All-In Poker Blog

Four Card Poker

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:03:07 +0000

Four Card Poker

Four card poker is a game of cards involving a hand made up of four cards as the name suggests. The game is similar to a poker card game called the three card poker the only difference is the number of cards involved. Also, the dealer is not allowed to have a qualifying hand.

The game has rules just like all the poker games. The game also has bonuses for the players. Gaming strategy is very important and is essential that all players have some strategy if they want to win.

As a player and when you play poker you need to know when to lift and fold. Four card poker usually begins when the player starts making his own independent wagers. It uses a minimum of fifty two card decks. The card decks however, don't normally exceed this amount.

A four card poker game requires a player to deal in a minimum of five cards in order to provide an excellent choice for the four card hand. A dealer need not qualify, as in other poker games, for the game to continue. A four card poker game has the lowest amount set for a bet. Subsequent bets made by a player should thus equal the original bet made at the start of play. However a player is allowed to increase the amount of his or her bet up to three times the original amount.

Rankings in this kind of game are not the same as in other games. The rankings are normally done using four of the initial five cards. The hands frequency is calculated mathematically and the outcome of this calculation is what makes the basis of the ranking decision.

Strategy must be used if you want to get the maximum amount of wins. Some people who have analyzed this game for a period of time have published books on various poker strategy. A player can thus take his time and know about the game by reading such books or researching the topic on the Internet. After gaining enough insights, the player can go ahead and play the game equipped with a lot more skills and strategy than they would have started out with.

In a four cards poker game the players normally strive to beat the dealer at his game. This is what makes the game very interesting.

Also, there are online casinos offering these games. However, before one plays in an online casino it is good to generally understand how these online poker games operate. The first step in playing a four card poker game online is to download the software. After downloading the software you will be required to deposit an amount of money up front.

You can use this with a debit or a credit card. Online Four card poker games might have different rules in different countries. As you play you should keep a record of all that you are doing as well as keeping tab on the amount of money in your account.

Different casinos offer different services. There are casinos that offer a reasonable amount of odds thus enabling you to play for a considerable length of time. If you are looking for a good bargain and a favorite place to play four card poker then don't hesitate to shop around. There are more than enough online casinos on the internet offering an entire selection of four card poker games. Your skills and strategy may one day make you smile all the way to the bank. Conversely it might also render you bankrupt. It is advisable to that you be careful with your bets.

Poker Skills

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:03:07 +0000

Poker Skills

The really good players of poker will tell you that one of the must haves for being a good poker player is patience. Patience is required to hang around in a game until you get just the hand you were waiting for. A good player also needs to be disciplined enough to know which games he can play and which he should quit early. A disciplined player will quickly realise when the edge is lacking, would bother to take notes of how each hand transpired and would take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated. When you have both of these almost half the skills required to be play poker is acquired.

When you are playing poker for money and there is lot of it involved it is imperative that your mind is sharp and thinking is lightning fast. Learn to think on your feet, take mental notes, and use the data in a statistical sense to make each hand as effective as possible. One another very important aspect or skill that is required in a poker player is the ability to keep emotions under check. Your face should not give away what you are feeling. Keep what is called a 'poker' face. Seasoned players will tell you that they have won matches when they have read the expression on their opponents faces. If you have a bad hand do not let the whole table know of it. The same applies even when you think your hand is unbeatable. Let the cards talk not your face.

Watch your opponents closely. A lot of players after their game will tell what hand they had and what they were waiting for. Learn to take in such information as it will help you to know how all the player is likely to play. You also need to learn to reflect on what you say while at the table. Make sure that you are not giving away much even if it is an after the game comment. Remember you are likely to play the same opponents sooner or later.

A good poker player will always be a step ahead of the opponents. Poker is a lot about bluff and if you have been playing your hand right the chances of you getting caught bluffing is very little. Use bluff sensibly. It is important to play against the tide. If your opponents are playing a very loose game it is at such times that you need to tighten up your game. When your opponents are playing a very tight game play a loose hand. This approach will unsettle your opponents and give you an edge over them. As a player always remain unpredictable do not develop a routine to how you play, remember that others at the table will be observing you. Once in a while show your opponents the hand you have, call it quits saying you would not usually play with such a hand. The next time or in the next game continue to play with a similar hand and make the most of it.

Poker players have to be disciplined with the way money is handled. In poker there are bound to be times when hand after hand, money is lost no matter how good a player you are and the good hands you have may have got. Be ready for such instances. It is important to know the limits of your bankroll and to play well within them. Before playing a game a player should learn how much can be won, decide whether it is affordable and then take a call on whether to play or not.

Nine Finalists Emerge for the World Poker Series

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Nine Finalists Emerge for the World Poker Series

In Las Vegas the World Series of poker is down to the final nine and it will take another 117 days to find a winner. For those of you who don't know how far that is, the final will be in November.

It is going to be interesting because there are only a couple of well known names in the line up. One of those is Kelly Kim a professional poker player from Whittier California. Kim acknowledges the good fortune of making it into the final nine. "I get to play another day. Anything could happen. It's truly amazing," said an overjoyed Kim. The professional player managed to make it to the final nine holding 2.6 million chips, a whooping 23 million chips behind the leader. Incidentally 2.6 million only makes up 1.9 percent of the chips in play.

On Tuesday tournament officials gave out $900,670 to each of the finalists. This would have been followed up by an official meeting with the new finalists of no-limit Texas Hold'em to discuss the months ahead.

The top nine are scheduled to play on November 9^th and 10^th for a cash prize of $9.12 million. The venue will be the 1,500 seat theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel. The hotel happens to be a regular performance venue for magicians Penn and Teller.

This is the sort of event that truly alters lives and lifestyles. The money alone will change the lives of these players. But the overnight celebrity status will also be a major gear shift for the lucky nine. Already success at the poker table has been met with the signing of sponsorship deals for some.

The leader of this year's poker pack is 53 year old Dennis Phillip from a suburb of St. Louis Illinois called Cottage Hills. He held a 1.9 million chip lead over Ivan Demidov, the 27 year old semi-professional player from Moscow.

"I'm having a blast. I live for this," said Dennis Phillips. Words that truly emulate the joy the trucking account manager from Illinois is feeling. Phillips made it to the event by winning a satellite poker tournament at Harrah's St Louis.

The winners of all qualifying satellite tournaments are given the $10,000 buy-in for the main event. Regardless of whether or not they won a satellite tournament or paid their entry fee, all players sat down with 20,000 chips when the event began on July 3.

The other players in the top nine are: Scott Montgomery a 26 year old from Perth Ontario in Canada. He comes in to the final nine with 19.7 million chips. Peter Eastgate, the 22 year old from Odense, Denmark follows him with 18.3 million chips. While the rest of the pack of nine come in with stacks of about 10 to 12 million chips. They were: Ylon Schwartz a 38 year old from Brooklyn, New York; Darus Suharto, a 39 year old from Toronto; David "Chino" Rheen a 28 year old from Los Angeles and the baby of the pack is 23 year old Craig Marquis, an amateur poker player from Arlington Texas. Kelly Kim of coarse trails this pack as the last to qualify in the final nine.

It has been no small feat for the final nine players of the World Poker Series. They emerged from a field of 6,844 players and were suitably tired, overjoyed and relieved when the final cards fell on Tuesday.

23 year old Craig Marquis eliminated 25 year old Dean Hamrick from East Lansing Michigan in the last hand of Tuesday morning. His pocket queens secured his place in the final over Dean Hamrick's ace-jack.

"Everybody was scared they weren't going to make the final table," said a jubilant Marquis.

Chips don't have a monetary value in the no-limit Texas Hold'em main event and are used only to indicate the standing of players against each other. One player will have to win all the chips to win the coveted title in November.

Phi Nguyen and Brandon Cantu, gold bracelet winners of previous tournaments were eliminated early on Monday. This means, November's champion will be a first time winner at the World Series tournament.

Last year's winner Jerry Yang, finished out of money this year. While Phil Helmut finished highest in the tournament among previous winners in 45^th place.

The last woman to be eliminated in the tournament was Tiffany Michelle, who placed 17^th.

"It may not be a World Series of Poker bracelet, but that's really huge and it makes me really happy," said Michelle who won $334,534.

This really has been a tournament for underdogs and its going to be interesting to follow November's final event because there are no clues for this year's winner.

Top 5 Poker Players

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:05:37 +0000

In the poker player rankings Bluff magazine and ESPN name J.C Tran as 1st , David (Dragon) Pham 2nd, David Singer 3rd, Michael Binger as 4th and Danny Wong as 5th in their poker player rankings.

It is interesting to note that Bluff and ESPN have different results for the 2008 player of the year. That shows you the magnitude of Live world championship poker. Unlike tennis this isn�...t a game you win over and over. Michael Binger is 1st in the player of the year rankings, Men (The Master) Nguyen 2nd, Erik Seidel 3rd and Glen Chorny 4th and John “Razor” Phan is 5th in the POY rankings.

Micheal Binger

Bluff magazine and ESPNs number one player of the year Micheal Binger is 32 years old is has earnings of $5,558,685. He�...s a University Ph.D in Theoretical Particle Physics at Stanford University in 2006. Poker players he respects include Allen Cunningham and Chris Ferguson. It is interesting to note that Micheal Binger is 4th in the poker player rankings for 2008.

Micheal Binger started playing in 2001 and ranked in the top 30 for the first time, when he came 23rd in the No-Limit Hold�...em Annual Five-Star World Poker Classic in April 2006. His latest world ranking was in the Pot-Limit Hold�...em (Event 38) 39th Annual World Series of Poker in June 2008.

J.C Tran

Bluff Magazine/ESPN Poker Power Rankings put 31 year old J.C Tran as number one in their poker rankings. Tran has been in the top 50 players since 2004 when he came 32nd in the January 2004 Fifth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open. This was soon followed with a placing of 4th place in a February championship and a win in that same year.

His first win came on the 16th March 2005 at the 2004/2005 WSOP Circuit Event in Rio Las Vegas. His last win was in December 2007 at the Bellagio Five Diamond Poker Classic. More recently J.C Tran has ranked 84th in 2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker, although he did have a 5th place in the June 2009 39th Annual World Series of Poker.

Tran originally from Vietnam resides in Sacramento, CA. Tran is the youngest of 8 kids and was introduced to poker by his brother on his 21st birthday. He has been playing ever since. Tran has a degree in Business Management Information Systems from California State University. J.C. Tran�...s 2008 POY rank was 25th while his 2007 POY rank was 3rd.

David (Dragon) Pham

2nd in the poker player rankings is David (Dragon) Pham this man was cousin to “The Master” Nguyen and worked for a dry cleaning business owned by Men “The Master” Nguyen.

David (Dragon) Pham placed 4th for the first time in the No Limit Hold�...em 31st Annual World Series of poker in May 2000. His most recent placing was in the Event 8 No-Limit Hold�...em in April 2008 with the 6th Annual Five-Star World Poker Classic. His poker earnings come in at a cool $6,002,324.

Men (The Master) Nguyen

It is all the more interesting to see that Men (The Master) Nguyen is 2nd in the player of the year rankings. Almost a planned coup for second place in the player of the year rankings and the poker player rankings in the live world championships!

The Master is 46 years old and was born in Phanthiet, Vietnam he now resides in Bell Gardens, California. He escaped from Vietnam in 1978 and owns a furniture store and dry cleaners. His earnings are $5,110,467

The Master has financed the building of two schools in Vietnam. He has made his presence felt for many years since his first Limit Hold�...em placing of 9th place at the 1988 19th Annual World Series of Poker.

Apart from gaps in 1990, 1993 and 1997 The Master has placed in championships every year. He has placed in 15 tournaments this year the most recent being 45th place at the Seniors No-Limit Hold�...em World Championship in June this year at the 39th Annual World Series of Poker.

Staying in the top five is not easy and I�...m sure J.C Tran, David (Dragon) Pham, David Singer, Michael Binger and Danny Wong ranked first to fifth respectively in their poker player rankings, would love to take a leaf out of Men (The Master) Nguyen�...s book. As would Michael Binger, Erik Seidel, Glen Chorny and John “Razor” Phan who rank 1st,3rd, 4th and 5th in the player of the year rankings where Men (The Master)Nguyen ranks 2nd.

It definitely isn�...t easy staying with the top dogs in live world championship poker. So Men (The Master) Nguyen definitely has a lesson for every poker champion.

World Poker Tour

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:21:56 +0000

The World Poker Tour is a series of Poker championships held across the world, but, mainly in the United States. The games are mainly that of Texas Hold ‘em pokers but there are other variants as well. The World Poker Tour gained popularity after it was broadcast round the world and began to be televised internationally. The World Poker Tour attracts the best of the poker players from across the Untied States and other countries as well.

The rules of participation in the World Poker Tour are fairly simple and the tour is open to any player who can buy-in for an amount that is in the slab of $2,500 to $25,000. The other condition is that the player must win one of the satellite tournaments. The World Poker Tour is a big hit among the players due to the innovativeness of the tournament and the absence of too much technical detail among the games. The fans like it especially well because they can see the cards of the players by means of a small camera that is placed behind the players.

The World Poker Tour is a spin-off from the World Series of Poker but the sponsors of the World Poker Tour are different from that of the World Series of Poker. The series of tournaments that make up the World Poker Tour are spread out across the United States and as mentioned above, the qualification criteria are pretty simple and straightforward. All it takes to participate is to find a buy-in for the amount or win one of the other championships among the games that are held as part of the satellite championships. The World Poker Tour is also recognized for its organizational ability and the fact that it attracts players in the thousands from across the globe and the United States in particular.

The increasing number of women who participate in the World Poker Tour is adding glamour and allure to the tour. The tour is one of the most watched programs on television and it airs on all Mondays on select networks. The participation of the women prompted the tour organizers to start a new and dedicated tour known as the World Poker Tour Ladies. Recently there have been some law suits against the organizers of the World Poker Tour over some procedural issues and the organizers had to go in for an out of the court settlement. The season has its debut in 2002 and went full steam in the subsequent years attracting players in the thousands.

There are many variants of the poker game that can be played and championships hosted for the same. Thus the World Poker Tour too has many different variants of the Poker game and thus the same is not restricted to one particular variety. This makes the number of players who would like to play more and lends itself to adaptation and more variety. The winners take home prizes in the millions of dollars and are expected to take a fair share of the total prize money at stake. As an evolving championship, the World Poker Tour is bound to grow in popularity and the casinos may well make it part of their annual fixtures and lend them to promoting the game. Finally, the success of any poker tournament depends on the players, sponsors and the casinos. Thus, it is imperative that all of them come together for the same and make it a worthwhile experience for everyone involved with the World Poker Tour. Next time you want to go to a casino check if the schedule has the World Poker Tour listed and then register accordingly.

Can anyone be a Great Poker Player?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:21:14 +0000

Did your grandmother use to gather her friends for a good game of poker and some strengthening beverages too? To many, poker seems like a game that, in order to succeed requires both a certain set of skills and a specific kind of personality not to mention a taste for expensive whiskey. But how skilled was grandma Ruth and her buddies really? Will the grandma Ruth of the future be gathering her friends in an online poker room and keep her whiskey to herself? Perhaps they are already out there.

Who plays Poker online?
Online poker is really open to anyone that understands how to use the Internet. While this is true for people of all ages and backgrounds many still feel a resentment to actually logg into a casino and start playing for real money. This is not necessarily because they don't think that online casinos are real and trustworthy businesses, it might just be the general feeling of the person that dealing with money online is a risky venture. As the security technology for transactions becomes better and better more people also become more accustomed to doing their business online.

Now, a person that feels comfortable about doing his grocery shopping online shouldn't have too much trouble to get started with some online gambling. This means that online both men and women of all ages can meet in poker tournaments. Many a Grandma Ruth are indeed online today so chances are great that you could be meeting her in a poker room somewhere out there. The only ones that should be kept out are the minors and the people busy with fraud. Luckily most online casinos take strong measures to keep these groups out so that the rest of us can enjoy fair gaming with a good conscious.

Practice makes perfect
No matter if it is Grandma Ruth or Savvy Bob that decides to go online to become a poker master they both need to play a lot to really master the game. Given that Grandma Ruth most likely played many more games than Bob she has a bit of an advantage. But Savvy Bob can catch up with her by reading up on the many online poker tutorials available and by playing multiple games.

Play Poker for fun or for real?
As crazy as it sounds there are people who make their living from playing poker online. Imagine that, instead of getting yourself in time to your office you simply have to remember to keep your lap top charged because it might be a good day to play in the park. The great advantage of being able to play at several tables at once online makes this game into a possible job for the skilled and serious player. With a computer and an Internet connection the world of online gaming is open to all. Whether you're a student looking for an extra income or you just retired and want a new hobby you can become a master player and have a good time all the while.

Myths - Not Truths!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:08:18 +0000

Most games are shrouded by certain myths - misconceptions that drive people away. There are a few myths about poker games too, especially when the game in question is Omaha. A lot of people shy away from this game because they assume the myths to be true.

One of the biggest myths about Omaha is that it is a complicated game. One agrees that all games have different levels of complexity. However, when you compare Omaha and another very similar game Texas Hold'em, you would find that Omaha is much easier to play. Texas Hold'em is characterized by its unpredictability and randomness that arise from the fact that no single player has a significant advantage. Usually in Omaha, you rarely play a hand head-up on the flop. Moreover, if there are three or more players in a pot, one among them will have a clear advantage over the rest or more than one player might have a strong hand. Additionally, any bet from any of the players can win the pot on a bluff. And Omaha has a lot more ways to connect with the flop.

Quite often, Omaha hands involve analyzing the possibilities of winning all or a part of the pot. It comes down to manipulation of the pot size through your bets. However, uncertain situations do emerge in Omaha. Nevertheless, right play in these situations can help you win. And this is precisely why good players manage to win most of the time. Most of this game's situations involve calculating one's 'outs' or in simpler terms, counting the cards that make your hand and representing them as a percentage. Although there are occasional tough situations, Omaha games are usually simple.

Another common myth about Omaha is that starting hands run close in their value. This can sound very ridiculous to players who play this game regularly. The reason for this myth can be traced to the fact that Omaha hands played head-up are similar in their dominating nature to the AA against A7 in hold'em. As a situational consequence, you would be forced to liberally defend a big blind against a single raiser in case you have a reasonable hand. This will offer you right pot equity. However, this doesn't mean hands run close together in their value. An A23K will always be better than J965.

You can believe in myths and not play Omaha or ignore these misconceptions and play one of the most exciting games in Poker. The ultimate choice is yours. A myth need not be true always and in this case, it definitely isn't.

Focus on Long Term Goals

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:00:41 +0000

Casual poker players would perceive poker as a game that involves short-term decisions and instant winnings. They overlook the long-term aspect of the game. People play for the fun, excitement and the attractive monetary rewards associated with this game. Since pots are won frequently, they hardly ever bother about a long-term strategy that would help them win games in future. This is the shortest and the surest path to failure.

When you are playing poker, always plan for the future. There can be no arguments against the fact that poker is thrilling and offers huge rewards every moment, but this can mislead you into believing that you stand a chance to win every game you play. It is high time you got disillusioned. You have a better chance of losing than winning if you are only looking at the momentary pleasure of winning. Talented players have, many a time, gone astray because of the lure of winning fast and big money. An attitude such as this drives people to doing stupid things that make them highly prone to mistake. Wins and losses are a part of the game. A roller coaster ride is exciting only when there is a slide downwards. A desperate player bets recklessly and eventually loses a fortune.

Focus on the ultimate prize is what keeps good players going. They do not focus on what is right in front of their eyes, but look beyond what they perceive as either a win or a loss. Luck does play a significant role in poker and even good players would have had a string of losses, which could perhaps be attributed to luck. However, very few good players believe that luck supersedes skill in poker. The first skill that good players learn is perseverance. They understand the need to keep going regardless of the circumstances. However, they do take risks whenever they feel they can justify it. Reckless play is not appreciated, but calculated risks are. There have been times when good players have put down the opportunity of a momentary win to focus on the bigger prize ahead.

A common observation made in tournaments is the tendency of players to put in heavy bets after a spate of good luck and excellent hands. They lead the table and start believing that they can translate the momentary fortune into great winnings. Sometimes, they do win with such reckless play. Fortune is a fickle mistress, they say. One moment, you are extremely lucky and you race ahead and the next moment, you could be the least fortunate person under the sun. These circumstances are unpredictable and it would be inane to assume that you cannot be defeated after a sizeable lead. People who assume this are the ones that blunder most of the time. It is a natural tendency to pile up more chips when you are doing well. However, the point made here is - do not go overboard with your illusion of invincibility. The ones that keep persevering regardless of how bad their situation is are people who taste success in the long-run. They are always disillusioned and never go overboard when they are fortunate enough to win a few games. They sustain their focus till the very end, neither faltering nor playing recklessly. They are the players who play sharp and play with an intention of bagging the big prize. Momentary wins do not distract them at any point of time.

Poker is a game of patience and perseverance. You might sit pretty at some stage in the game with big earnings. However, remember not to take your eye off the ultimate prize. If you instill this thought in you early on, there is no way you would be a short-term winner.

Limits - Up or Down

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 08:57:59 +0000

One of the most critical aspects of poker is the knowledge of what limit to play with. When you have been playing poker for a while, it wouldn't be difficult for you to decide when to move your limits up and when to bring them down. Knowledge of limits is a must if you're looking to play poker the right way. When you are choosing what limit to play, there are several factors that you must consider. These include your bankroll, an assessment of your skills and general game play, and your tendency of risk-taking. For good players, evaluation of these factors comes naturally.

