January 2009

Passing up small edges

Marcus Bateman / 30 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Mostly when playing tournament poker you want to try and avoid situations where you are playing large pots with a small edge....Read more »

Poker Blog Round-Up - Bazclef, Snowman, Boomtown Poker and PsycoSniper

Matthew Pitt / 30 January 2009 / 1 Comments

It's that time of the week again when we take a little journey around the blogosphere and report back on anything unusual, funny, sad or even vaguely interesting! A bit of a mixed bag today, so grab your passport and...Read more »

Variance and standard deviation

Marcus Bateman / 29 January 2009 / Leave a comment

If enough poker players played for long enough, eventually there would be one player who lost every single hand they ever played - be it aces or deuce seven off suit - and a player that won every hand they...Read more »

Dropping down limits

Matthew Pitt / 29 January 2009 / Leave a comment

A lot of poker players share a common dream of being able to live a life full of luxury holidays, fast cars and Cristal champagne, all funded by playing poker from their favourite armchair for nosebleed stakes....Read more »

Extra factors when deciding to call

Marcus Bateman / 28 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Although the basics of being a good poker player are simply tying to work out your opponents possible range of hands, comparing it to your own, and acting accordingly; sometimes your opponents possible holding is not the only consideration you...Read more »

6. Patrik Antonius vs Phil Ivey - Sick Poker Hands Series

Dave Allan / 28 January 2009 / Leave a comment

When two of the most aggressive players in the world collide with strong hands, there are bound to be fireworks and fireworks there were when Patrik Antonius locked horns with Phil Ivey in the 'Million Dollar Cash Game.'...Read more »

Reading and improving

Dave Allan / 28 January 2009 / Leave a comment

I don't often write about poker on here. I'm not very good at poker and marginally worse at writing....Read more »

Buying in deep

Marcus Bateman / 28 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Buying in deep has one substantial advantage over buying in short. If you are sitting in a game with another player who is weak and also has a big stack, you give yourself the opportunity to win all of their...Read more »

Buying in short - cash game strategy

Marcus Bateman / 27 January 2009 / Leave a comment

When you sit down at a cash table you immediately have a choice between how much to buy in for. Most online sites allow you to buy in for between twenty and one hundred big blinds, most casinos allow you...Read more »

The Squeeze Play

Matthew Pitt / 26 January 2009 / Leave a comment

When you first start playing poker, it is often advised to play a simple, tight "ABC" style in order to stay out of trouble or avoid difficult situations. The problem with playing like this is that it can quickly become...Read more »

The Art of the Re-Steal

Marcus Bateman / 26 January 2009 / Leave a comment

One of the hardest stack sizes to play in no limit tournament poker is one of between fifteen and twenty five big blinds. This is because it occupies a sort of awkward limbo, being too much to just shove, while...Read more »

Betfair Aussie Millions Assault - Day 4

Dave Allan / 24 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Day 4 would see the end of three great deep runs by Team Betfair players, all falling agonisingly close to a final table finish, but doing themselves proud by reaching the latter stages of the Aussie Millions Main Event 2009....Read more »

Down In The Dumps

Matthew Pitt / 23 January 2009 / Leave a comment

For the past week I seem to have lost focus in all directions and have been feeling pretty low. Do not ask my why as I cannot pinpoint a particular reason why I should be feeling down but I have...Read more »

Poker Blog Round-Up - Clarkatroid, Brunson, Greekstein and the Hairy Gymnast

Matthew Pitt / 23 January 2009 / 2 Comments

The blogosphere has been relatively quiet this past week, with a lot of the big names hanging out at various events around the world and the rest of us mere mortals cutting down on our posting volume, which usually means...Read more »

The dizzy heights of NL20

Nick Cantwell / 23 January 2009 / Leave a comment

I reached the target I had set myself, and I was moving up to the dizzy heights of NL20. It had taken some serious grinding, and I had reached $480 from nothing playing NL10 - so I was ready to...Read more »

2. Durrrr vs son-in-law - Sick Poker Hand Series

Dave Allan / 23 January 2009 / Leave a comment

One of the most feared and respected players in the high-stakes online cash games is Tom 'Durrrr' Dwan....Read more »

Betfair Aussie Millions Assault - Day 3

Dave Allan / 22 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Players entered Day 3 in the Aussie Millions knowing they were only 20 spots from the money and locking up $15,000 for their troubles....Read more »

