by Mike Caro - The Mad Genius of Poker
 
We hear it in sports frequently—an announcer telling us which team has the momentum. Momentum can apply in poker, too. But does the concept really make sense? Let’s use today’s self-interview to investigate.

 Question 1: Is momentum as important in poker as it is in sports? Wait! Stop assuming things with your questions. Sometimes momentum isn’t even important in sports.

 Often it’s an illusion. A sequence of coin flips can seem to show momentum. But there is no momentum whatsoever. There’s only the observation that, recently, either heads or tails landed at a pace considerably greater than the expected 50 percent. You can call that momentum, so go ahead. But actually it isn’t. That’s simply because the previous series of outcomes has no bearing whatsoever on whether the next coin flip will be heads or tails. Assuming a perfectly balanced coin and a fair toss, it’s exactly 50 percent likely that the next toss will bring tails. Same for heads.

by Paul 'Dr. Pauly' McGuire - @taopauly
 

by Richard G. Burke

Fred likes to fish, so he and his wife rented a Reno resort hotel room for a week. She enjoys  the pool while he—armed with flies, rods, reels, waders, and a sack lunch—fishes in the nearby mountains’ catch-and-release streams. After supper they head to the casino, she to play bingo or the slots and he to the nightly low-entry-fee, no-limit hold’em tournament in the poker room.

 You need to understand that Fred doesn’t wail about his poker results; win or lose, he has a ready smile and a cheery attitude. Just the same, he came as close to wailing as I ever heard when he called me that night.

 His tournament started at 7 p.m. with five full tables of ten, paying five places. Each player started with $1,500 in tournament chips. The blinds started at $25-50 and went up every 20 minutes. After two-and-a-half hours of solid play, catching a few hands, and stealing blinds upon occasion in the right spot, Fred moved to the final table.

by David Chicotsky - @TheMavenVT
 
In tournaments, with average chip-stacks of less than 50 blinds, hands like aces or kings don’t give players too many dilemma spots preflop.

 It’s after the flop, when players are often faced with a decision for their entire stack, that basic estimation skills are needed to figure out what to do. These skills apply when figuring out whether to hold on to a big pair until showdown, or lay the hand down. So which factors will most likely lead you to fold a big pair post-flop?

by Mike "The Mad Genius of Poker" Caro
 
 Today, we’ll talk about how panic and desperation can destroy a poker bankroll. And we’ll examine ways to stay on the path to profit, even when luck has turned against us. So, if you’re ready, here’s the self-interview…
 
Question 1: Okay, so what are you talking about?

 I’m talking about the fact that most poker players instinctively panic. They become desperate and take unprofitable risks.
 

by Barbara Connors
 
Defending against a continuation bet is a tricky proposition. The c-bet is a powerful play because it tells a good story. By raising before the flop and then leading out on the flop, the bettor consistently represents a strong hand across two separate betting rounds. Problem is, we all know (or we should know) that the flop will usually miss any two starting cards, and since premium pairs are rare that means the c-bettor must be betting with air a goodly portion of the time. So how do you know when to play back at the c-bet, and when to give it some respect?
 

by Lou Krieger
 
It’s almost inevitable. You’re sitting in a poker game ready to act on your hand and there’s a raise. You wanted to play your hand, but now what should you do? Do you fold? Do you call and hope for salvation on the flop, or do you reraise to try to seize control of the hand because you think you have the best hand right now and want to get more money in the pot and play it against fewer opponents?
 
There are lots of reasons to reraise, and you and your opponents will often reraise for a variety of reasons— some solid, some not so good. So let’s try to put some perspective on this most aggressive of poker plays. Reraising for Value. This is the core three-bet. You think your hand is best, and you want to get more money in the pot while eliminating drawing hands that otherwise might stick around and get lucky on subsequent wagering rounds. And your opponent’s response to your reraise—does he fold, call, or make it four bets— will help you define the strength of his hand, and determine how yours stacks up against it.

by Diane McHaffie

 Contrary to many players’ thinking, desirable games are not necessarily those with the largest pots and an abundance of raising. In fact, the most-profitable tables are usually those with many players participating, but not much raising.

 Mike teaches that if two games of the same structure have similar average pot sizes, the one with more participants paying less money to chase the showdowns is usually more promising. There are exceptions, such as no-limit games where you can coax just one opponent to call a huge bet with a nearly hopeless hand. But in general, large pots in a game with many callers are more profitable than large pots with one opponent calling a large raise.

by Russ Fox
 
 Yes, I’m alive. For those wondering why I haven’t penned more articles, I have been busy with a move from Southern California to Las Vegas.
 
 But in the middle of my move I found some time for watching the Bears lose while playing poker $2-$5 nolimit hold’em. It was a quiet game (sort of like the Bears offense), and I was either up a few dollars or down a few dollars. Then John sat down.
 
 It was an hour before noon, but John carried two open beers and smelled of alcohol. While at the table, he disposed of five more Coors Lights (my brother, a beer drinker, says that shows bad taste) and a couple of mixed drinks. We also got some poker in.
 

by Tom "Time" Leonard
 
My last column dealt with bad beats, so what better topic to discuss as a follow-up than keeping one’s composure in the face of poker adversity? Equanimity at the poker table is one of your most valuable assets. If you let bad beats, the noisy joker at the end of the table, your lost sports bet that was just confirmed on TV, or anything else affect your play you are headed to the felt—as in tapped out. Today, let’s discuss how to remain stoic when suffering a stinging loss at the table.