Tue, 02/08/2011 – 00:22 – PokerPages Staff

So you woke up with pocket aces, what is the best move?  The beginner poker player is faced with numerous decisions when playing poker.  Along with learning the best strategy for poker bets, knowing how to make these decisions are not described in any basic poker rules.  Many decisions are required to come to the best poker betting strategy.  So, alright, what do you do with pocket aces?

There are numerous opinions on how to play pocket aces, but for the beginner player, the general consensus is to NOT slow play aces.  By slow playing aces, you allow opponents get to the flop cheaply.  Thus opponents with weak hands could draw out and beat you and probably for a large chunk of change.

Pocket aces are a favorite to win the pot when there are fewer opponents.  By slow playing aces, you allow more opponents in the pot.  With four or more opponents in the pot, pocket aces are no longer a favorite to win.  Raise the pot with careful bets to isolate opponents and preserve your edge.

When you slow play aces, you do not build up the pot.  Put in a betting raise with your pocket aces so that the pot you win is big.

Many beginners slow play pocket aces because they fear a raise will eliminate opposition and their big hand may only take down the blinds.  The beginner must remember that stealing the blinds with pocket aces is better than losing a big pot to an opponent who draws out a better hand.

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 and strategies.

Tue, 01/18/2011 – 05:22 – PokerPages Staff

Team PokerStars sponsored pro Viktor ‘Isildur1′ Blom’s meteoric rise to the top of the game was completed at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure when he was finally unveiled as the man behind the most exciting alias in high stakes cash game history.

The Scandinavian sensation recalled the moments that shaped his education in poker during an interview with a Swedish newspaper last week.

Blom admitted his interest in poker stemmed from a native episode of ‘The Poker Million’ which aired when he was a teenager.

“I started playing poker when I was 14 years old I think. With my friends and my brother. There was this program on TV, Pokermiljonen that made us pick up the game.”

“It always went well for me, but it was not until I was 18 that I realized that I could become really good.”

The 20 year-old began testing his skills online in European poker rooms before depositing his first bankroll with Full Tilt Poker in 2008.

Blom admits that he found it extremely difficult initially as he had not been prepared to face players who were more accomplished than himself.

“I started playing on American sites and there I was really stunned by how good the level was. I was not prepared, I did not know there were players even better than me.”

The Swede remains bullish about his Hold’em skills, proclaiming himself to be the finest player in the world in heads up play.

“In Hold’em Heads-Up I am probably the best of all and this experience I carry with me.”

Blom concluded by professing his love for the game and stating that money is not his primary motivation.

“Of course it is tough when you lose, but in the end it does not matter. It is just money. I play because I love it, it is that simple.”