Poker Wits

Inspiration! Listen to The Eye Of The Tiger!

2009-04-28T10:52:00.002+03:00

This has nothing to do with poker, but I loved this PS22 Chorus' version of the Survivor classic from Rocky, The Eye of the Tiger. Listening to it makes you feel that you can accomplish anything, and this version does a great job kicking the emotional boost up a notch.

Here's the video:

Check out their blog here:

PS22 Chorus: The Eye Of The Tiger!

[NEWS] Harvard Online Poker Study results: Poker is a Game of Skill

2009-04-22T09:19:00.008+03:00

A Harvard Medical School study "Sitting at the virtual poker table: results from first ever epidemiological study of actual internet poker gaming behavior" by The Division of Addictions has been released and is in press.

[NEWS] Harvard online poker study results, Original Story:

Sitting at the virtual poker table: results from first ever epidemiological study of actual internet poker gaming behavior, in press

The results from the first ever epidemiological analysis of the actual gaming behavior evidenced by a large sample of 3,445 online poker players over the span of 2 years are about to be published. The study was conducted by the Division on Addictions, Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate. This collaboration reflects the longstanding partnership with bwin, the world’s leading online gaming provider.

The partnership between bwin and the Division on Addictions was established in 2005 to provide a scientific basis for the assessment of conspicuous gaming behavior and its consequences for responsible gaming. Two key findings beginning to emerge from the research initiative are:

1. The myth of online gaming as a powerful seductive force has been empirically refuted. Online gaming has no greater problem potential than offline gaming.

2. Responsible gaming measures show effect.

The current research, which analyzes the behavior of Internet poker players over the course of two years, is the world’s largest longitudinal and the first ever epidemiological study of its kind.

Individuals exhibit rational behavior

"In this research we provide additional evidence in support of our previous research showing that most subscribers who gamble on the Internet do so moderately. In fact, correlation analyses indicated that as Percent Lost increased, Duration, Total Gambling Sessions, and Total Amount Wagered all decreased, suggesting that individuals moderated their behavior based on their wins and their losses – exhibiting "rational" betting behavior." says Howard Shaffer, PH.D., Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Director, Division on Addictions, The Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

* The average age of the cohort (sample) was 27.9 years and almost 95% were male. The typical poker player was an active poker player for a median duration of six and a half months and participated in a median of one poker session every three days. The median Euros per session gambled was €13 and the median cost of playing poker was €1.80 per session.

* The gaming behaviors of the most involved poker players show that this group, representing 5% of all players, was active for a duration of 18.5 months and participated in ten sessions per week.

* This 5% subgroup had a smaller percentage lost than the sample majority, suggesting that skill is a factor in poker play and that players are able to improve their performance compared with chance.

* When examining the most involved poker players who devoted more time and money to this activity, the study found that like the rest of the sample, they reduced Euros per session and reduced Total Wagered as Percent Loss increased.

"In our intention to replace speculation with scientific evidence, this study takes us a big step closer towards understanding the behavior of online poker players. Ultimately we are interested in developing algorithms capable of identifying behavioral patterns or identifying risk patterns associated with disordered gaming." says Manfred Bodner, Co-CEO of bwin.

That was the news as presented on the summary / press release found from Poker & Gambling. (The post also in German here in case that's your native language).

The original Harvard Crimson News article: Smaller Risk of Addiction in Web Gambling,
Internet gamers are more likely to regulate betting; less likely to become addicted.

The news has also been covered at Gambling Compliance: Harvard Concludes Bwin Poker Study.

Find the original article from here (you need to request password for the pdf for reprint if needed): The Division of Addictions - Library & Archive

News related to this study: Harvard Addiction Expert Says Online Gambling No Problem

Afterword

I'm was not that interested in the gambling addiction potential, or the lack of, as the study shows, I was more interested in the side-products of the study, if you will.

It was interesting to see that 5% of the players had smaller percentage of losses, and also that they reduced money per session and reduced Total Wagered as Percent Loss increased.

