Poker and Sun Tzu

Poker and Sun Tzu
Fifteen years ago I bought a copy of the 1996 translation by Ralph Sawyer, at a time when I was self-employed as a software development consultant. I can tell you from experience that studying this text is a great way to clear the fog of uncertainty and find an unencumbered approach any problem...

Six ways your brain works against you at the poker tables

Six ways your brain works against you at the poker tables
The most dangerous element at play in a poker game is human stupidity. (Or the world for that matter, just ask any former resident of Chernobyl.) It turns out the human brain is inherently bad at interpreting data and is instead predisposed to making decisions based on emotional input. As a result, your poker game is hampered by logical fallacies, like...

Gamble responsibly

Gamble responsibly
Gambling addiction is real and if you or someone you know suffers from it, they need your help. I encourage you to contact Gambler's Anonymous to find out what you can do...

Playing for fun

Playing for fun
I started playing poker full-time online in March of 2009. By that time, I'd taken up LHE as my game of choice, having decided that I had not yet developed the proper mindset for withstanding the big swings of no-limit games. You'd think that after playing for real money for so long that my days of playing for "play" money would be over. But in fact, I still play at the play money tables three or four times a week...

Table talk

Table talk
One of the fun (and useful) things about live poker is the table talk. I'm not talking about the socializing or the commiseration over bad flops or bad beats. I'm talking about verbal exchanges between players during a hand.

Tulsa's freeroll poker tournaments

Tulsa's freeroll poker tournaments

If you love to play poker but can't afford the tournament buy-ins at casinos, don't sweat it. You can still play the game you love for cash prizes, without the buy-in fees. A tournament is hosted most every night of the week with anywhere from $100 to $200 paid out to the winner(s). A larger freeroll has been held monthly or bi-monthly (depending on venue participation) where the prize pool climbs as high as $1000...

UB.com responds to data leak

UB.com responds to data leakFive days have passed since I sent an email to UB.com to inquire about the leaked customer information published on the internet. You may read the backstory here and here. Today I received their response, as follows...

Update regarding hacked UB.com player account information

Update regarding hacked UB.com player account information
I sent an e-mail to UB.com on Friday to learn the extent of the security breach and determine if my personal information had been released. My primary concern was the unconfirmed and unreliable reports that the information included birth dates, passwords, and social security numbers. If true, this breach of security and trust would be very serious business. Two days later, UB.com has not sent any response, not even to acknowledge receipt of my request for information. However, industry insider Haley Hintze has come to the rescue ...

The imminent death of UB.com (UltimateBet) and Absolute Poker

The imminent death of UB.com (UltimateBet) and Absolute Poker
Once upon a time, four frat boys from Montana, with the father (Phil Tom) of one of those frat boys (Scott Tom) as an investor, started up an online poker site in Aruba. After a merger with another site in Costa Rica...

Latest developments surrounding Full Tilt Poker

After all the reassurances, Full Tilt turned out to be a flimsy house of cards.

Latest developments surrounding Full Tilt Poker
On November 17, 2011, it was widely reported in both the poker media and to a lesser extent the mainstream media that the Groupe Bernard Tapie and the DOJ-SDNY had reached an agreement regarding the purchase of Full Tilt Poker. Essentially, the agreement consists of the following terms...