Poker News http://www.demonpoker.net Poker News and Promotions Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:05:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 How to Organize a Poker Tournament http://www.demonpoker.net/how-to-organize-a-poker-tournament http://www.demonpoker.net/how-to-organize-a-poker-tournament#comments Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:05:39 +0000 PokerFelts http://www.demonpoker.net/?p=249 If you enjoy an evening spent with your friends and family playing cards (as opposed to an evening collecting poker bonuses) this guide will show you how to organize a poker tournament. I have held several tournaments over the years and have developed a process that makes the task seem less overwhelming. The process can be broken down into three phases – Planning, Organizing, and Execution.

The Planning Stage

Picking the date and location of the tournament is the first decision you need to make. If you will be playing for real money, make sure this is legal in the town or venue you have chosen. Also consider the minimum number of guests you would like to invite.

Once you have found a location that meets your minimum capacity, you can begin to calculate the number of participants your tournament can hold. Based on the available space determine how many and what size tables you can fit comfortably into the space. You also want to leave open space for guests who either aren’t playing or have been eliminated to socialize.

Now that you have answered the questions of where, when, and how many participants it is time to move to the second phase.

The Organizing Stage

This stage is the most time consuming of the process. You need to gather and organize all the material needed to make your event a success.

- Participants
- Tables and chairs
- Cards, chips, timers, and rules
- Snacks and refreshments

Participants are obviously the most needed item to make the event run smoothly. Once you have generated your guest list, based on the number of entry positions available, send out your invitations. Keep track of who will be coming and possibly even invite a few alternates in case of last minute cancellations. If you will be playing in your tournament, assign at least one other person to help you deal with the running of the tournament on the big night.

Make arrangements to get your tables and chairs to the event and identify who will be responsible for setting them up and when. Remember not to overcrowd your tables so that players will be comfortable. Also, you want to leave room around the tables where railbirds can watch the hands without intruding on the players’ space.

You need 1 deck of cards for each table and enough chips for all players based on your buy-in price. The blinds timer can be anything from simple – a clock on the wall or an unbiased person’s wristwatch – to extravagant – individual decorative timers at each table. Though you may not need to use them, it is a good idea to have a printout of the rules available. Make sure that everyone is aware of the rules before you begin and agrees with the set you have available.

Deciding on exactly which snacks and refreshments to have available is not as important as making sure you have enough. You should tailor your selection to your guests and either provide them with what they like or inform them that they will need to bring their own.

The Execution Stage

Once the night is here you should greet your guests as they arrive. Make sure all the players have arrived and assign alternates as necessary. Once everyone is assembled and bought their chips give a brief kick-off speech for the tournament. Explain the tournament rules, blinds times, identify your assistant(s) and answer any questions people may have.

As the tournament goes on and you condense tables try to keep a balance based on players chips. Try to group the lower chip holders together to keep the games more enjoyable for all. Once your tournament finishes, a presentation ceremony for the winners is another good way to ensure that your guests have a good time.

Now that you know how to organize a poker tournament get out there and start planning your first gathering. Designate a trophy if you like, and watch your friends compete to see who can hold it the longest or most. The most important thing to keep in mind is having fun. That is what it is really about.

Once you’ve played a few poker tournaments with your friends, you might even consider playing in the World Series of Poker.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/how-to-organize-a-poker-tournament/feed 0 Multi Level Thinking in Poker http://www.demonpoker.net/multi-level-thinking-in-poker http://www.demonpoker.net/multi-level-thinking-in-poker#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:24:46 +0000 PokerFelts http://www.demonpoker.net/?p=246 Multi Level Thinking in Poker

Up until now, you might have been forgiven for thinking that poker was a game purely based of mathematical decisions and your hand strength. In a vacuum, such as meta-game poker, this would be completely true. However your typical cash game doesn’t take place in a vacuum, there are different players that you have to take into account, a number of flop textures and previous hand histories. This all adds up to a form of poker that is more dependent on outplaying your opponent and balancing your hand range, as opposed to only looking at your cards.

Multi-level thinking is a very advanced topic in poker strategy, and it addresses the topic of making decisions based on how you think your opponent reads the game. To be a successful poker player at the higher limits you need to be constantly thinking about what your opponent has and what he might think you have. To win pots you have to out-level your opponent. For instance, if you start 3betting light with 34 in CO then your opponent typical regulars at $3/$6 will start to adjust by 4bet bluffing you with 73o from UTG. However, if you then know they are 4betting with air then you can shove them or maybe 5bet bluff them to win the pot.

What’s most important is accurately knowing which level your opponent’s thought process is working on so that you can exploit him. If you think your opponent is on Level 3 but he’s actually on Level 4 then the moves and decisions that you make will not add up so well since you are not analysing your opponent’s game correctly. This can be a critical mistake, which is also why having strong read on your opponent before hand with a big sample of HUD stats is important.

