Vincent’s Poker Blog

I would never play absolute due to known cheat issues in the past, but getting $33k for folding pre-flop in a $0.5/$1 limit hold’em game is a pretty good deal if you ask me.

I haven’t had a Royal Flush in quite a long time so when one of our readers sends me a pic of their royal flush I feel like sharing it with the audience here on my poker blog. This one comes from Party Poker, Pot Limit Omaha Hi, low stakes.

If someone else has royals to share — send me!!!

There are a number of ways for people to satisfy their urge to gamble through gambling sites on the Internet. We surfers can sign up for gambling accounts at the numerous different sites that are available to them and start making bets and wagers in a vast array of gambling games on offer. Two of the most popular forms of online gambling are poker and casino games. Most people are familiar with the game of poker as well as the different forms of casino games, including blackjack, roulette, slots and so on. But how do both of these different forms of online gambling compare to each other?

In general, the casino games are more based on luck and focus on the thrills of wagering money on the roll of a dice or the spin of the roulette wheel, whereas playing online poker involves an element of skill and strategy. There are some games such as Blackjack that allow you to use good strategy using odds and mathematics to improve your chances of winning, but the majority of casino games give you fixed odds, where the odds are more often than not in favour of the house. So although casino games can be very entertaining, if you play for long enough you will find that you will be losing more money than you win in the long run.

This is where online poker is a little different, as it is possible to actually to be a long-term winner. This is because with online poker, you are playing against other players, and not against the house. So therefore if you can employ a successful winning strategy against your opponents, there is no reason why you cant win money. There is obviously an element of luck as with all gambling card games, but there is an overriding element of strategy that allows you to be a long-term winner of the game.

There are a number of different poker variants online for players to choose from, including Texas Holdem, Omaha and Stud. Other less popular games like Razz can also be played online, but you will find the majority of players sat at the above mentioned tables playing for real money. Texas Holdem is by far the most popular out of all the poker variants avaialable due to the large amount of media coverage it receives. Therefore you will find that there are many online poker players looking for Texas Holdem strategy across the Internet and in books in an attempt to take their game to a winning level.

The online poker rooms make money via ‘rake’, which is a small cut of each pot that is built between players. So the poker rooms still make money, even if you do as well. Any wins that you make are coming from your opponent’s pocket, and not from the casinos. Therefore online gambling operators are more than happy to provide online poker rooms to the public.

The fact that you can win money from online poker sites makes online poker a favourite for many online gamblers. However, some can find it tedious and frustrating when the cards do not fall their way, so they stick to online casino to satisfy their gambling needs. Online casino can be great fun and attracts a lot of players because of the fact that the games are so easy to play. However, although you can get lucky from time to time and win money, in the long run you should find that casino games would be taking your money.

Overall, online casino is great for people looking for some quick and easy gambling entertainment. Online poker on the other hand is more suited to people looking to test their ability against opponents, in an attempt to outplay each other and win their money. However, it takes time and good strategy to be able to win money from online poker, which is something that not a lot of people have. But if you have the patience and determination, you may well be a candidate to be a long-term winner in the online poker world.

I’ve decided to give Betfair a little go after I discovered they accept paypal deposits. I’m not too sure about the software now that I just installed it, but I suppose I could end up getting used to the somewhat flash-feel it has…

Will keep you posted, hopefully not with bad beat screenshots hehehehe

Hi everyone! Played quite a lot of poker this weekend, and ended up with two reasonably big poker wins in tournaments this weekend.

The first one was a pretty easy 45-player sit ‘n go on Full Tilt Poker. Can’t believe how easy this was. I was a card-wreck. Picked up KK in the first hand, doubled up against a guy holding QJ (hit the Q on the flop) — picked up AA a couple hands later, took another big chunk of chips as I made a set of aces against his A9. Cruised on, never really got into trouble. Went heads-up with an 8-to-1 lead. Good stuff.

Second one was a 180-player SnG. Was carddead throughout the first 60 minutes, and actually only played like 3 hands in the first hour — but ended up doubling up twice with only 25 players to go. Got on the final table in 7th chip position, picked up 9T of hearts to make me a nut straight (against lower straight) — and got a lucky break when my KK beat AA. Once I won that hand, I pretty much sailed to victory.

