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Best Poker Movies

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 23:06:42 GMT

Best Poker Movies

Entertainment for Days

Poker has been around for centuries supplying us with wins, losses, and unlimited hours of entertainment. This is not limited to just playing the game, it also includes Poker movie favorites. In no particular order, here are the top favorite Poker movies.

1. Rounders. This movie seems to be a favorite no matter who is watching. An American drama released in 1998, Rounders is a film about two friends who need to win in a large stake bet to pay off a large debt. It was not a popular movie after its release, earning only mixed reviews, however it later became a cult classic. Matt Damon and Edward Norton play the main characters in the movie and showing us the true meaning of a “Rounder,” which is someone who travels from city to city seeking high-stakes card games.

2. Maverick. This movie released in 1994, gives us some comedic relief with the help of Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, and James Garner. Maverick is set in the old West and was based on its namesake TV series from the 1950’s. Mel plays Maverick, a con artist that takes money so he can enter a high-stakes poker game.

3. Cincinnati Kid. Released in 1965 Steve McQueen, Edward G. Robinson, and Ann-Margret play in this drama about a young Cincinnati kid who travels from one city to another playing in large-stakes poker games, meeting many women along the way, and finally ends up playing against the champion player.

4. The Grand. With many big names such as Woody Harrelson, Jason Alexander, Ray Romano, Mike Epps and many more, this 2007 comedy uses a handful of well-known actors to compete in an actual poker tournament.

5. Casino Royale. Of course, a movie from the James Bond series would be included in the best of the poker movies. Released in 2006, the third screenplay adaption of the novel Casino Royale written by Ian Fleming, takes place at the beginning of Bond’s career. Bond, played by Daniel Craig, is supposed to bankrupt a terrorist in a high-stakes game of poker. It became the highest grossing James Bond film until Skyfall was released.

6. Mississippi Grind. This film from 2015 starring Ryan Reynolds, is about a struggling Real Estate agent/gambler who teams up with another gambler in hopes of changing his luck and win back what’s been lost.

7. Deal. The film released in 2008 is about an unhappy law school graduate who joins the world series of poker taught to him by an ex-gambler who he ends up playing against in a final poker battle.

8. Lucky You. In this film from 2007, Eric Bana is fighting his inner demons while trying to win a poker tournament in Vegas.

9. California Split. Another poker comedy released in 1974 is about two gamblers who’s lives begin to parallel one another, sending them deeper into the gambling world where the stakes continue to grow.

10. High Roller. This drama released in 2003 is about the poker legend Stuey Ungar who was gambling by the age of ten and ultimately won millions playing poker.

History of Blackjack

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 22:58:07 GMT

History of Blackjack

Blackjack, Twenty-one, and Card Counting

It is believed that Blackjack may have originated in French casinos during the 1700’s. The name of the game was Vingt-et-une, which translates into Twenty-one. Thanks to the French that colonized in America, Blackjack and other various versions developed throughout the country.

A few other games across Europe, which were similar to Blackjack, may have been the precursors to the development of today’s commonly known version of Blackjack. The basic idea in each of the games was to get a set of cards that added up to a specific number. Most cards in the deck being face value and one or two cards that would count as face value while also having a second value. While Vingt-et-Un and Blackjack are very similar, there are a few differences in their rules. In the modern game, the dealer’s second card would be visible to all players, he would make his decision on play up until the start of the game, and then the mandatory rules of Blackjack would have to be followed.

Twenty-one was fully established in America when gambling halls were legalized around 1820 in New Orleans. It was not until the twentieth century that the name changed from Twenty-one to Blackjack. The best hand to get was an Ace of spades and either a Jack of spades or Jack of clubs, which is how Blackjack got its name. Casinos would offer bigger payouts or bonus payouts for those specific cards, thus Twenty-one was born.

During this time, card counting and sleight of hand players were winning frequently due to the lack game standards and controls. However, the true birth of card counting began with a book “Beat the Dealer” that was written in 1962 by Edward O. Thorp. Thorp developed a “ten-count system” in which you would pick two standard numbers that represented tens and respectively, the other cards in the deck. This method was used with a single deck of cards and as you can imagine, popularity of the book grew rapidly and everyone took their chances in the casinos.

This trend led casinos to make adjustments to stop card counting, so they started adding two and four deck games making card counting quite a bit more difficult. There was a positive to Thorp’s book though, not only did it help casinos curb to the cheating, it generated an influx of players. Most of the new players were not practiced enough to beat the system thus generating more revenue for the casinos.

