Poker & CasinoGambling news

by Steve Paul-Ambrose

Often when playing poker you’ll instinctively know that a given raise, call or fold is right and make it. That’s an important skill, but often not knowing why can get you in trouble. A good example of this: in the ante stage of a tournament, it folds to you on the button. You look down at 72o and you make a raise. Now your reasoning for this raise is likely “the blinds are tight, I can win the blinds and antes most of the time” and you’d often be right to an extent. But it’s still instructive to look at why you can raise any two cards, and particularly how that impacts your decisions when your raise doesn’t win the blinds.

Generally in this spot between the antes and the blinds the pot will be 2.5x the big blind, and your raise size will be about the same. So for a raise to show an immediate profit, it has to work 50% of the time. Looking at it individually, if your opponents each play 30% of their hands, your raise will work .7*.7=49% of the time. So if you think they’re looser than that, your raise is likely not best. So now your reasoning for the raise might look more like: “I think the blinds are tight and will each only play 20% of their hands. My raise will work more than 50% of the time, so I will raise.” Great. The problem for most people comes when their opponents call (we’ll ignore when they reraise because I think we can all agree that you should just fold your 72o when that happens).

For most people when their raise gets called and their opponent checks, they put out a continuation bet. They showed strength preflop and the only way to win is to bet right? I’d say that’s wrong for two reasons. First, your opponent, not you, is the one who showed real strength preflop, by calling he’s narrowed his range from a random hand to a hand in the top 20%. You on the other hand raised with 72o so raising isn’t exactly showing that you have a stronger than random hand. Secondly, we’ve determined that the preflop raise shows a profit. It’s a lot harder to demonstrate that a continuation bet will, particularly when we know that our opponent has a stronger than normal hand. So in other words, betting is the only way we can lose by turning our profitable preflop raise into a potentially unprofitable situation by continuing to try to win the pot when our opponent has shown strength.

Now that’s not to say you should never continuation bet after raising 72o there. Just before you do, you should understand why, and why you raised preflop in the first place.

It’s hard to be original these days. With so many people out there actively trying to be unique, most folks end up failing or copying their fellow aspirants-to-originality.

And so, it’s always nice when we spend our Tuesday mornings wading through the vast resource of internet videos and find something that makes us say, “Well, we haven’t seen that before.”

And so is this case on today’s Weekly Dose where we can present you with…several grown men in diapers.

What you see there is a screen capture from James Wheeler’s entry into the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge. You might remember, PokerStars, Fox Sports, and Daniel Negreanu are running this little show that requires online qualifiers to send in an audition video. Many of the videos are about what you’d expect. There are a few, however, that stand out for their originality.

The one below from James “jameswbreez” Wheeler, an Army base firefighter, is one of the latter.

Here’s one of the best audition videos we’ve found so far this week.

While we’re on the topic of televised poker, he’s one you might not have seen before. They call it the Bounty Stars of Poker. It’s amateurs versus pros and…a mystery guest!

Bounty Stars of Poker is a program out of the UK and looks to have some pretty big-name sports stars in the mix.

We found the episode below on the venerable PokerStars.tv.

And while we’re on the topic of PokerStars.tv, the online video portal is back with another episode of the Online Poker Show.

This week brings us the PokerStars Sunday Million and this week’s final table. This episode was made for the small screen. It has the stars (and a Team PokerStars Pro) built right in.

Check it out below.

The Italian Poker Tour has a new champion in San Remo.

This past weekend, Italy’s Alessio Isaia outlasted the ten-hour final table to collect the trophy and €140,000.

At just 23 years old, Isaia already has four years of live poker experience behind him. In his short poker career, he’s managed to earn $600,000 and sit at two WSOP final tables.

Isaia went head to head with PokerStars.it player Alioscia Oliva for nearly three hours before finally getting [10c] [Ac] all-in against Oliva’s [5h] [9h]. The board ran out [Jd][8h][Kd][7s][4s] and Isaia claimed his championship.

PokerStars player Alioscia Oliva takes home a respectable €93,000 for the runner-up finish.

The next IPT event we will head back to Venice for IPT Venice January 14th-18th, 2010.

Padraig Parkinson wins the UKIPT Galway!
Ladies and gentlemen, sharks and fish, hometown hero Padraig Parkinson has won the inaugural UKIPT Galway scooping an enormous €125,000 as well as bagging a bonus £5,000 seat into the EPT London. Parkinson, who was born just down the road in Galway, beat Paul Marrow in a short but entertaining heads up session. Chip stacks were fairly even going into the heads up but the ensuing battle always looked like it was going to be short lived. After a few small pots either way it wasn’t long before the pair got it in for a classic race with Parkinson’s AQ getting there against Marrow’s pocket sixes. The loss crushed most of Marrow’s stack, but not his spirit, and the Brit kept shoving, winning a double up with [js] [qs] before Parkinson knocked out his good friend with [kh] [qh] against Marrow’s [2c] [5h].

