Internet Poker Coach Blog

Poker Sundays

2010-03-14T15:05:49Z

Lots of good events today going on at FT as part if the Mini FTOPS promotion. In a couple of hours 1pm EST time, there is a $12+$1 Knockout tournament with $250k guaranteed and it will probably end up being more than that with the large number of players this will gererate. Only a $13 entry fee and $2 for every KO, you can really make some bank in this one.

2 hours after that you will find a $50+5 heads up tournament with $200k up for grabs and then later in the afternoon a $30+3 NL Hold em tournament with a whopping $600,000 prize pool. This is a great one to get into for leverage on your money, don't miss out on this one. Satellites are going throughout the day so you can get into these tournaments really really cheap. Most of us play a lot of poker on Sundays, this is an exception Sunday for getting your money in on the cheap with a huge up side.

See you at the tables.

Starting Hand Selection in Online Poker

2010-03-12T15:36:45Z

I talk to a lot of players who play a tight style or TAG style of play. In doing so, they are very choosy about their starting hand seletion, which is good. It will serve you very well in live games and more deep stacked games to have a very tight starting hand selection. However, for SnG's and most internet games you will play, you can have TOO tight a starting hand selection very easily which becomes far too limiting in the fast paced internet game.

Obviously, I am not advocating playing hands like T-2o and K-4o like a moron, but sitting around waiting for A-K or pocket Q's will not always happen and sometimes when it does you will already be up against a big stack who is getting the odds and can afford to call your big hand down.

So, what I suggest doing is loosening up your starting hand requirements with one goal in mind: hitting a monster. If you do not flop that monster or a monster draw, get out of the hand and think no more about it. You also don't want to piss away your chips by calling raises with speculative hands. You are looking to limp in or close to it and see a cheap flop.

For example, lets say you have 5-6 suited. Not a great hand, but you could really surpise your opponents with a flopped flush or straight. Where most players get into trouble is when the flop comes something like 7-5-2. They get too excited about middle pair and end up losing a big pot to someone who had say 8-8 from the beginning. Remember, the goal is to hit a monster and a monster only. This is how you end up winning big pots early on and how to take them from players who are only playing cards that give them TPTK kinds of hands.

Full Tilt Poker Challenge

2010-03-11T16:10:35Z

One of the cool things about Full Tilt FTOPS events is the challenges that go along with them. With the Mini FTOPS that is taking place right now, there are sets of Challenges that qualify you for free rolls. In this case it is only $1k free rolls, but still free money to add to your poker bank roll is always a good thing.

It is pretty simple to sign up, you just go to 'My Promotions' under the cashier and it will take you to a web page where you can click a box to sign up for Mini FTOPS Challenges. Once you are signed up, FT automatically keeps track so there is nothing for you to do. You qualify for the free rolls by winning satellites into Mini FTOPS events, doubling up in events, making it to level 10 in events, etc. The more events you meet the 'challenges' in, the more free rolls you are automatically signed up for.

The free rolls take place over 2 days after the Mini FTOPS is over and whether you play them or not, you will be entered and you can win a piece of the $1k prize pool for each one you are in. If you are going to play in some of the Mini FTOPS events anyway, make sure you are signed up for the Challenges so that you can get in on some free money! Good luck and see you at the tables.

Mini FTOPS on Full Tilt Poker Stars Today

2010-03-10T15:57:15Z

For those of you that love the low buy in MTT's with large payouts, the Mini FTOPS on Full Tilt is back. Today marks the beginning of events with over $6 million in total guaranteed prize money. Today's 1st event is only a $20+$2 buy in NL Hold'em with a $350k purse. Big money for such a low buy in.

Of course, there will be many more events taking place over the next few days with Omaha, Razz, HORSE and Stud games and there are satellites going all the time if you would rather win your way in than buy your way in. These are the biggest bang for your buck that you will find on the internet Full Tilt is also giving you the ability to deposit for as little as $10, so if you have a couple of $5-spots burning a hole in your pocket, now is the time!

