Not Hold’em, Still Poker

April 12th, 2010

At the moment, the most prominent types of poker games are Texas Hold’em, with Omaha Hold’em coming up behind. Some poker players believe that Texas Hold’em has been near-exhausted as a poker game that players can still develop and grow in, and that Omaha Hold’em is growing to replace Texas. But there are many other kinds of poker game, many of which deserve just as much attention as these two more prominent types of poker game.

The Deceptive Nature of Poker Strategy

April 12th, 2010

Poker strategy is a very complex and nuanced thing, as it must take into account elements of psychology alongside elements of mathematics and probability. But there is a fundamental theorem of poker, articulated by David Sklansky, that serves as the basis for a lot of important poker strategies. This theorem is stated as follows: “Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents’ cards, they gain; and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it if you could see all their cards, they lose.” The converse is also true, according to this theorem of poker strategy.

How to Learn Poker

April 12th, 2010

If you’re looking for a good way to learn how to play poker, then there’s never been a better time. The plethora of websites devoted to the topic all over the Internet will likely provide more than enough information to teach you all of the poker rules you’ll need to get started. But some sites can be better than others, even if for no other reason than that they offer more information than just the most basic rules of poker. A site that can offer up all the most basic information of how to play poker, and then offer a few important tidbits of beginning poker strategy, is ideal for the new poker player.

Free Poker: The Game Without the Pain

April 12th, 2010

With the dangers of online poker addiction being more apparent than ever before, one must be careful about approaching any free poker online. These free poker games can often act simply as a gateway drug to playing fully paid poker, and can lead you down a path you never meant to tread. Nevertheless, however, if you can keep yourself playing simply free poker, with only play tokens, and without any paid money, then you can still take advantage of this enjoyable game, without falling prey to its darker side.

Online Poker Addiction and its Symptoms

April 12th, 2010

Online poker addiction is a serious risk to the health and mental stability of the youth of today’s world. Not only can online poker addiction cause major problems for a person’s life by leading to social isolation and monetary difficulties, but it can also have very unpleasant effects on the health of the addict, simply because the addict no longer cares enough to take care of him or herself. Online poker addiction is not a simple problem that can be solved merely by explaining its dangers to the addict, though that is a first step in the right direction.

The Rise of Poker

April 12th, 2010

The World Series of Poker features one tournament as its main event: a $10,000 buy-in no limit Texas Hold’em tournament. The first such poker tournament was held in 1970, in Las Vegas, when Benny Binion invited some of the best poker players in the world to compete with one another at the Horseshoe Casino. In 1982, the poker tournament had grown to 52 participants, instead of the original six. In 1987, that number had again grown to 2,100 poker players entering the tournament. In 2006, the highest recorded number of poker players entered the poker tournament, with a total of 8,773 players participating. The winner of every single World Series of Poker tournament from 1976 on has received a bracelet, which signifies the poker player’s success and skill. These bracelets are the most important trophies in all of professional poker playing.