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Nov 1, 2009

Tournament Play - Part V

This article is Part 4 of 5 Parts and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Short-Handed Play

As the table becomes short-handed (less than six players), the starting hand requirements loosen up and aggressive play increases. With only a few opponents remaining, you have to make a major decision: You must decide if you are going to try to win the tournament or just move up on the payout scale a place or two. If you are going to attempt to win the tournament, you must change gears and adopt a loose-aggressive style. If you are satisfied with the prize money you will win in your current position, retain a tight-aggressive style using the modified starting hands as a guide.

Finish the Story on the Tournament Play - Part VI

Tournament Play - Part IV

This article is Part 4 of 5 Parts and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Bursting the Bubble

If you can’t see an out, you are on your way out. - Pokerism

Cashing out of any tournament is the first step to finishing high in the money. If you do not survive the bubble, you cannot win. If you are playing well and have survived to the point where everyone is in the money, it is the time to move in for the kill. Once everyone has a piece of the prize pool, the mentality changes dramatically. Players become much more adventurous in their play once they are in the money—especially the ones with dangerously short-stacks. Many players are now trying to increase their chip stacks to make the final table.

Finish the Story on the Tournament Play - Part IV

Tournament Play - Part III

This article is Part 3 of 5 Parts and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Intermediate Stage

After the first break—until the point where players cash out—is the intermediate stage. Your goal here is to double your chipstack at each blind level. At this point in the tournament, the blinds become a greater percentage of your chip stack and become more important to your tournament survival. If you do not win at least the blinds once per round, your chip stack is in decline. Your priority here is to win the blinds or small pots as often as possible and a big pot once or twice at each level.

Finish the Story on the Tournament Play - Part III

Tournament Play - Part II

This article is Part 2 of 5 Parts and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Basics of Tournament Play

The two basic tournament formats are those allowing re-buys and those that do not. One thing to remember about low buy-in tournaments is that, though you are playing with lower stakes, most people do not see them that way. In the later levels of the tournament, players may have stacks in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in chips. Though not actually equivalent to dollars, the huge number of chips is the only time most low-stakes players are going to play for such high-stakes, and they make bets accordingly.

Finish the Story on the Tournament Play - Part II

Tournament Play - Part I

This article is Part 1 of 5 Parts and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Differences between Ring Games and Tournaments

From a strategic viewpoint, tournaments differ tremendously from ring games. In a ring game, you need to be able to determine when to surrender your hand. Tournaments demand that you win a higher percentage of the pots that you play. The difference between cash game poker and tournament poker is the difference between dedication and inspiration. In a ring game, the primary skill sets are steadiness, repetition, consistency in making the mathematically correct play, and playing better than your opponent is playing. A tournament player’s skill set includes more aggression—especially in the late stages—and less risk aversion. In a ring game, if you double or triple your chip stack during a session, you have done extremely well, making a huge profit. In tournament play, you must double your chip stack at every level to stay in contention.

Finish the Story on the Tournament Play - Part I

BASIC ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES/ FREEROLL STRATEGY

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Nov 1, 2009

Table Presence - Part I

This article is part 1 of 2, and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Downplay Your Ability
It is not important for others to know your skill or experience level, especially when playing low-stakes ring games. It can be useful to provide a table image below your ability, downplaying your skill level or experience. You do not want opponents trying to play better against you so they can brag later that they took you down. Only those with frail egos need acknowledgment at the tables – winners prefer chips.

Finish the Story on Table Presence

Daniel L. Cox

Nov 1, 2009

Table Presence - Part II

This article is part 2 of 2, and is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Attitude Adjustment
Attitude is an important factor in playing poker. Knowing that you are good enough to win is the first step in winning. This does not just concern every hand you play, but every session or tournament you enter. How you portray this attitude to others is equally important. Self-confidence does not have to translate into overt cockiness.  

A player with too much cockiness becomes a target for other players at the table. It is easy to recall the joy of watching an obnoxious player when they get taken down, especially if you are the one to show them the felt. Self-assurance is key to maintaining a winning attitude, but going beyond confidence into the realm of conceit can drive players to try to take you out.

