Texas Hold’em poker players were shocked last week when one of the main poker rooms launched a new fast version of poker, Rush Poker. Many articles and commentators have lauded the launch of the rush game as a turning point in the history of online poker, but I feel that a defence of the standard cash game must be offered. There are disadvantages to the rush game, some of which are listed below.

No Tracking Software

Many of these facets of cash games can be viewed as both a positive and a negative thing. Tracking software is powerful for the regular cash game grinder with a ton of hands on their database that helps them make decisions on opponents in tricky spots. Rush poker takes this out of the equation. Without tracking software you cannot know when to fold your bottom set against a tight player, because you may not know the player is tight! If you like to use tracking software then rush poker is not for you.

Game Selection

You cannot game select on Rush poker so there may be long periods where you are seated with excellent players and you may not realise it. You may sit with players that you would never choose to sit with in normal ring games. Game selection is a big advantage because you can sit with people you know you hold an advantage over and you can only game select in standard cash game tables. In fast poker where you change your seat after every hand if you find a fish you only have one hand to take advantage of that.

Big Swings

Most players not used to the speed of rush pokers tables and game play will struggle to adapt to it in the short term. Players quickly realised that you can hold out for premium hands because you see so many hands per hour so when you have a playable hand most of the money is going to get in. There will be big swings if you find numerous playable hands per hour which could result in a big win or big loss if you get unlucky. If you are not used to swings like this you may be prone to tilting.

ABC Poker Rules

If you suffer from “fancy play syndrome” then learning the ABC style of poker that works on the rush tables will help your normal ring game play. When you transfer the skills learned to succeed at the rush tables at the slightly slower pace your advantage over your opposition can grow. Your new solid game is assisted by tracking information. I thought I played ABC poker until I went onto the fast tables. My cash game play on standard tables is now much better having made some adjustments.

It is premature to say that everyone who plays online poker will move to this new type of game and neglect standard cash game tables. Do not forget that you hold numerous advantages when you are observant and sit with the same opponents. Playing fast tables are designed for certain types of online players but as sensible considered poker sharks you can still win by playing on cash game tables where observation, patience and fundamental skills are rewarded.

Rush poker is a great innovation and for many players the answer to their online poker prayers. We will continue to offer you many good pieces of advice for standard cash games as they remain the purest form of poker online and the type of game where you can sit for many hours and show a lot of profit.

By Malcolm Clarke

There are many things that go into a good or bad poker decision. Many factors come into play relating to your chip stack, whether or not a camera is watching if you are at a big event, to how your past history against this opponent has contributed to your current decision. Playing poker is a game of uncertainties and successes are often judged on whether your particular move works out for you. This is perhaps a little unfair; as the turn of a card is partially based on luck therefore a decision must be either sound or unsound when you make it.

The problem with Poker is that we are judged on outcomes. Bad players can make strong cases for a good call when really they were rash and made a mistake. Many online poker players do not make the correct adjustments after coming from an online background and employ online poker strategy at a live event which can have bad results when opponents play tighter. Mathematical players can rely on the numbers to justify a decision but they are missing out on value when they fold without considering and reading their opponents and use metagame techniques and observations to give themselves extra chips through well timed moves.

Does shoving into an opponent in the bubble period of a poker tournament who has described their background and how they need to cash become an error if they call? Surely you were acting on knowledge that you believed relevant that the player would fold in this spot. If the player was lying and setting up a future bluff or inducing a steal attempt you are deemed wrong to make the call. If he folds, it is lauded as a nice move and taking advantage of opponent behaviour. As to whether it is a mistake or not to make this move at all, like much of poker, it depends.

What makes a good poker decision is expected value. You must work out for yourself whether the situation, if played many times would be in your favour or not. Coin flipping with a 51% advantage is the right thing to do. The skill of the mental side of poker is knowing when you are in an advantageous position, thus making you money in the spots where none standard plays become profitable for you.

Ask yourself what makes a good player great. I quote Jesse May the poker commentator from the UK who said on a recent poker TV show that; “Getting something of out nothing is what separates the men from the boys”. Allow me to adjust his quote to what I think has more meaning for this article; “Knowing when something can be made from nothing gives you the option to make more money than opponents who cannot recognise these opportunities”. Jesse alluding to the action itself is after the decision has been made by the player, again judging the moves on the outcome. An easy thing to do. Some of the best plays ever made have been wrong, although there is sufficient substance in the argument that if your opponents cannot fold, do not make a courageous raise as the skill is lost on the weaker player. A great move against one opponent can be a massive mistake against another.

A good poker play is making a move after accurately considering the factors put before you. A bad poker play can be making the same move but without such consideration. The fact you made the play is either down to luck or simply good timing. Having conscious knowledge of why you played a certain way that was correct allows a similar move to be made in a similar spot in the future. Experience will give you these abilities, providing you work hard and seek to squeeze as much learning out of every hand as possible. A bad player will see all the hands you do, but ensure that you learn more from them and you will improve at a rate you yourself may even find surprising.

