• Frequently Asked Questions - Part I

  by Roy Cooke

  People talk about the poker boom, but in my opinion what we really have is an Internet poker boom, and to a lesser extent a tournament poker boom fueled by television coverage, both of which have benefited brick-and-mortar (B&M) poker …continued

• Contrarian Thoughts on Televised Poker - A concept worthy of consideration?

  by Barry Mulholland

  I have a friend who's a world-class contrarian. Let's call him Buck, as in "buck the tide." Buck will look you straight in the eye and tell you that Cats is a better musical than Guys and Dolls, and he's not only serious, …continued

• Seven No-Limit Hold'em Sins - Common and costly mistakes made by new no-limit hold'em players

  by Bob Ciaffone

  As a poker coach, I see my newer students making the same type of mistakes. Here are my candidates for the most common and costly mistakes made by the people who approach me for lessons. 1. Calling preflop raises with inadequate values A hold'em …continued

• The Problem With Season-Wins Wagers - Factors to consider before making season-long sports wagers

  by Chuck Sippl

  Near the start of each season, it's inevitable that I'll get questions about which teams provide good prospects for wagers on season over/under victory totals. This is particularly true when the start of the NFL season draws near. Usually, …continued

• Gambling and the Law®: When Tribes Buy Racinos - What happens when a tribe becomes the operator of an off-reservation casino?

  by I. Nelson Rose

  Startling changes are sweeping the world of legal gambling. Gaming tribes that for decades lived in abject poverty now have new problems: finding ways to diversify their enormous wealth. Meanwhile, states have the opposite difficulty. The terrorist …continued

• Canadians, Once Again Lost in America! The 2005 'Make it Fo' (MIF) get-together

  by Jan Fisher

  It has been a good year - no, a great year! It has been a long one in many ways, and a short one in many others. I didn't realize how fast the year had gone by until our Canadian MIF (Make it Fo) gang came down again for their annual pokerfest. If …continued

• A Bonetti/Confetti Roast They'll Never Fuhgedabout - A roast for John Bonetti provides an evening of fun

  by Max Shapiro

  The one-and-only John Bonetti, as renowned for his explosive behavior as for his tournament successes, was torn to confetti in the spirit of fun during a roast in his honor at the Rio Hotel during the World Series of Poker. Profanity filled the air …continued

• Club Tournaments - Tournament action for charity

  by Michael Cappelletti

  One product of poker's current popularity boom is that many clubs and fraternal organizations are now scheduling poker tournaments - often as fund-raisers or charity events. Sometimes, a no-limit hold'em tournament, "just like those on …continued

• Aunt Sophie: Waiting to Pounce - Aunt Sophie queries the play of some hold'em players

  by Michael Wiesenberg

  Nu, Tsatskeleh," said my Aunt Sophie. "Why do so many online hold'em players wait to the end to wake up? "We were in Aunt Sophie's study, where she'd moved the computer from her bedroom. Now, her system occupied a place of …continued

• Billy Baxter - The Man Who Made a Difference - He went heads up against the IRS - and won

  by Mike Sexton

  Billy Baxter, a "man about town" in Las Vegas, is a very successful 63-year-old professional gambler. He's a sports-betting expert and well-known high-stakes poker player who has seven World Series of Poker bracelets to his credit, …continued

• The Final Four: Antonio Esfandiari Vs. Phil Hellmuth - The National Heads-Up Poker Championship

  by Phil Hellmuth

  In my last four columns, I wrote about my first four matches in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. With an NCAA tournament "bracket" structure, 64 players started, and after four rounds, only four remained, which is where this column …continued

• Questions for the Inside of Your Head - Ask yourself questions to obtain information during the play of a hand

  by Roy West

  Hi. Come on in. I thought we'd have some healthy snacks today. Luckily, that thought quickly disappeared and I ordered a large deep-dish pizza with extra everything. Dive in. You new players being welcomed to our beloved game of poker should …continued

• Playing 'Passport' Poker in Japan - An inauspicious beginning to a great overseas visit

  by Tom McEvoy

  I recently flew to Japan to do a television show on which I was asked to choose from eight contestants the person I thought would have the best chance to win the World Series of Poker championship event. But before I got to my television appearance, I …continued