Finish the Story on Table Presence

Daniel L. Cox

Sept 15, 2009

Top Hands

Daniel L. Cox

This article is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

The game of controlled aggression has turned maniacal at times, with many players playing (or praying) with hole cards that should never see a flop. When one plays a tight–aggressive style, sticking to the premium starting hands is the first factor to consider. It is common to go one or two rounds without getting a solid starting hand to bet. Patience is the virtue you must possess if you desire to succeed. You should only play less than premium hands under two circumstances: to enhance your table image or to protect your blinds. These aspects are in later chapters. For now, you should look at the most profitable of the 169 combinations of hole cards available in the standard 52-card deck and the betting strategy you use with them for each of the three positions on the table.

Finish the Story on Top Hands

Aug 1, 2009

Poker Tells Parts 1 - 4

Daniel L. Cox

These articles are excerpted from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Show and Tells
Tells are subconscious actions by a player that may give an observant person an insight into that player’s hand. Mastering the psychology of poker is crucial to winning poker, and reading tells is one of the skills you need. When you first sit at a table, or, even better, as you are watching a table to decide if it is where you want to play, pay attention to the players. This gives you time to notice tells, since it is easier to observe player actions when you are not in a hand. This is one of the reasons that, when you first sit at a table, you choose a seat where you will be waiting for the blind to come to you, rather than paying to start playing immediately.

Finish Poker Tells I   Finish Poker Tells II   Finish Poker Tells III   Finish Poker Tells IV

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Aug 1, 2009

Advanced Betting Techniques III

Daniel L. Cox

This is part 3 of a 3 part series on Advanced Betting Techniques, taken from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Selective Aggression
Showing selective aggression by taking the lead in betting can win many pots. This is true from early position or after other players check to you in middle or late position. A strong raise under the gun from a tight player usually represents a strong hand, as does a re-raise from late position. One can use these bets to increase the pot size with a strong hand or to take down the pot with a semi-bluff when holding a big drawing hand.

Finish the Story on Advanced Betting Techniques

Jul 1, 2009

Advanced Betting Techniques II

Daniel L. Cox

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on Advanced Betting Techniques, taken from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Since there are many opportunities to outplay your opponents, you have to know which opponents you can outplay. It is difficult to finesse weak players. The slow play often backfires because one of the loose limpers will hit a hand. The bluff does not work, since these players call with any two cards. The following sections demonstrate many of the advanced aspects of the game and how best to play them.

Finish the Story on Advanced Betting Techniques

Jun 1, 2009

Advanced Betting Techniques I

Daniel L. Cox

This is part one of a three part series on Advanced Betting Techniques, taken from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

Winning poker comes down to being able to squeeze a profit out of marginal situations. The object is not to win every hand played, but to win every hand you play. The best way to do this is to out bet your opponents. Every bet made should have a purpose. Either it is made to induce a weaker hand to fold, or it is made to maximize the winnings on the hand.

Finish the Story on Advanced Betting Techniques

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Apr 1, 2009

Hold'em Basics

Daniel L. Cox

This article is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

The popularity of different games of poker is continuallychanging. Five-card Draw, the game most people grew up on watching TV Westerns and playing penny-ante home games, is virtually non-existent today. The WSOP no longer even has a World Championship Event in Five-card Draw. At one time, Texas Hold’em was the venue solely of the World Series and high-stakes underground games. With the popularity of Hold’em, both limit and no-limit today, it is difficult to find a game of Seven-card Stud in most card rooms and casinos around the world.

Finish the Story on Hold'em Basics
 

Mar 1, 2009

Art of the Bluff

Daniel L. Cox

This article is an excerpt from “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em” by Daniel L. Cox. Available at Amazon.com.

The best hand does not always win the pot. Often the playerthat acts as if they have the best hand is the one who rakes in the chips. When playing short-handed, the chances increase that no one has a good hand. Normally, to get a bluff to work, you need to fire more than one bet at the pot, establishing that you have a strong hand. If you raise pre-flop and miss on the flop, the other players do not know it. It is possible to fool them with a bluff here, since they are likely to assume you have a high pair or hit the straight or flush draw. If you are in a late position and everyone checked to you, it is smart to bet strong. This move may force some players out of the hand. This is true if the board holds a couple of high cards, a straight draw or a flush draw. Unfortunately, since some players may stay, you must continue the bluff to make it work.

