Skip Navigation.

WSOP Final9

August 19th, 2010

With the 2010 World Series of Poker down to the Main Event November Nine, and with record breaking participation in this, its 41st year, the world’s most popular poker brand is launching an exciting social network poker online app. The competition is just heating up on Facebook with the launch of WSOP poker. Poker players across the globe will be able to engage in the WSOP experience all year long. Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, Inc. (HIE) has entered into an agreement with privately-held Playdom, Inc., a Mountain View, California-based social games company, with more than 46 million active monthly users across their network of online poker games. Playdom will re-launch its existing online poker game, Poker Palace, by re-branding the Facebook game with the “World Series of Poker” brand and will work with the HIE team to create one of the most fun and social poker games available on social networks. The WSOP-branded poker game launches globally this week and can be found initially by visiting http://www.facebook.com/WSOP, with added social networks like MySpace and others following soon. Game enthusiasts will be able to choose from a variety of different poker offerings at WSOP on Facebook including single table play money, virtual cash games and single-table tournaments featuring both full-table and short-handed play. All poker play will feature play money only. Among the offerings coming soon include the battle for virtual WSOP bracelets, as well as opportunities to enter sweepstakes that award prizes including trips to Las Vegas and seats to live WSOP events.

Good Fold

June 9th, 2010

Poker games can be pretty heartbreaking; it’s especially brutal when you get a hand that you’ve been waiting for all night, only to see it turn to crap when the flop comes out. A few nights ago I was playing in a poker tournament, and after what seemed like hours of hands like 7-4 and Jack-2 unsuited, I was finally dealt a hand worth playing-Ace-King of Hearts. I was the big blind and three other players bought in, so I decided to check and slow play it if my hand drew out. My plan started to go awry when the first card on the flop was a 7 of Diamonds. Things got worse and worse as the last two cards came out 10 of Clubs and another 7, this time of Spades.

What a crappy flop-here wasn’t even a flush draw for me to aim for, and to make matters worse, the first player to act bet about half my chip stack. I hesitated for a bit, thinking that it’d be a while before I got a starting poker hand as good as Ace-King again, but I since I was drawing dead, I folded. A smaller stack called him, and it turned out that he’d drawn a set of 7’s, which would have wrecked my stack had I stayed in the hand. Sometimes a decent fold can take some of the sting out of a lousy flop. Sometimes.

Importance of Having a High School Cap and Gown

May 22nd, 2010

In the United States one of the most important key to adulthood is the presence of high school cap and gown. Without this key you cannot have a decent job and a more stable life together with your family. Diploma is a baseline for your educational achievement that is very important for employment and much higher learning. Attaining a high school diploma can boost your confidence and self worth. It is also the right time to celebrate some accomplishment together with your family.
• One of the main purposes of having a cap and gown for high school graduation is the diploma is for employment. It can increase your chances of having a more decent job after high school graduation. Several students who decide not to take college courses and choose to have a job can use their high school diploma. A lot of job nowadays require at least high school graduate. If you are not qualified because you do not have your diploma you will not be given a chance to have the job.
• Another benefit of having a high school graduation diploma is an earning power. If you attain a much higher level of educational attainment than other employee you can take advantage of having a higher salary. According to the United States 2003 census a typical household can increase their income for about $14,000 if you have your high school tassels too and not just your high school diploma. You have to right to appeal for a much higher salary if you are a high school graduate compare to your co workers that do not have a high school diploma.
• High school graduation is the first step into a much higher education program. Even if you are planning to take vocational courses instead of degree courses you have to acquire a high school cap and gown first. This can increase your earning power, if you increase your educational attainment by enrolling in vocational courses.
• Another successful evident of the importance of having a cap and gown for high school graduation is the self esteem. According to a study conducted during the year 1992 that graduates who attains their diploma have higher self esteem and self worth compare to those who did not.
• Even in a military academy, it is hard to penetrate this type of course if you do not have a high school tassels and diploma. Even those individual with GED, there are additional requirements that should be accomplished by applicants if they do not have high school diploma.
If you want to prove something and become successful, you have to finish your high school education. The importance of having a high school diploma is incomparable. You have to work hard and take extra patient if you want to achieve something in the future. If you will surrender at this point in your life and choose not to pursue your high school education you will experience failure in your life.

Getting the Maximum from a Draw

March 12th, 2010

Texas Hold’Em online poker players rely on “outs” - the number of cards that will complete their pockets to a winning hand - to determine if they should continue betting into or raise a pot. In situations where the hand is not already made, but which offers many outs to win, one has to consider how to get the most return on any bet.

