Mar 08 2010

When Will They Learn?

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 8:24 pm

Doyle Brunson used Twitter to make a great response to the EPT Berlin Armed Robbery scare that has the whole of the poker world in shock this week. He said “Welcome to my ex-world. 800,000 euros….nice score.” Doyle is certainly not condoning what happened in Berlin and was very careful to say ‘ex-world’ but this was a throwback to a different age of Poker where there was a constant threat of being robbed because of the security issues in playing with a large amount of money in an unsecured environment. The robbers even had public advertising telling them where the money will be and when! Can we really be surprised such a robbery has taken place?

There were security issues already at the venue and unfortunately they were proved to be accurate when the casino erupted in mass panic when armed robbers broke in and started demanding money. According to many eye-witness reports, players ran for cover under tables then crawled across the floor and made their way through the various fire exits to safety. Although unconfirmed, there are rumours that a hotel doorman intercepted the gunmen and saved some of the money. Considering he will not be getting the money as a reward, my feelings are he should have left them to it. There were no gunshots fired as far as I can tell from reading witness accounts, which is something positive. Someone could have lost their lives.

Stuart Rutter was quoted today as saying he noticed when you bought in for cash the large amounts of notes were stacked next to the teller and when asked about security they simply said not to worry. The poker tournaments must respond as players said that although they understood buying in with cash is not the best way to operate there was little choice for the EPT tournaments. In my opinion, because some events can be €10,000+ to enter it should be done through bank transfer in all cases. If a poker player prefers to deal cash in hand for either tax or personal preference then unfortunately they cannot take part. If they really wanted to play they would find a way even depositing into a friends account and having them swipe their card for the buy-in. Having €1 million in cash at a venue (and having advertised this often guaranteed) and yet still be surprised when a robbery is attempted is very naïve.

It is bizarre to think this heist has not taken place earlier. In the USA there is gun protection at the WSOP when large amounts of cash are placed on the table when the tournament reaches its heads up match. The sight of gunmen can look a little theatrical and unnecessary, but the EPT has learned just why the security is taken so seriously. If you are lax there are people out there willing to make you pay for that lax attitude.

Hopefully Poker can respond and tighten security so the live game is not affected. Cash is not a great way to operate in my view with anything other than the smallest amounts of money. I remember working in the betting Industry when one bettor was known as the “hip bag man” because he wore a hip bag rammed with cash for his betting. I was told his nickname by other customers! The risk of robbery must have been high for this man and the stash on offer for any would be robber was over £10,000. As Doyle said in his tweet – nice score.

Do not fear, however, as online poker can be the answer. If you play at a great site like bwin.com, your money is safely stored in their accounts and you are as safe as you can be in your own home. Your risk of robbery is not increased in the same way it would be by playing in an environment where millions of dollars in real cash could tempt an assailant into trying to get their hands on it. Perhaps this episode will remind people of the benefits of online poker.

Sign up to bwin.com today if you want to play poker in a safe environment.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Feb 12 2010

If I Was Only Allowed One Form of Poker

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 2:58 pm

Let’s assume that you force yourself to only focus on one type of Texas Hold’em poker game from this moment forward. What would you choose? Here is the case for each of the three main disciplines offered in poker. They are cash games; multi-table tournaments and single table sit and go poker tournaments.

Cash Games

Cash games are real money pots with real cash being won and lost every hand. Probably over half of all poker players would choose this as their preferred form of poker if they had to choose only one type of poker to play. Cash games are played with a specific strategy that once learned will form a solid foundation of your future poker playing.

Using good bankroll management you can work your way up and down the poker levels to manage swings of luck and if you are good enough at the strategy required in cash games you can show a consistent profit over time. Many players make over $100,000 from relatively small stakes by combining actual cash wins with rakeback or VIP player points and prizes.

Cash games are always available and accurate statistics can be kept on regular players to help your decision making and when you win, you win real money. You can also start and finish playing whenever you want and, perhaps crucially, you have full control over which table you play at and against which opponents. Game selection can enable you to always be contesting hands against players who you should beat.

