a view on poker from a dodgy position

You cannot be surprised that the recession has hit the poker industry in the UK with the live poker game suffering the most according to Mintel, the market research company.

According to the report under the provocative heading ‘Poker…a busted flush?’ Mintel state that gross gaming yield dropped from £265 million in 2008 to £247 million in 2009. With almost a third admitting to have changed their playing habits due to the recession.

The biggest loser has been live poker which has been labelled as boring. Which surprises me because my live pub games have been said to have resembled the decadence during the fall of the Roman Empire.

I think the problem with the live game is that there is nothing to do if you get knocked out early, also, most casino frown on table banter. The reason for this is that it can get out of hand and turn into abuse. Depending on the persons involved this can lead to fights. The trick is keeping it sweet, which is quite hard since people hate to lose even if its for small stakes or even play chips. I think I may have cracked the problem of boring live games, since my versions of live poker do seem to be popular.

With the online game it is well overdue for Poker 2,0 or even 3.0 if you take 3D poker and social networks as Poker 2.0. As you may have read me go on about it, ad nauseum <LINK 1>, <LINK 2>,online poker needs a new technological bounce to put fresh impetus into the game. There are people working on it and soon I maybe able to send out some good news on that front.

In the end the popularity of poker is like losing your virginity once you have done it you will always go back for seconds.

Sometime ago I wrote a piece about the next generation for online poker. Sadly nothing seems to be happening at the moment, although there seems to be a lot of research and ultimately it is all about technology and social interaction.

What I am doing - apart from moaning about being bored with losing on the poker tables - is trying to build a team for more live games and promotions. The fruit of my endeavour will be available soon, but don’t hold your breath as you may be holding it for a long time…

Got these gems from some of my online buddies and its all about making yourself the center of attention and hopefully getting the players to play the way you want them to play.

REMEMBER!

If in doubt Raise, if the cards look pretty Raise, if you want to play the hand Raise, failing that fold.

Obviously this is a very blunt way of playing the noble game of hustlers and rogues and you should always play the situation first, but in the end can anyone come up with a better strategy?

Preparation for Live Tournament Play

1) Spend all of today watching YouTube videos on chip riffling.

2) Ditto the above re card shuffling.

3) Beg, steal or borrow a rap superstar hoodie. If all else fails, nip into town and obtain a sports one.

4) Dig out those vintage Ray Bahns.

5) Continually annoy the table by “forgetting” to put in your blinds.

6) Always say - “Sorry is it me to go? I fold.”

7) If……you make it to the first break, continually bore your new found “friends” with such stories as - “I had to call him. I put him on air. Hey, that’s the firs time in eons that I’ve hit runner, runner when my tournament life’s has been put on the line. It’s usually me that gets sucked out on……”

8 ) Bubble

9) Go onto a poker forum following day and inform everyone of the “shocking standard of live play”

10) Go to bed with the mantra “I’m a winner goddamit! I’ll show those f*cking shmuks next time” reverberating ad finitum in your head.

11) Go straight to the casino from work on the building site without washing.

12) Wear too much jewellery.

12) Tell whoever is listening about how you can’t go to Vegas due to some sort previous criminal conviction.

13) Order a crisp sandwich from the waitress and munch it messily over the table while making a decision.
14) Suck out loudly and ungraciously.

15) Be an utter sleazebag to the hot lady dealer.

16) When there’s a multi-way all-in with side pots, get stuck in trying to sort it all out, especially if you’re not in the hand.

17) Mess about with your iPod when the dealer wants a decision.

18) Make farting noises when someone has just lost a big pot.

19) Shake the hand of a loser who went all in with a pair of two’s and say hard luck.

20) When someone shows there hand to you, refuse to do the same even though you won.

have you got a live poker tournament to advertise then why not take up our offer of a free slot to promote your live tournament. If this is what you want then drop me an email via this link <CONTACT PAGE>.

If you have a online poker tournament please submit for verification and as long as the tournament is a cool tournament then it will be advertised.

I have noticed that I play very different online than I play live. Why this is I don’t know but I tend to take more risk when I am online and will call hands when the odds maybe against me.

So now I have divulged that I will be reckless with 20% of my hands wail I see more people seeing my play or could I have been lying…who knows…!