Just Poker Talk

The Microgaming Network announced today that Doyle’s Room will join their network. This is good a move by the Doyle Brunson Poker Network (DBPN), as this move opens Doyle’s Room to American customers again. When I think of Doyle Brunson, America is one of the words that comes to mind, so it was a strange feeling when Doyle’s Room joined the Ipoker network in February and all US Customers were barred from the site. Microgaming is a good choice, as it is one of the biggest online poker networks around. It’s a much better alternative than Digital Gaming Network (DGN).

I was a customer at Royal Vegas Poker (a former Microgaming site) and BattleField Poker so I can honestly say that Microgaming is a good network. The software is pretty solid and functionally. Graphically it’s very stripped down and not quite as pleasant to look at compared to Full Tilt Poker, but the functionality is solid, and that’s all that matters. Plus they have great freerolls. Also there’s decent traffic on the Microgaming Network, however that was two years ago. Traffic’s probably grown since then.

The only question for me is why did it take this long to make the move. Why didn’t they move prior to Tribeca’s merger with Ipoker? They lost me as a customer already, and, I assume, countless others. I would’ve been okay with a move to the Microgaming Network, just on account that it would be not be a hassle. Of course I would’ve preferred that Doyle’s Room stayed on the Tribeca network. Adjusting to ten player tables and a new culture would be a drawback of a move.

DBPN’s decision to move comes two months too late for me, but the move is still the right one.

[source Sys-Con Media]

Doyle’s Room, Microgaming, poker, Tribeca, UIGEA, Full Tilt Poker

I’m busy with school work this week (should be writing an essay right now), so I have no time to add any commentary to this article on Second Life and poker, but I found it very interesting to say the least. Granted the article is a bit old, published about two weeks ago. Anyway it’s about people setting up virtual casinos in Second Life, and you can apparently play poker for lindens (the currency used in Second Life, I think). I’m not too familiar with Second Life. I only heard about it two months ago. There are certainly some interesting issues that go along with Second Life versus real life. Mainly the issue for me, is the idea of being human and what that means. I still don’t know what how to think about it. It kind overwhelms me at the moment.

Anyway poker in Second Life brings up the legality of gambling in a virtual world. Second Life certainly blurs the line between reality and what is virtual. Though I guess the two concepts are not opposites. Reality can be virtual and virtual can be reality. Yeah, I’m a bit scatterbrained right now.

Here are some articles on Second Life and Poker:

In legal limbo, Second Life poker rakes in profits
FBI probes Second Life gambling
Offshore casino turns away U.S.-based avatars
Linden Lab cracks down on Second Life casino ads

poker, Second Life, gambling, law, FBI, Linden Labs

Joe Hachem recently moved to new a house. His decision to move has nothing to do with greed, with wanting a bigger, more expensive house just because he can afford one. The reason is quite the opposite.

Threatening letters and phone calls have bombarded his residence, and, for the safety of his family, he was forced to move. His victory at the World Series of Poker in 2005 is the obvious reason for the threats.

Hachem said this about winning the Main Event:

From ninemsn:

“But the funny thing is I didn’t expect it,” he said. “I just thought I’d be world champion, get a nice endorsement and go back to my normal life. Bulls**t, there’s nothing normal about my life these days.”

Hachem’s quote is exactly what I think when I imagine what it’d be like to win the World Series of Poker. I never thought for a moment that the winners could face threats and danger. But, when I take the time to think about it now, it becomes obvious that, because of their new found wealth and celebrity, that people will be out to get them. Of course, when I say get them, I’m not referring to just violence and threats, but media attention (paparazzi) and old friends resurfacing after years in oblivion or who knows where. Stuff like that.

Family is definitely more important than money or fame. That’s an obvious conclusion for most, as there will always be a few that think otherwise. When it comes to celebrities I always imagine very narcissistic and selfish people. Like with Angelina Jolie and all the stuff she’s done helping people abroad and adopting all these foreign children, I can’t help but think that most of it’s for show, to be in the spotlight, done for attention, to be bigger than the movies.

For me I always view celebrities as mere objects. In a way, they are unreal because all I know about them is from seeing them on television and reading about them. I’ve never seen or met a celebrity in real life, and maybe that will change my impression of them.

I consider poker players celebrities nowadays, at least the more famous ones, and my cynical attitude towards most of them are related to my attitude towards Hollywood and television celebrities. It’s not fair for me to view anyone in this way, as I’m pretty sure they’re all human.

[via ninemsn]

Joe Hachem, poker, Angelina Jolie, Pax, World Series of Poker, phone threats

PokerNews is reporting that D’Amato, the chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, is going to speak during a PPA hosted webcast. The webcast is scheduled for April 12, 2007 at 3 PM EST. The webcast is open to all PPA members, and if you’re not a member you can just register on the site.

You can also submit questions during the webcast, or you can send them anytime before the webcast starts. All you have to do is send your questions to AskAl@pokerplayersalliance.org, however you have to be a member to ask a question.

I’m interested in what D’Amato has to say during this webcast. Maybe he can change my opinion of him, though I’m not expecting that to happen. Usually these type of webcasts are just propaganda, and nothing really important ever gets said, just more words to pump people up.

I still hoping that D’Amato shows me something that I can put my faith in, to make me feel that UIGEA can be repealed.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to watch the webcast, because I have class on that day. Plus I don’t want to register on their website. Hopefully I can find a recording to watch later. If not, then I guess I can read the recaps to see what he said.

