The World Series of Poker on ESPN

The most famous poker event in the world is the World Series of Poker. Not only does the event provide a chance for the greatest poker players in the world to pit their skills against one another, it also draws an enormous number of spectators to Las Vega every year. The event is televised by ESPN, so even if a person cannot get to Vegas, they can still feel like a part of things.

The very first World Series of Poker was hosted by the Horseshoe Casino in 1970. The event was created by the owner of the Horseshoe who was hoping to add a touch of glamor and excitement to the game of poker. Six of the world’s best poker players were invited to come. It is doubtful that anyone foresaw how quickly the event would grow. By 1982, the event had 52 players.

During those early years, the even was not televised. No one even considered the idea of adding television cameras until the 1980′s. During that time ESPN did not carry the coverage but rather NBC. That was when things really started to get exciting. Before NBC started filming the event, the only people who really knew about it were serious poker players. Now that the event was televised, people all over the country were able to get hooked on the excitement of poker.

Since there are several different types of poker being played all over the world, it should come as no surprise that there are lots of different types of poker being played at the World Series as well. While just about every type of poker imaginable is represented, none are as popular as Texas Hold ‘em which more than have of the participants play.

The World Series is considered a cash event. Anyone who is interested in participating is more than welcome to; they just have to come up with the entry fee. A portion of this fee goes to the casino to help cover expenses. The rest is goes into a pool. The more participants the event attracts, the larger the pool is. This is the money that the players are competing for.

It is not easy to win the World Series. The person who does win, not only gets to take home the money and the bracelet, but they also earn the respect and envy of their peers. Everyone knows exactly how difficult it is to win this particular event. The world is full of awesome poker players who have yet to win.

Anyone who wants to participate in the World Series of Poker and possibly appear on ESPN can. The way to do this is to come up with the $10,000 entry fee and buy a spot at a table, or to win one of the qualifying tournaments. There are qualifiers all over the world and some are even hosted by online casinos. Playing in the World Series of Poker not only gives the player the opportunity to play against some of the biggest names in poker, but also celebrities like Matt Damon and Lou Diamond Phillips.

Greg Raymer WSOP Millionaire

The name Greg “Fossilman” Raymer may seem odd to most people – but for poker fans, it is a recognizable one because this Raleigh resident has 30+ cash wins to underline his star status as a WSOP Millionaire who has consistently played well in poker tournaments to stack up a total winning amount of $6,747,662 from tournament events.

He has finished in first place 3 times and has one WSOP bracelet to his credit with a switch in his gambling preferences that helped him secure this position.

Greg was a Blackjack player to start with and it was only in 1992 that he started taking poker seriously; he was 39 when he achieved his ambition of becoming a World Champion at his new favorite card game.

His wife Cheryl and daughter Sophie are aware of Greg’s love for No Limit Texas Hold’em games as much as his eccentric but lovable habit of collecting all types of fossils, which is why he has been tagged as ‘Fossilman.’

Greg, for his part, reveals that his hobby of his serves as vital card protectors that he keeps on his tilt poker table all the time; these have been his lucky charm ever since he first started playing ‘nickel-dime’ poker games during his college days when his toughest opponents were friendly fraternity guys. From these humble beginnings, Greg was quick in making his way from 3-6, 20-40 to 150-300 games till the time he got to Connecticut and moved up to playing at the Foxwoods Casino during their tournament sessions held on a weekly basis. He also did fairly well in the cash games organized by these two established poker rooms, which boosted his confidence for playing higher stakes games.

However, it was only in 2004, during the WSOP main event where Greg outstripped 2,575 other players and secured first position that he was able to claim the $5,000,000 in prize money for his efforts – and considering he won this with a $160 buy-in for an online tournament (organized by Pokerstars.com) it is easy to understand why this was one of the best return on investment Greg Raymer says he has ever made! The 5 million dollars in prize money was at the time the biggest amount anyone had earned from a single event, which made Greg a record holder of sorts. (Just for the record, Pokerstars.com had generated only one other WSOP winner before Greg, namely Chris Moneymaker).

