The Poker Daily

Free Audiobook - Phil Gordon's Little Green Book

2011-09-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

A friend got me to do a free trial on eMusic, which is pretty sweet and cheaper than iTunes. Anyway, I thought I'd check to see if there were any poker books in their audiobook section. You're in luck. Phil Gordon's Little Green Book was on there. It's a simple book but sometimes its helpful to go back to the basics. Since I spend a lot of time reading anyway, I like to throw the occasional audiobook on my iPod to listen to as I run errands. Just a heads up for those trying to improve without spending a large percentage of your bankroll to do so.

Review: Greenstein's Ace on the River

2010-11-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

I just finished with Barry Greenstein's book Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide. What it won't tell you is what starting hands to play from which position. He assumes you already know that. However, through relating his life in poker he gives his readers a lot of wisdom. Especially in the world of online play where one may never have someone to emulate, Greenstein's book provides a lot of advice which can range from sleep and sex as they relate to poker to how to avoid being cheated in a home game. Definitely worth a read. I really enjoyed hearing his stories and thought his attitude toward the game instructive.

A Good (Still Relevant) Read for MTT Players

2010-07-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

Decided to play a $11 MTT on UB today. I don't play a lot of tournaments these days, though I used to primarily be a tournament player, and wanted to use what little money I had on UB.

While playing, I thought I'd re-read some of the better posts that I've read on MTT play.

So, though a couple years old, read Tony Dunst's aka Bond18 series "Things it took me a while to learn," here.

“You risked your tournament life with that?” I hear this all the time around live tournaments. I guess that’s because with live you normally only get to play one tournament a day, and in the case of a major main event, people may have waited months or a whole year for it. Still, that’s absolutely no excuse. Your tournament life has no value outside a sentimental one, so unless you intend to bottle that magic tournament life feeling and selling to Hallmark for a fucking Christmas card, stop wasting your time with this mentality.

What really has value in tournaments? Chips.

Sometimes you just run well...

2010-03-27T02:53:00.001-07:00

I played a session of $.50NL Rush poker on FTP a couple days ago and well, sometimes you just run well:

Durrr on TV

2010-03-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

The Durrr Million Dollar Challenge is just remarkable poker. Having people Issac Haxton and Phil Galfond comment on the action is just remarkable.

It's worth watching, though for the micro-stakes and low-stakes players, I fear watching this kind of play tempts them toward FPS (fancy play syndrome)...not the way to make money at the lower stakes. Superb poker, though.

Andrew Brokos Talks About Aces

2010-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

This article over at CardPlayer is worth checking out. Good discussion.

Senator Menendez (D-NJ) introduces poker bill

2009-08-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

Senator Menendez introduced a bill to regulate online poker in the US. You can read more about it here. The only people that I can see not liking this are the 18 yr old online kids.

Jump on the wagon?

2009-08-06T01:13:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of jumping on the popular bandwagon of setting some arbitrary dollar amount and trying to get there from $0. Well, folks, I'm not playing freerolls. Sorry. Not gonna happen. So for now, I transferred all but $10 from Stars to FullTilt.

I guess the goal is to go from $10 to $30,000. Why $30,000? Well, I want to buy my significant other a car (a Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited to be exact - not my cup of tea, but whatever) and figured that should cover it. I think $10 to $300 will be the most painful part, especially because I was starting with only have one buy-in at NL10. I hate playing below NL10 since it's hardly poker. So I played a $5 double-or-nothing SnG to start things off and quickly got up to $15. High variance, I know. I'll chastise myself later.

Then I played a 36 min (40 hand) single table session at NL10. I went from $15 to where I'm stopping for the day, $23.20.

Not a lot of memorable hands, but I had an ultra-nit on my right that would constantly give me walks in the BB, and a ATC (any two cards) wonder kid on my left. Obviously a lot of my money was going to come from the guy on my left, but that also meant playing out of position.

