If I had two aces in the pocket and went all in preflop then some knuck with ace king offsuit would call me and hit a straight or a flush. In all of the games (except one where I misjudged my opponents hand) I had my money in the pot with the best hand but the other players always seemed to draw out on me. Out of 12 losses I made it to middle to late stage every time but managed to finish outside the money in all of them.

As my losses added up I was tempted to stray from my normal strategy but I didn’t. I decided to take a little break and play some cash games where I was able to recover most of my sit n go losses. Still, sit n go is my game so I made my way back and persisted, playing the strategy I believe works best.

I felt I just needed one win to turn the tide and it happened. In the 13th game I believe I was still playing the same game as I played in all the prior 12 games. This time I took third place. It wasn’t great, but it was in the money. In the next two games I took first place and so the string of bad beats ended just as quickly and unceremoniously as it had started.

I know, I know… as I’ve said before, “nobody gives a damn about your bad beats” and that isn’t really the message I’m trying to get across here. I’m saying that we need to avoid going on tilt and that can be easier said than done. We need to play the proper strategy even when we see loose players sucking out all around us. By playing a solid game, using proper strategy and avoiding going on tilt we can overcome the bad beats and strings of losses that invariably strike all poker players from time to time.

I hope my string of bad luck is over for a while now. I’m back to my normal percentage of winning about 60 to 70% of my sit n go games.

While Italy was the precursor with respect to regulating online poker and controlling operators with a strict licensing system, in the area of online gambling legalization cash games were desperately missing. Indeed online poker had only obtained approval for SNGs and tournaments in the limit of €100 buy-in.

This was a really strange situation to allow tournaments but not cash games. Very odd. It simply did not make sense. Even with an argument regarding games of skills, indeed ring games are generally believed to require more skill than tournaments. But one could say that at least they had some sort of regulation, unlike many other countries including the United States, which don’t not seem to be able to handle this business at all.

After more than four months required to wait between the announcement of the decree and its implementation, there was one final month before the official launch of these Italian cash games. The additional good news is that the maximum buy-in for tournaments is up to €250 while cash games are set at a maximum of €1,000.

As expected on July 18th there was a fury in Italy as anyone and their mother was rushing to try these ring games. The largest poker rooms got the lion’s share of the market, starting with Pokerstars. To be honest it is quite amazing that such a small country as Italy, and with all due respect not a major innovator in computer technology, managed to establish a well run and regulated online poker market, while Americans keep on debating about the question while nothing gets done. Stack up for the summer, what good timing in any case by the authorities.

Don’t fret and worry so that you never really get started and because you will not learn the true game or grow to appreciate it. Simply start betting, raising and check, then raising more and learn to bluff. Don’t overdo it when just starting out. Take yourself out of your comfort zone, it may surprise you how much fun learning can be and how quickly you will learn.

If you folded only to learn that your hand would have made a good hand on the flop, don’t make comments or gestures that show your exasperation. The same can be said about showing others through your expressions or habits that you are excited to have a pair of aces.

Don’t bounce out of your seat spilling poker chips. Don’t let your jaw fall open in unbelief or bang your hands or head on the table. To do so is not only annoying to others but it gives away your hand and even can change the outcome of the game for yourself or others. In fact, don’t react to the cards at all. I know these were an exaggeration but I hope I made my point. Learn to bluff and be a mannequin.

Learning not to allow the opposition to be able to read your style will make the difference between winning and losing. The key is to be able to have many styles so that the opposition doesn’t know how to combat it. Develop a poker face.

No matter what the reasoning, do not play when drunk. Nothing is more disgusting than sitting beside an inebriated player. Someone bumping into you, knocking over the poker chips ruins the game. Someone who forgets when it is his turn to play his hand makes for a really upsetting experience. Would you rather be remembered as an honorable and worthy opponent or the slob who ruined the game? The choice is yours.

Laak was born in Dublin, Ireland however he was raised on the east coast of the United States where he learned to be an excellent backgammon player and started his poker curiosity that led him to the west coast. Phil Laak moved to the west coast where he would eventually master the game of poker alongside of his best friend and once roommate professional poker player Antonio Esfandiari. After the WPT win Phil Laak had a big break out year in 2005 when he raked in over $700,000 in tournament earnings.

Phil has just recently added another impressive win to his already stacked record by taking down the 2010 WSOPE 6-Max NL Hold’em. With the 2010 WSOPE win Phil Laak has had the best year since his breakout year in 2005. Phil Laak so far has brought in over $630,000 in tournament earnings in 2010. Phil Laak had a win in the PartyPoker World Poker Open however besides that win he has been lacking on big tournament wins for a while, Phil Laak welcomes this big WSOPE event win.

The 2010 WSOPE event was a star studded event where Phil Laak would make it to the final table as one of the bigger stacks along with two time WSOPE bracelet winner Chris Bjorin and Andrew Pantling as the two other big stacks. The three lower stacks were Willie Tan, David Peters, and IIan Rouah who would all become the first three to bust out of the final table.