Support the PPA Poker Players Alliance

2010-03-10T15:27:57Z

As you know if you follow my blog on a regular basis, I am a strong supporter of the PPA because it is the only organization that is active in fighting for the right of internet poker players. Not only is it the only one, it has been growing by leaps and bounds and had been extremely effective in the last couple of years as we press towards ultimately legalizing internet poker. The co-chair of the PPA is former US Senator Alfonse D'Amato himself an avid poker player, and probably one of the strongest names in government circles to come out in support of online poker. In any case, this is a reprint of the latest newsletter from the PPA to help raise awareness of this orgainzation and to encourage you to join up if you have not already.

"By all accounts, 2009 saw amazing progress for the rights of Internet poker players in the US. The delay of the UIGEA, the introductions of three bills in the US House of Representatives, as well as a bill in the US Senate, all supporting your right to play in a safe, free market here in the US. Now is the time for a push to victory in 2010, but we desperately need your help.

Please consider contributing to PokerPAC.

By contributing to PokerPAC, the non-partisan political action committee (click here for FAQ) of the Poker Players Alliance you are helping to elevate our advocacy efforts. PokerPAC makes political contributions to lawmakers who support your right to play poker, and it also uses funds to defeat those candidates who oppose this freedom. In the last election, PokerPAC supported 54 candidates, 52 of them now serve in the U.S. Congress! A strong PAC gives us a very strong hand to protect poker, so take a moment today and contribute to PokerPAC. Even a contribution of $20, $50 or $100 dollars will make a huge difference and every penny of your contribution will be used directly to support pro-poker candidates.

The 2010 elections are rapidly approaching and PokerPAC needs your support so we can effectively fight for your rights."

Ultimate Bet Poker PLO 8 Cash Games

2010-03-09T04:02:57Z

In addition to playing FT I spent quite a bit of time on Ultimate Bet poker. I like FT for the wide range of MTT's, but I have found that traffic is growing on Ultimate Bet and there are more and more profitable NL Hold'em tournaments. While there are not yet a ton of tournaments other than NL Holdem, I do like the cash games on UB, in particuliar, PLO 8.

Some of the smaller limit PLO 8 games tend to be very profitable on UB due to the large number of players who have no idea how to play the game. You will find many players who will ship you chips every time they are dealt A-2 and have nothing but that low draw. This is a sure sign of amatuer PLO 8 players and you can really capitalize on this at the cash games. I always seem to make good money at these tables, they fill up fast and the players rotate in and out pretty quickly.

I have noticed 28k-30k players on UB lately and that is up about 10%-15% so maybe if the numbers keep growing, we will see some PLO tournaments. Until then, try the cash games at UB, especially PLO 8.

Poker Coaching

2010-03-08T15:44:07Z

For those of you who have asked about my one on one coaching sessions, I will have a couple of slots opening up over the next week or so. As of 2010 I have cut the number of students down dramatically, preferring to focus on playing poker more than coaching, but I am still doing some sessions and if you are one of the players who has contacted me, now would be the time to get in on coaching.

I have a number of different methods set up to analyze your poker game, so shoot me an email at chris@internetpokercoach.com and lets talk about what would work the best for you. Much like a pro golfer needs a swing coach, poker players, be in amatuer or pro, can benefit from having some one coach them through their game at times. It is always beneficial to have an un-biased party looking at your game.

So, let me know if you have any questions and until then, good luck at the tables.

Is Full Tilt Poker A Raw Deal?

2010-03-04T16:49:08Z

Although I play several online poker sites, I spend the majority of my time playing on Full Tilt. To put it simply, FTP has deployed a native client that renders the action most similarly to live poker. That's where my love of the FTP client starts and stops. The rest of it is all poker to me.

However, in recent weeks, a smattering of complaints about FTP have been brought to bear on this site, including allegations of hand-rigging, unfair hand generation (ie-the favorite keeps losing at showdown), profiling, and (most concerning) the withholding of earnings from players.

