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I played the first of my three $55 WSOP Europe (more...) satellites last night and despite not winning a seat to the super satellite on September 7 (more...), I left with a ton of confidence. (writes Yorkshire Pud)
Starting with 2k in chips and...

Over the past week or so, I have felt a little depressed and have been very negative in everything I have done. Why? I do not know to be honest but it seems to have passed on now thankfully. I played quite a few hands on Betfair last week and was doi...

Poker can easily become a major part of your life once you start to take it seriously.
The combination of profitability, the rush of making successful plays, and the general recreational aspect of it can quickly make it a big influence on your...

It is common knowledge that poker's popularity across the globe has increased massively over the last few years, particularly online, but, seemingly, growth in the UK over the last 12 months has stagnated, writes Rob Eddy.
I find it a little...

Poker is a radically different game online than it is live. Although the basic mechanics of the game remain the same, there is much less information available live that there is online.
There are no physical tells, like the way a player throws...

On of the most profitable poker games I played in when I first started playing seriously was a £5/£10 limit Omaha hi/lo game run by a bookmaker I knew.
This game would usually run at weekends, and basically be full all the way from Friday aft...

This post should be a bit of a mixed bag today, with some poker, life and silly things in it! For some unknown reason, I am in a good mood today, maybe it is because the sun is shining outside, who knows?
At the tables things have been frustrat...

Texas hold'em is usually played in three different formats - either in full ring games, which usually have between nine and ten players; shorthanded, which is usually six players; and heads up, where players battle it out one on one. Picking whic...

This is a concept which players seem to forget at nearly all limits, time and time again.
When playing hi/lo games (the most popular of which are seven card stud eight or better and Omaha eight or better) the high hand wins half the pot, and th...

First of all, Well done to everyone who took part in this tournament challenge. The poker and banter in this tournament has been fantastic !!!. Thank you everyone. So onto last nights game. 1ST place was taken by Razorcutle who took the 45 points and...

Pot limit Omaha is one of the only variations of poker where you can have draws that are stronger than a made hand. In PLO it is possible to have draws that are favourite over top set, and recognising what types of hands to play in accordance with th...

This is a hand between arguably the worlds best poker player - Phil Ivey, and high stakes cash game player Brad Booth.
Link to Video

It displays some of the great thought processes involved in high stakes poker, where all the players kno...

Poker has a huge amount to do with outside events.
Being able to think about your own state of mind is critical to poker success. I remember learning this lesson the hard way, and would like to recall the events following the first live final t...

It has been five days since my last post (more...) mainly because I just have not been in the right frame of mind to write anything, never mind anything remotely related to poker!
Mrs P's hormones are well and truly kicking in now and Step P...

FTOPS IX Event #12 attracted a field of 1,405 players to the $1,000+60 six-max NLHE affair, generating a prize pool of $1,500,000 and a winner's share of $300,000. With so much talent and skill in the field, there were several big......

In the later stages of no limit hold'em tournaments there is nearly always an ante introduced.
This is typically a sum that adds up to around the size of the big blind when playing nine handed, although it is sometimes more and sometimes le...

One of the reasons that the variance is so high in Omaha is that you regularly encounter situations where players flop such big hands that neither can fold.
Be it your top set vs an opponents 13+ out draw, or middle set vs an opponents straight...

At its heart, poker is a very simple game.
You have a set hand ranking structure, set betting intervals, and set betting options each time. These four basic actions, to check, call, bet or fold, are the basic foundations of one of the worlds mo...

If you want to make some money at poker, come and find my tables and I will gladly donate to you! I am not talking about chip dumping or anything like that, but if you sit down with me, it will become apparent why you will leave with more chips than...

This video is a classic example of a player giving away too much information about their hand with predictable consequences



This video is a classic example of a player giving away too much information about their hand with predictabl...

We have a new league leader ... Another exellent night of poker guys and gals !!! Well done to last nights winner stevesav who grabbed the 45 points and $324.00. Its been a long time coming but well worth the wait steve !! 2ND place went to Katchit K...

Tuesday, August 05, 2008
When Betfair Poker devised their new $100,000 poker promotion they were not anticipating it being won on the very first day! However, that is exactly what happened when redmist1 walked away $100k richer after scooping t...

In the introduction to Doyle Brunson's masterpiece Super System 2 Steve Zolotow writes an excellent piece about which games aspiring players should learn.
As one of the old school generation, who have seen the poker landscape steadily chang...

These are some of the most interesting hands to play in no limit hold'em, and if played correctly, can be among the most profitable.
One of the great things about suited connectors is that they can flop monster hands like flushes and straig...

When baby Pud makes an appearance towards the back end of March, my available poker playing time will be drastically reduced. In addition, as I will not be able to commit a set period of time to play, I have decided to stop playing tournament poker (...

2008 World Series of Poker Europe TM Presented by Betfair.com
Announces Venue Details and November Nine Attendance

Four Bracelet Events Set for September 19th to October 2nd at Empire Casino in London


The 2008 World Serie...

Continuing the Poker Anorak's look at poker hands: Four Sixes...


Six Minutes



Six Years



Six Flags



Six Cards

...

My previous post (more...) started by telling you that I will be making some lifestyle changes but I never actually said why I had decided to take this action. Well now, I can tell you that I have been pondering life etc. as Mrs P and I are expecting...

There is a class of poker player at the Omaha tables who simply play nut hands.
They sit back, call pre flop with big pairs, suited aces and wrap hands, and will only commit chips to the pot with the best possible hand. Although this style is j...

