Moments after winning the European Poker Tour Grand Final, Gavin Griffin picked up the championship crystal trophy and faced dozens of whirling cameras. He had just beaten Marc Karam to win more than $2.4 million, which was part of the largest poker prize pool of any tournament located outside ...
Bellagio Cup III Championship Now a World Poker Tour Event Supersatellites Added to the Schedule By Bob Pajich Bellagio recently announced that its $10,000 buy-in event that's set to take place at this summer's Bellagio Cup III tournament ...continued
"I believe in America. America has made my fortune." - Bonasera For 17 consecutive months between April 2005 and September 2006, the screen name JohnnyBax sat unmoving atop one of the Internet's most prestigious ranking sites, and people ...continued
I'm goin' down the river, down to New Orleans. They tell me everything's gonna be alright, But I don't know what alright even means … - Bob Dylan In Bruce Olds' historical novel Bucking the Tiger, Doc Holliday opines with ...continued
Trained on the Internet, a new breed of poker professional rakes in millions of real-world dollars in high-stakes cash games and major tournaments. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, final table after final table was littered with online pros. This ...continued
As we go to press, the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship just concluded, and one of the game's superstars walked away with the title after an epic final-table battle. Carlos Mortensen, the 2001 World Series of Poker champion, added a WPT ...continued
At the beginning of March, the World Poker Tour held its annual event in my backyard - at Bay 101 in San Jose - and I believed I was ready to play some great poker. I had just won four heats out of seven (with six players each in them) in England, and ...continued
With just 18 players left and sitting fifth in chips, I was starting to feel very confident about my chances of winning my third World Poker Tour title. While there were some excellent players remaining, like J.C. Tran and Kido Pham, there were also ...continued
For those of you who didn't know Sam Angel, you definitely missed out on an experience. Those of us who did will miss the good times, laughs, and even the aggravation. Most of all, the poker world has lost one of its all-time great characters. Sam ...continued
If you have knowledge of a congressman, senator, candidate, or staffer who has played poker, e-mail me the details: [email protected]. I'll make sure that the info gets in the right hands. Tight-aggressive play gets the money. Pick your spots, and ...continued
One of the most overlooked (and most important) skills in poker is getting paid when you flop a huge hand. A few years ago, it used to be that whenever you hit a big hand, you could just slow-play it and almost always expect to get paid, but ...continued
To become a top player, you must adapt to new information constantly, often in a matter of seconds. For example, you're ready to bet top pair on the turn, but suddenly the player to your left sighs loudly. Having played with him several times, you ...continued
While attending the Cape Fear Regional Bridge Tournament (more than 1,500 bridge players) in Wilmington, North Carolina, I was invited to play in an 11-handed $100 buy-in hold'em tournament after one of the evening bridge sessions (prize money: ...continued
The most common mistake of beginning players is playing too loosely. They play too many starting hands, continue too often with weak pairs on the flop, and chase unprofitable draws. As players gain experience, they make these types of mistakes with ...continued
In my last column, I discussed the many factors that should be taken into account when figuring poker odds. Here are some more situations that I think are often improperly analyzed: 1. This problem was sent to me by one of my poker students: ...continued
The following is a slightly modified excerpt from the "River Play" chapter of my forthcoming book, Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy. It deals with the subject of value-betting your hand on the river, but was edited to omit concepts ...continued
I'm fortunate to have gained some wonderful friendships from my involvement in the poker community these last 20 years. Three of those friends are Ken, Michael, and James, all San Francisco Bay Area residents with whom I've shared many great ...continued
I recently returned from one of my more enjoyable poker road trips, in which I traveled to Monte Carlo, Monaco, to attend the European Poker Tour (EPT) Championship. On my trip, not only did I play in the tournament, but I had the opportunity to spend ...continued
A lot of the stories we hear about expert poker players at their finest reveal some mind-boggling, awe-inspiring decisions. The one that most stands out is Phil Ivey's all-in move against Paul Jackson at the Monte Carlo Millions. For those who ...continued
There's an old joke about a guy coming home late from a poker game to find his hideous harpy of a wife waiting for him with a rolling pin. She demands to know where the hell he's been, and he tells her she'll have to pack all of her things ...continued
Some modern psychologists are convinced that there are two types of motivation - intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within. People enjoy doing something for the pleasure or reward that the doing provides them. Extrinsic ...continued