Finish the Story on the Art of the Bluff 

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Feb 8, 2009

Playing Heads-Up

Daniel L. Cox

Once you get to heads-up play, the game of Hold'em changes. In limit Hold’em, you can make a few big mistakes—sometimes it works in your favor if you appear too loose—but you cannot afford to make very many small ones. Constant small misreads of your opponent are far more likely to end your tournament than an incorrect size bet.

Finish the Story on Playing Heads-up

Sept 8, 2008

Review of John Vorhays' Under the Gun

Daniel L. Cox

Poker strategist and author of the popular Killer Poker series, John Vorhaus’ new novel is fast paced, well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Thinking of Under the Gun as a mystery/suspense thriller first and a poker strategy book second, does a great disservice to the witty and knowledgeable writing bound in its fast paced pages.

Finish the Review of Under the Gun

Aug 28, 2008

Phan Wins 2008 Legends of Poker

Daniel L. Cox

The Bicycle Club Casino hosted the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker  final table on August 28th. Here are the opening chip counts for the final table:

Finish the Story 

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Jul 3, 2008

The Whole Nine Cards

Daniel L. Cox

If you are a poker player who believes in numerology (or just superstitious like most of us), this is the story for you. It all started on July 2^nd, (2+7=9) at the 12 Noon $225 (2+2+5=9) buy-in during the Caesar’s Palace Mega Stack Tournament. There were 590 of us that started this event. I was seated in Seat 9 on, you guessed it, Table 45. Every player has a story where a card or cards can seem to do no wrong. Doyle Brunson won back to back World Series of Poker World Championships with the 10 – 2. T.J. Cloutier had the Jack – 9 of Spades named after him after coming from behind to avoid elimination in three tournaments in one year.

Finish the Story

Jun 4, 2008

Do Not Criticize, It Will Only Cost You 

Daniel L. Cox

I realize I am sometimes guilty of it, too; the snide comment after an unimaginably bad play when 8 10 offsuit cracks your Aces and knocks you out early in the $40,000 Monthly Event. Let me assure you, it is not the right thing to do, especially on a site like Spade Club that caters to the beginning players and as Card Player Media and Spade Club head Barry Shulman calls them, “The Kitchen Table crowd.” Many of these players are new to the game and have grown up on televised poker. Since a 7 – 2 offsuit catching a miracle 7 – 7 – 2 flop is more exciting television, it is what people new to the game see winning big pots, not solid consistent play. There are several reasons why it is improper to criticize another person’s play.

Finish the Story

May 25, 2008

Check Another One Off the Bucket List

Daniel L. Cox

Every one has a “Bucket List” of one sort or another. It may be a formal list, written down and updated as time passes or it may just be a gnawing at the back of the mind. For those whom have not seen the Jack Nicolson - Morgan Freeman movie, a Bucket List is an inventory of those things we want to do before we end this mortal existence. I have had my informal list for more than 30 years and I wrote it out four years ago. Though my list still has “See Aurora Borealis” in the number one position, the item that has been on the list the longest was “Attend a party at the Playboy Mansion.” It is something I have wanted to do since I was a teenager. The closest I had come was during my early U.S. Army days in the late seventies and early eighties. At that time I was a dues paying member of the Playboy Club, visiting clubs in Los Angeles and New York City.

Finish the Story 

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May 5, 2008

An Evening with Humberto Brenes

Daniel L. Cox

San Jose, Costa Rica - Passion is the one word that best describes Costa Rican poker star Humberto “The Shark” Brenes. The passion he feels towards his family, the passion he shows for the game of poker and the passion he invokes when talking about the importance of preserving nature are all evident after only a few minutes talking with him.

Finish the Story

May 5, 2008

Ten Questions with Humberto Brenes

Daniel L. Cox

San Jose, Costa Rica - Gaming Review Online: Are you recognized as much in Costa Rica as in America?”
Humberto Brenes: “In Costa Rica I am not known as much as a poker player, but as a businessman. I have owned several hotels, the television station, and many other businesses. In Costa Rica, I am known as ‘Papito’ and they know me as ’The Shark’ in America.”