No poker player will ever be successful long-term if they only play one set style of poker.
Although certain styles are extremely effective in certain situations, such as tight aggressive in low stakes cash games, or loose aggressive on the bub...

So many women taking the stage these days! Some say that it happens because of the internet where one doesn't directly confront other players. That might be true, but on the other hand it can only happen......

First Video

One of the big problems facing technically sound players is getting their opponents to call or fold in situations that they would not normally. One of the ways to do this is with a well timed action or comment. This video is...

Tilt is the single hardest thing to deal with when playing poker.
Even the very best professionals lapse into it occasionally, and its effects can be devastating. No matter how detached you try and keep yourself from the money involved in poker...

I have been re-evaluating a few things in my life recently and I have decided that it is time to make some changes. I have some goals, ambitions and dreams that I am yet to even start to try to achieve and I think it is my lifestyle that is holding m...

With the most important aspect of pot limit Omaha covered...
- that of good bankroll management (click here if you have not read the piece explaining why this is so critical), we can move on to the actual ins and outs of the game. Of the variou...

I was recently watching a snooker tournament where a commentator asked the great player Ronnie O'Sullivan how many shots in advance he thought while break building.
Ronnie replied along the lines that it generally was about two or three, al...

If only you could see what TheWaster has seen with these eyes...
I have a tendency to make my life more complicated than it needs to be. Having finally committed to heading out for the WSOP despite a distinct lack of work to justify the time and...

How you play on the money 'bubble' of a tournament is critical to long term tournament success.
As the first money places start approaching, players tend to tighten up their play considerably, desperate to get some return for the numero...

Although I am not obliged to, I have put my full bankroll onto the Betfair Poker site. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, it is easier for me to do a full write up of the games I play. The wider travelled readers amongst you will have known exa...

So we enter the final 5 weeks of the league and its still anyones guess who will finish in the top 5. Well done to last nights winner jon16 who gets the 45 points and $378 !!!. This was jon's first week playing in the deep stack challenge and wha...

This is a truly great hand of poker, played between two of the most interesting and dynamic players of the modern game, Daniel Negreanu and Gus Hansen.


What I want to look at here is not so much the individual actions of the hand, but m...

It's not often you can turn some loose change into a big pay out in just a few days but Edinburgh man Tam Gourlay has managed to do just that.

Tam, who's 23 and from Bo'ness , opened a Betfair account on a Friday, played in a $7...

The higher you take your game in the world of poker, the more it starts to become as much a battle with yourself, as with the players at the table.
This is true for a variety of factors, including tilt control, bankroll management, and general...

As we all know, the World Series of Poker has now adjourned for what was a 117-day break with the Final Table beginning in November, and we can all still make money on the event even though none of us will be playing, writes Rob Eddy.
There are...

I have hardly played any poker for the past week as I have been suffering with some sort of virus that has knocked the stuffing out of me. What started as a runny nose and a bit of a head cold has turned into something that has given me a sore throat...

Slowplaying is one of the most over used plays amongst low stakes no limit players
Time and time again you will see inexperienced players checking and calling with their monster hands in an attempt to disguise their strength. Although this play...

Pot Limit Omaha has become one of the most popular cash games in recent years.
There are more high stakes Pot Limit Omaha games running at this point in time than any other game available. It is a true action game, with the extra two cards maki...

Pot Limit Omaha has become one of the most popular cash games in recent years.
There are more high stakes Pot Limit Omaha games running at this point in time than any other game available. It is a true action game, with the extra two cards maki...

This is a film clip of one of the largest cash pots ever seen on television.


It involves an interesting hand between WSOP main event winner Jamie Gold, and high stakes cash professional Patrick Antonius. Although the play of the hand it...

Tam "BigTam" Gourlay opened his Betfair account on Friday and had qualified for the WSOP Main Event by Sunday. Betfair's Estelle Bentall speaks to Tam.
Tam "BigTam" Gourlay
DOB: 28th June 1984 (Age 24)

How long hav...

Oh what a night !!! Well done paddy999 who was this weeks winner taking the 45 points and $348.00 for his efforts. 2nd place was taken by placid netting him 35 points and $232.00. The poker and banter this week i thought was brilliant !!!. Well done...

As mentioned in part one, the ability to play numerous tables at once is a great benefit to playing online.
Some of the best online players can play staggering numbers of tables at once (just look at this LINK. (A video of 2007 WSOP main event...

As the dust settles after this year's WSOP, we can clearly see what a massive effect the internet has had on poker
Players who predominantly play their trade online have won numerous bracelets, as well as a whole host of second places and fi...

So after 4 weeks the league is still wide open and there for the taking !!!. Well done to this weeks winner who is one of my forum team mates EthanJohn who gets the 45 points and prize money of $280. This weeks bounty winner was why do that who gets...

Every year, the World Series of Poker's Main Event creates a handful of new media stars, whose deep run in the world's biggest poker tournament, combined with their personality and affinity for the camera, bring them rather more than......

Implied odds are one of the most important concepts in no limit hold'em games.
The term 'implied odds' simply refers to how much money you think your opponent(s) will put into the pot on a later street. Each player will have slightl...

It is nice to see that the Poker Gods (amen) have not forgotten me whilst I was away for a week and are still providing me with glorious bad beats and cooler situations to raise my blood pressure!
Things started off quite well in all honesty as...

About a week ago I was sat on the sofa, fingers at the ready (writes Yorkshire Pud), about to start an article for the Betfair WSOPE site when my laptop decided to go and die on me!
At first I thought I had just pulled the power adaptor out of t...

Continuing the Poker Anorak's look at poker hands: Four Fives...