PokerStars, $0.05/0.10 NO Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games, 6 Players

Board:

UTG: $17.85

CO: $12.25

Button: $11.75

SB: $7.65

BB: $12.25

Hero: $10.60

Dealt to: Hero

Pre-flop:

Hero raises to $.35, UTG calls $.35, (4 folds),

Flop:($.85) (2 Players)

Hero bets $.65, UTG calls $.65,

Turn: ($2.15) (2 Players)

Hero bets $1.10, UTG calls $1.10,

River: ($4.35) (2 Players)

Hero bets $3.10, (1 folds), Hero returns $3.10,

Results:

Hero wins $4.15

The villain was a super station and I assumed I would have been raised by a flopped straight, trips, and the backdoor flush was unlikely. Against the same player:

PokerStars, $0.05/0.10 NO Limit Texas Holdem Cash Games, 6 Players

Board:

BB: $14.05

UTG: $13.35

UTG+1: $10

CO: $8.45

Button: $13.30

Hero: $14.55

Dealt to: Hero

Pre-flop:

(4 folds), Hero raises to $.40, BB raises to $.70, Hero calls $.30,

Flop:($1.55) (2 Players)

SB checks, BB bets $1, Hero calls $1,

Turn: ($3.55) (2 Players)

Hero bets $2.50, BB calls $2.50,

River: ($8.55) (2 Players)

Hero bets $3.50, (1 folds), Hero returns $3.50,

Results:

Hero wins $8

Knowing that the villain was min-raising marginal hands, I decided to call pre-flop. On the flop, I decided to take a float-bet line. A player who plays 72% of hands will often find themselves with hands where they can call one barrel but not two. I really didn't like his call on turn and wasn't sure what to do on the river. But given how wide his range was and the likelihood that marginal hands as strong as JJ, 10's, 9's were folding and not wanting a busted flush-draw to bluff and force me to fold, I bet and took it down. Another player busted the fish a few hands later.

Bankroll: $23.20

Hand of the Day

2009-07-29T01:26:00.000-07:00

This really isn't that interesting, but I was playing a step tourney today on PokerStars. This hand came up. I thought I'd throw it on here since it's rare that you get your stack in 3-way pre-flop as a 85% favorite to win the pot. Obviously, it wasn't long before I was on to step 2.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $7.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (5 handed)

Hero (Button) (t3822)
SB (t3150)
BB (t1950)
UTG (t1100)
MP (t3478)

Hero's M: 12.74

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
1 fold, MP calls t200, Hero bets t400, SB calls t300, BB raises to t1950 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero raises to t3500, SB calls t2750 (All-In)

Flop: (t8450) 2, 3, 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t8450) 9 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t8450) 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t8450

Results:
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and sixes).
SB had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and sixes).
BB had A, Q (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won t8450

Poker

New Poker Show on G4

2009-07-28T00:58:00.000-07:00

So, G4 is coming out with a show 2 Months, 2 Million, which will bring together four poker players who will attempt to win, well, the title says it all...

I'm super pumped that Dani Stern, aka Ansky, is one of the guys. He's a teaching pro at PokerSavvy+. The best thing in the house tour promo video (below): the tilt room, the war room, and that Dani got the pink room.

I'll be tuning in.

PokerStars relocates Moscow event to Kiev

2009-07-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

Because of this, PokerStars had to do this:

The PokerStars.com European Poker Tour (EPT) announces an alternate venue for its August event, now scheduled to be held in Kiev, the largest city and capital of Ukraine, at the Kiev Sports Palace, from August 18-23, 2009. The "EPT Kiev Sports Poker Championship" is to be held under the regulation and authority of the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth, Family and Sport, and in partnership with the Ukrainian Poker Federation. This event is expected to be the largest poker tournament ever held in the Ukraine.

The Kiev event replaces the previously-scheduled 2009 Russian Open poker tournament due to be held at the Radisson SAS Slavyanskaya, Moscow from August 18-23, 2009. That event has been cancelled because our ability to run the event was placed in doubt due to the recent closure of all casinos in Russia.

Euro Poker Tour Ltd. sincerely apologises to all players who were intending to attend the Moscow event, but unfortunately these circumstances were beyond our control. Players are encouraged to consider attending the Ukrainian event instead, and to participate in the opening of the EPT's sixth season.

PokerStars advises its players who qualified online for the Moscow event that their packages (including buy-in and hotel) will be converted to EPT Kiev packages; however they will also be eligible to take a credit for a future event, or receive the cash equivalent value as alternatives.

The buy-in for the "EPT Kiev Sports Poker Championship" Main Event will be 5,000 EUR (4,700 + 300).

