The PokerMatesNZ "FORUM TROPHY CHALLENGE"

G'Day Mates

As an aside today, I thought I would tell everyone about my poker forums Poker team "TEAMNZ" and our major accomplishment today. I run a poker website in New Zealand and we have a Private Poker Team which challenges any forum anywhere in the world to try and take our Beloved Poker Trophy from us by playing in a 10 vs 10 man poker game. Whichever Fourm team the overall winning player belongs to, gets to take our Trophy to their forum for display!

3 weeks ago our team TEAMNZ, lost the Trophy for the first time ever, to LittleSlickPoker (Owner- JMachelor). Today was the rematch game and we came home victorious!! WOOHOO!

It was one of the greatest Team games you will ever have witnessed and I for one am extremely proud of my team as I am sure JMachelor is also.

The rules for this Trophy challenge can be found in this link Here:

http://www.pokermatesnz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29

www.pokermatesnz.com

And I have also provided a short blurb of Congratulations for the game here along with an image of our Trophy!!!

Congratulations to ASTINAGUY99 for bringing home our treasured "PokerMatesNZ TEAMNZ TROPHY" TEAMNZ Members who participated in this Trophy Forum Challenge were: astinaguy99, newzealand, showboat4, Bullywuss, bows, ssgarmy, seghill, iwiknz, bettym6263 & MyMasala. The Team from LittleSlickPoker put up a great fight but TEAMNZ played like a True Poker Team!!! While the Trophy is being engraved, come on in and find out how your forum can be the next Challengers.Well done mates, Masala is proud of all of you!!!

Cheers Mates.......................Masala

Pushing The Advantage

You have all seen them: a player sitting at a table with 10 times as many chips as anyone else. The maximum a player can bring to the table is 5,000 dollars but this player has 50,000 dollars at the table, and they are swatting all players that sit down like flies.
Able to call any bet with ease they can afford to take more chances, and can play more searching bets to establish what the opponents have. They are also in a far better position to be selective about which hands to enter as the fear of having blinds bleed their stack is far less.
The psychological advantage is also huge when in this situation – players first check what you are doing before they make any decisions – as soon as the chip leader raises, the majority of their opponents fold because they are scared of a showdown that sees them all in and the chip leader easily match their bet.
Getting yourself in this situation is not easy, but when you do find yourself as the chip leader at a table, you should attempt to remain at the table as long as you can carry on pushing the advantage. Once you have five times the amount of chips as everyone else at the table, the climb up to 10 times as many chips will then be a lot quicker. As long as you stay at the table you will have the advantage and be able to dominate the play.

Cheers Mates.............................Masala

Why most people lose at Online Poker(Part3)

Reason #3: Not Playing At The Right Online Casinos
The third crucial mistake is thinking that every online casino is the same.
Let me say this as clearly as possible:
ALL CASINOS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.
And here's why:
A big reason is because the PLAYERS are different from casino to casino... since the WAY each poker room attracts its players is different.
The ADVERTISING is different.
Some online casinos give huge bonuses... others do mass advertising targeted at "beginners"... others try to be "exclusive" for high-quality players.
And so on...
Get it?
Do you see how this could have a DRAMATIC IMPACT on how the GAMES will be different?
At one casino you may be playing against a bunch of fresh "newbies". But the same game type and same stakes at a DIFFERENT casino might be full of EXPERIENCED players.
This means you might consistently LOSE at $10 Sit and Go's at one card room... but WIN all the time at another.
Crazy, huh?
I've seen it happen all the time.
You may be LOSING at online poker right now... and the problem may not be your SKILLS.
It may be that you're simply playing in the WRONG PLACES!
So how do you know what the RIGHT places are exactly?
Just Stay Tuned Mates................Masala

Why most people lose at Online Poker(Part 2)

Reason #2: Choosing The Wrong Stakes
This is fairly straightforward. Most players UNDERSTAND that they shouldn't play a game that's too "high stakes" for them...
But what most players FAIL TO DO is adjust their "poker approach" ACCORDING to the stakes.
To put this in perspective, let's use baseball as an example.
Your strategy in a game with a bunch of 14-year olds would certainly be a lot different than if you were playing against the WHITE SOX, am I right?
Obviously you'd have to adjust your HITTING, since you'd be facing a more skilled pitcher. And you'd have to adjust your DEFENSE... since the hitters would be better.
And so on.
But these are just ADJUSTMENTS.
Now let me ask you: Would you have to change your FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGY to go from 14-year olds to the "pros"?
The answer is YES.
Because CORE PARTS of the game would be affected.
Not as many "runs" would be scored... the field would be much bigger... there would be nine innings instead of seven... and so on.
OK, so now let's relate this back to poker:
In low-stakes games, you can get away with certain things that you CANNOT get away with in high-stakes games...
You may be able to time all your bluffs when you're on the button in a low-stakes game, because not everyone is aware of your positioning.
You might be able to consistently buy pots when the flop comes rags, because no one has the guts to make a stand against you.
These are ADJUSTMENTS.
Your FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGY will be different too.
At some stakes, you'll be able to "play around" more with special traps, feeler bets, and bluffs.
At other stakes, there will be NO ROOM for these tactics since every pot will be CRUCIAL. (The blinds structure is also a big determinant in this.)
OK, so the point is things ARE NOT the same for each level of stakes.
There are clear and distinct differences between low-stakes, middle-stakes, and high-stakes... and therefore CLEAR STRATEGIC DIFFERENCES FOR WINNING.
Cheers.........Masala

