Robbie Strazynski

Something’s been bugging me for a while about the poker community. We all share a love of the game and want it to grow. We can all agree that more people exposed to and playing poker would be universally beneficial for players, land-based and online poker room operators, poker media, and poker fans. Numerous great ambassadors for the game – let’s call them “poker evangelists” – work hard to create excellent poker content. They provide people with all the tools needed to help promote poker to the masses. Yet, consumers aren’t taking an active enough role in sharing that great poker content. There are numerous reasons why that needs to change. Starting now.

Daniel Negreanu breaks the mold again, offering us a very unique glimpse behind the scenes while he plays online poker. He live streamed a big $400/$800 mixed game session and revealed not only some poker secrets and strategy, but also quite a bit more of himself. You’ll have to see it to believe it…

On episode 233 of the Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast, my co-host, Bruce Briggs, and I interviewed Robert Woolley, fondly known within the poker world as the Poker Grump. He produces boatloads of interesting poker articles, but the podcast interview was all about getting to know him a little better. We hope you enjoy!

We are honored to be the first poker media outlet to ever interview Remko Rinkema. The longtime PokerNews blogger and video presenter has climbed to the heights of poker media and has become a shining star in the industry. Famous for interviewing poker’s best and brightest, we’re thrilled to “finally” give Remko his due and let the spotlight shine on him as we discover his story. Enjoy!

It’s always great to land an exclusive story. It’s even better when the story involves one of the world’s greatest poker players, Phil Hellmuth, and the hottest poker company in the world, the Global Poker Index. We’ve got the scoop and have interviewed GPI CEO Alex Dreyfus and Phil Hellmuth to talk about the landmark acquisition. Read on for more details.

Every poker player starts somewhere. While my love for the game of poker could be said to have started “around the kitchen table”, video poker also played an important role in keeping the poker flame alive in me when I was a little kid. Here’s the story of how I started playing video poker. Enjoy!

In general, it’s not necessarily a great thing to be foul mouthed, but in poker there exists another kind of need in terms of watching your language. Ever heard of poker’s “English only at the table” rule? Here’s a great story that happened to me when I encountered a couple of Israelis in Prague. Hopefully my story will teach you to stick to the “English only” rule no matter how many languages you may know.

In this poker tips and strategy post, we list and then elaborate on the main differences between Texas Hold’em and Open-Face Chinese Poker. It’s the most popular poker discipline versus the hottest up-and-coming variation of the game. We cover the basics, hand values, how the games are scored, and much more. Read on to discover what makes Open-Face Chinese Poker so attractive to the tens of thousands who regularly play the game.

Have a listen to the interview that my Top Pair Home Game Poker Podcast co-host, Bruce Briggs, and I did with renowned poker author Ashley Adams. Ashley tells us all about his 50+ years playing poker, regaled us with a litany of stories about poker rooms and home games he’s played in, and tells us all about his career in the poker world as an author, part-time player, radio show host, and pure aficionado. He’s been to over 350 poker rooms! All that and plenty more for you to learn about this very interesting poker personality.

This poker blog post is pure, raw emotion. In it, I wear my broken heart on my sleeve as I attempt to express what it feels like to not be able to attend the inaugural Global Poker Conference in Los Angeles. I hope my feelings resonate and strike a chord with poker fans out there who may at some point have felt similar pangs at seeing their poker dreams lie unfulfilled.

Since No Limit Hold’em seems to be a relatively “solved” game nowadays, with just too many good players for it to remain profitable for the “average Joe”, perhaps the time has come to switch to other poker disciplines?

It’s common knowledge that there are lots of differences between playing poker online versus in a live setting. If, however, you’re new to online poker, you may not be prepared for what awaits you. We’ve compiled a list of five important tips that should help make the transition to online poker play as smooth as possible. Have a look.