Different Levels of Thinking:

  • Level 0: I know nothing
  • Level 1: What do I have?
  • Level 2: What does my opponent have?
  • Level 3: What does my opponent think I have?
  • Level 4: What does my opponent think that I think they have?
  • Level 5: What does my opponent think that I think they think I have

As you can see, we can take multi level thinking a long way. There are various levels involved, and depending on the quality and experience on your opponent he could be operating on a higher level.

In the micro-stakes games multi level thinking is not really important at all since the majority of players are only operating on Level 1 and 2. When you’re typical NL25 TAG gets dealt AA, he’s very unlikely to limp-raise it and hope that he’ll run into villain 3betting light or blind-stealing with QJ. As you move up to NL100 or NL200 however, you will need to start taking considerations into account.

Multi-level thinking is most important to get right on missed flops. If you c-bet the flop, and then double-barrel the turn, then you need to start asking yourself what your opponent’s hand range is and whether they are trying to outplay you or not. For example, a Level 4 opponent will be able to float several times against a LAG holding nothing but air and know that he can take down the pot by pure-bluffing the river. A level 2 opponent will fold most of the time on a missed flop however, and will not take into account the various steps and his opponent’s hand range.

At the higher levels of multi-level thinking, balancing your hand range becomes extremely important. Advanced players who regularly play on a level of 3, 4 or 5 will be able to accurately narrow down their opponent’s hand ranges post-flop. For example if their opponent flat-called pre-flop, c-bet the flop, checked the turn and bet the river, then they will be able to narrow down their range and calculate their own equity in the pot using PokerStove. On a board like 10s-Qd-7h-Qs-8, an advanced player might be able to reduce their opponent’s holdings down to QJ/QK by discounting certain hands. AK/AQ would have been 3bet pre-flop so that can be removed, and most pocket pairs would be betting the turn for value.

Another example of multi-level thinking that made a popular post on 2+2 recently was a game which involved CardRunners pro CTS:

In a game of $25/$50, the perceived fish at the table open-raised from CO and Hero 3bet the fish with K4 from the button (blind steal). CTS was on the BB and 4bet Hero since he knew he was 3betting light to isolate the fish. The question in the forum threads was whether it would be profitable to 5bet bluff CTS?

It turned out that CTS knew that HERO would 5bet shove him. Basically, CTS out-levelled him and calling with AJo – winning the hand.

As you can see from this extreme example, multi-level thinking does go on a lot at the higher stakes. And I can only bet that it will be increasingly important as the game in general becomes more aggressive and players become more optimal in their strategy.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/multi-level-thinking-in-poker/feed 0 Poker Pro’s Ferrari Stolen From Casino http://www.demonpoker.net/poker-pro%e2%80%99s-ferrari-stolen-from-casino http://www.demonpoker.net/poker-pro%e2%80%99s-ferrari-stolen-from-casino#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 16:00:33 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=241 An Australian professional poker player who was known for his good fortune at the tables has experienced the shock of his life, finding out that his prized Ferrari F430 had been stolen from outside of a casino.

Van Marcus parked outside the casino to hand over the car to the valet who was to park the car and ensure that during the pro’s gambling session, the car was safe.

Adam Ramsey, a 32 year old man then proceeded to walk up to the valet and claimed that he was the owner of the $389,000 sports car.

The valet asked Ramsey for the ticket related to the car but Ramsey simply said that he no longer had it and the valet simply pulled the car around after Ramsey signed a form in his own name and paid $30.

Police found Ramsey and the damaged car at the side of a highway, arresting the joyrider.

Ramsey has pleaded guilty to the charges, with his own legal representative admitting that his client couldn’t have done a dumber thing if he tried.

Marcus’s anger is more towards the casino rather than Ramsey, saying that the casino are more than happy to watch gamblers place millions of dollars of bets over the tables but they are slack with their car park security.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/poker-pro%e2%80%99s-ferrari-stolen-from-casino/feed 0 Play The Next 20 Years of World Series of Poker Main Events Free http://www.demonpoker.net/play-the-next-20-years-of-world-series-of-poker-main-events-free http://www.demonpoker.net/play-the-next-20-years-of-world-series-of-poker-main-events-free#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 10:17:34 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=229 News has begun to circulate that PartyPoker.com, an online poker room is set to roll out a new promotion that will offer two lucky players the opportunity to have their name placed onto the next 20 World Series of Poker Main Event players list for free.

The package on offer from the online poker room isn’t simply your buy in into the tournament event either, with the package made up of:

  • Tournament Entry Fee
  • Travel
  • Accommodation
  • Spending Money
  • $10,000 a year

The once in a lifetime opportunity is set to ignite the traffic heading to the online poker room which already has a strong, loyal following in terms of online poker players.