Hi-5



Jackson 5



Five Seconds



Five Cards

...

Team PokerStars Pro has added two more members in recent days, in Poland's Marcin Horecki and Brazil's Alexandre Gomes. Horecki, one of the highest-ranking Polish players ever, is among a handful of emerging names who came to poker......

Don't want to believe the following player notes all came from the same poker degenerate but that's what Bill Rini is saying on his blog.

Some classic lines though.....
Stalk this player... he is the worst player... loads of money...

For decades celebrities have been playing in the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. Every year a handful of actors, models, athletes, musicians, and other celebrity types show up in Las Vegas and head to the Rio Hotel......

Continuing the Poker Anorak's look at poker hands: Four Tens...

Three Guys In The Hole



The Magic Number



Three Boys




Three Years Old

...

Continuing the Poker Anorak's look at poker hands: Four Tens...

Ten Card Deal



Ten Commandments



Top Ten



Ten Years After

...

Anyone who knows me from the poker world (writes Yorkshire Pud) will tell you I am a sucker for starting challenges then binning them after a week or so. I mentioned in my last entry that I had started a challenge, complete with prop bets, that I co...

Continuing the Poker Anorak's look at poker hands: Four Jacks...
Channel 8



Eight Legs



Eight Miles



Eight Ball

...

Continuing the Poker Anorak's look at poker hands: Four Jacks...
Video Poker Jacks



Jack-ie Chan



Michael Jacks-on



Ronnie v Jack


...

Although I was in the middle of a run of 13 tournaments without cashing, I decided to offer some of the members on Raise The River some action on a prop bet I made. I took $150 of action that I could make $5,000 profit in 200 days by only playing MTT...

At the end of Day 2 of the WSOP Seniors event, Dale Eberle would win the final hand to edge out Dan LaCourse for the chip lead going into the final table. But at the end of the final table it would be LaCourse, a retired police......

Day 2 of Event #45, the $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship, started with 220 players and handily made it past the money bubble early in the day. But it would take until nearly 4:30 in the morning before Dale......

Betfair Poker's latest Daily Freerolls have been a footie fan's dream as the goals fly in at Euro2008.
To celebrate the European Championship, we've been bumping up the prize pool for every goal scored during the tournament. Each f...

I am currently going through a torrid time at the tables, having failed to cash in the last 13 tournaments I have entered! It seems no matter what I do, I simply cannot win. If I have a pair then my opponent has a higher pair, if I have Big Slick and...

THE Monday Video - and a look at the Top Five Poker Slang hands:
KJ - Kojak




88 - The Snowman



QQ - Siegfried & Roy



AK - Big Slick



95 - Dolly Parton

...

Event #31, $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed, had already burst its money bubble in Day 1 action, so Day 2 was a fast-paced race to a six-handed final table. Dario Minieri was one of the chip leaders coming into the day......

It stands to reason that if short-handed tables play fast, short-handed tournaments play fast. Logic ruled and the 1,012-player starting field whittled itself down to just 73 players in Day 1 of the $2,500 NLHE Six-Handed event......

Apart from the obvious general excitement of the tournament, something I'm very much looking forward during the 2008 WSOP is the introduction of Rule 36.
In case you're not familiar with this new section within Harrah's terms and pe...

Cower in fear. Matt Broughton's brain has burst open and the yolk's on you!
Anyone who's ever visited my own 'never-weird or irrelevant' online blog (www.thewasterblog.blogspot.com) will perhaps be familiar with my legendary...

We left off with Russ Hamilton looking down at his hole cards, heads up against Hugh Vincent in the WSOP Main Event in 1994. The hand that won Russ the tournament was pocket queens, just as it was predicted in the mysterious note......

A forum poster recently asked how Annette could have won a 180-player online tournament without looking at her cards.
"With a Post-it Note", came the amusing and only response.

It was probably not the answer the poster was looki...

NO sooner has the Poker Anorak spoken of slow play then a row breaks out on the poker forums.

Says Garybet: "I've heard that slowrolling is the lowest of the low. Does what you did just now make you a lowlife scumbag?"
Garybet...

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again ….. All in is NOT an informational raise!
I’m trying to save you some cash here guys! - Time after time I see people going all in with hands preflop that they could have got away from, only to get called by a monster!
Take last night’s sit [...]...

SLOW play at the WSOP.

On Saturday, the six-handed final table was slow. It took 212 hands to eliminate the last five players. A glance at the statistics shows that the game almost 100 hands without an elimination.
Poker can be slow. Any...

Duncan "Pumper" Bell started the day with a massive chip lead and by the end he was still on top, winning the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event #13 in only 73 hands spread out over just three and a half hours. The win gives Bell his first......

I played K10s and was drawing to a flush after the flop.  There were four of us in the hand and we all called to the turn.  I made my flush on the river but someone ahead of me then raised.  I thought they might have a better flush draw so I just called the [...]...

In the last couple of days I've posted on my blog my profit/loss for 2008, clear for all to see, along with a detailed graph of my cash game winnings.
Frankly, for someone who in the GCBPT Nottingham write-up in many poker magazines was refe...

TO the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Kas Vegas, for the USA Rock Paper Scissors League's big hand-off (that right?).

Indeed, dear readers, what else to do when in Vegas between WSOP games then keep a supple wrist.
The main event is...

Several years ago I visited Russ Hamilton with a group of friends at a beach house in San Diego, where he was recovering from his stomach surgery. Russ said, 'Tommy, I'm going to tell you a story I've only told to a handful......

CONTINUING the Poker Anorak's look at great poker hands: The Straight...
WSOP Royal Flush



Straight No Chaser



Going Straight


...

