Last Thursday Poker Club

It is ironic that most hands in poker never make it to the river and even fewer still actually end up with a showdown at the river. Getting to the river in a hand of poker means that either

A. Some players at the table have made some pretty terrible mistakes which is most often the case or,

B. There are some very evenly matched hands and players sitting across from each other.

Finding yourself playing the PokerStars river can be very exciting and, even though it is the end of the hand, making mistakes on the river can be extremely costly for your bottom line. The great thing about the river is that nothing is going to change. The hands are as good, or bad, as they are going to be, no more cards are going to be dealt, and all that you need to figure out is whether you have a better hand than your opponent does. Simple, right? It is, actually, as long as you have been paying attention to what has been happening on the previous rounds of betting. If you have been paying attention, you should have a decent idea of where your opponent stands in relation to your hand.

One problem that many players have when they get to the river is that even if they know that they are beat, they do not want to fold. I can appreciate the temptation of not wanting to fold and you sometimes see pros sit there on television and say, “I know you have me beat and I’m going to pay you off but I just want to see your hand.” They call, they lose, and everything unfolds exactly how they knew it would before they saw the cards. Being able to fold your hand on the river is a sign that you are growing as a poker player and are able to make tough decisions.

If, however, you are a Poker Stars pro, and you are the one who is going to win the hand, you should do everything you can to try to get your opponent to do exactly what he should not do – call with a losing hand. To make your opponent call with a hand that is inferior to yours, poker players should either make a bet that is less than what would normally be made with the hand or, players should make a bet that is larger than what they would normally bet can accomplish this goal. It may seem odd to bet more than you would but players can sense weakness in what is called over betting and, while it is not as common as getting paid off on a smaller bet, it can happen with an over bet.

Being able to play the river and know when you should fold will help to save you a lot of chips because calling on the river when you should not is a very costly mistake. Additionally, being able to make your opponent make just such a mistake will net you a lot a chips in the end.

One of the best-kept secrets about any poker game is that most poker players tend to earn all their money because of the pitfalls of inexperienced or bad poker players. If you want to stop becoming a cash-earning machine for your opponents, read on to avoid some of the more common mistakes in poker.

Playing more hands than you can handle

This happens to be one of the biggest mistakes, which amateur poker players on UB Poker make. If players play too many hands, they will most likely end up losing through their career. Just because a star player like Daniel Negreanu can play hands like 5-7 offsuit, it does not mean you can. Only make sure to play the premium poker hands and never dabble with average cards. You will only lose more cash to more experienced players.

Calling too many bets

Most amateur poker players tend to call too many bets. If your existing poker hand is not suitable to raise with, it is most likely not appropriate for calling either. Always make sure to keep this fact in mind. However, if your poker hand is raise worthy, then you should definitely raise it. This tactic works as a learning tool to help amateur poker players understand their opponents and judge if the other player actually has a poker hand or not.

Not playing position

If you are closer to the dealer button, your chances at having a playable poker hand increases automatically. The main thing about any poker game lies in one’s position. If you happen to be the first poker player acting at the poker table, ideally you should be folding every possible poker hand. However, if you are on the button, you can soon find that expanding the range gets easy. A poker player can play weaker hands profitably from later positions.

Slow playing

Whilst it is important for every amateur poker player have the latest pokerstars download, they need to also play tight, a poker player should make sure to bet if his or her hand is good. At that point, in cases when there is a good poker hand, do not make the mistake of playing weakly. In such instances, you need to play it hard. Being aggressive at such instances makes your opponents start sweating and trying to work through a tough decision! The aces you have in your pocket are more than 70% favorite against one single poker player but against the other three opponents; they are only 30% favorite. Slow playing can cause a player to drop from a strong favorite to a dog against the field by allowing too many marginal holdings the opportunity to enter cheaply and catch a hand.

Not folding

It sounds obvious but the sad fact is this is a very common mistake. It usually happens with the amateur poker players as they find it difficult to fold cards and realize that they are beat. Do not marry any one hand. When you are beat, release the hand.

Being able to play poker effectively and profitably in the long term requires a number of different things. Dedication, good play, bankroll management, and maximizing your profits. Being able to maximize your profits might seem like a pretty simple idea to understand but the logistics of not leaving money on the table is not as easy as the idea behind it. There are many different things that you need to do in order to maximize the amount of money that you take away from the table but one of the easiest tricks that you can utilize to help add to your take away is stealing the blinds.

Stealing the blinds is, essentially, raising from a late position after having the table fold to you in hopes of having the players who are the blinds also fold and collect that money. Obviously, it is not a lot of money that you are collecting but the key to remember is that over a long session, stealing the blinds a number of times can add up. Because of its lack of difficulty, almost all poker players employ stealing tactic. Being able to use the skill effectively is more difficult than merely raising any time you are folded to in late position.

