WSOP

The WSOP (World Series of Poker) is the major event of the poker calender.

Originating at Binion's Casino in 1970, it has run every year on an ever increasing scale.

Harrah's bought Binion's in 2004 and moved the event to their casino The Rio (for the 2005 & 2006 events).

The WSOP is a series of poker tournaments of various formats and of various buy-in levels (ranging most recently from $1000 to $50,000). Winning any of these poker tournaments earns you not only lots of money, but also a very prestigious WSOP Bracelet. Winning several bracelets is often seen as the benchmark of success for professional poker players.

The players with the most bracelets are Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Hellmuth, all with 10 bracelets each.

The main event of the WSOP is a $10,000 buy-in tounament of NL Holdem. In 2006 this event attracted over 8000 entries and the 1st Prize was $12,000,000

Recent Previous Winners of the Main Event :-

2006 :- Jamie Gold
2005 :- Joseph Hachem (online qualifier through Poker Stars)
2004:- Greg Raymer (online qualifier through Poker Stars)
2003 :- Chris Moneymaker (online qualifier through Poker Stars)
2002 :- Robert Varkonyi

The most expensive buy-in at the WSOP is the $50,000 HORSE event. This is almost exclusively entered by poker professionals (mainly due to the high buy-in). Winning this HORSE event is much coveted by poker pros. The 2006 winner was long time pro Chip Reese.

Razz

What is Razz? How do you play razz ?

Razz is a Poker game similar to 7 card Stud, but where you are trying to get the lowest possible hand. Each player first gets 2 down cards and 1 upcard. There is then a round of betting. Then a further 3 upcards are dealt (each followed by a round of betting), then a final downcard is dealt (followed by a final round of betting).

1) Best starting hand is A23, Worst is KKK

2) Ranking is from high card down, not low card up. IE 6,5,4,3,2 beats 7,5,4,3,A, because 6 is lower. (therefore 234 is a better starting hand than A27)

3) Generally speaking you dont want to start too many hands that dont have 3 lowish cards (eg 8 x x or 9 x x, where x is lower than 8 or 9), this however does not include short-handed play or baby-bluffing.

4) Pairs are always bad. Two pairs or sets are awful. If you 2 pair your board with at least 1 pair high then you probably need to get out of dodge fast. (the highest pair will always top your low). Simarly a high set will top your low (eg with A56QQQ2, you hand is low to your Queen).

5) If 3rd street is low, and you have a look and get a low 4th street (with others drawing high, or pairing) then this is pretty much always bluff-able, regardless of your whole cards (ie bluff you baby upcards if they look ahead of other upcards)

6) If you are sat to the right of the bring in and it is folded to you, it is almost always worth raising (ie it is an easy steal) (Note :- the bring-in is always the highest card in Razz). This is just another version of bluffing with the baby 3rd street (ie when your 1st upcard is the lowest of any players left to act)

7) Unlike Omaha H/L and Stud H/L, there is no min requirement for the eligibilty of a low hand, so you always will have a hand, it is just how it compares to opponents. Keep a close eye on their upcards

8) Your opponents 3rd highest face-up card is going to top their low. eg if they are showing 4TJK, their low will go at least to the ten. This can be highlighted by some recent ridiculous calls people have made against me :-

Example A) Opponent shows upcards of xKKT, I show A269. I know a low to the ten is their best. I opened the betting, but when it comes to 6th street he still calls. Now I would have to have both hole cards, and 7th street higher than a ten to lose (or a very unlikely combination of pairs/trips). As I opened bidding, or even stayed in the pot, he should know he simple cannot win, and should have got out of the pot on the 2nd king at the latest.

Example B) Opponent shows upcards 378T, I show 2345. I have 68 in the hole. So my hand is low to the 6. His 3rd highest upcard is 7, therefore I know it is impossible for my hand to be beaten. (ie I can bet freely)

9) Try to count the key lows, namely A's and 2's which are dead. On a crucial 6 or 7 high, knowing how many of these are played could be enough to know you're are safe. IE if you have counted all A's and 2's as played (including what you still have), then you know your 7 low cannot be beaten (ie his best hand is 34567). If you have counted all the Aces, then you know that your 6 low cannot be beaten (ie 23456 is his best hand).

Good Luck, You can play razz at Full Tilt Poker (Bonus Code = 'SUNSHINE' will get you a 100% bonus)

Inside Straight Draw

Otherwise known as a Gutshot

A standard Gutshot has 4 outs.

From the flop (2 cards to come) there is a 16.5% chance of hitting it.
From the turn (1 card to come) there is a 8.7% chance of hitting it.

