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Poker Book Review: Alan N Schoonmaker’s Psychology of Poker

12 May

This insightful book explores why players play like they do and suggests the various ways in which they can overcome their negligible poker habits in order to enhance their game.

Schoonmaker has his PhD in industrial psychology from the University of California and has written about the psychology of poker extensively for Poker Digest. Schoonmaker also plays poker online regularly, albeit more for the opportunity to learn about people than to make high stakes wins. He prefers to play the lower limits of the online tables because he says there are more maniacs, rocks, oddballs and “deluded” experts there, making his game more interesting.

This book has a series of “Styles Grids” that help to determine what our internal motivations for playing poker are, as well as why we succeed or fail. He also raises questions about whether some people simply have the “right stuff” to succeed at poker and others don’t and whether it is our socialisation, not competition, that compels players to poker rooms every evening. The psyches of poker players are broken down into “eight principles of poker” which manages to dispel some myths as to the reasons why people play poker.

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in exploring the motivations and processes that go on in the minds of people who play poker and can really assist in creating understanding and therefore improving poker players’ poker skills.

Bilingual Poker Tables

11 May

After much controversy over the inadequate amount of bilingual provision with Brunswick’s latest casinos, Casino New Brunswick, the holding company has now compromised.

The New Brunswick Casino will now be offering bilingual services a two of the poker tables they offer.

They will also be implementing this change in the not too distance future, as stated by the casino manager, who said the bilingual service will also be implanted on blackjack.

Female Competitors on the Rise in Poker Tournaments

26 Apr

Liv Boeree learned to play poker four years ago and now feels she is ready to go into battle in Monte Carlo in an attempt to win £2.2m.

This 25 year old astrophysics graduate/TV presenter/model learned to play poker while she was working on the Channel 5 show Ultimate Poker Showdown and has already won £1.1m in a preliminary round in the European Poker Tournament (EPT) event and will be playing in the final on Sunday in Italy.

Boeree is the third woman to win an EPT event since the tour began in 2004.

“I went round to all the EPTs as a host but all I was thinking was, ‘I want to play’.” She said.

She is well known on the poker circuit because of her “Liv stare” poker face that her opponents claim unsettles her.

The Monte Carlo final is taking place at Le Sporting Club in Monaco until 30 April.

Phil Ivey Makes Yet Another Big Bet

21 Apr

Even though he’s already got one of the most impressive lists of wins, titles and bracelets in poker, Phil Ivey continued to push the boundaries by making yet another outlandish bet.

In one of the biggest prop bets ever in poker, Phil Ivey and Howard Lederer have made a $5,000,000 bet on whether Ivey will be able to win a pair of bracelets over the next two or three WSOP’s. Opinions vary on the time span of this bet with PokerListings.com saying he has two years in which to accomplish this feat, while David Sklansky says he has three years.

With seven WSOP bracelets already won by Ivey, two of which were won in the past year at the 2009 event, it seems likely that 33 year old might be the only poker player who can achieve this.

Apparently Ivey plans on playing somewhere in the range of 80 bracelet WSOP events during the period of the prop bet, whether it’s two or three years.

Time will tell as to whether this is a bold or stupid or boldly stupid move, but we can all be guaranteed to be kept entertained, amused and above all impressed by Ivey’s playing style.

Al Pacino invited to play poker by Dr Death

20 Apr

With the release of Al Pacino’s new film, comes an interesting invitation. Pacino has been invited to play poker with Jack Kevorkian- the physician who was dubbed “Dr. Death” after assisting a number of suicides for terminal patients.

This invitation was extended by Kervorkian when he met Pacino at the premier of Pacino’s new film called “You Don’t Know Jack” in which Pacino is said to have transformed uncannily into the doctor without ever having met him until after the film was made.

“He’s invited me to Detroit to play poker. For Jack, I think I’ll go do it,” Al stated at the premiere of the HBO film.

When talking about his preparation for the role Pacino said: “I spent time just absorbing him,” and “It just shows you sometimes how … some people don’t understand how to be in the public eye, how to deal with media and cameras, but [in this film], with a guy like Jack, you know him longer, you get a sense of who he is. He’s totally funny and self-deprecating. Big-time smart.”

“Anybody who plays poker can’t be all bad,” Dr. Kevorkian, an avid poker player, said of Al, after it was agreed that they would be playing soon. “We will, in the future!”

Kevorkian was also impressed by Pacino’s performance: “It’s unbelievable, I was shocked,” he said.

Annie Duke Releases iPhone Poker Application

19 Apr

One of the world’s best female poker icons, Annie Duke, is keeping up with the times by releasing Annie Duke Poker Tutor, an iPhone Application that offers players everything they need to know about poker, including tips, odds calculation as well as a glossary of poker terms.