You can be the richest man on earth with a lot of money to burn. However, when you are playing poker for the first time, it is better to start with lower limits. Poker involves risk-taking, but your risks have to be calculated not reckless. The opponents you will be playing initially will be easy to play against. Not many poker pros play low limit games. This makes it a safe option to start with. If you think your reputation is at stake, rest assured. In online poker, people know just your screen name and nothing else. They wouldn't care less for who you are and how much you're worth.

The most important aspect of choosing a limit is deciding whether to move it up or down. Poker experts recommend moving your limits up only when you are at ease playing a particular limit for 7 or more sessions. If you are not comfortable with a higher limit, do not opt for it. Poker is a game that offers you fun and not apprehensions about losing your money. Fear has always been equated with failure and if you are afraid playing at higher limits, continue with your original limits. Moreover, higher limits require a higher bankroll. So, you should also consider this factor before taking a decision to move a limit higher. You might be able to survive a couple of sessions in a higher limit, but it offers no guarantee that you would not lose money in the following sessions.

In case you have moved to a higher limit, it wouldn't be bad if you move to a lower limit. However, do not lower the limits when you feel the game is too easy for you and is hardly exciting. In case you have moved to limits such as $25-$50 from a limit of $10-$20, it doesn't make sense for you to move very low to $1-$2 when you find the higher limit uncomfortable. When the limits are too low, people indulge in loose play. Choose limits that make your game exciting and entertaining.

Bluff Sensibly, not Recklessly

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:49:40 +0000

Bluffing is the most exciting of all Poker strategies. It is an audacious move, when done rightly. Otherwise, it can turn out to be an extremely stupid tactic. You need to attain absolute perfection with this art if you are looking to use this to gain an edge over your opponents. If you never get caught bluffing, it is almost certain that you have never bluffed. It is always good to get caught bluffing once in a while. However, bluffing too often can lead to worthless bankroll swings.

A player who plays two hands and wins one and loses the other will most certainly be on a lower psychological level than a person who has played neither hand. Losing money is definitely as unpleasant, if not more, as winning the same amount of money is pleasant. A $20/40 player who loses $1000 in a single day will surely be more annoyed than he is happy when he wins $1000 in a day. It is a natural tendency among players to try to ‘get even’ if they are losing four or five bets. They might even risk all their winnings to get those five bets. On the other hand, if they are winning five bets, then winning another five bets would not make much of a difference to them. It is quite strange to see how people have different perspectives for two things of equal value.

Before you decide to bluff, you must take into consideration the psychological effect that might be caused by the bluff. Bluffing can be a dangerous move and if you don’t handle loss sensibly, it is better not to bluff at all. There is hardly any doubt about the fact that bluffing is a good tactic. However, going overboard with your bluffing is definitely not good. A person who bluffs actually tries to compensate for the lack of objective assets of his cards with his boldness.

When your bluffs earn you money, it is good. When you realize that you are not getting anywhere by doing it, there is no way people are going to appreciate you for your audacity. Reckless or foolish bluffing is a strict no-no. Do not do it because you enjoy doing it. Do it as an effort to increase your chances of winning.

Bluffing is a good tactic so long as you do it well. Bluffing can win you games. At the same time, you are risking losing a game. So bluff sensibly.

That's the one

Be careful with poker tells

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 23:39:53 +0000

One of the crucial skills required in poker is that of bluffing - the ability to make your opponents believe that you have a much stronger hand than you actually have and inducing them to fold. It follows that the skill should also include the ability to tell when your opponent is bluffing. The proverbial poker face is quite rare. Expert player can discern tell tale signs made by their opponents. These signs reveal what the opponents think of their own hands. In poker parlance these signs are known as 'tells'.

There are many common tells. Eyes are dead give-aways. A good hand warrants a longer look. Players want to make sure that they have seen right. A body tic, especially on the face is usually an indication of a weak hand. Some players exhibit tells when they are bluffing. Flexing of muscles, eye pupil dilation and raised voices are common behaviour when bluffing. But players who exhibit such tells know that they are exhibiting tells. Hence they develop antidotes for the tell. They induce such behaviour at times even when they actually have good cards.

Consider the following scenario. A player knows that his index finger twitches when he bluffs. On two occasions he bluffs with a weak hand. The opponents observe the finger twitching and realise that it is a tell. Then some time later he gets a good hand. He induces the finger to twitch. The opponents think he is bluffing and keep betting. The player makes a killing. The seeds of doubt are sown. Next time the finger twitches the opponents will not know if it is a real tell or an induced tell.

This is precisely what happened in the 2006 version of Casino Royale. James Bond identifies a tell in Le Chiffre's behaviour. But Bond reckons that Le Chiffre is too seasoned a player to have a tell and thinks that Le Chiffre is bluffing with a weak hand. Bond bets to the hilt and gets cleaned out. Bond, being Bond, gets a buy back in and beats Le Chiffre the second time round.

There have been other movies that revolve around tells in poker games. David Mamet's House of Games (1987) is a class example. A gambler called Billy visits an eminent psychologist Margaret. He is in danger of being killed by a gangster Mike to whom he owes money. Billy takes Margaret to Mike, who offers to waive Billy's debt if Margaret accompanies him to a poker game and read his rival's tell. Margaret's professional instincts are aroused and she agrees. While the game is on she is sure that she has identified the tell. In a later deal she asks Mike to go all out and even funds him with $6000 of her own. As expected she loses. Later she finds out that all this was a con, including Billy's visit to her clinic. Rounders, a 1998 movie revolves entirely around poker. In the climax, the protagonist Mike needs to win a large some of money quickly from a KGB agent. Mike identifies the agent's tell and is up $60000 but needs to win much more. He informs the KGB agent that he has read his tell. This infuriates the KGB agent and put him in a state that poker players call a 'tilt'. The player then is incapable of playing rationally. In the last deal Mike holds an 8 and 9, while the flop is 6, 7 and 10. Mike slow pedals his bets and goads the JGB agent into wagering his entire bankroll. Thereby Mike wins in grand style.

Positional Advantage is not a trivial concept

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:02:07 +0000

A lot of players underestimate the value of position in Poker. Positional advantage is an important factor that helps you win games.

In Texas Hold'em, the value of position is quite obvious. As a player, you want your opponents to decide before you so that you can have the final say. In Hold'em, no player has an absolute advantage over the rest. The decisions you take are based on any little advantage that you get to outplay others to win the pot. Although a superior position by itself can't help you win a game, it can certainly help you make better bets. It is the familiarity of the situation that gives you the edge over your opponents.

Position in Texas Hold'em is a simple concept. If there are two players in a pot, you would want to be the last. You always have a positional advantage when you are seated first or second behind a maniac, or in front of him. All good players have a tendency of playing more hands in a late position and far less hands when they are in an early position.

Position in Seven Card Stud and Stud High-Low is different from Hold'em. Here, positional advantage tends to vary. The highest board showing acts first, starting from fourth street. Hence, if a king high bets first on fourth street, another player with an ace or pairs deuces might act first on fifth street. You might still have an advantage over the player to your immediate right. However, positional considerations in stud games are not as simplistic as in Hold'em. Some hands are more playable if you are not the high hand, while representing a hand is a lot more important when you act first. Certain hands can be played more aggressively if another player shows a king or ace, which means they are more likely to be forced to act first all through the hand.

The greatest difference in positional advantage is between Omaha HiLo and Holdem. If you are seated last you have some general advantages, but there are certain disadvantages too. For example, if you are bluffing from the last position, you are committing suicide against good players. You just cannot bluff when you are in the last position. Middle position is the most important bluffing position in Omaha, but it is rarely advantageous in Holdem.

Positional advantage is a key skill that Hold'em players need to develop when they are looking to move to other games. Position offers you significant advantages in a game, so do not trivialize it.

Winners of Ante Up for Africa tournament give away winnings to charities of Darfur

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:54:59 +0000

This year saw a first in the world of poker when two players decided to give away their all of their winnings to a worthy cause - the Ante Up for Africa. The two players Dan Shak and Brandon Moran made a public announcement at the World Series of Poker that they would give away al of their winnings to the charities affiliated with the Ante Up for Africa .

This remarkable day was the 5th of July of the year 2007 and at 22:40 an amazing thing happened in Las Vegas. Players Dan Shak and Brandon Moran were the two generous poker players who made this decision at the WSOP or the World Series of Poker in front of a live audience of thousands and numerous others watching via the media coverage. The Ante Up for Africa was a special tournament organized by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke and was presented at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

The World Series of Poker is one of the most highly popular tournaments known to poker enthusiasts all over the globe. The WSOP has a yearly giveaway of over 12 million dollars in The World Series of Poker tournament prize money. This year Dan Shak and Brandon Moran who were the finalists of the tournament stopped the entire audience at the WSOP short when they made their announcements.

Almost at the finish of the tournament Dan Shak , one of the last two of a collective number of 167 contestants, stood up from the table and said that he would give away every cent of any prize money that he won to the "Ante Up for Africa" and its designated charities which were the Enough Project and the International Rescue Committee. Brandon Moran, who was Shak's opposition soon followed the other player's announcement with a similar one of his own. He also made a pledge that he would donate the entire 100 percent of all the money he won to the Ante Up for Africa charities for Darfur .

These announcements ended the tournament rather abruptly and both the men were awarded first place in the World Series of Poker. The total amount of prize money that was won by these two players Dan Shak and Brandon Moran alone amounted to $386,738. All this money will go to the "Ante Up for Africa" and all the other charities tied into it namely, the Enough Project and the International Rescue Committee.

The entire program, Ante Up for Africa" was the result of a collaborative effort between Don Cheadle, an Oscar nominated actor and Annie Duke a poker professional. The project was embraced and encouraged by Jeffrey Pollack who is the Commissioner for the World Series of Poker. The special tournament Ante Up for Africa" was presented by Milwaukee's Best Light and the tournament participants were required to provide $5,000 each to play in the event.

However, all this money went into the Poker pool and could be won as a personal prize at the tournament. This was because the goal of the organizers, Don Cheadle and Annie Duke was not to take the winnings as a donation but rather for the entire program to be a means of creating public awareness of the severe humanitarian crisis situation that is very dire in Darfur where more than 2 million people have been driven out from their homes and are suffering under extreme difficulties. A large number of Hollywood celebrities, among who were Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as well as various sports personalities who also did their part to help.

The Winning Hand at Omaha Hold'em

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 15:34:32 +0000

To win in full ring, limit Omaha, it takes a 'nut' hand. If you don't have a 'nut' hand, you should have at least something close to that. Are you wondering what the 'nut' hand is? It is a hand that can be beaten only by hidden quads or straight flushes, the pure killer 'nuts'. You don't win always with two pairs and trips in this game. So, go for the nut straight, nut flush, or nut full house most of the time.

Ideally, Omaha players start with four cards, where each four card hand has six Hold'em hands. You must remember that one or two good hold'em hands is not a very good starting hand in Omaha, though you may be tempted to play them. The higher payoffs are quite advantageous when you start with hands that contain four cards interacting with each other.

The best starting hand strategies involve a quick assessment of the type of hand and the six Hold'em hands in your four card Omaha hand. At all times, look out for nut hand opportunities. And, as the board develops, try to identify the three best hand possibilities and the potential for change on the next card. Do not forget that a high pair with an overcard is a good flop in Hold'em but not in Omaha. In Omaha, you have to flop two pairs, a set, or better.

Try as much as possible not to raise before the flop, when you are not holding Aces or Kings. When you hold these cards, you are in a position to narrow the field. It is also good to raise when you are unraised on the button and hold a strong hand. Ensure that you do not let the blinds play bad hands for cheap.

Try to fold your straight or straight draw if that is all you hold. When you get the right kind of flop, bet or raise to put off the back door flush draws. And make sure that you don't over value low pairs. A low set on the flop is usually not a strong hand in Omaha. However, a pair of fours in your starting hand is useful when it flops a set.

Card games are most often decided by expert opponent analysis. Whenever possible, try to look at your opponent and note any tell-tale signs that would divulge useful information about their hands.

7 Card Stud Poker - strategies for a winning hand

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:03:23 +0000

In High card games such as the Seven Card Stud Poker, winning hands are determined by highest pairs or highest pairs of two rather than by straights, flushes and other big hands.

So, the best strategies in a seven card stud poker involve starting with a high pair and rapidly eliminating as many players as possible. Alternately, you can start slow play and drawing hands such as three to a straight or a flush. Through this, you ensure that other players are building the pot odds. You can also employ slow play starting trips till the 5th card. With this strong starting card, you have some players around.

It is always best if you avoid beginning with a small pair if they are not concealed or when you feel your sidecard is potent enough to beat the board. Ensure that you do not play three to a low straight or a low flush. Keep a close watch on the board to identify key cards that have the potential for negating your chances of making a good hand and also keep an eye on potentially dangerous opponent hands. If you realise that you are staring down the barrel, fold out early. Be cautious at all times.

You must understand that the first four cards are crucial to your winning chances. When your execute your plan and play your starting hands to tie in with the plans, you stand a very high chance of winning.

Stay alert for the paired door card. There are higher chances of the opponent having a door card in his pair when he is playing a pair in his starting hand and pairs the door card. A paired door card indicates that the opponent is holding a dangerous set of trips. If you are not playing a strong draw hand, try to fold when your complete hand is routed on the board by your opponent's upcards.

Keep a watch on you opponents and study them keenly when you are not playing hands. Reason if they find more hands to play than they fold. Try to examine if they are bluffing. Strategise if they can be bluffed. Look for tell-tale signs on their face and actions of the information about their hands and other useful indicators.

To throw your opponents off-guard, bluff once a while and get caught. That way, they would find it hard to study you and you can bring about variations in your game-play.

The worst way to play a limited bankroll

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 15 May 2007 07:25:40 +0000

OK, so you're used to playing high stakes poker but have had a run of bad beats and lady luck has upped and left. The result is a sorry looking bankroll that could maybe afford you another game or two at the usual level. So, the obvious choice is to go play a lower stake table and win back some money, right? Wrong!

This may be a tempting sounding offer but if you are best at high stake games, that is where you should stay! The lower stake tables mean exactly that...there is less money at stake and so they attract lots of beginners and a lower level game. Moving to a lower ability table means more fish, more unpredictable calls, and in other words, more loss! Out goes pot odds and in comes all-ins with any slight sniff of a picture card. Plus the profit will only be small...so don't get reeled in!

You may get more play for your money on a lower stake table, but you are more likely to throw away winning hands, and become frustrated with the game...possibly going on tilt and walking away with nothing? Stick to your favourite game and play with determination and confidence. You are then more likely to reap rewards.

The Worst Thing About Poker: Bubbling!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:55:44 +0000

No, it's not fish, despite what some of you might think.

Fish are actually the BEST thing about poker - they're what makes the game so profitable. Think about it.

Poker is a game of numbers, timing, bluffing, cards and chips, but ultimately it's about your edge over the other players. The worse those players, the greater your edge over time.

Fish (otherwise known as donkeys, newbies, "YOU ..... IDIOT!" amongst other names) are the worst of the worst, hence your edge is highest over them.

Anyway..

Bubbling is the worst. Knowing that had that hand gone your way, had Lady Luck smiled on you just that once, had chance decided to throw you a bone - your life in this tournament would be totally different.

You might still lose and go out later on, but knowing that you hit the top 10% because you were better than the other 90% is a great feeling.

It is equally as great as the feeling of being beaten unfairly or improperly is a terrible feeling, and one that still haunts me.

Still, the bubble is something that we have to live with as poker players. Has there ever been a time when you felt like jacking it all in because of an untimely dismissal from the table?

If Superheros Played Poker

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:37:10 +0000

Would it look anything like this?

Fake Poker Tells.. Or How To Look Like A Fish!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:52:39 +0000

The art of giving off fake poker tells is a difficult one to master, but the main reason behind doing so is clear: to fool your opponents into thinking you're either bluffing, not bluffing, or that you're a moron with no idea what game you're playing.

Either way, you want them to think the opposite of the truth, so you get a bit more of a headstart over them on the felt. I was reading PokerPlayer today and came across a hilarious letter sent in by Benji Bowen, which I will reprint here.

Benji's tips on how to look like a fish:

When you sit down at a cash game ask, "What does first place pay?", followed later by, "When are the blinds going up?"
Ask the dealer if bluffing is allowed. When they give you a weird look and say that it is, rub your hands together and chuckle to yourself.
Ask what the most you can bet is (especially when playing no-limit), and ask it often.
When you go to bet say "raise", when you go to raise say "re-raise", and when you check, simply say "call".
When the flop comes out, clap your hands together, start rubbing them and laughing to yourself. Then stop, look around, and solemnly check.

I was in stitches for almost 10 minutes at the last one, especially when I realised I used to do just that!

Thanks Benji :)

Staking Poker Players - Would You?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 18:43:10 +0000

I don't remember if I've ever mentioned this before, but anyway.

Would you consider staking a poker player that you knew what pretty good?

It would work like this: you offer up a percentage of the buyin in exchange for either the same or similar percentage of any winnings.

If you could get a few good players on the books, and a few rich backers, it's a bit like HYIPs (High Yield Investment Programs), but in my eyes: better, since Poker is a lot more predictable that the stock market.

I guess it hasn't happened yet because the good players that are worth backing can afford it by themselves, since they're good.

There is always going to be a game they can't afford to get into though, especially if they're just starting out or have a small bankroll. In that case, why hasn't someone setup a (legitimate) site or service offering backing?

If there is already such a site, why the heck don't I know about it yet?! :)

Texas Hold-Em, Razz, Omaha, Stud

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 21:49:28 +0000

What am I on about? Online poker of course, durrrr ;)

In case you didn't see it, I've got a poll running in right right hand navbar over there, and the question is:

"Which is your most profitable poker variation when playing online?"

Well the votes are in. They've been counted, recounted and were not at all affected by the Bush administration (*cough* Florida *cough*)

Unsurprisingly, Texas Hold'Em is the clear winner (50%), but it is closely followed by Razz (29%), Omaha (14%) and Seven Card Stud (7%.. ooh, spooky).

I haven't been on many poker forums recently, but I do remember there being a huge upsurge in the number of players tinkering with Omaha - mainly because many newbies had no idea how to play, so were leaking cash.

Plus many Hold'Em players are getting pretty good, so the hot streaks aren't coming so easily - why not move to fields anew?

Well, perhaps the same is now true of Razz. I'll be the first to put my hand up and say I have no freaking idea how it works, but luckily I'm blessed with the wisdom not to flutter away my money by trying to learn.

Online poker is changing - the new variations are gaining a foothold. Perhaps a worthwhile New Year's resolution? Learn how to play Razz.

Tony G - Maybe Hes Not All That Bad...

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 16:42:56 +0000

This post is sponsored by Incredible Web Hosting

It looks like Tony G is maybe not as bad as I previously thought. When he recently won the Betfair Asian Poker Tour, he donated half his winnings (approximately $225,000) to a local charity, and then the winners trophy to the second place player, Joshua Ang!

Tony was quoted as saying, "so it can stay in Singapore". What a nice man :)

I take back everything I said. That's a seriously great thing to do, and it shows that his table image really is just that - a table image. Of course, that doesn't mean that it's necessarily a good table image to have... but I'll leave that for another day.

New Years Resolutions

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 20:41:05 +0000

So.. now that new year has come around, I should probably make some resolutions. I've already made some for the world outside of poker (there is one you know!), but I need to shuffle up my ideas on the felt.

Honestly, I've been neglecting poker a bit recently, since I haven't had much time to play. I do still enjoy watching re-runs of the WSOP on TV, and checking out the odd weird and wonderful clip of some fools (usually American) at home who think poker is some kind of drinking game.

So er.. here goes:

Play more poker. Kind of obvious I suppose, but it needs saying. 99% of poker is in the playing. The cards.. the chips.. and the opponents. Without those, I'm pretty much pokerless - although that being said, poker is widely recognised as a pretty decent spectator sport. Especially when tools like Tony G are playing.
Play more poker. Offline. Due to moving I have been unable to keep up my weekly homegame, so I need to find a new one I can clean up at. I've been reading up on Derren Brown (a British magical entertainer, and a bloody good one too) and he uses some psychological techniques that will come in mighty handy.
Win a decent sized tournament. I've won a few MTT freerolls, plenty of STTs, a few SNGs and even the odd real cash MTT, but nothing huge. I think a victory at $10, $50 and $100 would be a decent target, and attainable.
Sort out my bankroll. Playing poker well is all about the bankroll, so I need to get mine sorted. At the moment it's a bit pitiful because I haven't been playing much, but I'm considering simply depositing a larger roll to get going with. I just have to convince myself that it's an investment, and not a waste of money. Perhaps I should read "poker and money" again...

Right, I reckon that's enough for now. Play more, win more, buy myself some bling. Bo!

What are your poker resolutions?

Happy New Year!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 12:36:29 +0000

Happy New Year!

So many holidays all at once... not to mention my birthday on the 31st :)

Just a short post today, since I've got lots of left over holiday treats to scoff.

A while back I mentioned spam comments on this blog, and was forced to install a human moderation system.

This hasn't put off spammers like "TramadolDog" who leaves daily messages about how dull his life is (seriously!).

There's also many spammers who leave innocuous comments like "Nice site, useful information". I know they're not real comments because there's 10 at a time...

