Firstly if you suffer a bad beat and you stop playing poker then this means that you are no longer earning money. So your inability to absorb a beat or an outdraw is costing you an awful lot of money. I have known players whose mindset was so poor that they could not mentally accept just one single bad beat in their poker sessions. This people have almost no chance to make substantial money from poker because they can never find the time to play poker put the hours in.

There is some very sound advice that says that if you are about to tilt then you should stop playing immediately. This is good advice but it does prevent a player from optimising their earning potential. I find that the optimal way to combat tilt is to accept it before it happens. I have often been criticised for this outlook in the past but if you accept that bad things are going to happen then it helps you to accept them when they do.

This isn’t the best way for many people but it worked for me personally and I can only relate that to other people. If you are really going to take your poker to the next level in terms of earnings then you are going to have to stop looking at short term results in a more exaggerated way. This is where many players could really start to excel with their poker. There are finite ways to improve your poker on a technical level but yet there are many more ways to improve your poker in terms of the mental side and what that can do for your earnings.

If you stay playing solid poker all the time then really there is nothing that can touch you at the lower levels of poker up to and including NL200. These are the levels that good solid poker can do well at. But yet novice and even intermediate level players build themselves mental prisons that they can never ever break free from. This is where positive thoughts can and do have a huge impact on your poker game. I have often heard how the power of positive thinking can have a huge impact on your poker game.

Many people rubbish these claims and their thoughts are that no amount of positive attitude can make up for a poor poker game.

This is true but what if your poker game is good enough but a poor mental attitude is holding you back? I have known many strong poker players who have this flaw and they never utilise their potential.

In poker then having a default basic strategy is difficult to explain in regards what this actually means but I will attempt to put it into words as best as I possibly can. It is a way to play poker that makes the player basically know the “correct” course of action for every possible situation that they could encounter at the table. In this way then playing Texas Hold’em becomes similar to playing blackjack in that the correct action is nearly always known.

Developing your “basic” is something that takes work as well as experience. I believe that to play this way although not exciting in the least does allow a player to avoid the pitfalls of getting into trouble when they multi-table. To effectively play numerous tables at once then you need to at least try and automate the process of playing poker. Part of this process is to let the betting do the talking at the lower levels. Do not try to get into situations where you are out thinking yourself.

Higher multiple level thinking is required and is essential at higher levels but not at levels like NL50 and NL100 on some sites although NL100 on some sites can be quite tough. But letting the betting do the talking is a key component of multi-tabling lower levels and it saves time as well as tilt when you make a series of wrong decisions when you try to out level yourself. At the higher levels then the extra level of complexity can leave multi-tabling very difficult at levels like NL400 and NL600.

But at levels like NL50 and NL100 full-ring the there is nearly always some value in these games somewhere and you need patience to sit there and wait for it to come to you. If you are going to play poker without a tracker program at a level like NL50 then you need to make sure that your technique is very strong.

There are flaws in nearly all techniques at the lower levels and one of the biggest ones is in not listening to the betting clearly enough. This often leads to players getting needlessly stacked when they could have got away from the hand. A basic strategy for poker in my mind does not just involve playing the hands but actually reading the game as well and at the lower levels then reading action is easier to do than at the more sophisticated middle limits and also in the erratic low-stakes and micro levels.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree he worked for a while in California and launched his own company JMG Management in 1996. He has worked with some of the well-known Hollywood stars including Jimmy Fallon, Kristin Davis, Lucy Liu and others. However, he moved on from talent grooming and hunting later on to switch to production. He is currently also focused on a poker show with Johnny Chan, another Poker champion. Chan was Gold’s mentor for several years.

Gold competed in the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2006 as part of the Bodog.com team with Dean Cain and Mekhi Phifer and made it to the final table. He was on a great run in the last four days beating several professionals and went on to become the Poker World Champion. He even beat final-table rival Allen Cunningham tipped to make it to the title. He finally got the better of Paul Wasicka to earn his bracelet. Gold had gone to the final table with a chip lead and that was his psychological advantage over the others that he cashed in on well.

