Bet On Sports?

Then this is the place to do it!

GET YOUR YEAR END BONUS NOW!!

It's just about time to close the books on 2007 - out with the old and in with the new. To celebrate another great year of poker action, we're offering the Iron Man Year-End Bonus. Participate in the Iron Man Challenge in December and earn a brand new bonus to help start 2008 off on the right foot. To qualify for this great bonus, just reach one of our four Iron Man levels in December and you'll be rewarded for each month you played in Iron Man this year.
ENTER BONUS CODE FREEMONEY3 WHEN YOU SIGN UP!!!
Play Online Poker

Cake Poker FREE ROLL MANIA!!

Get a piece of a million dollars worth of freerolls at CakePoker.
Don't miss Saturday's (4 pm EST) Million Dollar Freeroll Series Final
with a $100,000 Guaranteed
prize pool. Win it, and join NutButter and hockey428 in the winner's
circle with a $75,000 payday. Check our Freeroll tab within
Tournaments for your next shot at a free seat or treat yourself to a
$50 buy-in.

Got Gold Chips?
Keep your
Cake Rewards rolling on Saturday and join us for a $10,000 Cash
Giveaway at 5 pm EST. No cash buy-ins offered for this event - it's
exclusive to Gold Chip holders for a 50 Gold Chip buy-in. Learn more
about Cake Rewards here.

Tag our Cake Promotions page to
your favorites to stay tuned in to all things Cake. Good luck at the
tables,

$10 FREE NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED!

$10 Free! No deposit required! Sign up with bonus code karmakrazy and get $10 free plus 200% on your first deposit! Just sign up and play now!

Wingows Poker

Super awesome bonus!!! And amazing place to play.

Roy Rounder: Stop Losing Money!

Listen. The other day I posted about how to STOP losing
big hands.

We talked about why it's CRUCIAL that you learn to
ANTICIPATE your bets and your opponents' bets BEFORE they
happen.

Today I'd like to share with your part TWO of how to prevent
big losses, and that is:

DON'T GET GREEDY.

Successful poker players all have one thing in common:

They understand the PSYCHOLOGY of greed, and how powerful it
really is.

Let me share a story with you how *I* fell victim to greed
the other night at my local $1-2 no limit game... and how it
emptied my pockets.

Here's how it went down...

I get dealt pocket 6's and am sixth to act.

Josh is first to act and makes it $5 to play. Don and Brett
are next in line and call Josh's pre-flop raise.

The action is to me, with the pot size at $18.

There's no doubt I'll play this one and hope to spike one of
my sixes.

One other guy behind me calls the bet.

Okay... flop comes out:

Ah, 9d, 6s

Perfect.

I've just spiked my 6's and there's an Ace on the board,
which I'm sure someone is holding.

It looks like I'm going to rake a HUGE pot at this point.

Josh comes out firing, as I expect. I immediately put him on
AK or AQ.

Brett folds and Don calls Josh's $20 bet.

Who knows what Don has... I can never put him on a hand
because he's the manic at the table. He'll play just about
anything. He's probably sitting on 10-J, looking for a
runner-runner straight draw for all I know.

Needless to say, he's not the guy I'm worried about.
Actually, I'm not really worried about ANYONE at this point.
I just flopped trips... and all I'm thinking about is how to
milk these guys for all their money.

I decide to not slow-play the hand. I want to find out where
I'm at... so I re-raise Josh's bet. I'm confident I'll get a
call. I know Josh won't fold if he has the Ace, like I
think.

"Make it $50", I say, as I push in my red chips.

The guy behind me folds and the action is back to Josh. He
thinks for awhile as he shuffles his chips.

"I call", he says.

Don, however, doesn't hesitate one bit. He throws in his
chips with some frustration and splashes the pot.

I've done everything right so far... I'm very
well-positioned to rake in a huge pot.

The turn card comes... 4 of diamonds.

Now the board reads:

Ah, 9d, 6s, 4d

So the 4 doesn't scare me at all.

Josh and Don both check this time because I'm in control. 

"Seventy five" I say... in a rather DEMANDING voice that
makes it sound like I'm trying to buy the pot.

Josh mucks his hands... which he later told me was an AJ. So
he made a good lay down.

Don, on the other hand, thinks for a moment before calling
my $75 bet. Now I'm feeling GREAT about this hand...