Hand of the Day

2009-07-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well...nothing like sticking it in with 5% equity and sucking out. Normally, I'm not shoving 100bb's here, but it was the villain's first hand at the table and I've seen too many micro-donks spaz out on their first hand. Lesson learned...sometimes they have it.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed)

Hero (UTG) ($10.15)
MP ($10.60)
Button ($16.35)
SB ($17.90)
BB ($10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, K
Hero bets $0.35, 3 folds, BB raises to $1, Hero raises to $10.15 (All-In), BB calls $9 (All-In)

Flop: ($20.05) 6, 2, 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($20.05) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($20.05) A (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $20.05 | Rake: $1

Results:
BB had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
Hero had A, K (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $19.05

Poker, 6max, Suck Out

Worthwhile CardPlayer Video

2009-07-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

When I was starting out I joined PokerSavvy+ and watched a ton of videos, trying to get to the point where my thought processes went beyond simply my cards and the board. Andrew Brokos is one of the pro's (I link to his blog as well) and just did a short video for CardPlayer. Enjoy.

Hand of the Day

2009-07-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

UTG was passive and limp/folding a lot, so bet to isolate the UTG in position. Maybe I should have cBet the flop, but decided to delay my cBet and raise any good card if the villain bet the turn. The river bet is pretty bad because I don't really see me getting called by any worse on that board, but I didn't really want to show the K6s to maintain my ability to abuse UTG.

You can read more about the hand here.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed)

MP ($25)
Hero (CO) ($25.70)
Button ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($33.55)
UTG ($27.35)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, 6
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero bets $1, 3 folds, UTG calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.35) 8, 7, A (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($2.35) 4 (2 players)
UTG bets $1.25, Hero raises to $4.50, UTG calls $3.25

River: ($11.35) 5 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $6.25, 1 fold

Total pot: $11.35 | Rake: $0.55

Poker 6max

November Nine

2009-07-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Obviously, the November Nine are set. I'd love to see Ivey cap off his tremendous World Series with a win, but don't think it's likely. The lines I've seen of 6-1 seem about right given his chip stack. I still hate that they take months off. I think it's only good for TV and not for the intrinsic game play and certainly not for pro's as it gives time for amateurs to get coaching, etc. I'm not going to lie though, I always am a little glad that the WSOP is over...well, at least for now.

Interview with Jeffrey Pollack about WSOP Sellout

2009-07-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Get involved

2009-07-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

You play poker...so get involved with the PPA's fight against the UIGEA.

Send a letter to your member of Congress.

Honestly, this takes 2 minutes.

Hand of the Day

2009-07-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a hand from a couple weeks ago. There are probably two things worth noting. First, I missed some value, obviously. After checking the flop, a turn bet would have probably gotten two callers. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Second, I gained some value. By checking down TPTK, I got to see the other two players hands. While I would have preferred to have their money, knowledge is not without its rewards. When you get these opportunities, even after playing too passively or not going for value, you have to note them. It's helpful to know that the Button 3bet A10s and didn't fire a cbet on a dry-ish board and that neither the CO or Button bet the turn. Know your opponents, get their stacks.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($7.90)
MP ($14.50)
CO ($10.55)
Button ($12.35)
SB ($10)
BB ($12.45)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, A
Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, CO calls $0.30, Button raises to $1, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.70, CO calls $0.70

Flop: ($3.15) Q, 8, 7 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

Turn: ($3.15) 3 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

River: ($3.15) 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks

Total pot: $3.15 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
Button mucked A, 10 (high card, Ace).
Hero had Q, A (one pair, Queens).
CO mucked 9, 9 (one pair, nines).
Outcome: Hero won $3

Poker, Hold'em, 6max

Dealing With A Maniac

2009-07-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

I was playing a $100NL session with a maniac (who was also a complete toon) on my left who would raise most of his hands and barrel with seemingly any two cards. Of course, there are several ways of dealing with this such as tightening up, trapping, and being willing to call down light. Against some players, who will fire one barrel and shut down, floating, even out of position can be effective. Being out of position against someone who will continue to fire makes calling down light an expensive proposition and after having to fold a couple pots to the villain earlier, I started playing him more aggressively. In the first hand, floating the flop only to fold the turn ends up being a huge leak. In the second and third hand, once I had him short stacked, I was happy just to put as much pressure on him as possible even on the thinnest of value lines.