Thereafter, his endorsement deal lasted with his WSOP sponsor for only about a year. Before becoming Poker World Champion, with $12 million in winnings, Gold was a regular at several casinos playing more than 40 hours every week. He took part in the high-stakes games and tournaments as well as free online poker.

Gold got into trouble with a fellow Poker player Crispin Leyser’s lawsuit and Harrah’s stopped his full payment but he survived all that and is still going strong on the Poker circuit.

Apart from winning the World Series of Poker, Jamie Gold has made good results at other prize tournaments including finishing at the fifth place in the $300 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 event at the Bicycle Casino. Gold also earned the seventh spot at the $100 No-Limit Hold Em event organized at Larry Flynt’s Grand Slam of Poker IV at the Hustler Casino in 2005. Gold topped that with an eighth-place finish in the $500 No-Limit Hold Em tournament at the Ninth Annual National Championship of Poker organized at Hollywood Park Casino in 2005.

Jamie Gold is also known for some aggressive behavior including flashing a card to a rival during a round and revealing to a friend what he was holding but that seems all behind him. He issued a series of apologies and is known to have restrained from committing inappropriate behavior every since.

The One Step Closer Foundation (OSCF) also featured Jamie Gold in a charity tournament at the Hollywood Park Casino in Los Angeles. The OSCF raises funds for those suffering from cerebral palsy.

Masters’ Club – Almost all top professional poker players have endorsement and contractual deals with some online Poker website where they play regularly. These professionals are forthcoming with tips and help to make amateurs, novices and even intermediate players improve their game. And, the advice is all free. If you were to go for professional training you would have to pay a hefty fee but just switch on the Internet, join a Poker room and chat with the celebrities. You can play some games too and get real advice that will surely take your game at least a notch up. The professionals will give you an insight into their mind and tell you how they are thinking. This is one of the best ways to improve at Poker – rather at any sport.

Your peers – Most often if you’re an amateur, someone three levels above you will not be able to help because their advice will not be properly understood. If you join and online Poker room or chat room you can hook up with your peers and others at the same level as you. This way you are more likely to understand the basic problems with your game and move up as a group of friends to the next level of Poker play.

Latest info – The latest information about books on Poker, discussions and analysis are all available in Poker forums and rooms. Even if you’ve missed out a particular tournament analysis or don’t want to buy a particular book, someone or the other can give you a great and helpful summary in a Poker room or forum. Many top professionals have their own Poker blogs where they give you some of the rarest of rare insider tips.

Keep the spark alive – online poker rooms and discussion boards will give you the latest dope on what your favorite Poker hero is up to, lead you to the best Poker gear sites, help locate new tips, ideas and concepts of Poker play. This will keep your interest alive and mind alert. The more you enjoy Poker, the more you are likely to learn and improve. Don’t let Poker playing become a dull automatic activity that you use as a getaway nook from other things in life.

Personal style – If you want to graduate to playing Poker professionally, you will need to pick one single variant to master at first. Poker rooms are best to help you try out Texas Hold Em or Omaha etc before you finally decide what you want to peg all your energy and spirit into. Online Poker rules will help you narrow down to a particular Poker style too.

Options for practice – In online Poker you can truly slug it out with almost 100 hands in an hour. If intent on really learning this is kind of intensive training. If you were to play in a brick and mortar Poker room at a casino you would not be able to notch up more than 15 hands in an hour because of practical reasons. In online Poker, with some of the most modern programs available to simulate Poker room environment and deals, you’ve got a huge advantage if you’re looking at some intensive practice sessions.

No time constraint – The best part of playing online Poker is that you don’t need to miss out on practice sessions. You can play from any time zone and from anywhere in the world. You could be awake at 3 am and catching a guy half way across the world sitting down to play at 6 pm. This also gives you a truly international experience with a wide variety of Poker players to cope with as compared to if you stuck to playing at your local casino. For those who want to eventually graduate to playing professionally, this kind of a variety-experience is worth all the time spent playing online Poker. You don’t even have to worry about whether a table is free or not!

