Preflop Matchups

Phil Gordon talks about preflop matchups.

Hellmuth Reality

Phil Hellmuth talks about his hectic schedule after not winning the 12th bracelet. Also gives tips on throwing frisbies at Norman Chad's and ends up hitting "the nuts".

Changing Gears

When playing poker you should never have a predetermined strategy for the game. When you get to the game figure out the style of play at your table and do the opposite. If your table is playing tight, get more aggressive and start playing more hands. When your table is loose, tighten up and just play strong hands.

Your table won't always have the same style of play though. There are many factors that can determine the style of play. How high the blinds are in relation to the players stacks and how close to the money you are can change the style of play. You need to pay attention to what the others players at the table are doing in these situations and then adjust your style. An example of one of these situations is when you approach the bubble. I discussed a strategy for this situation when I talked about bubble play. Being able to switch gears is crucial to success in poker.

Hellmuth Reality

Phil Hellmuth ties the record for final tables played at the World Series of Poker (39), but is still frustrated by the results of yesterday's $3000 NLHE event.

Betting With Medium Strength Hands

Phil Gordon talks about why betting medium strength hands on the river is a bad idea.

Hellmuth Reaches Another Final Table

Phil Hellmuth has reached another final table at the WSOP. This time in the $3,000 buy-in, No Limit Hold'em event. This is his 60th career cash at the World Series. There were 827 entries in the event. Hellmuth is one of the shortstacks entering the final table though. Make sure to check out PokerNews.com for live coverage.

Negreanu Update at the WSOP

Mike The Mouth is half naked in a pose a la George Castanza. What is going on? Daniel Negreanu updates us on his play at the WSOP.

Avoid Domination

Phil Gordon talks about avoiding hands that will leave you dominated.

Negreanu Reality

Negreanu vents about his loss at the WSOP $1500 NLH Shootout. He finished 3rd in the event.

Battling the Hyper Aggressive Player

You all know the type. The player who is in every pot and is constantly betting whether he has anything or not. Playing against a hyper aggressive player can be frustrating.

What you need to do is be patient. Let your opponent make the mistake. Sit back and wait for a good hand. Then when you enter a pot punish your opponent. When you hit a flop let your opponent do the betting for you. Since your opponent is hyper aggressive and bets every flop anyways trap him. Check and let him bet, then you can re-raise or simply call and hope he fires out another bet on the turn. If he bets again on the turn re-raise.

If you're the one who bets first your opponent might just fold. You want to give your opponent a chance to bluff so you can extract more chips. Slowplaying your big hands will help you win more chips versus the hyper aggressive player.

Negreanu Signs with PokerStars.net

Daniel Negreanu has just signed with PokerStars.net. It was also announced that his poker site, Full Contact Poker will cease operations and all accounts will be transferred to PokerStars.net. Daniel talked about the move in his latest video blog.

Hellmuth Captures 11th Bracelet

Phil Hellmuth has made history. After winning Event 15, a $1,500 No Limit event, Hellmuth now stands alone with 11 bracelets surpassing Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan. Hellmuth received $637,254 for first place outlasting a field of 2,628. Brunson and Chan were on hand to present Hellmuth with his 11th bracelet.

Hellmuth Looks to Make History at 1.5k Event

Phil Hellmuth has reached the final table of Event 15, which is a $1,500 Buy-In No Limit Event. This event had a huge field of 2,628 players. Hellmuth has never won an event with a field this big. He will look to make history by becoming the first player ever to capture an 11th WSOP bracelet.

The rest of the final table consists of Rick Fuller, Scott Clements, David Simon, Morgan Machina, Ut Nguyen, Andy Philachack, Fabrice Soulier, and Taylor Douglas. The Final table begins today. Check out PokerNews.com for live coverage.

Cunningham Wins Fifth Bracelet

Last night in the 5k Pot Limit Hold'em event Allen Cunningham captured his 5th World Series of Poker bracelet. Cunningham defeated 397 other players to claim the first place prize of $487,287. The final table consisted of a number of pros including Gavin Griffin, Humberto Brenes, Jeffrey Lisandro, and the defending champion of this event, Jason Lester. Cunningham is now one of only five players to win a WSOP bracelet in three straight years.

PokerNews.com, which by the way has coverage for all the WSOP events, interviewed him after the big win.

The Squeeze Play

Phil Gordon explains the Squeeze Play, or as he calls it, the "Chip Sandwich." Dan Harrington performed this move famously in the Main Event of the 2003 World Series of Poker.

Negreanu at the WSOP

Daniel talks about his status at the WSOP and his side bets. He also talks about his weird dreams about the Apprentice.

Take Notes on Your Opponents

A good way to improve your game is to take notes on your opponents. Write down the hands they raise with, the hands the call with, the hands they re-raise with. All this information is very valuable. What kind of player are they? Are they loose? Aggressive? Are they capable of bluffing? Are they capable of folding a good hand? Remembering all this information will help you form a strategy of play against your opponents.

