I choose the poker tournaments that I play with great care. I don’t miss many WSOP events which means I’m booked in Vegas from the end of May until the middle of July each year. I also like to play the major WPT tournaments, so that’s another twenty days per year that I’m away from home.

Add in all the made-for-television games like Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker and The Big Game, and man, that’s a lot of poker!

There is one other event that I always try to play, the $10,000 buy-in heads-up tournament at the Los Angeles Poker Classic. What’s fun about this tourney is that it features a unique double-elimination format — lose two matches and you’re toast.

In 2008, with 110 players signed up to play, I got lucky and randomly drew a first round bye. But in the second round, I had to face the always-tough and well-respected pro Erick “E-Dog” Lindgren, that year’s WSOP Player of the Year and an all-around great guy, too.

In the second hand of our match, with the blinds at $100/$200, I limped in on the button with Q-3 offsuit. Erick raised $300 and I called.

The flop came K-7-5. Erick fired out $600. Attempting to bluff E-Dog out of the pot, I made it $2,600 to go. Didn’t work, though, he called.

Another king fell on the turn. Erick checked this time, probably wary of my raise on the flop. Continuing my bluff, I bet $1,800 and Erick called again.

The river was a ten and Erick checked. I studied for a while then decided to check, too.

Wow, good thing I didn’t try to bluff on the river as E-Dog rolled over K-10 for a big full house.

Let’s take a closer look at this hand.

I don’t mind my pre-flop call for $300. My $2,000 raise on the flop was a decent play although it certainly didn’t work out as planned. I’m pretty sure that my bluff would have done the trick if E-Dog was weak, but that just wasn’t the case.

On the turn, I like my $1,800 bluff bet. It was designed to deliver the deceptive message that I had a king and wanted a call. Also, it afforded me the opportunity to continue bluffing on the river.

I love my check on the river. I mean, c’mon, it was the only move that worked to my benefit in this hand!

E-Dog, you played the match like a true champion.

When I was down to my last $5,000, a less experienced player might have eased up, or conversely, might have played recklessly. But Erick never let me back into the match. He played fiercely until he had the victory in hand.

Of course, I didn’t make it easy for him. It’s important to play your best right up until the end because you just never know when a run of good cards will come your way.

One more tip: You’ve got to be willing to change your heads-up tactics depending on how your opponent plays his cards.

My preference is to play patiently and trap a super-aggressive opponent by letting them do the betting. And when I do catch a strong hand, I’ll make a small bet to induce a call. But if my opponent plays tight, I’ll try a few well-timed bluffs. In fact, I might bluff every single pot until he finally calls me down.

Heads-up poker requires flexibility, imagination, and well-timed aggression. Keep that in mind the next time you get to down to the final two.

The International Slots League, in association with Platinum Play Online Casino and all of the Fortune Lounge Group of Online Casinos, has just launched four new tournament types as well as four new guaranteed tournaments on 6th September 2010, which can be viewed within the Slots League Schedule.

The International Slots League has long been a fan favourite amongst online slots enthusiasts, and now with the introduction of four new tournaments to take part in, this popularity is set to continue. Each new tournament offers exciting ways to win incredible rewards. These tournament types are Extender, One-Shot, Reloader and Survivor.

The Extender tournament is one in which players build up a score using add-ons to extend their base score. In this tournament, the highest score will win. The One-Shot tournament gives players only one attempt in which to get the best possible score; with no re-buys or add-ons, the ante in this fast-paced game is exceptionally high. The Reloader tournament gives all players equal footing just like a lottery, it is a single-round tournament and there are no add-ons allowed. The final tournament type is the Survivor tournament, which has multi-round elimination tournaments to play in.

New additional guaranteed tournaments also introduced include the Midweek Moolah, Weekend Whopper and The Monthly Monster. With guaranteed prize pools of $25,000 players will have ample opportunity to walk away a winner.

All interested slots fans are encouraged to play in the International Slots League for advanced slots gaming and live tournaments at their fingertips. Players simply need to register a casino account at Platinum Play Online Casino or any of the other Fortune Lounge Casinos and become a part of the fastest-growing slots community online.

