http://www.nxcg.com Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:35:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 Article Summary: The Poker News and reviews blog is one of the most informative poker news web sites on the Internet for Online Poker Tournaments and Online Gambling news. They have everything you need to know about playing holdem poker freerolls, poker tournament cruises, relaxing poker vacations, and excellent poker schools. You wouldn’t think that a cut-throat world such as online poker - where everyone is anonymous and out to get one another’s money - has anything resembling unwritten rules or protocols. At lower stakes, this is certainly true. Players come and go, rarely encountering one Article Content: You wouldn’t think that a cut-throat world such as online poker - where everyone is anonymous and out to get one another’s money - has anything resembling unwritten rules or protocols. At lower stakes, this is certainly true. Players come and go, rarely encountering one another again, and have no incentive to be polite or help one another out. As the stakes get higher, unwritten rules and agreements between players are commonplace, and none more-so than the high stakes heads up tables. At higher stakes, players can be loosely divided into two categories. The regulars (regs), who often play for a living and play a solid, mathematically sound game. The other group are the fish, who are recreational players, usually just playing for fun and excitement, with many holes and leaks in their game. On any poker site, at the higher stakes heads up tables, you’ll often see one player sitting waiting at a table on his own. You can bet your bottom dollar this is a reg waiting in anticipation of a fish wandering in to relieve him of his money. Regs will avoid one another even if they think they have an edge over each other. This is because any edges that regs have over each other will be small, and games usually result in just passing money back and forward. Because there are only a certain amount of heads-up tables on a site, some regs will sit at every table, refusing to play other regs. This results in him taking up every table and not allowing any other regs to get a game. If this happens, other regs will “block” his tables by sitting with him but refusing to play. This stops both players from getting a game, but there has to be a penalty for any player who thinks he can monopolise all empty tables waiting on a fish. Most regs work out some agreement, however, where they all sit at a few tables each and take their chances who the fish sit with. Any reg thought to be taking more than their share will end up getting all their tables blocked. Other unwritten rules are “don’t tap the aquarium” - ie, don’t scare the fish. Don’t berate a fish for his bad play and don’t abuse them in the chat box. All that does is humiliate them into leaving or improving their game, which hurts the regs bottom line. Just tell him he’s unlucky and allow him to let off steam in the chatbox if he wants to. Ring games (6 seat or 9 seat tables) have their own unwritten rules, but if you ever open a poker site and see 20 high stakes heads-up tables with just one player sitting, that’s the reason. Paul has been writing articles online for almost 3 years now, and specialises in relationships, information technology and gambling. You can check out his latest website on cat scratch posts which reviews the best selection of cat scratching posts for your feline friend. --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/online-poker-newsthe-politics-of-poker-tables.html Article Summary: This blog will keep up with current events in poker. You will see poker book reviews, and comments about articles that appear in poker magazines.With the ‘November Nine’ now decided, UB.net is shifting gears to focus on another high profile poker event, the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker at the historic Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The leading free play online poker site is hosting a series of daily freerolls from Article Content: With the ‘November Nine’ now decided, UB.net is shifting gears to focus on another high profile poker event, the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker at the historic Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. The leading free play online poker site is hosting a series of daily freerolls from July 19th through August 15th leading to an online Main Event freeroll that will award the winner with a ,200 WPT Legends of Poker prize package. UB.net players have a chance to become the next ‘Legend of Poker’ while competing in the upcoming WPT event in L.A., August 20th-25th. The annual five day No Limit Hold ‘em tournament will crown the 2010 Legend of Poker and award the winner with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money, plus a ,000+500 buy-in