3600, Daniel was holding $38,000 while his opponent had just under $20,000. Daniel's response to the reraise was to move all-in. His opponent called and showed KK vs. KidPoker’s AA. The flop hit the K and rivered a full house for Daniel’s opponent.

Left with about $9,000 in chips, Daniel made another move when a shortstack pushed all in with a little less than $4000, Daniel made the call and showed JJ vs. shortstacks Ace rag. Daniel won the hand and a few hands later he held A9 of hearts and again tangled with another shortstack having less than $4000.

Daniel managed to river a flush against the shortstack, increasing his chipstack to almost $19,000. Again Daniel found himself involved in another hand against a shortstack at the table holding JJ; he flopped a set and took the shorty’s chips.

The frustration of having to call an all-in so many times against so many shortstacks at this cash table seemed to wear on Negreanu as he began to berate the shortstacks. Daniel said “I don’t know why I sit down at a table where they allow a minimum buy-in like that” and later he said, “This is just bad for the game”.

Another player remarked that Daniel should not blast the shortstacks that are feeding him chips. To which Daniel responded, I will never sit at a table like this again. A point was made by another player that Daniel could easily move to a table that has a 50BB minimum buy in.

At one point the heated debate brought in a moderator, who apparently saw nothing wrong with Daniel’s tirade. Apparently, a player at the table called in a moderator, the moderator stated he did not see a problem and quickly left.

Although Daniel Negreanu is considered the ambassador of poker and he is always willing to take a few minutes time to sign autographs or shake hands, I think he should not complain so much at the players who just wanted a shot at sitting at a table with him and playing poker.

Hey, Daniel, we all go on tilt, it happens and I agree the shortstacks do sometimes cause undue frustration. However, I think you should not complain, since it is just as easy for you to get up and move to another table. A table that does not allow someone to buy in for a mere $4,000.

Free eBook How To Succeed As A Professional Online Poker Player

2009-10-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

Released today, get a free copy of my eBook How to succeed as a professional Online Poker Player.

In the book, I explain strategies, bankroll management and basic knowledge on playing online. As many of you regular poker players already know, playing online poker is much different than playing live in a real casino.

I show in the book some of the best poker strategy for online play and give insight into some of the online poker differences. The book will definitely help you improve your game, understand some of the basic mathematics involved as well as help with your bankroll management.

Did I mention: It's FREE!

Get your free copy by clicking Professional Online Poker

And Please tweet this to all your poker friends, Thanks, I appreciate it!

Full Tilt Crash! Fulltiltpoker crashes

2009-10-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Today at 3:15pm EST Fulltilt crashed and has been down for more than 30 nminutes now.

I was playing in a $10+1 tourney and had a substantial chip lead 4th with 320 people left)

Just my luck!
I wonder if this has anything to do with the lawsuit filed this morning by Lary Kennedy and Greg Omotoy, who claim owners of Fulltilt poker Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey and Mike Matusow, (among others) refused to pay out more than $80,000 in their accounts after Fulltilt accused them of using Robots (poker bots) to win. The pair said they are skilled as well as fortunate in their massive wins.

The pair claim Fulltilt is the one using poker bots and intend to provide proof at the upcoming lawsuit.

As a side note, it has always been my contention that online poker sites use bots, algorithms and subroutines to skew the real statistics. Kennedy and Omotoy also allege that the bots used by Fulltilt are designed to make the game a game of chance and luck and purposely ignore the statistical odds of the game.

Is it possibly true what they are saying? hmmm! are online poker sites using software to keep your winning hands from winning online poker?

If you have received constant bad beats and horrible suckouts, that may well explain the problem.

Nevertheless, one has to wonder, why did Fulltilt just suddenly decide to investigate kennedy and omotoy's withdrawal?
Is it because they KNOW nobody should be able to severly beat their software like they did?

again... hmmm!

Methinks every online poker player should invest in a way to beat the software and then maybe they would remove the unfair algorithms they use!

read more at Online Poker Code

Can People Win at Online Poker? Luck vs. Skill

2009-09-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

Poker is often argued as nothing more than a game of luck. Many skeptics will claim that lucky or bad players always win while skilled players with the best hands, and seasoned professionals making a move, lose all too often. However, the reality is that luck has very little to do with the playing and winning at online poker.

The single factor motivating the winning hands in an online poker game is the computer-generated programs used to determine the deal of the cards. Often, people will adhere to the theory that it is the luck of the draw, or that the pokersites reward bad players. Neither of these arguments is true.

The real truth is in your ability to see how the computer-generated software determines the winner in any hand. Poker sites for years have sought a solution to make the game appear fair and completely random just like a live game. This attempt to simulate a live game has resulted in certain algorithms being written into the poker sites code, so that the online poker game appears fair.

However, in adding algorithms and subroutines that skew the actual odds and results, the online poker sites have created a massive problem when one and two outers seemingly win all too often. The constant bad beats of online poker are the hot topic of many poker forums and debates all over the Internet.

So, what is the truth? Moreover, what is the solution? The truth is that online poker sites have purposely added in unnecessary code just so their poker games appear as random as possible. Those codes in effect ignore the true statistical odds and predetermine winning hands without regard to the real game. In reality it often becomes a crapshoot because strong hands tend to lose more often than in a live game.

The solution to this problem is simply to understand the algorithms and then use those patterns against the program to ensure you win more often. Skeptics will say that a lot of the play online is the result of bad players (amateurs and action junkies just looking to get lucky). Yet, those same skeptics refuse to address the concrete fact that pokersites openly admit to using certain algorithms to level the field and make the game appear fair.

If you truly want to win at online poker, you first must understand that the online poker sites are not a real live game. Furthermore, because of their software, you are not up against other players as much as you are against a computer. In order to beat a computer game, you must know and understand the code it is using to beat you.

