3 Betting - Do you have the guts to win?

Date: Sat, Jan 12, 2008

The first thing that is important to note about restealing is that it takes guts. In order to use the resteal, you have to put it all on the line. You need to own the idea that your tournament life, in itself, has no value whatsoever. You need to own the idea that this could be the last hand that you play. You need to own the idea that you are attempting to win it all, and that nothing less than first place is acceptable, and you need to own the idea that you may end up looking like a fool if you are called.

Restealing (the act of reraising a probable steal-raise) can be a true difference-maker and vault you into contention, because you can potentially make three times as many chips than you can with a run-of-the-mill steal attempt. Using this tactic, you don't necessarily have to put yourself at risk as often as you do during a steal to stay ahead of the curve in a tournament. In fact, successfully restealing once in three orbits while playing no other hands is approximately a break-even proposition! This is especially important during those critical points in a tournament where you are getting no cards and no good steal opportunities. It is the ultimate chip accumulation tactic!

CHAD "lilholdem954" BATISTA - 2008-01-10

Date: Thu, Jan 10, 2008

Poker After Dark - Why, Eli?

Heartland Poker Tour Arizona

Calgary To Host 2008 Canadian Open Poker Championship

MANSIONPOKER.COM Player 'Doubles Up' in Grand Weekend of Winning Poker

Turning 18: Josh 'JJProdigy' Field, Live from the Aussie Millions

Dick Van Patten Poker Fundraiser for Animals on Jan 12

Winter Will Be Exciting, and Lucrative at Titan Poker

Bonus Code For Party Poker Released, New Codes for Party Casino and Party Bets Bonus

Aussie Millions, Event #5, $1,000 NLHE with Rebuys, Day 1: Dunst Leads the Way

2008 Starts Strong for Online Poker Rooms

DAILY HAND QUIZ - Missed flop in position on bubble, no limit tournament

Date: Tue, Jan 8, 2008

Game type: 45 man SNG, no limit on Full Tilt
Stage of tourney: On bubble, money starts at 6th
Avg stack: ~9600
Your image: A little tight
Opponent’s image: Has been hitting everything and then some
Your hand: Ad 10♠

The setup: You’re on the final table of a 45 man sit and go tournament. There are 7 left and 6 make the money. You’ve been playing fairly tight and lost about half your stack a few hands ago when you lost a race with AQ.

This hand you decide to raise to 1700 UTG and the table folds to the SB, who flat calls. The BB folds and you whiff the flop:

7d K♥ 5♣

The SB checks. There’s 4k in the middle and you have ~3400 behind. What’s your play?

1. Check
2. Bet less than all in
3. Shove all in

SEE RESULTS HERE>>>>

FTOPS VII Event #17 – The $2,500 Two-Day Tournament

Date: Sun, Jan 6, 2008

FTOPS VII Event #17 – The $2,500 Two-Day Tournament
The tradition continues. The $2,500 Two-Day Event debuted during FTOPS V to amazing results, with first-place finisher Grndhg25 taking home nearly $400K for his tremendous efforts. The success of this tournament continued last November in FTOPS VI, where wuddacooler walked away from an epic four-hour, final-table more than $400K richer. This time around, it could be you.

Join us during FTOPS VII for the third running of the $2,500 Two-Day Event. Starting at 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT) on Saturday, February 16th, this event features:

>>A $2,500 + $120 buy-in
>>Two days of play, with the first day ending at the conclusion of level 17 or when the field is whittled down to the final two tables, whichever comes first. Day two will start the next day at 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT)
>>A 30-minute blind structure with 5,000 chips to start – 250 times the initial big blind
>>A guaranteed prize pool of at least $1.5 million

If you didn’t play this event in FTOPS V or VI, make sure you join the action this time around because this is one two-day event that you can’t afford to miss. Sign up today and take your shot at capturing one of online poker’s most prestigious titles.

FTOPS VII SERIES DETAILS

Date: Sun, Jan 6, 2008

The best online poker series is back and bigger than ever before. We’ve added new events at more times, so now you have even more chances to go for the gold!

20 Events - $10 Million Guaranteed
Join us for FTOPS VII starting on Wednesday, February 6th where we’ll be offering $10 million in guaranteed prize money spread out over 20 events - each hosted by a Full Tilt Pro. This series features a wide selection of exciting tournaments, including:

Our massive $2 million guarantee Main Event
Our $2,500 Two-Day tournament
Our Satellite Challenge, giving you many chances to win tournament entries and cash
Stay on top of the FTOPS VII action: check out our FTOPS leaderboards and read Michael Craig's updates in the Full Tilt Poker Blog.

FTOPS VII Prizes

Be one of the final players in any FTOPS VII event and you’ll receive more than just a nice payday:

Everyone at the final table in any FTOPS VII event will receive a limited-edition FTOPS jacket
Players who win an FTOPS VII event will receive the jacket, along with a gold FTOPS jersey and a coveted gold jersey avatar for use on Full Tilt Poker
"Bouncebackability" Freeroll
You can't keep a good poker player down. Here's your chance to prove that you've got the ability to bounce back from a tough blow and keep on rolling.

