No one likes a micromanager. This goes for real life as well as life at the online poker table, but for now we will stick to explaining the deadly dangers of bankroll micromanagement. It may seem like a good idea at first glance to check your online poker bankroll every chance you get. After all, we have been told since the early days when we first picked up a deck of cards that bankroll management is the key to success. This maxim holds as true today as it did in the days of yore, but needs some qualification for new technology. When the principles of bankroll management were first instilled in most poker players, computers were still a distant dream. Even more so was the internet. No one could envision the day when poker player could sit down at a computer to play poker and monitor their bankroll by the second. Watching a bankroll this closely is against everything we were originally taught. Most of use learned to total our bankroll at the hour or at the end of the day. Totally by the second tends to make poker online players feel over confident when they are one a five minute upsweep and more despondent when the numbers go down. They get sucked into the moment instead of seeing the big picture. Don’t be one of these bankroll micromanagers if you want to have a bankroll left at the end of the day.
online poker tactics continually evolve, and what was once considered weak play can be used to disguise strength and visa versa. For instance, under-betting the pot from early position was always seen as a weak move, and aggressive pokerplayers typically would exploit that with a raise. But during the 2009 World Series, it was not uncommon to see the early under-bet unchallenged because there could be a strong hand behind it looking for the raise, with the intention of re-raising. This tactic builds a bigger pot than a check-raise since your opponent has already put in a raise to your small bet, and being pot committed, may call your raise so there are several bets in the pot. Checking has also come to be seen as a deceptive online poker play, often used to obscure a player’s hand and intention. Many players are now declining the opportunity to bet behind, but instead checking it down too for free cards. Traditionally, a check, especially on the turn card, provokes bets and raises. However, the trend is to be more cautious these days and more selective about aggression. There are too many smart players who have read the books and watched the videos, and know not to play on auto-pilot based on appearances.
There has been a lot of buzz lately in the online poker world about microstakes poker. Everyone seems to be joining the craze to play for pennies. If you want to join the bandwagon, however, it is useful to know a little bit about what you are getting into. You can’t just jump in headfirst and expect to know the system. You need to do your research ahead of time to be an informed online poker player. You need to ask useful questions. You need to know the answers to questions like exactly how micro are microstakes? The answer to this question depends on what kind of casino online game you like. Just like in normal stakes poker you have the option of playing either a limit of a no limit game. Obviously these have different stakes because of the different betting structure. Let’s say you are a limit fan. You microstakes poker game would have a maximum limit of $0.50/$1.00. Not really the big bucks if you ask me. For no limit fans you can expect a maximum blind of $0.10/$0.25. Anything above these limits and you are technically playing a low limit game instead of a microstakes game. A whole different system and playing approach applies to low limit games.
It certainly looks like a cop/S.W.A.T show with the task force having plenty at hand to rescue hostages, defuse bombs, or breaking up gangs. But actually it’s the backdrop of Flashpoint. Flashpoint is a drama which reflects how the SRU (Strategic Response Unit) works by utilizing their training to get inside the heads of the criminals in order to make them reach their breaking point (aka their flashpoint) and discovering the emotions that triggered the crisis.
These good and the bad guys have something in common, they have emotions and feelings - the SRU capitalizes on that. We get to know what led to the situation and there isn’t always a simple solution to the situation. The negotiations are the strong point and they have the will to solve it without guns. It reflects what it is to shoot someone - even for a highly trained and tough elite unit member. It takes its toll on every one. There is no going home in glory after a shooting. Every action has consequences, and the protagonists have to live with those consequences, not just forget them in time for next week’s episode.
The show has managed to use believable twists and character development to surprise, despite the ’spoiler’ that begins each show. And it’s awesome the way it gives you the ‘teaser’ at the start, then getting to the full story leading into the situation. To be fair, some of the minor characters have suffered from a lack of air time and development so far, but the show has huge potential to overcome such minor bumps. CTV has done a really good job by creating this show, and getting the necessary funding with CBS to make this a solid series, and make it survive in Canada. With excellent cinematography and high production values, Flashpoint is a drama with guns and not ‘necessary’ evil. Moral and caring cops with emotional consequences. And explosions, when all else fails.
