In this article series we plan to make a top 10 list of casinos for poker in the USA

The Bellagio is an iconic venue which is known around the world. Having become a shining beacon of Las Vegas, Sin City’s top casino has been showcased in many a film, television show and other entertainment, bringing it to the forefront of the public eye. However, whilst the glitz and glamour of the venue may be ever present, it hasn’t stopped the fact that the Bellagio really is one of the worlds top gambling establishments.

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Part of a famed hotel complex, the Bellagio is located in the very heart of Las Vegas, offering easy access for all visitors to one of the most popular American cities. Built on the Vegas Strip, the Bellagio replaced the legendary Dunes hotel, opening in 1998 with a reported $88m grand ceremony. It has found international acclaim on the gamblers circuit and continues to be a top spot for notorious poker players including Jennifer Harmon, Barry Greenstein, Chip Reese, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson.

One of the attractions of the Bellagio is that if caters to a wide number of visitors whether gamers want to drop just a few dollars or play with thousands. An impressive art gallery, the famous fountains and fine restaurants can be found at the Bellagio, enabling those enjoying the casinos services to spend many hours enjoying their favourite pastime whilst surrounded in glitz and beauty. Meanwhile, the casino includes a wealth of gambling opportunities including the usual slot machines, some of which are unique to the Bellagio, and table games such as baccarat, craps, roulette and poker. And it is poker that makes the Bellagio one of the worlds most sought after venues.

Whilst playing against the house can be fun, the Bellagio offers one of the best poker rooms in the world, with high rollers able to come and bet thousands amongst each other. Whilst gamers can make a few hundred grinding away at the table games, it is in the poker room where the real money is made, and for those entering this high stakes world, it’s worth getting some practice by using websites such as partypokerbonuscodes.com to play a few free games first.

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The poker room itself has the same chic appeal as the rest of the Bellagio complex, and it offers one of the only live poker spectator events in the industry with its ‘Big Game’ of $2,000 and $4,000 limits. However, aside from the main event there is plenty going on, and the casino has regular tournaments of Hold ‘em including $300/600, $75/150 and $4/8 limits allowing everyone to play no matter their budget. Las Vegas’s only $20/40 stud game is found here, and they also provide a range of no limit Hold ‘em games. Of course, such is the popularity of Bellagio that weekend waits for lower stakes tables can take hours, and staff can sometimes seem a little pompous. But, whether gamers want to be spectators, dabble a little or play for big bucks, the Bellagio remains one of the world’s top poker venues.

Located right in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, the MGM Grand is a majestic sight and the second largest hotel resort complex in the world. The current building opened in 1993, replacing the Marina Hotel which had stood since 1975. As a whole, the casino has gone through some interesting changes over the years. It initially featured a Wizard of Oz theme and a family-friendly amusement park on site before switching to its current Art Deco, Hollywood style.

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Attractions at the MGM Grand

The MGM Grand’s attractions include a famous lion habitat and its casino is the largest in Las Vegas, offering thousands of slot machines, a wide variety of table games including over 100 tables of Blackjack and an enormous Race and Sports Book.The poker room at the MGM Grand is a favorite both among locals as well as visitors from all around the world. It features 22 tables, the majority of which spread No Limit and Limit Holdem, and the area is spacious and comfortable. The staff is extremely courteous and can provide you with anything from a drink to a tableside massage.

Poker games at the MGM Grand

One of the best features of the MGM poker room is the variety of poker games it offers, including daily tournaments. Texas Holdem cash games are quite affordable, as you can always play games as low as $2-$4 Limit or $1-$2 No Limit. For higher-stakes players, the $500 buy-in No Limit cash game always has action and another interesting variety is /$4/$8 Limit with a kill pot, something rarely seen in a casino. Some beginners lament the fact that there is no bad beat jackpot offered, but this really means that the house takes a smaller percentage of rake from each pot, which really adds up in the long run.

The poker tournaments at the MGM Grand are also extremely popular. Every day of the week there is a $65 buy-in No Limit Holdem freezout at 11am, and Sunday through Thursday there is also an evening tournament starting at 7pm with an $85 buy-in.

The level of poker competition at the MGM Grand

The availability of low-stakes poker coupled with the fact that the MGM Grand is one of the most noticeable casinos on the Strip makes the level of play comparatively soft, and the games can get downright fishy at times. A large number of beginners use the MGM Grand to test out their budding poker skills, and the table atmosphere is typically quite friendly. For experienced poker players, there is great potential for large profits. You will still be challenged, however, if you manage your bankroll well, and move to some of the bigger games. The daily tournaments offer another type of poker test.