It took more than 200 hands to cut the final table field in half in Event #9 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed at the World Series of Poker. It took just six more to crown a champion. Rep Porter took home the bracelet and the $372,929......

Heading into Event #7's final table, Theo Tran was looking for a wire-to-wire win, having been the chip leader for the majority of this fast-paced $2,000 NLHE event. But after 161 hands of play, 68 of them heads-up, Matt Keikoan......

Following on from yesterday’s rundown of common nicknames for poker hands, here is part two with a few more different ways to name the hand you hold.

Oedipus

Motown

Jeff Talley

Flat Tyre, No Thanks Barry, The BazzyG

30 Miles of Bad Road

Broderick Crawford, Over and Out, Roger That, The Good Buddy, Convoy
[...]...

Tuesday's action at the World Series of Poker was highlighted by the awarding of the Series' second bracelet, to Grant Hinkle in Event #2, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. Hinkle held a sizable lead when three-handed play began, over James......

Poker is a funny old game, none more so than some of the nicknames given to the hands that are made, or the hole cards dealt to each player. Below are just a few examples of some of the crazy names given to those obscure hands.

American Airlines, Pocket Rockets, Bullets.

Big Slick, Anna Kournikova, [...]...

SO who is going to win the WSOP? And would you bet on the outcome?

Welcome to the 39th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Wager on the satellite events if you must but all the real action is on Event 54, the Main Event, the $10,000 buy...

I've still hardly played any poker in the first five days of June mainly because I have been far too busy with life stuff, but I am around $50 to the good so I can't really complain. With the WSOP and Euro 2008 taking place at the same time I...

The poker room at this huge gambling complex is located in the 'Sport of Kings Poker and Racing Lounge.' It's on the second floor in a converted theater, under an enormous chandelier, with terraced seating that promises and delivers......

THE Poker Anorak continues our look at poker hands with the top five poker flush videos of all time (possibly)...
The Cat Flush



The Royal Flush



The Flush Bluff



What The Internet Is For


[br...

I don't know what is going on but I have seriously lost my mojo! No matter what I do I just can't seem to win! I think one problem has been that I've not stuck to one specific discipline and I've played a couple of sessions late at ni...

With the first bracelet event of the 2008 World Series of Poker just a couple of days away, the Rio opened its doors today to the first wave of event registrations and an early handful of single-table satellite and cash-game players......

Everyone knows that pocket aces are the best starting hand in a game of no limit texas holdem poker, but are you familiar with what the worst hands are?
Join me as we go on a trip to the land of Texas Fold’em.

1) 7-2
72 is the #1 worst hand of them all. This is based on [...]...

THE Poker Anorak trawls the web for the best poker videos.

And today continues our poker hands masterclass: Five great pairs...
Two Sugars, No Milk



Two Tone



Two Unfunny



Two The Toilet!

...

Anyone who knows me knows that I change my mind about what I want to play with alarming regularity. In the past I have set myself silly little challenges that I have kicked to the kerb as soon as the going got rough and this has really hurt my game....

May 16 2008 saw over 40 poker players compete in the final of the Poker Player Magazine's Poker Grand Prix for a prize pool of £15,000 including the 1st place prize of a WSOP package of £12,000 with the popular event sponsored by Betfair.
...

The final table of the fifth annual Bayou Poker Classic kicked off at a record pace, with seven players eliminated in less than 50 hands. Once heads-up play commenced, it took another two and half hours for Nick Ceci to put away......

"Don't be afraid to gamble."

So says Daniel Negreanu, who has a vested interest in you gambling because without your cash the gaming industry in which he makes his living would have no money to pay him.
The Poker Anorak also w...

I've not played a great deal over the past couple of days as Mrs P and I were dog-sitting for her mum whilst she had a weekend away in sunny Blackpool. I did take my trusty laptop but I couldn't figure out how to get it to work with Mrs P[sgl...

If you've logged into Betfair Poker today you may have noticed a few new changes...
New icons in the lobby

To improve the clarity of the lobbies to make it easier for you to find the game that you want to play, we've added icons d...

Sorry for the lack of updates (writes Yorkshire Pud) but I have been uber busy over the past few days. I have actually written a piece about a typical poker table but I'm hoping to get that posted on another blog as a guest appearance but I'm...

If you're looking for an online odds calculator with a unique visual touch, PokerNews now has the interactive tool just for you. Available within our 'Poker Rules' section......

The World Series of Poker® announced this week that it has reached a multi-year agreement with XP Events, a turn-key retail merchandising partner for sports organizations and world-class events, to distribute WSOP merchandise broadly......

It’s always tempting to have either the TV on while you are playing online poker, or to start checking your emails or facebook account when you are not playing a hand.
While this can help to eliminate the boredom from a cold deck, being distracted from your poker game can have very serious consequences if you [...]...

BILL Gates has a touch wall.

It's a 4-foot-by-6-foot touch-screen computer prototype. Gates wants computers in everything, and on everything.

Says Gates: "We're saying it will be absolutely pervasive. When I say everywhere,...

I have a full time job. Not as a poker player, but as a web designer. While at work today, I discussed an interesting hand with a colleague of mine. He came to me with a hand he played in a SNG online tourney last night. There’s nothing special about the hand, but we were [...]...

In almost all situations you are faced with pre-flop, the only two options you should be considering are should you raise, or should you fold? If your hand is not good enough to raise with, then it probably is not worth playing at all.
Raising will allow you to control the hand in play and it [...]...