Doesn't this sound awfully lot like Bankroll Management? Moving to smaller games when you hit a downswing, but still keep the amount you play the same. It is alarming that only 5% or players do so, but it is no surprise that those 5% are the ones "losing the least", or in other words are most likely to be winning players.

And look at it the other way, 95% of the players are not part of the most likely winning players who:

a) do proper bankroll management

b) do lose higher percentage than the top 5%

So this is great news, online poker has been around for quite some time already, but there's plenty of players to beat! And speaking of beating the field, perhaps the biggest conclusion in the study is the acknowledgement of the skill factor in poker:

This 5% subgroup had a smaller percentage lost than the sample majority, suggesting that skill is a factor in poker play and that players are able to improve their performance compared with chance.

My non-harvardic conclusions

1. Poker is a Game of Skill

2. Proper Bankroll Management is Essential to Winning Poker

3. The myth of Online gaming having greater problem potential than offline gaming is BUSTED!

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[VIDEO] Why People Fail in Poker

2009-04-22T08:51:00.009+03:00

So the video is titled Why People Fail in Poker, but someone should tell Carl how not to fail with video editing!

I'll be honest, I'm linking this because the face/expression at the beginning is priceless :)

Luckily there's some decent advice about using poker software to track your play and constantly evaluate how you are doing and playing, so it's actually worth a watch too if you feel like it.

In a sense, it's two vids at the price of one, first you get a good laugh before you even start, and then your learn something!

[VIDEO] Why People Fail in Poker (with Funny Face Bonus!)

Click play and prepare yourself, you might miss it (the face)!

You can also watch the video here: Why People Fail in Poker by carlsampson

[GUIDE] How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses

2009-04-20T10:54:00.018+03:00

When you start playing online poker, you don't that much money to get started, as the poker sites offer great bonuses for the new players which give you a great way to grow your bankroll as you learn the game.

How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses

First Time Deposit Bonuses

All poker sites offer you a bonus when you sign up, based on how big of a deposit you make when you open real money account and make your first deposit.

The maximum amount of this bonus varies on the different poker sites, some offer $50 bonus, other go as high as $2000.

So it makes sense to start at the sites that offer the smaller bonuses, like PokerStars.com, and open accounts on the big-bonus-sites when your bankroll has grown enough. This is a great way to boost your bankroll when starting, so you should definately take the most of it.

To release your bonus, and actually get the money in it, you have to play at the site and your bonus is released in small amounts or as a whole, depending on the system the poker site uses.

You get the bonus in addition to whatever you win, or lose, if things don't go as you planned.

Look at this way, when you do your initial $50 deposit at PokerStars.com, and play a bit, you might not win that much, or you might even lose a bit, especially if you're a new player. But you will still make profit because you get the bonus money!

Let's assume you play with your $50 until you have played enough to release the bonus. You did ok, but ended up only with $1 profit for $51 in your account. but while at it, the bonus was released and you end up with $101 in your account and more than doubled your initial deposit, even that you didn't actually win so much at the table.

Taking this to the sites that offer higher bonus, when you have a bankroll of $600: You open your account at Full Tilt Poker through raketherake.com as suggested here on Poker Wits and make the initial $600 deposit. You play with your $600, your wins and losses come and go over time and after several weeks, you end up with $100 losses (for $500 in your account). But as you were playing, the 100% bonus for the initial deposit was released which makes your account balance a whopping $1100!

AND remember, because your were smart and created your account through raketherake.com, as suggested in the previous post 'Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More' you get rakeback on top of this (percentage of the rake you generated while you were playing).

So think of the bonuses as sort of a "insurance" for the new poker player to give time to learn the tricks of the trade :)

Further Reading:

Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More

How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?

Resources:

Sign-Up at PokerStars.com

Create rakeback account at raketherake.com

Keep Yourself and Your Friends Updated.

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[GUIDE] Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More

2009-04-17T20:02:00.014+03:00

Rake. Something no Poker Player can avoid, at least when playing for real money and playing at non-home game. So it is in order you know all about it, if you don't already.

