Poker is hypnotic. A siren call. We enter a weird expensive world in a kind of trance. It takes years to get our brains right and generate profit. So the road to that exquisite Maserati is nothing if not crooked. I had met Big Nick in 2014. He ran two 1-2 tables over a dive […]
The post Grind Like The Big Kids appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
For most poker players it’s the first programmed bluff we learn. We raise pre-flop, get called, and bet the flop. We’ve made a continuation bet or C-bet. The idea behind the play is simple and effective. By raising pre-flop we’ve announced we have a strong hand. Continuing the aggression post-flop indicates to our opponent we […]
The post Moram C-bet!: Continuation-Betting In Live $1/$2 appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
You fold because in live cash you answer to no one. You fold because reckless tribal hero calls are for sissies. You fold because you cherish your stack and every dollar counts. You fold because on his own the bully in seat nine will destroy himself. You fold because being pot-committed is a fairy tale. […]
The post LOW-STAKES LIVE: FOLD FOR LOVE appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Every poker session is an opportunity to learn. I observed the following hand at a Caesar’s Palace $1/2 game and since I was not directly involved in the action, the lesson had the added benefit of being completely free. An early position player limps, a middle position player makes it $12, and the big blind […]
The post Hand-Reading Heroics: An Interesting Call At $1/$2 appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
As in countless Westerns, poker was used merely as an index of male virility. — Anthony Holden, Big Deal — Let’s finally make the strip-club sign ours: Girls! Girls! Girls! Barriers be gone. Everyone wants to make poker more inviting so hoards of women show up to play. Female players have always stormed the barricades […]
The post WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
A couple of years ago in the small hours of a Wednesday morning I found myself playing a rare $1/$2 session at the Venetian. I didn’t recognize anyone at the table, but not knowing the regulars in this room I wasn’t sure of the tourist-local balance. Since the game seemed pleasantly non-threatening I settled in. […]
The post Style: Which Playing Style Wins At $1/$2? appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Which of the following statements is true? There is a readily-available casino promotion that returns three to four dollars on every dollar invested. It is possible to play rake-free poker in casino card rooms. It turns out that, in a sense, both are true thanks to the little slot on the left of the poker […]
The post Freerolls: The Vegas Grinder’s Magic Money Tree appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
When you three-bet, you’re gearing up to play a big pot, so you ought to come strapped. “What are the best hands to three-bet?” This is one of the most common questions I get from students of no-limit hold ’em. To the extent that the folks asking this question are looking for a simple answer […]
The post What to Three Bet appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
In my previous article, I offered a theoretical analysis of factors to consider when you have the opportunity to re-raise, or three-bet, an opponent before the flop in no-limit hold ’em (though many of these same factors will be relevant in other games as well, no-limit hold ’em is the one I know best and […]
The post Evaluating Three Bet Opportunities appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Poker players could learn a lot from casinos. One can make a case that the only reason poker is a profitable game for skilled players is that downswings happen. You may regard them as somewhere between mildly annoying to mentally crushing, but if you step back and look at the bigger picture, it’s hard to […]
The post Poker Downswings: The Final Mental-Game Frontier appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Ace King is simple to play when it folds to you preflop: just raise. But AK becomes so much trickier when someone else raises before you. Should you call their raise? Should you 3bet? Should you do a bit of both? The answer isn’t always super clear. The truth is that the answer of “should […]
The post Ace King: Call Or 3Bet Preflop? appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
I would suggest that the use of the word “opening” in chess and poker is more than a semantic coincidence. In both instances a solid opening sets up later advantage. Many successful chess players have transitioned to poker, either as a relaxing sideline or as a major source of income. Alexander Grischuk and Peter Svidler […]
The post Poker For Chess Players appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Most of my poker success is based on doing what Ed Miller has told me to do. One piece of advice from several of his books never really made sense to me: “Betting patterns come in and out of fashion and you must be aware of these changes.” While this is not an exact quote […]
The post Betting Trends: The Changing Face of Donk Bets appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
This is the first article in a series aimed at cash game players looking to get into tournaments. Like my $1/$2 series this is designed as entry-level information. For those wanting to take their tournament game to a higher level, our PRO and CORE subscriptions provide plenty of great information created by RCP tournament pros. […]
The post Poker Tournaments #1 – Rake, Structure And Mindset appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
As I explained in the first article of this series, my primary goal is to facilitate an easy transition for cash-game players who want to get into tournaments. The bulk of the series will focus on live tournaments, but online tournaments for many provide an excellent first step. Naturally there are considerable geographical variations in […]
The post Tournaments #2: Online Poker Tournaments appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
A couple of years ago we published a well-received two-part series aimed at Magic: The Gathering players interested in making the transition to poker. This was motivated, at least in part, by the observation that many of the “young guns” appearing on the poker scene around 2000 had a MTG background. The big blip on […]
The post Poker For Hearthstone Players appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Lee Davy has experienced poker from all sides, as a player, writer and everything in between. Today we discuss how his passion for poker led him to a long a fulfilling career in the gambling industry. In addition to his widely read work with gambling industry site CalvinAyre.com, he hosts The Alcohol & Addiction Podcast, […]
The post Parlaying Poker Into A Fulfilling Career appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Johnny Kampis was your average poker player until he decided to take a shot at the Main Event. The thrilling journey was captured in his book Vegas Or Bust: A Family Man Takes On The Poker Pros, and this week he’s on the podcast to give us a behind-the-scenes look at his WSOP Main Event […]
The post Taking Your Shot At The Main Event appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
Which of the following statements is true? There is a readily-available casino promotion that returns three to four dollars on every dollar invested. It is possible to play rake-free poker in casino card rooms. It turns out that, in a sense, both are true thanks to the little slot on the left of the poker […]
The post Freerolls: The Vegas Grinder’s Magic Money Tree appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
When you three-bet, you’re gearing up to play a big pot, so you ought to come strapped. “What are the best hands to three-bet?” This is one of the most common questions I get from students of no-limit hold ’em. To the extent that the folks asking this question are looking for a simple answer […]
The post What to Three Bet appeared first on Red Chip Poker.
