Every good poker room features a forum where you can communicate with professional players and learn about the winning strategies. Many sites also offer poker winning strategies and bankroll building guides. One of the most important strategies is that every time you play and you can see your opponent’s card you will win.

Secondly, every time your opponent plays differently than the way he used to play and sees your card, you gain. This theory is the basis of many poker strategies. Slow playing and bluffing are other strategies to make your opponents to play differently.

The odds of winning and pot odds is another great concept in poker strategy. By inducing different deceptive methods, players can make their opponents play differently. Bluffing is a deceptive technique, which forces the opponents to fold even if they have the superior hand. Slow bluffing is another deceptive technique that allows betting weakly with a strong holding. Another important thing is the positioning in which players are seated around the table and play the game.

The players in the first positions need stronger hands than players in the last positions. If there are five opponents, for example, then the chances of at least one of your opponents having a better hand than you have are good. Every poker room has its own strategies. Some of the most popular poker rooms are Titan Poker, Poker CD, Pacific Poker, Paradise poker, ultimate bet, Everest poker, sports book poker, Paradise poker, Party poker, carbon poker, full tilt poker and Tony G poker, slots poker.

Raising the bet is another way to win a poker game like a blackjack. By raising the bet, you can increase your chances of getting a free card, bluffing, gaining information and driving out even the worse of hands. There will also be more money in the jackpot. Hand reading is also a great strategy to make possible guesses about the cards an opponent holds. The table’s image is a perception of opponents play.

Poker & Pop Culture: Poker-Playing Presidents (source: pokernews.com)
Americans head to the polls today to elect their 44th president. It has been a long, arduous, hotly-contested battle, and those reporting it have seen fit on numerous occasions to employ a variety of poker metaphors along the way… (source: pokernews.com) – RSS widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Durrrr signed by Full Tilt Poker
Tom Dwan There is an official press release from Full Tilt Poker, that Tom Dwan has been signed as a team member. Tom Dwan goes by the screen name of Durrrr, and has been one of the top money making online poker players in the world. Tom is not just a Red Pro, but a full [...]

Nick Schulman Wins 1st bracelet
Full Tilt Poker pro Nick Schulman has a WSOP bracelet to add to his World Poker Tour title. Nick beat out a field of 96 in the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw. Nick Schulman had to battle one of the fiercest final tables in one of the more specialized [...]

Poker legalization hearing in Greenville, SC
The Poker Players Alliance has just sent out notice of a poker legalization hearing in Charleston and Greenville, SC this month. From the e-mail: Playing poker in the privacy of your own home is a crime in South Carolina thanks to a ridiculous outdated state law signed 209 years ago. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell will be holding two public hearings to discuss S535 a bill that would legalize home poker games and also expand charity gaming (including charity poker tournaments) in the state. The first public hearing will be March 23rd in North Charleston City Hall and the second on March 30th in the Greenville County Council Chambers, both start at 5:30pm. I plan to attend the March 30 hearing in Greenville. The PPA is looking for a large turn-out of pro-poker folks. Details: Monday, March 30th 5:30-7:30 pm Greenville County Council Chambers 301 University Ridge Greenville, SC 29601 I’ll likely have more on the subject in the coming days. In the meantime, if you’d like to RSVP for the hearing, you can do so HERE. To read the full text of the bill, click HERE.

Full Tilt Poker 2009 25k Heads Up Championship Highlights Part 1
It was really exciting to watch the top heads up NL Holdem players in the world battle it out for the first place prize of over 500k in the 25k Heads Up Championship. Amongst the top pros competing in the field were poker professionals, high stakes players, poker instructors, FTOPS winners, and satellite winners. [...]