Rakeback is the opportunity so many decide not to tell new players. Instead these people and sites go for personal gain and leave the innocent new player unaware he/she has just lost thousands of dollars of potential gain over time.

Unfortunately, the same goes for the "refer-a-friend" services which don't do you or your friend any good.

Interested to know how most of the poker blogs, news, strategy and "fan sites" fool you?

Want to know how you can help yourself and your friends to gain a lot of $$ over time playing poker?

Read on, no bul%#(it here on Poker Wits.

Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More

What is Rake?

Rake is the scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game. It is generally 5 to 10 percent of the pot in each poker hand, up to a predetermined maximum amount, but not only can this percentage be anything, there are other non-percentage ways for a casino to take the rake. Some cardrooms will not take a percentage rake in any community card poker game like Texas hold 'em when a hand does not have a flop. This is called "no flop, no drop".

Poker is a player versus player game and the house does not wager against its players (unlike blackjack or roulette) so this fee is the principal mechanism to generate revenues.

It is primarily levied by an establishment which supplies the necessary services for the game to take place. In online poker it covers the various costs of operation such as support, software and personnel. In traditional brick and mortar casinos it is also used to cover the costs involved with providing a dealer (though in many places tips provide the bulk of a dealer's income) for the game, support staff (from servers to supervisors), use of gaming equipment, and the physical building in which the game takes place.

To win when playing in poker games where the house takes a cut, a player must not only beat opponents, but also the financial drain of the rake.

[From Wikipedia]

How much rake is collected?

The amount varies based on the limit your playing, number of players and the size of the pot. Usually there is maximum rake that will be collected at certain limit. For example, check the rake table and explanation from PokerStars.

What is Rakeback?

So, while playing poker for real money, you are nearly always paying rake. For example, when playing in tournaments, rake is the +$0.5 +$1 +$2 you see after the actual tournament fee. And in cash games, part of the pot is taken as rake.

That money collected as the rake goes to the site, for profit and to keep it running. Now we get to the good part: It is possible to get a lot of the rake back to you. This is called Rakeback.

As generalization, one can say that there are two types of possibilities to get part of the rake back:

1) Indirectly, via Cash Bonusess from the Loyalty Program run by the poker site

2) Directly, from rakeback service run by external service, based on the affiliate bonuses and the rake you've paid.

Loyalty Programs

Online, it is common that the pokersites have some sort of loyalty program, like PokerStars VIP Program, where players collect "Frequent Player Points" or similar and can receive or purchase different kind of rewards in return: books, electronics, etc. Or by exchanging the player points to cash bonuses (which are usually "cleared" and released to your account by collecting certain amount of points). Depending on the poker sites cash bonus system and how much you play, it's possible to get 30-60% of the rake back.

Rakeback Web Sites

Not all poker sites offer worthwhile poker bonus or loyalty program, or the program doesn't offer cash bonuses, like PokerStars VIP Program does.

But all is not lost. You can use those "player points" (if the site has such system) to buy books, TVs, or whatever, and get the cash back elsewhere.

This is where the Rakeback services come in.

Player signs to the poker site through the links provided by the Rakeback service, creates account on the poker site and then joins the rakeback service. or player joins rakeback service first, and then signs on to the sites, as one can and in some cases should, play on more than one site.

When Rakeback service has the information about the players ID or username on the pokersite, the amount of rakeback can be tracked at the rakeback site and payments are made each month. The amount of rakeback can be up to 60% (like the best Loyalty Programs have), so it adds up quickly. When the poker site has collected $100 from you, you'll get $60 back without doing anything extra!

So a new player should never-ever join a pokersite by googling the poker site directly and joining in, over time, you're losing thousands of dollars (depending on how much you play over time of course).

Important Note! It possible that poker site stops paying the rakeback affiliate bonuses, which would mean no rakeback, but it is very likely that this would happen. And even if it would happen, you still would've gained a lot of "extra cash" from now to the possible day it stops.

Recommended Services and Poker Sites

1) If you want to start and play at PokerStars, signup to PokerStars.com and reap the rewards from the VIP program.

