Much of what is correct for any poker player is down to what suits them personally not just as people but also as individuals. A players own poker history, their level of knowledge, their level of multi-tabling experience and also how they like to play poker all impact on what is the ideal number of tables for them to play.

I know players who do not like the thought of ever playing more than one table because to them, online poker is all about trying to replicate the live poker experience as much as possible. So it is not all about maximising earnings for many people and is more to do with the actual “feel” of playing poker.

But then again, many players could quite easily be maximizing their earnings by playing one table so they are literally killing two birds with one stone so to speak. Much of what we are talking about here also comes down to how you want to play poker. If you want to play heads up no-limit then you really shouldn’t be playing too many tables playing this form of poker.

It is the same with six max games although even at this form of poker, I know players who have successfully played as many as 24 tables and made money, I take my hat off to them. I don’t necessarily jump to the conclusion that just because I cannot do something personally that no one else can. If your objective is to make money by getting rakeback and playing half decent poker and exploiting novice players then playing as many full-ring games as you can could just be your optimal way to play.

Strangely enough this may suit players who are merely break even players or slight net plus players. Some people may argue that playing more tables does not allow you to watch your HUD or read your tracking data, but that’s just my point, if you are not doing this anyway simply because you cannot be bothered and you cannot be bothered to concentrate well enough to watch the other players then playing more tables will not handicap you. This is for the simple reason being that you are not taking advantage of those tells anyway and you are not making your money that way.

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In many instances having good temperament and skill may get you an edge but in other instances it wont. But in poker, if you can take advantage of your three basic weapons and optimise them then you have a great chance.

1. POSITION

It never ceases to amaze me just how many people ignore the importance of position and certainly in cash games. If world class players cannot ignore positional difficulties then what chances have you got? Good position isn’t just something that is desirable, it is essential. So what if your opponents always see you raising from the steal seats or three betting apparent stealers.

You will always have your position as a weapon. Put yourself into your opponents shoes, you raise from the button. They suspect that you are raising with junk but they have junk too. If they re-raise and you call then they are in trouble as they have to make the first move after the flop and are doing so blindly.

Your position can induce fear and allow you to win pots in all kinds of different ways. So use it when you have it and respect the fact when you don’t.

2. CHIPS

Your chips are a weapon, but depending on your level of skill they can also be a handicap as well. This is why many players would argue that skill should be classed as a primary weapon. But yet it cannot be a basic weapon if skill is difficult to acquire. Position is something that all players have irrespective of skill level and chips also fit that category.

If you want to exploit mistakes from weak novice players then you need chips to do it and that means buying in for the biggest stack that you can.

3. CARDS

This may seem obvious but it still amazes me how so many players seem to think that they can take any old piece of cheese and use it to outplay someone. If your opponent has a hand then they are not going to lay it down and this accounts for if they are strong or weak in many cases. They could also have a hand that could hit the flop like AK. Your opponent raises with AK and you re-raise with 7-4 trying to be cute, the flop comes K-7-2, now look at the trouble that you are in. Respect your position, use your chips and don’t expand your range too wide, it’s as simple as that.  Want to try your hand at poker?  Sign up at BetUS and get a 100% signup bonus!

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In six max play, you must not back down to the slightest aggression that comes your way from your opponents. This applies of course to any form of poker and limit play is no different. In loose aggressive games then you basically have two options, either leave the table or fight fire with fire.

I have seen numerous players let their VPIP’s fall below 20% in six-max limit play and this is getting into dangerous territory. This can sometimes be an inclination that these players are multi-tabling but in many cases they are simply getting pushed around by better and stronger players. If players who have VPIP’s of say 17% are playing too tightly pre-flop then the chances are that they will be playing too tightly post flop as well.

Playing too tightly post flop is a catastrophic error in limit hold ‘em and even worse than playing tightly pre-flop. At least when you play tightly pre-flop you are avoiding making post flop errors that cost entire pots. But the process of losing an entire pot is something that as a limit player can simply be the difference between being a successful player or not.

