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Reading Your Opponents In No Limit Hold ‘Em

Articles / Insights

Reading Your Opponents In No Limit Hold ‘Em

In No Limit Hold ‘Em, your ability to play your hand right also includes the ability to play your opponents. This means that you need to know the psychological and bluffing skills than any other popular poker game. This is particularly true when the stakes are high. In low stake No Limit Games, it’s actually advisable not to put too much effort into the “psychological warfare”. In these games, you should just wait, make a good hand, and then bring down your opponents with pot-sized bets. A high stakes game is defined as a 200 buy-in or more. You’ve got...

Raising The “Limits” In Texas Hold ‘Em

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Raising The “Limits” In Texas Hold ‘Em

No Limit Poker has become increasingly popular, not only for its exciting popularity but the large pots that are offered in the various No Limit Poker tournaments. It’s also been highly publicized because of the World Poker Tour and ESPN. However, there are fundamental differences between No Limit and standard Hold ‘Em. It’s important to study those differences and apply new strategies. Limit Hold ‘Em uses a fixed betting amount. For a $5/10 limit hold’em game you bet and raise in increments of $5 for preflop and on the flop, then $10 for the turn card and river card. No...

Phil Ivey – The Tiger Woods Of Poker

Articles / Insights / Players / Stories / WSOP

Phil Ivey – The Tiger Woods Of Poker

If Taylor Caby is the Harry Potter of Poker, then Phil Ivey is the Tiger Woods of this game. This young man earned this moniker because of the classy way he plays. At a very young age of 8, Phil Ivey learned the basics of poker from his grandfather who would deal him hands of penny-ante Five-Card Stud. Ivey’s grandpa wanted to teach the young child the dangers of gambling but ended up encouraging him to learn more about the game. Young kids and teenagers often profess what they want to be in the future when they grow up. The...

Kirill Gerasimov – Russia’s Top Poker Player

Articles / Info / Insights / Players / Stories / WSOP

Kirill Gerasimov – Russia’s Top Poker Player

At a young age of 35, Kirill Gerasimov has reached a level of popularity that many aspiring poker players have dreamed of. This young poker player was born in Moscow and used to be an insurance salesman. Whether or not that day job had any bearings on his poker skills, it is clear that Gerasimov is one of the more well known members of the poker world. Gerasimov’s success as a poker player is nothing short of phenomenal. In his own country, poker is not the popular game it is in the US. However, he became interested in poker and...

Julian Gardner – The Wriggler

Articles / Insights / Players / WSOP

Julian Gardner – The Wriggler

Poker has been around for as long as almost anyone can remember. As such, there are many poker players that have made the ranks of the “greats.” I wrote about some of them a month or so ago. Last post, though, I featured a young poker player who has made his name in the world of online poker. As poker continues to become a popular past time, more and more young poker players are making a name for themselves. Let’s take some time to look into the lives of these up and coming young poker players. One of the most...

Taylor Caby (Green Plastic) – Online Poker Pro

Articles / Insights / Players / Tips

Taylor Caby (Green Plastic) – Online Poker Pro

So far the players I’ve featured were offline pros. Let’s take a look at a very young man who is well known in the online poker world as Green Plastic. So what do we know about Taylor Caby? He was born in 1983, studied Finance at the University of Illinois, and is known to be one of the best heads up players online. To gain a bit more insight into this young man, here are parts of an interview that PokerNews had with him. Enjoy! Q: Where did your screen name Green Plastic come from? Taylor Caby: In college, I...

Doyle Brunson – Texas Dolly

Articles / History / Insights / Players / Stories / WSOP

Doyle Brunson – Texas Dolly

One of the members of the Texas Rounders, Doyle Brunson is a name legendary in the world of poker. Anyone who is really into the game will certainly know who he is. Also known as Texas Dolly, Doyle Brunson was born on August 10, 1933 in Longworth, Texas. It seemed at first that Doyle Brunson would live a “normal” life – with a 9 to 5 job with a sales company. However, he was invited to play a seven stud game on his first day at work and he realized he could earn more than a month’s wages in a...

Amarillo Slim – The First Poker TV Star

Articles / History / Insights / Players / Stories / WSOP

Amarillo Slim – The First Poker TV Star

Amarillo Slim wasn’t always known by this name. Born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. in December 21, 1938 in Johnson, Arkansas, the first time he won the Main Event of the World Series of Poker was in 1972. Yet before he became famous for his tournament poker skills, Amarillo Slim was already quite well known in the poker world as a rounder. Together with his buddies Doyle Brunson and Sailor Roberts, he would go all over the United States, looking for some gambling action. Prior to the creation of the World Series of Poker, the game of poker didn’t really have...

Stu Ungar – Gambler, Addict, Loser, Legend

Articles / History / Insights / Players / Stories / WSOP

Stu Ungar – Gambler, Addict, Loser, Legend

If you chance upon a cluster of people at a party chitchatting about great poker players, there would be no doubt that you would hear the name Stu Ungar come up at least once. There are a lot of people in the poker world who actually consider Stu Ungar the greatest poker player of all time – second to none. Of course there would be those who would contest that but the greater majority would agree that Stu Ungar was one of a kind. Born in September 8, 1953 as Stuart Errol Ungar, he was nicknamed “The Kid.” He was...

