Happy New Year from Full Tilt Poker. We wish you a prosperous poker year in 2009. Kick off the year with Sit & Go Madness January 9th - 11th, when you can share in an additional $75,000 of cash and prizes.

January is also a good time to start your Iron Man Challenge and get rewarded for playing in your favorite ring games and tournaments.

One of your first and more profitable New Year's resolutions might be to take notes on your opponents. In this week's tip, Paul Wasicka stresses the importance not just of note taking - but doing it right.

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172
Taking Online Notes on Opponents
Paul Wasicka
1st January 2009

When you’re at the table playing live poker, the only notes you can take - at least inconspicuously - are mental ones. Online, however, you’re granted a tremendous opportunity that doesn’t exist in live play. It’s important to take advantage of this and keep notes on your opponents. If you’re going to do this, you need to do it right. This means including key details to give the notes relevance when you find yourself calling upon them later.

One thing that many poker players overlook is the importance of including the date. I always type the date alongside my note on a player so that if I come across that note when playing against him six months later, I’ll know to follow it with caution because a player’s style can change greatly in that time span. On the other hand, if I were to play him again a few days later, chances are he hasn’t overhauled his game too drastically in that time period.

The first time that I observe a specific trait about someone, I’ll follow it with a question mark. So if I saw someone try to bluff with King-high after being checked to twice, I could make a note like: “Feed this player some rope and they won’t be able to resist?” Since I’m basing the note on a sample set of only one hand, I use the question mark. If I see the player bluff like that two or three more times, I’ll delete the question mark. Just because you see something one time, it doesn’t mean it’s a staple of that person’s game.

It’s also important to make your notes as detailed as possible. Something like “has no clue how to handle short-stacks” is a decent starting point, but you want to follow it up with specifics so the note resonates in the future. You’ll want to add more information, such as: “Called a short-stack’s $70 open out of position with pocket 4s and check-raised all in with three over-cards and no draw.” A note like that says it all.

One thing that I always make a note of is any player who posts blinds the instant they sit down at a cash game instead of being patient enough to wait for it. Are they really that desperate to play a hand? Posting out of position is terrible play, especially under the gun. It demonstrates impatience. I prefer to write a note and include their stack size, something like: “2nd position post with a 20 BB stack.” That tells me a lot about how impatient this person is.

Of course, there are two sides to every aspect of poker; always remember that other people may be taking notes on you. This serves as an excellent reason to constantly mix up your play. It’s crucial to adapt your game, especially online, because people are looking for patterns much more than in live play. If you get caught bluffing and lose some money, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you think your opponents paid attention to that and might have taken a note on it, use that knowledge against them. Let them think you’re aggressive and then get them to pay off your value bets when you make a hand.

You can go so far as to take notes on how you think your opponents view your play; that’s how comprehensive and advanced they can be. Start by simply taking notes on your opponents’ tendencies. If you include the right details, you’ll be rewarded in future pots with those players.


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Pokerstars World Record Results

We may be in the middle of PokerStars' World Record Week, but this weekend was where the biggest action happened. In just the span of one day, we saw the world's biggest ever poker tournament, the biggest ever Sunday Million, the biggest ever Sunday Warm-Up, and more than $12 million in real cash tournament prizes awarded to PokerStars players.

Oh...and while we're mentioning broken records, we should also mention that Sunday around 3:30pm ET, we saw the biggest number of people ever logged into PokerStars. As you can see, the number topped out at more than 250,500 players.

Perhaps the most talked about attraction all week long was PokerStars' attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest ever poker tournament. The players came through--all 35,000 of them. Not only was it a win for PokerStars, it was a pretty significant win for stan34powa who topped the field of 35,000 to win the Guinness World Record tourney and $30,000.

The Guinness World Record attempt may have been the tournament with the most players, but the PokerStars Sunday Million dwarfed everything with its prize pool. The tourney pulled in a whopping 6,260 players who played for a $3,252,000 prize pool. Not only was it a monster Sunday Million, it was also one where the winner cut no deals and collected a $331,378 prize. Many congratulations go to lp_Saki Saki from Sweden. Read how he did it in the 12/28/08 Sunday Million report.

If that's not enough broken records (and yes, I'm perfectly aware I'm starting to sound like one), the Sunday Warm-Up eclipsed its largest ever number of players this weekend. When the tournament finally settled on a total number, it looked like 5,836 playing for a $1,167,200 prize pool. Hr_Herman went into the final table with one of the smaller chip stacks but emerged with the victory and $147,067. Read all about it in the 12/28/08 Sunday Warm-Up report.

Oh, that should be enough, right? Well, it's not. Not only was PokerStars rocking and rolling in the record-breaking department, it was also celebrating the last Sunday of the month (and year). That meant it was time for the PokerStars Turbo Takedown and the Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout. Turbo Takedown honors (and $100,000) went to perky246 (read the full report HERE). In the Battle of the Planets showdown, el cuCut ran the table and came out with the victory (full report HERE).

You think that's it? Well, it's not.

This weekend also marked the time when the members of Team PokerStars Pro would face off against each other and determine the team's captain. Who won? After a tough heads-up battle with Daniel Negreanu, Victor Ramdin walked away with the win. We provided full coverage of the match. You can see the whole live blog HERE or read the Team PokerStars Pro Championship match wrap-up.

You think that's all? Well, that's all we have room for here, but there were still tons of other major tournaments on Sunday. For a full breakdown of winners from the big weekend, visit the (12-28-08) PokerStars Sunday Tournament Results page.

Congratulations to PokerStars for its record-breaking weekend. Moreover, congratulations to all the players who raked in the big cash

World Record MTT

PokerStars Tournament #126551369, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00
35000 players
$150000.00 added to the prize pool by PokerStars
Total Prize Pool: $500000.00
Tournament started 2008/12/28 15:30:00 ET

Dear KarmaKrazy13,

You finished the tournament in 4328th place.
A $30.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

You earned 57.18 tournament leader points in this tournament.
For information about our tournament leader board, see our web site at
http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/tournaments/leader-board/


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.

You gotta see this!!

My newest video

World Record!!!