2) If you want to play at Full Tilt Poker, UltimateBet, CakePoker, Betfair, or some other poker sites not mentioned, sign through Rakeback service. In this case, I recommend RakeTheRake.

RakeTheRake offers up to 60% rakeback at all the top poker rooms, they make prompt reliable payments every month and you can check your rakeback account daily on the secure online rakeback tracker.

I recommend them as they are the biggest and the most trustworthy rakeback affiliate (with over 50000 players) and they were chosen as the 2009 Best Poker Affiliate.

To get started, visit raketherake.com.

Why are you telling me this?

Look at the top of this post. Remember what I told about poker fan sites and blogs going for personal gain, and fooling you at the same time?

1) I want to be sure you don't do the same mistakes I did and end up avoiding the best and the biggest sites because you signed without rakeback.

2) I help you, because rakeback/bonus is good for you

3) Signing through links on this site, you help me

Like said, with PokerStars.com, you can and should sign through the links in Poker Wits (to support the site and help me to help you).

But as mentioned, with other poker sites: DO NOT click links on non-rakeback sites or google "Full Tilt Poker" and sign up. You will lose a lot of money if you do this!

Don't fall into the "Click here, join this-and-this-poker-site, we'll give you $50 when you deposit". Just don't. The same goes for the "Get 2 Poker Books and a Poker Chip Set if you join here". Bulls%&t.

Don't take the immediate (small) rewards, as you can have bigger (HUGE, if you will) gain later - if you are smart and listen to what I tell you.

You can buy 1000 books and a barrel of chips with the thousands of dollars you get from rakeback over the years, even if you are casual poker player, let alone if you are planning to go pro at some point.

Why?

Because there are many, many poker news and strategy sites out there who link you to the poker sites, but don't offer Rakeback. DO NOT SIGN to a Poker Site, unless you have been directed to that site through respected and trustworthy source, like this Poker Wits site or proven rakeback service, like RakeTheRake.

After you are signed to the poker site you are set. If you signed through rakeback service, you will get rakeback. If sign through direct search or link from non-rakeback site, you don't get rakeback, it's that simple. It is possible to get you rakeback afterwards in some cases, but in most cases, no chance.

This happened to me when I was starting (luckily there are plenty of poker sites out there, but for some, I don't play because I don't have rakeback), so don't do the same mistake.

However, if the unfortunate has happened to you and have already signed to a poker site yourself or through "I win, you lose" links at most of the other "strategy" sites. As a result you don't receive rakeback, here's what you can try: Create account at raketherake.com, and contact them via "re-tag" contact form, which you can find in the FAQ there. They *might* be able to help you and set you rakeback, but it is also possible there's nothing they can do, but it doesn't hurt to to try.

Just ask yourself, do you want to have $0 or $10000? Your milage may wary of course, but you get the idea, anything over $0 is way better than $0 and $1000 later is way better than $10 now.

Smart Players, Smart Choices

1) Start Small, but Think Big.

Even if you have no plans to play a lot of poker, just a bit for fun, start as you would start a new job. If you decide take more serious approach to poker later and think of it as career, you are all set for it, because you started small, but planned big.

For starters, and for the great VIP Loyalty Program (equivalent to Rakeback), sign-up and play at the worlds biggest poker site: PokerStars.com

2) Get Rakeback and Take the Full Benefits of the Bonus Offers

Making the most out of the bonus offers the poker sites offer is a great way to boost your bankroll when early in your poker "career". Rakeback, as explained above, will benefit you for the rest of your life, whenever you play poker.

When looking for a new site to play on, first check this site if there is a link to it, then check raketherake if they offer rakeback for the site. Signing through these will secure your future plays on that site, even if you start small.

When and if your bankroll has grown and you can take the full benefit of the bigger bonus offers of the other major poker sites, like Full Tilt Poker, you can get the first deposit bonuses and rakeback to boot at raketherake.com

Further Reading:

How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses

One Last Note

Share the love if you will.

The "refer-a-friend" services at the poker sites are not very good. Your friends will be better of without the immediate "$50 for you, $50 for me" deal and get rakeback just like you did.