A bit of poker irony

Marcus Bateman / 22 January 2009 / Leave a comment

One of the great contradictions of poker is how players have to approach money. Although nearly everyone plays with the intention of winning money, in order to stay emotionally stable and successfully build a bank roll, you have to care...Read more »

Betfair Poker Players Performing Well Down Under, Tabatabai takes Heads Up Title

Dave Allan / 22 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Over on the other side of the world at the Aussie Millions the Betfair Poker Team are performing well. Today John Tabatabai was crowned the Australian Head Up Champion taking home a cool AU $100,000 (£47,500) and a gold ring...Read more »

Annette leads Betfair challenge at Aussie Millions

Dave Allan / 22 January 2009 / Leave a comment

All three Betfair players - pros Annette Obrestad and Sorel Mizzi as well as online qualifier Annica Ivert have made it to Day 4 of the Aussie Millions in Melbourne....Read more »

Tabatabai wins at Aussie Millions

Dave Allan / 22 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Betfair Pro John Tabatabai landed the Australian Heads Up Championships at the Aussie Millions on Thursday evening beating Alec Torelli 2-0 in the final winning AU$100,000....Read more »

Betfair Aussie Millions Assault - Day 2

Dave Allan / 21 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Tristan Heffernan reports on an amazing Day 2 at the Aussie Millions for Team Betfair. Day 2 was Girls Day at the Aussie Millions - spearheaded by two incredible performances by the two ladies playing under the Betfair banner. Annette...Read more »

Balancing your ranges

Marcus Bateman / 21 January 2009 / Leave a comment

This is one of the most important concepts to be able to understand as you start moving your game up the limits. 'Balancing your ranges' simply refers to making sure that when you make a specific play, you do it...Read more »

Betfair players sit 1-2 in Aussie Millions

Dave Allan / 21 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Team Betfair enjoyed a spectacular Day 2 at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne with qualifier Annica Ivert leading the field with Annette Obrestad sitting in second place....Read more »

Betfair Aussie Millions Assault - Day 1C

Dave Allan / 20 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Our man in Melbourne Tristan Heffernan reports from the final opening day of the Aussie Millions Main Event. The final of the three Day 1s saw only one qualifier from Betfair take part in what was easily the biggest field...Read more »

Counting the stacks

Marcus Bateman / 20 January 2009 / Leave a comment

With so many Betfair qualifiers in the Aussie Millions, I thought it appropriate to look at one of the key mistakes I see online players make when they start playing live - that of not counting the chips around them....Read more »

Betfair Aussie Millions Assault - Day 1B

Dave Allan / 19 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Tristan Heffernan reports on Day 1b from the Aussie Millions in Melbourne with news of the Betfair Pros and qualifiers. Things really started to heat up for the Betfair Poker team in Day 1a, with 6 entrants taking to the...Read more »

3. Phil Ivey v Paul Jackson - Sick Poker Hands Series

Dave Allan / 19 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Ask any poker player to describe a sick hand they are aware of and I bet at least one of them will mention the Phil Ivey vs Paul 'Action' Jackson when they were heads-up at the Monte Carlo Millions....Read more »

Negotiating large fields

Marcus Bateman / 19 January 2009 / Leave a comment

I have recently been coaching a friend of mine who wanted to improve his multi table tournament game. He had been playing lots of small buy in, large field events, but was complaining that he never seemed to be able...Read more »

Frustration

Matthew Pitt / 19 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Poker can be a cruel beast at times and over the past couple of days I am living proof of that statement. Believe it or not but I am still playing HUSNG almost three weeks after I said I was...Read more »

Betfair Aussie Millions Assault - Day 1A

Dave Allan / 19 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Our man in Melbourne Tristan Heffernan reports from the opening day of the Aussie Millions Main Event. Day 1a of the 2009 Aussie Millions saw a relatively low representation from Betfair Poker players, with most players opting to wait until...Read more »

Amatay, Negreanu and the Angry Whopper

Matthew Pitt / 16 January 2009 / 2 Comments

For the next few weeks at least, I have been asked if I can give an insight into some of the non-Betfair blogs out there. I am a self-professed blog geek, reading at least 15-20 per day and commenting on...Read more »

