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Archive for the ‘Poker’ Category

In 2010 one biggest TV poker show hits of the year was the Big Game – another  PokerStars’ sponsored production. This show also took the world of poker by storm as it features both professionals and amateurs. In fact there was a huge hue and cry to get the amateur and previously homeless Jared “RelaxedPrecision” Huggins on this years’ show.

Last year we saw Bob Ferdinand come out tops as the 2010 Big Game Loose Cannon Champion, with a prize pot of $181,500 and a $50,000 North American Poker Tour Passport under his belt. Season two has already been filmed in Las Vegas and while we are not 100% sure which of the top poker pros appeared; as far as confirming their appearances, we only saw top PokerStars pros.

This year it was Daniel Negreanu; always a great ambassador for the game, Jonathan Duhamel, Jennifer Tilly and essentially an all-star PokerStars lineup. Conspicuous by their absence and a huge disappointment for fans of the game; the action generated by players such as Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey and Michael Mizrachi would step up the heat on the felt. However a player such as Phil Ivey won’t play a game with less than a $1m pot, unless it is WSOP.

In giving this some thought and just for fun, we take a look at some of the stars we would enjoy seeing on The Big Game. Remember, as well as good poker, we are looking at good entertainment. So let’s add Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin, into the mix – a player who’s solid play does all of his talking. He will also be making a debut this year on Poker After Dark together with Annette Obrestad, Doyle Brunson, Andrew Lichtenberger, Melanie Weisner, Tom Dwan and David “the Devilfish” Ulliott.

What about David “Devilfish” Ulliott? He would make for great action being one of the original “Poker Bad Boys”. Having faded from the limelight somewhat, why not bring him back; he always makes an entertaining showing? When launching his own online poker brand – after being expressly prohibited against brand advertising of “.com” websites; he pulled off a stunt which will be remembered forever. He flashed a www.devilfishpoker.com brand on his shirt on Fox Sports Net’s and received a future FSN ban. The Big Game is broadcast on Fox.

Faraz “The-Toliet” Jaka is another action player who features ultra-aggressive poker style; he is also a talker and that makes for good TV. He has TV experience and his game translates into pure entertainment as he drives the action and thrives in front of the cameras.

We would also like to see Daniel “jungleman12” Cates who is only 21 and big earner already. Viktor “Isildur1” Blom – imagine that, but he couldn’t play in Las Vegas, he is not 21 yet? Isaac Haxton, who is young – but not as young as these boys and a highly feared tournament player!

In Caribbean stud poker you play against the dealer only. The game almost got the same rules as in other poker games but you don’t need to worry about the bank bluffing. The bank can only play the hand in one way.

The dealer must qualify, otherwise the player wins automatically. To qualify, the bank needs at least one king and one ace. If the bank qualifies the hands are compared. If the bank wins, the player loses his ante and the raise. If the player wins, he will get double the ante back and the raise is paid according to the pay table.

The player can choose to fold, but he loses the ante and possible side bets. If the player chooses to continue playing, he must raise twice. It is only after doing so the dealer shows his cards.

There are no changing of cards in this game so you have to play with the cards you get from the beginning.

It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it, particularly when playing in poker tournaments; this is removing short stacked opponents. In a tournament every player benefits when an opponent is eliminated. If you are already in the money, you move up a place, in fact everyone left in the game moves up a place. So, there is a lot of incentive to removing an opponent if and when the opportunity arises. But there is more to it, than just getting players out of the game.

This doesn’t necessarily mean getting rid of players to get you closer to the prize, particularly in the instance of pay tournaments. It actually depends very much on how that opponent is stacked. If they are short stacked the general consensus is to get them out if you have the opportunity and other opponents will encourage you to do so.

This doesn’t mean changing your strategies, as early on in the game eliminating opponents is not a big deal, and it can be expensive. You have to make sure that the timing is right and you are doing this for all the right reasons. It is a bad poker concept to believe that knocking out your opponents early is the only way to play.

In an attempt to eliminate a short stacked opponent, some poker players will play hands that they shouldn’t be playing. By making eliminations the focus of your game and betting or raising where you wouldn’t normally, your own game may suffer; no matter if the other players get annoyed with you or not. If they want an opponent out of a tournament and you have a different strategy, let them get him out.

If you think about the fact that there is often more to lose than to gain in getting an opponent out, think about it this way. For every eight to ten time you try to get an opponent out you may on average succeed once. This costs you valuable chips! Elimination should only occur when there is a major advantage involved, if you have a garbage hand, why waste your stack? In actual fact this may offer the short stacked players more opportunities to climb up the money ladder and beat you to the final table.

It doesn’t matter if you have a big stack, you should never call merely for the sake of it and just think, you will still be in a similar position – there are remaining competitors. Sacrificing your poker stack to get someone else out is like cutting off your nose to spite your face if your hand is shaky.

In the later stages of a tournament, there will be a lot more benefit to intentionally removing your opponents. Just be wary because a short stacked poker player is often a desperate player and they may have something up their sleeve to beat you. Particularly if you are obvious about eliminating them! Simply look for the opportunities to isolate them and be careful if the tournament allows re-buys. You just never know if they have someone waiting in the sidelines to provide them with a new stack of chips.