The Poker Blog

Ladbrokes Poker will be taking over 100 European players to Las Vegas this summer. There is still time to qualify to be part of the Ladbrokes Poker Team at this year’s Main Event.

And there’s more. Should any of Ladbrokes Poker Team make it to the final table of the main event, they will receive a guaranteed $250,000 sponsorship package. If they win the main event, the sponsorship package is worth a cool $1,000,000! There are other sponsorship packages down to 27th place whilst anyone finishing in the 28-100 place will win a Ladbrokes 2009 WSOP Package.

For more details please go to:-

Not long ago Unibet launched new poker tables, so now is a great time to check out the site.

“The new tables mark the very latest in poker software design, with a lot of new features which make playing poker at Unibet even better than before. The new features include:

The new features provide a much improved user experience for both fun and serious players alike, so whatever a player’s level, there is something here for them to enjoy.

To check out the new tables, either click on the banner below and download the software or if you already have an account, just start the client as you normally would and the upgrade will happen automatically.

By Tony Guerrera

In cash games, you can afford to lay low while you observe your opponents and obtain extensive book on them. But what do you do when a tournament just starts, when new players are moved to your tournament table, or when you’re tournament table breaks and you’re forced to move to another table? In tournaments, you can’t afford to sit back idly; one missed opportunity can mean the difference between a huge payday and no payday whatsoever, and certain blind structures simply don’t give you the time to wait. And though you can theoretically sit tight early in cash games, what happens what you get AA the first hand of a session and an opponent shows aggression on the turn and the river: are you ahead or behind?

Fortunately, if you have a bit of playing experience under your belt, you actually have information about your opponents before you even sit at the table. That’s right…you have information about players you’ve never seen in your life! Before you play a single hand, you can draw upon all your past poker playing experience. You can assume that your opponents play like the average of all foes you’ve encountered in your poker-playing life.

Since poker evolves, the default profile I assign to my opponents now (April 2008) isn’t the same as the default profile I assigned to my opponents two years ago. And most likely, it won’t be the same as the default profile I assign to my opponents two years from now. It’s important to monitor and update constantly the default player profiles you assign to unknown foes. If you play in different venues, it will probably be the case that you’ll have default profiles that you assign depending on where you’re playing. For example, I use different default player profiles for each online poker room as a function of stakes, and I also have a different default player profile that I use when playing in an LA card room.

The more accurate the default profiles you use are, the less trouble you’ll encounter against fresh faces. However, default profiles are ultimately not enough. No matter how good a default profile is, you must identify as quickly as possible how each of your opponents deviates. As soon as your opponents show their true colors, you can then assign them to more specific player profiles–let’s call these more specific player profiles archetypes (In Killer Poker Shorthanded (Kensington, 2007), John Vorhaus and I put forth several player archetypes that we commonly encounter in shorthanded NLHE cash games. Check them out if you’re looking for some examples).

Archetypes are a step forward, but they still aren’t enough. After all, archetypes are just slightly more specific versions of default player profiles. The task of profiling opponents is never really done. But nonetheless, using good default profiles is the foundation for success when playing against so-called unknowns.

Tony Guerrera is the author of Killer Poker By The Numbers. Visit him online at http://www.killerpokerbythenumbers.com

Take part in the 2008 Irish Winter Festival this October Bank Holiday weekend (October 25th-27th) for a weekend of total poker bliss. Headlined by the Irish Masters main event (with an estimated prizepool of €1 MILLION) and a full side event schedule, the Irish Winter Festival promises to be another must-attend event on the international poker calendar.

Starting on Sunday the 13th April there will be a weekly Grand Final every Sunday night @ 10pm on paddypowerpoker.com. If you want to be in with a chance to win one of our $3,500 packages then check out our online qualifiers page.

Irish Winter Festival 2008

• €1 Million Estimated Prize Pool
• Irish Masters €1,500 Buy–in + €150 Registration
• 800 player capacity
• Citywest Hotel, Dublin
• Oct 25th – 27th 2008 (First Hand dealt at 2pm on the 25th )

During this long bank holiday weekend, 32Red Poker is holding a series of exclusive tournaments. Players can dip into their RedBack (32Red Poker’s loyalty points system) reserves to gain entry to these impressive top-dollar tournaments. New players needn’t worry though - they can buy-in through a nominal fee and battle against 32Red Poker’s most experienced members.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s on offer:

Tonight (Friday 2nd May)

“The Friday Late One” - Guaranteed $1,000. Entry: 1,100 RedBacks or $10 + $1. Starts 22:00 BST.

Saturday (3rd May)

“Be the Bounty” - Guaranteed $1,000. Entry: 1,100 RedBacks or $10 + $1. Starts 21:30 BST.

Sunday (4th May)

“Play for $2k Sunday” - Guaranteed $2,000. Entry: 2,200 RedBacks or $20 + £2. 17:00 BST.

Monday (5th May)

“Quickfire Snooker Special” - Guaranteed $500. Entry: 550 RedBacks or $5 + $0.50. 14:30 BST.

“Snooker Final Session Special” - Guaranteed $500. Entry: 550 RedBacks or $5 + $0.50. 20:30 BST.

UltimateBet to Give Away Record Number of Free Seats to Pokers Biggest Main Event

Players invited to compete in month-long contest for multiple shots at free WSOP* seats

They say you cant put a price on the World Series of Poker* experience. UltimateBet.com is taking that sentiment a little too literally by handing out a large number of Main Event seats for free. UltimateBet.com today announced a new promotion that solidifies the poker site as the best place to win a free seat in the series.

This is an historic promotion for fans of the worlds greatest game, stated UltimateBet spokesperson George MacLean. “We’re handing out loads of Main Event seats and online poker fans can win one just by doing what they love playing poker. “

Annie Duke, UltimateBets new Cardroom Consultant, created the Ultimate Main Event Giveaway promotion so that more online poker players are able to experience Texas Holdem on the worlds biggest stage alongside pokers best pros.

To qualify for the promotion, UltimateBet players must simply play in any real-money poker Sit n Go, ring game or multi-table tournament at UltimateBet.com between April 24th and May 23rd and climb their way up the Main Event Giveaway leader board.

At the end of the qualifying period, the player who has earned the most RAI$E status points will automatically secure a $12,000 Main Event prize package featuring the $10,000 buy-in and $2,000 for travel accommodations.

But thats just the start of UltimateBets Main Event generosity. Players ranking 2nd through 70th on the leader board will play in an exclusive freeroll that features a prize pool of seven additional $12,000 Main Event packages.

In an effort to send as many players as possible to Las Vegas for the worlds most prestigious poker tournament, UltimateBet is opening the floodgates to even more Main Event seats through a series of freerolls. On Saturday May 24th, the online poker site is holding a 25-seat Guaranteed Tournament where at least 25 Main Event prize packages will be won.

Players ranking 71st through 225th on the leader board will win their spot in the $500+30 tournament. Those ranking 226th through 3427th will be divided into five separate freerolls where hundreds of additional opportunities to win a spot in the 25-seat Guaranteed Tournament are on the line.

More information on UltimateBets Main Event Giveaway can be found at:-