In the first hand, I limp/called because I wanted to see a flop with this hand and knew the villain would raise, but didn't want to be calling a 3bet out of position with this hand. On the flop, an 8 is in his range, but unlikely. I assume that he'd raise pre-flop with any strong broadway cards or a pocket pair, but his range is much wider than that. A four is certainly a possibility, but decided to float and jam any card that paired me or gave me additional outs.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($101.40)
BB ($151.70)
UTG ($100)
MP ($101.50)
CO ($175.45)
Button ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7, 10
4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB bets $4, Hero calls $3

Flop: ($8) 8, 8, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Turn: ($18) J (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $10, Hero raises to $92.40 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $38 | Rake: $1.85

Results:
Hero didn't show 7, 10 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $36.15

Again, the same situation. Normally, I'd raise a hand like this from the button or SB, but thought I'd let the short-stacked BB bet to limit the amount of money going in pre-flop. My 3bet is, of course, somewhat ridiculously sized, but I was happy to get it in with middle pair (for value) against this opponent when I was pretty sure I was ahead and also wanted to discourage the flush draws in his range. Obviously, donkeys still exist at $100NL.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($125.85)
BB ($30.20)
UTG ($107.75)
MP ($191)
CO ($172.45)
Button ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 7
4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB checks

Flop: ($2) K, 7, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $4, Hero raises to $22, BB raises to $29.20 (All-In), Hero calls $7.20

Turn: ($60.40) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($60.40) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $60.40 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 9, 7 (one pair, sevens).
BB mucked Q, 3 (one pair, threes).
Outcome: Hero won $57.40

Thinner still...and the last hand played with the villian:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($182.75)
BB ($8.75)
UTG ($106.75)
MP ($201)
CO ($169.45)
Button ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 6, 4
4 folds, Hero calls $0.50, BB checks

Flop: ($2) Q, 4, K (2 players)
Hero bets $1, BB raises to $5, Hero raises to $9, BB calls $2.75 (All-In)

Turn: ($17.50) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($17.50) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $17.50 | Rake: $0.85

Results:
Hero had 6, 4 (one pair, fours).
BB mucked 2, 6 (high card, King).
Outcome: Hero won $16.65

Sometimes all you can do is shake your head and take the money.

Poker, Hold'em, 6max

Hand Of The Day

2009-06-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Usually, at the microstakes, I take an UTG min-raise to be strong. I assume that people's logic is that they don't want to limp and miss out on action / building the pot, but they don't want to scare people off either or they want to induce a re-raise. I see it all the time. Case in point, see the hand below. I always view this action with suspicion and would advise people to keep their raises standardized. Since the UTG player was half-stacked and I had QQ, I was happy to get it all in pre-flop.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($23.95)
SB ($28.95)
Hero (BB) ($28.95)
UTG ($9.95)
MP ($26.20)
CO ($25.15)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
UTG bets $0.50, 3 folds, SB calls $0.40, Hero raises to $2, UTG raises to $9.95 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $7.95

Flop: ($20.40) 10, 4, 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($20.40) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($20.40) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $20.40 | Rake: $1

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
UTG mucked A, K (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $19.40

Poker

Hand Of The Day

2009-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

A case of making the wrong move at the right time. SB had been super tight and the 4x 3bet screamed over-pair. The range I was putting him on was QQ+, AK....and I called. Even though I have 36% equity against this range, I'm not quite getting the right price. I do have position, but what flop do I really want to see? Even if I get my dream flop (which I do...except for a flop that includes a 10, of course) I'm going to be guessing. There's no need to put yourself in these spots in the micro-stakes. I wouldn't hate calling pre-flop to set-mine if we were each 200bb's deep, but the effective stacks don't make this profitable. I get a pretty good flop for my hand and a 3/4-pot bet. I spend all of my time bank trying to talk myself into him having AK. I make a bad call. I turn my gin card and we get it all in. Terrible play on my part.

Further reading:

Don't Call 3-bets To Set Mine
Debunking Myths About Implied Odds

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($28.20)
UTG ($25.35)
MP ($12.05)
Hero (CO) ($45.60)
Button ($5.30)
SB ($24.75)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 10, 10
2 folds, Hero bets $0.80, 1 fold, SB raises to $3.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.70

Flop: ($7.25) 5, 2, 9 (2 players)
SB bets $5.25, Hero calls $5.25

Turn: ($17.75) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $16 (All-In), Hero calls $16

River: ($49.75) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $49.75 | Rake: $2.40

New Poker After Dark This Week

2009-06-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

This week is a new Poker After Dark series on NBC. Celebrities and Mentors Week, as they are calling it, includes Barry Greenstein, Jason Alexander, Phil Gordon, Orel Hershiser, Don Cheadle and Gavin Smith playing for $120,000. Given the line-up, the level of poker doesn't seem like it will be that high. If you don't want to stay up to watch it, it's online here.

