Mon, 01/10/2011 – 22:34 – PokerPages Staff

Team PokerStars sponsored pro ‘Isildur1′ was finally unmasked on Saturday as the world’s biggest online poker site confirmed the identity of the high stakes sensation.

20 year old Swede Viktor Blom was presented to an excitable crowd and media gathering at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas before playing out a $20/$50 heads up match against Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier.

The true identity of young nosebleed regular did not surprise many with Blom’s name being linked with the mysterious alias since his arrival on the scene in 2009.

‘Isildur1′ was considered one of the most feared No Limit Hold’em cash game players after battling against the likes of Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan, Patrik Antonius and Phil Ivey on the virtual felt during that year.

Blom admitted in a PokerStars press release that he felt it was the right time for his identity to be revealed.

“I think a lot of people have known for a long time who I really am, so it does not make a big difference to me.”

He also spoke of his hopes for the year with a busy schedule of live tournament appearances planned.

“I will now be playing lots of EPT events and I really want to focus and win one in 2011. I also think I will have some great SuperStar Showdown matches at PokerStars.”

For more information about the biggest names in poker visit the PokerPages Popular Players section.

Mon, 01/10/2011 – 22:52 – PokerPages Staff

Through continuous play, the beginner poker player will be faced with hands that require additional knowledge beyond their good foundation of the poker rules and betting.  In fact, the beginner will find that their knowledge base might actually be in conflict with some nuances of the game.  This is true when dealt a troublesome hand, such as Ace-Queen.

For the beginner, any two face cards may appear to be a premium hand.  In the case of A-Q, many players will overplay the hand.  A-Q is not a premium hand and is, in reality, a marginal hand.

Consider this.  Of the starting hands that you may find yourself up against, AA, AK, KK, and QQ, all dominate AQ.  So from the outset, AQ is significantly behind.  As a result, your chip stack will see huge losses from playing the AQ. 

AQ only dominates hands such as AJ, KQ, and QJ.  The problem here is that, in most instances, you will not be playing against these starting hands.  If you do find yourself against these hands with AQ, generally, you will only win small pots.

AQ is best played in late position.  Further, it is best to not play AQ aggressively.  If you don’t flop a monster hand, fold and wait for a better opportunity.

To learn more, check out PokerSchoolOnline, the best source on the internet for poker related learning.  Then put those skills to work by playing for free at PokerStars.net.  Also, check out the PokerPages sections Poker Information and Poker Articles for more poker tips, poker betting, poker information and strategies.