Tight vs. Loose Play...

The biggest debate in poker has got to be the one over which playing style is better: tight or loose.  By most people’s accounts, playing loose is the best method of play because it enables a person to steal lots of pots and blinds from others.  In addition to this logic, many of the best poker players in the world use a more aggressive style of play so this only furthers the argument for loose poker play being the best.

So where does that leave tight players?  Are you seemingly hopeless if you choose to go with a more conservative approach while waiting for the cards to come?  Of course not!  In fact, you will be a leg up on the more aggressive players by choosing to tighten your play up in certain instances.

And the main instance where playing tight will help you is when you are mutlitabling.  Tight players tend to be a lot better multi-tablers because they’re able to make the correct play over and over again without putting too much thought into the matter.  By playing based off of mathematics and quick reads, you enable yourself to make more profits because you’re making correct plays on several tables at once.

Loose players, on the other hand, have a lot more difficulty multi-tabling because they spend too much time trying to analyze everyone on each table.  And this is a recipe for disaster if you’re trying to play 4 or more tables at once because you can’t divulge the information in a reasonable amount of time.  So if you are used to multi-tabling in poker, you should stick to a tight approach so that you avoid making the same mistakes that loose players do.

Reasons to Play Poker on Christmas...

Christmas is a time of caring, sharing, spending time with family and, for those who are die-hard about poker, hitting the tables.  Sure poker may not be a holiday tradition for many people, however, it certainly can be if you enjoy the game enough.  After all, why put your passion on hold for a whole day?  With that in mind, here’s a look at a few reasons why you should play poker on Christmas.

Major Poker Points

The best reason why you should play poker on Christmas is because rooms are willing to jack up the amount of poker points they give out during this time of year.  Some rooms triple or quadruple the amount of points given out which makes it very enticing to play.  And we all know that poker points are awesome because you can use them to get into tournaments for free or even cash them out for real money!

Lots of Bad Players

Christmas is a day when many people get the work day off.  Seeing as how this is the case, you can find a lot of recreational players online who are really bad at the game.  Since your goal is to make money, playing against these awful players is an excellent way to pad your bankroll.

Earn Money Back

Anybody who has a heart is willing to spend money on their family in the form of presents.  Of course, some presents are really expensive so this can put a hole in your bank account.  So after all of those presents have been opened and the food has been eaten, hop online and start playing some poker so you can earn that money back!

Original WSOP Home Closes...

When you think of the World Series of Poker, you definitely have to think Binion’s since this is where the WSOP got its start.  Back in 1970, Benny Binion named his former invitational poker tournament the World Series of Poker which gave rise to what is now the most prolific poker event in the world.  Unfortunately, it has just been announced that Binion’s will be closing down some of its facilities.

Facing financial pressure from an already declining Las Vegas hotel market, TLC Enterprises (owner of Binion’s) has decided to close the hotel area, steakhouse, keno parlor, and coffee shop.  The move comes as a result of the company’s failure to attract guests to the $21 - $54 rooms that are available. 

It’s no surprise that Binion’s can’t attract guests seeing as how we’re mired in an economic slump, and the hotel doesn’t even offer wireless Internet.  Even the scary mom and pops hotels out in the middle of the country have wireless Internet these days so it is amazing that TLC Enterprises refuses to opt for this service.  Aside from the Internet thing, most people would just rather prefer to stay in the modern, updated hotels rather than a historical cavern.

At least some of the history will still be available to people since the poker room, casino, and sports book will all stay open.  However, I don’t know how many people are going to frequent these areas when there is no nearby hotel to stay at.  In my opinion, TLC Enterprises has just badly mismanaged the hotel and casino, and everyone who wants to visit will be the ones suffering.

Is Limit Hold’em really a Solved G...

In all the different variations of poker, there is perhaps none that involve as much math and statistics as Limit Hold’em does.  With Limit Hold’em, people can make most of their plays based on statistical percentages and be a profitable player over the long run (in theory).  There are plenty of poker bots and little experiments such as the machine vs. man challenges that support this line of thinking too.

In fact, these poker bots have fueled the software industry which is constantly churning out new products designed to give people an advantage over their opponents.  There are so many products available that many people are starting to wonder if Limit Hold’em is a solved game.

After all, poker software can pretty much tell players everything they need to know from how many times an opponent sees the flop to how likely they are to call on the river.  It’s almost unfair how much a person can gain over their opponents by using poker software.  I guess that’s why so many online poker players are buying up this software so they don’t get left behind.

But just because there is detailed poker software which helps people out with all these stats doesn’t mean Limit Hold’em is a solved game.  There are just too many other things you need to keep track of to call Limit solved.  For one thing, the software can only put opponents on a range of cards.  Sure knowing an opponent’s range is helpful, but it’s not an exact science.

And if you can’t pin down an opponent’s cards exactly then some reading abilities do come into play.  Plus it is the player who makes all of the final decisions in online poker so the software is only an aid.  In short, people have a long way to go before they completely solve Limit Hold’em.

Who would pay $85 Million for a Terrible...

I don’t have to tell you that $85 million is a lot of money.  After all, a lot of people out there would actually kill (and have already done so) for this kind of bankroll.  Brian McSmith isn’t going to be killing anybody for $85 million (at least I hope not), but he does plan on getting this kind of money in some manner.  That’s because he has filed a lawsuit for $85 million against the producers of the NBC-based poker show Face the Ace as well as against a company called Poker Productions.

McSmith claims that he was the one who came up with the idea for Face the Ace where contestants choose from 4 doors so that they can find which poker pro they’ll have to play in a heads-up game.  If a person wins, they can keep the cash or choose another door to play for more money.

The concept sounds cool, but it really hasn’t managed to draw any viewers.  In fact, the viewership base of Face the Ace has been downright horrible since a rerun of Finding Nemo was able to beat the show on its debut night.  Still though, McSmith thinks that he is entitled to $85 million for this show idea which has been a mega-failure as far as the television market goes.

Whether or not McSmith receives any of the $85 million he’s asking for, it does sound like he has a legitimate case.  He pitched the idea of Face the Ace to Poker Productions about 2 years ago only to be turned away.  Now that the show is up and running, guess who the creators are…..Poker Productions.  Even if McSmith’s story is entirely accurate, I don’t think any court will award him $85 million for a show that has turned out awfully.