Poker From The Rail
a Poker Blog brought to you by Full Tilt Poker
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
If you became a serious player in the last 7 or 8 years, chances are you learned the game on Texas Hold’em. If you’ve gotten a little tired of the format, or find that your hold’em game has plateaued and is no longer improving, here are 7 suggestions for jumpstarting your Texas Hold’em game.
Leave a comment (deadline: Tuesday Oct 5 at midnight ET) with a suggestion of your own. We need 3 more to round out the top 10. We’ll pick three and give those authors an FTP t-shirt. See the first comment for specifics.
#1. Keep a pen and paper by your computer
Keep a running list as you play of:
- Situations that consistently give you trouble, for example, playing low pocket pairs out of position. Think these situations through. Ask friends or forums for advice.
- Frustrating opponents. What are they doing that makes it so tough to play against? How can you limit your exposure to these tactics, and how can you employ these tactics against your opponents?
- All the major mistakes you make. You might notice a pattern.
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
UPDATE:
Congratulations Jajison, our special surprise judge (drum roll please…) AlCantHang selected your story in which a heads up MTT opponent simply resigns (kinda like tipping the king over in chess) as the strangest story submitted. I have to agree.
Here’s Jajison’s story, which earned him a private $150 freeroll for him and his friends:
I was in a live local tournament and was heads-up with a 3 to 2 chip lead. I had KQ on the button and raised 3 times the blind. The other player thinks for a seconds, puts all of his chips in a stack on top of his cards and slides his cards in. The dealer said “are you serious?” and had to call a floor man. He explained what happened to the floor man who declared the hand dead and I won the tournament. It was a very strange outcome to a MTT.
Al also had a pretty funny story of his own to share:
Decided to play a little donkey 1/2 NLHE in the original Borgata poker room, the tiny one at the bottom of the escalator with the crowded waiting area. There were a few poker bloggers at the table including Dr. Pauly so the poker was loose and not very serious. I got involved in a hand with a young guy in the 1 seat with his girlfriend sweating from a seat right behind him.
I fired a shot on every street drawing super thin but not caring, didn’t even sweat my monkey shove on the turn. The young guy took his time before eventually calling with a much better hand. I told him “you have me dominated” at the same time the dealer peeled off my gut shot for the win. I chuckled and called for cocktail service.
The strange part occurred a few minutes later when I took a look over at the 1 seat. The poor kid pulled his hoodie completely over his head, put his head down on the table, and began crying so hard he was shaking. The first and last time I ever made someone bawl their eyes out at a poker table.
Tags: Writing Contests
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
Yesterday, we had an interview with Poker from the Rail MiniFTOPS writing contest winner Atlwildguy, who won a seat to MiniFTOPS Event #28 (Razz). Today, we’ve got interviews with two of the three writers who won seats in Sunday’s Main Event (Sept 19, 17:00 ET). Just to make sure Skred and ThePicotrain have all Poker from the Rail’s support behind them, anyone who leaves a comment in this post will be entered in a freeroll whose prize pool will increase if either player cashes. Details after the interviews.
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
Friday, September 17 at 21:00 ET, MiniFTOPS writing contest winner Atlwildguy will be representing Poker from the Rail in MiniFTOPS Event #28 (Razz).
We’ve got a brief interview with Atlwildguy, and below that, some giveaways to make railbirding him a little more interesting.
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
After the jump you’ll find the winners of our Mini FTOPS Mini Writing Contest.
First of all, there were a ton of great submissions. Picking the winners was agonizing. I’m hoping we can get an independent panel to pick the winners of future contests. (Leave a comment if you’ve got any ideas for how we should pick the winners in these writing contests.)
Since we only had 5 seats to give away, we got a freeroll for everyone who entered the contest, so that everyone gets at least a little something. So, if you submitted an entry, you should be registered for:
Tournament 184795112 – Mini FTOPS Writing Contest – Sunday September 19 – 1300 ET
If you submitted an entry, but are not registered, I apologize: please email me at davefromtherail@gmail.com, give me the name you submitted the entry under so I can find it, and we’ll get you registered.
If you are registered for the tournament but cannot play, please do your fellow writers a favor and unregister so we can cut down on deadstacks.
@Winners: Please contact me at davefromtherail@gmail.com if you’d be interested in doing an interview. I’d like to get interviews for everyone, and then have last-longer contests: We readers pick one of the three ME winners and one of two Razz winners who will last longest, and if you pick the right horse, you get entered in a freeroll.
Keep reading for the winning submissions…
Tags: Writing Contests
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
With Event #1 of MiniFTOPS XVII – a $20+2 $200k guarantee hosted by Phil Gordon – beginning Wednesday September 8 at 21:00 ET, we thought it’d be a good time for a mini writing contest here at Poker from the Rail.