Paul Westin is a professional poker player and former software engineer. Interested in the code used by online poker sites? If you ever wondered why you get constant bad beats and can not win, you should read more about the online poker code crack

RNG Full Tilt Poker Flaws

2009-09-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

Is there something amiss in the software used to run FullTilt, or is it just our imagination? This post will examine the inherent RNG Full Tilt poker flaws and how it adversely affects players.

The RNG, as most any online poker player knows is the Random Number Generator that "shuffles" the cards in an online poker room. The RNG is by most accounts the fairest way to shuffle a deck to make the game appear fair and random. However, there are several inherent flaws which inevitably have many poker players screaming "This site is rigged"

There are several arguments as to why bad beats and suck outs occur on Full Tilt, and most of these are explained away in a non-technical 'that's poker' explanation. However, it stands to reason that there actually should be a more plausible reasoning behind the enormous amount of bad beats and suckouts.

That reasoning, as discussed by Paul Westin (a professional poker player and software engineer), is that there really are flaws in the programs used by Full Tilt as well as Pokerstars and almost all other online poker sites.

The flaws are a result of an attempt by the programmers to create a secure and unpredictable deal of the cards using the RNG. In 2001 several skilled software programmers were able to break the pattern of a popular RNG used on a well-known poker site, resulting in massive wins by the hackers.

This prompted the Online poker sites to find a more secure manner in which to deal and shuffle cards. At first, the seed used in the RNG was changed to a non-static variable (such as a white noise generator, sound wave technology, etc). This helped make it nearly impossible to find the seed, since the variable would constantly change in a widely non-specific pattern.

The next measure was to add in algorithms and subroutines to prevent any one player to win pot after pot. This was a safeguard in case the RNG was possibly compromised, and further accomplished by an algorithm which would force specific hands to win, while others would lose. (you know AA vs. 5 8os and the 5 8 gets there!)

The result is less than desirable, since the actual deal of the cards no longer mimic real life statistics. In fact, in a study of 250,000 hand histories, it was determined that a straight or flush occurred 12% more often than it would in live play. While a full house occurred nearly 25% more often than it statistically would in live play.

After careful examination of Paul Westin's complete study on the RNG full tilt poker flaws, I am without a doubt convinced that his answers are way more plausible than the standard answers given in most rigged poker debates.

It should be noted that Westin does not claim the sites are rigged to their own advantage, rather they are rigged to prevent cheating, collusion and players dominating a table. The algorithms used are in place to prevent what the poker site feels would otherwise be an unfair advantage.

However, the fact that they add in algorithms and subroutines in an attempt to prevent cheats, has opened up the door for a person to actually win more if they are familiar with the patterns created by the algorithms and if that player knows what to 'look for' while playing.

My opinion is that Westin is on target, his explanation definitely gives a player the advantage and he even shows how to suckout and how to know when you are going to lose a big hand.

You can read more at the Online Poker Code Crack site and further articles located at ezinearticles.

Good Luck as always!

Are Online Poker Sites Fair Or Rigged?

2009-09-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

The online poker sites would have you believe that their software is fair for all players. In fact many of the online poker sites are required to submit their software for rigorous testing to prove it is a fair game for all players. However, is the software really fair? On the other hand, is there something going on in the background that many people never realize?

Many victims of bad beats will scream "this site is rigged" while others will counter that the suck outs and bad beats are all a part of poker and it happens even in live games. While that is true, it still begs the question as to whether there is more to the online poker game than meets the eye.

In a recent study conducted by a popular poker forum, the question, "Are Online Poker Sites Rigged?" was posed and the results were nearly split with 42% saying yes and 58% saying no. However, opinions by players really have no bearing on the truth as to whether there is something amiss in the software.

Attention to the fact that there are flaws in the software used to produce 'random' cards has always been the focal point of the argument. The fact that a computer program is determining the outcome using a RNG (Random Number Generator), does not imply the game is fair or random.

A RNG is merely a program that will "shuffle" the 52-card deck and appear to deal that deck in what may seem to be a random manner. However, because the RNG has limitations on capacity and ability to be truly random, additional software algorithms and processes are added into the online poker software to further insinuate a fair game.

It is these additional programs and algorithms that is the true culprit in creating an environment where bad beats and suck outs will occur more frequently. A popular poker site once claimed that the reason one may see so many bad beats online is that more hands are dealt. This limp explanation is neither credible nor even close to reality.

A typical live tourney will see an average of 38 hands dealt per hour, while an online tourney will have 52 hands dealt per hour. That in itself, is not a significant difference to warrant the overwhelming amount of bad beats that occur. The fact is, you could sit through thousands of live hands and not see the amount of remarkable bad beats that will occur online.

There is, of course, an explanation for this anomaly, and that explanation lies in the flaws of the computer generated program that determines the outcome of hands in online poker. In reality, the poker sites are rigged, since they do not use a true random determination, rather a programmed determination and additional subroutines and algorithms to effect the final outcome.

The 'rigged mentality' is usually geared toward bad beats and suck outs; however, the poker sites are rigged toward the winning hands (not toward bad beats) through the use of special algorithms used to determine the outcome. Furthermore, anyone who knows how the software works could easily manipulate it to their own advantage, thereby winning in more tournaments and cashing more often.

So, the next time you play online poker, do it with the knowledge that the cards being dealt are not truly random, and that there is a software program that actually is the determining factor if you win the hand or not.

Paul Westin is a professional poker player on several online poker sites and a former software engineer for a gaming company. His latest research reveals the inner workings of the online poker sites and how the software programs used on the poker sites affect the outcomes of your play. Visit the Online Poker Code Crack for more information on beating the rigged poker sites.

A related article on Poker cheating software is found here on EzineArticles

Online Poker Rigged? Secret Revealed!

2009-08-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

Paul Westin, a professional poker player and former software engineer has recently released what some say will turn the online poker sites head over heels in an amazing revelation of the inner workings of the software!

For many, the phrase, 'this site is rigged' or 'they are cheating' has often been the battle cry of dominant hands getting taken down by inferior hands in online poker. Well, Westin is revealing all in his behind the scenes (or program should I say) look at the online poker rooms and how the software works.

