Archive for the ‘Poker Tournaments’ Category

Who Will Be WSOP 2010 Player Of The Year?

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

As the World Series Of Poker tournament progresses things are heating up and the question on every player’s mind is, who is going to win the race for WSOP 2010 Player Of The Year? Each year, players are ranked based on their cumulative measure of performance and the player that comes out on top receives the Player Of The Year Title.

This year, Frank Kassela and John Juanda are currently tied for first place in the rankings, with 225 points each. Kassela has won two bracelets so far and Juanda has not won any, however his cash wins have given him a top spot on the leader board.

Juanda says that if he wins Poker Player Of The Year “it will make me feel a bit better about not winning a bracelet. But every year I go without a bracelet, it’s disappointing.” Kassela says that he has “been playing in a ton of events since [he] won the last one, just because [he] knew [he] had a decent chance at Player of the Year.” It’s a close race, and if either player wants to go home with the title they will have to up their game, compete in a lot of events and either win or place in the top with cash wins.

The current standings for Poker Player Of The Year are as follows:

John Juanda – 225 points

Frank Kassela – 225 points

Vladimir Schemelev – 210 points

Dan Heimiller – 200 points

Michael Mizrachi – 190 points

Men Nguyen – 180 points

Richard Ashby – 180 points

Jeffrey Papola – 180 points

James Dempsey – 180 points

Allen Kessler – 175 points

David Chiu – 170 points

David Baker – 170 points

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How To Choose Your Tournament Limits

Friday, May 7th, 2010

When it comes to choosing a poker tournament you have a lot to think about. You’ll have to choose a poker game – do you want to play Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud or another game? You’ll have to decide whether you want to play in a live tournament or play online. However, one of the most important things you’ll have to decide is how much money you are willing to spend. The following tips should help you choose your poker limits.

The first thing you need to decide is how much of your bankroll you are willing to lose. If you only have $500 then you don’t want to spend it all on a single tournament entry fee. If you lose you’ll be left with nothing. Decide how much you can afford to lose without feeling bad and don’t enter a tournament with limits that exceed that amount.

You’ll also want to consider the fact that higher limits generally mean tougher competition. If you are just starting out in tournament play you should start with a low limit tourney. As you improve and find yourself winning more and more often, go ahead and up your limits. If you find you are seldom winning (1 in 10 times) then you should probably sign up for a lower limit tournament until you have improved your skills.

When choosing tournament limits you want to find the perfect balance between skill and bankroll. Choose a tournament that you can afford that is just challenging enough and you can maximize your poker tournament experience.

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Poker Freeroll Tournament Strategy

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Poker freerolls are an exciting way to win great prizes and cash without risking a dime of your own money. An online freeroll tournament is an online poker tournament in which the entry fee has been waived, so players compete against one another risk-free for great prizes!

Because of the fact that freerolls are totally free poker tournaments most players will take a lot more risks. It is not uncommon for players to go all-in very early on in the tournament, betting on luck and hoping to ensure their spot in the next round. After all, going all-in and losing isn’t a big deal in a freeroll, as you haven’t actually invested any of your money to enter the tournament. Being very aggressive at the beginning of a freeroll is usually a good strategy. After all, if your aggressive playing is effective it can help you increase your chips and make your way to the top. If you are eliminated you don’t lose anything and there will always be another freeroll!

Some players choose to take the opposite approach when it comes to their freeroll poker strategy. These players play super tight-playing only good hands and slowly building their bankroll. This is the “slow and steady wins the race” strategy and can be effective. However, lucky aggressive players can easily bound ahead of the super tight freeroll players.

If you are planning to play in your first freeroll, don’t sweat the strategy. Try out one of these techniques and see how it works for you. Remember that you have nothing to lose, so you can build the freeroll strategy that’s right for you as you play in different freeroll tournaments.