It's also a good idea to keep track of tells in a notebook. If you pick up a tell on one person there's a good chance someone else out there does the same thing. Write down these tells because you never know when you'll find someone who also has the tell. Then look over the tells before you play so you don't forget to look out for them. Looking over the tells you've discovered before a game will make you more alert.

Hellmuth Reality

Phil Hellmuth finds himself in a great position one minute, and then not so much the next. Good example of how fortunes change and exchange hands at the World Series of Poker.

Negreanu Reality - Day Seven of the WSOP '07

Daniel Negreanu talks about day seven of the World Series of Poker.

"Harrington on Hold'em" Review

"Harrington on Hold'em" was originally released back in 2004. Just recently I decided to finally give it a read because I had heard such great things about it. I'm glad I did because it was a fun read.

Harrington covers everything about the early stages of a poker tournament in this book. He goes over position, starting hands, pot odds, reading the table, betting before and after the flop, and how to bet on the turn and river. He really goes into great depth on all these subjects.

He does a hand analysis for all these subjects. Most of the book consists of the hand analysis. Harrington lays out the situation for you, asks the reader how they would play it and then explains what you should do in the situation. He really does a great job and the hand analysis is very realistic. Harrington goes over countless situations and he really makes you think about why you make certain plays in different types of situations.

"Harrington on Hold'em" is a very good book on tournament poker. This is a very good book for the intermediate player looking to up their game to the next level. If you're a beginner I might check out something else to start you off but if you have a little experience and understand the game and terms get this book. For the advanced player you probably won't learn a ton from this book but you'll pick up a few things here and there and the hand analysis makes it worth purchasing.

The Value of Suited Cards

"But they were suited!" I hear people say this phrase all the time. I just laugh and am happy they don't know what they're doing so I can easily take their chips. In the following video Phil Gordon explains why suited cards aren't as good as you might think.

Phil Hellmuth's New Video Blog

Phil Hellmuth has started a new video blog that he will be doing throughout the World Series. Here he talks about how his WSOP is going so far.

Phil Hellmuth's Online Poker Tips

Phil Hellmuth on online poker strategy. This video isn't cheesy at all.

Steve Billirakis Becomes Youngest Bracelet Winner Ever

The first bracelet event of the 2007 World Series of Poker has concluded and the winner of the 5k Mixed Hold'em is Steve Billirakis. Billirakis becomes the youngest bracelet winner ever breaking the record Jeff Madsen set at last years World Series. Billirakis took home the bracelet at 21 years and 10 days of age. This is the fourth straight year the record has been broken and it's going to be pretty hard for someone to break it again.

PokerNews.com caught up with him after the win.

Continuation Bets

A continuation bet is when you raise preflop but the flop doesn't do anything to improve your hand so you bet again on the flop. You need to be careful when you make continuation bets. Just don't make some random continuation bet without knowing why you're making it.

When making a continuation bet you want to make sure the flop is good for making the bet. Pay attention to the suits. If the flop comes all different suits that's good for making a continuation bet. If the flop comes low or middle cards that's also a good flop for a continuation bet. An example would be a flop that comes 9-7-2. Firing out a continuation bet here is a good idea. A flop that comes A-Q-10 is not a spot to make a continuation bet.

An important thing to take into consideration when making your continuation bet is how many others players are in the hand. Generally you don't want to make a continuation bet against more than 1 or 2 players. The more people in the hand, the less chance your bet will be effective.

Calculating Odds

Phil Gordon goes over calculating odds.

Card Controversy at the WSOP

New cards are being used at this years WSOP and the players are not big fans of them. Apparently they are extremely hard to read and many players have been complaining, including Mike Matusow. Pokernews.com interviewed Daniel Negreanu and got his opinion on the new cards.

The Gap Concept

The "Gap Concept" was introduced by David Sklanksy. In the video below, Phil Gordon explains what the "Gap Concept" is.

The WSOP Begins Today

The 2007 World Series of Poker is here. The 38th World Series of Poker begins today with a $5,000 buy-in mixed hold'em (limit/no limit) event. There is also a dealers event. This year there are 55 events with coveted bracelets going to the winner of each.

At last years World Series, Phil Hellmuth won his 10th bracelet. Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson all have 10 each and will try to be the first player to claim an 11th bracelet. If I had to take a guess which player will get their 11th first I'd go with Hellmuth. Brunson and Chan have not played as many events as Hellmuth this year and Hellmuth seems to be near the top of his game. Hellmuth made 4 final tables last year and I expect him to see some more this year.

The big surprise at the 2006 WSOP was 21 year old, Jeff Madsen. Madsen won 2 bracelets and made 4 final tables. Will he come close to repeating last years success? We'll find out soon and perhaps another 21 year old will make the same sort of impact at this years WSOP?

Jamie Gold will look to defend his Main Event title. Gold has not cashed in any major tournaments since winning last years Main Event. This years WSOP will have a huge impact on how people view Jamie Gold as a poker player. Will he prove the doubters wrong or will people be calling him the second coming of Robert Varkonyi?

All of these questions will be answered soon. The World Series of Poker is finally here.