So - never use "refer-a-friend" on the poker site itself, as that won't help you friend, if there is a rakeback available for that site. So make your friend a huge favor and refer her here on this article instead. I'm sure she will thank you later.

[GUIDE] How-To Kick-Start Your Poker Career in 7 Simple Steps

2009-04-17T16:08:00.012+03:00

Continuing the Beginner's Guide series, this wraps up what you need to do if you want to start playing online poker. It's simplified yes, and it does promote spesific poker site and rakeback service, but there's a reason for that, as explained in the previous installments of the Beginner's Guide series.

As promised, this blog will only promote services that are good for you in the long run (for example, rakeback service if it's available instead of direct link to the poker site). And here is our next guide, summarizing the beginning of your online poker playing actions:

How-To Kick-Start Your Poker Career in 7 Simple Steps

1) Signup to PokerStars.com

2) Play with play money and practise, or make a $50 deposit.

3) Play at the limit your bankroll is good for.

4) Play poker, free rolls, etc. to increase your bankroll

5) Cash out from PokerStars, choose a site from RakeTheRake which offers a bigger bonus.

6) Deposit what you have, use the code provided by RakeTheRake

7) Play Poker, Enjoy Life, Repeat :)

It really is that simple. Although some might complain that you would need poker skills to start growing your bankroll, but don't sweat it, it might take time, but if you have the determination, you can do it!

To get you started, here is the detailed explanation of the Simple Steps, that will Kick-Start Your Poker Career:

1) Signup to PokerStars.com

Download and install is simple enough, but if needed, check the instructions and support at PokerStars.com

Note: Before creating the account and possible real-money deposit, check the next step

2) Play with play money and practise, or make a $50 deposit.

You can deposit more than $50 if you like, but that is enough. If you make the $50 deposit, use the code Stars50. This code is in use for 2009, so check the code from "100% Deposit Bonus" page at PokerStars if you are reading this later.

3) Play at the limit your bankroll is good for.

Bankroll management is the most essential skill for any poker player, so make sure you know what your doing. In short, here's what you need to know: Bankroll = your poker cash (e.g. what you have deposited in the poker site), and you must choose the games you play based on your bankroll to avoid going broke. Here are some example guidelines, but you can develop your own over time.

* 20-60 Buy-Ins for NL Hold'em.
* 200-300 Big Blinds for Limit Hold'em.
* 50-100 Buy-Ins for SnG Tournaments.

So for your $50 deposit, you will be looking for games like

* $0.01/$0.02 no-limit
* $0.02/$0.04 or $0.05/$0.10 limit
* $1 or less SnG tournaments

..another reason why PokerStars.com is so great place to start playing, it offers the smallest limits for your to start in.

4) Play poker, free rolls, etc. until your bankroll is big enough to take full advantage of the bigger bonuses, like $600 for Full Tilt Poker.

As said, this might take some time, but don't give up!

5) Cash out from PokerStars, sign-up to the poker site you like, which offers a bigger bonus, though RakeTheRake.

When you get this far, remember to give a shout at comments here on Poker Wit or throw me a Tweet about it.

6) Deposit what you have, use the code provided by RakeTheRake to get the bonus at the new site.

7) Play Poker, Enjoy Life, Repeat :)

Further Reading:

How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses

Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More

How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?

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[GUIDE] How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential

2009-04-17T16:07:00.015+03:00

Poker is a game of decisions. And the most important decisions are made before you even play a hand online. In the long-run, the information on this article will gain you a lot of money.

Even if you don't plan to play poker for a living or look at poker as a career, it's worth your time to make the early choices like you would be a pro at some point.

No-one says no to a free $100 right? Well I say "it depends" and show you when to say no to a $50 now to secure $5000 and more later. This one is true for both the new and old poker players alike.

But this is meant for new players, you who haven't played a hand yet online, at least not for real money. When I started out, I signed to the wrong sites (not all trustworthy) and I didn't know anything about the poker bonuses or rakeback.

So again I'll share something I wish I knew when I started playing online poker and continue the Beginner's Guide series while at it:

How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?