Multi-table Poker Tournaments

Life changing wins can be obtained by winning a big poker tournament. Cash game wins are more consistent but compared to your buy-in a poker tournament win will be a lot higher. For those who like the chance to win big money and have a bankroll to withstand the swings of playing regular poker tournaments this would be a good game for you to play.

There are players like Shaun Deeb, who play only poker tournaments and show a good profit from doing so. Playing multi-table tournaments is not something many players would choose to do exclusively but if you understand the correct strategy to make it work you can show a good profit over time.

Single Table Sit and Go Poker Tournaments

SNG’s are a great way of learning final table strategy. As you are repeating the same blinds, chip stacks and bubble way once you understand the concepts of Sit and go play and the push fold ranges on the bubble you can play many of these tournaments at once and repeat the strategy over and over.

This is a relatively low risk way of building your bankroll as even against good players you are able to repeat sound strategy and show a decent profit. ROI (Return on Investment) of between 10% and 15% is very achievable over the long term for a good Sit and go single table tournament player.

The downside of SNG play is you never know who you will play against until players begin to register and often there is too large of a playing pool to know whether you should unregister based on the other players joining the game.

My own choice would have to be cash games. My favourite game is playing Sit and go’s, but cash games are the bread and butter of the quality poker player. You would need to play many $10 SNG’s at a 10% ROI to earn enough to make a living whilst playing cash games this could be done playing less hours but having more of an edge over the players you choose to play against. Poker tournaments are what I use for a shot at a big prize depending on my success in other forms of poker so I would be hesitant to play these exclusively.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Dec 30 2009

Easy Fixes for Common Poker Tournament Errors

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 11:09 am

Texas Hold ‘em poker tournaments are available 24/7 to play online and you can shoot for big prizes participating in many live poker tournaments once you gain some experience. Unfortunately it is very difficult to play like World Champion Joe Cada and win a massive tournament like the World Series of Poker. Even Joe got very lucky to win. But aside from luck, you must have a solid set of fundamental skills in order to put yourself in a position to benefit from good luck and win possibly life changing prizes.

There are many poker software programs like Pokerstove that calculate your specific equity in a pre-determined spot which is excellent for hand analysis however you must be making good decisions at the table during live poker play. There are a number of common errors that are easily fixable and once addressed they result in an immediate improvement in your poker game.

Three Betting Too Lightly

AA, KK and QQ are good three betting hands. If you start three betting with hands like JJ, TT, 99, 88, AQ and AJ then you are perhaps being a little loose. Often a player’s raise is very legitimate in building the pot because they have a good hand. Re-raising with the second set of weaker premium hands exposes you to a large pot when you are already dominated. In poker tournaments any player with a good starting hand will not fold to your re-raise and most often will shove into you so three betting must be done with care.

Middle pairs are played for value trying to hit the set. Would you rather wait to have your made hand and see what the early action is or speculate with a marginal hand? Most players prefer to get their money in better than a middle pair that is likely to face overcards after the flop. Tighten up your three betting range unless you specifically want to bluff or semi-bluff. Only ever do this on purpose and do not get dragged into an uncomfortable spot because you unwittingly over value certain hands that are good for one raise but vulnerable in a raised pot.

Calling an All-in Bet

Admittedly I have fallen foul of this myself many times. The tough spots are when you have a decent but not great hand like AJ or KQ and you are unsure whether your opponent is bluffing or not. Factors like your opponents stacks sizes in relation to the blinds, your stack in relation to your opponents and how much it is to call are important. You should be particularly careful when calling the all-in shove by your opponent will mean you risk your tournament life.

Not Profiling Players Properly

Failing to have good information when faced with a big decision is a very common fault of many cash game poker players and tournament players. Even in a tournament of 1 million players you only need to capture information about the nine other players at your table, so there is no excuse for failing to do so. Start off with general observations like loose or aggressive and become more specific as you are given more information. Gathering information about a poker player is an ongoing process so always start with the very first hand and go from there.