Josh was the guy I was really worried about, not Don. Don's
probably got pocket 2's, or something crazy like that. Who
knows?

The river card is a 2 of diamonds.

Now I hope Don DOES have ducks! If he does, I'm going to
take the rest of his stack.

The board now reads:

Ah, 9d, 6s, 4d, 2d

Don checks to me.

I see the backdoor flush on the board, but I throw out
another large bet anyway.

AND THAT'S WHERE I SCREWED UP.

I SHOULD have checked right behind Don when I saw the flush
on the board. Instead, I got GREEDY and made a stupid bet
because I figured there was NO WAY he chased the flush all
the way down.

Don raises my large bet by going all in, and he seems
confident.

I lean back in my chair and take a deep breath. Then I
call... with the remainder of my stack.

He turns over a 7-8 of diamonds.

He's got the flush, which beats my trip sixes.

So he had flopped an open-ended straight draw... and ended
up catching the flush instead.

I had played the hand perfectly right until the backdoor
flush hit. THAT is when I let greed take over.

I had made another bet when Don checked to me... but I
SHOULD have just checked back.

If I hadn't let greed take over, I would have saved a lot of
chips, and stayed in the game.

Greed is a powerful emotion that can empty your pockets...
just like it emptied mine.

But of course, you can use greed to your ADVANTAGE...

Because once you have your OWN greed under control, you can
learn to make positioning moves and bets based on the greed
of OTHER players.

You can literally COUNT on the fact that your opponents will
get greedy too... 

Doyles Room Poker

Easy $25K
We were sitting around the company water cooler one day and thought that some players might not want to invest the time playing in a giant tournament. We came up with the a $25K tournament and set a 300 maximum player limit. That means you will spend less time and have a better shot at the win. Players looking for a good value pay close attention. At the time of writing there are only 5 players registered for this tournament. Log into your poker account and look for this tournament under Scheduled Tournaments -> Special.

Golf + Poker Players + $$$ + ESPN
For some reason, the top poker players in the world love to hustle each other at golf. One of the top rated shows on ESPN right now is a High Stakes Golf Tournament starring our very own Doyle Brunson, Dewey Tomko, Phil Helmuth, Vince Van Patten, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and more. Each player puts up $1,000,000 of their personal cash money to enter the event. Check your local listings for details and air times.

Bounty Tournaments is in Full Swing
Thank you to everyone that sent in emails requesting the resurrection of the Bounty Tournament. Doyle and the rest of the usual Bounties have been on hiatus promoting DoylesRoom in Europe. They are back in front of their computers Wednesday nights to take on all comers in the Bounty tournament. As a special bonus to all of our players, we are giving everyone the bounty rebate AGAIN! If you have received a bounty rebate before Sep 1st, 2007, play in the bounty and get another one. The next bounty tournament is scheduled for November 28th.

Gobble Gobble Some Free Rolls
Free money is beautiful thing. This Thanksgiving DoylesRoom is running two free rolls of $1,000 each. There is absolutely no buy-in or any special requirements to enter this free roll other than being over 18 years of age. Just log into your poker account and look for the two tournaments under
Scheduled Tournaments -> Special.
1st Tournament: Thursday November 22nd 1:00PM Eastern 6:00 PM GMT
2nd Tournament: Thursday November 22nd 9:00PM Eastern 2:00 AM GMT

Why are Turbo and Extreme Turbo STT's so Fun?
These type of tournaments are for you if you meet two out of three of the following points:

• You want to get a jolt of tournament action but don't have the time to sit through slow blinds.
• Your significant other gets annoyed because the evening dinner gets cold while you inch your way to tournament glory.
• You want to hurry up and get to the part of the tournament where your giant chip stack scares the other opponents.

Some players might be surprised by the sheer speed at which your blinds will destroy your chip stack while others will revel in sheer delight as the weaker players drop off the board. Look for the words Turbo and Extreme Turbo in the tournament descriptions. Try the ten cent turbos and let us know what you think. Look out for tips on tournament play in future newsletters.

Watch the Pros Play Cash Games for HUGE $$$
The new season of High Stakes Poker explodes with a $500,000 buy in. Doyle is back in this season of High Stakes Poker televised on GSN. Wanna see $5,000,000 cold hard cash at one table? Now's your chance. Don't miss one thrilling episode of the highest stakes cash game ever played on TV.

