From Hardcore Poker- Logan,
In the early rounds of multi table tournaments you want to stick to a very tight aggressive strategy. You should play only the top hands such as pocket pairs and AK, AQ, etc. You also need to be careful not to get all in post flop with only one pair. When the chip stacks are so big compared to the blinds, alot of players will call with anything and hope to hit a monster flop. If you can get all in preflop with AA or KK, this is a great situation, but you want to avoid races until the later stages of the tournament when they are unavoidable. Alot of players play almost anything in the early rounds because chip stacks are so huge compared to blinds. Some players will get lucky and flop a flush when they play hands like 9 7 suited, but since the odds are approx 118-1 of flopping a flush, most of the time you will be just throwing your money away. Too many times players with flop a straight draw or flush draw and throw away too many chips trying to hit their draw. When you miss, you are losing too many valuable chips, which will leave you short stacked. You want to keep your stack size as big as possible and hope to double up when you hit a set or get a premium hand like AA or KK. The most important thing in the early rounds is survive them and only play top hands which will give you a chance to double up.
During the middle rounds of a multi table tournament, reading your opponents becomes more important. In the early rounds, sticking to a very tight, aggressive strategy should get you through to the middle rounds. During the middle rounds, you want to be able to use the reads you have on your opponents more and play a wider variety of hands. If the players in the blinds are weak, you should try to steal the blinds, even if you don't have good cards. If you always notice a certain player calling pre-flop with anything, but you know they will fold if you put in a re-raise, then go ahead and attack them. You don't want to be a total kamikaze in the middle rounds, but you should loosen up your starting hand requirements and use reads that you have gained to your advantage.
How you play the middle rounds will also depend on your stack size at this point. If you are short stacked, you will have to push all in before you get blinded down too far. Try to find a good spot to push all in. You don't want to re-raise all in with a marginal hand when there are already callers. If you can't find a good hand, try to move all in when the pot is unopened and there are not many players to act behind you.
If you are a medium stack, you should use your reads to make good plays. Be aggressive against weak players and small stacks. Be more cautious against larger stacks or very aggressive players. Try to stick to a fairly tight aggressive strategy, at the same time mixing your play up to keep opponents guessing. Often too many medium stacks think they don't have enough chips and will end up going all in with marginal hands. Be patient, and remember that a medium stack is usually only one double up away from becomming a large stack.
If you are a large stack, use your stack to bully smaller stacks when you have good position or you know your oppenents are very tight/weak. Don't raise too many pots with marginal cards, just because you are the big stack. Too much of this and you will quickly lose your stack. Be aware of small stacks whose only move is all in due to their stack size. You don't want to double them up by calling their all in with bad cards.
The key to the final rounds of a multi table tournament are reads and selective aggression. Once you reach the final table of a multi table tournament you will not be seeing any new opponents. Hopefully by this stage you will have played with many of these opponents earlier in the tournament and have a good read on them. It is very important to trust your reads and use them in making your decisions.
Usually the person who ends up winning a multi table tournament is someone who is aggressive and willing to take some chances. This means that you will have to loosen up a little. If you are on the button and their are no callers, you should raise it up to try and take down the blinds. Some multi table tournaments require that players also post antes in the final rounds. In this case, aggression is even more important as their will be alot of money in the pot pre-flop. When you are in position, you can play a much wider variety of hands aggressively. This should help you accumulate some extra chips. If you notice a tight or weak opponent, play very aggressively against them. The only players you want to avoid aggressive play against are those who are themselves very aggressive. These players may be better to trap. Don't try to bully them with marginal hands as they will be likely to play back at you.
You will also need to decide whether your goal is to try to win the tournament even if it means you may bust our early at the final table, or whether your goal is to play it safer and try to last as long as possible. If your goal is to win the tournament, you will need to be willing to gamble with hands such as middle pairs or hands like AQ, AJ. In order to win the tournament you will have to win some races and get lucky a few times. If you goal is just to hang on as long as possible, then you will want to stick to a very tight aggressive strategy where you only play the best hands or play good hands when you are in position.
As more players are eliminated, the value of your starting hands will go up. While A7is not a good starting hand in early position when you have 10 players left, it is very good when you are five handed. You will need to play more hands as the table becomes smaller. Usually the player who wins will be one who plays aggressively, but is also able to read their opponents well.
When you are down to 2 or three handed, it is all pre flop play and reading your opponents. The blinds will probably be very high compared to your stack and you can't afford to make loose calls preflop. You need to read your oppponents well and either fold or play your hand very aggressively.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Suspicious Disconnection by Poker Grump
Rakewell from Las Vegas is the author of this informative article on Disconnection in a game, and how Poker Stars deals with suspicious use of it and letters from players in general.You can find the article in his blog with other interesting postings.
Are you curious what PokerStars does when you report a possible instance of abuse of the disconnection protection feature? I was, because before the incident I mentioned earlier, I had never noticed what I considered to be a suspicious disconnection. Well, today I found out what they do about it.
(A word of explanation for those who don't play online or otherwise haven't faced this issue. Suppose your Internet connection goes dead in the middle of a hand. You have money in the pot, but cannot act when it's your turn. What should the site do? It seems unfair that you would have to just reliquish all claim to the pot as if you had folded. After all, you might have the best hand. Conversely, if somebody else has the best hand, it's unfair to him to simply give you back whatever you had put into the pot, which is another possible solution to the problem. The most common compromise is the all-in protection. This means that the site temporarily acts as if the amount you had put into the pot at the time of the disconnection is all that you had on the virtual table. The hand plays out. You cannot lose any more money, but you also cannot win from any other player more than what you had in the pot when the disconnection occurred. Other players still in the hand can continue betting, creating a side pot for which you are not eligible. It's a pretty good solution, but some players are known to abuse it. If there is a situation in which a player has a fair amount of money in the pot, but he's unsure whether he's ahead or behind, he doesn't want to fold and lose what he has already invested in the hand, but he also is fearful that he'll have to put in a lot more money before the hand is done, and he doesn't want to do that, because he's not sure he's going to win. So he pulls the plug on himself. It limits his potential gain, but also limits his potential loss. The sites consider this an abuse of the disconnection protection system.)
Here's the email I got a few hours after reporting the possible abuse:
Hello Robert,
Thank you for bringing your concerns to our
attention. The integrity of our site and games are of utmost importance to us,
and as such, we take any hint of unethical play extremely seriously. I have
completed my investigation into the play of 'BTB13'.
The first
thing to do in such cases is look at the hand in question. We consider an all in
to be suspicious if the user is facing action, or the prospect of action, with a
medium strength or drawing hand. Indeed I would term this a somewhat
suspicious all in.
That said one hand neither proves or disproves
abuse; with all in abuse cases, we look at *all* of a player's recent all in
protection hands.
