It's 10:00 AM in downtown Las Vegas and all the rooms seem to be dead.
At Binions there's a no limit game going on and the regulars are reading papers or talking to each other, waiting for a game to start.
At the Fitz the room hasn't even opened yet.
At the Golden Nugget there's a 3/6 game going but nothing else.
At the Plaza it's quite different. There are players waiting for the first sit-n-go tournament to start. There is a no limit game running, and two 2/4 tables going.
The difference is that the Plaza is offering a $40 buy-in sit-n-go tournament. These tournaments run from 10:00AM to 5:00PM daily. As soon as there are ten players signed up, a new table is started. This goes on all day and keeps the action going continuously. Players jump from one sit-n-go to the next one, or they get into the ring games.
When all the rooms are slow go to the Plaza. You'll find action there.
Good Luck
Feel Free to leave your comments
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
For New Hold'em Poker Players
If you're new to the game of hold'em poker this guide is definitely one you should read. It won't teach you strategies but it will show you the basic rules and how the game is played.
If you like it please leave a comment.
Good Luck
If you like it please leave a comment.
Good Luck
Friday, February 23, 2007
Short Handed Poker Tournament Play
In a poker tournament if you find yourself at the final table, or are playing in a sit-n-go, it will work down to a short-handed game eventually. A short-handed game is a game with five or less players.Play in a short-handed game is quite a bit different than play at a full table.
The first thing to remember is that the blinds come around much faster so that your game has to loosen up.
High cards go up in value and drawing hands go down in value. In addition, pairs go up in value. The reason for this is that there are fewer players to draw out on you.
Remember that you will never be getting the proper pot odds to draw to straights and flushes.
It is best to raise when you have high cards or any pair (even deuces). Because the chances are that you have the best hand going in and you should make the other players pay to draw against you.
As the number of players decreases the faster the blinds will come around and the more aggressively you will have to play. This means when there are five players you should play higher cards and medium pairs. If there are four or less players you should play all pairs and high cards. You should also be willing to raise more with these holdings.
Remember you probably have the best hand so play it!
Good Luck
Please leave your comments.
The first thing to remember is that the blinds come around much faster so that your game has to loosen up.
High cards go up in value and drawing hands go down in value. In addition, pairs go up in value. The reason for this is that there are fewer players to draw out on you.
Remember that you will never be getting the proper pot odds to draw to straights and flushes.
It is best to raise when you have high cards or any pair (even deuces). Because the chances are that you have the best hand going in and you should make the other players pay to draw against you.
As the number of players decreases the faster the blinds will come around and the more aggressively you will have to play. This means when there are five players you should play higher cards and medium pairs. If there are four or less players you should play all pairs and high cards. You should also be willing to raise more with these holdings.
Remember you probably have the best hand so play it!
Good Luck
Please leave your comments.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Poker tournaments-downtown Las Vegas
In downtown Las Vegas there are four poker rooms. All of these rooms feature no limit hold`em tournaments. Most are held seven days a week.
- Fitzgeralds: This casino holds re-buy tournaments which are held daily at 12 pm and 9 pm. The buy-in is $35; the re-buy is $15, and the add-on at the end of the re-buy period is also $15.
- Golden Nugget: Tournaments are held daily at 11 am, 3 pm, 7 pm, and 1 am. The buy-in is $65 with one $45 re-buy
- Binion's: Tournaments are held daily at 10 am, 2 pm, 8 pm, and 2 am. The buy-in is $70 with one $40 re-buy. The winners of each of these tournaments receive an entry into a monthly freeroll. This casino also hosts the "Ultimate Poker Challenge", for information call the poker room at 702-366-7397
- Plaza: There are two tournaments held daily 7 pm and 12 am. The 7 pm tournament buy-in is $50 with one $20 re-buy. The 12 am buy-in is $70 with a $30 re-buy. Single table "Sit-N-Go" tournaments are also offered between 10 am to 5 pm with $40 buy-in.
Monday, February 19, 2007
How to know Your Poker Odds
Hand odds
Poker odds can be defined, in the simplest terms, as the odds of making your hand in the remaining cards to come. Though this is important, it is not the only thing to consider when trying to work out the odds on a particular hand.
The easiest way to calculate the odds on a particular hand is to count the number of outs that you have to make your hand. Outs are the number of cards left in the deck that will make or improve the cards that you already have. To work out the odds just subtract the number of outs from the unseen cards to come and the answer will tell you what the odds are for that particular situation.
A good example of this would be, in a game of Hold’em, where you hold two cards to a flush and the flop brings two more, so that you have four cards to the flush. There are nine more cards that can complete your hand and there are forty-seven unseen cards left. If you subtract nine from forty-seven this gives you thirty-eight. So your odds are thirty-eight to nine, or roughly four to one, against making your hand.
You will be most concerned with the odds when you are drawing to a straight or a flush. The easiest way to remember this is that a straight is a 5 to1 underdog when only 1card is needed to make it, if it is an open ended straight. A flush is a 4 to 1 underdog when only 1 card is needed to complete it.
Pot Odds
You must also compare the odds of making your hand with the odds the pot is offering (pot odds) for the bet that has to be made. If the odds of making your hand are xx/1, is the pot offering those or better odds? If it is then this is a good bet, if not then it is a bad bet.