1) Choose a good poker site to play in.

2) Sign to a poker site through trustworthy web site or rakeback Service/Affiliate, if applicable.

3) Maximize the initial deposit based on the offered bonus.

Even before you learn how to play, it is possible to miss these important steps.

Learning how to play comes later. First you must master these steps.

1) Choosing a good poker site to play in

It is in your best interest to choose a poker site which offers

a) enough traffic to keep the games going
b) low- (or high-) enough limits for you to play in
c) good loyalty program and/or rakeback through rakeback affiliate.

This way, you have options to make proper table selection and have secured the years to come with the rakeback or good bonus system.

2) Signing to the poker site through trustworthy web site

Here on Poker Wits, we only show links that help you. You can feel safe that we have done the research and don't link you directly to a poker site, which you could have rakeback instead.

Have you ever wanted to know why each and every poker strategy, news or training site and blog has banners and links to all possible poker sites? Because the poker sites give a bonus to these websites for bringing the players, like you, in.

But there is a catch.

If you click through those links, they get the rewards and you don't. Even if they promise you to send you $50, books or such, don't take it. You can have hundreds and thousands more later.

Because for most of the poker sites, there are services, which offer some of the money poker sites pay to them, back to you. The amount the web site gets back varies, but it's usually connected to the rake you generate while playing poker.

So in short, the rakeback service gives some of the rake you pay to the poker site back to you. To understand Rake and Rakeback in depth, you can find the details from the earlier post: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More.

For now, it is important to know and understand, that rakeback is good for you. Signing through direct link from non-rakeback site, typing/searching the address yourself or similar, means no rakeback.

The difference between no rakeback and rakeback can be anything from $1 to thousands, based on how much you play over the years.

With many major poker sites, like Full Tilt Poker and Betfair for example, you should ALWAYS sign through rakeback service, like http://www.raketherake.com.

This is the reason why we at Poker Wits does not link to these poker sites directly, but instead show you the right way, which is to get rakeback.

There are exceptions as some poker sites, like PokerStars, offer bonuses themselves and no service offers rakeback to them, so it "safe" for you to signup to PokerStars.com through non-rakeback site, like us. By signing through here, you keep the site running and enable us to bring honest and money-saving guides online in the future too.

Unfortunately, the "refer-a-friend" services on the poker sites have the same problem. If there is a rakeback available for that site, your friend is better off signing to a rakeback service like you did, instead of the "$50 for you, $50 for me" deal. Do your friend a favor and refer her to this web site and article instead, she'll thank you later!

Further reading: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More

3) Maximizing the initial deposit based on the offered bonus.

Some of the poker sites offer a bonus based on the initial deposit, and these range anything from $25 to $1500, even $2000 nowadays.

So in a sense, it is good for you to sign to a site which doesn't offer too big of a bonus for your bankroll at that time, so you don't "waste" a bonus by just depositing $50, when you could get the maximum bonus with $600 for example.

Maximizing the initial deposit based on the offered bonus, is not necessary for your 1st poker site, but if you decide to join and play on more than one site, it can be important later, at least as a great way to boost your early poker bankroll - so start small, but think big.

Further Reading: How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses

Don't forget to help your friends too, and share this article with them.

[NEWS] 15000 Sit-and-Gos in 28 Days with $10k profit!

2009-04-16T20:39:00.002+03:00

Nick Rainey (Stinko_Mikko @ Full Tilt Poker) has done it!

15000 Sit-and-Gos in 28 Days with $10k profit!

The Crazy Rainman grinded 15000 (that is Fifteen THOUSAND!) Sit-and-Gos in 28 Days! Like this wasn't enough, he ripped the $10k needed to win the prop bet.

For those unaware of this crazy nearly-unhuman-attempt before this post and related prop bet, here's what is was all about:

Username: Stinko_Mikko
Site: Full Tilt
What I have to do: 15,000 SNG's in 31 days and $10,000 in Profits
Odds: 3-1 (your $3000 to win my $1000) I would like at least $150,000 against me. No maximum to how much you can bet.
When: March 13th 9am until April 13th 9am.