Hands with all in protection can generally be
classified into one of three
categories:
1) Suspicious, where
the player holds a medium strength or drawing hand, and is facing action or the
likelihood of action
2) Neutral, where the player holds a hand of
no value, and disconnects facing small action (the most common of these is to
disconnect in the blinds preflop)
3) Unfavorable, where the player
holds a hand that is clearly worth betting, and disconnects instead, costing him
the chance to bet. This also includes hands where the player disconnects preflop
and has his hand folded, or when facing no action post flop - without the
likelihood of action from the remaining players
For all in abusers,
we look for a pattern whereby the player's connection history shows almost all
suspicious all in protections, a few neutrals, and essentially no unfavorable
disconnections.
In reviewing this players connection history for
the past couple of months I find that this player generally has an average
connection to the site.
With that said whilst the player has logged
plenty of hours on the site there were only a few other hands where the all in
protection was used.
Of those other hands there was definitely no
noticeable pattern. In fact I found many hands where disconnection was
clearly unfavorable to the player. The following hand is the
case:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PokerStars
Game #19349887999: Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($2/$4) -
2008/08/04 -
09:39:40 (ET)
Table 'Catriona' 6-max Seat #4 is the button Seat 1: moobaC
($81 in chips) Seat 2: razvan1ian ($148 in chips) Seat 3: Jovanella ($129 in
chips) Seat 4: mile.p1 ($118.50 in chips) Seat 5: BTB13 ($84 in chips) Seat 6:
Mighty Chub ($147 in chips)
BTB13: posts small blind $1
Mighty Chub: posts
big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
moobaC: raises $2 to $4
razvan1ian:
raises $2 to $6
Jovanella: folds
razvan1ian said, "master of the
89"
mile.p1: folds
BTB13: calls $5
Mighty Chub: folds
razvan1ian
said, "mile p1"
moobaC: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
BTB13: discards 1
card
moobaC: discards 2 cards
razvan1ian: discards 2 cards
BTB13: bets
$2
moobaC: calls $2
razvan1ian: raises $2 to $4
BTB13: raises $2 to
$6
moobaC: calls $4
razvan1ian: raises $2 to $8
Betting is
capped
BTB13: calls $2
moobaC: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
BTB13:
stands pat
moobaC: discards 2 cards
razvan1ian: discards 1 card
BTB13
has timed out while being disconnected
BTB13 is being treated as
all-in
moobaC: checks
razvan1ian: checks
*** THIRD DRAW
***
razvan1ian said, "lol"
razvan1ian said, "wuss"
razvan1ian said,
"looooooooool"
BTB13 is disconnected
razvan1ian said, "gimme a 4 3 maybe
7"
BTB13 has timed out while disconnected
BTB13: stands pat
moobaC:
discards 1 card
razvan1ian: discards 1 card
moobaC: checks
razvan1ian:
checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BTB13: shows [2s 5c 8s 3c 6s] (Lo:
8,6,5,3,2)
moobaC: mucks hand
razvan1ian: mucks hand
BTB13 collected
$42 from pot
BTB13 is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $44 Rake
$2
Seat 1: moobaC mucked
Seat 2: razvan1ian mucked
Seat 3: Jovanella
folded before the Draw (didn't bet) Seat 4: mile.p1 (button) folded before the
Draw (didn't bet) Seat 5: BTB13 (small blind) showed [2s 5c 8s 3c 6s] and won
($42) with Lo:
8,6,5,3,2
Seat 6: Mighty Chub (big blind) folded before
the
Draw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
think you will agree with me that this hand can certainly be classified as
unfavorable for the player!
I can only conclude that player
'BTB13' is not abusing their all in privileges. I will however make a note
of this investigation in their account for future reference.
If
there is anything else that I can help you with, don't hesitate to let me
know.
Regards,
Howard
PokerStars Support
Team
This is so excellent. They took the report seriously, investigated it in an apparently thorough manner, and reported back to me quickly, including an explanation of how they look into such things. They have successfully dispelled my suspicion.
PokerStars support is simply the best in the business.
Are you curious what PokerStars does when you report a possible instance of abuse of the disconnection protection feature? I was, because before the incident I mentioned earlier, I had never noticed what I considered to be a suspicious disconnection. Well, today I found out what they do about it.
(A word of explanation for those who don't play online or otherwise haven't faced this issue. Suppose your Internet connection goes dead in the middle of a hand. You have money in the pot, but cannot act when it's your turn. What should the site do? It seems unfair that you would have to just reliquish all claim to the pot as if you had folded. After all, you might have the best hand. Conversely, if somebody else has the best hand, it's unfair to him to simply give you back whatever you had put into the pot, which is another possible solution to the problem. The most common compromise is the all-in protection. This means that the site temporarily acts as if the amount you had put into the pot at the time of the disconnection is all that you had on the virtual table. The hand plays out. You cannot lose any more money, but you also cannot win from any other player more than what you had in the pot when the disconnection occurred. Other players still in the hand can continue betting, creating a side pot for which you are not eligible. It's a pretty good solution, but some players are known to abuse it. If there is a situation in which a player has a fair amount of money in the pot, but he's unsure whether he's ahead or behind, he doesn't want to fold and lose what he has already invested in the hand, but he also is fearful that he'll have to put in a lot more money before the hand is done, and he doesn't want to do that, because he's not sure he's going to win. So he pulls the plug on himself. It limits his potential gain, but also limits his potential loss. The sites consider this an abuse of the disconnection protection system.)
Here's the email I got a few hours after reporting the possible abuse:
Hello Robert,
Thank you for bringing your concerns to our
attention. The integrity of our site and games are of utmost importance to us,
and as such, we take any hint of unethical play extremely seriously. I have
completed my investigation into the play of 'BTB13'.
The first
thing to do in such cases is look at the hand in question. We consider an all in
to be suspicious if the user is facing action, or the prospect of action, with a
medium strength or drawing hand. Indeed I would term this a somewhat
suspicious all in.
That said one hand neither proves or disproves
abuse; with all in abuse cases, we look at *all* of a player's recent all in
protection hands.
Hands with all in protection can generally be
classified into one of three
categories:
1) Suspicious, where
the player holds a medium strength or drawing hand, and is facing action or the
likelihood of action
2) Neutral, where the player holds a hand of
no value, and disconnects facing small action (the most common of these is to
disconnect in the blinds preflop)
3) Unfavorable, where the player
holds a hand that is clearly worth betting, and disconnects instead, costing him
the chance to bet. This also includes hands where the player disconnects preflop
and has his hand folded, or when facing no action post flop - without the
likelihood of action from the remaining players
For all in abusers,
we look for a pattern whereby the player's connection history shows almost all
suspicious all in protections, a few neutrals, and essentially no unfavorable
disconnections.
In reviewing this players connection history for
the past couple of months I find that this player generally has an average
connection to the site.
