Poker

PokerGym is an innovative new site that I am going to write a review on very soon. If I haven't written the review yet, why am I mentioning it? Well, because they are going to be writing some guest articles for our little poker site here. The first one is a great math article on calculating your break-even pot size.

I do love my poker math.

I look forward to more articles from them, and so should you.

Had a good weekend of poker out at Canterbury Park.  The Mid-States Poker Tour was in town, and though I'm not bankrolled for the $1,100 Main Event, I played a $250 satellite and won a ticket. Should have made some side bets after my last performance out there--I'm sure I could have gotten some action on last longers. Sold my ticket for over a thousand bucks then turned a $10 in free play into $75 real dollars.

A good day.

The next day I played limit holdem while I waited for my name to drawn from the birthday box to win $100 or $500. My name never came up (dang!) but the session was profitable and I took some bonus money off the books as well.

Played a long and frustrating cash session last night. It was limit, as well, so instead of the quick-fire death of a no limit session, it was more akin to being eaten alive by a duck. The beats just piled on top of each other until I was near to expecting to see the 83s my opponent had called four bets preflop with hit two pair at the river. But I continued to play well and never hit my stop-loss, so I just kept playing till I had to get home and take the kids to school.

I don't recommend long sessions to try to get even when losing. But I use a hard stop-loss to take some of the guesswork out of whether or not I'm still playing well. Here's an article on stop-losses and how to use them to limit losses and lock in gains.

I've been rereading my copy of Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time. I tell you, those boys can play some poker. It got me thinking about all the poker books I own. I tried to figure out which ones are the best, then decided to pare it down a little. And since I was reading a tournament book, I decided I'd rate my top five tournament books. So, here's my list.

Sadly, record-keeping is an essential part of improving as a poker player. I've written a quick guide to putting a spreadsheet together to track your poker results.

Poker is hard enough when you know the math. If you don't know the math you're at a huge disadvantage. Read this article and get to know your basic Holdem odds.

Cashing in a tournament isn't the only way to make money off your tournament play. Here's an article on making money from last long bets.

One advantage I often have in tournaments is that after 11 or 12 hours of play, I am still fairly fresh. I know I have won some tournaments simply because I was still making good decisions at the end while my opponents were making poor ones due to being tired, bored, or drunk. Here's an article on how I prepare to keep myself alert all day for days on end.

Just back from Reno where I played once again in the Atlantis All In Series. I love this tournament: professional staff and amateur players. Didn't have as a good a run this time as my last trip, managed only one min-cash and one bubble deal, but still made money with comps and side action. Here's my report on the All In Series.

I've been out to Vegas a lot. Not nearly as much as I'd like to, of course, but really, who has. I've stayed in a lot of places out there, on a variety of budgets, and talked to friends who have stayed at places I haven't. I've compiled a list of what I believe are the best places to stay in Vegas for the WSOP, organized by things like Best Cash Action and Best Hotel Rooms and the like. Take a peek if you're planning a trip out west this Series.