Don’t have an online poker account? Sign up for Full Tilt Poker here. It’s free!

The Big Little Tournament

When: Every other Sunday- August 15, 29;  September 12, 26;  October 10, 24

Buy-in: Buy-in directly for $2.20, satellites: $0.35 or 5 Player Points

Prize Pool:$100,000 ($80,000 guaranteed)

Late Night Poker

When: Qualifiers will be run on August 15 & September 26

Buy-in: Buy in directly for $300 + $22, or play your way in through a satellite (check site for schedule)

Prize Pool: $12,000 Prize Package and chance to compete for $500,000 on television.

$100,000 Free-roll First Deposit Tournament

When: September 5 (event), Qualify by August 31

Buy-in: Free! Make your first real-money deposit on Full Tilt Poker in August and you’ll receive free entry!

Prize Pool: Win your share of $100,000— for free!

100% Deposit Bonus

When: Ongoing

Buy-in: Deposit money into your real money account and Full Tilt will match your deposit up to $600! Visit Full Tilt for details

Prize Pool: $600 of free money just for signing up!

Poker Millions

When: Qualifier August 22, Satellites to the qualifier run daily

Buy-in: Buy in directly to the Qualifier for $640, or play in a satellite for as little as $26

Prize Pool: Win a $32,000 Prize Package to Europe’s most television poker tv show where you’ll play against the pros for your share of $1.4 million!

Sign up for your free Full Tilt Poker account today

Sign up for your free account now and get in on the action!

$600 First Deposit Bonus

Enter the bonus code ‘STARS600‘ and PokerStars will match 100% of your deposit up to $600. Once you’ve made your deposit simply play online and collect your bonus.

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Empire State Hold’em Championship

Win your $2,500 seat in one of poker’s most prestigious live poker events.  Satellites are being run in a variety of different buy-in amounts, each with Main Event prize packages that includes your tournament entry, expenses and six nights stay at Turning Stone Casino Resort Hotel in Verona. To register, open the PokerStars lobby and click ‘Tourney’ & ‘Regional’. The Main Event takes place August 14-18.

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MicroMania Month

PokerStars is dedicating the month of July to micro-limit players who like to win big bucks while playing for small stakes. Visit PokerStars and check out all the exciting tournaments, live event qualifiers, cash games and value-added player bonuses available for micro-limit players. Enter the code ‘MANIA’ and receive a first deposit bonus up to $600. You’ll also receive a $1.10 Micro Mania ticket with a chance to win big bucks in any of the $1.10 tournaments offered.

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Million Dollar Challenge

Win a spot on poker’s most exciting game show, the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge. Finish in the top 20 in one of the four daily freerolls offered until July 18, then submit a short video of why you should be selected for the show, and you could be playing poker on the big screen for a chance to win $1 million and compete against the top poker pros.

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PokerStars Women

PokerStars is offering a number of satellites to live women-only poker events held throughout the world. If you’re a female poker players looking to test your skills against the poker elite, simply click the Events tab at PokerStars and you can win your seat and expenses to live events in the Bahamas, Monte Carlo and London. Visit PokerStars to learn more.

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Million Dollar Turbo Takedown

Play for $1 million and an Audi TT- for FREE!!! The Million Dollar Turbo Takedown is held the last Sunday of every month and can be entered for 3000 Frequent Player Points (FPPs). No cash buy-in is needed. Don’t have that many player points? No problem. Satellites are offered every day for you to win your seat for only a few FPPs..

As you probably guessed, a poor attention span is not a positive character trait to have at the online poker tables. When I first started out I played mainly in large online tournaments with low buy-ins. I didn’t have much of a bankroll and I was lured in by the prospect of taking home a nice sum of cash for a relatively small investment. One thing these types of tournaments had in common, aside from the large number of players entered, was they all took an extremely long time to complete—often four hours or longer. So in order to have success I had to stay focused for more than just a few minutes at a time. Needless to say, I did not fare too well.