• A Big-Blind Hand - A middle-limit hold'em hand played well

  by Jim Brier

  This was a ninehanded $40-$80 limit hold'em game at Wynn Las Vegas. I was in the big blind with the A Q. The game was unusually passive, playing more like a $15-$30 game. I was not familiar with any of the players, but some of them were limping in …continued

• More Raising in No-Limit Hold'em - You make the call in a no-limit hold'em betting situation on the rive

  by Mike O Malley

  In my last column, I discussed raising in no-limit hold'em - what constitutes a raise and what reopens the betting. I have received several e-mails regarding this column and have talked to many people. When I am able to explain in detail my take …continued

• Professional Poker Tour Final Vs. Erick Lindgren - Tick, tick, tick … the clock is running

  by Daniel Negreanu

  I've been playing poker since I was about 17 years old, giving me 13 years of poker experience. In that time, I'd never been faced with a situation in which I had to rush my decision … until now. I think that overall, I take a lot less …continued

• More Odds and Ends - Miscellaneous happenings in the poker world

  by Linda Johnson

  A few times a year I gather up all the notes I have slipped into my "miscellaneous folder" and compile a column of bits and pieces. This is one such column. No smoking … The Palms poker room in Las Vegas has just joined so many of the …continued

• Playing Out of Trouble - An interesting perspective on the best long-term approach to learning to play poker

  by Daniel Kimberg

  A decade or so ago, while I was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, I picked up a dangerous habit: golf. Every day, I'd drive or walk to and from school through the Schenley Park golf course, a municipal course that at …continued

• A Poker Correspondence - Part I: A friend, indeed

  by Rolf Slotboom

  I have a friend, Marc, who is still relatively inexperienced when it comes to playing poker. However, he is very eager to learn, and in a short period of time he has been able to become rather successful at the middle limits. While this may for the …continued

• Would You Bust Your Own Grandmother? - Part II - March to the beat of your own drummer

  by Alan Schoonmaker

  Part I of this column was based on Jack Straus' famous quotation, "I'd bust my own grandmother if she played poker with me." ("Bust" does not mean knocking her out of a $5 tournament; it means taking every penny she has.) …continued

• Professional Poker Tour Hands-Part III - An untimely play

  by Mark Gregorich

  In my previous two columns, I wrote about a couple of hands I played against Marcel Luske in the recent Professional Poker Tour (PPT) event at The Mirage. In this column, I'm going to discuss the hand that sent me to valet parking.At this point in …continued

• Playing Poker in Your Stress Comfort Zone - Dealing with the stress of playing poker

  by Thomas Keller

  I frequently am asked how I deal with the stress of playing poker professionally. The majority of the people I encounter seem horrified at the stakes of the games I play - tournaments with buy-ins of up to $25,000 and cash games that frequently have …continued

• World Series of Poker 2005: A Sea of Shades, Spectators, and Stargazers

  by Lee Munzer

  Championship event final-table action A top player once told me, "Lee, the difference between me and these donkeys is, I know I can win and they just hope they can win." Hope, elation, anguish, and dejection were just some of the emotions …continued

• 'What Day Is It?' Maintaining focus and stamina are key factors in achieving tournament success

  by Scott Fischman

  Well, I am smack-dab in the middle of the 2005 World Series of Poker, and I could not be happier! My goals for this year were simply to be as mentally prepared as possible and to play great poker every day. With the fields as large as they are, I did …continued

• Poker Mantras - Two questions to ponder during the play of a hand

  by Dan Abrams

  Definition: man·tra (n); a sacred chant that is repeated during meditation to facilitate spiritual power. Most people go through life on a path of least resistance. They fall into routines and don't seek improvement. Consequently, …continued

• Billy Baxter: Gambler Extraordinaire

  by Michael Kaplan

  It's 8:30 a.m., a couple of days into the 2005 World Series of Poker. On the outskirts of Las Vegas, in a bucolic neighborhood full of upscale, gated communities, Billy Baxter eats a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. He sits on a plush …continued

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