Bubble Math(08/10/2012) The bubble of a tournament occurs when the number of players left is one more than the number who gets paid.
Tournament Equity(20/09/2012) Your equity in a poker tournament is your "rightful share," in dollars, of the prize pool. If the game were played out a million times from that point onward, your equity is how much you would win on average.
A Hand from Colombia(06/07/2012) I was able to see another example where betting out on boards like these can be an excellent move with lots of upside and little downside.
Bet Sizing(13/06/2012) Excerpt from the latest Dimat release, The Math of Hold’em, by Collin Moshman and Douglas Zare.
Sport Psychology(18/04/2012) Similar to sports, poker is a game where psychology plays a major role in the outcome.
Game Day Preparation(21/03/2012) Some wakeup and enjoy an all-you-can eat buffet with plates stacked with sausages, pancakes, syrup, bacon, and the likes. At dinner break, a full rack of ribs with French fries seems to always be a popular choice. Do these players really think that they could possibly be playing at their best?
Poker Strategy - Set Mining Part 2(15/02/2012) All of these are negative outcomes of set-mining, but set-mining can be highly profitable under the right conditions.
Poker Strategy - Set Mining Part 1(30/01/2012) Sets are disguised monster hands that can win large pots against strong hands or against multiple opponents. Set-mining means playing a pocket pair primarily for the chance to flop a set and win a big pot.
WSOP Bluff and Double-up(16/01/2012) Every year in the main event there is usually a hand or two where I may get a little too creative, get myself in trouble, and then either make a play that looks brilliant or donk off a lot of chips.
WSOP Blues(03/01/2012) In the main event, when you start out with 150 big blinds, losing a lot of chips with A-K is a big mistake unless you hit a monster board.
Are You a Professional?(08/12/2011) Sometimes people debate what makes a professional poker player. My definition has always been someone who makes most of their income from playing poker which is similar to the definition above. But there are also expert players out there who could make a living playing poker, but just don’t play that much so I'm not sure if they would be considered a “professional” or not even though they are expert players.
Endangered Species(10/11/2011) Are poker players an endangered species? Some trends would say no.
Setting Goals(27/09/2011) I have a list of goals and a list of blessings on my bathroom mirror. I’ve been doing that for fifteen years...
The Evolution of Poker Training Resources(08/09/2011) I own and manage the poker book publishing company, Dimat Enterprises. Between 2003 and December 2009, Dimat published a total of five titles, of which the first three were authored or coauthored by myself. Now, one year later we have published 11 titles and have 12 different authors.
Rekindle Your Passion for Poker!(04/08/2011) It is important to remind yourself that poker is just a game, and games are meant to be fun!
Playing Your A-Game(24/06/2011) Athletes strive to play in the "zone", and poker players are no different. We poker players can learn a lot from athletes, in regard to the techniques that they use to try to play in the zone or achieve "flow".
Peak Performance Poker(09/06/2011) The days of smoke-filled rooms, whiskey, cheeseburgers, and late nights are gone. I think the new-school poker players — the ones who are dominating the games today — are players who look very different.
Am I Delusional?(19/05/2011) I recently bluffed off 125 big blinds and felt like I played the hand pretty well. But, of course, I know that we poker players sometimes like to justify our actions despite evidence to the contrary.
Three-Betting Preflop(21/04/2011) In this column, I've chosen one hand from each author in which he three-bet preflop with a marginal hand.
Continuation-Betting(28/03/2011) In this column, I've chosen a couple of hands from Apestyles, in which he illustrates examples of when he decided not to continuation-bet.
Button Play in Tournaments(10/03/2011) I've chosen a couple of hands from PearlJammer, in which he evaluates some close decisions on the button.
Playing Pocket Pairs in Tournaments(28/02/2011) For this column, I decided to choose some hands [...] that look at different situations for playing small or medium pocket pairs.
Using Ranges to Make Better Decisions(17/02/2011) The newest buzz word in the poker world is range. "What range did you put him on?" "I put him on a wide range, so I reraised." "With his range, there was a good chance that he liked that flop."
Misapplying Expected Value Calculations, Part 2(04/02/2011) A few months ago, I wrote a column about how some players are misapplying expected value calculations. That column discussed several different factors that you should consider, but one key factor is that just because a play is profitable, it doesn’t mean you should make it.
New Year's Resolutions: Improving Your Game(24/01/2011) Each person is different and learns in different ways, but here is a list of things that I like to recommend to players to help them improve their game.
The Emotional Paradox of Poker(14/01/2011) Many players let emotions affect their poker decisions, yet emotions should have no impact whatsoever on the decision-making process.
Playing Smart(31/12/2010) Today's poker environment is much tougher than it used to be. A few years ago, anyone with half a brain and a little dedication could make money playing poker. All you had to do was play smart and you could make good money. But...
Online-Tournament Game Selection(13/12/2010) Game selection has always been an important topic discussed by many top players and authors.
When the flops keep missing(18/11/2010) I had a relatively tough starting table that included two other previous New Zealand champs.
Learning Pot-Limit Omaha(18/10/2010) Pot-limit Omaha offers a natural transition for no-limit hold’em players. Limit hold’em has already matured, with the games being extremely tough nowadays at the higher limits.
