The Poker Players Alliance

Written by Nigel

I am sure you have heard of this group – they are on our side!  In the past months, they have been actively fighting for the rights of poker players, in the light of the internet gambling ban in the U.S.  Just to give you more ideas on what they are doing:

“The major lobbying force for the online poker world, several major milestones have been reached. First, the PPA surpassed the half million member total and is rapidly approaching 550,000. The free memberships along with the addition of former three-time Republican Senator Alfonse D’Amato (pictured) to its ranks have spurred tremendous growth and visibility. Now, John Pappas, a former executive with Dittus Communications, was brought on board to spearhead the government relations efforts of the PPA. The unique expertise that he brings to the organization is a testament to the proactive nature of online poker’s leading political voice.”

Some specific activities are geared towards the betterment of the poker world:

“They include Write Your Congressman Day, a grassroots campaign to show online poker players’ discontent with the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. As a direct result of this campaign, 5,000 e-mails were sent to Congressmen nationwide on a single day last May. Several months later, when the Senate was to debate the same measure, Pappas was once again on the move, coordinating the Phone March on Washington on September 12. His success in these two movements combined with his vast public relations experience means the PPA has added another key piece to the puzzle.”

If we are about to experience some change, I am sure the PPA will be part of it.  Interested in joining them?  Just visit their website.

Change Gears – Negreanu

Written by Nigel

Definitely one of the hottest and most respected names in poker today, Daniel Negreanu should be an example for us to follow.  That is why when I read an article he published last week, I thought, why not share the idea with others who might not have read his post?  It was all about changing tactics in the middle of a game – when necessary, of course.

He says “Whenever you jump into a game, you should have an idea as to what your plan will be for the day. But you also must be willing to switch gears quickly if the speed of the game changes.”  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  Have a definite idea of what you are going to do in specific circumstances.  However, when circumstances change and your tactics do not apply, have a back up plan that will give you some measure of success.

“The speed of the game is defined by how loose or aggressive your opponents are playing. The more aggressive the game, the faster the speed is. Games where play is very conservative, with few pre-flop raises, are considered slow games.”  Your course of action should be: be more aggressive when the speed of the game is slow.  On the other hand, when the game speed picks up, try to sit back and watch how you play – be more careful.

I’ve always believed that poker is all about the players, sometimes more than the cards.  As Negreanu said in his article: “It’s your job to figure out which player is in what gear. Knowing how someone plays when he’s winning or losing is even more important than the cards themselves.”

Kids Down Under Getting Hooked On Poker

Written by Nigel

Here’s the latest bit of news from Australia – one in five high school kids is playing card games.  A large number of these kids favor Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.  This can be attributed largely to media exposure such as Casino Royale and the World Series of Poker.  So what is the issue here?

For some concerned people, there is the fear that the youngster might fall into the trap of unregulated gambling and find themselves in financial trouble.  “They play poker with a mate over a six pack and say ‘This is easy, I’m good at this’,” Uniting Care’s Mark Henley said. “Then they see celebrity poker and the next thing you know they’re on dodgycasino@vanuatu.com and they’re in a bit of financial strife.”

It seems that people are getting stirred up in Australia about this potential problem.  What do I think about this?  I say it is a good thing that poker is getting more popular, whichever country it is.  I do have to agree, however, that unregulated gambling might do more damage than good.  I love poker – with or without money.  Then again, I am at least a decade older than those high school kids and I have my own means of income.  Those kids need to learn that poker does not have to be all about money. That is, at least until they gain some measure of control.  I suppose this would fall under the parents’ area of responsibility.  It is up to instill values in their kids.

Some Common Poker Tells

Written by Nigel

Here are some common poker tells that you would probably encounter during a game.  Though of course, generalizing might not always be a good thing, having an idea of what to expect will be of help.  Still, interpretation is always up to you.

Shaking hands.  One very common poker tell that is exhibited when players make bets.  This normally happens when the poker player sets his chips on the table.  What it means?  Almost always that he is excited because of a very good hand.

Checking out chips.  This would normally happen after the flop.  The player who has connected would take a quick look at his chips.  This might be quite subtle so acute observation skills are needed in order to catch this tell.  On the other hand, if a player merely stares at the flop intensely, it would mean that he is looking for something to make up a good hand.

Hole card peeking.  When the flop comes out and all are of the same suit, players who keep looking at their hole cards would mean that they do not have a suited hand.  They are checking their hold cards to check if one of the cards matches the suit of the flop.

What does rudeness tell you?  Most probably the player has a strong hand and he is trying to goad you into calling him.  On the other hand, an overly polite player may be bluffing with a not so good hand.

Of course, each person has his own tell so do not take all these at face value.

Poker Tells

Written by Nigel

You have probably heard this phrase so many times before.  A tell, in poker, is any habit or behavior – either physical or verbal – of a poker player at the table that gives away information regarding his cards.  Whether you are playing with a beginner or an advanced player, you just might catch a tell or two which can help you play better against that player.  Of course, tells are not sure fire indications. Sometimes, pros even make up tells to confuse their opponents.  Each and ever person is different and there is no one tell that matches everyone.  The idea is to be very observant and see if a person exhibits certain behaviors in certain situations.

One thing you should always pay attention to are the eyes.  The eyes are the windows to one’s soul, or so they say.  You can get a lot of information from the eyes of a poker player.  Of course, again, it is not the case for everyone but you have pretty good chances of reading someone based on his eyes.  More than the eyes, another good indication of a person’s hands is the facial expression as a whole.  Of course, a seasoned player may have perfected his “poker face” but there are always those who cannot help but give away their position with their facial expression.

