Free Poker
by Tracy Tequida for Poker Player Newspaper

I’m not talking about “freeing” poker from jail; I am referring to playing online poker for free. What is the value in that? Obviously there is no monetary gain. You can’t pay for your rent, food or any bills with free poker chips. So why are thousands if not millions of people playing “free” poker on sites like Facebook and other sites that I have never heard of?

 It’s a really good question, and some people spend endless hours every day doing just that. Is it a substitute for loneliness, play free poker instead of watching some silly programs on TV?

 Poker is a game played for money. So should the free version even be called poker? It’s an anomaly, to be sure, yet some of these people take their free poker very seriously. The French have a phrase for it, C’est vraiment incroyable, which translates to, “That is really incredible.” But it just does not appear to make any sense. At least it doesn’t to me. (more…)

2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg Raymer discusses his thoughts and strategy during the final hand of the final table. Raymer shares some interesting insight on how he played his hand and how he perceived his opponent’s play as well.

By Chad Holloway for PokerNews.com

Everyone in poker started somewhere — that’s the premise of our series, My First. We catch up with various poker pros and personalities to get the story on a significant “poker” first in their lives. In the latest installment of My First, we catch up with the “Poker Brat,” Phil Hellmuth Jr., and talk about the first time he ever cashed in the World Series of Poker.

For those who may not know, Hellmuth holds the record for most “in-the-money” finishes with 85, which is 13 more than runner-up Men “The Master” Nguyen. Obviously, 11 of those cashes were victories, one for each of his gold bracelets, while plenty more were fourth-place finishes or better. All told, Hellmuth has amassed $7,842,189 in WSOP earning, averaging $92,261 per cash.

Hellmuth’s exploits began 23 years ago when he notched his first cash in the 1988 WSOP Event #6 $1,500 Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, taking fifth for $15,40. PokerNews recently caught up with Hellmuth to discuss his first cash, as well as his first Main Event cash, which came later that year.

“I didn’t really know much about the World Series of Poker. I was a young professional player, but the World Series wasn’t on ESPN. It was hyped as the most beloved event, but I didn’t know many people on tour. I kept hearing people talk about this World Series of Poker so I went and played. That might have been the first tournament I ever played at the WSOP, I don’t know, I wish I had better records of that.”

“Anyway, it was a seven-card stud event, hi/lo, and I had been playing a lot of split games in Madison, Wisconsin. I do remember well what happened. I had close to the chip lead with around six players left. I got involved in a hand where I started with a nine right away, then I hit a seven and an eight. So my board was  and I had  in the hole, that’s the story. The last card I looked at was four-across, meaning it was a nine or ten. I was against a guy who looked like he had a low draw. He had hit an ace on sixth street and I fired. He check-raised all-in, we were playing 5,000/10,000, I remember clearly.”

“I remember thinking I shouldn’t bet this, but no, you have to bet your two pair. So I bet and he check-raised me my last 6,000 with aces up. I called and I was eliminated. I was really frustrated that I lost that pot, plus a couple right before it, and all of a sudden I finished in fifth place.”

“I remember that hand I remember a guy named Lance, I think he want on to win that tournament, or maybe it was Joe Petro who went on to win that tournament.* Petro and I actually made a save, so what happened was he asked me if I wanted to save 10 percent. I said yes and I remember he had to give me like $5,000 or something. I’ve always loved Joe Petro. Lance, I remember just thinking how lucky he was that hand, I was kind of steamed up for a couple of days afterwards. I still remember the hand, he had aces and fives.”

Hellmuth also had another poker first in 1988. It was the first time he cashed in the WSOP Main Event. He placed 33rd in the 1988 Main Event after being eliminated by Johnny Chan, the man who successfully defended his title, only to lose it to Hellmuth the following year.

