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Monday, October 17, 2005
Thai Poker Pirates
I've lived in and loved Thailand for many years. One of the advantages of life here was that you could buy the newest music, software or movie cds for just a couple bucks. I was shopping in Panthip Plaza, a megamall of nothing but computer stuff and bootleg cds last week and I was perusing the game software, looking for something for my 5 year old daughter when I came upon a "pan luam"(software collection cd) of poker software. Nobody much knew about or cared about poker here but obviously the impact of tv on poker has increased interest and demand enough for them to create this pirate collection cd. 26 different poker applications and games on 1 cd for 150 baht(about 3 bucks). Everything from Moneymaker's, Hoyle's & Holdem Superstar's games to several poker calculator/cheat programs. Needless to say I was blown away but had to buy a copy, for research purposes only. Jeez whats next, will I see copies of WSOP and WPT DVDs next to the fake antique opium pipes on the shelves of the tourist shops?
Among the Immutable Laws of the Universe is the Law of Legends:In any group, there can be only one First. And in the world of poker, the game everybody is talking about, watching on television, reading about and trying to master, the First has always been and continues to be the legendary Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson. Brunson, now 71, is the Babe Ruth, the Wilt Chamberlain, the Arnold Palmer of poker. He basically invented the game of Texas Hold'em. He was the star of the infamous band of traveling poker sharks, the Texas Rounders. He was the first of the high stakes hotel poker players in Las Vegas. He has won an unprecedented ten World Series of Poker events, including the two back-to-back world championships. He is a best-selling author. In the world of professional poker, he is king. Brunson has been winning with good and bad hands all his life. Raised dirt poor in rural Texas, he was a natural athlete who went to college on basketball and track scholarships. His NBA career with the then-Minneapolis Lakers ended before it began when he shattered his leg in an accident at the gypsum factory where he was working pre-season. The leg never did heal properly, and to this day, his place at a poker table is easily spotted by the crutch standing nearby. To pay his bills after the accident, Brunson took up poker. His upbringing and early life as an outsider had made him a lifelong observer of people, and his skill at reading faces was his ace in the hole; he got very good, very fast. But the next hand wasn't so good. In 1962, he was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to wrap up his affairs. But he called that bluff and the other guy folded, and 40 years later, Brunson is still at the table, and still winning. Considered the patriarch of modern poker and the person most responsible for its rise from smoky backrooms to the pop-culture spotlight, Brunson was the leader of the Texas Rounders, a group of men who, in the words of The History Channel, "cleaned Texas dry" playing high-stakes poker in the 1950s and '60s. Outrunning both the law and the hijackers who preyed on winners of illegal big-money card games, he eventually landed in Las Vegas where he became one of the city's earliest tourist attractions: audiences would gather in awe to watch him play. In 1978, Brunson changed the game of poker forever with his book Super/System, a complete guide to Texas Hold'em and other games of poker. Essential reading for everyone from weekend dabblers to high-stakes gamblers, the book remains the bible of poker, the top-selling poker book of all time, still selling 14,000 copies a month. Super/System 2, recently published, includes new games, new strategies and insight from not only Brunson himself but also some of the other biggest names in poker. As well, Brunson has an autobiography, a book on online poker, and the tales of the greatest hands he's ever seen all scheduled to be published in the coming months. Brunson shows no signs of slowing down. He still has the eye, the nerve and the skill and just in the fall of 2004, won another million-dollar World Poker Tour event at the Bicycle Club in Los Angeles, CA. He is a spokesperson for the new online poker website DoylesRoom.com. He plays poker every day and often hosts high-stakes Texas Hold'em games that cost $100,000 just to sit down. He'll win, and sometimes lose, $50,000 or more on a single hand. But as he recently told the History Channel, "to be a successful gambler you have to have a complete disregard for money." That and a keen eye for what's happening in the eyes of the other guy.
For a limited time 7 Sultans Casino have setup a server to see how new players move around the games lobby of the Casino, but obviously we need the players to come in and not worry about purchasing or credit, so to over come this 7 Sultans will give them $500.00 to play with for 15 minutes, whatever the players makes during their 15 minutes over and above the $500.00 is theirs to keep up to a maximum of $500.00. The site goes live on Monday 3rd October 2005 !! You can play any game that they have including slots, blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, texas hold em feel free to share this offer withyour friends. Good luck. Code is "Test777" click here http://www.fortuneaffiliates.com/tagservlet/tagservlet?btag=ad_127371
I was sitting in a bar in Costa Rica talking to this Brit named Hugo, introduced himself as GutShot dealer extrordinaire, next thing I know is I am waking up on the beach with my boxers torn to shreds, my arse feels like it's on fire, there's a tatoo of a heart with "Hugo" in it on my shoulder and the $10,000 I won in the Paradise Poker Million is gone!!! All I remember is Hugo handing me a drink and whispering in my ear to play Legs and Omaha the Game! Is this typical GutShot behavior or is it just Hugo?
Not only is poker good for you, it's the American way, where winners play fair, have the right stuff, and nothing else matters, except, perhaps, a bit of luck every now and then.Lou Krieger
Poker is a microcosm of all we admire and disdain about capitalism and democracy. It can be rough-hewn or polished, warm or cold, charitable and caring, or hard and impersonal, fickle and elusive, but ultimately it is fair, and right, and just. ~L.K.