With that said whilst the player has logged
plenty of hours on the site there were only a few other hands where the all in
protection was used.
Of those other hands there was definitely no
noticeable pattern. In fact I found many hands where disconnection was
clearly unfavorable to the player. The following hand is the
case:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PokerStars
Game #19349887999: Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit ($2/$4) -
2008/08/04 -
09:39:40 (ET)
Table 'Catriona' 6-max Seat #4 is the button Seat 1: moobaC
($81 in chips) Seat 2: razvan1ian ($148 in chips) Seat 3: Jovanella ($129 in
chips) Seat 4: mile.p1 ($118.50 in chips) Seat 5: BTB13 ($84 in chips) Seat 6:
Mighty Chub ($147 in chips)
BTB13: posts small blind $1
Mighty Chub: posts
big blind $2
*** DEALING HANDS ***
moobaC: raises $2 to $4
razvan1ian:
raises $2 to $6
Jovanella: folds
razvan1ian said, "master of the
89"
mile.p1: folds
BTB13: calls $5
Mighty Chub: folds
razvan1ian
said, "mile p1"
moobaC: calls $2
*** FIRST DRAW ***
BTB13: discards 1
card
moobaC: discards 2 cards
razvan1ian: discards 2 cards
BTB13: bets
$2
moobaC: calls $2
razvan1ian: raises $2 to $4
BTB13: raises $2 to
$6
moobaC: calls $4
razvan1ian: raises $2 to $8
Betting is
capped
BTB13: calls $2
moobaC: calls $2
*** SECOND DRAW ***
BTB13:
stands pat
moobaC: discards 2 cards
razvan1ian: discards 1 card
BTB13
has timed out while being disconnected
BTB13 is being treated as
all-in
moobaC: checks
razvan1ian: checks
*** THIRD DRAW
***
razvan1ian said, "lol"
razvan1ian said, "wuss"
razvan1ian said,
"looooooooool"
BTB13 is disconnected
razvan1ian said, "gimme a 4 3 maybe
7"
BTB13 has timed out while disconnected
BTB13: stands pat
moobaC:
discards 1 card
razvan1ian: discards 1 card
moobaC: checks
razvan1ian:
checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BTB13: shows [2s 5c 8s 3c 6s] (Lo:
8,6,5,3,2)
moobaC: mucks hand
razvan1ian: mucks hand
BTB13 collected
$42 from pot
BTB13 is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $44 Rake
$2
Seat 1: moobaC mucked
Seat 2: razvan1ian mucked
Seat 3: Jovanella
folded before the Draw (didn't bet) Seat 4: mile.p1 (button) folded before the
Draw (didn't bet) Seat 5: BTB13 (small blind) showed [2s 5c 8s 3c 6s] and won
($42) with Lo:
8,6,5,3,2
Seat 6: Mighty Chub (big blind) folded before
the
Draw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I
think you will agree with me that this hand can certainly be classified as
unfavorable for the player!
I can only conclude that player
'BTB13' is not abusing their all in privileges. I will however make a note
of this investigation in their account for future reference.
If
there is anything else that I can help you with, don't hesitate to let me
know.
Regards,
Howard
PokerStars Support
Team
This is so excellent. They took the report seriously, investigated it in an apparently thorough manner, and reported back to me quickly, including an explanation of how they look into such things. They have successfully dispelled my suspicion.
PokerStars support is simply the best in the business.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Table Selection- Donkey Stack
This article is reprinted by permission of Ryverrat, London, United Kingdom:
Ive been thinking recently about table selection. The fact is you make more money over the long term against players that you have a greater edge over. The bigger the skill difference the more profit can be made.
It makes sense to check your buddy list, hunt out certain fishy players and add yourself to waiting lists in hope to be sitting next to these losing players. This is fine. The problem comes when you are on numurous waiting lists with no tables open to play and no history with other players on other tables.
You can then scan for tables with high $vpip and high avg pot size but this is public data and with a lot of table scanning software out there you will struggle to be first on the list.
Now, heres my new thought. Take a look at stack sizes. Im going to identify 3 classes of players.
1) The Full stack
2) The Shortstack
3) The 'Donkey' stack
It is fact that the good regular players top up their stacks to full as and when they can. If you dont believe you are outclassed at the table then you should be at full or close to it. Full stacks should be seen as good players until proven wrong.
Shortstacks can also be good players. Ive never played a shortstack strategy but there is a strategy that works for a lot of these players. It does spoil the game of poker a bit but if there is profit to be made this way then players will still follow it.
The 'Donkey' stack. These stacks are the middle stacks. The 35-75bb stacks. More often than not these players wont be a good regular or a shortstacker. Usually when a fullstack loses some $ they top up back to the max. When a shortstack doubles up then leave for a new table to buy in short. Medium stacks represent a average players. These may not be huge fish but im betting that they are not decent players.
I tried this last night and I think im on to something. I added 3 or 4 times the number of names to my buddy list and they were all 'Donkey' stacked. Think about it. When have you made a lot of easy cash vs a full stack or a shortstack compared to a 'Donkey' stack ?
Ive been thinking recently about table selection. The fact is you make more money over the long term against players that you have a greater edge over. The bigger the skill difference the more profit can be made.
It makes sense to check your buddy list, hunt out certain fishy players and add yourself to waiting lists in hope to be sitting next to these losing players. This is fine. The problem comes when you are on numurous waiting lists with no tables open to play and no history with other players on other tables.
You can then scan for tables with high $vpip and high avg pot size but this is public data and with a lot of table scanning software out there you will struggle to be first on the list.
Now, heres my new thought. Take a look at stack sizes. Im going to identify 3 classes of players.
1) The Full stack
2) The Shortstack
3) The 'Donkey' stack
It is fact that the good regular players top up their stacks to full as and when they can. If you dont believe you are outclassed at the table then you should be at full or close to it. Full stacks should be seen as good players until proven wrong.
Shortstacks can also be good players. Ive never played a shortstack strategy but there is a strategy that works for a lot of these players. It does spoil the game of poker a bit but if there is profit to be made this way then players will still follow it.
The 'Donkey' stack. These stacks are the middle stacks. The 35-75bb stacks. More often than not these players wont be a good regular or a shortstacker. Usually when a fullstack loses some $ they top up back to the max. When a shortstack doubles up then leave for a new table to buy in short. Medium stacks represent a average players. These may not be huge fish but im betting that they are not decent players.
I tried this last night and I think im on to something. I added 3 or 4 times the number of names to my buddy list and they were all 'Donkey' stacked. Think about it. When have you made a lot of easy cash vs a full stack or a shortstack compared to a 'Donkey' stack ?