Hand Of The Day

2009-06-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

I ran this hand by a couple friends. This was a Stars WSOP qualifier. Payout structure was more or less winner take all. 50 players remaining out of 230. I'm 7th overall with 38bb. UTG had been fairly active stealing blinds, but not getting too out of line or 4betting. Didn't have a well-developed read on UTG+1 but he was playing 21/12 over a relatively small sample. By the time the final decision is to me, I'm putting them each on 10+, AQ+. I put those ranges in PokerStove and it looks like I've got 28% equity...and have to call 46k to win 113k.

Hero? I think I made a mistake in folding...not because of the outcome, but even if their ranges were a little tighter the nature of the payout structure should nudge the decision in the direction of a call. I'm still not sure how I feel about flatting pre- with the AKo.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $30+$3 Tournament, 1000/2000 Blinds 200 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t91474)
BB (t29750)
UTG (t59025)
UTG+1 (t37652)
MP1 (t113668)
MP2 (t8356)
Hero (CO) (t76076)
Button (t53538)

Hero's M: 16.54

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, K
UTG bets t5140, UTG+1 raises to t12000, 2 folds, Hero calls t12000, 3 folds, UTG raises to t58825 (All-In), UTG+1 calls t25452 (All-In), 1 fold

Flop: (t91504) 9, 3, A (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t91504) A (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t91504) A (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t91504
Main pot: t91504 between UTG and UTG+1, won by UTG+1

Results:
UTG had J, J (full house, Aces over Jacks).
UTG+1 had Q, Q (full house, Aces over Queens).
Outcome: UTG+1 won t91504

Where To Begin With Online Poker

2009-06-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

So you want to play poker online. Let's assume that you've never played online before. Where to begin?

Let's say you have $150 to deposit. There are some things that you're going to want/need:

1. Humility. As a beginner, you're just not that good. The quickest way to ruin is to overestimate your abilities, so you're going to need to get some instruction.

2. Sites on which to play.

3. It's probably a little too soon to start talking about this, but eventually, you're going to want PokerTracker3 or Hold'em Manager. Both are poker tracking software that will give you stats on your opponents, let you review your sessions and keep track of your wins/losses.

Here's what I'd suggest and my rationale:

There are a lot of sites that offer a lot bonus offers. The beginning player, however, will find that gaining the full bonus can often be very difficult. If you want to be successful, learn to swim first and you won't drown.

First, I'd join two forums. Make a habit of reading a thread or two a day. Next, I'd join a training site, such as PokerSavvy+. They have a free trial that lasts a week. Sign up and watch as many videos as you can. If you cancel before the week is up, you won't be charged. For now, don't bother to watch videos on how to play $1000NL heads up, just learn to tread water first. Watch, for example, Andrew "ama0330" Arnott's 'Low Limit NLHE Essentials' series.

Poker sites: What follows assumes that you do not already have accounts on the sites mentioned. There are a lot of sites on which you can play poker. For those who worry about reliability and desire good customer service, I'd stick to the big two that allow US players, namely PokerStars.com and FullTiltPoker.com. Before you rush out and start downloading software, pause for a moment as we consider how we might want to go about this.

I'd join PokerStars.com through PokerSavvy.com's point system and deposit $100. In addition to PokerStars deposit bonus, where they match the first $50 of your deposit - released after aquiring the required FPP's, you'll receive 1000 points from PokerSavvy once you earn 500 FPP's on PokerStars. What will you do with those points? My suggestion would be to visit the PokerSavvy.com shop and order Hold'em Manager or PokerTracker3. They will also include a free month of PokerSavvy+ with the purchase of either software, giving you another month of free video instruction. Use your remaining points to get an Amazon.com gift certificate for $25 and use it to order a poker book.

Suggestions:

I'd join FullTiltPoker through PokerSavvy's Rakeback Program and deposit $50 at FullTiltPoker - which they will match once you've earned enough FPP's. The 'rake' is the scaled commission fee taken by a casino operating a poker game. Rakeback programs return a percentage of that fee to you. PokerStars does not have a rakeback program, but FullTilt does. You'll want to take advantage of this in order to boost your bankroll while you get your feet wet.

With the forums, video instruction, a book, and rakeback...you'll be on your way.

Just a cautionary word, however. It is important that you play within your bankroll. For beginners, I recommend playing cash games in which you have 25 full buy-in's. So, if you had a $50 bankroll, you should be playing the .01/.02 stakes, until you have a bankroll of $125 and can move up to .02/.05. Having these limits in place will help you avoid going bust from the normal variance of the game.