I am signed up and ready to play!! Are You??

If you do not have an account at pokerstars click the banner now!!

10,000 player Sit & Go’s

Also running during World Record Week will be a series of 10,000 player Sit & Go’s, with extra cash added to the prize pools. We expect these to fill up very quickly, so be sure not to miss out.

$1 buy-in
Up to 10 tournaments will run during the weekend of December 27-28, 2008
$10,000 added to each Sit & Go
Tournaments will appear in the Lobby on December 27 and begin when 10,000 players have registered. Once one tournament is full, it will start immediately and be replaced by another event
To find the tournaments, go to the PokerStars Lobby and select ‘Sit & Go’ and ‘All’. These tournaments can also be found by using the Sit & Go Filter.

Satellites!!!

Extra Sunday Million Satellites
PokerStars is running extra FPP qualifiers for the World Record Week Sunday Million. Take your shot at an incredible $2.5 million prize pool.

50 FPP MTT Turbo, Wednesday-Saturday at 15:00 ET and Sunday at 13:30 ET, 99 tickets awarded
1,300 FPP Turbo, Saturday, December 27 at 14:40 ET, available to SilverStar VIPs and above
2,500 FPP Turbo satellite Sunday December 28 at 14:30 ET, PlatinumStar VIPs and above
1,000 FPP MTT Turbo, Wednesday-Saturday at 21:00 ET, 99 tickets awarded
50 FPP satellites at 15:00 ET on December 24, 25, 26 and 27
500 FPP satellites at 23:00 ET on December 25, 26 and 27
1,000 FPP satellites at 21:00 ET on December 24, 25, 26 and 27
To find the satellites, go to the PokerStars Lobby and select ‘Tourney’ and ‘Satellite’. You can also search for the satellites using the Tourney Filter.

Guinness World Record Attempt

This is your chance to play in the largest online poker tournament in history, and to be part of a Guinness World Record. We’re aiming for 35,000 players, and with a buy-in of $11, it’s easy to take part.

Sunday, December 28 at 15:30 ET
$500k guaranteed prize pool
$11 buy-in
35,000 capacity
Registration is now open!
To find the tournament, go to the PokerStars Lobby and select ‘Tourney’ and ‘Regular’ or ‘Special’. Or simply use the Tourney Filter in the Lobby to search for the tournament name. To use the Filter, open the PokerStars Lobby and enter a word or words from the tournament title. The Filter will then search all tournaments and provide you with the relevant results.

Pokerstars Reload Bonus!!

To celebrate the holidays, PokerStars is giving players a special gift - a 25% Reload Bonus. Make a qualifying deposit during World Record Week to qualify for the bonus cash.

25% up to $150 reload bonus
Qualifying period is from December 24 at 14:00 ET to December 31 at 23:59 ET
To receive the bonus you must enter the code PS25 into the bonus code area of the Cashier when making your qualifying deposit
Players must earn 20 VPPs per bonus dollar to earn the bonus (example: to earn a $150 bonus you must earn 3,000 VPPs). Required VPPs must be earned within 6 months of your qualifying deposit. To earn the entire $150 bonus, your first eligible deposit during the bonus period must be $600 or more

POKERSTARS WORLD RECORD WEEK!

For the final week of 2008 PokerStars is doing something very special. With your help, World Record Week will see PokerStars try and break yet another Guinness World Record, as well as host a series of fantastic tournaments and cash giveaways. So get festive and settle in for a brilliant week-long blow-out at PokerStars.

On December 28, 2008, 35,000 PokerStars players, will attempt to break the World Record for the ‘Largest Online Poker Tournament’ and become part of an actual Guinness World Record. It’s a great opportunity to do something special during the holiday season, as well as compete for a $500k guaranteed prize pool.

We also want to celebrate the end of another fantastic year by giving away cash, by staging special money-added tournaments, as well as a Team PokerStars Pro exhibition event. And that’s not all. We’ll also be increasing the guarantees in some of our major Sunday tournaments, we‘re offering our players a special Reload Bonus, and we’ll be hosting some amazing Sit & Go’s with cash added.

For full details, follow the links below to find out more about the incredible action coming your way.

Turbo MTT Tips

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In the early stages of a tournament, many players believe that it is best to stay patient and wait for big hands. But what about in a turbo Multi-Table Tournament? In this week's Tip, Michael Craig warns that too many players overcompensate in the early stages of turbo events and make foolish moves.
171
How to Play the Early Stages of Turbo MTTs
Michael Craig
22nd December 2008

When playing a turbo Multi-Table Tournament online, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is overcompensating for the fact that it’s a turbo by playing too fast and loose during the first several rounds. Because the levels are shorter and the starting stacks smaller, you’ll see players rushing to get all their chips into the pot with a hand like A-9 or pocket 5s. Since these tournaments actually play like normal tournaments during the first few levels, it’s important to remain patient and wait for big hands.

In the first 15 or 20 minutes of a turbo tournament you should play the same way you would in the first hour or hour and a half of a regular tournament. You should be looking to play quality hands aggressively from late position, but if you meet any resistance you need to pull back. At this point in the tournament it’s not worth losing all your chips with A-J offsuit or pocket 5s if an opponent comes over the top of your raise.

There’s also very little point in trying to steal the blinds in the early stages because they’re so small relative to the size of the starting chip stacks. Stealing the blinds becomes much more important in the later rounds after the antes have kicked in. The other argument against trying to steal the blinds early on is that you’re more likely than usual to get called because players tend to play faster in turbos. The big blind will be looking for a reason to call your raise from late position, and he might even make a move, pushing all in with a marginal hand. As a result, trying to steal the blinds becomes much less profitable than usual.

What you should be looking for in the early stages are opportunities to play small hands that could become big hands. When you’re in good position, you should be looking to see as many flops as possible with small pocket pairs and suited connectors because these are the types of hands that can win big pots. If I have a hand like pocket 6s, I’ll rarely fold to a raise before the flop because I know that one time in eight I’ll catch a 6 on the flop and double up off a player who can’t let go of his big pair.