Full Tilt Poker Pro Tips

127

Taking Your Hands Off the Wheel

Barny Boatman

November 21st 2007

There’s no question that poker includes an element of gamble. Any time you risk something of value on an event with an uncertain outcome, you’re gambling. But there is a way in which poker is the exact opposite of gambling, because poker is all about making intelligent decisions. It's all about control.

Gambling, in its purest form - buying a lottery ticket or backing a number on roulette - is to deliberately relinquish control of your money and leave the outcome to fate. If it’s your day, if the Gods so wish it, you will get lucky. In poker, on the other hand, you’re always striving to leave as little to chance as possible.

So how do you achieve control in tournament poker? Is it by avoiding gambles? By only playing strong starting cards? Only betting made hands and never bluffing or drawing? Of course not.

If you sit and wait for good hands all the way through a tournament then, like the roulette player keeping faith with their favorite number, you’re leaving the outcome to chance. The great paradox of tournament poker is that in order to stay in control you have, amongst other things, to choose the right moments to gamble.

If you’re doing 75 on the freeway and are just a few feet from the car in front of you, then even if you’re the world’s best driver, you’re out of control because if the car ahead suddenly brakes, you can’t avoid a crash. So it is with a stack which is too short to make opponents pass for a re-raise. Any time an opponent applies the brakes, your stacks will collide - at a time of their choosing – and you will need luck to survive.

In order to stay in control, you must strive to maintain a playable stack, which can mean pushing over the top of a late raise with the worst hand when you have a good chance of making your opponent fold. You don't want to have to make this play, but you have to recognize when it’s the right time to put your chips in the pot. Too soon and it's a reckless unnecessary risk. Too late, and it's transparent and unlikely to work. Too often and you develop a credibility problem.

Sometimes your stack has gotten so low that you know you’ll be in a showdown the next time you enter a pot. The only control you have left is the choice of when to push, and even there you are running out of room to maneuver. Don't just wait until you’re all-in on the big blind. Instead, look for situations where you’ll be in a showdown with the best possible ratio of chips to opponents, and where your cards are liable to be live. A well-timed gamble will give you a shot at regaining a playable stack.

Some very good tournament players deliberately seek early gambles in big pots; happy to get all their chips in at the first level with a flush draw against two pair, because they feel the edge and extra control a big stack would give them is worth that early risk. That wouldn’t be my approach in a deep stack event, but I understand the reasoning behind that style of play.

In tournament poker the balance between gamble and control is constantly changing. Recognizing where you and your opponents are in this shifting landscape will help you make good decisions and give you a vital edge.

Play Online Poker

Full Tilt Poker Update: Cantbluffme777

I am doing a lot better in the cash games on FTP lately here is a sng I played earlier with a friend.
I am also giving rakeback on full tilt poker, so when you signup through my banner enter bonus code FREEMONEY3 and it will set you up with rakeback, but you must click my banner and register a new account with the bonus code FREEMONEY3 to get the rakeback!



Play Online Poker

Knockout Tourneys On Full Tilt Poker

126

Knockout Punch

Erik Seidel

November 16th 2007

Knockout Bounty tournaments – recently added to Full Tilt Poker – can add a fun and exciting new wrinkle to tournament poker. While it’s important to go after the bounties at the right times, you have to keep an eye on your overall goal: winning.

A lot of players will forget this and risk way too much as they try go after bounties. You have to be wary of these players and adjust your game accordingly. You will often have to tighten up as your opponents are willing to play a wider range of hands in pursuit of Knockout Bounties. While everyone else is pushing with a wider variety of hands, you need to play smart and remember not to stray too far from your normal game plan.

Of course, there are times when you should be more aggressive in trying to take down a bounty. If another player at your table is short stacked, by all means go after him, especially in the early stages of the tournament. If you’re in the small blind and a short stack is in the big blind, you should force his hand with pretty much any two cards. In this case, the small risk in doubling him up is outweighed by the reward of taking down the bounty.

