I’m sure many people saw the headlines late last week. The U.S. Department of Justice charged close to a dozen representatives of Full Tile Poker and Poker Stars with bank fraud, money laundering, and other related crimes. The two sites’ domains were seized by the feds (since released) and they stopped allowing U.S.-based players to [...]
“The books” will tell you that you should always raise with AK. “The books” are not always right. Here’s why. First, let’s make it clear that AK, suited or unsuited, is indeed a “premium” hand. But is it also, fundamentally, a drawing hand. It’s a favorite against any other single non-paired hand. But there’s a [...]
I have learned much from poker books. They have improved my game tremendously. The first poker book I ever read gave me the best advice ever: keep track of your play. That way, you can never lie to yourself. But some games, perhaps it’s just the California-style no-fold-’em-hold-’em games, you almost have to throw out [...]
I know I have at least one reader. No, really. I got email a few weeks ago from someone who said she read the blog, was coming to the Bay Area for business, and wanted an opinion on poker rooms near where she’d be. Dunno if anything in my response helped, but I hope she [...]
After the up-and-down year that was 2007, I never expected to be playing as much as I have already in 2008. January is not yet even over and I’ve already played 14 times. Even better, 12 of those I’ve walked away with profits. And not just small profits either: Only one has been less than [...]
Having a drunk at the table can be a good thing. They usually do little more than throw chips in the pot, chasing longshot after longshot, although they can also increase variance at the table because their response to someone raising is to re-raise. But a bigger drawback is the incessant noise they make. One [...]
I know how many players, especially in the low-limit games, will answer this question: A good dealer is one who deals me a lot of winning hands. This is, of course, completely wrong. So, then, what does make a good dealer? I have some ideas. But before I begin, I should note that a dealer [...]
What could be more American on that most American of holidays than baseball and poker? Not much, perhaps except for BBQ and fireworks, but for this year, the former triumphed over the latter. It’s just too bad that neither one was a winning proposition. The Oakland A’s were in town, playing against the Toronto Blue [...]
The more I think about it, the more I think that there should be a better way to distribute prize money at the end of a tournament if the remaining participants agree on a chop. Typically, the remaining players simply divide the remaining prize money; sometimes, it will be arranged that the chip leader gets [...]