If you do choose to call a raise before the flop with a small pocket pair, it’s important that you make sure your opponent has a large enough chip stack to justify the eight-to-one odds of you hitting a set. Ideally, you should be looking to make this call against a player who has at least twenty times the size of the preflop raise. If your opponent only has five times the size of the raise in his chip stack, you can’t win enough to make the call mathematically correct.

Another important difference between turbo and regular tournaments is that in a regular tournament I’ll be a little more aggressive in the early stages, trying to project a certain image. I’ll often raise with hands like J-9 suited or Q-8 suited in late position, but that tactic doesn’t work as well in turbo tournaments. In turbos I’ll often pass up opportunities to make an opening raise with these sorts of hands because I don’t want to put myself in the difficult position of having to play a big pot with such a weak hand.

Let your opponents be the ones to overplay their weak hands early on because they almost certainly will. They’ll raise or call raises before the flop with hands like pocket fours, and even if the flop comes Q-J-7 they’ll keep on pushing. Such players also tend to overplay strong hands like A-K. After raising before the flop with that hand, many players will refuse to let it go after getting check-raised on a flop like J-7-4. Even though they’re obviously behind, they’ll call a big bet, hoping to catch an Ace or King on the turn.

Some players will even push all their chips into the middle in this situation. All they have are two overcards, but I guess they figure that after raising before the flop and betting on the flop they’ve already invested a healthy chunk of their chip stack and they might as well go all the way with the hand. They’re impatient because of the nature of turbo tournaments − starting with smaller chip stacks and playing quicker levels − but this is obviously a huge mistake.

The most important thing to remember in the early stages of an online turbo tournament is stay patient and wait for big hands. Too many players overcompensate for the fact that it’s a turbo and make foolish moves that cost them half their stacks. Don’t be one of those players.

Look for special holiday triple points periods with 3Xmas Happy Hour through January 1st, including Happy Hours which last for up to 12 hours.

Win your share of The Holiday $100K on December 27th - or The Extra Holiday $100K on December 28th - by playing in a satellite tournament for as little as 50 Full Tilt Points or buying your way in directly for 2,000 points.



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Pokerstars Freeroll

The holidays are coming and to celebrate PokerStars is rewarding first time depositors with some fantastic freerolls opportunities. In December, we're giving all our players who make their first real-money deposit the chance to win big in a series of exclusive freerolls. With a total prize pool of $75,000 up for grabs, this is a great opportunity to develop your poker skills AND build your bankroll.

There are five $500 freerolls per day from December 8-27. If you cash in any of these tournaments you´ll win a ticket to one of five $5,000 freeroll finals on December 28.

To enter, just make your first real-money deposit, using any of our convenient payment methods, and enter the code “FDF1” into the bonus code field at the cashier. You'll then be able to play in as many of the daily freerolls as you wish. In addition, you'll also get our 100% First Deposit Bonus of up to $50.

You have from now until December 27 to make your first deposit and get in on the action!

To find the freerolls, go to the PokerStars lobby and click Tourney, > Freeroll.


Click Here to get in the action now!!!

Happy Holidays

My X-Box

Three-Bets

170

Interpreting Three-Bets

Jordan 'iMsoLucky0' Morgan

December 18, 2008

We all know that a three-bet is supposed to mean strength. When a player three-bets before the flop, he’s saying that he believes he has the best hand. One of the keys to making money at the poker table, however, is being able to interpret when the three-bet means what it’s supposed to mean, and when a player is only representing a big hand and making a move.

The fact of the matter is that you’re not getting the right odds in most situations to call a three-bet with a small pocket pair. When there’s been a raise and a re-raise in front of you and you look down at a hand like pocket 6s, you normally want to fold it and move on. You can sometimes get away with making the call with a very deep stack, but you really have to have a strong read that you’re going to get paid if you make your hand. I might call with pocket 9s or 10s in the right spot against the right opponent, but hands like 8s or 7s just don’t play well enough, especially out of position.

One exception, of course, is if a particular player three-bets repeatedly. This suggests he isn’t always doing it with strong hands and it might be worth playing back at him. However, when I say “repeatedly,” I don’t just mean a couple of times early in a session. If a guy three-bets you twice early on, you might be inclined to think that he’s picking on you and doesn’t have a hand. But it could also be that the guy got dealt big hands twice. Until he has three-bet you relentlessly or shown down a weak holding after three-betting, you don’t want to try to make a play at him. Once he has done it several times, then it’s worth making a play at the pot if he puts in another three-bet, because he’s not going to have the premium hand that he’s representing that often.

Another thing to watch out for is the tiny three-bet. Say it’s a $1/$2 game, I raise to $6, and another player raises to $10 or $12 instead of something more standard like $15 or $18. When people make a tiny three-bet, I’ll usually call that. I don’t give a lot of respect to those plays. Sometimes they will be huge hands, but more often they’ll be very weak hands that you can take the pot from out of position.

A very small three-bet is not a tactic that I’ll use very often – there isn’t much reason for it. If you’re trying to steal a pot, you want to make it more difficult for your opponent to call. If you actually have a big hand, you want to get value for it when your opponent calls, so a bigger three-bet is a better idea.

Facing a three-bet can be a daunting prospect at times – be certain you have a good read on your opponent before making your next move.

Consistency

Consistency and Chip Reese

The greatest poker player that ever lived passed away last year at the age of 56.

David “Chip” Reese wasn’t the most famous name in poker, but he certainly was the consummate poker pro. More than any player in the world, he understood the importance of balance and consistency in his life. To Chip’s everlasting credit, he always put his family first.

Now, there’s no such thing as a perfect poker player, but Chip came about as close as you’ll ever get. Friends told moving stories about him at his funeral. There was one particular story that really stood out to me.

It seems that Chip was frequently asked the question, “How can you play in the toughest games, against the best players in the world, and still win on a regular basis?”

Chip answered that when those other guys played their best games, they were fantastic. In fact, at their best, their A-games might have been better than his.

But, as Chip said, “My worst game just isn’t much different than my best, and that’s where I get my edge.”

Think about that for a moment. There’s a lot of wisdom in those words, because at the poker table, you’re only as good as you are on your worst days.