Automated Poker(10/09/2010) There is nothing like the live experience of being able to interact with your opponents and look into their eyes during critical decisions. The social interaction simply makes poker more fun.
Weaving Through 9,999 Opponents(12/07/2010) I won The $100K Holiday freeroll tournament at Full Tilt Poker. This kind of tournament is usually much different than the normal major tournaments I play on Sundays.
Shorthanded Limit Hold'em Strategy(26/04/2010) This column will discuss the best type of games to look for, and then will outline a five-point strategy for dominating shorthanded games.
Raising Draws for Value(18/02/2010) Beginning players, and even some players with a decent amount of experience, have misconceptions concerning when they should raise and when they should call with a draw.
Multiway Pots(18/01/2010) Take this quiz to test your skills. These are limit hold'em hands at the limits shown.
Stack Size is Everything in Tournaments(12/11/2009) Top professionals are always acutely aware of their stack sizes, the stack sizes of their opponents, and these stack sizes in relation to the blinds.
Reflections on My Results at the World Series of Poker(19/10/2009) The 2008 World Series of Poker was extremely disappointing for me. I played 15 events and was able to manage only one small cash. This is particularly disappointing because I prepared harder this year than I ever have.
The World Series of Poker Bubbles(23/09/2009) Looking back, I've learned a lot about playing in the main event, and I think I probably haven't exploited bubble situations as much as I should have. This column will share some of those lessons.
Are You Prepared?(02/09/2009) I wrote a column that discussed how long-term players sometimes reach a point where they become less keen on learning and improving their game. Ian Taylor described some of the reasons why our desire to learn might start to wane.
Mixed Hold'em(19/08/2009) Over the years, there has been a lot of debate over which form of hold'em is the best test of players.
A Shorthanded Limit Hold'em Hand(06/08/2009) I recently played an interesting hand online during a shorthanded six-max limit hold'em game... As I was moving my mouse to the fold button, I decided to wait and think this through a little further.
Reactions to Losing a Big Pot - Part II(30/07/2009) To further illustrate the difference between the stages, let's look at a limit hold'em hand example from the point of view of a representative player whom we will call Rick.
Reactions to Losing a Big Pot - Part I(22/07/2009) Some players tend to react very well to losing a big pot (and, indeed, other adversity in poker), while others tend to react badly. Experience helps in some regard.
River Bluffs in Limit Hold'em(09/07/2009) 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.
Improving Your Game(01/07/2009) Do you remember when you started playing poker and read your first poker book? So, you spent countless hours reading poker books, evaluating hands, and talking about poker with your friends. But what's next?
Playing Trash Hands in Limit Hold'em(18/06/2009) This column looks at situations on the other side of the spectrum - trash hands. Playing the nuts is relatively easy, since you simply are looking to maximize the value of your hand. However, there are many situations in which you flop absolutely nothing.
Limit Hold'em Quiz(03/06/2009) Most players love to discuss hands when the value of a hand is not very clear. You don't too frequently hear players discussing hands when they have flopped the nuts (or close to it). However, it is important to make sure that you maximize the value of your hand when you flop the nuts.
Don't Be Afraid to Make Mistakes(13/05/2009) Beginning players are afraid to make mistakes because they don't want to look like a beginner. Experienced players are afraid to make mistakes because they also don't want to look like a beginner. It isn't a big leap to say that most players have this fear of making mistakes for one reason or another.
A Common Mistake When Drawing(15/04/2009) The most common mistake of beginning players is playing too loosely. They play too many starting hands, continue too often with weak pairs on the flop, and chase unprofitable draws.
Why do Players Go on Tilt?(18/03/2009) Every player is different, and will have different reasons why he goes on tilt. A situation that puts one player on tilt may not affect another player at all. But, we can make generalizations about why certain types of tilt are common and what situations might trigger them.
Some Mistakes Down Under(04/02/2009) 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. The Australian and New Zealand poker community is filled with unique and interesting personalities.
The Paradox of Poker(07/01/2009) Very few players succeed in both tournaments and cash games. Why is this?
The Antithesis of a Bad-Beat Story(01/01/2009) Every month I divulge some of the strategies that I have learned about this game. This month, I would like to share a secret that most people don't know: I am the luckiest player in poker.
Isolating an All-In Opponent(02/02/2007) Many players struggle to distinguish between the situations in which they should attempt to knock out an opponent and those in which they should merely try to accumulate more chips
Your Stack and the Time Clock(08/12/2006) Strategy implications for a small stack when time is dwindling. These are the kinds of plays that make you look like either a genius or a donkey who just lost it toward the end of the tourney.
Effective Implied Pot Odds(17/11/2006) Matthew Hilger poker article "Effective Implied Pot Odds". Implied pot odds should include the amount of bets you expect to win from your opponent.
Determining How Much to Bet(10/11/2006) Utilizing odds to determine how much to bet in no-limit hold'em poker.
A Look at Backdoor-Flush Draws(27/10/2006) Matthew Hilger article A Look at Backdoor-Flush Draws. Poker article explaining the details of specific poker situations.
Matthew is the owner of Dimat Enterprises, “Publishing Today’s Best Poker Books”. The Math of Hold’em by Collin Moshman and Douglas Zare is available now at pokerbooks.InternetTexasHoldem.com.
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