| Subcribe via RSS

Disastrous Haiti Quake Pulls Poker Players Together to Rally for Aid

April 13th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in News

The tragic earthquake that rolled through the Caribbean nation of Haiti sent rippled around the globe, triggering many to want to do something to help out the victims whose homeland was almost totally laid to waste. However, it was not only governments and charities that leapt up to send aid as fast as possible, it was also poker players from around the globe who united over digital mediums such as Twitter in order to prod public support for the victims. The island country became a focal point for many pro level players who leveraged their star power to raise awareness of the Haitian people and to ask their fans and competitors to donate to the cause, even donating themselves and taking part in ‘dummy tournaments’ to help raise money via massively popular online poker sites that they regularly patronize. Poker luminaries Howard Lederer and JC Alvarado were two such examples, each of them using their favorite sites to help pitch in. Many big online casinos also promised to match donations, creating a big cash pool to give to charities that could directly assist the Haitian victims.

In an already impoverished nation, the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised so quickly are going to go a long way towards bringing the country back to a level that allows it to take care of its citizenry. Aid groups have praised the players, crossing religious and social boundaries to congratulate the poker community on standing up for people in need and contributing valuable monetary contributions to the international relief efforts.

Key to Beginner’s Luck in Online Poker is Playing Fewer Hands Research Proves

April 13th, 2010 | Comments Off | Posted in News

Many who are new to the world of online poker are making some very critical errors, according to recent research conducted by academics at Cornell University. According to the newly released studies, those who play fewer hands are much more likely to get better rates of actual wins than those who play large numbers of hands. The researchers have explained that this phenomenon is due largely to the fact that over time, beginners forget to tally their losses the same way that they do with their wins, thus giving them a false level of confidence in how well they are playing the game. By playing fewer hands, those who are just starting out are able to get a much better and more math based understanding of the online poker world and how the games flow so that they can keep track of their odds more easily. Since the study was conducted by experienced poker players with extensive academic experience, it has gained real traction in the poker world where outsiders are often seen as being purely critical of the culture and its favorite past time. These researchers had no such issue convincing the players they knew what they were talking about.

One other fact that many were mildly surprised by had to do with the way that hands are played. Researchers discovered that for those just starting their poker careers, the best choices for them were often smaller numbered pairs as opposed to pairs of 10’s, 9’s or 8’s. The reason for this is that players knew right away that the lower numbered pairs were not worth trying to win with, but the higher numbered pairs would lure them to keep them and then end up losing. This effect on new player’s wagering decisions proved detrimental to the surprise of researchers.