The Bonus Site – Online Gambling

I manage maybe 5 to 15 hours per week of online poker, depending on the circumstances.

Currently I’m playing $100 NL 6-max and struggling to come to grips with it to be honest. I have a tiny win rate (less than 1PTBB) over 13,000 hands since I started it a couple of months back. Before then I was running pretty consistently at about 9PTBB on full ring $50’s and $100’s. But I really want to crack the 6 max as that is where the action is going to be in the near future I think.

I’m also going to devote some time to Pokerstars $15 Turbo SnG’s. These are good for when I’m a little antsy and I’m running an experiment to see if I can get my ratio of 1st places as high as possible. I play 2 at once.

This week I’ve played more than usual as I’m stuck at home waiting for the baby to come. So I’m more in the groove than I have been recently. This week I’ve played 14 $15 Turbo SnG’s and placed 1st in seven of them (and 3rd in one) for net winnings of $343 in 4-5 hours total.

The 6 max are packed with maniacs and sponges (calling stations who will raise/bet at you if you slow down). The Full Ring is an easier game to read. Swings can be insane in 6 max, but there are more games and more money to be made there in the long run. Not sure how the $25 tables play these days. But the $100 NL 6 max play very much like the maniac-fest that was the Party $25’s 18 months ago.

In 6 max Ring my winnings so far this week (ignoring bonuses) are $161 at 7 PTBB/100 (7.5hrs). I’m due a $90 bonus from pokerstars soon (I’ve cleared all the easier bonuses already). I tend to 2-table the 6max (but I used to 3-table full ring).

My roll started from a $50 deposit at PokerStars at the end of 2008 (since cashed back out). My lifetime winnings stand at +$8,433.16 and my current bankroll (spread across about 12 poker sites) is $4,179.42. I also have about $2,700 in bonuses waiting to be earned (mainly at PS, UB, Absolute and Carbon Poker). So I’m waiting until I make the jump to $200 NL before I go for clearing these.

I will try to post the biggest winning and losing hands of sessions for comments. This might also make me think twice before making stupid plays.

If you follow poker in particular the big tournaments and the biggest poker stars from Phil Ivey to Doyle Brunson, you may have noticed that they all love to make huge prop bets among themselves.

For example when Phil Ivey just won his 8th WSOP bracelet at the $3,000 HORSE event, winning over $300k, it was reported that this money paled in comparison to the millions he will earn from all the prop bets he has made against other pros, betting that he will win a Gold Bracelet. Similarly Tom Dwan has wagered millions, but unfortunately for him he finished second in one event, very close to racking millions as well.

One of the greatest poker player of all times, Stu Ungar was famous for winning millions of dollars playing poker, but he is also known to have lost millions in bets including sports betting.

So why is it that all these poke pros love prop bets so much?

The answer in a nutshell is that in order to become a great poker player you must have a passion for calculating the probability of occurrence of various events, plus the ability to wager large sums of money with whomever disagree with you. Therefore the prop bets are just a side effect of the nature of top poker pros themselves. It is just in their nature, otherwise they could not (or would be very unlikely to) reach the pinnacle of poker.

Think about it.

For example a straightforward player will play almost ABC poker. He may attempt bluffs or semi-bluffs, mostly the easier ones such as a continuation bet on a missed flop or a semi-bluff with a double straight flush draw. And he will rarely attempt to call a bluff. If he plays against a solid player who makes a large bet to represent a large hand, he will usually fold and not doubt his hand’s strength. Yes but this is not the profile of a great player.

A great poker player like Phil Ivey will constantly evaluate the likely hands of their opponents, their tendencies to bluff or to trap, the dynamics of the table, and many other factors. And they will often take chances based on their convictions of the moment. For example if Phil thinks a player bluffs, he will raise him. If he got reraised, he may even 4-bet with queen high if his belief is strong. Or he could do a three barrel bluff with nothing. How many players can do that? Certainly not a straightforward predictable player.

So the point is that in order to be truly successful at the highest level of poker, you need to constantly judge situations and make bets accordingly and aggressively. In other words, they must put their money where their head is. So all these prop bets are just a natural extension of their poker pro deep personality.

Hollywood icon Burt Reynolds played against the world’s greatest poker players and lived to tell the tale.

