Online Gambling Regulations Continue to be Debated

The Treasury Department delayed the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act last week. Due to a letter from some lawmakers requesting the delay. Additionally, lawmakers will begin discussing Congressman Barney Frank's proposed legislation that would overturn the Act. Frank said that the delay will help "undo this ill-advised law." The Act was passed by Congress back in 2006 hidden as part of a "Safe Ports" bill. The UIGA makes it "a crime for financial institutions to process transactions that are used to place bets online." The delay will last until June 2010. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker Ultimate Bet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

Moderng Grinder Moves on to Step 2

In a previous post I told you about the Absolute Poker Steps tournaments in which you can earn and $17,500 tournament package for as little as a 10 cent entry! Well I decided to show you how it's done! So today I played my first Steps tournament and won an an entry into Step Two. Stay posted for my progress or even better give Steps a try yourself at Absolute Poker

Bluffing: Phil Ivey vs Paul Jackson

Bluffing is an important part of poker and very few truly know how to do bluff correctly. Poker players usually fall into one of two categories when it comes to bluffing. The first type just plays the cards and very rarely bluffs. The second type thinks bluffing is a magic bullet and bluffs WAY too much. Neither of these strategies work long term you have learn to play your opponents as much as the cards. Your bank roll won't last forever if you are waiting to flop the nuts nor will it last if you piss it away with mindless bluffs. This video is good example of pro level bluffing. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

Turn Ten Cents into a $10,000 Poker Tournament Entry

Dream of playing in a big buy-in live tournament? Try Steps at Absolute poker where you can for as little as a dime earn your way into winning a $15,000+ prize package that includes entry into a major wsop or wpt event. What is an Absolute Poker STEP tournament? Here's how AB describes it: "A STEP tournament is a type of Sit-n-Go that allows you to win your seat in major land-based events for a significantly low buy-in. Absolute Poker offers 10 STEP tournaments, with the final STEP featuring the big prize. Players advance from one STEP to the next by finishing first in a STEP. Players who don't finish first or second but still rank high enough will be invited to replay the STEP. How does it work? Each STEP tournament series consists of 10 STEPS, or 10 individual Sit-n-Go tournaments. The buy-in for the first STEP is $0.10. As the STEPS advance, the buy-ins increase. How do I move through each STEP? First two winners of STEP 1 advances to STEP 2 without having to buy in. The first two winners of STEP 2 advances to STEP 3, and so on. This goes on until STEP 10 where the winner secures the final land-based tournament package. What's this about trying again? If you don't finish first in a STEP, it's not necessarily game over. STEP tournaments give players the opportunity to replay a STEP, depending on how they finish in a tournament. That means as long as you can finish high enough, you can still hang on to fight another day and conquer your way to the next STEP. Can I enter a STEP tournament at any STEP? Yes. However, you'll have to buy directly in with cash. The only way to secure your spot in a STEP tournament for free is by advancing from a previous STEP." Sound good to me. In fact the Modern Grinder is going to climb the STEPS! Stay tuned for my progress in advancing in the Absolute Poker Steps Tournament. Why not play along you should go to Absolute Poker right now and try beat me up the steps. As a special bonus to MG subscribers (you have subscribed using the form in the upper right of this page, right?) I'm going to include a special sit n go strategy report to help you win more in sit and goes and climb the steps. Click here to check out Absolute Poker

Getting Back Into The Game After A Bad Run

Every poker player experiences a bad run in their career; play poker long enough and you will experience several. Any poker player that tells you otherwise either is lying to you or just hasn't been playing the game long enough. What separates the pros from the wannabes is the will continue knowing that with time the cards will heat up and your skills will only improve. Sometimes it's not the natural ebb and flow of luck. Sometimes you are dealt some decent hands and still can't win. Sometimes you are beating yourself. Sometimes life interferes with poker. Sometimes powering through and forcing yourself to endure loss after loss isn't the answer. Sometimes you just need to take a break. This is what I experienced over the last few months and why the Modern Grinder has been awal. When you are overwhelmed in life you become your own worst enemy at the poker table and you will not win no matter what you try. The only solution is to take a break and take care of what needs to be tended to. Come back clear headed and secure in knowing that life outside of the poker room is well managed. That's what I did and I'm back at the poker tables tearing it up having won 3 out 4 of my first sit and go tournaments (placing third third in the one I didn't win). Don't to be afraid to take a break from poker when you need to. In the long run it will make you a more well rounded, happier and much more dangerous to your opponents. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

"People would be surprised to know how much I learned about prayer from playing poker" – Mary Austin