South Carolina poker call to action
I am naturally suspicious of people who use phrases like “call to action.” It’s one of those marketeer phrases that makes me cringe. That said, if you are a South Carolina poker player or one who travels here to play in some of the best home games around, you should be interested in this. Moreover, if you live in Greenville, South Carolina and don’t join me on Monday night, you don’t care about poker and your right to play it. Monday March 30 at 5:30pm, South Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell will be holding two public hearings on a bill that would legalize home poker games and also expand charity gaming (including charity poker tournaments) in South Carolina. I will be there and you should be, too. Here’s why. Every Monday night I play in the best home game I’ve ever known. The action is great, the location is perfect, and the players are great people. The game has been running for years and shows no signs of dying off. There are games like it all over the state–friendly folks who just want to play cards in a safe environment. Under South Carolina law, local law enforcement could come in at any time and cite every player for violating the state’s gaming law. That we’ve never been raided is no great comfort. Even though this is a friendly game where the only rake goes to pay for drinks and snacks, it is still illegal. And if you think the local constabulary won’t bust a game of this sort, you are sadly mistaken. Last month I covered the trial of five people who were playing in a $20 max-buy no-limit hold’em game in Mt. Pleasant. The max rake on the game was 50 cents and the house owner, according to several people who testified, stopped taking rake the moment he had enough to cover the pizza and beer. The players were put on trial and, despite the magistrate’s obvious distaste for the law, convicted. [See the April issue of Bluff Magazine for my article on the trial.] A few years back, I held what was then my annual Bradoween poker tournament. It was not a huge affair. We had 43 people from around the country in town and crowded into my small house. The buy-in was insignificant and I charged no juice. People from other states laughed at me when I took the buy-in cash to my neighbor’s house and left it there. They laughed harder when I programmed my police scanner to listen for a raid and put a couple friends outside to watch the door. If I had watched myself that day, I might have laughed, too. It was ridiculous. It was a game among friends that wasn’t even charging for the BBQ and sweet tea. Still, if the raid on a similar game in Greer (a nearby suburb) a couple months before was any indication, I stood an uncomfortable chance of getting busted. It had happened to one of my friends just weeks before. He’d been playing in a similar game and had been handcuffed in front of his wife and kids. To people in less-antiquated states, this probably seems inconceivable. The simple fact i this: playing any game with cards or dice in South Carolina (read: Monopoly, bridge, poker, etc) is illegal. President Pro Tempore Glenn F. McConnell, a Republican from Charleston County, wants to change that. His bill would decriminalize social gambling (including poker) in a private homes where no rake is taken. It would also allow for charity poker tournaments for churches and charities like the Lions and Elks Clubs. Opponents of the bill suggest that opening the door to kitchen table poker is the equivalent of opening up the state border to the likes of MGM and Harrah’s casinos. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You can read the full text of the bill HERE. The language is specific, more restrictive than even I would like, and would in no way allow for casinos in the Palmetto State. All of the above is to say nothing of the rampant hypocrisy surrounding the debate. South Carolina is a lottery state. The South Carolina Education Lottery program is lauded by many of the same people who fight against decriminalizing home poker games. It’s nearly impossible to go to a convenience store or turn on a TV without seeing an ad for South Carolina scratch-off tickets or Powerball jackpots. Make no mistake: South Carolina is, in fact, a gambling state, as long as the state is taking the rake. McConnell held a hearing on his bill in Charleston last week. If news reports are to be believed, the pro-poker crowd outnumbered the anti-poker folks by 20-1. The Greenville hearing could be a lot different. The Upstate of South Carolina is a great deal more conservative than the Midlands and Low Country. In the past, I’ve seen giant protests over similar issues. Even the legislators are worried about bringing the issue to Greenville. Said Senator Robert Ford to Charleston poker players, “Y’all get a couple of buses. I’m always afraid of Greenville on these kinds of issues.” It’s my hope that we won’t need Charleston poker players to defend our rights to play in Greenville. I know there are hundreds of poker enthusiasts in the Upstate who care about this issue. The question is, do you care enough to show your support in public? You don’t have to speak. You don’t even have to give your name. You only have to show up. It won’t take but a couple hours out of your day. I know poker is a solitary pursuit, but the battle to legalize it is not. Don’t be the kind of player who complains but does nothing to remedy the situation. If you don’t show up, don’t complain about the law. When you finally have Republicans and Democrats agreeing something needs to be done about the antiquated South Carolina gambling laws, you know it’s time to give just a little bit of yourself. So, you coming? Monday, March 30th 5:30-7:30 pm Greenville County Council Chambers 301 University Ridge Greenville, SC 29601 The South Carolina Poker Players Alliance is trying to get a good idea on who might come. If you’d like to RSVP for the hearing, you can do so HERE. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or send them to my e-mail address: rapideyereality — @ — gmail dot com