To put this in perspective :-
If the pot is 500, and he bets 100, then it costs you 14.3% to call (ie you could call this amount from the flop)
If the pot is 500, and he bets only 60 chips, then it costs you 9.7% to call. (Even for such a low amount from the turn you still get negative equity as there is only a 8.7% chance of hitting your out)

Open Ended Straight-Flush Draw

A standard open ended straight-flush draw would be 15 outs

From the flop (2 cards to come) the odds are 54.1%
From the turn (only 1 card to come) the odds are 32.6%

So from the flop you always have positive equity for any call

And from the turn it would have to be a bet of below the pot size to justify the call (bet pot would cost you 33%)

Open Ended Straight Draw

An standard open ended straight draw would be 8 outs

From the flop (2 cards to come) the odds are 31.5%
From the turn (only 1 card to come) the odds are 17.4%

So from the flop the bet would definately have to be less than the size of the pot in order to have positive equity for a call (if he bets pot, it is 33% for you to call)

And from the turn it would have to be a low bet to justify it eg If pot is 500, and he bets 100, then it costs you 14.3% to call and thus you have postive equity (lower call cost than the 17.4%)

Flush Draws

Moving along from Positive/Negative equity, lets take a look at it in action on a flush draw:-

A typical flush draw in holdem is 9 outs. (ie you have suited hole cards, and 2 cards of this same suit come on the flop, leaving 9 cards of that suit)

Now, you have a 35% chance of hitting one of your 9 outs if you are drawing from the flop.
So, if someone bets the pot (which will be a cost of 33% for you to call), then you have positive equity for a call ('I have the pot odds to call')
However, you only just have it. Therefore if the pot was say 3000 chips, and he went all in for his remaining 6000 chips, you should know immediately that this would be a negative equity call.

Once the turn comes, this changes. Your chance of hitting one of 9 cards is now only 19.6% (because only river to come). Therefore any bet in the region of the size of the pot should instantly ring alarm bells (to call a pot size bet is 33%). If you call here for this amount you are getting massive negative equity.
If the person above had checked the flop, and then launched his 6000 chips in on the turn, then obviously I do not need to state how bad a decision this would be to call. (Just to ram it home, it is a 40% cost for a 19.6% chance of winning).

Positive/Negative Equity

Positive and Negative Equity are terms in Poker which relate to pot odds.

Positive equity is basically when you are being given a good price for your call
eg the liklihood of you winning the pot is 40%, but the cost of calling the bet is only 30%

Negative equity is basically when you are getting poor value for the price of the call
eg the liklihood of you winning the pot is 11%, but the cost of calling the bet is 33%

In poker, if you are able to spot correctly the positive and negative equity calls then you are at a distinct advantage.

Outside of poker, Negative equity is essentially how all bookmakers make money. They take an event where the actual liklihood of it occurring is say an estimated 20-1 chance. They then offer odds at a margin below this. eg they offer odds of 9-1. In a simple 2 possible outcome event they might offer 4-5 on one outcome (the favourite) and evens on the other, thus giving the book (as a whole) positive equity for them, but negative equity for the punter.

What is HORSE?

Horse is a mixed format game combining 5 different forms of Poker, namely the following :-

H = Holdem
O = Omaha Hi-Lo
R = Razz
S = Stud
E = Eights or Better (which is basically Stud Hi-Lo)

These are all LIMIT games.

In cash games you normally change format after a set amount of hands or rotations. It is often changed every 8 hands (which is one rotation at a full table). Sometimes mistakes occur in the transistions between games, particulary from Razz to Stud (so pay attention to what game you are actually playing :)).

In tounament play the game format usually changes accordinng to a fixed time interval. With live poker that interval is often 30 mins. With online poker it is often every 15 minutes. In reality the time interval for the changes could be anything from 5 minutes (for more speed/turbo events) up to 1 hour (for the WSOP Horse Event).

In some tournaments the final table will just be played in one format (in the WSOP Horse, for example, the final table has previously been played only in NL Holdem).

Not many online sites offer HORSE. But currently 2 that do are Full Tilt and Poker Stars. You can get a 100% bonus at Full Tilt Poker (up to $600) using bonus code 'SUNSHINE'.

I will be writing an article on Razz in the near future for those keen to learn

As well as HORSE, you may also see HOSE or HOE (same acronyms as above). Sometimes you will also here the expression HALF-AND-HALF, which is usually half holdem and then half stud or omaha, depending on preference.

