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R. Steve McCollum - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
R. Steve McCollum is a Texan entrepreneur, who is a long time winning Texas Hold'em player.
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- The Strategy and Statistics of a Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament Winner
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] I have become absorbed in learning everything I can about these fascinating little games - sit n go poker tournaments. Early on, I thought I could discover four or five simple, elementary rules, which if always followed, would ensure sit n go success. Naive me.
- The Most Dangerous Play in a Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] There is one, and only one, most dangerous play in a sit n go poker tournament. In terms of level of risk and gravity of consequence, it ranks far above all the others. It is this one - when you call an opening pre-flop bet early in the tournament with all of your chips, and thus if the hand is lost, would mean your elimination. In other words, when you agree to an opponent's invitation to a race for all of your chips. Or, said another way, when you agree to relinquish all control of the play of your hand, and designate that the cards alone, through the operation of fate, would decide whether you are eliminated or not. Have you thought of the situation quite this way before? Essentially, when you call an all-in bet you are placing a blindfold around your head, shoving your chips in the middle, sitting idly by, and waiting for a fickle, untrustworthy, scoundrel to decide your fate.
- How to Win the Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament War
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] What is the first thought that comes to mind when you hear these words - tactics, strategy, operations, logistics, manpower, maneuvering? War, right? These terms, however, are also prominent in the worlds of business, politics, and even poker, especially tournament poker.
- Estimating an Opponent's Starting Hand Range in a Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] In a fast, short sit n go poker tournament, there is hardly an opportunity to ever play plain old good poker. That is, to play slow thoughtful poker, with plenty of time for thought about the exact two cards in an opponent's hand. You know, the kind of thoughtfulness afforded by a cash game, or a slow deep-stacked tournament. In our type of tournament, our thoughtfulness usually has to be abbreviated to a quick estimate of an opponent's possible range of hands rather than a specific holding. And, oftentimes even those estimates are not much more than just a quick intuitive hunch made on the fly. So, in an attempt to quantify possible hand ranges for the more common tournament variables, and thus hopefully aid in our quick estimating; I have put together the following listing based upon the Sklansky-Karlson (S-K) starting hand rankings.
- Train Your Brain For the Long Tough Poker Tournament Bubble
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] What is a long tough bubble? For me, a long tough bubble is just that - long and tough. It is a bubble where all of the competitors are fighting as hard as they possibly can, and no one is near surrendering. The situation has escalated to the point, because of the inordinately high blinds, that whoever makes the first mistake will be eliminated.
- The Eight Paradoxes of Poker
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Life is full of puzzling, intriguing paradoxes. For our purposes, a paradox is usually a suggested action that when taken literally would produce a seemingly contradictory result. The essence of the paradox is typically expressed in pithy little paradoxical statements. The paradoxical statements are often catchy gems that become standards of wisdom. This article presents eight paradoxical statements that not only hold a special meaning in poker, but also often hold special meanings in sports, as well as for life in general.
- The Seven Levels of Mastery For Tournament Poker
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] This presentation begins with poker fundamentals, then adds layer-by-layer the capabilities that will usually lead to the next level of performance. Thus, these seven levels are arranged somewhat in order of difficulty, somewhat in their usual order of mastery, somewhat in the order that they build upon each other, and from the fundamental to the most advanced. Some players will have to work much harder at various of the levels than will others. For some, there will be things that will come easy and naturally. While for others, those same things might be extremely difficult, even entirely alien. Most every player who masters these levels, will do so at a different rate, and probably in a different order, than any other player. In the final analysis, though, every successful tournament player will have mastered each of these levels, one way or another.
- Win Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournaments With Relentless, Suffocating Aggression
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] While patience, revered as the most important virtue in poker, will protect your chip stack, patience alone will not win a sit n go poker tournament. Aggression, on the other hand, is the flip side of patience. Patience is about waiting. Aggression is about acting. And, it is aggression that wins poker tournaments. And, it wins at almost everything else in life, too.
- When on the Bubble in a Sit 'N' Go Poker Tournament - Don't Mess With the Big Stack
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] In a nutshell, sit n go poker tournament life, especially when on the bubble, is usually much simpler when you can stay out of the way of the big stack, and concentrate on attacking the players with the most to lose - the middle size stacks. Unless you hold a monster, it is hardly ever good strategy to get entangled in a big pot with the big stack when your tournament life would be on the line.