I had the opportunity to review Paul Westin's Online Poker Code Crack, and can tell you that I was impressed to say the least. Not only does he take an in-depth look at how the software works, Westin also gives you the code to manipulate the software to your advantage!

Intrigued by his claims of being able to consistently win in online poker, I decided to try it myself. The results were far better than I had expected as I finished 4th in a deep tournament on Fulltilt (my best finish in 6 months!).

Surprisingly, Westin walks you through the program and reveals the flaws inherent in the software which allow you to manipulate the software and get deeper in any tourney. I was at the very least amazed at the results and at the simplicity with which Paul has laid out everything.

Take a look at it yourself and see the real truth behind the software in online poker. I think you will agree with me that all those moaners who said "it's rigged" were right! The online poker software is rigged, rigged for you to win, if you know how!

See results, testimonials and the whole story here; the Online Poker Code Crack

Online Poker The Random Number Generator

2009-08-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

As many people are aware, online poker rooms (as well as any online gambling site) uses what is called a random number generator to produce what would appear to be a random outcome in each hand.

This article will explain the Random Number Generator (also called Pseudo-Random Number Generator, PRNG or RNG). The purpose of this article is to familiarize players with the 'inner workings' of the software used in the Online Poker rooms and the way cards are produced in a deal.

The use of a RNG is nothing new, as it actually dates back hundreds of years before the computer was even conceived. Mathematicians as early as the 1700's used a random number process to try and determine outcomes of specific problems.

The advent of the computer presented a challenge for scientists and programmers wanting to produce a seemingly random action from the computer, and therefore an assembly code language function was implemented called RAND also known as randomize and RND. This function would be attached to a program and assigned a variable to select a random number.

However, the program required a 'seed' number to begin its process of selecting what would appear to be a random number, otherwise it would produce the same series of numbers each time the program ran. Therefore, early programmers used the timer function on the CPU in order to produce a different series of seemingly random numbers each time the program ran.

This was somewhat acceptable and appeared to produce a different random result each time. However, after several thousand runs of the program, it became easier to 'predict' what series of numbers would come out. This gave a challenge to programmers to find a way to actually produce what would seem to be a truly random result, one that could not be predicted or repeated in any short course of time.

Ultimately, a mathematical method was derived that gave the RNG's a better way to produce a more realistic way of generating random numbers. In addition, experiments using white noise generators to produce the seed were also successful. Both of these among other secondary methods to produce a seemingly random result are used today in all major Online Poker rooms.

Now for the DEAL!

How does that affect the deal of cards, you may ask. Well, actually, the modern RNG programs are more beneficial then the software used several years ago. The sophistication of the randomness is better for the player, because the predictability of a card is much harder, and the RNG is designed to curtail cheating. However, it is not the best method and has many failures.

The Major Fail

A standard 52 card deck has a total number of possible combinations of 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,404,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Thats a BIG number, in fact, there is no name for a number that large except to say it is 8 times 10 to the 67th power.

What this means is that if you lay out all 52 cards in order, that is one possible combination of the deck, you shuffle the cards and lay them out again, they obviously are in a different order, and that would be a second combination, repeat this process and each time you would get a different sequence or combination of cards laid out on the table. It would require a minimum 8 times 10 to the 67th power 'deals' to repeat the exact same sequence of cards.

In essence, a deck of cards is ideally suited to an RNG because of the endless variety of combinations of a deck. However, there is no possible way any computer in existence has the ability to store every combination (it would require at the bare minimum a 256 bit processor and a whole lot of speed!) and since most servers use only a 32 or 64 bit architecture they are only able to process a small fraction of all possible combinations.

Two Pigeons; One Hole

This is known as the Pigeonhole Principle, wherein the theorem states that there does not exist an injective function on finite sets whose co-domain is smaller than its domain. In other words, you can not put two objects into a container that is physically only able to hold one object.

So what happens to the billions of possible deck combinations? Simple, they are never used, processed or even appear in the online poker RNG. They do not exist as far as the program is concerned.

In reality, out of the 8x10^67 possible combinations only about 4 billion deck combinations are used in a 32bit architecture. This greatly reduces the number of possible hands you can make, and also is a basic explanation as to why there are so many bad beats and made hands in online poker.

For this reason, you will notice more straights, more flushes and more often full houses appear at showdown. The program, by reducing all the possible combinations down to less than 1/20^58, now forces a lot of action and produces a lot of big hands, because it strips away all the outer-dimensional deck combinations. (How often do you see high card, one pair or two pair win?)

In conclusion, the RNG used in online poker is never able to truly produce a random deck or outcome, simply because the program does not use all possible combinations of decks. There are other reasons the deck may be stacked against you and we will explore those in upcoming articles.

I hope this article is helpful to you in understanding how the RNG produces a 'random' deck of cards and invite you to subscribe or bookmark this blog to learn more about online poker.

This post is intended to give a brief oversight of some of the inner workings of the online poker RNG, in the next post, I will explore how the RNG can actually be manipulated to your advantage.

Texas Holdem Card Game Poker Strategies

2009-04-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Live the excitement you see on TV! You can be a part of the World Series of Poker, The World Poker Tour, or High Stakes Poker. These shows and more feature professional Texas holdem poker players as well as an abundance of beginners. Yet, can any beginner learn to play poker and cash in big?

Unlike many sports that require professionals with certain physical attributes, a novice can play poker with the pro's and succeed. One such amateur poker player, Chris Moneymaker accomplished it in 2003, cashing in at $2,500,000. Chris began his trek to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker after taking first place through online poker site Poker Stars. Successfully beating out hundreds of opponents, Chris went to Las Vegas and settled into playing the majors at the WSOP, surviving a massive field of 838 other poker players and successfully conquering one of the most celebrated pros, Sammy Farha for the championship victory.

