I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking the same thing I am thinking. Justin is the same guy that was cheating in pokerstars big online tournament in 2006 with multiple accounts. He now says he is “reformed” and realizes the error of his ways.

That remains to be seen. I have a big problem with people that cheat at anything. It is a major character flaw. However, I do believe that people are capable of change and some actually do learn their lessons. Hopefully Justin falls into this category.

I suppose Bodog is taking a bit of risk on it’s reputation with this signing. I mean they are indeed well known but I am not so sure I would stick my neck out for someone with this kind of baggage even if I believe they are reformed. If the sleightest doubt about his character arises in any poker tournament in the future it’s going to make major news. Not good!

Good luck Justine. You’re gonna need it.

I am playing my best poker ever right now. Every move I am making and it seems like every hand is holding up. It’s a wonderful way to be. I cannot tell you how many pots I have won over the past month with absolutely nothing. My timing has been impeccable. However, I did run QQ into KK a couple of times when I was short stacked but that’s really no big deal either. It happens sometimes.

Honestly, if I think about the one thing that has allowed me to take my game to the next level the most it would simply be that I have been just a little more aggressive than I normally am. I am taking more risk but not jeapardising my entire stack when doing so. This is allowing me to steal pots late in tournaments and push people off of hands when I don’t believe they have it.

I know it doesn’t last forever and we all go through rushes but it sure feels good when you are on one. My next goal is to win a big online tournament for more than $10,000. Very doable.

Talk to you soon!

I just played my last poker tournament of the night and cashed again in seventh place. Sure, I would have loved to have won the entire thing but I am still running very well nonetheless. This was my third cash in five tournaments. I am now cashing at 22% overall with 160+ online tournaments for the year.

I didn’t quite get the opportunity to pick up that truck load of chips going in but I definitely had enought do some damage in two fo them. One I made the final table I get cold decked each time. Very frustrating especially when you have hyper aggressive player sitting to your left. I was going to employ the trap poker strategy to double up but the opportunity never presented itself once I got to the final table. I can’t count how many computer hands I got dealt. Making moves was just not an option so I had to kinda steer clear.

As I mentioned a while back I have tweeked my game just a bit and decided to take the big draw when I have a lot of chips early in hopes of having a big stack later on. However, I only will make that kind of play after the first break. Before the first break in the poker tournament you might as well just play tight because they are going to give you their chips. So, you can basically wait for the bad players to “hand” them over. After that break you are looking to make that jump up to 10k or better as quickly as possible.

Overall, I was happy with my play and I didn’t leave any money on the table so I can’t complain. The positive thing I can take from all of this is that I am consistently getting into position to win the tournament. One way or the other I am going to get to the final table with big chips and contend to take the entire thing down. So, I am more than happy with my results. Plus, it has beefed up my bankroll nicely.

Take care!

Curtis III

Here is a hand that turned out really well for me.  My opponent, O1409 picked up aces and decided to min raise instead of making a real raise in this particular online tournament. Basic poker strategy dictates that you never want several players in the pot when you are holding pocket aces. Had my opponent simply made a strong raise I would have easily folded my hand.

Unfortunately, our friend does not understand that concept and I took mosts of his stack teaching him that lesson. Watch and see how the hand plays out below:

We have shown you various sites to visit to stake poker players. Now I am going to show you how to stake another player and the overall setup of a cash or tournament player stake.

First, there are a few different kinds of stakes:

• Tournament
• Cash Game
• Buy a Piece
• Backers

Tournament staking is the most common kind of stake and takes place in various forms. Basically, there are two kinds of ways you can stake in a tournament.

First, you can pay 100% of their buy-in into the tournament with the agreement that you will receive 50% of whatever they earn should they cash. You can alter this kind of deal in whatever way is comfortable for the staker or the stakee making the buy in smaller and return smaller accordingly.

For instance: You could buy someone into the tournament for 50% of the buy-in with only a 25% return on your investment in that player. Again, everything is negotiable on either side as long as you both agree to the terms BEFORE the poker tournament begins.

Second, there is the cash game stake. For cash games it pretty much works in the same manner. The only difference is that you are bankrolling an individual that will likely be playing for a period of time or a pre-determined profit established by the backer.

For instance: Your backer may bankroll the stakee for $5000 and expect 50% of whatever that player earns when he leaves the table. It could be a pre-determined amount like $15,000 in which case they would split $7500 in addition to the original stake given to the player to enter the game.

The last kind of stake / deal that a staker is likely to employ is the buy-a-piece (BAP) deal which is a staple at many online poker staking sites as well as live casino’s. In a BAP stake you may buy 10% or so of a players buy-in expecting a 5% return on whatever they earn should that player cash. Obviously the more players you stake this way the more likely you are to make a profit.