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Poker pros at the MGM Grand

You likely won’t encounter as many professionals at the MGM Grand as you might at some of the higher end Las Vegas casinos, but multitudes of poker players gladly make that trade-off for its comfortable environment, inclusive nature and pleasant atmosphere. The fact that the MGM Grand also offers incredible cuisine, world-class entertainment and the largest casino in Las Vegas will give anyone plenty to do in between poker sessions.

Franck wanted some links on my blog, and I asked him to write a piece on the top 10 starting poker hands in Texas Hold’em. Let me know what you think of his article.

Texas Holdem is the most popular poker game in the world. Each day, millions play this card game on the Internet. Holdem is a simple game but that doesn’t make it easy to master. If you find yourself tilting more times than you should, then you need to consider your playing strategy.

One thing that can help you improve your chances of winning at Texas Holdem is to understand what the best starting hands are. In this article, we’re going to consider the ten top hands.

Basic Texas Holdem strategy dictates that you play around 25% of the hands you’re dealt. Here are the top ten hands and the percentage of hands that are won by players who hold these powerful hole cards.

A, A: A pair of Aces is otherwise known as American Airlines, Pocket Rockets or Bullets

• These win 85,1% of the time against a random hand
• Aces occur 0.45% of the time.
• This is the best starting hand you can get.
• Some play it aggressively from the start.
• You’ll see a tie occasionally (0.49%)

K, K: A pair of King is otherwise known as Cowboy Wolford, Cowboys, King Kong, Kangaroos or Ace Magnets

• These win 82,4% of the time against a random hand
• You’ll also see this hand 0.45% of the time.
• Although very strong, it wins about 2% less than aces.

Q, Q: A pair of Queens is otherwise known as Ladies, Jailhouse Rock, Siegfried and Roy, 4 tits, Flower girls, Hilton Sisters

• These win 79,8% of the time against a random hand
• Queens also happen 0.45% of the time.
• These are strong hole cards.
• However, they are susceptible to being beaten by suited hole cards.

J,  J: A pair of Jacks is otherwise known as Jay Birds, Hooks, One-eyed Jacks or Disabled Veterans

• These win 77,5% of the time against a random hand
• You’ll see this pair at the same rate as the other pairs—0.45%.
• They can easily fall prey to any suited high combination.
• Play these carefully.

10, 10/9,9/8,8/7,7: The medium pocket pairs

• These win 74,8-66,2% of the time against a random hands
• These pairs will come up as often as other pairs (0.45%).
• Stay in the hand for as long as you can while risking little, they could be winners if betting is conservative.

A, K suited: Ace King suited is otherwise known as Walking back to Houston, Big slick in a suit, Big slick, Anna Kournikova or Santa Barbara

• These win 66,9% of the time against a random hand
• You’ll see these less often than pairs—0.30%.
• However, these can be powerful with a good flop.
• The ace gives you the best possible flush.
• An A, K can often win on their own or they can pair up.

A, Q suited: Ace Queen suited is otherwise known as Little Slick, Doyle Brunson or Big Chick

• These win 66,2% of the time against a random hand
• These occur 0.3% of the time.
• These are versatile—they can pair up or become a flush.
• A straight is also possible.

A, J suited: Ace Jack suited is otherwise known as Blackjack, Ace with winning kicker or Ajax

• These win 65,4% of the time against a random hand
• It comes up at a rate of 0.30%.
• The ace is great for a flush.
• Inside straights are hard to hit.
• Wait for the flop before pushing the betting.

A,K unsuited: Ace King unsuited is otherwise known as Walking back to Houston, Big slick, Anna Kournikova or Santa Barbara

• These win 65,4% of the time against a random hand
• They come up at the same rate as other suited high cards (0.30%).

A, Q unsuited: Ace Queen unsuited is otherwise known as Little Slick, Doyle Brunson or Big Chick

• These win 64,4% of the time against a random hand
• These appear 0.30% of the time.

Here are a few tips for playing these hole cards.

• Even with two aces, there’s no guarantee that you’ll win.
• Don’t play a pair of 10s the same way you play aces. 10s are much weaker. As an example, a pair of sevens wins 13.30% of the time. That makes a pair of 10s closer in strength to a pair of sevens than they are to a pair of queens. Play 10s as you would sevens, carefully and conservatively.
• When playing high, suited hole cards and hitting the flush on the flop, you need to be wary of being beaten by a possible full house on the turn and the river.