Inversely, if you find yourself short stacked in a Knockout Bounty tournament, you should be willing to push all-in with a narrower range of hands than you might otherwise play in a non-bounty tournament. Remember, everyone at the table is going to be gunning for you and your bounty, so you want to give yourself the best possible chance of having your hand stand up so that you can rebuild your chip stack. To that end, you should also be more wary of bluffing and of trying to steal blinds with a marginal hand, because you’re probably going to get called by at least one player, regardless of what cards they’re holding.

In the later stages of these tournaments when you’re getting close to the money, my advice is very simple – forget about the bounties and just play your normal game. If you’ve made it this far, you don’t want to make any unconventional or risky moves just for the chance to take down an additional bounty. The risk simply doesn’t justify the reward and your chips are just too precious to throw around when first-place could be within your grasp.

So go ahead and gun for a bounty when the opportunity presents itself, but don’t go out of your way trying to take another player out just for the fun of delivering a knockout punch. Remember, even in a Knockout Bounty tournament, there’s no sweeter reward than to be the last man standing after the final hand is dealt.

ENTER BONUS CODE FREEMONEY3

Play Online Poker

Roy Rounder: How To Stop Losing Big Hands

I have something important to share with you.

This single poker strategy that I'm about to reveal is one
of the BEST (and most PROFITABLE) tips that I've given you
in a long time... so listen up:

When it comes to winning poker, most players have "tunnel
vision."

What I mean is this:

They focus only on how to WIN more pots and larger pots...
whether it's through bluffing, calculating odds, or reading
poker tells.

But what they DON'T FOCUS ON... (what I'm about to show
you)... is actually MORE important than 90% of all the other
"stuff"... and can both INSTANTLY and DRAMATICALLY increase
your poker winnings over the long term.

And that secret is this:

How to STOP LOSING big pots.

You see, there's a lot of strategies out there for how to
WIN hands... but very rarely does a player focus on
strategies on how to NOT LOSE big hands.

Why?

Because they blame THAT PART of the game on luck and other
forces "out of their control."

The reality is, you can win tons of great hands and gain a
chip lead, but it doesn't mean ANYTHING if you don't know
how to keep it.

Think back to when Greg Raymer won the World Series of
Poker... what was the key to his success at the final table?

The key was he had a huge chip lead AND he knew how to keep
it.

He didn't lose big hands, which is what allowed him to keep
his gigantic stack of chips and bully the other guys around.

The concept is equally (if not MORE) important for players
who AREN'T in the chip lead... because no matter how many
pots you win, you won't win a game or tournament if you LOSE
a lot of big hands.

Notice the "catch" here...

I didn't say, "Stop losing hands."

I said, "Stop losing BIG hands."

Because those two statements mean two TOTALLY different
things.

You CANNOT stop losing ALL hands... it's just not realistic.

But you CAN use strategies to stop losing BIG hands...
AND... those are the more important "turning points" of a
game anyway.

So... what's this "hidden" secret strategy that most players
overlook that will allow you to STOP losing big pots?

I thought you'd never ask...

Preventing major losses is a very complicated and
"multi-layered" concept, as I explain in my course...

However, one of the MAJOR components and "core" strategies
behind it can be summed up in one simple, 12-letter word:

ANTICIPATION.

That's right... you can literally cut down on the number of
big hands you lose by simply ANTICIPATING better...

And I don't mean anticipating the CARDS.

I mean anticipating THE BETS, based on what cards COULD come
out of the deck.

Here's an example that will make it clear...

Let's say you're on the button and dealt AJ off-suit. The
blinds are $1-2 and Aaron (a very tight player) makes it $15
to play. Everyone at the table folds and the action is to
you.

This is the best hand you've seen in awhile, so you call the
bet without much hesitation.

That is where you made your FIRST MISTAKE.

You KNOW that Aaron is a very tight player that only makes
pre-flop raises with monster hands.

But you called the bet anyway... because you didn't
ANTICIPATE what YOU would do, even if you hit your Ace on
the flop.

OK, so the flop hits, and the cards are: A,9,2.

Aaron comes out firing with a $30 bet right away...

Now what do you do?

You have to put him on AK, AQ, AA, KK, or QQ. These are
pretty much the only hands that Aaron will make a pre-flop
raise with.

Of course, he didn't check to you, so he probably doesn't
have the cowboys or queens.

So now you think about what Aaron is holding... You put him
on hands that beat yours, but instead of folding you decide
to see another card for $30.

This is where you made your SECOND MISTAKE.

