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Poker FreeRolls

In conjunction with WinnerOnline.com, we’ve teamed up with InterPoker to offer you an EXCLUSIVE series of InterPoker Free-Roll tournaments called Backroom Tournaments, with prize funds of up to $1,000!
To participate in any one of these tournaments all you need to do is click here, download the InterPoker software and register an account.
Once you have your account details, open the InterPoker software and go to the Multi Table Tournament lobby and click on the Backroom tournament.
pop up screen will appear requesting you to input the Backroom Tournament password. Remember the tournament is FREE if you have the password!! Players places are limited so please register early to avoid disappointment. The next tournament will be held on 18th December at 11pm EST (4am GMT).The password is SAURON   Full Story

EARLY, MIDDLE, AND LATE IN POKER LINGO

Dear Mark,
Please settle a dispute I have with my wife. In video poker, which start-up hand is more valuable, one with an ace or one with a jack? My wife believes neither as you get your money back with either once paired up. I believe the jack is because you can make more paying hands with it. Also, what about two aces versus two jacks as a starter hand?
Steve S.

In Jacks-or-better video poker, Steve, a lone Jack is worth more than an Ace. True, paired up after the draw they are hands of equal value, but thinking of straights and straight flushes, a Jack is a better starter card than an Ace. The Jack can be part of a 7-8-9-10-J; or 8-9-10-J-Q; or a 9-10-J-Q-K, straight flush, whereas, other than sharing a mutual royal flush, the only other straight flush an Ace can make is an Ace-2-3-4-5. The same reasoning applies for straights.
By and large, two Jacks as starters are worth exactly the same as two Aces in Jacks-or-better video poker. Both hands return your money if you draw no supporting cards. The same value holds true for three Jacks versus Three aces, and a four-of-a-kind for either hand. However, video poker also offers various “Bonus” games where four Aces pay quite a bit more than four Jacks do. On these bonus games, a pair of Aces would definitely be worth more than two Jacks.

Dear Mark,
I have played video poker for a long time, successfully I might add, but one hand keeps hexing me. Anytime I get three of a kind with a need to draw two cards, I rarely get a full house or a fourofakind. I figure the odds of getting either hand are not overwhelming, but I was wondering what they actually were.
Calvin H.

Cursed or not, Calvin, drawing to a full house or a four-of-a-kind should happen more often than once in a blue moon. In your case, when you discard the two cards of little value, for instance, you keep three aces and throw away a nine of diamonds and a five of clubs, odds are you will improve your hand to either to a full house or four aces 10.4% of the time.

Dear Mark,
You briefly mentioned in a past column the importance of position in Texas Hold’em. What did you mean by that?
Dale O.

What position is NOT, Dale, is your bun warming seat assignment in a game. Position refers to your place at the table relative to other players who are active in a particular pot. The early positions in an eight-handed game like Texas Hold’em are the first three players to act on their hands; the middle positions would be the next three, and the late positions are the last two. Late position is the superior position for you, since you have the advantage of knowing what your opponents have done. Unless game rules force you to act first, you always have position over anyone sitting immediately to your right, since you act on your hand after the player to your right takes action, quite likely giving you useful information.

Also, Dale, you will hear announcers on the World Poker Tour confide that a player just made a position bet. What he means is that a player made a wager more on the strength of his position than on the strength of his hand. Many players, myself included, are more liberal about the hands they will play from a late position. For example, a pair of deuces or a suited Ace/deuce as a starter hand in Texas Hold’em would warrant some action in late position. Yet, if I were in early position, and though the hand initially looked appealing, I generally wouldn’t play it.

Who’s Been Naughty And Who’s Been Nice

Which online casino companies have been treating their customers poorly, changing terms, slow paying, etc. How about the ones that have been doing a great job?
Everyday the good and bad is discussed in the “Best And Worst Online Casinos” section of WinnerOnline.com’s message boards.
Right now there are many live topics about the good and the bad out there.
Check it out.   Full Story

Week 15 NFL Picks

As we did in the last issue of the Gambling Newsletter, which proved to be very popular, we are going to take a look at the NFL plays for Week 15, tapping into a “top Play” thread from one of the most respected sports handicapping forums on the Internet. In this thread, their talented members provide their top plays from the NFL each week. Many of their handicappers are having solid winning seasons in the NFL so far.
Check out all the NFL picks for Week 15.   Full Story

Happy Holidays to all.
It certainly is an exciting time of year for most, regardless of how you celebrate. It usually involves family, food, fun and healthy doses of each.
But it’s also a time when an online gambler can get himself, or herself, into a tough situation. Daily patterns are different, there is more time off, parties to be attended, in some cases an increase in the consumption of alcohol and an overall increase in stress, both good and bad.
None of the above is conducive to healthy play at your favorite online casino. Don’t let holiday financial stress send you for a few more hours of video poker, or a few drinks alter your judgment in terms of online play.
By all means, continue to enjoy the games, have fun playing all season, but be cognizant of the unique environment the holiday season brings, and the challenges that might come with it.
Play responsibly and have a great holiday.

Steve Johnson, Editor
editor@gamblingnewsletter.com