For instance, when you have outs to a straight and a flush - up to 15 - then you have even odds to improve on the turn or river. If you’re only up against one poker online player, it’s a coin flip and you’ll only make one more bet for any bet you put out. But up against several players, you want to maximize the number of bets that go into the pot so that if one of your outs materializes, you rake in a monster pot.

When you have 8 or 9 outs to a straight or flush, then the odds are about 2-1 that you will complete the hand. That’s a wash against two casino opponents, and if it’s heads-up, you should minimize the betting. But against three or more opponents, you should maximize the number of bets in the pot since you have a 33 percent chance of winning but are only contributing 20 or 25 percent of the total bets into the pot.

With big draws, it is more favorable to be up against several players because the pot odds are paying you off. With that goal in mind, adjust your betting and raising strategy. If the turn or river hits, you want to be paid off by as many players as possible.

The River Bet

January 28th, 2010

Some poker online players swear that unless they hold the nuts, they never bet on the river because if you are called, then you are probably beat. If you hand is the second best possible, it’s still vulnerable to defeat. If you know that your casino cards can only beat a bluff, then don’t bet them on the river. For instance, you were on a straight draw, and made the semi-bluff bet after the turn. But your straight does not materialize and you opponent who has stayed in with you comes out firing at the river card. You have nothing and know you can only beat a worse nothing. The temptation is to play “sheriff” and keep your opponent honest by making them show their cards. Most often, those poker cards do constitute a made hand and your chips are shipped across the table. A big bet on the river can mean anything. It might be a bluff, but the bettor may also be trying to tempt a call with a bet that looks like bluff but is not. You must rely on what you have observed about the player to get some idea about how your opponent operates. When a player who has not been raising and appears to be on a draw that did not materialize, suddenly bets big on the river, there is the possibility it is a bluff to steal the pot. You must consider the river bet in the context of how the player has acted throughout the hand to try to get a read on your opponent.

SNG Session - Taking Chances

December 10th, 2009

I’m beginning to feel that grinding single table sit and go poker online tournaments is a completely useless idea. The pros of single table SNG’s are this: They are pretty formulaic in how to beat them because of the finite circumstances. You only have one table of players and 1/3 always cash. All of the scenarios repeat and are predictable. With accumulative cashing, even at the lowest level, you can start with a small bankroll and expect to start slowly building. The cons in my opinion are many. Your profit is highly predictable. You may have a day where you win every one of your SNG’s and instead of making $8 profit on a session, you make $30 (maybe 4x larger than expected). This increase in profit is not nearly as impacting on your bankroll as winning a MTT poker online is. Obviously, there is much more variance in playing MTT’s. The field size is exponentially higher, bringing your cash-rate down. But, when you do cash deep in a tournament, or win one, the impact on your bankroll can be huge. So cashing in one big MTT event can get you from nowhere to somewhere instantly. This is an outcome that can never happen in single table SNG play. Your profit is all too quantifiable. Also, as we know, SNG play comes down to getting your casino online money in preflop a lot in coinflips or 60/40s. Even being on the winning percentage side of these situations leaves a lot to chance in SNG’s and the bubble is where a lot of this preflop action is happening. This means you’re often taking a 1-20% shot at cashing (given you have an average chip stack). I’ve been on far longer SNG downswings than I have hot streaks. 2/3 of the players lose their money in a SNG, so even assuming you have a skill advantage to compensate for this difficulty to cash, you’re still gambling far too much preflop on the bubble. MTT’s give players much more time to play postflop and build a stack so that when the big preflop flips have to happen, you’ll hopefully have a sturdy enough stack that can afford to take a hit when you lose. Again, MTT’s also have a lower payout percentage, usually somewhere around 20% of the field, and not 33%. Cash games obviously require a much deeper bankroll and have a high variance, but the big wins off a wealthy fish can propel your bankroll to amazing levels. These big jumps are just not going to happen grinding SNG’s, but if you lose a few sessions in a row, the negative effect on your bankroll can be just as devastating as losing in these other formats. If you have done well in SNG’s, I suggest divvying up a portion of your profits and trying out some MTT’s. You might get the reward you’ve been waiting for.

Are Euros the Best Poker Currency?