It’s all about consistency.

No surprise, poker players tend to perform at extremely high levels when things are going well. Many of those same players, though, lose their cool and go on tilt when the cards suddenly turn against them. It’s a phenomenon that’s left too many talented players in the poorhouse.

It’s simply not good enough to play your best some of the time. You have to bring consistency to your game, just like Chip Reese did, day in and day out.

The first step to build poker consistency is to recognize what causes your game to suffer performance swings from high to low. Then, do something about it!

That takes introspection on your part. It means learning what makes you tick and having the discipline to make the right decisions in regards to your playing style and bankroll.

Study your poker sessions and look for any troubling patterns. Even though you might think you play just as well when you’re losing, chances are you’re not.

Figure out what situations most adversely affect your game.

For many players, bad beats will send them reeling from their best game to their worst. Streaks of bad luck can cause players to get emotionally involved. They start chasing their money and then find themselves in full-scale tilt mode.

You can’t let that happen. Don’t ignore what you know to be fundamental poker and make incorrect plays in an attempt to quickly get back to even.

Too much time at the table can also destroy an otherwise solid poker game.

Chip could play 24-hour sessions at the felt without his game faltering. That ability is rare, almost superhuman. Don’t expect that type of endurance from yourself.

Instead, vary the length of your sessions and monitor your performance over time. Don’t be afraid to quit when you feel your game beginning to tank, and consider putting a loss limit on your session to protect yourself when it does. Extend your playing time only when you’re winning.

The one element that best demonstrates successful long-term performance is consistency in results. No one knew that better than Chip. So, keep track of your poker wins and losses. If your average loss is greater than your average win, you’ve got some work to do.

© 2008 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

4

The Script

Phil Gordon

April 4, 2005

In an effort to simplify my decisions, every single time it's my turn to act, I try to run through the same script in my head:

Are my opponents playing conservatively? Aggressively? Tentatively?

What are some of the hands my opponents are likely to hold?

What do my opponents think I have?

Once I have the answer to the first question, and feel confident about my range of answers for the second and third questions, I move on to the most important question:

Should I bet or raise?

If I think I have the best hand, I nearly always answer "Yes" and I bet or raise.

If I think I can force weak opponents out of the pot with this bet or with future bets, I nearly always answer "Yes" and I bet or raise.

If I don't think betting or raising is the right decision, I move on to the last question:

Should I check (or fold)?

If I think I have the worst hand, I nearly always answer "Yes" and I check or fold. If I think my opponents are strong, I nearly always answer "Yes" and check or fold. After a careful analysis, if I'm not sure if I should raise and I'm not sure I should fold, I feel confident that calling a bet (or checking) is correct.

I find that even in straight-forward and obvious situations, by running through the script I often find opportunities that other players might miss. And by asking the "raise" question before the "fold" and "call" question, I ensure that I am playing aggressive, winning poker.

Try using this script next time you sit down at the table, and see if simplifying your inner dialog forces your opponents into making more complicated decisions.

Tricky Poker

Tricky Poker

Other players will eventually catch on to your style of play if you play with them on a regular basis. You’ll need to find clever ways to outwit them.

Running an elaborate bluff isn’t necessarily the answer. Instead, try playing strong hands the same way you would ordinarily play marginal or drawing hands, and then hope your opponent attempts to run you off with a big bluff of his own.

I faced this situation at the 2008 BC Poker Championship in Canada last month. 690 players started the tournament but only three remained when the following hand took place.

The blinds were at 40,000-80,000 with an 8,000 ante. I had about two million chips and my opponents had around four million each.

Sitting on the button, I found pocket eights and raised to 178,000. The small blind folded and the big blind called. The flop was a good one: Ad-8c-6c.

My opponent checked and I fired out 210,000 and got a call. The turn card was another ace giving me a full house. Then, my opponent, a young kid, bet 350,000.

Obviously, I felt like I had the best hand but decided that calling was the best play. I did it in such a way, however, that the kid wouldn’t think I was so strong. I played it a bit Hollywood, acting as though I had a hand like 10-10. I was hoping my award-winning performance would entice him to make a big move at the river for all of my chips.

I liked the call for two reasons.

If he was on a draw, he couldn’t win regardless what card he caught. Why not let him catch the card he thinks he needs? If he gets lucky, it only increases the chances that he’ll bet it all on the river.

Or, if he does have an ace, he’ll play to the turn or river anyway. I can wait until the river just in case another ace or a six hits. If one does, my full house becomes weaker and I can fold my hand if he makes a big bet.

You see, I knew the kid’s tendencies and correctly understood his perception of me. He clearly had the guts to run a big bluff because he’d done so earlier in the tournament. I also sensed that by smooth calling the turn, he’d assume I was on a draw or had a mediocre hand at best.

Now, if I actually did have pocket tens, I probably would have called on the turn and folded to a river bet. I guessed that the kid knew that, too, so my ploy was the perfect set up.

I was being tricky by not really doing much at all.

Okay, so a jack comes on the river and the kid bets my remaining 1.3 million chips. I deliberated for a while and finally made the call.

The kid turned over 4d-5h for absolutely nothing!

There was no chance that I could’ve gotten that last 1.3 million chips had I decided to raise on the turn. However, by consciously playing my monster hand much like I would a mediocre one, I baited the kid to try to bluff me out.

A common mistake made by amateurs is that they fail to take advantage of players who bluff excessively. Instead of playing possum and letting their aggressive opponents continue to bet, beginners raise too early with monster hands, allowing their opponents to fold.

Playing tricky poker doesn’t have to mean making bizarre moves or playing way out of character. Rather, it’s simply about taking advantage of what you know about your opponents and how they perceive your style of play.

Editor’s note: Daniel Negreanu won the 2008 BC Poker Championship title in November, 2008. He took home first place prize of $371,910.

© 2008 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

Playing Higher Limits

Playing Higher Limits
Many players think about competing in higher stakes games. It’s a natural progression as your skills improve, yet there’s still a lot to consider when moving up in limits.

