https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/2012/04/ Betfair Poker's talented team of poker enthusiasts bring you the very latest poker news from around the globe. Covering both online poker and the live poker scene, the Betfair Poker blog is your one-stop site for the very best in poker related news, views and gossip. Along with select poker news stories, visitors will also find detailed reports and results of major online and live poker tournaments, interviews with some of poker's key figures and players and bespoke poker articles and editorials. Join Betfair Poker Now en Copyright 2026 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:08:00 +0100 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification The colourful and often controversial poker player and hustler known to the masses as "Amarillo Slim" has died aged 83. He passed away in the early hours of Sunday 29 April after a long battle with cancer and heart problems. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/amarillo-slim-passes-away-300412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/amarillo-slim-passes-away-300412-162.html News Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:08:00 +0100 The last Main Event from Season 8 of the European Poker Tour has almost been completed as the eight-handed final table has been reached. Leading the way going into this afternoon's finale is 64-year old Frenchman Bernard Guigon. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/ept-grand-final-main-eventbernard-guigon-leads-final-eight-300412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/ept-grand-final-main-eventbernard-guigon-leads-final-eight-300412-162.html News Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:02:00 +0100 The Main Event of the European Poker Tour's Grand Final has reached its penultimate day and only 26 players remain from a starting field of 665. The man sporting poker's equivalent of cycling's yellow jersey is Holland's Geert-Jan Potijk. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/geert-jan-potijk-leads-as-ept-grand-final-main-event-reaches-final-26-290412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/geert-jan-potijk-leads-as-ept-grand-final-main-event-reaches-final-26-290412-162.html News Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:43:00 +0100 Day 2 of the European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event has been written into the history books after the 394 players who returned their seats yesterday lunchtime were whittled down to 130. The man whose name is displayed at the very top of the official chip counts is the Italian pro Max Martinez. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/ept-grand-final-day-2-completed-max-martinez-leads-280412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/ept-grand-final-day-2-completed-max-martinez-leads-280412-162.html News Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:33:00 +0100 When one looks at poker's recent history and how the rapid growth of online poker over the last decade largely helped fuel the "boom" in both players and poker books, it perhaps isn't surprising that most recent strategy books have minimized or ignored the topic of reading poker tells in a live setting. Stepping into this relative void, Zachary Elwood's first book, Reading Poker Tells, provides a wealth of insight for those new to live poker as well as experienced live players looking to add to their knowledge of tells and their significance. A former professional player who now plays part-time to supplement his income, Elwood uses his experience at the tables as well as a keen interest in human psychology to support his many findings regarding poker tells. While humble about his own background as a player as well as about his authority on the topic -- he denies being "a 'guru' or 'expert' on poker tells" -- Elwood well establishes his credibility via a thorough and frequently perceptive treatment of the topic. As noted, Elwood points out how when it comes to poker strategy books, the topic of poker tells hasn't received nearly the attention he believes it has deserved, with Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells -- first published way back in 1983 -- continuing to stand for Elwood as the last meaningful study of the subject. (Elwood gives less credit to recent titles by Joe Navarro in which the ex-FBI agent applies to poker knowledge gleaned from interrogations of criminal suspects.) Reading Poker Tells is well written and highly readable, its 220-plus pages (with a couple dozen photos) full of useful, smartly explained observations. Elwood breaks down specific tells in a clear, concise manner throughout, with the book's organization helpfully contextualizing each particular discussion. The bulk of the material is presented in three sections -- an initial, short discussion of poker tell theory, a longer section on specific tells, and a final one concerning strategies of deception and manipulation. Understanding Tells in Context The initial section "Poker Tell Theory" offers a theoretical framework for the more concrete advice provided by the rest of the book. Besides establishing himself as knowledgeable and well read when it comes to human psychology, generally speaking, this section finds Elwood explaining both the relative importance of poker