We are now running frequent freerolls on Full Tilt Poker. In order to qualify, you just have to follow the instructions explained here. You do have to deposit to qualify, but there are no wager requirements to get the passwords sent to you.

In addition to the freerolls, you can also get a free odds calculator worth $100!

Best of luck and see you at the tables!

Next freeroll: 18/05/2008

The majority of freerolls we offer are for qualifying members only. Qualify now.

The site has been updated in a number of ways:

• It is now possible to qualify for the freerolls by directly depositing to Full Tilt Poker.
• Due to a lack of activity, the forums have been removed. It is now possible to post comments on any posts.
• A poker news section has been added to the left hand panel on every page.
• A tag cloud has been added to draw your attention to whats being talked about at the moment.

After emailing Full Tilt Poker enquiring about their stance on datamining programs, I received the following reply:

Statistical tracking programs for online poker have become more and more common in recent years. There are several products available that are similar to the one you mention in your email.

Initially, these programs allowed you to download your own hand histories into them, which in turn allowed you to examine the tendencies of your opponents, and analyze your own play. When used in this manner, we see nothing wrong with them whatsoever.

However, some such programs now come preloaded with several hundred thousand hand histories that the developers have obtained in one of two ways: either by buying them outright from other players, or by using a technique called “data mining” on various poker sites. Needless to say, we certainly find the use of these programs in this manner to be unethical; players have access to information for which they really have not paid (in the form of rake, and time at the tables with the vast majority of the players in the hand histories).

We cannot stop players from selling hand histories; the files are stored on their computers, and they are free to do as they choose with them. However we do not support programs such as this when used in this manner. To that end and to answer your other two questions:

a) Full Tilt Poker does not provide any API for mining hand histories
from observed tables

b) Players are only able to record hand histories for games in which
they are involved.

We will be hosting a freeroll for all active forum posters on 20/04/2008. The freeroll will be on Full Tilt Poker and will be either $25 or $50 depending how many players there is likely to be. If you have posted a number of good messages on the forum, you will be invited to play. Please don’t post ‘how do I get the password’ threads as this will guarantee you don’t get in. If I think you are an active forum member, I will PM you the game password a few hours before the game starts. With regards to what ‘a number of good messages’ is, I will decide. If you make spammy posts purely to try to get your post count up in an attempt to get in, you will just be wasting your time.

The time of the freeroll will be confirmed later but will probably be 20:00GMT (15:00 EST). Best of luck!

We have  two discount voucher codes for Drinkstuff both of which expire expire April 30th 2008.

DRINKONEOFF -  £1 off all orders over £10
DRINKFREEDEL - Free delivery on all orders over £25

Harrington on Hold’em Volume 1 : Strategic Play is widely considered to be the all time best strategy book for poker, specialising on No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournaments.  Dan Harrington won the gold bracklet in the 1995 $10,000 WSOP Hold’em event, and made it to the final table in both 2003 and 2004. He is the only player to have ever managed this.

I don’t think it would be out of line to say that any poker player would benefit by reading volume 1 of this 3 title series. Even if Hold’em isn’t your game of choice, the chapter covering pot odds is worth reading and you are guaranteed to get something out of it. This book builds on ideas first put forward in ‘Sklanksky – Tournament Poker for Advanced Players’, putting in an easy to absorb way for beginner’s right through to much more advanced players. Volume 2 carries on from where volume 1 stops, focusing on the endgame. Despite this, the first volume is written such that it covers all aspects of strategic play as a standalone book.

Although he is a very aggressive player, Dan Harrington has successfully managed to explain the styles and strategies of other winning players and taught the importance of being aggressive when required. Throughout the book he has used hands and scenarios from real life games to demonstrate each point that he makes. Each chapter ends with a set of problems where you a given a choice of actions to make and are tested on your decision. This is a very good way of going over what you’ve learnt and checking that you have correctly understood the concepts covered.

The book is laid out in a very logical and sensible way, starting with a general introduction to poker and running through all of the different streets and how each should be played, covering other important subjects such as pot odds on the way. Instead of being preoccupied with endless talk about how some hands are more important that others, Harrington describes other more important factors such as position and continuations bets in depth.