There are countless other tells that may be specific to a person.  It is up to you as a “person reader” to be able to detect and interpret them.  Again, your success lies in acute observation skills.

Epassporte

Written by Nigel

With all the hassle that an avid online poker player has to go through to play for real money, people have been continuously looking for viable options to be able to do so.  One such option that has come up is Epassporte, a debit Visa account that can be obtained instantly online.  According to the company itself, their personal services include:

•    Shop online safely and securely where ePassporte Visa Cards are accepted
•    Send and receive funds between ePassporte Account Holders instantly
•    Make purchases at millions of retail locations where Visa is accepted
•    Withdraw funds at over 1 million ATM locations worldwide

It all sounds good to me.  However, reports have been coming in which undermine the feasibility of this system.  According to one user, “Since the 22th of January I have been trying to receive a ‘physical’ Visa card from Epassporte. I had already the Visa electron, but I paid the $40 dollar or so extra to get the real thing.

I’m not going to tell the whole story again, but I didn’t receive it. At the end of March I called Epassporte for the 3rd time or so and then got to speak to a lady, who told me that according to them I should have received the card, because it had been sent a couple of weeks ago already. Since I had not, they blocked the old card and sent me a new one.”

There are some good comments too, though.  I suppose this has not been tried and tested yet.  I will wait till it stabilizes, I think.

An Observation About Poker

Written by Nigel

I was at my friend’s place last night again and I decided to bring my poker chip set just in case some guys wanted to play.  It turned out to be a slow night at the beginning since everyone just wanted to sit around and chat and drink.  After an hour or so, I decided to give it a try and suggested that we play poker.  The moment everyone saw my shiny metal case and the colorful chips, I got their attention real good. (Remember these people were the same ones I taught poker some time ago).

So anyway, there we were.  We began setting up and talking about the rules.  Now I really wanted to play for money, even if for just a very small amount.  Unfortunately, these guys did not have money on them or they just did not want to play for money.  The end result was that we played but there was no money involved.

The one thing that I observed with home games is that I really prefer cash games, no matter how small the buy in and the antes are.  Why?  Because people tend to take the game more seriously.  Even beginners will not try to bluff their way out of every single situation (even if they have the worst hand in poker).  More so, anyone can join in at any point with real cash games just by buying in.

We were able to deal with the little things of course.  Even the crazy bluffing made it funnier at times.  It was a good night.  I still wish it was a cash game though.

Cashless Poker Machines?

Written by Nigel

A news headline for today really caught my attention as it read “NSW To Introduce Cashless Poker Machines.”  Well, yeah, I know – the other day I was just talking about poker being fun even without having cash at the table.  However, I was talking about a group of people coming together to play.  When it comes to poker machines, though, it just seems a bit silly not having to play for cash, doesn’t it?

The rest of the news item gave me a clearer picture – the poker machines (cashless, mind you) does not mean that the player will not get any winnings.  It is just that with the new system, NSW poker players will get their winnings in the form of a ticket and then redeem that for cash at a booth or counter.

So what is the point in this system?  One, authorities say that having to stand up from the machine to collect winnings will force gamblers to take a break.  According to Peter Newell (Chairman of Clubs New South Wales), “the new system will force gamblers to take a break and, while not a cure for problem gambling, is a step in the right direction.”  More so, he says that “It also removes a level of cash out of the system so it makes clubs less of a target for armed robberies which is an ongoing problem as well.”

Point taken.  Then again, I wonder how NSW poker machine fans will react to this?

Looser Poker Laws in Florida

Written by Nigel

For those of you living in this part of the world, there’s more good news:

The maximum betting limits at a poker table in the state of Florida has been $2, with players being able to raise three times in a given playing round, but that will soon all change as a bill has passed through both the Senate and the House, leaving only the Governor, Charlie Crist to veto the bill.

It is not expected that the Governor would take the veto action, which would mean the new law would go into affect the first day of July, 2007.

The new law seems to coincide with a progressive movement being made in the state towards building a mecca for gamblers, much like in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Many believe this law is just the next step toward the ultimate goal of having complete gambling freedom, with full access to table games such as craps, blackjack, and roulette, which are currently still illegal in the state.

This latest law will have current casinos scrambling to provide table games with these new maximum limits at their poker tables. The most likely scenario is having many $1-$2 no limit tables, in addition to $5 buy in and $5 betting max limit games. Although that does not sound like much, a player could conceivably have $20 around in per round per hand, which means players could be in for $65 a hand(including their buy-in).

Again, nothing is set in stone but it seems to me that this is quite promising.  What do you think?

A Note For Beginners

Written by Nigel

I was thinking about that other night when I taught Texas Hold Em to some guys.  I think I shared that story with you already.  Anyhow, I was thinking about how beginners can make their share of mistakes if not guided properly.  One major thing I was thinking about is how beginners should wait more than their share at the table.  What do I mean by this?

That night I was playing with all newbies, I noticed that they rarely folded – if they did at all.  Even if they had bad cards, they just went ahead and tried to bluff their way through it.  They won sometimes but they lost as well.  It might have worked for that night but I doubt that it would work if they start to play poker in the long run.

Seasoned poker players would know that there is always a time to fold.  I think this is one of the hardest things to learn in this game.  Deep down inside, we think that folding is the cowardly way out.  The truth is, however, folding is something that we use to win in the long run.  We do not always get good cards –that is for sure.  The only thing that we can do during the times that we get bad cards is to fold and wait for good cards.

This is where patience comes in – the “P” word that is used a lot when it comes to poker.  This is what beginners should learn on the outset.

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