Senior Citizens in Poker

Senior Citizens in Poker

I have previously covered the topic of underage poker players. This blog I thought it to be necessary to give a mention to the other end of the age scale; The Senior Citizens in Poker. The senior citizens have a lot going for them at the poker table. Most are experienced players and have been around the block quite a few times. They are sometimes very much wiser when it comes to life also; they have been alive longer and this is expected. Life skills are definitely something we use in our little world of poker also.

Senior Citizens in poker are usually very good bankroll managers and have a load more cash than the young guns to invest into their hobby, career or lifestyle; whichever you may call poker. Remember senior citizens have had a life time of learning, saving and building their bankroll. As poker players say; “Poker takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master”. Senior citizens are well on their way to being masters of the game.

It can be very hard for the senior citizens though; many of us just don’t realize! There are players that are almost 90 years of age. I know from my personal experiences with close relatives that at this age we humans like to have what I call “nanny naps” in the middle of the day; senior citizens do tire a lot easier. Tiring can make tournament play very difficult in particular. Some tournaments such as the Aussie Millions Poker Championship you are playing 13 to 16 hours a day to make the final table. The thought is enough to tire me without adding on another 40 years to my life. I feel tired playing 7 and 8 hours of tournaments and I ‘think’ I am at peak age for sports.

On a very bright note the senior citizens in poker are keeping an active brain. Active minds equate to wonderful outcomes for our health and well being. As we age we tend to slow down our thinking processes. We retire and lay back a little. Sure we may read some books and do jigsaw puzzles but is that really keeping an active mind? By active I mean ACTIVE! I mean thinking as hard as you can to sum up a situation, to count, read, act, watch and be alert nonstop. All of this is in the game of poker.

Many senior citizens I know enjoy walks in the park, bingo, gardening, home bridge games, lawn bowels – I may be biased but I will be a poker player at age 80. It takes more cunning, whit and skill on a mental note than anything else I can think of I would participate in as a hobby after retirement from my day job. It also takes extreme physical effort when you consider the statement above about playing 13-16 hour tournaments. Stewart Scott as an example lost 6 kilograms when he took down the Aussie Millions in 2008 and he is not a big man! It is no easy feat to play these games and any poker player will know it. At the end of each day you have the life drawn out of you. Our Senior Citizens in Poker are indeed TOUGH!

Many of the friends I have that play poker are almost if not over retirement age. To all of you reading this you all rock! Senior Citizens in Poker such as these friends have a load of knowledge to give; to pass down. As the years roll on we all will be passing down our knowledge. I am passing mine to my 12 year old son during home games already. In fact; my 5 year old daughter knows the hand rankings in poker also and at an early age! My point is that senior citizens in poker have wisdom and knowledge that just shouldn’t be over looked. Next time a senior citizen is talking poker to you; don’t laugh or giggle as I have seen some younger poker players do -> LISTEN. You may just learn a trick or two. They are indeed very good on picking up on game and play faults.

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Omaha Poker Variants

Omaha Poker Variants

As the poker boom increases so does the popularity of Omaha and the different Omaha poker variants. It only makes sense to touch on this every growing poker game; one that is rarely touched on and very much overlooked.

In reality when looked at seriously each and every Omaha tournament you enter is going to have easier competition. The world seems to know the game of NL Texas Hold'em like the back of their hands; this doesn't apply to the different Omaha poker variants giving you a much better chance in any game. This of course only applies if you take a serious attempt at learning the game of Omaha or already know it like the back of your hands.

Let’s take a look at Omaha poker variants and what each have to offer; specifically for those who are thinking of taking up the game and know little about it.

Omaha (Hi): The rules are the same as Texas Hold'em with a few slight differences. Firstly in Omaha you start with 4 hole cards and not two. You MUST use two of these cards plus chosen cards from the board (community cards) to make your hand. You may use no more and no less. Apart from this if one compares this and the the hi-lo Omaha poker variants, the same rules apply as Texas Hold'em Pot or Limit.