- Twelve Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament Bubble Tells
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] You might be thinking, if bubble play in a sit n go poker tournament is largely a push-or-fold environment, how can there be any meaningful bubble tells? And, how much could they really matter, anyway? Well, if you are a little skeptical about the importance of bubble tells, get ready to change your mind.
- Small-Ball, Long-Ball, and Push-or-Fold - Which Strategy is Best For a Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] You will find in many of today's poker books that there are discussions and mentions of three strategic styles of tournament play - small-ball, long-ball, and push-or-fold. In case you are having trouble visualizing these strategies, and fitting their pieces together, here is an article that might help in answering the question - which strategy is best?
- Poker Book Review - Check Raising the Devil by Mike "The Mouth" Matusow
[Book-Reviews:Biographies-Memoirs] You could take a large pot, pitch in Pulp Fiction and Fear and Loathing, add heaping spoons full of confusion, depression, obsession, compulsion, betrayal, entrapment, victimization, prison, sex, drugs, and a trailer house, let simmer in the Las Vegas heat a few days, and this fictional stew would not be half as sensational as Matusow's autobiography. So, should you read Matusow's book? Only if you love poker. And, you had better finish reading it before your poker game starts.
- Strategies For Playing the Stages of a Sit 'n' Go Bubble
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] It took me a long time to come to this realization, but just as there are stages in a poker tournament, there are also stages in a bubble. However, unlike the tournament, where the stages are clearly demarked by the number of eliminations and the size of the blinds, the bubble stages are determined largely by the blinds, and are often somewhat less clear. In the bubble there are three possible distinct stages. But, sometimes there are only two stages. And frequently, there is only one.
- Intuitive Sit 'N' Go Bubble Play
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Well, there are plenty of scientific and mathematical ways to analyze and conduct sit n go bubble play. There are probabilities and statistics regarding starting hands. There is the independent chip model (ICM) analysis for weighing the tournament value of various plays. There is M, and the M Zones, for help with figuring out when to do what with your stack. And, there all kinds of software to assist with every one of these calculations. But, my approach for playing the bubble in a single table sit n go is more about the predicting of likely opponent behavior than these tiresome calculations. You can call it 'playing the player', but I call it 'Intuitive Bubble Play'. However, it is not intuition absent logic. Instead, it is an approach that is firmly grounded in all of the science and math. So, maybe my approach is just logical analysis with a large dash of psychology.
- Debunking Online Poker Cheating Software
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] There are a number of products available that rather boldly advertise their effectiveness as online poker cheating software. You can perform an online search for 'poker cheating software' to see what I mean. Granted, there are ongoing debates, and huge differences of opinion, about whether certain types of online poker software should be prohibited or not. In my opinion, a few poker rooms have erroneously prohibited certain tracking and analysis software. Nevertheless, I think that everyone is in agreement that the intent of poker cheating software serves only to undermine the spirit of a great competitive sport.
- Fifteen Tips For Purchasing Online Poker Software
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Generally speaking, online poker software products can be grouped into three broad categories - pre-game, game play, and post-game. Pre-game software would be the training type of applications, such as a bubble trainer. Game play would be the software that would provide information to assist in decision making during a game, such as an odds calculator. And, the post-game software would be programs that help a player analyze completed games, such as an hand history converter. But, keep in mind that the purpose of any software product should be to help you to learn to make better poker decisions. In other words, to help you to become a better player. Not to do your playing or thinking for you.
- Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament Glossary
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Presented here, in glossary format, are some of the poker terms and concepts common to a sit n go hold'em tournament. These particular ones are especially meaningful for the fast or turbo version of the sit n go. The goal of this glossary is to help in making informed decisions when playing in the turbo sit n go. Consequently, I have added some of the strategic considerations that underlie many of the concepts.
- Twelve Places to Find Sit N Go Poker Tournament Secrets
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] First of all, are there really any so called sit n go tournament secrets to be found anywhere? Are there treasure chests full of secrets just sitting around waiting to be discovered? The answer is a huge, Yes! Today, there are plenty of hold'em and sit n go treasure chests loaded with all of the secrets that you could ever hope to know. You can think of this article as a treasure map. With it, we are about to embark on a journey of richly rewarding discovery.
