If you have had enough of playing poker with friends or with playing it online and winning some money and then losing some money to only win that money back again, then you have reached the stage in your poker playing experience where you need to start entering live tournaments. That is the real deal. No more long hours in front of the computer, no more feeling guilty for taking your friends’ money: you are now ready to turn pro.

But, before you do, here are a few things you must consider:
1) One of the big differences of playing in a tournament is that you need to pick you hands carefully. Spend most of your time throwing your cards away at the right beginning. If you see that your cards won’t amount to much, fight the urge to exchange most of them, and just hand them all in. This is what most tournament players do anyway. If you don’t believe me, watch the others play.

2) Money you take with you to tournaments lasts for a much lengthier period than when playing with friends or online. This is one of the advantages of not playing every hand you are dealt. (Hint: You should do the same thing when playing with friends even though that then becomes boring.)

3) Do not sit to the left of the dealer. Ensure that there are at least two players between the dealer and the players to the left. Why? Only the first 2 players seated on the left of the dealer have to place the ante. Since, most of the tournaments involve ten players on each table, you save this much each time you play. This also means that each hand that you fold will mean that you have spent only half that of the lower limit. This amounts to three dollars in a two to four dollar rake tournament.

4) Take into consideration that the mere fact that you are away from home means that you will spend money on food and drinks. Try and get your own, but in any case keep it light.

5) Tournament dealers are not paid much, and so it’ general practice to give them about three percent of whatever you win. Consider that all gambling halls and poker rooms also take a certain percentage but at least this comes from the money you win and so you don’t feel it.

6) One of the other advantages of playing in a tournament is that you can use more money than you had. For instance, for a hundred dollar sit-in, many casinos and poker rooms will give you about five hundred in tournament chips to bet with.

7) If high odds and high risk is not what you are looking for you can take advantage of the late night satellite tournaments. These generally begin at one in the morning and since the number of players won’t be high, you stand a bigger chance of winning.

Conclusion:
Playing poker requires tremendous skill as well as come luck. While you cannot depend on luck, improve your skills and your online casino or other kind of betting account will show a profit.

Jack Reider writes for the casino guide - Gambling Portal. Recently married, he hopes to use his gambling experience to earn a living. He specializes in scratch card games and bingo.

Texas Hold’em Poker

The number of youth gamblers is on the rise. Why is this?

Poker is a game that is really more of just a GAME.

It is an extremely competitive ground for players to prove themselves DAILY, hourly.

Online Texas Hold’em Poker is one of the most easiest games to access.

There is millions of players waiting online to play every minute of the day.
There are many real money players, and many play money players.

Most players start out checking everything out under the websites play money site. This is how it is legal for these poker rooms to advertise online.

They say it is FREE to play. It is free, but if you want to play for real money then you have to put up the stake.

This is where an addicted community comes into play.

This community has created Poker Professionals, myself included that are making a living off this online poker craze.

The professionals feed off of the “fish” that see TV commercials online and come to give it a try. Most go to bed with no money left from their deposit and a bad attitude.

Poker professionals come with large bankrolls and are there to handle the swings.

My advice to newcomers to the game is to learn all the ropes of the game. Learn about the hand rankings, probability, and how to correctly read players.

This is the only way that in the long run you will win playing Texas Hold’em Online.

Sean Moranse is a professional poker player. He has won numerous major tournaments. He was named as one of the Top Ten Online best players by Poker Rankings Online, the authority in online poker rankings. He has compiled an award winning poker course that is available at http://www.tournamentwinner.com

In How To Play Poker Texas Holdem Style - Part II
we talked about what takes place each step of the
way during the betting rounds of a hand of texas
holdem poker. Now we’re going to walk through a
sample hand of texas holdem to give you a more
concrete idea of how a hand is played. You’ll be
playing texas holdem in no time.

As I mentioned in part II there are four rounds
of betting in limit texas holdem. Round one
takes place before the flop and you can bet in
one-unit increases.

Round two is directly after the flop (three community
cards are dealt) and the same betting format is played
out. You can bet and raise in one-unit increases.

Round three takes place after the fourth card (fourth
street or the turn card) is dealt. All bets and raises
are now made in two-unit increases.