After his WSOP ’04 win, Greg continued being the family man he is and devoted more time to his wife and daughter than to poker games, though he participated in the occasional tournament. Though he was born in Lansing, Michigan, he currently resides in Stonington, in Connecticut with his family – a place he moved to in 1999 because he wanted to be in close proximity to the poker room at Foxwoods Resorts.

Greg likes to look at his WSOP game strategy similar to any other technique he’d use for live poker games – that is, to analyze for improving one’s game constantly and playing each session for itself. Truly the kind of answer one would expect from a former patent attorney and full-time poker professional focusing on marrying success with style (remember his lizard style hologram glasses bought from Disney world?) without losing out on mathematical precision for notching big number winnings.

Learn to determine Odds for the Flop

Since statistics underline a fact better than any reasoning, it is important to understand those given below for any serious poker player wanting to determine odds for the flop. E.g. on pulling 2 cards from a deck, there is a possibility for 19,600 different flops that can arise from this action. Calculating the exact 3 cards you can name would mean chances of 16,599:1.

Now, should the cards in hand turn out to be a pocket pair, chances for four of a kind flop are .245% at any time, making the odds 407.16:1. Gaming statistics also tell us that for flopping a full house using a pocket pair, there are .980% chances of doing this with odds being 101.04 to 1. Finally, one quarter of the time an exact 3-card set flop will draw attention to the full house you have.

With the pocket pair a chance to flop four to straight is 2.612% with the odds being 37.28 to 1. With the same your flopping another pair is likely about 16.163% of the time, thus your odds here would be 5.18: 1. Keep in mind that evaluating flop odds based on a standard deck (52 cards) is being done against the player holding a 2-card hand only.

But, what happens if your 2-card PokerStars download hand is not a pair? We take a look at that situation here: in such a case, your chances of flopping 4 exact cards are reduced to .000102% at any time with odds set being 9,802.92 to 1. There are only 2 flops possible from the 19, 600 count given earlier, for your getting a four-of-a-kind set, which means should you hold an AK in your hand, the other 3 aces could only be possible in one flop and other 3 kings in one more flop too. This is why holding AK can be risky.

Continuing with determining odds when a player doesn’t hold a pair, flopping the full house chances are.092% with odds calculated at 1,085.95 to 1. Coming to flopping a straight when not holding a pair, your chances are measured in the range of .327% and 1.306% at any time, depending on if you are holding an AK or 98. In the former situation, ten-jack-queen are the only cards to boost your win; in the latter, flops with Q-J-10, J-10-7 or 10-7-6 if not a 7-6-5 can help out. Player odds for these sets are calculated at 304.81:1 and 75.56:1.

For flopping 3 exact cards, in the event that you don’t have a pair, you have a 1.57% chance at any time of doing this, with odds placed at 62.69 to 1. Moreover, 1/7th of sessions, three-of-a-set can be on the board, which means the player could be holding a king and jack and receive another 2 KJ on the flop about 1.347% of times he plays, thus, odds would be 53.59 to 1 in this case.

Coming to flopping 2 pairs, the chances are 4.014% at any time, when you don’t have a pair with 23.91 to 1 odds of this happening and half the time, one of these pairs is likely to be on the board. Also, 1/3rd of the pairs can be on the board without being paired to your 2-card hand about 26.939% at any given time you play, setting your odds of this happening at 2.71 to 1.

Finally, for suited hole cards, note that chances for flopping a flush have been calculated at .837% of the time, making 118.47 to 1 odds and a four-flush chance pegged at 10.944% at any given time, setting the odds at 8.13 to 1.

GSN’s High Stakes Poker Show

The cable station GSN airs the show High Stakes Poker. The show was first aired in 2006 and is now in its 7th season will be filmed during December 2010. The show has been well received by fans of poker.