Decided to take a break for a few days, kind of tired.

Red Kings Poker is an Ongame NetWork Affiliate. It has the benefits of a share customer base and even though it is pretty new in terms of online sites (2006 start-up) it’s customer base is large and is growing thanks largely to its aggressive marketing and excellent promotions.

Red Kings Poker has a number of special promotions. Its signature promotion is the pocket kings promotion (because of the name, get it?). If you are dealt red kings in a cash game you are given $10, have those kings beaten and they’ll give you $50. Currently you can get a 200% sign up bonus up to $1200 which is no small change.

Red Kings Poker offer Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo and Five-Card Draw in all the usual variations. It has plenty of tournaments and SnGs and has enough players at all levels to suit everyone. And it has the usual Casino games. The only problem with RedKings is the lobby, which can make it difficult to find the game you want.

The software is stable and for the most part reliable and is available as both a download and no-download client. It is always better to download, but the Java client works and can let you play away from your main PC with ease. The Red Kings Poker software is one of the best choices for Mac users, who can play the no-download version without any special installs. The software also works with most additional software that poker players might want to utilize, poker tracker and the like I am not a great fan of Red Kings software but that is just an aesthetic thing for me, the functionality is great and they now even offer mobile phone gaming.

NB Red Kings is not US friendly.

Seems like I’ve been focussing on suckouts on this blog way too much — sorry about that — but I’m going to try one more time, the last time for February, I PROMISE!

Anyway, 24$ 6-seater S&G, Full Tilt Poker, No Limit Hold’em — I get dealt KK in the very first hand. I raise 4BB, one call, SB Villain re-raises minimum, I shove in half my stack — he calls. Flop AJ4 rainbow. SB shoves, I fold. Villian shows A9.Blergh.

I’m now the short stack. Hand #8 and I pick up QQ. I’m under the gun after the blinds, and shove right away. One caller in the BB, shows JJ. The turn brings the jack. Tourney finished.

Played two hands.

Oh the beautiful game of poker, especially with me on tilt.

If you play a lot of online heads-up sit & go tournaments, you’re in this kind of position quite a lot of the time. You’ve developed a reasonable chip lead over your opponent, even though the blinds are still at level one or two. You’ll be faced withj one of two kinds of opponent:

1. The aggressive type – he pushes in a lot in this spot, one-double-up away from the chip lead.

2. The cautious one, understanding that his tiournament life is at stake at this point.

The first type is the easiest to play, and the most dangerous one. After some time, you will stop putting this kind of player on a hand, resulting in mediocre calls because you’re sick of the the steals. Don’t fall for it! His steals are worthless with the blinds at these levels. Be patient. Don’t raise too much, see flops, wait for top pair/two pair, let him push into you. Your 2-to-1 chip lead will dwindle, but you’ll have a good chance of taking him out if you have the patience to wait.

An example of his not to play: You: 2105 chips – opponent 895 chips. Blinds are 5-10 chips. Opponent has pushed 8 times in the last 10 hands. You pick up A4os on the button, and your opponent shoves again. You call. He flips over 77.

You fell for it. A4os is not a calling hand for THAT many chips. You are looking for a reasonable two overs to a pair, or two higher live cards i.e. A9 vs K7. Don’t worry about him holding 74os and you folding A4. Be patient, picking your spot more carfully will allow you for a much better chance when you do decide to call him down.

How to play: lay down the A4os. Lay down the K8’s. Wait for A10  AK – AA  22.
Good luck!

Okay, I asked for it right here didn’t I?

Went out in fifth place taking home a good amount of cash, but still feel kinda stupid, as going out was……… with QQ. Was second shortstack, got called by A5os by the big stack on the BB — and he made the ace high flush (I had the Q flush too).

Oh well, can’t complain someone calling with A5os when you’ve got the queens, aye.

I feel invincible. Just sucked out badly in a $50 buy-in freeze-out, and am now in first chip position with about 50 people left from 290 starters…

Fingers crossed — when Kings crack Aces, you’re ready to take down a tournament, right?

WAZZAAAAAA!!