The Poker Blog

POKER TIP from Mad Genius Mike Caro 

Although you can often call profitably with a small pair against a long line of players in hold ‘em, when you’re in late position and no one has entered the pot, it’s different. Then, you should usually raise, not just call.

The reason is that against many players, you’re trying to take advantage of pot odds by calling and seeing the flop. You realize that you’ll almost certainly need to improve your hand to win against that many opponents. But when you’re in late position, you can raise hoping to end up one-on-one or to win the blinds outright. If you do end up against just one opponent, there’s a good chance your small pair might be enough win the pot, affording you an extra chance to win that you would seldom enjoy against many opponents. The raise is designed to chase players out and give yourself that extra chance to win.

You can chat and play with the “Mad Genius”, Mike Caro, every Wednesday night at 9:30pm ET in the Bounty Tournament at Doyles Room.com.

The WSOP Academy , formerly Camp Hellmuth was launched in a partnership between Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc. and Post Oak Productions in January 2007. The WSOP Academy is the exclusive provider of live poker training offered under the banner of the most prestigious set of poker tournaments in the world, the World Series of Poker.

The WSOP Academy offers poker’s premier series of live and interactive instructional camps lead by the world’s most winning professional poker players. The WSOP Academy offers you the rare opportunity to learn face-to-face from the poker players you see playing on TV and in high stakes tournaments and cash games in poker rooms across the globe.

When you attend the WSOP Academy, you can expect a total immersion in the game of poker, in a friendly and encouraging, learning environment. You can expect to learn from expert poker professionals with a strong commitment to sharing the secrets and strategies needed to consistently win at poker.

Testimonials

Hi, Brandon. This is Gideon — wanted to send you an e-mail and say thanks again for helping me out with the academy. I learned a lot, and my game really took off after I got home (I’m up almost 20K since returning home…

• - Gideon visit the site to read more
  

- WSOP Academy Testimonial: “Unbelievable Experience,” Says Gene

 Success Stories

• Adam Chipiuk | Main Event Primer Alumni

   Adam Chipiuk, attended the WSOP Academy Main Event Primer 2008 and achieved tremendous success on the poker scene shortly after. Already playing at a high level with career earnings over $20,000, Chipiuk decided to…

• Adam Murphy | Tournament, Cash & Main Event Primer Alumni

   Adam Murphy and his wife Tanya, have become regular fixtures at the WSOP Academy. His most recent cash came at the 2009 World Series of Poker where he earned $8,975 in Event 13 $2500 No-Limit Hold’em. “My wife,…

Visit the WSOP to read more

- €666 Freerolls every Tuesday at 8pm (9pm CET). 

Devilfish Poker is setting the poker world alight this summer with over €10,000 in freerolls. Every Tuesday, until the end of September, Devilfish Poker will be hosting a €666 Summer Sizzler Freeroll with €1 rebuys and add-ons which will make for an even bigger prizepool and increase player conversions. Players receive a starting stack of 2,000 chips with 2,000 chips for rebuys and 5,000 chips for the add-on.

As a special bonus, the top 6 players in each tournament will also receive a free buy-in (worth €10) to the following Thursday’s Devilfish Bounty tournament on top of their cash payout. Free money and the chance to play against Devilfish? Now that’s sizzling hot!

Exclusively available to players from the UK and Ireland, the bet365 Poker, brand new race is an exciting opportunity to compete for patriotic bragging rights on the bet365 cash tables. There’s a $10,000 prize-pool to be won.

A full week of competition will decide which of their Home Nations’ players can claim the top prize of $1,350 in cash.

Remember that you can also earn VIP Rewards in exchange for the Merit Points you accumulate during the $10,000 UK & Ireland Race.

Weekly super satellites begin on August 13th

paddypowerpoker.com today announces weekly Irish Winter Festival Ticket-Only satellites, with the first $200 + $15 freezeout super satellite scheduled for Thursday, August 13th at 8pm. An Irish Winter Festival main event ticket will be awarded for every $2,300 in the prizepool. Feeder satellites will run daily from Monday, August 10th and buy-ins start from $2.20.

“We are thrilled that players can avail of a wider variety of Irish Winter Festival qualifiers than ever before; our ticket-only satellites have been designed to give players ‘more bang for the buck’!” said Paddy Power, Communications Manager for paddypowerpoker.com. “Since players who win a seat in one of our ticket-only sats will also be eligible for our IWF Sole Survivor promotion and be in with a chance to capture a tasty €20,000, we expect them to beat a path to our tables each and every Thursday evening!”

All paddypowerpoker.com Irish Winter Festival satellite tournaments can be accessed via the poker software lobby; select ‘Scheduled MTT’s’, ‘Specials’ and then the ‘Irish Winter Festival’ tab.