for the 2011 WPT Championship at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. To get there for free, UB.net players simply need to perform at their peak at the tables in three easy rounds of online poker. From July 19th through August 14th, UB’s Round 1 Daily Freerolls run six times per day Monday to Saturday at 00:30, 04:30, 08:30, 12:30, 16:30, 20:30 ET, with the top 100 players in each qualifying for the Round 2 Weekly Freerolls on Sunday July 25th, August 1st, 8th and 15th at 14:00 ET. Go on to finish in the top 100 in the Weekly Round 2 event to earn automatic entry to the Round 3 WPT Main Event Freeroll, scheduled for Sunday August 15th at 20:00 ET. The winner of Round 3 walks away with the ,200 prize package that includes the ,000+200 WPT tournament buy-in, plus ,000 for travel and accommodation. Log onto UB.net and play for the Legends of Poker WPT package without even spending a dime, and it could mean the difference between watching the pro players at ‘the Bike’ on TV or sitting beside one and being part of the live action come August 20th. --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/poker-newswpt-legends-of-poker-freeroll-series-from-ub.html Article Summary: An independent blog committed to providing the online poker player with the best poker site reviews, sign up bonuses, and other poker news.Sure, I’m the one who creates solid guidelines governing which poker hands you can play profitably. That’s me. But, even though I stress these standards that tell you which hands to call with, raise with, and fold with in which positions under which circumstances, I don’t Article Content: Sure, I’m the one who creates solid guidelines governing which poker hands you can play profitably. That’s me. But, even though I stress these standards that tell you which hands to call with, raise with, and fold with in which positions under which circumstances, I don’t usually stick to them myself. I expand these standards and define more hands as playable. How come? Well, today I’m going to tell you why that’s so. If you’re still an average player or a beginner, I want you seldom to stray from a predetermined, conservative set of standards. But you still need to understand what I’m about to say for the future. And if you’re already a sophisticated poker player, please pay particular attention. This is the transcript of one of my lectures… Winning by playing hands you “shouldn’t” One thing I teach beginning players is to stick to a rigid set of standards. Don’t vary from them. These beginning standards are necessarily tight, because I don’t want students who are unfamiliar with the subtleties of poker to encounter difficult situations that may cost them money. Fine. But as you progress as a player, as you begin to grasp the subtleties, something almost the opposite happens. Instead of staying away from danger by avoiding hands that require more finesse, you play these hands and the beginning players, inexperienced players, and poor players all lose money to you on the very hands that they themselves cannot profitably play. You play and win with the same hands they lose with. Find more So one of the key secrets to mastering poker isn’t to just play those same basic hands for more profit, it’s to find more hands that you can play profitably. The truth is, you can play more hands profitably when you are able to outplay opponents on later betting rounds. Once you develop a good understanding of later-round play, you can play hands that you used to think were unprofitable – and you used to be right. What if you can’t outplay opponents on the betting sequences after you enter the pot – if you don’t know when to bet, when not to bet, when to call, and when to raise with more certainty than your opponents? Then you must stick to a rigid and conservative set of starting hands to have any hope of winning. That’s the key. That’s why I teach beginners to only play premium hands. If they only enter pots with these premium hands, then they’ll average a profit on all the hands they play, even if their understanding of when to bet, call, raise, and fold on later rounds is inferior. Those select hands are just too powerful to lose money by playing. But that doesn’t guarantee them that they’ll win overall. Finding hands You see, every hand you don’t play costs money. That’s obvious, because you’re anteing or making blind bets and losing that money if you never play a hand. So, you have to find enough hands to play to overcome the cost of the antes or blinds. Most beginners can’t do that, even if they stick to just their most powerful hands, because there aren’t enough of them, and because they aren’t getting the same value from these rare strong hands that a skilled professional would. Also, some beginners can’t even make money with hands that are only semi-strong, but not premium. That’s because, even average opponents outplay them. So, beginners – if they try as hard as they can – should only play premium starting hands or those where they got into the pot cheaply or for free and found themselves with excellent chances to make straights or flushes – or managed to make strong pairs or better. They should fold on early betting rounds when their hands would otherwise figure to be about break-even or slightly profitable, because they’ll be outplayed and these hands will lose money under their control. So, you can see how very dismal poker can be for beginners. They can’t play many hands, and because they can’t hold their own against most opponents, they must forego the opportunities to make profit with hands of secondary strength. It’s a mess. They don’t even make as much money as they should when they do play premium hands. Average and world-class players What about average players. Well, they can play more hands, because they won’t get beat up as badly on later betting rounds. And what about truly world-class players? Ah, now listen closely. Truly world-class players can enter pots with hands that are theoretically losers. In other words, if I simulate poker on a computer and give everyone the same degree of skill, there will be hands that are clearly not playable. But in non-raked games, meaning home games or games where the casino charges rent by the hour or half hour, a really strong player can enter pots with some of these substandard hands. You won’t usually be able to do this in rake games, because the cost of the rake tends to swallow up the advantages gained from later round strategy. But you can play some of these otherwise substandard hands in non-rake games. The theoretical loss in a medium limit game for playing one of those weak hands might be . But, wait! If the player can out maneuver his opponents on subsequent betting rounds while they make mistakes, there may be worth of value in pursuing the later betting rounds. That means a hand that would lose if everyone played equally or, similarly, when played by an average player can win under control of a world-class player. And a hand that might lose when played by a weak or beginning player, can win through expert play. Those dollar amounts are just used to convey a point and aren’t meant to be precise. Dollar expectation So, what does this mean? It means that a beginning poker player can’t play a specific hand because it loses . An average player can’t play that hand because it loses . However, a world-class player should play that same hand, because it wins . Am I saying that strong players can play more pots? Absolutely! And you’ve always heard that strong players play tighter than weak players, right? Well, OK, now don’t get confused. Strong players do usually play tighter than weak players – as far as starting hand selection goes. But that’s only because many weak players enter pots that they have no business playing. They play hands that even the world-class players couldn’t make profit from by using correct strategy on the later rounds. So, yes, world-class players do tend to play fewer hands than weak opponents. But if the weak opponents were trying to win, then they’d have to play much tighter than the world-class opponents, because they wouldn’t know what to do on later betting rounds. Simple fact The simple fact is, the best players can enter pots with hands that would be theoretically unprofitable in games where everyone has their same skill. The extra skill allows them to play more hands. So, you shouldn’t criticize them for playing hands you think are losing, because in their control, these hands might win. The better you are, the more hands you can play profitably. I know that runs contrary to the notion that the best players have the most discipline and play the tightest, but it’s the truth and you need to know it. This is “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro and that’s my secret today. — MC You can chat and play with the “Mad Genius”, Mike Caro, every Wednesday night at 9:30pm ET in the Bounty Tournament. --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/online-poker-newsmike-caro-poker-word-is-expand.html Article Summary: Nxcg.com Poker News and reviews Blog is your number one source for Free Poker Bankrolls, Freerolls, Poker News, Poker Videos, Poker Articles, Poker Tips and Poker Babes.paddypowerpoker.com today announced the inclusion of a “Blind Mans Bluff” poker event at the 2010 Irish Winter Festival 2010 tournament which this year takes place over October Bank Holiday weekend (22nd – 25th) in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin. Blind man’s bluff (also Article Content: paddypowerpoker.com today announced the inclusion of a “Blind Mans Bluff” poker event at the 2010 Irish Winter Festival 2010 tournament which this year takes place over October Bank Holiday weekend (22nd – 25th) in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin. Blind