Round four takes place after the fifth card (fifth
street or the river card) is dealt. All bets and raises
are now made in two-unit increases.

Let’s run through a sample limit holdem hand so you can
see how this works. We’ll go with a $2-$4 limit holdem
game as we discussed in part II. The dealer deals out
two cards face down to everyone in the game.

The small blind of $1 and the big blind of $2 have been
anted up. Player one holds ace-10 off suit (A-10) and
raises, making it $4 to call the bet. Players 2, 3 and
4 all fold. Player five holds A-Q and calls. Player
six folds. The dealer and the small blind fold. The
big blind calls with J-9. Remember he already has $2
in the pot so it only costs him $2 to call the bet.

The dealer deals the flop and the three community cards
show up 10-4-8. The situation has now changed. Player
five no longer holds the bet hand although he may think
so based on the flop. The big blind how has a potential
straight draw and player one has a pair of tens with a
top kicker.

The big blind bets the $2 on his straight draw. Both
player one and five call the $2 bet. Even though player
five didn’t hit a pair, based on the flop he feels he
may still have the strongest hand, although he’s unsure
about another player being on a straight draw with the
10 and 8 on the flop.

A Q comes down on the turn. The big blind has hit his
straight and makes a $4 bet. Remember, we are now in
betting round three and the bets have doubled. Player
1 still thinks his tens may be good and he calls the
$4 bet. Player five also calls, now holding a pair of
queens with an ace high kicker.

The dealer flips over the river card, another 10. The
big blind, having already hit his straight, makes another
$4 bet. Player one, holding trips (three of a kind)
raises the bet to $8. Player five wisely folds his
queens. The big blind calls the $4 raise of player one.

The players flip their hole cards face up to determine
who won the hand. Player 1, thinking he must’ve won, is
shocked to see that his three of a kind falls to the
big blind’s queen high straight. Ouch!

Learn the money making secret tips to mastering Texas Holdem Poker so you can quickly and easily ramp up your poker playing skills for more profits. Check out Freddie’s poker site at http://www.winningtexasholdempokertips.com right now for lots of free info and a special report.

No one expected the Rookie of the Year standings to turn into a race. It seemed that Adam Morrison would win the award since Brandon Roy was injured, and Andrea Bargnani and Randy Foye were not getting enough playing time.

Suddenly Morrison was faced with competition and as a matter of fact has fallen to the third place in the Rookie of the Year standings.

Roy missed 20 games because of a foot injury and returned to the game to show why he was the most sort after guards in last year’s draft. He has the ability to score and create and is considered to be the best of the rookies. He is leading all the rookies in scoring and assist and the Trail Blazers use him often as a point man in attacks.

Bargnani is catching up with Roy. He was the number one pick in the draft last year but did not get enough playing time until three weeks into the season. In February 2007, Bargnani averaged 14.3 points on 51 percent shooting from the field and 48 percent from the three point range. The Raptors went 9-3 in February and all of a sudden they have the possibility of making it to the playoffs. However, Bargnani would still need a late push to make up for the suddenly narrow gap between Roy and him.

Morrison’s standing most probably suffered because of his shooting percentage. He has just .381 and this could be the reason why he has dropped to the third place instead of leading the pack.

About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com, where he wrote a interesting
bodog review and
nfl oddschecker, as well as Filmzone.com, a site dedicated to
texas holdem poker

If you think horse race betting systems are a scam, you may change your mind after you’ve read what I’m about to tell you. I used the Betfair Betting Exchange system in an experiment to find which horse race betting systems work, and I was amazed at the results.

Let me start by telling you that I am not a gambling man. I’ve never been in a bookies and before starting this experiment, only ever bet on the horses once. And lost once. I’d seen adverts for horse race betting systems around for years, and wondered if they actually worked. A lot of the guides available claim to make you thousands with no previous experience. I was perfect!

So, using a logical approach I picked three systems to test.

1. Racefortune (Uses the Betfair Betting Exchange System)
2. Smart Bet Wizard (normal betting system)
3. How to place bet on horses for a living (normal betting system)

I read each guide in turn, made notes and made sure I understood what they were telling me.
If you don’t understand the system, they won’t work.

Then I decided on the ‘rules’.