In the show’s own words, “We’re not here to target practice; we’re here to save lives”.
Tournament online poker and cash poker games are two entirely different types of game. In a cash game, a player seeks to leverage whatever small advantage is available to win a pot. One big winning hand in a casino online game can make all the profit a player needs, and lets that player exit the game at will.
A tournament player must think about the surviving the long run. This player must carefully weigh every risk before taking any action because the longer you survive, the better the chance on making it into the big money prizes for the top finishers.
The payoff in a online poker tournament is proportioned according to the amount in the prize pool and how many players will be paid. If there are 100 players, most likely ten will be paid. If there are only twenty players, then only three will walk away with a prize. The first prize gets the biggest percentage, then the lower prizes shrink in percentage of the total prize. For the tournament player, small advantages are actually riskier propositions. Any erosion in your stack puts you further away from the top prizes.
Tournament players must consider their chances of survival before placing any bet. Because tournaments are contests where one player eliminated brings the remaining players closer to the money, the players must sometimes refrain from entering a pot that the cash player would pursue. Sometime the best advantage in a tournament as you get closer to the money is to protect your own chip stack and let the other players eliminate each other.
This is the week I could not cash playing poker online. I’ve mostly been playing on full tilt, playing online poker. Of all of the sites to play on, full tilt is not known for its impressive tournament structures. Their blinds are shorter than other sites. You seem to see a lot more cash pros on full tilt and tourney pros on other sites like PokerStars.
That being said, I am a tournament player. I have been playing poker online tournaments all week and am bubbling everything I touch. In sit and go’s I lose every 70/30 and 60/40 when I’m ahead or behind. I even have lost a few 80/20’s and 85/15’s (KK vs. KJ). Hell, I lost AA vs. AQ and A3 on a 3-way all in; the guy hit trip 3’s. So, I’ve been running terrible. But, there isn’t room to run bad in sit and go’s, and there really isn’t much room to run bad in tournaments, especially when the blinds are short.
I got to the final table of a 45-person sit and go. These have 6 minute blinds. I got there as one of a few short stacks and crept to the bubble (7 people left). The blinds were 300/600 and I had 3000; 5 big blinds. This is awful. I’m in the small blind and I get As 10s. The BB has 16k chips. I’m happy that he will probably call my shove with any two cards in hopes of taking out the bubble. I shove, and he calls. He has 9 2 off suit. He flops both a 9 and a 2 and I’m out on the bubble. 70% of the time I am doubling up just in time to be on the button where I have a few more options of playing in choice spots to get past the bubble and maybe even double again if I’m so lucky. Did not happen.
I get into the cash in a SNG where three pay and I am the chip leader. Though I probably don’t need to I am still playing aggressively with show down value hands preflop; any ace/any pair. I shove into KK and get a chunk take from me. Next hand I get shove on and call with A, 6 and I am up against A, 3, he hits his 3 and I’m out 3rd.
Playing poker online with a medium pair can be a risky proposition. If you don’t flop a set, you’re pretty much drawing dead. If you’ve got pocket Kings, it’s easy to stay in the hand because an Ace on the board is the only pair that can top yours. If you’ve only got pocket 8’s, a 9 or higher on the board can spell your casino doom.
For example, say you’ve been dealt a pair of 10’s, and you’re the big blind. No one raises you, so you figure on seeing the flop cheaply and hoping another 10 falls, so you check. If the flop shows a 2-7-3 rainbow, you could be in luck. It’s likely that these cards didn’t help anyone, and even if someone has a 7, you’ve still got high pair. Since you’ve got a tenuous grip on the hand, it’d be a good idea to put in a good-sized raise to chase everybody out of the pot. You don’t want any face cards on the turn or river to ruin your online pokerhand. If the flop shows one or more face cards, your tens are looking pretty useless. Unless you flopped a set, it’s a good idea to give up your medium pair if there are any higher cards on the board.