PartyPoker are offering these packages to their members through two methods, with the first package been given to the winner of a rake race and the second package been given to the winner of a multi table tournament that will take place 20th June.

Don’t worry if you reach the final two and fall foul of a poor hand either, the runner up within both of the competitions will be also rewarded for their play, with the consolation prize of a seat in this years World Series of Poker Main Event, not a bad prize to say the very least!

Mike Sexton, a well know professional poker player and ambassador for PartyPoker.com spoke out about the latest promotion to hit the online poker room, saying:

“I think WSOP For Life is a really great idea – I have been playing the Main Event for most of my life! I just wish I had the opportunity to qualify for this but, unfortunately, I am exempt!”

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/play-the-next-20-years-of-world-series-of-poker-main-events-free/feed 0 Absolute and Ultimate Bet Exploited Again http://www.demonpoker.net/absolute-and-ultimate-bet-exploited-again http://www.demonpoker.net/absolute-and-ultimate-bet-exploited-again#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 21:37:09 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=208 After the story hit the poker industry media headlines that Absolute Poker had a super player who was cleaning up at the online poker tables in such a way that players suspected that the player was cheating, with an investigation proving that the player was a company insider.

The online poker room took a huge hit to both traffic and reputation and with the brands hitting the news headlines once again, the online poker rooms are set to be rocked once again after Poker Table Rankings revealed that the software used by the poker rooms were open to security exploitation.

The security breach meant that a person was able to power two computers with one connected to the online poker room and the other pulling ‘packets’ of information while the poker rooms server was pulling information such as a players personal data or even reveal their hole cards.

After testing the security of the online poker software, Poker Table Rankings contacted the online poker rooms hosted within the Cereus Gaming Network, proving video proof that the exploit could be done.

The video proof was then recreated by the finder, this time showing a scaled down version of the exploit in action, calling his hole cards on the second computer at the same time as the cards were dealt on the computer connected to the online poker room.

The news sent shockwaves through the online poker world, with many webmasters who partner the online poker rooms within the network questioning the honesty of the video.

An affiliate that is well known within the industry then called on a friend of his to recreate the exploit with the purpose of confirming the findings for hundreds of webmasters and the news wasn’t good for those pushing their traffic to the effected poker rooms.

The re-creation saw the person who tried the exploit manage to mimic the actions of the original video and only once their proof was offered did a number of large name affiliates pull the plug on their promotion of the Cereus Network ran sites.

Poker Table Rankings have been very honest about their findings and have even disclosed the email response that they received from Paul Leget, Managing Director of Cereus Network’s mother company.

The email read:

“We really value your email regarding the security hole on our network. We have watched your video and I honestly believe that you did a great job to the poker community by informing us and the players regarding this issue.

We would like to ensure you that this is an extremely important issue to us and we are working towards to the best solution as soon as possible. We would also like your contribution in resolving this matter, if you provide that kind of services.

Please publish this response to your website and inform the players that in order to suffer than kind of illegal attempt the hacker must have access to their local network.”

All that we can conclude from this story is that with the online poker rooms hosted within the Cereus Network proving that they simply can’t protect their members from unfair gaming, should they even be allowed to continue trading?

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/absolute-and-ultimate-bet-exploited-again/feed 0 World Series of Poker Look For Player Record http://www.demonpoker.net/world-series-of-poker-look-for-player-record http://www.demonpoker.net/world-series-of-poker-look-for-player-record#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 20:32:58 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=202 You don’t have to look for to final that the world’s biggest poker tournament series accolade is granted to the World Series of Poker and with increasing numbers of players looking to win a share of the vast amount of money up for grabs each and every year, the brand has recorded a year upon year increase of participants, with this years tournament expect to fetch a record number of players to the tables.

Las Vegas is getting set for the tournament to once again roll into town and with the knowledge that the tournament is about to embark on the Las Vegas Strip, players are expected to flood into the city.

Mixed a huge variety of player talent within the tournament, amateur and professional poker players will become one as the field finds out their seating plan and could well place one of the most feared poker players in the world in the site firmly to your right.

The 57 event tournament series has already opened up pre-registration to the public and professionals alike and the figures so far are setting pulses racing as the brand looks to improve on the 6,000 player strong main event tournament that was played out last year.

The tournament series will begin May 27th and will run until July 17th when the final main event comes to an end and one poker player wins a life-changing amount of prize money.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/world-series-of-poker-look-for-player-record/feed 0 World Series of Poker Heading to United Kingdom http://www.demonpoker.net/world-series-of-poker-heading-to-united-kingdom http://www.demonpoker.net/world-series-of-poker-heading-to-united-kingdom#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 11:43:20 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=194 There is great news for poker players who reside in the United Kingdom. There is an opportunity which will soon be open to them that is sure to cause a lot of excitement.

