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No matter how high or low a player's skill level and experience is and no matter how cool they are under pressure, all will suffer or have suffered from tilt at some point during their careers.... Read more

Popular poker blogger Steve Holden returns with the concluding story from his four-week stay in the Black Belt Poker House.... Read more

There have been a number of articles on this site recently relating to heads-up games but a topic that has not yet appeared is betting the flop when the action has not been raised preflop.... Read more

It's Week Three in the Black Belt Poker Grading and we are once again delighted to welcome back popular blogger Steve Holden to the Betfair Poker Blogs. This week the stakes are up to $0.50/$1 NLHE 6max/HU, PLO or $30+3... Read more

It's Week Two in the Black Belt Poker house and we once again are delighted to welcome back popular blogger Steve Holden to the Betfair Poker Blogs... Read more

Poker mirrors life in many ways, none more so than the fact that it is continually evolving. Those who do not change with it, will be left by the wayside. A survival of the fittest if you must. That is... Read more

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, you will be more than aware that the entire planet seems to be in financial meltdown, with no signs of it letting up in the near future.... Read more

We are delighted to introduce popular blogger Steve Holden to these pages who will over the next few weeks chart his progress at Black Belt Poker. In this week's post, Steve explains the Black Belt Poker concept, talks about how... Read more

I'm rarely jealous of our American cousins - for one thing they can't play on Betfair but the fact they have easy access to Las Vegas does leave me with a twinge of envy.... Read more

Regardless of of the stakes you play or whether you are a professional or a recreational player, you should be keeping records of any profits and losses incurred from poker. After all, you need or at least should want to... Read more

Blogger Matthew Pitt looks at one reason why US-based players currently can't play on Betfair Poker and explains a little about how the law came to pass. On Friday 13 October 2006, the then President of the United States of... Read more

As someone who plays quite a lot of poker online, a lot of it at the micro and small stakes, I come across new, weak players all of the time. I see the same fundamental mistakes being made day in,... Read more

Whilst every poker player worth their salt should have an arsenal of tricks and plays to display at the table, they should also be aware when not to use these tricks and when using them is so wrong it is... Read more

One of the first things you should do when you sit down at an online cash game is to try an identify and categorise the players you will be playing against. You need to recognise which opponents are ultra tight... Read more

One of the most common excuses for a player to call off a portion of their stack with a weak hand is that they were "priced in." Check the chat box when the inevitable happens and the weaker of the... Read more

One of the most difficult and infuriating players you will face in both the live arena and online is one who plays a Loose-Aggressive (LAG) style.... Read more

Following up on his recent pieces about playing live - Some Basics about Playing Live and Preparing for a Live Tournament - Chris Edwards discusses some aspects of table image.... Read more

Following up on his article about how to beat weak tight players, Matthew Pitt looks at another popular style - the tight-aggressive player. The classic winning style of play for both multi-table tournaments and cash games is widely accepted as... Read more

One of the most boring players you will come up against at the poker tables, both real and virtual, are the ones who play a Tight-Passive style.... Read more

As we blast ever-deeper into 2009, I realised that no one bothered to ask me for a review of 2008 (which is a shame as I'm sure it would have been hilarious). I hope, however, that we're not so far... Read more

Fellow Betfair Blogger, Chris '1Tripz1' Edwards recently wrote an interesting article about "The Gap Concept" for the site and I thought I would elaborate on this a little further. For those of you who have not read it, I highly... Read more

Chris Edwards offers his thoughts on how he prepares for a live poker tournament both mentally and physically.... Read more

Following up on recent articles about making the transition from online tournaments to the live arena, Chris Edwards, an experienced live player, offers up some useful nuggets of advice for making progress in the game.... Read more

Matthew Pitt believes knowing a bit of poker etiquette will enhance your enjoyment if you are new to to playing poker live.... Read more

Tags: avoiding mistakes playing live, new to live poker

Matthew Pitt looks at some basic tips that will help anyone's first trip to a casino to play poker more enjoyable and less embarrassing.... Read more