From Gunsmoke to Deliverance, The Longest Yard to Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run to Boogie Nights. In his lifetime, Burt Reynolds may have single-handedly reinvented the leading man persona (not to mention the world’s appreciation for a good mustache). But his greatest challenge yet may have been making his latest film, Deal. In the film, Reynolds went toe to toe against poker players like Antonio Esfandiari, Isabelle Mercier, and Phil Laak. The experience left him humbled but ultimately made him a better poker player. Now if only Jackie Gleason was still around to play one last hand.

Burt, how was it acting with professional poker players? “I was fascinated by how these guys study their opponents, figuring out their tells and using psychology to outsmart them. I was very flattered when some of these young stars said they couldn’t tell if I was bluffing. I don’t think that was true before I started this movie. Before starting this film and studying the WPT DVDs, I was an ok poker player, but not great. I just didn’t see how you could win with no cards. I could never figure out how you “play the player.” But I watched and learned. Poker brings out the actor in me, and I was happy to hear some of these young poker stars say “Damn, you’re hard to read”.

The movie “Deal” is reminiscent of Color of Money. Burt’s character, Tommy Vincent, is an older guy who is a teacher to this young player. “I’ve been away from the game a long time, and this brings me back to it. I play a guy who is incredibly faithful and may actually be the most admirable character I’ve played in my 40 years of film. This film may be making me a better poker player and a better person.”

Anything to say about tells? “You know, my dad was a sheriff, and he always said the greatest tell of all was the eyes. That’s why so many guys wear sunglasses in poker.”

What is your home game experience. Burt: “I play with Charlie (Durning) once a month in this very famous game that (Hollywood superagent) Norby Walters hosts. He casts it like he casts a film. Norby says, “I need two leading men, two leading ladies, one comic, and three character actors.”"

If I’m there, then Tom Selleck isn’t invited. I don’t want anybody taller or more handsome than me, so that narrows it down. Among the women, Angie Dickinson is often there. She’s a terrific poker player and has a great laugh. She’s kind of bawdy, fun, and wonderful. You could say anything in front of her and she’d throw it right back.

One of the guys I’ve played a lot with is Jimmy Woods. He is a very skilled actor at the poker table and one of the brightest guys around. You know he went to MIT. He’s very subtle. He has a way of making other players feel as if they are holding up the game. He glares at you, as if to say, “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

I love playing with my old friend Jim Garner. I’ve known him forever. He’s good fun; we have great camaraderie. We kid each other that we’re not the ingenues. We’re getting to be “resident old character actors” now, but we don’t want to admit it.

For many years, Norby included Milton Berle in the game. He was great, but you had to watch him closely. He was the master of the double shuffle. Having done vaudeville all those years on the road, he learned just about every card game and every card trick. It got so that we just bypassed him every time the deal came around. Did it bother him? You bet, he cursed like the dickens.

Jackie Gleason was sensational at cards. I never met a vaudeville player who wasn’t. They could play 50 different card games. Playing cards on the vaudeville circuit, you could make some money.

When I was cast in the film Deal, I went back to watch Cincinnati Kid. Steve McQueen and I were good friends. I wanted to see again how he played his role. It was a really well-done performance. Knowing Steve as I did, I’m convinced he played poker a bit and became a student of the game before he took the film on. Watching those closing scenes, I know he just wanted to kill Edward G. Robinson. Robinson was beautifully contained. He just didn’t sweat.

Does being an actor make you a better poker player? Burt: “It’s supposed to. You’re not supposed to be able to read tells on a player’s face, and as an actor you should be able to hide tells. All those things an actor should be able to do should help you as a poker player. But real poker players, someone who makes a living at it, are truly amazing for what they don’t do. Things like giving you false tells.”

How was your downtime spent with the pro players? Burt: “I find them fascinating to be around. They can’t stand it just to be hanging around. They just have to be betting $23,000 on whether that girl is going to come over here or go right by us. It’s constant action.”

Is the competitive drive in sports the same as in cards? Burt: “Very good comparison. They have to keep athletes away from gambling because the very nature of being an athlete is to stay in there until you win. That can be very dangerous in gambling.”

What about your own poker game? Burt: “It sucks. Everybody is giving me tips on the set, thank God. But I’ve learned on this picture to at least look like I know what the hell I’m doing. ”

You think you know these guys. I got on the elevator the other night with the guy everybody loves to hate (Phil Hellmuth), and he said to me, “I love your work.” I said, “Shit! I wish you hadn’t said that.” He said, “You want to hate me, don’t you?” I said, “Yeah. You really do that well.” He said, “It’s just the role I play.” I guess it’s a little like wrestling; you play a role. He is so frigging arrogant, he just buries his opponents. “You don’t belong in this room, you don’t belong in this country!” You know that guy who talks all the time (Mike Matusow)? I wouldn’t last two seconds with him.