man’s bluff (also called Indian poker) is a fun twist on the traditional game of poker whereby each person sees the cards of all players except their own. Players are dealt cards which they display to all other players by sticking them on their foreheads. Players attempt to guess if they have the highest hand based on the distribution of visible cards and how other players are betting. Paddy Power said “The Irish Winter Festival is back in Dublin city centre and it’s bigger than ever before. We’ve even added a World Championship event to the proceedings with the new Blind Mans Bluff tournament – so it’s the ideal chance to come down to the festival, play some poker, have the craic, and leave a winner.” --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/online-poker-reviewspaddy-power-launch-poker-for-blind-bluffers.html Article Summary: Nxcg.com Poker News and reviews Blog is your number one source for Free Poker Bankrolls, Freerolls, Poker News, Poker Videos, Poker Articles, Poker Tips and Poker Babes.Ladbrokes Poker are pleased to announce that Snooker legend Steve 5K2 Davis will be joining them each month for a night of Poker Fun and frollics. Join in for an evening of snooker loopy poker. Steve will play in a special bounty tournament at the start of the evening, so get those Article Content: Ladbrokes Poker are pleased to announce that Snooker legend Steve 5K2 Davis will be joining them each month for a night of Poker Fun and frollics. Join in for an evening of snooker loopy poker. Steve will play in a special bounty tournament at the start of the evening, so get those snooker and poker questions ready to fire at him in the chat. After Steve is eliminated, he will join some cash tables and play in a Sit and Go tournament where Ladbrokes will set some questions in the chat and reward some Ladbrokes Poker Cruise Tournament tickets which you can use to try and win a £4,000 Ladbrokes Poker Cruise setting sail in January 2011. Remember to turn on your poker room messages, we will send system messages to let you know which cash or sit and go tables Steve joins, the succesful players who join the table will get a £13 Cruise Steps Tournament ticket credited to their accounts. They have 50 tickets to give away, so don’t miss the action at the tables and in the chat. Next monthly tournament: 18th August 2010 --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/poker-newssteve-davis-poker-bounty-tournament.html Article Summary: A professional poker blog with poker news, tournament reports, strategy, biographies, stories and reviews.Four days, Four events, Ten packages guaranteed worth a staggering £4,000 each… Ladbrokes Poker are launching their Cruise Mini Festival next month! Ladbrokes Poker is planning four days of poker events from September 16-19, 2010 with each event having added Poker Cruise IV Article Content: Four days, Four events, Ten packages guaranteed worth a staggering £4,000 each… Ladbrokes Poker are launching their Cruise Mini Festival next month! Ladbrokes Poker is planning four days of poker events from September 16-19, 2010 with each event having added Poker Cruise IV places as prizes. The cruise mini festival will allow players extra ways of buying into games in order to win a cruise package. The Poker Cruise IV itself will include eight days of luxury cruising aboard the ‘Oasis of the Seas’ setting sail for the Caribbean on January 22, 2011. As always, the cruise will include a full tournament, STTs and a variety of cash prizes for players obtaining a Cruise Place by winning in the Cruise Weekly Finals held every Monday at 20:15 GMT, or during the Cruise Mini Festival in September. --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/online-poker-newspoker-cruise-mini-festival.html Article Summary: An independent blog committed to providing the online poker player with the best poker site reviews, sign up bonuses, and other poker news.Shasta for Everyone! Many successful poker players started out at Everest Poker’s Shasta tables. It’s time for you to join them. Improve your game and build a substantial bankroll out of $description when you play their free Shasta sit & go tournaments. Even if you haven’t made Article Content: Shasta for Everyone! Many successful poker players started out at Everest Poker’s Shasta tables. It’s time for you to join them. Improve your game and build a substantial bankroll out of $content when you play their free Shasta sit & go tournaments. Even if you haven’t made your first deposit with Everest, you can still earn cash when you play at their Shasta tables. These 10-seat tournaments have a total pot of $content.10, giving beginners the chance to experience real money poker with zero risk. More ways to play for $content at Everest Poker Once you get the taste of real money poker at the Shasta tables, continue building your confidence and play their other sit & go freerolls and tournaments with ultra-low buy-ins. --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/online-poker-reviewsgreat-value-offers-at-everest-poker.html Article Summary: Nxcg.com Poker News and reviews Blog is your number one source for Free Poker Bankrolls, Freerolls, Poker News, Poker Videos, Poker Articles, Poker Tips and Poker Babes.Today, I decided to take a chance at $.50/ table. I bought in for . Lost a few hands, won a few hands. Kind of getting unlucky. Then I pick up AK in the small blind. 