Archive for the 'World Of Fun' Category

Omaha H/L – River Board Pair on Flopped Nut Straight

Friday, February 26th, 2010

I had another problem hand with the nut straight in Omaha Hi/lo again. I was in a limped pot with a very speculative hand, 8s-10d-10h-6h. Somehow I flopped the nut straight on a rainbow board. It gets bet the size of the pot with 3 poker online callers. I could isolate here and re-pot it, but I’m likely going to get in in with a great lo and chop only a little bit of money. So, I decided to slow play my nuts and just call. The turn brings a Jh making two hearts on the table and I actually have a heart draw to go with my straight. Though I am not comfortable with the strength of my poker online flush draw, I am happy that it is probably blocking someone with higher hearts from getting there. The Jack is also good because it does not make a higher straight possible. A short stack goes all-in, and the poker players both call. At this point I am looking to isolate and I go over the top for an all-in. I am against a set and the nut lo, and the river pairs the jack making a full house. Once again, my nut straight goes down in flames.

The One Hour Freeroll Rule

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

There is a lot of advice out there today about how to find freeroll poker online tournaments. It seems like every casino offers some kind of free tournament t their poker online players where they can play a no strings attached game. While these can be diverting when you are just beginning, there is a time when you need to take off the training wheels and graduate to real cash poker. I am talking, of course, about the one hour rule. If you are a decent poker player, you will know that the first hour in an online freeroll is the time when everyone is still playing. Even the brand new players can generally struggle along for a while. The first hour is when the fish swarm all over the place. Your reaction during that first hour tells you whether you should be there at all. Are you engaged with the game? Do you see each new deal as a challenge? Do you lose a hand every so often? Or are you bored and disillusioned? If it’s the latter, you have grown past freerolls. You need a new challenge, so try playing against people in your actual skill set instead of anyone with an internet connection. You will be much happier at the end.

Are Casino Gift Cards a Good Idea?

Monday, January 4th, 2010

The internet can be a scary place. We always hear stories of financial information being stolen or misplaced in the quagmire that is the World Wide Web. For the financially shy, however, somepoker casinos have begun to offer a form of gift card system where players can purchase the cards ahead of time. Players can use their gift cards just like a credit card, but with limited financial liability. In theory this should be the best of all world; limited financial costs and the same great poker playing experience. It is a great idea for the financially shy, but does have its drawbacks. It is important to realize that all of the gift cards used by poker casinos have a fee attached to them. You end up actually paying more to use a card than you would if you paid through the traditional methods. If you are willing to pay more for the added security, that shouldn’t be a problem. You will also need to go out of your way to purchase the cards at a recognized gift card vendor. For the financially savvy however, you should look into other methods of paying for your game. The internet has come a long way since it was a dubious land of financial fraud.

Predictable Opponents

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

An opponent who always plays the same way is a poker online best friend. Predictable opponents are some of the best opponents, because you always know what’s going on in their heads. If I’m at a table of predictable poker online players, I know that I’ll be making a killing. Whether a player is tight or loose, aggressive or passive, as long as he always plays that way, he is beatable, because one you’ve figured them out, you’ve got them pegged for the rest of the game. And once you know how your opponent plays, then it’s just a matter of reacting to it. Here are a few ways to exploit a predictable opponent. If you find out that a casino online player is tight, then you know that he’s likely to fold and his blinds are for sale. If he’s loose, then you know that he plays a lot of mediocre and downright lousy hands. Often, you can beat him with a middling to decent hand, even something like high pair. An aggressive player is great when you’ve got a good hand, because he’ll usually fatten the pot for you, while a passive player is helpful on draws, since he’s not likely to raise. Once you’ve got your opponent’s playing style figured out, see if he sticks with it. If he does and you play well, you’ll be going home with his chips.

Hazards of Big Slick

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Poker players are always happy to get premium hands, such as Ace King, known as Big Slick. Some players will automatically raise with Big Slick and play it aggressively because these are the two highest cards in the deck and, if either is matched by the flop, that player will often have the highest pair.