Let’s say you are playing a hand like AdTd. The board comes down Jd 6s 6d. There’s potential trips, full houses and two pairs out there depending on what your opponents may be holding. You need to find out where you are and quickly.
If you are first to act, or no one has bet yet, [...]...

I've been reading a ton of blogs (writes Yorkshire Pud) over the past week and one thing that became apparent was the amount of people who had a poor month at the tables during April, myself included, and that they all hoped the month of May woul...

Crushing the six seat SNG
Having trouble building your bankroll? Grinding it out becoming too boring?
The six seat SNG will build your bankroll faster than any other game on the planet. Just be prepared to take the game seriously!
In a ten handed SNG we have nine other players to beat to take down the top prize. [...]...

YOU wait, that's what you do - especially if you're a finalist at the WSOP Main Event.

When the tenth player loses, there will be a 117-day break before the final nine get to play the final table.

Why not 118 days, or 30 days,...

I really do love how close poker and life are linked. Its like they both go hand in hand with each other. If ever you are stuck for an analogy for life, chances are you can find the right one if you relate it in some way to poker.
Even driving is like poker. I drive [...]...

A QUESTION for John Grochowski:

Q. What can you tell me about Blackjack Switch?
The Poker Anorak has played the game. It's not easy, but, then, it's no harder than 21.
In Blackjack Switch you play two hands at once. You can swi...

I played a good few hands of Pai Gow Poker Showdown at my local pub yesterday. It was one of those rare sunny days here in the UK where we do go a bit nuts for some sunshine.  Outdoors, bit of sun, couple of pints, lovely.
Pai Gow Poker uses the rules from Pai Gow and [...]...

WHAT does a poker chip look like to you?

It's not a trick question, and, no, there's no GSCE in Chipology for answers of between 200-300 words. Discuss.

It's just that the Poker Anorak has just spotted a 20-year-old Canadian...

I said in my last post that I was going to cut my hair as a sacrifice to the Poker Gods (amen) and for once it seems to have paid off! Since shaving my barnet I have cashed in a tiny buy-in MTT, had a small cash in an Omaha MTT, doubled my money in a...

PayPal have accepted Betfair Poker to handle gambling transactions, allowing poker players to deposit and withdraw via Paypal.
Paypal is an e-wallet payment solution that enables you to securely transfer funds into your PayPal account and then i...

It's been a long time since I posted my WSOPE report but to be honest there's not been a lot going on in between, until recently that is.
I'd just been playing a lot of midstakes poker, uninterestingly breaking even whilst I frittere...

Tyner, a very flamboyant player, took out the first two players at the six-handed final table, including WPT ladies champion Van Nguyen. Nancy defeated Vanessa Selbst in the Five Star final, taking just over two hours to come back......

I will be glad to see April leave us as it has been a very rocky and frustrating time indeed. In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that sometimes no matter how perfectly you play poker you can still come off a loser due to the variance monster lurk...

HURRAH! You've made it to the Main Event WSOP final table.

You and eight others are now vying to win the millions. You're on a roll and keen to get on with it. You're as hot as Vegas on July 14.

But hold on. July? That's...

You need to think about your strategy - just what will your nickname be when you make it big?
The Poker Anorak takes look at some nicknames already out there, and the story behind them:

PHIL "POKER BRAT" HELLMUTH JR.

The cl...

The Straight



The Royal Flush



The Pair



High Card



The Rivering


...

As a poker player, writes Yorkshire Pudding, I look to gain any edge I can over my opponents as any advantage you have over the people you are playing against will, in the long term, yield profits for you. Most players get the upper hand by the way o...

Len69 and Ugabana clash over a $240,307 monster pot
Betfair has been home to some major online poker high stakes recently and this Wednesday night was just another great example of the action you can be a part of on Betfair Poker. Check out this...

THE Poker tell tells you things about the poker player. But what does it tell you?

And if you stare at your opponent are you playing him or the cards? Poker is a game of odds. So do tells really matter?
In this video hereunder, strip poke...

Since my last post I have added another digit to my age (writes Yorkshire Pud) and I'm now the ripe old age of 27! Do I feel any different? In short, no. Not at all. If I think about it I didn't expect to feel any different so I guess I can[s...

If you like action, big pots, and a chance to buy one extra card for a dollar at the beginning of a hand, you need to check out two special $3/6 tables at the Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada, right away! As you walk into the poker room......

I thought I'd give a little update to how things are going in the life of Yorkshire Pudding! I've still not found a job per se but I have sent my CV to dozens of people and I'm registered with more agencies than I care to remember. The ma...

Anyone reading Annette's latest blog post may well have been duped into believing she had bought a 'lovely' pink house with her winnngs from the WSOPE last September. Indeed, the entry certainly had some posters over at 2+2 very busy. As...

HOW do you win the WSOPE?

In 2007, Annette Obrestad won. Here's how:

var host = document.location;document.write("");

On the forums, "recognise" spots the video - hat tip to him.

And there is debate...

I ended my last post hoping for a nice score in a tournament (writes Yorkshire Pud) but unfortunately it never materialised and I ended up dropping around $70 in MTTs ranging from $1 to $4. A mixture of running bad then making poor plays ultimately c...

POKER pro Daniel Negreanu has some tips on "Dos and don'ts on semi-bluffing with big draws".

As Negreanu says, a pair with a flush draw is a chance to pull off a semi-bluff - "making a bet or raise that you hope will not be cal...

Set For September 19 to October 1 in London

LAS VEGAS - March 18, 2008 - The dates for the second annual World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair have been set, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., owner and operator of the most prestigi...

YOU can learn to play poker.

