To view Poker Nut's News on the Internet, go here.

Internet Texas Hold Em Poker Nuts News
Texas Holdem Lessons Internet Texas Holdem Forum Holdem Calculator Articles Bonus Codes
About Internet Texas Holdem Post our RSS Feed on your site Submit an Article Archives Link to us
 
ITHFGO468x60

Poker Nuts News - Featuring:

  This Month we Spotlight Cake Poker
 

Pokerwonks.com Launches!

The poker blogging community has embraced a new home, http://www.pokerwonks.com. Launched by Dimat Enterprises, Inc in November 2007, Pokerwonks focuses on poker blogs. By aggregating the feeds from multiple poker blogs, Pokerwonks has given a functional home to both the poker blogger & poker blog reader. Blogs featured in Pokerwonks gain a much wider readership and appeal than as a stand alone blog.

The sense of belonging that it has created in this group has been praised by readers and bloggers alike, and is being called "the ultimate poker blog site".

By focusing specifically on poker, bloggers can get their posts out to those who are most interested. A visitor can scroll through the latest blog posts by category, and surf to the blog he is interested in a particular topic. This promotes and drives visitors to blogs whose feeds are submitted to Pokerwonks. For readers, Pokerwonks is a one stop source for their favorite poker blogs while also exposing them to new blogs. Visitors can setup a profile to control the information they get. Options include favorites, submitting, rating, and sharing their favorite blogs.

Visit Pokerwonks!

3 new books for no-limit tournament strategy

Dimat Enterprises, Inc. has announced the signing of three authors to produce a series of new books focused on no-limit tournament strategy.

The first two books, yet untitled, are a two-volume set written by three of the top tournament players in the world, Eric "Rizen" Lynch, Jon "Pearljammer" Turner, and Jon "Apestyles" Van Fleet. Collectively, they have over 200 wins, 1000 final tables, and have cashed for more than 6 million dollars the last few years playing in both live and online poker tournaments.

This series will analyze real hands played by the authors to demonstrate their thought processes and strategies they use to achieve their success. The books are set for a spring and fall release in 2008.

Eric "Rizen" Lynch has also teamed up with Matthew Hilger to write No-Limit Hold'em Tournament Strategy: Expert Strategies for Live and Online Play. The book is scheduled for a Fall 2008 release and will look at advanced concepts and strategies for succeeding in no-limit Hold'em tournaments.

About Dimat Enterprises, Inc - Dimat Enterprises, Inc. is a publishing company founded by Matthew Hilger in 2003 and specializes in poker strategy and content.

Cake Poker :
A Slice of Poker Heaven

Cake Poker has exploded onto the online poker market. Using their own proprietary software, and sharing it's platform with sites such as Sportsbook [my inaugural Cake Network site], Players Only Poker and Red Star Poker, Cake Poker opened its doors in 2006. Slowly building up their clientele base, they have recently taken off due to their unflinching attention to the American marketplace, their bonuses, ,rakeback and above all else, their customer service outlook

33% Rakeback

Any site where player get 33% rakeback just for signing up is a big boon to the poker playing world, especially if that site is available to the US market. The rake from a given hand is divided evenly amongst the players dealt cards in a hand. So, in a 5-handed game where $1 rake is taken from a pot, each player is credited with $0.20 of revenue.

Cake deducts bonuses from your MGR. So, if you generate $100 in revenue and clear $10 in bonus, your rakeback is calculated on the $90 remaining. Rakeback is paid directly into your account by Cake Poker on or about the 5th of the month for the previous month's play. So, on June 5th, the first rakeback payments will be processed for all play from May 1st to May 31st. Please use code ITHRAKEBACK when installing the software and asked for a promotional code.

100% up to $500 Initial Deposit Bonus

Cake Poker offers a 100% up to $500 with no bonus code necessary. Players have 3 months to clear as much bonus as they can [up to $500] and the bonus is earned in $10 increments every time the player accumulates 166.7 FPPs.


How FPPs are generated

Real Money Ring Games:

For each dollar that is raked at a table where you are dealt cards, you will earn one Frequent Player Point (FPP). Cake Poker is accurate to the penny, so if your table was raked $1.25, you will receive 1.25 FPP or if your table was raked $3.00, you will receive 3 FPP. Each FPP is worth $.06 towards your bonus.