Tags: avoiding looking stupid, first time at casino, noob to live poker

When beginning in the game of poker one of the first aspects a player learns is what a good starting hand looks like.... Read more

Tags: calling, folding strong hands, hands to raise with

In Texas Hold'em, being dealt a premium hand preflop or hitting the flop hard is a rarity. A large proportion of your time will be spent needing to draw to extra cards in order to improve your holding and to... Read more

Last post I was harping on about a new-found interest in properly analysing key hands - something I'd not previously been too bothered about. However, after enjoying Gus Hansen's book 'Every Hand Revealed' I decided to start going back through... Read more

If you are ever going to succeed in a poker game then confidence is one attribute you need in abundance.... Read more

Matthew Pitt looks at why mucking your hand even after pulling off an outrageous bluff might the best long term strategy.... Read more

Tags: bluffing, mucking cards, online tells, showdowns

For the vast majority of sports, male and female competitors have separate competitions, mainly due to differences in physical strength but poker is an entirely different beast.... Read more

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

Tags: cash poker, no shame in dropping down, playing above your ability, playing lower stakes games

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

Tags: abc poker, bluffing, deceptive plays

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

Tags: 7 card stud, alternative poker games, improving as a poker player, up cards

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

Tags: losing streaks, reducing variance, unlucky at poker

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

Tags: cash poker, chip value, different value of chips, mtt

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

Tags: keeping notes, matt broughton, poker humour

Often portrayed in films and soap operas as under-hand characters gambling ill-gotten gains in a dingy, smoke-filled warehouse, poker players have a poor reputation in the eyes of the non-playing public.... Read more

Tags: bullying, poker not gambling, prejudice against poker players, shame

After getting into poker I'd always wanted to go see some top players taking part in a big event. A few of us traveled to London for the first WSOPE, not knowing if we would be allowed entry as spectators... Read more

Tags: daniel neagranu, empire casino, leaning from pros, watching the wsope

Dominic Kay, who made the final table of the WSOPE in 2007, recently had another decent live tournament cash at the Luton Christmas Cracker Festival though it was a tournament he very nearly didn't play in....... Read more

Tags: dominic kay, live poker, luton christmas cracker festival, tournament success

The term "bad beat" in poker is reserved for when a player loses a hand, despite being a huge mathematical favourite or when a very strong hand loses out to an even stronger one.... Read more

Tags: bad beats are good for you, mathematical poker, tilt, unlucky at poker

One of the most important skills a poker player will develop is the ability to take notes on their opponents. Poker is a game of incomplete information, where players have to make decisions based on betting patterns or tells and... Read more

Tags: Dan Harrington, Greg Raymer, identifying players, note taking

Razz is a simple game. It is played identically to 7 Card Stud with one key difference, the lowest hand wins.... Read more

Tags: horse, how to play, razz poker, razz strategy

Cash games are often the bread and butter of a poker professional simply for the fact they have the opportunity to win vast sums of money each and every hand they play, whereas substantial tournament wins are usually few and... Read more

Tags: cash games, choose between games, full table, short handed poker

Despite what some crazy American politicians may tell you, poker is a game that needs both skills and luck to succeed in the long term, not just the luck factor.... Read more

Tags: amatay, donkeys, poor players, weak players

Game selection is a simple concept for the poker player - out of all the games or tournaments on offer to you, find the one you are able to beat the easiest.... Read more

Tags: ABC poker, fish, game selection, live poker uk, sharks, weak players

A good way to get a feel for playing poker with real money can be by playing sit and go (SnG) tournaments.... Read more

Tags: single table tournament, sit and go, sng, sngs, stt

About two years ago I was coming home from a late night session of poker in my local casino. My taxi driver was bright and friendly and we enjoyed a pleasant conversation for most of the journey, until he asked... Read more

Tags: anthony holden, luck in poker, poker mindset, poker myths, skill in poker

As you are probably aware, poker is built on a base of mathematics and grasping the fundamentals will give you an edge over any casual Tom, Dick or Harry who decides to sit at your table.... Read more