You felt pot-committed and only thought about the $30 bet.

What you SHOULD have been doing though is ANTICIPATING what
Aaron was going to bet after the turn card. 

Let's face it... you have to figure he's going to fire
again. Are you prepared to call ANOTHER large bet after the
turn with your AJ?

Of course not... and what you've done here is simply dug
yourself into a big hole because you played only to win.

You got dealt a good hand and flopped the top pair and then
stuck it out in hopes of a better card... when what you
SHOULD have done is ANTICIPATED Aaron's behavior and folded
your cards before the flop.

Hands like these happen to even the best poker players, and
you MUST develop the discipline to fold that AJ and fold
that top pair when you've anticipated what's coming next.

Think about what your opponent is going to bet.

Think about what you'll be WILLING to bet.

Then think about what will happen after the next cards...
and then the ones after that... and then the ones after
THAT... and so on.

It's all about anticipation. If you anticipate the different
scenarios BEFORE they happen, you will prevent big losses.

And when you stop losing big hands, you'll get to KEEP the
chips you win.

And that will help you finish in the money... virtually
every time... and lead you to a successful poker career.

Of course, like I mentioned earlier... anticipation is just
ONE of the crucial skills you'll need in order to kick ass
at Texas Holdem poker..

Full Tilt Poker MTT Action

I haven't played a tourney in quite some time but I got in the $3.30 turbo MTT and here is what happened! Please be sure to rate and comment!


PART 2:



END: PART 3




Play Online Poker

Single Table Sit And Go

A single table tournament or STT or Sit n’ Go is basically a very mini tournament. They normally consist of tables that seat between 6 or 9 with sometimes there being an option of playing 2 or 3 tables in a Sit n’Go.

Today we are going to focus on a 9-seater Sit n’ Go.

The early stages:

In the early stages of the STT you will be tempted to play many hands because it doesn’t cost much in relation to your bankroll, but this is totally the wrong approach. In the beginning stages you need to be super tight and only get involved with premium hands. The purpose of this is two fold - firstly you will need good hands to beat your opponents while the table is still long handed and secondly and most importantly, you need to create that super tight image for the later stages of the STT

The middle stages:

In the middle stages of the STT once you get down to about 7 players or less you still need to be tight, but you need to look for opportunities to steal blinds and pots, as long as you remember to keep your table image of being tight. Don’t be too concerned if you are folding a lot as this will only help your table image, and eventually the cards will come your way. Once the table gets down to about 5 players, you need to really start turning on the heat and going for the bluffs and steals as this is where your super tight image you’ve created will help you. By this time opponents would have perceived you as being a person who only plays premium hands and will therefore be much more likely to fold their marginal hands to you.

The late stages:

In the late stages of the STT when there are 3 players to heads up, it is all about aggression and setting traps. There are a couple of key points to remember here.

1. Firstly, you have created a super tight image so now you need to use that by constantly applying pressure on your opponents.
2. Secondly, when you do catch a monster you must try and set a trap or slow play the hand as you need to maximize the fact that you have a great hand. Obviously this can back fire, but in an extremely short handed game this is rarely the case.
3. Thirdly and most importantly which applies to 3 players but more so to heads up; you must remember that you are betting on what your opponent doesn’t have rather than what he does have. For example; if I am holding Q9 and the flop comes K54 and I am first to act, then I would lead out making a decent sized bet, betting on the fact that I don’t believe my opponent has the K, so instead I represent the K… You will be surprised how often your opponent will fold.

If you are in 1st 2nd or 3rd don’t get involved in unnecessary hands. Once you are in the money get very aggressive.

Roy Rounder: Smooth Call

Hey, let's talk about the "smooth call".

A smooth call is when you're holding a REALLY GOOD hand and
someone bets into you... but instead of RAISING, you simply
CALL.

The smooth call is VERY POWERFUL, but a lot of players
totally mess it up. Here's how to do it RIGHT...

Let's say you're playing a cash game of no-limit Holdem at a
10-man table. The blinds are $5-10.

You're sixth to act before the flop (good positioning) and
you pick up pocket Aces...

Nice!

A couple players limp-in and the action is to Don, who's an
aggressive player.

He makes it $125 to play.

This is a rather large pre-flop raise at this table. The
normal pre-flop raise has been between $50 and $75 up to
this point.