The main problem wasn’t necessarily my inability to pay attention; it was my lack of patience when I was dealt a poor stretch of cards. After a while I would get bored clicking the “Fold” button time and again and would play hole cards I had no business playing, simply because I needed some action. It didn’t take long before I squandered my chips away missing flops and chasing ghosts down the river. I knew I had to be more selective with my decisions if I wanted to succeed, and I knew I had to find a way to be more patient at the tables.

My solution—surf the web and watch TV to stay entertained between hands. What a horrendous idea! Now I was playing cards I should be playing, but playing them poorly as I had absolutely no read on my opponents. While searching EBAY for electric swordfishing reels and center console boats I couldn’t afford, I completely lost touch with the game, thus putting my chips at a major disadvantage.

Eventually, I convinced myself that if I ever wanted to have success playing online poker I had to commit to playing for several hours at a time with complete focus on the game. It was a difficult task at first, until I found a small trick that did wonders—I actually started typing words in the blank “note” boxes provided at online poker sites such as PokerStars.

I found this accomplished two things. One, it kept my focus on the game. By taking notes on not only how my opponents were playing but also on my own game, my eyes never wandered from the monitor and my brain never went on vacation to Cay Sal.

The second thing it did was allow me to keep track of how my opponents played in various situations. This wasn’t a huge advantage as players are constantly rotated in and out during large tournaments, but there were times when I played my cards differently simply because I had a read on my opponent. And when I finally did reach a final table and had to battle it out with the same opponents all the way to the end, the little white boxes paid huge dividends and I finally won my first online poker tournament.

Now, the moral of this article is quite simple, stay focused. But that’s easier said than done, especially when your dog starts barking or your buddy calls and needs a ride home from work.  Yet to succeed at online poker you must commit yourself to the game and eliminate all distractions. Reserve a set amount of time to play online poker each week and make certain that time is for you and only you. Keep your eyes on the prize. Don’t surf the web or watch television while playing. Instead, study your opponents, watch how they play and learn from their strategies. It will make you a better poker player. Watching South Park reruns, as entertaining as they may be, will not.

]]> http://www.thepokersource.com/online-poker-tips/pay-attention/feed 0 http://www.thepokersource.com/online-poker-tips/play-better-poker-learn-from-the-pros-at-full-tilt http://www.thepokersource.com/online-poker-tips/play-better-poker-learn-from-the-pros-at-full-tilt#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 01:12:55 +0000 drew http://www.thepokersource.com/?p=1578 “To become the best, you must first learn from the best.”

I don’t know who uttered the above quote, or even if it was spoken by a historical figure worth quoting. But regardless, it’s excellent advice for novice poker players with ambitions of one day winning it big at the tables.

As with any trade, we study the masters in our field and use their knowledge to better our own skills. Nowhere is this truer than in the poker world, where many of the pros you see on TV earned their starts after reading one of Doyle Brunson or Phil Helmuth’s books on poker.

Today, with the emergence of online poker, there is a completely new and valuable tool for beginner poker players to hone their skills—online poker schools and tutorials.

One online poker school that is molding the next generation of poker players is Full Tilt Poker’s Poker Academy. Full Tilt Poker Academy offers interactive learning tools, over 200 instructional videos, rewards programs, free entries into online poker tournaments, and more.

Watch videos on “Bankroll Building,” “Bluffing,” “Knowing When to Give Up,” “Online Tells,” “Sizing Up Opponents,” “Short Stack Play,” and more. Plus Full Tilt Academy offers lessons and videos by the best in the game, with tutorials and advice from Patrik Antonious, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harmen, Howard Lederer, and loads of other professional poker players.

And best of all, it’s free to attend Full Tilt’s Online Poker Academy. Just visit Full Tilt Poker and sign up for a free account.

Phil Helmuth estimates that Tobey Maguire has won over $10 million playing poker! That’s impressive even for Spiderman.

Where you’ve Seen Him

Tobey Maguire, aka Peter Parker, aka Spiderman, has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors. Born in 1975 in Santa Monica, California, Maguire’s acting career began 1989 when he appeared in the film The Wizard, although his role had no speaking lines. After acting on various televisions shows and commercials throughout the 90s, Maguire’s break came near the end of the decade when he was cast as the lead actor in such films as Pleasantville and The Cider House Roles.

