If you were to sit down at a tournament poker table with Lee Watkinson, you most likely would come away with the impression of him as a quiet and measured opponent who let his play do the talking as he relieved you of your chips. You might remember his piercing stare, which shouts focus and ...
Heartland Poker Tour Carving Niche Through Mid-America Greektown Casino in Detroit Will Brand its Cardroom Heartland By Bob Pajich It won't be long before the Heartland Poker Tour reaches two milestones, in the world of both poker and television. ...continued
Tom Dwan is better known to the poker community by his online moniker, "Durrr." The 21-year-old pro recently began to travel the tournament trail, but high-stakes cash games on the Internet are his bread and butter. A few years ago, Dwan ...continued
This hand came up while I was flying from Las Vegas to San Jose, sitting next to Layne Flack on the way to Bay 101 for this year's Shooting Star event. We were discussing hands that we had played together over the past few months, and he told me ...continued
At only 27 years old, Gavin Griffin already holds one of the most impressive collections of poker's most prestigious titles: World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour championships. Now, Card Player is giving its readers a ...continued
And Chan has him … Those are the words that would haunt anyone who just so happened to be immortalized in poker's most popular movie, yet Erik Seidel takes it in stride, shrugging off any misconception that his depiction in Rounders bothers ...continued
Between legend-making, exaggeration, and fabrication, there is reason to believe we don't know the accurate story. - Michael Craig What Michael Craig says about the celebrated match between Johnny Moss and Nick "The Greek" Dandalos can ...continued
It was an accomplishment just to be one of the final six players in the 2008 World Poker Tour World Poker Challenge at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. To get down to the final table of 10, the players had to fight through a field of 261 ...continued
If you have a Las Vegas poker expedition planned for this summer, listen up. Even though last summer was chock-full of tournaments for just about anyone's budget, amazingly, the biggest poker rooms in town are offering even more tournament choices ...continued
The World Poker Tour came to the Bay Area in early March, and I was fired up! First, the host casino -- Bay 101 in San Jose -- is in my backyard. And second, I had just made the final table of the WPT event in L.A. 10 days earlier. So, I was feeling ...continued
Before heading across the pond, I went to Bay 101 in San Jose, California, for the Shooting Star tournaement, one of my favorites. The casino is top-notch, and has the most dedicated poker fans on the planet. Not only that, but I was hosting a charity ...continued
It might come as a complete surprise to you, but I am not a big fan of established truths, norms, and conventional thinking. Just because some people have been repeating something for years and years does not make it any more credible. Gamblers are ...continued
Three of my best poker pals have pretty much given up limit hold'em for no-limit hold'em. My buddy, "The best no-limit hold'em player you never heard of," has successfully made the change and is making oodles of bucks in his ...continued
It's a recent phenomenon. In just about every no-limit hold'em poker tournament, you will see people making huge overbets or all-in raises or reraises -- often with hands that are mediocre, at best. Despite the fact that they risk so many ...continued
The truth about pot-limit Omaha (PLO) is that about 99 percent of the game is played on the draw. With few exceptions, seldom are big pots contested when one player flops the nuts and another player flops the second nuts, such as the nut flush versus ...continued
No doubt, you've heard from many a person that the key to poker is never to call. Raise or fold. If you can't raise, throw it away. It's perhaps useful advice for a casual player who hasn't yet seen how powerful aggression can be. But ...continued
My last column started investigating when you can give a free card. I created the following list: You flop (or turn) an unbeatable hand. The pot is very small. You have a vulnerable hand that can improve. Your opponent is a frequent bluffer. You are ...continued
Last December, I was in the Bahamas, playing a WPT Boot Camp Battle for the Season Pass tournament. I played some interesting hands that I thought I would share with you. The first hand occurred early in the tournament. We started out with 20,000 in ...continued
Concentration creates a huge edge. Hall of Famer Johnny Moss once said, "In an otherwise even contest, the man with the best concentration will almost always win." (Jason Misa, "The Ultimate Poker Skill," Card Player, Nov. 28, ...continued
Whenever we step up to higher levels or limits, or to bigger buy-in tournaments, we naturally do so with a certain trepidation, a fear based on the assumption that since our new foes are used to playing for more money, they must necessarily be playing ...continued
Muck: The pile of discards gathered facedown in the center of the table by the dealer. This mysterious pile of discards has been a source of many problems when it comes to making decisions in poker. In reality, the muck should have little relevance to ...continued
In my last column, I discussed Kill Phil. In this one, I will discuss Kill Everyone. Lee Nelson is the main author of this volume, but he received contributions from Tysen Streib, Kim Lee, and Mark Vos. This book is absolutely full of interesting ...continued
One of the world's most famous quotes is by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius: "Better wise men than wise laws." Of course, he was speaking about the real world, and at a time long before poker appeared on our planet. Yet, the idea ...continued
Since my column focuses on the female perspective in poker, I asked a group of women the following question: Do you prefer live play or tournament play, and why? I received some very insightful answers, as follows: Tina Bergstrom: For me, cash games ...continued