Even if you have never had the chance to play poker, you can do the same. The skills required are minimal, however, the possibilities are unlimited. A quick study of the game and lots of practice in Texas Holdem can give you the chance to play poker against the pro's and an opportunity to possibly cash in the big one! Practice makes perfect, practice to play poker daily in the online freerolls offered by every online poker site.

Study the game, Practice and read Mitch's Book 101 winning moves in tournament poker: You too can Play like a champ and win like a pro

Play Online Poker – Free Online Games to Win Money

2009-04-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

In our world of free offers, often there is very little value in what is being offered for free. This has made many people skeptical when the word free is used in any advertisement or article.

However, there truly is a free way to make money online and you can have fun doing it. One of the best ways to make money online is to play online poker free games. The online poker casinos call these free games ‘freerolls’.

As a kid, you may have enjoyed playing video games or online games, spending hours trying to attain a higher score or be the master of your favorite online game. However, the reward for most of these online games is a psychological win. Now there is a way you can still play online video games and make real hard cash doing it.

The Online poker industry is one of the fastest growing and easiest ways to cash in on doing what you like anyway, playing online games for free. You may have heard of several poker players that won huge tournaments online for thousands of dollars, like Chris Moneymaker (who won the World Series of Poker main event for a cool $2.5 million) He got his start at pokerstars.com, an online poker site.

Another icon in the free online games field is professional poker player Chris Ferguson, who in 2006 was challenged to make $10,000 just by playing free online poker. The challenge was to start with $0 in his account and build it to $10,000. He not only succeeded in doing this, but he surpassed his mark, and donated all the proceeds to charity.

Now it is your turn! Can you make money from just playing in free online poker games? YES! Take the challenge. Here is how to get started:

I have found that pokerstars.com offers the best in free online poker games, and actually offers the easiest chance to win. Start by signing up (use the link to the right to be eligible for a $50 cash bonus).
There is no cost to sign up and you are not required to make any deposit to Poker Stars.
Once you have signed up, then go to the Tourney Tab and click freerolls. About every 40 minutes Pokerstars offers a freeroll tournament to get into the weekly. The top 48 to 90 players in the freeroll get a ticket to the weekly round 2 where you can play to win real cash. The cash prize pool is $2000, with first place usually getting over $250. The payout is usually down to 800 people with last place getting under $1.

Winning a dollar may not sound like much, however you can take that $1 and play in a low stake tournament to begin building your bankroll. Poker Stars.com offers tournaments starting as low as 10 cents.
So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up using the convenient link to the right and get in a freeroll. It is FREE and you can have fun playing online games free with a chance to make money. It is better than playing online games or video games just for bragging rights.

Good Luck!

How to Win at Poker - Free Poker Games

2009-04-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Free poker games are a gimmick that the online casinos use to reel in the players, and you can take advantage of this opportunity to make some real cash. I first started playing online poker in a virtual pokerroom in 2006, at this time; I was introduced to the freeroll concept.

The free poker games ran about 4 times a day and allowed a maximum of 2500 players, which filled very fast. I managed to get into a few of these and soon realized that many people did not take this serious. There were players going all-in on the first hand with absolutely junk cards. I asked the question, why is everybody going all-in? To which several people replied, hey it’s a freeroll!

This mentality soon irritated me and I decided to watch a few of these freerolls instead of playing in them. Over the course of several months, I noticed a trend and started to do a little math. What I discovered was that more than half the field was gone in the first hour. I also noticed that if you folded every hand and just sat, you would make the first hour with a little more than half your original stack.

Now of course, it is tough to make it deep with about 25% of the chip average, however, I wanted to see how a ‘survival’ mode would play out in the free poker games. So I continued to play and watch the ‘freeroll mentality’ to learn more about how I could take advantage of the free poker games. At the start I decided unless I had a top ten hand, I would not play, and even then if I would be put all in preflop, I would fold (yes, even aces!)

My strategy was working well, as over the next month I was getting to the first break in the free poker games with as much as 2 or 3 times the starting stack. Soon I learned that the best way to get deep in the free poker games is to stay as tight as possible in the first hour and part of the second hour. Do not make any unnecessary moves or call for draws unless the price was largely in my favor (like 10:1 or better).

This strategy not only strengthened my play at the online pokerrooms, but also in my live tournament plays. The strategy was to save all your plays and moves for later when the field is smaller, and poker players generally tighten up when they get close to the money. This strategy soon paid off on the free poker games; I took first place three times in one month and cashed eight times in total.

As for my live play, this same thought process spilled over into my live game and I cashed for more than $25,000 in one year. Free poker games are good to build your bankroll at the online casinos; however, you have to dispose of the ‘freeroll mentality’ and play it like it is a real tournament. Take the free poker game seriously and the game will pay you off, seriously!

Oh and check out my $25,000 in wins at live casino poker tournaments, you can do it too!!

Free Poker Tips to Overcome Common Poker Diseases

2009-04-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Many poker players suffer from several common poker ‘diseases’ because of playing the game. Typically, any poker player can easily contract these diseases. Yet, overcoming them may take time and a little dose of reality ‘medicine’.

Three of the most common ailments a poker player suffers from are:

Call-itis

Blind Paranoia

Chip Anxiety

Let us approach each one of these poker diseases and examine simple cures for overcoming the problem and improving your game with these free poker tips.

Call-itis-

This disease is typically an affliction that attacks many new poker players to the game; it is caused by the undying need to see a flop, the turn, and the river. Amateur poker players will call everything even if you know you have little or no chance to win. Curiosity killed the cat, and call-itis will kill your chip-stack. People affected by call-itis are known in the poker world as calling stations.

First and foremost to overcome call-itis is to understand that any two cards do NOT have a chance to win in a 9 handed game. In fact, straight odds give you less than a 10% chance to win with any non-paired hand. It is best to wait it out until you have a decent starting hand, and let that mediocre poker hand go when you miss.

Many people who call just to see the next card are living on hope and usually do not win often, sure you may pull an occasional pot, however in the long run, calling stations usually never see the final table, or get the big cash in poker tournaments.