Real Money Tournaments:

For each dollar worth of tournament fees you pay, you'll earn 7 Frequent Player Points (FPP) for them once you're done in the tournament. Just like Real Money Games, Cake Poker is accurate to the penny, so for a $0.50 tournament fee, you will receive 3.5 FPP.

Gold Cards

CakePoker has created 260,000 Gold Cards and tucked them safely away in their secure Gold Card Vault. Each Gold Card is stamped with a unique 'Series 2' seal, making these 260,000 cards the only 'Series 2' Gold Cards in existence.

You will win Gold Cards by playing at real money Ring Games. Each time you're dealt cards, one or both of the first 2 cards you are dealt may transform into a Gold Card at the end of the hand even if you folded your cards during the hand.

Gold Cards are chosen via Cake Poker's Random Number Generator (RNG) when a certain amount of rake is collected. This amount is reached much more quickly at a $2/4 FL table than a $.25/.50 FL table. When the appropriate amount of rake is collected the RNG chooses a Gold Card from the Vault. However, there is no guarantee that the selected Gold Card will match any players 'hole cards'. If there is no match then another Gold Card is randomly chosen each hand until a match is found. This may take several hands and may even coincide with the selection of the next Gold Card if enough rake has been collected. Therefore the same player may be awarded of 2 or more Gold Cards in a row.

Once you've won a Gold Card, the fun doesn't stop there. Every day, CakePoker will announce a Gold Card Daily Lottery. The Lottery will allow players who have the winning Gold Cards in their collection to redeem them for cash or tickets to exclusive tournaments. Or, players can choose to hold on to their Gold Cards and try to redeem them for larger Series 2 Guaranteed Prizes, including our $52,000 Gold Card Jackpot.

Gold Card 500

Complete the race by earning Gold Cards at any Real Money Ring Game. Every Gold Card you earn from the moment the race begins will race you Miles around the track. First 10 players to collect 500 miles and cross the finish line each weekly race will win the Cash and end the race. If at the end of the weekly race the top 10 players on our Leader Board have not all reached 500 miles, the cash will be awarded to the top 10 players regardless if they have reached 500 Miles or not, and the Leader Board miles will be reset for the start of a new weekly race.

Starting July 2nd, place in the Top 10 of a weekly race and earn instant cash up to $500. Place in the Top 100 and they'll reserve a seat for you in an exclusive Gold Card 500 Final. Each Gold Card 500 Final guarantees the winner a $12,000 World Poker Tour prize package putting you in a $7700 WPT main event seat with hotel and cash included.

Gold Chips

CakePoker introduces the Gold Chip rewards program. This unique program is designed to generously reward you for your frequent play.

How do I earn Gold Chips?

When you play at real money games or pay tournament fees, you will earn Frequent Player Points (FPP). As you accumulate FPPs, you begin to fill in your Gold Chip Meter. Once your Gold Chip Meter is full, you will receive the Gold Chip that is viewed here to the right of the meter . Once you earn a Gold Chip, it is yours to keep. Redeem it whenever you'd like or save it and collect more

What do I do with my Gold Chip?

Every week you can redeem your Gold Chip for a shot at our Weekly Gold Chip Giveaways. These tournaments may change from week to week (Limit Omaha one week, NL Hold'em the next). Since your Gold Chips do not expire, you are free to use whenever you wish.

OR,

Every week you can redeem your Gold Chips for a shot at our Weekly Chip Buy-in Giveaway. These tournaments may change from week to week (Limit Omaha one week, NL Hold'em the next). Since your Gold Chips do not expire, you are free to use whenever you wish.

OR,

Save up your Gold Chips to redeem for items from the Cake Shop.

Why Do I Play at Cake Poker?

I like free money. Between the initial bonus, reloads, rakeback, goldchips and fish, how do I not play here? They take ePassporte, meaning any American can get and fund an account there. They run great promotions throughout the year including big prizepool tournaments and qualifiers to land-based events.

Great software. I like the software. It was a bit over-the-top when I first looked at it during my duties at ITH of writing up their review. Then I funded them, played there and I really enjoy it now. Notetaking is a breeze, I can even tag the players according to ability. The statistics screen rivals the best in the industry. You can play with or without avatars, 4-color decks, numerous card-back colors and an all-inclusive options screen for adding chips or making Cake Poker your own. Their main menu is also very filterable and allows each player to tailor it to their desire.