[via PokerNews]

D’Amato, webcast, Poker Players Alliance, UIGEA, poker

Over at Paris Hilton Watch, there’s an amusing post on Paris Hilton’s poker faces, and that got me thinking about who’d I like to play poker against. Would I want to play against a rich millionaire who doesn’t know the slightest thing about poker, or would I want to play against one of the best?

Certainly, if I ever get a chance to play against Paris Hilton in one million dollar heads-up match, I’d head right to the bank and take out a loan just to play against her. Granted there’s the chance that Paris Hilton is actually a decent poker player and could beat me in humiliating fashion. Losing to her could be a valid reason for anyone to give up on life. I’m exaggerating but I bet I’d hear about it from people. I’d probably never hear the end of it - “Are you the one that lost to Paris Hilton at poker?”

After thinking about it, I’d want to play against Daniel Negreanu. He’s the most down to earth player of all the professionals. He’s also the most open about talking with fans and all the regular poker pokers. He takes the time to maintain his own blog. His articles on poker strategy can occasionally be found online. And, during one episode of the WSOP, which really solidified Negreanu as one of my favorite poker players, there was a short segment on how he visited this kid, who was badly injured or disabled from some accident, and taught him how to play poker and just hung out with him.

A lot of the other poker players these days remind me of Paris Hilton.

Paris Hilton, poker, Daniel Negreanu

Amidst the negatives of poker, there are also many great things that have come of it, and make me feel that much better about the game and its players, that it’s not all about making money and living in luxury and all that. The “I’ll Raise You a Million Challenge” is one of them.

In 2006 Phil Gordon and Rafe Furst started the “I’ll Raise You a Million Challenge”. Players, who sign up, pledge to donate one percent of their tournament winnings to the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation.

As of April 2007, the challenge has already reached its goal of one million dollars.

You can read more about the “I’ll Raise You a Million Challenge” at Cardplayer.com

If you’re interested in donating, you can find more information at their website, BadBeatonCancer.org

Bad Beat on Cancer, I’ll Raise You a Million Challenge, Phil Gordon, poker

It’s been a while since my last poker tip; I just haven’t had time to play poker and, in turn, can’t learn anything new from mistakes or what not. In the past month I’ve played one session of NL Hold’em and two $5 dollar SNG’s, making about $60 in three hours of play, so I’m anxious to play more, in hopes that I’m really starting to understand the game, however, in all likelihood, I’m in the midst of a hot streak and should be playing it out instead of wasting my good fortune, but sometimes there are more important things than poker.

What I’ve noticed in the two $5 dollar SNG’s that I played last month is the surprising passiveness of the players compared to the $3 SNG’s that I occasionally played at Doyle’s Room. Maybe the passiveness has to do with the culture at Full Tilt Poker, I’m not sure, but what I do know is that these $5 SNG’s can be lucrative if the passiveness of the players is a norm. I’d also like to say that the blind structure at Full Tilt Poker is the best I’ve come across during my migrations to and from various poker sites.

Looking at the $3 SNG’s at Doyle’s Room, the players call any raise no matter what the size of the bet, especially in the early rounds. At the same time these are not exactly maniac tables, like you’d find at the $1 and below SNG’s; the players seem to last longer and by the time most of the players are eliminated, I’ll usually be short-stacked and forced to go all-in with less than stellar holdings. Then all I can do is hope and pray that I catch a good hand.

Compare this to the $5 SNG’s at Full Tilt, where everyone folds to preflop raises and, if they do call, will fold to a continuation bet on the flop. It’s easy to steal blinds and bluff players out of pots. This keeps my stack at a decent amount until I hit a hand. The other positive that comes out of this is that I’m able to withstand a bad beat and take gambles on coin flip situations. None of this was possible at Doyle’s Room, mostly because I could only win with a good hand.

I’m aware at that I’ve only played two $5 SNG’s so far. That is hardly enough data to judge if this is true, and I will write a follow up post once I play more poker again. I could very well lose the next three I play and make this all moot. But logically it makes sense that a $5 SNG would be easier and less luck oriented than a $3 SNG, since players at the upper micro-limits (25NL and 50NL) play tighter, but are not necessarily good players on account that many of them are tight-passive rather than tight-aggressive. Granted this differs depending on the poker room, but my suggestion is to avoid the lower level SNGs; they’re a crapshoot and not a good way to improve your SNG play.

Previous Poker Tips:
Poker Tip #5: Flash Back to the Schoolyard Dynamic
Poker Tip #4: The Lay Down
Poker Tip #3: Faith in the Rush
Poker Tip #2: Check Raise

poker, strategy, SNG, Full Tilt Poker

I was happy to hear that GSN has renewed High Stakes Poker for a fourth season. It is one of my favorite poker shows. Plus it helps that I can watch episodes through YouTube, since I don’t have cable or a television.

In fact, eleven episodes from season three are posted on YouTube in short ten-minute segments, so that has allowed me to keep up with the show. Mostly I enjoy the show because there’s so much money on the line, and it’s refreshing to watch cash game play versus the customary tournament play that is televised.

Here an excerpt from the article from CardPlayer.com:

GSN today announced that filming of the fourth season of High Stakes Poker will take place at South Point Casino in Las Vegas in May. The show is the most-watched series on GSN in the highly sought after demographic of men ages 18 to 34.

“We are very pleased with the success of HIGH STAKES POKER and the tremendous buzz it has generated,� said Cronin., President and CEO of GSN. “It is far and away the most talked about poker show. We plan on making HSP 4 the richest season yet with players bringing up to a million dollars of their own money to play in the biggest cash game on TV.�

Here is the first episode of High Stakes Poker season three:

(more…)

1989 WSOP, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, poker, ESPN