The show is all about cash poker and tournaments. The show features a group of world class poker players playing a game of high stakes, no limit, Texas Hold ‘em. The show tries to showcase different casinos. Each season of the show has been taped in a different location. The first season was taped in Las Vegas’ famous Golden Nugget Casino. The setting for the 4th and 3rd seasons was filmed at South Point Casino. The second season was shot at The Palms.

There are a few things that set the High Stakes Poker show apart from other poker shows. The biggest difference is the most shows feature some type of tournament. Not High Stakes the Texas Hold ‘em that is played during the course of the show is what is called a ring game.

The biggest difference between a ring game of Texas Hold ‘em and a Texas Hold ‘em tournament is prize money. Players who play in a PokerStars.net tournament are playing for prize money. This is usually a predetermined amount of money. A ring game is more like the kind of game that a group of friends has when they gather around their kitchen table to play poker. The players are playing for each other’s money when they are involved in a ring game. There is no other money other than what the players bring to the table. Ring games are also sometimes called cash games.

Another thing that sets the show apart from its competitors is that the players do not play with poker chips. On this show the players are using real cash. From some reason the sight of all that cash lying on the table makes the whole thing even more dramatic than when they are using plastic poker chips.

Unlike other shows that are hosted by people that just look pretty, GSN made an effort to hire people that not only look good in front of the camera, but who also know the game. This allows them to provide knowledgeable commentary while also entertaining the viewers.

While the players on the show are all really good poker players, not all of them are pros. Some seasons the show has mixed amateurs like Chamanara and Buss. Some of the people who have played on the show are very enthused by the program. Others were less complimentary.

There is very little that pokerstars.com fans like better than a skillfully executed bluff, and the show’s producers know this. During the fourth season, the players were encouraged to bluff whenever possible. This was done by offering a bonus to any player who was able to win with the weakest hand possible. The deal was that each of the other players would put in $500 which would all go to the person with the bluff. Some of the bluff were quite outrageous and ended up involving 5 figures.

The benefits of playing poker

People believe that poker is a game of chance. So, how could a game of chance bring its players any benefits? Well, actually, there are several benefits poker can give its players. For example, few people know that poker helps to reveal one’s personality. There are several such reasons why people play poker—some are personal and direct, others exalted or complex.

In other cases, players cannot explain just why they play poker. Perhaps they started playing for one reason but continue to play for other reasons. The reasons you give will be an indication of the games you should play. Besides this, here are a few reasons people play poker. Let’s take a look at them:

Play poker comfortably: The biggest advantage is that you can play this game online comfortably from your home. Play poker day or night, or whenever you wish. Play any game or several games, enter tournaments and play for cash.

This is one step ahead of brick and mortar casinos where only one tournament is played at a time, apart from some cash games. Besides, you don’t have to dress for a casino or travel far to play poker.

Enjoy social rewards: When friends get together, often they play cards. Playing cards is exciting, and certainly not as tiring or noisy as an evening at a night club. You can also make new friends and contacts while playing a good game of poker. If this is your objective to play poker, you should sit at low stakes tables for their friendly ambience.

Have fun—play for entertainment: Poker is entertaining because it is competitive. It asks one to have particular skills, besides which it also has an element of luck that makes the game enjoyable. If these are your objectives for playing poker, you should not play high stakes or you could lose a lot of good money.

Acquire skills and special knowledge: To become a good poker player like Negreanu, you need to acquire certain specialized skills and knowledge that can help you beat your opponents. These skills are transferable to your life outside the casino, online or offline. For example, if poker teaches you to read your opponents accurately, it can help sharpen your ability to make judgments. And when you play expertly, it will help you sharpen your logical reasoning ability and your ability to devise strategies. If this is why you play poker, play no-limit games.

Make some good money: It’s very difficult for anyone to become a multi-millionaire just by playing poker. If this is why you play poker, do all you can to win.

Be disciplined—don’t take risks: As a poker player, you should learn to calculate the probabilities and risks related to poker. Take risks only when you’re sure that the reward is worth the effort. Discipline makes you understand the need to avoid taking risks related to your bankroll. However, it’s well worth remembering that not all games can be played if the stakes are overly high.

