Meadows Live Poker Tournaments Schedule Released

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.

What a Rush! Rush Poker at Full Tilt

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

How To Win Texas Hold em Poker Games

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?

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. . .

Free eBook How To Succeed As A Professional Online Poker Player

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!

The Phenomena of 'My Favorite Hand'

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?

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?

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!

Is Online Poker Rigged?

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?

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.