Archive for the ‘Poker’ Category

What was the Epic Poker League?

Friday, May 11th, 2012

The Epic Poker League was one of those things that probably sounded like a good idea at the time. In practice things did not work out that way as the company that founded it has gone bankrupt. There is a chance that they may be back but the odds are not good. As long as poker remains popular however you can be sure that somebody will try something similar in the future.

The Epic Poker League was intended to be a way to bring the best poker players in the world together to play in a series of tournaments. Unlike other events entry was not available to anybody who wanted to play in the events. Rather you had to earn a membership in the league by having high enough career earnings. All players had to have career earnings of more than a million dollars in tournaments as well as a certain number of finals tables appearances at major events. League membership was for two to five years depending on how much players had won during their careers.

Once players had their membership they would be able to play at all of the league events that were to be held. All of the events were going to be played at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. There were a couple of reasons for this, the main one being that the best poker players all live in Las Vegas so it allowed them to play without travelling. It was also because the owners of the Palms were involved financially in the Epic Poker League. Since the tournaments were primarily made for television events and only league members were allowed to play anyway there was little need for events to be held in different locations.

While the intention of the Epic Poker League was to bring the top poker players in the world together and limit membership to those players it was possible for other players to get into events. Smaller satellite tournaments were held at the Palms that allowed players to win their way into events. The league said that this was so that participation could be expanded and more people could play in the league the real reason was that it was hoped that it would increase the number of people playing poker at the Palms.

While the Epic Poker League may sound like a good idea it never got off the ground. The company that started it filed for bankruptcy before any events were actually held. They maintain that they are reorganizing their finances and that events will be held this remains to be seen. For now all that can be said is that at some point in the future we may see the Epic Poker League start to hold events or we may not. As it stands right now things do not look good.

Playing Stop and Go in Poker

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

King Five Suited  (diamonds)Stop and go play refers to a situation when you want to go all-in for a hand but you opt to call a pre-flop bet of an opponent instead but still having the intention of pushing on the flop.

When you are short stacked it might be a reasonable move to go all in when an opponent raises in front of you. Of course you need to consider that you have a decent hand.

If you are really short stacked and all your chips will not be enough to for another full size bet in case your opponent raises, then most likely they will have the odds to call and see the cards so they can make the best hand. In this scenario what you can employ is the stop and go play cause most probably you do not have enough chips to convince them to fold their hand when you re-raise.

It will always be more difficult for your opponent to calling what you do on the flop rather than what you do before the flop. This reduces the odds for your opponent and so they will need to think hard if they want to more cards to give them a better hand. Most likely they will not.

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Tips to help you earn fortune in Poker

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Poker Money FortuneIf you are looking to forward make it big by playing poker then a proper strategy and approach can definitely help you in achieving your goal. The first and the foremost thing required to win poker is persistence. It is very rightly said that poker is not a mere game; it is more of a championship league where a stronger player tries to push the weaker player off the cliff.

One should always have pre-planned strategies in his head so that the results do not turn out to be shocking. After every deal one must be quick enough to formulate 5 to 6 plans for the game thus enhancing flexibility. As a player if you are able to read the expressions of your opponents then you can easily win over them. A good player always has the capability to exhibit minimum emotions during the game and at the same time he can always find what is going through the opponents mind to modify his game play accordingly.

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Found a good Pot Limit Omaha Game

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Good news for all my readers, I’m having a winning month again! Found a great Pot Limit Omaha game organized by some rich kid nearby and I have yet to score a losing session, it’s that soft. I’m hoping to keep that up and steadily recoop from my December losses.

I’ll keep you posted, obviously!

It's always tough picking a trustworthy Online casino to play at. You want to trust their software, and be sure they'll pay you your winnings. Maple does a great job at both of these things!

The Basics of Texas Hold’em

Monday, September 1st, 2008

With the poker boom seemingly crossing all age and ethnic boundaries, I am surprised at the number of people who still do not know how to play Texas hold’em. Some are simply uninterested, but the ‘Cadillac of Poker’ intimidates many willing would-be participants, as this nickname implies that the game is for experts only. Having taught numerous novices myself, I guarantee that the simple rules of the hold’em can quickly be picked up by anyone with even the slightest experience at card games.

All poker variants have the same underlying rule: the best five-card hand wins. Texas hold’em is no different, except that there are seven cards total from which to choose your final hand. At the beginning of the hand, each player is dealt two cards, known as the ‘hole cards.’ Usually, the two players to the left of the dealer must make a forced bet known as a blind; the player next to the dealer posts a ‘small blind’ of approximately half a bet while the player to his left posts a full bet known as the ‘big blind.’ Other players who wish to enter the hand after the deal must match (or call) the big blind, but they may also increase the amount of the bet by at least double (raise).

Texas Hold’em

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Limit Texas Hold’em Winning Strategies

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

PPPPoker has been a good poker resource for some time earning them a couple links on our site and they’ve just done it again with an excellent post about How to Win at Limit Texas Hold’em.

Make sure to read it if you regularly play limit texas hold’em poker and don’t manage to win… :)

The Popularity Of Poker Explained

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

WSOP CHIP LOGO Great article on Poker Ustmib. They’ve been absent for quite a while, but it’s great to see them coming back with such an informative piece of writing. Welcome back Ustmib!

… in 2003, amateur Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event on national TV in front of millions of people, beating out Sam Farha, a seasoned professional. Texas hold’em became the new game of choice, and poker exploded worldwide, both in casinos and on the Internet …
Source: Why Poker is So Popular

Pai Gow?

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

Pai Gow PokerI’m thinking of finally giving Pai Gow Poker a try. Started by checking Mollis’ Poker Blog‘s introduction to Pai Gow Poker Strategy.

What I’m really remembering is: “Making your two-card hand relatively strong is more important than constructing a powerhouse hand behind.”.

Meh.

Las Vegas was good, won $14k

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

I came back from Vegas +/-$14,200 winner. Time to give all of you the rundown of my net losses and wins. :) I rounded to hundreds, so it might not add up to the detail, but you’ll get the general idea. :)

Texas Hold’em Poker: +$4,800
Punto Banco / Baccarat: +$5,900
Blackjack: -$1,100
Pot Limit Omaha Poker: +4,900
Roulette: -$2,100
Craps: +$300
Stud Poker (against the house): -$600
Slots: -$100
Casino Hold’em: +$2000 (got extremely lucky and quit ahead hehe)

I’m happy. :)

I FLOPPED A ROYAL FLUSH!!!!

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

ROYAL FLUSH DIAMONDSEvery single poker player waits for that magical moment… His or her first ever ROYAL FLUSH. It took me quite a few years to make one in real life (I’ve had one online, but that’s something different, right?) — but now I have!

I was playing the $5/$10 game at the local casino and was sitting on the button with AJ of diamonds. The flop was a well-deserved T-Q-K of diamonds. I was in for a treat as the other guy had KQ and was stupid enough to take my bet as a defensive one. He shoved in hoping I was on the diamond draw — too bad I flopped THE STONE COLD ULTIMATE NUTS BABY! :D

I’m still smiling. :)