Strategies to win in poker

It takes a lot of patience to learn how to play poker. Poker is a strategy game which will develop over the years with experience. Every person would develop his/her own strategy in the game with experience. The only income in poker that is assured is the rakeback and everything else just depends on the skill of the player. Before playing in a casino for real money, it is best to start with some of the online tournaments to get some experience.

Protect your hand

The first thing that any FullTilt Poker player should learn is how not to give away the hand. If the opponents know that you have a weak or a strong hand, you would not be able to last long in the game. If you are still new at the game, do not change your expression during the game at all until you know how to use it for your advantage. Maintain a poker face so that nobody would be able to read you. Learn who you are up against and try to pick up patterns in your opponents. If you are too impatient, you will not be able to last long on the poker table.

Bluffing

Once you are comfortable with the game and you do have a hand that seems to be playable it would then be time for you to try bluffing. Once you have won a few hands, it would be easier to bluff. For any player to win at poker, bluffing is a very important skill to learn. It is important that your opponents should win your bluff. If you do get caught up in the bluff, you would definitely be losing a good deal of money on the hand.

Be patient

When it comes to absolute poker, patience is one of the most important skills to learn. If you have a good hand and you know that you can win with the cards you have, you would want the other players to be in the hand for as long as it would be possible. Only that way would the pot build up and you can win more money on the hand. If your opponents seem to be committed to the hand, then you should try to make them call a very large bet. There are several different types of traps that you can use in situations like this. With experience you would know what kind of trap to use in what circumstances.

Experience

It is only with experience that you will get to be a veteran poker player. The more you play, the more situations you will face. A little luck every now and then is important but with good experience you will be able to make the most of situation that you face at any given time. There are quite a lot of online games that you can take advantage of when playing poker. There are also several sites where you would be able to play for free in order to get some experience.

An Over view of Poker after Dark

Poker after Dark is a television show that is all about poker. The program is aired on NBC and plays at 2:05 in the morning. The show is sponsored by Full Tilt Poker. The show is one hour long and has been on the air for six seasons.

There are several things that sets Poker After Dark apart from other poker shows. The first is that the show is a tournament, and viewers get to see the entire tournament which allows them to bond with players as well as study their techniques. The show is a great educational piece for anyone who wants to really hone their poker playing skills.

Some television stations do carry poker, but very few of them are set up so that fans of the game can watch it six nights in a row. The consistency of the show provides a continuity and flow that the once or twice weekly shows simply cannot match.

The level of play that the show features is spectacular. The tournaments that the shows features are held in Las Vegas and not just anyone can enter. The tournaments are invitation only, and the invitations are only issued to the best poker players in the world. After being invited to play on the show, the player also has to ante up the $20,000 buy in.

The show is about more than just watching a bunch of professional poker players play a game at which they excel. The show really is educational. In between hands, the players will share secrets about what it really takes to be a good poker player and how to not rely just on luck.

The best way to know about what is coming up on the show is by checking out the Poker After Dark website. The information found on the website is both current and complete. The website is an excellent way to find out if any of your favorite poker players are going to be on it, what high stakes tournaments are being broadcasts, and to get predictions from the professionals who have been around poker their entire lives.

Poker After Dark is always hosted by LeeAnn Tweeden. This former Hooters waitress knows how to work a camera. Previous to getting the Poker After Dark gig, Tweeden was a professional model. Her television resume includes being a correspondent for a sports show on ESPN.

The really great thing about the program is that viewers can really see the way a tournament develops and evolves over time, something that is difficult to understand until you have managed to watch it with your own eyes. They get to see firsthand the types of psychological things that players do to help give them an edge. They can also experience how quickly things can change during the course of a game. Getting insight from the players and also being able to see them in action can do more to help a player improve their game than nearly everything else. Poker After Dark is an excellent educational tool for anyone who is hoping to become a talented poker player in the future.