“None other than Johnny Chan busted me. I wasn’t really familiar with any of the World Series of Poker history, and I didn’t know he was the defending champion. He came to my table with five tables left, about 45 players, and I was jamming it up, I mean I was playing some strong poker. I remember I had about 90,000 in chips, which was a lot of chips, I was in really good shape.”

“Chan came to my table and I tried to bluff him. I still remember that hand well. He had  and the board read , he couldn’t beat a flush. I had  and he called me. He was short on chips but that pot almost doubled him up, and then I remember he had  when I had  and the flop came . I put the rest of my chips in, so he ended up getting all of my chips in the end. From then on I knew who he was. Of course the next year we played heads-up.”

“Interesting thing about that 33rd place finish, when I was eliminated, one of my friends, Big Al, who was one of the best poker players from Wisconsin, got in my face and started screaming at me a little bit. He said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you’ll never have this chance again, blah, blah, blah, and I looked at him and said, ‘Al, I’ll be there every year.’ I remember that, as well.”

*Editor’s note: Lance Hilt won the event for $123,600 and Petro placed second for $67,980.

Read more: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/12/my-first-phil-hellmuth-revisits-his-first-wsop-cash-11553.htm

By Diane Dilov-Schultheis, for Yahoo! Sports

Understanding Texas Hold’em Poker Odds

Poker odds are the mathematics involved in playing in a game of Texas Hold’em poker that every player should completely understand. Once you are familiar with how to calculate poker odds, you will then know if you are in an excellent or terrible situation. You can then use this awareness to make a decision on how you should act in response.

 There are two kinds of poker odds in Texas Hold’em. You may also hear poker odds referred to as outs. The two different types are hand odds andpot odds. This article covers the hand odds andHow to Calculate Odds in Texas Hold’em Poker Part Two, will detail pot odds.

Texas Hold’em Hand Odds

You can determine your hand odds with a simple division. The goal is figure out how many outs your specific hand has. Any card that helps the hand is an out (and counted). Use this number divided by the outstanding cards to figure your outs. However, when doing this computation, only count the cards that you know, which are the community cards and your two cards.

This computes to 50 pre-flop (52 cards minus your two cards), then 47 after the flop (52 cards minus your two cards plus three community cards), and then 46 after the turn (52 cards minus your two cards plus four community cards).

For instance, if you hold a pair, the odds that you would catch one more of the same card is detailed here:

Pre-flop - This leaves two cards in the deck, which you must calculate like this: two divided by 50 = .04 (4%, 1 in 25 or 25:1).

Flop - When you don’t get your card on the flop, you still have two cards left in the deck. Calculated like this: two divided by 47 = .0425 (4.25%, 1 in 23.5 or 23.5:1).

Turn - When you don’t get your card on the turn, you calculate it like this: two divided by 46 = .0435 (4.35%, 1 in 23 or 23:1).

Use the same method described for any poker hand, such as a straight, flush or full house. Simply use the amount of cards left, which improve your hand, as the number you divide. Once you understand how to calculate the hand odds, you can use this number to compare to the pot odds and then use this information to determine if you should remain in the hand or not.

Diane has more than 20 years experience in the casino industry in Nevada. She doesn’t just know how to play poker; she also knows how to deal the game.

Originally posted at CardsChat.com

Throughout the first five lessons, I’ve been working hard to get across the idea that playing poker isn’t, for all but the most talented and lucky people, a fast track to riches and glory. I’ve stressed how much work is involved, the importance of setting goals and having discipline. But goals, discipline, bankroll management and extensive studying will not do you much good if you have to every day force yourself into doing it. Working purposefully and intensively can take some time to get used to, but it shouldn’t be a painful and boring experience every step of the way. Quite frankly, very few people are so discplined that they will do something they just don’t enjoy, day out and day in, when they’re their own boss.

I don’t want anyone to do that, and I don’t expect anyone to do that. I hope that you’ll do it because you will see results and reap rewards from it, and that that in turn will make what may seem like tedious timesinks into something enjoyable. I’ve kept repeating that setting goals is an important way to motivate yourself to work hard, but there’s no motivator as powerful as having fun.