The ensuing winner’s presentation was an emotional affair with runner up Paul Marrow welling up and saying that even though he really wanted to win the heads up he wanted Parkinson to be Irish champion just as much. Parkinson, who is never one to be short for word, said, ‘I was born just down the road so I can’t believe that I won it. If anyone wants a drink, I’m buying!’

It was a great final table with a fascinating mix of old school and new school. PokerStars qualifiers Ben ‘Chong94′ Lefew and Michael ‘BIGMICKG’ Graydon played some great poker and could have gone all the way if the cards have played out differently and a little thought has to be spared for PokerStars player Michael McFadden who got it all-in with Aces against Marrow’s QT and lost a huge tournament changing pot. The action came so thick and fast in the opening levels that it seemed that a winner could be crowned within the hour but inevitably the knockouts started to slow. Parkinson played a cagey game at the start of the final table leaving it to the short stacks, Ben Lefew and Paul Marrow to get their chips in before ramping up the aggression towards the later stages showing experience can get you a long way.

Parkinson’s win was enthusiastically greeted by the home crowd with notables players such as Nicky Power cheering on from the sidelines. Celebrations are expected to run long, long into the night. If it is indeed possible to drink Galway dry of Guinness it’s likely to happen tonight!

Watch UKIPT GALWAY: Padraig Parkinson UKIPT Galway Winner!! on PokerStars.tv

The next stop of the UKIPT tour is in Manchester February 11-14, 2010.

UKIPT Galway payouts

1. Padraig Parkinson €125,000 (+£5,000 EPT qualifier)
2. Paul Marrow €82,000
3. Ben Lefew €52,000 (PokerStars qualifier)
4. Michael Graydon €36,000 (PokerStars qualifier)
5. Michael McFadgen €22,000 (PokerStars player)
6. Paul Dooley €17,000
7. Vinny Cosgrove €13,000
8. Cat O’Neill €11,000
9. Trevor Bulless €9,000

Catch up on all the action as it happened and all 36 money spots:

The money ladder

Level 25&26
Level 23&24
Level 21&22
Final table ready to kick off
Yes, we can!
Level 20&21
Level 18&19
Level 16&17
Money ladder madness
End of day 2 wrap
Level 14&15
Level 12&13
Level 10&11
Level 8&9
Another day dawns
Level 7 to close of play
Level 5&6
Level 3&4
Level 1&2
A new tour is born

Photos by Mickey May

We’ve always thought the whole U.S. East Coast vs West Coast gangsta rap battle should’ve had more legs. It seemed like something that could’ve lasted a lot longer and ended 20 years later with a steamboat war on the Mississippi River.

Fortunately, we have a new battle brewing (or one we’re creating strictly for the purposes of moving this story along) among PokerStars players on America’s right and left coasts.

On the right side of the dial, we have IntenseDawg (no relation to Snoop that we have found). He’s a New York City guy who is, in his words, “down for anything.” That includes everything from watching some NBA, partying with his friends, singing karaoke, and playing enough poker to recently make it to Supernova Elite on PokerStars.

“I felt like it was almost impossible,” he said, “but I ended up putting tons of hours every month this year because I went on constant downswings which forced me to play a lot
more than normal, which resulted in a ton of VPPs to reach Elite.”

That is one way to do it, fo shizzle.

On the left side of the country (somewhere near Compton, we’re nearly certain) sits a warrior with the appropriate name TYJohnRambo. He describes himself as “older than the rest of online grinders.” That means, he is older than 30 and probably going to need hospice sooner or later (take heart, Rambo, we’re all “older” too).

Because of his advanced age, he doesn’t have the energy to go out and sing karaoke or do much else but play cards.

“Getting elite is more than a full time job,” he told us. “I dont have much time at all outside of camping out on PokerStars.”

Around this time last year, TYJohnRambo made the decision to spend his 2009 for Elite status. He finished this year even faster than he thought he would.

And so, there we have it. Two men on opposite coasts. Both are kings of their time zone and among the biggest players in the PokerStars universe.

How many VPPs do you think we’d have to get them to duel on the Mississippi?

At 34 years old, the PokerStars player simona75 has done something only a select few PokerStars players do in a year. He’s made it to the level of Supernova Elite. This marks him among the top 160 or so most active players at PokerStars.

So, you might think it odd, then that the man from London describes his activities in this order.

1) Chess International Master
2) Computer programmer
3) Play a bit of poker on the side

Back when 2009 started, he didn’t have any plans to make it to Supernova Elite. A couple of years ago, he had quit his job to do some traveling and then work on a Masters degree. By the time he finished that, he realized the job market, in a word, sucked.

“So, I found myself playing a lot of poker,” simona75 said. “Around March or April I realized I could get to Elite and made the decision to go for it.”

