You might be the most successful poker player among your group of friends. But imagine trying to be the best among Phil Ivey, Allen Cunningham, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel, longtime friends who, combined, have more than $40 million in tournament earnings and 21 World Series bracelets. ...
David Benefield is a 22-year-old from Forth Worth, Texas, who is widely known to the online-poker community as "Raptor." Having moved up the ranks with close friend and roommate Tom "durrr" Dwan, Benefield is considered one of the ...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
After dozens of sessions over the course of three and a half years, the Table 1 pros, sometimes known as the Corporation, were between $20 million and $26 million in the black against the Texas billionaire. As far as bragging rights were concerned, ...continued
Kentucky Says, 'Show Me the Money' Commonwealth Looking to Take More Than $1 Billion From Sites By Bob Pajich Kentucky is attempting to force 141 online poker and gambling companies to collectively pay it more than $1 billion or risk losing ...continued
Welcome to The Scoop, the Card Player TV weekly program that features poker's old-school superstars and new-school Internet hotshots. Every episode of The Scoop discusses in-depth strategies and explores important issues within the poker world. ...continued
The top three players in the Card Player 2008 Player of the Year (POY) race had not been challenged since the World Series of Poker this summer. Leader John Phan was followed from afar by Erik Seidel and David Benyamine, and then there was everyone ...continued
Bertrand Grospellier Wins $1.4 Million at Festa al Lago By Julio Rodriguez After a one-year hiatus from the tournament circuit, the popular Festa al Lago returned to Bellagio as the third of four major events held there year-round. The $15,000 buy-in ...continued
Want to study real poker hands with the Internet's most successful players? In this series, Card Player offers hand analysis with online poker's leading talent. Event 2008 World Series of Poker $1,500 no-limit hold'em, event No. 52 Players ...continued
With Jason Mercier In this series, Card Player offers an in-depth analysis of the key hands that catapulted a player to a top finish, online or live. We also will reveal key concepts and strategies from the world's best tournament players, as we ...continued
Not much time remains for online poker players to rack up points in the 2008 Card Player Online Player of the Year (OPOY) race. There's barely a month left for the Internet's elite players to make deep finishes in major online poker ...continued
When high-school senior year rolled around for Evan Parkes, graduation parties, Friday night sports, and prom night were the last things on his mind. His obsession was more about pot odds than muscle cars. And no by-the-book guidance counselor could ...continued
In this column, I am going to discuss a hand with an opportunity to slow-play, fast-play, and something entirely different. Game Six-handed $25-$50 cash game on PokerStars Opponent Maroonlime: A friend and very aggressive Stacks $5,000 (me) versus ...continued
The single most important adjustment when making the transition from a cash game to a tournament is the ability to stay ahead of the curve. A cash game is static, in that the blinds never change. The game is still dynamic, in that many other factors ...continued
It's an insanely busy time in tournament poker as I write this. Bellagio's $15,000 Festa al Lago championship just concluded, Caesars Palace is running its $10,000 Caesars Poker Classic, and the European Poker Tour Hungarian Open drew a large ...continued
It was a pleasure to be in London playing in the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) recently. Every great poker player on the planet made it to London to fight it out for WSOPE bracelets. In fact, when the World Series of Poker announced that it was ...continued
When September came around this year, I was ready to head off to London for the World Series of Poker Europe. But as the time to go drew near, I began to reflect. I haven't exactly been tearing up the tournament trail this past year or so, and ...continued
There's $150 in the pot. It's $30 to you. So, the pot is currently laying you 5-1. Many players consider the quality of their hand, the size of the pot, and the chance that their hand is good. If they think their hand is no good, they assess ...continued
The idea of a player "limiting" his hand range is a critical hand-reading concept. The basic idea is this: Anyone who has a very strong hand wants to get money in the pot. He'll be looking for an opportunity to do that. If your opponent ...continued
One of the reasons I prefer live play is that I can read and use tells. It is simply easier to play against people I can see. Once in a while, however, I get to make an inference from an unusual tell. I had such an experience in a Bellagio $30-$60 ...continued
What follows is the first of what likely will be a series of pot-limit Omaha (PLO) practice-hand quizzes, similar to those found in my book, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy. These problems are taken from actual hands I've played, and ...continued
Hi. Come on in. I have a rare treat today - roasted salmon on heirloom tomato and wild mushroom ragout, with sautéed asparagus. Show some class, try not to wolf it down. Let's look at some mistakes that limit players should avoid making. ...continued
In no-limit hold'em, when you are pot-committed, it means that you are going to play out the hand regardless of what your opponent does in the betting or what cards come on the board. You may be hoping that your hand is good or hoping to draw out. ...continued
As I mentioned in the last column in this series, there are several factors involved in playing suited aces. They are: • Quality of the kicker • Position • Stack size • Action prior to you • Your table image • Composition ...continued
It makes me cringe every time that I hear it. A player says the words "all in" in the context of a question or comment, with no intention of actually moving all in. Most of the time, it doesn't cause a problem, but every once in a while, ...continued
Part I said that winners constantly assess the power balance, and that they adjust their strategy to fit it. This column will discuss some factors that change this balance and how you should adjust to these changes. Every card can change the power ...continued
Reader Kenneth Phan sent me an e-mail with the subject line "possibly a simple answer to a dumb question": Hi, Michael. I am a big fan of your articles, and although I've never written to let you know that they are tremendously ...continued