A Female Winner of WSOP 2007 ?

My other half has been getting hooked on poker recently. She has played a lot of Poker Stars $1 45-seater SNGs. Quite successfully. She also plays on Jungle Poker as they have a ladies freeroll (a free tourney with prize money)

Jungle Poker is a good looking site, and they do a weekly depositors freeroll, and other weekly freerolls

You can get a 100% deposit bonus using Bonus Code = 'LIONHEART'

Good Luck.

Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi Lo Basics :-

Each player starts with 4 hole cards. You must play exactly 2 of these hole cards to make a low hand, and exactly 2 of these hole cards to make a high hand. The board gets dealt the same as holdem, and the hand ranking is the same.

Playing exactly 2 cards means that if 4 clubs are on the board, and you have one club in your hand, then you dont have a flush, because you must play 2 cards, not just 1. Similarly you cant play 3 or 4 cards from your hand. It must always be 2.

Example of playing only 2 cards :- If trips come on the board eg KKK74, then 55QJ wins over A247 (the first hand has KKK55, but the second hand does not have a boat, it only make AKK77). Neither hand has a qualifying low hand.

A low(lo) hand is one of five different cards all of 8 or below (eg A2347). Flushes and Straights do not count against your low. Therefore the best low hand is a wheel (A2345). You will always have a high hand. High hands are the same as in holdem (using 2 of your hole cards)

The best starting hand in Omaha Hi/Lo is AA23 (AA is good for your high and A2, or A3 is good for your low)
The worst starting hand is 2222 (because you cannot make a low, and your hole cards for your high are 22)
Any trips in the hole are bad, with the possible exception of AAA2.

The ideal hands to bet are if you have a good or nut low AND a good or nut high. Obviously waiting for the ideal world of having a nut high and nut low might not always be the best strategy, however as a starting point it isnt that bad as A234, A237, A246 type hands obviously have a better chance of making it than many others.

Some Further tips :-

1) Most newcomers to Omaha will invariable start along the lines of playing A2xx type hands. Alot of players often stick to this almost relentlessly. The net result is that if a pot is going to be quartered then it is often more likely to favour the high hand.

2) Dont go crazy on the flop just because you have hit 2 pr or a set, getting out drawn in Omaha is so much more likely than Holdem, for very obvious reasons. If you are going to bet your set heavy, then make sure you do it on flops with the least possible potential draws.

3) If your going to move a large volume of cash in to a pot, then probably the best time is this :- There are 4 cards on the board, 2 of which are low. You are sat on the nut high, of a type which is statisically very unlikely to get outdrawn. Then move your chips in now. Often you will get calls from someone solely on a nut low draw, which obviously means you are a great chance of pulling the whole pot, not just half.

4) Remember the rake. If you are in a pot with one other and it is very likely (from the board and the betting) that you are going to split the pot (half to one player with high, half to one player with low), then remember your bets will simply increase the rake and you will be left with less than you started with.

Doyles Room

Have been playing quite a bit at Doyles Room lately. It is a good looking site, and there are bountys on the heads of Doyle Brunson himself, and Todd Brunson and Mike Caro. (ie knock them out of the tourney and you get a cash prize, plus bragging rights :))

You can get a 25% bonus from them using bonus code = 'ELEPHANT'

World Championship of Online Poker

Poker Stars are doing there own equilvalent to the WSOP. It is called WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker). All Events have a high guaranteed prize pool. Some of the buy-ins are quite high if you are starting off, but they do offer fairly cheap qualifiers to each event. The WCOOP schedule is below. Good Luck for those who enter.

Event.......Date...........Game.....................Buy in
1.............Sep16..........Razz......................$215
2.............Sep17..........NLHE.................. .$530
3.............Sep18..........PLO w/rebuys........$320
4.............Sep19..........NLHE Matchplay....$215
5.............Sep20..........Limit Omaha Hi/lo..$530
6.............Sep21..........NLHE w/rebuys......$215
7.............Sep22..........LimitHoldem..........$215
8.............Sep22..........Horse.....................$215
9.............Sep23..........PL Holdem..............$530
10...........Sep24...........NLHE...................$1050
11...........Sep25...........Limit Stud.............$320
12...........Sep26...........PLO Hi/Lo.............$320
13...........Sep27...........6h PL Holdem........$320
14...........Sep28...........Limit Stud H/L......$530
15...........Sep29...........PLO.......................$530
16...........Sep30...........Horse....................$5200
17...........Sep30...........Limit Holdem........$1050
18...........Oct01...........NLHE (Main Event).$2500