Note that the start date was postponed to 18th of March. The details were posted on Nick's blog post Prop Bet Central

Nick's efforts have also been followed on PokerPages news, at start and about a week ago for the now-busted-world-record of 11k SNGs.

15000 SNGs in 28 days. I can't believe it

To put the 15000 SNGs in perspective: It would take "Average-Joe" playing 10 SNGs a day (every day) more than 5 years to play 15000 games! For "Multi-Table-Grinding-Bob 15000 is reachable in one year playing average 60 SNGs a day. So 15000 is a lot, I give it to you Nick, you are *the* man.

As said, it all ended up well for Nick - the picture that says it all, can be found from Nick's post A picture is worth a thousands words

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[BLOG WATCH] Speedlinking Week 16

2009-04-15T10:32:00.003+03:00

First Blog Watch here on Poker Wits Blog!

Here we go,

Blog Watch: Speedlinking Week 16

* LarsLuzak hits some nice sessions and wins $380k @ HighStakesDb. HighStakesDb also tracks the Durrrr Challenge: Durrrr vs Antonius status.

* Speaking of which, the most recent update on 'durrrr' challenge comes from Poker News: Poker News 'durrrr' Challenge Update (by Nicole Gordon). How's the challenge going? Antonius now up $23k.

* 2009 WSOP Europe Schedule @ Pokernews. In case interested, here is a direct link to the WSOP Europe 2009 schedule

* 'j.thaddeus' Wins PokerStars SCOOP Main Event -Hi at PokerNews.

* JCarver posts feedback/review about SCOOP as an open letter to Pokerstars re: SCOOP feedback.

* PokerRoom.com shuts down! post at PokerNews by Barbara Connors.

* Ryon Nicholson (aka 7 card Ryon aka Cardsharps_net) has been doing well on MTTs on FullTilt lately. Post by PokerBloggs.

* "Omaha High-Low: Play to Win with the Odds" - Book Review, posted at A Shark and a Fish -blog. While you are there, check the two other posts as well Making Right-Sized Bets and The Most Important Two Seconds In Poker.

* JCarver and the tuesday taknapotin television treatise = Tv Shows he has watched through SurfTheChannel.com.

Non-Poker Bonus Speedlink

My laptop broke down (no idea watch wrong, it just doesn't start), so as a bonus, I end this with a non-poker post from the superb Lifehacker that saved my day, as I now have something to do when I get back home :) Even thou it's titled for "what to do when you are forced to be offline", there were great pointers for me, who is computerless at home right now: Lifehacker - What You Should Do When Your Internet's Out

Got a poker blog I don't know about?

Trackback or make a post in the comments, I'll add you to my "blogroll". Carefull thou, you might end up in the Blog Watch :)

[FORUM WATCH] Downswing post goes bad

2009-04-09T20:58:00.003+03:00

This week on forum watch, we pick a downswing post that backfires..

Running bad or getting a bad beat is one thing. Making a post about it at Two plus Two Poker Forum "Poker Beats, Brags, and Variance", a section for all the whines and wins, is another. But the thread turning against the original poster from post#2 is priceless.

This qualifies easily as the Poker Fail of the Week on Forum Watch, even that the original post was made several months ago.

As the original poster started the post with "I shortstack ...", the shortstack-hatred was ready to start and as expected, things got ugly.

(I decided to leave the "credits" out of this post as who said what is not the point of this pick, but you can find'em from the original thread if you for some reason feel like it)

Here are some of the gems from the thread:

"God hates short stackers."

"Seriously being a shortstacker and complain about variance it's like being a heroinewh&%2 and complain about STDs"

"You go all-in preflop vs 2 full stacks, they keep on fighting for the hand while you pick your nose or do whatever shortstackers do."

"All shortstackers should run like this."

Some were polite, and tried to give advice like:

"While you can't change luck you can perhaps try playing 1/2 hour less each day and use it for study just to make sure you aren't unintentionally playing bit worse in some spots due to frustration."

"Shortstacking involves huge huge variance."