As well as a professional poker, Dan Harrington is also an expert teacher as this book proves. He is able to carefully articulate every point and at no stage will you be stuck wondering what he meant. Unlike most books, you will be able to immediately integrate his advice into how you play, and you are certain to reap the profits as a result. The best advice any poker player could give you is buy this book!

Betfair have just released new improvements to their poker software which apply from 5th March 2008. This brings their software more in line with bigger players in the online poker market. The new changes mean that you can now select to always be sat in a centralised seating position with the other player repositioned around you. If you are playing multiple games at once, this makes it a lot easier to keep track of each game as your position is consistent.  It is a disappointment that the only position you can specifically select to be sat in is the top and this cannot be changed. In heads up games, it is now default from one player to be at the top and the other at the bottom rather than left and right, but this can be changed back if it is your preference.

If you select it in the options panel, a last hand button is now available. A button in the top left of the table allows you to get a text summary of the previous hand. It would be nicer to see a graphic representation like on Full Tilt Poker, but this is an improvement. It is still possible to view a history of all hands under program files.

For ring games, an add chips button is now available to simplify the process of bringing more chips to the table. It is still possible to double click on your name as before.

I imagine it will only affect high stakes players with a large number of railbirds watching, but it is now possible to mute observer chat. This makes it easier to concentrate on the game when the big all in decision is really needed.

The lobby view has also been improved with the default sorting field changed to stake size. This makes much more sense and means that games are listed in a more logically order. There are also new filtering options so that only the games you want to play are shown. This means you can get rid of limit games if you only ever play no limit etc…

All in all, Betfair have done a good update and made the overall player experience more pleasurable.

Sign up to Betfair using the link below for a $150 sign up bonus - Just click the banner then click on the poker tab to sign up!

If you ever run home tournaments, you will appreciate how hard it is to decide on blind structures which result in a good game, but means you aren’t still playing the same game after 24 hours!

In home tournaments, I’ve seen lots of people keeping track of the amount of time left before the blinds change on wall clocks, watches and mobile phones. None of these are really ideally as not all players can keep track of how quickly the blinds are about to change.

A handy online tool solves both of these problems. Poker Listings tournament clock allows you to set how many players you have, the amount of chips each player starts with, and how long you want the game to last. It will then give you a recommended blinds structure and the amount of time between blinds, both of which are customisable if you are not happy with what it estimates. When you are happy with the settings, you can start the game, and a full screen tournament clock loads. If you have a laptop, you can place this next to the table you are playing at where everybody can see it. You will get both visual and audio alerts when the blinds need to be changed. You can also keep track of rebuys and the number prizes which are paid out.

Best of all, it’s free to use!

We are now running frequent freerolls on Full Tilt Poker. In order to qualify, you just have to follow the instructions explained here. You do have to deposit to qualify, but there are no wager requirements to get the passwords sent to you.

In addition to the freerolls, you can also get a free odds calculator worth $100!

Best of luck and see you at the tables!

Next freeroll: 18/05/2008

The majority of freerolls we offer are for qualifying members only. Qualify now.

Sit and Go Shark is a program designed to be used whilst playing online sit-and-go poker tournaments. It uses auto-read to detect which cards are in play and to give you information on how to play the cards you have.

The advice it gives you is broken down into 7 separate sections:
• Your cards – what you have been dealt and how you should play accordingly.
• Positioning – Where you are compared to the dealer chip.
• Momentum – whether the game is moving fast and aggressively or if the table is full of tight, conservative players.
• Opponents – whether you are playing against players who are tight or loose.
• Pot Odds – whether you are being offered goods odds to play a hand.
• Number of Players - how many players are left in the tournament.
• Blinds – how healthy is you chip stack compared to the big blind.

The amount of detail allocated to each section can be customised under the options menu.

It is very easy to play a poker tournament whilst using Sit and Go Shark. You join a game as you would normally, and once it starts, you select the game number in Sit and Go Shark and click ‘Go’. Once you load the advice engine, the program sits next to your normal poker client giving you advice to help you win.

Sit and Go Shark can be used at the same time as Texas Calculatem, giving you a massive advantage over other players at the table.

You do not have to use the advice that is given, but it is often very accurate. If you play small single table tournaments, then this is definitely the best poker tool you can use.