The first thing to think about is whether you’re truly capable of winning in bigger games. With rare exceptions, you’ll be facing better quality players as you move up to higher limits. So before you even consider jumping to that next level, be honest with yourself about how you fare at your current stakes.
Keeping records is a must. It’s the only way you’ll accurately know how well you’re doing in a particular game over the long run. If you determine that you win handily and regularly at your current limit, then you just might be ready to take that next step.
Here are a few guidelines to follow when you do make the jump to higher limits.
Play shorter sessions
To play effectively in higher stakes games, especially in your first few outings, play shorter sessions. You simply can’t play at a peak performance level if you’re mentally or physically fatigued. If you normally sit for 8-10 hours at your current game, don’t play for more than 4-6 hours at the higher stakes game until you start to feel comfortable.
Decide on a loss limit and stick to it
One of the key reasons players fail when they move to higher limits has less to do with talent and more to do with pressure. In higher stakes games, players must be able to endure bigger financial swings. A few bad beats can send even the best players on tilt. Even worse, an unexpected loss can quickly erode your poker confidence and turn you into a scared-money player.
To combat this effect, make sure to set a loss limit that you can handle both emotionally and financially. If you lose that money, even if it’s in the first ten minutes, get up and leave. For example, if you normally play $5-$10 No Limit Hold’em but decide to step it up to $10-$20, don’t risk more than your initial buy-in. A $2,000 loss limit might be appropriate for some, but it’s important to set a limit that’s right for your own situation and playing ability.
Whatever your loss limit, it’s critical that you stick to it! For that, you’ll need self-control. If you don’t trust yourself, never bring more money than your loss limit as this will prevent you from impulsively buying additional chips. Take a walk back to your hotel before you thoughtlessly decide to reload your wallet. The fresh air just might knock some needed sense into you.
Play a low fluctuation style of poker
If the game you’re thinking about jumping into appears to be fast-paced with crazy action, don’t play. Instead, look for a game that’s more controllable when you decide to step up to higher limits. This way you can comfortably get your feet wet and play a patient game.
It’s important to play cautiously in your first higher limit sessions. Don’t make overly aggressive or tricky plays. Remember, your realistic goal is to not lose big. Use this new experience to get accustomed to the higher stakes and to pick up on your opponents’ styles and tendencies. Only after you’ve logged some hours playing at higher stakes should you take chances with bluffs and more aggressive play.
Here’s one final point.
Determine your own motivation for playing higher limit poker
Is it ego, the desire to improve your game against better competition, or is it simply about making more money? If it’s all about the money, consider that you might actually do better playing small limit games against weak opponents than you would facing advanced players in high limit games.
Picking the right game is just as important as playing well.

PPA 11-24-08 Update

Poker Players Score Big In the Elections

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) played an important role in the national elections this year by supporting pro-poker candidates for Congress all across the nation. While the voters casted their votes based on a number of important issues it is clear that poker players made a significant difference in several key races.

The PPA was successful in helping to unseat a number of anti-poker U.S. Representatives; we also achieved our goal of electing many pro-poker candidates. Of the 54 candidates PokerPAC, the political action committee of the PPA, endorsed (12 of which were challengers) 46 won their elections on November 4, 2008. Moreover, we are pleased to announce that more than 40 of our lowest rated Members of Congress will not be returning to Washington next year.

The PPA’s advocacy efforts have come a long way since successfully unseating then Iowa Congressman Jim Leach, who was the author of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006. With your continued help, we can have an even greater impact in future elections.

Please visit our Election Results page to learn how all PPA rated Congressmen and Senators fared in this past election.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was resuscitated last week in a last ditch effort by the Bush administration to implement this flawed law before he leaves office in January.

President Bush pushed through “midnight” regulations that require UIGEA to go into effect on January 19, 2009, one day before President-elect Barak Obama is sworn in to office.

One way that PPA members can help effect change this coming year is by going to President-elect Barak Obama’s transition website and submitting comments on the importance of undoing the UIGEA when he takes office and why he should seek to license and regulate Internet poker.

Please tell Mr. Obama:

• That you’re a proud poker player, a voter and want your rights protected.
• To repeal UIGEA because prohibitions do not work, especially ones that put undue burden on the financial sector by deputizing banks to subvert the rights of adult Americans.
• That the best way to protect children and families from any perceived harm from Internet Poker is by licensing and strict regulation; it will also generate billions in federal and state revenue.
• That poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance, and as such should be protected.
  
  The drama continues in Kentucky’s effort to seize Internet poker domain names to block its citizens and perhaps the world from accessing the most popular online poker sites. This erosion of our freedoms and right to play poker has not gone unchallenged.
  
  In the wake of Judge Wingate’s wrongful decision many groups have filed for appeal. An appellate court hearing is set for December 12, 2008 to hear oral arguments in the attempt to overturn the ridiculous ruling.
  
  To assist in this effort, the PPA filed an amicus brief outlining the fact that poker is indeed a game of skill under Kentucky law. In addition, other pro Internet freedom organizations such as the Electronic Freedom Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology have filed briefs in support of the appeal and warning of the severe impact this decision will have on the future of e-commerce should Judge Wingate’s decision be upheld.
  
  To review the PPA brief and others and to also get the latest news and info about the Kentucky case visit the PPA KY webpage.
  

AK

167

Playing AK Out of Position

Jon 'Pearljammed' Turner

November 20th, 2008

Ace-King may be one of the strongest starting hands in poker, but you’ve got to play it right in each position to make it pay – especially in the early stages of a tournament. Being in early position adds another challenge to the situation. But if you’re betting consistently and keeping an eye on your opponents, you should be able to take more than a few pots when you’re holding Big Slick.

To start, let’s look at the early stages of tournament play. Suppose I have 3,000 chips, the blinds are 20/40, and I’m under the gun with AK. I’ll raise to 120 and assume that there are a couple of callers. Regardless of my position, this is a good situation. With just two callers, I’ve likely got the best hand.

