Net Poker Review

Ivan Demidov is humble and modest when it comes to talking about his professional poker career and this Russian with roots in Moscov prefers to describe himself as ‘a semi-professional’ brushing aside any claims for being a poker star.

It was his college studies of Mathematics that helped Ivan play better poker, a game that he picked up in college and soon after, started playing on various websites. He changed over from online poker to participating in live tournaments though he revealed in various media interactions that this was a tough move for him considering the variables involved in both types of competitive gaming scenarios are dimensionally so different from each other that it is mind-boggling.

However, since Ivan Demidov at 27 years proved his presence at the final table of the WSOP main event of 2008 was a show of strength in his confident poker gaming, the transition from online to live tournaments doesn’t seem to appear all that difficult for this youthful ‘November Nine’ entrant. Ivan made it to the heads-up level with Peter Eastgate, though he made it only to second place, but his winnings of $5,809,595 must have provided good solace to his missing first place, feel fans of his style.

In the WSOP European chapter held in London the same year, Ivan secured a third place, which gave him the distinction of being the only player in poker history to have made it to both Main event final tables.

So far, Ivan has earned 10 cash wins in his career with total career winnings in the range of $6,598,475! He has only finished once but with a FullTilPoker position of 337, Ivan expects to take his four-year long poker career much ahead of his dreams. His first cash win came during a live game in 2006 where he reached the final table of a Pot Limit Omaha poker event hosted by the Korona Russian Poker Championship. Though at the time he secured 5th place in the finish, perhaps this was the sign he was looking for to compete in many more live tournaments. And so, Ivan participated in the 2007 No Limit tournament (a $1000 program) hosted as part of the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic event and came up two notches – at 3rd place.

Thereafter, there was a lull in Demidov’s poker carer as far as top 10 finishes are concerned because he secured 11th position during the WSOP Event # 44 in the $1000 session for a Rebuy No-Limit Holdem tournament, bagging $39,854 and still dreaming of bigger things to come.

He entered the WSOP Main Event and worked on resolutely building his chip stack daily and continued to play a tight game till the momentous Day 7 of the event where he chipped up a cool 24.4 Million that secured his entry into “November Nine” right behind Dennis Phillips who beat Ivan to the final table by ranking one above him.

Demidov declared his wish to get a variety in his tournaments experiences and expressed a desire to work with his friend and poker pro Alexander Kostritsyn in a bid to improve his poker skills – when he’s not pursuing his other favorite leisure sports: scuba diving and skiing!!

With an exotic name and roots in Hamburg, Moritz, has done Germany proud with his winning streak at pro poker at such a young age and with so little gaming experience (Moritz began playing poker seriously only 4 years before he won online cash poker tournaments).

This 28 year old poker star has enjoyed lots of early success in both his favorite card game as well as his personal life. He married his sweetheart Jessica just 3 years after striking it big in pro poker (July 2008) and first picked up the bug for participating in pro poker tournaments in 2005. This is when he started playing online poker with the largest virtual card room today – yes, we are talking about Pokerstars.com, the site that is regarded as the Mecca of pro poker fans looking to rake in the big pot wins.

He secured third place in the WCOOP Second Chance tournament hosted by PokerStars, which gave him the necessary shot in the arm to compete in other events and found himself at an enviable first place during the EPT Deauvile. This first place win ensured Moritz his seat at the EPT Final table round hosted in Monte Carlo with the final table worth pegged at 10,000 Euros.

So far, Moritz has enjoyed 8 cash wins in his career and his financial portfolio contains $2,184,567 in total winnings from various games, among which he finished at first place in 2 of these events. He has a ProRank 1 position of 98.

His nickname is ‘Catennacio’ and Moritz is one of the few modern FulTiltPoker players who love to play aggressive and won’t give up without a fight, which is a trait that has held him in good stead in exclusive tournaments at the international level, such as the WPT where he won the Bellagio Cup VI honor. His prize money totaled more than 875,000 but Moritz claimed that the feel of victory was more precious.

Of course, it is his relentless pursuit of opponent’s weaknesses and endurance to play a tough game at final tables too that inspires Moritz to always win with a unique class of gambling, like in the win towards his Bellagio event where he got the kind of attention he had never imagined and he was not criticized for his fierce gaming strategy against Smith either. Though he beat Smith, the latter still took home $594,755 earning second place while poker legend Phil Ivey settled for third place with a total winnings package of $ 363, 650. Thus it was actually Moritz’s second big title in poker – the PT Bellagio Cup that brought him name, fame and money.