There are plenty of common mistakes made in poker tournaments, but stay patient and alert and observe opponents from the first hand and you will do well if the poker luck goes your way. Remember if you bust out with bad play you do not get a chance to get lucky.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Nov 26 2009

Isildur1 Continues to Play High Stakes Poker

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 10:18 am

At one point this month Isildur1, whose identity is still not known although it is thought it is a male from Sweden who is nineteen years old, was $5 million in profit after crushing players like Brian Townsend, Phil Ivey, Phil Galfond, Patrik Antonius and Tom Dwan at online poker. Due to the initial success with which Isildur1 dismantled even the best professionals, there was talk of him cheating in some way; although this is not a widely held view. Thousands of railbirds have been watching the online poker action as yet another unknown player with a big wallet and big heart is taking on the best players in the world on the online poker tables.

On the 17th November 2009 Isildur1 sat with Patrik Antonius and they played a marathon online poker session which saw the biggest ever pot seen online of $839,000 (which has since been eclipsed). Antonius won $2,978,963 from Isildur1 on that session. Isildur1 was unhappy as Antonius would not play deep No Limit Heads Up and the two had an argument in the chat with Isildur1 berating him for his approach to the game. There were signs that Isildur1 was tilting as he lost around 50% of his previous ten days winnings. Antonius persuaded him to play heads up PLO which is Isildur1’s worst game according to a tracking site with him losing $2.1 million in around 50,000 hands. If Isildur1 wants to be profitable, he should probably concede he is not good enough at this version of online poker to beat the best players.

Showing signs of tilt at these nosebleed stakes can be extremely painful for any online poker bankroll as Isildur1 has found out. He continued losing until his losses from his richest point were close to $5 million and he was about even according to tracking sites.

It was expected that if Isildur1 busted out then he would become another person on the list of playings who have turned up at the highest stakes of online poker and played the best, won a good amount of money but then lost it all back with a bit extra. As Isildur1 got back to a mere $100,000 in profit for the month which is a small amount considering the amounts wagered people were expecting him to be the next casualty of the high stakes poker game.

Except this player is a little different. After forum regulars and the many thousand players railing the action it became clear after analysing the hands played that Isildur1 really does know how to play poker. There were signs he had a good run but his play was consistent with what was expected by any other top player getting similar cards. This online poker player looks like he may become a permanent part of the high stakes games.

Isildur1 and Patrik Antonius went on to play the biggest ever pot seen online. The eventual pot size was $1,356,947 when Patriks KKA3 preflop held off the higher straight draw from Isildur1. When I watch the hand back you see raise and a series of re-raises pre-flop until the players have both got $81,000 invested before the flop. Patrik re-raises to $779,000 after betting out $91,000 on the flop and being re-raised to $439,000 which is raised all-in by Isildur1 and Patrik calls. With a 452 board the bets suggest that Antonius has hit his draw and has something like A3xx here and as a lower stakes player I was surprised that Isildur1 carried on firing. Both players showed real guts in this hand as Antonius must have known he was facing a hand that could outdraw him. This hand was part of a session where Isildur1 lost more than $2 million. It may be quite some time before this hand is eclipsed in size by any online poker player.

Isildurs current high stakes poker activity can be tracked by visiting poker table ratings which keeps a track of No Limit Texas Hold ‘em stats. Whilst the numbers are not exact, they form a reasonable indication of the success or failure of the player’s current poker play. Isildur1 has managed to build his profit back to around $700,000 with some smaller wins since his losing sessions so we may yet see more fireworks in the high stakes online poker games.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Nov 23 2009

Getting your poker education from books

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — carl @ 1:47 pm

There has been somewhat of a technological revolution with regards to poker over the past few years. The Internet has paved the way for the online poker game to really take off and this has led to vast numbers of young kids coming into the game and taking poker very seriously. Now most of these young guys are not just any old young guys but players who are University educated and have thought processes, intelligence and learning techniques that are highly relevant to the analysis of poker.