My Poker System is Hard Work

I’m often how I make money playing poker and if there is a "poker system" that I use to profit every time I play at the tables. My answer which inevitably disappoints is that "my system is hard work and decication." This is because they are looking for an easy way to make money not the hard work takes work to win at online poker. If you find a poker system that promises you to win money at online poker without trying, they are either over-promising or flat out lying to you. It’s been said that “Poker is a hard way to make easy money.” No matter what you do in life, getting people to part with their money requires effort. You either have to trade your time in at work for money, sell something valuable or work hard to become better than your opponents at the poker tables. There are no shortcuts. The effort required to learn poker is a different type of effort than what it takes to dig ditches or sit in a cubicle all day. You are learning to make a living playing a game after all. The freedom and sense of self determination that is shared by professional poker players and entrepreneurs alike more than makes up for the long hours and frustration that it takes to either build a business or a professional poker career. There will be times of drudgery when you will feel like giving up; but the satisfaction of building something out of nothing can’t be measured against anything in the nine to five straight world. Think about how hard professional athletes work. They work as hard as anyone else in the world but do you think they hate that work? No way! It's freedom! Putting in that hard work is rewarding when you are the direct beneficiary of that hard work. That's what makes playing poker for money so rewarding. Yes, it can be hard work and yes, there will be ups and downs along the way but it's all done in the name of making your own way in the world. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

Over the next few weeks the Modern Grinder Staff will be reviewing and updating all of our 180+ articles. We are doing this for two reasons. First, as always the Modern Grinder strives to provide the absolute best poker content on the web and we want to make sure that every article is up to our standards. Second, we will are preparing for a future update that will make it even easier to find what you are looking for. What this means to those of you that have subscribed is that as articles get republished you may receive duplicate articles. This is temporary and will only happen as we do the updates so feel free to ignore them. But then again it never hurts to revisit useful information. As always we wish you the best of luck at the tables.

Poker Stars Review (Update)

PokerStars has long been one of the Modern Grinder's favorite poker sites and continues to improve with new features and a solid track record of reliability and excellent customer service. If you are a tournament poker player who aspires to one day win a WSOP bracelet then Poker Stars is the place to play as the have the most and the best deep-stack tournaments with structures that closely mimic that of major big buy in poker events. In fact if you are a tournament player a PokerStars account offers the best return of investment in both the quality of practice and in potential profits. If it's been awhile since you've played on PokerStars then you'll be pleasantly surprised by clean intuitive interface. It's very easy to find the exact game you are looking for in the lobby. The game interface is much more attractive the old client and again it's intuitive and easy to use. More reasons to play at PokerStars? They are the world's largest poker site They accept players from all over the world Free to download and play Award winning 24/7 support Fully licensed and regulated Some of the best software and game selection Secure deposits, fast cashouts For a more in depth review Click here to check our our oiginal Review, or go to PokerStars now and sign up free accout or Deposit $50, get $50 free! If you join now.

Controling Pot Size in Deep Stack Poker Tournaments

An important strategy to surviving and thriving in deep stack tournaments is learning how to control the size of the pots you play. In other words play big pots when you have big hands and small pots when you don’t. When you and your opponents have a lot in chips in proportion to the blinds in a tournament pay close attention to your opponents’ playing style and the texture of the flop before you enter the pot. Before you commit any chips to the pot, you want to identify the types of players who are likely to be in the hand with you. If you’re at a loose table where your opponents are playing a wide range of hands, you’re going to want to play smaller pots unless you’re sure that you’re way ahead or, preferably, holding the nuts. Play tight against lose players and lose against tight players. The other factor to consider when betting is the texture of the flop. Is the board suited or paired? Are there potential straight draws you need to consider? Even if you’re confident your hand is ahead after the flop, take a couple of seconds to study the board before you act. Think about what hands could possibly beat yours and then try to determine if any of your opponents could be holding cards that would give them reason to call your bet. Don’t become too attached to a hand than can be easily dominated or is likely to be a dog in the long run. Remember keep an eye on your opponents and the flops the next time you play. Time and experience will help you develop a feel for different situations and what whether you hold, fold check or raise will become second nature to you. Try your best to control the size of the pot and you’ll have more control over your tournament life. Poker Resources Featured Poker Rooms: Absolute Poker Full Tilt Poker UltimateBet PokerStars Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker

Poker Quotes

"I must complain the cards are ill shuffled till I have a good hand." ~Jonathan Swift

Which Poker Room has the Fastest Cashouts?

It's been a rough couple of years for US poker players, first Neteller pulls out of the US market and then ePassporte pulls out leaving us with fewer and fewer deposit options and the worry of not being able to withdraw our money again once we've made our deposits. The safety of your poker funds can be assured by dealing only with large, reputable and well established poker rooms (Such as those featured on this blog). While your money is safe; gone forever are the days of instant access to your poker funds. Expect cashouts to take days not hours like they used to. And as always never deposit more than you can afford to be without and plan ahead. Over the last few months I've been keeping track of the time it takes me to recieve my cash after requesting a payout from various poker rooms. Results have varied widely from remarkably fast to agonizingly slow. Here is the short list of safe, secure poker rooms in the order of how quickly they get your cash into your hands. PokerStars and UltimateBet tied for first place with checks arriving in my mailbox in about 5-7 days after approval. Full Tilt Poker was 2nd with checks arriving in about ten days. Absolute Poker took a respectable 10-14 days. The absolute worst was Doyles Room once one of my favorite places to play was by far the slowest with a typical delivery time of 30 days or more! Doyles Room is still a great place to play and your money is safe with them just be patient when you need to cash out. Other Poker Resources Learn to Play Poker Profitably the right way: Sit N Go Pro Outstanding Poker