King Deuce Poker

This is a piece of good poker play, thats why it’s here.

Jose Luis Velador went to the last day of Event # 33 of the WSOP leading in chips and having a potential of getting his 2^nd career bracelet. The big wall blocking him off though was a star studded field of poker notables like David Chiu, Victor Ramdin, Rob Hollink, Burt Boutin, Josh Tieman, Kevin MacPhee, and Phil Ivey.

Phil Ivey was making a climb on the leader board when Velador found himself in a very favorable situation. Velador flopped a full house and was thinking of how to get the most out of it.

Good thing Phil Ivey was curious and with Velador’s table talk, he was able to get a crucial pot. He also was able to knock out one of his heavy contenders. Jose Luis Velador went on to knock the rest of the field and get his 2^nd bracelet. He also took home $260,517 for the 1^st place.

Here was the scenario: Jose Luis Velador gets J-diamonds, Jack-clubs, 10-clubs, 9-diamond with a chip count of 349,000; Phil Ivey was holding A-spade, A-diamond, 8-clubs, 2-spade.

Velado pushed 18,000 to raise and Ivey reraise to 66,000. Velador called.

The flop revealed J-spade, 4-diamonds, 4-hearts. Velador checked. Ivey continued his bet to 80,000. Velador thought for a bout a minute and pushed all in.

Ivey spent some time thinking chatting with Velador and probing if the latter has Aces too. Velador told Ivey that he’ll show his cards whatever Ivey will do. Ivey called and showed his cards. Velador also showed what he has.

The turn revealed 7 of clubs while the river gave them a King of clubs. Ivey was eliminated and Velador deepened his stack to 686,000.

In Texas Hold’em, you say that a player has the initiative when all future betting revolves around him. You gain the initiative when you play aggressively in every betting round. When you have the initiative, you are perceived as the player with the strongest hand on the table.

Taking the initiative is making the aggressive plays during the betting round. This involves betting and raising. You do not gain initiative if you just call or check.

When do you take the initiative

The most common time to take the initiative is before the dealer makes the flop. There is always a high probability that there will someone who will raise and there will be callers to follow. Of course there is always the chance during the turn or the river.

Again, the player that shows the fang on the poker table is the player with the initiative. The initiative will move from one player to another on different betting rounds. It is up to you to make the impression that you have the strongest hand and dominate the table.
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Poker chips are the most critical accessories of poker games. It is almost impossible to think of the game of poker without chips. The first poker chips to be introduced were the clay poker chips that made their appearance in late 1800’s. Since then there has been a lot of transformation and customization of poker chips.

There are different types of poker chips available in the market these days. They come in all sizes and shapes and can be customized to one’s own preference. The most common are the plastic poker chips. They are inexpensive and light weighed thus a great choice for amateurs.

The plastic chips can be questioned on durability but they make great accessories for poker while on the move as they can be replaced and made of 100% plastic. Thus they are ideal for an unfussy game with friends.

Another category consists of more durable and pleasing to the eye “the diamond poker chips”. A tad expensive than the plastic poker chips but they give the same feel of casino environment. There is a huge variety of colors and texture available for customization. The eminence and the quality is great of the diamond poker chips and at 8$ per 100 chips is great value for money.

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