POKERSTRATEGY
2013 m. vasario 21 d., ketvirtadienis
And the Player of the Year is … Greg Merson
And the Player of the Year is … Greg Merson
2013 Jan 02
What a year of poker it’s been, and the
player who came out on top is none other than Greg Merson. It was a good
year for him too as he took on the 7,072 field in the World Series of
Poker (WSOP) Main Event and beat the lot of them. However, that wasn’t
the only big one for him, as he also took down the WSOP $10,000 NLHE Six
Max Championship.
Big earnings
In 2012 Merson’s total earnings in live
tourneys added up to a staggering $9,664,179. This amassed him 5,100
Player of the Year points. Although he started the year in winning form,
he still managed to cash in and earn points at a few events.
It was after the WSOP $10,000 NLHE
Six Max that he made his mark on the POY score board. He had a hard
task in front of him at the final table with plenty of good players
standing in his way. When he won this one, he also took 1,800 POY points
with him and leapt to 27th on the leader board.
Troubled times
Before he took to the live games Merson
was an accomplished online player, and many were predicting that he
would make it good at the live games. It hasn’t all been plain sailing
as he’s had to fight against drug addiction, and last year was also a
milestone in his battle. In December he told the world that he had been
clean and sober for the entire year. Well done, Greg!
When he played online and was winning
big he didn’t get any recognition so found it difficult to justify his
career to friends and family. Now he’s making it big in the “live” poker
world, they can see that he definitely made the right career choice,
and being sober for the year certainly helped him get where he is today.
Here’s to another good year!
Are the Player of the Year rankings honest?
Throughout my non-poker career working
in the marketing and promotions world for multiple sports industries,
I’ve noticed how important it is to highlight your best athletes/players
and work together as a community to promote them on to bigger and
better things. You need to have heroes and inspirations to look up to so
that everyone from newcomers to amateurs have something to strive
towards and believe in. Poker has done a great job at this through
multiple high-expose tournaments and via end of the year player rankings
conducted by well-respected media outlets like Card Player. However, as
I look at the 2012 Card Player “Player of the Year” winner Greg Merson, I left wondering if we are ranking these events correctly.
I’m not saying that Merson didn’t
deserve his title, as anyone who can win the World Series of Poker main
event and back it up with another WSOP bracelet and two other series
cashes is definitely worthy of all the praise and recognition that he
has received. My only concern is the amount of points awarded to
specific tournaments, such as the main event, that then heavily tip the
Player of the Year scales in multiple directions.
I consider it to be a pretty well-known
fact that next to no one considers the WSOP main event winner every year
to be the best player in poker, yet it contributes more points towards
the overall individual player rankings than any other competition in the
game.
I get that there are many players in the
tournament, but with that number of players comes in an increase in the
luck factor due to the amount of hands being played over multiple days.
I would like to think that we would want to base what is essentially
our version of an MVP award on slightly revised factors.
The whole situation reminds me of
Antonio Esfandiari, who recently became the top of the ladder in the
lifelong career earnings leaderboard thanks to his massive “One Million
Drop” victory at the WSOP where he netted $18 million.
He outlasted only a handful of players
and yet now sits above massive legends of the game whom even he would
agree possess skill far greater than his, but the poker industry seems
okay with overlooking these details at the moment and rather focus on
creating spectacle events such as these in order to gain attention.
Overall, I just don’t want to see the
memories and efforts and poker’s elite get swept aside in favor of
sideshow tournaments that put more of an importance on grabbing
headlines than the game itself. It would be nice if we started looking
towards other professional sports for guidance so that we can keep poker
on the right track for the future.
Zoom Poker tournaments to take place soon
Zoom Poker tournaments to take place soon
2013 Jan 03
Zoom Poker has been around on PokerStars
for just under a year now. Although it has only been played on cash
games so far, all that will change this year as PokerStars are going to
put it out in tournament form too. As this is a fast and furious
variation on the game of poker it should make for an exciting game.