But there are drawbacks to Big Slick too. Even though it can be powerful, it is still a drawing hand and if the flop does not connect with it, then its power is diminished.

It is a mistake to automatically assume a premium starter hand will always win when you play poker online. Big Slick shrivels when the board yields straightening cards or three to a suit that can beat the Ace King.

When the flop misses Big Slick, then fold to a bet because you will probably waste your chips with a call. Being able to lay down premium starter hands is the mark of a smart poker online player. Sticking with this hand even when it’s obviously not connecting with the board is an amateurish mistake.

Big Slick will come your way again. If the flop misses you, and a bet comes out, the safest strategy is to fold and wait for a better opportunity to bet when you do make a good hand.

The Turkey Report: Bowling Tips for Serious Bowlers

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Here at the bowling center I usually find a recreational bowler eager to take on real bowling more seriously. If that’s your situation, you’re approaching a key beginning in learning the game as a serious student of the game. Our “Next Steps” handbook to “Bowling Like a Pro” may take your game to new levels. Professionals at a local bowling pro shop can help bowlers reach their bowling potential. It’s no surprise, you get back what you put in (from the ball return – hah). Just kidding. Fine, if only it were that simple. No worry, with a little guidance we’ll make sure you’re throwing down the right lane.

No use putting it off, invest a little in tailored at any number of bowling pro shops in your city. It’s not a sales pitch, it actually matters. There’s a reason its our number 1 recommendation, get your personal ball drilled for custom finger holes, and you’ll never go back. A properly weighted bowling ball can make a substantial improvement in your game. It’s also important you’re benefiting from well-made bowling shoes which don’t stink like desanitizer

If you went ahead and acquired your bowling equipment, you’re ready for the second best bowling tip: taking aim. As you wait to roll, don’t necessarily roll the ball at the back of the lane. Use the markings like a sight on a firearm. What’s the point? It is easier to hit a target that rests closer. For it to work right, double check to see line-up at the a consistent place 4 steps from the foul line each time. Only then you can fine-tune your marksmanship.

As for spin, for their desired pin action? It is the third-most essential bowler tip. They get traction with the pricy reactive ball. Most professional bowlers travel with two or three bowling balls to get aggressive hooks, selected precisely for many factors. Just a bit of caution: greenhorns might want to keep it simple, and steer clear of a ball that weighs a ton. A lot of avid bowlers opt for bowling balls featuring advanced composite materials. Avoid the temptation, because these special-made balls might make even some well known players appear a fool. With these tips you’re on the right track. Rest assured you’ll find next month.

Thanks, James Hundley

I manage our team (the “Strykers”) made up of a league for our marketing business just outside Plano, Texas. I provide guidance to beginning bowlers online and at the bowling center. Finally, I gotta plug my team at the center. Sorry I can’t be there.

How to Exploit a Tight Table Image

Monday, July 13th, 2009

So you’ve been sitting in a ring poker en ligne game for a couple hours now, waiting to catch big hands and pairs and put your money in good. You’ve shown down a few monsters, maybe even flipped up a couple of folds that other players might have called with at the jeux de casino. By now, everyone at the table is pretty well aware that you are a rock, a solid player that doesn’t mess around. Beyond the idea of just going on in this tradition, how can you best milk your very clear solid and tight poker online image to make even more, outside of just catching cards? One of the keys to maximizing your poker profit is putting that tight image to work for you. In general, with such a style, especially a couple of hours in, people are going to be more likely to give you credit for a hand when you represent one. Putting in a couple extra bets when the table feels weak, and acting in position to try to pick up pots that don’t conform to your usual standard, in the right place, can add that extra padding to your stacks. Later in the game, then, try picking up some pots where you can win by respect alone, using your position and table image to win in a way where the cards themselves don’t even matter.

Heads up Best of Three

Monday, May 4th, 2009

My brother and I got a call for a freelance job that came in last minute. The job was going to be a piece of cake. We’d be watching over some video games, playing them, and teaching adults how to play them. The pay was great and the job was only going to be 4 hours long…amazing right? There was one hitch; they only needed one of us.