Lower stakes – One of the biggest advantages of practicing poker online is the really low limit games you can try. Poker rooms allow a $0.01/$2 games too. In brick and mortar casinos you will have to shell out much more for a few sessions of practice. You can even play for free at the simulated Poker games online.

Vibes – Even though you won’t get enough practice in studying body language in an online casino but an online Poker room will make you feel much more comfortable if you are a beginner. You won’t have to worry about players who already have a popularity in the brick and mortar casinos and tend to intimidate new-comers. Once you’ve become somewhat good at Poker online your confidence will be greater and you can tackle playing live games at a brick and mortar casino room.

Comfort level – Of course playing via the Internet gives you the most comfort. You can be dressed as you like and follow up daily chores intermittently as well. This makes for great practice sessions and you save time too.

Celeb tips – Often you will find professional celebrity poker players coming to Poker rooms to advice and help amateurs and beginners. This is a great way to improve. You are unlikely to meet professionals in a casino giving out advice as openly as in online Poker rooms.

However, in the long run, use online Poker play only as a practice and run-up to casino play because eventually you will have to learn to handle pressure in real time and read your opponents’ body language. The dynamics of casino play in live games is entirely different and the best way to learn it is to face it.

In this article we are going to take a look back at the 2009 World Series of Poker and some of the stories that emerged from it.

Multi Bracelet Series

Incredibly one poker player won three bracelets at last years WSOP and a few players won two bracelets. Phil Ivey, regarded as the finest poker player in the world, entered many events and won two of them. Phil won event 8, the $2,500 2-7 Draw Lowball and event 25 the $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better. He then made the November nine and was hotly tipped to become the main event champion. That was not to be but Phil capped a marvellous series where his image as the world’s best poker player was enhanced. Brock Parker also won two bracelets winning event 14, the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Short Handed and he won event 19, the $2,500 Limit Hold’em Short Handed.

The star of the WSOP was undoubtedly Jeff Lisandro who won the triple crown of Stud events winning event 16, the $1,500 Seven Card Stud, event 37, the $10,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better and event 44 the $2,500 Razz. Although he had to have had some luck this goes down in history as one of the finest ever WSOP performances.

Notable UK Performances

James Akenhead showed that his runners-up position at the 2008 WSOP event 2 was no fluke as he made the November nine eventually finishing in 9th place. He also finished in 9th place in the WSOPE main event and won the Full Tilt Poker Million for $500,000. He is surely to have another chance at a bracelet and is regarded by some players to have talent in the mould of flawed poker genius Stu Ungar.

Roland De Wolfe won another bracelet winning event 27, the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better beating Brett “Getcrunk” Richey into second place. John Kabbaj also won a WSOP bracelet winning event 45, the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em for $633,335. It was a great year for UK poker at the World Series of Poker 2009.

The Main Event

6,494 players contested the $10,000 main event with many more turned away amid a controversial start to the tournament. Phil Ivey, Jeff Shulman and James Akenhead were big names that made the November nine final table. 21 year old Joe Cada beat self-employed tree logger Darvin Moon when things eventually got to heads up into second place and claimed a first prize of $8,547,042. For second place Darvin took home $5,182,601 and thousands of new fans who appreciated his play and dignity in defeat.

Download the poker software at bwin.com and practise your poker tournament game before heading to the WSOP. You will need to be sharp, be able to concentrate for long periods of time and be able to play well under pressure. You can learn all of these things at bwin.com and possibly become one of the stories of this years World Series of Poker 2010.

