Top Poker Hands

More than once, I have been asked, and more than once, I have read some experts' lists on the world's Best Poker Players. My own list contains 20 of them all, and I'll give you five of them. First is Stu Ungar, but owing to the fact that he is dead, I will not go into details. After all, assuming you know your poker, then you know how great this guy was-I am referring to poker strength, not the vices that he took on. Second would be Phil Hellmuth, and in YOUR OWN LIST, if this guy is not among the world's Best Poker Players, then it must be a grocery list that you have there, no offense. At the age of 24, he became the youngest World champion (akin to Garry Kasparov of chess world). Third would be Daniel Negreanu- Card Player magazine gave him the accolades of being "Player of the year"- which is not a thing to belittle. Negreanu already has at least 30 competition victories, and many of them are contests where the very best joined in. Fourth in my list of world's Best Poker Players would be Esfandiary - by profession a magician, he could boast of 3 WPT finals under his belt. Last but not least would be Hansen- one of the most aggressive combatants of the game, he has already won 3 WPT contests.

There are (for me) basically two kinds of poker pros- the celebrity-pros, and the "private" kind of pro. The celebrity-pros are those known all over the world by the mere mention of the name, like- Moneymaker, Mike the Mouth (although this guy could be called notorious as well), and Annie Duke. Well, Jennifer Tilly must belong to an altogether different category, for she is a Hollywood celeb literally. Now, we go to the second kind, these are those whom you need to "research on", if you wish to know more about him/her, and Tamas Gabor Kovacs is one of them. (Of course, everything could change, if he joins WSOP 2008 and lands in the Finals, he would graduate from this class to the celeb-class). Let me give you some things about Tamas Gabor Kovacs, he is also called "Mactom", forty years old, and has two kids. His passion is on NL Holdem, favorite movies (just two among others) are Saving Private Ryan (mine too) and Sunshine (not mine). His fave place is Kauai and Tom Hanks is his favorite celeb. He made the poker elite notice him when he landed second place at the Austrian Classics of 2007, he won $52,910 in that event. (I have a friend who boasts that he knows Tamas Gabor Kovacs personally, but nobody believes him. He used to boast that he taught Evelyn Ng how to play the game in Russia. When we pointed out that this poker lady is not Russian, and probably has never been to Russia, he simply said that he was referring to another Evelyn Ng, one that we've never heard of).

Let me give this scenario first, you have bought 3 or 4 (physical) books on poker, studied them at length, you have practiced quite a lot online, yet when it comes to online tourneys in your favorite site, you've noticed that you could not finish in the top 20%. Why is this so: I'll give you two (actually related) possible reasons: first, those 20 percent- almost all of them are Poker Tracker players, and second reason, you are not. These Poker Tracker players, what do they enjoy(?)- they could go back to each move they have done, they could check on every error they have made. This could be done if you have either of the two: a superhuman memory, or a Poker Tracker, let us stick to the latter. Poker Tracker players are able to use hand histories to record all moves made in the game, and how are they stored? These data are captured through files (hard drive) or via emails. Just as important, Poker Tracker players are able to study the styles of the opposition, and going back to the first paragraph, the reason you (if ever) keep on landing at that 80% is that these players have studied your statistics/style very meticulously.

Without mentioning its name, my friend Olack (that is the real name, up to now, I do not know his nationality, he refuses to say it- but my best guess is Hungarian) is about to put up a players club poker. When I asked him what his reasons are (outside making money), he said he wanted to "be of service to the multitudes". Wow, it almost sounded like biblical, but hey, he said all these: that the advantages of joining HIS players club poker are: the member could avail of all the following- poker videos, referrals for affodable one-on-one coaching, brochures and materials. When I asked him if he would do the coaching himself, he said no. When I asked him if the "coaches" would be actual professionals like Moneymaker, he answered- 'surely not Chris, but you would be surprised". Knowing how obnoxious this friend of mine is, I really would be surprised if he manages to get the services of a real pro, oh well. So why am I saying all this if I would not give you Olack's number? This is because, I am sure, most clubs out there hold the same offerings as mentioned. I asked him also, 'Can I get to meet J Tilly in person if I join your players club poker?'- he rolled his eyes to the heaven and said, 'If that is all you want, get in touch with a Hollywood agent, pay him money and he'll introduce you to her'. Such a character (my friend, not Tilly)- oh well, if he would give free beers every time I go to his players club poker, I might just join.

Let me talk about the World Poker Tour, it was the very first TV weekly show of the genre in the US. This was the first program where you would (as the spectator) see the hole cards of the player (Poker Tour World) as the action unfolded. It was made feasible due to the miniature camera, and the Finals game was filmed when there were just 6 competitors. Realziing what cards the player (Poker Tour World) has gives the thrill of watching, the spectator fully knows if this guy is bluffing, or if he is not. Concrete analysis is done by notable personalities Van Patten and Mike Sexton. If you are a fan of Shana Hiatt (part of the show too), then you do know that she does her own commentaries. Even if you have never been a player (Poker Tour World) of the show, watching the show would serve as a learning tool. It is an ideal way of seeing reactions from the pros, the real pros I mean- as opposed to your casino veteran who is nothing but air in terms of bragging. Indeed, with no less than fifty million poker buffs in America, this genre of poker show would keep on running- and I for one, would keep on watching.