Greatest College Basketball Game. Ever.
I’m prone to hyperbole. And hyperbole in headlines helps bring readers. Was last night’s six overtime marathon between Syracuse and Connecticut the greatest college basketball game ever played? Probably not. But let’s take a closer look: The Stakes This is where this game is lacking. The quarterfinals of the Big East tournament just can’t match the intensity of an NCAA tournament game. In this case, each team was guaranteed a spot in the Big Dance regardless of outcome. For these teams, however, the stakes were high. It’s a pretty intense rivalry and a prime-time game at Madison Square Garden is a big deal for these players. Also, UCONN had lost 4 straight openers in the Big East tourney and wanted this game badly. And Syracuse is working to improve its seeding. It was big to these teams, but hardly matched the stakes of a National Championship game or even a game like Duke-Kentucky in the East Regional Finals of 1992. Quality of Teams UCONN is one of the top 4 teams in the country. They’ve been ranked #1 twice this year and, despite the loss, I think they’ll still be a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney. Syracuse was ranked as high as 8th this year and have already beaten Big 12 champ Kansas, Top 5-ranked Memphis and Florida out of conference. These are two very good teams playing in the nation’s toughest conference. Again, are they Duke and Kentucky from 1992? Not quite. But they can match up with just about anyone in college basketball this season. Historic? That’s where this game has an advantage over most others. Only a 1981 game between Cincinnati and Bradley went longer (7 overtimes), but the final score in that game was just 75-73 because that was before the shot clock. Two games in the 1950s also went to 6 overtimes. This game is more impressive than any of these because of the shot clock. That entire 7 OT game totaled 148 points. Syracuse and UCONN scored a combined 102 points in overtime alone (and 244 total). The shot clock changes everything. Before the shot clock, teams could rest on offense, milking the clock. Now, teams must continue moving, getting just 35 seconds per possession. This 6 OT game was significantly harder on the players than any previous college basketball game ever played. The Numbers Record for points scored in OT: 56 (Syracuse) Record for total points scored in OT: 102 Minutes played by Johnny Flynn: 67 of a possible 70 Total FGs made-attempted: 82-209 Total FTs made-attempted: 64-93 Players who fould out: 8 (four for each team) Drama This game had it all. UCONN never lead by more than 4 points in regulation. Syracuse lead by 7 points with 4 minutes left, but UCONN came back to tie it with 4 seconds left. Syracuse then hit what appeared to be an amazing buzzer-beating 3 point shot, but after a long review, the refs waved it off. In the first OT, UCONN lead by as many as four but Syracuse tied it on a dunk at the end. In the 2nd OT, UCONN never lead by more than 2 and just missed a half court shot at the buzzer. In the 3rd OT, lead by 6 with must 2 minutes remaining, but Syracuse hit a three pointer with 10 seconds left to tie it up. In the 4th OT, UCONN again never lead by more than 2 points. In the 5th OT, UCONN lead by three, but Syracuse again tied it. In the 6th and final OT, Syracuse took the lead on a three pointer on the opening possession. It was their first lead since regulation. They had played 25 minutes of OT basketball without leading once. But after that three, they never looked back, winning by 10 points. Final Thoughts Is it greatest game ever played? Probably not. The closer you are to the game, the more likely you are to overstate it’s importance. I doubt this game is remembered 15 years from now like the Duke-Kentucky game of 1992. In fact, I’d site two other games involving Syracuse in the last 20 years that are more memorable to me. First, the 1996 game against Georgia in the NCAA tournament that included a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation to tie it and a John Wallace 3-pointer at the end of OT to win it. And second, the 2003 Finals when Carmelo Anthony lead my Orange to a title over Kansas. It was a great, great game. One I will never forget and one that will stand in the record books for a long time. But it’s not the greatest game ever.

Tink, F%$#!
It’s the first lesson I taught my wife when she joined me for a round on the frolf course. She’d never seen disc golf before so I figured I’d start easy. **TINK** “F%$#!!!” It’s the sound of a disc hitting the basket, but not staying in, and the subsequent reaction of the player. It only took about 5 minutes before we heard it happen the first time to a player in a group behind us. It’s been more than a year since I’ve been on the disc golf course, and it felt good to be back! The course in E-Vegas is amazing. All 18 holes have nice concrete tee pads and pictures of the hole at each tee. In fact, a number of the longer holes have alternate tee pads for women, amateurs and G-Rob. There’s a lot to like about the set-up of the course, too. There are mandatory openings through which you must throw the discs. There are lots of places where a bad throw could land you out of bounds or in the water. And the holes offer lots of opportunities for a variety of shots. It’s a longer course than Timmons Park back in Greenville, but it also doesn’t have as many Death Star trench-like shots either. On this day, I managed just one birdie (despite what the course suggests, regular frolfers consider all holes to be a Par 3). But I was happy with how I threw considering it had been so long since I was on a course. And I can’t wait to get back out and do it again! Plus, this gives the guys from G-Vegas just one more reason to visit. 1) Free place to stay. 2) Casino boat with poker room. 3) Disc golf course. 4) And for Bad Blood… some adult establishments.