Thu, 01/06/2011 – 22:08 – PokerPages Staff

Team PokerStars sponsored pro Liv Boeree headlines the nominations for the prestigious European Poker Awards.

Boeree is the first lady to have been nominated for the ‘Outstanding Tournament Performance’ category after taking down the European Poker Tour San Remo.

WSOPE champion James Bord, World Series of Poker final tablist Filippo Candio, David Vamplew, Tobias Rinkemeier and Jake Cody join Boeree on the star studded list.

Boeree is also in the running for ‘Europe’s Leading Lady’ honors. The 26 year from the United Kingdom will have to beat off competition from Annette Obrestad to land the prize.

22 year old Cody, who enjoyed a superb break out year, is up for the ‘Player of the Year’ Award. Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen. Vladimir Schemelev and Sam Trickett complete the nominees in the category.

Recent Team PokerStars recruit ‘Isildur1′ could be crowned the ‘Internet Player of the Year.’ Nosebleed regulars Patrik Antonius and Andreas Torbergsen, Mickey Petersen and tournament specialist Chris Moorman are also recognized for their efforts on the virtual felt.

Finally, PokerStars SuperStar Showdown challenger Tony Guoga is nominated in the ‘Rob Gardner Memorial Award for the Poker Personality of 2010′ alongside Jesse May and Anthony Holden.

The 10th annual European Poker Awards will take placed in Paris on February 13 where a panel of experts will award the coveted Golden Aces trophies.

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

Tue, 01/04/2011 – 03:52 – PokerPages Staff

Learning to play successful poker goes far beyond the poker rules.  In poker, nothing is more comforting than holding high pocket pairs.  Getting high pocket pairs, however, is not a common occurrence.  As such, the beginner poker player must learn how to play the other possibilities.

More commonly, a player may be dealt a small pocket pair.  A small pocket pair is a pair of sevens or lower.  Playing these hands tends to be quite troublesome to many players.  For a number of players, there is a tendency to overplay these hands.  It is important to learn that the value of low pocket pairs is determined by getting to the flop cheaply.

A small pocket pair is a drawing hand, in most instances.  The goal of playing low pocket pairs is to catch trips on the flop.  If you do not catch trips on the flop it is correct to fold your low pocket pair without putting more chips in the pot.  If you are lucky enough to catch your third card on the flop, you will hold a large advantage and could steal away a lot of your opponent’s chips, who will not likely put you on trips.

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 on poker information and poker articles for more poker tips and strategies.