Sunday, July 27, 2008
What Seperates winning players from the Crowd
This article written by Stanislav, Vantaa, FinlandEvery struggling poker player sure wants to know the difference between himself and the guys he reads about in the poker forums, magazines, etc. The $1mil+/year winners. The answer actually shouldn't be that complicated. Okay, there's the natural talents like Antonius, who deposited $200 and turned it into $20k in two weeks and never looked back, but for the rest of the superstars, I think, the story is quite a bit different. Nevertheless, the one big difference is their unwavering concentration. Apart from the deep understanding, the underlying logic and math of the game, high-stakes poker requires ultra-dynamic adjustments in hand-reading, hand-ranges, etc. and to be able to be on top of the situation you can't let your guard down even between hands.
I think that is my biggest leak and tilt in the game at this point - auto-piloting and thus giving the one substantial edge you cannot afford to give. That is probably the most common issue with the modern ADHD culture with the so fast action that one single table rarely accommodates their needs, even when they are no more than break-even players.
You may notice on TV why Patrik Antonius for example has won those hundreds of millions (apart from his intuitive grasp of the underlying mathematics) - he is in the zen spot, even within a group of chattering brats, TV-cameras and spot-lights. Unwavering concentration wins in the long run!
Ship it, concentration!
I think that is my biggest leak and tilt in the game at this point - auto-piloting and thus giving the one substantial edge you cannot afford to give. That is probably the most common issue with the modern ADHD culture with the so fast action that one single table rarely accommodates their needs, even when they are no more than break-even players.
You may notice on TV why Patrik Antonius for example has won those hundreds of millions (apart from his intuitive grasp of the underlying mathematics) - he is in the zen spot, even within a group of chattering brats, TV-cameras and spot-lights. Unwavering concentration wins in the long run!
Ship it, concentration!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Another Scam to Watch by A Noted Poker Authority
Imagine, you find an interesting Article in a Community of Poker bloggers or Postings. The Article and the site calls itself A Noted Poker Authority. You click on the Article so that you can read it further. The site asks you to register to read their articles. You register and get an e-mail confirmation. You link back to the site, as a confirmed member - AND YOU GET A BILL TO PAY ON YOUR CREDIT CARD if you want to read the articles, and on a monthly recurring charge to boot. We all expect to find advertisements, little promos, all type of inducements to click on something that might make some income for the site owner - this is mosly with no obligation. BUT WE GET TO READ THE ARTICLE WE WERE INTERESTED IN WITH NO OBLIGATION OR STRINGS ATTACHED.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
What Spade Club would rather not tell you but they Must;How toHave Full Membership without any Fees
You do not have to pay the monthly fees of membership to have all the priviledges of exclusive members at Spade Club. This is something they do not want advertised. In fact the details are in black and white in their Terms and Conditions (which few of us seem to read). It is a requierement of lotteries that there be no obligation to purchase anything to participate - and under this rule, Spade Club has the following set of rules so that it may comply with the regulations and at the same time collect membership dues for those who do not want it all for free: Here are the terms:You can find similar terms in any of the other sites that advertise themselves as "Legal" US poker Clubs.
3.5. No Purchase Necessary. Mail-In Entry. There is no entry fee requirement to participate in any SpadeClub tournament. The following is an alternative means of entry for obtaining Player Points and Tokens for Exclusive Tournaments.
Register and Download Software. Register at SpadeClub.com as a Basic Member (no purchase is necessary), download, and install the SpadeClub poker software
Mail-in Entry. For each week you would like to participate in Exclusive Tournaments, send a 3" x 5" card placed in a #10 envelope to SpadeClub.com, ATTN: Account Validation, 1027 South Rainbow Blvd., #282, Las Vegas, NV 89145, with the following hand-written information:
SpadeClub Screen Name;
Email Address associated with SpadeClub Account;
First and Last Name;
Mailing Address (Street, City, State, ZIP Code and Country)
(v) Date of Birth;
(vi) Specify the one week period you would like to play. The requested dates must be no later than 30 days from date of postage, and no earlier than 10 days from date of postage.
Mail-in Entry Requirements.
Each 3" x 5" card must be an original. No copies, reproductions or facsimiles will be accepted. SpadeClub will not be responsible for late, lost, stolen, misdirected, illegible, incomplete or postage-due.
No more than five mail-in entries over a month-long period will be accepted; and you may not send more than 5 entries in a single envelope.
You may not be a resident of an Excluded State
Mail-in Entry Status. To check the status of mail-in entries, log in at SpadeClub.com and view Membership Information under the Account Management section
SpadeClub Points and Tokens. Mail-in entrants will receive tournaments points and tokens in the same manner as Exclusive Members. Mail-in entrants will have their accounts returned to Basic Account status after their mail-in entry time runs out.
The odds of winning available prizes will be the same for mail-in entrants as online entrants
3.5. No Purchase Necessary. Mail-In Entry. There is no entry fee requirement to participate in any SpadeClub tournament. The following is an alternative means of entry for obtaining Player Points and Tokens for Exclusive Tournaments.
Register and Download Software. Register at SpadeClub.com as a Basic Member (no purchase is necessary), download, and install the SpadeClub poker software
Mail-in Entry. For each week you would like to participate in Exclusive Tournaments, send a 3" x 5" card placed in a #10 envelope to SpadeClub.com, ATTN: Account Validation, 1027 South Rainbow Blvd., #282, Las Vegas, NV 89145, with the following hand-written information:
SpadeClub Screen Name;
Email Address associated with SpadeClub Account;
First and Last Name;
Mailing Address (Street, City, State, ZIP Code and Country)
(v) Date of Birth;
(vi) Specify the one week period you would like to play. The requested dates must be no later than 30 days from date of postage, and no earlier than 10 days from date of postage.
Mail-in Entry Requirements.
Each 3" x 5" card must be an original. No copies, reproductions or facsimiles will be accepted. SpadeClub will not be responsible for late, lost, stolen, misdirected, illegible, incomplete or postage-due.
No more than five mail-in entries over a month-long period will be accepted; and you may not send more than 5 entries in a single envelope.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Harrington on Holdem Book Review
Curtis III is the author and publisher of the Do or Die Poker strategy site.
First appeared on December 3rd, 2007 A very good review and a must read for all aspiring winning poker tournament players.
Two years ago I was finally beginning to have some success as an online player. I was doing well and hadn’t deposited for over 2 years at that point. However, I was also very frustrated because I had yet to place high or win a tournament that was not a Sit N Go. Time after time I would cash and bust. This happened over and over again until I had just about concluded that I was going to be a perpetual “break even” tournament player.
Then, the poker gods blessed me with the book that would change my world of frustration into utter bliss. Harrington on Hold’em took me from being a mediocre tournament player to a winning player in a matter of days. Two weeks after reading both volumes I took 3rd place out of 2200 players for $1500+. The very next week I made another final table for 4th place and took down $1000+ with a field of over 1500 players.