The ongoing debate over legalizing online gaming made a pit stop on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tuesday night when Barney Frank was a guest on the show and the topic was discussed. Congressman Barney Frank has been pushing congress to accept his online gaming bill HR 2267 to make online gaming legal in the US. Frank and millions of gamblers believe the government has no place ordering what people can and cannot do in their own homes or lives, and this bill would allow gamblers the choice of gaming at land-based casinos or at online gaming sites.

Jay Leno & Barney Frank quickly turned their visit into a debate when Frank started pointing out that the government was wasting a huge opportunity to help ease the economic hardship our country is going through by regulating and taxing online gambling. Frank went on to say “We now make it illegal for adults to gamble via the internet”, “If you have someone who wants to play online poker on the internet, the government says its illegal. Why we think it’s the governments business is beyond me, we could make billions a year by legalizing online gambling and taxing it”.

It was very apparent that the audience was behind Mr. Frank and should show their support but Mr. Leno was quick to disagree by saying that live gambling is acceptable because it’s not readily available. Leno went on to say, “Vegas works because you have to travel across a desert to get there, you lose your money and then go home. You can’t go to the casino again until you have more money. If you are sitting at home and your up late at night and have your little credit card with you, next thing you know… it’s like having a mini bar”.

Barney Frank shot Leno’s argument down quickly by stating that there are casinos all over the country, not just out across the desert. He explained that HR 2267 excludes the use of credit cards to gamble with and only allows deposits through debit cards and prepaid cards, which will make it impossible for gamblers to gamble with cash they don’t have.

The conversation then changed to education and legalization of marijuana but Mr. Frank ended his bit with a recap of his argument and a major point, “As a general rule, our government should not be trying to live the lives of its citizens.

Gambling groups are uncertain about the impact of the Gauteng Gambling Board’s move to effectively ban online platforms, but for now it looks like operators not registered in South Africa will be hardest hit.

This follows an announcement by the board last week that those involved in promoting, transacting or operating an online platform would feel the full weight of the law.

Regulators are apparently zeroing in on many operators based outside South Africa which are targeting local punters. These include casino and lottery operators in Swaziland and Europe, whose clients move money into offshore accounts without complying with foreign exchange regulations.

Brent Graham, who operates the Good For The Game online sports betting news portal, told Fin24 there had been a great deal of uncertainty in the market following the announcement last week. This included the sports betting industry.

“As I understand it, this won’t affect bookmakers with local licences taking online sports bets,” he said.

Graham pointed out that bookmakers offering online sports betting had to comply with strict regulations from their local gambling boards, including what software they use. This was conditional to licences being issued. Licences are still being granted.

The National Gambling Board stated: “South African gamblers shall be held liable for their gambling activities in cyberspace even if the web server is located offshore.

“Banking institutions’ credit and debit cards should not be used for the payment of any gambling transactions that are illegal, and the banks reserve the right to decline processing or paying any card transactions which are suspected to be illegal gambling transactions (to the exclusion of sports betting/online bookmaking).”

However, online casino Piggs Peak is not bowing to pressure. The company says that issue is being taken on appeal in the Pretoria High Court. When Fin24 approached a service consultant on the site to open an account, they indicated that they were still open for business and taking new accounts.

In a message to clients on Tuesday Lew Saul Koor, operations director at Piggs Peak, said: “On consultation with our senior legal council, they agree that we should appeal this finding which we believe is totally incorrect. Until the appeal has been heard and the outcome determined, our business will continue as usual as agreed with the gambling boards.”

Active policing, says the board

Fin24 approached a support consultant at African Palace casino – which is owned by First Grand Gaming and based in Curacao – to find out if it was still opening accounts. The consultant requested Fin24 to send an email to its support centre. The query remained unanswered.

It is not just the operators who could find themselves in hot water.

The National Gambling Board warned publishers who promote online gambling products that “much of the advertisements of internet gambling in South Africa are subject to prosecution, and the National Gambling Board will be prosecuting any advertising media and other transgressors who continue to act contrary to the laws of the Republic.

“All advertising media that continue to facilitate the offering of internet gambling activities in South Africa are deemed to be aiding and abetting unlawful, illegal gambling activities and shall be prosecuted and fined for up to R10m or 10 years’ imprisonment.”