Many of them also have advanced qualifications in mathematics and statistics. Years ago, the people with these types of credentials didn’t come into poker because it wasn’t main stream and the Internet wasn’t widely spread and neither was poker. But now it is and these young guns are analysing the game in whole new ways that the old guard simply didn’t. So they understand the game better in many ways and have certainly enlightened the knowledge base of many of the older players.

So where does all this leave the older poker books? Well I would not go as far as to call them useless as a way to learn poker because I have over a hundred in my library. For instance I rate the Harrington series very highly. There are some books that are classics and will remain so. But I think that the overwhelming majority of them can be used as nothing more than primers for novice players in this new age of poker that we are living in.

I think that it can certainly be detrimental to the education of a poker player these days to concentrate on poker books as their soul source of education. Although it has to be said that this is sort of dependent on what level you are trying to beat. At something like NL50 ring games for instance then there is still enough value for good players to be able to beat these games with a good solid game behind them after having read the Harrington cash game series for example.

But you really need to avail yourself these days of the many good technically aware young poker coaches that are sprouting up all over the Internet on online coaching sites. There are many respectable sites like Card Runners, Stox Poker and Leggo Poker to name but a few. These sites are teaching their players the primary way to learn poker in the 21st century.

Unfortunately this means that the older players are getting left behind and until recently this certainly meant me as well. I was forced to undergo a rapid re-education and was forced to re-evaluate everything that I previously knew about poker.

This meant undoing previously learnt knowledge which was proving to be a hindrance to my future progression as a player and my ability to be able to continue to make money playing online poker. So my advice would be to be wary of getting your education from poker books in the modern world of online poker and especially the older books.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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Nov 20 2009

Conspiracy Theories in Online Poker

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 11:42 am

For every pot that a player wins, there are either one or more losers in that pot. It is a common misconception that most players are winning poker players; in fact the opposite is true. How many times has a player said they are a “break even player”? Rarely is that the case and if they are not winning when they play poker, they are probably losing. These losing players are often not objective enough to consider that they should make improvements to their online poker game and they look for ways to pass the blame. There are many common misconceptions and sensational theories in online poker particularly.

The Curse of the Cash Out

After cashing out got lucky and the luck is now evening itself out. Only the very best win and win and even many players report a negative change in their luck. There is a thinly veiled accusation made that the online poker site is manipulating their cards in order to keep the money going to other players. They are implying the poker site is consciously thinking “This player will cash out so keep money away from them”. In reality this is unlikely to be the case as this sort of policing on players withdrawals and deposits on a grand scale would require complex algorithms that would be difficult to hide in their code. Many of these players will be losing players who simply get a bit of bad luck after having some good luck.

Hole Cards Manipulated Late in Tournament

We all know how the action hots up late in a poker tournament with raises and re-raise action in nearly every hand. Players must gamble for a stack and you get a lot more standard and some bizarre calls. An accusation was made by a forum member only yesterday suggesting there are more “big” confrontations between good starting hands near the end of the tournament and suggested the sites give players good cards to encourage more all-ins and calls to finish the tournament faster. Poker fools us well. You should be folding hands like AJ from early position late in a online poker tournament and this hand may be raised and called off later in the tournament. The ranges of calls and pushes get looser as the tournament progresses. The random card generator algorithms will always be discussed by the techies on the Poker forums but we can rest assured that our online poker experience will let our own skills decide whether we are good enough. If tournaments were ending very early this would be too obvious to hide.

Poker Books Do Not Teach Correct Strategy

This is a theory that I somewhat agree with, but with reservations. Poker books teach “optimal poker strategy”. Often this optimal strategy is playing with the knowledge that we are never sure about as poker is a game of incomplete information and lots of guesswork. Success or failure of a play tends to be made in hindsight. Poker is a game of exploitive strategy, so providing we have a good basis on general poker theory then as we progress through online poker tournaments or cash games we work out opponents approach to the game and adapt to achieve success. The key thing is to make sure you have that solid base of theory.