Traffic. Although traffic isn't into the stratospheric numbers of a Poker Stars or Party Poker, Cake Poker does manage to attract a large following in the evening hours of America as well as on the weekend. So much so, that I can easily play a few $1/$2 FL Cash games simultaneously or some NL of varying degrees of multi-tabling.



Or

Click Here to Read our Full Review of Cake Poker


Visit www.internetpokerrankings.com to register for 2008!

Rank

Online Poker Player

Points

1 PearlJammer 7803
2 SCTrojans 7680
3 Tmay420 6136
4 P0KERPR033 6113
5 Andy McLEOD 6075
6 THAY3R 5797
7 mattg1983 5749
8 CrazyMarco
5487
9 phat_cat 5316
10 apestyles
5074

 
Ciaran
Internet Texas Holdem Community News
lessonsInternet Texas Holdem Community Publishing
River Bluffs in Limit Hold'em
Written by Matthew Hilger

I have a rule on the river that I follow religiously which I appropriately call "The River Rule" - Never try to make a good laydown on the river in Limit Hold'em.

Given the river rule, it isn't easy to get opponents to fold on the river given the size of the pot; however, there are situations here and there which arise which will give you an opportunity to try and steal the pot. The most common example is when you are on a draw and you continue to bet the river hoping that your opponent will fold a busted draw or weak pair.

Occasionally, you can use a scare card on the river to attempt a bluff. For example, a suited card falls, or the board pairs and you represent trips, or an ace comes on the river and you represent the ace. These kinds of plays generally only work though against players who don't follow the river rule and are capable of laying down a hand on the river. There aren't many of these players so you should only try these plays in specific situations.

Realize that bluffs do not have to be highly successful in order to be profitable. If there are five or six big bets in the pot, you only have to be successful a small percentage of the time for the bluff to show a profit.

Bluff raises on the river are even more difficult to pull off profitably, as it is difficult to get an opponent to fold who has already bet on the river, and you have reduced pot odds on your raise. The best time to attempt a bluff raise is when you expect your opponent is also on a bluff and your hand can't even beat a bluff.

Let's look at some examples to test your skills.

1/ $20-$40. You hold T ? 8 ? in the small blind. An early player limps in and you call. Three players see the flop of 9 ? 6 ? 6 ? . You bet, the big blind raises, and you decide to call. The turn is the 2 ?. You check and the big blind checks. The river is the 9 . There is $140 in the pot. What do you do?

Answer: Your opponent's check on the turn indicates weakness. He may have had a pair of 9's and was worried about trips, but he also might be holding a draw or a small pocket pair. The pot odds are sufficient for you to represent a full house and bet out a bluff. Bet.

2/ $15-$30. You hold A ? K ? in the small blind. An early player raises and a middle player calls. You only call and the big blind calls. Four players see the flop of 9 ? 5 ? 2 ? . The big blind bets and everyone calls. The turn is the 3 a. The big blind bets and everyone calls. The river is the 5 ?. The big blind checks, the early player bets, and the middle player calls. There is $360 in the pot. What do you do?

Answer: Bluff raises on the river rarely are successful. However, sometimes you can spot opportunities such as in this example. The early player has limped along the entire hand and decides to bet out when a 5 comes on the turn. It is possible he has a hand like A-5 but doubtful since he raised preflop. The middle player obviously has a weak hand or he would have raised on one of the earlier betting rounds. Raising in this situation will represent trip 5's and make it very difficult for one of your opponents to call. Your bluff only has to work once every seven times to break even. Raise.

In the actual hand, the player folded. The early player showed Q ? T ? and the middle player A ? 2 ? .

3/ $30-$60. You hold 3 ? 3 ? in the cutoff in a six-handed game and raise first in. The big blind calls and two players see the flop of A ? T ? 8 ? . Your opponent checks, you bet, and your opponent calls. The turn is the T ? and you both check . The river is the A ?. Your opponent suddenly bets out. There is $255 in the pot. What do you do?

