Poker rules directory

Have you seen the megalith yet?  CityCenter is huge!  The joint venture between MGM Mirage and Dubai World has not been without its hiccups and has certainly pushed both companies to the limit of their resources. Five years of hard work and a cool $8.5 billion is all it has taken…

There will be four towers in total offering everything in the world of accommodation from penthouse suites and condos to more modest rooms.

How they’re gonna fill all that capacity?  Who knows?

Aria is the center piece of CityCenter, offering the standard casino games, including a 20 table poker room. So you wont have to go far to find your favorite game.

Its a bold venture that is finally starting to take shape and become operational after years of planning and construction.

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I was reading an old copy of Card Player magazine on the weekend and found an article I had missed, “Lisandro reveals some Stud secrets”.  Jeffrey Lisandro has won four bracelets in stud related poker events – I would say that is enough to make me listen!

Most people start off playing by learning texas holdem poker.  But for me there is a lot of skill involved in the stud variation of poker.  That skill comes with playing experience and there’s only one way to get that.  The opportunity lies in the fact that whilst everyone is drawn to texas holdem, maybe there are some Stud tables where you can improve winnings.

Here are Lisandro’s Stud Poker Tips:

1. Adjust your starting hands depending on what all your opponents have.

2. Concentrate hard when the hands are being dealt.  Remember all the cards in a hand and pay attention. This information will make your decision process easier.

3. Don’t dump your hand too early. Even if you feel like you’re beat and the pot is big, hold your nerve, because sometimes you get the cards you need.

4. Kickers are important.  A high card in your hand, that hasn’t been dealt to anyone, has a good chance of pairing.

5. Only play for flushes if your cards are big, so that you have a chance of winning.

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Whatever hand you want to represent, always, always stick to your storyline!!!

Pre-flop, post flop, whenever.. make sure your bets, or the size of the bets represent the strength of your hand.  Don’t jump around and vary your strategy too much.  Sure you want to suck them in with a check after the flop, and then a medium sized value bet to draw in the chips.  But don’t go crazy now, the good players will sniff something fishy and call you.  If your story don’t make sense, they will want to see your cards… but heh then again, maybe you have the cards and this is just part of your strategy.

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I was watching some of Tom Dwan’s poker play the other day and it was amazing to see some of the hands that he would play pre-flop.  Totally unsuit-able (excuse the pun) hands!  Granted as soon as he met some serious opposition in the betting or he knew he was out gunned, he would get out of there.

Whenever I try to get bold with my opening moves I usually come unstuck, that’s if I haven’t planned the move and set it up.  But just how does Durr Dwan do it.?  How does he get away with playing hands that most people would just throw away or leak some serious value?

On a few occasions I have seen Dwan come unstuck and get caught short, but he generally has a pretty good read on the game.  And, thats exactly it, he has a feeling of when to challenge and when to back off from the challenge.

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… and the debate rages on is poker a game of skill or is it all up to chance…

In my mind it is all quite clear, if you play online slots or some similar simple casino game then its mostly a game of chance.  Sure there is a small element of skill involved.  You should know how many coins to put in the slot machine, to maximize your returns and make sure you get your best shot at the jackpot.  But basically it is up to chance what the slot machine decides to give you.

The other element of skill when you play online casino games, is too ensure that you are getting the best casino bonus.  Because they vary all the time and it is up to you find the best deal.  Don’t just leave it to chance, because then you will end up getting the worst deal.

At the other end of the spectrum you have card games that involve a lot of skill to win.  Sure there is some element of chance in the deck of cards, but mostly its all about how you read the players and the skill of betting.

The debate of skill vs chance is a hot topic in the US, where legal teams have used the fact that poker is not a game of chance, to defend their clients.  US players can still play casino games if they

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At this years WSOP Main Event, the organisers, Harrahs, decided to close off entries after they reached capacity. This meant that over 500 people were turned away and not allowed to contest the Main Event. Including some pretty big names in poker, some experienced poker players that have played in many poker tournaments, including WSOP.

Whilst I feel sorry for these players that lost out, you also have to draw the line somewhere and limit the amount of people that can play. Otherwise the poker tournament just has too many people to organize and control. Surely the poker pros know just how popular the WSOP Main Event is, and enter early to ensure a place. Come on!! everyone wants a bracelet and a share of all that prize money.

Why couldn’t Harrahs organize some knock out rounds to clear some space? Its extra income for them if the poker tourney goes for longer. I mean what would a couple of extra days mean? Use those days to knock out some of the wannabees that shouldn’t be there in the first place and get some extra dosh in.

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Yet another reality show makes its mark, this time with some poker mixed in – 2 months 2 million.

Lets see what happens when you put 4 young online poker players into a Spanish style mansion.  Give them access to online poker, follow their games and their every move around Vegas.

The four players chosen: Jay “Krantz” Rosenkrantz, Dani “Ansky” Stern, Emil “whitelime” Patel, and Brian “Flawless_Victory” Roberts are described as former high school math whizzes. They are not exactly your classic sports jocks or your big bosomed blondes like you get on Big Brother, actually they are quite funny to watch. I am not sure that I can watch this show for hours, but I am sure that some railbirds out there will enjoy watching their online poker games.

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Its worth investing in some top poker books.  Problem is that that everyone considers themselves an expert these days, so you have to sift through and find the authors that work for you.  A search at any top book shop or online will bring up reviews, so that you can see what other readers have to say.

I believe the more you read about the subject and the more information that you learn about poker, the better poker player you will become.  Then again you get someone like Patrik Antonius who says that he has never read a poker strategy book…

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You’re playing heads up, its showdown time with some all-in action and your opponent asks you do you want to play it once or twice, what do you do?

Make sure you know what is the better situation to be in, depending on the circumstances and the odds of winning.  In general it is better to play it twice, that way things are evened out a bit and there is  less of a swing in either direction i.e you have less chance of losing and less chance of winning.

But if you feel that your opponent has been bluffing throughout the game and that you have a good chance of winning, then it may pay off to take a chance and just play it once, get it over and done with… don’t give your opponent a chance to escape…

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Trolling through YouTube as one does…  I came across this old clip of a great poker hand played by Doyle Brunson and Guy Laliberte.   Now for those of you that dont know, Guy started Cirque du Soleil, one of the most famous circus shows in the world.  Guy enjoys his poker and played on High Stakes Poker – Season 4.

If you watched the latest episodes of High Stakes Poker, it was commented that Doyle played small-ball poker – even Doyle joked about it!  But I can tell you there is nothing small ball about this hand…

Guy tries to bully Brunson off the pot, but give Doyle his due he sticks to his guns and calls him – What a call!!  Laliberte is worth a bit, so even though this huge pot has to hurt, he’s well bankrolled and takes it well.  Take a look…

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