Blind Paranoia

This unfortunate affliction is the detriment of many poker players who do not understand math very well. However, it is the delight of mathematical players, since they know the shortstacks feel compelled to push with any ace or face card, because the blinds are getting high.

For example, Let us say you are in a poker tournament with 50 people and the starting stack is $2000, that means there is $100,000 in play. Most ‘experts’ will tell you when you have less than 10 times the blinds you need to make a move. This is a false notion that ends up getting a lot of people knocked out because of Blind paranoia.

In reality, the time to panic is not when you have less than 10 times the blind, rather when you have less than half the average stack. Here is why; if there are 20 people left, the average stack is now $5000, and lets say you have $4000, you are 20% below the average and statistically 40% of players have equal or less than you. That means there are about 12 people with more chips than you and 7 people with equal or less than you. You actually have a good chance to make the final table, because of the other 7 short players who will push with mediocre hands. Pay attention to the average chipstack and ignore the blinds, and you will see that you will make it deeper every time

Chip Anxiety

This goes pretty much in line with blind paranoia, however, chip anxiety is the anxious desire to make a move early in a poker tournament because you think someone is going to get more chips than you and you need to hurry up and get chips. It is a vicious circle, when in reality, your chips stack is largely insignificant until after the first hour or so of the tournament. It is not necessary to try and get all the chips in the first 10 or 15 minutes of a poker tournament, since the tourney will not be won in ten hands. The tourney will last several hours in most cases, and like any competition, you need to pace yourself to win the prize.

The best free poker advice is to follow these tips and modify your game to make it deep. Let other players make the mistakes and bust each other out, while you slowly build to the top. Just remember these three free poker tips, and you will surely get deeper and cash more often.

For more great tips and to see how I won more than $30,000 last year in live poker tournaments visit my winning at poker page

Online Poker Cheaters Caught In The Act!

2009-04-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Recent scandals from other online poker sites may have caused many people to limit their play or stop playing, however, Pokerstars.com has renewed my faith in the game and made me confident that they are keeping an eye on my money!

I have played online poker for a few years now, and on a few of the mor popular online poker sites. On occasion, as with any online poker player, I would get a notion that there may be some collusion or cheating at the table. Since there was never any proof, or anything I could do about it, I would usually just leave the table and go elsewhere.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I opened my email and received the following from Pokerstars.com:

----- Original Message -----
From:
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, XXXXXXXX, 2009 12:29 PM
Subject: Account Credit

> Hello,
>
> PokerStars has become aware of two players who were working together in our Sit & Go tournaments to the detriment of other players. You were involved in at least one tournament with these players and as a result you may have been adversely affected.
>
> The players' accounts were closed and their funds frozen pending a thorough investigation, which is now complete. Fortunately the problem was identified quickly and they had only played in a few tournaments before the accounts were closed.
>
> In a case such as this it is our policy to confiscate the colluders' winnings or balances and to distribute them to the players affected by their actions in as fair a way as possible. To confirm your credit, log onto your PokerStars account, go to the 'Cashier' screen and click the 'History' button. Your share will be shown "Credit Purchase", followed by the amount of the credit.
>
> I regret that we will be unable to answer questions as to how your specific credit amount was calculated. Likewise, we are not at liberty to identify the specific games or players in question. Suffice to say that they have been barred from the site and you will not encounter them again.
>
> The integrity of the games at PokerStars is of paramount importance to us and we will not abide cheating or collusion in our games. We work hard to police our games and prevent such instances. In the rare cases where collusion has actually occurred, we make sure that any players affected are compensated appropriately.
>
> Thank you for your continued play here on PokerStars. Please do not hesitate to let us know any time we can be of help.
>
> Best Regards,
>
>
> MarkW
> PokerStars Collusion Investigation Team

You read it right, Pokerstars caught two players who were involved in cheating and colluding on several Sit ‘n Go tourneys I was involved in. You will notice that Pokerstars gave me money back, and I must note, it is MORE money than I know I had played in that period!

As I understand it, Pokerstars will seize the accounts of the offending cheaters, and then split their money up between all the affected persons involved. From the amount I received, I would have to say that these guys were making quite a bit of money at their little scam!

The good news, of course, is that Pokerstars.com is diligent in catching poker cheaters at their tables, and is upfront and honest enough to inform players that they have caught the online scammers and returned a fair amount of money to honest players affected by this.

Any doubts that Pokerstars.com is not keeping an eye out for cheaters is now resolved, and I will continue to hold this site as one of the best and safest online poker sites to play on.

Play Poker Texas Holdem Card Game

2009-01-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

You have seen it on television in a multitude of formats such as the World Series of Poker, The World Poker Tour, and High Stakes Poker. All of these shows feature professional Texas holdem poker players as well as a large field of amateurs. However, is it possible for any one to play poker and win huge cash prizes like on TV?

The simple answer to that question is yes you can play poker, just like the pros! An amateur poker player, Chris Moneymaker did it in 2003, winning more than $2.5 million dollars. Chris found his way to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker through online poker site Poker Stars. After winning his seat on Poker Stars, Chris went to Las Vegas and played in the Main Event, beating out a field of 838 other poker players and finally beating a seasoned pro, Sammy Farha for the first place win.

Even If you have never had the opportunity to play poker, you can do the same. The skills required are minimal, and the opportunity is limitless. A quick study of the game and lots of practice in Texas Holdem can give you the chance to play poker with the pro’s and an opportunity to possibly cash in the big one! Practice makes perfect, practice to play poker daily in the online freerolls offered by many poker sites.

If you are just learning to play poker, or if you have had some experience, a great place to start is to enter the freerolls offered by many online poker sites such as Poker Stars. These freerolls cost nothing to enter, and offer cash prizes to help you build a bankroll.

If you play poker in the freerolls, the best advice is to play a very tight game. That means that you do not want to just play any hand and hope you win, the strategy of winning is in making the right moves at the right times. There are an enormous amount of helpful sites online that teach winning strategies, just click on any of the links you see for winning, strategies, and tips to play poker.