Answer: About the only hand a reasonable player could bet here is an ace, or possibly a T. If he had an ace, you would expect a check-raise on the flop, or for him to bet out the turn to protect against a flush draw. When an opponent suddenly changes his betting pattern from one of weakness to one of strength you must be suspicious. Unfortunately, you can't even beat the board so your only option is to raise if you want to win the pot. It will cost you $120 to win $255 so you only need to be correct 1 in 3 times for the bluff to be profitable. Raise.

4/ $20-$40. You hold Q ? Q ? in middle position. An early player calls, you raise, and the button calls. The big blind reraises and everyone calls. There is $330 in the pot. The flop is was 6 ? 5 ? 3 ? . It is checked to you, you bet, and everyone calls. The turn card is the 9 ? . It is checked to you, you bet, the button calls, and the big blind raises. Everybody calls and the button is all-in at this point. There is $730 in the pot. The river is the dreaded J ?. The big blind checks and the early player suddenly wakes up and bets. There is $770 in the pot. What do you do?

Answer: It appears that the player in early position is sitting on a flush. However, the correct play for him would have been to check-raise the flop with a flush draw. A set of jacks doesn't make sense either. The river bet is a little suspicious giving you reason to at least call.

Unfortunately, you have the player in the big blind to worry about also. He check-raised the turn in a multi-way pot indicating strength. He could very well be on a set or two pair. However, if you raise, it would be very difficult for the big blind to call with even a set. Not only must he call two big bets, he faces the risk that the player behind him reraises (although he could probably definitely fold at that point).

You are going to call at least the $40 given the size of the pot, so a raise only costs you $40 more to win $810 (we're including your $40 river call in the size of the pot). If your raise saves you the pot once every 21 times you show a profit. You won't be successful very often, but you don't need to be to show a profit. It's a risky advanced play but with a decent chance at success. Raise.

In the actual hand, the player only called. The big blind showed AA and the early player A-7.

Some of these hand examples were taken from my book, Internet Texas Hold'em .

Matthew is the author of two other books: Texas Hold'em Odds and Probabilities, and The Poker Mindset, coauthored by Ian Taylor. You can read his poker blog at www.PokerWonks.com

Read more of Matthew's Articles...strategy

Winning the PokerStars Nightly Hundred Grand Tournament
Written by Matthew Hilger

Part I: A mission to beat 900 players begins

This two-part column will look at some of the more interesting hands I played while winning the PokerStars Nightly Hundred Grand tournament. These tournaments typically attract around 900 players, with first place paying approximately $30,000.

We started out with $2,000 in chips, and the blinds were $10-$20. On the third hand, I was dealt jacks in the big blind. A player in early-middle position raised to $60, and I called. The flop came 9-8-5 rainbow. I checked, my opponent bet $80, and I called. The turn was a deuce and we both checked. The river was a 3, I bet out $225 into a $290 pot, and my opponent folded.

Read more of this Article...strategy


Cartoons from CartoonStock.com
 

Internet Poker Rankings Race : 2007 Final Stretch!

The Internet Player of the Year Race for 2007 is in its stretch run. With a month left, the race has boiled down to two players, PearlJammer and SCTrojans at the top of the list. Over the past month they have changed the lead more than a few times. It seems a comparison to baseball. You get two teams in the same division finish their 162 game seasons in a tie with a one game playoff to decide who moves on. We are that close entering December. 74 points as of this writing separate PearlJammer and SCTrojans. Who will emerge? Will a two-week Christmas vacation take one out of the running? Will Tmay420, P0KERPR0 or Andy McLEOD shock all of us here at ITH with a December to Remember?

Time will tell.

I do know this. Despite the race seeming to be a two player runaway, this hasn't stopped the players from kicking butt on the online tournament circuit in November. Huge cashes by players such as THAY3R, Rizen, B_O_K_E and apestyles has produced a lot of buzz online. Stay tuned for the exciting finish. I eagerly awaiting how this last month is going to unfold. See you on the otherside.

- Piscivorous


Visit www.internetpokerrankings.com to register for 2008!

ITHFGO468x60
Internet Texas Holdem
Bonus Codes Party Bonus Stars Bonus Titan Bonus Texas Holdem Lessons

This is the community newsletter of internettexasholdem.com. We are located at:
141 W Wieuca Rd
Suite 203B
Atlanta, GA 30342 USA

You have recieved this email because you on our opt-in subscriber list.
If you wish to unsubscribe from our newsletter, Click Here