You can learn to play poker in a classroom, just as you can learn to drive a car in a dodgem, learn to be an astronaut by playing a game of Space Invaders and learn to be great at tennis by eating strawberries at...

Since my last post it's been a case of so near yet so far with regards to my tournament playing having not cashed in my last six games and I'm break even for the month (writes Yorkshire Pudding). On Tuesday I played five 90 man tournaments wi...

ASKS John Grochowski: "What Would Make You Write Off a Casino?"

"How bad would the experience have to be for you to vow never to set foot in the door again?"

At a guess, the Casino Anorak says the bad experience would in...

There are two fundamental styles when it comes to playing poker, that of the Tight-Aggressive (TAG) and that of the Loose-Aggressive (LAG) writes Yorkshire Pudding. Both styles have their own positive points and obviously their own negative points. M...

Just how much help is TOO much help? Matt Broughton ponders...
In the process of researching for the various articles I write, I get to play with all manner of poker-related toys, many of which - needless to say - are aimed at online players. No...

POKER is a game of skill.

Always.

Well, not always. Or ever...

At Case Western Reserve University, USA, Michael DeDonno and Douglas Detterman are counting the cards.

They are watching students play poker. Data is being h...

I was going to post this entry yesterday but I thought people may have taken it as an April Fool's prank. (writes Yorkshire Pudding) Yesterday I lost my job. No joke, it's entirely true, I no longer have a job after having my contract termina...

TO Italy and the PokerStars European Poker Tour's event in San Remo.

The €5,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em event has pulled in 700 entrants. Well, that's what it says in the brochure.
As Card Player reports, the cap was origin...

Old men clog up the Irish Poker Open, one man's attempt to qualify for the WSOPE, Short-stacked Shamus plays live and a look at some online poker tools. It's all there as we take a look around the world of Texas Hold' Em.
The Irish P...

IT was a time of heroes.

OK, not heroes exactly, more six MIT students who "were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings".

That's what it says on the tin. But i...

If, like me, you have played poker for a couple of years and are a naturally observant person, you will have noticed that many situations you find yourself in at the poker tables, both online and live, will mirror situations that you will find yourse...

WHEN Manchester was told it would host the new supercasino there was much snapping of braces and popping of bottle tops.

When the Government decided that there would no supercasino in Manchester there was much gnashing of teeth and popping of...

"DO chimps like to gamble?"
So asks the Daily Mail of its readers. The question is rhetorical because very soon the Mail tells us: "You bet they do."

Know that: "When given the choice between a safe bet and a high risk...

YOU got to know when to gold 'em, know when to fold 'em..."

You gotta la-la-la-la-dum-dum, la-la-la dum-da-kerchum...

Who can forget the rousing theme song to the England rugby team's World Cup bid?

But not all p...

Everyone experiences obstacles or hurdles during their life's journey, but how one handles the adversity is the measure of his character. Archie 'The Greek' Karas did what no other person on the planet has ever done, when he started......

The hand (from an entertaining episode of "High Stakes Poker") -- Blinds: 300/600 with a 1200 straddle. Gold's stack: ~$391,000; Farha's stack: Over $391,000. Neither player's stack is actually given specifically during the hand......

For the first time ever, we're lucky enough to welcome the strategic musings of brand new Betfair Sponsored Pro, Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi - a veritable colossus in the world of online poker! See when it is OK to fold AA.
"In satell...

Ever since my (non-poker related) bankruptcy two and a half years ago, I've never had a car of my own and I've either had to rely on borrowing a friend's car or use the pile of cack that is public transport to get to and from work and fro...

POKER fashion. Shiny T-shirts and Comfi-Slax.

Until now.
Over the PR newswires, the Poker Anorak learns of DonkeyGear.net, a poker apparel and accessories company.

The company has been selling poker apparel and accessories since 2...

The hand: Nine players remain in the 2007 WSOP Main Event. Phillip Hilm sits with 19,240,000 chips to Yang's 25,010,000 chips. The blinds are 120,000/240,000 with a 30,000 ante. Hilm is in the SB, Yang on the hijack......

WHAT kind of a press does poker get?

The game is more controlled than many others. Think of cheating in athletics and allegations of corruption in football.

But still poker can toss up the headline: "Online Poker = Cheating, Robbery...

The 2008 PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Polish Open kicked off with 190 players taking the field in Day 1a at the Hyatt Regency Casino in Warsaw, Poland. Notable players on hand included defending champion Peter Jepsen, EPT Baden......

A poker game in New Mexico has decided the outcome of an election.

It is democracy in evidence.

Well, it beats deciding who wins on Hanging Chads.
Over in the United States, Josie Richards has a pair of nines.

The game is fi...

A look at Annette's recent online win, how NOT to turn down a player's sponsorship attempts and asks "Are you a donkey?"
Here the place where we hope to bring you a collection of interesting, thoughtful and downright strange exit...

POKER is not all fun. Poker can be - whisper it - dull. Oh, come on, all that waiting for the next player to move, sitting down and looking at your hands...

Pass the time by learning some new tricks:

...

There are many Stu Ungar stories from his glory years, and some consider him the greatest tournament poker player that ever lived. However, what is perhaps Stu's most famous hand occurred in a heads-up tournament against reigning World......

IT'S the award season.

And Annette Obrestad has been awarded the Golden Hand prize plus two other accolades at the second annual Scandinavian Poker Awards in Copenhagen.

Annette thanks her mum, her dad, her cousins, her first teache...

In his 20-plus years of police work, Scott Diamond has witnessed first-hand the devastation faced by families of officers who die in the line of duty. Those families often struggle to make ends meet. Diamond decided that he needed......