There are many people telling us that online poker is not safe, is rigged or that we are not able to win. Whilst it would be better if online poker sites were audited so that we knew for sure as time goes by and there are no problems then the risk of encountering them reduces. There will always be conspiracies, just like there will always be winning poker players, make sure you are one of them.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Nov 12 2009

My Top Three Poker Books

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 10:35 am

When visiting my local Waterstones or Ottakers I invariably drift to the section that has the card game books and flick through the poker books on offer. Most of them are, dare I say it, not up to standard. There are a bunch of “Destroy Online Poker” titles that offer little in the form of actual ideas on multi-tabling or real online poker strategies instead offering abstract advice on playing draws, trying to read your opponents hands and the usual stream of information found in most other poker books. We live in a world where information is society’s addiction and poker now being part of the mainstream culture means every reasonable poker players sees opportunity in collating their advice and offering literary lessons on winning. This has flooded the market with poker books.

Fortunately for well meaning family members planning their shopping for Christmas there are a number of poker books that outshine the rest. Here are my top three.

1. Doyle Brunsons Super System I and II : A Course in Power Poker

There are two books in the series with the second book being the updated version which was reprinted in 2005 at the height of pokers boom. After 2005 the online poker player started smartening up, was this book a factor? It is certainly good enough. In the original book, Bobby Baldwin’s section on Limit Holdem was considered the most important piece of poker literature ever printed. Jennifer Harman’s Limit section in the updated book is also very highly regarded. There is an online poker section in the newer book and information on Omaha poker. Most dedicated poker players own a copy or have access to a copy of this book as a reference to how to play poker correctly. Each chapter is written by a selected professional of Doyle Brunsons choosing.

2. David Sklansky : The Theory of Poker

I have read other reviews of this book that states without reservation that this is the most important book that has ever been written on poker. This book teaches you a foundation of general concepts that must be read numerous times before you can truly grasp the concepts offered to you. Anyone wanting an introduction to general poker theory should look no further than this book. Sklansky is a theorist whose “Sklansky Minutes” on the 2+2 pokercast debate such things as asking the name of an operator on the telephone to get better service. Definitely an eccentric character, he channels his deep thinking approach to life into the theory of poker and creates a masterpiece. Coupled with Super System I and II you will have a fantastic grounding of the key concepts of winning poker.

3. Mike Caro’s Book of Tells

By reading this book, according to many reports, it will give you a significant edge over your opponents. This book does not try and teach you what you will learn in Theory of Poker or Super System; it focuses on the psychology of poker and turning that into profit. I place this at number three because this book will be the first building block after you have grasped the general theory required, which you learn in the above two books.

It teaches you to look for weaknesses in your opponent to win the hands that they do not merit and by focusing on body language or other signals you can win some hands you may otherwise have folded if you relied solely on poker theory. It even focuses on identifying deliberate tells from an actor to the person who is unwittingly giving genuine tells. This is another essential poker book for your library.

Obviously these book rankings are just my opinion however you will find few players that will criticise any of the above books. There are more specialised books on most of the concepts covered, but without a classic grounding in poker theory you will struggle with more complex texts. I would highly recommend you purchasing one or all of the above books as it will really improve your poker game.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Nov 06 2009

The Dangers of Poker Table Talk

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 9:16 am

The following hand is one which you can learn a lot from reviewing. Daniel Negreanu faced off against Antonio Esfandiari in High Stakes Poker and nearly talked his way into a big pot loss. We are going to review this hand now and we what we can learn. This is a widely analysed hand, it will show you how to play winning poker, by watching your opponents, the previous betting sequence and the board.

Phil Hellmuth was first into the pot after it folded around to him raising the pot by $3,200 to $4,900. He holds Ad-2s. This is a slightly loose raise but he is looking for the blind steal. Daniel Negreanu, who likes to see flops, calls the bet holding Kd-Td. Antonio Esfandiari comes over the top betting $12,000 making the pot $20,100 holding a pair of Jacks, the Jd-Jc. Daniel decided to call the bet so heading to the flop there is a pot of $28,900. Hellmuth folded.