Finishing on the bubble can hurt, especially when it happens in an FTOPS event. Never fear, the "Bouncebackability" Freeroll has returned for FTOPS VII. Be the last player eliminated before the money in any FTOPS event and win an entry to this exclusive Freeroll where a buy-in to the FTOPS VIII Main Event will be up for grabs. The "Bouncebackability" Freeroll will take place on Saturday, February 23rd at 15:00 ET (20:00 GMT).

No one likes to be the bubble boy. Now, you can bounce back higher than ever before.

FTOPS VII SCHEDULE

Date: Sun, Jan 6, 2008

Do you have what it takes to become our next FTOPS champion?

If you're ready to play for your share of $10 million in guaranteed prize money this February, register for the FTOPS tournaments of your choice from the list below, and be sure to join us at 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT) on Sunday, February 17th, for our FTOPS VII Main Event featuring a guaranteed $2 Million prize pool.

Event #1
Wednesday,
February 6th
21:00 ET TBA $200 + $16
NL Hold 'em $750K

SEE FULL SCHEDULE>>>>>

CHAD "lilholdem954" BATISTA - 2008-01-06

Date: Sun, Jan 6, 2008

SHARP TAYLOR A POKER ACE

Poker After Dark to Feature Pros With Passion for Golf

POKER

HSEC to hold Texas Hold'em

18 months after gambling raid, no charges filed

Poker Room Review: Resorts Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ

Bad Weather Good News for Online Poker

Florida Poker Room Hiring Locals

Two New Faces on Poker After Dark

Chad "Jse81" Batista Gets Off to a Good Start in 2008

Date: Sat, Jan 5, 2008

Chad Batista, known as "Jse81" on Full Tilt Poker and "lilholdem954" on Pokerstars, fired the opening shot in the race to be crowned the top online poker player in 2008 by taking down the $300 "New Year's Resolution" tournament on Full Tilt Poker Jan 2nd.

Batista topped a field of 721 players and took down the first place prize of $46k for his efforts. By taking down one of the first sizable events of 2008, Batista quickly established that he will continue to be a force in 2008, just as he was in 2007.

Batista was one of the top players online in 2007, if not THE top player. He made a ridiculous amount of money in 2007, taking down the FTP $1 Million Guarantee on July 15th for $212k and a Super Tuesday on Pokerstars for $91k on September 11th, just to name a few.

Batista finished 2007 atop the Pocketfives.com leadership board with a grand total of 17762.99 points, almost 2k points ahead of his nearest competitor, "Sctrojans". He also finished 8th on the Cardplayer.com Online Player of the Year Leaderboard.

If Batista puts in the same amount of hours that he put in last year, he will be a tough player to top in '08. His fiercely competitive nature and finely tuned poker skills make him a legitimate threat to win any poker tournament that he chooses to enter. The only question will 2008 be better than 2007 results?

CHAD "lilholdem954" BATISTA - 2008-01-05

Date: Sat, Jan 5, 2008

Absolute Poker Design-a-T-Shirt Contest Coming to End

Card Player Profile: Daniel Negreanu

David Benyamine and "kinexxx" Are Early Big Winners so Far in 2008 on Full Tilt Poker

Changing your style keeps others guessing

Man To Pay $9M For Running Gambling Ring

Poker Money management

Side Pockets to host poker tourney

Poker room to hire 100; Clay residents get first chance

Video Strip Poker Supreme New Opponents Pack Released #2

2008 PCA: Let loose the action

DAILY HAND QUIZ - Weak King vs all-in short stack deep in the Sunday Million

Date: Sat, Jan 5, 2008

Game type: PokerStars Sunday Million
Stage of tourney: 8 player Left
Avg stack: 2.25M
Your image: Solid
Opponent’s image: Playing tightish for a short stack
Your hand: K♥7♣

The setup: You’ve made it to the final table of the PokerStars Sunday Million. Your opponent has been nursing a short stack for some time and has not been very aggressive. They’ve given you a walk in a similar spot.

Here, the table folds around and they shove making it ~300k more for you to call. What’s your play?

1. Fold
2. Call

SEE RESULTS HERE>>>>

CHAD "lilholdem954" BATISTA - 2008-01-04

Date: Fri, Jan 4, 2008

Full Tilt Poker Overtakes Party Poker in Online Market

High Stakes Winners and Losers Unveiled

2008 Poker Tournaments Preview

Lawsuit Filed to Block Federal Approval of Florida Seminole Pact

Lightning Poker Awarded U.S. Patent

DAILY HAND QUIZ - Top pair, weak kicker against a tight opponent, nl cash

Date: Fri, Jan 4, 2008

Game type: 1/2 NL cash, 6 max on Full Tilt
Your image: Aggressive
Opponent’s image: Tight
Your hand: Td Jd

The setup: You’ve been playing aggressively in this session but don’t have much to show for it yet, as you’ve been forced to abandon a couple of hands after continuation bets and raises were met with resistance. You haven’t had a confrontation with this particular opponent yet.

Preflop UTG folds and a tight player UTG+1 raises to $7. You call with J10s on the button and the blinds both fold. You flop top pair:

9h 3d Jc

The raiser checks and you bet $12 into $17. He calls. The turn brings the 3♠. Your opponent checks again.

What’s your play?

1. Bet over half pot
2. Check
3. Bet under half pot

SEE RESULTS HERE>>>>