This is not a decision people undertake lightly. That is, simona75 made this decision when spring was still in the air. He didn’t achieve the goal until just a few days ago.

“It was tough at times,” he admitted. “I tilt regularly and when you tilt with a full stack on 16 tables simultaneously, it’s not pretty! But I’m proud to have got there and pleased that I did it.”

Now that simona75 has made it to Supernova Elite, has a chance to play in two free big live PokerStars events. For a guy who loves to travel anyway, it’s just an added bonus.

“I’ve never been to Vegas, so am particulary looking forward to the WSOP,” he said.

Not bad for a guy who only plays poker “on the side.”

How many places do you go for the first time and the proprietor says, “Hey, man, thanks for coming! Want two grand?”

That’s sort of what PokerStars is doing this weekend as it throws its depositor freeroll finals.

Pokerstars is currently offering eight freerolls a day to people who reload their accounts or deposit for the first time. People who cash in the prelim freerolls get a seat in the freeroll finals on December 13. All it takes is one deposit to get a ticket to all the prelim events.

If you make it to the finals, all simply have to make it into the top 500 players to find yourself in the money. Bottom money is ten bucks, but if you make it to first place, PokerStars will give you $2,000. Simple as that.

If it happens that you’re making your first-ever deposit, all of that is in addition to the $600 bonus you’ll get for signing up and putting some money in your account.

Not a bad deal just for showing up, huh?

Of course, like everything in life, there’’s some fine print and a couple of easy hoops through which to jump. It’s pretty simple. Just follow the instructions on the $500,000 Depositor Freerolls page and make it happen.

Aces to everybody in the finals this weekend.

Back in November our grassroots ambassador Ian Frazer and his good friend Debbie Styles hosted a bounty tournament at PartyPoker.com with $150 going to the players who knocked out either of the two.

Here’s Debbie’s review of the tournament.

Talk about an adrenalin pumping, edge of your seat moment prior to the game commencing. With five minutes to go and only 14 players seated, my eyes could not believe what I was seeing. The seats started filling one after another, the hype was awesome. 45 players finally took the Stylsey Challenge, with loose, erratic online poker.

With Ian Frazer low stack early having the pressure of decision making, he became a casualty very early in the challenge. I guess us being the bounties with $150 on our heads, we became targets with myself being eliminated shortly after.

Whilst I was railing for the remainder of the challenge I witnessed some awesome play and decision making, made by these players. Fantastic effort by Brooke for placing 2nd, all the plaudits go to  Chris for taking down the 1st “Stylsey Challenge” at PartyPoker.com. So it is one up to the Brits, but I’m sure one of us Aussies will take down the next one. I’m looking forward to the next “Stylseys Challange”. BRING IT ON!!!!!!!

The next tournament will be played on the 27th of December, perfect for all of you with a Christmas hangover.  This time the bounty stakes have been raised.  Whoever knocks out either Ian or Debbie will get a free pass to the next $300K Guaranteed tournament worth $215 and the eventual winner will also get free entry on top of the first prize.

Head over to the PartyPoker facebook fan page for full details (you will need to login before you can add yourself to the event).  And don’t forget to add yourself as a fan so you can keep up to date with future exclusive tournaments.

FRAZER’S POKER TIPS

To help you get your game in order before the action kicks off Ian has produced a series of video tutorials.  We will be presenting them on the blog every Thursday running up to the big day.  To start things off Ian discusses the danger of overplaying big hole cards in the early stages of a poker tournament.

Keep his thoughts in mind when you face him at the poker table and you could well be the one to claim his scalp!

You might be one of those fortunate people who gets out once a week for a home game with your buddies. You look forward to it all week and when the day finally comes, you can’t wait to get to the game.

PokerStars has found a way to bring the same feeling to the online platform, and now your Tuesday night game has one heck of a lineup. Today, PokerStars is introducing Team Pro Tuesdays.

The members of Team PokerStars Pro already spend a lot of time at the tables, but now you have a weekly chance to hunt them down and make some money in the process. Every Tuesday, the Team Pros are going to come out in a big way. You’ll find them playing across a wide range of games and buy-in levels. Play with them, watch them, chat them up from the rail. It’s up to you.

It goes beyond that, however. Team Pro Tuesdays in December will also play host to two Outlast the Pro events, one at 13:00 ET and another at 20:00 ET. Each has a buy-in of only $11. PokerStars will be adding $1,000 added to the prize pool. The people who outlast every one of the Team Pros will get to split the extra cash in the event.

Said Team Pro Daniel Negreanu, “That makes for some interesting side rooting! If you are one of the big stacks, you’ are obviously hoping that the Pros stay alive as long as possible so that you get a bigger piece of the pie. If you are a short stack, then you want to see the Pros go broke!”

To read more about Team Pro Tuesdays and how to find the Pros, head over to PokerStars.com’s Team Pro Tuesdays page.