In 1971, one card counter named Al Francesco figured out how to beat the system for a while. He enlisted the help of other counters to help count and signal him in. One of the players Francesco trained ended up publishing a book called “The Big Player”. The book was about Francesco’s strategy and it immediately sparked card counting and signals through team play.

Casinos went through several different cheating tactics and how to stop them from happening. In 1979 one casino in Atlanta City went as far as letting counters play for two weeks uninterrupted. This experiment proved profitable for hundreds of counters, but eventually allowed a change in the weak rules in the Casino Control Commission. To keep the game desirable enough for people to keep playing, dealers and pit bosses would give out cards with basic Blackjack strategies creating a sense of security in the average player. This false sense of security would keep the players trying but inevitably loosing, bet after bet. Even with the stricter rules and guidelines developed over time, Blackjack remains one of the most popular card games all over the world.

A Game of Many Names

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 00:37:40 GMT

A Game of Many Names

The History of Omaha Hold'em

Right behind Texas Hold‘em, Omaha Poker has become the second favorite or equally favored poker game for players everywhere. Although the exact origin of Omaha Poker is unknown, one theory is that started in Detroit in the early seventies. At the time it was called “Twice Three”. That game was played in the five-card form and was popular in industrial cities of the Northwest and Midwest; it was especially popular in New York and Chicago. The four-card version was more popular states like Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado, Louisiana, and Washington. In every place the game was known by a different name such as “Oklahoma Two by Four,” “Nine Cards,” and “Fort Worth”. It was often renamed for the city it was played in.

Another origin story is that the original game was known as “Omaha High”, there were many versions that were played throughout the United States and across Europe including “Omaha High-Low,” “Omaha Eight-or-Better,” “Omaha/8,”and “PLO” (Pot-Limit Omaha). It has also been called the game of “the nuts.” This means the best low or high hand and “the nuts” win the showdown, meaning a player can draw both a full house, flush, straight, etc., using different card combinations.

In the early eighties, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Robert Turner introduced the game to William “Bill” Walter Boyd. At the time Boyd was manager of the Golden Nugget Casino card room in Las Vegas. After introducing it to the tables in the casino, the game gained popularity and also acquired another one of its many names, “Nugget Hold‘em”.

The game name “Omaha” finally stuck to differentiate the two main forms of poker, Texas and Omaha. Texas Hold’em was played using any five of the players cards out of the seven dealt. The less common version, Omaha, required the player to play both cards from his hand and only three from the community hand. The name “Omaha” was used in Las Vegas to let the players know the two cards in their hand had to both be played. However, another possibility of the final name was that after being played and renamed after many different cities it was finally named after Omaha, a more centrally located city and a name that added continuity to the game played anywhere.

Omaha is a game of skill and chance and with all the names and variations you better be well versed on how to play each one. You will find Omaha played online, in casinos, and at in-home poker games.

Did you know...?

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:35:03 GMT

Did You Know...?

Fun Facts About the Game Everyone Loves

Playing cards were invented by the Chinese before AD1000 and reached Europe around 1360. Sometime during the early 19th century the game of Poker cultivated and has grown into a lucrative sport played all over the world today. America is the birthplace of Poker. The game was developed in Louisiana, more specifically New Orleans. The first version of Poker was played with only twenty cards, where now we play with the full deck of fifty-two cards. In the twenty-card version you were only able to play with four players. Each player was dealt five cards then they would bet on who had the best hand. It was not until around 1834 that the fifty-two-card deck was integrated into the game.

In the early stages of poker gold nuggets, gold coins, and gold dust was used for the ante. The problem was that they could not standardize units; thus, the poker chip was born. Saloons and gaming houses came up with poker chips, that were made from bone, wood, clay, and ivory. Each chip had a design that would tell the value and could be exchanged for real money. You could exchange the money at the gaming house like what you do today in a Casino.

The world’s longest poker game was held in the famous “Bird Cage Theater” in Tombstone, Arizona. It was said to have lasted eight years, five months, and three days. It was played continuously twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and the minimum buy in was $1000. Most don’t know it, but Poker is the most lucrative sport in the world. Millions of people watch baseball, football, basketball, etc., and know how much the top players make. However, if you look at the top money makers in each sport, the sum of the five largest pots won adds up to $44,2023,738, far exceeding what professional sports players earn.

In 2012, Antonio Esfandiari won the largest WSOP pot taking home a whopping $18.3 million. Coming in second is Elton Tsang who won $12.2 million. The top online poker winner to date is Patrik Antonius who won over $17 million. Currently, Daniel Negreanu is at the top of the jackpot list with over $34 million in total winnings.

