Tue, 08/16/2011 – 09:59 – PokerPages Staff

While the inaugural Epic Poker League Main Event appeared to be a success, there remain several critics of the elite format. Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu has taken to his blog to explain his reasons for skipping the tournament in Las Vegas last week.

“I don’t believe this product will resonate with the public and based on my intimate knowledge of how these types of things work, I don’t think it’s possible to bring in enough revenue to survive,” the Canadian explained in his most recent blog post.

Negreanu, who has won over $14 million in live tournament play during his career, was eligible to take part in the event but opted out of meeting the $20,000 buy in at the Palms Resort and Casino.

The main reason Negreanu alluded to in his blog post is that the EPL is currently spending more money that it is bringing in with $400,000 added to the prize pools in each Main Event and a sizable $1 million in the season ending Championship tournament.

Negreanu believes that this business model is unsustainable and cited the prestigious World Series of Poker brand, as an example of how difficult it is to procure mainstream sponsorships.

“Ty Stewart, a straight shooter/great guy, and the man behind all of the sponsors of the WSOP has been able to bring in over the years, struggles to entice mainstream sponsorship.”

However, Negreanu revealed that he would support a league or series which would be beneficial for players and sustainable in the long run. “If I thought I could help a brand create a new league/series that helps put money in players pockets and will work, I’d absolutely back it.”

For a recap of all the action from this summer’s World Series of Poker pay a visit to the PokerPages Tournament Database.

Tue, 08/16/2011 – 10:21 – PokerPages Staff

As a beginner poker player, bet sizing can be one of the hardest aspects of the game to get to grips with. In order to win as well as you can, you need to be able to place good bets. It’s an important aspect to all types of no limit poker.

When placing bets, you need to think of them in relation to how big the pot currently is. This is due to the fact that your poker bets will dictate what your opponent’s pot odds are. If they then call with incorrect odds, you make a profit.

The general rule is if you have a good hand and think that the other players have bad hands you should bet about ¾ of the pot. This is because by doing so you give your opponents wrong pot odds, which means you win more money.

It’s not advantageous to bet half the pot or less, because a weak bet usually means that you lose value on your hands and risk being outdrawn by the other players. However, if you think that this won’t happen and that your opponents will call a smaller bet, you can risk it.

A major mistake, which can be made by a beginner poker player, is making minimum bets and raises. If you do this before a flop, most players will call you. It’s always safer to make strong bets or just not bet.

For more advice visit PokerSchoolOnline – the Internet’s #1 poker education website. Or, to put your betting skills to the test for free, go to PokerStars.net.