Molly's Online Poker and Sportsbook Guide

About two years ago, I wrote On Cavemen and Poker Players, which talked about the importance of learning to control your emotions at the poker table. Since then, I've had time to further refine my views on this topic, especially when it comes to the concept of tilt.

To begin, let me state the obvious: tilt happens to everyone. In fact, it's safe to say that tilt is one of the most feared words - and concepts - in poker. So, what causes tilt? Well, that's different for everyone. For some, it's a bad run of cards or continuously getting unlucky when you're opponents hit their miracle two and three-outers on the river. For others, it's just playing poorly for an extended period of time. more...

Heads-up play is one of the most important aspects of poker, and many players could benefit from strengthening this part of their game.

Position is crucial in heads-up play. So is aggression and reading your opponent. In fact, playing aggressively in position can often be the deciding factor in whether or not you win the pot. You can have a much worse hand, but if you trust your reads, you can often take the pot with the right board. more...

In an earlier article, Perry Friedman gave some guidelines as to what you should be looking for at the start of a Seven-Card Stud hand. Perry concentrated on third street, when you make your initial decision to proceed with the hand or not. For this tip, I'd like to go further down the road and talk about fourth street.

When playing Stud, fourth street is the last of the smaller betting rounds. On fifth street, the bets double, so if you decide to play beyond fourth street, your investment in the hand is going to be hefty.

On fourth street, I look to see if an opponent has picked up a card that has a relation to the door card (the first up card). If fourth street builds straight or flush possibilities for my opponent, I'm likely to muck a lot of hands; if it appears to be a complete blank, I'll usually continue. more...

Stud-8 or Better is a great game. The rules are nearly identical to regular 7-Card Stud, but there's one key difference. At showdown, the pot is split; half is given to the player with the best high, and half to the player with the best low. In order to take a portion of the pot, a low hand must have no card higher than an 8. If there is no qualifying low, the high hand takes the entire pot.

With players aiming for both high and low hands, Stud-8 invites a lot of action. But beginning players, even those with some 7-Card Stud experience, often come to a Stud-8 table with a poor understanding of what hands do well in this split-pot game.

To understand what types of hands you should play in Stud-8, you must grasp this key concept: In Stud-8, you're looking to scoop pots. By scoop, I mean that you want to take both the high and the low halves of the pot. That's where you're going to make your real profit. more...

There are few better situations in poker than to enter final table play as the big stack. However, there's a big difference in coming to the final table with the chip lead and in knowing how to use your stack to take control of the final stages of a tournament.

There are many players who don't slow down once they reach the final table with a big stack. I'm not one of them. By the time I reach the final table, I'll have already played a number of hands against about half of the other remaining players. I'll have developed reads on their games, and they will have done the same with me, which makes this a good time to switch gears. If I've been hammering away aggressively before the final table, I'll often slow things down and go back to playing a more tight-aggressive style than I had been just a short time earlier. more...

"What are the odds that David and Victoria Beckham will divorce before Christmas?"

"Who will win the Super Bowl this year?"

Props: Sometimes serious but always good fun, props are unusual betting opportunities that can add a new level of excitement to whatever it is that you're watching, be it a major celebrity, sports or television event.

Futures: Odds posted in advance on the winners of various major sporting events, including the World Series, NBA Championship, Stanley Cup, and Super Bowl and can also be a valuable source of entertainment. more...

A prop bet is a wager that is not directly related to the final score of the game (or event). For example, if your favorite baseball team is playing and you don't really have a feel for the outcome of the game, you might still have a feel for the pitchers or some of the players. You could place a prop bet or two on how those pitchers or players might do and that makes watching the game more exciting.

Fantasy sports is booming right now and by placing wagers on players who you feel may have a good game, props are also a great way for you to profit on your fantasy team. more...

The best rivalries are often the ones that pit neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother. With no preseason schedule and a built-in rivalry system, college football is about as good as it gets!

That first game of the year has got to scare the living daylights out of coaches. You have 11 or 12 games in a regular season, six to eight of them will be mandated by the conference, and the other three to five games you set up on your own. So you've really got to pick that first game wisely.

If you pick a team that isn't very good and you beat them badly, then your respect level is at risk and the BCS polls won't give you any credit because you've simply beat a team that you were supposed to beat. more...