- My Poker Break - the Before and After Story
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Recently, I posted an article announcing that I was 'taking a break from poker'. The break is over, and now it is time for the rest of the story. So, did my two week break from poker help? In a word, yes! In fact, phenomenally so.
- Taking a Break From Poker
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Forbid the thought of taking a break from poker, but it is inevitable. It happens to everyone. To pros and amateurs, alike. The day that comes when you finally admit to yourself that you are overdue for a break. When your mind has gotten fuzzy, when your bankroll has started sliding, when nothing has gone right, when everything you have tried has failed, and when you have blamed everyone but yourself, that is when it is time for a break. Simply put: you have been working too hard. Your mental circuits have grown weary. Your mind and body need some time to recover.
- Book Review of the Tao of Chess by Peter Kurzdorfer - Reveals Tournament Poker Principles
[Book-Reviews:Non-Fiction] Peter Kurzdorfer has been a Chess Master since the early 1980's. He is the coauthor of The Everything Chess Basics Book with the U.S. Chess Federation and is the former editor of Chess Life magazine. In The Tao of Chess: 200 Principles to Transform Your Game and Your Life, Kurzdorfer shows how the complex game of chess can reveal underlying truths that one can adapt from the chessboard to every aspect of life, even to the no-limit hold'em tournament poker table.
- Poker Book Review - Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em by Collin Moshman
[Book-Reviews:Non-Fiction] In Heads-Up No-Limit Hold 'em, Collin Moshman, the sit n go master, delivers another world class hold'em textbook. Moshman treats every one of the numerous facets of heads-up play with theoretical example, live example, and detailed explanation and instruction. Moshman is also the author of Sit 'n Go Strategy, arguably the top sit n go book in print. Both of his books should be required reading in every poker classroom.
- How to Come Back in a Sit 'n' Go Hold'em Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Have you ever heard the expression, a chip and a chair? I have forgotten most of the details, but the expression describes a legendary 1982 WSOP poker tournament feat. Jack Strauss, the player involved, thought that he had been eliminated. But, as he was preparing to leave the table, he discovered one remaining $500 chip hidden beneath his cocktail napkin. With that one chip he went on to win the title. The moral, of course, is obvious. Never give up.
- Creating Chaos in a Sit 'n' Go Hold'em Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Creating chaos in a sit n go hold'em tournament is my terminology for poker psychological warfare. This style of warfare is intended to provoke losing thoughts and emotions in your opponents. It is usually achieved by interrupting the normal, friendly, or peaceful flow of the game. The idea is first to get your opponents distracted.
- Sit 'n' Go Hold'em Tournament Drawing Analogy
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] When you are faced with a tough decision about whether or not to chase a draw in a sit n go hold'em tournament, think about this following analogy. It might help you to better understand the options and their consequences.
- Draws, Redraws and Drawing Dead in a Sit 'n' Go Hold'em Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] In the fast sit n go setting, we should be seeking to engage in only those situations where the outcomes are predictably and significantly weighted in our favor. The limited number of starting chips in a sit n go are just too difficult to replace. If you lose with a drawing hand, and you usually will, you cannot simply buy more chips. Plus, the amount of time available for recovery of lost chips runs out too quickly. So, chip risks must be limited. And, one good way to limit risk is to avoid all but the best and cheapest of draws.
- The Dance of Poker
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Too many poker books ago for me to recall which one, an author described playing poker as being similar to dancing the Tango. That analogy has stuck in my mind. Even today, I can visualize players seemingly embraced in a staccato, synchronized ritual of leading then following. Following then leading. Absent the romance, of course.
- Eight Unique Opportunities For Sit 'n' Go Chip Accumulation
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] If you are strictly a conservative sit n go tournament player, then you may be missing some good opportunities to accumulate chips. If you will loosen a little at the right time and in the right situation, you will find a bountiful supply of chips ripe for the picking. The lesson is this: there are many windows of opportunity, like the ones in this article, that open and close quickly throughout a sit n go. So, stay alert. Be creative. And, capitalize on those fleeting opportunities to somewhat safely accumulate chips.
- Control Points in a Sit n Go Hold'em Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] There are a number of points in a single table sit n go hold'em tournament when you will have a good indication that something is amiss, or all systems are go, or something important has happened and requires a response. Basically, these indicators help you to recognize when and how to make changes or corrections in your game.