1 guy limps in and button raises to . I make it to go cause the guy on the button's range is kind of wide Article Content: Today, I decided to take a chance at $.50/ table. I bought in for . Lost a few hands, won a few hands. Kind of getting unlucky. Then I pick up AK in the small blind. 1 guy limps in and button raises to . I make it to go cause the guy on the button's range is kind of wide like he could have a suited connector or a low pair. But he has 10s and I lose the coin flip. Kind of sucks cause I hit an ace on the flop and he hit 10 on the river.Anyway, I have left in my Betmost account. Not sure what I'll do with it, maybe play a few sit and gos. Online Poker Show FreerollI was watching Pokerstar's Sunday Million replay and they gave a password for a freeroll. First place is only a 5 ticket for Sunday Million which kind of sucks unless there are only a few hundred people who join. Pokerstars also invited me to a ,000 freeroll on July 11th which is cool..Bonuses:- Free 0 Bankroll at Pokerstars- Free 0 Bankroll at Titan Poker --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/poker-news-and-reviews3-coin-flip-and-pokerstars-online-poker-show-freeroll.html Article Summary: This blog will keep up with current events in poker. You will see poker book reviews, and comments about articles that appear in poker magazines.Great value every day, for everyone. Get more for your money. Buy in to Everest Poker’s daily guarantee tournaments for as little as $description.20 or satellite into Sunday’s ,000 Guaranteed for only . Everest Poker Guarantee Tournament Schedule Time (GMT) Guarantee Tournament Buy-in 18:00 ,000 Article Content: Great value every day, for everyone. Get more for your money. Buy in to Everest Poker’s daily guarantee tournaments for as little as $content.20 or satellite into Sunday’s ,000 Guaranteed for only . 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Unlimited Rebuy Guarantees Take advantage of unlimited rebuys throughout the first hour of play in these low stakes tournaments. More guarantees daily Guarantee tournaments are running all day long at Everest Poker. --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/poker-news-and-reviewsbig-value-guarantees-at-everest-poker.html Article Summary: The Poker News and reviews blog is one of the most informative poker news web sites on the Internet for Online Poker Tournaments and Online Gambling news. They have everything you need to know about playing holdem poker freerolls, poker tournament cruises, relaxing poker vacations, and excellent poker schools.The brand new 888poker 3D experience has landed! To celebrate the official launch of its new revolutionary 3D software on 27th July, 888poker is offering ALL players the chance to turn 8¢ into ,000, iPads, Sony Home Cinemas and Kindles. To go with its NEW look and NEW name 888poker Article Content: The brand new 888poker 3D experience has landed! To celebrate the official launch of its new revolutionary 3D software on 27th July, 888poker is offering ALL players the chance to turn 8¢ into ,000, iPads, Sony Home Cinemas and Kindles. To go with its NEW look and NEW name 888poker has been given a complete makeover! Rewritten from scratch, the new 888poker software gives players a whole different gaming experience and is definitely something to shout about. Here’s a taste of what’s new: • The first web-based 3D poker experience • Quick-Click Beginners’ Lobby • Table Layout • Fabulous graphics & gameplay • Amazing Avatars • Choose your deck • Colour Indicators • Personalised Lobby Based on intensive tests and feedback from members, this upgraded version is sure to improve conversion rates, player satisfaction and overall usability, making 888poker more profitable for affiliates. The amazing new 888poker software is available now in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Portuguese and 27th July in Russian and Italian. 888poker has also launched the brand NEW 888poker Rewards Store, where players can swap poker points for prizes such as iPods, poker accessories, cars and even holidays! Plus, if all this wasn’t enough, my.888poker.com provides a new social network for poker faces to connect off the tables. This is the news that poker players have been waiting for, so be sure to check out the new 888Poker site now! --------------------- http://www.nxcg.com/poker-newsa-new-era-has-begun-at-888-poker.html