First ParadisePoker.Com Million Final Table in Costa Rica (L-R: Lee-Hugo-Me)
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if not now, when? Leon Pinsker
PokerNation Freeroll 9pm EST Fridays at AtomikPoker & Saturdays at TitanPoker
Understand all of the potential consequences of your actions so that you may properly balance the competing goals of survival and chip accumulation.Every time the action passes to you whether it is to bet, check, raise, or fold, any action or inaction you choose will have consequences.Therefore, it is imperative that you consider all of the consequences prior to making a decision.In no limit hold âem tournaments, a failure to consider all of the consequences can be fatal.If you make a substantial semi-bluff bet from early position after the flop, you must know what you will do in the event of a re-raise.Any tournament strategy should revolve around two main driving forces â chip accumulation and survival.These two forces will frequently be at odds with each other because in order to survive, you must protect your chips and in order to advance, you must accumulate chips.Therein lies the paradox of tournament poker.You must accumulate chips without jeopardizing your own stack.How do you accomplish this?While it is impossible to play poker with zero risk, careful consideration of all of the consequences of every action on your part can certainly minimize your risk and give you a significant advantage.Poker is a game of imperfect information, which is why it is so important at least to know all of the available information each time it is your turn to act.Maximizing your knowledge will open the door for you to pick up chips at minimum risk.To learn more about this principle and other principles, read Tournament Poker and The Art of War.
Times Square Billboard
Whether he likes it or not, a man's character is stripped bare at the poker table; if the other players read him better than he does, he has only himself to blame. Unless he is both able and prepared to see himself as others do, flaws and all, he will be a loser in cards, as in life.Anthony Holden
In fact, good poker players are more likely to be the victims of luck than the beneficiaries. Michael Craig
http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com Poker news, tournament reports, strategy, biographies, stories and reviewsCopyright 2005Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:30:12 -0500http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss - - -
In the early nineteen-eighties, I defined a concept that would become central to my teachings about poker and the world beyond. It explains the enigma of relationships. It defines a world of comparative talents that isn't always easily listed in ascending order. Understanding it will make your life less confusing. Here is a lecture I delivered about a decade ago on the subject...
Caro's Conception: The lecture
It is a concept that takes us far, far beyond just the basic strategies of winning at poker. "Caro's Conception" makes us aware that there is a level of poker prowess that is very real, yet nearly not definable. This doesn't just happen at poker, but in real life, too. But, I'm getting ahead of the story. First, I've got to tell you what the Conception - or concept - is based upon.
It's based upon a puzzling truth, long known to those who ponder such things - the truth that strengths are not always ordered by hierarchy. Sometimes stren... Continue reading Today's Word is... Conception
If I told you that you could win a half of a million dollars playing poker without leaving your house or apartment, would that be something you'd be in interested in? Of course, you are! The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) sponsored by PokerStars allows you the opportunity to play in the largest online poker tournament with prize pools that rival the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. The most appealing aspect of the WCOOP is that you do not have to travel long distances to play against some of the best players in the world. All you have to do is turn on your computer and log on to PokerStars.
On September 16th, PokerStars kicks off the 2006 World Championship of Online Poker featuring 18 different tournaments, ending with the $3 million guaranteed NL main event on October 1st. Just like the winners at the WSOP, every event winner in the WCOOP will also be awarded a gold bracelet. The 2006 WCOOP will be the largest series of online poker tournamen... Continue reading 2006 WCOOP
In my prior article I addressed starting requirements of stud and how they differed from hold 'em. Let me address the later streets in this the second part of this two part series.
If you are selective on Third Street, you will generally continue to bet your Premium Pairs, even if they don't improve, unless you see opponents who seem to have surpassed your hand. On the other hand, if you are going for a straight or a flush with a drawing hand, you generally want to call or check, sticking around cheaply until you make your hand.
In Stud, unlike in Hold Em, you have extra information available to you to help you determine where you stand relative to your opponents - both in terms of your hand's current value and its prospects for improvement. You need to take advantage of this information.
You need to keep an eye on the cards you need to make your hand, as well as the cards that may help your opponents' hands. Stud is a game of live cards. If... Continue reading A Stud Lesson for Hold'Em Players, PART 2 OF 2
Last issue I revealed how our local maniac stumbled onto an extremely effective strategy in tournament play. The wording here has double meaning as Doug was usually plastered at this point in the tournament as a result of his intake of alcohol. While everyone else was tightening up their play hoping that someone else would get unlucky and bomb out, Doug was stealing pot after pot and increasing his stack size even more. It didn't matter to Doug whether he won or lost and as a result he had no fear. This made his aggressive play even more effective than usual and doubly so in tournaments (at least on the sober and reasonably minded players).
There are several strategies that one can utilize to make it deep in a tournament ( the structure of the tournament does influence these strategies ). The two most common styles that are successful in most tournaments are loose aggressive play and tight aggressive play. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to each style of ... Continue reading A Maniac Named Doug
]]> http://www.pokerplayernewspaper.com 3Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:00:00 -0500 - - - I've run into people even now who do not know that I have not dealt a card in over 5 years - sans some extra curricular activity that I am waiting to divulge. No matter, to them I am still that dealer that dealt them broke, a jackpot or have always given them good cards. So, even though your opponents at the table are either betting, folding, or receiving cards, the one person that players remember just as well are the dealers.
Conversely, when I dealt the cards and then played afterwards, I would make mental note of most of the player's tendencies as it related to some unconscious gestures they would do.
That brings me to the point that I was illustrating in my last paragraph in the last issue. People reveal more about themselves unconsciously than if they were to engage you in conversation. Before there was ever card games people were revealing "tells" about themselves on a daily basis.
Why else would a person gifted in this respect -readi... Continue reading Listen Carefully
