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To go or not to go all in ? that is the question


By Johnny Kampis

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So goes a Chinese proverb that is also an apt description of the beginning of a poker tournament.

Consider starting with 1,500 chips in a tournament with 100 people. In order to win the tournament, you must have 150,000 chips in the end. When you think about it like that it seems almost an unfathomable task, an attempt to climb Mt. Everest. But somebody?s got to do it.

I?ve found over time that I tend to do better at live tournaments than those I play online. At first, I thought it was maybe because I was good at reading people, which is impossible to do online, but then I realized it was something else. When you play online, it?s always easy to see what the average chip count is among the players remaining in the tournament and it can be easy to panic if you are far below the average. I tend to start pushing all in with hands I shouldn?t play or in situations in which I should probably fold.

But when you?re playing live, there is no screen to tell you where you stand against the rest of the field. You can do some calculations in your head to figure out about where you stand, but there?s no number constantly in front of you telling you that.

Just as patience is key in a regular ring game of poker, it?s also key when you have a below average stack in a tournament. Consider that the average stack in a tournament you are playing is 10,000. You have 5,000 and the blinds are 200 and 400. You are well below average, but you aren?t a short stack yet. You don?t have to push all in when you raise. It gives you time to wait on a quality hand before making a move, and if you can double up once you are back to average.

I played a tournament at Binion?s in Las Vegas this summer in which I was a below average stack nearly the entire event, but I stayed patient and was able to get good hands on which to double up on. Finally, when I got to the final table I caught hand after hand and ended up winning the tournament. Had I hurriedly pushed all in earlier in the affair with a less than premium hand and lost I wouldn?t have given myself a chance to catch the hands I was dealt later.

It?s better to pass up a so-so opportunity now in order to get a much better opportunity later. Otherwise, you?ll never get to climb Mt. Everest.

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Matthew Hilger is generally recognized as one of the best authors on the subject of internet poker. He and some of the most knowledgeable players and writers in the poker industry have joined to contribute columns on every aspect of poker. Contributors range from Tournament Pros like the Hendon Mob� to Internet Poker Pros from the Internet Texas Holdem community. Beyond Texas Holdem Strategy, this section covers Omaha, Backgammon, Sit 'n Go tournaments, multitable tournaments, cash games, poker psychology, mind sets and general revelry.

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This article will aid you in your quest to become better at hold em.

Please note this blog is meant to provide information on hold em in its legal and non-gambling applications.

This Hold Em Article Will Make You A Better Player

Phil Hellmuth's rap and hip hop


By Adam Johnson

His head was buried in the sleeve of his black jacket, his left arm extending toward the middle of the table. Listening to music from his Ipod, he decided to have some connection to the outside world, however disconnected to his present world it may have been.

Yet there was Phil Hellmuth, the self-proclaimed best hold-em player in the world, struggling with his short stack in the $1500 Pot-Limit tournament at the World Series of Poker.

If someone who couldn�t spell poker walked up to the table, they probably would have guessed this downtrodden man wasn�t much in the poker world.

How deceiving their deductions would have been.

Suddenly he sprouted to life and sought out myself, one of many media members in the Amazon Room near his table, to be his much needed set of ears.

�You want to hear about some hands, I�ll tell you about some hands,� said Hellmuth, the then ten time bracelet winner with an eagerness that made me wonder if I asked him a question.

After hearing how his A-A couldn�t beat seat 10�s A-6 and how his late position pre-flop raise was defended by a guy out of the blind with 6-high, it was quite clear that he felt like Peter Weber in a prestigious bowling tournament with bumper lanes. His skills just didn�t seem to translate and his frustration was visible if not tangible to those present.

Such is the life of a gifted tournament poker player on most days, when failure can last for months and someone with little experience can win a major tournament.

Seated to Hellmuth�s left was another short-chipped professional and good friend of Hellmuth�s, Gavin Smith.

Known as one of the most gregarious players on the tournament circuit, Smith was up to his usual antics at the table, taking a completely different route than Hellmuth.