- Playing Big Slick in a Sit And Go Hold'em Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] There are more questions, more opinions, and more words written about how to play Big Slick (A-K) than any other Hold'em hand. This is because A-K is the most frequently occurring of all of the premium starting hands. So, A-K will be seen in more big pot showdowns than any other hand. But, A-K has a highly exposed achilles heal. This giant can be taken down by any pair, even a lowly pair of twos. Thus, all of the interest, confusion, and debate about how to play big slick. So, in the case of playing A-K, as with all premium starting hands, the best guide will be caution, and the best teacher will be experience.
- Sharpen Your Poker Game With Brainwave Entrainment Music
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Whether we are at home or in the casino, the poker scene is usually the same. One distraction after another. The cocktail waitress, the TV, the dog, the loudmouth - they really are not conducive to achieving peak mental poker performance. After all, poker is a mental sport. So, how can we possibly maintain the level of focus required for peak mental performance with all of those distractions bombarding us? There are many methods for blocking distraction in order to achieve focused concentration. This article is about one called brainwave entrainment music.
- Thirty Tips For Attaining Sit 'n' Go Hold'em Tournament Success
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Here are thirty tried and true tips for attaining sit n go hold'em tournament success. There are literally hundreds of tips for success in a sit n go. But, these few are fundamental. Follow them and win, or ignore them and lose. It is just about that simple.
- Twenty Mistakes That Tell the World You Are a Sit N Go Poker Fish
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Here are twenty mistakes that will empty your bankroll and brand you a novice. Commit a few of these mistakes during a Sit n Go, and you will have branded a big ol' scarlet 'F' on your forehead! ('F' is for Fish.)
- Poker Self Talk and Levels of Thinking
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] For me, there is a direct correlation between the level of my play in a sit n go tournament and the amount of self talk going on in my head. Before you start wondering about my sanity, let me explain. If I am discussing with myself every move at the table, whether I am in the hand or not, then I am focused and observant. Consequently, I better understand my opponents, and am better able to anticipate their moves and plays.
- Laying Down a Sit 'n' Go Tournament Poker Hand
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Giving up on a hand is one of poker's toughest decisions. Nevertheless, in some situations nothing else matters. Because, there are times when you must give up, lay down your hand, cut your losses, and survive to fight another round. The tournament graveyard is littered with the remains of those who were too curious or too stubborn. So, here are some considerations about laying down a sit n go tournament hand.
- Five Tips For Training Your Sit 'n' Go Opponents
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Perhaps you have noticed, but it just did not register, that sometimes your opponents in a sit n go hold'em tournament will do exactly what you want without any apparent, manipulative action on your part. Chances are that they have followed your lead without you knowing. Our job is to recognize those moments of influence. As it is then that we may be able to manipulate outcomes to our advantage.
- Betting Sequences in a Hold'em Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The entire game of No-Limit Hold'em and all of the actions and considerations in a hand can be described simply and fundamentally by nothing more elaborate that a hand full of words. Think about it. All of the books you have read, all the experience you have accumulated, all the strategy you have debated boils down to as few as one word, fold. Or two, raise-bet. These few words describe the betting sequence of a hand. The betting sequence is a condensed look at a player's action in a hand.
- How to Beat the Multitabling Sit And Go Shark
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] One of the fantastic features of on-line poker is the ability to play in multiple games at the same time. For the accomplished player, multitabling is a sure road to financial success. Practically all of the largest winning sit n go players multitable. They are the multitabling sit n go sharks. You are likely to confront one or several of them in every sit n go that you enter. If you make it into the money, most likely one or more will be your competition. And as you might guess, they are really tough to beat. So, given that you will frequently be competing against these sharks, how do you deal with them? Hopefully, this article will shed some light, and answer the question.
- The Unpredictable Successful Sit 'n' Go Tournament Player
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Predictability is a tournament player's Achilles' heel. And, this applies to any player in any poker game, even to sharks. If you know what to expect from a player because of his predictability, you also know what to avoid. Thus, you can easily out maneuver your predictable opponent. Staying just out of harm's way, while you safely move his chips to your stack. So, here are a few ideas for becoming unpredictable.
- Understanding Luck in Poker
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] It has always been my conviction that a better understanding of anything that influences our game of poker leads to a stronger game. So, I have always been fascinated with those strange forces that haunt our game: chance, unlikely events, probabilities, and the grand old goddess herself, luck.