I'd like to hear more stories about how FTP has conducted its business with you as you play. Having run hundreds of scenarios with an actual deck of cards, I'd like to steer away from suck-outs to focus more on times you felt you were treated unfairly.

Donkonomics Series #1: How To Grow A Small Bankroll When You're Not Chris Ferguson

2010-03-02T16:53:13Z

For Full Tilt players who are under-bankrolled (and I can't think of many who aren't right now), it's important to get as much out of your bankroll as you can. I started playing micro stakes on FTP, and I've learned a bit about how to maximize a minimal amount of money. Here are two things to start the series:

1. Learn your HORSE limit games. Why? By learning your limit games, you protect yourself from a micro-bankroll's worst enemy: variance. By playing No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha, you expose yourself to a greater upside with a staggering potential for loss. By playing Stud variants, you have less upside potential over a given period of time, but can protect your bankroll because the suck-outs won't hurt you nearly as bad. I am not an advocate of playing limit Hold'em simply because you will see an enormous number of ridiculous suck outs--raise your aces all you want, and that jackhole wit 7-4 offsuit will still shoot for the straight.

2. Exploit benefit programs and promotions. Happy hour on FTP is a perfect example of this. If you can fit in some cash games during happy hour, you can rack up points that can be used to enter tournaments or sattelites. Even playing micro-limit games, I have been able to rack up thousands of these useful little things to enter larger tournaments, and nothing feels quite as good as cashing in a tourney you didn't pay to enter.

Add rakeback to the equation, and you have a sure winner.

What is Rakeback for Online Poker and Why it is Important

2010-02-28T15:41:29Z

For those of you who have been playing online poker for years, you can probably skip today's post and go play a Sit n Go. For those of you who read my blog who are just getting into online poker, I will offer a quick, basic, explanation of rakeback and why you need it if you are going to play online poker for money.

Rakeback is simply what it sounds like it is: you get a percentage of the 'rake' that goes to the poker site back. You get it back automatically and you get it back once a month. Cash. In your account. All you have to do is make sure you are signed up through Inernet Poker Coach's rakeback program found at the top of our home page or in the bottom right hand corner. Just click the links and follow directions. You MUST sign up through our program to receive rakeback. If you signed up for a site some time ago and are not receiving rakeback, yo umight want to think about playing a different site that you sign up for through Internet Poker Coach so that you can take advantage of this free money. Internet Poker Coach is a proud affiliate for RaketheRake, the largest rakeback site in the world.

Here is an example of what rakeback can do for your bank account. Let's say you play $10 Sit n Go tournaments. There is a $1 rake that goes to the site. If you are playing on Full Tilt through our rakeback program, you will get 27% of that $1 back. So, lets say you play 20/day, you get back $5.40 EVERY DAY, multiply that times the number of days you play in a month etc etc. Well, you get the picture.

If you play larger tournament, more money back. Obviously if you play cash games, there is a rake every single hand, so you wan to make sure you are getting this percentage back. You are playing the games anyway, this is a very important way to build your bankroll online. With rakeback, even if you go through a bad swing of variance and you are losing a number of games, you still have this money coming in every month.

Full Tilt offers 27% back, but other sites offer 30% and more, so even 33% or 37% Again, if you are a volume player, this is huge and money that you just cannot afford to miss out on. PokerStars DOES NOT offer rakeback. They have programs based on play for their players which may or may not reward you like rakeback does, but apparently they feel they are big enough that they do not have to offer rakeback. While PS is a great site, I personally feel that rakeback is too important to miss out on so I tend to play the majority of my play at other sites that do offer the rakeback.

Internet Poker Coach offers a full listing of the sites that award rakeback and the percentages associated with them. All you have to do is go to the link at the top of our home page (or the lower right), click on it and then click on the site you wish to start playing on. You set up and fund your account and it is that simple. If you are playing without rakeback, you need to get in on it. There is just too much cash to pass up.

If you have any questions about rakeback, please feel free to email me at chris@internetpokercoach.com