I hate to say this, but there are still those who do not know what Full Tilt is, so here goes. It is a Net poker room that started operations four years ago. The room has two principal components, one that offers real gambling, while the fulltiltpoker.net is for those who are contented with play-money in their games. What are the games offered: a lot, and this is a major reason why the typical player Full Tilt poker stays on with the room. They are HOSE, HORSE, Stud HL, 7-card, Razz, and naturally, the bread and butter- Holdem. If the NBA had what they called the "Dream Team", it could be argued that the official squad of Full Tilt is the strongest possible lineup in today's generation of poker warriors, with all due respect to the nearest competitors. I mean, let me give one full-fledged Player Full Tilt Poker- Lederer. Another Player Full Tilt Poker- Phil Ivey, and one more, Ferguson. OK...so you want more, I'll give most of them: (sponsored, but not full-fledged members)- Michael Craig, Perry Friedman, David Chiu, Layne Flack, Farzad Bonyadi, John D'Agostino, David Grey, Carlos Mortensen, Karina Jett, Paul Wasicka, Berry Johnston. There, if you want to know literally everybody, I will leave you to your own devices, after all, Full Tilt is easily accessible, even if you are not going to play.

In case you have been too busy with your (non-gambling) work or your family issues, then this might have escaped your attention- Chip player poker professional has passed away some months back. That is Chip Reese, lest you think of somebody else. Chip player poker professional was a combination of intellect and a great deal of poise, and he was just fifty-six when he left us. One of the most renowned magazines interviewed Chip player poker professional sometime back, and he said that he could put one hundred thousand on the line, yet feel nothing. He said this: if one thinks about the cash and its possible repercussions, the money is gone- very well said, let that be a strong tip for you newbies. Chip player poker professional reigned as king in 3 WSOPs, but according to many, his actual passion was to do 'battle' with the high rollers in exclusive games. According to a top official of WSOP, he considers Chip player poker professional as the "greatest cash player who ever lived", and while I will not agree with it, I see the point. A bit of trivia for you: he was the nineteenth player to be inducted into that most prestigious of lists- Poker Hall of Fame.

Let me make one thing clear before we talk about the cheat Party Poker program, I am not a favorite fan of Party Poker, but I do respect the fact that it is one of the most popular sites at present. About this cheating issue, I will simply give you what I've been reading at the online fora, as well as what a friend keeps on telling me. Mind you, this friend is not a bum, he has been engaged in 5 or more varying online rooms for so long now. He used to be a regular of Party Poker, but not anymore. Read it yourself guys, and I'll let you judge for yourself. If you don't know it yet, there are programs (Poker Tracker immediately comes to mind) which make it possible to monitor histories of hands (at the sites). According to some posters (persons posting ONLINE, not the posters on the wall) at some fora, they actually know of some unscrupulous individuals who have made a variation of the Poker Tracker, and are now using it as a cheat Party Poker program. I asked a friend of mine, who knows zero about poker but is one hell of a computer/program expert if such a thing is possible, his answer? "Well, I seriously doubt it-but NOWADAYS, anything is possible. You know, people keep on saying, there are just a few computer system/program experts capable of cheating poker rooms, they are wrong. There's a whole great bunch of them out there".

The question who is the strongest/best player poker in the world (or just best player poker world) would always bring forth heated debates all around. I will give you what 3 of my friends say about the matter. The best player poker world according to my friend #1 (this friend has 40 years of casino experience, actually, he almost finished a book for publication): Daniel Negreanu- awarded with "Card Player magazine's Player of the Year" for 2004. In one year ONLY, he amassed more than four million dollars in tourney winnings. The best player poker world according to my friend #2 (he is a professional poker tutor, the low-key type)- Phil Hellmuth, hell, (ehr, no pun intended)- NEED I SAY MORE, NEED I INTRODUCE THIS LEGEND? The best player poker world according to my friend #3: (a high-roller, fact is, I think he is on first-name basis with half of Hollywood's celebs)- Marcel Luske. Well, Luske is European, and the fact that this high-roller is also European may dilute the objectivity of his assertion. Still, Marcel Luske is AMONG the best in the world. Way back in 2005, he was all over the map of the globe, engaging in so many competitions- oh, you know what he is called? The 'flying Dutchman', which for me is, kind of scary- sounds like a ghost ship or something.

This genre of card game, otherwise known as Tri-card, is done between the gambler and the dealer, using a traditional set of cards. First 3 Card Player Poker Rule: aim of the game would be to have a stronger hand than game's dealer, and take note, the ranking of hands is not exactly the same as that of the traditional five-card game. One crucial 3 Card Player Poker Rule for you is to have these memorized of course- from strongest to weakest: the straight flush, three-of-a-kind, straight, then the flush, after which comes the one pair and then the much-maligned high card holding. Object of this game is to wager on whether he would get a hand (a pair) or stronger. Gambler could then wager on either/both games, yet, the bets are not necessarily the same sums. Another 3 Card Player Poker Rule- when the ante has been placed, the gambler receives three cards (faceup) while the dealer gets three (unexposed). Gambler would now fold, or lose the ante, or do a raise the same as the sum of the ante involved. Assuming he raises, the dealer would be forced to show his holdings.