Students attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have an abundance of poker options at hand. Because of the many choices available to UNC students, it's been a great year for the game -- even though the school......

Team Betfair's new signing Sorel Mizzi gives us a quick rundown on the who, what, when, where and hows...
1 - Can you tell us about your family and background?
I grew up with my mom, dad and two older brothers in Toronto, Ontario. I'...

Tournament Directors Association Rule #12 reads: 'No Disclosure / No Advice / One Player to a Hand' -- Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Therefore, players, whether in the hand or not......

Matt Broughton discovers that holding the nuts isn't always everything it's cracked up to be...



On a recent press event I was chuffed to finally get to interview a couple of my favourite poker personalities; namely Howard Led...

The Grand Final of the PartyPoker Premier League saw big hands, big draws and a big payday for Andy Black, as he came from behind during heads-up play to claim the $250,000 first-place prize. Black overcame five of the top players......

The following is an early-tourney hand from young player Michael 'Timex' McDonald at PokerStars EPT Dortmund. After a fine Aussie Millions showing, McDonald went on to win the Dortmund main event. This hand has generated......

After my last column when I explored a decision to fold a four-flush on fourth street, I've had some questions about other, similar situations. Since poker is a game of decisions, try your hand at figuring out what to do in the following......

On Saturday, February 2, 2008, history was made in poker, with an audience of the game's stars on hand to witness the induction of Linda Johnson, Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs and Marsha Waggoner as the inaugural class of the Women......

The distinctly American holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday resulted in reduced attendance across the board in the largest of Sunday's online tourneys. Still, solid turnouts were on hand at PokerStars, Full Tilt and PartyPoker, and each of......

Hand History: Both Terrence and the villain in this hand have been the two most aggressive and active players at the table, tangling numerous times. It's late on Day 1 of the APPT Sydney Grand Final Main Event......

The second annual UltimateBet Online Championship (UBOC) series, hosted by UltimateBet pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth Jr., kicks off tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST with a $200+15 six-handed no-limit hold'em tournament, featuring a $100,000 guarantee......

Howard Lederer never seems to tire of saying that poker is a game of imperfect information - and I have to agree with him. We live in an information age, so why can't players just throw their hands away and go on to the next......

In a recent letter to US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, two House of Representatives Committee Chairs and six other lawmakers criticized the agency's handling of the current WTO issues relative to online gambling, stressing that the Bush......

You are much more likely to pull off a bluff if there are only a few players involved in the hand. In an ideal situation you should only have one or two other players to push off the pot. The more players you face in the hand, the more likely it is that someone will [...]...

Never let a bluffer force you to walk into a better hand. Let’s say you are right that they are bluffing and your semi-strong hand is enough to beat them. however, if there is a third player involved in the pot, especially one who plays a little tighter, you might end up beating the bluffer’s [...]...

The most common types of poker game you are likely to encounter are listed below as well as tips for adjusting your poker strategy accordingly.
1. Tight Poker Games
When the opponents you face are playing a tight game, you should lower your starting hand requirements and bluff a little more often.
2. Loose Poker Games
If you find [...]...

It is not only early on where you need to show aggression, but also on the second round of betting. More often than not, you will fail to improve your hand on the flop, but then again, neither will your opponents. If a table of players do not hold a hand of any value, then [...]...

Over the last couple of weeks we have covered many different topics. You should now know how to calculate poker pot odds and how to play good hands from a good position. You are already streets ahead of many other poker players out there. However the key that strings all of these strategies together is  [...]...

Starting to play poker should be fun and the important learning process is part of getting yourself experience, which sadly some players forget. The first mistake that is commonly made is the over play of hands. All beginners want to play and believe that playing is betting every round and equate betting with playing. So they decide to play most of the hands that are dealt. This often includes hands such as J 4 unsuited, which will more than often doom the player. Learning patience is crucial to...

We continue to tackle the problems a beginner poker player faces. One of these is the inability to understand and properly calculate pot odds. With the understanding of pot odds, beginners call too many hands that should have gone to the muck or throw away hands by being too conservatives but more than often the former is true. The most common example of this problem is the calling of suited cards. Many new players associate suited cards to carry the same value as connecting cards. The power of...

This is an short article on what the different poker hands are....

A clear distinction has been made in the gambling odds to win American Idol this year, David Archuleta and David Cook are favored, and everyone else is a long shot.
...

It has taken David Cook almost an entire American Idol season, but odds makers have finally put him on equal ground with former favorite David Archuleta.
...

Much thought goes into the designing of a new casino, the one thing that developers are looking for is to keep people with their minds on the gambling task at hand.
...

Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut has been dealing with many of their employees moving towards unionization, but the casino will now have a bigger problem on its hands with the Senate passing a new casino smoking ban Bill.
...

Dancing With The Stars, the hit reality television show, has announced its line up for season six, the gambling odds on who will win will not be far behind.
...

A Pennsylvania casino has been hit with a $20,000 fine for allowing a fourteen year old girl to gamble inside their casino, the fine was handed down by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
...

Gtech Corp. feels that the process in which Ohio selected a new company to handle their gambling lottery operations was done inadequately, and has filed for the decision to be reconsidered.

...

American Idol Season Seven is almost down to the part of the show where many more fans start to watch, and with the latest odds on who will win, this may be the time for gamblers to beat the sports books.
...

The Democratic ticket has finally been set after Barack Obama chose his running mate today, the choice of Joe Biden has not altered the gambling odds for the election yet.
...

Casino proponents are always pointing to the positive changes that casinos can bring to an area, Southwest Michigan is learning that out firsthand.
...