In 2000 Maguire starred in the hit film Wonder Boys, and then in 2002 in Spider-Man. Other notable Maguire films include: Seabiscuit, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Good German and Brothers.

Where He Plays Poker

As recently as 2007 Maguire finished in the money at the World Series of Poker Main Event, exiting in 292^nd place and claiming nearly $40,000 in winnings. Maguire however is referred to as a “cash game specialist,” so he is more likely to be found playing in ring games than in poker tournaments.

Rumor has it that Maguire hosts high-stakes poker games at his Hollywood Hills mansion, where it is estimated that he has won over $10 million!

Best Poker Moment

While winning $10 million is clearly Maguire’s greatest “private” poker accomplishment, arguably his best poker moment in the national spotlight came in 2004 when he won first place in Phil Helmuth’s $2,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em Invitational, walking home with $95, 480, while taking down some outstanding players in the process.

ChipMeUp.com is an extremely valuable resource for up-and-coming poker players who don’t have the large bankrolls needed to play in major poker events.  For example, if Player A wants to play in the World Series of Poker (a $10,000 buy-in) but he only has $5,000 to put towards the tournament, he can sell shares to pay for the remaining $5,000.

If he finishes in the money, the winnings will be divided amongst himself (50%) and the investors (50% of the winnings divided by the number of shares sold). Let’s assume Player A sells 1,000 shares at $5 a share to account for the remaining $5,000. If he wins $1 million in the 2010 World Series of Poker, he will collect $500,000 for himself, and $500,000 for the investors (paying out $500 per share).

As you can see, this can be mutually beneficial for the player and the investor. Investors can turn a quick profit if they buy shares in successful players, and players can win big bucks in high-dollar poker tournaments they normally couldn’t afford to play in.

Getting Staked

The better the player you are, the easier it is to get staked. Poker professionals such as Tony G, rkruok and Kathy Liebert have little difficulty selling shares on the site because they have track records of success. However, beginner poker players without a proven history may find selling shares more difficult for obvious reasons.

If you are interested in signing up for ChipMeUp.com use these tips to help get staked:

-         Buy shares in other players to build up positive feedback

-         Sell shares at a discounted rate

-         Don’t overprice your share values (*see below for information about share values)

-         Be honest and truthful in your profiles and keep them current

-         Join forum discussions

-         Offer ChipMeUp dollars as payment methods

-         Start winning!

After a short time, when people recognize your name and trust that you are a knowledgeable player, people will begin buying your shares.

Share Values

If a player has a history for returning a profit, he will likely sell his shares at a Price/Value markup that is of fair value to the return on investment.

For example, if Player B shows a history of a +30% return on investment, he may elect to sell his shares for more than true value- example, selling a share valued at $10 for $11. He would be selling his shares at 110% Price/Value. Basically, it is the same concept of betting on a favorite to win in a sporting event.

Buying Shares

Things to consider when purchasing shares:

-         Research the players you invest in. Do they have a positive return on investment? How often have they finished in the money?

-         What is the share value the player is asking? Does it match the player’s history? Stay away from players selling shares for a price/value that exceeds his or her expected return on investment.

-         Is it a trusted player? Does he or she interact on the forums; stay up-to-date on profiles, etc? Do other players invest in this player?

-         How have they faired recently?

-         Does the player consistently finish in the money? Be aware of stats that may be skewed by one successful event. A player may have cashed in big on one event, while not finishing in the money in all other events. Was the player just lucky for that one event? Go with consistent players who always seem to finish in the money.

Final Thoughts

ChipMeUp.com seems to be a reliable site for both players and investors. We really enjoy the concept ChipMeUp has started and believe it to be a valuable tool for future poker stars as well as savvy investors. The fact the poker professionals use the site to get staked us trust the site’s legitimacy. We have read several reviews stating that ChipMeUp pays out in a timely fashion, and we have come across very little negative feedback from players or investors.

ChipMeUp.com seems to be a reputable site and we encourage players as well as investors to give it a try and let us know what you think. Before signing up for an account we recommend visiting ChipMeUp.com and reading the FAQs in addition to browsing the forums for tips from other players and investors.

-thepokersource.com-