As you have noticed most deals are pretty much 100% / 50% profit deals which is the best in my opion. Ultimately, it’s up to you to negotiate the terms that are best suited and fair to each individual involved.

Lastly, but still extremely important, you need to register with the online statistics sites like www.officialpokerrankings.com , www.bluffmagazine.com , or www.sharkscope.com so that your stats are available and you can show your staker that you are indeed a good risk. These sites tend to keep meticulous records in regards to poker tournaments but are not so good with cash games. So keep that in mind and keep your records squared away for cash games because you will likely be asked for them.

Staking can be a very good thing and can help both individuals accomplish their goals of making money either for their bankroll or strictly for profits sake. Be smart about whom you deal with and play well when given the opportunity. One big win can transform you from a casual player to someone with an opportunity for an even bigger score down the line.

Trust me, I know.

Curtis III

This year’s WSOP has been a lot of fun to watch. We have players like Barry Greenstein, Eric Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu, and Nenad Medic all make final tables and ultimately take down first prize and the bracelet. It looks like the professional players have made the transition and have figured out how to counter the hyper-aggressive style of many of the online qualifiers in these tournaments. They are reclaiming their place amongst the elite in the largest poker tournament in the world.We used to say that the fields are so large that the pro’s would have a difficult time winning at the WSOP. Not anymore. Even last year, with Scotty Nguyens collapse, he was still one stupid move away from making the final table and actually having a great chance to win it all. Scotty lost his damn mind on that hand but I still love him. I’d bet he will never pull that one again no matter how many Michelob’s he drinks.

Over the years much has been written about how we would never see the professional players winning bracelets as frequently as we did in the past but all that seems to have changed this year. Apparently you can teach old dogs new tricks. I know we are only half way done with the 2008 WSOP and still have a ways to go but my money is on the professional players this time around. The game has changed and the pro’s have made the adjustments.

Hold on to your seat belts. I think we are in for a nice ride.

Curtis III

Yes, more changes are coming. In the next few days Do or Die Poker will be upgrading it’s look and feel to provide more content and a cooler look to our site. The changes should be fairly straight forward and not cause our readers any difficulty at all.

So buckle up!

Do or Die Poker is about to go Hyper-Speed.

Curtis III

Barry Greenstein made the worst hand possible more often than not. He just took down the WSOP bracelet and the $158,659 first prize in the Deuce - Seven Razz tournament.

Barry beat out the field of 453 players. Greenstein battled Chris Klodnicki at the final table but took it down eventually after Klodnicki could not hit his hand in a crucial all-in.

Instead of hanging around and taking it all in Barry rushed off to play in another tournament he had already been entered in for the past couple of hours or so getting blinded off.

Congratulations Barry!

Are you a big Phil Ivey fan? If so then you will want to check out The Life of Ivey on Pokerroad. The Life of Ivey is a video documentary about the every day life of professional poker player Phil Ivey.

You will see Ivey with his friends and family away from the poker table. You will also see him playing online poker and talking about the ups and downs of his life in cash games and poker tournaments.

You do not want to miss The Life of Ivey!

Curtis III

Just got through busting out of the PokerStars $4.40 tournament. I cashed again but got knocked out fifteenth. I went card dead and had to push with QJs. Not that bad of a hand and I was only a 3 - 2 dog to A8s but he flopped an Ace and hit his flush and off to the rail I went.

I am starting to get frustrated again. I have re-adjusted my game again and it is helping me cash even more. Last year I cashed 17% in online tournaments playing in over 500 tournaments. This year I have played almost 200 poker tournaments and I have cashed in over 20% with several Final Tables but no wins yet. In actuality I shouldn’t be too frustrated at all. When I am getting busted I have my chips in good over 90% of the time. That’s exellent play and you would think I would be happy with that. Well, I am. The problem is that I know that I will have to play a much more riskier style of play to win more low stakes tournaments. That’s just not my style of play and I am not a big fan of taking draws when you can clearly out play your opponent.

On the other hand I clearly can see why some of these guys do so well and have more wins in this format because they play a high risk style of tournament. They do not cash nearly as much as I do, around 8 - 12%, but when they get there they have a truck load of chips giving them a chance to win the big one. I am going to have to re-think my play and make some kind of decision. Otherwise, I am afraid I will continue to toil in no mans land barely making the Final Table in these things. Either that or go back to playing Deep Stacks tournaments where I have a clear advantage over this kind of player.

I will let you know how it turns out.

Curtis III