Use these tips and the top ten hole card breakdown to your advantage. Many players won’t go in on a hand unless they are holding one of the above combinations. It’s true that in order to play in this manner you need discipline and patience. However, those two attributes often payoff when playing Texas Holdem.

1: Poker is a game of luck

You shouldn’t play poker because if you’re as unlucky as me, you will never win in the long run. Poker is almost entirely a game of luck which means that you will be better off spending your money on the lottery….or saving it up.

2: Online poker is rigged

You shouldn’t play online poker because it’s extremely rigged. The only people winning in the long run are those who work for the poker sites.

3: Sitting down is bad for your health

You shouldn’t play poker because 1 hour of sitting in front of your computer each day, increases your risk of heart disease by 7%. Your time is much better spent going for a run or spending quality time with your girlfriend

4: Poker isn’t cool

You shouldn’t play poker because being a pro poker player isn’t cool at all. It will never work as a pick up line in bars. If you’ve seen any kind of televised live poker you’ll know I’m right. The average male poker player has not been blessed by good looks. Do you really want to be associated with these people?

5: You are destined to become a poker blogger

You shouldn’t play poker because you will probably start blogging about it to compensate for you lack of success at the tables. Poker bloggers are a despicable breed of attention hungry, greedy and essentially boring people who’s only goal is to sign you up to rakeback deals.

6: You will become a porn addict

You shouldn’t play poker because it will turn you into a porn addict. Let’s face it, the only really interesting thing to do while waiting for your turn is to watch porn.

7: No social life

You shouldn’t play poker because your social life during weekends will be screwed. You will spend your weekends grinding cash tables and MTTs.

8: Decision making from a BB/hour perspective

You shouldn’t play poker because you’ll develop an annoying tendency to base decisions on a BB/hour vs time spent comparison. Yes, I could get a sandwich myself or I could have a taxi pick one up to avoid leaving my tables. You might also start relieving yourself in a bottle. Disgusting!

9: Depression

You shouldn’t play poker because the human mind tends to remember bad beats and bad decisions and forget the times you were lucky or did something right. As a result you will constantly feel unlucky and question your skills.

10: Lack of respect

You shouldn’t play poker because the people close to you will eventually lose all respect for you. Time and time again you will proclaim that you’re never playing poker again only to reinstall your poker clients and start up a new game the next day.

As for me, look for the nick pokerbrb, mepusia or pokerbrbblog and you’ll find a mentally unstable player who doesn’t have the willpower to quit and won’t commit the time to advance from his current level of mediocracy.

Double or Nothing SNGs are a special type of SNG where you either double your money or walk away with nothing. If you want to know more, I recently wrote an article covering the basics of DoN SNGs.

I have made a list of the top facts and tips I have found when it comes to playing sit and goes such as Double or Nothing.

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1: Practice yourself identifying the regulars at the tables. This is very important since your tactics against the regulars will be very different as compared to random players who do not know about the Independent Chip Model. In addition, you should avoid playing Double or Nothing sit and goes against too many regulars as this will dilute the edge you have. A good way of spotting regulars is to check out the poker lobby as a new DoN SNG starts up. Chances are that the players who register first are regulars.

2: Don’t worry too much about the rake. If there’s always a bad player who gets knocked out before you, then according to the ICM model, the increase in value of your chips almost covers the rake.

3. Practice good bankroll management. This means you should have roughly 25 buyins in your bankroll compared to the level you’re playing on.

4. If you’re a grinder, sit and goes such as Double or Nothing are perfect for you. The fluctuations are lower as compared to other SNGs and the games take much shorter time to play. This also means that you will be able to generate rakeback at a quicker pace.

5. Double or Nothing SNGs are still relatively new. As a results, there’s a limited amount of available literature on correct DoN strategy and as a consequence a lot of players do not play them correctly. This gives you a huge advantage providing of course you have a good grasp of the correct strategy to apply. So start practicing now!!

6. SNGs such as Double or Nothing are great for players who finish in third place more than 1st place in regular SNGs. If you make it to the money on a regular basis but do not take 1st place that often, your playing style is most likely very suitable for success in DoN SNGs. On the other hand, ff you’re a regular 1st place finisher, you should continue playing your current game.

7. Double or Nothing SNGs are very easy to multitable. The reason being, that if played correctly, you will be entering very few hands per game.

8. If you become a good DoN player, you will also have an edge in Multitable Tournament satellites. The winning strategies are very similar in these games.