I am not sure that I like the call from Daniel here. He only has King Ten and whilst it is suited he would be losing to AK, AA or KK here. Antonio has chosen to go over the top of two good players; Negreanu must suspect he holds a monster. His best hope is QQ or JJ, and he is still well behind. It is a good raise from Antonio. He knows Negreanu likes to see flops and is generally drawing to his hand and Hellmuth could be blind stealing as the first player into the pot.

The flop was Qs-6s-Tc.

This gives Daniel second pair with a reasonable kicker and but Antonio has a better second pair. Both have shown strength so will have to bet out, but neither player will be feeling particularly good here. Daniel is losing to all of the above hands and has not improved enough on the flop to warrant a bet. He correctly checks. Antonio must bet here, the question is what does he bet. He bets a relatively small amount, just over half the pot, putting in $15,000. I think a bet of $22,000 wins the pot here. This smaller bet size is slightly transparent in my view; it is saying I have hit a piece and want the pot. Daniel smells a rat, and moves all-in. The pot is $173,900 and Antonio must put the rest of his chips in to call.

At this point Daniel started talking. He asked what Antonio has and is surprisingly open about his own hands speculative nature. Antonio makes a great call after Daniel says “I’ll show you my hand when you fold, ok? The turn card was a 2d and the river a savage blow for Antonio, a Kd giving Daniel two pair and the pot.

Both players played the pot well, but Daniels table talk let him down and only a bad beat on Antonio saved his skin. It would have been better to say nothing and Antonio may have decided that Negreanu had check raised with an Ace knowing Antonio would bet as the pre flop raiser. This may have been enough to persuade Antonio to fold the hand after the re-raise.

The lesson for all learning players is that if Negreanu, a player who has won millions from poker, can make a mistake then we all can. When a big hand is in progress, resist the urge to say things and still quietly until the player makes their decision. This will avoid you making similar mistakes. No-one, not even Negreanu, is exempt from making these types of errors.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Oct 29 2009

Have Fun and Profit with Five Card Draw Poker

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 10:16 am

Have you ever seen the film “Maverick” with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster? If not you should because it is a good film all about Draw Poker. It features Gibson playing Brett Maverick who is a Five Card Draw poker player who thinks he is the best in the world. Five Card Draw is easy to learn and low limit players can play at decent limits because there are only two betting rounds. On my Internet surfing travels I found a free video to watch on the game which showed a proficient player for 29 minutes discussing his hands. I was hooked immediately.

Something about the game seems to work for me. As I have mentioned in previous articles you should try as many of the variations of poker as you can because one persons trash is another persons treasure so just because everyone plays Texas Hold’em does not mean it is your best game, or your most profitable.

Each player is dealt five live cards after the posting of the small blind and big blinds, just like Holdem. You place your bets in the first betting round. After the first betting round each player, from the player to the left of the dealer button onwards, can choose to draw one to five of their cards and have them replaced. They do not have to draw a card they can “stand-pat” and keep all of their cards. This usually signifies a strong hand. Players can of course fold before they bet; you are not forced to draw. There is one final betting round after the draw and if required the showdown then takes place. The best poker hand wins, with the hand strengths the same as Texas Hold’em. The winner takes the pot!

The game is slightly more simple to learn that Holdem because it only contains two betting rounds. In relation to strategy you should not be entering hands with less than a high pair as this is usually the best hand that is not beaten at showdown. Ideally you want something better than top pair before showdown. Because there are only two betting rounds your key choice in the game is whether to play the pot limit or no limit versions. Swings are smaller because of the two rounds of betting, but getting your money in good is where the money comes from in this game. If you are good at picking your spots then this is where money can be made. Pot Limit Draw is probably best played by either beginners looking to learn and not suffer big swings or professionals who have a sustained edge over their competition. Both games have their merit and it depends on your own personal preference which version of Draw you choose.

Some players do not like the game because money tends to go in with any hand bigger than a straight. If Player A, for example, holds a straight whilst Player B holds a flush, there are no community cards to scare you away from putting your chips in and thus a strong hand versus strong hand is always going to be all-in. Because there are only six players at a table (so everyone can draw cards out of the deck) the blinds come around quickly so your money would always have to go into the middle at this point. You are forced to call with good hands, but this lends itself to opportunities to profit as even good players must call when they would fold in other games.

