I, like a lot of people out there, started off playing the game of poker at the limit levels - especially Texas Hold’em.  Unlike those who jump into the game of Texas Hold’em at the no-limit level because that’s what their idols on TV do, I found comfort in the fact that people couldn’t just jump all-in at pretty much any point against me.  Plus I didn’t have to go all-in either (except for when my chip stack was next to nothing).

But eventually the game of limit Hold’em can get a little tedious and one finds them self wanting to step out of the limit Hold’em boundaries and into the world of no-limit.  I have recently begun undertaking this task too in an effort to see if I can win any money on the no-limit side.  Along the way, I’ve also begun finding out some differences between the two versions of Texas Hold’em as well. 

While the games remain quite similar, one thing I’ve noticed is that top pair is a dangerous hand in no-limit Hold’em.  I used to go to the showdown quite often with top pair in limit Hold’em, however, a lot of hands that go to the showdown in no-limit are better than a top pair.  It especially becomes dangerous when one has to commit their whole stack in order to face off against a showdown opponent.  The only time I take top pair to the showdown now is if I can do it as cheaply as possible.

I’ve also noticed that implied odds rule over pot odds in no-limit Hold’em.  In limit Hold’em I was using pot odds exclusively but now, I’ve noticed that a small bet early on can be worth breaking the pot odds rule as bets often get bigger and bigger into the later rounds.  If I’m able to catch something along the way, these small bets can definitely pay off.

The last thing that I’ve really taken note of as of late is that the size of one’s stack really plays a big part in no-limit as opposed to limit Hold’em.  In limit, I wasn’t really too conscious of what my stacked looked like in comparison to others at the table.  But in no-limit, looking at your stack in comparison to others stacks at the table is crucial.  The way that you play a hand can be affected totally by your stack compared to another person.  In a small stack vs. big stack, medium stack vs. small stack, and a medium stack vs. big stack setting, chip amounts are sometimes everything.

These are a few of the things I’ve learned so far and I know that there’s still quite a ways to go but hopefully I will pick up some more knowledge as I go on.

For those living in America, and in a lot of other countries, the coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics highlighted the buildup and efforts of swimmer Michael Phelps to do the unthinkable and capture eight gold medals in a single Olympics games.  And yes, some people got sick of the nonstop coverage of Phelps in his bid to break Mark Sptiz record but even they can’t deny how incredible the feat was when he won number eight.

For some, the Games aren’t quite over yet but for Phelps, his journey to break a 36 year old record is done with and he will no doubt be looking for something to do while he waits until beginning serious swimming training again in January.  Some of the plans he’s discussed so far include chilling out with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordon and he even mentioned that it might be cool to hang with his favorite rapper Young Jeezy too.

More important than all of this though is that Phelps also stated that he was interested in playing in the WSOP.  He was recently quoted as saying, “I think it would be cool to play in the World Series of Poker.  My game is a little off right now, so I’ll have to start improving it a little bit. But I think that would be cool, and it would be cool to meet some of those poker guys.”

I’m sure that some of the poker guys would be glad to meet him as well.  I’m also sure that the WSOP would be extremely glad to add another star into its mix and who knows, someone may even pay for his buy-in to one of the events. 

But for those who doubt that Phelps is really serious about poker consider this: fellow Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard, who is a good friend of Phelps, said in an interview, “He sits on his computer for like ten hours a day playing online poker.  That’s all he does.”  Now this may be a slight exaggeration as he wouldn’t have time to train six hours a day or keep up with his 12,000 calorie diet but it does show that Phelps is serious about the game and, luckily, we may really see him in the WSOP in the future.

Online Texas hold’em is a great game for poker players of all kinds. Due to the variety of online poker software available on the Internet, you can usually find one at a level that is appropriate for you. At some point, you may find yourself playing above the level of your opposition. This is great and can be profitable. However, you must be careful to guard against overconfidence when you play online poker, as this can turn out to be extremely costly.

When Online Texas Hold’em Players May Become Overconfident

The most common time an online Texas hold’em player may become overconfident is when he is on a lucky streak, either within a particular session or over a series of sessions. When you are getting lucky, especially if you have been playing well, you may feel that you can do no wrong, that your play is strong enough to defeat all opposition. This can be quite a dangerous attitude, you should always strive to improve your game.

Dangers of Overconfidence in Online Texas Hold’em

The problem with this kind of attitude is that the luck will eventually catch up with you, and if your overconfidence is causing you to play recklessly, you may lose all you have gained as a result. You may be playing too many hands or bluffing too often, and savvy opponents will quickly take advantage of this.

Avoiding Overconfidence in Online Texas Hold’em

Try to play your same game whether you are up or down. After each hand do a quick self-analysis to see if you are making the right plays. If you find yourself making a few reckless plays in a row, it may be time to take a break from the game.

There have been several poker TV shows that have came out in the past few years and, so far, I think they’ve all been fairly good.  However, the only catch is that most of them don’t really offer poker fans much besides the chance to see their favorite pros battle each other.  And to me, just watching the game of poker isn’t always the funnest thing in the world to do - even with top players involved.  It’s a lot more fun to actually be doing it.

Well the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino apparently agrees and has developed a pretty cool concept in the form of a live show that they will be hosting.  It’s going to be called The Real Deal and will be a poker show staged in front of a live audience.  There are no plans so far to film it for television as, instead, people will pay admission to get into the show.

Once inside the show, people will not only get to see a 90 minute poker tournament with some of the top players in the game taking part, but they will also get to actually participate in the tournament themselves.  The way that this will be done is by audience members getting a wireless device which will enable them to be the ninth player at the table of pros.  Everyone will start with 100,000 points and whoever gets the top score out of the audience members near the end of the tournament gets to play against the last remaining pro. 

What I really like about this idea is that it’s something that a lot of people can enjoy.  I could see casual visitors of Las Vegas wanting to take part in this live show and I could also possibly see it becoming one of THE Vegas shows people like to talk about.  Obviously it will take some time before that happens but with top pros being involved, there will definitely be the chance for The Real Deal to be huge. 

Without a doubt, the WSOP is the biggest poker event on the planet.  This year’s WSOP alone saw over 58,000 people participate in the 55 events and over $160 million was dished out in prize money.  And there doesn’t appear to be a successor anytime soon on the horizon….or is there?

The world of online poker had very humble beginnings back in 1998 when the first room in Poker Planet started allowing people to play there for real money.  The Internet poker game increased moderately after that until the much discussed big boom of 2003 after people saw Chris Moneymaker win $2.5 million in the WSOP after making it there through a $39 satellite. 

And online poker has grown to the point it is at now where rooms are running multi-million dollar tournaments and events.  It seems like every month I see another offer from a room that has at least ‘1 million guaranteed’ somewhere in the title.

Then came today where I saw an article ran on the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker.  A full $30,000,000 is going to be up for grabs and the 17 day event has me wondering to myself, “Just how far is online poker going to go?”

Obviously a $30 million event is not going to upstage the WSOP but it does show how far online poker has come in terms of cash tournaments and also shows that poker rooms can organize huge money events that, 6 years ago, many would have thought were impossible.

I’m sure the online world isn’t at its peak either as I do believe the record of $30 million for an online tourney will be broken.  But it will be interesting to wait and see if any poker rooms will ever rival the WSOP in terms of such a huge event.