Moritz’s style of poker though not old-school with its frequently aggressive and vocal responses to various opponent moves still contains a healthy element of courage and vitality that the game needs for showcasing different kinds of FulTilt poker talents in an international exposure of the game to win it a variety of players. Thus, his techniques and unique strategies that are well thought out and strongly decisive are what contribute to Moritz’s trademark fierceness in pro poker.

One of the most effective ways to improve poker game results is by undertaking poker video training programs that have been designed and presented by professional poker stars and advanced level players. Newer players especially can get a lot of valuable tips, information, visual support and one-to-one coaching from this easy and fun poker education tool that can help them improve their game and also make a regular income from playing poker!

Of course there are a lot of poker training videos aimed at experienced players as well, but since most poker training sites have live game compatible tools like simulators, odds calculators and display units to keep track of opponents, they are typically overlooked in favor of these innovative and user-friendly software that is freely available on top poker sites.

Choosing a good poker video training program depends on a lot of essential factors, with inclusion of live games and expert tips in the commentary or as sub-title support coming tops on the list so viewers can understand and review every aspect of the game as it occurs through the words of the presenter.

Having anytime access to expert live StarPoker support in a quality poker training video has better results than reading the same tips from a book or even accessing a forum that may have other opposing views expressed by poker players, which can confuse new players. Since videos are authoritative, personal coaching modes that combine sight and sound for creating an instant and personalized connection, they help achieve better learning graph curves for new poker players because it is a fact that over 93% people remember what they hear and see as compared to what they read.

Choosing a good poker training video also requires one to have a good idea of the particular gaming strategy one wants to improve or a variation one is keen to learn more about, then be it single table or multi-table, a ring game or a sit’n go, heads up or tournament practice one needs to learn about, the experience is simplified for the viewer.

Some videos have pros commenting simultaneously (when the play happens) while other videos may present this later – as an advantage of having hindsight. Choose the kind of tutorial that appeals best to your understanding of the language used and the presentation style you find easily relatable.

For example, a poker training video presented by Mike Watson who has earned an enviable $2,3000,000+ in live tournament winnings, and one by Dani “Ansky” Stern who landed 4th position in WSOP Event #2 $ No-Limit Holdem (buy in) and raked in $548, 000 will have completely different presentation styles, tips and strategies in their videos because of their disparate ages (Dani being in his early twenties and Mike much older and more experienced).

So, pro star poker players who can’t always be reached via blogs or forums can actually give newbie players a unique personalized training plan with hand-by-hand analysis in categories like bluffing, making aggressive plays, determining bet sizes, calculating odds, positions and lots more useful game areas to increase one’s win rate.

Videos with high quality images and clear audio that teach you to maintain a progress chart and have friendly ‘thought bubble’ style presentations in addition to live and clear commentaries by pros are the best buys for new players who want a fast and descriptive way to improve their craft as they are entertaining and easy to follow.

Clonie Gowan is an American poker pro who has also won the distinction of being Miss Teen Oklahoma. She has an unusual nickname – Cycalona that she earned due to her birth during a storm in Florida!

Most of Clonie’s schooling was done in Kiowa, Oklahoma and not many people know that this pro poker babe was also a good basketball player during school days. She started off in poker at a very young age – Clonie was only 15 when she got to know about poker games held in Louisiana over the weekend and she made it a point to drive down from Dallas for this. This was way back in 1986.

Now Clonie lives in Dallas with her two kids and actively runs a travel agency as well as concentrates on a fulltime professional poker career.

Among Clonie Gowen’s biggest achievements are her first WSOP win during the Costa Rica classic event (2002) where she secured a spot for herself in the top ten list. In 2003, she won the Ladies Night event arranged by the WPT. But not content to sit back on past honors, Clonie went on to participate and win in the Doyle Brunson 5 Diamond Poker Classic, a Las Vegas crowd puller event held in 2008 where she won tenth position, raking in money in excess of $86,000 as part of her proud winnings!

Though Clonie is still to get herself a coveted WSOP bracelet her 9 finishes in money for the WSOP keep her charged up for the big dream. Her 5 in the money finish during different WPT events also help keep Clonie motivated to finish in the final three or better still, the number one position someday. But till then, Clonie is happy to be featured in the hit TV series presented by NBC called ‘Poker after Dark’ where she’s been placed at first position three times over taken home $120,000 in total winnings!

So far, Clonie’s pro poker career has ensured her total wins greater than $2.2 million that she has earned from 35 tournaments. Her Pro League 1 group rank is 3870, which many of her critics acknowledge is due to her highly competitive streak at the tables where her logical application of winning strategies helps her inherent spunk to add on poker wins.