My favourite though, has got to be:

"Your guestbook is example of middle-class guestbooks"

Brilliant! Utterly, utterly pointless. Why spam me with 10 of these a day? No sales pitch, no link, no clever JavaScript redirects (congratulations to whoever landed that one on me).

I suppose the next step is installing a CAPTCHA system - it would certainly save me a heck of a lot of time.

I will post again tomorrow about new year's resolutions, a favourite topic at this time of year.

May all your outs be live.

3D Online Poker - The Future?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:01:11 +0000

Taken from 3D Poker Room:

So there are now 4.3 million results on Google for "3d poker". Perhaps that means 2007 is going to be a whole lot different to 2006 when it comes to burning through a few chips at 3am on a Friday night..

Here's some of the big boys from that search on the almighty G:

Personally I haven't played on any of them, but with the lines between TV, DVDs, video games and the internet becoming ever increasingly blurry - I don't think that virtual reality poker is far off.

I have so far avoided the lures of a more physical poker table because I think it will seriously distract me from the mechanics of actually playing the game.

Sites like PKR boast that you can customize your avatar and their actions, which leads to a worrying thought.

Instead of worrying about whether or not the Terminator sitting across the table from me is bluffing or not, I'll be concetrating on how effectively he is disembowelling the puny human sitting beside him.

With more and more players moving offline, will this beefing up of the online scene bring them back? It strikes me as being an effort to make online poker more like offline (or live) poker, to try and make playing online feel less geeky and solitary.

Do you play on the 3D sites? If so, how is it? Do you get distracted by the wittering avatars, or do they bring a much needed sense of realism to the game?

Happy Christmas!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 17:48:22 +0000

To anyone that celebrates this holiday, for reasons of religion (or in my case, cake and beer!):

Happy Christmas!

Enjoy the day, and eat as much as you like :)

Online Poker Is Rigged: Proof!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 22:27:21 +0000

Bet that got your attention eh?

Of course online poker isn't rigged. Besides the obvious point that it's not in the companies interest to rig it (ie, they're already making more than enough money since their costs are virtually nothing), it would be far too complicated to do it properly, and if done properly - we would know about it by now.

I think I've posted about this before, but there was a recent thread on PokerNews forum that cracked me up.

http://www.pokernews.com/poker-forum/topic1448/

This guy has a study of 5,000 hands and was assisted by a physics professor because he is "not that good in math".

Firstly, it's "maths", not "math". You wouldn't say, "I'm studying Mathematic" would you? "Maths" is a shortening of "Mathematics". Just to be clear (and pendantic :) ).

Secondly, 5,000 hands?! That's barely enough to assert whether or not you're a good player, let alone whether a random number generator is random or not. Heck, a real, truly chaotic RNG could produce 1,000 "42"s in a row and still be working properly.

This quote from the poster tickles me even more:

"Well it is rigged and I did my own inverstigation and easily determined that, ONLINE POKER IS LOTTERY POKER!!! UNLESS YOU ARE A SCAMMER! Well guess what I have perfected a scam and am proudly using it to win lot of money now.

I dont even care if you think I am bull shitting here as I recently cashed out 25k on a poker site I will leave unnamed."

So hang on, it's rigged, a scam - and now suddenly you can win and cash out $25,000? Get your story straight man!

If it were that obvious and that easy, we'd all be doing it. I thought these naysayers and unbelievers disappeared ages ago, but apparently they are still alive and kicking.

Shuffle up, (stack the deck) and deal!

Online Poker Ban Part 2

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:12:23 +0000

It seems it's catching.. apparently Germany is now considering implementing a US-style online poker ban, and several other European countries including Spain and Italy are thinking about implementing some regulations so that government can start raking the tables.

Many will probably argue that this is a good thing for the game and that as an industry, we need proper regulation. Correct me if I'm wrong though, but weren't we alright in the first place?

Online poker was booming along at a healthy pace and everyone was making tons of money. It now looks like the slow, out of touch politicians of the world want to get in on the action without learning the intricacies of a good post-oak bluff.

Anyway, whatever happens, I doubt it will have much effect. The internet is almost un-regulable (is that a word?), so players will find a way. Governments who are trying to sanitize the game and make it mainstream (read, get their share of the honey) may end up doing the opposite and pushing it underground.

In more positive news, "like7" outbluffed "qwert987" to take down the Full Tilt $500,000 Sunday Guaranteed, and the Poker Stars Sunday Million prize pool topped $1.3 MILLION. No wonder the fat cats want in.

Poker: Pay To Watch Videos

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:02:04 +0000

So you might have noticed the poll that's going on in the navbar over there.

"Would you ever consider paying for video poker tutorials?"

The results have been mixed: basically it's pretty even across the board, with 20% of people going for "not interested", "no" and even "are you mad?"

I must say I'm surprised by this - or perhaps the question wasn't explained well enough.

The idea is this: poker players like you and me can record our games through sceen recording software. You see these videos (with commentary) on YouTube, Google Video and the like.

There are even coaching programs appearing now in which you sign up to a website and pay a huge fee to watch these videos from one or two online pros.

Some friends and I figured it would be better if you could make your own videos, and charge other people to watch them. This works because pro players are provided with an avenue to teach (and profit!), and us leaners are offered cheap and affordable training from people who really do know what they're talking about.

Anyway, in polls across some of the larger poker forums, we got something like 50% would be happy to pay $10 or so for a video. In my poll we got 24% said "Hell yes", while 16% said maybe. Combined that's a 40%, so I suppose we're not that far off our other results.

We're doing something about this, so keep your eyes peeled in the next few months. Something wicked this way comes... :)

Tumbleweed....

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 14:43:49 +0000

Cor blimey it's been a long time since I posted.

Life just got on top of me for a while there I think. Poker started seeming like more and more of a job, and I hate jobs just as much as everyone else.

After a long break, I still have just as little time during the day to play, but I at least have an interest in the game again.

I am going to start posting here again, but I won't promise to post every day, since that's a sure fire recipe for failure.

So, starting tomorrow, Barney is back in the building!

Why Am I So Weak?!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 14:34:56 +0000

Argh.. *gnashing of teeth*... Rarrrr!

So I thought I'd have a crack at recording myself playing. For posterity, for fun, and hopefully to show off. Let's say it didn't go well. The video is a bit shaky, 'cos I'm still getting the hand of recording.

Basically I've come to this conclusion: because I don't play enough poker, I am becoming terrible at it. Plus, I am playing at micro stakes, and becoming deluded into thinking that the way these people play is the *right* way to play.

Therefore, I am playing like a bitch. As is demonstrated in the video..

I think the one good thing to come out of this little videotaping experiment was that it means I can watch the hands back afterwards, and see just how terrible I was.

My most immediate leak is blindingly obvious: I bet weakly, get called, then have to fold to a scary table and an aggressive opponent. But why am I so weak?

I think I'm stuck in the mindset that I'm going to lose. I fully expect to be outdrawn, and I dread.. literally dread seeing people check-call my flop bets. My heart and head sink when I see someone else sticking around to the turn, because so often it hits them and my hand is done.

I try to avoid getting involved with mediocre hands, but then I get blinded out of the picture. I have to get involved, and it often ends up with me being the passive caller of other people's raises. Eventually I can't call because I didn't hit the royal I was waiting for, and so I have to let *another one* go...

I think I want to go back to tournaments. I'm fed up with cash games.

Sunday Million - Biggest Ever

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 21:05:55 +0000

A massive 6,157 players hit the tables for the PokerStars Sunday Million event yesterday (15th), with the prize pool totalling a staggering $1.2 million dollars.

Hacken walked away with 1st place, and just over $176,000 dollars for his efforts (15% of the total prize fund).

Full Tilt poker had 1,127 players in it's $500,000 guaranteed. The top 108 players shared the prize pool of $563,000, with a first prize of over $125,000, and Ultimate Bet saw 896 players fighting for a top prize of $45,000 in their $200,000 guaranteed.

Altogether the three big boys hosted 8,180 runners with a total prize fund of around $2,000,000. Yes - 2 million dollars. 1st place finishers shared $346,000 between them, while the average entry fee was a teeny tiny $245.

Online poker is illegal huh? Online gambling will come crashing down huh? I'll believe it when I see it :)

Technorati tags: Poker, Online Poker, Texas Holdem, Gambling, PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet

A Stunning, Jaw Dropping Bluff

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 21:53:44 +0000

Well.. I thought it was.

Here's the hand - my A5 of clubs, all animated and such.

It started out so well. I raised from the button (probably a bit weakly), and thinned the field to me and another geezer, with me in position. The situation is looking good.

The flop looks great, especially after his horribly weak bet. I raise him plenty... and he eventually calls.

Here comes the hard part - the turn is a blank. So I slam a huge stack of chips on the table after his check, and he waits. And waits. And waits some more... then calls off all his money except $0.01 !?!?

Now I know he's only been playing the game for a day. Who calls off their entire stack, leaving 1 small blind?

Was it a terrible bluff? I was steaming a bit from the treachery of the queens before, but I still think given his weakness, it was a good time to be a bully.

Pocket Queen Temptresses

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 21:45:18 +0000

Two black queens on the first hand, two red queens on the second, and a mix of both after 10 or so.

The first two I don't mind so much, but the monkey on the third who called $0.16 into a pot of $0.39 on the flop with a four flush really narked me.

Even more when he played incredibly badly a few hands later. It happens so often.. I work so hard to scrape a few BB out of the table, then some goon comes along and ruins all my hard work!

I know, I know. It's these donkeys that make the game profitable, but why is it never me that profits from them?

Grumble grumble grumble. Pocket queens 3 times... only won once.

WSOP Not Accepting Online Qualifiers

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:34:51 +0000

According to the ESPN podcast "The Poker Edge" with Phil Gordon and Andrew Feldman, the WSOP will not accept online qualifiers in starting from 2007, thanks to the recent laws banning online gambling in the US.

Basically, Harrah's are not allowing poker sites to buy their players into the WSOP. As a result, Full Tilt are no longer running satellites to the 2007 WSOP, effective immediately!

The immediate reaction to this news is one of a simple workaround - instead of the poker sites buying the players in, they could just credit their accounts with the $10,000 so the players can do it themselves.

Once you've got the $10K though, it's a different matter. I can't imagine what my girlfriend said if I told her I'd just won $10K, but that she couldn't even have a new pair of shoes! Winning entry is one thing, cash is another matter entirely.

I suppose the reason that these sites aren't accepting online entries is so that they are seen to be publically separating themselves from the "law breaking" online gamblers. No reputable company wants to be associated with criminals, obviously (Although it's still up in the air as to whether American players will actually be classed as criminals or not...)

There is a slightly more suspicious side to the whole thing though. It turns out that Harrah's funded Bill Frist's campaign. Does this mean they were pro-banning, or that they simply weren't aware of his viewpoint when they signed the cheques?

I'm not sure it makes business sense for them to be pro-banning... thousands of players coughed up millions of dollars in entry fees this year - entirely from online qualifications. Do they really want to throw that away?

River Call - A Great Play?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:24:16 +0000

Catching A Bluffer In The Act

I am so pleased with this hand. Well actually, I'm not pleased with the check on the river, but I am extremely pleased with my call.

I realised that I've been playing quite weak-passive recently, and it leads me into the dark alley that is fifth street - just like in the hand in question here. I bet, bet, then decide that if my opponent has called so far (considering the odds I've been giving with my bets), he must have some sort of hand that possibly beats me, so I check in the hope that he will want to showdown cheaply.

You're probably reading this going "Arrrghhh.." to yourself, and yes, it's a horrible play to make. I realised I'd done it again this time, and whereas I'd normally fold to his large bet almost instantly - I had had enough.

After thinking through the hand, I realised there was a strong likelihood he was bluffing, since with a very safe looking board, the only scary hand I'm afraid of is two pair. His bet on the river was too large, after showing a lot of weakness by flat calling my previous bets.

I called him on the river, then leapt up from my chair in excitement. Boooya.

Poker Confidence

I haven't been playing as much as I'd like recently, and I've been feeling that the gift of being a half decent player has left me for greener pastures. Some seriously bad timing and a stream of bad luck (like hitting top pair on the flop, betting large and being called by a flusher who hits an overpair on the turn - it happens so often!), coupled with some bad plays and a bit of a dodgy memory means I have felt like I was just throwing money away.

That call has really boosted my confidence, and turned round my opinion of my game. While it still may need work, and it may not be as good as it used to, at least I'm sure that I'm back on the road to rolling around in my millions (of pennies..).

Is It Really That Bad A Play?

A bit of philosophy - many of you are probably saying, "Yeah, nice call. But you shouldn't have been in that difficult spot in the first place!", which is probably exactly what I'd say if I saw the hand posted in a forum somewhere. I KNOW I shouldn't have been in that spot, but by the time I was there - it was too late.

Was it really a bad spot to be in though? Isn't giving our opponents an opportunity to bluff and make mistakes part of the game?

If I'd led the river, he almost certainly would have folded, and I wouldn't have made the extra 20xBB that he chucked over the betting line. I suppose it comes down to my intent - I didn't mean to let him bluff me. If I'd been wanting him to bet, I wouldn't have had a tough decision to make. I didn't want him to bet, so I struggled and ran down my clock. I made the mistake of allowing him to take control of the hand.

I need to start taking more time to think about why I'm betting (or feebly checking!) again. To the tables!

Poker, Money, Sex!?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 21:23:50 +0000

This guy cracks me up. I'm not sure why, but this video has me in stitches. Perhaps it's his manic dancing, or perhaps it's the slightly childlike way he grins at the camera for moronic approval from fellow pimply online YouTubers (yes.. like me).

Anyway, cyber9rounder plays lots of poker, and has a few videos of himself multitabling. Then there's this odd one thrown in.

Enjoy! Oh, and is it just me that finds this sort of thing funny? Come on.. own up.

A couple of others worth watching:

Oh, one more thing before I go. Check out the latest poll - I'd very much appreciate your opinion... :)

An Unexpected Check Raiser...

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 17:07:01 +0000

So I was intent on dominating some cash tables for a while. It didn't happen that way though.. I kept getting out flushed, out kicked, and generally out flopped (QQ < 55 on a 58T flop. Bah).

All in all an uneventful session, exception for this hand in the BB.

I start with J6o, not a great holding but it was a free flop, which came down JJ5. Wonderful!

So I check with the intention of a hairy great check-raise... and right enough, the button bets but just as I'm smiling to myself, the small blind throws in a hefty check raise!

Now I'm perplexed. What does he have? What does the button have?

The button

Chances are the button has nothing. He was having a pop at the pot, and it backfired. He may have a 5, or a flush draw, or even some overcards. Either way, his bet wasn't indicative of much strength, since a very strong hand would have checked there (like I did).

So I can discount the button.

The small blind

Which leaves this bad boy. My first thought was that he was re-stealing. Then I decided that $0.01/$0.02 tables aren't relly the place that re-stealing happens very often, so he is more likely to be semi-bluffing.

If he is semi bluffing, what's he doing it with? A flush draw would be a good candidate, or even an overpair. He raised plenty, so I'm not sure he wants a call. Of coruse, he could be holding the last Jack, but that's unlikely.

So I've decided he's either stealing or semi bluffing, and most likely doesn't have me beat - although he played the hand exactly as I was intending to with my Jack.

So what to do?

I can:

a) Fold: Not going to happen. Not a chance, no way I'm letting go of this beauty.
b) Call: Eurgh. If I call, I haven't found anything out about my hand, I'm giving him another chance to bet me off, and if the flush hits, I may have to fold.
c) Raise: Much better.

A good raise will tell me what I need to know, but unfortunately the pot at this point is so bloated that I'm going to have to shove and hope for the best. If I do, the check raising small blind will have 1.7-1, which isn't enough to call for the flush draw.

An overpair might call (especially given my long think), and another Jack would certainly call. So.. shoving looks nice, but didn't feel easy to do.

The result

I won't spoil it, but go and watch the hand and see what happens, then come back and tell me why I should quit poker because I'm rubbish. :)

FREE Pokerbility Odds Calculator

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 12:54:45 +0000

"You need Pokerbility. Pokerbility is a poker odds calculator, one that uses the patent-pending CombiCalc... Calculation Method in order to provide you with the most accurate, real-time poker advice applicable to each and every hand. It will run with most poker rooms right on your desktop, as your pro level partner."

"Pokerbility helps you win by providing poker advice derived from game simulations and probability calculations, adjusted for your style of play and the quality of your table. If you plan on winning then you need the poker edge called Pokerbility."

Yes it's got a bit of a silly name, and while it's not the prettiest piece on the market, it does do it's job and supports tons of different sites.

Plus, you can get it free - click on the flashy banner above and follow the instructions on the site to get hold of your free copy. It won't empty your pockets, and it's worth a go if it costs nothing, right?

On with the poker

I've decided. Today, I am going to NAIL cash games. I want to hit $20 by this evening... or else. Watch out micro limiters, prepare to hand me your bus fare! Muhahaha.

Mountains Of Cash. Sort Of.

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 15:40:58 +0000

I finally had a good day at the poker cash tables. I realised while I was playing that I'd become a bit worried about going all-in, since i usually lose to a better made hand or get drawn out on. Of course, this is the newbie fish in me that's talking, since the seasoned pro knows that what goes around comes around and that it's all a matter of odds. Right.

It didn't start out so well though. Flopping a straight is good, but getting runner runnered is a beast. It was the first hand of the table, so I figured I should defend my blinds, especially at the 5-1 odds I was getting on my T7o. That's the sort of hand (ie, his call on the turn) that makes me worry about going all in.

Anyhoo, I didn't let it get the better of me though, and I soldiered on. On a different table, I had an over-pusher. I'd watched him shove all in at least 3 times in the last ten minutes, so figured he could probably be taken down. So I waited... for this beautiful AQo. I crossed my fingers, and he shoved. Muhahahahah! Ship it.

Things were picking up. And they continued to pick up with a huge flush. Watching it back in the replayer, I realised I made a pretty loose call on the flop, calling 0.04c into a 0.10c pot with a four flush. At the time, I figured that the guy behind me would call, and then at least one of them would pay me off.. so I peeled one off. Turns out the guy behind me folded, and I was lucky enough that the bettor hit his second pair.. but - what comes around goes around.

At this point I went on a little rush of hands over my 4 tables. Picking up top pair, top two and better, I decided to call a fairly large preflop raise with 66. Good thing I did, because my third 6 landed. Checking the hand history after I stacked the guy, I noticed he was holding AA...

The very next hand, guess what I've got? Yup - AA. Guess who I stack again? Oh yeah, the same guy. The irony almost knocked me off my seat :)

There were a few other hands of interest, but I think I'd like to savour the glory of my bankroll reaching a magnificent $16.50 for a little while longer. I will post some of the strategic hands tomorrow though.. well, a couple of confusing plays from micro stakers anyway, plus a (bad?) bluff from me.

A Peek Into The Big Leagues

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 13:00:12 +0000

I've always wondered how much the big guys (Gus Hansen, Mike Matusow, Phil Ivey, John Juanda etc) were making (or losing!) online. Now it seems, we have a small insight into their bankrolls.

David Benyamine has a blog, although I'm not sure if it's really him or not. On the blog, he posts some rather interesting stats.

Big Earners

For example, he has lists of big earners on Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet, which I'll repeat here (for more stats on Omaha games and for Ultimate Bet, visit David's blog):

FullTiltPoker

Limit Texas hold'em
Name			Balance		Hands
serefecheers,		+$384k,		8427
TexasLimitKing, 	+$360k, 	10,559
John D'Agostino, 	+$208k,		22,245
eastsideslim, 		+$169k, 	4392
reztes757, 		+$131k, 	15,788
Skywalker1709, 		-$295k, 	5057
mrnutz (Thomas Keller), -$199k, 	2500
David Oppenheim, 	-$146k, 	1810


No-limit Texas hold'em
Name			Balance		Hands
sbrugby, 		+$348k, 	26,948
dsindy, 		+$271k, 	20,271
wuddacooler, 		+$196k, 	11,877
Prahlad Friedman, 	+$182k, 	15,137
Patrik Antonius, 	+$177k, 	154
Mike Matusow, 		-$272k, 	36,693
possibly Tuan Le, 	-$270k, 	1148
ballsrider, 		-$173k, 	225

What strikes me is not so much the amount they're winning, but their win rate per hand. The limit players vary more ($45, $34, $9, $38 and $8) over the no-limit players, who are roughly even ($12, $13, $16, $12), with the exception of Patrik Antonius who has an astounding rate of $1149 per hand! Still, he did only play 154 hands, so it doesn't really count as a sensible measurement.

Limit appears to be much more profitable per hand, with an average over these players of $26 compared to the no-limit average of $13 (not taking Patrik into account, or any of the losing players). Of course, the sample size is by no means large enough to put any weight behind these numbers. It is interesting though.. I'd always seen NLHE as the way forward - but after discussing FL on a few blogs, and now seeing this... I'm changing my mind.

The other thing that strikes me is this: if they're losing or winning that much, how big must the bankroll be!?

Bigger than I can comprehend, that's for sure.

The Pros

I don't want to copy too much from David's blog, but check out these pitures (click to make them larger in a new window):

David's Omaha stats, over 10 days.

Top 5 Omaha winners on Full Tilt, over 10 days.

Wow. There really IS money in poker! I wonder what these stats will look like in a few months.. thanks to the US government.

Perhaps like this? The pros on Full Tilt over 10 days. Just goes to show, we all have losing streaks now and then!

The US Gambling Ban

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:07:13 +0000

A long post today. Please note, I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not qualified to give advice. What follows is not advice, just my opinion. Take it lightly, and with plenty of salt. Thanks.

