Why most players lose at poker – the rake

With the WSOP quickly approaching, I would like to share with you a concept that many amateur players are either unaware of or completely ignore. Most amateur players do not lose because they are bad at poker. They are usually not much better or worse than their competition. Instead, they lose because the casino consistently rakes away a significant amount of money in play. The rake, the money the casino takes in exchange for letting you play, is a key determining factor of whether or not any game is potentially profitable.   …

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10 hands from my 2014 WSOP Main Event

Since the WSOP Main Event is just around the corner, today I am going to share with you the first 10 hands I played in the 2014 WSOP Main Event. While I didn’t make an extremely deep run, I did end up cashing for $22,678. I actually recorded every significant hand I played in this tournament (54 hands) and made them into the book, Cashing the WSOP Main Event. If you like this blog post, you will love The Main Event. …

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Age and the WSOP by Neil Blumenfield

Optimized_NWM-Neil_Blumenfield3by Neil Blumenfield

When I made the 2015 WSOP Main Event November Nine at age 61 a big deal was made about age as the Final Table tends to be dominated by young male players.  2015 was especially significant because, while I was older than any previous final table player in the November Nine format, I was joined at this final table by 73-year-old Pierre Neuville, So discussions about age and poker became a big topic.  …

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Learning to fold

bigfoldWhile I feel like I have a fairly solid grasp on how to play fundamentally sound poker, I have found that I have been calling a bit too often with good, but second best, hands when my opponents seem to be willing to put all of their money in the pot. I have been working hard to plug that leak. This hand demonstrates my progress. …

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