Finish the Story

Mar 7, 2008

The Celebrity Crasher

Daniel L. Cox

Unlike Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in The Wedding Crashers, my desire to crash the Celebrity Invitational had nothing to do with trying to take advantage of an unsuspecting bridesmaid, but instead by being a bridesmaid myself. I nearly received a legitimate invitation to the tournament the week before, since the winner of the LA Poker Classic Media Tournament receives a seat to the tournament. Unfortunately, I lost a highly contested heads-up battle to Justin Marchand, Card Player Magazine’s Chief Media Officer. Justin, who eventually finished fourth at the televised final table, is a quality player in his own right, having previously cashed at the World Series.

Finish the Story 

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Aug 16, 2007

Falling Off at the Bike

Daniel L. Cox

One good thing about being a Poker journalist is that I get invitations to play in Freerolls at the top casinos and card rooms around the world. The summer of 2007, prior to the Legends of Poker World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event at the Bicycle Club near Los Angeles, I was invited to one such tournament. The thing I like best about these tournaments is that I play with some of the best players in the world without having to pay a huge buy-in. I have played at the same table with Kathy Liebert and “Brooklyn Dan” Pugliese at Binion’s Horseshoe and at the same tournaments with Amarillo Slim, Tom McManus and many others. Being able to get up close as Phil Hellmuth throws a temper tantrum or Doyle Brunson shows a bluff is exciting to watch and has been extremely beneficial to improving my own game. Prior to this tourney I played in a $175 satellite with Hans “Tuna” Lund, the 1990 Main Event Runner-up and 1992 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event third place finisher, as well as owning two WSOP bracelets.

Finish the Story

Jun 25, 2007

The Long Short Goodbye

Daniel L. Cox

It took thirty years to make the dream come true and only an hour for a nightmare hand to end it. I had wanted to come to the World Series of Poker since I had first heard of it playing barracks poker as a Private in the Army in the mid-1970’s. This was going to be another Jim McManus story, with a poker journalist making it to the final table of a World Championship event. To set the stage, I lost a $275 Satellite on Day 1 of the 2005 WSOP (with a bad beat story involving actor James Woods). In 2006, on Satellite Day prior to the Main Event, I chopped two $225 Satellites to go up $1,400. I saved that money for the 2007 World Championship Seniors Texas Hold’em (No-Limit) $1,000 Buy-In. Tom McEvoy, Men “The Master” Nguyen and “Amarillo Slim” Preston were only a few of the top names in poker competing.

Finish the Story

Oct 19, 2006

Ultimate Poker Challenge Moves to Binion's

Daniel L. Cox

Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel is proud to announce that America’s top syndicated poker show has moved to “The Place that Made Poker Famous.” The Ultimate Poker Challenge (UPC), after three successful seasons at The Plaza, changed venues for the 2006-2007 season to Binion’s. The No Limit Hold’em tournament action is scheduled three times weekly for the next 52 weeks.

Finish the Story

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Aug 1, 2006

A New Breed of Poker Has Arrived

Daniel L. Cox

On July 28, 2006, The MANSION Groups' Promoter, Hollybrook Regency, Inc. and Fox Sports Net unveiled the “next big thing” in Downtown Las Vegas, the MANSIONPOKER.NET Poker Dome. The New Poker Dome, home of the $2,000,000 Poker Dome Challenge was introduced to the media and special guests Friday. Guests were treated to behind the scenes tours and watched simulated tapings of one of the most popular televised poker events of the season. To work out the bugs between the players, Dealers Blaine and Leslie, Tournament Director Matt Savage and the extensive technical crew, they ran several simulated tapings.

Finish the Story

Aug 1, 2005

Another Celebrity Bad Beat

Daniel L. Cox

I have been playing poker for over 40 years now, since my father taught me five card stud at age eight. He got tired of me beating him at chess, so he chose a game where he felt he had a better chance of beating me. It worked for a couple of years, but I was playing in adult home games by the time I was 13. I began playing the card rooms in Gardena and Bakersfield, California, at 17 and advanced to the casinos in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe over 30 years ago. As a young private in the Army, I paid for my first sports car with my winnings from “payday” poker games. I have played cards across North America, and as far away as South Korea, mostly for low stakes – at casinos, in home games, with co-workers, or with fellow officers in the Army. One thing to remember is that by the turn of the millennium, and before Chris Moneymaker’s ESPN showing, Poker was nearly dead. One was hard pressed to find a game in Tahoe or Vegas.

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