Omaha Hi/Lo: As with Omaha Hi you start with 4 hole cards. Again you must and can only use 2 of them. The main difference between the two Omaha poker variants while moving from Hi/Lo to Omaha Hi is that you can have a high and a low winner in each hand. The player with the “high hand” wins the high (hand rankings according to Texas Hold'em) and the player with nothing “low hand” wins the low. The pot is split evenly. If there is no low winner the high hand takes all.

As time goes on more and more players are taking up the different Omaha poker variants so I suggest an immediate switch to ensure you take advantage of the fishy competition, Remember that most people playing Omaha variants are learners and fishy is indeed a word to sum them up. Don't be one of them; do some learning first rather than try learning with your money on the tables.

Omaha poker variants have tournaments and cash table to suit most bankrolls. Regardless of the poker site chosen you should be able to afford to build an Omaha bank roll. It is suggested that you keep in mind that Omaha cash and Omaha tournaments have very different play structures so you need to make sure you have that part of your game very clear. The strategy used in the two Omaha poker variants varies dramatically. It is essential to learn cash to fund your Omaha tournament bankroll so cash / ring games are a certain starting point.

There is still big prize money to earn in these games. Do not think for a second you have no chance of playing and earning from them. In my first Omaha Hi tournament only a few months ago I placed 32^nd out of a massive 8985 players. With each player paying a $1 entry this accounts to a massive prize pool for little risk.

Take the switch and see how you go. You may be the next online or live champ in one or more Omaha poker variants. As with all poker variants you don't know your ability until you try!

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Fundraising Through Poker Tournaments

Fundraising Through Poker Tournaments

Last article I covered fundraising through poker in 3 specific ways. All through facebook and connecting with poker players.

1. Selling your photos on owned -through basically playing games and having your poker friends bid for you

2. Inviting poker players to causes and having them invite their friends.

3. Making a birthday wish with donations going to your cause and no presents for you.

This article I will cover setting up online tournaments and live tournaments and advise you of the pros and cons of fundraising through poker tournaments. I will also cover another poker fundraising method associated directly with tournaments which is donations of winnings and the most obvious – direct advertising of the charity or appeal.

Usually when tragedy erupts in the poker scene people think immediately of poker tournaments as a great way of fundraising through poker. Setting up online poker tournaments can be a difficult and somewhat frustrating task as a means to fundraise. Let’s look at the steps involved and the issues that arise.

Firstly, you need to find a poker room that is willing to host the tournament for you. This usually isn’t so hard but does take some time to have processed. You must remember that the poker room hosting the tournament is going to make absolutely no money from this charity venture. They usually host the tourney in hope that they will gain players they didn’t have before. In saying this, many players are reluctant to join as they simply don’t have money to spread across many sites or are branded to a particular site. There are also other things to consider when fundraising through poker tournaments. You must advertise it! Advertising costs money and time. Also; you must find the perfect tournament buy in. Do you go for quantity or quality as such? $100+$10 buy in with fewer people or $5+50c buy in with more people but most likely less funds?

I have found online poker tournaments as a method of fundraising through poker to date a waste of time. But others may have been successful. I think advertising on how to deposit directly to a charity is much more efficient and has a better outcome, let’s face it poker players will donate $10, the bigger players more. It takes less effort then playing a tournament online for 4-5hours for a limited prize. What’s easier for all involved? – Organise online tournament, advertise online tournament, deposit for online tournament, play online tournament and then forward money to charity OR advertise to poker players to donate direct to charity?

Live poker tournaments are a little different. Most people are going to go out and play them anyway. If you can ring a load of poker venues or contact them through the internet and ask them to collect, this works very well for fundraising through poker. You can also advertise the need for them to do it and they can advertise that they are . This gives double promoting of your charity event and takes minimal effort. I am not saying set up an entire charity event but rather ask for donations from players while they arrive as part of your fundraising through poker. This money can then be deposited directly to the charity the next day by each venue. Simplicity!

Let’s use APL Australia as an example. You could send an email to head office and to all the groups over facebook asking them to assist your fundraising through poker. They in turn send a mass mail to all venues, have a collection tin for players to deposit to on arrival and the tournament director deposits this cash the next day. If each registered APL player is playing that particular night that’s more than 500,000 players. All of them donate $1 each that’s a whopping $500,000 needed dollars, and the tournament directors can make a simple deposit to the fund of choice the next day. Advertisements can be done prior through various media sources.