tells and the crucial need for context when interpreting them. As he does elsewhere in the book, Elwood here emphasizes how "tell-reading is only a small part of playing great live poker." Later he'll note he's "chosen to concentrate on an area of poker that is less important than learning fundamental strategy," and indeed, none of his advice about reading poker tells is going to be of much use to readers who aren't already aware of the many other strategic considerations needed to win at poker. That said, being able to read poker tells is "a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal" insists the author. The section concludes with an explanation of the different categories of tells Elwood successively tackles in the following section: waiting-for-action tells, during-action tells, and post-bet tells. Looking for Tells: Before, During, and After Action Such a method of organization makes sense and distinguishes Elwood's approach from that of Caro and others more apt to list poker tells individually and without necessarily categorizing them. Caro, for instance, does divide his book into "Tells From Those Who Are Unaware" and "Tells From Actors," although within those large sections one finds long lists of tells that can occur at different points in a hand and in wildly various contexts. By contrast, in Elwood's second long section "Tells" he identifies these primary moments -- before, during, and after an action -- and within each category examines a host of player behaviors. In some cases he further divides categories into tells indicating weakness and those indicating strength, including presenting those tells in an approximate order of importance or likelihood of being genuine. To give an example, the section "Waiting-for-action tells: Weakness" begins with discussions of players making eye contact or grabbing chips defensively, moves through other tells such as staring at hole cards or the board or other defensive actions, then concludes with less frequently demonstrated tells like shuffling one's cards or making exclamations about board cards. Also included in the long middle section is a prefatory discussion of "General Poker Psychology" as well as a concluding chapter addressing "General Verbal Tells." The book's third section, "Deception and Manipulation," then covers various actions that can be used to induce tells from opponents, some of which Elwood admits "could be considered morally questionable, or angle-shooting." These include telegraphing one's action ahead of time to influence others' play, conversational probes and outright lying about one's hand, and false tells. Elwood is careful to present these strategies to deceive and manipulate as of limited use, only to be employed judiciously against certain, vulnerable opponents. The Need to Correlate In fact, the book as a whole contains numerous such disclaimers about reading poker tells. Elwood frequently reminds the reader that in a lot of cases tells will be more evident at lower stakes games and/or with less experienced players. Also, Elwood points out the need to correlate tells with other information -- that is, to compare what one observes to how an opponent has acted in similar spots before as well as to relate the tell to strategies suggested by the way a given hand has played out. Elwood often shows creativity and imagination when explaining certain points, like a teacher who has found interesting ways to connect with students. For example, when talking about a particular tell in which a player who is strong might slouch and look disappointed before making a bet or raise, Elwood suggests we imagine the player's expression in a different context, say, "if you saw them walking down the street or sitting in a coffee shop." Or when talking about players becoming motionless in spots that might correlate with weakness, Elwood points out how becoming still or freezing up is "a psychological response to fear and anxiety: the deer-in-the-headlights reaction that we're all familiar with." I also like how Elwood acknowledges the complexity of his chosen subject, showing how oftentimes tells are much more subtle than some who have discussed the subject before might lead us to believe. And while Elwood recognizes that reading tells is not of primary importance at the table, he does a good job defending the skill against those who might suggest it is of little or no importance, such as in his response to Dan Harrington's somewhat dismissive chapter on tells in Harrington on Cash Games, Volume II. Late in the book amid a discussion of verbal tells, Elwood brings up a particular hand involving Jamie Gold from an old Poker After Dark episode to illustrate a point about "verbal trickery." That discussion made me wish there had been more such concrete illustrations throughout the book, although I wouldn't say the book is particularly lacking in that regard. In any case, one can find several examples of such analyses of televised hands at Elwood's blog; for example, take a look at Elwood's engaging discussion of "Pius Heinz' eye-contact tell" from the 2011 WSOP Main Event final table. Get Started Reading Poker Tells "Think of the descriptions of the common tells in this book as starting points," Elwood recommends near the conclusion, acknowledging again the need for context and correlation when attempting to read poker tells for their significance. I imagine most readers will find among these "starting points" several items of use in their efforts to read others' table behaviors as well as when monitoring of their own. If you're an online player looking to jump into some live games -- or even if you're experienced in a live setting and looking for a smart primer on tells more in tune with the current scene than Caro's classic -- Elwood's Reading Poker Tells is certainly a worthy pick-up. Zachary Elwood's Reading Poker Tells is available via Amazon as well as his own site and blog. Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/poker-book-review-reading-poker-tells-by-zachary-elwood-270412-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/poker-book-review-reading-poker-tells-by-zachary-elwood-270412-77.html News Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:53:00 +0100 The two starting days of the European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event have been completed and it is true to say that the players have come out in support of a return to the Monte-Carlo® Casino after a year off to have the Grand Final in Madrid. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/ept-grand-final-main-event-reaches-day-2-nick-yunis-leads-270412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/ept-grand-final-main-event-reaches-day-2-nick-yunis-leads-270412-162.html News Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:05:00 +0100 A large percentage of the online poker community will have woken up today, checked their emails and discovered one sent from the account of the Two Plus Two forum master. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/two-plus-two-forums-hacked-members-personal-data-compromised-270412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/two-plus-two-forums-hacked-members-personal-data-compromised-270412-162.html News Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:34:00 +0100 Week six of the Team Betfair WSOP trials saw a jaw dropping 772 players fight for those esteemed packages to Las Vegas. Two players would be winning the $4k package, $1500 in travelling expenses and of course the legendary and priceless Betfair hospitality. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/team-betfair-wsop-trial-six-260412-326.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/team-betfair-wsop-trial-six-260412-326.html News WSOP Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:05:00 +0100 The largest-ever buyin poker tournament held in Europe has been completed after American pro Justin Bonomo outlasted a star-studded field to get his hands on the massive €1,640,000 first place prize in Monaco. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/justin-bonomo-wins-super-high-roller-event-260412-162.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/justin-bonomo-wins-super-high-roller-event-260412-162.html News Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:04:00 +0100 After seven months of negotiations, including several recent indications that a deal was nearing completion, Groupe Bernard Tapie's efforts to acquire the embattled online poker site Full Tilt Poker have ended unsuccessfully. On Tuesday, representatives of both GBT and FTP announced that negotiations as brokered by the U.S. Department of Justice had concluded with the French group no longer a candidate to acquire the site. In statement made on Tuesday, Groupe Bernard Tapie announced their acquisition bid had failed, citing two "major issues" as primary obstacles. One concerned the inability of the three parties -- the GBT, Full Tilt Poker, and the U.S. Department of Justice -- to come to an agreement regarding "a plan for repayment of ROW (Rest Of World) players." The divide largely resulted over the Tapie group's hope to allow most but not all players the ability to withdraw funds at the time of relaunch, something the DOJ in particular insisted was not tenable. The other sticking point ultimately dooming the acquisition were "the legal complications... specifically, questions surrounding the legality of the forfeiture under non-US laws" which GBT characterized as "unresolvable." Meanwhile, Barry Boss, an attorney representing Full Tilt Poker, confirmed to the investigative reporter "Diamond Flush" that the deal had been "terminated," adding that FTP remained "more optimistic than ever that its number one goal will be obtained: Full Tilt players will be repaid." News of the deal's failure comes on the heels of what appeared to be endgame moves serving as a prelude to a relaunch of Full Tilt Poker by GBT, perhaps even by the end of April or early May. As noted here, stories concerning GBT representatives' visits to Dublin, Ireland (center of operations for FTP), the advertisement of job openings in Ireland by Pocket Kings (a subsidiary of FTP), and a new application to the Alderney Gambling Control Commission for a license to offer online gambling by Orinic Limited (another FTP subsidiary) all appeared to indicate the deal was near completion. Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/tapie-group-bid-to-acquire-full-tilt-poker-fails-250412-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/tapie-group-bid-to-acquire-full-tilt-poker-fails-250412-77.html News Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:19:00 +0100