Another consideration to think about is the chances that you will be beaten even if you make the hand you are drawing for. If this is a possibility then the pot odds have to be greater than the odds of just making your hand to make up for those times you are beaten.
Implied Odds
An important consideration, that you need to look at, is the implied odds that the table is giving you. Implied odds are the additional bets that you will collect on later betting rounds if you make your hand. This is mostly a judgment call based on what you know about your competition and how they have been playing the hand so far.
With practice and experience you will be able to estimate what the odds of winning the most from each of your hands are.
Good Luck
Poker odds can be defined, in the simplest terms, as the odds of making your hand in the remaining cards to come. Though this is important, it is not the only thing to consider when trying to work out the odds on a particular hand.
The easiest way to calculate the odds on a particular hand is to count the number of outs that you have to make your hand. Outs are the number of cards left in the deck that will make or improve the cards that you already have. To work out the odds just subtract the number of outs from the unseen cards to come and the answer will tell you what the odds are for that particular situation.
A good example of this would be, in a game of Hold’em, where you hold two cards to a flush and the flop brings two more, so that you have four cards to the flush. There are nine more cards that can complete your hand and there are forty-seven unseen cards left. If you subtract nine from forty-seven this gives you thirty-eight. So your odds are thirty-eight to nine, or roughly four to one, against making your hand.
You will be most concerned with the odds when you are drawing to a straight or a flush. The easiest way to remember this is that a straight is a 5 to1 underdog when only 1card is needed to make it, if it is an open ended straight. A flush is a 4 to 1 underdog when only 1 card is needed to complete it.
Pot Odds
You must also compare the odds of making your hand with the odds the pot is offering (pot odds) for the bet that has to be made. If the odds of making your hand are xx/1, is the pot offering those or better odds? If it is then this is a good bet, if not then it is a bad bet.
Another consideration to think about is the chances that you will be beaten even if you make the hand you are drawing for. If this is a possibility then the pot odds have to be greater than the odds of just making your hand to make up for those times you are beaten.
Implied Odds
An important consideration, that you need to look at, is the implied odds that the table is giving you. Implied odds are the additional bets that you will collect on later betting rounds if you make your hand. This is mostly a judgment call based on what you know about your competition and how they have been playing the hand so far.
With practice and experience you will be able to estimate what the odds of winning the most from each of your hands are.
Good Luck
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Future of Poker
The future of poker is not as bleak as most online players would have us believe. For the rest of the world it will still be the online poker rooms, but for us in the US it will be quite different.
We will be going to live poker rooms to play because poker will not go away. The popularity of the game that was brought on by television is still with us. But, as Americans we will demand convenience, there will be an increase in the number of local poker rooms around the country.
How this will come about we can only guess. We suspect that local and state governments will see the chance for increased revenue and begin to authorize more poker rooms. This will present opportunities for gaming businesses to operate in new or expanded areas. Because the demand for the game and government greed will not go away.
So look for the changes. They will come.
Good Luck
We will be going to live poker rooms to play because poker will not go away. The popularity of the game that was brought on by television is still with us. But, as Americans we will demand convenience, there will be an increase in the number of local poker rooms around the country.
How this will come about we can only guess. We suspect that local and state governments will see the chance for increased revenue and begin to authorize more poker rooms. This will present opportunities for gaming businesses to operate in new or expanded areas. Because the demand for the game and government greed will not go away.
So look for the changes. They will come.
Good Luck
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Poker Tounaments vs Cash Games
Here is an article by Matthew Hilger that I think is really worth a read if you can't decide which you want to play.
http://www.internettexasholdem.com/index.php?option=com_content
http://www.internettexasholdem.com/index.php?option=com_content
Friday, February 16, 2007
Poker TV shows
Last night/this morning, I watched ESPN and they had a poker tournament with a twist. It was a pro-am tournament with the amateurs starting out with 50% more chips than the pros. The name of the show is "Pro-Am Equalizer" catch it if you can. For example, the amateurs were Shannon Elizabeth and Don Cheadle. It was a lot of fun watching these two try and beat the four pros on the table..
Another show I've been watching is "Poker After Dark" on NBC at 2:00 AM. It's kind of late but it's a good show. It gives you an insight into how the pros think when they're just playing with each other.
As I said in an earlier post that the TV shows weren't going to go away. Instead they are becoming more numerous.
Another show I've been watching is "Poker After Dark" on NBC at 2:00 AM. It's kind of late but it's a good show. It gives you an insight into how the pros think when they're just playing with each other.
As I said in an earlier post that the TV shows weren't going to go away. Instead they are becoming more numerous.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
MTR sells Speedway Casino
MTR gaming announced yesterday that they have sold the Speedway casino in N. Las Vegas for $18.2 million. As they paid $20 million for Binions (previously known as Binions Horseshoe) and the Speedway (total) this means that they ended up paying only $1.8 million for one of the most historic hotel/casinos in downtown Las Vegas.
Having played at Binions on numerous occasions, I think they have made quite a deal. It has one of the best poker rooms in downtown.
I'll be talking about this room later.
Good Luck
Having played at Binions on numerous occasions, I think they have made quite a deal. It has one of the best poker rooms in downtown.
I'll be talking about this room later.
Good Luck
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