Neither of us wanted to give in to the other and offer the shift. I’m sure we could have made some kind of deal, but instead, we had a better idea.

We would play each other heads up in poker online, and the winner would get the job. This may sound a bit ridiculous, challenging each other to a competition where the winner gets to go to work, but things have been slow and even one day of work had become enviable.

Instead of setting up the chips and shuffling every hand like at the casino, we decided to play online poker instead, for play money. We found some play-money heads up tournaments and decided that the winner of a best-out-of three match would get the job and, in turn, would essentially be winning a pay check. The game was No Limit Texas Hold’em. The tournaments were a little annoying to register for, because there was no way to create a private table for the two of us. We had to find an available table in the lobby, notify the other of the exact one (by table number) and try to get in it before anyone else did. With a few unsuccessful attempts, we both managed to get into the same one.

In game one I got off to a bad start. I called him down with bottom pair or something ridiculous because I put him on a flush draw that didn’t complete. He actually flopped a set of 10s and checked it. When the draw showed on the turn I figured he was going for it….he wasn’t. Then I had to tighten up, I was now down a few hundred chips. I had been limping a lot, even with KK one hand where I made a good little pot by slow playing it. I knew he liked to raise from the button a lot, so I’d let him and then I would shove on his raise. His worked a couple of times. Then I had AQ and he raised on the button again and I shoved all in again. The raise was ridiculous, and he eventually called. He had A 7 off suit and he hit a 7. I lost the first game.

The 2nd match was not very memorable. I played pretty strong poker and got him to call me when I turned a straight for a large pot. I won that one and we were eve at one game apiece.

Ways of Dealing with a Cash Game Cold Streak

Friday, February 13th, 2009

1. If it seems like no matter what you do you can’t win in online poker, it can help greatly to drop down a level or two from the normal stakes you play. Not only is there less invested when you take a bad beat, but it’s easier on your bankroll and good for getting your confidence.

2. When your anger is really feel suffocating, it can be a good way to blow off steam by going to the lowest limit available poker table and blowing off a couple bucks just pushing hard and making noise. Taking out your steaming aggression when it costs almost nothing can be a quick fix in the way of calming back down to your normal state at the bigger stakes table.

3. Play a small buy in poker tournament or free roll, allowing small investment for a long amount of play,

4. Do something else for a bit: take a walk, ride a bike, read a book, watch some tv, going swimming or running or some other physical exertion. Sometimes just getting away from the computer or the table is the only way to truly reset your outlook. Try to forget about poker for a little while, until you can focus again the way you like.

5. Whatever you do: DON’T PLAY STEAMING.

Sleep Problems and Poker

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Many poker players live a totally different life in terms of their sleep-wake cycle. For many different reasons, poker players tend to as a group, on average, have totally awful sleep hygiene. This is the result of many different factors, a few of which include neurological factors, as well as social factors.

Pushing the brain through a stimulating activity for long periods of time will result in extreme arousal of the central nervous system. Repetitive stresses and the highs and lows that go with an extended poker session cause great fluctuations in neurotransmitter activity, and can result in many different psychological disorders, ranging from depression to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. By missing most of the daylight and operating on a third shift schedule, the positive effects that the sun has on the body, such as melatonin production, are never allowed to occur. Staring at the computer screen or being under artificial casino lights only furthers the confusion that the body goes through.

Social factors basically include a lifestyle that doesn’t require a fixed schedule. It is a great positive asset and allows for great personal freedom, but players frequently sleep in and the natural circadian rhythm throws them more and more off, and they wake up later and later each day. The combination of this, and the advantage of playing with people who just got off of work when they just woke up, perpetuates this poor sleep cycle.

A strong argument could be made that poker players who want to win should be on a more random sleep cycle, as they should only play when they aren’t tired. However, the effects this has on the body are detrimental to one’s health, and this should certainly be considered when a player purposely adjusts himself to wake up at five in the evening every day.