Bradley Franzen, one of the 11 executives that has been charged, turned himself into a Manhattan FBI office and has pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges. Franzen has posted a bail of $200,000 on the same day he was arrested and has used his parents’ house as collateral. Franzen’s defense rests on the idea that poker is a game of skill not of luck and should is not subject to the laws concerning gambling. However, the charges that are being brought against him have to do with creating fake businesses and wiring the money to the poker companies.

Immediately after the announcement was made that these companies were under charges by the FBI, ESPN and ESPN.com has severed all ties with PokerStars and has even terminated coverage of the North American Poker Tour. The Big Game, a show on Fox, has been canceled in the mean time. Wynn Casinos and many other casinos, based in the United States, have also decided to distance themselves from these online sites. The CEOs of these companies can also possibly be extradited based on which country they live in. Furthermore, funds that are associated with these sites have been frozen for US players and there is a possibility of being completely lost.

One of the biggest changes is going to be the reduction of poker coverage on mainstream television in the United States. One of the biggest sufferers will be the World Series of Poker main event that is held using online qualifiers. Attendance is also expected to drop down to precisely 2,500 attendees from 8,000. This shutdown of the US online sites has drastically reduced the market share that is involved in online poker.

Many high-stakes US players will soon find themselves moving overseas to be able to continue playing and make money legally. Another side effect of Black Friday is many sponsorships with these companies will dissipate and will incur million-dollar losses for some companies. For instance, ESPN had a 22 million dollar deal with PokerStars that will no longer exist and many sponsored players will lose their contracts.

In the mean time, the Poker Players Alliance is attempting to gain support from players and push for regulation of online poker. These topics have been a hot debate in Congress and may result in a some type of quick decision in light of these events that have occurred recently. If there is any hope for online poker in the US, it will definitely come with some sort of new taxation and regulations that are approved by Congress. However, if Congress does decide to set up a system in which US online poker players can be taxed, this change of legislation can provide valuable state and federal funds which could help the government create additional revenue.

Style of Play

While other poker game styles will recommend that you hold back playing aggressive a bit until the later stages of the game, heads up poker dictates that you play aggressively and use your stack to push out the other players of the game. When you have a good hand in heads up, play it aggressive.

Opponents

Like any other poker game, you need to read your opponents. You need to know who are tight, who are loose, who will give a good fight, and who will be vulnerable. Knowing these things will help you pick a good strategy so you take home some money.

How to play

If you cannot determine exactly how you should play against the other players, it might be a better option to play a bit loosely. Go and steal the blinds. If you think your cards are half good then you should play on. Do not play foolishly so fold when you really have to fold.

Playing online

You can use a poker calculator if you are playing heads up online. This will give you some statistics and give you an idea of the best hands to play. Look into the odds of different hands so you can understand how holding certain cards will impact your game.

Heads up poker is a nice game to explore. You just need devote some time to read some stuff about the game, practice, and consistently improve your skills.

Basic Strategy

Ace-King can be a great hand but it will be the worst you can have if you miss the flop or caught on in a wrong position. It is a very difficult hand to play versus multiple opponents but remember that an Ace-King has a strong probability to be the best hand. Either of the card can give you the best pair or a very good kicker.

When you have an Ace-King you need to play strong and take control of the table before the flop. It will be best while there is no resistance. Make use of continuation bets after the flop and take advantage of your position to take away the pot.

Stack size

It is critical to know the stack size of your opponents when playing an Ace-King. The key is to do all in when playing against small stack opponents. This will allow you to take a shot of pot maybe against any other pre-flop raiser or caller.

When you have a deep stack (like we know Teh Jinx likes), a pre-flop re-raise will somehow give you a clue of the cards your opponent is holding. Watch out for the re-raise of the opponent who maybe holding a better card than your ace king.

CLEAR.

NO DISCUSSION;

NICE TOURNAMENT POTRIPPER!

SEE! ONLINE POKER IS RIGGED!

Poker is a game which requires an easy blend of skill and luck. Instead of acting spontaneously poker players should think and plan their game play strategy which would help them sail difficult situations and opponents.

Players forget that their contribution of money in the last pot was only a miniscule of your bankroll. Beginners forget to analyse the situation in a holistic pattern. They tend to forget importance of their mistakes and move ahead on the poker table with their game.

Beginners should be aware about their blunders so that they can shape their game plan in a better and wiser manner the next time they play or else they would continue making the same blunders. Mistakes made on the poker table are very expensive in nature. If you spend the entire time in protecting yourself from the harsh attacks of the opponents you fail to examine the moves and playing style of the opponents on the poker table.

Beginners should spend quality time examining and studying articles and books written on poker. Just relying on video tutorials or watching tournaments online would not help. If beginners want to master the ancient but effective poker strategies reading is a must.

One of the most simple ways to prolong the participation in a game is coin flipping and this has been projected in a glamorous way. While you are playing a cash poker game it is not right to find a pre-flop coin-flip. Where some players are specialized in being hyper-aggressive, picking up a lot of pots and making a profit because of those and breaking even in the coinflips (Dario Minieri is a great example!) – the real cash game players like Barry Greenstein know better!

Beginners tend to overplay their hands. You should know when to play and fold hands. Either beginners fold their cards every now and then if they lack premium cards or they continue betting and playing the game. These strategies are easily read by the opponents and they understand the game plan very easily.

Beginners should know that these blunders are preventable. Incessant reading and being open to always learn and master new skills would tremendously help in making fewer mistakes. You will be able to earn great money if you make fewer blunders on the poker table. This indeed a long-term strategy which would yield high returns.

If you want to make Poker Money – beware of the common mistakes!

To be honest, when I first started playing poker, I know that I made a heck of a lot of these mistakes and I wish that someone would have told me about them before hand!

Firstly, you need to understand the game.  You’d be surprised just how many people do not know the rules of poker when they first start in the game.  However, you want to make sure that you learn the rules before you even start playing the game.  That is the first mistake.  More in the next blog!

That is the question that a lot of poker players do not think about and it is something that they should think about!  Poker is all about using your tactics and also using your brain and if you follow some guidelines, you are not really doing either one.

Poker is a fantastic game when played right and you can play it right – just use your head about it!