Another year has passed, and what a year it was for poker players and fans! We welcomed new players, introduced venues, and spread inaugural events. Tournament prize pools blasted through previous high marks. Enhanced sponsorship opportunities were presented to the top players. The airwaves and ...
Bellagio Introduces Newly Designed Poker Chip Poker Tournament Integrity and Security No. 1 Priority at Five-Diamond World Poker Classic By Lisa Wheeler Bellagio introduced two new changes at its Five-Diamond World Poker Classic in December, designed ...continued
During the second half of the 14th century, Christian Crusaders and Venetian merchants brought what were called "Saracen cards" back to Medieval Europe. Once the poverty and superstition of the Dark Ages had lifted, markets and guilds and ...continued
With five players left in the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP), the following hand came up between top pro Allen Cunningham and eventual winner Jamie Gold, who is now the reigning world champion of poker. At the time, Gold was the chip leader with ...continued
I came into day two at Foxwoods on a real high after doubling up with A-A on the very last hand of the night on day one. I was still below the average in chip count, but my stack was still in good shape in comparison to the blinds. I think people ...continued
Many of the top pros have said it, but I still don't think most players believe it: The cards just don't matter that much. As a new professional, it's true to me. For example, let's say that you get deep into a large tournament like ...continued
Thanksgiving weekend rocks in Vegas; it's one of those special weekends that liven up the local poker rooms. The poker games at Bellagio were full of the weekend tourist crowd, and the games were jamming. I meandered down on Saturday night, ...continued
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is an organization that represents land-based casinos, and is headed up by president and CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. The CEO is charged with being a national advocate whose job is to address regulatory, political, ...continued
The early days of Saturday Night Live featured a group of great comedians, many of whom went on to bigger things, who called themselves "The Not Ready for Prime Time Players." In the Mirage third-quarter episode of the Travel Channel's ...continued
I recently participated in the Fall Poker Roundup at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. The Wildhorse is on an Indian Reservation owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. This tournament is the biggest by far ...continued
"Can I get away from the second nuts?" I hear that question floated around the poker table all the time. It usually takes the form of, "Can I get away from pocket kings preflop?" But I've also heard: "Can I get away from ...continued
Your best bluffing opportunities usually come in heads-up pots, but there are certainly times that you should try to bluff through several opponents. However, when you do so, a very critical concept comes into play, which I call "The Last Line of ...continued
Anyone who plays hold'em, even limit hold'em, has encountered bullies who are always shoving money into the pot. It is to be expected that being able to bet all of your money at any time provides a fine venue for the person who likes to use ...continued
Jenny, I got your number … Suppose that you are the parent of a small child, and for the first years of that child's life, you ensure that the only flavor of ice cream she tastes is chocolate. Oh - it would be very good chocolate ice cream, ...continued
A column I wrote a couple of months ago, titled "Outs and Douts," generated a lot of discussion, as I received more e-mail than usual about the topic. Given the interest, this column shows a couple of hands that apply the concept of a ...continued
This is Part I in a three-part series on my performance in the $6,500 main event at the Master Classics of Poker in November. Even though I have always been strictly a cash-game player, in recent times I have been broadening my horizons more and more. ...continued
In Part I and Part II, we covered the cases in which you checked the flop and either called or check-raised. Now we'll consider the case that everyone checked the flop. When everyone checks, you can usually assume that no one has much. There are ...continued
When playing in a pot-limit (or no-limit) Omaha eight-or-better tournament, you should strongly prefer to bet your stack (go all in) when you have the nuts or a very big hand at least one way. But occasionally a situation arises in which you have a ...continued
I walked into Big Denny's office to find him flipping through a pile of Card Player magazines. "Hey, Maxey," he growled, "I got a beef wit' ya." What else is new? "What's the problem this time, Denny?" ...continued
Depending on when you read this issue, 2006 will be about to end or you already will be experiencing 2007. I can't believe how quickly time passes; it seems like just yesterday that I was toasting the new year with my family in Durango, Colorado. ...continued
If you know how many times in a row a player is willing to bluff, how likely a good hand is to follow a bluff, or a bluff a good hand, you have another weapon to add to your arsenal. You will find these patterns useful in tournaments and live play. ...continued
Another year has come and gone and so much has happened in the microcosm of the poker world, as well as in the universe at large. What has touched so many lives in poker is but a small and relatively insignificant subset of the larger picture when you ...continued