WSOP tournament will start on May 27th (wsop.com) and with anticipation I decided to watch one of my favorite movies, Rounders. Rounders is a film that came out in the late 90's that focused on Texas Hold' em and underground high stakes gambling. This film really helped launch the game into the phenomena it is today. In the 90's the player field, tournaments, and opportunity was limited.


Today players can focus online or live tournaments and play throughout the world having an interesting career opportunity while traveling. Unfortunately, there has not been many movies focused on poker (or at least worth mentioning) and I personally would be interested in another film like this. There have been documentaries over the past few years which have been relatively good and some are worth a watch.

Last year at the WSOP Las Vegas events alone there were 65 winners taking home large sums of money(wsop.com) The main event had an enormous turnout which continues to grow year after year, last year 6,352 players showed up for the 10k buy in. The main event winner Ryan Riess took home a whopping $8.3mil with multiple other individuals becoming new or expanding on their millions. In the 90's a main even winner would take home around $2million dollars with maybe a 1/10 of the player field.

Any player that would like to win a trip can do so on various other online websites but can also play through Facebook sponsored games or wsop.com online poker.




http://www.wsop.com/2013/
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/

Updates on recent winners with anticipation of the WSOP tournaments starting, Michigan tournament that takes place at the Firekeepers casino located in Battle Creek MI. First place winner took home just over 101k with 10th place taking home just over 5k. In comparison to several other tournaments that prize pool is lower but still a great tournament with good structure. Firekeepers had a rather large turn out with 411 entries (pokernews.com) which will continue to expand as this tournament develops.

Live events for the WSOP start on May 27th (wsop.com) which these will be the main focus in the weeks to come. However, the online WSOP tournaments are increasing in popularity along with the SCOOP events that take place solely online. These offer players the ability to experience large events with a very skilled player field online. Some players will participate in both live and online events which gives the large amount of non U.S. players the ability to participate without having to commute all the way to Las Vegas taking time off work and normal day to day life activities.

With the Olympics taking place in Japan in 2020 (www.pokernews.com) they are in process of passing a casino bill to start the building process. They would need to start the process soon in order to meet the required time frame to complete the project. If this bill can be passed it will bring a large amount of revenue and will be used as one of the main attraction for toruism during the 2020 Olympics,

High roller tournaments and how an investment oriented mind along with personal statistical data is the key. Texas Hold Em tournament structure has developed drastically over time. There are now several tournaments with buy ins ranging from 100k-1mil dollars with multiple entries allowed. As a poker player it is imperative to understand one how much you can lose, your winning ratio, the pay out structure, player field, and opportunity available. For example if you play in 1 100k tournament in a single day with unlimited reentry, your total cost is 500k and you cash out 550k in winnings (50k profit) there is virtually no difference then spending 100k (multiple tournaments) over 5 different venues. This is because the majority of the high roller tournaments have a lot of "dead" money and offer various unique structures that can give a skillful player a significant edge. So the fact that you had to re enter into a tournament multiple times causing your investment to be larger is almost irrelevant (of course if you lose is another topic) if you feel you have an edge and will be able to place in a payout position

The same goes with investing in stocks, you can invest in a couple large securities or several smaller ones. If you anticipate the same outcome the only factor is time and the amount you are willing to lose if things do not go as planned. These tournaments have been the topic of much debate because the poker world has tried to restrict entry and limit the higher tournament buy ins from taking place. A large portion of the player field consists of business men or other wealthy individuals with a few elite poker players. As an elite player having a clear understanding of how many hands, tournaments, hours, and buy ins you need to sit at and play in to statistically make money is extremely important. Also knowledge of the player field (amount of players) and who that field consists of can drastically change the likely hood of you placing in one of these events.

So should larger events be restricted to specific people or not be allowed? If 10 wealthy individuals wanted to get together and play for large sums of money why should they not be allowed to do this? In my opinion, professional circuit events should allow virtually any tournament if players are willing to sit in the game. Twenty years ago the largest buy in was for 10k which was the WSOP main event now 10k tournament are offered throughout the year at various events. Overtime the game will continue to develop and these tournament structures will only get larger allowing players to risk more, gain more, and be a game changer for some.

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/

With anticipation of the WSOP tournaments starting May 27th we will be discussing up coming tournaments. The Midwest’s dedication to poker is growing with the most recent addition of tournaments taking place this month at the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, MI. This Mid-States Poker Tour will have multiple satellite events May 10th-15th ($260 entry) with the main event taking place on the 15th-18th. The main event has a $1,100 buy in with a guaranteed price pool of 200k minimum (pokeratlas.com). In my opinion, this is an awesome addition to the annual tournaments that already take place in the Midwest. Soaring Eagle which is another MI based casino located by Central Michigan University also holds an annual tournament known as the Heartland Event which generally has a decent player field and prize pool. As a resident of MI, having access to these smaller but good local tournaments is something I look forward to every year. Michigan has more relaxed views on casinos and gambling then many other states. Detroit has consistently placed in the top 20 of the most profitable casinos in the U.S. over the past few years which only takes in account Greek Town, MGM, and Motor City casino. Unfortunately, like many states online poker is still banned and does not look promising anytime soon. 

World Series of Poker has events taking place from Late May to early July leading up to the main event which will begin on July 5th (wsop.com). This will attract players to take up temporary residence in Las Vegas for the entire time frame, weekend warriors or individuals taking time off to play in these events, cash game players, local players, fans, and tourist. During this timeframe there is always great action at the tables, higher stakes, and the opportunity to win/lose a substantial amount of money. Through events that the WSOP, WPT, and EPT tours host allows players to earn a substantial portion of their income for the year. Cash game players who do not play in tournaments will also spend a large portion of this time in Las Vegas. The WSOP gives them the earning potential available from the large amount of players, bankrolls, and tourist who will be vacationing for these events.