1. I would test the systems for seven days.
2. Each system would run for the same seven days.ie: against the same horses and races.
3. I would use each system to pick one horse per day to ‘bet’ on.
4. I would pick the horses in the morning before the first race.
5. I would not place any money on the horses.

Pitting the systems against the same horses and the same races was the fairest way to do this. I also didn’t want to place any money on the horses as this could have turned out to be an expensive experiment.

Each system tells you what to look for in each horse and race. In the case of the Racefortune system, it tells you how to identify horses that may not win. I found it simple to use and after a few days it didn’t take me long to scan the race cards and pick my horses.

Here are my results after seven days.

Racefortune:

Number of horses selected: 11
Number of winners (in this case, Losers): 11
% Of Winners (in this case, Losers): 100%

Smart Bet Wizard:

Number of horses selected (overall): 20
Number of winners: 7
% Of Winners: 35%

How to placebet on horses for a living:

Number of horses selected: 7
Number of winners: 5
% Of Winners: 71%

So you can see that using a Betfair betting exchange system does actually work if you pick the right one. I am very happy with the results I got from the Racefortune betting sytem, so much so that after three days I started picking two horses and actually betting on them. Don’t forget though that betting on horses is a risk so your results may vary from mine.

Was this review useful to you? If you’d like to see a more detailed review of the three systems, plus the full results of the week long experiment you will find them at http://www.honestjohnreviews.com

John Mason is a 37 year old with a logical mind who likes to test systems to see if they do actually work.

http://www.honestjohnreviews.com

San Antonio Spurs had five three pointers in the last four minutes which ruined the game for the Trail Blazers. These three pointers handed the Blazers a stunning 99-94 loss and it happened so quickly that the Blazers did not even have the time to digest what was happening around them.

The Spurs were trailing most of the game and then in the last four minutes of the game, they had five consecutive three pointers to end the 8 point deficit. The game was meant to be the Blazers’ greatest win of the season. Instead, it turned out be a shocking loss.

This loss was couple with the fact that the Blazers are now the last team in the Northwest Division with 25-36. They are now behind the Seattle Sonics. What is worse is that the Blazers did not play as if they were a team in the last place. It was one of the best games of the season. However, towards the end of the game it was some bad free throwing, unnecessary fouls by Jamaal Magloire and bad defense that allowed the Spurs to hit them with a barrage of three pointers.

This loss also prevented the Blazers to end their losing streak against the Spurs. They have now lost 8 games to the Spurs on a trot.

For those who were watching the game, it was heart wrenching. The loss has hurt the team a lot. LaMarcus Aldridge said that this loss hurt the team more because the Blazers were in control of the game most of the time. He said that they messed up in the end and that is what was difficult to swallow.

About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com, where he wrote a interesting
bodog review and
nfl oddschecker, as well as Filmzone.com, a site dedicated to
texas holdem poker

It was March 18, 1995 and Stephon Marbury was the prince of the Garden. This was the time when he was a senior in high school and his team. Lincoln Railsplitters, had knocked out Robeson for 61-56 to win the PSAL title. During that game, Marbury scored 26 points and was proclaimed by the 8,000 crowd as the future of New York City basketball.

Ever since, Marbury has been the prince-in-waiting. He wanted to be crowned the King of the Garden.

Nearly 12 years later, Marbury had the chance to be crowned the king of the Garden. This was the game against the Sonics. Marbury had just scored his 40th point was getting a free throw with just nine tenths of a second left and the Knicks had managed to cut the Sonics lead to just one point and the score stood at 100-99. The Knicks were making a push for the playoffs and Marbury was not going to allow any team to scorn his beloved Knicks.

Everyone present waited with bated breath because they thought the game would go into overtime. Even Kenny Smith of the MSG Network announced that the game would be going into overtime.

Marbury threw the ball and they everyone watched in horror when the ball rattled around the hoop and then just came off it. That resulted in the nine tenth of the second finishing and the final whistle blowing.

If the Knicks had won this game, they would have officially made it to the playoffs. Now they had to wait because the playoffs might be in some other team’s hands.