As well as being one of the highest ranked female poker players today, Annie Duke is also a member of Team UB and is the winner of the 2010 National Heads-up Poker Championship. She also gets herself involved in a lot of charity work and fund-raising.

The poker application is geared towards teaching people how to play poker. Her ‘Tips’ section comprises of several comprehensive insights into the techniques required to win. These tips are given in a sequential, organised way in order to optimize learning. There is also an odds calculator that aids players in decision-making and helps players to analyse their hands after they have played. Added to this is a glossary of poker terminologies so that players never have to feel daft when other players use obscure poker terms to impress.

Annie Duke decided to design this application in order to create a means of learning about poker that was completely different, and far more comprehensive, to other poker applications. It also happens to be completely free. So for all those budding poker players out there, here is an opportunity to learn from one of the best for free from the comfort of your own home.

Public Nominations for Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2010

19 Apr

Public Nominations for Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2010

During the course of the Labour Day weekend in the US, the general poker playing public will be given their opportunity to submit their nominations in the 2010 Women in Poker Hall of Fame.

Nominations for the awards can be made up until 10 April 2010; eleven days thereafter, the announcement of the official ballot will be made.

All potential female nominees are required to be an active poker player for more than 15 years as well as contributed to the poker industry in a meaningful manner.

2010 also marks a new nominating arrangement which sees candidates having to be a proponent of the women’s game of poker. Regardless of whether the candidate players are not, she only has to show her support. This year, the general public and not only members will have the opportunity to vote.

Upon completion of the final ballot of names, the voting process will also be open to the public. Public vote will count for about half the final determination, with members of the Poker Hall of Fame and enshrined members counting for the other half.

The final winners and newest inductees into the Hall of Fame will be announced on 3 September 2010 at a popular Las Vegas casino venue. Jan Fisher will also be on hand for the grand event as the Master of Ceremonies for the night.

Poker Star Joins the Entourage

13 Apr

Poker Star Joins the Entourage

Online poker stars from the Victory Poker team are set to take their already beaming poker status to even higher levels, as they set their sights on the Hollywood limelight in the hit television show, Entourage.

The show’s producers are excited to combine the celebrity lifestyle as seen in the show with a poker game theme.

Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari and Alec Torelli two of the greats in the poker world are the two players who will shoot upcoming scenes for an episode. Esfandiari will also be performing a few of his trademark chip tricks along the way.

The scenes with the two poker stars will have them wearing their trademark Victory patches.

The Entourage episode will air in the next few months, which will most certainly raise the profile of Esfandiari even more as the “coolest” online poker player by far.

British Poker Pro Might Be Extradited to US

12 Apr

Marcus Bebb-Jones, of Kidderminster, who has been accused of murdering his American wife, Sabrina, in the US and then dumping her body in a park, has had his defence rejected by the judge. The decision has now been sent to the Home Secretary for a decision.

The defence’s rejected argument was that if Bebb-Jones was convicted it would breach Bebb-Jones’s human rights because of the chance of being extradited and being up for the death sentence in the US.

American prosecutors are claiming that Bebb-Jones murdered his wife, Sabrina, and then went on to spend her money during on a “playboy” weekend in Las Vegas in 1997.

Ben Cooper, Bebb-Jones’s barrister, argued that despite assurances from US authorities, there was still a big chance that Bebb-Jones could face a death sentence and that a life sentence would be ‘grossly disproportionate’ and infringe on Bebb-Jones’ human rights.

District Judge Howard Riddle said it was unlikely that Bebb-Jones would not be extradited if it was believed that there was a possibility of the death sentence.

Riddle ruled that the extradition was compatible Bebb-Jones human rights.

Anger over Shane Warne Tweets

12 Apr

Anger over Shane Warne Tweets

Former Australian Spin bowling legend Shane Warne, who is now the coach and captain of the IPL’s Rajasthan Royals, has caused a stir with recent tweets he posted on his Twitter account.

In a post dated on the 11th of April 2010, Warne tweeted about how his followers on the social network site could receive $8 free poker money with a link to the 888 poker website.

Warne has had a partnership with 888 for a number of years now and has become a popular face of the brand and the gambling industry as a whole.

Criticism has been placed heavily on Warne in terms of the fact that he has a huge 47,000 followers on his Twitter account – some of which are presumably minors. Concerns by some reiterated the influential nature sporting figures have over children, and that it should not be forgotten that children are bound to read a lot of what is put on the internet and in public domains.

The tweet will unlikely cause to much of a headache for 888, but it does bring about the important point that although online gambling is indeed safe and secure, and will deny access by underage people, there are a small group of people still concerned with the nature of gambling online; that see it as negative.