Why most people lose at Online poker

There are THREE CRUCIAL REASONS why most players LOSE money at online poker.
I've listed them below... keep reading to see if they sound familiar for YOUR situation.
Reason #1: Not Picking The Right Game Type
OK, so here's my big "aha" for online poker.
It was this "aha" that INSTANTLY transformed my winnings from "decent" to "tremendous"...
Are you ready?
Here we go:
One of the biggest SECRETS to winning online is to play the RIGHT GAME TYPE for YOUR UNIQUE STYLE.
Not only that... but you need to ADAPT your strategy for EACH GAME TYPE you enter.
Let me explain...
When I say "game type", I'm referring to the many variations of ring games and tournaments. That includes shorthanded games, "turbo" versions, heads-up matches, and more.
The KEY is that your strategy should NOT be the same for each game.
For example, the "tight-aggressive squared" method works great for 10-player Sit and Go's... but you certainly wouldn't want to use it in a four person ring game!
Or as another example: You wouldn't approach a multi-table tournament the same way you'd approach a heads-up match...
Every tactic and technique around starting hands, positioning, and betting is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
Period.
In some game types, BLUFFING is very effective. In other types you'll hardly EVER want to bluff. The same goes with slow-playing, check-raising, and so on.
So the question becomes...
How do you know the RIGHT strategy for any given game type?
I'll share my answer with you in a moment, but first let's take a look at the SECOND REASON why most players lose online................Cheers...............Masala

SitnGos(Wind Up)

After I was done I started thinking about what had just happened. I realized that by PLAYING in a Sit and Go you can often do MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD when there are lots of players at the table.
And of course, I became 100% convinced that the "magic equation" for success is:
PATIENCE + AGGRESSION
Your goal for these games should be to place in the money as much as possible. Period. So why risk chips on silly hands early on?
They're just not worth it...
The other thing about this strategy is that it's a HUGE time-saver. Because it doesn't require hardly any work until there are 4-5 players left. It makes it MUCH easier to play multiple tables at once... or do other things while the Sit and Go plays in the background.
OK, so here's your "Tight-Aggressive Squared" Sit and Go strategy:
1. Be patient, be patient, be patient!
Only play the hands I showed you earlier. Only bet before the flop with Aces, Kings, Big Slick, and Queens.
2. When you catch a monster, go all-in. Don't do this if you think someone has you beat (i.e. there's an obvious straight or flush draw on the board).
I'm talking about only playing hands when you know you have the best odds of winning.
3. When the field gets down to four or five players (depending on how high the blinds are and how many all-in showdowns you've won), shift gears completely and STOP using this "Tight-Aggressive Squared" strategy.
That, my friend, is the "secret" to Sit and Go's.
It's obvious... but not-so-obvious.
But it is DEFINITELY simple.
And you can start implementing it IMMEDIATELY...

SnG(Still Continued)

Everyone tightens up when there are four or five players in
a hand because they want to make the money... and they want
to be VERY CAREFUL to make it into the top three.
That is when you steal some blinds and add to your chip
stack.
Then, after that point you'll be in third place and will be
in the money.
I have a ton of strategies for getting you into FIRST place
too (after you get down to three players), but I'll have to
save those for a different newsletter.
You know, when I first came up with this strategy of
"Tight-Aggressive Squared" I wasn't COMPLETELY convinced it
was the best way to win at Sit and Go's.
At the time, I had been trying a lot of things. The idea of
just being EXTREMELY PATIENT and then going all-in with
monster hands seemed a little TOO SIMPLE.
Right?
Then one night, I was at a 10-man Sit and Go. I went all-in
with a big hand early and doubled up. It was the only hand I
got really involved with.
Then... with 9 players still at the table... my Internet
shut off. I didn't know what happened. All I know is that
the Internet just plain STOPPED WORKING.
I normally would have called someone... but it was past two
in the morning.
I messed with it for like fifteen minutes and then just gave
up. Oh well... it's just one Sit and Go.
Anyway... I started working on something else on my computer
for awhile until all of the sudden the Internet came BACK
on.
I logged into my poker room to see what had happened with
the game. Immediately the screen POPPED-UP and the action
was to me...
I was still in the game, it wasn't over yet!
Not only that...
But there were only three players left!
I was in third, but still had some remaining chips to play
around with.
I immediately went all-in and everyone folded. Then I did it
again and everyone folded. And a few hands later I did it
AGAIN.
I picked up three enormous sets of blinds and was right back
in the game. The reason everyone was folding was because I
hadn't played a hand in 25 minutes. They were probably
wondering what the hell was going on!
Anyway, as it turned out, I actually WON 1ST for this Sit
and Go. First place baby... and my Internet only worked for
about 1/5 of the game!