As with organizing an online poker tournament specifically for charity fundraising through poker; organizing a live tournament has the same issues. You must arrange, have the venues / casinos agree to forfeiting their rake and making nothing and follow with advertising and getting players there for a minimum prize pool. At least with live tourneys people don’t have to take that extra step and deposit online; they do need to find the time to transit and also play though. It’s always best to stick with the normal. Contact your local venues and casinos and enquire about collecting during a set tournament schedule.

Lastly on the line of tournaments and fundraising through poker using these methods is the direct cash win donation. Many poker players globally donate percentages of their winnings directly to charities of choice. This is a great way if you have the contacts of getting that desperately needed money. Jerry Yang donated 10% of his winnings to children’s charities upon winning the WSOP main event. Barry Greenstein donates all of his winnings and then there are players such as Vanessa Rousso setting up organizations such as nolimitnoprofit.org. This is only to name a few players who are into fundraising through poker; there are heaps out there! In recent times the very much blog mentioned Erik Aude’ vowed to donate 10% of his Aussie Millions winnings to charity, seriously the list is endless! If you can find a player about to play a big event that is willing to help your chosen charity fund when they cash this is easy and simple way for fundraising through poker. It is a great way to advertise your charity to get extra funds to it as more people will want to donate and also a way that the poker players themselves can advertise their brand or play.

Finally, there is straight out advertising your fundraising through poker! Most poker magazines, newspapers, radio stations, online gaming companies, bloggers, forums etc; etc; etc will advertise free of charge and; hopefully people will donate through links, internet banking and directly through the charity or organizational sites.

Please remember; whatever method you choose fundraising through poker you must have a not for profit organization setup or appeal fund or; be donating directly to one. If you don’t you are unfortunately committing a crime! Check with your government’s regulations before making any steps to setup such fundraising ideas.

Happy fundraising through poker!

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Fundraising Through Poker

Fundraising Through Poker

It seems I have become charitable in a different way in the last 2 years. I was one of those little girls that knocked on the door with a box of candy many years back. I moved forward from this to supporting children by feeding them breakfast and working with many community organizations in Australia in even the smallest way. Take the Forty Hour Famine as an example; every year I fasted that I could until the doctor told me NO MORE. I was then ready to sponsor an overseas child in need but moved to donating via owned. This is one way of fundraising through poker – from my photo sales. My donations to date are as follows:

• 42,150 cups clean drinking water
• 144,595 grains rice for the hungry
• 31,063 words new books
• 99,914 seconds peacekeeping in troubled regions
• 81,965 milligrams teddy bear stuffing
• 33,090 milliseconds cancer research
• 551 ounces CO2 from the atmosphere
• 193 square inches blankets
• 479 calories food for animals in need
• 327 square feet the rainforest

Now that may not seem a lot but add up everyone else’s contributions and it is empowering! The same applies to fundraising through poker. I learnt early last year methods that could be used. Some methods worked successfully others didn’t. Banding together all poker players’ worldwide works wonders!

I was very pleased to have raised a massive amount of money via fundraising through poker for the victims of the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Disaster. In addition to raising funds I generated clothing, toiletries and other small items – sent from the community for the effected community. I did not do gathering alone but very much helped with the co-ordination through the VIC premier’s office; passing on messages via a MASSIVE Facebook group and cause. In the end I had to pass on the message to stop. Stopping 1 million people from sending what they could was alike sending myself to slaughter. Regardless it had to be done and I did it. The clothing donations were so plentiful there were too many, there were embers flying everywhere and well; embers and clothing piles don’t go together too well. I won’t encourage this amount of donations again while doing fundraising through poker.

I asked all members of the poker community to donate through the cause; spread the word to their friends and have them donate also and become a part of this fundraising through poker. The numbers, for Facebook causes we are huge. Most poker pro’s, poker affiliates and poker managers have 2000 friends. When you have you have a GREAT cause, they will invite and donate. Let me show you a figure (it’s rough). 2000 of my invited friends invite 1000 friends each to donate $1 to a Facebook driven cause. This equates to: $200,000.00 raised for a good and needy cause and a super fundraising through poker. If only each person did take that time. A domino effect continues in the online gaming industry and before you know it the figures hit $500,000. I believe this is what happened with the bushfire relief fund in VIC with some poker players donating 1 big blind which to them is peanuts but to the needy HUGE!