Prizes: We’ll give our three favorite submissions an entry into the MiniFTOPS Main Event, a $70+5, million dollar guarantee hosted by Carlos Mortensen. 4th and 5th place get bought into the Razz event (sorry).
Topic: Why should Poker from the Rail stake you? Answers can be ridiculous (“I invented online poker…”) or serious (“I’ll give all my winnings to charity…”) or a combination thereof (“I invented online poker and will give all my winnings to charity.”)
Directions: Submit your entry as a comment in this post at Poker from the Rail. As this is a mini contest, please keep your submissions under 200 words. Please sign your entry “FTP ID: _____ “.
Deadline: Only entries submitted before 23:59 ET, Sunday, September 12 will be considered. Poker from the Rail judges will confer Monday, and winners will be announced Tuesday.
Tags: Writing Contests
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
These poker scouting reports for the following historical figures were written by readers of the Poker from the Rail, in our Historical Home Game Writing Contest. Congratulations to the winners and honorable mentions, and stay tuned for more contests in the future.
Napoleon
Username: 168CmIsNotShort
Strengths: Great strategist, has lots of friends to support him.
Weaknesses: Plays a little angry when he’s short stacked. Too long sessions, result-oriented, tilt issues. Doesnt have the paience to play with the Russians.
Fun facts: Dressed in an army green avatar, Bonaparte rose to prominence under the First Poker Republic, and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Pros. In 1799, he staged a coup d’état by playing 10/2 suited ( long before Doyle, even though they are about the same age) and installed himself as First WSOP winner: five years later the FPR proclaimed him Red Pro.
Winner: playwanda
Honorable mentions: yanick2, a420pimp, klaaspro, ThaKeyman85
Karl Marx
Username: KarlMASSES
Strengths: Unpredictable hand range: hard to put on a hand based off betting sizes (he believes all betting should be the same).
Weaknesses: He’s always glad to split the pot.
Fun Fact: When he makes the final table he tries to talk the other players into making a deal and sharing the chips equally.
Winner: Rake Clown
Honorable Mentions: Cel Potter, sillymoi
Jesus (from the Bible, not Team Full Tilt)
Usernames: IcanCurCARDS
Strengths: Granted with the power of resurrection, he cannot remain card-dead for more than 3 hands. Often gets paid off by Trip Kings. Hasn’t lost a hand in 2000 years.
Weaknesses: Plays any hand with a heart.
Favorite hand: 72o, because Jesus, granted with the power of the gods, is able to flop a straight with that hand. A8.
Fun Facts: Always tells his opponents he loves them, which throws them for a loop. Likes to lead out in hopes that many will follow. He won the JSOP (Jerusalem Series of Poker), winning the HU of the final table against Judas, and after the tourney he offered Judas 30 coins of the jackpot. His card protector: a little wooden cross. Hold the world endurance record, playing for 40 days and 40 nights! Phil Laak tells us: ‘He was storming the tables constantly! God knows how he managed to do it!’
Avatar: His custom avatar bears a striking resemblance to Chris Ferguson.
Winner: Leon083
Honorable mentions: Johnny ACES, carnieguy, ITake1tDown, xUnKjex, Foufou 22, sillymoi, smurforiginal, The King of Za, John Matthews, Marcus Q, I Final Table
Tags: Ancient History, European History, Famous Mongolian Warlords, People Who Invented the Telephone
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Bloggers Corner
EDIT: Congratulations to the following writers/players, who have been chosen as winners (1,000 FTPs) or honorable mentions (225 FTPs). We will have a new post up Tuesday, August 24 with full scouting reports of each character taken from the best of everyone’s submissions.
Playwanda, yanick2, a420pimp, klaaspro, ThaKeyman85, Rake Clown, Cel Potter, sillymoi, Johnny ACES, carnieguy, Leon083, ITake1tDown, xUnKjex, Foufou 22, sillymoi, smurforiginal, The King of Za, John Matthews, Marcus Q, I Final Table, jaysull, Darren Icon J, aloniz, N3Racer7, zpav39e, FishhookPhenom, valrez, thelastmucci, valrez, born2bafish, Inadvisable, FLOP2ME, valrez, PicincuA, ITM ATM, Tsumommy, born2bafish, Walk The Line4, Maaarius12, born2bafish, playwanda, CAchipeater.
The Full Tilt Poker Home Game Sweepstakes deadline is August 18, 23:00 ET (details on the sweepstakes tab of the Full Tilt Poker Facebook Page), at which point one lucky fan will have to decide who he or she wants to invite to a $500 private freeroll “home game.”
In the spirit of home games, we figured it’d be a good time for a Poker from the Rail writing contest: the historical home game.