Flop texture

Marcus Bateman / 16 January 2009 / Leave a comment

This a common term used by poker players when discussing how they played a specific hand. The term 'texture' in this context refers to what combination of cards have come down on the board, as it will nearly always have...Read more »

Mizzi close to Aussie Millions win

Dave Allan / 15 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Betfair Pro Sorel Mizzi has an excellent chance of landing his second major live tournament in as many months after reaching the final table of the $1,000 no-limit rebuy event at the Aussie Millions....Read more »

8. Eric Seidel vs Gus Hansen - Sick Poker Hand Series

Dave Allan / 15 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Shock, horror, Gus Hansen involved in a sick poker hand, this time at the Million Dollar Cash Game....Read more »

Fancy yourself as a stud?

Matthew Pitt / 14 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Seven Card Stud was the most commonly played poker variant in casinos and home games across the United States of America but the increase in popularity of Texas Hold'em in recent years, has stopped the growth of Stud in its...Read more »

Playing cash on Betfair

Nick Cantwell / 14 January 2009 / Leave a comment

I had just watched a video on Deuces Cracked so I decided to take what I had learnt to the Betfair $NL20 tables. These tables can be pretty weak, but there are a few regulars who you don't want to...Read more »

The Martingale system

Marcus Bateman / 14 January 2009 / Leave a comment

The Martingale system is a theory of gambling which outlines a way that theoretically you can always win at any game with chance involved. The idea is that you keep doubling your bets - plus a little extra - until...Read more »

Why weak often means strong and vice versa

Marcus Bateman / 13 January 2009 / Leave a comment

One of the earliest observations from the 'mad genius' of poker, Mike Caro, about bad players was that they usually act weak when strong or strong when weak....Read more »

Reducing the variance in poker

Matthew Pitt / 13 January 2009 / Leave a comment

If you take away all the bells and whistles from poker, it becomes apparent that it is essentially a game of mathematics and as a result, players are subjected to what is called variance....Read more »

7. Daniel Negreanu vs Gus Hansen - Sick Poker Hands Series

Dave Allan / 13 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Imagine sitting there and flopping a set, in a raised pot, against one of the world's most aggressive players. That is exactly what happened to Canadian superstar, Daniel Negreanu in an episode of High Stakes Poker when he re-raised Gus...Read more »

The Overbet

Marcus Bateman / 12 January 2009 / Leave a comment

The term 'overbet' refers to a bet that is substantially over the size of the pot in no limit games. Unlike in pot limit games, where a player cannot raise more than the size of the pot at any point,...Read more »

Early Yorkshire Pud poker training video

Dave Allan / 12 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Forget your Poker VT and Cardrunners training videos, we bring you our very own Yorkshire Pud as you have never heard him before....Read more »

Wild card games part one - stakes and games

Marcus Bateman / 12 January 2009 / Leave a comment

We've all been there, you are sitting with friends or family, someone pulls out the chips and you start up a low stakes poker game. Sooner or later talks of adding extra game comes along, and before you know it...Read more »

Wild card games part two - strategy

Marcus Bateman / 12 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Nearly every bizarre variant of poker requires major changes to a player's game. This is simply because the addition of wild cards - or extra regular cards to players hands, such as six card Omaha or three card hold'em -...Read more »

1. Isaac Haxton vs Ryan Daut - Sick Poker Hands Series

Dave Allan / 11 January 2009 / Leave a comment

A sick hand occurred when Ryan Daut and Isaac Haxton clashed heads-up at the final table of the 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. After finding himself 3:1 down in chips at one point, Daut fought valiantly to turn things around and...Read more »

Please sir, I want a Wii

Matthew Pitt / 11 January 2009 / 2 Comments

I have had a really nice weekend so thought I would round it off with a quick blog entry, here on my little piece of the internet. Things got under way on Friday when Sister Pud, her husband-to-be, Mrs P...Read more »

Getting more comments on your Blogger poker blog

Dave Allan / 11 January 2009 / 3 Comments

Everyone likes getting comments on their poker blog, right? - otherwise people would just turn off their comments option. Right? So here are are three quick tips for getting more comments....Read more »

Importance of the 'headline' in poker blog posts

Dave Allan / 10 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Poker players keep blogs for a variety of reasons. For many, writing about how they have played particular hands or coped in certain situation helps to improve their game (through self-evaluation), others enjoy the buzz of getting feedback and comments...Read more »

