Poker Journal The Most Obvious Poker Tells I’m going to cover what I view as the three most obvious poker tells in this article. Prior to getting to the most obvious tells in Texas Hold’em Poker and how they relate to poker strategy for tournaments, I have some interesting thoughts. When you play in poker games, do you only look at the cards? Do you ever look at the fingernails of the player in Seat 3? Did you happen to notice that they’re dirty? If someone comes to a poker game with dirt caked in their fingernails, I can assure you that they’re not rolling in the dough and they’re going to p ..read more

Poker Journal Poker Straddle: Easy To Understand Poker Strategy Now it’s time to start talking about the weirder parts of Texas Hold’em poker. At some point, you’re going to get very comfortable playing poker at a table. You’re going to win some hands, lose some hands, and generally feel like you’ve got a good idea of how the game is played. You’re not afraid the poker rules any longer, and you know how to read both your own poker hand and those of the others at the table. Suddenly, though, the guy in front of you is going to throw down money without even looking at his cards. Congratulations ..read more

Poker Journal Psychology in Poker: Dealing with Poker Losses Approximately 30 minutes ago, I stood up from a 1/2 NL game after losing $200. How do you think I’m dealing with that loss? Here is my psychology in poker. I’m sitting in the lobby of Starbucks at Harrah’s Cherokee with my laptop and writing an article. After that, I’m going to add a chapter to one of the poker books I’m working on: 19%, which will consist of 100 Texas Hold’em poker tournaments with the goal of only seeing 19% of flops. It’s not a poker strategy book. It’s a poker experiment book. All my other books are based on pok ..read more

Poker Journal The Truth About Poker Bluffs I know a lot of poker players. I’m not super close with most of them, but I know them well enough to discuss poker bluff, and I see them at the tables enough to see how they play. I will say this: The overbet all-in poker bluff on the river is not something that is often applied. Only in emergency situations against the right opponents. This type of poker bluff does happen in mid-stakes poker tournaments, but it’s not as common as you think. This might leave you wondering what type of poker bluff is being used in these tournaments. Since it’s almost ..read more

Poker Journal The Truth About Reading Opponents You never want to play poker the same way against every opponent, especially in poker tournaments. If you do this, you’re going to become readable. When you’re readable, it means your opponents know when to attack and when to slow down against you. This is tricky because, at the same time, you want to stick to a specific game plan. There is a fine line. Look at it this way… Professional Sports Bill Belichick has a specific style of coaching. At the same time, he’s never going to prepare the same way against his divisional rivals. If the Bills ha ..read more

Poker Journal Best Advanced Poker Tips Best Advanced Poker Tips: You Win In Rewind, Lose In Fast Forward. If you want to win in the game of poker, slow down! Prior to getting to these poker tips, I’m going to share with you what’s happening right now. I have written and deleted this paragraph (yes, this one!) four times. Why? Because the internet went out and there is no music in the background. When there is no music in the background, my brain freezes and I don’t know what to write … unless I’m writing about not having anything to write because the internet went out and there is no music. D ..read more

Poker Journal Poker Float Play: How to Float Like A Butterfly & Sting Like A Bee Orthodox Texas Hold’em poker tactics are increasingly emphasizing aggression. Which means that you’re going to face more and more aggressive players at the poker table. You’ll need tools in your arsenal if you want to be successful on a consistent basis against aggressive players. One such tool is the float play, a tactic that exploits players who make continuation bets post-flop. A nutshell definition of this type of play is that it’s a bluffing play in which you attempt to win a pot on the turn with a bet a ..read more

Poker Journal The Truth About Bellagio Poker Room I’m never going to lie to you. I have realized that the best way to maintain relationships is through honesty. And throwing in a lie once in a while. Sounds a bit like poker, doesn’t it? Yup! Poker resembles life. The difference between real life relationships and a writer/reader relationships is that a writer must remain honest in order to maintain his/her readership. If the writer gets caught in a lie, game over. All integrity is lost. This is assuming it’s non-fiction (that means it’s all true). You probably think I’m about to tell you that ..read more

Poker Journal MGM Grand Poker Room Vegas To understand the MGM Grand Poker Room, you must first understand the MGM Grand. This property is a little different because poker players don’t flock to the MGM Grand Poker Room, and that’s not what the MGM Poker Room wants. They want the tourists and party crowd to visit their poker room during their stay. With 6,852 rooms, it’s one of the largest hotels in the world, so there will be plenty of people visiting the poker room. Even if they’re not poker players, it’s a numbers game. MGM Grand Poker Room Players The MGM Poker Room is located on the casi ..read more

Poker Journal The Truth About Poker Bankroll Management What do poker players hate to talk about and rarely practice? If you guessed poker bankroll management, then you would be correct. Poker players are known for lying in poker games, but they’re also lying off the table. The difference is that they’re lying to other people in poker games, and they’re lying to themselves off the poker table. There are exceptions, including winning players and those who know how to stick to a poker bankroll. First we’ll look at the basics, then we’ll get to poker bankroll differences between cash games and p ..read more