"Dude, learn to play fullstacked poker."

"Cliff's: Don't shortstack, kids"

And as in any good thread of this kind, the entertainment value was quickly seen:

"This thread is pretty funny"

All-in-all, entertaining read, so join the fun and read the original Beat: 4.5 months of me running like the man mathematics forgot thread from Two plus Two Forums.

Some other poker blog might analyze if shortstacking is a viable strategy or not, but here on Poker Wits, we leave that to you, so feel free to comment.

Remember to share your experiences and thoughts on the comments and subscribe to Poker Wits RSS feed! And if you enjoyed the post, share it with the buttons below (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.)

[NEWS] 5 Biggest Losers in Online Poker 2009 (April)

2009-04-09T11:03:00.002+03:00

High Stakes Online Poker Results are tracked by HighStakesDb, so we can dig and see the biggest losers in online poker of 2009 so far.

The biggest losers of online poker 2009

(All sites, All Gametypes, 2009-01-01 to 2009-04-07)

Urindanger $-1.730.892,25

durrrr $-1.235.393,38

MR B 2 U SON $-1.068.941,56

ahtata $-971.744,05

Brian Hastings $-892.679,26

Whether of not one of these players will be the biggest donator at the end of the year, it's too early to tell, so we'll have to see how these and other players do for the rest of the year.

Top on the Winners side at the moment is Patrik Antonius with a bit over $3 Million ($3.061.530,46).

As the swings are big in the high stakes poker, let's see the "all time" results as well (all time being since 1st of January 2007, when highstakesdb started tracking the hands and results).

The biggest losers of online poker

(All sites, All Gametypes, 2007-01-01 to 2009-04-07)

noataima $-7.126.621,20

lady marmelade $-6.632.177,45

patatino $-5.924.545,68

elmariachimacho $-4.161.883,92

Niki Jedlicka $-2.656.748,54

The biggest winners since 2007-01-01 have been Phil Ivey with $10.218.032,78, OMGClayAiken (Phil Galfond) with $9.118.329,80 and trex313 with $5.277.273,83.

Statistics by HighStakesDb.

Remember to share your experiences and thoughts on the comments and subscribe to Poker Wits RSS feed! And if you enjoyed the post, share it with the buttons below (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.)

[BLOG WATCH] 5 Key Traits of a Successful Poker Player

2009-04-08T14:24:00.002+03:00

Defining "good poker player" is not easy, but there's a very good thought process behind the Nat Arem Poker Blog post What's your poker potential about what traits the successful poker players have.

So, if you're wondering "would I be good at poker", ask yourself if you have:

Near-total control of your emotions

No issues with Credit Card debt or impulse purchases

Analytical mind

Ability to view money as a tool

Discipline to re-evaluate situations as objectively as possible

Think about it for a second, even if you have some experience on poker already...

And go read the original Poker Blog - Nat Arem post : What's your poker potential?, it's definately worth it.

[POLL] Are You a Losing Poker Player?

2009-04-07T10:15:00.001+03:00

What percentage of online poker players are losing players?

There's no definite study or data about percentage of winning and losing poker players, but the somewhere around 5-40% of the players are winning in the long run, which results in 60-95% of the players to be losing players.

Here, on Poker Wits, we try to find out. Answer the poll, by using this link: Are You a Winning or Losing Poker Player?, or by the embedded poll on the right side panel.

Remember, we are here to help, so share your experiences on the comments and subscribe to Poker Wits RSS feed! And if you enjoyed the post, share it with the buttons below (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.)

[ABOUT] In Order to Succeed (in Poker), One Must Fail

2009-04-07T09:44:00.003+03:00

Every poker player has failed at some point. Some overcome this and end up to win consistently, but some don't. They fail and lose. They keep trying and keep losing.

This blog is for all of you who fail, or have failed.

This is for all of you who are doing great! You, who have overcome the fails and now reap the rewards.

This is the place to hear both the Ups and the Downs of online poker, with all the relevant poker news and guides for beginning and advanced players alike.

Share you experiences and join the fun of online poker!