Let’s say the flop comes A- or K-x-x. I’ve got to be careful not to overplay my hand. If I start out check-raising here it will be obvious that I’ve connected with the flop and I’ll likely drive out some of the weaker hands that I can probably get action from if I just check-call. A better move here, however, is to avoid slow playing this hand at all and to lead out at the pot with a continuation bet like I would at any other time. This not only helps to build the pot, but it also prevents my opponents from catching a free card that could somehow cost me more later on.

If I do get action from an opponent after I lead out, I’ll probably check on the turn. By doing this, I can control the pot size and induce my opponent to bluff into me with a weaker hand. If my opponent checks behind me, I can value bet on the river and try to induce a call if he’s holding a pocket pair like Js or Ts and he thinks his two-pair may be ahead. If my opponent is holding a weaker Ace, checking the turn and value betting the river is also a good way to keep them in the hand and to extract an extra call at the end of the hand.

If my opponent leads out and bets after I check the turn with my AK, I’ll usually just call his bet and head to the river. Again, check-raising here isn’t a good play because it’s likely to drive a weaker hand out of the pot or cost me more chips if I’m facing a stronger hand.

If I lead out after the flop and get raised by my opponent, I’ll usually just flat call and see the turn. I’ll seldom re-raise here because all that will do is drive weaker hands than mine that still might put money in the pot. One situation where I will re-raise, however, is when I’ve got an opponent who’s consistently overplayed his hands – especially when he’s holding an Ace. If I’m facing an opponent like this, I may re-raise all-in to induce a call when he’s way behind.

Assuming I’ve just flat-called a re-raise on the flop, I’ll check the turn just like I did in the earlier example. If my opponent checks behind me, I’ll value bet my AK on the river and hope for a call. If my opponent bets out after I check the turn, then I’ve got a tough decision. If he’s firing a second bet, I can be pretty sure he’s holding a strong hand like a set and that he has a good idea about what I’m holding. This is especially true if I’m up against an experienced opponent. I may lay down my AK here in order to save my chips for a better spot or I may call depending on the size of the bet and any history I have with this opponent. If I call and he bets strong again on the river, I’ll almost always fold as I have to assume that he’d very rarely bet here with a worse kicker or as a third bluff.

One situation where I won’t check the turn is if the flop comes K-x-x with two suited cards on the board. In this spot, I’m going to lead out if the flush card doesn’t hit on the turn in order to protect my hand from the potential flush coming on the river. If my opponent has a set or a hand that already has me beat, he’s probably going to re-raise to protect his hand as well. This complicates things even more, and I’m going to have to rely on my read of him at that point to determine what I should do. If I really think he has a hand or he’s proven to be a solid player, I’ll probably fold and look for a better spot.

AK is a very powerful hand, but it can also be dangerous – especially when you’re playing it from early position. By continuation betting after the flop, you can get a pretty good idea of how strong or weak your opponents may be, and plot your next moves accordingly. Depending on whether your opponent calls or raises, checking the turn can either set you up to pick up some extra chips by value betting the river, or save you some precious chips if you’re forced to lay down to a bigger a hand. Either way, you’re retaining control of the hand and giving yourself the best chance to make it to the money.

Stop wasting money

Stop wasting money: video games and energy efficiency

By Lori Bongiorno

Posted Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:02am PST

Related topics: Kids, Saving Money, Saving energy at home

More from The Conscious Consumer blog

35 votes

Video game consoles consume a "staggeringly high" amount of energy, according to a report the Natural Resources Defense Council is releasing on Wednesday. How much electricity do they use each year? About as much as it takes to power the city of San Diego.

There's plenty of room for improvement. We can cut our nation's electricity bill by more than $1 billion and avoid 7 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, according to the report.

How much can you personally save? Depends on what brand you choose. The Sony Playstation 3 and Microsofts Xbox 360 use as much as nine times more energy than the Nintendo Wii.

Habits play a crucial role as well. The systems use nearly the same amount of power when they are turned on and idle as they do when you are actively playing a game or watching a movie. If left on continuously, the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 will consume the same amount of energy as two new refrigerators over the course of a year.

Here's how the three major brands stack up against each other:

Image from NRDC "Lowering the Cost of Play" report

• Sony Playstation 3 is the most power-hungry model. For the 2007 version, you'll spend about $12 a year if you turn the console off when you're not using it, compared to about $134 if you leave it on all the time.
• Microsoft Xbox 360 ranks a close second. If you shut it down when you're not playing a game or watching a movie, it costs about $11 to operate annually. Leaving it on continuously will cost you $103.
• Nintendo Wii uses significantly less energy than the others. It costs about $3 a year if you turn it off after use, compared to about $10 if you don't.

The comprehensive report outlines significant changes industry needs to make. For now, though, here's what consumers can do to make a difference.

• Always turn the system off when you are done playing a game or watching a movie. Don't assume that just because you turn off the TV that your console shuts down too. It doesn't. If you're in the middle of the game, save it so that you can pick up where you left off.
• Enable the automatic power down feature, which will shut down your device if it's left idle for a certain amount of time. This isn't always easy to do and you might need to install software first so click here for step-by-step instructions.
• Limit movie watching on gaming devices. Viewing movies on a stand-alone unit is a lot more efficient. The Playstation 3, for example, uses five times more power than the stand-alone Sony Blu-Ray player to play the same movie.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping.

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KAMIKAZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kamikaze All-In Plays

When watching poker tournaments on television, you’ll invariably see a hand where a player makes a re-raise for all of his chips with an absolutely terrible hand. The commentators will marvel about how great a play it was, but I promise you this: Kamikaze all-in plays with garbage hands will get you eliminated from tournaments far more often than they will work in your favor.

I wouldn’t, however, eliminate the reraise-with-garbage tactic from your repertoire. Instead, think about making this play only when the worst-case outcome wouldn’t result in a catastrophic hit to your stack.

Let’s say the blinds are 400-800 with a 100 ante and you’re sitting on 100,000 in chips. A player from late position raises to 2,400; you suspect that he’s attempting to steal the blinds.

In this example, consider trying to re-steal the pot, even if you have a hand as bad as 2-7. You’ll have to make a large reraise, though, as you definitely don’t want your opponent to call and see the flop. Try raising it 10,000 more. With 12,400 in the pot, you’d be risking just 12.4% of your stack. If your play works, you’d increase your stack by 4.5% and that’s not bad.

