Robbie Strazynski

The good folks at Upswing Poker understand what it means to be a professional player. In this strategy article, they list a number of important tips to keep in mind in order to develop the proper mentality needed to be a professional.

With poker getting tougher by the day, there’s no doubt that adhering to these principles is more critical to a poker player’s success than ever before.

Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey took a bad beat in court yesterday, when his lawsuit against Genting Casinos UK was dismissed by the UK Supreme Court. He will thus never be able to get his hands on the £7.8 million he won while playing Punto Banco at Crockfords Casino.

While the court of public opinion might be divided on Ivey’s actions, I believe that a closer look at said actions as well as the language being used during the legal proceedings gives Ivey’s case merit.

You might not have heard of him before, but Shai Zurr could be Israel’s next poker superstar. After winning his first WSOP bracelet this past summer, he cracked Israel’s top 10 money list for all-time poker tournament winnings and his future looks brighter than ever.

A co-founder of the Israel Poker Academy, the story of how Zurr became a professional poker player is as interesting as it is unique. He opened up to us in this exclusive feature-length interview. Enjoy!

Pretty much the worst nightmare for any online poker player would be their account being compromised. While online poker security is to a large extent the responsibility of the operator, it’s also the player’s responsibility to ensure they’re playing at a safe site to begin with.

Here, then, is a list of four things to keep in mind when selecting a place to play poker online. If the operator meets these criteria, you can be pretty certain that your funds are safe with them.

In poker, you often find yourself hitting a wall at some point You might be a decent player, but for some reason you keep losing session after session. In times like these, it pays to take a step back and examine what it is that you’re doing wrong. Retool your game by studying your weaknesses.

You might not realize that making just a few solid, but critical, adjustments could be the keys to becoming a winning poker player (once again). We list a few common weaknesses that losing players tend to exhibit. Fix ’em and you’ll likely notice a lot of those poker sessions turning from the red to the black.

There are home games and there are HOME GAMES! A night around the table playing poker with your buddies is always fun, but some home games really take the cake. How? By the host going to extra lengths to enhance the experience.

If you’re looking to take your home poker game to the next level, we’ve put together a list of 5 bona fide suggestions for you to accomplish precisely that. It’ll mean some investment on your part, but trust us – it’s worth it!

Millions of people visit Budapest each year. The Hungarian capital might not be a poker hub, but there’s great poker to be found there at the Duna Poker room. If you’re passing through Budapest or planning a vacation there, it’s a place you ought to go and visit for a fun time at the felt.

As the overwhelming majority of the room’s players are locals, it’s no surprise that there’s a stark lack of English-language information about playing poker in Budapest, Hungary. Thus, I hope that my review of the Duna Poker Room proves useful and informative.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve amassed my fair share of poker swag. Having had the good fortune to attend a number of high-profile poker events around the world, I can tell you that it always pays to be on the lookout for freebies; you’ll often be able to grab some useful stuff!

Poker companies are known for distributing some fun swag, so we’ve compiled a list of seven of the most useful poker swag items you’re likely to come across. Happy collecting!

Poker has been on the upswing in recent years. With so much going for it, there’s been a lot of talk in the poker community about what’s good for poker. With that said, we’re pretty sure there’s universal agreement on the types of things that would be classified as bad for poker.

Here’s a list of three hypothetical situations that would undeniably set poker back in its quest for mainstream recognition and acceptance. Let’s hope they can be avoided!

Oh how lucky are the residents of the Baltimore/Washington DC area to be serviced by such a wonderful poker room as the one run by Maryland Live!

During a recent visit to the region, I had the distinct pleasure of playing in a very fun cash game session at the Maryland Live! poker room. The room has plenty going for it and is a must-visit destination for any poker enthusiast. Having had well over 20 action-packed tables running on a random night, midweek in the summer, I can only imagine how hopping this place gets during “busy season”!

Together with my co-host Bruce Briggs, I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing longtime ESPN poker commentator Lon McEachern on episode 291 of the Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast.

We put a lot of time and effort into doing research prior to the interview to ensure that we covered topics not yet explored in-depth via other interviews that Lon has done over the years. As such, we were able to dig deeper and uncover some new, interesting stories about Lon’s lengthy career in broadcasting in this almost hour-long interview.

Listen to the interview, which starts at the 10:12-minute mark. A transcript is also available.

Ever since the debut of the original AI poker bot (called Orac) back in the early 1980s, developers have continued making strides forward with artificial intelligence poker software.

The infographic presented here, along with an explanatory article, contains some fascinating information about artificial intelligence in general and poker’s affiliation with AI in particular. Certainly worth checking out!