Choosing The Right Online Poker Table
Mar 12th
Playing poker not only requires skills during the poker game, but also requires some preparation skills prior to the game. Picking the right table is one of them.
One of the advantages of playing at online casinos is that you are allowed to choose your own table, unlike at land-based casinos where you are ushered to the tables without the choosing. When playing at an online casino you will not be provided with information on individual players but you will be provided general table statistics that can give you valuable insight into picking the best table.
The first thing to check out is the number of hands dealt per hour. This will indicate the speed of the game. The more hands the poker room deals per hour, the faster the pace of the game and the more money you stand to make every hour.
The second most important thing to look out for is the percentage of players seeing the flop. This will inform you about how many players are staying in the pot until the first 3 cards have been revealed. If the number is over 40% the game is too loose which will reduce your chances of making money, whereas, if it is less than 30% it means that the table is tight.
The final thing to look out for is the average pot. A rookie mistake would be to choose the table with the highest average pot. Don’t do this. Rather see how the average pot relates to the number of casino players who are seeing the pot. Even if you play a slightly aggressive game, you can make more money from it than you would at a lively, fast-paced game.
Being on Tilt
Mar 10th
AHHH
For example:
- Folding to a large bet only to have your opponent turn over a poor hand (being shown a bluff).
- Being bluffed by a small bet (a post oak bluff).
- Having an opponent “suck out,” or catch a miracle card late in the hand (an unlikely out-draw).
- Having what you think is a dominating hand bested by an unexpected more powerful hand.
- Standing up to an overly aggressive player who plays nearly every pot but encountering a big hand.
- Having an all-in showdown with a strongly superior hand pre-flop and losing.
- In online Poker, putting a lot of money into the pot with the likely best hand, and not being able to see the showdown due to internet connection failure or software crash.
- Making a bad play and realizing it afterward
- Misclicking in online poker and losing a big pot as a result (like clicking call instead of fold to an all-in)
These can upset the mental equilibrium essential for optimal poker judgment. Another common way to tilt is from bad behavior of the others at the poker table. Excessive rudeness (or lewdness), being heavily intoxicated at the table, and poor table etiquette are ways that players can wear on nerves.
Though not as commonly acknowledged or discussed, it is also quite possible to go on “winner’s tilt” as a result of a positive trigger: such as winning a hand unexpectedly, being awarded a large pot, or making the money in a tournament. Strong positive emotions can be just as dizzying and detrimental to one’s play as negative ones. “Winner’s tilt” can be just as dangerous as the more traditional form.
Phil Ivey & Tom Dwan Make a Million Dollar Bet
Mar 10th
I'll not eat anything for $1 million
You’d expect poker to be the biggest entertainer on shows like High Stakes Poker, but history has showed that this is not always the case. It certainly wasn’t on the Saturday night episode, where an interesting bet was made between Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan. Dwan bet Ivey that Ivey wouldn’t be able to resist eating meat for an entire year.
After lengthy discussions and negotiations between the 2 players, Ivey agreed to the bet. If he avoided all meat, including fish, for a year he’d get $1 million from Dwan. Later on, Ivey seemed happy with the deal, saying to co-host Kara Scott: “I was thinking about doing it for a while, so this is kind of like an added incentive.”
This particular High Stakes Poker episode was filmed a few days after Ivey finished in 7th place at the WSOP main event final table and had won millions in side bets, including $1 million from Dwan. Do I detect some revenge in the air?
“I’m used to having million-dollar sweats with you,” Dwan said in response to losing $1 million in the game and the subsequent bet with Ivey.
Ivey even tried to wager the bet up to $2 million which he felt would have given him an even bigger incentive to give up meat for 365 days.
Dwan has since claimed that Ivey is not getting vaguely close to fulfilling his side of the bet- Dwab reportedly mentioned to Sammy George that Ivey was already trying to buy out of the bet.
Perhaps if Ivey borrowed some of Mel Gibson’s cow brain goo for his poker games he’d stay on top without having to eat meat.