The excellent part of Five Card Draw Poker is that it is quite similar to Hold’em in the way hand strength is played out and also when you are ahead you will generally be well ahead as you are not sharing your cards via the community cards. A player capable of watching their opponents closely, as there is lots of showdowns and information is more easily obtained on players, makes the observant player the best rewarded.

Bluffing must be well timed and based on player information, so the only way you can learn is to focus on your opponents and learn their tendencies. You cannot overdo bluffing as you will be called with many hands, but big calls on the river are less profitable because generally you either have a decent hand or you do not and new players migrating from Hold’em may not realise this. Online poker sites have a growing number of Draw games on their poker rooms so look out for better cash games popping up. I think this may turn out to be a really popular game in the future.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Oct 20 2009

Poker Question and Answer Session

Category: Texas Holdem FAQ — malcolm @ 3:49 pm

I often get emails through my website asking me about various poker issues and I thought I would post a few of the best with my answers on this blog. The first question is from a friend of mine.

Q1, All of my friends play Poker and they have around $200 per month to put into the game. I cannot afford a bankroll but really want to start playing. How do I get a stake? Rob, UK

Rob, just because your friends have $200 to play does not mean they are winning players. By you saying they “have around $200 per month” suggests to me most of the time they are losing this money. Many players start with no bankroll. Fortunately this does not stop them nor should it stop you playing poker seriously. Most reputable poker rooms have freeroll tournaments that offer a few dollars (up to $15 for the winner in some cases) in real money. There is nothing stopping you building up your bankroll from nothing. You will learn good bankroll management discipline, low stakes game theory and you will not have to worry about losing your hard earned money. Poker is one of the few things on the Internet that you can legitimately turn very little, even nothing, into a lot more. I am doing my own “Create a bankroll from nothing” challenge and am currently $13.85 up from $0.00. It does not sound like a lot but it is one of the most fulfilling things you can do with online poker. See you at the tables!

Q2, I am a winning online poker player and I want to turn professional. When is the right time? Peter via Email

Peter, you need to analyse your stats and decide if this is the life you want. The key difference between your poker play now and your poker play as a professional is that you are playing because you want to now and can stop when you want. When you must play everyday even when you do not want to this can be hard. Everyone dreams of being a professional, but only you know whether you can handle the variance, the freedom and the isolation of being a poker player. It is a lonely game, especially when you have played for hours and hours. That said there is the opportunity for big money to be made and many professionals do very well. My advice would be to enjoy the big money wins for six months before you make any snap decisions and that way you have money behind you if things do not go right. Do not gamble with your future, but there is no reason why poker cannot be a big part of it if you are good enough. Only you, and your stats, can give you the answer as to whether you are good enough.

Q3, Can you make a living just from Tournaments? Or will I Need to Learn Cash Games too? Anon

Cash games are, in my opinion, essential to your poker success. You need to be able to fire up multiple tables and grind out the profits. Even though people say to have one hundred plus buy-ins to profit at tournaments the swings really are a killer. Big money can be made in tournaments but even the professionals who win millions can throw in $250,000 in buy-ins and still not get a big win. Cash games allow a slow and steady accumulation of money providing you are a winning player. If I have a great week where I win, for example, $1500 I may enter a couple of large tournaments with 15 – 20% of that profit to shoot for the big score. Cash game wins along with VIP rewards or rakeback can be treated like a wage and is far more reliable than tournament wins. Tournament wins, however, can be a great bankroll booster so they do have their worth. Try and satellite in to bigger events to gain maximum value for your buy-ins. If you play only medium stakes cash games you can do very well. I have a friend who makes between $40,000 and $60,000 each year playing no higher than $2 – $4 No Limit Holdem and lives a comfortable life funded by poker.

Look out for more Question and answer posts very soon.

By Malcolm Clarke

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