For more information check out these websites

http://www.cardschat.com/



http://www.pokernews.com/
http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/
http://www.pokeratlas.com/poker-tournament-series/mid-states-poker-tour-mspt-battle-creek-firekeepers-battle-creek-2014

Poker (Texas Hold'em) surprisingly has started to decline in popularity which could be due to various factors. Omaha (high) and high low has began to increase in popularity over the past several years due to a softer player field and winning potential which could be considered one of the major factors. Conversely, the field for Texas Hold'em has increased with higher level players making the game tougher and reducing earning potential for professional players. Another is obviously the ban of online poker in the U.S. which will be the main topic for this weeks blog.

In the poker world the loss of "legal" online poker in the U.S. was a drastic impact for several players. Myself included, loved the the ability to sit around the house during downtime turn some sports on and enjoy playing poker from my home without having to commute to a casino or charity gaming room. In order to properly discuss this some background is needed on why the U.S. banned online poker websites and the controversy involved. Several legitimate concerns such as tax evasion, money laundering, and various other monies related issues where the main grounds for shutting down these websites. It also took a small portion of business away from casinos and poker rooms (poker is generally the lowest earning game played) which pays high taxes to the state that is in. These are all valid concerns but without the development of the internet and ability to reach consumers wouldn't it be beneficial to develop regulations and allow these billion dollar companies to operate and found American tax dollars?

A valid point that is brought up is how Europe and other non U.S. related countries treat gambling winnings. In the U.S. a capital gains tax has to be paid on the winnings from gambling. The argument and the belief of non U.S. entities is that the money used is POST tax dollars (taxes already paid) so if someone wins 100k on a tournament that was all funded with POST tax dollars why pay taxes on this again? Seems redundant in my opinion and I fully understand paying standard taxes (income tax) on the profits that are won and also being able to use any loss as a deduction come tax time as well. The U.S. is missing out on literally millions if not billions of taxable revenue if they allow these websites to operate or develop their own. A few websites are gaining popularity for example wsop.com which is operated out of New Jersey and available to anyone available in New Jersey to play freely on. Another develop is Pokerstars (worlds largest online poker site) having communication with California in allowing online poker. Some stipulations also exist for being located in the state Nevada similar to New Jerseys laws.

With all of the changes and development of the internet and web based business and laws such as "legalization of Marijuana" in specific areas which is now generating taxable income how is Poker not legalized online? It would be very easy for the government to regulate transactions and auditing through the IRS to make sure everything is being ethically done. This would allow for several states and federally for the U.S. to generate additional tax dollars that could be used to further develop our nation.

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2014/04/pokerstars-inks-online-poker-partnership-in-california-18118.htm

Poker, in most peoples mind is gambling and not a game of skill. Conversely, there is always an element of luck involved that can consist of getting very good hands dealt or having your hand catching up when it’s far behind your opponents. However, poker specifically Texas Hold em is a skill and math based game. There is a reason why you will consistently see the same group of people doing very well at tournaments, online, and at cash games. This is because they understand the math involved, how to decipher betting patterns, calculating odds, playing position, reading opponents, and controlling a table. Personally, I have never considered myself nor claim to be an expert or a “professional” player. I have had the privilege of watching several close friends and people I have met along the way develop into professional players and make a very substantial amount of money. Conversely, I have also met and watched some individuals consistently lose and continue to do so today. With online poker being banned in the U.S. on April 15, 2011 several individuals began taking the commute to Canada and spending several months out of the U.S. to have the ability to play online. Personally, I know several individuals in which two have earned over 8 figures in their lifetime and the vast majority of the others making well into the 6 figure range constantly every year. 

Having an understanding of the game or even mastering it will not make you a good player. Having control over yourself and managing your time and investments properly will. One of the biggest mistakes players will make is “jumping stakes” and not have proper time and investment management (bank roll management). If you are a casual player and like to play for sport and just enjoy the game then common sense is the main factor…don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose. As a professional player or having poker to be your entire source of income is completely different. Jumping stakes is when a player will move from their normal stakes (lets say $2/$5) to $5/$10 or $10/$20 (small blind/big blind). This will cause them to risk more money with a chance of losing a larger amount. This seems like an attractive idea to some because of the risk/reward benefit, but can devastate a players bankroll. Bankroll management is a simple concept if you have a bankroll of $10,000 that you use to invest into your sessions. You obviously do not want to lose your entire bankroll and keeping track of your winning/losing ratio, average amount won per winning sessions, average amount loss per session, amount of time, stakes played, and of course how much do you need to pay bills and live the lifestyle you want to live. Playing at a consistent stake where you can achieve “your monthly nut” is a crucial part of using poker as a main source of income. Someone who is capable of this will understanding when they should leave and call it a day or if they should stick around and invest more time into a table. Understanding your statistics will allow you to have a structured plan of how many sessions, amount of time you should play, and how you will achieve your goals. 

Unfortunately, there is always a chance that you have a constant flow of losing sessions which can drastically impact or completely wipe out your bankroll. This can and has happened to some of the best players in the world which is why there is a always an element of “luck” or “gambling” involved. Personally, I do not play any other games offered at a casino and do not believe in sports betting or any other form of gambling. 

BIO

I am a poker enthusiast who enjoys the challenges, swings, opportunity, and overall skill that goes into playing the game. I started playing online poker and playing live home games that where hosted by friends at a young age. This allowed me to develop my game in a shorter timeframe due to the enormous amount of hands played every session.

This blog was created to discuss upcoming WPT, EPT, WSOP, charitable events, and any additional events worth mentioning. Sharing of past and current experiences, bad beats, how to over come challenges, poker news, avoiding the peeks and valleys, and to share tips and strategies involved with the game.