Scotty Nguyen – A Poker Legend

Articles / Insights / Players / Stories / WSOP

Scotty Nguyen – A Poker Legend

Born as Thuan Nguyen in October 28, 1962 in Nha Trang Vietnam, Scotty’s life is reminiscent of thousands of other young children in the 70s. This was the time when the communists had a firm foothold on Vietnam and refugees from this country were spread all over the world – from other Asian countries to the United States. Scotty was one of the more fortunate ones as when he was 14, he had the chance to flee his native country for the United States. He initially lived in Chicago but soon moved to California and spent his growing up years...

Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournaments

Articles / WSOP

Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournaments

The tournament structure of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker has caught the attention of people all over the world. Once again, we have the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour to testify to this fact. But, what exactly is a poker tournament? As you would have seen while watching the WSOP or WPT, a tournament may consist of many tables or in smaller cases, a single table. A poker tournament is no different from any other Texas Hold ‘Em game except that you have more players joining in and they get eliminated until there is only one man...

Poker House Games Become More Popular

Articles / Info

Poker House Games Become More Popular

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it one more time – home games are the in thing right now. We can attribute this fact to many factors, of course one of which is the widespread popularity of the World Series of Poker. Most everyone who watches TV would know about the WSOP. Even those who are not really into poker have at least heard about it. Eventually, those who are drawn into poker by watching the WSOP get into actually playing poker themselves. This is where the Internet comes in. At first, people try to dabble in online poker....

An Introduction To Community Poker

Articles / Info / Insights / Tips

An Introduction To Community Poker

Community poker is perhaps one of the most played groups of poker games today. The name community poker is derived from the fact that some cards are shared by all the players. Quite obviously, these are the community cards. Though there are many different kinds of community poker games, the basic idea behind them is the same. A specific number of cards are first dealt to each player – the number of which depends on the type of community poker. After the players get their cards, a certain number of cards are then laid out on the table. These are...

Poker Terms – A Basic Poker Glossary

Articles / Info / Tips

Poker Terms – A Basic Poker Glossary

I was looking through the posts the other day and I realized, albeit belatedly, that I should have started out with a list of poker terms. I have been harping on how players new to poker should know about the lingo used in poker before jumping into the fray yet I never really focused on poker terms. My bad. So here is the first installment of the most common poker terms. Some of them are specific to online poker (OP) while others apply to poker in general. Advance Action (OP) This option is available in many online poker rooms. When...

Poker Strategy: Why Not To Call By Default

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Poker Strategy: Why Not To Call By Default

A lot of poker players call by default—meaning, it’s not a strategic decision, but a gut reaction, an easy response, a habit. You see a spread, and unless some very big red flags force you to do otherwise, you call. Calling is a cautious reaction, the “happy medium” that lets you save money that might be lost on otherwise unreasonable raises, and win every once in a while. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can even be a good thing. What makes it an annoying habit, however, is when you do it unconsciously. Then poker is no longer...

The History Of Poker Chips

Articles / History / Info / Insights

The History Of Poker Chips

In a recent post, I talked about how you can start your own home game. One of the requisites of doing this however, is having the right equipment and what is the most vital piece of equipment for poker? Chips, poker chips that is. For the uninitiated, once you’ve seen poker chips (even on TV), they’re all the same. For the enthusiast though, each poker chip set is different and he has his certain preferences regarding this matter. Let’s take a look at the basics of poker chips so that you can pick out the perfect set to start your...

How To Start Your Own Home Poker Game

Articles / Info / Insights / Tips

How To Start Your Own Home Poker Game

Watching all those TV shows of poker tournaments has made many people crave for the same excitement experienced in a real life poker game. The majority of poker games are played online, but poker enthusiasts know that nothing can compare to real life games. Yet finding tournaments offline are not always that easy. Your best bet is to start a home game of your own. What exactly is a home game? It doesn’t differ from any other poker tournament – especially of the sit and go variety – except that you usually have one table with around 6 to 8...

Tournament Poker Basics and Advanced Strategies

Articles / Insights

Tournament Poker Basics and Advanced Strategies

It may come as a surprise that the strategies that one will use for a poker tournament differs greatly from the strategies that are used in a live ring game structure. Even though a player will have to look out for the same things when playing poker – trying to spot favorable odds and also a positive expected value (most especially in a live game). But in a tournament, there is one thing that you must pay the most importance to, and that is you have to survive above everyone else. In a tournament, once you have run out of...

Feel Like Taking A Poker Vacation?

Articles / Info / Insights

Feel Like Taking A Poker Vacation?

Poker tournaments — they’re everywhere. Not just the big, worldwide competitions that attract thousands of players (and require thousands of dollars to join). There are also smaller events organized by websites, which require smaller buy-ins and allow recreational players to test their skills without being intimidated by a roomful of professionals. They have fun, they get to meet fellow poker aficionados, and they even get a chance to win a tidy sum. Not a bad way to spend a weekend. While the biggest annual tournaments command a rather heavy $10,000 buy-in, you can find weekly get-togethers that cost as low...

Poker Etiquette – Ain’t Misbehaving

Articles / Info / Insights / Tips

Poker Etiquette – Ain’t Misbehaving

Tournaments are supposed to be fun…and they usually are. Unfortunately, a few people who have no respect for rules and get their kicks out of making everyone else miserable can ruin an event. They get into fights, insult other players, distract other people with their tantrums, and generally think that being a jerk is a good poker strategy. Fortunately, tournament organizers have caught on, and are strictly enforcing rules regarding proper conduct in poker rooms. Yes, you can get kicked out of tournaments for misbehavior, or at the very least, slapped with a time penalty that will affect your game...