Overview Of The Bill

I won't go into detail, as a decent search of the web will provide lots of resources and probably the bill itself, but basically some members of the US government has been trying to push through a law that will prohibit gambling on the internet for US citizens.

The Safe Ports Act (H.R. 4954), which contains the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is expected to be signed into law by President Bush on Friday, October 13th.

Clearly, this has some important implications - both to players, businesses and the game and it's community as a whole.

A Quick Summary Of The Bill

The act basically prohibits anyone engaged in the process of betting and wagering from knowingly accepting money associated with internet gambling. This suggests that it is designed to target the poker site operators, rather than individual players - since they're a lot easier to get hold of and prosecute.

If we can't deposit or cashout, we can't play, BUT - the bill doesn't specifically say that our actions as a player are prohibited. I'm not a lawyer though, so I'm entirely unqualified to give advice on this sort of thing. Don't sue me! :)

Poker Site Reactions

There's a decent sized list of offical responses from various poker rooms at PokerAnalysis, and (about halfway down the page), some more responses on TexasHoldem-Poker.

If you can't find the site you're after, the best thing is to search their official website, or contact their support.

Sites that are closing US accounts: William Hill, Royal Card Room, Victor Chandler, i4poker.com, B2B Poker Network, Purple Lounge, PKR Poker, Poker Champs, Party Poker, Pacific Poker, Dreampoker 7 states,BetFred, PokerBike, Piggs Casino, Mummys Gold, InterCasino, VIP Casino, InterBingo, InterPoker, Sunpoker, Titan poker 3 states, EUROBET, Betfair, Littlewoods

Sites that are keeping US accounts: Cakepoker, Absolute poker, and Poker.com amongst others. Check the official reactions for more info.

How It Affects YOU

Assuming that as players, we're still within the law - it is the payment processors that will suffer. Companies like NETTeller and WebDollar will have to choose whether or not to stop handling US players monies.

Of course, NETTeller at least isan offshore company, so technically doesn't fall under the influence of the act. They may still choose to stop working with US customers though, just to be on the safe side and to save themselves some hassle.

The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the news, and make sure you only play on European sites and move your money around using European or non-US payment companies. As long as the general consensus that has been reached by the community that the act of playing in itself is not illegal, we should be ok.

There is talk of fraudulently altering your address on poker sites, and even using IP blocking tools to mask your location. Don't go there. We will fight this silliness legally.

The Future Of Online Poker

The three major immediate implications I can see are these:

Disruption - there's a 270 day period where the US politicians figure out a way to enforce the act. It may end up being un-enforceable.. or too expensive. Hope springs eternal. During this time there will be lots of confusion which will lead to a loss of business by all.
Loss of confidence - confusion inevitably leads to suspicion and fear (and the dark side!), so expect the word "poker" to again be associated intimately with huge debts, the devil and crack addictions.
Backlash - the big players in the community, both pros, amateurs and providers are not going to take this lightly. Expect lots of litigation.

In the long term? Poker will simply move out of America. Companies will move to international waters where they are not subject to US law, and payment processors will do the same. Of course.. the US will then probably attempt to ban the actual playing of poker, not just the financial mechanisms.

Are Poker Sites Still Allowed?

There are still some uncertanties about whether hosting poker sites or acting as a poker affiliate is prohibited. I'm not bothered, since my site is hosted in the UK, and I'm a UK resident - but I can imagine there would be a lot of fuss if such things are banned. Keep an eye on the news, and on this blog - if something breaks, I'll try to get it up as quick as I can.

Let's Do Something About It

So, let's try to sort it out before it gets any more out of hand. The Poker Player's Alliance is fighting hard against this tyrannical abuse of law, so we should all get behind them.

Thanks to the users of PokerAnalysis, 2+2, TexasHoldem-Poker, PokerForums, and PokerJunkie.

And I Thought 5 Tables Was Hard...

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 11:03:39 +0000

We know that multi-tabling makes poker go "faster", in the sense that you get to be a part of more action since you have more chance to get playable situations (not cards!), but this is insane.

I've heard of pros 10-tabling SNGs but to play 20!? Madness.

I find my limit for cash games is 3. Any more than that and I can't stay on top of the action and I end up timing out a lot of the time, or not having enough seconds on the clock to make a good decision. This might be because I play short handed though.. I would guess that with full 10-max tables I could probably manage 5 or so simultaneously.

Of course, there is the added incentive that playing multi tables will increase your profits proportionally. In theory, if you make 1xBB at 1 table, you'll make 10xBB playing 10 tables. It's never that easy though, is it?

I enjoy spotting heavy multi-tablers at my micro cash games though. They're the ones I can push around more easily, since they often are flicking between several games and so may not be keeping as close of an eye on me. Bigger bets seem to take down more pots, since they know that they can sit and wait for the next good hand - which isn't far off if you've got 20 windows open!

If the chances of being dealt AA is 220-1 at a single table, at 20 tables (playing hand for hand) the chances of getting AA drops to 11-1. Rockets every 11 hands - brilliant :)

5 Links Every Poker Player Needs

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:39:29 +0000

Poker is all about pressing your skill, your edge, your competitive advantage. If you have an edge over your opponents, in the long run you will be a more profitable player than them. So, various tools have appeared helping online players do just that.

These tools include software add-ons like PokerOffice, PokerTracker etc, that track and record your play - then present you with lovely graphs showing your profits, losses, best hand, worst hands, best times of day and so on.

They also include odds calculators, automatic advice engines and entire e-courses devoted to instructing you step by step in the art of profitable poker. BUT.. the stuff I want to mention below brings a new level of detective-ness into your play. Behold, the power of the internet :)

Live Online Tournament Lists

These sites display a live, real-time list of tournaments that are starting across dozens of sites, all on one screen. You can sort and filter the tournaments that are shown, and can then click through to join the site.

It would be really cool if there was a link you could click to automatically register for the tournament.. but that would probably require having an account with the listing site - and them in turn knowing your poker site username/passwords. And that's not a good thing.

Tournament Monitor
A fairly old and well established site that appears to offer up it's feed of tournaments for other webmasters to embed within their own sites. Very generous indeed.
Chrono Poker
A new kid on the block, has an impressive list of sites and a decent sorting mechanism. Very clean and easy to use.
Poker Listings
A large list of sites but main focussing on larger buy ins with larger payouts.

So something for everyone. As we all know, table selection in ring games is vitally important. I reckon MTT selection is just as important - so these sites let us shop around for the best deal.

Another suggestion for the owners of these sites - is there any way to show the results of recent tournaments that have finished? It would be great to give an idea of field sizes, duration, prizepools, payouts etc.

Playing Tracking And Statistics

The other field of tool that is a million times more beneficial is that of public player stats. The software applications listed above (like PokerOffice) will provide you tremendously detailed stats of your own play, but these websites will show some stats about your opponents!

Sharkscope
Shows stats on SNG results on PokerStars. Draws lots of lovely graphs, but the free version only allows 5 searches per day.
The Poker DB
Shows stats for MTT results on PokerStars, PartyPoker, UltimateBet and Full Tilt. You have to register, but it's free and you can see recent cashes that players have made.
Tournament Reporter.com - now deceased, unfortunately.

These things are great. Especially Sharkscope, and especially while I've been hammering the SNGs on 'Stars. It's so cool to hit a final table and know that 5 of the other 8 players are fish! It's a shame you can only have 5 searches a day, but if you know what a proxy is, you may be able to get a few more. That's all I'm saying, since I don't want to be accused of hacking Sharkscope. Eeek!

Anyway.. now there's no excuse for not being able to find a good game, or not knowing that your opponent was a shark. Go get 'em!

Top 5 Fashion Accessories

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:10:34 +0000

This week I decided that I would tap into my feminine side and maybe let loose with some fashion tips.

With the huge TV coverage that the WSOP is getting these days, it is becoming more and more a place for people to show off their poker fashion tastes. I found a few little nuggets that you shouldn't be without, either at the casino or at your local home game.

Greg Raymer's snake eye glasses - The big man wore them when he played the WSOP in 2004, and he won! Imagine wearing these at your home game.. imagine the look on your friend's faces when you pull these bad boys out and whack them on, then stare them into the ground. Awesome.

Classic poker visor - Green, tinted, looks like you should be wearing dungarees to go with it - marvellous. If you're dealing for the night because you're too drunk to make sensible poker decisions, slap this on your head and really play the part. Shuffle up and deal!

World Poker Tour hat - There are very few players on TV now that play without some sort of headgear, whether it's a visor,a hoodie, a cowboy hat or a balaclava. The favourite is still a good old standard cap though. Pull it low and conceal your eyes and your tell-tale "I've got KINGS!" expression.

Silver quad aces cufflinks - If you're the rich fancy smart type, these little beauties are bound to put a little bit of extra fear into your opponents. Make sure you flash them when you reach out and raise the quivering mess at the end of the table who calls himself "Phil".

The ultimate boxer shorts - Alright, so no-one can see them (unless you get really lucky!), but you'll know they're there. The poker gods will surely shine on someone who keeps them so close to their heart.. or crotch. Either way, it's a great means for distracting people while you rail their chips.

For the geeks

For the online geeks that don't get out (ie, me), or are too young to get into casinos (ie, not me), or have too few friends to host a home game (ie, me) - there is a way you can spice up your poker life too. And you're going to love it.

Software!

PokerAcademy - Widely respected as the best training package around. You can play against world leading artificially intelligent bots and be continually offered advice on how best to play. You can edit your opponents skills to make them tougher (or worse, if you want to practise against donkeys!), and then you can thoroughly analyse everything afterwards.

Stacked - Brought to you by Daniel Negreanu himself, Stacked is similar to PokerAcademy, and uses some of the same AI to drive the computer opponents, but it's packed with audio commentary and advice from Daniel. It also features many other pros, such as Evenlyn Ng, Erick Lindgren, Jennifer Harmon, David Williams, Josh Arieh and Carlos Mortenson. What more could you want!

WSOP Champions - A story based game, where you play the part of a new protege of Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. You will test your skills in small circuit events before hoping for an invite to the WSOP Tournament Of Champions. Crammed with more pros - Joseph Hachem, Scotty Nguyen, TJ Cloutier, Antonio Esfandiari and Jennifer Tilly amongst others, it's a wonderful immersive experience.

And if that wasn't enough, there's plenty more poker software for you to choose from.

Enjoy!

September Progress

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:41:37 +0000

In one word - pants.

I've been sorting out university and doing lots of work so I just haven't had time for the amount of poker I wanted.

With that said, I haven't done terribly - I'm down $0.40c in my SNG stash, and broke even (exactly!) on the cash stash. It was a bit up and down (as you can see from the graph below), but I ended up all square so I'm not too bothered.

It's disappointing to get up to almost $15 and then end up back where I started though. I only played 2 SNGs, so I won't even bother posting the spreadsheet for that - just know that I finished 14/45 and 7/45 (and ITM of 50%!) and only lost $0.40c.

2006 WSOP Controversy

Anyway.. in other news, there's plenty of controversy raging over this year's WSOP ME.

Firstly, there was the 2 million extra chips that were accidentally introduced during the chip demonination change up in the late stages. WSOP Directory of Communications Gary Thompson issued this statement:

"We are taking this matter very seriously and are conducting an internal investigation. As soon as that investigation is complete, we'll have more information to share [...]"

It has taken them over a month so far, and various news sites are starting to subtly imply that something fishy is going on - mentioning reviewing security tapes and interviewing floor staff. Was it a big conspiracy to help out a player or two?

The same problem also occurred in at least one of the other tournaments - $2000 NLHE. Daniel Negreanu mentioned the skills of the floor staff on his blog:

"Some of the floor staff did a wonderful job with this year's WSOP, while others were not qualified to run a lemonade stand [...]"

Jamie Gold Can Only Have $6 million

And on top of it all, some guy called Bruce Leyser is claiming that Jamie Gold promised half his winnings to him. Since Jamie took first.. that means he owes Leyser $6 million!

Harrah's has frozen the prize fund, and is happy to release half to Jamie, while allowing time for Jamie's legal team to challenge the case. Leyser has a text message saved on his phone in which Gold pledges the 50/50 share, which alledgedly arrived on final table day.

If you won $12 million, would you try to back out of share deals you'd made? What if no-one would ever know? If Leyser is making it all up, it is a dark day for poker indeed.

Cor Blimey, Thats Pretty!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:18:09 +0000

Note to self: Fix blog so it doesn't crash when there's an apostrophe in the title. Would save hours of wasted re-typing.

Anyway... hello! Yes it is indeed pretty. If you hadn't noticed, the blog has had a bit of an overhaul, with some fairly sizeable improvements:

1. Design - isn't it lovely? Check this weeks poll in the right navbar to let me know what you think. Speaking of which...

2. Polls - in the right navbar. Please do vote on them, it'll be great to run some decent surveys of consumer opinion.

3. Search - it actually does something useful now! Like searching the blog!

4. Hand replayer - a bit smaller, much prettier and will sit 10 people. I'm also hoping to have it handle many many more sites, but I'm waiting for some people to get back to me on that.

5. RSS - there's now loads of little webby buttons that technies can click to syndicate, aggregate and combobulate the blog posts.

6. Er... - that's it. Oh, I added a contact page to tell you my email address. And er.. fixed the "report abuse" comment links so that search engines don't click them every time they come through here. Argh!

There's still a couple of things to do (like creating an RSS feed for each post), but I'll get around to that when I get around to it.

And now I'm off to toss some pennies down the drain at the cash tables. Or I might have a pizza. Perhaps I should start a poll to decide?

Ciao!

Funny Poker Round-Up

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 11:08:42 +0000

After yesterday's rather all too serious post about the psychological and emotional side of poker at the tables, today is a bit lighter.

Here's a list of fun stuff that's poker related for you to look at. So enjoy, laugh, wet your pants (if that's your thing), then go back to work!

Blind Man's Bluff

Chris Moneymaker takes down another prestigious WSOP title.

A Short History Of Fish

A hilarious read from a poster at 4KingPoker. It's a nice forum, but a bit quiet - so get over there and make some noise!

The Bubble Takes It's Toll

This weeks edition of a fairly new poker comic, +EV. It's had mixed reviews, but I enjoy it.

How To Cheat

A wicked little guide on how best to cheat at the table, and get one over on your mates.

Poker + Fashion = T-Shirts!

I always have a tough time deciding what to wear at the table, but Funny Poker T-Shirts should make it a lot easier. Some real gems in there!

A Lathe?!

I couldn't resist this little beauty. Not really poker related, but at least it's on a poker forum, and it's one of the funniest things I've ever read.

So there you have it folks, enjoy your little break from the monotony of work (or the tables), then go back feeling refreshed, revitalised and ready to shoot some fish.

Moodswings At The Table

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:37:57 +0000

Poker is a funny old game isn't it? Some days I love it, some I hate it. Some I can think of nothing I'd rather do than sit and play for hours on end, and some days I can barely stand the thought of looking at another deck of cards.

But, I want to make something from my poker "career" (hah!), so I'm sticking to playing as often as I can for now. I (still) don't really have large enough chunks of time to play tourneys, so I'm stuck with the cash. Today wasn't too bad, but it had it's ups and downs.

It's really hard to avoid the mindset of "Oh balls, nothing is hitting. I have a bazillion outs and, typical, I missed them all. I'm destined to lose, and I'm constantly scared that even when I have a good hand I'm going to get drawn out on". This sort of thing leads to passive scared poker, which is seriously detrimental to my bankroll.

Over the last few sessions, I've let myself get a bit too concerned over the money, and so I become wrapped up in how much I'm losing. As I often tell other players, poker and money are not the same thing! So I'm trying extra hard to play as objectively and clear-headedly as I can.

Todays hands are all about how a player's mood can easily be swung by the oddities of poker.

The hand that started it all - Qs9s from the small blind. Again, I have a bazillion outs that don't hit and it costs me. It's these situations that I should be raising back and playing my semi-bluffs, but I am having trouble pulling the trigger. I end up losing some cash, and being grumpy about it.

Next comes a some goon that thinks his hand is good after lots of action from me with KK. Unfortunately, I can't hold it up (even though I'm waaaaay in front) and I get stacked. Grrrrrrr...!

Now here's an interesting one. AQ in late position, so I raise it up. Normally I raise between 3xBB and 5xBB, but on average I got for 4xBB. This is more than I would like to raise, but it seems any other size earns you a squillion callers, as seen in this hand. Now the flop looks great.. but I'm seriously concerned about that much action, so I fold.

Was it inspired? Or stupid? I think I'm behind most of the time, if not to a made hand then at least to a couple of combi-draws. Anyway, I was happy with it and it turned my mood around.

Finally! What better way to round off the summary than with a triumphant AA, my favourite kind. Not a lot to be said about this really, except - my god I love it when donkeys call. And lose. When they call and win I put it down to the work of Satan, and then throw Holy Coffee over my laptop in a vain attempt to dispel the daemons. It hasn't worked yet...

I need something to help me stay calm and focused at the (virtual) table. Perhaps whale music.. or the mating call of a donkey on heat. Who knows?

At Last... An RSS Feed

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:45:22 +0000

Ooooh, two posts in one day! Well, I had to share this: I've had a couple of readers ask about RSS feeds.. but since I wrote this blog software myself, there wasn't one.

Well now there is. I was going to save this for the upcoming facelift that we're having, but I couldn't resist it. You can see a nifty new button at the bottom of the navbar that says "Entries RSS", with a flashy little orange icon. Click it!

The savvy among you will have noticed that it says "Entries RSS", implying that there will be more different RSS feeds later on. Indeed there will, clever reader :)

I've also set up "automatic feed discovery" on this page, plus I've subscribed to FeedBurner, so my new burned URL is http://feeds.feedburner.com/All-InPokerBlog. I'm not sure what this does for me, but everyone else seems to be doing it.

If you haven't noticed already, I'm a bit new to this whole feed thing. The script I wrote will show the latest 10 blog entries - is that the norm? Also, can anyone shed some light on what else I'm supposed to do with FeedBurner or anything else?

Cheers.

Had A Bad Beat? Sue Someone!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:18:00 +0000

Had a bad beat? Why not sue someone? Everyone else is...

Shana Hiatt sues WPT

Shana Hiatt is undoubtedly one of the hottest poker presenters around. She's gorgeous, natural in front of the camera and can make interviews with even the most dull players exciting. Unfortunately, we haven't seen her on our screens since Spring 2005 when she left WPT claiming that her colleages had created a "hostile working environment" by spreading rumours about her.

Well now she's back. And trying to get a job with NBC, until WPT's CEO Steve Lipscomb stepped in and contacted NBC on her behalf, stating that she was still under an anti-competition contract and so was not legally allowed to work for direct competitors to the WPT.

Shana has filed her complaint (to be heard on October 17th this year) stating that a) she never signed such a waiver, and b) her contractual obligations to the WPT expired on September 11th 2006, so she should be free to do as she pleases in her career. She is seeking an injunctive order and damages. Fingers crossed that Shana gets what she deserves, and she deserves her freedom (and some more money, of course :).

Top pros sue WPT

This isn't the first time that the WPT has been on the receiving end however. Back in July of this year they were sued by 7 very high profile players, including Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Howard Lederer, Joe Hachem (2005 WSOP ME champion), Greg Raymer (2004 WSOP ME champion), Phil Gordon, and Annie Duke. They alleged that the WPT and its partner casinos have unlawfully conspired to eliminate competition, and violated the intellectual property rights of these players.

The issue is that the WPT force players to sign a waiver releasing all rights to the player's image, likeness and name for use in promotional purposes. "This is the anti-trust equivalent of identity theft" noted Jeffrey Kessler, lead attorney on the case. The suit is looking to remove such contracts from the WPT, or at least have them made more suitable and agreeable to all.

Damn straight too. The WPT is taking advantage of the fact that poker is an emerging industry, and is using anti-competitive tactics to secure itself as a major player. Microsoft didn't get away with it, and they shouldn't either.

Harrah's sues former employee

Well, now Harrah's casino is getting involved in the sueing game too.

In 2004, Harrah's casino bought out Binion's (the original home of the WSOP), and so acquired the tournament as well. Since then, they have pursued an aggressive marketing campaign to build the tournament into the success and brand that it is today. There's only one thing left - "wsop.com".

A former employee of the casino, Federico Schiavio, directed the IT department at the HorseShoe and bought the domain a year before Harrah's takeover, and current uses the website for something entirely unrelated to the WSOP. The suit claims he is unfairly profiting from Harrah's brand, and demands that ownership of the domain be transferred to them, as well as damages.

This sort of thing happens a fair bit online - someone will buy a domain name, then sit on it ("cyber-squatting") until a buyer comes along. They then charge exorbitant prices and are usually sued. In many recent cases, if the owner can be proved to have no reason for wanting the domain other than to resell it at a high price, transferrance of ownership is normally forced. Thank god. I hate squatters.

Time will tell if it will happen in this case.. Federico IS using the domain for a real purpose, and has been doing so for many years. Is it fair and ethical to take it away just because a big company wants it? I don't think so. I remember a case a few years back of Jaguar (the car company) sueing a little girl because she had a website about jaguars (the big cats). They won. The little girl cried. It wasn't fair.

PokerPlayer Magazine Free Issue

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:06:04 +0000

Hands up those who read poker magazines regularly.

You don't? But they're so cool! They tell you about current poker news - what's going on in the live and online worlds of poker all around world, legislation, about recent large tournament results - so if you had a bet on someone you can see if you won or not, they give you special offers into private tournaments usually with large added value prize pools... and so on.