Devilfish Poker is the online home of UK professional Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott. A publically listed company on the London Stock Exchange, Devilfish Poker operates on the Entraction network – the world’s fastest growing open poker network.Launched in 2008 Devilfish Poker has built upon the popularity of Dave Ulliott and grown due to a reputation for VIP Customer Service, reliable software, fast and secure transactions as well as creative and innovative promotions.

Traffic:

Traffic on the Entraction network peaks between the hours of 7pm – 12am (8pm – 1am CET) at which point there are plenty of games running at all levels.  A packed tournament schedule, with ever tournament featuring a guaranteed prizepool, keeps liquidity up around the clock.

Players:

Entraction is traditionally a Scandinavian network which makes for lively action at all levels.  As the network grows, the demographic is changing meaning that a lot of new styles now clash on the tables with the loose aggressive Scandinavian play.  This makes for a very interesting and exciting mix and players who can vary their game will find plenty of opportunities to pick up pots on these tables.

Software:

The Devilfish Poker software is clean, reliable and purely designed for playing poker.  The design is sharp and clutter free letting the player concentrate on the game.  The fully responsive betting slider and full range of betting options make it very easy to quickly size your bet.

Games:

Devilfish Poker offers many games unavailable elsewhere. Along with the full range of limits for Hold’em and Omaha, Devilfish Poker can also boast: 7 Card Stud, 5 Card Draw, 32 Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, Soko, Telesina, Americana as well as Caribbean Stud.

Deposit/Withdrawal/Transfer:

Players can deposit using VISA/Mastercard/Neteller/Neteller 1-Pay/Moneybookers/Paysafe Card/Web Money/Bank Transfer.  Player transfers are also possible.

Support: 

Customer Support is available 24/7 via email with an average response time of less than 1 hour.

Bad Beats happen to every player, but at Reefer Poker they have a way to potentially win big after losing with a monster hand!

In any Texas Hold’em game, you will be looking to maximize your value when you pick up Quads. The chance to go all-in is automatic, but what happens if your opponent is holding higher Quads, or even a Straight Flush?

These are the worst of the Bad Beats, and usually result in thousands of chips being passed over the table. Their Bad Beat Jackpot will ensure thousands of dollars in cash will be won, all for losing a hand.

On specially labeled ring game jackpot tables, Reefer Poker will collect 50 cents from every pot which contributes to the Bad Beat Jackpot. As soon as a player has a monster hand cracked, the jackpot will be won, with every active player at the table receiving a portion of the prize money! The player with the losing hand will pick up the biggest percentage, so if you have Quad sevens or better using both hole cards, you should definitely hope to get beaten!

Don’t miss a shot at Doyles Poker new $150+12 $100,000 Guaranteed tournament every Sunday at 5pm Eastern!

You can buy-in directly or satellite in with one of many different satellite options including Cash, Gold Chip and freeroll satellites all available under the Satellite tab within Tournaments.

Guaranteed Tournament Schedule

The tournament runs every Sunday through August at 5.00ET with a buy in of $150 + $12

For the first time ever, sports fans have a chance to go beyond a typical athlete meet and greet or autograph session to actually play with and against 25 of the world’s greatest sports superstars. The Sports Legends Challenge is the sports fan’s ultimate fantasy featuring four days of casino gaming and golf cash prize tournaments with some of the biggest names in sports, including: Troy Aikman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Richard Petty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joe Namath, Reggie Jackson and many others. To up the ante, the event will also feature 25 of the world’s top Poker Pros such as Jamie Gold, Annie Duke, Johnny Chan and Mike Sexton, who will play with and coach event participants.

The Sports Legends Challenge announced today that it has secured mixed martial arts super stars Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture; skateboard icon Tony Hawk; and hockey legend Mark Messier to round out the list of 25 athletes who will participate.

The event is confirmed for Sept. 14 – 17, 2009 at the luxurious Atlantis Paradise Island resort and casino in the Bahamas. The Sports Legends, Poker Pros and participants will compete in a variety of events including No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, blackjack, slots and golf tournaments to vie for up to $10 million in prize money.

“The Sports Legends Challenge is one of the most elite and exclusive sporting events in the world,” said Bruce Bibbero, founder and chief executive officer, Sports Legends Challenge. “There has never been an event where a select group of sports fans can cross the line from spectator to competitor in a multi-day gaming and golf experience with 25 of the biggest names in U.S. sports history. It’s simply unprecedented.”

Event participants will compete individually and with a team in a variety of events including No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, blackjack, slots and golf tournaments during the four-day event. The week culminates with the Sports Legends All-Star Poker Challenge, matching up the Sports Legends, Poker Pros and top-finishing competitors in a winner-take-all, No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em grand finale. This event will pair the top 25 finishing poker players with a Sports Legend in two-player teams, along with a Poker Pro as their coach, for a cash prize. The Sports Legends All-Star Poker Challenge will be televised nationally by FOX Sports Network on Nov. 26, 2009, Thanksgiving Day.