Now, if you only had 12,400 chips instead of 100,000, this play would be far too risky for a couple of reasons. First, a player that has not yet acted just might call your bet with a playable hand. Or, the original raiser might have a strong hand himself. It’s also possible that even if the original raiser’s hand wasn’t particularly strong, he’d still call since it wouldn’t cost him much to try to eliminate an opponent.

You see, position is of utmost importance when using this tactic. It works best from the button or the blinds since you significantly reduce the chance of having another player call your bet.

How about when you’re playing on a short stack?

Well, that’s when it’s most imperative that you protect those precious chips. Make sure that when you attempt a last ditch effort to double up, you have a hand that will be competitive in an all-in situation.

Amateur players tend to give up way too early when their chip stacks dwindle, and that’s a big mistake. It’s amazing how quickly things can turn around if you’re patient and wait for decent opportunities to play your remaining chips.

It’s actually fairly simple to play a short stack in a tournament because there are so few poker weapons at your disposal. Yes, some players consider the kamikaze all-in bluff a weapon – but not me. When your tournament life is on the line, it’s a play that should be avoided at all costs. It’s much wiser to pay close attention to the action and look for a good situation to make your move.

Remember, too, that it’s difficult to steal blinds as a short stack. So, when your chip stack dips to less than ten times the big blind and you do decide to play a hand, be aggressive and go all-in rather than make a standard raise of three times the big blind. Ideally, you’ll end up in a situation where you wouldn’t mind if your bet is called because your hand rates to be the best. If everyone folds, well, that’s not a horrible result either. Eventually, though, you’ll need to win a race for all of your chips in order to get back into contention.

Patience is often rewarded when you’re a short stack. Let the quitters make the kamikaze all-in plays while you sit tight looking for that solid opportunity to double up.

WSOP Champion

WSOP Heads-Up: It's Over!

Champion!

The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event is over and Peter Eastgate has emerged the champion of the November Nine! The 22-year-old Dane has defeated Russia's Ivan Demidov in heads-up play, making a wheel straight on the climactic hand to clinch the tournament and $9,152,416 in prize money.

Here's how the final hand played out:

Demidov and Eastgate returned from a 20-minute break with Eastgate squarely in control, holding more than $120 million of the $136.8 million chips in play.

On the first hand back, Eastgate limped in and Demidov checked his option in the big blind. The flop came K 3 2 and Demidov checked to Eastgate, who bet out $1.25 million. Demidov made the call and the turn was the 4.

Again, Demidov checked and Eastgate fired out $2 million. Demidov raised to $6 million and Eastgate opted to smooth call, though at this point an all-in on Fifth Street was almost a foregone conclusion.

The river was the 7 and sure enough, Demidov shipped. Eastgate instantly called and after a tension-filled pause, Demidov turned up 4 2 for two pair. Eastgate flipped A 5 for the wheel, however, taking the pot and clinching the tournament at 2:35 a.m. on Tuesday, November 11th.

Eastgate becomes the youngest-ever WSOP Main Event champ, supplanting Phil Hellmuth for that honor. He claims the second-largest first prize awarded in WSOP history and earns his first World Series bracelet in the process.

For his runner-up finish, Ivan Demidov takes $5,809,545 to go along with the £344,850 he earned for his third-place finish at the Main Event of this fall's World Series of Poker Europe.

We'll have tons more coverage of this landmark event, including full coverage on PokerListings TV, as well as an interview with the winner and full recap blog before the night is over. Stay tuned!

• Level: 39
• Blinds: 500,000/1,000,000
• Ante: 150,000
• Average Stack: $136,880,000
• Players Left: 1
• Tables Left: 1

Dont Sweat It

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

I like to peruse the Full Contact Poker online forums to read and comment on posts about interesting poker hands and whether they were played properly. I find that many of the contributors consistently suffer from the same problem: they are far too preoccupied with statistically insignificant aspects of a poker hand.

My point is that the minor details of many poker hands are often unimportant and simply not worthy of in-depth analysis. Worrying about these insignificant details won’t have much effect on your bankroll at the end of the year.

You see, the best way to improve your poker game is to focus on the important aspects of the game, like eliminating big mistakes. Instead, I see too many players fretting about whether they are a 56.2% favorite or a 51.8% favorite.

Obsessing about statistics won’t make you a better poker player. In fact, you’ll end up wasting too much valuable time on that stuff when you should be concentrating on crucial issues, like getting a read on your opponents and studying the psychological aspects of the game.

If you want to plug leaks in your game, plug the biggest leaks first. Here’s how to get the job done.

Don’t call a big all-in bet on a whim. Unless you have a powerful hand, or you have some reason to suggest that you know your opponent is bluffing, there’s no reason to make what’s known as a hero call. Any call that jeopardizes a big chunk of your chip stack just because you think your opponent might be on a bluff is flat-out wrong.

Don’t bluff off all of your chips. This is a common mistake made by impatient players. Sure, you might get away with a big bluff once in a while but when you do get caught -- and eventually you will -- it could mean the end.

Protect your hand when you’re confident you’re in the lead. Don’t be greedy and try to milk your opponent for a few more chips when the pot is already large. The turn of a single card can change the lead fast. Toss out a big bet rather than let your opponents beat you for free.

When making a bet or call that represents, say, five percent of your chip stack, you just don’t need to worry about whether it’s the correct play.

For example, I see many players with average skills waste too much mental energy deliberating whether to play K-J from early position. That intellectual power is better spent focusing on the other players at the table.

Here’s the bottom line: A decision to fold, call, or raise with K-J from early position won’t have a significant effect on your long term results. It doesn’t matter if your play was inappropriate. If it was, you committed a marginal error at worst.

Okay, so how should you play K-J from early position? Arguments can be made in favor of all three options.

If the other players at the table are super-aggressive, raising when you call a bet or reraising when you raise, the correct play is to fold. If the other players are excessively tight, the correct play is to raise. And if the table is filled with bad players who won’t fold to a raise and tend to make big mistakes after the flop, the correct play is to call.