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There are thousands of poker hands on Youtube, but the 5 poker hands below are definitely spectacular enough to belong on a top 5 poker hands on Youtube list.

James Akenhead vs Grant Hinkle
This hand takes place at the heads-up stage of a $1,500 No-limit Hold’em event at the 2008 and see England’s James Akenhead locking horns with America’s Grant Hinkle.

Akenhead had been much the better player heads-up and Hinkle was starting to feel the pressure and made a preflop raise to 350,000 holding the lowly hand of Td4d. Akenhead looked down and found AcKh and made it $1,200,000 to play, prompting Hinkle to move all-in on a bluff. Akenhead instantly called and was in good shape to take a 10:1 chip lead.

However, the flop completely changed that as it came down ThTs4h, giving Hinkle a full house. To make matters worse the turn was the last ten in the deck, giving Hinkle quad tens, the win and $831,279. Akenhead had to make do with the $520,219 runner-up prize money.

Phil Ivey vs Paul Jackson

This hand shows the great hand reading skills of Phil Ivey, arguably the best poker player ever. The hand takes place at the heads-up stage of the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions and sees Ivey hold a 4:1 chip lead over Paul Jackson.

Jackson open-limps on the button with 6s5d and Ivey raises to 60,000 with Qh8h, which Jackson calls. The flop of JcJh7c misses both players but they both decide they want the pot and start bluffing at each other. Ivey starts proceedings by firing out 80,000, prompting Jackson to make it 170,000. Not to be outdone, Ivey makes another raise, this time to 320,000 but amazingly Jackson does not give up, instead makes it 470,000 to play!

Ivey goes into the tank for a minute or so before announcing he is all-in, causing Jackson to quickly release his hand. A truly remarkable hand.

Isaac Haxton vs Ryan Daut

After fighting his way back from a 3:1 chip disadvantage to lead by 2:1 at the Caribbean Adventure, Ryan Daut – who is a coach for one of the leaders in online poker tutorials- completed in the small blind with 7c5s and his opponent, Isaac Haxton checked with the second worst heads-up hand possible, 3d2d.

The flop missed both players completely and Haxton check/called a 300,000 bet from Daut. The turn brought the King of diamonds, making the board Qh4hAcKd and both players checked. But when the Qc arrived on the river both players thought they were entitled to the already substantial pot.

Haxton attempted to buy the pot by betting 700,000 but Daut quickly made it 2,000,000 to go. Haxton hung his head on the table and thought for around 90 seconds before announcing he was all in. There was no way Daut could call with his seven-high and he quickly mucked before being shown the extraordinary bluff from Haxton.

Oliver Hudson vs Sammy Farha

Oliver Hudson, son of actress Goldie Hawn, was eliminated on the very first hand of the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event at the hands of Sammy Farha.

Farha opened to 200 holding AhTd and Hudson, liking his black tens, made it 450, a bet that Farha called. The flop was an unbelievable AcAdTh giving both players a full house! Both elected to slowplay their hand and check but the fireworks started with the arrival of the Qc on the turn.

First Hudson lead out for 300, Farha quickly raised to 1,300 and Hudson moved all-in. Farha instantly called and when both players revealed their hands it was apparent Hudson was drawing completely dead. $10,000 wasted in less than five minutes!

Jennifer Harman vs Corey Zeidman

Corey Zeidman inflicted a true bad beat on Jennifer Harman during the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Harman raised preflop to 200 holding QdQc and was called by Zeidman with 9d8d and Davis with As6d.

The flop came down TsJdQh, giving Harman a set of queens and Zeidman a flopped straight. Davis checked then folded after seeing Harman bet 500, Zeidman raise to 2,000 and Harman call. The turn was the ten of diamonds, filling Harman’s set into a full house and making her an almost certain winner in the hand. Zeidman lead out for 1,000 and Harman raised to 3,000. After much deliberation Zeidman called, not knowing he only had one card that could win him the pot.

Amazingly it arrives on the river in the shape of the 7d, giving him a straight flush! Harman bet 3,000 which was enough to put her opponent all-in, and he obviously quickly called and showed the nuts, prompting Harman to leave her seat at the table in disbelief.

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I’ve tried to put together a list of my top 10 “not to do” when it comes to poker bankroll building. If you disagree or have anything to add (perhaps you have your own recipe for building a poker bankroll) please feel free to add a comment.