Take the opportunity to sign up to any online poker room (I recommend Poker Stars com as the most trusted), play in the daily freerolls and work your way up to improving your game and learning to play poker like the champions. There is no requirement to deposit money at any site. Play poker online and you have the opportunity to win real cash. Remember if you need tips, strategies or help just click on any of the links provided.

Good Luck!

Play Online Poker – Free Online Games to Win Money

2009-01-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

In our world of free offers, often there is very little value in what is being offered for free. This has made many people skeptical when the word free is used in any advertisement or article.

However, there truly is a free way to make money online and you can have fun doing it. One of the best ways to make money online is to play online poker free games. The online poker casinos call these free games ‘freerolls’.

As a kid, you may have enjoyed playing video games or online games, spending hours trying to attain a higher score or be the master of your favorite online game. However, the reward for most of these online games is a psychological win. Now there is a way you can still play online video games and make real hard cash doing it.

The Online poker industry is one of the fastest growing and easiest ways to cash in on doing what you like anyway, playing online games for free. You may have heard of several poker players that won huge tournaments online for thousands of dollars, like Chris Moneymaker (who won the World Series of Poker main event for a cool $1 million +) He got his start at pokerstars.com, an online poker site.

Another icon in the free online games field is professional poker player Chris Ferguson, who in 2006 was challenged to make $10,000 just by playing free online poker. The challenge was to start with $0 in his account and build it to $10,000. He not only succeeded in doing this, but he surpassed his mark, and donated all the proceeds to charity.

Now your turn! Can you make money from just playing in free online poker games? YES! Take the challenge. Here is how to get started:

I have found that pokerstars.com offers the best in free online poker games, and actually offers the easiest chance to win. Start by signing up (use the link to the right to be eligible for a $50 cash bonus).
There is no cost to sign up and you are not required to make any deposit to Poker Stars.
Once you have signed up, then go to the Tourney Tab and click freerolls. About every 40 minutes Pokerstars offers a freeroll tournament to get into the weekly. The top 48 to 90 players in the freeroll get a ticket to the weekly round 2 where you can play to win real cash. The cash prize pool is $2000, with first place usually getting over $250. The payout is usually down to 800 people with last place getting under $1.

Winning a dollar may not sound like much, however you can take that $1 and play in a low stake tournament to begin building your bankroll. Poker Stars.com offers tournaments starting as low as 10 cents.
So, what are you waiting for? Go sign up using the convenient link to the right and get in a freeroll. It is FREE and you can have fun playing online games free with a chance to make money. It is better than playing online games or video games just for bragging rights.

Good Luck!

The Phenomena of 'My Favorite Hand'

2009-01-12T02:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I played the Wheeling Island Casino $40 Sunday tournament. A nice tournament with a relatively small field of 51, however well worth the investment for the $550 first place.

In the home stretch we were down to 2 tables of 6 each, with the pay out to the top 10. I was sitting just under the average with about $6500 in chips. The blinds are 400/800 with a 100 ante. The player to my right has played quite aggressive most of the tournament raising at every opportunity. In this particular hand he went all in with $3200, I looked down at AJ off suit. I was the button, so I sized up the BB and SB, the SB had about $4000 while the BB had less than $2000 behind him.

I was quite sure the SB would fold, while the BB would most likely call since he had about 1/3 of his chips in already. I thought for a moment and assessed the damage if I called and lost, after all, since I was sure the BB would call I did not want to be up against 2 hands with my AJ. I decided to fold thinking it is possible he picked up a monster hand this time. The SB folds and the BB, (to my surprise) folds.

As the raiser mucked, he stated, "Had my favorite hand" I noticed as his cards went into the muck what appeared to be a black '6'. I thought to myself, "What? His favorite hand includes a 6?"

(Needless to say, my patience in waiting was well-rewarded when he later pushed all in with his K J off suit against my AA, he lost and busted out before the money.)

I can not imagine any hand that includes a '6' as a good starting hand unless it is pocket 6's. Nevertheless, I am always amazed at how people latch onto their (or other's) favorite hand. Willing to take great risks based on the belief that a favorite hand holds some magical power.

This phenomena is usually associated with the fact that the player has won a huge pot or achieved a fantastic suck out based on that hand at some time in the past. However, is playing your favorite hand a wise choice?

Everyone is familiar with the 'Doyle Brunson' favorite hand of 10 2. After all, he won two major tournaments holding these cards. Since then, the poker world has latched onto Doyle's 10 2 as though it were the 'nuts'! Keep in mind Doyle played his 10 2 while heads up. He had no reason to fold his 10 2 since his opponents took no steps to push him out of the hand.

I witnessed another instance of a favorite hand, when I was in a large tournament, 1st place was $2500.00, and buy in was $65. The field was down to 5 people, I was in the big blind with 9 4 off suit. Under the gun limped while the rest of the table folded. The flop came down 7 9 3, I had barely enough to make one more round and figured I will make a stand here since I have top pair, and my opponent likely has only over cards. My all in was about half his chips; so I felt confident he would likely fold.

I pushed all in, he called, and that impending doom feeling you always get when you are 'on the ropes' hit me. However, I was totally shocked when he showed 8 3 off suit! Although I was ahead, the turn was not kind as an 8 came down and a jack on the river. I was busted out by 8 3. I remarked to the guy what a terrible call it was, shook his hand, and graciously left the table. From that day on, every time I saw him or the 8 3 I referred to the hand as the ‘Bracken’ (his first name).

Anytime we would play tournaments or cash games and the 8 3 was on the flop, or I held it, I would make a remark about ‘The Bracken’ hand. Several months later, Bracken approached me and confessed that the ‘Bracken’ (8 3) had cost him literally hundreds of dollars. He was actually playing this hand as his favorite hand, and it was costing him tons of money!