You immediately put Don on something like pocket Jacks or
tens.

Why?

Because you know that if someone makes an UNUSUALLY large
pre-flop raise, it's probably because they have a hand they
DON'T want to play.

And quite often that hand is 10's or J's.

So anyway, the next guy folds and now the action is to you
with your monster American Airlines.

What should you do?

This is an ideal situation for a smooth call.

Here's why:

You know Don is going to bet again after the flop--
regardless of what hits-- since he made such a large
pre-flop raise.

And you also know that you've got Don beat right now. If you
call his bet, there's no way he's going to put you on Aces.

If you RAISE, Don is going to be scared. Because RAISING
after a big bet means you must have a monster. And that
basically gives away your hand.

OK, so you make a smooth call and put $125 in the middle.

Everyone else mucks their cards, so it's just you and Don to
see the flop.

The flop comes out a "rainbow" (which means there are three
different suits on the board):

8-7-4

This is the perfect flop for you. You figure Don has a
pocket pair HIGHER than the cards on the board, which means
he'll be confident betting his hand.

The only thing to be WORRIED about is if Don has pocket 8's,
since that would mean he just made trips. If he DID have
trips, he'd probably check after the flop and fake weakness.

So anyway, the action is to Don and... as expected... he
comes out firing a $250 bet.

What now?

Well, you could come back over the top of him and take this
pot right now. Or you can do ANOTHER smooth call and go for
the kill.

You think for a few moments... hesitate... then smooth call.

The turn card comes and it's a four, which is PERFECT for
you.

Don doesn't hesitate and puts his last $500 into the pot
now... thinking he has the best hand.

You call, and throw over your monster Aces.

Don shakes his head in disgust and throws over his pocket
Queens.

And you win a massive pot.

Now, that's basically the "ideal" way the smooth call works.
Let's discuss the RIGHT CONDITIONS when you'll want to make
a smooth call... and how you can add this powerful move to
your "poker toolbox"...


*** CONDITIONS FOR A SMOOTH CALL ***

The smooth call is the combination of two main components:

ANTICIPATION + SLOW-PLAYING

The INTENTION of the smooth call is to FOOL your opponents
while letting them dig their own grave.

Here's what I mean...

The smooth call operates on the fact that you ANTICIPATE
that your opponents will continue betting... AND... that you
have the best hand at the table.

When your opponents think THEY have the best hand, they'll
be confident with their betting. They'll become
pot-committed... and will get frustrated that you won't back
down.

That's when they'll make a mistake and go all-in, or simply
bet too much, and you'll come out on top.

There are four main "conditions" for performing a smooth
call... Here they are:

1. You don't need to figure out where you're at, because you
KNOW you have the best hand.

2. You ANTICIPATE future bets from your opponent.

3. You have good positioning.

4. You're not worried about too many players getting in the
hand.

The first condition basically means you should only smooth
call when you have really good hands. We'll talk about the
EXACT hands to smooth call with more in a minute.

We've already gone over the second condition... you need to
ANTICIPATE future bets from your opponent. Most of the time,
players who raise before the flop will bet AGAIN after the
flop.

The third condition is POSITIONING. You can't perform a
smooth call if you're first to act. Then what you're doing
is just check-calling your opponents... which ISN'T the same
thing.

And the final condition for a smooth call is that you're not
at risk of having lots of players in the hand.

This last condition is important because it will help you
prevent bad beats.

Basically, when you have a monster hand before the flop, you
want to narrow the field down to one or two callers...

If you have three or more players seeing the flop, your
monster will get run down by someone who gets lucky.

In the example I shared earlier, Don had made a large
pre-flop raise of $125. That meant there was no danger of
too many players calling...

If the pre-flop raise had been only $40 or so, it would NOT
have been a good situation to smooth call... because the
raise would have gotten multiple callers. And then you're at
risk of a bad beat.

OK, so those are the conditions that need to be present in
order to make a smooth call.

Remember, the REASON a smooth call is powerful is because it
"represents" something like a draw, low pocket pair, or hand
like A-K, A-Q, or K-Q.

If you smooth call before the flop, your opponent will
probably put you on something like suited connectors, two
face cards, or a low pocket pair.