Anyway there’s 2 ways that you can do fundraising through poker:

1. Selling your pics on owned and encouraging all poker player friends to.

2. Inviting players to a cause and asking them to invite all of their poker playing friends. Each donating $1.

Other methods I have used include; using media resources, birthday wishes, online poker tournament setups, live poker tournament organization, asking players to vow to donate a % of their wins to your cause. There are MANY ways of fundraising through poker! We really are charitable!

I will cover these methods and exactly how to do fundraising through poker in a future post so stay tuned. I will tell you what tournaments are successful, how to advertise them and what to do to organize them. How to setup live poker tournaments, talking to the right people about donating some of their wins and how they can claim this back in tax and much; much more.

In the meantime, check out my birthday wish here:

Your gift now will help distribute relief supplies – including food, clean water, blankets, and tents to children and families impacted by the earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti. I wish this tragedy had never happened, seeing as though it has, please - give the gift of food, water, medication and medical supplies to these innocently struck people. For my birthday, I want to help the people of Haiti who have survived.

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/258126?m=7989e80b&ref=mf

Donate even $1, and we are on our way to helping the people of Haiti and at the same time making me a wonderfully happy birthday.

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How to dissect a poker room - A poker room preview

How to dissect a poker room - A poker room preview

Most people don’t think too much beyond opening the online poker room, clicking the log on button, checking their cashier following a quick race to their favorite tourney or cash table. I think about a lot more than just these things and have become an expert on how to dissect a poker room. Some may find it kind of odd, I find doing this worth its weight in gold. It really is best to know the ins and outs of every poker room you plan to play on for maximum poker profits. Here I am going to show you how I dissect, in short a poker room preview!

Obviously the first thing we have to do is sign up. I even dissect that part of the poker room, bonuses and promotions for sign-up. Let’s face it; you want the deal to be perfect straight up! Also checked is the obvious – Is this site available to residents of the USA and also Australia? I want maximum players on the site I play!

I then look at key factors as part of my poker room preview. The cashier is the next part I dissect. I look at every little aspect of it. Deposit methods, cash out/withdrawal methods, availability to transfer from player to player, what I can spend frequent player points on and how fast they accumulate. Really the list is plentiful of things to check with an online poker room “bank”.

So; I have covered the cash, now to the software stability and functionality. I really go hard on this part of my poker room dissection. Really this is where the P in poker room preview comes about. ‘P’lay money! To the play money tables! Do the games run smoothly? Can I play a few tables at a time? Does the software have various functions such as change of background image, avatar, chat, player marking, quick deposit or chip up without leaving?

All of these areas of a poker room plus more count BIG time! Imagine playing on a brilliant internet connection only to have a poker room crash, run slow, time you out and so on. Disastrous! In addition, imagine being stuck without your necessary tools such as player tagging, ability to turn off chat and even muck hands! These things are a must and if I find them missing during my poker room dissection its thumbs down from me! These are just a few of the poker software stability and functionality areas that should be checked. By no means is this list; the full list.

Ok, to my next cut how to dissect a poker room; the game limits and game selection! No matter what level you play; from beginner to high roller you must have plentiful amounts of players and games. If you only have a small roll you are going to want to make sure you have enough cash tables to play on, and also suitable sit n go’s and tournaments. If there isn’t – why bother playing on the site? At the other end of the scale, high rollers can find it difficult to get a game too. On some sites at any level it’s hard! In addition it is very important that you check that your poker variant is available. There’s no point joining a room as a stud player if they don’t offer it in their game selection (as a classic example). The more poker game variants the better the room is going to be for you in both the short and long run. This can be easily explained – the more games the more likely there is more players and more fish, in addition you may choose in the future to play more poker variants then your current chosen ones. This makes playing a tad difficult if they are not available!

