It is now only 25 days until the World Series Of Poker Championship 2006.


It will be held this year in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on the June 25 – August 10 2006.


2006 WSOP Schedule

Say you're playing in a low-stakes ring game. The blinds are $.50 and $1, and it's folded to you in middle position. You find a nice hand - pocket Tens - and bring it in for a standard raise of three times the big blind. It's folded around to a player in late position, who re-raises the minimum amount, making it $5 to go.


I've seen this sort of play repeatedly in the past few months while researching my next No-Limit Hold 'em book by playing in low-stakes games. Every time I've been faced with a minimum re-raise, I've been up against a monster - pocket Kings or Aces.


A player who opts for the small raise may think he's being crafty by getting me to put a little extra money in the pot while he holds a big hand. But this is not a profitable play. There are two major problems with the minimum raise.


I've already mentioned the first problem: My opponent has telegraphed his hand. And making good decisions is pretty easy when you know exactly what your opponent holds. The second problem is mathematical. My opponent is giving me 5 to 1 to call the additional raise. (In this example, my extra $2 will give me a chance win $10.) When I make the call, I know that I stand to win a very big pot. My implied odds - the money I stand to make if I hit my hand - more than justify the call. If my opponent started the hand with a $100 stack, I could get paid at a rate of 50 to 1.


So I call and see a flop. If there's no Ten on the board, I'm done with the hand. And if there is a Ten, I'm going to wipe my opponent out. As I said, poker is a pretty easy when you know what your opponent holds.


What's the proper play when you hold Aces and a player has raised in front of you? Find the "Bet Pot" button and click it. Put pressure on a player who you know is starting with a second-best hand. Who knows, if he's got pocket Queens or A-K, he may be willing to put his entire stack in pre-flop. If he holds something like Jacks or Tens, your big raise will minimize your opponent's implied odds.


You should be wary of minimum raises at other stages of a hand, as well. Say you raised pre-flop with A-K and one player called. You hit top pair top kicker on a K-8-4 board. You bet out the size of the pot and your opponent min-raises you. At this point, you need to be very concerned that your opponent has hit a set. You have to wonder why he'd be raising an amount that almost begs for your call.


My advice here is two fold: first is that you should all but eliminate the minimum raise from your game. In some rare circumstances when you hit a full house or quads, it might be appropriate, but that's about it. Second is that alarm bells should go off whenever you see a min raise. Your opponent probably has a big hand and you need to proceed accordingly.




Phil Gordon

Last year, the winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event took home $7.5 million. Not bad, until you consider that this year's first-place prize is projected to be about $10 million. Regardless of the amount, if you get to the WSOP through Full Tilt Poker and go on to win the Main Event, we will give you $10 million on top of your first-place money.


That's right, if you qualify for the WSOP at Full Tilt Poker, we'll pay your entry fee, and if you go on to win a spot at the final table, we'll reward you with $50K. Finish in the top three, and we'll give you $100K. Win the whole tournament, and we'll hand over $10 million in addition to your Main Event top prize.


We've loaded our schedule with lots of great WSOP tournaments, giving you tons of chances to win a seat to the Main Event. And, if you win multiple WSOP Main Event seats, you could become our King of the WSOP which will get you first-class airfare, and upgraded suite at the Rio Hotel, 24 hour limo access, and a crown on the avatar of your choice for one year. So, with all of this and an extra $10 million up for grabs, why would you play anywhere else?

If you want to win it you have to be in it, so click here and start palying at Fulltilt Poker.

The majority of poker books and strategy is based on an aggressive style of play. That's because it wins. However, one pro at the FullTilt Team recognizes that calling may be the best option for some hands, particularly in no limit. Today's edition of FullTilt Poker's Tips from the Pros features Gavin Smith. Read and see if you agree with him.
When I play in No-Limit Hold 'em tournaments, I find a lot of situations where calling is the best available option. A strategic call might keep me from going broke in a hand where I hold a good, but second-best hand. Or, a well-timed call might allow me to pick up a pot with a hand that wouldn’t win at showdown.


Say you’re in the middle stages of a tournament and you have a stack that is slightly above average. A tight player opens in early position for a raise of three times the big blind. You look at your cards and see pocket Tens. You probably don’t want to fold Tens. It might be as good a hand as you’ve seen in a long while, and it may very well be the best hand at that moment. Many people would say that, in this situation, you should throw in a large re-raise.


But the re-raise can be dangerous. Depending on the size of your stack, you could end up committed to the pot and have no choice but to call if your opponent moves all-in. If that happens, you’re probably up against a higher pair or, at best, A-K. You never want to commit all your chips when you’re either a small favorite or a big underdog.


If, however, you just call the open-raise, you’ll have a far better opportunity to make a good decision after the flop. The flop might come A-Q-7, at which point, you can fold to any bet, knowing there’s essentially no chance your hand is best. Should you see a flop of 4-4-6 and your opponent bets, you can raise. Most opponents holding only A-K would fold at that point. If your opponent then moves all-in, you can be pretty sure that your Tens are no good. You can fold, having preserved a good portion of your stack.



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