About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in
Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com -
sports betting system,
sportsbook as well as
bodog betting

After bearing the weight of the Knicks for most of this season, Eddy Curry is finally crumpling under it. In a recent 100-99 loss to the Seattle Sonics, Curry just scored 15 points in 39 minutes. In fact, it has become apparent that gradually Curry’s game is weakening and it looks like he might be fading from basketball.

In another game that the Knicks played against Atlanta, Curry scored just 9 points in thirty minutes and after the game, he admitted that he was extremely tired.

After the game against the Sonics, Curry look tired again. He went 2 for 6 from the field in the first half of the game and scored 6 points. Curry did not just struggle in the field but also from the foul line. He went for just 5 of 10 and had 5 turnovers.

The Sonics frustrated Curry completely by doubling him practically throughout the game. Even since Jamal Crawford has been sidelined, opposing teams are finding ways of trying to limit Curry’s game and the Sonics did it very effectively. Sonics’ coach, Bob Hill, said that the team’s game plan was to go after Curry and ensure that he was not scoring. Hill said that the Sonics have great respect for Curry.

Curry earned the respect this season by averaging 19.4 points per game in 34.9 minutes. The Knicks have used Curry for most of the year to run their offense. With all the new ways that rival teams are coming up with, Curry will now have to adjust being the center of attention of opposing teams’ defense.

About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in
Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com -
sports betting system,
sportsbook as well as
bodog betting

If the Knicks do not make it to the playoffs, they will surely remember the game against the Seattle Sonics. This was one game where they got every whistle and every break. The referees did everything for the Knicks except shoot foul shots for the home team.

In this unbelievable game the Knicks still managed to lose to the Seattle Sonics 100-99.

A team that is contending for the playoffs does not throw away a game like the Knicks did. The referees tried to do their bit by helping the Knicks who could do nothing with the opportunities accorded to them. Each time a Sonics player so much as brushed against a Knicks’ player, the referees blew the whistle and sent the Knicks to the line.

Most think that because the Knicks are in the East, they are still in contention for the playoffs. With a record of 28-34, they would not have been if they where in another Conference.

According to Rashard Lewis of the Sonics, the referees were blowing the whistle for the Knicks in the second half of the game. He said that the Knicks got a lot of calls in their favor during the game. Lewis was instrumental in helping the Sonics win when he netted in a three pointer with just 4.8 seconds left.

The three officials officiating the game, Dick Bavetta, Pat Fraher and Zach Zarba, whistled 25 fouls against the Sonics and just 12 on the Knicks. In the fourth quarter, the Sonics were whistled 12 fouls while the Knicks had just four.

Ultimately it was the Sonics’ strategy against Eddy Curry that helped the Knicks lose the game. The Sonics fouled Curry and forced him to score points at the line. Curry is a 61 percent shooter and he missed two of the four shots in the fourth quarter and total of 5 shots out of 10 in the game.

If the Sonics had lost this game, they would have most probably sent the tape of the game to Stu Jackson on the calls that the officials had given against them.

About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in
Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com -
sports betting system,
sportsbook as well as
bodog betting

Memo Okur was struggling with his play the last two weeks and now suddenly he is not and announced to the basketball world that his slump is over with 32 points during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats which the Jazz won 120 points to 95.

Just after the All Star break, Okur was struggling with his game. He was sidelined for two games after the All Star break because of severe back spasm. He returned to the game and ended up missing 16 of the 19 field goal attempts and this resulted in the Jazz losing 102-94 to the Lakers.

Against the Bobcats, Okur showed everyone that he still had it in him to beat the odds. He scored 6 of the first 7 points for the Jazz and ended the game with more than 30 points to his credit. This was the fourth time this season that Okur has scored more than 30 points in a game.

However, in the second quarter Okur did miss a three pointer and then a 15 foot bank shot when there just 5 minutes of the game remaining. Other than these two misses, Okur was perfect and Bobcats had no reply to his play. The Bobcats were playing without their forward Emeka Okafur who was out of the game because of a strained calf.

According to Andrei Kirilenko, Okur has finally realized that he is an All Star player and at the moment he is the one who is leading the team by scoring at crucial moments. We will get back with more news with respect to Okur later on.

About the writer: Nigel Kerry is an American free lance writer born in
Los Angeles, California. Kerry writes among others for Sportus.com -
sports betting system,
sportsbook as well as
bodog betting