• 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.

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.

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

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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!

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!

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!

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

Best of luck and see you at the tables!

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