Harrington on Hold’em helped me fill in the leaks in my game and since then I have consistently cashed over 18%+ in large Multi-Table Tournaments while winning several of them.
Let’s take a look at what these books are all about.
Harrington on Hold’em is a two volume series that covers the ins and outs of No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament strategy.
Volume 1: Strategic Play covers the following:
Playing Styles
Reading the table
Pot Odds and Hand Analysis
Betting pre-flop and post-flop
Betting the Turn and River
Volume one can probably be skipped by advanced players but I still recommend reading it just to gain a perspective into Dan Harrington’s thought process and methodology. The book gives clear cut examples along with detailed explanations as to WHY you are playing the hand in a particular way. Harrington also supplies several scenarios’ which invite you to think through every situation and hopefully come up with the most viable solution to extract the most profit from the hand or get away from it entirely. He explains various holdings and why you should play them and whom to play them against as well as position at the table and how to exploit it along with how to avoid being exploited. Each scenario usually has 4 to 5 different potential answers of which Harrington shows how he derives the best decision for the situation. This first volume is an excellent read for beginning No Limit tournament players that are looking to gain an understanding of how to best approach Multi-Table tournaments and No Limit Hold’em in general. There are well thought out exercises at the end of each chapter which provide excellent tutelage to new tournament players.
Volume 2: The Endgame covers the following:
Making Moves
Inflection Points’
Multiple Inflection Points
Short Tables
Heads-Up
Final Thoughts
Clearly this volume is intended for the advanced player. It assumes you know the fundamentals of good tournament play and takes you into the more complex thought processes of the game. There are two chapters in particular that talk about inflection points and multiple inflection points. Certainly a skilled tournament player may be aware of these things by his very nature and experience but for someone that is not quite able to get over the hump they would be well served to read these chapters and understand them thoroughly. Dan also introduces the concept of M. M being how much it costs you to orbit the table relative to the blinds and antes in relation to your chip count. There are also chapters on Heads-Up play and a section on making deals. Both of which are areas in which even the most skilled players can improve.
Had enough?
Well, if you still want more Dan Harrington you can pick up his Harrington on Hold’em Volume 3. This is a workbook that takes you through scenario after scenario and puts you in the driver’s seat as he challenges you to make good decisions and evaluates those decisions with his analysis within the solution. This book focuses on evaluating the player, playing after the flop, and playing the bubble.
Overall, no book can make you a great poker player. You still must incorporate your own style along with the knowledge you gain from any study aid and this series is no exception. However, Harrington on Hold’em is the best tournament study book series on the market BAR NONE! If your game doesn’t improve after reading these books then you might want to cash out and try Monopoly instead.
Anyone have a get out of jail free card?
First appeared on December 3rd, 2007 A very good review and a must read for all aspiring winning poker tournament players.
Two years ago I was finally beginning to have some success as an online player. I was doing well and hadn’t deposited for over 2 years at that point. However, I was also very frustrated because I had yet to place high or win a tournament that was not a Sit N Go. Time after time I would cash and bust. This happened over and over again until I had just about concluded that I was going to be a perpetual “break even” tournament player.
Then, the poker gods blessed me with the book that would change my world of frustration into utter bliss. Harrington on Hold’em took me from being a mediocre tournament player to a winning player in a matter of days. Two weeks after reading both volumes I took 3rd place out of 2200 players for $1500+. The very next week I made another final table for 4th place and took down $1000+ with a field of over 1500 players.
Harrington on Hold’em helped me fill in the leaks in my game and since then I have consistently cashed over 18%+ in large Multi-Table Tournaments while winning several of them.
Let’s take a look at what these books are all about.
Harrington on Hold’em is a two volume series that covers the ins and outs of No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament strategy.
Volume 1: Strategic Play covers the following:
Playing Styles
Reading the table
Pot Odds and Hand Analysis
Betting pre-flop and post-flop
Betting the Turn and River
Volume one can probably be skipped by advanced players but I still recommend reading it just to gain a perspective into Dan Harrington’s thought process and methodology. The book gives clear cut examples along with detailed explanations as to WHY you are playing the hand in a particular way. Harrington also supplies several scenarios’ which invite you to think through every situation and hopefully come up with the most viable solution to extract the most profit from the hand or get away from it entirely. He explains various holdings and why you should play them and whom to play them against as well as position at the table and how to exploit it along with how to avoid being exploited. Each scenario usually has 4 to 5 different potential answers of which Harrington shows how he derives the best decision for the situation. This first volume is an excellent read for beginning No Limit tournament players that are looking to gain an understanding of how to best approach Multi-Table tournaments and No Limit Hold’em in general. There are well thought out exercises at the end of each chapter which provide excellent tutelage to new tournament players.
Volume 2: The Endgame covers the following:
Making Moves
Inflection Points’
Multiple Inflection Points
Short Tables
Heads-Up
Final Thoughts
Clearly this volume is intended for the advanced player. It assumes you know the fundamentals of good tournament play and takes you into the more complex thought processes of the game. There are two chapters in particular that talk about inflection points and multiple inflection points. Certainly a skilled tournament player may be aware of these things by his very nature and experience but for someone that is not quite able to get over the hump they would be well served to read these chapters and understand them thoroughly. Dan also introduces the concept of M. M being how much it costs you to orbit the table relative to the blinds and antes in relation to your chip count. There are also chapters on Heads-Up play and a section on making deals. Both of which are areas in which even the most skilled players can improve.
Had enough?
Well, if you still want more Dan Harrington you can pick up his Harrington on Hold’em Volume 3. This is a workbook that takes you through scenario after scenario and puts you in the driver’s seat as he challenges you to make good decisions and evaluates those decisions with his analysis within the solution. This book focuses on evaluating the player, playing after the flop, and playing the bubble.
Overall, no book can make you a great poker player. You still must incorporate your own style along with the knowledge you gain from any study aid and this series is no exception. However, Harrington on Hold’em is the best tournament study book series on the market BAR NONE! If your game doesn’t improve after reading these books then you might want to cash out and try Monopoly instead.
Anyone have a get out of jail free card?
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Micro Level MTT at Poker Stars.