Tropicana Entertainment LLC and bondholders are at odds over money that is due to the bondholders, the squabble and court battle are causing problems in the potential sale of the Atlantic City casino.
...

It was one of those nights where everything was on my side. My reads were on, the draws were coming in, and variance was giving me a neck massage. It was one of those nights where I felt smart, even if I was getting lucky. I was posting a decent win and thankful for it.

In fact, I was ready to call it a night and go home a modest winner.
The game was about to break and most of the money on the table sat in two stacks. Gucci Rick had about $900 in front of him. I had exactly $1,003...

The outside walls are warped metal and the parking lot is pot-holed gravel. To park, one has to pull in on the right side of the building, drive around the dark backside of the bar, and then around to diagonal spaces the left side. If it wouldn't seem so perfectly trite, the dark parking area would be the ideal place for a drunken fight with a switchblade and a pool cue.

It was raining hard when I pulled into the lot last night and turned off the ignition. If I'd had a collar...

Lucky in love, unlucky in cards.

I've heard it quite a few times since I've found Lady Luck. Many a blogger have mentioned that my luckboxing abilities have likely diminished or disappeared since I've found love. I don't believe it, but my experience Saturday night didn't exactly assuage my fears.
Cliche #1: The Smoke-filled Poker Room

Okay, so it wasn't quite that bad. But as I entered Casino Aztar for the first time, I did have to push the smoke out...

Police in Charleston called it the result if a "ten month investigation." They arrested 27 people, including an assistant prosecutor at an underground poker game.

The Charleston Post says the game was run out of the bottom floor of a two story house with games spread on several tables. The host started the games last year and they "just grew."
From the Charleston Post:

A Sheriff's Spokesman described an efficient operation that ran like a business. "T...

I started really looking foreward to last Friday's game a full week in advance. Of course, that guarantees a bad night. As a rule, the more excited I am about sitting at a game the worse I'm likely to play.

Add to that the following problems and I've got almost no chance:
1. An Unfortunate Table

Dealer/1s: Broccoli
2s: Wes Nile Virus
3s: Falstaff
4s: TeamScottSmith
5s: The Anti-Christ
6s: BadBlood
7s: G-Rob
8s: Gucci Rick
9s: Drizz[...

It's one of my favorite scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Well, I'm not dead yet! I feel happy! I feel happy!

You see, the rumors of my (and this blog's) demise has been greatly exaggerated. Sure, I've been virtually non-existant for a few months, but I've gone through a little change... in order of importance... a new wife, a new job, a new house, a new city and a new car. I've been a little busy. I haven't played a hand of poker since my bach...

The closest casino to G-Vegas is up in Cherokee, North Carolina. They don't have poker because they don't actually use cards. I've never bothered to go since the appeal of digital blackjack machines is pretty limited.

Still, it is possible to steal from the casino...not in the counting cards, brilliant MIT, Ocean's Eleven sense....but to just plain STEAL.

To wit : Please enjoy this wonderful story of moron-ity from the Asheville Citizen-Times :
Cheating ring...

The closest casino to G-Vegas is up in Cherokee, North Carolina. They don't have poker because they don't actually use cards. I've never bothered to go since the appeal of digital blackjack machines is pretty limited.

Still, it is possible to steal from the casino... not in the counting cards, brilliant MIT, Ocean's Eleven sense... but to just plain STEAL.

To wit: Please enjoy this wonderful story of moron-ity from the Asheville Citizen-Times:

Cheating rin...

I'm crushed.

This was the horse. The horse to beat the unbeatable Big Brown. The horse to make history by being the third straight horse from the same mare to win the Belmont Stakes. The horse to make me a little cash.

And now, he's scratched. A bad left hind hoof didn't heal fast enough. After this morning's workout, Casino Drive was clearly favoring that leg. Forcing him to run would have risked serious injury. It's the right and responsible decision....

Live from a fifteen minute break at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, a hand that has caused significant debate, specifically between Lee Jones and this humble correspondent. Your opinion--while, like mine, largely insignificant--is valued.
Quick background: Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari has been running over the tournament for two days. With the chip average just over 600,000, he has 1.6 million or so. He's been moved to the TV table with a rather loose-aggressive Dane...

I'm not sure why--because, I haven't in years--but I have watched every episode of ESPN's 2008 WSOP poker coverage this year. Last night's $5,000 Mixed Hold'em event was, for obvious reasons, the best yet.

I am not here, however, to applaud ESPN for good coverage. I'm here to applaud ESPN for finally presenting the game in a somewhat more journalistic fashion.
I nearly fell out of my chair (and it's a really comfortable chair) when the commentators offered...

G-Rob and I missed the driveway into the pub and busted a U-turn in the middle of a busy highway. Our tires crunched on rock as we slid into the small gravel parking lot. The entire bar could've fit in the downstairs floor of my house. It was barely big enough to hold G-Rob's hair, let alone his ego and my enormous sense of self-loathing.

It was a Friday night around 7pm. Nobody reasonable goes to places like this, least of all suburban fathers with mortgages and firm grasps o...

My good friends here at the Up for Poker blog hate it when I write about something other than poker itself. This is not the "Up for Whatever Is on G-Rob's Mind" blog. Frankly I agree that such a blog would be the most irrational sort of nonsense on the web... which is setting the bar pretty low.

That said, I do love to gamble on nearly anything at all. One year Otis and I spent an entire Super Bowl betting on whether the next commercial would be "Car, Food, or Beer.[dbl...

Good god! Gambling leads to depression! It's true! There was a scientific study.

In the w