Wed, 03/09/2011 – 01:15 – PokerPages Staff

NFL running back Emmitt Smith has joined the illustrious Friends of Full Tilt Poker roster.

The three time Super Bowl champion is now set to appear at numerous live events during the remainder of 2011.

Smith’s finest moment in poker came when he bested eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Ivey in heads-up play at a Celebrity Invitational Charity Tournament.

Smith won through to the 2010 WSOP Main Event with that performance though he failed to to progress past Day 1 at the Rio in Las Vegas after running a set of tens into trip jacks.

The 41 year-old admitted he had learned a great deal from the hand in the wake of his exit last year.

“I am learning more about the game. From that last hand, I learned a little bit but at the end of the day, it is what it is.”

“You have got to be able to get the cards. You have got to be able to understand when to bet, when not to bet. And then you just go from there.”

Smith joins Mekhi Phifer, Mario Andretti, Bruce Buffer, James Blake, Don Cheadle, Jim McManus and Matt Hughes on the Friends of Full Tilt list.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer made an appearance at the $25,000 National Heads Up Poker Championship at Caesars Palace at the weekend.

Smith bested Team PokerStars Pro David Williams in the first round before falling to Andrew Robl.

Wed, 03/09/2011 – 01:23 – PokerPages Staff

In addition to the poker rules, the beginner poker player must become adept at putting opponents on a hand and betting to maximize profit.  Value bets are simply bets that will maximize the profit you receive from winning a pot.  Most of the money that is made by the best poker players comes by way of value betting.

The goal of the value bet is to squeeze the most from your opponents when you hold the best hand.  The skill of reading your opponent and putting them on a hand is key to the value bet.  Once you place your opponent on a hand and your hand is better, value betting will build the pot and maximize your profit.

Ideally, your opponent’s hand should be second best.  A worse holding may fold to any subsequent betting and folding by your opponent is not what you want.  In order to build the pot, you must evaluate how much your opponent is willing to pay with their second best hand and make that bet.

A value bet can fail if the bet is too high or too low.  A bet that is too high will surely inform your opponent of your strong hand.  A bet that is too low will not achieve maximum profit, the aim of the value bet.  A balance must be struck to extract the most from your opponent.

Value betting should be a skill that you have in your arsenal.  The ability to get the most from your opponent when you have the stronger holding will aid your game and turn losing to winning. 

To learn more, check out PokerSchoolOnline, the best source on the internet for poker related tutorials.  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 and strategies.