Tags: hand strength, poker odds, pot odds

Anyone who plays poker know they have a choice of calling, folding or raising during a hand but few beginners know there are several reasons why a player should be raising the action. Raising not only gives you a chance... Read more

Tags: aggressive play, micro stakes, no limit hold 'em, raise, raising

Poker can be a cruel beast at times and is one of the few games where you can play perfectly and still lose. Think of it this way, if Manchester United played Accrington Stanley one hundred times, you would expect... Read more

Tags: bankroll, bankroll management, bluescouse, chris ferguson, No-limit Hold'em cash games

The stakes will be extremely high when the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event gets underway next month, with the winner set to take home the second-largest tournament payday ever of over $9million, writes Rob Eddy.... Read more

Tags: Cash games, High Stakes, Online poker, Phil Ivey, WSOP

Though I like to almost entirely ignore poker in my writing (perhaps just including the word "poker" itself as a token gesture in the first paragraph) I thought I'd break the mould and respond to a question I faced recently... Read more

Tags: ABC poker, calling stations, KK, neat stacks, poker tools, Virgin Poker Festival

The European Poker Tour has landed in Budapest, Hungary for the very first time in its history and Team Betfair have ended Day 1a in pole position.... Read more

Tags: Annette Obrestad, EPT Budapest, Imper1um, Sorel Mizzi

When John Juanda was crowned the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Champion, the main talking point was the time the final table took to complete. At 22-hours, it was the longest final table in WSOP history, but during the... Read more

Tags: Dave Cain, heads-up, Poker world record, WSOPE

A great playwright once said, "All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players". A not so great playwright once said, "Give a man a one-day travelcard and the world is his oyster".... Read more

Tags: bad beats, betfair freeroll, hairy gymnast, live poker, Nick Cantwell, wsope after party

A couple of weeks ago I received a poker e-mail in my inbox. As one of the four hundred poker e-mails I receive daily, I pretty much ignored it - until I noticed the words "win a share of £25k"... Read more

Tags: betfair freeroll, hairy gymnast, live poker, Nick Cantwell, Peter Crouch dance, wsope after party

Ever since poker pro Erik Lindgren beat a burglar to death with a five iron in his house last month he won't stop parading from room to room like some vigilante king. Lindgren's wife, Jean, is grateful that her husband... Read more

Having recently been out to Las Vegas for the WSOP I was looking forward to heading back there with absolutely no work commitments to get in the way of actually sitting down and playing some poker. A decade ago, taking... Read more

There's something magical about returning from a poker game late/early enough that the sun rises as you drive home. Sharing the near-empty 4:30am roads with delinquent foxes kicking over dustbins and smoking cigarettes (I think I saw one lighting up)... Read more

Doctors are saying that poker professional Barry Greenstein's brain subconsciously made room for a catchy TV jingle by deleting valuable space required for his survival instinct. Now severely injured, Greenstein only became aware of the change later, having accidentally walked... Read more

If only you could see what TheWaster has seen with these eyes...... Read more

Tam "BigTam" Gourlay opened his Betfair account on Friday and had qualified for the WSOP Main Event by Sunday. Betfair's Estelle Bentall speaks to Tam.... Read more

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Apart from the obvious general excitement of the tournament, something I'm very much looking forward during the 2008 WSOP is the introduction of Rule 36.... Read more

Cower in fear. Matt Broughton's brain has burst open and the yolk's on you!... Read more

NO sooner has the Poker Anorak spoken of slow play then a row breaks out on the poker forums. Says Garybet: "I've heard that slowrolling is the lowest of the low. Does what you did just now make you a... Read more

In the last couple of days I've posted on my blog my profit/loss for 2008, clear for all to see, along with a detailed graph of my cash game winnings.... Read more

It's been a long time since I posted my WSOPE report but to be honest there's not been a lot going on in between, until recently that is.... Read more

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Just how much help is TOO much help? Matt Broughton ponders...... Read more