There are a few around - Inside Edge, WPT Magazine and even a new one called Woman Poker Player, but my favourite is definitely PokerPlayer. Firstly, is so cheap! Secondly, it always give an honest view of anything it's journalists cover - if a new site or card room is rubbish, they'll tell it like it is.

It's full of strategy advice, chip tricks, interviews with pros, upcoming events, special offers, letters, competitions.. I could go on. I enjoyed it so much, I've got a subscription from the lovely people over at iSubscribe.co.uk, who have over 1,500 titles in stock to choose from. You never know, you might uncover a gem - if you do, don't forget to let us know!

Free money! I'm giving it away!

I had a bit of a rough day on the cash tables yesterday, and lost a buy in. It started so well with KK, and stayed going well with AK but then it started going downhill a bit with AT. I don't mind the AT so much, but afterwards I thought I should've raised the turn. Not sure whether he would've laid it down, but it would've made the call on the flop more profitable.

Once that happened, I was soon in the stream at the bottom of the hill after failing to profit with KQ, 66 (after hitting a set!), and then finally T4. The last call I thought I was ahead most of the time, with the bettor pushing with top pair or rockets.

I just didn't seem to hit much, then I got stung badly with some half decent hands. I find it really hard to accept losses in cash games at the moment, probably because I'm playing with such a tiny bankroll (6 buy ins). If I drop from 100xBB to even 80xBB, I feel like I've lost loads and then I tighten up and start making silly decisions.

Still, I suppose I'm going to have to keep struggling along in this minefield.. I shouldn't grumble really, I always tell grumblers that the fish are:

Everywhere.
Bad players, therefore easy to beat.
What makes the game profitable.

So stop grumbling Barney, and suck it up.

Online Poker Is Rigged! Or Not.

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:28:54 +0000

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen new (and old!) players claim that poker rooms are rigging their shufflers. The wide and varied range of reasons why they must be doing this includes:

Someone lost a 4 outer... on the river. Twice.
Someone lost money to a really bad player.
Someone always loses at certain limits.

The list of reasons as to why the poker sites would want to do this is even crazier:

It encourages action, so the site earns more rake.
It teaches cocky players a lesson.
It favours certain seats so affiliates win more.

And so on...

While it seems unobvious to these players that poker sites are earning enough money as it is without resorting to shuffle fiddling, rational arguments cannot successfully dispel this urban legend and repeated attempts just give me a headache.

But anyway - there is perhaps light at the end of the tunnel. Or more accurately, there was light there 4 years ago, but it seems no-one noticed. A rather friendly and helpful chap by the name of Tony H from rec.gambling.poker collected almost 38,000 hands and ran them under some pretty thorough analysis.

He started a thread over there to tell us about the results, and actually they're pretty much as we (anyone who has more than a few braincells and plays online poker with any regularity) all expected = it's not rigged. At all.

So, any time someone tells you it is, please, please, please refer them to this post. Then take their money, and tell them it was them there cheating poker site operators what done took all their pennies.

Lack Of Progress Updates

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 20:26:15 +0000

Just a quick note to say I've been mighty busy with work and univeristy, and haven't had time to play any poker in the last few days. Hopefully I will get a lot done over the weekend and over next week when we have a break from lectures, so I'll be able to get back into a decent routine of playing every day.

I've noticed a few mentions of the whole, "I'm going to build a bankroll from scratch" thing that I'm trying to get off my fat can and do. There's a mention of someone who lost a large chunk of their bankroll and so is going back to the penny tables over at PokerForums.org, and I found a new blog today called The $25 Challenge. One to keep an eye on!

Tilt, And Anger Management

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 10:27:21 +0000

Oh god I had to share this one. Tuff Fish is an online player and is well renowned for his funny little videos, but this one is truly comical. He just hates getting beat! (The video is slightly NSFW)

Before he calls on the end, he puts the guy on a hand that beats him, then calls anyway! I'd be just as angry if I did the same thing.. ha ha. I wonder if he reloaded and kept playing afterwards?

There loads more of his little clips all over the place. You might not get much work done if you start watching them all though!

Tilting, steaming, chucking a mental - all common phrases for when you suffer a bad beat (or inflict one on yourself) and start playing irrationally. Most of us can recognise the symptoms and leave the PC for a while, but some can't.

No matter how much I want to play, I always tell myself that not playing will be more profitable than playing when I'm on tilt. The thought of my precious bankroll is enough to steer me away from the laptop. Don't do it! Don't waste your money! Actually... DO IT. Come give your money to me! :)

Go Go Pocket Jacks!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:25:16 +0000

Either my cash game is improving, micro limit is full of donkeys, or I got a bit lucky. Either way, my cash roll is now up to a healthy ~$14.50, and I have renewed optimism for actually building a useful amount of money from it.

The first hand today is a bit of fun really (View this hand in the hand replayer - it didn't come out quite right, still a few bugs that need clearing up obviously. It's still viewable though). I had JJ UTG+1 and raised plenty, only to be re-raised. I decided that the chance he had a bigger pair than me was pretty good, but getting almost 3-1 on the call, I made it.

What happened next was poetry in motion. Firstly, the third J came on the flop. Secondly, I checked, and thirdly - the villain goes all in. Beautiful! Watch the replay for the full glory :)

Anyway, so the second hand is a bit more serious. In the hand previous to this one, I had ATo and raised it up 3xBB. Everyone folded and I took the blinds, showing my cards.

This hand, I again had ATo and raised the same amount, earning myself one caller who checked the flop. What's my line here? I haven't played many hands, but I've generally shown down strength. Villain is fairly new to the table, so may not have noticed - and I have no reads on him.

The flop texture was fairly good for me, one paint with a couple of rags and although there were two diamonds, the check meant he didn't hit any of it. It was hard for me to see how he could've hit it hard, it was so raggedy. If he'd called with AJ/KJ/QJ I suppose he could've got top pair, or with 22/33 made a set. Most flush draws check here, being out of position to the pre flop raiser.

Have a watch of the replay, and let me know what you think. How did I do?

Poker Via Remote Control?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 18:08:46 +0000

Online poker is becoming ever more advanced. New fancy graphics and smoother clients are being replaced by 3D representations of the players (with customisable gestures! I only wonder where that can lead...) and chips, tables, cards etc. But now, a patent has been filed for what can only be described as "remote control poker".

The patent describes the idea below:

"A technique is described where on-line players may participate in a table game involving physical elements such as a gaming table, players at the table, dealers, croupiers, betting chips, cards, dice, a roulette wheel, etc ... Electronic sensors in the table, or other detectors, sense the dealt cards and bets, and the data is communicated to the remote players. The remote players enter commands via a network (e.g., the Internet), and those commands are carried out at the physical table by the dealer placing bets for the player, dealing cards, or any other action ... At the end of the session, the on-line players' accounts are debited or credited ..."

Incredible. There's a more detailed explanation of the technical means behind the plans, but I won't go into that here. Suffice to say that the cards are specially tagged with chips, the table is covered in sensors, and the whole lot is connected to the internet so the remote player can issue commands.

While it's a nice idea... these are my immediate thoughts:

What's the point?

What was the motivation for this idea? I suppose disabled players who perhaps can't get to the local casino could be the target market, but why wouldn't they just play at online casinos? It seems an awful lot of effort to go to when the outcome is poorly replicated online play.

It will spoil casinos

Some live players choose to play that way because they don't want the hassle of waiting for disconnected players, and they want to be able to see and physically analyse their opponents. Playing remotely is basically the same as hiding under the table and shouting out to the dealer what you want to do - which wouldn't last long in most casinos. Finding a table to play at (and managing to keep the table full) would be near to impossible.

Security!

Chipping the cards so that sensors can read them is asking for trouble. Plus, the fact that the dealer will be dealing cards to an empty seat with no-one sitting in it is outrageous. How many times do you think a drunken, pissed off live player will get fed up with the remote stay-at-home and just lean over and have a peek at his cards? Who's there to stop him - the dealer? Fine.. muck the hand and redeal, then repeat until the remoter leaves.

The patent mentions plans for other games too, such as roulette and craps, using cameras to detect dice rolls and roulette wheel numbers. Again.. I can't see the point of trying to merge the live and online world - there is just no need. The online world is already a perfect replica of brick and mortar casinos, why go to all this trouble? Maybe...

Does this count as online gambling?

If not, perhaps this is the way to get around online gaming bans in America. Players can play in live casinos, but can do so remotely. Since they're playing against live players (assuming there is at least one live player sitting at the table!), and the action is being conducted with real chips on a real table in a real building somewhere.. does it count? Cue more stupid American politicians making stupid new laws on topics they know nothing about.

If there are no live players sitting at the table, is it any different from online poker? Who knows. The mind boggles, and only time will tell. For more, read the article at www.ZDNet.com.

PokerOffice - Get It Free

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:18:35 +0000

I'm talking about poker software today. There seems to be a wave of it washing over the online pro world - odds calculators, player note takers, hand replayers, statistic producers and even... bots. There's been speculation for a while now as to whether they exist or not, and now we have proof. It's all there with promises of improving your game, making you a better player, making it more fun, and ultimately - increasing your profits.

So what about bots? For the tiny sum of just $199, you can get your hands on a program that will earn you a "risk free $750-$1500 every day". And, it's tax free apparently. I don't think this can be true in the USA though, since gambling is tax deductable. Lie #1. They promise 100% guaranteed success (lie #2), no more losing days (lie #3)... blah blah blah.

Of course, it's all a bit dodgy. The "screenshots" page shows only one capture, and it looks entirely unconvincing. Before I part with almost $200, I want good hard proof that what I'm buying isn't junk. Anyway.. I just thought I'd have a rant about these bots. It's another example of the get rich quick hype that I talked about in a previous post. I'm not going to give out the URL for the bot, but I'm sure you can search for "poker bot" and find it. Not that you'd want to.

Seeing as I've found a bad bit of software, I should probably talk about a good bit as well... Yes, I know, shocking as it might sound, there is beneficial software out there that will do what it says on the tin. It's not all bad! Dear reader, read on.

So wait. Stop the press, and check this out for a second. I finally gave in and actually got some poker software the other day, and it worked out well.

PokerOffice is the be all and end all in real time analysis for your online poker play. It's the de factor industry standard, and online pros are rarely seen without it. It does so much, I've been using it for a week, and I'm wondering how I ever played without it.

PokerOffice allows you to track all of your opponents actions as well as your own game, while you are playing, without any need for hand histories or user input. It stores all the collected data and brings you summarized statistics reports, spreadsheets, and graphs of you own and your opponents play.

It does all this...

Live Game Tracking
Real Time Heads Up Display
Hand Replayer
Extended Statistical Graphs
Shows Mucked Hands
Track Tourneys And Cash Games
And More...

And now you can get it for free!

I was so impressed with it I've done a deal with PokerOffice, so our readers can get it for free, instead of the usual price of $79. All you have to do is sign up with one of 6 different sites (PartyPoker, PokerRoom, Titan, TowerGaming, PokerLoco, NoblePoker), and deposit some money. On top of that, you get a special deposit bonus!

So - free software, plus a huge deposit bonus of up to $500. Get PokerOffice - what are you waiting for?

The important thing is that there are no promises of thousands of $$ extra profit every day, there's no 100% risk free money back guarantee that it will make you a millionaire overnight, there's no crappy 20 page long sales letter. It's just good software that takes some of the work out of tracking your play and your opponents. Not rocket science :)

Serves You Right, Mr Slowroller

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 12:09:25 +0000

In the spirit of my recent post on Karma in poker, I thought I should share this.

I came across this thread on a forum I visit today. It's a real example of why slowrolling and generally being a prat at the table is going to come back and bite you in the end.

Slowrolling is not a nice thing to do. Why do people do it anyway? Because it makes them feel big? Because they enjoy playing with someone else's emotions? Building their hopes of winning up, then smushing them like a paper cup.. it's unsportsmanlike, ungentlemanly, and a malicious thing to do.

Well, this guy got what he deserved, and with any luck he'll learn his lesson and stop being a git.

On an unrelated note, I'd normally post a hand history of mine in the Pokerstars Hand Replayer today, but I don't have any interesting ones to share, and something rather interesting has cropped up in America.

The American government has been trying to ban online poker for months now. I'm not sure why.. I think it's because they're losing control of their public. The fear machine isn't working as well as it used to, so they'll probably be associating online poker with terrorism any day now.

Washington state passed a bill in July of this year effectively banning online poker and making it an offence. Now there's some talk of it being overturned (I'm not up on American politics really), and online players in the USA are being urged to contact their senators and fight to have the bill removed.

For more info, check out the Poker Player's Alliance.

Online Poker vs Live Poker

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 12:30:44 +0000

Is online poker getting old? Reading around the poker blogosphere this week, I see more and more people saying how they're moving from online poker to live poker, mainly because live poker is becoming boring for them - it's become as much a job as the ones they left to get into the poker scene.

The novelty of sitting at home in your pants and being able to play card games and win money for 10 hours a day has faded away, and we're now left with a new poker term - "the grind". It's an obvious one really, since playing poker online professionally can feel like a regular 9-5 office job.

You're stuck behind a desk for a vast majority of the day (and sometimes night!), staring at a computer screen, playing a very repetitive game to eke out a small profit each month. It's a solitary, slow and monotonous job - hence the term "grind".

I think also the nature of the beast is changing. Online poker is becoming more popular, or at least more new players are filling the tables these days. Armies of affiliates, advertisers and sponsors are driving millions of hopefuls to our gates, and then letting us fight over their cash, trying desperately to avoid the inevitable suckout. Many "veteran" players dislike this influx with a passion, and feel like the game isn't what it used to be - an art to be mastered, not a fad to be thrown around as the latest get rich quick scheme.

So where is everyone going? Live. But why? Well, here's my list (it's quite short) of pros and cons of live poker:

Pros of live poker:

Socialising - you get to leave the house, meet people, talk without typing, share a laugh, perhaps even make friends and meet for non-poker related reasons!
Tangibility - there's something great about having real chips to hold, a table to lean on and smooth felt to rub your fingers over. It makes the game more... real.
Excitement - casinos are exciting places, let's face it. The glitz, glamour, crowds, noise, cheering.. not to mention the wide variety of other games to play if poker gets a bit much.
Tells - the biggest advantage if you know what you're looking for. You can spot real, physical tells that will give you a huge advantage over your opponents. This just cannot happen online.

Cons of live poker:

Slower - you'll play less hands per hour. Consequently, you'll have less time to eke your profit - making the same amount as you make online will take longer.
Stress - sitting at a table can be uncomfortable, and having people gabble in your ear and get in your face can be distracting. You can't just mute their chat like you can online.
Travelling - no casinos nearby? You've got to get there yourself, and for some that can be difficult, if not impossible.
Different hours - most people who play in casinos have a 9-5, so your regular working hours will often be late at night, so don't expect to get home till it starts getting light again.

Which is better? That's up to your personal preference. Anybody else have any other pros or cons?

So will I be moving to live games? Not for the forseeable future. I do intend on joining the local poker society at university, but I'll still be playing online when I can fit it around home life. The convenience of playing in my pants, and vast schools of under-experienced (under-age?) fish make the game too enticing. But maybe that's because I don't grind out 10 hours a day. Thank god.

Poker Karma - Hand Histories

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:19:22 +0000

I've been playing more cash games. It was a good session today - I'm up 1.25 buy ins ($2.41), after a couple of interesting hands. The majority of the session was grinding, but I'm pleased to have regained Wednesday's losses. Two hands leapt to my attention today, and are well deserving of further attention.

Hand 1 - the unlucky one

Firstly, an unlucky hand (view in the Poker Stars Hand Replayer) against a monkey who clearly has money to burn.

Preflop: no raise. I'm out of position on the BB, with an almost premium hand, against a wide field of limpers. I am happy to let this one go when it misses most of the time. Luckily, I hit, and bet plenty.

The two callers confuse me slightly, so I bet again on the turn. Not as much relative, but still enough to slash their odds. One caller calls.

The min-raise on the river is horrible. At this point, I'm almost sure I'm beaten, but I can't figure out by what. I have a horrible gut feeling he's drawn runner runner, but it could be a well disguised set or even a lucky two pair. Because it's only a min-raise, I call, then punch myself in the face.

Hand 2 - the lucky one!

On to the second hand, in which I got lucky (view hand in the Poker Stars Hand Replayer). This time, I'm the monkey. Or am I?

Pre flop - wahey, let's raise. Two callers.. not so bad. It's funny how many people will limp UTG, then call a decent raise. Perhaps he's got a huge one? Er.. hand. I meant hand.

Flop - Could be worse. Let's raise the bettor to find out where I am, get some more value if I'm winning, and clear out the SB. Hmmmm.. two callers. Now I'm confused.. am I ahead, or am I facing two drawing donkeys as in the first hand?

Turn - check, check? Are these two playing the same game as me? I suppose that card didn't help them then, so if I'm still winning - I bet for more value. Or, if they're drawing, to discourage them (although I suspect that won't happen now if it didn't on the flop).

River - if the turn didn't help, that didn't either. Two more checks. I now strongly believe they were both drawing, probably one flush and one straight. Or, they've got top/middle pair, which case I may still get a call if I'm in front. But wait.. not that min-raise again.

We all call, and I shake my head in disgust. Only to have a look of astonishment wash across my face when the chips slide in my direction! I really should learn the rules of this game one day :)

So who's a donkey? Me?

In the first hand, the villain was hugely behind on all streets, calling my bets with terrible odds (on the river he was 9/1 and called a bet at 4/1). However, he pulled the straight out of his pants and won. I would class that as donktastic fishamentic play - otherwise known as playing like Stevie Wonder.

The second hand looks similar, except I'm the one behind.. only I'm the one betting. If I was calling the bets then I'd feel a bit silly, but I was betting into checkers, believing I was in front. There's a world of difference between calling with bad odds, and betting into weak players for other reasons.

To be fair, they played well (post flop.. not sure about the pre flop calls!), and I got lucky - but only 20% lucky from the flop, while the first hand the villain was 3% on the flop!

So I guess what goes around comes around. We all get lucky sometimes, and karma will sort us all out in the end. Take your bad beats gracefully, and ye will be rewarded with a bagful of beats to smite your villains with.

Until next time...

How To Build A Poker Table

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:18:17 +0000

If you've ever considered building your own poker table, check our this short video. It *is* possible, and you *can* build a sweet table, complete with cushion rail for you and your buddies to play on!

Once you've watched the video, check out Will Dowie's poker table build site for more info on what, where, when, why and how. And how much, heh.

I've always wanted to have a crack at building a table. The small, sharp cornered, way too low coffee table at my old house just didn't cut it. I want something that makes me feel like a king when I push all in, and is strong enough to take a beating when I don't get to rake it all back again.

I don't have quite enough space to house a monster like the one in the video though, but maybe if I can find instructions for a folding version...

Micro limit cash hand review

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:43:50 +0000

View hand in the Poker Stars Hand Replayer.

Argh! Every time I log on to PokerStars, it seems that they're having a server restart in 5 hours time, and no SNGs will start until after then. So what am I supposed to do with my time? Something useful!? No.

I decided that now would be a good time to play some cash games. I load up a few tables, have some uneventful hands, then this beast happens.

I hate it when this happens. And it happens remarkably often. Some plank raises out of position with a mediocre hand, and my good one gets destroyed. Or, I raise in position with a premium hand, get called by everyone, and get destroyed. Or lastly, I raise with a premium, and everyone folds.

Phew.. I think my rant is over now. But seriously, did I go massively wrong with this hand? I didn't want to re-raise preflop, since I know I get called and the hand would proceed exactly as it did, only there'd be more money in the pot on the flop. That's just how it goes in micro.

I could've folded to the flop re-raise, but I thought my hammer was great and would win me the pot. I was surprised when he re-raised me, but figured a T or 66+ might do the same. So there were plenty of hands I was beating.

When the turn came down, I'd already decided to call whatever bets he threw at me. Perhaps I shouldn't have done.. and he did bet as much as I had - which is a very strong indicator of wanting a call. Dammit, tilt got the better of me again.

What does everyone else think?

In regards to my cash bankroll, it suffered a little hit today, losing that buy in of $2, so it drops from $12 to $10 ish. BUT.. it's only the 13th, there's plenty of this month left to earn it back.

Poker - get rich quick?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:56:29 +0000

There is another side to poker, that isn't just about playing the game and being a better player. The other side is becoming more and more prevalant, and harder to escape from. Want to get rich quick?

I'm talking about the get rich quick fiends that are moving into poker territory, and starting to pray on us. Here's an example: The Micon System. Now, Bryan has undoubtedly had some success, but can he really guarantee that following his guide will provide the same successes?

He provides lots of "proof" of his capabilities by listing the tournaments he's had big cashes in, but he gives no details of his ITM or ROI figures, or how many hours a day he plays, or other income from cash games etc. He talks of using a cheat sheet for starting hands and position, then bangs on about "little known" secrets of how to be a player, as if it's as easy as making a really tasty apple pie.

Finally, he charges $127 for his eBook guide, and even has an affiliate network selling his guide for him. I'm not sure why, but I don't like this cheapening of our art. Poker is a skillful game, and takes years to master, and yet is being sold as a way to get rich quick with promises of $30,000 a month. I feel sorry for the people buying this system, when they could be buying Harrington's entire series for less than half the price.