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Do not start your poker bankroll building project without a plan

Planning is crucial in order for any project to become a success (I should know since I work as a project manager for a living). When it comes to poker bankroll building you need to lay out the foundation before you start. Are you aiming to copy Chris Ferguson, starting with 0$ and grinding it out in freerolls and micro limit SNGs or No limit Hold’em? Chris Ferguson succeeded in building a 10000$ bankroll this way. Are you going to build your bankroll through cash games, MTT tournaments or SNGs? What is your plan? You need to have this sorted out before you start.

Do not play out of your profit zone

Your profit zone is the limit where you can comfortably grind it out and make a regular profit (e.g. 5$ 10 max SNGs, 0,25$/0,50$ 6 max NL Hold’em etc…). If you’ve never played poker before you don’t know yet what your profit zone is and hopefully it will move up in limits as you get better. If you’ve played poker before you probably have a pretty good idea what your profit zone is. Here’s my point when it comes to poker bankroll building projects. If possible start up your poker bankroll building project in your profit zone as this will give you the best start. If you start out below your profit zone you run the risk of getting bored and if you start out above your profit zone you run a serious risk of loosing your bankroll.

Keep in mind that people play in games beyond their skill level, buy-in level and outside their profit zone because:

• They are attracted to the potential of the one big pay off
• They think they’re a better poker player than they really are
• They think anyone can get lucky once
• They figure the fastest way to re coop money lost at the lower levels is to win one big game
• They think poker is a game of pure chance
• They think they play better when up against better opponents (i.e. fewer donkeys)
• They have more money than brains

Don’t be one of these people!

Do not start your poker bankroll building project without (realistic, but at the same time ambitious) goals.

Setting goals for your poker bankroll building project is equally as important as the initial planning. Without goals you’re destined for failure. They are what will keep your motivation up and give direction and meaning to your projects. Be ambitious but realistic when setting your goals. Building a large enough bankroll to pay for your dream holiday for example, is in my opinion an ambitious but realistic goal. Make sure that the goal is something you really want. Often this is not the actual money itself but the stuff we can buy from it.

Do not carry out your poker bankroll building project without motivation

If you take care with your planning and choice of goals you should not experience long periods with lack of motivation during your poker bankroll building project. Short spells of low motivation however are unavoidable. I have often found that blogging about my poker bankroll building projects has helped me keep my motivation high. Therefore consider starting your own blog about your project or find a forum with equal minded poker players to share your ups and downs with.

Do not carry out your poker bankroll building project without discipline

Here’s a great definition of the concept discipline:

…..persistently act in the direction of a goal regardless of external adversity or internal state.

Many associate discipline with pushing yourself hard to achieve a certain goal. But this is not the way to succeed in the long run with any challenge especially Bankroll Management. To succeed it is essential to maintain the joy of playing poker. Discipline in this context is the ability to persistently act in the direction of a goal regardless of adversity and the emotional state while keeping in mind that you are doing it because it’s fun.

Discipline is what will keep you on track in your poker bankroll building project with regards to bankroll managements and avoiding tilt. In my opinion you will never succeed in a poker bankroll building project if you do not have discipline.

Do not carry out your poker bankroll building project without proper bankroll management

Bankroll management can be defined as:

………the continuous adjustment of your playing limit according to the size of your Bankroll while factoring in your poker skills and the level of risk you are willing to take.

Obviously this is important. Without proper bankroll management you run a high risk of ruin. In addition if you do not use bankroll management you might not realize that your bankroll is large enough to move up in limits.

There are a few rules of thumb regarding bankroll management, but I recommend you do your own research here because there are a lot of different opinions on this subject.

• For No limit cash games your bankroll should be 20-50 times the maximum table buyin on the limit you play.
• For SNG’s I would say your bankroll should be 40-100 times the buyin you’re playing
• For MTTs (multi table tournaments) you will need more than 100 times the buyin you’re playing (the reason for this, is that you due to the large playing fields in MTTs will not win them nearly as often as SNGs

Do not play at a poker room without a rakeback or bonus deal

Having a rakeback or bonus deal while you play will add $$ to your bankroll building project while you play. So there’s really no reason not to sign up through a rakeback site and get this added value. If you’re a break even player against the opponents on your limit, a rakeback or bonus deal will ensure that your bankroll continuously increases. Since anyone can become an affiliate of a poker site and start promoting rakeback and bonus deals, there is almost no end to the number of online poker rakeback pages available today. If you decide to get a rakeback or bonus deal for your poker bankroll building project, I recommend you check out PokerBRB.com. Here you’ll get better than average deals and the added benefit of a free online poker tournament and freeroll league.