In summary a poker room can be dissected into these particular areas and a thorough poker room preview can be done. Let’s not forget there are more aspects to consider if we were to go further in-depth in our poker room review and dissection. These aspects you probably never even think of. These are not usually in reviews either. Sometimes they do have support in reviews; support is a important poker room factor. Without good support a poker room can be our enemy. In addition to this other services not seen to the naked eye such as fraud detection, detection of collusion, multi-accounting and underage player detection – the security services!

Fancy sitting at a table with 7 players all working together as you are hustled? Well, that can happen without a brilliant security service. I also go beyond this and look deep into any online sagas, debates and scandals. If there is one notated I am not playing there!

Ok, enough of the dissecting for now. My poker room preview is over which just a few of the main factors dissected. Please remember that this advice on how to dissect a poker room is only a bare minimum dissection. We can dissect each support method, each game, each table background – the list of “dissecting within the dissection” is endless!

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Underage Poker Players

Underage Poker Players

There are many families worldwide that enjoy a casual game of poker. These families are not necessarily right into the poker scene either. Everyday country lifestyles even make for a game of cards. With these games comes the thrill of a win for children; underage poker players. We hear many stories of playing for pennies and dimes and others just for entertainment. I myself was a child subjected at a young age to the game of draw poker.

A lot of the time this pushes our technologically reliant children to the internet in search of a friendly game online. Let’s face it; children of today pretty much do everything else online so why not cards too? This is my opinion based on discussions with many kids and also parents of kids who play poker. I don’t think I am far off the mark though.

Poker has made a boom worldwide. Kids want to be part of everything bright, bubbly and booming – the in things! On facebook; Zinga poker gives kids a taste of playing as underage poker players along with many other sites. The age limit is 13 and over as no “money” is involved. It is just a game for the kids – or is it?

I have seen many stories of underage poker players making more money than some people could imagine in merely a month; through playing poker online. It takes a dedicated and skilled team of online poker security analysts to wean these underage poker players out from the hundreds and thousands of players on their sites. Take for example a recently printed story I read on Australian teenager James Obst.

In summary, James lays in bed to win masses amount of money. He makes poker look easy. He started playing as an underage poker player at the mere age of 14. Since this time he has won $1.5 million playing online tournaments. Not bad hey? I say pretty damn amazing, but pretty damn illegal too!

James is now 19 years of age. This makes his yearly wage since the age of 14 $300,000 USD. Talk about a nice income! James has stated to Herald Sun reporters “You just had to say you're over 18. As long as you don't become, I guess, well known you get away with it.''

Obst started by borrowing as little as 20c at a time. At the age of 15 he won his first major tourney, a $10 re-buy tournament, netting him $17,000. James’s best online results, include winning US184,000.00 in April, $US101,546.00 last December, $US98,280.00 last September, and $US40,142.00 last August. What do you do if you’re the parent in this situation? Do you turn a blind eye and thank your lucky stars you have him as a child? Or do him in and have his money seized?

There is a simple answer. Underage Poker Playing IS illegal. It’s illegal for numerous reasons. To start with it is addictive. “As his obsession with the game grew, he would occasionally miss school when the bigger US tournaments were underway.” reports the Herald Sun, again on Obst. Education is the most important thing in life other then love. It is generally seen that underage poker players tend to miss school more frequently. Also it is very hard to deal with massive swings even as an adult. Playing as an underage poker player has got to be harder. Again reported by the herald sun “The swings of high stakes poker are not for the faint-hearted - Obst admits he once lost $200,000 in a single day!”. In addition adults talk a different language. There is as much bullying on the poker table as there is at school; more! Only this is adult bullying. Obscene things are said regardless of security implanted to prevent the use of certain words!

Simply, underage poker players are like underage drinkers. It will never ever be fully prevented and there are children who will do it. Underage Poker Playing occurs not only online but also offline as children setup their own little tournaments with lunch money at school, parties and weekend getaways with friends.

In Australia the legal age to play poker is 18; it is 21 in the USA and other regions of the world. This means a load of underage poker players in the USA etc, also flock to play live in other countries where as otherwise they would be banned. I expect to see many 18-20 year olds from the USA in Australia to attempt winning the Aussie Millions Poker Championship this month. USA calls these players “underage” and Australia doesn’t. How does one even draw the line on this? We are worlds apart! This is one debate that will never end! What do you think? At what age should people no longer be classed as underage poker players?

