Good poker players possess a range of skills at the table. They know when to bluff or semi-bluff and they know how to extract value from marginal hands … but perhaps their greatest skill is knowing when to fold a good hand. This is a concept...
Author - Ben Blaschke
A room with a view
Bobby’s Room. Casual players might never have heard of it. The more seasoned up-and-comers aspire to it. And many are just too damned terrified to risk it. Unlike any other poker room in the world, Bobby’s Room – located just off the...
One small step for online poker
There have been some interesting developments in the world of online poker over the past week with lobby groups in both the United States and Australia stating their plans to push for the legalization and regulation of online poker in their...
Winners are grinners
There is no more exhilarating feeling than approaching the bubble of a poker tournament with chips in hand and dreams of a hefty pay day, but this is also the point where so many players get it wrong. For the poker novice, it is all too easy tighten...
Nuts and bolts
You’ve no doubt heard the term “the nuts” used at the poker table. When a player holds “the nuts”, it means they have the best hand possible based on the community cards on the table and the hole cards in their hand...
A new challenge for Nadal
With the US Open tennis starting tonight and the promise of a memorable race to the men’s title between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and reigning champion Andy Murray, we noted with interest news released by online poker site PokerStars over...
Be careful what you guarantee
If there is one word all poker players have a particular fondness for, it is “guarantee”. Widely used by tournament organizers the world over, a “guarantee” refers to a certain amount of money the tournament organizers...
Dressed for success?
If you wander into any serious card room in any major city around the world, you’re almost certain to be met with a unique breed of fashionista known as the poker player. Poker players are a strange bunch. Where else would you find a group of...
Don’t go the slow roll!
In the coming months we will broach the topic of etiquette at the poker table as we examine a range of situations and why they are or are not acceptable. These cover everything from splashing the pot, excessively talking while another player ponders...
Don't go the slow roll!
In the coming months we will broach the topic of etiquette at the poker table as we examine a range of situations and why they are or are not acceptable. These cover everything from splashing the pot, excessively talking while another player ponders...
Dragon breathes fire into Macau
It was never going to match the whopping field of 891 players that swarmed the PokerStars LIVE room at City of Dreams in April but with 645 taking their seats for the latest installment of the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon there was plenty to be...
To c-bet or not to c-bet
Today we’re going to talk briefly about the continuation bet – what is it, when should it be used and when should we steer clear? Like anything in poker, you could just about write a book on this subject alone but let’s stick to the...
The love or the money?
I witnessed an interesting occurrence at a tournament I covered last weekend. A four-day tournament that saw more than 200 players stump up $3,000 each came down to a battle between three – all with reasonably similar stack sizes and fighting for...
Spare me the clichés … one time!
I’ve been in Sydney for the Sydney Poker Championships this week and as usual I’ve heard players scream out every over-used term that has ever polluted the ears of their opponents. Which got me thinking – what poker terminology would I...
Bredin breaks barriers
The poker table can be a wonderful leveler. One of the great things about the game is that the worst player at the table can beat the best player at the table on their day: sometimes all the ability in the world can’t overcome a run of poor...
What now for Macau?
The latest edition of APT Macau has been run and won with Norway’s Henrik Tollefssen prevailing to take home the HK$981,700 first prize. But with the field of 193 players well down on last year’s 268, it seems there is still some way to...
When will Hollywood deal poker a winning hand?
We all love a good movie from time to time and if you’re reading this column you no doubt love a bit of poker action too. It would make sense then that the prospect of a movie about poker would be a mouth-watering proposition, right? I can...
Pocket dynamos
Small pocket pairs. Some of the most common questions aspiring poker players ask revolve around these tricky yet potentially highly profitable hands. What’s the best way to play them? Should I raise or call? What do I do on the flop? The...
Poker, the great survivor
The wonderful game of poker finds itself at an interesting point in its global development at the moment. An exciting point. From the uncertainty that plagued both the online and offline worlds just a few short years ago, poker is on the move again...
The WSOP brand
More than ever before we have witnessed the seemingly never-ending growth of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2013. What began as a mini-tournament between just seven players at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in 1970 has evolved into a global...
Back on the horse
The poker world tends to come to a grinding halt in July as all eyes focus on Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker, but with the November Nine now decided (the final nine players in the WSOP main event return in November to decide the champion)...
All eyes on Vegas
Welcome to our weekly Monday poker update where we look at all the major events that have taken place over the weekend and run the rule of the winners, losers and anything else worth talking about! There is only one tournament that matters going on...
The Doyle Brunson Hand
Trash hands don’t get you too far in poker. If you’re dealt a trash hand, you should fold. What’s a trash hand? Anything that is at the bottom end of the scale when it comes to hand rankings. The best starting hand in poker is A-A...
Size matters
Tournament poker has long been a game that has pushed the boundaries. Although it is widely loved by the millions around the globe that play every day, its greatest lure is the promise of a life-changing pay day. Take the World Series of Poker as an...
The Wonderful World Series of Poker
In the world of poker, there is no bigger event than the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. It is the one tournament every player on the planet – be they full-time professional or occasional weekend amateur – wants to play in and win. Even...
No more gender benders
The World Series of Poker has long been an innovator when it comes to tournament poker. The home of the most coveted title on the planet – the WSOP main event – as well as the event most consider to be the truest test of a player’s...
What’s on tonight: Monday 17 June 2013
Aimed at promoting home grown talent and encouraging local artists to exhibit their work, this year’s Macau Annual Visual Arts Exhibition features Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy with 81 chosen works reflecting the current trends in these...
What's on tonight: Monday 17 June 2013
Aimed at promoting home grown talent and encouraging local artists to exhibit their work, this year’s Macau Annual Visual Arts Exhibition features Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy with 81 chosen works reflecting the current trends in these...
What's on tonight: Sunday 16 June 2013
It’s Father’s Day – a special opportunity to say thanks for all those years your Dad spent looking out for you! What better way to celebrate than to take him out to lunch with both MGM and Galaxy Macau presenting special Father’s...
What’s on tonight: Sunday 16 June 2013
It’s Father’s Day – a special opportunity to say thanks for all those years your Dad spent looking out for you! What better way to celebrate than to take him out to lunch with both MGM and Galaxy Macau presenting special Father’s...