members-only articles
As you progress through your poker life, certain paths will be trodden more than others. More people lose than win money at poker; more people experience untold frustration and anguish than those who experience nothing but success. Read more »
The river is where fortunes are won and lost in Texas Hold'em, and it can be a stressful place in any game of live or online poker. All the cards have come out – hopefully you know where you stand, and have at least some idea of where your opponent stands. Read more »
The NBC Heads-Up tournament at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is quite an event. It has a $20,000 buy-in ($500,000 first place prize) and 64 players, including many of the top names in the world. The night prior to the start of the tournament, there is a big cocktail party where the drawing takes place. Read more »
We all know what the point of playing poker is. To make money. Well, considering it is a game, the point is also to have fun, but you don't need to learn strategies about having fun now, do you? You want to make money playing poker. Read more »
In last month's column, I discussed strategies for the Bluff Poker Challenge. As of the end of March, anyone who wants to win has to go for broke and just play all of the biggest MTTs they can afford, hoping for a couple of sizable scores. I want to discuss some of the things I had working for and against me when I started the Challenge that factored into my overall decision-making process. Read more »
The Latin American Poker Tour, currently being sponsored by PokerStars, had their LAPT Mar del Plata event start this week in Argentina with a $5,200 Main Event. This prestigious poker tournament was capped at 600 entrants, both internet pros and top live tournament circuit players, with two separate starting days. Read more »
Like many players out in the general poker-playing public I play primarily at two poker rooms, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. With both sites offering VIP programs and one offering rakeback (Full Tilt), their traffic dwarfs the competition. Read more »
At the risk of appearing way out of the loop, I will admit I just discovered the new-fangled "Double or Nothing" Sit & Gos on PokerStars. I know that they have been around for a while, but I just haven't been playing on Stars lately. Read more »
No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich. -- Chinese Proverb A few years from now when someone asks, "Who is the greatest living poker player?" the answer might be a surprise. Read more »
I just returned from another spectacular adventure with Card Player Cruises aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Legend of the Seas. As I grow older, my interest in visiting new places and learning about other cultures grows. Read more »
For those of you that are not close to Las Vegas and can't afford the trip to Nevada and the minimum $1,500 buy-ins for the World Series of Poker tournament schedule, there's good news for you. In 2005 Harrah's unveiled a brand new series of events, the WSOP Circuit Events, and the schedule has grown to its largest in 2009. Read more »
Recently, I went to Charleston, South Carolina to testify as an "expert witness" in a poker trial. The case was the Town of Mount Pleasant versus five poker players who pled not guilty when they were busted for playing in a $20 tournament in someone's house a couple of years ago. Read more »
As a part time professional poker player my history is very similar to a lot of the fellow early 30-somethings I meet in this industry that play either part time or full time for their income. Read more »
Over the last few years, people are always surprised that I still live in the Boston area. Poker players repeatedly ask me why I don't move to the West Coast, specifically Las Vegas, assuming that I would be closer to the bigger poker tournaments. Read more »
While we poker players know that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is a pile of garbage, it did, to some extent, have its intended effect. As e-wallets and other online poker funding methods started drying up for United States residents, it became harder to get money in and out of poker accounts. Read more »
I am having so much fun… playing for 10 cents on UltimateBet.com. So UB just launched its STEPs program. They have ten steps to the World Series of Poker starting at 10 cents. If you are one of the first eight people to make it all the way to a $12,000 package from Step 1, you also win an $8,500 Aruba package. Read more »
About shaniac: Shane “shaniac” Schleger is one of the most successful online poker rebuy tournament players. According to thepokerdb, since Jan 1, 2006 Shane has north of $500,000 in cashes in the PokerStars $109 rebuy — widely regarded as the toughest tournament online. While recording those cashes Shane has recorded an approximate ROI% of 85%… Read more »
In last month's column, I talked extensively about the state of poker and my guarded optimism about the game going forward. I received a surprising amount of feedback on the column, both positive and negative. Others shared stories of similar guarded optimism, while a few thought I was crazy to mention the United States economy and poker economy turning around. Read more »
"Fantastic! Another tipping thread is just what this board needs." On a popular internet poker message board that I frequent, this is a common response when someone poses a question in the non-poker forums about tipping in every day situations. Read more »
Today was an awesome day for me, although I must admit that I was quite dazed when my alarm clock rang at 5:00am, especially since that is the time I am usually just going to bed. The reason for my early rise was to participate in the Poker Gives Back project with fellow members of the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group (WPDG) as well as some wonderful friends. Read more »
This is Part II of a two-part series on perspectives of the economic crisis and its possible impacts on the gambling and poker industries. Dan Goldman has been a high-tech and marketing expert for nearly 30 years. He is perhaps best known within the poker industry as the former Vice President of Marketing for PokerStars. Read more »
Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS XI has come to a close, and with it several champions have been born. One of them is Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni, a 19-year-old whiz kid from Amherst, MA, who earned more than $270,000 during the series. Read more »
Last month, I was approached by Bluff Magazine to take part in its "Bluff Poker Challenge." For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, a dozen or so players were invited. Each of them will start with $200 on Lock Poker and we will have the entire month to turn that into as much money as possible. Read more »
A provocative cover story by writer Richard Florida in current issue of The Atlantic magazine entitled, "How the Crash will Reshape America," got me thinking about how the global economic mess could affect the poker industry. The trouble is few experts are qualified to offer any credible opinions. Read more »
Going through the mistakes that poker players make, it becomes pretty evident that most players seem to be locked in a downward spiral committing the same mistakes over and over again. Read more »