Upon a request from the aforementioned seat 10, the main subject of Hellmuth�s diatribes, Smith grabbed Hellmuth�s Ipod and read the display, �Bad Boys for Life, P Diddy,� he said.

A poll wasn�t conducted at the time, but P Diddy didn�t exactly seem to be in Hellmuth�s �range� from reading the table�s body language. Seat 10 and a few other players chuckled and Smith told them that Phil is actually a big fan of rap and hip hop music.

Wearing black designer shoes that likely cost as much as the tournament entry and a black and yellow Ultimate Bet Hockey jersey, nothing about Hellmuth�s style screams hip-hop.

Perhaps in a giving mood after sending Hellmuth into a momentary tailspin, seat 10 sent his Ipod to Smith, who hooked it up to Hellmuth�s while his head was buried.

Hellmuth continued on as if nothing happened, and listened to a Kanye West song seat 10 doctored up for him.

Completely amused by the situation, Smith asked for my phone and took a picture of Hellmuth listening to the man�s Ipod. Smith organized that I send the picture to the man so his friends and kids could see Hellmuth listening to his Ipod.

A conversation about rap ensued between the two, exchanging similar tastes in music. Much like Hellmuth, Smith�s gears were stuck in neutral as well.

�If I get up to 20,000 chips, I�ll be dangerous,� he said, with a stack that was probably a third of that number.

After sheriffing (not a real word) a player who bet K-J on the turn and went all-in on the river on a paired board with all baby cards, Smith check called on both streets after betting the flop, revealing the best hand with a measly two-pair.

The busted player seemed shocked as did others at the table, that Smith knew his hand was good. To those familiar with Smith�s ability, the result seemed pretty standard.

Hellmuth busted within the next hour and Smith held true to his prediction, finishing 2nd in a field of 781 players.

They provided a contrast of playing styles and personalities in a time when chips were hard to come by for both, but as always, they are never short on entertainment value no matter what.

Source: http://www.wisehandpoker.com/articles/index.php?article=phil-hellmuth-rap-and-hip-hop.html

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2008 WSOP $10,000 NLHE World Championship Day 6: Dennis Phillips Leads Final 27

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:09:00 -0700
On July 3rd, the WSOP $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em World Championship began with 6,844 players. Ten days later, only 79 players remained, all focused on the coveted bracelet and $9,111,517 first prize seemingly within their grasp...

PokerNews' Tiffany 'Hot Chips' Michelle Eyes WSOP History

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:47:00 -0700
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...


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Here are some great Texas Hold Em tips to bring immediate improvement to your game.

A Texas Hold Em Article to Instantly Improve Your Game

Quick Tips for Beginning Holdem Players


Tips for Playing Your Starting Poker Hands:
There are a lot of starting hand guides available, this isn't one of them. These tips are quick helpers to get the foundation of a solid poker game underneath you. These are the concepts behind starting hands and ideas you should be thinking about while playing no limit holdem.

1. Small Pocket Pairs.
Play small pocket pairs against many opponents and try and see the flop as cheaply as possible. You typically want to play small pocket pairs against many other opponents. Especially in a cash game or in the early stages of a tournament. Criteria for playing small pocket pairs is that you can get in cheaply, simply by calling the blinds (limping) and hoping to see a flop.

With small pockets you're looking to hit a 3rd of your kind on the flop. This is called "flopping a set." If you flop your set you are almost certain to have the best hand right then, unless it is just a really unlucky flop for you. If you flop a set, bet or raise and work to get as many chips in the pot as you can.

Small pockets pairs are hands like pocket two's up through pocket 8's or 9's. The reason you want to play this hand against many opponents is because when you hit your hand, you hope that someone else has hit a hand as well and will pay you off. The more opponents still active in the hand, the more likely that one of them has hit a hand and will pay off some of your bets.