Banks also appear not to be taking any chances on other forms of online gaming, including lottery tickets and sports betting. Fin24 users have reported that banks, including Standard and Investec, have warned them in correspondence not to use credit or debit cards to buy these tickets.

According to the Gauteng Gambling Board the industry is actively policed, with high levels of convictions of illegal operators.

In Gauteng there have been 462 convictions for illegal gambling activity since 2001, including 33 this year. There are 438 cases pending. There have also been 34 raids on illegal operations in South Africa in 2010.

The poker-related card game called Chicago is one of the most popular card games in Sweden today. Relying on the keeping of score instead of the placing of bets, it is suitable even for environments such as schools, where gambling is often prohibited. The game exists in countless versions, so here a (somewhat arbitrarily chosen) basic game will be followed by a number of possible variations.

Hand scores

The backbone of the game is that each poker hand has its own point value, as given in this table:

Basic rules

Chicago is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt five cards. The objective is to reach 52 points.

Exchanges and hand scoring

The players are allowed to exchange any number of their cards. If a player chooses to exchange one card only, he may choose “one up”, meaning that he is dealt one card faced up, which he can either accept, or instead take the next card unseen. After the exchanges, the player with the best hand (and only one player) gets points for his hand. Then follows another round of exchanges, but no hand scoring.

The game

Now, the first player begins by playing one card. Ordinary whist rules apply, but the players keep their cards collected by themselves. The player who wins the last trick gets 5 points. Also, the player with the best hand (whether it is the same player or not) gets points for his hand.

Chicago

After the second exchange, any player can choose to play Chicago. In this case, he pledges himself to win all the tricks of the game. If he does, he is awarded 15 points, but if he fails, the penalty is just as harsh: -15 points.

Blind Chicago

In addition to the conventional Chicago mentioned above, a player may also elect to pull a Blind Chicago. As with the standard Chicago, during a Blind Chicago a player also pledges to win all the tricks – however he announces his intention to do so before having ever seen his cards. In other words, a Blind Chicago can only be announced immediately after the last card leaves the dealer’s hand. If he succeeds, a player is rewarded 30 points, with 30 deducted in the event of failure. If a Blind Chicago is announced, no players are awarded points for their poker hands in any of the phases. The player attempting the Blind Chicago may trade as he normally would. Also note that if a player succeeds in completing the Blind Chicago on a deuce, he is awarded 60 points – an automatic game win.

1. High-low split: the highest and lowest hands split the pot. Generally there is a qualifier for the low hand. For example, the low hand must have 5 cards with ranks of 8 or less. In most high-low games the usual rank of poker hands is observed, so that an unsuited broken straight (7-5-4-3-2) wins low (see Morehead, Official Rules of Card Games). In a variant, based on Lowball, where only the low hand wins, a straight or a flush does not matter for a low hand. So the best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A, suited or not.
2. Lowball: The lowest hand wins the pot. There are different rules about whether or not aces count as low, and the effects of straights and flushes. The most common variants areRazz and 2-7 Triple Draw
3. Players can pass cards to each other. An example of this would be Anaconda.
4. ‘Kill game’. When a fixed limit game is played and a player wins two pots in a row, the stakes are doubled. In some split-pot games (e.g., Omaha), a player winning both halves of the pot may also cause a kill. In some variants of Lowball, a player may choose to kill by placing a double bet after seeing his first two cards.
5. Wild cards are added. This can range from simply making deuces wild to the wild 7-stud variant of baseball.
6. A twist round in which players can buy another card from the deck. If a player does not like the purchased card, the player can purchase another one by adding money to the pot. This is sometimes called a “Tittle.”
7. A stripped deck may be used. Poker was first played with only 20 cards. In the spirit of poker history, players will sometimes only play with a stripped deck. A popular poker game in Spain is played with cards 8-A. It is played similar to hold’em, except that one card is dealt at a time and a player must use both hole cards.
8. The double flip variant (also known as doomsday and the jaws of victory) was introduced in pub/club games throughout Europe in recent years and was devised to keep inactive (‘busted out’) players in the mix, and therefore, in the pub or club. If players are heads-up (i.e. there are only 2 players left) in a tournament, and both players have the same ranked pocket pairs (e.g. both players have KK, or both players have 33 etc.) and if on the same hands, one of the players is all-in and called (or calls with his/her entire stack), then the double flip situation occurs. All players that were previously present on the table (and subsequent ‘busted out’) will be given a share of the pot (determined at the start of the game – usually the pot will just be split between the inactive players who are still present and the player who was all-in, with the chip-leading receiving no part of the pot; the unlucky heads-up players [the chances of both players having the same ranked pair is 1 in 20,825] receive nothing in this situation). Play then continues as per normal. The rule is common practice now in all pub/club games throughout Europe and is becoming more popular in North America.