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“The Nuts” of the Poker World: ESPN’s Top 10 Poker Stars

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

There are certain names that are synonymous with poker greatness-Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Helmuth… but these are some of the best players of all time. Have you ever wondered who the best poker players of the moment are? The players that you should be following and watching right now for inspiration? ESPN has recently begun releasing a list of the top 10 poker players on a monthly basis. They’re calling their list “The Nuts.”

How is this list compiled? Unlike other lists that give anyone the opportunity to place votes online or send in nominations, “The Nuts” are selected each month by a team of experts at ESPN. The list is created based on current poker news, current tournaments, industry trends and other data. It includes players in all areas of the industry, from cash games to tournaments and everything in between. If someone is truly a poker star they are bound to make it onto ESPN’s list.

The current list, which follows, is made up of the top poker players of the moment from around the globe. If you are looking for a mentor, or just some inspiration, keep your eye on these top players:

1 – Phil Ivey

2 – Jason Mercier

3 – Tom Dwan

4 – Daniel Negreanu

5 – Patrick Antonius

6 – Yevgeniy Timoshenko

7 – Daniel Alaei

8 – Eric Baldwin

9 – Cole South

10 – Scott Seiver

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WSOP Tournament of Champions is Back

Friday, March 19th, 2010

The Tournament of Champions, one of the most exciting all-star events hosted by the WSOP, is coming back this summer. The tournament was shelved in 2006, but is back due to popular demand. The tournament is a $1 million freeroll for the top 20 bracelet holders of WSOP tournaments past. It should be one of the most exciting tournaments of the summer!

Who determines which players will take part in the Tournament of Champions? Poker fans like you and me! The polls opened on March 15 and will remain open until June 15 at the WSOP website. Any previous WSOP bracelet winner is eligible. Additionally, five players have already been automatically selected to take part in the tournament. These players are Joe Cada (the reigning WSOP Main Event champion), Barry Shulman (winner of the Main Event in WSOP Europe this year), and Annie Duke, Mike Sexton and Mike Matusow (previous winners of the WSOP Tournament of Champions).

The tournament is scheduled to begin on June 27 and will take place at the Rio. Players will compete until they are narrowed down to a final table of 9 players and the final table will be played on July 4. Players are playing for their share of the $1 million prize as well as the prestigious title of Tournament of Champions winner. First place will receive $500,000; second place takes home $100,000; and the rest of the players at the final table will take home $25,000.

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Playing Continues After Berlin Poker Heist

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Today in Berlin a group of robbers stormed a poker tournament, stealing up to $1.1 million in poker prize money. There were four robbers in total, all in disguise, and they were armed with handguns and machetes.

The tournament was taking place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the center of Berlin. When the robbers entered the building, players and spectators panicked and ran for the hotel’s exits. One witness was in shock, saying “An armed robbery in broad daylight in the heart of Berlin, at Germany’s biggest poker tournament! I just couldn’t believe my eyes!” He had watched as one of the robbers stuffed a bag full of 500 Euro notes while another robber pinned down a security guard.

Seven tournament-goers and a security guard were injured during the robbery. However, despite the large number of witnesses, the robbers escaped with what the BBC reported could be up to $1.1 million in tournament prize money. Security managed to get one bag full of money back from the robbers, but the escaped with the rest. It is unknown how much money that bag contained.

No arrests have been made, as of yet. However, the robbery was caught on tape and police are interviewing the witnesses and looking into the matter further, in hopes of catching the robbers.

My favorite part of this story is that the robbery didn’t put a stop to the tournament. A few hours after the robbery occurred the Main Event, Ladies Event and High Roller tournament resumed.

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Choosing Your Limits for Tournament Poker

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

When you are new to playing in poker tournaments it is important to choose your stakes carefully. When choosing your limits you want to make a decent profit, while also avoiding playing for such high limits that you can’t measure up to the other players. The following tips can help you choose the right tournament poker limits for you.