The largest online poker tournament to date was set on June 16, 2013. It had 225,000 players with a $1 buy-in and a prize pool of $300,000. First place took home $25,000 and the runner up won $15,000.

The famous “Dead Man’s Hand” which consists of the Ace of Clubs, Ace of Spades, 8 of Clubs, and 8 of Spades, was born when Wild Bill Hickok, a famous gunslinger, was shot and killed at a Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota. Hickok was allegedly holding those cards when he died, forever coining the name.

There are many different “tells” that players have, but here are a few to watch for next time you are in a game. The direction a player leans, forward or backward, can be an indication of a powerful hand. Also, the way a player stacks their chips can be used as a way to mislead the other players. A person who is bluffing may use direct eye contact to get you to fold. Keep an eye on your opponents; they are definitely watching you too.

7 Card Stud

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:39:17 GMT

7 Card Stud

The Original Game of Poker Night

Before Texas Hold ’em took the poker world by storm, the game of Seven Card Stud, also known as Down the River or Seven Toed Pete, was the go-to poker game. Although no one really knows where or how the game began, 7 Card Stud gained popularity on the riverboats in New Orleans around the 1830’s. Stud poker is any number of variants in which each player receives a combination of face-down and face-up cards dealt during multiple betting rounds.

Seven Card Stud gets its name from how the hand is dealt and it’s a game that can take years to master. Throughout the game each player is individually dealt seven cards but only the best five-card hand is used to determine the winning hand.

Most of the time Seven Card Stud is played with two to eight players yet can include a ninth player if the players fold often. When played with eight, special rules may be necessary if none of the players fold after the last cards are dealt. When played in a home game it is typical to use only an ante and when played in a casino it is common to use a bring-in and small ante.

There are a few variants of Seven Card Stud, the most common being Mississippi Stud. In this game the betting rounds between the fourth and fifth streets are removed leaving only four betting rounds. The final card is dealt face up making it most like Texas Hold ‘em. The next is Roll Your Own, where four rounds of two cards are dealt face down. The player must then “roll” one card to face up and follow with a round of betting. Apart from the first round, the card that was rolled may or may not be from the round that was just dealt.

In other variants such as Queens and After, Baseball, Low Chicago, Acey Ducey, and One-eyed Jacks or Suicide King, certain cards are played as wild cards. The rules on other cards after wild cards are played or pot winners change slightly from the rules of Seven Card Stud. The last variant is Razz, which is a lowball form of Seven Card Stud where the objective is to get the lowest hand possible.

Seven Card Stud or variations of it are what most poker tournaments are based on. It is an established game at many casinos in Vegas and other worldwide casinos as well as online casinos.

Learn to play at:

https://www.wsop.com/poker-games/seven-card-stud/rules/

https://www.888poker.com/magazine/strategy/learn-to-play-7-card-stud-poker-games

Player of the Year 2019

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 22:30:14 GMT

Player of the Year 2019

Daniel Negreanu

Every year the World Series of Poker chooses a Player of the Year (POY) calculated from points earned through wins in multiple bracelet events in the US and in Europe. In 2004 and 2013 Daniel Negreanu won that title making him the first player ever to win the title twice and in 2019 he walked away with the Player of the Year title for the third time in his life.

Negreanu was born in Toronto, Ontario Canada, in 1974. As a very ambitious child, Daniel knew he was going to be rich. During a 2009 interview he said, “I told my mom I’d build a house out of popsicle sticks and move to California.” During his school age years, one of his school Principals almost expelled him because of his bad behavior and poor manners. At the age of 15 he learned how to play poker and by 16 he was spending his time betting on sports, playing cards, and hustling in the local pool halls.

At the age of 21 Daniel took his chances, unsuccessfully, in Vegas but had to return home to Toronto to rebuild his bank roll. After hundreds of hours of studying, playing, and working hard on his game, he finally figured out how to win his hand in Vegas. He has since become one of the most successful, influential, and well known WSOP players.

Daniel had his first major successes in 1997 when he won three tournaments, two of those at the World Poker Finals. He earned $55,064 and was named the best all-around player at Foxwoods’ World Poker Final. In 1998 Daniel entered his first ever World Series of Poker event where he won the $2000 pot in the Limit Hold ‘Em event. At 23 years old, he earned the nickname “Kid Poker” after winning a World Series of Poker bracelet. Daniel, at the time, was the youngest player ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet.

