Archive for the 'How to play…' Category
Lendl wants Murray focus
Reo Coker Admits to Muamba Flash Backs
When Fabrice Muamba collapsed during the FA cup tie at White Hart Lane two weeks ago, the whole football world went into a state of shock and prayed for the Bolton midfielder to survive. It was a traumatic time for any football fan, but for the players and the teammates of Muamba, it is still having a big affect on them. Read more
Online MTT Poker – Stack Sizes
When playing in a poker tournament, stack sizes are everything. The very best poker players on the planet realise this and the recreational players don’t. There are many factors that set the two apart, but an understanding of stack sizes is crucial. Read more
Sean Jazayeri Wins the World Poker Tour LA Poker Classic
There are a myriad of ways to improve your poker knowledge and if your want your game to advance then you simply must choose one. American Sean Jazayeri decided that he was going to invest some of his hard earned cash in a World Poker Tour (WPT) Boot Camp experience and boy did it pay off. Read more
Hand Combinations
If you would like to be a better poker player, then you should focus some attention on your ability to read hands, and one way of learning to become a better hand reader is to understand hand combinations.
What is a hand combination?
It depends what game you are playing, but essentially a hand combination is the cards the dealer has given you to play your hand. So in No Limit Texas Hold’em (NLHE) your hand combination will consist of two cards whereas in Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) your hand combination will consist of four cards.
Understanding card combinations enables you to narrow down the potential number of hands your opponent could be holding. You can practice this in Betfair free poker. This in turn allows you to make a more informed decision of whether to call, raise or fold. Learning hand combinations are not as complicated as you may think, and it is as simple as learning the words of a song. Here are some card combinations for you to memorise that will aid you in your decision in Betfair Omaha Poker or allow you to win a general knowledge contest.
• There are 1,326 hand combinations in No Limit Hold’em
• There are sixteen combinations of unpaired cards
• There are twelve combinations of any two specific unsuited, unpaired cards
• There are six combinations of pocket pairs
• A set has three combinations
• There are nine combinations of two-pair hands
With a little daily practice these combinations can become so ingrained in your mind, you will be able to remember them when playing on autopilot.
Dynamic Dvinsky steals the show
Just three days after running a brave fourth in the race named after him in honour of his 200th competitive outing, the remarkable veteran Dvinsky stunned punters by springing a 25/1 surprise in the final event of a low-grade card at Kempton, writes Elliot Slater.
Three pounds better off with Sole Dancer for finishing just a length-and-a-half behind Milton Bradley’s charge earlier in the week, Dvinsky proved the handicapper right in defying his years by making every yard of the running in the five-furlong William Hill Handicap to beat his recent conqueror by a gutsy half-a-length before returning to what by Kempton all-weather standards was a tremendous reception. Fans of Stanjames should bear this in mind.
Trainer by Paul Howling, for whom he raced for a five year period before being sent back to the Hampshire-based handler in November of last year, the 11-year-old son of Stravinsky clearly thrives on his racing and shows no signs of being ready to claim his pension book and gallop off into the sunset. Understandably emotional at Dvinsky landing his 18th win from 201 starts, (he has also been placed a further 62 times!), Howling declared, “Dvinsky is incredible! The handicapper might stop him winning but he won’t stop him running.”
The old-timer began his career back in 2003 under the guidance of Gerard Butler at Newmarket for whom he won a Goodwood maiden on just the second outing of his career, after which he was allotted a handicap a mark of 90, the joint-highest rating of his career and a figure only equalled after beating the useful Count Ceprano in a class 3 handicap at the now defunct Great Leighs in January 2009. Those looking at the Bwin betting need to remember this.
There are no plans to retire Dvinsky as he retains all his enthusiasm for the job and Howling will doubtless be looking for further opportunities to place his old warrior to good advantage in the coming weeks.
Bitter blow as Instalment misses Cheltenham Festival
Last Instalment, unbeaten this season in his four novice chase outings and as short as 5/1 with some firms in the ante-post market for the Grade 1 RSA Chase, will miss the showcase three-mile contest at the Cheltenham Festival next month and is most unlikely to be seen again this season, writes Elliot Slater.
The seven-year-old has strained tendon muscles in both forelegs, injuries sustained during his recent one-and-a-half-length success over Call The Police in the Grade 1 Dr P J Moriarty Novices chase at Leopardstown on February 12, a performance that solidified his position among the main contenders for the race that is currently dominated by the presence of David Pie’s Grand Crus, who has now hardened to 9/4 favourite in the horse racing betting in light of the defection of the well fancied Irish contender.
Philip Fenton, trainer of the Gigginstown House Stud-owned charge, was clearly very disappointed at the news but is confident that with plenty of rest and a long spell on the ‘easy list’, Last Instalment will return in good shape next term. The son of Anshan proved himself a very capable novice hurdler last season, but has really come into his own since switching to the larger obstacles and the Cheltenham Festival betting suggested he was set to make a real impact.
He made a flying start to his novice chase career when winning at Galway in October, accounting for Alpha Ridge by nearly four-lengths before Fenton stepped him immediately up in class to bid for the Grade 2 Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown the following month where he proved far too good for useful opposition, scoring by six-and-a-half lengths from Four Commanders. First Instalment could hardly have been more impressive when slamming First Lieutenant to win the Grade 1 Fort Leney Novice Chas eat Leopardstown’s Christmas before recently completing his four-timer.
Hopefully this exciting young chaser will make a fully recover and be back on his game for the 2012/13 season.
The World of the Grinder
Grinding is not a beautiful word and in fact it is a pretty ugly boring looking word. The word is used in poker to describe someone who plays a lot of poker day in and day out. These types of players are called Grinders. The use of this ugly and boring looking word is quite apt, because if you are a grinder, then you will know only too well, how boring and ugly the world of the grinder can get. Read more
So Macho is no way to play poker
In the mid 1980s it was Sinitta who sung, “I don’t want no seven stone weakling or a boy who thinks he’s a girl. I’m after a hunk of a guy, an experienced man of the world.”
Simon Cowell’s first ever signing sung those lyrics in the hit song So Macho! and although we doubt the song populates the iPods in today’s poker rooms, there are a lot of people who like to think that they are so macho.
In the game of poker you need to retain certain poise and composure if you are going to have a successful shift. One sure fire way of throwing poise and composure out of the window is to find yourself in a war of machismo with a fellow player. Fans of betfairpoker.com should bear this in mind.
Flexing your biceps has its place in a bodybuilding arena and not the felt. Of course, there will always be that Clint Eastwood versus Lee Van Cleef: Old Wild West Shootout mentality to the game, but the one to one macho war should be avoided at all costs.
If you get into a war of attrition against one individual on the table then you have moved out of your logical thinking world and delved deep into the emotional one. Playing poker on a highly emotional level is a recipe for disaster. Poker is all about long-term mathematical probability and if you are focussed on one individual, then you will not be at the top of the game. If you want to learn how to play poker you need to remember this.
So don’t worry about being macho, worry about winning.
The Ego Has Got to Go Go
We all have one, some bigger than others, but they all harm our chances of playing a successful poker session. We are of course talking about our egos. Read more