Clonie is just as active on PockerStar.net and focused on online poker forums and takes part in several discussions about the game, winning fans and attention outside the poker table, too. This regular interaction with fellow poker players and newbies with Clonie sharing tips and experienced advice with them helped Clonie get her personal website and linked poker blog lots of visitors and increase her web presence. She also talks about her many on road experiences that help keep her a real person and truly connected with the huge poker community out in the online world.

An upbeat and good-looking guest commentator, Clonie appears attractive and up for the game in events like Ultimate Poker Challenge as well as the European World Poker Championship. She also had a short stint with FullTillPoker.net as part of a panel of experts but later parted ways due to some payment issues with the website. Her other interests like in scuba diving and hiking while her poker inspirations include pros like Babe Thaler, Lee Markholt and Barry Greenstein.

Many people bluff in poker. It’s a way to make them think one thing when your hand says something totally different. So, in order for this to work in your favor, one needs to understand a bit about of this.

This shouldn’t be used just because everyone in poker bluffs. This is why most of them bluff. This isn’t how it should be though. You should only bluff when you think you should bluff. The other thing that you would find is that you shouldn’t’ do this until you are a good enough player. When you are good enough, this can work in your favor. You have to have no emotion as you raise the stakes.

There are two different types of PockerStars bluffs. There is the pure bluff. The pure bluff means the person who is bluffing is doing so with a bad hand. They are betting when they have nothing that they can work with. The other type of bluff is the semi bluff. This means they have a hand though it might be weak.

There are very good times to bluff. One of those times when it’s good to bluff is when you are what is called a late position. This means that the others around you have might seem to have a strong hand. Then, another time that is good to bluff is when you can sense that the other players might have a weak hand. This takes skill. You might never be able to do this. The other time is when you are only facing a single opponent. These are some of the best times to bluff.

Just as there are the best times to bluff, there are some not so best times to bluff. Here are some of the worst times when you shouldn’t bluff. One of those times is when you know that the person who is still in is the type of person who really doesn’t fold. Then, there is another one would be when the person you are going against has too much money in it that they won’t fold. Then, the last thing that will keep you from bluffing is when you have too many players who are still playing.

It just all depends on the game that you are in whether or not when you go about and bluff. There are some pocker star players that just think that it’s as simple as that to bluff, but it’s something to learn and should only be used at certain times like those suggested above. Other than that, you should really think about if you want to bluff or not or just abstain from bluffing all together. You really have to pick your spot and watch the other players. This is the other thing that many fail to do. Many fail to pay attention to the other people that they are playing with and lose out majorly as they find that they have misread a person that they don’t know all that well and their poker playing habits.

You watch the World Series of Poker and other tournaments on television all the time. And if you’re really a fan of the game, you have a favorite player. Or at least someone who’s influenced your game. This brings me to the question, who is the best Full Tilt Poker player out there right now? For me, it’s a real short list.

Daniel Negreanu of PokerStars? He’s a class act whether he wins or loses. His skill in reading others and calling their hand is inarguably in the elite class of players in history. You also can’t deny his ability to play post-flop. To see how the flop feels toward his opponents’ hands, and how that relates to his hand, puts the man in a class by himself. Negreanu kills you with kindness, especially when trying to read your tells. He’ll talk and talk and get you to talk back. Then he’s got you.

Phil Ivey of Full Tit? The coolest player under pressure. A poker face that could kill a nun. He always seems to make the most calculated and precise decisions. And the man wins, a lot. He’s unbeatable as a cash game player. He’s got millionaires from all the PartyPoker world lining up to play him in private games. His major downside is his slight lack of patience. Add to that his risk-taking tendencies, and you start seeing more players calling him more. Different from Negreanu, Ivey uses the silent treatment to read his opponents. You rarely see him goat someone to get the information he wants. He’s a quiet killer.

Phil Hellmuth of EverestPoker? I don’t have as much respect for this guy as I used to (as a card player), but for others the debate over who’s the best starts and ends with this name. Personally, I don’t have in in the same class as the first two names. But the man is a champ, a big winner, and many think he’s the best in the game right now.

Mike Madusow of Full Tit Poker? He’s a got a great back story, if you don’t know it do a little Googling. What can you say about him? He’s a smart player, and he gets under people’s skin. They lose their cool and let something slip. Of course, all the other players just sitting back not running their mouth can pick up on whatever that slip might be, too. Madusow gets a lot of headlines because of his lip. But he deserves to be mentioned with the best of them today.

For me, in the end, it’s Ivey by a hair over Negreanu of PokerStars. Ivey is the Tiger Woods of poker right now. In a class by himself.