2004 turned out to be the best year in Daniel’s poker career. He won his third World Series of Poker bracelet in Limit Hold ‘Em and made 11 final tables. His total winnings that year amounted to a whopping $4,465,907, earning him his first World Series of Poker Player of the Year title, Player of the Year in Card Player Magazine, and he was named World Poker Tour Player of the Year.

As an accomplished poker player, Daniel has earned over $21 million in lifetime winnings, six World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour championship titles. He has won various other tournaments and reached several World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker final tables. In 2007 he joined Team PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the world. He currently resides in Las Vegas working on his golf game and spending time with friends. Daniel has been and will continue to be a favorite among poker fans for his love of the game and entertaining personality.

Is Lady Luck on Your Side?

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 00:47:07 GMT

Is Lady Luck on Your Side?

A look into some of the largest poker pots in history!

If you’ve ever played poker, you know very well that you can win big or you can lose big. Call it strategy or luck, but whatever it is, you can only hope the you are the one on the winning end. There are a few professional players who have taken a chance and won. Here is a small glimpse into some of the largest winning pots in poker history.

Back in 2007 Jerry Yang, one of the more experienced players, took home the prize of $8.2 million. He outplayed over 6000 entrants in the World Series of Poker at a buy-in of $10,000 and total prize pool of $59.7 million. He donated 10% of his winnings to charity and used the rest of his money to set his 6 kids up for life and send them to the best universities.

In 2010, at one of the largest poker events held in the WSOP, from over 7,300 registrants at a buy in of $10,000 each, Jonathan Duhamel took the winning pot at a staggering $8.9 million. The total prize pool sat at $68.7 million and took 4 months to finally get to the winning hand. Duhamel was in the lead most of the time and with his win, he became the first Canadian to win the WSOP gold bracelet. Jonathan generously donated $100,000 of his winnings to the Canadian Children’s Foundation.

One of the largest cash prize winnings in a tournament held outside the USA was taken in 2016 by poker player Elton Tsang. Tsang, who was born in Canada but currently resides in Hong Kong, won $12.2 million at the Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza. The tournament had a $1 million buy-in, bringing the total prize pool to $27.4 million.

At age 23, Daniel Coleman took home $15.3 million when he won the 2014 WSOP tournament. Daniel got his start playing online poker but became social media famous for showing no emotion after his win. The total prize pool for this charity event, The Big One for One Drop, was $37.3 million and the charity itself raised $4.6 million to provide clean water in developing countries.

During the 2012 WSOP event, Antonio Esfandiari took home a whopping $18.3 million. Antonio, who is also called “The Magician,” is well known for his magic tricks with poker chips. With a total prize pool of $42.6 million, even the runner up was able to take home $10.1 million.

So, are you ready to try your hand with Lady Luck?

A Brief History of Texas Hold'em

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 19:38:42 GMT

A Brief History of Texas Hold’em

Don’t get mad that you lost, get mad that you didn’t win. – Michael Girsitz

Texas Hold’em, originally called simply “Hold’em”, first started in Robstown, Texas in the early 1900’s and then was brought to Las Vegas in 1963 to only a few select casinos. Within a few years, the popularity of the game expanded, and additional casinos began to host the game. One reason it may have become more popular is that players bet four times, versus only twice in Draw Poker, making Hold’em a “thinking man’s game” and attracting new players.

When Hold’em was introduced to Vegas, it didn’t get much attention from the wealthy players. This was because it was located in the “undesirable” locations of the casino, such as in unfinished areas. In 1969, a professional tournament was hosted. The tournament was located in a prime location near the entrance of the casino and attracted a large number of players. Since the game was new, the experienced poker players made bank off the inexperienced players that were a part of the tournament.

While it started out in only a few casinos, Texas Hold’em has since become one of the most popular variants of poker and is the number one game played in the World Series of Poker. The annual poker tournament started in 1969 was then taken over by Benny and Jack Binnion, and it moved to their casino and was renamed the World Series of Poker. A suggestion was made that they make the main event a no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament, which increased the popularity of the game even more.

In 1978, Doyle Brunson’s strategy book was published, changing how the game was played. Al Alvarez published “The Biggest Game in Town” discussing the 1981 World Series of Poker and that started poker-based literature. Popularity of the game continued to soar. Texas Hold’em spread to California in the 1980s but was illegal until 1988 when the courts ruled it to be an allowable game. Some believe that it was approved because it is a game of skill and not just chance.

Today, Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular card games. There are multiple tournaments, strategy guides, websites, books, movies and online games based on Texas Hold’em. A simple card game from Texas not only changed the gambling world but has also impacted much of popular culture. Today, Texas Hold’em can be found in any casino in Vegas and beyond!