If you find that a particular game is too aggressive for you then do not fear, simply leave the game. This in my opinion is by far the best option. In no-limit play then a few bad players can still pay you off and especially in full-ring play but a tight player really has no place in a very aggressive six max game. This process of leaving the table may seem incredibly wimpy and it may feel like you are running away. But quite often, making money at poker often involves not playing poker rather than playing.

It is often the games that you don’t play in and the seats that you don’t sit in that makes you a winning player at the end of the year. So take my advice and don’t be afraid to leave the table because if you feel uncomfortable then you are feeling that way for a reason and that reason is usually because you are outgunned so swallow the pride and leave the game. BetUS Poker Room is one of the few online poker rooms that accept players from USA. Take advantage of this opportunity and sign-up today!

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The case stems from a $20 buy-in Texas Hold’em tournament in which five people were arrested and charged with illegal gambling.  In January, a county court acquitted Kevin Raley, and then the charges against the four other individuals were dropped.  Raley argued the standard line for poker defense, that the game is one of skill and thus isn’t a game of chance.

While Raley can’t be retried due to double jeopardy laws, the state still appealed to the district court in order to get a ruling from a higher court.  On the appeal the judge said that poker is already considered gambling under state law and that cash poker games and tournaments can only be held at casinos or at a place where everyone has a “bona fide” social relationship.

I feel like these gambling laws are just another way for states to have an industrial monopoly on gambling and thus earn a high share of taxes on the profits these businesses make.  When is the general population going to wise up?

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• Darvin Moon — 58,930,000
• Eric Buchman — 34,800,000
• Steven Begleiter — 29,885,000
• Jeff Shulman — 19,580,000
• Joe Cada — 13,215,000
• Kevin Schaffel — 12,390,000
• Phil Ivey — 9,765,000
• Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
• James Akenhead — 6,800,000

The total payouts for the final nine are as follows:

• 1st Place: $8,546,435
• 2nd Place: $5,182,601
• 3rd Place: $3,479,485
• 4th Place: $2,502,787
• 5th Place: $1,953,395
• 6th Place: $1,587,133
• 7th Place: $1,404,002
• 8th Place: $1,300,228
• 9th Place: $1,263,602

This year’s WSOP Main Event had 6,494 post the $10,000 entry fee for a prize pool of $61,043,600. The tournament paid out the top 648 players $21,365.

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Just last Sunday there were four players who won $12,000 WSOP VIP prize packages.  All they did was enter the $270 buy-in 4-Seat Guaranteed Main Event semifinal and finish in the top 4.  As part of the package the four won a buy-in for the Main Event, $2,000 for travel and accommodations in Las Vegas, a gear bag from Bodog that was worth over $400 and access to the infamous Bodog VIP events and player’s club evenings.

There are still plenty of seats ready to be won if you are playing at Bodog.  Antoher two seats are guaranteed to be won in the Main Event semifinal on May 25 with four more seats in a June 7 Main Event Semifinal and then more on June 14t.  If you want to qualify for the 2009 WSOP then give Bodog Poker a try and enter for as little as $1.

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Here are the details of the tournament:  It is being called the “Bodog Fight Club – Main Event – 4 Seats” and will be held on Sunday, April 5th at 4:35 PM EST.  The guarantee is four $12,000 WSOP Main Event packages being given to the last four player who remain in the event.  The cost is $250 +$20 and will be a No Limit Holdem tournament with players staring with 3,000 in chips.  The blinds will go up every 15 minutes.

What’s at Stake: The winners of a Bodog Flight Club $12,000 WSOP prize package will get to become a member of Team Bodog, will be given $2,000 for travel and accommodations, have the $10,000 buy-in for the Main-Event taken care of by Bodog, receive a Bodog Poker swag bag, and will be given the chance to make extra money based of performance in the tournament and exposure received.  Plus, the Bodog team will be writing articles about your progress, ensuring that friends and family will be able to read all about your 2009 WSOP main event experience.