After the flop comes out and your opponent THINKS he has you
beat, he'll keep INCREASING his bet sizes to try to scare
you out. This is a fundamental poker principle...

For each successive round of betting, the bets and raises
will INCREASE. The bets after the flop will be larger than
the bets before the flop. The bets after the turn will be
larger than the bets after the flop. And so on.

In our example, if you came back over the top of Don BEFORE
the flop, he would have folded. That means you would have
won his $125.

At MOST he may have called a $125 raise from you... but then
would have check-folded after the flop. In that case, you
would have won his $250.

But by smooth calling, you got BOTH his $125 bet (pre-flop)
and $250 bet (post-flop)... and then by smooth calling again
you got his remaining $500.

The key is to trick your opponent into thinking he has the
better hand... and let HIM take the offensive. If you can do
that, you're money.


*** HANDS TO SMOOTH CALL WITH ***

You want to smooth call before the flop with hands like Aces
or Kings. You DON'T want to smooth call with something like
A-K or A-Q.

Big Slick is a great hand... don't get me wrong... but it's
not "complete". By itself, Big Slick is just an Ace high. If
the flop doesn't help you and your opponent comes out
firing, you're in trouble.

If you're going to smooth call after the flop or turn,
you'll want to do it with hands like trips, two pair, or an
over pair (like in our example).

Trips and two pair are usually "hidden" from your opponent,
which is why they make great smooth call hands. (Remember,
it's all about making your opponent think he's got the best
of you.)

OK, TWO MORE THINGS to keep in mind...

First off, there are DANGERS to smooth calls. The main
danger is if your opponent catches a better hand than you.

You should be ready for this if there's something on the
board like a straight draw, flush draw, or two face cards.

Let's say you smooth call before the flop with pocket Kings
and the flop comes out 3-Q-6, all diamonds.

If your opponent comes out firing aggressively, be careful.
He wouldn't come out betting UNLESS he felt like he's still
got you beat.

I mean, think about it: Those three diamonds are going to
SCARE him... unless they HELPED him.

It's the same way with flops like 10-J-Q, K-K-5, K-Q-10,
J-A-3, and so on. If there are two face cards out there,
your opponent might have just made trips or two pair. If
there's a straight draw on the board and he's not scared,
YOU should be scared.

The second thing to think about is how you can INTEGRATE the
smooth call into the rest of your game...

The smooth call is a "maneuver" or "play". It will bring you
tons of extra pots and winnings when added to the STRONG
FOUNDATION of your poker skills.

To build your foundation, I recommend that you PLAY poker as
much as possible and LEARN about the game as much as
possible.

Your Friend,

Roy Rounder

Sit And Go Madness

Things are about to get a little bit crazy here at Full Tilt Poker - brace yourself for Sit & Go Madness. For 48 hours this weekend from 16:00 (ET) Friday, play in your favorite Sit & Gos to win your share of over $75,000 in cash and prizes. Plus all the Full Tilt Points that you earn during Sit & Go Madness will count in the Iron Man Challenge. So play consistently to earn your shot at an extra $100K. While you're logged on, check out some of the new features we've added to make your Full Tilt Poker experience even better.

Play Online Poker

Why Pokerstars Hates Me

This is one of the reasons I am not playing as much on pokerstars:

Cash Games

I am normally not a big fan of cash games, but because I d'ont like Full Tilt Poker's tourney and sng sturcture that much I decided to take the $3 I had won in the OFC event and use that at a $0.5/$0.10 cash game, I did that on Monday morning, and on Tuesday I moved up to the $0.10/$0.25 cash games, and today I have a bankroll of $104.64 on FTP I am on a good run and I will probably make a youtube video of some of the action very soon so stay tuned for that.

ENTER BONUS CODE FREEMONEY3 TO GET 100% BONUS!

Play Online Poker

Im Playing Here Are You!?

For the first week of November, all Sit'n'Go tournaments, excluding Satellites, will have half-price entry fees. That's 50% OFF!

There's no exclusions on game types, so no matter what your bankroll or whether you like Holdem or Omaha, there's a game to be found.

To help you take advantage of these great savings, simply enter the code FIRSTSNG and you'll receieve:

• 200% Initial Deposit Bonus Up To $600 (max dep $300)
• 14 days entry to the $500 Daily Depositor Freeroll

Im Playing Here Are You!?