By Malcolm Clarke

So I will play at the $10-$20 level mainly when I play limit but I also sometimes multi-table at levels like $2-$4, $3-$6 and $5-$10 if the rake is reasonable and I can obtain decent rakeback. I have never had an ego to massage by insisting that I always play at a certain level. In my mind the best poker games are the ones where I have to work the least in order to obtain an hourly rate that I deem to be worth my time. I remember hearing an old saying from the world of Darts some years ago that went “trebles for show and doubles for dough”. Basically this meant that scoring high on the trebles was fine but worth little if you could not finish.

This is similar to poker in many ways. People see and hear about top players playing for high stakes but let me tell you one thing. Many of those top players will not be winning players and the only reason that they are playing at that level is either because they have the money to do so or because it feeds their ego. The high stakes poker games may be very “showy” but for the vast number of players this isn’t really where the money is. There are many players earning $50,000 to $100,000 a year in online cash games. These amounts are being earned in middle stakes games or through lower limits and multi-tabling. This is not as news worthy and flashy as someone who is playing $300-$600 no limit at the Bellagio.

But getting back to the point, at the higher levels in limit hold’em then good players will still find them tough to beat and you can spend more time finding an acceptable game than you can playing. I don’t know about you but if I had to choose between playing forty hours a week at $10-$20 and earning 3 big bets per hour, and sitting and watching and waiting for twenty hours and then only managing twenty hours of playing time in what will be a far tougher game while only earning one big bet per hour at say $20-$40 then I know which game I would rather choose.

One scenario is earning me $2400 a week while the bigger game is earning me a mere $800. If your livelihood depends on playing online poker then it is better to be playing poker and earning say $20 an hour than not playing at all in my opinion. I have played full time in the past although at the time of writing this article, I am no longer a full time player. But there have been times where I have done whatever it takes to earn my money by the end of the month.

I have put in extra hours and played at levels that were well below what I normally played at in order to pay the bills at the end of the month. But I want this series to teach you one thing and that is to be flexible in not just how you are learning poker but also playing poker and this applies to cash games as well as online poker tournaments. Read this series and re-read it but under no circumstances should you blindly copy what I have said. Selecting the proper limit in which to play is not a straight forward process and depends on many factors.

What levels of money you are prepared to play for and lose for one, your bankroll size, your level of skill compared to that of your opponents, the rake, rakeback…..I could go on and on. But I feel that it is worth repeating one more time, finding the proper limit to play at is a key process because playing too high and you will run into the top players and playing too low with the affect of the rake will also kill you and especially without adequate skills.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Author – “Winning Cash Game Poker”

Of course the toughness of the games will vary greatly and also from site to site but in my experience, you really do not want to be paying much more than around two big blinds per hour in rake in most games even if you are a good player. This of course applies to the lower stakes games, the effect of the rake is greatly reduced the higher you play and this is because of the rake cap which is usually $3 in most games.

The only problem of course with playing at the bigger limits is that the effect of the rake may be greatly reduced but the opposition is also a whole lot tougher. Games at the $15-$30 level and above can be very tough to beat and once you reach the $20-$40, $25-$50 and $30-$60 levels then you are going to be locking horns with some very good players.

Before you start to look at yourself and say “well that does not bother me because I am a good player” then you better remember that being a good player online is far different than being a good player in a live casino card room. Good online players are dedicated, they data mine games relentlessly, they use trackers to get information on their opponents, they share and swap data with friends and acquaintances in online poker forums and other avenues, they use sophisticated software to improve their own game and the list goes on.

Do you have this same commitment to improving your game and doing all of the things that I have just listed? Well come on now, answer this question honestly because your future as a winning poker player online could just depend on it……do you? If you are not doing the things that I have just described and have no intention of doing them then you had better shelve all plans about playing at the middle limits and above at any form of poker online.

Playing at the middle limits online and being successful is not just about knowing your poker. Most players at those limits know the game. But the real consistent winners, the ones with the earn rates are the ones who make the effort to do all of the other things that contribute towards the making of a winning online poker player. At this moment in time, I find the $10-$20 level the best for a good strong limit player to earn money at short handed and even heads up. Look out for the third and final part of this series coming soon.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Author – “Winning Cash Game Poker”

As we already know, game selection is critical in all forms of poker but in limit Texas Holdem it can literally be he difference between life and death. You will be presented with numerous problems in limit hold’em. If you play too low then the rake can be your most formidable opponent on the table and if you play too high then you are going to be locking horns with some of the very best players in the world.