Is football a little like poker? Burt: “The closest thing you can say is you have to get up off the ground, dust yourself off, and go on. There’s no self-pity allowed in football. You can’t cry. It’s the no-cry league.”

I really appreciate the entertainment value of some of these guys. Actors can be really boring off camera because someone else gives us the clever lines. These guys have their own. Nobody writes them. I have certain guys I really like. There’s one guy with the cowboy hat (Hoyt Corkins) who is such a gentleman. “Well, thank you, sir. I was proud to lose to you.”

Do you have a poker face? Burt: “Funny, yesterday I was playing with one of the poker pros, and he said, “I can’t read you at all.” And I said I had a problem with that in acting at first, and that’s not good. You have to be able to read something in the actor’s face.”

There are many reasons to go and visit the Sin City. If you want a break from playing online poker, why not trying other forms of entertainment, with a more physical appeal?

It’s shocking, really, given Las Vegas’ freewheeling, skin-loving, anything-goes reputation, that there are only a handful of places along the Strip where one can sunbathe sans top. Yes, we’re talking “Euro-style” sunbathing, aka topless pools or “adult pool experiences” in PR-speak. For those seeking a seamless tan, the future looks bright.

Make no mistake, these are not spring-break pool parties. These mini utopias are exclusive, serene, and lavish with a splash of tasteful nudity; kind of like a foreign film festival. With pampering perks like cucumber slices and frozen towel services, poolside massages and Evian face spritzers, snazzy hors d’oeuvres and fruity libations, the adult pool experience is becoming more popular by the sun-soaked second.

The Venus Pool at Caesar’s Palace was the original haven for those hoping to sunbathe without the restriction of a top. Fittingly named after the Roman goddess of love, the pool was guests-only until it partnered with nightlife specialist Pure Management Group, got a face-lift, and opened its doors to the public. For a small fee ($20 for women, $35 for men), anyone can sip a mojito and sunbathe al fresco with a DJ spinning in the background.

Beach Club 25 at the Stratosphere is another pool where tops are not required. Located on the 25th floor of the towering property, the site offers spectacular views and is open to the public ($10 for men, free for women).

The few remaining topless options are strictly reserved for hotel guests. The Moorea Ultra Beach Lounge at Mandalay Bay is set apart from the 11-acre Mandalay Beach, has three pools, and aims to make every guest feel like a VIP. All for the small daily fee of $10 for women and $40 ($50 on weekends) for men. At the other end of the Strip, the European-style Sunset Pool at Wynn Las Vegas has lily pad style perches to lounge on and provides the top-notch service associated with Wynn.

On the horizon, the Mirage is building a similar space, to be cleverly called Bare, and the Venetian has partnered with Tao nightclub to create a topless-friendly 15,000-square-foot outdoor pool and entertainment deck enclosed by a Zen garden. Though nothing else has been officially announced, other hotels are bound to start loosening their ties, kicking off their shoes, and sitting poolside with a drink, a smile, and, brag about it, really.

So after a long night of gambling at Las Vegas casinos, a good idea is to try one of these pools to celebrate your success.

Professional rodeo man Jesse Bail loves riding bulls and playing poker, but he’s staying away from combining the two.

When you get a packed poker table playing hands, everyone thinks they are the toughest person in the room. Maybe they made a gutsy call to bust someone out. Perhaps they made a wild over-the-top bluff to win a monster pot. Or they might have gone all in as a major underdog only to crack an opponent’s favored hand.

But if you are playing across from professional bull rider Jesse Bail, it’s fair to say that he’s the toughest son of a gun in the room. And that has nothing to do with cards. He might not be the most skilled player at the table, but the good ole boy from South Dakota is a genuine cowboy that everyone will want to have in their home game.

After roughly five years as one of professional rodeo’s most consistent riders, 2006 was a tough one on Bail. The 27-year-old, who competes in steer wrestling, bull riding, and saddle bronc riding events, broke his wrist that year and has been struggling with the injury afterwards.

