Showing posts with label pokerstars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pokerstars. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Daniel Negreanu Blasts Shortstackers

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.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

RNG Full Tilt Poker Flaws

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!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Online Poker Cheaters Caught In The Act!

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.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

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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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

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!