New Year launch
The site launched the new format in
their tourney lobby on the 31st December but didn’t make a song and
dance about it. That may be because they’re only on the micro-stakes at
the moment and in Beta mode, and although they haven’t raised a big
fanfare each and every tourney has been jam packed with players.
Zoom has also been called “Fast-Fold” in
the past, as when a player folds their hand they are immediately taken
to a different table to play their next hand. Apparently both the pro
players and those who play for fun like this new format. Probably
because it means that the grinders can play more hands each day and also
have the potential to win lots more money. It is also good if they want
to rack up lots of Frequent Player Points.
Big hit
The format has its good points but what
about chatting and getting to know your fellow players at the virtual
table? Has that gone out of the window now? From the outset of the game
on PokerStars it looked likely to be a big hit. The demand for the game
is huge and the revenue that it brings in to the site must be massive.
So it does look as though the designers of the game realised they were
onto a winner from the start.
Three pro-level strategy tips
Three pro-level strategy tips
2013 Jan 03
When friends of mine or friends of my friends find out that I’ve written a couple of hundred poker articles, they’re naturally inclined to grill me on how they can either become better players or teach them how to get into the game in the first place. It’s a common phenomenon that I’ve grown accustomed to, yet I always slightly enjoy the reaction I get from these same people after I start throwing tips and suggestions their way only to then get looks of extreme confusion on their faces, since for the most part they have no idea what I’m talking about. Most people want an easy answer and few are willing to work hard using the advice I give them. Perhaps you’ll have better luck understanding my tales.
Here are three expert-level tips that you can employ in any poker format regardless of buy-in level or quality of competition:
1. No limping
If you’re a smart player who can correctly use a pre-flop limp as a way of masking your hand or as an attempt to change up your table image, then limping can play a role in your strategy. For everyone else it just signals your weakness to the rest of the opposition and makes you very easy to predict and read, effectively ruining your chances to make something out of a pot unless you get lucky and flop a premium hand. If a hand is worth staying in with, it should be worth raising with.
2. Punish the limpers
Taking a cue from tip number 1, you want to never let up on the players that are limping into too many pots. They’ve proven themselves to be timid and cautious and unwilling to put a lot of money in before the flop. These are the same people that will check/fold all the time post-flop. In situations such as these you can almost raise limpers at will pre-flop and then bet them off their hand in the next round without even worrying about your own cards.
3. Maximise the value
This is the single most important thing I can teach you. So much money is lost from not seizing an opportunity to get the maximum value out of a hand. Don’t misuse scenarios when you are the likely favourite and overbet the pot or get too aggressive. You need to be willing to take these hands all the way to showdown, so base your bet amounts with the mindset of accomplishing that goal. As the saying goes, if you have a massive hand but force your opponent to fold, you might as well have had 7-2 offsuit.
Deposit and Claim $20 of Free Play
Deposit and Claim $20 of Free Play
Make a first deposit of $20 or more and you’ll get $20 worth of free play at PokerStars. Plus, you’ll also be credited with a ticket to play the 100K Privilege Freerolls. This means you can play up to four tournaments every day for 31 days, and play for your share of more than $100,000. This offer will only be available for a limited time, so you’d better be quick!How to get your Free $20
All you have to do is a make a real money deposit of at least $20 into your PokerStars account using the bonus code ‘FREE20’. See the Real Money page for a full list of deposit options for desktop client players in your region, and the Web Cashier page to find out how you can deposit on your mobile device.Your free $20 will be credited within 36 hours, and your 100K Privilege Freerolls ticket will be credited instantly.
Don’t have a PokerStars account? Download the free poker software to get started.
Please Note: Your free $20 will be available to play with as soon as it’s credited, but you will not be eligible to cash out until you have earned 50 VPPs. Transfers between players, or to a paired Full Tilt Poker account will be classed as a cashout.
Contact support@pokerstars.com if you have any questions about the Free $20 First Deposit Offer and how to claim your free cash.