Do not play poker outside your poker bankroll building project

This point on my list might sound strange to some of you, and I’m not even sure I agree with it My thought was that if you lime me play poker with your friends once in a while, chances are the stakes will probably be higher compared to your poker bankroll building game. I have a poker buddy and during our poker weekends I usually spend more $ in tournament buyins than I would during two months, when I just play alone. If you’ve just paid 200$ to play in one of the large Sunday tournaments, won’t the transition back to 5$ SNGs be difficult? As I wrote earlier, I’m not sure about this one, so any input from you guys reading this article would be greatly appreciated.

Do not go on tilt

This is a no-brainer. You tilt, you loose. So don’t do it. There are thousands of online articles giving good advice on how to avoid tilt. I like to throw my water bottle through our living room, but I don’t know if that will work for everyone.

If you go broke do not start a new poker bankroll building project before you’ve analyzed what went wrong in you first attempt

Did you play outside your profit zone? Did you lack poker skills in the games you played? Did you lose motivation?

Find out what you did wrong and learn from it so your next poker bankroll building project has a higher chance of success.

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Thanks to Anders and JGiles for providing some of the material for the list.

You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

Check out our Poker Freeroll and Tournament League.

Queen High (1930)

Two women own a garden centre and have a hard time agreeing on pretty much everything. They ask their lawyer for advice when they want to go their separate ways and he suggests a game of poker. The loser agrees to wait on the winner for an entire year. A supposedly very entertaining movie

Sunset Trail (1939)

A classical good against evil movie. Hopalong Cassidy is the hero and Keller is the villain who buys a rancher’s cattle, kills him and steals back the money. Hopalong learns about this and pretends to be a rookie player in order to get in contact with Keller’s daughter. In the end the villain is defeated in a game of poker.

Loaded pistols (1948)

Gene Autry and Barbara Britton play the leading roles in this movie about a poker/murder mystery. Britton’s younger brother is wrongfully accused of a murder taking place during a poker game. Gene hides the boy and recreates the game to find the true murderer.

The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

New Orleans. The Kid is in town to beat the infamous poker legend Lancy Howard (Edward G. Robinson). With the help from an old friend and card dealer, the Kid ends up in a life changing high stakes game. The good stuff is in the exiting poker final. Unfortunately there’s a lot of romantic dribble and mediocre acting before getting there.

Big hand for a little lady (1966)

A family moves to a new town and the husband decides to play in a high-stakes poker game. He loses almost everything until he very conveniently has a heart attack. His wife, never having played poker before, takes over in an attempt to win back the money.

Kaleidoscope (1966)

Barney is a devious player and hustler who aims to keep his title as “The luckiest poker player ever” in a prestigious game. Warren Beatty’s game is very realistic in this movie.

Maverick (1994)

The scene is set in the old South. Mel Gibson is 3000$ short of being able to compete in the upcoming “winner takes it all” tournament. After meeting the female poker player /femme fatale, Jody Foster, he finds himself in a ton of problems while playing to win the tournament.

Rounders (1998)

Possibly the most popular poker movie ever made. Some say this movie started the online poker boom. Matt Damon’s character is forced back into the poker world to win enough money to pay for his friend’s (played by Edward Norton) gambling debt.

Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels (1998)

Four regular guys rally together to back up their friend in an insane high stakes game against a local gangster. When they lose, they are forced into crime in an attempt to get back on track.

Luckytown (2000)

On a journey to find a her father, an infamous poker player, Kirsten Dunst picks up an employee in a video store who has an ambition to become the greatest poker player of all time. Together they head off to Las Vegas to find fortune and her father. The movie is full of action and good gambling scenes.

You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

Check out our Poker Freeroll and Tournament League.

Top 10 lists in this series:

Top 10 preflop moves

Top 10 flop moves

Top 10 turn and river moves

Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” It is the only reference book to reveal the plays the Pros use to win a poker tournament. These plays are based on reviewing 20 years worth of tournament poker strategies and by actual play against Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is available on Amazon and rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers. Find out more about Mitchell Cogert by visiting Tournament Poker or his website APokerExpert.

Top 10 turn and river moves

Stack sizes are one of the most important factors to consider when deciding whether or not to make a move on the turn or the river. If the opponent you are up against has a large stack compared to yours and the blinds in general he is more likely to call any bet you make. Similarly, if your opponent has a significantly smaller stack than yours he will most likely be pot committed to call your bets. The best spot for making moves is when both you and your opponent have similar stack sizes that are significantly larger than the current size of the big blind. In my opinion, significantly larger in this context are stack sizes above 20 times the big blind.