Phil Laak didn’t get a chance to accumulate too many chips after the first three busts out however after a double up through Andrew Pantling and busting out Chris Bjorin, Phil Laak went in prepared for heads up battle. Phil Laak slowly chipped away at Pantling’s stack until he out chipped him 3 to 1. Phil Laak put in the final blow to Pantling’s stack after an all in showdown revealed Phil Laak’s K5 connected against Pantling’s A10. Congratulations to the 2010 WSOPE event winner, Phil Laak.

And I thought I was bad at Omaha/8. during the first hour I played great and increased my chips a nice chunk. At the second hour I played stinky and missed some big draws and found myself with 3 big bets left going into the third hour. At the third hour I played real real good poker, doubled up, then lost them back, doubled up once more, lost them back another time, then finally my bust out hand came.

I have 2.5 big bets at 300/600 (I believe) limits. There is an early position limper and I raise with AA46 single suited. The guy after me calls two bets cold with AJ66, no joke. It is fold around to the limper who calls. The flop is an ugly KQ9. The limper checks and I decide with so few chips, I can’t give up on this pot despite the ugly flop, so I bet and the cold caller calls again (he has a pair of 6s, where the heck is he going right!?). The early limper folds. The turn card is a 4. I toss out the last of my chips (except 38 of them). Again, he opts to call. The river card is a T. yes

Anyway tournament poker is retarded, that is why they are called donkaments. That was stupid, but what can I say, I played the hand correctly and he was so lucky at the river. It is had for me to swallow this kind of bad play that gets rewarded with a nice river card, but this is part of poker I guess. Practice makes perfect as they say.

My friend played in the main event of the World Series of Poker a while back, having won his entry in a freeroll on Full Tilt Poker. He somehow managed to finish 520/5619 for baby money of $12,500. This is what he has to say. There are some minor trades that he has to pay out, but he is glad to have gotten that far. Here are some of the things he learned:

1. Vegas still sucks. His sinus cavities are all messed up, and his head feels like it is filled with helium.
2. He sucks. he wasn’t taking the time he needed to review the relevant information. Often, he was just stalling, not thinking about anything except maybe “the fucking Mirage”.
3. The field sucks more. How else can you explain calling off 20K in the 100/200 round on a paired board, or calling down with 33 when you are check-raised and bet into on every round.
4. There were hundreds of solid players. Many of the pros played very well, but there were many other players who were young, and who played that year for the first time, who were as good as, and sometimes better than many of the name players.
5. He was lucky. Of course, that is the story of many players’ poker life. He is now 3/6 ITM in WSOP events, and is averaging a profit of 8.9 buy-ins per tournament. I hear that it’s better to be lucky than good.
6. He sucks. He had no idea what to do in a wide variety of situations. In particular, He didn’t have much of a plan with regard to being a bully or dealing with a bully. Likewise, he wasn’t sure of when to reraise, or how to deal with reraises.
7. He will play again. Of course, until he stops sucking he’ll have to win the entry in a satelite like he did that year.
]]> http://necessaryforcegame.com/wsop-2010-lessons/feed/ 0 http://necessaryforcegame.com/benefits-of-joining-a-poker-forum/ http://necessaryforcegame.com/benefits-of-joining-a-poker-forum/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:56:42 +0000 ToughGames http://necessaryforcegame.com/?p=23 Most players don’t think that an online poker forum can help them accomplish much. If this sounds like your view of a poker forum, there are a lot of things you’re missing. A poker forum and community can benefit a poker player in many ways.

One of the biggest benefits of joining a great online poker forum is the ability to discuss strategy with other players. Take a strategy that you use to an online poker forum and discuss it with your new friends. A few days worth of comments and discussion should give you a better view of the strategy. By posting these types of questions in a public forum, players can get multiple perspectives. This is a great way to get opinions on how to play a specific hand. Hand histories from online poker websites are easy to read and understand, so posting it on a forum and asking for analysis is great way to learn.

Online poker forums also offer players a great way to find special deals going on at different poker rooms. Beyond new-player deposit bonuses, there are also reload bonuses, monthly bonuses, weekly bonuses and Poker Rakeback plans. Members of online poker forums discuss these types of promotions, giving you this information all in one place.

Instead of going from poker room to poker room looking for a great deal, you can find these promotions and discuss them with other members as well. All of the popular poker forums have people who want to know everything, and they can fill you in on the fine print. Poker rooms do a good job of hyping their promotions on their websites, but these forum guru’s will give you unbiased information on the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Being a member of a large poker forum can also give you access to better deals than you can get straight from the poker rooms. With lots of players to market to, poker rooms often negotiate better deals with forums to attract new players.

Poker rooms are constantly making changes to their software, tournaments and promotions. Being a member of a poker forum allows you to get current information about special deals and changes being made at different poker rooms. Whether you’re looking for WSOP satellites, a particular type of tournament, or a room with fantastic graphics, you can find all of this information on the better forums.