The micro level MTT at Poker Stars is full of interesting "characters". I have given them some labels of my own. Let me introduce the "Optimist" - this is a player who will always make large bets pre-flop with mediocre cards like AT and KQ and will continue to bet out even if the Flop did not connect at all. Then there is the "Opportunist"- this is a player who will go all in pre-flop with any low pair, middle pair or better, in other words, someone who will seize the opportunity of holding at least a pair before pre-flop. My favorite is the "Dipper"- this is the player who will make small bets at the Flop when everyone has checked, and then calls if anyone calls his bet.Then there is "TrickyDicky", a player who really knows and loves the check and trap technique, the one with KK in his hand pre-flop and wisely waits until you pair up with your Ace and then lets you bet out. At the micro level, these players rarely change their style of play and can be counted on for a substantial amount of their chips if you apply the right course of action against them - a subject for another time.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Positioning and Starting Hands by Logan
Playing good starting hands and playing your position well are very important aspects of poker. These two concepts go hand in hand. What may be a good starting hand in late position may be unplayable in early position. There are three areas of position: early position, middle position and late position. Being in early position is a disadvantage since you will have to act before most of your opponents and your opponents will have a chance to react to what you have done. Being in middle position is better that being in early position, but is still not optimal. You will be able to see what the players in early position have done, but there will still be several players to act after you. Being in late position is the most advantageous since you can see what your opponents do before it is your turn to act. You will need to play tighter in early and middle position, which means only playing the strong starting hands. However, in late position you can play a lot more hands as you will have gained information about your opponents hands based on what they have already done before you.
Different poker pros advocate using different starting hands, but generally you will only play the strongest starting hands from early position. This is because you can play the strongest hands from any position, but if you play a mediocre hand from starting position, you may be forced to fold or make a bad call if you are re-raised. Let’s say you are in early position and you hold KK. An aggressive player in late position re-raises you. You know that this aggressive player might be holding anything and you can safely re-raise them without worrying that your KK is beat. However, if you decide to play a mediocre hand from early position such as Q10and you are re-raised by the player in late position, it is very hard to call. They might have you beat with any number of hands such as K9, A2, QJ, etc. When you are in middle position you can play a lot more hands, especially when no one has called in front of you. You must remember that there are still several players to act after you and that you could get re-raised. In late position you can play a wide variety of hands if the pot is un-raised. In fact, when you have any sort of playable hand in late position, you should raise if there are no callers. If you know that the blinds are both weak players who won’t defend, you should raise with any cards to steal the blinds.
It is important to note that if you are playing short handed or with fewer players at the table, that you should loosen up your starting hand requirements. At a full table of ten players you wouldn’t want to play A8 in early position, but at a table of 5 players, you would likely raise with A8. Also, how tight or loose your opponents are will influence how you play your starting hands and your position. At a very tight table, you might want to expand your starting hand requirement since you will be able to take down a lot of pots uncontested. However, at a loose table you want to tighten up your starting hand requirements and play very aggressively when you do have a good hand, since you will be faced with a lot of callers.
Before you sit down at a poker table, you should watch a few rounds to see how the players are playing. You can then use this information to your advantage. Try to sit to the right of a tight player and to the left of the aggressive player. Sitting to the right of the tight player means that most of the time you will be acting before them. That means you can steal a lot of blinds from them. If you raise they will likely fold and you can pick up the blinds. When you notice a very aggressive player, you will want to sit to the left of them, which means that most of the time you will be acting after them. Since this aggressive player will often be raising or re-raising, you don’t want to act in front of them because you will find yourself being raised too often. By acting after them you can re-raise them when you do have a big hand or you can trap them by just calling their raise and letting them hang themselves when they aggressively bet out on the flop.
Different poker pros advocate using different starting hands, but generally you will only play the strongest starting hands from early position. This is because you can play the strongest hands from any position, but if you play a mediocre hand from starting position, you may be forced to fold or make a bad call if you are re-raised. Let’s say you are in early position and you hold KK. An aggressive player in late position re-raises you. You know that this aggressive player might be holding anything and you can safely re-raise them without worrying that your KK is beat. However, if you decide to play a mediocre hand from early position such as Q10and you are re-raised by the player in late position, it is very hard to call. They might have you beat with any number of hands such as K9, A2, QJ, etc. When you are in middle position you can play a lot more hands, especially when no one has called in front of you. You must remember that there are still several players to act after you and that you could get re-raised. In late position you can play a wide variety of hands if the pot is un-raised. In fact, when you have any sort of playable hand in late position, you should raise if there are no callers. If you know that the blinds are both weak players who won’t defend, you should raise with any cards to steal the blinds.
It is important to note that if you are playing short handed or with fewer players at the table, that you should loosen up your starting hand requirements. At a full table of ten players you wouldn’t want to play A8 in early position, but at a table of 5 players, you would likely raise with A8. Also, how tight or loose your opponents are will influence how you play your starting hands and your position. At a very tight table, you might want to expand your starting hand requirement since you will be able to take down a lot of pots uncontested. However, at a loose table you want to tighten up your starting hand requirements and play very aggressively when you do have a good hand, since you will be faced with a lot of callers.
Before you sit down at a poker table, you should watch a few rounds to see how the players are playing. You can then use this information to your advantage. Try to sit to the right of a tight player and to the left of the aggressive player. Sitting to the right of the tight player means that most of the time you will be acting before them. That means you can steal a lot of blinds from them. If you raise they will likely fold and you can pick up the blinds. When you notice a very aggressive player, you will want to sit to the left of them, which means that most of the time you will be acting after them. Since this aggressive player will often be raising or re-raising, you don’t want to act in front of them because you will find yourself being raised too often. By acting after them you can re-raise them when you do have a big hand or you can trap them by just calling their raise and letting them hang themselves when they aggressively bet out on the flop.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Poker Stars has its very Own TV Channel
Very recent on the poker scene,in case you have not already heard the buzz, Poker Stars has launched its very own TV Channel/Station. You do not have to be a player at Poker Stars to sign in and use the Network. I've been glued to the set for days now.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
ART OF POKER by CJ "Rex55" Joshi
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I fold and I understand." -Confucius
I have been on a 4 month MTT downswing, and it is much easier to start playing sloppy or less than your A game, during an extended bad run. In order to avoid this, I am constantly finding areas in my game to improve upon. This week, I have been concentrating on the Art of Folding.
Folding is an art...one that can be fine-tuned and cultivated with experience, conscious awareness and opponent attentiveness.
Because I mean.. let's face it...We don't do it enough now do we? Nope! We should do it more right? Yup! So then what the hell is the d*** obsession with not letting a hand go, even when you are 99.9% certain you are beat!!!
What's with chasing to the turn and river, when you dont have the right odds, or enough outs to justify your play? And how about the big payoff bet on the river, after you have missed your draw and made a pair, and somehow convince yourself that your pair is possibly good, and even if it isn't there's too much in the middle to fold?
How about when every last brain cell is screaming to fold... and your timer is timing down.. and somehow your hand reflexively (probably not a word) moves the mouse over the call button and clicks...just hoping... and praying... that every last braincell is wrong =
Our games can improve drastically if we focus on this one concept in detail and engrain in our impressionable poker minds that oftentimes folding a "great" hand, because we are beat, takes as much skill as calling with a "weak" hand and being right...
I beat myself up when I call with a hand, knowing I have the loser... this constant attention re-directs that weakness, and next time I am more aware before I make a bad call... Consistently doing this over the past year, has made a lot of decisions second nature now. I am able to act quicker and fold more accurately...
