No Limit Hold’em Baby

If you have committed to playing regular poker with plans of pushing it to become a pro, then you might also be struggling with ways of how you can balance your poker with your family life.

Achieving a balance is really a two way street (that sounded mushy), but here’s our set for poker players:

1. Never bring home your bad luck in a poker game or poker tournament. Make sure you drop everything about poker before you turn the knob of your front door.
2. Do not lie about your losses or wins to your partner. Remember that you are talking to your partner and your relationship includes matters of finances. If you have played a sum which you cannot really afford to lose, that really puts some stress to your relationship. Any pros and cons about you playing poker should be discussed with your spouse or partner.

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What do you do when you are up against a player and you think you have winning cards. It is really quite hard to decide especially when you are the first to act.

Of course you want to get more money into the pot but what will be the best way to do it.

Check Raising

When you check raise, you are sure that more money will get into the pot because you raised the chips so the other player will have to put in more to see what card is next.

One downside though is that when you show too much strength, your opponent might chicken out and fold. If this happens, this will be a missed opportunity for you.

Betting out

When we bet, with raising after at the back of our minds, we remove the possibility for our opponent to see a free card. It also does not take away the air of mystery about the cards that we have. Though you will be able to disguise your cards, in a way, you are also limiting the amount of money that your opponent can put in. (more…)

I would like to thank both the poker Gods and their son Chris “Jesus” Ferguson for the beautiful river card.

By the way: Phil makes a horrible horrible turn bet, shutting out close to all inferior hands. I hate hate hate that play – Gabe Kaplan obviously disagrees.

I LOVE THE AUDIENCE NEEDLE!

Many players play poker for recreational purposes, some play with the intention of earning money and some players play for the fun of it.

You should refrain from investing big amount if you are playing just for the aspect of fun and enjoyment. If you are a seasoned player and have proven your worth by winning games on the poker table then you should have the confidence of laying 100 odd bets on the limit you play.

If you are playing at $5-8 then your limit should be around $2000 in the bankroll. Having fair idea about your betting limits is a great and a positive way to approach the game. If players know their beting limits they would not go overboard and blow all the money in the bankroll. Good poker players effectively manage their bankroll.

Avoid consuming alcohol while playing poker as it taints the mood and if you are on a losing streak you start betting recklessly to win the old money back. One of the best ways of bankroll management is to handle the amount in the account in a resourceful manner.

You should never participate in a game which is above the limits of the money in your account. You should glue yourself to the current balance in your account and shape the game accordingly with your betting gestures.

One of the most foolish acts of a poker player would be using all the money in the account for a sit and go or maybe plunging into a cash game. A resourceful pattern of managing your bankroll is spreading the amount on different poker tables which would magnify your chances of winning and increase your hourly earnings as well.

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Ziggmund plays this hand to the hills – and Phil Ivey falls for the trap like a little boy. So unlike him. I’m a huge Ivey-fan, but this is just a silly call, even against Ziggy aka Ilari Sahamies.

Getting a middle pair on the flop is a good news, bad news situation. It is a good thing since you hit part of the flop but on the other hand, there is a good potential that someone has better pair to dominate what you have.

You should be very observant and see how players in front of you will handle their cards. The players after you may also be playing with a top pair but only with a poor kicker or they are just playing you slow.

In a no draw situation where there will be more than two players in the hand, you can try these steps:

A player in front of you may bet to play his cards, your natural response should be to fold since you don’t know what will come next behind you.

If no one plays his cards in front of you, then try putting out half of the pot and see where you stand. If someone raises you, then you must fold since you only have 5 outs before the turn. People behind you might also call and this could bring a string of events on the table.

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Mike Matusow and Daniel Negreanu playing a big big pot with very very weak hands. Great poker!

Sam Farha is a highly skilled poker player who originally hails from Lebanon. However, Sam moved to the United States in the 1970′s and by the year 1990 was making enough money from playing poker that he quit his job. The World Series of Poker has been the best moneymaker for Sam Farha to date. Sam nearly won it all in 2003, but was defeated by Chris Moneymaker. Sam Farha did still win a substantial sum in the 2003 matchup, and also came back in the 2005 World Series of Poker to win even more money.

“Luck is Not Enough” is the title that Sam is going to be using for his book about how to play poker. Sam also has several other engagements including being a spokesman for Harrah’s casino in Las Vegas and being on a poker playing show on the Game Show Network called High Stakes Poker. While Sam is not officially related to any poker room, Poker Stars was kind enough to setup a rematch between Moneymaker and Farha. Farha did win the rematch, however, he was not awarded any money.

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