If you are new to Bodog Poker then you have still got time to open up a new FREE Bodog Poker account and cash in on some of the best sign-up bonuses in the business.  Unlike college basketball, poker doesn’t take years to learn and tons of practice to master.  Bodog’s software is the best in the business.  It looks cool and is able to be customized so you can get the right look and feel for your personality.  This enables you to play with less wasted time and effort.

How to Qualify: Go to the Bodog Fight Club site and view the qualifying schedule now.

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These events do sell out so take the event’s maximum number of entrants seriously because when that number is reached, the event is declared a sellout and closed to new entrants.  This is one of the reasons if you are serious about playing in a World Series of Poker event in 2009 then you should think about pre-registering.  All seats are sold on a first-come, first-served basis so the sooner you get in, the more likely you will be to have a spot guaranteed for you.

Harrah’s accepts cash, cashier’s checks, wire transfers, and Rio casino chips as payment for their entry fees.  If you are not based in the US then it is recommended you pay by wire transfer, in which you will receive the exchange rate into US currency at the time your wire is received.

Buy-ins for the events range from $1,000 to $50,000.  The three $1,000 events are the “stimulus special” No Limit Hold’em event, the Ladies No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, and the Seniors No-Limit Hold’em World Championship.  Most of the events on the schedule have entry fees of either $1,500 or $2,000.  The higher end entry fees are ten $10,000 events, including the Main Event.  With this being the 40th year of the World Series of Poker there is a special $40,000 No-Limit Hold-em event, and there is a $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E event that is for the highest stakes.

You can get the full schedule by going to the official World Series of Poker site.

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This year the guys over at Sportsbook.com have decided to let you get in on the action from home.  Not only will Sportsbook.com members be able to put wagers in on who is going to win the event, but they will also be able to place wagers on the winners of each heads up matchup, and who will last longer between two players.

Some of the more popular early bets are:

Phil Ivey (-140) against Daniel Negreanu (+100)
Tom Dwan (-115) against Phil Helmuth (-125)
Phil Laak (-140) against Jennifer Tilly (+100)

Last year’s champion was Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and if you think he can repeat then take the +2200 odds.  Another former winner in the “Poker Brat” Phil Helmuth is listed at +3000.  Former Major League Baseball pitcher Orel Hershiser is listed at +10,000.

If you want to join in on the action then get signed up at Sportsbook.com, where you will get a 100% bonus on your first winning wager.  The odds are listed in the “Entertainment” section and will be available until Saturday, March 6th.

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The case involved defendants who were on trial for hosting and dealing a poker game in a garage. Even though the house did not take a rake, the players were expected to tip the dealer so the authorities arrested the pair for violating the Pennsylvania state law on illegal gambling.

The judge’s decision was based solely on whether Texas Hold’em should be considered gambling. If the game is based on chance then it would be considered gambling, but if the game is based on skill then it would not be. The other two elements for a game to be considered gambling are consideration and reward, which both are met with antes or betting and pots being won.

The judge focused on the fact that there are so many books about poker on the market. Caro’s Secrets of Winning Poker was cited by the judge who then went on to further cite several academic studies on online poker.

The conclusion made by the judge that poker is a game based on skill was made after stating the player has a distinct possibility and opportunity of exercising skill with sufficient data to make an informed judgment and that the skill and efforts of players governs their results. Individual player skills have varying degrees of competence, but that is common with any competition that involves skill. The overall outcome is determined after players use a variety of both intellectual and psychological skills. Players must know the rules, the mathematical odds, how to read their opponents tells, and playing styles. The player also needs to know when to hold, fold, and raise while managing their money.

This is a big case for poker players because it sets a strong precedent for similar cases that could arise all across America. Other states are not bound by Pennsylvania law, but with this judge’s clear understanding of the game and how clearly he laid out his explanations, it’s going to be a great case for other defendants to cite and reference.

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