But the get rich quick wagon doesn't stop there - you've probably heard of bonus whoring. Sites are enticing players in with promises of free bonuses, only to sting them with the rake they charge. Bonuses are effectively rakeback schemes, where the sites give you back 80% of the rake you pay. While you can come out in profit from "earning" these bonuses (as long as you break even on the hands you play), the sites do profit from your rake.

A better option is to play on rake free sites, like WSEX (it's not porno...). You get to keep ALL your rake, not just a little bit of it back, so you should come out even more in profit, without the need for silly bonuses. Again, it's the principle I don't like - sites luring in unsuspecting punters, promising them seemingly free money, when really it isn't. Bonuses aren't as objectionable though, because they are immediately and tangibly beneficial for the players, whilst allowing the sites (as businesses need to) earn some income.

Lastly, what's up with the world of affiliation at the moment? I was trying to search the web for some poker related information the other day, and all I could find was affiliate links encouraging me to sign up with poker sites so that the affiliates earn a tiny fraction of any rake I pay. With so many affiliates, is anyone actually playing poker anymore? There are many many eBooks promising riches through these affiliate schemes, without any work.

Even worse, I was watching Dragon's Den (an English program where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a board of investors) and a guy came on pitching his "pub poker league" business. Not a bad idea, but then he mentioned how his website had affiliate banners on, meaning the business could start earning tons through other people's rake. The Dragons went mental, and loved the idea. The guy forgot to mention that most online players play for fun, and probably generate $1 in commission each month. Pittance.

Anyway.. I don't like the idea of poker being marketed and sold to newcomers and veterans as a means to get rich quickly and easily. It's a game of much skill, and players still aren't getting the respect they deserve from the general public and media for being world class sportsmen and women. The impression of poker is still a bit seedy, and a bit dangerous, and now it's going to get a reputation as a scam when products like "The Micon System", and the affiliate eBooks fail to deliver.

To anyone thinking of taking up the game to earn money, here's the low down.

Learn the rules.
Read lots of books - Harrington etc.
Practise.
Practise some more.
Get really good at the game.
Profit.

In the famous words of the WSOP, "Shuffle up and deal!"

Harrington on Holdem Vol 1

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:19:06 +0000

I thought I'd share one of my favourite books with you today, since the question "Which books would you recommend?" often gets asked on many of the forums I visited.
I bought HOH vol 2 (The endgame) first, but soon realised that vol 1 could help my game just as much. It teaches you about starting hand selection, position, pre and post flop plays, the psychology of your opponent, timing and everything else you need to know about the early and middle stages of MTTs.

Dan is entirely qualified to write about these subjects too - he won the WSOP ME in 1995, made the final table in 2003 AND 2004. If that's not good credentials, I don't know what is.

Heard enough? Buy HOH vol 1 now.

It's well laid out, clearly explained and concisely constructed. And, it's dynamite in terms of actual helpful information - my results have improved no end since I bought it.

If you're just starting out in MTTs or large SNGs (I play the 45s, but you might play the 90s or 180s), and you don't have this book already, you should buy it straight away. If you don't know what pot odds are, or how to calculate them - Harrington gives hundreds of examples and walks you through every single one.

Read customer reviews of 'Harrington on Hold'em'

Oh, and I signed up to a really friendly poker forum at 4kingpoker.com last week. They have a bunch of poker articles and poker site reviews (like the new 3D site PKR Poker), plus useful top 10 lists for easy to win poker sites, bonuses, software etc. I think I might start playing in their regular private tournaments too. Oh, and they've also got a good Titan Poker Bonus going, with free GameCalc poker odds software too.

New poker shop launched!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 10:52:15 +0000

Who would've thought it, eh? Check out the navigation links on the right hand side of this page - see the new addition at the top? "Poker shop!".

That's right, you can now buy all your poker products - cards, chips, tables, dealer buttons, clothes, books, dvds and the rest - straight from us here at All-In.

It's completely safe since all orders go through Amazon's secure servers, and you'll get some of the best deals on the net for these products. I would especially recommend the "Harrington on Hold'em" series of 3 books. I haven't seen them cheaper anywhere else.

There's also an electronic dealer button which is a fantastic addition to your home game - just click on the "Poker shop!" link on the right for all this and more. Enjoy!

Hand for review

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:49:00 +0000

View hand in the replayer.

Bah.

Final table of a 5 table SNG, I'm the short stack but have been playing very tight. The table is tightening up, but we've just burst the bubble so I expect things to go mental any second.

One limper, then folded round to me in the BB with AQo. This is great, and I'm shoving regardless. If not now, when? The limper could have small to medium pairs (50/50), couple of broadway (KQ,QJ,AK,AQ,AJ,AT) but that probably would've warranted a raise from a stack his size. The last remaining (and likely) option is middling suited cards, which low stakers love to limp on the FT...

If that's the case, I really expected to pick up the blinds here. But he called. What would you have done in his situation? What would you have done in MY situation? Was I right to push?

Am I being results oriented?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:24:47 +0000

Hand history.

First hand, JJ UTG. I raise sensibly, then get re-raised all-in as so often happens in these micro limit festivals.

I reckon he's got a big ace, and I don't want to toss up for all my money on the first hand. So I fold...

Check out the hand replayer for the rest of the story.. I'd love to hear your comments (and that doesn't mean spam about tramadol, whatever the hell that is!!).

Are the WSOP ME payouts fair?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:26:02 +0000

I found a post on sirio11's blog which intrigued me greatly, as I've been meaning to write about payout structures for a while now.

What sirio11 is basically saying, is that the structure of 2006's WSOP ME was "steeper" than that of 2005. This means that a higher percentage of the prize pool was awarded to the higher finishers - the payouts were more top-heavy.

Now in satellites, the payout is perfectly flat, because everyone who wins, wins exactly the same. In short handed STTs, the structure is a little less flat, but the payouts are still relatively close together in terms of percentages. In MTTs, the payouts become much steeper, but generally are fixed (by an unspoken agreement amongst operators) at a sensible level.

In the both the 2005 and 2006 WSOP ME, the top 10% were paid, with the winner achieving roughly 14% of the prizepool. (2005: 560/5,619 paid, $7.5m for 1st. 2006: 876/8,773 paid, $12m for 1st).

However, the rest of the structure is surprising different. Because of the large number of numbers and figures and percentages, I think this is best illustrated with a graph. The difference will become obvious (I did originally plot thousands of points for the entire top 10%, but it made the graph horribly unreadable).

While the graph may not be perfect, it does show that in 2005, the percentages paid out to the final table and other top placers are distinctly different. While the 1st place finishers were very close (14.2% and 14.5%, but still a difference of 0.3% and $250K in 2006 money), in general the 2006 top placers were significantly better off than their 2005 counterparts. Great.. but what does this mean for the rest of the cashers?

It just does not seem right, if you finish 37th in 2006 you win around the same as if you finish 37th in 2005; but the difference between the number of players was more than 3000 !!! 8773 compared to 5619.

Even more ridiculous is if you finish between 82-90, in 2005 you win $92k but in 2006 you win only $52k, WTF??

Taken from http://sirio11.blogspot.com/2006/08/wsop-me-payout-structure.html.

Everyone else down the line is worse off! In 2005 the final table paid out a total of 43.45% of the money, while in 2006 it was 45.84% of the money available. This may not seem like a lot, but that's actually over $1.6m extra that would have normally been shared out amongst the other top cashers. From 28th place onwards, the payout percentages are significantly lower than that of 2005.

So why are they doing this? Some say it is to keep increasing the size of first prize, and to keep attracting the thousands of internet qualified amateurs, looking for the *big* win. I don't think it can be, since 1st place stayed virtually the same at 14.5% (as opposed to 2005's 14.2%), and in fact everyone up to 28th had higher percentages.

Or is it to better reward the final tablers, who have achieved more by beating a larger field? This seems like the most sensible opinion - because this years tourney was harder (in the sense of having to beat more players), the top top payouts are higher. Unfortunately, this means that everyone else has to suffer...

While this seems like a nice idea, I agree with sirio11. It would be better for everyone if the structure were a little flatter. 1st place won't notice the difference between $12m and $10m, but 50th will sure as heck notice the difference between $100K and $150K.

What does everyone else think?

Blog updates

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 13:38:45 +0000

I've been tidying up a bit round here. Most notably is the comment system (which I switched off for a couple of days while I spruced it up).

Now it will filter comments with certain words, and all comments are moderated. Installing a CAPTCHA system (little images filled with wobbly letters for you to type in to prove you're human) was a little overboard and would've taken years to install.

So, if you're a spammy spammer and you're reading this, take note.

My readers aren't interested in the first place.
You're wasting your time, bandwidth and breath.
All comments are filtered and moderated.

So it's really not worth your effort trying to spam here any more. Thankyou.

I'm also hoping to fiddle with the replayer a bit in the near future too. Maybe give it a few more capabilities, like 10 seats, multiple hand histories, a speed control and maybe even comments on each hand. Let me know what you'd like to see using the (new and improved?) comment system below.

Oh, and I haven't been playing much poker, but will post an interesting hand later today.

August summary

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 12:36:04 +0000

I've just realised it's September, so it's probably time for a summary of how my August went.

Badly.

I just didn't have time to play.. I must've squeezed in about 5-6 SNGs, which isn't really worth mentioning.

I did get in some cash games, since I'm still trying to turn $2 into $1000. Last month it went from $10.31 to $12.42, and I must say that the 6 seaters on Stars are much easier than the 10 seaters on Paradise.

So.. 5-6 SNGs, 4 sessions on the cash tables = a rubbish month. This September I'll be trying to get in more time at the tables, whilst keeping my better half happy about it. Not an easy juggling act to perform!

Why is poker addictive?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 11:29:59 +0000

Gambling is addictive, but why?

For me, it's all about winning. But what is it about winning that gets my knickers in such a twist?

When you win, you earn money, fame and respect from other players, not to mention the satisfaction of a job well done. For me, this is what it's all about - tangible gains (the cash) and admiration from my peers. The money aspect of the game means that the idea of playing it professionally is always nagging at the back of my head.

Of course, for many, the risk taking is the exciting part. The adrenaline rush of risking money on the turn of a card, of potentially winning big if luck goes your way. Many people say that the anticipation is better than the sex, and it's this anticipation in poker that brings such excitement. The thought of what could be, if only it goes your way.

There are some people that who play because poker has a bit of a dangerous image. It's still a bit taboo, and has connotations of being seedy, macho and a bit risky. Plus, recent TV specials have given the game a glitzy and glamourous edge too. The same TV shows are slowly making poker more acceptable though, by bringing the game to the whole family after tea.

Addiction is probably down to a combination of all three. The adrenal rush of doing something that you probably shouldn't, with the chance of getting a big pay off when it goes your way, then being able to strut around knowing that everyone else knows you pulled it off.

So how do you know when you're addicted?

When you would rather play than talk to the wife
When you start dreaming about smashing the donkeys that sucked out on you
When you are spending your winnings before you've finished the game
When you need a new laptop every week because you punched the last one

But seriously... poker can be addictive. There's a short questionnaire that can help you figure out whether you play too much, and if you do, and you think you need some friendly advice, check out Gamblers Anonymous.

Spam, spam, spam

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:07:40 +0000

Seems some idiot reckons that my readers are interested in six million of the same advert for various willy products. I going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that they're not.

I'm suppose I'll have sort out some sort of moderation/human check into comment posting, otherwise this is going to get (even more) ridiculous.

Oh, and I'm home now - still a bit ill though. I can't believe this cold has lasted 2 weeks! But, I've got three weeks now to do nothing but improve my game and my bankroll, so bring it on :)

Talk about bad timing...

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:29:44 +0000

So I'm playing a $1.20/45 on Stars, and I raise 5xBB in late position against one mid-position limper. All fold, except the limper, who calls.

Flop comes J99. Limper checks. All standard so far.

I push for about twice the pot. Probably unnecessary, but at such low limits I really feel like I need to restrict his calling range with a large bet, plus I'm pretty much committed on most decent sized bets.

Again, this is pretty standard so far. Sometimes I'll get called by a stupid straight draw, but mostly the limper will let go of his junk or low pair.

He calls with J9. Pants. I need running AA or running KK, with about a 0.6% chance. I suppose I can console myself by knowing that his call out of position with J9 was chimpish, even if they were sooted.

Does that count as a bad beat? I mean, I know that technically I was ridiculously behind when the money went in, but was I unluckily unlucky that the flop hit him so squarely in the nuts?

Im off

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:49:16 +0000

Even though I still feel horrible, I'm going to look after some kids on a residential holiday for 10 days.

Hopefully I'll get better while I'm there.. or spread my disease around enough that everyone can sympathise with me.

PokerStars fishy million?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:36:03 +0000

Another Sunday has passed, and another $1,178,600 was shared out amongst the top 825 players from the original 5893, with first place earning a sweet sweet $173,843.50

Looking at the list of runners and their finishing positions is interesting though. Big names didn't fare so well - JohnnyBax (4458), sheets (3265), shaniac (2241), previous winners Rizen (3745)and goldy18k (4778).

This is to be expected though, with a field of almost 6000 players, it will take a lot of luck to go deep. Especially since these players will be playing to win, so are more likely to bust early (or finish deep).

What is more interesting (and unexpected) however, is having a look at some of the top finishers stats on SharkScope. SharkScope is a searchable database of SNG results, and is worth using to check out your opponents when you get down to the final table.

Anyway.. the winner of the million tourney was DeuxExMachin. He has played 19 SNGs (the last one on the 7th Jun), with an average stake of $36, and average ROI of -2% and a total profit of -$76.

Second place was Kraven23 who has played 180 games, with an average stake of $10, an average ROI of -22% and a total profit of -$849.

Third place was jmega who has played 192 games, with an average stake of $82, an average ROI of -13% and a total profit of -$2,784.

Fourth place was jonath34 who has played 25 games, with an average stake of $27, an average ROI of 14% and a total profit of $125.

Fifth place was Stelvask who has played 379 games, with an average stake of $76, an average ROI of 11% and a total profit of $2,794.

So of the top 5, only 2 are winning players! (according to SharkScope). For third place to have played almost 200 SNGs and to have lost almost $3,000 amazes me. How can he lose so much playing SNGs, yet finish 3rd out of a field of almost 6000 players, with so much at stake?

Of course, SharkScope doesn't take into account MTT results, so we turn to ThePokerDB which does. ThePokerDB is similar to SharkScope, except they store MTT results instead (and you have to register a free account in order to search their database).

Doing a quick search of our top 5 indicates that DeuxExMachin has played 2 large field MTTs, placing 2nd and 5th and winning almost $3,000. jmega also does very well, with total winnings of almost $10,000. jonath34 has made just over GBP2,000 playing limit Omaha Hi/Lo, and Stelvask has clocked in almost $40,000 with a couple of $10K+ finishes.

Only Kraven23 has had poor MTT results, with winnings of $65 and no final tables since 1st Jan 2005. But what does this all mean?

Kraven23 was either very lucky, or has been studying incredibly hard.
SharkScope is not a great tool for examing MTT performance (duh...)
Being a great MTT player doesn't mean you're great at SNGs and vice versa.
jmega is tossing his winnings away on SNGs.. :)
Stay away from Stelvask, because he will take your money.

So there you have it. Fish-luckbox-donk-tastic-aments.

Illness and holidays

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:31:07 +0000

Bleurgh. Went away camping over the weekend, and have come back with a horrible cold. And a weird lump thing in my shoulder that needs looking at.

I'm away again between 17th-27th, so I can't imagine there'll be much in the way of poker between now and September. Which is a pain in the arse, since I really feel like I'm on good form now, and I need to grow my bankroll above the measley $70 or so it is now.

I came across this guide to winning poker online and "dominating" and "crushing" large field MTTs. While the guy has had decent results, I don't like the way that he suggests there is a simple "system" for winning.

It trivialises the game, and makes it look like anyone can make thousands of dollars. Surely the "system" is just to get good at poker? Not follow some cheat sheet strategy guide. Plus, he charges $127 for it, which is waaay more than any decent books on poker are - Harrington's aren't even nearly that price.

The snake oil peddlers tried at first with cheating software (all bogus), and now they're moving onto these "get rich quick" guides. What's next?

The almighty micro shove

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:28:34 +0000

Heh. I enjoyed this. Sat down today to play some cash games - since I don't really have enough consecutive time to play SNGs recently - and was dealt AA first hand.

View hand in the re-player. Yes I know it's only $0.01/$0.02, but still - if I keep having hands like this, I'll be able to move up in no time :)

I hung around to take some more of this plank's money before he left. I really expected him to call my shove, seeing as he was getting very close to 3-1. Still.. he obviously wasn't thinking about odds up to that point, so why should he start now?

Some of the players at these lowest of the low limits are truly stupendously awful. I suppose they are playing for peanuts though, so I can't expect to encounter any serious skill. I'm finding the PokerStars 6 seat tables much easier than the 10 seaters on Paradise, so with any luck it won't take me long to move up to the $0.02/$0.04 level.

Since I'm currently buying in for $2, and I want a roll to cover 10 buy ins, I need to earn another $28 (14 x buy in) before I can step up to buying into the higher level with $4. I am hopeful I can do this in two months. Fingers crossed.

Poker hand re-player

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 18:51:00 +0000

So we all know that PokerXFactor is great, and it offers some wonderful functionality, but wow is it expensive. $150 sign up fee (??), then a monthly $25 subscription.. To be fair, the fees for this go to the experts running the site, and is probably a fair price to pay for their advice (Still not sure about the sign up fee though!).

I wanted a lightweight replayer so I could share hands with friends quickly. PokerHand allows you to enter your hands, but does little formatting and, in all honesty, isn't very nice to look at and doesn't animate.

Now I'm not saying that my replayer is beautiful, but it does at least animate, and it's free. BUT:

This is an early version, so it might not work!
The graphics are mediocre. If someone wants to make them nicer, please contact me for details.
It only works on PokerStars hand histories - I'm planning on adding more.
It only processes a single hand at once - again, I'm planning on allowing unlimited numbers.
It is written in JavaScript, so you'll have to have JS enabled in your browser.

And that's about it. So go nuts, and animate your hands. If you've got a great hand to show off, leave a comment on this blog entry. If you want to tell me it's rubbish, leave a comment. If you want to order your shopping, visit Tesco. Otherwise leave a comment. Thanks!

Oh, and if you break it - don't worry. I would appreciate it if you could send me the hand history that broke it, and describe how it wasn't working properly. Cheers.

Is poker gambling?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:17:32 +0000

Poker = gambling = debt

As I mentioned in my last post, I have some friends and family that think poker is like heroin - starts off great but soon you're addicted and up to your eyeballs in debt.

Of course, we all know it isn't like that. There are countless arguments on the web, all trying desperately to decide whether everyone should join the gambler's anonymous or not. This is my take on it all.

Poker = gambling

"Gambling is any behavior involving risking money or valuables on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon one's ability to do something." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling)

So technically, poker counts as gambling. Assuming of course, that tournament chips have some value. Tournament chips don't have monetary value - only your finishing position does. But, given that (generally) more chips means a higher finishing position, chips do have an implied value, since the point of the game is to gain more of them in order to finish higher.

But gambling does not = debt

But is gambling a terrible thing? As I see it, no. People often say - "it's addictive, you'll lose all your money", but this argument is analogous to the one about guns - "guns don't kill people, people kill people". It's not gambling that puts you in debt, it's the person doing the gambling. Any activity that involves spending your money can put you in debt. Properly managed (as with all financial affairs), gambling is perfectly safe.

All decent players, from amateur to pro, will tell you that bankroll (the stash of money a player uses for poker) management is paramount to success. There's no sense betting all your money in one go, since there is always a chance you'll lose (as in any form of gambling). Instead, risk small portions of your bankroll, so as to give your skillful edge plenty of time to come into effect - over the long run.

As for addiction.. how many substances are in everyday use that are incredibly addictive? Alcohol? Nicotine? What if every time you treated yourself to a glass of wine, all your friends jumped up and started preaching about the dangers of alcoholism and addiction? You'd say - "pah, go away and stop being silly", and you'd be entirely right. Gambling is no different.

I've heard some people say, "but gambling is immoral, and a silly thing to spend your dosh on". Why? I can spend GBP10 down the pub or at the cinema in a couple of hours, or I can spend the same amount on a game of cards. I'd probably enjoy them both about as much, and with poker I have the added bonus of being able to win my money back = free entertainment!

But how can you win? It's all luck, right?

This is a different argument - whether poker is a game of skill or not. Once you accept that poker is gambling, you can get on with explaining why it's a hundred times better than BlackJack, Roulette, Craps or any other standard casino game.

With most casino games (like those listed above), you are playing against the house. The odds are mathematically balanced in the house's favour (they have to make money somehow). If you played for 1000 years, you would lose - not a lot, but you would lose.

Poker allows you to manipulate the odds in your favour, through your betting and psychological warfare. You're not playing against the house, but actually against other players. With the odds in your favour, play for 1000 years and you'll come out on top.

A skillful player has an "edge" over other players, since in the long run he is more likely to come out on top, since he is better at manipulating the odds. For example..

Say you hold 2 spades, and you need another to make a 5 card flush and a winning hand, and there are 2 cards to come. The chances of you hitting the spade on the next card is about 4-1, but over the next 2 cards is about 2-1.

If there is $100 in the pot, and it costs you $20 to call, you're getting $100-$20 or 5-1 odds. This means, over the course of 10 times of playing this hand and calling the bet you'll miss the spade 4 times (losing 4x$20 = $80), and hit the winning spade once (earning 1x$100 = $100), giving you an overall profit of $20.