Hold’em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud, and Five Card Draw all use the traditional ‘high’ poker rankings.

Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, and Stud Hi/Lo use the ‘Ace to Five’ (‘California’) low hand rankings for low hands.

2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw use the ‘Deuce to Seven’ (‘Kansas City’) lowball rankings for low hands.

Lastly, Badugi uses a special ranking of hands unique to that game.

Traditional High Poker Hand Ranks

Straight Flush: Five cards in sequence, of the same suit.

In the event of a tie: Highest rank at the top of the sequence wins.

The best possible straight flush is known as a royal flush, which consists of the ace, king, queen, jack and ten of a suit. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand.

Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’.

In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same four of a kind, the highest fifth side card (‘kicker’) wins.

Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.

In the event of a tie: Highest three matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where players have the same three matching cards, the highest value of the two matching cards wins.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit.

In the event of a tie: The player holding the highest ranked card wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie. If all five cards are the same ranks, the pot is split. The suit itself is never used to break a tie in poker.

Straight: Five cards in sequence.

In the event of a tie: Highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins.

Note: The Ace may be used at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card which can act in this manner. A,K,Q,J,T is the highest (Ace high) straight; 5,4,3,2,A is the lowest (Five high) straight.

Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.

In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same three of a kind, the highest side card, and if necessary, the second-highest side card wins.

Two pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and one side card.

In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both players have two identical pairs, highest side card wins.

One pair: Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.

In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used to break the tie.

High card: Any hand that does not qualify under a category listed above.

In the event of a tie: Highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.

Ace to Five Lowball Hand Ranks

This method of ranking low hands is used in traditional Hi/Lo games, like Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo, as well as in Razz, the ‘low only’ Stud game.

Note that suits are irrelevant for Ace to Five low. A flush or straight does not ‘break’ an Ace to Five low poker hand. Aces are always a ‘low’ card when considering a low hand. Please also note that the value of a five-card low hand starts with the top card, and goes down from there.

Five Low, or Wheel: The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace.

In the event of a tie: All Five-high hands split the pot.

Six Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Six.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6, 4, 3, 2, A defeats 6, 5, 4, 2, A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Seven Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Eight Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

An Eight Low is the weakest hand that qualifies for low in Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo. However in Razz, there is no such ‘qualifier’ and the lowest hand will always win the pot, even if it is a nine low, queen low, or even a pair!

Deuce to Seven Lowball Hand Ranks

The Deuce to Seven Lowball hand rankings are the exact opposite of the traditional ‘high’ hand rankings. Therefore, the worst possible hand in traditional high poker – seven-five high, with different suits, becomes the best possible hand in deuce to seven lowball (a ‘perfect seven’ low or ‘wheel’).

In practice, an ace always plays as a high card in Deuce to Seven (so A,5,4,3,2 is an ace low, not a straight). Straights and flushes count against your hand in Deuce to Seven.

Seven Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a seven. The best possible hand is 7,5,4,3,2, also known as a ‘wheel’ or ‘number one’.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. Thus 7,5,4,3,2 beats 7,6,5,3,2 (a ‘Seven-Five low’ is better than a ‘Seven-Six low’). If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Eight Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being an eight.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Nine Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a nine.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Ten Low: Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a ten.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Note:  There is no ‘qualifier’ for low in Deuce to Seven lowball games. The above are just examples of hands that may come up in play – the lowest hand will always win the pot in Deuce to Seven, even if it is a pair or worse!

Badugi Hand Ranks

Badugi does not use traditional poker hand rankings and it takes some practice to learn how to correctly read the hands.  Badugi hand rankings are somewhat related to the Ace to Five rankings; like in Ace to Five, an ace always plays as a low card. However, unlike Ace to Five, each card in your hand must be a different suit and a different rank, in order to count.

