Poker News and NotesPOKER NEWS
· In Northwest Arkansas, the state attorney general, local prosecutors and the Alcohol Beverage Commission ruled to allow free poker games to award prizes, even cash, to its participants in March. Since then free poker tournaments have been held quite and attract all sorts of players, who are attracted to these events not only by their love of the game but by the fact that players are under no obligation to spend any money.
· Out of more than approximately 25,000 college players from 55 countries, Chad Flood won the 2005 College Poker Championship tournament May 22. He received a prize of a $41,000 scholarship and $1,000 to donate to the charity of his choice. He chose the American Diabetes Association. Flood said he plans to defend his championship next year. He also would like to compete in the World Series Poker tournament in the next few years if he has the money for it.
MORE FROM THE POKER WORLD
A significant surge in the numbers of players playing at online poker sites the past few weeks has been something quite difficult to ignore. This influx of newbies is of course welcomed by more experienced players as well as by the cardrooms, who can easily take advantage of the green players’ shortcomings.
These newbies have a lot of pitfalls to avoid, one of these pitfalls is what is known as the Maverick Syndrome: unnecessary, ill-advised, pointless, "flashy" play is problematic for any poker player, but it’s definite doom for novices. This is especially true when novices watch a No Limit Holdem tournament game and try to apply what they have seen to Limit ring games.
No Limit Holdem is a game of betting aggressively. The most relentless bettor in a hand usually takes the pot. Many times a player will make a large bet that no one can call. These sorts of bets rarely work in ring games of any kind, or Limit Holdem tournaments. If people can rebuy more chips, or don't face the prospect of being eliminated, the game becomes much less about betting and more about people and cards.
Having No Limit Holdem as the featured game is pretty disastrous when it comes to welcoming novice players. New players have little to no chance playing this right out of the gate, and it can hardly be considered a game of pure skill, since many winners win through silly luck. Too many hands come down to the Holdem "race" -- two overcards versus a smaller pair, like AK versus 77.
Weak players are more drawn to Limit Texas Holdem because of all the games, this one gives them the best chance to have good days or even good streaks, and doesn't punish them as much for foolish plays.
So, even though for a newbie this poker stuff looks like fun, and like it could be a great intellectual challenge, what isn't so obvious is that a huge amount of hard work and study are also a part of winning at poker. Flashy, daring plays that are done for a well-considered reason by a top pro (or even just a good player) are light years away from Maverick-like, completely inappropriate plays made by novices.
Texas Holdem is a complex mix of subtle skills and random luck. You don't succeed at it by making "great plays". You succeed by preparing yourself and acquiring experience to become a great player.
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