By Malcolm Clarke

Bluffing is an integral part of online poker and especially in high-stakes poker games. The levels of aggression in these games means that bluffing and being bluffed are common themes! Short handed and heads up play demand aggression but then again, you must do your fair share of bluffing in full ring games as well and even in situations where you feel bluffing should be at a premium.

Limit hold’em has a very big presence in online poker and there are many people who think that full-ring limit play is devoid of bluffing opportunities. There are ample bluffing chances that crop up in limit play and you must be alert to them otherwise you will be in serious danger of missing out on vital profit opportunities that will form the bread and butter of your earn rate.

Let us look at an example to show exactly what I mean. The game is $10-$20 full-ring limit hold’em and you are playing online poker. Here you have the Jc-5c in the big blind and three players limp in so you see a free flop. The flop comes 10h-6c-3c and you decide to bet into three opponents with your flush draw and overcard.

Your bet gets called by one of the limpers but raised by the button, both you and the limper call. The turn card is the 7s giving you an inside straight draw to go with your other outs as well. You check and to your surprise so do both of your opponents. The river card pairs the seven and now the betting is on you.

Here, many players would neglect to bet here in the big blinds situation. They would fear having two opponents with no hand and a player who raised on the flop. These are all valid arguments but your bet represented something on the flop and that was top pair. Your opponents checking this back on the turn indicates players who may be drawing.

The limper who called your flop bet and then called the turn raise could have merely been getting pot odds. Online poker is jam packed with situations like these and you need to be aware. The play of the flop raiser smacks of someone who was raising to get a free card and when they checked the turn then this seemed to be indicative of that.

You cannot win by checking as a jack high will not take this pot but you are getting very good pot odds to launch a bluff. Many novice players forget about the pot odds when looking to launch bluffs in limit play. They also neglect to take into account the play of the hand up until that stage as well.

Here it was a combination of the pot odds and the situation that indicated that a bet was in order and is all part of online poker strategy. If the flop raiser had followed through and bet the turn then you would have been forced to call and your initiative would have been lost in the hand. You couldn’t really then bet the river into this player and would have been merely making a pot odds call on the turn.

Online poker in all of its various forms is rich with variety and bluffing is what makes the game as exciting as what it is. But try to bluff intelligently and not blindly.

This article was written by Carl “The Dean” Sampson

Teddy Sheringham is proving to be quite a force on the domestic poker circuit. Heralded by UK newspaper The Sun as “officially the 14th best poker card in the world” after his deep run in the WSOPE main event, he has sought to help them appear more credible by having yet another deep run in a large live poker tournament. Teddy is currently one of the chip leaders in the EPT London event with 111 players remaining at the end of day two with 104 finishing in the money. This immediately follows up his 14th place at the World Series of Poker Europe. A second cash in a high profile poker tournament is a notable achievement, but then Teddy is used to that coming from a highly successful football career.

2009 is perhaps the year that poker is seen to be running in streaks. There were multiple double bracelet winners at the World Series of Poker and Jeffrey Lisandro even managed to win three. Phil Ivey is at the final table of the main event also trying to win his third of the series. We already know that poker tends to be streaky but this is ridiculous! If you win one poker tournament in 2009, maybe you should feel unhappy if you do not quickly win another two or three.

During his football career Teddy Sheringham enjoyed being one of the top strikers in England forming as formidable partnership in the 1990’s with Alan Shearer, as well as a successful Premiership career with Manchester United, playing with players like David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. His emergence in poker begs the question, is he simply skilled at both football and poker or does his sporting background help him at all? I think it does.

Bankroll is not a problem for Teddy. Fortunately for him he earned tens of thousands of pounds every week as a top footballer and continued playing until he was 42 at the top level, thus increasingly the longevity of his earning potential. Whilst the rest of us grind the $5 SNG’s looking to build a roll he can buy into good poker tournaments and not need to worry about the repercussions of losing. He can basically free roll thanks to his sporting success.

Professional footballers must be dedicated to their sport. Everything in their life becomes focused on it. Their diet, mental approach, the passion to want to win and their dedication to training separate the good from the great players. This is often engrained in players from a very young age, so transposing this approach to poker is easy for sports people, not just footballers. Perhaps this suggests why footballer like Teddy Sheringham and Tony Cascarino are so drawn to poker because whilst they cannot physically compete on the football field with younger players they are able to use their enhanced mental skills to give them on edge on the green felt.

Teddy seems equally at home on the poker table and will undoubtedly have the competitive spirit and powers of concentration to do well. He also has a large amount of experience with a good record of prominent cashes on the circuit. Rumour has it he will be appearing for a non-league side in the near future, although this will be a one off appearance rather than a regular contract. The players will be keen not to start a card game before or after the match as Teddy might do more than clean up on the football pitch, if given half the chance! I’m sure we will see him at many other high profile poker events in the UK and rumour has it he is about to be sponsored by a large poker site which will increase his poker profile yet further.

By Malcolm Clarke