May 10, 2013 7 Comments
This is one of the most beneficial videos I have ever watched on YouTube. While Sam discusses poker specifically, the overall lesson learned here is valuable to anyone seeking to improve in any area of life.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Read more of this post
April 27, 2013 5 Comments
The word Zen is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, meaning “meditation” or “meditative state.”
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. Zen emphasizes experiential wisdom in the path to attaining enlightenment. It favors direct self-realization through meditation and dharma. Meditation is the core aspect of Zen practice. Zen meditation is formally described as a sitting meditation with awareness being directed towards counting or watching the breath. Experienced practitioners of Zen meditation strive to be aware of the stream of thoughts in their minds, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. Read more of this post
November 16, 2012 Leave a Comment
Greg Merson, 2012 WSOP Main Event Champion and 2012 WSOP Player of the Year, talks about his World Series of Poker Main Event win at the Ivey Poker studio:
October 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
This is article written by David Sklansky & Alan N. Schoonmaker, Ph.D.
Many people have argued that poker should be considered differently from gambling in general. This argument has been made in discussions of legalization and related topics. Their argument is usually that poker is a skill game, while other gambling games are much less dependent upon skill.
We agree, but believe that they have not gone far enough in explaining many of poker’s unique attributes. Poker does not just require skill. It demands and develops many skills and personal qualities which are essential for making all types of decisions, such as choosing a career, investing money, performing a job, and buying a house. Read more of this post
October 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
Every poker player has flaws in their poker game whether they want to admit it or not.
Most players will never discover these flaws in their game, and will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again until they consciously choose to fix them. Fixing a flaw is known in the poker community as “plugging a leak.” Much like a plumber must plug a leak in a pipe for the system to work correctly, every aspiring poker player must plug leaks in their poker game in order for their poker business to be as profitable as possible. Read more of this post
October 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
Being the chip leader in a big multi-table tournament is a wonderful thing if you know how to play your massive pile of chips correctly, and ultimately win the entire tournament.
In tournament poker, my only goal is to win the entire tournament. Even though the second place prize money is right up there with first, I still get disappointed if I can’t seal the deal. Even with the nice bankroll boost, second place just isn’t as fun as winning the entire tournament. By the time all is said and done, I want to have every single chip in play, everything else is secondary. Plan A is to win the entire tournament. I don’t have a plan B because it distracts from Plan A. Read more of this post
October 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
No matter how good at poker you may think you are, you simply have to lose sometimes. Sometimes those losing streaks last longer than you could ever imagine, even if you are playing “perfect” poker. The fact is, no matter your skill level in poker, the bad side of variance will bite you in the ass sometimes. You can get all your chips in the middle with the best hand, and end up losing, it is just something that happens sometimes. This luck element of poker is what keeps the fish coming, and what enables profitable players to win in the long-run. Read more of this post
October 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
My life has been quite busy as of late, and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and get all of my new ideas and theories out into blog entries. I am still sorting everything out to present it as best as possible so bear with me. I have a lot of ideas I want to share with everyone but I need to present them in a way that everyone can understand and formulate an opinion on. It might be impossibly hard to do that with some of the subject matters I will touch on. A lot of these topics will be discussed on our podcast which should be live by the end of the year if all goes according to plan.
Having said that, this past month I have gotten back into online poker after a short hiatus from the game, which has enabled me to learn a lot more about myself, and also the game of poker. Read more of this post
October 3, 2012 Leave a Comment
If your intention is to become a long-term winning poker player, you will need to develop an extensive list of personality traits to succeed. One of the most crucial aspects of a winning poker player’s mindset is their intuition. Developing and trusting your intuition in the heat of battle is essential if you want to take your game to the next level.
This article will outline how to use your intuition to help you win in No-Limit Texas Hold’em, and allow you to make better decisions in your life outside of the poker arena.
June 17, 2012 Leave a Comment
Transitioning to live poker is a topic that was written about a lot even before Black Friday. Since then, it’s been written about even more, and nearly every training site has instructions on how to make the transition a profitable one.
My goal here is not to give you specific advice about playing live, instead, I want to give you an overall strategy/plan that will help you to make the transition faster and more successful. Read more of this post
June 15, 2012 1 Comment
The poker climate is getting tougher, there’s no doubt about it. Game selection is now essential if you want to maintain a stable winrate and knowing your push/ fold ranges from your PSR (pot to stack ratio) is a must. Whether you see poker as a sport or not, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that in order to succeed in today’s game you need to start treating it as though it is. Established sports such a football, golf and chess all have structures in place to nurture participants to become better players. Poker, however, lacks such a system. Read more of this post
June 12, 2012 Leave a Comment
Poker is a game which requires a cold, calculating mind, and an unerring ability to calculate the odds and then act upon them. However, it’s also a game of luck and when the variables of luck tangle with the emotions of a player all too often the result is that most fascinating of poker phenomenon’s: tilt. Read more of this post
April 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
This is a contribution from poker pro Matt Marietta.
Matt is an author at Rakeback.com You can view his full biography here.
Which Game is Right for You?
New to poker and aren’t quite sure which type of game to start off with? This is a common question amongst up poker beginners. Your choices are Sit ‘n Go’s, cash games, or multi table tournaments. All being quite different from each other, it ultimately depends on what type of player you are.
April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
Part I: The Money Bubble
Part II: The Final Table Bubble
Reaching the final table of a poker tournament is very exciting. You have outlasted the entire field of players, and now it is down to 9 to play for the big first place prize. As I detailed in the previous articles, the main objective to maximize your profit in tournament poker is to win the entire tournament. The top prize is reserved for first place.