One problem that players on Ultimatebet.com run into when they are trying to steal the blinds is not committing enough chips to force the blinds to fold. The strength of the blinds’ hands are unknown so making a small move in hopes of taking the blinds can often result in getting called from one or both of the blinds. This can lead to a messy flop because the strength of their hands are masked and you are faced with the difficult decision or whether or not you want to make a continuation bet or give up on what was supposed to be a quick blind and a half.

Another difficulty people have with stealing the blinds is that they do it too often and with completely unplayable hands. Because so many people steal the blinds, everyone has a good idea of what is happening when you make a decent raise out of late position when the table has folded around to you. You can get away with it the first time, usually, as the blinds will respect the raise but if you continue to do it with regularity, it is very common to be reraised from one of the blinds and find yourself with a tough decision to make. That is why it is important to use the tool sparingly and not go overboard with stealing the blinds every time and use the times when your hand is absolutely trash to get some folds in so people do not think you are always trying to steal the blinds.

Overall, stealing the blinds is an effective way to add a number of big blinds per hour to your chip stack and help to increase your return over the long term. With its extreme ease of use and relatively high success rate, it is a skill you should never be without at the poker table.

The headlines continue to bleed with titles from the law suit filed by Clonie Gowen against former sponsor FullTilt.net in early November. Ms. Gowen accused the online poker room of breach of contract, along with a few other poignant allegations, and just recently, the pro player response has been overwhelming.

The most intriguing reaction came from PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu, who posted on his web site forum, Full Contact Poker, calling Clonie “ding bat crazy” and accusing her of fabricating her story. Negreanu said there was “no freaking way” FullTilt.net would offer her 1% of the company, going so far to compare her action to “crazy ex-girlfriend extortion”.

Negreanu went on to blast Clonie’s actions against FullTilt.net, stating his belief that she will be “nothing, broke and out of poker within the next two years”. He then took a few jabs at Gowen’s choice to bring other Full Tilt Pro’s names into the lawsuit.

“As for Clonie, naming random people associated with FTP in a lawsuit is extremely irresponsible and inappropriate. It’s like she’s just throwing darts and guessing. She’s not going to make any friends doing that. I mean, Mike Matusow? Like he needs to be on that suit, it’s ridiculous.”

Fellow Team PokerStars.com Pro Barry Greenstein responded to Daniel Negreanu’s post on his own web site forum, PokerRoad, stating that he did not believe this would ruin Ms. Gowen’s poker career, but that it may become much harder for her to cover every day living expenses without the support of an online poker room sponsorship. “I don’t get the feeling that Clonie supplements her income with side game winnings, although she does make something from poker boot camps.”

Greenstein then went on to praise Clonie Gowen’s impeccable poker tournament skills, including 3 out of 3 wins in the Poker After Dark series. “That makes her sixth on the all time money list for women in poker,” Greenstein said.

In regards to the validity of Gowen’s case against Full Tilt Poker, Greenstein commented, “I vaguely recall her telling me a few years back that she thought she was going to get some stock, but I would have thought she would have gotten that cleared up within a year of representing the company. It certainly seems strange to bring it up after all these years.”

Another response to Negreanu’s public attack of Clonie Gowen came from seasoned poker tournament player Kevin O’Donnell, with a post on TwoPlusTwo forums. O’Donnell berated Negreanu’s comments saying, “There has been more mud thrown around on this than the presidential election. Only this time, Negreanu, you have thrown most of it, in a race you’re not even in.

O’Donnell spoke of his admiration for Clonie Gowen as “a good person” and “a great ambassador for Full Tilt”. He then pointed out that neither he nor Negreanu knows “what the arrangement that she had with FT was, but to assume there was nothing at all, would be a little naive.”

Kevin O’Donnell wrote further with a recommendation for Negreanu, suggesting: “have your mom make you lunch, chill out, and mind your own business. All the people I have had the pleasure of meeting on “The FT Team” are very nice people with more integrity and manners than you have shown here. They all seem, intelligent and capable enough of dealing with any issues they might have with Clonie, one on one in private.

“I might not be much of a poker player, but, I do know right from wrong, and you are WAY wrong in your attempted public assassination of a nice person.”

It will be interesting to see the outcome of the Gowen VS FTP case as many speculate whether it will be settled out of court. The latest talk around the water cooler claims that several FullTiltPoker.net Pros – Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Andy Bloch and Erick Lindgren – are displeased with the current situation and may be seeking to end their own contract with Full Tilt. The effect these actions may have on further online poker room sponsorship deals – for any professional poker player, not just Ms. Gowen – also hangs in the balance.