A great deal of success in no limit is reading the opponent...figuring out how they think...and even more important...figuring out how they think you think, and using it against them... This includes knowing what to do to get your opponent to fold...knowing when you can get them to fold and when you cant.. and knowing when to fold yourself.
So I will leave you with Rexy's Tips on Folding before I enter the bloodbath that is SUnday Poker :
If your first instinct is that you are beat...then the majority of the time, YOU ARE!
If your first instinct is that the opposing player's play doesn't make sense, and it appears he is trying to push you off your the hand? Then He IS!
Watch betting patterns...whether you are involved in a hand or not, and extract solid information about that particular player's betting patterns...TAKE A NOTE!
If you are not sure about your hand, and want to get to a showdown...play lowball, keep the pot small, so you do not allow another to push you off your hand. Instead of your bet, his push, and your Wrong call or even Wrong fold, you can go into check call mode, and make a decision for a smaller expenditure of chips.
An overbet most often times means that the player does not want you around, because they either have air bubbles or a draw...(an exception to this rule are skilled players who will purposefully overbet to trap you into calling....always know your opponent and their respective Skill Level)
WHEN IN DOUBT...GET OUT!
The most important tip from the above list is the first one. The more you play, the more you will develop this inherent instinct we all have. This instinct lays dormant in most players, because they are not in tune to their intuitive self. Our gut instinct is often the correct instinct...regarding all matters in life, so why should poker be any different? It isn't!!! Cultivating this instinct will not only sharpen your folding skills, but will catapult your ability to make great reads where your hand IS good! You will start making sick calls, along with sick folds...and you will be an intimidating force at the tables.
Sunday Poker here I come :)
Sweet Sunday for YOU and Me....best of luck at the tables... <3>
I have been on a 4 month MTT downswing, and it is much easier to start playing sloppy or less than your A game, during an extended bad run. In order to avoid this, I am constantly finding areas in my game to improve upon. This week, I have been concentrating on the Art of Folding.
Folding is an art...one that can be fine-tuned and cultivated with experience, conscious awareness and opponent attentiveness.
Because I mean.. let's face it...We don't do it enough now do we? Nope! We should do it more right? Yup! So then what the hell is the d*** obsession with not letting a hand go, even when you are 99.9% certain you are beat!!!
What's with chasing to the turn and river, when you dont have the right odds, or enough outs to justify your play? And how about the big payoff bet on the river, after you have missed your draw and made a pair, and somehow convince yourself that your pair is possibly good, and even if it isn't there's too much in the middle to fold?
How about when every last brain cell is screaming to fold... and your timer is timing down.. and somehow your hand reflexively (probably not a word) moves the mouse over the call button and clicks...just hoping... and praying... that every last braincell is wrong =
Our games can improve drastically if we focus on this one concept in detail and engrain in our impressionable poker minds that oftentimes folding a "great" hand, because we are beat, takes as much skill as calling with a "weak" hand and being right...
I beat myself up when I call with a hand, knowing I have the loser... this constant attention re-directs that weakness, and next time I am more aware before I make a bad call... Consistently doing this over the past year, has made a lot of decisions second nature now. I am able to act quicker and fold more accurately...
A great deal of success in no limit is reading the opponent...figuring out how they think...and even more important...figuring out how they think you think, and using it against them... This includes knowing what to do to get your opponent to fold...knowing when you can get them to fold and when you cant.. and knowing when to fold yourself.
So I will leave you with Rexy's Tips on Folding before I enter the bloodbath that is SUnday Poker :
If your first instinct is that you are beat...then the majority of the time, YOU ARE!
If your first instinct is that the opposing player's play doesn't make sense, and it appears he is trying to push you off your the hand? Then He IS!
Watch betting patterns...whether you are involved in a hand or not, and extract solid information about that particular player's betting patterns...TAKE A NOTE!
If you are not sure about your hand, and want to get to a showdown...play lowball, keep the pot small, so you do not allow another to push you off your hand. Instead of your bet, his push, and your Wrong call or even Wrong fold, you can go into check call mode, and make a decision for a smaller expenditure of chips.
An overbet most often times means that the player does not want you around, because they either have air bubbles or a draw...(an exception to this rule are skilled players who will purposefully overbet to trap you into calling....always know your opponent and their respective Skill Level)
WHEN IN DOUBT...GET OUT!
The most important tip from the above list is the first one. The more you play, the more you will develop this inherent instinct we all have. This instinct lays dormant in most players, because they are not in tune to their intuitive self. Our gut instinct is often the correct instinct...regarding all matters in life, so why should poker be any different? It isn't!!! Cultivating this instinct will not only sharpen your folding skills, but will catapult your ability to make great reads where your hand IS good! You will start making sick calls, along with sick folds...and you will be an intimidating force at the tables.
Sunday Poker here I come :)
Sweet Sunday for YOU and Me....best of luck at the tables... <3>
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Do Not Join Spade Club Poker Site
They will not pay you when you want to cash out of your account! It has been five months since I have been asking for a miserly 45 dollars from my account. 1st they asked for verification of my account. Then they asked for an affidavit to be signed with driving licence and social security number. Then they said it would come in 7-10 days and it still has not arrived after two months. It has been five months since I asked for a cash out - I still have not seen a penny. This Club is to be avoided;they seem to have very very unscrupoulous business practices
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Bad Beat Attitudes
This article is from : Curtiss III, a freelance poker writer and player. You can see the article by following the link.
http://www.do-or-die-poker.com/2008/06/08/pokerstars-bad-beat-put-me-back-in-the-tournament/
PokerStars bad beat put me back in the tournament
June 8th, 2008 by CIII
I don’t usually talk about bad beats in a winning context. Typically, when I take one, it is what it is and you move on. However, last night I happen to be the player that put the bad beat on the other guy. Here is how the hand played out:
I had $1860 and the blinds were about to go up to $150 / $75
The other guy, in the small blind, had $3300 or so. I was in late position and limped with my sevens along with two other players. The villain decides to raise it up to $450.
I thought about it for a few seconds and put him on KQ at best. I felt like he was making a move at the pot. So I re-raised him all-in hoping to push him off the hand. He shows King King instead.
OK, I am clearly dominated with his KK vs 77. No big deal.
The flop comes down [5][6][8]
The river is my beloved [9] and I hit the straight and win the hand. No big deal right?
Wrong!
For the next hour, before he busted out of the tournament, this guy gives me a hard time about re-raising him all-in with my pair of sevens. Usually, I don’t get into back and forths but I felt compelled to educate this knuckle head for some reason. I quickly informed him that he should have been thanking me for getting my chips in bad and making him a four to one Favorite.
Nope!