Blog for the Chance to Win Cash and SCOOP tickets!
Blog for the Chance to Win Cash and SCOOP tickets!
The World Blogger Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP) is back for 2013! Submit your blog entry now and you could win a share of thousands of dollars in cash across 31 free events. There are also online tournament tickets to be won, plus big cash rewards for the best bloggers. To qualify, all you need to do is blog!This year’s series runs from March 1-11, and we’ve upgraded the schedule with a huge selection of games in a range of different formats, including a $5,000 guaranteed No Limit Hold’em Main Event on Monday, March 11.
There are cash prizes worth up to $5,000 to be won for the Best Blogger, the Best Live Tweeter, WBCOOP Leader Board players and the Best Female Blogger - a first for 2013. And if you manage to bust any Team PokerStars Pros making an appearance throughout the series, you’ll also win $22 SCOOP tickets.
Here's How the 2013 WBCOOP Works
- Submit - send us either a 500-word blog post, or short video, before March 9 telling us what has been your best moment while playing on PokerStars.
- Share - next you have to share your blog/video with all your friends and followers via social media.
- Free ticket - entrants will be credited with 10 tickets to play any of the 31 WBCOOP tournaments (see full schedule below).
- Tournament prizes - Each tournament awards Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tickets to the highest finishers, and everyone who cashes will be invited to play the 2013 WBCOOP Main Event.
- Additional prizes - $5,000 will also be awarded to the Best Blogger, $1,000 to the Best Live Tweeter, and $500 to the Best Female Blogger. There's also a WBCOOP Leader Board with additional prizes for players with the most points scored across the series.
- Main Event - the WBCOOP Main Event takes place Monday, March 11 at 10:00 ET, with a prize pool of $5,000!
Note: Blog submissions will only be accepted in English, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Danish and Portuguese. Please read the WBCOOP Terms & Conditions before submitting your entry.
WBCOOP 2013 Tournament Schedule
| Event | Date | Time (ET) | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 1 | 10:00 | NLHE |
| 2 | 14:00 | PLO [6-Max] | |
| 3 | 18:00 | FL Badugi | |
| 4 | March 2 |
10:00 | NLHE/PLO Mixed Limit |
| 5 | 14:00 | NLHE Triple Shootout | |
| 6 | 18:00 | 8-Game Mix | |
| 7 | March 3 |
10:00 | NLHE [6-Max] |
| 8 | 14:00 | NLHE | |
| 9 | 18:00 | PLO Hi/Lo [6-Max] | |
| 10 | March 4 |
10:00 | 7 Card Stud |
| 11 | 14:00 | NLHE/PLO | |
| 12 | 18:00 | 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Turbo | |
| 13 | March 5 |
10:00 | NLHE [4-Max] |
| 14 | 14:00 | PL 5 Card Draw [6-Max] | |
| 15 | 18:00 | NLHE Turbo [6-Max] | |
| 16 | March 6 |
10:00 | Triple Stud |
| 17 | 14:00 | NHLE Heads-Up | |
| 18 | 18:00 | PLO Turbo | |
| 19 | March 7 |
10:00 | FLHE [6-Max] |
| 20 | 14:00 | PLHE Turbo | |
| 21 | 18:00 | NLHE Shootout Turbo [10-Max] | |
| 22 | March 8 |
10:00 | PLO [6-Max] |
| 23 | 14:00 | NLHE Big Antes | |
| 24 | 18:00 | NLHE Hi/Lo Turbo | |
| 25 | March 9 |
10:00 | NLHE Deep-Stacks |
| 26 | 14:00 | PLO Hi/Lo [6-Max] | |
| 27 | 18:00 | NLHE Turbo | |
| 28 | March 10 |
10:00 | HORSE |
| 29 | 14:00 | NLHE [6-Max] | |
| 30 | 18:00 | NLHE | |
| 31 | March 11 | 10:00 | $5,000 GTD Main Event |
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