- Limping in a Sit 'n' Go Hold'em Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Limping in an on-line Sit 'n' Go Hold'em poker tournament is typically a risky, wasteful use of chips. Especially in a single table tournament. This is because the rapidly increasing blinds compared to the relatively small starting stack size does not allow a sufficient buffer for failed gambles. Nevertheless, limping is an important weapon to carry in your poker arsenal. Think of limping as a doorway. On the other side might be riches or nothing. Thus, you do not want to pay much to enter. But, very often there will be a nice, and sometimes large, reward. Because, in the ideal limping situation, you get to determine the outcome.
- How a Poker Player Can Perform in the Zone
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] We have all been witness to athletic greatness. Like those gold medal winning Olympic performances on the bars, or on the ice, when an athlete appears to effortlessly flow through their routine. When their mind and body function in perfect harmony. When their concentration is so intensely focused that they seem detached from everything, even normal consciousness. To the athlete, these are the moments known as performing in the zone. Performing in the zone is the state of mind that every athlete strives to attain in every competition. And, this goal is common to all forms of competition, whether the sport is mental or physical. It is even a goal in the mental sport of poker. In poker jargon, playing your 'A' game would be akin to performing in the zone.
- Good Timing in a Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Learning to develop good timing is at the core of winning sit n go play. Because, there is little fundamental difference between any style of sit n go tournament, whether it is fast or slow, or single or multitable. All of the hands, and plays, and moves are the same. The principal difference between the tournaments is merely structure. And, structure affects timing. That is, when to do what.
- Poker Discipline
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Discipline is one of the key ingredients of poker success. In fact, discipline or more accurately, self-discipline is the cornerstone of success in almost any of life's pursuits. With experience you will learn all of the good, as well as all of the bad poker habits. Self-discipline, or the lack of self-discipline will then determine which poker path you follow. It is entirely up to you. Will you become a perfectly good, or a perfectly bad poker player?
- Leakage, Sit N Go Tournament Style
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] We are all familiar with the poker concept of leakage, the mistakes and technical errors that leak your chips away during a game. In this article though, we are going to examine a different kind of leakage, tournament leakage. Not leakage of chips during a tournament, but rather, the leakage of tournaments.
- Making Informed Decisions in a Sit 'n' Go Poker Tournament
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Making informed decisions is the essence of playing good poker. In the final analysis, it is your decisions, and only your decisions that matter. In fact, the ultimate goal of every player in any form of poker is quite unsophisticated. Contrary to what you might think, the goal is not to win the hand, nor to win the tournament. The goal is to merely make one good decision at a time. Hand after hand after hand. The goal is to merely make one good decision at a time. Hand after hand after hand.
- Sit 'n' Go Stealing in the Small Blind
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] While in the small blind, if you frequently surrender the blinds to the big blind, then you are leaking a significant number of chips. Especially in a Turbo Sit n Go, where there are usually only a few opportunities to accumulate chips. Therefore, learning to steal in the small blind presents a potential opportunity in every round to accumulate a few chips.
- Seventeen Traits Of Poker Mental Toughness
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Poker is a mental sport. So, for that matter, is chess. In sports, whether the game is mental or physical, the mentally tough prevail. Mental toughness is more than a prescription for success, it is a matter of survival.
- Seven Guidelines For The Turbo Sit 'n' Go
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] The Turbo Sit n Go is Pokerdom's answer to the amusement park roller coaster. Starts kind of slow, then all heck breaks loose. The Turbo will challenge all of your capabilities. And, it will expose every single flaw in your game, and in your mind. Use these insights to improve.
- Twelve On-Line Sit 'n' Go Poker Tells
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] In live poker play, it is necessary to learn the meaning of an opponent's physical tells. The tell might be a facial expression, or a hand or body movement.
- Poker Tilt - How To Beat The Beast
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Most of us know that when you shove a pinball a bit too hard, the machine 'tilts'. You then lose your turn, or the game! In poker, a mental condition called 'tilt' operates much the same way. When your emotions start shoving your logic machine a bit too hard, you are said to be 'on tilt'.
- Five Tips For Sit 'n' Go Bankroll Management
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Casino-Gambling] Bankroll management encompasses three principles. First, protecting the corpus against erosion. Second, protecting against reversals after an advance. And third, achieving unrestrained growth.
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