Newsletter: Volume 3 - Issue 1

Winter Sale Continues

All the holiday excitement has come to an end, but the winter excitement continues at SunPoker, thanks to some of our biggest tournaments being discounted up to 80% through our Winter Sale!

That’s right some of our biggest tournaments will be at a discounted entry…no need to go back and read it again, we said it right…Between January 7th-16th 2011, SunPoker will run a Winter Sales promotion, which will include many of the network’s Monster tournaments at a flashy discounted buy-ins!

This is your chance to play some of the biggest tournaments at a fraction of the cost, over $750,000in guaranteed prize tournaments will be running for a huge buyin reduction.

Log onto your SunPoker account and you will notice a “Winter Sales” tab listing all Satellites, Main Events and Mega Satellites on sale NOW!

For the complete list and schedule of the sale check out the following link:
http://www.sunpoker.com/promotions/promo_WinterSales.asp

European Deepstack

SunPoker is proud to offer VIP packages to the 2011 European Deepstack Poker Championship IV hosted at the Ballsbridge Inn Hotel in Dublin, from February 2nd to February 6th, 2011.

The European Deepstack was founded in 2008 by D4 Events with a plan to create a different type of tournament appealing to every type of poker player; a plan that has obviously held its success throughout the years and is now one of the most anticipated 4 day winter tournaments out on the circuit.

Satellites will commence at SunPoker starting Monday, January 10th, with the first super satellite being held on the 12th, this promotion will feature weekly super satellites of €80 + €8 Freezeout, running on Wednesdays at 21:00 GMT and the last Super Satellite running on January 26th, 2011. 

Winners will receive a €1,150.00 VIP package that will include;

• €500+50 Buy In to the Main Event.
• €345 for 5 nights’ accommodation and breakfast at the Ballsbridge Inn in Dublin. February 2nd – February 7th, 2011.
• €25 Handling Fees.
• €230 for flights and spending.

Clear your calendar as 2011 is already set to be the year of land based tournaments through online qualifications at SunPoker!

Banned Gambler Allowed To Keep $60k Casino Jackpot

A banned gambler has been allowed to keep his $60,000 casino winnings after hitting a straight flush playing the card game Caribbean Stud last August at Auckland’s SkyCity casino.

Back in 2004, Sothea Sinn, 28, had placed a self-exclusion ban on himself at the casino as he was concerned about the amount he was gambling at the time. Apparently in 2010, Sinn had either forgotten the ban or simply didn’t realise it was still in place when he spent a 22 hour session gambling before hitting the $60,000 jackpot.

However, it all soon became clear to him after SkyCity casino refused to pay up his winnings and recalling the range of emotions he went through at the time, Sinn explained:

“Honestly I was jumping up with joy, couldn’t believe my luck…Everyone surrounded me patted me on the back and stuff…I’m pretty gutted about everything. The day I won it was the best day of my life and it turned out to be the worst day of my life.”

What then ensued was a series of legal wranglings with both the SkyCity casino and New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs agreeing Sinn should not be payed.

The Department of Internal Affairs maintains a team of Gambling Inspectors at each casino in the country, who agreed at the time the ban should be enforced. Subsequently, though, they reversed their earlier decision and said they now believed the ban had in fact expired and that “they considered the issue “as one involving the integrity of gambling.”

SkyCity casino initially disagreed with the finding and maintained Sinn did not meet the criteria for re-entry following his self-exclusion. They also highlighted there was a clear difference in opinion between the Department and the casino on what constitutes the conditions of reentry into casinos.

owever, SkyCity casino said they were unwilling to go to court over the matter and so have now paid Sothea Sinn his $60,000 winnings.

Source: www.onlinepoker.net

The father of poker, Mr. Doyle Brunson said it best;
"Try to decide how good your hand is at a given moment. Nothing else matters. Nothing!"

Becoming a Professional

So it’s the start of a new year and we know deep down inside you have vowed to make 2011 the year you become a “Professional Poker Player” but what is it really that makes one a professional poker player?  Is it simply labeling oneself as a pro? Perhaps it’s entering 100’s of tournaments through out the year? Or is it simply having a hefty bank roll and making poker headlines?

If your goal is to be known and taken seriously as a Professional Poker Player, here are some skills that you should consider mastering.

Discipline

• Master your own art; best way to do so is practice on tables where you have an advantage. Try finding tables where there are more amateurs/fish. Fish only want to win by being lucky whereas real poker players want to win by skill.

• Adjust to the game; every game, table or opponent requires you to have a different mindset and style. Maintaining the same patterns over and over makes you predictable hence resulting in you becoming the fish.

• The disciplined player knows when to quit even when the pot is really juicy.
  
  
• A disciplined player learns from his/her mistakes and admits that they will still make them later on. Disciplined players will just keep on learning because nobody is a perfect poker player and the learning never stops.

The Mathematician

Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari are just two good examples of players that have mastered the odds of certain combinations. They know that when you hold a pocket pair, you can hit the set with only one in eight and a half chances. Those pocket cards also give you odds of having one in three chance of completing a 'by the river' flopped flush draw.

• Becoming a mathematician at the game allows you to compute the number of outs as this is one of the most important factors that will improve everyone of your hands.

• Knowing outs will be useless unless it is translated into rational and calculated betting. When you figure out that you have a 20 percent chance of hitting, you then figure out your chances of winning or losing. You divide the size of the pot at the river by the amount you have to put in. I.E. the current pot and the amount of bets that will be added on in the future. If you have calculated that the bet to you will be 50 and have 20 percent chance of hitting and the pot at the river will be higher than 250, try to call for it. If not, fold.

Confusing right? That’s why becoming a Professional Player is no walk in the park, it takes serious work, study and dedication to the game! At the end of it all, if you can master these skills you deserve the title Poker Pro!

At Sunpoker we have many options to help you hone your skills in any expertise of the game. For example if you want to become a stronger big buyin tournament player, our Winter Sales Promotion is a perfect opportunity to play with a different level of players at a fraction of the price. If you are a cash game player looking for an edge, take a shot at our double dip cash race for some extra value added onto your bankroll.