Riding bulls with a cast on probably does not help his rehabilitation much, though. “It was not too bad, but I switched hands for bronc riding. I had never rode that way, it was a little tougher then,” he says. “I won a little bit, but not great. So I have been using my cast hand. I have my four fingers I can use.” Now that is why Bail is the toughest guy at the table. And his poker game is starting to come together too, so watch out.

With his Dakota twang and massive Stetson, Bail is a classic character who should have a seat waiting for him in any card room. Think of him as Doyle Brunson with a little less skill and a little more dusty trail. Instead of area rounders, you are more likely to find him playing with other riders during stops on the pro riding circuit.

Most of the time, he enjoys playing with his fellow South Dakotan riders, particularly when they have a chance to meet up in (where else?) the historic western town of Deadwood. “It’s not far. It’s a fun little town,” he says of Deadwood. “I lost most of my money gambling pretty quick there”.

I have not been doing too well recently at online poker, so I wanted to regroup and to think about the reasons and the weaknesses in my game.

It seems that the key factor is that I play “too scared”. And I see monsters on every board. The way we remember events is that the most traumatic ones will leave a deeper print in our memory. There are some violent scenes that will never leave our memory, such as scenes of accidents.

In poker the equivalent is the memory of the times when we lost huge pots and felt humiliated, because we thought we played very well a very strong hand, but it turned out we were deceived and trapped by an even stronger hand. A monster. The unexpected and unlikely nuts was held by our opponent. We did not believe it, but it happened.

After getting a few of these bad scenarios, some players may develop a tendency to see monsters everywhere. And to play extremely passively, failing to raise to protect their hands for example. But the reason why aggression is the winning strategy in no-limit Texas Hold’em poker is that by raising, you will give bad odds to your opponents, you will force them to make tough decisions or you will get information.

By playing passively, you are just waiting to get run over by the bus.

Another important element for playing successfully online poker is that you should be very careful when you sit at a new table. Because if you do not know the players and what has been going on recently, you cannot judge the meaning of the players’ actions.

For example if there is a maniac at the table, players may play very aggressively medium hands in order to win big pots against the maniac. So a big bet may not represent a very strong hand. But at another table full of rocks, the same big bet means the nuts.

It is important to first gauge what is going on. Observe and play cautiously until you feel you understand the table and the players. Then start progressively to take more risks.

This is just a short post about online casinos. As this is a new blog about online gambling, I will share my thoughts about this topic and I assume that most of my readers will be somehow new to online gambling. Otherwise they would not read this blog, they would write their own blog. So here is just a quick summary about online casinos.

Online casinos have literally exploded over the Internet in the past ten years. In the late 90’s the technology was only starting to be put in place to enable a sophisticated online casino to be set up properly. As a matter of fact, it is necessary first of all to have secure connections for deposits or withdrawals, fair and safe games using a truly random “random number generator” (no pun intended) and robust platforms to provide stable real-time single or multi-players games.

This type of technology is already very mature in 2010. Your money is perfectly safe at most online casinos (avoid the smaller ones though). And people are now using robust Internet connections so the chances of disconnection are minimal compared to ten or five years ago. But in case of disconnection your money is safe and no more betting will take place on your behalf.

The games offering does not stop to widen. Popular games are Poker, the Roulette, Baccarat, craps and many more. Poker can be played in the video poker format or in other variations such as Pai Gow poker or Caribbean Stud poker, beyond the pure games of poker played at online poker rooms.

All these games are often the same as the ones you could find at a live casino, except that you get a much wider game selection online than you would ever find at any brick and mortar venue, even the bigger ones. And the convenience to gamble online compared to going to a casino is the same convenience that you get in other activities performed on the Web, like shopping or chatting. So much more efficient and enjoyable over the Internet.

So if you are looking for some fun, try online gambling and you will not be disappointed.

As Sun Tzu said thousands of years ago, the good general knows how to choose his battle.

As poker is war, this rule can be applied by any poker player who thrives to become good at poker. Of course we want to win many hands and to lose few. And we want to win large pots and lose small ones. This is the concept of the battle.

Choose your battles wisely, or in other words choose to fight for the right pots and fold in pots where you are not meant to win. This is how you will win the battles, and ultimately the poker war. Make sure to choose the battle where you have a better chance of winning, be it because of your cards, skill level or psychological advantage.

