Gaming Today

Esther Bluff essential to successful bluffing

I have written about it many times. The “Esther Bluff” was created many years ago by my granddaughter while she was still a teenager. I thought it would be a good idea to teach her how to play Texas hold’em. As it turned out, poker was not her cup of tea. She has other interests […]

Ace-King doesn’t guarantee winning

Of the 169 possible starting hands in hold’em, a computer simulation shows that A-K offsuit is the fifth best possible. Only A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K suited are rated higher. But if it doesn’t improve on the flop, it becomes an underdog against any player holding a pair — even a lowly pair of deuces. […]

Everyone makes mistakes at the table

We are only human; we all make mistakes be it at the poker table, at work or in school — wherever. What is the worst mistake you have ever made in a poker game? Back in August 2005, Casino Player Magazine ran a special column entitled “The Winning Edge.” Several poker celebrities were asked to […]

Knowing opponents’ traits important in Poker

Every poker player has characteristics or traits that define how he or she plays their hands. Be sure to note your opponents’ traits and recognize your own. Changes may be made along the way so be prepared. Tight players are extremely cautious in selecting their starting hands. The result is they muck most of the […]

Remembering wonderful guy, Mike Sexton

Known as “The Ambassador of Poker,” Mike Sexton died on Sept. 6 after battling prostate cancer. He was 72, just a few weeks shy of his 73rd birthday. The news was tweeted to the poker world by Linda Johnson, “The First Lady of Poker,” who was a close friend of Mike’s for many years. An […]

Expect WSOP to be bigger in ’21

Editor’s note: This is part three of a three-part series on the history of the World Series of Poker. Participation in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) rapidly increased beyond all expectations after its start in 1970 — 50 years ago, while the prize money rose into the millions. The WSOP was further expanded beyond […]

Know the odds before you act when playing poker

Playing Texas hold’em, after the flop, if you hold a drawing hand, it is important to understand and know how to use the pot odds and the card odds. It is not that difficult. Doing so will make it easy to decide whether you should continue to invest in that hand: Do you have a […]

River can be sink or swim for poker win

When playing Texas hold’em, the river may well be the most important card. It is the final card to be dealt out on the board. Just before that, your hand consists of the four cards face-up (the flop and the turn) plus the two in the hole. That is six out of the seven cards […]

Be on lookout for ‘Angle Shooters’

Rarely do we read about Angle Shooting. Have you ever been its victim? You may not have realized it.  Angle Shooting can be very costly. Most likely, being an honorable person, you would never use it. Angle Shooting is usually defined as using unethical, deceptive tactics to take advantage of your opponents. It is closely […]

Quitting while ahead smart poker strategy

As it is written in the Bible, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” This includes “a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.” So, too, it is in the game of poker. It had been […]