“With the addition of Liddell, Couture, Hawk and Messier, we will enhance the experience for participants and entice a whole new audience of sports fans to be part of this event,” Bibbero said. “We’ve had an unbelievable response to this first-ever event. The support from the sports, poker and fan communities reinforces our vision to turn the Sports Legends Challenge into a series of worldwide events.”

The Sports Legends Challenge also announced today that PokerNews, the world’s leading Poker Web site, has been named as the title sponsor for the organization’s ultimate sports fantasy and gaming event now known as the PokerNews Sports Legends Challenge presented by AbsolutePoker.net. PokerNews will provide unique coverage and content of this event to millions of readers across the international poker community.

Additionally, the World Series of Poker Academy will hold a special three-day academy program as part of the Sports Legends Challenge headlined by all 25 of the Poker Pros in attendance. The Poker Pros will provide strategy, tips and offer instruction to the event participants. In addition to the casino gaming, the Sports Legends Challenge also features a series of golf tournaments at the world-renowned Ocean Club Golf Course.

The sports icons participating in the event include:

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Julius Erving (Dr. J)
• Bobby Hull
• Troy Aikman
• Mike Ditka
• Ozzie Smith
• Richard Petty
• Mark Messier
• Laffit Pincay
• Sugar Ray Leonard
• Fuzzy Zoeller
• Brooks Robinson
• Emmitt Smith
• Jerry West
• Gale Sayers
• Reggie Jackson
• Herschel Walker
• Kyle Petty
• Chuck Liddell
• Jim Brown
• Michael Strahan
• Tony Hawk
• Randy Couture
• Rocco Mediate
• Joe Namath

Sports fans interested in participating should visit www.sportslegendschallenge.com or call 404-869-5000 for information on how to register. Prices start at only $3,799 per person based on double occupancy. “For most sports fans, the opportunity to meet just one of these athletes is something they would remember
and talk about the rest of their lives,” Bibbero said. “We are creating an opportunity for participants to not only meet all of these athletes, but spend significant time with them playing poker, golf and hanging out for four fantastic days. There are a variety of packages available at a great value for an event of this caliber.”

The Poker Pros participating in the event include:

• Annie Duke
• Men “The Master” Nguyen
• Marsha Waggoner
• Johnny Chan
• Mark Seif
• Kathy Liebert
• Mike Sexton
• Cyndy Violette
• Chip Jett
• T.J. Cloutier
• Robert Williamson, III
• David Singer
• Jamie Gold
• Gavin Smith
• Marco Traniello
• Layne Flack
• Barbara Enright
• Karina Jett
• “Cowboy” Kenna James
• Antonio Esfandiari
• Amir Vahedi
• Robert Daily

Corporate partners for the Sports Legends Challenge include PokerNews, AbsolutePoker.net, Rovia, WorldVentures, Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas, FOX Sports Radio, NTN Buzztime, Inc., VegasInsider, World Championship of Fantasy Football, The World Poker Store, Legendary Auctions, Golf Now powered by The Golf Channel, JetBlue, World Series of Poker Academy, Magellan Jet, Alchemy3, Bluff Media, World Poker Association, Playboy Golf, and Imperial Jets.

The Sports Legends Challenge is the only event of its kind that gives sports fans a chance to cross the line from spectator to competitor with the greatest Sports Legends of our time for up to $10 million in prize money, and the event is televised nationally on Fox Sports Network. The inaugural North American event will take place at Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas from Sept. 14-17, 2009, with the premiere international event set to take place in London in 2010. For more information, please visit www.sportslegendschallenge.com.

PokerNews
PokerNews is the premier portal for all news, live reporting and information relating to Poker on the World Wide Web. Picked by Forbes as one of the “Best of Web” sites for Poker information, PokerNews has sites in 27 different languages and boasts involvement from many of the top players in the world. PokerNews has been the main source for live updates of poker tournaments around the globe with the goal of promoting poker as a sport to be enjoyed by all. If you need information on poker, PokerNews.com is the place to go.

AbsolutePoker.net
AbsolutePoker.net is part of the CEREUS poker network and is dedicated to providing players from around the world with a free online poker game experience that is second to none. Players worldwide can access AbsolutePoker.net online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and experience the best free multi-player game online poker has to offer. AbsolutePoker.net is committed to remaining the most trusted and best online poker experience, created by poker players for poker players.

The top 50 raked hands race has just got a whole lot bigger: it’s now paying the TOP 75 places!

The prize pool has also been extended to a massive total of $40,000! On top of this will be the VIP point race, a further $15,000 making a total prize pool of $55,000!

The hands race will reward those players ranked in the top 75 in terms of raked hands this August, with the top prize a bankroll exploding $8,500!

Raked hands are the easiest races online, as it doesn’t matter who you are, what you play or at what level. If is a raked hand it counts!

The VIP point race rewards those that can earn VIP points and fast! Only the top 15 positions will see the cash, but if you’re this good, it’ll only add to your win in the hands race! With a top prize of $3,000 the total potential first prize is $11,500!