Consider one very important concept before attaching yourself (and your money) to a ‘favorite hand’. Is this hand really making me money? After all, we play poker to win, not because of some lucky hand that is going to get us there every time. Before playing your favorite hand again, add up all the money that you made playing it. Now subtract all the money you lost with it. You may soon find out, that favorite hand is not your bankroll’s favorite.

For more great tips and strategies on No Limit Texas Hold ‘em, read 101 Winning Moves.

Incidentally, my favorite hand is ‘The Winning Hand’ Good Luck at the Tables!

Tired of River Beats in No Limit Texas Hold’em Poker?

2009-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

The most frustrating part of a poker players life is getting called down by some idiot that is on a draw, only to make his hand on the river.

Is there truly a way to prevent this? The short answer is NO!
However, there is a way to minimize your losses and potentially stop bleeding chips to calling stations and donkeys that can not lay down a draw.

Project your image and know your opponent’s image:

First, recognize who is at your table: identify your calling stations, aggressive players, and donkeys.
Next project your identity at the table, if you are playing aggressive, you are more likely to be called down.
If you are playing tight, there is a less chance of being called down, and if you are a calling station, you will quickly get taken advantage of by superior players.

Your image at the table is as important as the images of your opponents, so make sure you project a good table image. Projecting a tight image will allow you to make a timely bluff or steal without the risk of someone calling.

Keep the pot size manageable:

This is very crucial! Keep the pot size relatively low enough until you are sure you have the absolutely best hand. Here is why: generally speaking, people are GREEDY, they will chase a rainbow for the pot of gold more often if they believe there is a HUGE reward. Let us say you are in a $1 - $2 cash game, and it is a limped pot with 4 other players. You hold AJ of hearts in middle position, you limp as well. Flop is A of clubs, J of spades, and 3 of hearts. There is $10 in the pot, SB (small blind) checks, BB (big blind) checks, UTG (under-the-gun) checks, and your turn with one person after you to act, LP (late position). What do you do?

A.) Bet the pot, $10, the pot is now $20
B.) Check to see what late position does.
C.) Bet ½ the pot, the pot is now $15.
D.) Overbet the pot ($20) to keep anyone from drawing, the pot is now $30

If you have identified all your opponents, you will make the correct decision. Currently only 3 hands can beat you (pocket J’s pocket Aces and pocket 3’s)

Let us say SB and BB are fairly tight players, UTG is a calling station, and LP is aggressive.

Do you know what your opponents are holding? You can be certain that UTG and LP are not holding any of the hands that can beat you, because of their style, they would have raised pre-flop. What about SB and BB? Would they have limped in with pocket pairs? (most likely given their tight style they could have)

Know the FUTURE hands that can beat you:

Now consider the implied hands that can beat you by the turn: 10 Q (any K for a straight), 10 K (any Q for a straight), J 3 (any 3 for a full house), A 3 (any 3 for a full house), X 3 (10 hands, any 3 for trips) , any remaining pocket pairs (10 pocket pairs can make a full house), for a total of 27 hands that can beat you on the turn.

Knowing that 27 hands can beat you on the turn how much are you willing to risk with a calling station and an aggressive player in the hand?

If you picked A or D, you have made the pot quite attractive to anyone holding the 27 hands that could beat you. If you picked C, those 27 hands will still call you, but you have minimized your risk. If you pick B, you are currently only risking $2 to this pot. The ideal way to make money in poker is to minimize your risk with maximum returns, just like any business investment.

Take a look at the investment and return on your investment (ROI)
Choosing A, you have invested $12 to win $6 (minus the rake of $2)- potential ROI 50%
Choosing B, you have invested $2 to win $7 (minus the rake of $1) – potential ROI 350%
Choosing C, You have invested $7 to win $7 (minus the rake of $1) – potential ROI 100%
Choosing D, you have invested $22 to win $6 (minus the rake of $2) –potential ROI 28%

Clearly, you can see that B and C are the wisest investments. However, you may say, well I do not make much money that way. You are correct, but Poker is not always about making money, it is also about NOT LOSING! If you believe you should win every time you are ahead, you need to STOP playing poker and take up a more suitable hobby like fishing or bowling, those sports also have competitive tournaments where you could try and win big cash.

Winning in No Limit Texas Hold’em is based largely on making the correct decision at the right time. Too often people with strong starting hands feel they should win all the time. In reality, there is no hand that is a 100% preflop winner. Use these three tips: table image, pot manageability, and hand possibility to avoid bleeding chips. Again, you are never going to avoid all river beats, however, you can control the amount of your losses. For more great tips read this post on poker strategies.
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Looking for Poker Strategy To Improve Your Game?

2008-12-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

As poker players, we face a never ending battle to seek out a way to gain a slight edge against our opponents, whether it is in a cash game or a tournament.

I recently had the opportunity to review 5 eBooks on Poker Strategy, and would like to share them with you.

Here is the list and my brief review: Take a moment and read more on these books by clicking the link.

1. Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.
To win a No-limit Tournament you need to know what the poker pros know. This Ebook is the first reference book on 101 winning moves. Now you can use them too! If you take just one winning play from this book it will pay for itself many times over.

This is my favorite and offers some solid tips on no limit hold em tournaments.
Click Here!

2. Secrets Of Winning Poker Tournaments.

Step-by-step, How-to Profit From Texas Holdem Poker - Cash Games And Tournaments. Instant Download.

This ebook offers both sides of the game Cash and Tournaments. Very well put together and easy to understand.
Click Here!

3. PokerStars Secret System - Guaranteed Chips! - Never Lose!

This Is The Hottest Secret Poker System To Ever Hit The Internet! - This System Will Show You How To Make Real Money With No Risk!

Since I play on PokerStars, this one really piqued my interest. I found the strategies here to be real to life and easy to follow.
Click Here!

4. New MIT Hold em Poker PointCount System.

With This New Texas Hold'em Point Count System, You'll Never Have To Guess Again Whether To Call, Raise Or Fold Pre-flop. Great For Beginner To Intermediate Players. 100% Money Back Guarantee If This System Does Not Improve Your Holdem Game.