• The delayed continuation bet

You raise preflop with two high cards but don’t hit a pair on the flop. By checking the flop behind your opponents you raise suspicion in their minds. They were expecting a standard continuation bet, but instead you checked. Could you be slow playing a monster hand? When a harmless turn card hits you are now in a great position to steal the pot.

• The Action-Inducing bet

If you hit the nuts or another great hand on the turn then making a small bet compared to the size of the pot will give your opponents the impression that you are weak. This will sometimes lure them into making a large re raise or even pushing all in.

• The blocking bet

The blocking bet can be used on the turn as well as on the flop. I already mentioned the blocking bet in my previous list of top 10 flop moves. Here’s what I wrote:

Say you called a preflop raiser out of position with a drawing hand such as 89 suited. The flop comes A J 7 with one card in your suit. You have an inside straight draw and a backdoor flush opportunity. By making a small blocking bet as the first to act on the flop, you aim to slow down your opponent and either get a cheap turn card or if you’re lucky make your opponent fold. If he raised preflop with pocket 10’s, pocket Q’s or even pocket K’s, he might interpret your blocking bet as if you have hit your Ace and aim to suck some chips out of him. Your defensive blocking bet has a better chance of succeeding if your opponents have seen you make the same size bet earlier when you have hit a big hand.

When you make a blocking bet on the turn you are aiming to slow down your opponent and see a cheap river card. Sometimes you get lucky and your blocking bet wins you the pot.

• Firing the Second Barrel

Don’t be afraid to bet again on the turn as the preflop raiser if your opponent called your flop bet. He might be on a draw, have a middle pair or he might be floating and hoping to steal the pot if you show weakness on the turn. Be wary  of firing the second barrel if a scare card such as a flush card or a straight card hits.

• Bet when opponents are weak

If your opponents have checked the flop and check to you on the turn as well they are most likely weak. Bet to pick up the pot.

• Bet when a scare card appears

If a scare card hits on the turn you can use it to your advantage to steal the pot by betting or re-raising your opponent. Depending on the texture of the flop, any Ace, King, straight or flush card may be a card you can use to win the pot. I would only use this move if you are up against one opponent. Betting when a scare card hits requires both skill and courage. Skill, because you need to be able to put your opponent on a hand range in order to determine what cards might be scare cards. Courage, because you are representing a strong hand which you do not have and if you misread the situation you could look like a fool.

• The naked Ace bluff

If you hold an Ace in the same suit as a suited board you can use this information to represent the nut flush. You can do this by checking the flop and raising any bet on the turn. Since no one else has the Ace they will have a hard time calling with top pair or a lower flush. If they do call you still have outs to win the hand.

• When you hold a pair and get raised on the turn think fold

Usually players will not raise a bet on the turn if they cannot beat top pair (unless of course they are betting due to a scare card hitting). If you have top pair, your flop bet has been called and your turn bet is raised you are most likely either beat or have run into an opponent with big cojones. Remember that a good fold is a good thing. However, if you suspect you have been outplayed make a note about your opponent and pay attention to his future betting patterns.

• When folding is clearly the right play

Don’t fall in love with big pairs. If you raise preflop, get three callers and they all call your bet on the flop alarm bells should be ringing inside your head. If a scare card hits on the turn you can be sure that one of your three opponents hit his draw.

• The River value bet

Poker in a nutshell is to get your opponents to call you with worse hands and fold with better hands. Keep this in mind when deciding what bet size to use on the river. If you are convinced you are ahead choose a bet size which you feel confident your opponent will call. If you are not sure you are ahead go for a small blocking/value bet.

• Getting paid off on the river

When you have the nuts on the river do not expect that a small bet is more likely to be called than a larger bet. Your opponents will be expecting you to make a small bet if you have the nuts. Instead try making a big bet or moving all in. To some opponents this will signal that you are trying to steal the pot     and make them call your bet if they have a piece of the board.
You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

Check out our Poker Freeroll and Tournament League.

Top 10 lists in this series:

Top 10 preflop moves

Top 10 flop moves

Top 10 turn and river moves

Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” It is the only reference book to reveal the plays the Pros use to win a poker tournament. These plays are based on reviewing 20 years worth of tournament poker strategies and by actual play against Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is available on Amazon and rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers. Find out more about Mitchell Cogert by visiting Tournament Poker or his website APokerExpert.