Directions: Pick one (you can do more than one if you want) of the following historical figures. Give a poker scouting report for him or her. What are his strengths, weaknesses, tells, online poker username (or FTP avatar), favorite hand, etc. – any information about the historical figure as a poker player that is clever, funny, or otherwise insightful. Leave your submission as a comment here on the blog, and please include your FTP ID so we can pay you.
Prizes: We’ll give 1,000 FTP points to the best scouting report for each player, as well as 225 FTPs for any honorable mentions.
Deadline for submissions is Sunday August 22, 9pm ET. Winners will be announced Monday. There will likely be a few similar submissions for some of the historical figures – in such cases, Rail judges will do the best they can…
Seat 1: Napoleon
Seat 2: Karl Marx
Seat 3: Jesus (from the Bible, not Team Full Tilt)
Seat 4: Galileo
Seat 5: Genghis Kahn
Seat 6: Cleopatra
Seat 7: Socrates
Seat 8: George Washington
Seat 9: Alexander Graham Bell
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Uncategorized
During the 2010 World Series of Poker, the Full Tilt Poker Academy sent a video production team to the FTP suite at the Rio to record video interviews of Full Tilt Pros and Friends of Full Tilt. You can find these videos at the Full Tilt Poker WSOP video archive. They’re divided into a few categories:
Ask a Pro: We got questions from Facebook, the blog, the FTP forums, and random fans at the Rio. If you see Lizzy Harrison or Matt Donnelly ask a pro your question, check this post for prize-claiming directions.
Bad Beat Story: Pros relate stories of non-poker bad beats, such as being bitten in the head by a monkey (see below for details).
Hand of the Day: Pros go over a hand they played and explain their strategy.
Tournament Update: General interviews about the 2010 WSOP, including any FTP pro who won a WSOP bracelet.
These were some of my favorites:
The Funnies
Who is the only Full Tilt Poker pro to have been bitten on the head by a monkey? (Well, I’m assuming he’s the only one…)
Actor Joe Reitman tells a funny Hollywood story and then gets a little weird himself…
Shortly before winning his WSOP bracelet, Scott Montgomery joked about a particularly violent alternate career path.
Steve Zolotow has two WSOP bracelets and an interesting past to say the least. In this video, Zolotow talks about a prop bet from his brief time in the army. Ever tried to drown a fly in beer?
Jeff Madsen and Matt Donnelly explore the ability to catch bullets in one’s teeth.
Get to Know the Pros
How did Howard Lederer get the nickname The Professor?
Chris Ferguson is one of the classiest pros in the game, and here he talks about his charity work in Africa.
This wasn’t filmed at the WSOP, but in this interview with Men’s magazine Asylum, Beth Shak addresses one of the questions a lot of fans had for female Full Tilt Poker pros: what’s it like being a woman in a predominantly male game?
The charming Lacey Jones on becoming a Friend of Full Tilt Poker and how she learned the game.
Strategy Discussion
If the US Congress ever ends up debating whether poker is a game of skill or luck, this would be a good video to show. Eric Liu discusses the strategy behind his play in a $25/$50 NLH game.
How has all the TV coverage of Gus Hansen playing hyper-aggressive affected his play?
Brandon Adams finished second in the $10k Stud Championship to an inebriated Men the Master. This is a really intelligent discussion of the final table, and highlights some important concepts for both stud and tournament players.
Ivey, Durrrr, and the WSOP
Phil Ivey grants a rare interview and talks about his prop bets after he won his 2010 bracelet.
Durrrr’s prop bets were one of, if not the biggest, stories of the WSOP. In this interview, Durrrr talked about his WSOP grind.
Posted by Dave McCarthy | Filed under Uncategorized
Ever wondered what the poker scene is like in other parts of the world? Poker from the Rail reader Villa has written a review of poker in his native Colombia. (I found the part about the brick and mortar affiliates particularly interesting…)
Villa has also agreed to answer some questions if you want to leave any in the comments section.
Poker in Colombia: A Guest Post by Villa
I started playing poker 5 years ago. Back then, finding a game in my hometown (Barranquilla, for those google lovers) was tough. No home games, no poker rooms in casinos, no nothing, NADA! So internet was the only way to learn about the game, the players and everything related to the game we all love. Besides, poker wasn’t and still isn’t viewed as a good practice. When people ask me what I do in my free time I say “I play poker” and of 10 answers I get 9 weird faces or “Do you have gambling problems? If not, you will” and 1 “I have a friend who loves poker!!”
Poker on TV
We all know poker had a boom after Chris Moneymaker’s victory in the Main Event back in 2003, but poker really arrived here around 2006. Suddenly, in 2007, we were able to see poker shows on TV thanks to networks like Fox Sports and ESPN. We started watching shows such as Poker After Dark, WSOP events and EPT events. There were episodes I already knew who the winner was but TV gives you a whole other feeling.
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The opinions expressed by this blog and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt Poker is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the author of this blog nor any content contained herein.