You should want to keep track of your bankroll, you should enjoy studying and you shouldhave fun while playing. Why would you bother doing this, otherwise? If you’re a discplined and intelligent enough person to be successful at poker, you’re very likely to be able to make more money working for a company from 9-5, because people like you are highly sought after in the job market. Playing poker in order to make money is only worth it if you enjoy it, because it takes extreme talent to make it to the highest echelons where the big money is at. I suppose extreme and ridiculous luck will do the trick as well, but no article series is going to help you in getting lucky.

So remember to have fun. If you find yourself constantly frustrated at the poker table, ask yourself why you’re playing to begin with. Anyone and everyone will feel frustrated in the course of a longer downswing, that’s inevitable, but if you find yourself swearing and getting enraged at bad beats even when you’re winning, you’re either thriving on the rage (which I’m not sure is psychologically healthy) or you’re not actually enjoying what you’re doing and you’re caught in a gambling addiction problem. You don’t have to feel sincerely chipper about having your set cracked by a runner-runner flush, but if you find that you spend most of your time playing feeling angry or frustrated, something’s wrong.

It’s difficult to force yourself to enjoy something, if you don’t already, but there are things you can do to at least get more out of it. Here’s a psychological trick I’ve picked up in a book (a book that had nothing to about poker): Try to smile a little while you’re playing. You don’t have to sit and grin, but try to at least keep a somewhat happy or relaxed looking facial expression – even if you’re playing online. See, the body is a weird mechanism, and there are actually relationships between facial expresssions and state of mind. If you’re happy, you smile. But if you smile, your brain will subconciously be a little happier! For more on this phenomenon, check out http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/30/2/237 There are other psychological tricks you can employ to strengthen the sense of confidence and happiness, but this one is so simple that I had to share it.

Also, making friends among other poker players is a good thing. Doing so will bring a social side to what’s otherwise a loner’s game. Post on online forums and bring some humor into the mix, it can’t hurt. Be nice and notice how others are nice to you. These friends will be there to support you through the bad times, and there to help you develop in the good runs.

And try to not see studying as a chore, but as a challenge. Try to figure out the pattern, like a riddle that should be solved. Reflect on why you played a certain why, and if you could have done it differently. What would have happened then? Was top pair a likely enough holding for your opponent that re-raising would be profitable in the long run or did he play the hand weirdly? Why does Sklansky recommend sometimes raising with hands like 98s preflop? This is not high school, and no one will grade you on your knowledge except you yourself.

If you cash out some portion of your winnings, do something fun for it. Go out and see a movie, buy some new toy. I bought a DVD player with a hard drive, which has an added benefit: It allows me to record shows I want to watch so I can catch up when I’m at a particularly juicy table. Or maybe, if you’re doing well, a trip to Vegas? The money that you’ve won and that you’ve cashed out are yours to do whatever you want with.

I don’t know what works for you, but there are ways to get enjoyment out of the game that aren’t solely dependent on dragging a big pot. Ultimately, you’ll have to figure this out for yourself. Just don’t neglect the fun sides of it, and don’t think that I recommend that you turn into a machine who works without pause or emotion. Being at a good state of mind will make everything easier, and it will allow you to keep it up.

No job is worth being miserable, and poker is no exception. “Being your own boss” can hardly be such a great thing if you walk through life unhappy about what you do. So remember to have fun.

Blog by Annie Duke

I have been thinking a lot lately about how much Poker has evolved since I started playing. In a lot of ways, the evolution of the game itself mimics the evolution of the individual player.

When players first pick up poker, they are  most often very concerned about what’s in their own hand. They don’t really think about ‘their hand’ in relation to what the other player(s) could be holding. It is not until sometime further down their personal poker evolutionary path that they have gained enough experience to realize that poker isn’t so much about your hand, but it’s more about everyone else’s hands. (more…)