Badugi hands consist of four cards, instead of the usual five. Because of this it is impossible to make a five-card straight, and having four cards in sequence does not hurt your hand.

Remember, if you have cards of the same suit, only one of them counts, and if you have pairs, only one of them counts.

Badugi: A badugi is any hand which consists of four unpaired cards, each a different suit.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest and fourth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Three-Card Hand: Any hand consisting of three unpaired cards of different suits, but a fourth paired or suited card. The lowest three unpaired cards of different suits play.

Because there is a pair, one of the fours does not count, so it is simply ignored, making a 4,2,A three-card hand.

Because there are two hearts in this hand, one of them is ignored, making a 3,2,A three-card hand.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest card in the hand can be used to break the tie. The fourth (paired or suited) card does not count toward the hand and is not used to break ties.

Two-Card Hand: Any hand consisting of two unpaired cards of different suits, but two paired or suited cards. The lowest two unpaired cards of different suits play.

Because there are two pairs, one of each pair is discarded, making a 5,A two-card hand.

Because there are three hearts, two of them are discarded, making a 2,A two-card hand.

In the event of a tie: The lower second card wins the pot. The third and fourth (paired or suited) cards do not count toward the hand and are not used to break ties.

One-Card Hand: A hand consisting of only one playable card. The lowest card plays.

Since there are four Aces, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just an Ace.

Since there are four cards of the same suit, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just a Three.

In the event of a tie: The pot is split between two equal one-card hands.

Texas Hold’em is without a doubt the most popular form of poker played in the United States, today. The World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, and countless poker tournaments across the country every day use Texas Hold’em to decide their ultimate champion. Doyle Brunson, aka “Texas Dolly,” calls it the “Cadillac of poker,” and for good reason, given that so many professional poker players use Texas Hold’em as their primary mode of income.

Evolution of Texas Hold’em
There exists no exact information on where Texas Hold’em originated, though it goes without saying that the game – a derivation of 7-Card Stud – more than likely originated in Texas.
Texas Hold’em was first played in Las Vegas at the legendary Golden Nugget casino, where it found its only home for more than a few years. It wasn’t until 1971, the year Texas Hold’em was adopted to decide the victor at the World Series of Poker’s championship event, that Texas Hold’em began to gain widespread popularity.
Even as late as 2003, however, Texas Hold’em was still relatively unknown to most of the poker-playing public. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t take much for all that to change, and for Texas Hold’em to become the most popular poker game in the United States.
Chris Moneymaker, a poker player who won his seat at the 2003 $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker main event online, went on to win the championship title that year. The game? Texas Hold’em, of course. Almost immediately, Texas Hold’em began to take a front seat to games such as 5-Card Draw, 7-Stud, and Omaha, and secure itself firmly within the safe haven of popular culture.

Texas Hold’em Online
Further adding to the popularity of Texas Hold’em was the advent of online poker, allowing the common poker player to amass years of experience in a much shorter period of time. Additionally, the World Poker Tour, debuting in 2003, and the 1998 film, Rounders, served as fuel to the fire. A surge ensued, and Texas Hold’em became the game to play, both for professional and amateur poker players alike.
This period of time became known as the “poker boom.” The World Series of Poker has enjoyed an incredible increase of players since that time, and the climax was perhaps reached in 2006 with a field of almost 9,000 players competing in the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em World Championship.
Though Texas Hold’em remains undoubtedly the most popular game of poker in the United States, it is only recently that the game has started gaining notoriety in other countries. Liam “The Gentleman” Flood, an Irish poker player and bookmaker, helped introduce Texas Hold’em to Ireland, along with Terry Rogers, also an Irish bookmaker. Harrah’s, owner of the World Series of Poker, announced its plans in 2007 to host the first World Series of Poker Europe events.

The future of Texas Hold’em
Interestingly enough, the game of Texas Hold’em remains illegal for the most part in its home state. Card rooms, and gambling in general, remains illegal in Texas, although as of press time there is a widespread push in Texas for legalizing and regulating the game.
Whether it is the fast-paced nature of the game in an era of instant gratification, or the influence of the media and the internet acting as a driving force, it remains so that the game of Texas Hold’em is growing ever-popular in the eyes of the world.