NBA Playoffs
May 8, 2009
In an improbable last-minute turn of events, the Bulls’ loss coupled with the Sixers impressive win over the Cavs (albeit the Lebron-less Cavs) put the Chicago Bulls in the seventh seed and pit them against the Celtics in Round 1. For as up-tempo and disciplined as the Bulls have been playing lately, I think this was the worst possible match up for them. Yes, they beat the Celtics once this season, but that was without KG in the lineup.
The Celtics and Bulls both have depth, but the Celtics’ championship experience, bonafide star power and seasoned court leaders, the Bulls don’t have a chance in this one. I’d expect the Celtics to sweep, and Boston will carry a double-digit line at home, and six or seven points on the road for Game 3. I don’t see the line changing even if they’re up 3-0 by the time Game 4 rolls around. In a surprise prediction, I think the Celtics will have a better chance of covering on the road than they will at home. The Bulls aren’t a bad team by any stretch, they deserve to be in the playoffs, so they can definitely keep things close.
My other favorite nba betting first-round match up is out in the Western Conference where the Nuggets face the Hornets. Talk about up-tempo basketball, this one could see an over of 220 points every game. In a head-to-head “on paper” comparison, the Nuggets hold about every statistical advantage outside of free throw percentage – but the differential isn’t that great. These teams also split 2-2 during the regular season.
Remember back in 1994 when the Nuggets stunned the Sonics in Round 1, becoming the first eight-seeded team to upset a No. 1? Yeah, that was the last time the team actually won a playoff round. Will that change this year? Honestly, I don’t think it will. I like the Hornets’ chances and am calling a major upset in the first round, 4-2 Hornets. At home, the Hornets will be 3 or 4-point favorites, on the road they’ll be 6 or 7-point underdogs. I wouldn’t bet the farm on this one, but I think the Hornets have more reliable scorers and team players, and in the playoffs that’ll make a bigger difference than it did spread over 82 games of the regular season.
Texas Holdem Poker Rules
January 5, 2009
The poker game Texas Holdem is a popular card game worldwide on sites like PokerStars.com and the most popular variation of poker that is played. You’ve probably seen the game being played on the television in the past, but you might not know the exact rules of the game which is where I can help you. In this article we’re going to learn how to play Texas Holdem so that you can begin playing with your friends, in the casino and online.
Texas Holdem is generally played with nine or ten players on one Full Tilt Poker table and the game uses a full fifty-two card deck. The game will always start with the player to the left of the dealer starting out with the dealer button and then from there it moves every hand one spot clockwise. The two players who are sitting to the left of the player who possesses the dealer button will need to put in two forced bets. These two bets are known as the small blind and big blind and the reason they are used is too ensure every pot has at least a bit of money for the winner.
Once the two players place in the small blind and big blind the dealer will deal everyone two cards face down, these two cards are known as your hole cards. Once everyone has there cards the player to the left of the big blind will start the first round of betting. Everyone will either need to call, raise or fold there hand and once everyone has done so then the dealer will reveal the flop. The flop is the first three community cards which come on the board and every player can use these cards to make there hand better.
After the flop there is another round of Titan Poker betting with the players left in the pot. Once this round of betting is done the dealer will reveal the turn card which is the fourth community card. Players will take part in another round of betting and then the dealer will reveal the last community card known as the river. Once the river is revealed the players left in the pot will finish the hand with one more round of betting.
If there are still players left in the hand after the last round of betting then the players left in the pot will know flip there cards over and reveal there hands. The player will the best hand will take down the pot and then the dealer button will be moved one place to the left and the blinds will be put into the pot again. The dealer will then deal out the next hand, as you can see Texas Holdem is a very easy game to learn and noone should have problems learning how to play Texas Holdem. The hardest part is learning the strategies that it takes too win and this could take a lifetime of playing poker.
After reading through this article you should take some time to learn the hand rankings and some basic strategy so that you can hold your own at the tables.
Omaha Strategy
October 9, 2008
Omaha Poker is a fast paced poker game where people either make a lot of money or lose a lot of money, and usually nothing in between. Online Omaha is becoming popular, but most of the players come from a Texas Holdem background. If you have played Texas Holdem in the past, but have yet to play Omaha then you need to throw out everything you learned in Holdem strategy because it will cost you a lot of money in Omaha. Get the latest Full Tilt Poker Download Omaha software package today.
The rules of Texas Holdem and Omaha are similar with the biggest difference being that players get four cards to start with instead of just two cards. This means that every player could have a possible six hands to play for pre-flop based on the quality of there starting four cards. In Texas Holdem the most options you can have is two hands pre-flop so it’s a big difference. Holdem players often play the options too strongly in Omaha and end up losing big on many hands. When you play Omaha you need to have close to the nuts or else you’re most likely going to lose the pot.
Rarely will you see two pairs or trips winning a pot in Omaha on Full Tilt and even straights are often busted unless there are no other possibilities and it’s a nut straight. A lot of the time though there will be flush options, full house options and even quads. The winning hand in Omaha is always something high on the poker hand ranking chart, whereas in Texas Holdem you can win a lot of pots with high pair and good kicker.
Good Omaha Starting Hands
* High Pockets
* Two Pairs
* Ace High Straight Draw – Ace High Flush Draw
* Any Four High Cards
* High Cards – With Straight & Flush Options
* Any Three or Four Card Straight
* Two Card Straight – With Flush Options
I’m sure I missed a couple nice starting hands as well, but as you can see there are so many possibilities of good hands its incredible. If you don’t have a strong starting hand on www.WilliamHill.com like one mentioned above then you should probably fold because there is a high chance that an opponent will have something mentioned above and you’d be dominated.
Omaha Tips
* Always make sure you’re analyzing the board and keeping an eye out for possible hands like full houses, straights, flushes, etc. You need to know what can beat you before you can determine if you should bet or call any bets.
* Generally you shouldn’t raise pre-flop because you never know what’s coming on the flop and its more cost effective to see cheap flops and see if you hit than raise blindly.
* When you have low straights or flush draws you should typically fold them because 7/8 times out of ten you’re going to lose to a higher straight or flush even if you hit.
* Just like in any other pkr poker game you need to analyze your opponent’s tendencies so that you can take advantage of them down the road.