Regardless of the outcome of each individual hand, continue making these sorts of bets and you will profit in the long run because your odds are good. If you know your opponent is drawing to that flush, you can bet $50 instead of $20, reducing his odds to $100-$50 or 2-1. Now, he will miss and 4x$50 = $200 loss, and win 1x$100 = $100 gain, giving an overall loss of $100.

Even if your opponent calls and wins in this case, it was still not a good play. He will still lose money in the long run, and you should always be happy he does call - it's players like him that provide the profit to be made!

This basic example clearly shows how poker is a gambling game, but a well calculated and mathematically sound gamble, which will show profit in the long run. This cannot be said about other casino games, the lottery, horse and dog racing and almost every other form of gambling, since they all play against the house (or bookie), and not against other players.

In poker, YOU are acting as the house, offering odds on the hand through your bets. It is up to good players to bend these odds in their favour, as shown above.

Of course, we still haven't mentioned the psychological side to poker. Bluffing, tells, reading your opponent and so on. All these skills will improve a players odds of winning, or the value of the bets they make. These skills are much harder to quantify, but they do exist. If you can force your opponent to fold through your betting, you win - regardless of the cards you have. Knowing when to bluff is an artform.

Conclusion

Poker is gambling. Gambling is not a bad thing. Poker is a skillful game, and good players have a mathematical and psychological edge over poor players. Poker is a battle, with each tournament being a skirmish, and each hand being a tossing of insulting words between opponents. It's all about the long run, and proper money management.

If a player cannot manage his money, cannot play well and so loses all his money - that's HIS fault, not the fault of the game. Above all, it's supposed to be fun, just like any other hobby, interest or even profession.

Shuffle up and deal.

Poker and money

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 18:33:52 +0000

Poker has nothing to do with money. A very true statement.

As soon as you start considering your chips as actual money, you begin to worry about losing them. Once you're scared, you cannot play good poker, and so your results suffer.

This is why it's so important to play within your means, so that you can easily accept the odd loss and occasional downswing in results without it affecting your overall play.

I have a few friends and family that struggle to accept that poker can be managed and milked as a source of income. Part of that difficulty comes from the (misconceived) notion that whenever I'm playing, I always stand to lose all my money.

Of course, this isn't true. I (very) rarely risk more than 5% of my bankroll at any one time, and although I have had to endure a couple of downswings, I've never been in jeopardy of going broke, and I'm never too worried about losing my stake to avoid playing properly.

A few more months like July, and I can shove some well prepared spreadsheets showing my convincing destruction of the $1.20/45 SNGs, towards them. I don't think it'll change their minds though.. some people still associate poker = gambling = debt as a foregone conclusion, but I'll save that for my next post.

Table talk or trash talk?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 22:39:33 +0000

I've seen Tony G play before, as I'm sure most of us have. I've seen him berate and belittle his opponents, and generally abuse them into playing badly.

While using verbal at the table can be a legitimate weapon to add to your arsenal, I think Tony takes it too far. Players in major events aren't allowed to swear at the table without suffering a rail-penalty. Why aren't they allowed to? Because it lowers the tone of the game. So why should Tony be allowed to do this?

Pokerschool by Tony G at 50outs

The answer is, he shouldn't. Where is the line drawn between table talk and ungentlemanly conduct?

July Results

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 00:49:01 +0000

July was my STT month since i've not seriously played them in a long time.
so here goes:

Monthly Stats	MTT buyins	MTT winnings	avg finish %	Profit	STT buyins	STT winnings	ROI%	HU buyins	ROI%	STT&HU profit	Overall Tourny Profit
July	$45.60	$77.68	41.90%	$32.08	$1,012.30	$1,169.00	15.48%	$141.75	5.82%	$164.95	$197.03

i'm pretty damn happy with my profit given this was my first month of them. i expect next month to be much better as i refine my tactics :) my mtt's have suffered a rare profit too, a few choice placings in the Punters Lounge league games kept my head above water. Look forward to next months details :)

July progress and stats

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 10:54:44 +0000

I played my 61st and last $1.20/45 of July yesterday, and came 6th. My stats for the month are shown below (looking as tidy as I can make them!). Lots of 2nd places, and only one 1st. I think I was bad lucked out of at least 2 wins though.. grumble..

	Payouts	Finish %		Stats
1st	$14.00	1.64	Total entries	$73.20
2nd	$10.00	9.84	Total prizes	$116.00
3rd	$7.00	3.28	Total profit	$42.80
4th	$5.00	0	Total ROI %	58.47
5th	$4.00	6.56		
6th	$3.00	3.28	Total hours	74.08
7th	$2.00	4.92	$/hour	        $0.58
8th	$0.00	1.64	Total tournies	61
9th	$0.00	1.64	$/tourney	$0.70
10th	$0.00	4.92		
			ITM %	        29.51
			FT%	        32.79
			Avg finish	14.05

I like my ROI a lot, as I've been checking out some STTer's stats recently, and they all seem to be much lower. That's probably due to the flatter payout structure of STTs of course, but I don't think I could hack an ROI of 20-30%. It becomes more of a grind with lower payouts, since you have to play more (or at higher stakes) to achieve the same level of profit. These SNGs suit me very well - a cross between a full MTT and a STT!

29.51% ITM makes me very happy, but I'll be aiming for 30+ next month.

58.47% ROI is very respectable (or so I'm told), but I'll be aiming for 60+ next month.

My bankroll stands at about $66. Once it's up to $150 (another 3 months or so at this rate, hopefully less once cash games start up again) I might start throwing in a few $4.40/180s, or the 90 man games to get a bit of practice in larger fields. The plan (eventually) is to have enough to play medium to large buy in 100-200 MTTs regularly.

Shuffle up and deal!

I give them far too much credit

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 12:29:57 +0000

I have TT on the button. I limp, hoping to catch a well disguised set against some early LAG players. Raising has no value because it won't thin the field, won't tell me more about their hands since they'll call with anything, and if I miss - well it's a waste of money.

Anyway, flop comes J84, rainbow. The short stack in the big blind pushes all in for a pot sized bet of ~800. One early limper calls, so I fold my TT thinking that one of them has a J.

Shorty shows K5o, caller shows Q4o. To compound matters, the third T comes on the turn.

A bit later, I'm the small blind with 76o. Many limpers, so I get 10-1 on a call. I do so, and the flop comes K86 rainbow. I check, not really over enamoured with bottom pair.

LAG in mid position bets about half the pot. One late position calls, so I move out the way (even though I'm getting 5-1 on a call!). Turn comes a 7, and to cut a long story short they end up all in on the river and show J9s and A5o respectively.

My two pair would've wiped the slimey smile of their faces.

I'm stunned by poor plays like this - to be fair, the first guys bluff was very convincing, but the second player's call(s!) with A5o is jaw dropping. It happens a lot that I think my opponent is better than they really are, so I fold these sorts of hands that turn into monsters, even when I'm getting great odds.

I know I made the right move in the long run with the 76o, but if that loosey goosey hadn't called with his Q4s, I'd have been sorely tempted to do so with my TT. Next time... although it does seem that when I call, I've got it wrong! Heh. Such is life.

On a side note, I've found a wonderful tool at www.SharkScope.com. You can look up players on PokerStars, and view basic stats on them - like total profit, ROI%, buy in levels, how many games they've played and so on. The site even gives them a little ranking of how fishy or sharky they are.

You get 5 free searches a day, any more and you have to pay. A bit expensive for me, but useful for that one final table I make in the day.

The new adventures of HERO.

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 19:54:08 +0000

So er.. I find myself with a lot of time on my hands, and this is the end result. A comical depiction of what I'd love to do to the villains that play like Stevie Wonder without the aid of his extremely talented guide dog.

I have a few more plans for HERO, whether they come to fruition or not is another matter, but for now, here's Episode 1.

On the poker front, it's been a bit of a dull Saturday really. Played a few SNGs, failed to cash. Got sucked off.. out on a few times, but it didn't really affect my overall stats too much. I reckon one more decent cash before the month is over, and I'll be very happy.

There were a couple of horrible happenings though. I lost with Ax (my BB) to AK on a flop of AAK with NO preflop raise! Who limps AK!? (A job for HERO perhaps?) In the next tourney, I lost with KJ to AK on a flop of KKx. AK on the big blind this time, so more reasonable.

I'm going to get my cash bankroll building back into action next month, since I gave up on the STTs on Pacific (because they're generally a) full of fish so the variance is high, b) not worth it because of the stupidly flat payout structure, and c) a crapshoot since you only start with 800 chips).

But anyway... I've so far gone from $2 to almost $10 (which took about a month), so I'm hoping to add on another $10 now I can play on PokerStars 6-max tables. Lastly, I'm gonna have a crack at a Mansion $500 freeroll tonight, mostly due to not having anything else to do.

The Art of (not) Folding

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 17:38:03 +0000

Been playing a few Heads Up games last night because the Punters Lounge focus game was a $10 Heads Up MTT played on the Boss Network, and $10 is still just beyond my meagre $300 bankroll, so i played some $5 Heads Up games instead. after winning my first 2 comfortably, in the 3rd i found myself down to 300 chips(from an initial 1500) after running into better hands not once, not twice, but 3 times. First K4s flop TK4 running into KK. Then A7 hitting the A and running into AK. Then AT on a flop of A78 running into A7. Feeling a bit demoralised i shook it off and played some excellent shortstack poker to even up before winning the final all in 99 vs A7. the 4th game pretty much followed the same, early defeats a good comeback and a swift victory. 4 wins in a row at this point and i'm feeling pretty pleasedwith my play, i'd woken up in the morning feeling good and confident, getting my first caffeine hit of the day i told myself "Today is a good day to play Poker", which remained true, and given my week till this point was a $72 loss(13 straight ootm $5 stts) it was true because when i came to sit down at my 5th Heads Up game i was only $9 down for the week. so i sit down and begin quite aggressively, losing the first few hands to re-raises on my bluffs. when i'm dealt 44. i always raise pocket pairs heads up. so i put a 3x raise in and get a call. flop comes down a dream, K K 4. i flopped the full house, not being shy i bet 4x at it, and get single re-raised, from this point on, i'm suspicious. my bet on the turn gets single raised too and on the river i get re-raised all in. I knew i was beat, i had been all along. But i told myself, you just CANT fold a full house heads up. So i called, turn my flopped 444KK and lost to her flopped KKK44. Lesson learnt, you CAN fold a full house heads up.

A good run

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:22:28 +0000

I had a nice long post typed up, then my browser crashed. Pants.

Anyway, suffice to say that I played 2 SNGs this morning, and finished 2nd in them both. I got my money in with the goods 95% of the time and it held up. I did a bit of stealing, the odd bluff and plenty of value betting. Some good pushbotting towards the FT bubble, and I managed to come into the final 9 somewhere in the middle both times. From there, steady, careful play led me to 3 way. A couple of nice hands put me HU both times with a chip disadvantage...

The first HU finished when I bluffed my (chip lead) opponent, and he called me with a draw and an A. I didn't improve, so GG me. I'm happy with it though, I was a loose call from him on the end.

I almost took down the second one. Ended up with me as chip lead, and tricking my opponent into re-raising me all in preflop. I showed AQo, he showed KTo but the king on the river left me with peanuts and I was out shortly after. Luck can be so cruel - I'd held up so many hands like that, but the most important one died.

I was very happy with my play today, and it just goes to show that as long as my good hands hold up when I have to go to showdown, I kick ass. I'll be posting my stats at the end of the month, and I'm very happy with them for my first month of SNG bankroll building.

How to suck at poker

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 16:59:07 +0000

I had a spare $20 in Poker.co.uk that I was using for a league I can't play in any more, and I had some time to kill so I bought into a $10+1 freezeout with 241 entrants. Top 20 pay, first prize of over $700... nice!

I decided to play nice and tight in the early levels, waiting for some big hands to play aggressively and hope to chip up. In the past I've fared quite well in $10 buy in MTTs, but this one didn't go so well... below is a fairly complete report. Starting stacks 1500.

Level I - 10/20

Folded for two or more orbits. Completed the SB with T8o, missed and folded. Some short stacks moving all in every time I'm on the blind.. I would've missed anyway.

Stack: ~1450

Level II - 15/30

Saw maybe 5-6 hands, all trash. More folding. Stack: ~1400.

Level III - 25/50

Getting a bit concerned I haven't played a hand yet. QQ UTG, I raise from 50 to 200, everyone folds and I take the blinds. There isn't much pre-flop raising, but limpers don't give up to later raises. Stack: 1490

87o on the BB, several limpers, checked down to the river giving me the idiot end of a straight 89TJQ. I take the pot, even though the SB was slowplaying a set of queens. Or was he just away? Stack: 1690

More folding, including the SB when more shorties pushed. Stack: ~1650.

Level IV - 50/100

Crap, this is getting silly now. KJd in MP, so I open limp (probably a mistake in hindsight). Folded round to the SB who completes, BB checks. Flop comes A94, all black. Blinds check, I bet pot (300), BB calls. Turn 6. BB checks, I check. River J. BB bets 600, I call and he shows J9o for two pair. I should've raised, but I think he was playing loose enough he would've called. Stack: 665.

More folding, including my next trip through the blinds. I'm looking for a spot to shove here, but one doesn't present itself.

Q4s, folded round to me on the button so I push 5xBB. (Note, this is the 3rd pot I have played pre-flop, so I'm expecting some serious respect, plus the blinds have been playing very cautiously). SB calls with AKo and it holds up.

I'm out 124/241 for $0. What a boring, empty, vast waste of a game.

Could I have made more of it? I don't think so. I might've made a little bit of cash on the straight from the SB, but there was a big chance with 4-5 limpers that someone held the better end (a K). Was the raise with QQ too much? I don't think so.. perhaps raising to 150 (3xBB) instead, but that might let the donkeys in too cheaply. I'd rather win a small pot than lose a big one. Lastly, should I have raised with the KJ? Almost undoubtedly yes. Should I have called the river bet? Probably not. Should I have bet on the turn after his second check? Yes.. I think a shove here would win it for me.

Still got about $8 left. Might try again for one of their $6 MTTs.

Finally!

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 13:30:47 +0000

Finally, luck goes my way, and ends my OTM streak. A total of 9 games without cashing, then a 2nd place.

I played well towards the final table, basically pushbot poker, shoving AQ+ into raises. Thankfully, they held and I came into the final table as a middle stack. I took a few pots on value bets, stole from the weaker players (which I was pleased I could identify easily enough), and didn't run into any monsters.

Down to the final 5 and I had a big hand that I was probably due after so much horrible luck. I had J9s in the big blind, with one caller in mid-position. I triple raised, but he called anyway.

Flop was 846, two clubs. I bet 4800 into a pot of 8250, and was re-raised all in another 3000 or so. With a pot of about 21000 and 3000 to call, I couldn't fold (being given 7-1 odds). I called, he showed AK and I caught a 9 on the river to save me and put me into chip lead.

Once down to 3, the other large stack kept pushing all in. We were about even, and every time I raised his big blind he'd shove. I decided enough was enough and called his shove with A6o. It held against his KJs and put me at 54K vs 1K vs 13K.

Some scuffling later, me and the previous 1K stack were heads up with 53K vs 15K. He began pushing all in every hand, and I started getting absolute trash. A-high or K-high would've been enough to call him, and I eventually found a K3 to call his J8. Unfortunately, he won, and took the chip lead.

Two hands later I pushed K-high into his KQ which held, and I finished 2nd. I'm pleased with the game though, as I did manage to get into a winning situation by taking the risk with the A6o, and before that getting a bit lucky with the J9 (I was only a 60/40 dog). A shame my K didn't hold up, but I can live with it.

Mutter.. grumble.. shafted..

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 14:07:37 +0000

I always promised myself this wouldn't turn into a bad beat blog.. where I just bang on about how unlucky I am and how unfair it is. It's boring to read, and it's boring to write.

But..

Bad beats are like ex girlfriends. Once you've had one and it moves into your past, it stays in your memory. You can't think about anything else, you can't get that frustrated feeling out of your stomach, and the urge to punch your PC monitor rears it's ugly head every now and then.

The problem is solved as soon as another bad beat (or girlfriend) comes along. I find I can't remember the old one, since the new terrible suck out is filling my mind. Of course, certain shockingly bad beats do stick.. like losing AKo vs AKo (2%!!!).

I've been hovering at around 50-60% ROI for a while now. I can't seem to place in the top 3.. due to bad beats. AA < AQ, KK < QJ and so on. My hope is that now my bad luck has surely run out - I can't KEEP losing 80/20 shots.. so I'm expecting a big finish soon to shove my ROI up above 70%. Fingers crossed.

OK, I promise.. no more bad beats!

Rollercoasters

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:17:53 +0000

First hand, T9o in the small blind. I complete, and flop AT9 - up from 1500 to 2400.

Few hands later, AA in mid position. Three way all in: QQ vs AK vs my AA. Board comes KxxxK and I'm down to ~900.

A few hands later I'm up to ~2000 thanks to a double up I can't remember (probably AK or something).

Here's the interesting one. K5s in the big blind. Couple of limpers, SB completes, and I check. Flop 236, two spades. SB leads 600 into the 800 pot, making it 1400 total and >2.1 to call. I go into my time bank and consider my options.

Assuming he's betting on either top pair or a straight draw, I have Ks, 4s and spades as outs (15). If he's made a straight already, the 4 may still be an out, and spades definitely are (9-12). If he's betting on a flush draw, chances are it's lower than mine.. so however I look at it I'm roughly 50/50 (60% in the first case), plus I have a little fold equity since I have another 1200 chips on top of his bet.

My raise all in gives a pot of 2600 with a cost of 1200 to call.. so he's getting decent odds, but still may fold a drawing hand. I also figured this was as good of a chance as any to double up and get back into contention for final tabling. So I push.

Limpers fold (eventually), and SB calls, showing T6 for top pair junk kicker. Turn is a 5, giving me an additional 2 outs, river is Q of spades and I rake the pot. I am very pleased with this move (regardless of outcome), as I feel it represents a new level or calculated aggression which is necessary for me to increase the number of times I go deep.

Later, I am blessed with AA again, and this time it holds up against 99. Another few rounds, and I have QQ.. short stack UTG pushes (the guy that cracked my AA earlier) and I call. He was stealing with 43o and I take another one.

Into the final table as chip lead, and I run out of cards. I rarely find a good spot to steal, so am gradually shortened to a medium stack with 5 left. I am dealt TT on the button.. UTG min-raises, so I push. He calls and shows 99, flops a 9 and I'm out.

All in all I think I played OK, and it just goes to show how much the gods can influence the outcome of your game. While I was dealt lots of nice big pairs (AA twice, QQ twice), overall, when I was all in with an overpair, they held up 1/3 times... not the sort of figures I want to see.

June-July progress so far...

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 19:34:05 +0000

It's been a while, but I think the main reason I haven't been posting on here is because it takes so darned long to load with these stupid ads. So I'm taking them off. Ha!

This month (and last) I've been working on building my bankroll from it's puny beginnings to a prehistoric beast that can withstand the vicious and often devastating offensive front that is variance, and downswings.

I started playing 18 seat $5+0.50 SNGs on PokerStars, and did OK. I played 10-15, and had an ROI of 25%, ITM of 23%. Not great, but not terrible. After losing 8 in a row, I decided that my bankroll couldn't take the swings, and stepped down to a lower level, holding a not to be sniffed at $18.50 profit.

The level down is 45 seat $1+0.20 SNGs, again on PokerStars. I played a few of those in June, making $5 or so profit (ITM 29%, ROI 27%), but have played 30+ in July so far (I don't get much daily time for poker, and am restricted to playing 2-3 games in the mornings), and achieved much nicer stats of ITM 30%, ROI 66%, with profit (so far) of $26.

I've also been playing 5 seat $2.50+0.50 STTs on Pacific Poker (888.com), and am having mixed results. Starting with 800 chips and 10/20 blinds that rise every 8 minutes (what is it with the number 8!?) makes for a sometimes gambly game. The vast quantities of freshly caught fish makes it a bit easier, but they are willing to re-raise all in on the first level with two undercards and a flush draw (vs my AA... humph).

I plan on giving these a run until the end of July, the re-assessing the STT route. I really want to play the 5 seat $10 STTs on Boss (PokerHeaven), since watching the televised tables has shown some alarming terrible players. I think I may have to step up to 10 seaters though, since the payout structure is so lame at these short tables that I'm struggling to reach an ROI of 10%.

Lastly, I've been neglecting the cash games. I started with $2 playing 10 seat 1c/2c NL on Paradise, but decided that I don't like full tables. Luckily, PokerStars has 6 seat tables at 1c/2c, so I'm going to move over there. As I said before, I don't have much time, so will leave this till next month and concentrate for now on SNGs and STTs. I do currently have $10 in the cash roll though.

So, profits of (5+18.50+26+10) ~$60 thus far, not to mention a couple of MTTs on the side that went ok (Pacific gave me $10 for filling out a survey. I turned it into $130 in two tourneys!) means this month is going OK.

Bankroll targets for the end of August -
Cash games: $25
STTs: $50
SNGS: $100

Once I've built a decent bankroll, I can continue using my favourite (and most effective) method of building/maintaining it, and go back to concentrating on medium to large MTTs to make serious cash. Shuffle up and deal.