This program adds a math factor into playing, similar to the MIT blackjack theory. The program does require a litle more thought, nevertheless an effective strategy system.
Click Here!

5. Untold Poker Secrets.

100 Page System Explaining Basic Tactics To Cheating Techniques, So That Even New Players Can Win!
I am going to leave this one open to interpretation, Cheating? Maybe! Take a look for yourself.
Click Here!

All of these books and programs are reasonably priced and regardless of which one you prefer, they all offer some quality points in helping your Poker Game, live or online. Now I'm off to log into PokerStars! See you at the table!

Pokerstars Hosting Freerolls for Bloggers

2008-12-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

Pokerstars will be hosting the 2008 WBCOOP (World Blogger Championship Of Online Poker from Dec 15-21.

Anyone with a blog is invited to join in the freerolls for a chance to win a Package to upcoming two live tournament events.

Click the icon to learn more and join me in the fun! I plan to take it down! Any challengers?

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 466499

Is Online Poker Rigged?

2008-12-03T23:23:00.000-08:00

No Limit Texas Hold’em, It is one of the most popular online poker games.

It seems everyone from amateurs; professionals and celebrities are playing online poker. This phenomena has inspired many people to move onto some of the biggest live tournaments like the WSOP (World Series of Poker) and the WPT (World Poker Tour)

Many champions in the last 5 years got their start at online poker sites. Chris Moneymaker and Joe Hachem (from Pokerstars) started playing online poker years before they won the World Series of Poker Championship. Professionals like Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth all endorse different online poker sites.

Inspired by the shows you see on TV, you decide to give it a shot and download your favorite online poker site. After making your first deposit, you find a suitable tournament, register and sit down at your virtual table, anxiously waiting to scoop big pots and take it down just like the pro’s!

The first hand, you look down at a half-decent starting hand and call the blind, after all, the blinds are cheap, and you want to build a stack. The flop comes out in your favor; you win with top pair and move on to the next hand. The next two hands, you fold. The fourth hand you get pocket Aces, you raise, get a few callers, and when the flop comes down all low cards you bet substantial, everyone folds and you take down another pot. The fifth hand you get AK suited, you just call. Flop comes A K 9 rainbow, your opponent bets, you raise, he pushes all in and you call. His pocket cards are revealed 5 7, a sigh of relief as you see he has a very slim chance of winning. The turn is a 6, and you know the river even before you read it. That’s right the only card that can beat you –(the dreaded snowman) - 8! You are stunned and mortified.

How does this happen? Moreover, why does it happen so often in online poker? You question your ability to play, and wonder if you should have gone all in pre-flop or raised pre-flop. Then you curse the idiot who called with 5 7 off suit and make a note on him stating “DONKEY!”

This scenario is not that far off from real life happenings at online poker sites all over the Internet everyday. Any online poker player is familiar with this type of ridiculous bad beat scenario. It makes us want to play the same bad hands in the hopes of sucking out on someone.

So, why does it happen? Is it because the Internet is full of bad players or, is it because the online poker sites are rigged? Surprisingly, It is not because of bad players, It is because the online poker sites ARE rigged! However, not the way you think.

Read that again very carefully: Online poker sites are rigged, and a careful study of what is happening behind the scenes will reveal not only, how they are rigged, but how you can beat the online poker program. If you stay tuned to my posts over the next few weeks, I will continue to reveal what is going on behind the scenes at the online poker sites!

When should I Bluff in No Limit Hold em Poker?

2008-12-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

Bluffing in poker is actually a tool, as such if you use a tool improperly it will not have as well an effect, or you may break the tool. If you use a tool for other than it’s intended purpose you risk damaging the tool, or worse damaging the article you are working on.

For example, a pipe wrench is good for loosening and tightening pipes and large nuts. Although it looks strong enough to use as a hammer, you risk breaking the head of the pipe wrench (or the teeth) if you use it to hammer something. What good is a damaged pipe wrench if it can no longer perform its job?

In no limit hold em poker, the same goes for bluffing, it is a tool, and if you know how to properly use the tool it effectively accomplishes the job without damage.

The intended purpose of bluffing in poker, is to take a pot when you are SURE that your opponent will fold. That is the tool’s purpose. Too many times people ‘take a stab’ at a pot without considering what their opponent may do. If your opponent does not fold when you bluff and ends up making his hand, you have caused a lot of damage to yourself by improperly using the tool of bluffing.

Let us assess your damage, first and foremost you have cost yourself unnecessary chip damage, your opponent now has your poker chips, secondly and probably as equally important is you have caused image damage. You have unnecessarily tarnished your image at the poker table to your opponents. If opponents know you are willing to bluff, they may make this assumption more often of you, and if they know you are willing to bluff a calling station, they will know something else about you, You are not very smart! Your image and your chip stack will suffer when you improperly bluff.

Now, you must recognize the proper usage of your tool (bluffing).

When is the time to bluff?

When you are positive your opponent will fold. If you are not at least 80% certain your opponent will fold, then do not attempt to try a steal. A key indicator your opponent will call is if he is a calling station and there is a draw or undercards on the board.

When the likelihood of you making a hand is higher than a mere chance. If you have a greater than 60% chance to make your hand, a bluff (which may actually be a semi-bluff) is the right move. For instance, if you hold top pair with a straight draw, this is actually a semi bluff and you have a minimum of 10 possible cards to better your hand. Your hand 10/(52-21) < > = X/(52-31) Your opponent’s hand

When you have enough chips to recover should your bluff fail. This is an important aspect. If your bluff fails and your stack is crippled, you will not be able to protect yourself if you get a strong hand.

All too often, an amateur poker player will use the BLUFF as a means to gain chips. However, soon enough your opponent will notice your aggressive style and likely may call you down, especially when you have a decent hand, ultimately resulting in disaster. Therefore, use the poker bluff sparingly and only when you know you can win the pot.