If you are going to be serious about your poker and want to treat it more like a business than anything else then you are going to have to look very carefully at just what costs you are incurring as a result of operating that business. The primary cost for an online player of course is the rake. With online limit poker games getting tougher and tighter all the time then it is common knowledge that you could be the best player on the table in many games and yet you are still in the negative expectation camp.

It is really beyond the scope of this article to delve too deeply into anyone subject but take it from me, please do your research as to how much rake you are paying in an average hour. Many sites have game statistics which allow you to see how many hands you are playing per hour or have played, what the average pot is and how many hands you have won. You can use these stats to find out how much rake you are paying. Simply go to the section of the site that explains the rake and this will inform you how much you are paying based on the limits, number of players and pot size. Based on your own individual style, you can then calculate how much rake you are paying per hour.

But the cheapest sites are not always the best to play on as bonuses and rakeback and various other things can greatly impact what is the best site. At this moment in time, many poker sites pay good rakeback and bonuses which are a very nice cushion and one that is vital for low stakes limit players. But these rakeback deals and bonuses change on a daily basis so telling you what are the best deals now would be silly as this will have surely changed by the time you are reading this. Look out for part two of this mini series coming shortly.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Author – “Winning Cash Game Poker”

Vanessa Selbst

Vanessa is a 25 year old professional poker player hailing from Brooklyn in New York and she is currently attending Yale University where she is studying law and hoping to specialise in civil rights law when she graduates. Vanessa first came to the public’s attention when she won the 2008 WSOP $1,500 PLO event which was her first bracelet after six previous cashes. Her speciality, however, is Limit Holdem. Vanessa is a regular on the high stakes cash game tables and does very well from them, particular in heads-up competition. She is an executive producer at deucescracked.com which is a large poker video website and her videos are extremely popular especially when discussing both PLO and Limit Hold’em.

She recently won the main event of the Main Event of the NAPT in Mohegan Sun. This $5,000 buy-in event netted her a prize of $750,000 for first place.

Dustin “Neverwin” Wolff

Neverwin was a Pokerstars prodigy who started beating the high stakes limit holdem tables in 2004 beating all before him. He was so difficult to beat that many players suspected him of being a poker bot before he revealed his true identity on his controversial website Neverwin Poker. He went on to become a famous limit player thanks in part due to his website, in part due to his amazing fall from grace suffering heavy losses to “texaslimitking” where he refused to accept he could not beat him, and in part due to his amazing partying stories from Las Vegas.

After a recent fall-out Dustin continues to run his website minus the controversial forums and now offers a range of Texas Holdem poker tips for players wishing to emulate him in his poker successes, which include cashing for $504,000 profit in the 2005 WSOP and being in profit every year since.

Todd “Dandruff” Witteles

Another former member of NWP and now a prominent online poker radio host Todd came to the public’s attention when he entered his first WSOP Limit Holdem event in 2005 and won it! He then entered another and came in third place. Todd was a former computer engineer who discovered a talent for limit holdem. He has crushed both the online and live limit holdem games for many years and has built up a reputation as a trustworthy character in poker. He was instrumental in uncovering the Absolute Poker and UB poker scandals in 2007 and earned himself the nickname “Detective Druff” from two plus two poker forums. Unfortunately due to a dispute with Mason Malmuth Druff and everyone associated with the NWP and Donkdown.com websites are banned from two plus two.

Witteles continues to host a weekly poker radio show and travel every year to the WSOP although he has not managed to have any notable runs of late.

Will you be the next Limit Holdem superstar? Have a game on bwin.com, this could be the game you have been looking for!

By Malcolm Clarke