It Continues

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 15:29:44 +0000

finished 21/90 in the Goal Poker $1 mtt fairly enough, q3o on the bb, button calls, flop T 3 7 x bet c turn T x bet c river Q bet all in c he had KTo, so i've got no issues with that one now in the $1000 freeroll i was doing rather well, like 3-7 hovering out of the 30 left, call with k8o in mid position looking to pick up a small bluffed pot, bb raises me single, and i instantly know he's got nothing, since he was all in every good hand he'd hand for the last hour, flop comes Q 5 6, he bets 80,000 of his 180k remaining chips and i call, turn is a 7, he goes all in and i call, he turns over J4o so now the 4 wont help him ... whats the river ... oh yeah ... a god damn jack, that took me down to 42000 with blinds at 20,000 and 40,000, i go all in the next hand and lose, out in 20th place for $4.50. 20/4485 isnt bad ... but losing to a GREAT call with the BEST hand ... AGAIN, is just annoying

The Losing Edge

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 15:29:44 +0000

after finding this incredibly useful page on freerolls i decided to spend today totally dedicated to improving my mtt game, free of charge.
and after about 6 so far i've not hit the money on any, but have gone out with the best hand in 5/6.
examples include just now (5 minutes ago) 79s on the big blind in the 32red(ipoker) $100 freeroll freezeout, flop 8 10 J , all in, called by 10Qo ... river is a 9. Ultimate Bet TEC Freeroll, all in JJ (as fairly large stack) called by bigger stack with 77. now is it me or is going in with the best hand, and then losing, something that simply shouldnt happen this often, even in a freeroll. now i'm currently 1/72(90) in a $1 nl on Goal Poker and 172/718(4485) in a $1000 freeroll on prima. we'll see how things progress

The Fine Line Between Insanity and Stupidity

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 11:02:52 +0000

so yesterday i whittle myself down to the final table of the Europoker WPT Boot Camp tourny, $5 buyin and 191 entrants. I'm sat there feeling pleased with myself, thinking i've done well to get in the money when i'm dealt 72o. Now instead of thinking fold fold fold, i start thinking, how do i turn auto-muck off. So i go all in, then start fiddling round in the options to turn auto-muck off as fast as i can, only to come back, see i've been called by AT, and the flop is A 7 T. Needless to say, i go out in 10th taking the smallest pay packet with me, feeling strangely happy that i did it.
Now the next day, i'm still smiling, but only at my own stupidity for doing it, so, the next final table i make ... i'm just going to sit out, to see if i do better than frst out, which happens a lot.

Ultra lucky short stacks

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 22 May 2006 17:00:45 +0000

Virgin (along with pretty much every other poker site out there) is running WSOP 2006 satellites. There is a daily MTT for $6+$1 with one in 10 going through to the weekly MTT, where 1 in 10 go through to the grand final for the seats.

So I buy in.. as do 65 other people. Made it down to the final table since the standard of play wasn't great. I was holding steady in about 6-7th place, so looking good for the money (top 6 paid a seat, 7th paid $2 less than the price of a seat). The two shortest stacks go all in - and both win, leaving me as the shortest stack. I eventually finished 9th, which paid nothing.

Paradise run a $40,000 guaranteed tonight at 8pm, with MTT satellites for $3. I bought in and fought off 98 other runners with a total of 150+ rebuys and add-ons. Down to the final 36 after the first break, with top 20 earning a $30 seat. I've got 18,000 chips and am placed 4th. Unfortunately, I decided this was enough to start pushing people around, and began raising. I tried to steal with Qs6s, but the big blind re-raised all in for another single blind. I was priced in and called, and lost. Down to 10,000.

Couple of hands later I'm on the big blind, and the same player goes in again, about a single raise. I know he's been pushing with junk, and I've got a suited king so I call. I've got K4, he's got K8. Down to 6,000... and then the ultra lucky short stack comes into play. He's down to 150 and can barely afford the ante. Two hands later, after cracking AA and AK he's got 5,500. Again, I bubble in 22nd.

I read in WPT magazine that loosening up around the bubble was a good thing, and would lead to higher finishes. It seems to me though, that it depends on what sort of tourney you're playing.

When it comes to standard MTTs where the prize money is a lot higher for the final table and last few places, as apposed to satellites where the top 20 all pay the same, this strategy would probably eventually lead to higher returns. However, I think it's a mistake to apply the same in satellites.

I was 4th, and could've check folded to the money. Easily. I played like a rock against some mental players (rebuys huh?), then gave it all away in 2 stupid hands. It makes me so mad! But I know I played terribly in those few hands, and made a huge mistake risking that much so frivolously. I suppose it's all a learning curve though, and I know not to make the same mistake again.

So, Virgin satellite - bubbled. Paradise satellite - bubbled. Pacific satellite - made it! I finished 2nd and claimed $37, with the buy in for the $25,000 main event (NOT A REBUY!!) being $35+$3. As far as I'm concerned, that's a seat :)

In summary then - in normal MTTs, loosen up and go for the big win. In satellites, play it safe and qualify. If you're ultra short stacked, don't worry because you'll almost always win. Especially if you go in with the worst hand. And if you're on the bubble, take more chances - but not stupid ones like me.

yet another terrible beat

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 19 May 2006 13:36:03 +0000

Yet another terrible beat, runner runner this time.

All in QQ in a $200 freeroll on prima.

Called by AJo and A9o

Flop A K Q ... all good, worried about the 10 for the straight but hey, looking good

Turn K, even better, no need to worry about the 10 any more, full house, all good

River A the 1 in 52 out ... they both beat me and I end up severely shortstacked.

My MTT quest

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 18 May 2006 23:24:11 +0000

So... I think we can all see that the STT quest died. I kept it up for a bit, but to be honest STTs have too much variance for my liking. There's not enough time or hands for the better player to rely entirely on his skill. Plus, the types of players that you're up against varies incredibly - some STTs last minutes (see Masterplans recent entry) and some hours! Maybe it's just my playing style, but I don't like them. There is a niggling doubt in my head though.. telling me that high buy in STTs can give better value for money.. I don't know. We'll see how this quest goes first :) I've been playing $10 MTTs recently, with a decent success rate. Most 200-250 entries, with top 20-30 places paying. I decided to keep a spreadsheet of my progress, and I'm going to play daily for a month, then wave my profits in the face of all the women in my life who've told me poker is gambling. So far I've cashed 66% of the time and reached the final 33% of the time. Not a bad start, but can I keep it up? Of the final tables, one was 8th (for $35), one 6th (for $110) and one 5th (for $130).. the 8th finish was only 100 or so entrants, so not big money. The other times I've cashed I've pretty much made my buy in back plus a couple of extra dollars, which is nice, but doesn't pay the bills. I think I have "bubble blindness".. meaning that once I spy the money bubble on the horizon, I clam up and get chip scared. More than a few times I folded a good hand preflop after a raise, then hit the ceiling when I hit the flop. So while I might scrape the money most of the time, I manage final table less of the time because I'm too short stacked. I was reading WPT magazine today, and there was a nice article about this sort of problem, so we'll see how it improves my play. I just played in Paradise Pokers Million Dollar Freeroll satellite, and finished 194th from 1488 players. Not bad, my luck eventually ran out and my KQ fell foul of a K10 with a K,8,10 flop. Final 6 qualified, so it was a bit of a lottery, but I felt I played well, loosening up a bit in the latter stages to give myself a decent chance of reaching the top 10. Tiredness always creeps in with a field that size though, so now it's time to stop.

Speed Demon

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 11 May 2006 18:36:09 +0000

I kinda went a bit overboard on one STT, and after doubling up with runner runner 2 pair AJ vs 55, i ended up with 99 on the big blind after a preflop raise and re-raise, by 2 people both with single starting stacks, with me having just doubled up i figured i could afford to gamble with my 99 so i re-raised all in and both called instantly, to their doom. both of them turned over AKo, putting me well in front, 5 low cards later and ive got a 6.5k stack and only 3 players remaining. i figured i had enough to play agressivey and sure enough, the others start calling my regular all ins with off hands, i hit a pair and they drop. long story short, i won the thing kinda fast.

Combining work and play

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Sun, 07 May 2006 19:06:34 +0000

Well, going into the final few weeks of my degree with high expectations hasn't served me too well. last week me and PB were in london for the maxim magazine king of poker final. PB was playing i just got to watch and play the free tables upstairs. but who did i end up sitting down with? Brandon Block and Michael Greco which turned out to be difficult because they wre all playing in their own celebrity only tournament later on that night. so after seeing several all ins with Q9o K5o and pocket 3's i found myself Under the Gun with pocket tens and thought, i'll move in and hope for a weak caller. i get 2 callers, yup you guessed it, both of them, 9 seater table and both the celebs call. they both had more chips than me from picking up smaller pots so when some betting came on the flop, which only had a king on it to worry me, i was still feeling pretty good. then brandon folds and greco turns over ... AA. great huh? i'm boned i tell myself, tap the table stand up and go to the free bar. now my dissertation was due in on friday, and maxim was wednesday night, having only started the 10,000 words on the monday, i wasnt feeling too confident of finishing, and after spending the whole day thrusday drinking in central london (it was the sunniest day of the year i wasnt going to waste it) and getting home at midnight. doing the remaining 6000 words of my dissertation didnt seem liek fun, so i slept in and am going to end up handing it in late. which would be fine if it wasnt for my EXAM TOMORROW, which i was revising for using my lecture notes on the university website until it CRASHED at about 3pm and hasnt come back up since, now we have 1 set of notes between all 3 of the computer scientists in this house, and tbh its not going to go well. hopefully, by handing my dissertation in on tuesday (losing 10% off my marks) and doing ok (60%+) in my exam tomorrow, a good performance (75%+) in my final 2 exams will still guarantee me my first. it will have been a fairly wasted effort for the last 3 years to only scrape a 2:1 and get my masters next year with only that... now if only i could stop playing poker and sit down and do my revision :p

The art of slow play

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 16:35:03 +0000

Slow playing

Now I know what you're thinking - slow playing good hands to induce bluffs. But actually I mean something quite different: playing as slowly as you can to finish higher in a large tournament. Scandalous.

Playing in the Maxim King of Poker tournaments is getting serious tedious. 2 a day, with an average of 275 people in each one, with each lasting upwards of 2 hours to finish. I really don't want to spend 6 hours a day playing poker and neither does anyone else in the top 15-20 places on the leaderboard, so we work together to slow down the table we're playing on so as to outlast the disconnected players, and the mentalists who go all in first hand. Getting beaten by a crazy call is what we fear the most, and it seems to be happening more and more.

As an example - the other day at 2pm five of us started on table 1. Since tables are closed from highest to lowest (with table 1 always being the final table), we knew that we were safe from being moved. The VC software client gives you ten seconds to think, then a warning that you only have ten seconds remaining. This means you can get at least 20 seconds out of every decision, and with five of us, each hand took at least a minute - even if we all just folded! If people called a hand could take anywhere up to 5 minutes, and anyone who plays online knows how ridiculously slow that is.

In the first hour of play, we got through 27 hands. That's 3 times round the table!! 150+ people went out, and we only had only had to pay the blinds 3 times each. In the second hour we managed 24 hands, and got down to the last 35 or so players, still having only paid 5-6 blinds each. Unfortunately, this ultra-ultra tight play meant that the blinds were rapidly eating us alive, so we were forced all in by around 30 players left. I finished around 30th (a bit unlucky, but nothing to complain about), while others finished between there and 20th, depending on the luck of the last all in hand.

All in all, although it was a bit dull, we all had a good laugh in the chat box, and it was the least risky poker I've ever seen. We were almost guaranteed to beat 200+ players and get some decent points. So... if you get on a table with us, my apologies!

Cheating

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 19:43:33 +0000

Cheating scoundrels!

Is cheating really that prolific? It's certainly becoming more apparent in the Maxim King Of Poker tournaments. There are several people who create multiple accounts (and are even cheeky enough to have almost identical names) and then play them all at the same time. This basically gives them loads more (collective) chips than everyone else, and if the various accounts get seated at the same table, a greater chance of winning!

Now, it's a freeroll tourny, so it doesn't make a lot of difference, especially as we're in the later stages so they can't muck up the leaderboard, but does this happen a lot online? I've been reading it mentioned more and more in various poker and online magazines, with tall tales of these little scammers making serious amounts of cash. If it's that easy, why aren't we all doing it?

What can be done about it anyway? From the point of view of the poker operator, there isn't a lot, besides monitoring who plays with who most often and flagging them up as possible cheats. The only real way of spotting it is to watch in real time and observe everyone's cards - this way, it would (eventually) become apparent who was colluding and who was just being slaughtered.

Plus, what about bots? Software programs designed to play poker automatically - no more fatigue, tilt, misread hands or wrongly calculated odds. They play all day every day on vast numbers of tables over tens of sites on all stakes, eventually gleaning small profit - it's the large numbers that make it worthwhile. What about poker bots working together to mince up unsuspecting fish? It doesn't bear thinking about... Online poker is going to have to face these issues sooner rather than later, but will it come out unscathed?

Maxim King Of Poker

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 01:56:27 +0000

GAH, Finished final table in Maxim's Weekly Final again (came 5th and won a DVDset last time) in the final 3 shortstacked by 1-4 i go all in with a/7o, get called by big stack with k/4o and he hits a 4, god damnit!! i suppose an iPod isnt a bad prize for a freeroll but still, dont you just hate going in with the best hand and losing!!!

The long run

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:24:54 +0000

It's all about the long term

I think I'm finally realising that today. Poker is up and down, and luck plays a large part in the outcome of any game, regardless of the player's skill. How many times have we all seen AA lose to 10/3 offsuit, simply because the the big stack can afford to call with trash?

Anyway. My STTs have been going terribly. I think I played 3 or 4 days in a row without placing in the money.. I was beginning to get disheartened and wonder if it was worth it - until today.

Today I had a corker. I played two games (as usual) for $5 each (as usual). I won the first one thanks to some nice cards and good decisions, and came second in the second one thanks to one bad decision.

I had a suited king when my opponent (who had been very aggressive) raised me on the big blind. I figured I'd have to start actually playing against this guy or the blinds would eat me since I was slightly behind. Flop was QQJ, with none of my suit. At this point, I was betting on him not having a queen, so I figured as soon as he bet I'd go all in and steal. We checked to the river, which was a 9 and he leads out and bets. Right on cue, I go all in and he calls faster than Road Runner chasing after Wile Coyote. Unfortunately, my king high is destroyed by his pocket 99...

Still, I placed in the money and was (am!) pleased with myself. In 14 games (costing $70) I have placed in the money 6 times for a total of $60 with an average win of $10. This puts me $10 down overall, but I think my game is picking up.

Getting a good table is as much of a gamble as pushing with an open ended straight draw on the flop, and it seems I was a little unlucky last week. However, I am hopeful for the future, and will continue to play for at least 30 games before making a decision over my future in STTs.

Maxim King of Poker

On a side note, I've been fighting tooth and nail to stay in the top qualifying 10 of the MKOP leaderboard. Currently placed 8th, I am still very hopeful and optimistic about my chances of ending up in the live final. I had a great game the other day, making 300+ points while other decent players in the top 10 made 100 or so. Sorry guys, but it cheered me up no end! :)

Bad luck or bad strategy?

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:46:21 +0000

Today's STT went terribly, but started so well! I gained chip lead early on with pocket rockets, and stayed that way until there was only three of us left (top 2 pay out).

The other two guys are very aggressive, raising outrageously and unnecessarily most hands. We barely get to see any flops, and it's getting boring. So, the killer hand - I'm on the big blind, and the other two just call. I smell a rat... but the flop suits me nicely:

Me:

The flop:

Great! I'm well ahead. I check raise, knowing I'll get a caller because of the over betting style of my opponents. Sure enough, I get one of them all in and he turns over:

Even better, I'm so far in front it's not true - 95% to win, 2.5% to lose, 2.5% to tie. Either way, he needs runnings cards... and guess what? Two more spades make a higher flush on the table and we tie. I couldn't believe it.

So is this bad strategy on my part? Mostly, I play tight aggressive, but with two maniacs raising 5x the blind almost every hand, I have to fold junk so almost end up getting blinded away. Eventually I had A2 offsuit and went all in to steal, only to get called by AQ. Should I be playing more agressively earlier on when the blinds are low to get a bigger chip lead? Or should I just fold everything and let them take each other out?

I think my biggest problem is getting bored - raise fold, raise fold, raise fold get's quite monotonous after 20 minutes of not seeing a flop.

Lucky big stacks, and lucky me

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 17:11:30 +0000

Lucky big stacks

Why is it that big stacks are always outrageously lucky?

Picture the scene - 3 of us left from a 6 seater, one guy big stack, me and the other about even. The big stack has a 4 to 1 chip lead over us, and is being agressive (which is ok, I would do the same!).

However, he keeps making big moves and getting lucky - something I've seen more and more from big stacks on VC. My final hand - I'm dealt a suited AK, and he raises (as usual). I re-raise all in, and he calls instantly, turning over A9 offsuit. At this point I'm totally crushing him, odds are 73% in my favour. And of course, he flops two pair, knocking me out.

So why does it seem that players with bigger stacks are luckier? Is it because they can afford to take bigger risks that sometimes pay off? Or is it just because of the mental attitude of poker players - that we always remember the bad beats and never the awesome wins? Either way, it sure as hell is annoying being one place off the money and beaten by some monkey with more money than sense.

Lucky me!

With all that said, I did have a stormer of a hand in last night's Maxim daily qualifier MTT. 311 players started, with between 50-100 disconnected and never entering the game (As a side note, this sort of thing really irritates me - since table placement is random, one live player will often end up on a table with 8 discons. This means 16,000 free chips can be had in under 30 minutes. Bleurgh). I played textbook poker for the first hour and a half, being ultra tight and maximising my wins. I hardly played any hands, but achieved a decent stack of about 40,000 by the time there's 30 players left in. So, although I'm being cautious I call a suited A,10 and then spend about half my stack trying to hit the flush draw I flopped. Unfortunately, I missed.

So by this point I'm getting quite tired, but I've earned lots of leaderboard points so I'm happy to start flinging the remainder of my stack around. The very next hand is an offsuit A,10 and I go all in about 20,000 (average chipstack is about 10,000 and I'm placed in the top 9). One guy with 60K+ thinks about it for a while, then calls with a suited KJ. I think I'm in trouble, especially when the first two cards out are QA. Although I've got a pair, I've been rivered with straights too often for comfort. Luckily, the third card is also an A. Great I think, but still beaten by that 10... Incredibly, the turn is the fourth A, giving me an absolute screamer. My quad aces crushed his K high, and doubled me back up to 40,000.

From there I stayed in till the final table, eventually finishing a frivolous 5th. I could've made 4th or 3rd, but two of the players had gobbled up everyone else, giving them a 10 to 1 chip lead. It was all-in or fold at this point, and eventually I got beat fair and square.

The feeling of seeing those aces come out was great.. they just kept coming! That 300+ points means I'm still just in the top 10 overall - I had to miss a few games recently, and it seems everyone else did particularly well. I'm gonna have to play hard to catch up!

A quick catch up

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 15:48:58 +0000

Before I get down to the serious business of blogging, let's just catch up with where I am.

Yesterday (Feb 8th)

yesterday I had a great day - I played 2 $5 STTs and won them both, for a total profit of $30. I played tight aggressive, making a few choice bluffs, and (almost) always having the best hand hold up. Perfect poker :)

The Maxim tournaments went well too, I finished high and earned lots of points. Perhaps I should explain about Maxim: it's a men's magazine, and is running a poker tournament (The King of Poker). There are two daily qualifiers, with the top 27 going through to the weekly semi. The winner of each Monday night semi gets a seat in the grand live final in London. There are various other ways of qualifying, but the safest bet is the leaderboard. One point is earned for every player beaten in each of the dailies, so if 300 people play and you finish 50th, you get 250 points. I'm currently 6th, with the top 10 qualifying. I'm keeping up with everyone, but ideally I'd like to be higher. Fingers crossed I'll stay in!

Today (Feb 9th)

Today was average, and a bit rubbish. Firstly, I came 3rd in the first STT I played, leaving me with no prize money. Luckily, I came 2nd in the other STT, meaning I broke even with winnings of $10. So far so average. The only highlight was AA twice in a row to take out the third player, ha!

Unfortunately, I had a bit of an unlucky defeat in the first of the Maxim dailies. Here it is:

Me:

The flop, I'm first to act and we both check.

The turn and river, I'm first to act again after raising and re-raising we're all in on the river.

Here comes the killer - guess what he's got:

And I'm destroyed, but I suppose it's only fair. He played well - I put him on a big ace, like me. Ah well, there's always the 8pm game to try and make up some points.

The beginning

contact@allinpokerblog.co.uk () — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to my poker blog. I suppose I should introduce myself - my name is PokerBarney and I've been playing Texas Hold'em for a year or so. I play online and in a weekly game with friends (which I usually struggle to win because they all play like it's their last game on earth!)

I started this blog to keep track of my progress in the Maxim King Of Poker tournament, and also my daily earnings through playing real-money Single Table Tournaments (STT). With any luck I can make a bit of cash out of this game :)

I play on Victor Chandler mostly, but have begun signing up for other sites for the large freerolls. It's crazy how much poker companies can give away - some are offering $50,000, some $100,000 every week! Still, the really big ones always impose a minimum raked hand limit for entrants, which will most likely add up to about $100 in rake. Cheeky.

So, what else..? I'll include reviews of poker sites I've signed up to every now and then, and perhaps even a poll or two to see how you'd play hands I've come across. I'm also having a bad beat contest - if you think you've had a terrible beat, let me know and you might get a mention.

Shuffle up and deal!