Leaving the table after your All In?

While watching Poker on TV we have noticed a trend of players leaving the table after they are all in. Some occurrences are understandable and are not bad etiquette. For instance, if you have a friend in the audience, you may step away and tell them what has happened so they can sweat with you and then come back. Obviously other cases are acceptable as well. Huge scale events like the WSOP Main, and EPT Grand Final tables are all good. However where it becomes silly is when they do it every hand and in spots where the pressure really isn't huge. When it is for $5000.00 instead of a Million. Please do not run away from the camera and off the set to get attention, it's weak. Give your opponent the respect of being at the table when flops, turns, and rivers come raining down! After all this is where the excitement lies. No matter what a player will tell you, SHODOWN's are the most exciting aspect of the game. You find out if you are correct, little ahead, little behind, dominating, dominated, or completely outclassed and dead in the water. Make sure your not part of the latter, but even if you are, MAN UP and learn from what just happened. Don't run away like a coward.

SHODOWN

Mixing it up?!?!?!?!?

Recently there has been new poker on TV. We have had regular tournaments, celebrity tournaments, sit and go's and cash games on TV. But now PokerStars has mixed it up yet again with airing their NAPT bounty tournament. The structure is really cool. How it works (if you don't already know) is as follows: You play a single table sngo and are awarded bounties for knocking players out. The winner of the 1-table sngo wins $60 000.00 and moves on to the final table sngo. Then the bounties are still going and the winner of the final table receives $350 000.00 as well as their own bounty.

New innovations are great for poker. Our players have found watching the bounty much more entertaining because it rewards aggression. The more people you knock out the more you make. So if you are a rock and just chill and and wait for big hands, you miss out on $$$!! This aggression also allows for the other players to play lower ranking hands. Faraz Jaka has made both final tables in the events history and he plays crap cards all the time. However, he doesn't just get lucky but outplays his opponents quite often. His style plays very well into the structure of the payouts in the tournament.

In closing PokerStars has definitely found an interesting format to air on TV. So watch the shows and let us know your thoughts.

Mixing it up in your poker game is just as important as mixing it up in everything else in life. Keeps it fresh and exciting!

SHODOWN