August 17th, 2009

There is no denying that Euros reach a large audience. After all, many of the European countries have joined the plan to have a unified currency. As far as poker goes, this unified currency plan means that players from Europe are often able to access more online casinos. Because European casinos do not have to worry in a large degree about the currencies of their players, they are able to focus on creating a universal game that can be accessed across all of Europe. Online casino online that choose to only accept Euros also avoid the issues that come with accepting players from the United States. American legislation puts very strong controls on online gambling, which casinos must accept if they are going to accept US Dollars. By accepting only Euros, European based casinos are able to sidestep this issue. One the same token, Euros only casinos are able to avoid any complications that can arise from attempting to convert currency from a player’s account to the currency in play. In conclusion, Euros are the ideal currency for poker players if they want to access a variety of online poker games. By using Euros, players have the option of using Euros only casinos, as well as casinos that accept a variety of currency. Euros are the way to go if you want to be able to access the widest variety of poker games.

The Strike Report: Expert Tips for Intermediate Bowlers

July 29th, 2009

I regularly hear from a part-time bowler willing to take on real bowling with improved precision and consistency. If you accept bowling is your goal, this is crucial cross-roads in growing as a dedicated student of the game. My “Next Steps” handbook to bowling can help get you there. The guys in a local bowling pro shop are there to assist their customers to uncover bowling potential. A wise bowling wizard once said: knock the pins down to win! I kid. Fine, so it’s more complicated than that. It’s all good, we can get you rolling with the proper steps to bowling greatness.

Most importantly, get a knowledgeable friend to help you purchase custom fit a personalized bowling ball, which will do wonders! Fit is important. There’s a reason its our number 1 recommendation, have your private ball fitted, and you can make more of your practice time. A well selected bowling ball can make a substantial improvement in your game. The same goes for enjoying well-made bowling shoes that are in good condition.

After you already bought comfortable bowling ball and shoes, you’re ready for the number two piece of bowling advice: aiming the ball. If you hold the ball, don’t shoot for the back of the lane. Line up using the markings like a sight on a firearm. Some greenhorn bowlers don’t even know they’re there. It is easier to roll through a an aid marker that is nearer. To take full advantage, make sure you begin your approach at the precise location on the wood every approach. Only then you can perfect your aim using the arrows in the lane.

As for curves, to achieve ball handling and velocity? That makes the third-most essential bowler tip. They get traction with the ball type. Actually, even semi-pro bowlers pack two or three bowling balls to pull off amazing pin action, according to the lane. But begginers might want to keep it simple, and avoid a ball that weighs a ton. Many avid bowlers use bowling balls made for special resin materials. However you should know these balls regularly make even decent bowlers appear a fool. That’s our first 3 bowling tips. There will be more shortly.

~Michael Rogers

We roll strikes for Team “Gipper” for the guys and gals at our marketing business near Plano, Texas. I offer guidance to all bowlers on the web and at the lanes. Also, I must wave hello at our crew at the center. Wreck ‘Em!

Buying Short

June 16th, 2009

I’m always kind of amazed, when sitting down at an poker online table that has a minimum buy in, by the seemingly countless number of online poker players who love to buy the shortest stack they can and push it over and over again. My most frequent stakes for cash games now is $.50/$1 no limit, where players are allowed to buy in anywhere from $20 to $100. Going through the lists of poker tables, many show 3-4 players apiece where folks have seated themselves with that twenty, an amount that they will often hold onto until they get one ‘good’ hand, and then push. If the hand doesn’t hold up, they reload with the same twenty and start at the beginning.

The process is beguiling: if you are playing tight, careful poker online , don’t you want to have more money sitting in front of you when you make the hand? Buying short seems not only antithetical to the solid poker player’s success, but also must be just severely frustrating: you never win that much, and more often than not, you can never bluff or get people to lay down: you simply have to have the goods. In general, I try to avoid sitting down at these tables where the short stacks linger. It’s frustrating to not be able to play good, solid poker against my opponents. I don’t play poker for cherry picking, I play it for the game.

Texas HOldem Poker Odds

May 14th, 2009

The “poker face” has entered common language as a stony face that does not reveal expression no matter the circumstances. As a concept, though, the online poker face reveals some of the most basic tenets of good poker online playing. It is all about control and discipline. Poker players know that a game can have surprises and setbacks, but they are prepared to meet them head on. They have enviable levels of self-control and discipline that carry them through long games and grueling all night poker sessions. Self control makes sure that they don’t inadvertadely reveal the value of their hand to the other players by careless online expressions. It makes sure that they win. This kind of discipline can easily transfer to other areas of your life. The discipline that you have that enables you to hold a casino online poker face throughout a long game can also keep your focused at your day job. It can help you through unpleasant circumstances, unexpected surprises, and unfortunate instances. Just like how you need to look ahead in a poker game, you need to look ahead in life. Keeping a steady poker face will help you enhance your personal level of discipline and self-control. You will be able to profit immensely if you can successfully transfer the self-control of your poker game into other areas of your life.