Somehow it was my fault the random number generator hit my hand and that variance reared its ugly head. These are the kind of players I loathe. You get the situation that every poker player prays for and then complain about it? That makes no sense. The fact of the matter is that the game has an eliment of luck that none of us can control. Not you, not me, not any of us. If you play well you are going to take bad beats once in a while.
Why is it so difficult to understand that concept? There is no such thing as always in No Limit Poker and never will be. The bad beats sting. In particularly the later in the tournament they occur. However, in poker, you need to win hands and races that sometimes you are not necessarily the favorite to win tournaments. I went on to make the final table after that hand and I am proud of it.
I have said it many times and I will say it again. It all evens out in the long run. We all win and lose our share of bad beats. Remember that the next time you want to give a guy a hard time at the table.
Curtis III
http://www.do-or-die-poker.com/2008/06/08/pokerstars-bad-beat-put-me-back-in-the-tournament/
PokerStars bad beat put me back in the tournament
June 8th, 2008 by CIII
I don’t usually talk about bad beats in a winning context. Typically, when I take one, it is what it is and you move on. However, last night I happen to be the player that put the bad beat on the other guy. Here is how the hand played out:
I had $1860 and the blinds were about to go up to $150 / $75
The other guy, in the small blind, had $3300 or so. I was in late position and limped with my sevens along with two other players. The villain decides to raise it up to $450.
I thought about it for a few seconds and put him on KQ at best. I felt like he was making a move at the pot. So I re-raised him all-in hoping to push him off the hand. He shows King King instead.
OK, I am clearly dominated with his KK vs 77. No big deal.
The flop comes down [5][6][8]
The river is my beloved [9] and I hit the straight and win the hand. No big deal right?
Wrong!
For the next hour, before he busted out of the tournament, this guy gives me a hard time about re-raising him all-in with my pair of sevens. Usually, I don’t get into back and forths but I felt compelled to educate this knuckle head for some reason. I quickly informed him that he should have been thanking me for getting my chips in bad and making him a four to one Favorite.
Nope!
Somehow it was my fault the random number generator hit my hand and that variance reared its ugly head. These are the kind of players I loathe. You get the situation that every poker player prays for and then complain about it? That makes no sense. The fact of the matter is that the game has an eliment of luck that none of us can control. Not you, not me, not any of us. If you play well you are going to take bad beats once in a while.
Why is it so difficult to understand that concept? There is no such thing as always in No Limit Poker and never will be. The bad beats sting. In particularly the later in the tournament they occur. However, in poker, you need to win hands and races that sometimes you are not necessarily the favorite to win tournaments. I went on to make the final table after that hand and I am proud of it.
I have said it many times and I will say it again. It all evens out in the long run. We all win and lose our share of bad beats. Remember that the next time you want to give a guy a hard time at the table.
Curtis III
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Horror of Spade Club
I strongly recommend AGAINST joining Spade Club; 1) you will spend hours and hours for very little return. 2) You will not have any hand histories 3)You will not have any stats 3) And if you have any money in your account- you will have a very, very difficult time cashing out. They will send you in circles filling out details and confirmation of your "life"; then when you have enough of that, they will tell you that you have to fill out some form that they newer send you. ( A form supposedly to prove that you are who you are etc.) They accept Pay pal as the vehicle to pay them but will not use the same vehicle to pay out. Here is a copy of the Affadavit they ask you to sign to cash out(Why don't they ask you to sign it when you Cash in -what do you think?)
AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY
Congratulations on winning at SpadeClub! To complete your claim for your prize, we need you to send us the following information. SpadeClub keeps these forms confidential, and will not use them for any purpose other than to verify your eligibility:
1.
A completed and signed Affidavit of Eligibility (this document).
2.
A clear and legible copy of a current and valid government-issued identification (e.g., driver’s license or passport) that shows: your date of birth and current address.
Please mail these documents to the following address:
SpadeClub ATTN: PRIZE ELIGIBILITY 6940 O’Bannon Drive Las Vegas, NV 89117
Verification of Eligibility
I, _________________ (print Name), submit this affidavit to SpadeClub with the understanding that it will be relied upon in order to determine whether I am eligible to receive the prize(s) awarded to me on SpadeClub.
To verify my eligibility, I hereby represent that:
1.
I am the registered Account user for, and played the tournament under the Screen Name ________________ (insert Screen Name).
2.
I was age 18 or older as of the date that I joined SpadeClub.
3.
I played the tournament in the State or locale indicated in my identification.
4.
I have read and agreed to the SpadeClub Terms of Service, and agree to be bound by them.
Tax Statement
I understand that I am solely responsible for any local, state, or federal taxes on the value of the prize(s) that I accept.
Authorization for Future Verification
I authorize SpadeClub to maintain a copy of my identification and social security number for the purpose of allowing SpadeClub to use such documents to verify my eligibility for any future prizes that I may win. If any of my personal information changes (address, email, etc…), the I will immediately make such changes to my Account on SpadeClub. I understand that if I win $600 or more in a calendar year, then I may be required to provide an IRS form W-9 in addition to this affidavit.
Signature.
________________________________ _____________ Signature Date
AFFIDAVIT OF ELIGIBILITY
Congratulations on winning at SpadeClub! To complete your claim for your prize, we need you to send us the following information. SpadeClub keeps these forms confidential, and will not use them for any purpose other than to verify your eligibility:
1.
A completed and signed Affidavit of Eligibility (this document).
2.
A clear and legible copy of a current and valid government-issued identification (e.g., driver’s license or passport) that shows: your date of birth and current address.
Please mail these documents to the following address:
SpadeClub ATTN: PRIZE ELIGIBILITY 6940 O’Bannon Drive Las Vegas, NV 89117
Verification of Eligibility
I, _________________ (print Name), submit this affidavit to SpadeClub with the understanding that it will be relied upon in order to determine whether I am eligible to receive the prize(s) awarded to me on SpadeClub.
To verify my eligibility, I hereby represent that:
1.
I am the registered Account user for, and played the tournament under the Screen Name ________________ (insert Screen Name).
2.
I was age 18 or older as of the date that I joined SpadeClub.
3.
I played the tournament in the State or locale indicated in my identification.
4.
I have read and agreed to the SpadeClub Terms of Service, and agree to be bound by them.
Tax Statement
I understand that I am solely responsible for any local, state, or federal taxes on the value of the prize(s) that I accept.
Authorization for Future Verification
I authorize SpadeClub to maintain a copy of my identification and social security number for the purpose of allowing SpadeClub to use such documents to verify my eligibility for any future prizes that I may win. If any of my personal information changes (address, email, etc…), the I will immediately make such changes to my Account on SpadeClub. I understand that if I win $600 or more in a calendar year, then I may be required to provide an IRS form W-9 in addition to this affidavit.
Signature.
________________________________ _____________ Signature Date
Monday, April 28, 2008
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