In particular the type of situation where you want to fight many battles is when you are deep stacked, especially in a tournament. If you have an above average stack size, it is not the time to play ultra tight, waiting for monsters. On the contrary you should use your stack as a weapon, as you have the advantage in this respect versus most of your opponents at the table.

This is the case where money will make more money. Each chip is like a bullet, and with a big stack you can easily murder any of your enemies. You need to emphasis that fact and tell them that you mean business if you bet, so that each time they want to fight in a pot with you, their entire tournament life will be at risk.

Employing this type of psychological warfare is one thing, based on deception. But what you really want to do is make consistent small profits in order to increase your stack size, without big swings. The skilled player’s goal is to keep on making incremental profits. Avoid coin flips and seek spots where you have an edge.

Of course if you end up in a big pot that seems advantageous, by all means play it. By avoiding these big pots, you give away too much in missed opportunities.

One of the secrets of great tournament players that they do not tell you is the following: build a big stack early on at the risk of early elimination. Once you get this big stack, use it as the weapon to scare your opponents and win many battles.

I guess I would like to start this thread off by thanking my friend Rob. He actually set this all up for me, not because I couldn’t do it my self or anything, but just because I really don’t have the patience to play cards online and the go bother with some code.

My name – well I go by Thoughtful because of the way I have always played cards and my indecisiveness towards some major decisions (such as where I will be going to eat dinner at.) I guess I am slow.

Maybe I’m not slow because I am one of the smartest people I have ever come across. When I was 8 I tested out of regular school. When I was 10 I felt stupid for my first time. Around 12 I started playing chess, I won, and all it took was planned strategies. I then focused on Poker.

Poker had no solid strategy for winning. I never actually felt the power of the game until I was 17 and my friends started to pay for my computer parts. At the age of 18, I finished school and decided not to work, because the casino was already paying all my bills.

I am a professional card player. I have been playing professionally for about two years now. Just this past recent year half of my pro winnings were achieved by playing online. I now play completely online.

I have started this to give people information, help them play, help them learn, but most importantly I want to document my rise in the online poker world and at the same time I am sure I will use this site as a channel to my personal life.

My personal life is odd compared to most. I sleep weird hours. I do what I want, when I want, and as you will find out I seem to always get into some kind of situation. But I will attempt not to bore you too much with my personal life. The most important element for my readers is that this blog will discuss online poker bonus, promotions, perks, marketing codes…

Because when you start playing at a new online poker room, you need to make you you have all the elements in your favor.

So I hope you enjoy this space, and learn. Feel free to email me with questions, comments, or requests to be added to my blog links.

A tight-passive game has several tight-passive players, no more than two loose players, and no aggressive players. Lots of hands are not played at all, or there are only two or three players after the flop or on fourth street. Raises are rare, and reraises hardly ever occur. Most pots are trivial, hardly worth winning. Only a few hands go to a showdown, and there is usually only one caller then.

If the game is tight-passive, ask yourself a question: Why bother to play? You can’t win much; you can easily lose; and it’s going to be boring. It’s probably better to read the papers, take a walk, or change games.

But let’s say it’s raining and you’ve already read the papers. If you really want to play, and it’s the only game around (or you’re in a tournament and don’t have any choice), prepare for a long siege. Be prepared to wait and wait and wait.

Don’t Expect Much

If you want lots of action, or hope to win a lot of money, forget it. It’s not going to happen. In fact, don’t be surprised if you lose, and you might lose much more than you expect. This sort of game has little upside and lots of downside. You can’t win much, but you can lose quite a bit.

Control Yourself

Self-control is always important, but it is particularly important in such a tight-passive game, because it is so hard to beat and so frustrating. Your natural desire for action can cause you to play too many hands, and to play them too aggressively.

It happens all the time. The average player, sits down and plays his normal game. He does not lose a lot of money on any single pot; he just slowly bleeds to death. He loses one buy-in, then another one, then a third. He bets aggressively on aces up, but gets beat by rolled up eights. He makes a straight on the river, bets out, and loses to a flush that was made on fifth street. He wins a few pots, but does not win much on them, while losing again and again.

He slowly goes on tilt. At first, he just gets a little looser, calling with marginal hands, raising a little too aggressively. Then he gets mad at the “Damned Rocks” and at himself for playing in “this lousy game.” When that happens, he may be on his way to big trouble.

Do not play in such tight-passive games. If you play online poker, join a room such as Everest Poker where you will always find plenty of games to choose from in the lobby, and never need to join a tight-passive game.