Many wine drinkers contemplate the question if it is worthwhile Aerating white wine? The process is generally given as benefiting red wines, indeed some state that all red wines should be aerated, nevertheless there is some debate over the gains of doing so for white wines.White wines are commonly created to drink at a younger age than those of the red kind. Thus aerating these wines may actually have a damaging effect on the quality and taste. Even So there are certain white wines that are made to improve as they age, these include top rate Chardonnays and good quality Rieslings. Desert wines are also worth mentioning, especially those of the white grape variety, as they can profit greatly from aeration.The reason wine aeration works is because it allows wine to, in effect, ‘breathe’. Nowadays, where a lot of wine that is purchased has not been aged for a significant amount of time aeration can have an impressive impact on the taste of a wine. Aeration allows the flavours of the wine to open up as more of the wine is in contact with oxygen. Younger wines that may have a tart first taste can be softened by aeration, allowing a fuller but softer flavour to come through. Whereas in the past aeration has only been possible through decanting the wine, the vinturi essential wine aerator allows it in the time it takes to pour a glass.
Being a dedicated learner is one of the most important factors in being successful, not only in poker, but in life. Constantly staying abreast of changes in the world makes you a more formidable player in the game of life. Poker can be considered a microcosm of the real world, and as poker has been growing exponentially, so has the study of poker theory and strategy. By committing yourself to learning something new as often as possible, you can keep up with and even surpass your opponents in abilities and in overall success.
Many players believe that by putting in excessive hours and hands, they are increasing their understanding of the game. This is true, but only to a point. If you practice the wrong things, and don’t take time to learn from your mistakes, you are doing damage to your game rather than improving it. If you are going to commit yourself to playing a large volume of hands, you should also take time to review and study the key hands from your sessions, think about them in retrospect and discuss them with other players. Decide what you did well, and what you could improve on. It is always easy to make a play after the fact, but making plays in tempo is what poker is all about, and by learning the plays ahead of time like a good quarterback in football, you can be one step ahead of your opponents.
The great thing about poker is that it is a lifetime game, and even players like Doyle Brunson who have been around card games for decades will still attest to the fact that they learn new things every day.
It is telling when the most profound of minds in the game will stand humbled at some of the young players whose work ethics trump their own. The work ethics of many young players is extraordinary, and has brought a whole new level of competition, and a steeper learning curve to the game, especially in the online environment. Not everyone has the mental abilities to absorb vast amounts of information in a short period of time, but every poker player who wants to be a winning player should be able to find it in him to commit at least to trying to learn new strategy as often as possible.
MarketPulse, a reputable poker listing and room tracking site, has reported that September has been a month of growth for nearly every online poker room in existence right now. And they give two big reasons. I contend to offer a third, but first, let’s see what they have to say.
It’s that odyssey experience that many people like to call college. Yes, it’s that time of year again where thousands upon thousands of students flock to the university or college of their choice, leaving the wing of mommy and daddy and experience the freedom the world has to offer them first hand. And since this is the internet generation we’re talking about, timing couldn’t be better for the online poker table providers.
The second reason given by MarketPulse is the fact that many online poker rooms are offering several great incentives, such as qualification into the World Series of Poker after several successful tournaments wins. Again, this is an attractive strategy, as many amateurs turned pro the same way.
But one thing MarketPulse neglected to mention is the economics behind the recent boom. We all know that the cost of living is going up, up and more up in many of the nations of the world. And with the crashes happening on Wall Street, many people are looking to increase their income or supplement it by other means. And where do the good amateurs turn to do this, college students, graduates, and the regular joe alike? You guessed it, poker online. With it’s prevalent media exposure and the loss of faith in traditional financial securities people are turning more and more to self made monetary gain, and history has proven, that gambling is one of those outlets.
So regardless of the reason, recent freedom, incentive, or just plain income supplementation, online poker is showing now signs of slowing down in the near future.
