The possibility of becoming a professional poker player is an alluring one for most players. Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to sit at home playing poker all day?
I have spent a lot of time in these columns talking about bad beats, downswings and tilt, which are all related to luck, but sometimes it pays to take a step back and look at the more fundamental question. What exactly constitutes luck in poker?
Big-blind-versus-small-blind play, small ball, floating, and the bluff-raise - What follows is a special preview from Jeff’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play.
My last column looked at a couple of bluffs that I made during the World Series of Poker main event. One of them was successful and one of them cost me some chips.
An interesting, complex hand What follows is the first of what likely will be a series of pot-limit Omaha (PLO) practice-hand quizzes, similar to those found in my book, Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy.
Don’t quit school to play poker! - Editor’s note: This column is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Troy Headrick, aka BernardDogs in the Forum, gives some tips in how to avoid online habits that are not conducive to live play When I ran Cross-Country in High School, our coach would video tape us as we ran so that we could then view the tape and critique our form.
When stacks are deep, the drawing hand has all of the power Editor's note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang's recently released book Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy.
Wrap, bare nut straight heads up It's a 50¢-$1 pot-limit Omaha (PLO) game on the electronic poker tables at Excalibur in Las Vegas, and you are playing heads up.
The bluff-raise Here are two hands that I played in heads-up post-flop confrontations against my buddy "TT" in my weekly 50¢-$1 ($100 minimum/$200 maximum) pot-limit Omaha (PLO) game on the electronic tables in the poker room at Excalibur in Las Vegas.
The five biggest mistakes that average players make Editor's note: What follows is a special excerpt from Jeff Hwang's upcoming book, tentatively titled Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: Advanced Play Vol.
Before talking about the merits of single tabling, I should give you a brief history of my playing career. I started playing internet poker three years ago after watching it on TV.
A strategy analysis - Here are a few hands from the regular $1-$2 blinds, $5 bring-in, $500 max buy-in pot-limit Omaha game that a few locals and I started recently at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
One of the most important things to keep in mind while playing an R&A tournament is that the first hour offers a very different style of play than just about any other possible Hold ‘em table. Typically, you’ll have a fair share of opponents playing a loose/super-aggressive style (LAGs).
A strong pot-limit Omaha hand - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Wrap, bare nut straight heads up - It's a 50¢-$1 pot-limit Omaha (PLO) game on the electronic poker tables at Excalibur in Las Vegas, and you are playing heads up.
Finding a game that fits the stakes you want to play - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
Most people know that all of the great Hold'em players play their opponents and not their own hands. Most players believe this is just a matter of sensing weakness in their opponent and then exploiting this weakness by stealing a pot.
When I started learning about poker I was less than impressed that there was a section called “bankroll management”. I wanted to play poker, have fun and win.
Naked, weak-stab, and semibluff In my last column, I discussed the basics of floating in pot-limit Omaha (PLO) and identified the key indicators - the weak stab, the continuation-bet, and a possible steal bet - that a float may be in order.
It depends largely on your opponent - What follows is an excerpt from Jeff’s books, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play and The Short-Handed Workbook.
Poker on the internet is in very many ways similar to live poker. It’s still poker after all and the rules, probabilities and everything else that really matters is the same.
Pot-limit Omaha players are getting shortchanged - A few issues ago in my column on the bankroll schedule for pot-limit Omaha, I mentioned that while a typical buy-in for no-limit hold'em might be 100 big blinds, in order to be reasonably deep in pot-limit Omaha, you should buy in for more like 150 times the big blind.
This article was written soon after the birth of my first son, Joshua, back in January of 2004. I guess my estimate of the WSOP reaching 5000 entrants was off by about 20 years!
Pot-Limit Omaha Games Seven general guidelines Editor’s note: This column is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
To continuation-bet or not to continuation-bet - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
The Aussie Millions If there is one poker trip that every poker player should make, it is to the Aussie Millions, held in the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.
When and when not to do so Editor's note: This column is an excerpt from the, expanded edition of Internet Texas Hold'em: Winning Strategies for Full-Ring and Short-Handed Games. It includes a new chapter on playing multiway pots, as well as two new chapters for shorthanded games.
On the 5th of May 2006 I left my cosy office job for the last time, in order to throw my hat into the ring as a professional poker player. Long-time members of the ITH forums may remember my plea for last minute advice before I finally took the plunge.
Some decisions, both game and non-game, are relatively easy to make while others are more difficult. Everyone makes bad decisions from time to time, but the key to being successful is to make as few as possible.
Turbos have taken off lately due to their reputation as a quick and exciting way to play tournament poker. In this two-part article, I’ll explain how to adapt your game as you move through the blind levels of a Turbo SNG.
<Randomization is in the cards - What follows is an excerpt from Jeff’s books, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play and The Short-Handed Workbook.
At college I played on the football team. Now this isn’t exactly a bragging right in England where football is not nearly as big as it is over in the US, but nevertheless I loved the game and was fairly good at it.
To continuation-bet or not to continuation-bet - Editor’s note: What follows is an edited excerpt from Jeff Hwang’s book, Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play.