My personal opinion: If underage poker players can take the swings, the stress, know the maths, can by-pass intimidation, keep a straight face, be sensible, manage their bankroll and avoid taking time off school then poker can’t be that bad for them, poker is a lot like life! This is so long as they are not obsessed and losing a load of cash. If my child has the skills to squash high rollers and there are no governing rules, I am gonna let them (for as long as they enjoy it and are sensible). But let’s face it, that’s against the law and there is no sure way to test or trial the underage poker players. So for now; one has to stick with their individual governments rulings just like I do with my little ones.

Keep off the tables teeny boppers! Save the poker for the adults!

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My first Aussie Millions Coverage

My first Aussie Millions Coverage

Crikey! What a job! I had no idea what I was getting myself into doing a complete Aussie Millions Coverage with just a photographic assistant. To start with I was like Steve Irwin and his snakes (snakes which came into the picture not so long after me being like this); I kept saying “I’m excited”. Soon my feet got the better of me and I found myself tired and warn out taking naps in my car. Of course I may not have been so tired if I had have missed the player party and had accommodation close to Crown Casino ;)

Preparations for undertaking this Aussie millions coverage is as difficult as the coverage itself. It takes weeks to be fully prepared in every way. Let me list just a few things I had to pre organise: Press passes, photography passes, photographic; film and mobile pc equipment, transportation, accommodation, contact times with overseas employees, a blog spot so I could instantly upload major highlights, interviewees who were prepared for being filmed out of tournament time. Simply, the list is endless!On arrival at Crown Melbourne Aussie Millions Poker Championships my first stop was Vegas Poker room. Here I collected my press pass, checked out the press room and prepared for my afternoon of tournament floor walking and directing my photographer and film man towards the well known poker stars. After a long draw out day it was time to get changed into my cocktail dress and go party!The party wasn’t just any old party though. It was a showcase of the brilliance in the Aussie Poker Scene as poker players were inducted one by one into the Australian Poker Hall of Fame. Sure there were the global stars; the likes of Patrik Antonius, Alexander Kostritsyn (2008 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Winner), Gus Hansen (2007 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Winner) and Michael Vartan (Hollywood Star) BUT all eyes were focused on our Aussie Greats and hall of fame recipients. Some of these included Billy The Croc, Joe Hachem, Lee Nelson, Maurie Peers, Tony G, Gary Benson plus more!

After a load of Aussie Millions events came Australia Day and then the final table of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Eyes would still be all focused towards an Aussie as Stewart Scott screamed “Just One Time Baby!” as he flipped over his pocket aces heads-up. Stewarts aces held up and he was crowned 2009 Aussie Millions Poker Champion! The first Australian to ever take the title and keep it on Aussie turf. Sure made the highlights of my Aussie millions coverage.
I wasn’t present for the final table play; none the less I still had work to do; following up with Stewart Scott for an exclusive interview as part of my Aussie millions coverage and doing a 2 page spread on all the results of all events. I also had 400mbs of pictures to upload and some final writing for the online site I worked for. 3 days solid nonstop around the clock work with no sleep! Damn now my fingers and eyes hurt as well!

This year I am more prepared and less stressed. I am a single person team (or duo if my photographer is included) and by no means expect myself to do the job of 40 again!

The Aussie Millions is indeed an event that no one wants to miss. Australians flock to Crown Casino Melbourne, as do many overseas contenders year after year. The difficulty level for an Aussie millions coverage keeps growing as Main Event numbers increase. More players equate to more pics, more hands to watch and more names to write down. This is brilliant for the industry though in every way!I will be heading to Crown Melbourne 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship in the up and coming weeks and I must say I can’t wait to see you all there; especially those overseas friends I don’t get to catch up with too often. This year, my Aussie millions coverage will not be as in-depth; but nevertheless precise. In 2011 I plan to be on both sides of the rail – maybe one of the first females to make the final table; who knows? For now I can say that “2010 is set to be a great year for poker in Australia, especially for the Aussie Millions events and-> “Crikey am I going to love it if it’s anything like last year!”.

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