Top 10 flop moves

The flop moves listed below are mostly bluff and semi bluff moves designed to win pots on flops you haven’t caught a piece of. Since you will often represent a hand you don’t have, it is of the utmost importance that your betting history in the hand and general table image tell a convincing story. In addition you have to choose your flops and opponents carefully. Ideally you want to be up against a maximum of 2-3 opponents who will be able to lay down their hands depending on the move you choose. Needless to say flop moves require a lot more skill and experience to master as compared to preflop moves.

• Bet the rainbow “Steal flop”

Some flops contain low cards of different suits (rainbow) and in addition are uncoordinated meaning that there is little chance that one of your opponents has picked up a draw. An example of such a flop could be 2 (h) 4(c) 9 (d). Say you enter a pot with Q10 suited without raising and have 2 opponents on a rainbow “Steal flop”. You should make a more than half sized pot bet both if you are first to act and if the action is checked to you.

• Bet at flops with pairs

If the flop comes with a pair and is uncoordinated (no flush draws and obvious straight draws) you should bet if you are first to act or the action is checked to you. Take advantage of your opponent’s fear of facing trips. If you get called on the flop you need to consider whether you want to bet the turn or not. Your opponent could have hit trips but the probability is small since there are only two cards in the deck that could give him this hand. Your opponent could also be planning to steal the pot from you on the turn if you show weakness and check. Notice how poker player level thinking really comes into play when considering what to do on the flop, turn and river.

• Bet at flops with the same suit

When you are up against few opponents, flops with the same suit are a good opportunity to steal the pot. Your opponents may not believe you have hit the flop, but they know that they need a flush to win. They will have to fold if they don’t have any cards in the same suit or one low card in the same suit.

• The continuation bet

Most of you probably already know the continuation bet, but it is an important move to include in your arsenal, which is why I mention it here. If you take the lead preflop and raise with say AJ suited, you continue showing that your hand is strong by making a 50-75% pot bet on the flop (the continuation bet). You make this bet even if the flop did not improve your hand. If you are up against a couple of opponents the chances are high that they will fold. If you get called, you face a tough decision on the turn. Did your opponent hit the flop or is he defending against your continuation bet by calling the flop aiming to steal the pot from you on the turn if you show weakness and check? In these situations you have to evaluate both the texture of the flop and put your opponent on a range of possible hands.

• The probe bet

The aim of the probe bet is to find out if you have the best hand after the flop without risking too many of your chips. Say you call a preflop raiser with J10 and the flop comes J 7 2. If you are first to act you can make a small bet of less than half the pot to find out where you stand and if you’re lucky take down the pot. If you get reraised you can fold your hand without having risked too many chips. As with all the other bluff and steal moves, the probe bet works best when you are up against only a few opponents.

• The blocking bet

Say you called a preflop raiser out of position with a drawing hand such as 89 suited. The flop comes A J 7 with one card in your suit. You have an inside straight draw and a backdoor flush opportunity. By making a small blocking bet as the first to act on the flop, you aim to slow down your opponent and either get a cheap turn card or if you’re lucky make your opponent fold. If he raised preflop with pocket 10′s, pocket Q’s or even pocket K’s, he might interpret your blocking bet as if you have hit your Ace and aim to suck some chips out of him. Your defensive blocking bet has a better chance of succeeding if your opponents have seen you make the same size bet earlier when you have hit a big hand.

• Leading out

If you are up against two or less opponents you need to be aggressive if you hand caught any piece of the flop such as middle pair. This is true also if you are out of position. Remember that you hitting the flop means that your opponents are less likely to have hit the flop. Try a probe bet if you are first to act and if the action is checked to you bet to take down the pot.

• Bet when you hit a set or full house

Bet bet bet when you hit a set. Don’t check and try to trap your opponent. You want to build big pots with your made hands. If your opponent folds he was going to do so anyway. Avoid check raising the flop as it shows a lot of strength and will slow down your opponent on the following streets.

• Bet if the action is checked to you

Bet when you are last to act after the flop and the action is checked to you. Your opponents have shown weakness and you should react to this. Fold if you are check raised and don’t have a hand that can improve on the turn. Make a note on the opponent who check raised you so you remember him the next time you are in a pot together.

• When to move all in

Move all in on the flop if you have raised preflop and the potsize on the flop is roughly the same size as your chip stack. It doesn’t matter if the flop missed you. You need to accumulate chips and this is done by taking risks. Late in tournaments and during heads-up play this move should be almost automatic.

You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

Check out our Poker Freeroll and Tournament League.