Look, in poker as in life, don’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, focus your mental energy on those more important factors that will definitely affect your bottom line.

Aggressive Image

165

The Benefits of an Aggressive Image

Scott Montgomery

November 4th, 2008

One of the most important aspects of poker is establishing an individual image and using it to your advantage. By playing an extremely aggressive game, you’re likely to get paid off when you make a big hand because your opponents assume you have nothing; by consistently playing tight, you’ll get away with bluffs because they assume you’re strong. Either approach is fine, but it’s tremendously important to be aware of your table image so you can profit by playing against it.

Most of the time, players fall between these two extremes and that’s not a formula for success. One of the keys to succeeding in poker is consistently playing a different game than everyone else at the table. Developing a unique style and then varying your game allows you take advantage of opponents who don’t adjust their game.

Personally, I feel the style that works best is all-out aggression. One important reason for this is that it gives me a shot at becoming the chip leader and running away with the tournament. On the other hand, it can also lead to busting out early. For me, this is a risk worth taking; in the long run, I’m more interested in finishing tournaments in 1st place once in a while than just making the money most of the time.

Keep in mind that this type of aggression isn’t just a matter of bluffing to steal pots; my ultimate goal is to get paid off when I have a big hand. By getting involved in a lot of pots with mediocre hands while still keeping my stack close to even, I put myself in a position to profit from opponents who are convinced that I’m completely loose and taking shots with any two cards. I don’t have to be successful every time I bluff, just enough to stay alive and reinforce that wild image so that when I catch that hand, I’ll be sure to win a big pot.

Here’s a perfect illustration from Day Seven of the World Series of Poker Main Event – the day that determined who would reach the final table. I came into the day with about 4.5 million in chips, which was a little below the average. I knew that to make it to the final table and have a real shot at taking it down, I’d need about 15 million in chips. I had no intention of sneaking in short-stacked, so I knew I’d have to triple up over the course of the day.

I stayed pretty even throughout the whole day, except for two massive pots that were directly related. The first pot came early in the day, when I tried to bluff a player off a pot on the flop with nothing but Ace-high. I made this all-in move because I thought I could get the guy to fold. He ended up calling with top pair, but I spiked the Ace on the river to double up through him. I certainly got lucky there, but one other very important thing came out of it: I made the table aware that I wasn’t afraid to make a move for most or all of my stack.

Later in the day I was involved in a hand where I had the nuts – there were four spades on the board and I had the Ace of spades. My opponent had a smaller flush – with the nine of spades, I believe – but my image was so crazy that he called because he put me on another bluff. The earlier hand, when I pushed with the Ace-high, had to have been in the back of his mind. Poker players always want to call. They think: what hands can I possibly beat? This is magnified when you’re at a TV table, because no one wants to be that guy who laid down a good hand and lost a huge pot to a stone-cold bluff, especially when the whole nation is watching. Because of my loose image, I ended up winning an 18 million chip pot.

In a sense, it isn’t easy to play poker this aggressively. You have to be equipped to handle the emotional swings; you have to understand, deep down, that sometimes you’re going to lose huge pots – maybe even your whole stack – on a bluff. When it happens, you can’t collapse. You have to walk into the next tournament willing to make that same play again, because most of the time it will work. You can never be afraid at the table or preoccupied with the past. To play this aggressively, you have to believe that it’s the right way. If you can manage this, you’re going to be successful in the long run.

Play your best poker

A Personal Checklist for Playing Your Best Poker

No matter how many years you’ve played this game, it’s still important to review a personal checklist about your own game every time you sit down to play. That’s how to know that you’re doing everything possible to play your best poker.

Make sure that your checklist contains these three subjects: playing fundamental poker, playing disciplined poker, and playing observational poker. If you are constantly aware of these topics, positive results will follow.

First, play fundamental poker. The tactics and strategies you employ must fit the style and composition of the game that you’re playing.

Sometimes you’ll find that your actions are skewed by the playing style of others at the table, and that’s not good. It is, however, inevitable if you aren’t focusing on your personal fundamentals.

For example, say you’re playing in a tough game with several players bluffing and making sophisticated plays. Obviously, you’ll need to make some adjustments to deal with these players. What often happens, though, is that when you return to facing weaker opponents, the adjustments you’ve made to hang with the better players will actually work against you.

You see, the same fancy plays used to deal with pros can lead to tournament elimination when used against amateur players.

When entering a new table, focus on playing an appropriate and fundamentally strong game. If the table warrants a different approach, adjust your play accordingly. Realize, however, that you’ll need to return to basic ABC poker when that session ends. Trust me; this is a difficult but necessary change to make.

Second, play disciplined poker.

Okay, so you’re playing both fundamental poker and a style that is appropriate for your table. Now, just stick with it.

When circumstances start to turn bad, some players get impatient and make ill-advised moves. For example, one guy might constantly reraise you before the flop. Just because you’re fed up with his antics doesn’t mean you should make a silly play. Don’t panic. Instead, let him continue to push until you find the right situation to trap him for all his chips.

Remember, though, no plan is bulletproof. Still, it’s essential to have a plan and to stick to it, especially in the face of adversity.

Finally, be observant.

Don’t get lazy! Unfortunately, it happens to all of us. Remind yourself to be observant every time you sit down at a table.

Playing fundamental and disciplined poker will only get you so far. If you don’t pay full attention to what’s happening at the table, you’ll lose your edge, costing yourself valuable opportunities to make really good decisions.

It’s easy to play on autopilot. But the simple truth is that you’ll win more often when you know exactly how your opponents play. You can’t afford to miss the physical tells and betting patterns that you’d likely miss if you don’t pay attention.

It’s the power of observation that delivers that extra edge

Observation skills are generally weakest among online players. These players are accustomed to frenetic internet action but bore easily in live tournaments where the pace is much slower. They just don’t pay as much attention as they should.

Having keen observational skills is what separates the best players in the world from everyone else. Make this your top priority.

Watch every action that occurs at a poker table -- in every single hand. Sure, you’ll miss some things. But if you strive for perfection and fall a little short, you’ll still end up with far better results.