Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
POKER LEAGUE LADIES SHINE – SHOULD MEN PLAY IN LADIES’ TOURNAMENTS? TELL US YOUR THOUGHTS
I’m very pleased to congratulate several of the ladies that I play in poker leagues with for their recent success in major tournaments. Part of the reason that we are part of a poker league is to become better Texas Hold’em players and to sponsor the top players to participate in sanctioned tournaments.
In June, four of us won the $1,000 buyin to play in the World Series of Poker Ladies Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our friend, Sandy K., did the best from our group ending up in the cash at 112th place (out of 1,150 ladies). In September, our good friend, Donna Delfin, earned the title, “Champion” of the California Ladies Poker Finals which was played at Oceans 11 in Oceanside, CA. Donna is a great player and it was exciting for all of us to support her and watch her beat out approximately 175 tough players to take the title.
In November, Mimi Kalem took second place (after 17 hours of play) in the WSOP Ladies Circuit event in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Our friend, Candy Alexander made a commanding finish at 4th place. It’s always a lot of fun and it makes us proud to see our “sisters” do so well in these tournaments. This is what league play is all about.
An interesting subject I’d like to discuss – the winner of the WSOP Ladies Tournament in Tahoe was a young man from California. Several of the tournaments that I’ve played in over the past three years have included a hand full of men. Some very imaginative to come dressed as a lady with a dress, wig, high heels and purse. The torment that they take as they are given standing ovations when they are busted out of the tournament and the abuse at some of the tables, makes you wonder what their motive is.
The classiest man playing in a ladies’ tournament, by far, was a fellow who donated $500 to buy drinks for all of the ladies in the tournament when he got busted out. Now, that’s class.
I guess I have to ask the question – what do you think of a man who enters a women’s tournament? And I’d like to hear from men and women. I’ve heard of a few male winners lately and think it may be something to discuss. As a man, do you feel you can beat the women players easier than the men players? Is it political where you feel left out and discriminated against if you can’t join the ladies?
What do you think about men playing in Ladies’ Major Poker Tournaments? Please post your reply!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Interested in Starting a Texas Hold'em Poker League? Here's HOW!
If you’re thinking of starting a Texas Hold’em poker league in your area and aren’t sure what to do, then read on. This article is for YOU!
You, of course, have to decide if you want your Texas Hold’em poker league to be all men, all women or a mixed poker league. Then you have to poll your friends and acquaintances to see how many would commit to a ten month poker league. You will want to start out with at least 16 – 20 people.
Then you need to decide why you want to start your Texas Hold’em league, what would you like the group to be called, how often would you like to meet, is your poker league educational, how do you want to pay – one lump sum or for each session. And you have to set up the prize that you’re playing for (usually to send the top 2 – 3 players for the season to a compete in a major tournament). You will need to establish your poker league rules.
Also, you will need to find one or more of your new recruits to host the league. Preferably someone who has poker tables, poker chips, poker software or timer, and everything else you’ll need to shuffle up and deal.
Don’t forget about setting up your blind structures. And establishing points for the league players in the order that they finish. The top two or three players will be given their buy-in for the major tournaments that you identify in your poker league rules. You’ll also want to establish how many chips that all league players will start with.
I belong to two poker leagues and we use the WSOP sanctioned poker rules for each poker league. The difference is one of the leagues meets once per month and we pay at the beginning of the league and play 12 games. The other league is set up so that we pay $20 twice per month as we play.
Both have their merits. If you pay in advance, you don’t have to worry about funding your prize pool if someone misses one game. The downside is that there is no prize money per game – it all goes to the final prizes.
The pay as you go method offers the top three winners a small prize pool (half goes to the final prizes). Each poker league is set up to help the members to become better skilled Texas Hold’em poker players, with all aspects of the game including betting and heads up play which can be more challenging parts of the game. There’s a lot of strategy involved in playing poker and this will certainly help to develop an individual’s poker strategy.
The prize money that is set aside is used to send at least two people to a major tournament. One poker league that I play in pays for the buy-in for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ladies Tournament which is played in June at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A Texas Hold’em league can be very effective for improving your poker play and give you more confidence when you play in major tournaments or casino or card room sponsored cash games.
A poker league is educational, fun, and a great social outlet as well – it’s enjoyable to play poker with friends and acquaintances. You can add to the social aspect by bringing food and sharing personal stories during play. And, of course, you can keep each other up on what tournaments are coming up that are close to home just in case one or more of the league players can participate. Starting a poker league in your area has many benefits and can be very educational, fun and rewarding!
You, of course, have to decide if you want your Texas Hold’em poker league to be all men, all women or a mixed poker league. Then you have to poll your friends and acquaintances to see how many would commit to a ten month poker league. You will want to start out with at least 16 – 20 people.
Then you need to decide why you want to start your Texas Hold’em league, what would you like the group to be called, how often would you like to meet, is your poker league educational, how do you want to pay – one lump sum or for each session. And you have to set up the prize that you’re playing for (usually to send the top 2 – 3 players for the season to a compete in a major tournament). You will need to establish your poker league rules.
Also, you will need to find one or more of your new recruits to host the league. Preferably someone who has poker tables, poker chips, poker software or timer, and everything else you’ll need to shuffle up and deal.
Don’t forget about setting up your blind structures. And establishing points for the league players in the order that they finish. The top two or three players will be given their buy-in for the major tournaments that you identify in your poker league rules. You’ll also want to establish how many chips that all league players will start with.
I belong to two poker leagues and we use the WSOP sanctioned poker rules for each poker league. The difference is one of the leagues meets once per month and we pay at the beginning of the league and play 12 games. The other league is set up so that we pay $20 twice per month as we play.
Both have their merits. If you pay in advance, you don’t have to worry about funding your prize pool if someone misses one game. The downside is that there is no prize money per game – it all goes to the final prizes.
The pay as you go method offers the top three winners a small prize pool (half goes to the final prizes). Each poker league is set up to help the members to become better skilled Texas Hold’em poker players, with all aspects of the game including betting and heads up play which can be more challenging parts of the game. There’s a lot of strategy involved in playing poker and this will certainly help to develop an individual’s poker strategy.
The prize money that is set aside is used to send at least two people to a major tournament. One poker league that I play in pays for the buy-in for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ladies Tournament which is played in June at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A Texas Hold’em league can be very effective for improving your poker play and give you more confidence when you play in major tournaments or casino or card room sponsored cash games.
A poker league is educational, fun, and a great social outlet as well – it’s enjoyable to play poker with friends and acquaintances. You can add to the social aspect by bringing food and sharing personal stories during play. And, of course, you can keep each other up on what tournaments are coming up that are close to home just in case one or more of the league players can participate. Starting a poker league in your area has many benefits and can be very educational, fun and rewarding!
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