So, if you are dealt a small pocket pair it is usually a good idea to simply limp in and hope to hit your 3 of a kind on the flop. If you miss, which you will most of the time, then it is fine to check and fold to any bet. It is almost always a bad idea to call any substantial bet on the flop hoping to hit your set on the turn, just fold and save your money.

Small Pocket Pair Quick Tip: You will flop a set roughly once out of every 7.5 times you get a pocket pair. click here for a poker odds chart.


2. Suited Connectors
Suited connectors are hands that play well against many opponents, but poorly against 1 or 2 others. Suited connectors are a bit more difficult to play than small pocket pairs... with small pockets you know pretty much exactly where you stand after the flop. You either hit your set or you didn't. Suited connectors typically do not make a monster hand on the flop, but they will often flop monster draws (draws means that you need 1 more card to complete your hand, typically with a straight or flush).

Suited connectors are hands that are of the same suit, and next to one another, such as 7c 8c, 10d, 9d, or my favorite, Js Ts.

These hands play well in multi-way confrontations, against many opponents. When these hands hit, you typically have a very strong hand, strong enough to beat most everyone else. With suited connectors you are hoping to flop a strong draw, such as an open-ended straight flush draw, a flush draw or a straight draw.

Pre-flop, these hands are weak hands, and even if you hit the top pair these are still a fairly weak and vunerable hand. Suited connectors have a lot of potential to turn into very strong hands. See flops cheaply and late in position with these cards, especially if there are already a lot of players calling the blind to see the flop. Look to flop strong draws or two pair to continue against any heavy action before you.

Look to flop straights, flushes and draws to both. Do not overvalue flopping top pair with small or medium sized suited connectors. Two pair is normally good, but that means that someone else very well may have a straight draw while you have two pair with suited connectors.

Suited Connector Quick Tip: One of the best hands to hold against pocket aces is suited connector, such as 7h8h.


3. Two Big Face Cards
Do not slow play your big face cards. If you are going to play these cards, you need to come in for a raise pre-flop. Big face cards start out very strong, pre-flop, and that means that normally you should make the others pay to stick around for the flop.

Pre-flop these hands are probably some of the strongest at the table, out ranking most of the other hands out there. For this reason, these hands you want to play against as FEW players as possible. To make sure you are playing against few players, you should RAISE pre-flop when it is your turn to act instead of just calling the blind.

A hand like AQ is a strong hand, but it doesn't play well against 3+ players on average. Ideally you will be playing this hand against 1 other opponent, and you ban bet the flop virtually regardless of what comes down.

Avoid calling raises with hands like KJ, QJ, AT, even AJ and KQo. You are often times dominated by everyones 'favorite' hand, big slick (AK). There is no shame in folding KJ pre-flop.

Big Face Card Quick Tip:

Raise pre-flop to limit the field to just one other player whenever possible.

For more poker tips, be sure and check out our listing of poker strategy articles and the absolute best way to improve your play is by finding an online poker room that has SERIOUS 'play money' poker (if you don't want to deposit)..

The best way to practice these no limit holdem tips is to download free online poker software. I recommend PokerStars or Bodog Poker for new players. You can play with free chips and practice these strategies. I do recommend that you also play for extremely small stakes to get a real feel for poker. Free money poker is played differently as poker is for anything of value, even if the value is very small.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/no-limit-holdem-tips.htm

Latest Texas Hold Em News:

Matthew Hilger is generally recognized as one of the best authors on the subject of internet poker. He and some of the most knowledgeable players and writers in the poker industry have joined to contribute columns on every aspect of poker. Contributors range from Tournament Pros like the Hendon Mob� to Internet Poker Pros from the Internet Texas Holdem community. Beyond Texas Holdem Strategy, this section covers Omaha, Backgammon, Sit 'n Go tournaments, multitable tournaments, cash games, poker psychology, mind sets and general revelry.

Visit the Texas Holdem Poker Strategy Section

GET BONUS NOW | READ REVIEW

MORE INFO ! | ORDER | FREE COPIES!


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