9. James Akenhead vs Grant Hinkle - Sick Poker Hands Series

Dave Allan / 09 January 2009 / 1 Comments

Heads-up in Event#2 of the 2008 World Series of Poker, young British pro, James Akenhead had been slowly eroding away Grant Hinkle's chip-lead and was almost level when a cruel hand was played out....Read more »

Security - Online and Live

Marcus Bateman / 09 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Any business or game that attracts lots of people with large sums of money is going to attract criminals. Be it in the live arena, when hooded men come and hold up private games, or even on shady Internet sites,...Read more »

Cash games vs tournament poker - relative chip value

Matthew Pitt / 09 January 2009 / Leave a comment

On the surface, cash games and tournament poker look very similar. After all, the hand rankings are the same, each player has a stack of chips and everyone has the potential to win some money. However, the two disciplines have...Read more »

Why do you play poker?

Marcus Bateman / 08 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Why and how people choose to play poker is a very personal matter. Some people just enjoy the buzz of gambling, not hugely bothered about their bottom line at the end of the year, and are more there to just...Read more »

WSOPE coming to a television set near you!

Dave Allan / 08 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Channel 4 to broadcast eight hours of action from Betfair-sponsored event - the biggest in European poker....Read more »

10. Corey Zeidman vs Jennifer Harman - Sick Poker Hands Series

Dave Allan / 08 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Early in the $10,000 buy-in 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, a hand cropped up where a one-outer was hit on the river to decimate the stack of top pro Jennifer Harman....Read more »

The Poker Economy

Marcus Bateman / 08 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Many people seem to think that poker is purely based around degenerate gamblers, who sit down and lose millions of dollars and go broke while a few sharks hoover up all of it as quickly as possible....Read more »

Tom 'Durrrr' Dwan's credit crunch

Matthew Pitt / 08 January 2009 / 1 Comments

Whilst the majority of us mere mortals are struggling to come to terms with the start of a global recession, there are a privileged few who seem to have money to burn in these testing times....Read more »

Building big pots with big hands

Marcus Bateman / 07 January 2009 / 1 Comments

This seems one of the most obvious concepts in poker, yet is one that you see ignored time and time again by weak players....Read more »

Monday poker

Nick Cantwell / 07 January 2009 / Leave a comment

I started keeping records last Monday. It was a bad day to start keeping records - as I lost last Monday....Read more »

The Fundamental Theory of Poker

Matthew Pitt / 06 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Back in the late 1990's, there were many billboards around my home town of Leeds that bared the face of French footballer, Eric Cantona and the slogan, "1966 was a great year for English football. Eric was born." If there...Read more »

The simplicity of razz

Marcus Bateman / 06 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Razz is a game that makes many players roll their eyes back in their heads and talk about how they wish that such a game had never been invented....Read more »

Scared of Two Plus Two

Nick Cantwell / 05 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Yep. I am. Not in a cowering behind the sofa (why does nobody use the word couch anymore??) kind of way - but intellectually scared....Read more »

Analyse this...Gus Hansen

Matt Broughton / 05 January 2009 / 1 Comments

In all the time I've been playing poker seriously (well, as 'serious' as I ever get about anything anyway) I've never really been much into deep analysis of past hands. Certainly I've pondered briefly after a big hand to considered...Read more »

Ten sick poker hands

Dave Allan / 05 January 2009 / Leave a comment

Whilst poker is an exciting and exhilarating game, it can also be an extremely frustrating and annoying hobby. Sometimes, the 'Poker Gods' (amen) think it would be fun to make two huge hands clash in order for a player to...Read more »

Not the best of starts

Matthew Pitt / 05 January 2009 / 2 Comments

It may come as a shock to some but I have fallen behind on my HUSNG challenge, LOL! I did start playing before the New Year and managed to log over 60 games before deciding to start afresh in 2009,...Read more »

Two key things for making money at poker

Marcus Bateman / 04 January 2009 / Leave a comment

There are two basic things that you have to be able to do if you want to consistently make money from playing poker. The first is that you have to able to control yourself in the games you are playing;...Read more »

Focussing early in MTTs live and online

Marcus Bateman / 02 January 2009 / Leave a comment

If you watch any of the great online multi table tournament players on any day where they are playing a full schedule of tournaments, you will see that in the early stages of the game that most of them often...Read more »