The first thing you need to take into consideration is your bankroll. You should only play in tournaments that you could afford to pay the buy-in at least 50 times. If you only have $500 set aside in your poker bankroll then you wouldn’t want to enter a tournament with a $250 buy-in. Play in two tournaments with those limits and your bankroll will be gone.

You also need to consider how often you expect to win. You will want to win an average of at least 40% of the tournaments you enter online, especially if you are playing sit and go tournaments. You can start out with low-limit tournaments and as you begin winning more often you can increase the limits. You’ll also want to keep track of your profits. How much do you win in each tournament compared to the amount you are spending on buy-ins? If you are not making a profit then try lowering the limits at which you are playing.

In order to increase your profit margin you can practice with free poker games. This is a great way to improve your skills and prepare yourself for tournament play.

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Learning When to Walk Away from the Poker Table

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

One of the biggest mistakes that poker players make is staying in the game too long. If you don’t know when to walk away from the poker table it can kill your bankroll when you are playing for real money.

There are a couple of different scenarios in which staying in the game can kill your bankroll. The first is when you are losing. A lot of players stay in when they are losing because they keep thinking to themselves, “I’ll win the next round”, and they don’t want to walk away with a loss. They’d rather stay in and hope for the best. However, the truth of the matter is that when you are on a losing streak your mind isn’t totally in the game and you are more likely to continue on your losing streak. If you are starting to feel negative about your game then it’s time to walk away from your losing streak. Come back when you are feeling more positive and win your losses back.

There is also the scenario where you lose money by staying in the game too long when you are ahead. To many players have gotten cocky when they are on a winning streak, made a big bet or raise and lost all of their winnings. Set a winning limit for yourself. When you have managed to reach this limit walk away to ensure that you hold on to all your winnings.

You can practice walking away with a free game. Keep track of your fun money winnings and losses and walk away when the time is right!

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Improving Your Skills by Watching the Pros

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

If you are looking for an entertaining way to improve your poker skills then one of the best is to watch live poker tournaments on television. When you watch poker professionals playing on TV you can pick up all sorts of new skills, such as how to bet, how to bluff, which hands to fold on, which to raise on and more.

There are a whole slew of televised poker tournaments scheduled throughout the year. You can watch the World Series of Poker on ESPN, the World Poker Tour and High Stakes Poker on GSN and more. However, one of my personal favorite televised poker tournaments is just about to start – The National Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC. The National Heads-Up Poker Championship happens every year. It is an invitation-only tournament with a $20,000 buy-in. Last year’s winner was Huckleberry Seed. This tournament will be televised on NBC in April and May.

The great thing about watching the pros play in televised tournaments is that you get all the information. You not only see the players’ body language and facial expressions and see whether they fold, call or raise, but you also get to see their cards. There is a hole camera for each player that shows you exactly what they’ve got in the hole so you can understand why they are playing the way they are. For me that is the ultimate thrill and it serves as a fantastic way to help you improve you poker skills!

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Freerolls: The Free Poker Tournaments

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

One of the best ways that you can immerse yourself in the world of poker tournaments, especially when you are new to tournament style games, is by entering online poker freerolls. Freerolls are tournaments that you can enter for free, without paying an entry fee, but you can still win great prizes.

Freeroll tournaments are usually offered by online poker rooms as promotions in order to attract new players. In addition to welcome bonuses on first deposits, many online poker rooms give all new real money players the option to compete in a welcome freeroll tournament for cash and prizes. Poker rooms also offer special freerolls for VIPs, loyal players and other customers.

Why are freerolls so great? When you play in a freeroll you have the opportunity to get used to playing tournament style poker games without risking your own money. In non-freeroll tournaments you have to pay an entry fee and it can be scary paying money to play in a tournament if you have never competed in this way before. A freeroll is a great way to get used to tournament poker and who knows – you may even win!

If you decide you enjoy tournament style games after playing in a few freeroll tournaments you can start to enter real money poker tournaments. Start out with low limit tourneys and up your limits as you begin to win more and more. You can find freerolls at most online poker rooms.

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