The World Series of Poker is bringing an exciting opportunity to the residents of the United Kingdom who are at least 21 years of age and this is one that they won’t want to miss out on.

This opportunity gives players the chance that they have been hoping for. The WSOP announced last month that players can expect the Tournament of Champions to return. This is an All Star event offered for poker players.

Right now many poker fans are voting for their favorite top 20 World Series of Poker champions, 25 of the world’s top poker pros and 2 other seat winners will be included in the entrants who will take part in this great event. This event will be a spectacular one and the best part of all for poker fans is that one of them will find themselves taking place in it and having a chance at getting in on the one million dollar worth of prize money.

This event will be televised and many poker fans will be tuned in to watch it as all of the action unfolds. The lucky player who wins the WSOP’s daily $1 satellite tournaments will automatically receive entry into the tournament.

The winner of this event will find themselves heading off to Las Vegas, Nevada with all of their travel expenses being covered. Once they arrive in Las Vegas they will be welcomed by the spectacular light show that the Las Vegas strip has to offer. They will also be able to get in the spotlight as they compete in this great event which is sure to be a real crowd pleaser.

Some lucky player will find themselves the proud owner of an extra million. Anyone who has dreamed of playing with the pros will want to make sure that they try to win their seat into this event.

With the news set to ignite the UK based poker market, its a certainty that this story will be back within the headlines within the Poker News community.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/world-series-of-poker-heading-to-united-kingdom/feed 0 French Get Granted Right to Broadcast Poker http://www.demonpoker.net/french-get-granted-right-to-broadcast-poker http://www.demonpoker.net/french-get-granted-right-to-broadcast-poker#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 09:47:13 +0000 B.Philips http://demonpoker.net/?p=179 Free, a digital television broadcasting channel has been given the rights to be able to televise poker action on their television channel within the French region, meaning that French poker fans will be able to get this poker fix right from the comfort of their living room.

The French broadcasters have created a partnership with online poker room Chilli Poker and will be showing action from the online poker room to viewers within their programme listings.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/french-get-granted-right-to-broadcast-poker/feed 0 Titan Poker Offer World Series of Poker Main Event Packages http://www.demonpoker.net/titan-poker-offer-world-series-of-poker-main-event-packages http://www.demonpoker.net/titan-poker-offer-world-series-of-poker-main-event-packages#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 09:34:00 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=175 The leading online poker room on the iPoker Gaming Network, Titan Poker have rolled out their tournaments that will offer online poker players the chance to win the opportunity to play within the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event which will be hosted in Las Vegas, America.

The French run online poker room are offering players two different styles of prize packages, both offering a value of either $13,000 or $25,000.

The $13,000 packages are on offer to any player who is able to overcome the playing field within satellite style tournaments that are running on the site and the players who are able to get their hands on one of these packages will have everything they need paid for by the iPoker online poker room.

To keep traffic heading to the online poker room, considered to be the biggest European poker room, Titan Poker have also brought back their Sit and Go tournament jackpot promotion which will mean that any player who is able to win six of the specially created Sit and Go tournaments in a row will instantly unlock a World Series of Poker Main Event package that carries the value of $25,000.

The biggest package that is up for grabs here will not only include the $10,000 buy in fee into the tournament, accommodation, travel and spending money but it will also include VIP limousine travel to and from the tournament venue, giving the winner an experience like no other online poker room is offering.

Traffic at the site has been reported to be as high as 60,000 players online at peak times and with the news of these tournament packages been placed up for grabs, its expected that the poker room is set for an influx of new members who will be creating accounts from other online poker rooms such as Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars as they look to secure these fantastic prizes and secure their place within one of the biggest live tournaments on the live poker calendar.

]]> http://www.demonpoker.net/titan-poker-offer-world-series-of-poker-main-event-packages/feed 0 Phil Ivey Places LA Home on Market http://www.demonpoker.net/phil-ivey-places-la-home-on-market http://www.demonpoker.net/phil-ivey-places-la-home-on-market#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 16:45:05 +0000 PokerFelts http://demonpoker.net/?p=149 Full Tilt Poker professional poker player Phil Ivey has been revealed to have placed his home close to Las Vegas onto the housing market for a price of $1,995,000.

The home has been described as a contemporary house that was built in 2001.

The house and grounds are said to be found to span a total of 16,000 square feet, including a golf course, swimming pool, spa and boasts a car garage that can easily accommodate 4 cars.

Ivey, a professional poker player is known within the poker community as the best poker player in the world at this current time and has earned more than $12.8 million during his time at the poker tables.

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