Poker forums are fun! They’re a great way to kill time at work when the boss isn’t looking, and they keep players up to date on everything going on in the poker world. When Mike Matusow loses a couple hundred grand playing online poker, you’ll hear all about it. If there’s a scandal going on, you can get all the details. If there’s a new player killing the game at your favorite poker room, you’ll know it before he takes your bankroll.

]]> http://necessaryforcegame.com/benefits-of-joining-a-poker-forum/feed/ 10 http://necessaryforcegame.com/poker-game-of-force/ http://necessaryforcegame.com/poker-game-of-force/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:40:21 +0000 ToughGames http://necessaryforcegame.com/?p=1 Is force necessary to succeed?

In this firs post we will take an overview of how Texas Holdem tournament is played to facilitate your experience.

So, Texas Holdem tournaments are among the world’s greatest gaming events. While Texas Holdem has been played for decades, online poker tournaments are rather new. In around 1972 the largest poker pot for world’s tournament was $10.000. In 2002-2003 tournaments the first prize has surpassed $4,000,000.

That’s because of modern technologies, which allow multitude of users to enter the online tournament sitting at home. The tournament is the aim of both novice and professional players, because it is the only place and time, when you can convert your skills in some good money. You can even become a millionaire, if luck will cast the light upon you.

Don’t pay attention at that TV shows which features skills as the main point of the victory promoting Texas Holdem tournament schools, books and other media. Skills are pointless if luck will pass you by. Almost all tournament winners were not top players, but just ordinary folks, who entered the tournament with a lucky clover upon their fortune. When over a thousand players enter the tournament with a $5,000 entry fee, your chances to win those $5,000,000 are zero if you trust only skills and pay no attention on strategy, knowledge, etc.

In case you have entered the tournament for fun – skills are quite sufficient, but otherwise you should need to possess much more then just the capability to count the right hand. Intuition, cleverness and prediction – these are just the basic things to learn. I play online poker tournaments mostly for the fun and who knows, I could also make good money from them one day if I run deep. But prevailing at one of these online poker tournaments necessitates a solid poker strategy, which is different from cash games.

Beyond the luck value, you must know the features called “the must” for any Texas Holdem tournament player. These are the basic rules and strategy, some tricks and bluffing abilities, excellent knowledge of all hands and combinations, and at least basic how-to’s of the game. In this article we shall overview a couple of things you must know playing at a poker tournament.

At the tournament, your chips have a relative value that differs from the regular poker cash game, where you consider each dollar as an equal amount. The first thousand chips at the tournament are worth much more than the next thousand you win. Since you cannot buy back in, you should always keep a certain amount of chips in order to survive. You should be tighter at the beginning of the Texas Holdem tournament to keep your bankroll, but risk more at the later stages to reach the final table.

Otherwise you can be simply blinded out. At the later stages of the tournament, necessary force plays a great factor, because the blinds are so high that the majority of the players in contested hands will be all-in preflop. You must use a lot of force, in other words aggression, as you want hands dominating all other hands for this reason.

You should know the hands well in order to collect the best ones, or predict your hand proceeding from your pocket cards value. The common mistake is betting hard with a weak hand, usually a low pocket pair. Such pairs are good only when trying to steal the blinds. So these are the basic differences between Texas Holdem tournament and ring games.

]]> http://necessaryforcegame.com/poker-game-of-force/feed/ 1 http://necessaryforcegame.com/team-pokerstars-vanessa-rousso/ http://necessaryforcegame.com/team-pokerstars-vanessa-rousso/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:56:58 +0000 ToughGames http://necessaryforcegame.com/?p=7 October 2007 was a great month in poker for Vanessa Rousso as she finished runner up in the main even of Pokerstars WCOOP. Every poker player knows that to make it down to two and not win can be painful however Vanessa got a cool $700,000 for her performance as a consolidation prize. It wasn’t too long before Vanessa struck again with a top-notch performance at the well-known NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Vanessa competed with 64 of the world’s top players and once again finished runner up for a nice payday of $250,000. Vanessa didn’t even get a chance to rest after the heads-up tournament by shortly after astounding poker fans yet again with a first place victory in the EPT High Roller Event in Monte Carlo. Tired of finishing runner up Vanessa plowed through 78 of the world’s best players to win cash in her biggest prize yet, €720,000.

Vanessa Rousso is one of Team Pokerstars sponsored pros, and she plays online poker exclusively at the Pokerstars site.

Pokerstars is offering a 100% bonus up to $600 for all first time deposits (see table below for other currencies). Use the Bonus code “STAR600” in your first real money deposit and enjoy the bonus. Can’t take full advantage of the 100% bonus in one deposit?

That’s all right, you can make up to three deposits that qualify for the $600 bonus within 90 days. After you have made your deposit(s) you can begin earning VPPs which will release your bonus in increments of $10 after reaching 17 times the bonus amounts in VPPs (USD figure, see table below for VPP clearance rates in other currencies).

Each qualifying deposit will be given a 6 month bonus clearing period so you will have plenty of time to clear that bonus and enjoy your rewards.

So if you have not yet done so, visit pokerstars.com today.

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