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A SITUATION that often occurs in hold'em is as follows. One player raises before the flop; another calls or re-raises; the original bettor calls and the pair are heads up - just two players left in the hand
Published: 2005-02-01
 POKER
Independent, The (London), February, 2005 by Nic Szeremeta
A SITUATION that often occurs in hold'em is as follows. One player raises before the flop; another calls or re-raises; the original bettor calls and the pair are heads up - just two players left in the hand.
Either of them could hold more or less anything in their down cards - a medium to high pair, two high cards either of the same suit or not, or even medium-suited connectors such as 72-82.
When the dealer puts out the flop, the three common cards they both use to make their hands, it falls into the "scary" category.
There are several types of scary flop: three cards of the same suit that make a flush an immediate possibility; three cards in sequence that could produce a straight; or a big pair with a rag - say Q2-Q!-74.
What separates the better players from the not so good is an appreciation of the fact that if a flop looks "scary" to one participant, it can look just as frightening to the other.
Consider the maths of the situation. The odds against a player being dealt two pocket cards of the same suit are 3.25 to one against. It is therefore more than four times as unlikely that he has two of the suit of which three have flopped on the table. It is 2 to 1 against a player making on pair on the flop (matching one of his pocket cards with one on the table). To make three of a kind with either pocket card is more than 70 to 1 against.
So the chances of either player's hidden cards having much relationship to the flop are quite remote. The truth is, though, that many players do not see it that way.
For example, the holder of a pair of pocket jacks may groan inwardly when a scary flop of which he has no part appears. The more adventurous devotees of the green baize will, however, go ahead and bet - sometimes with absolutely nothing.
Position in these situations is not that important. Often it is a question of who bets first. In limit poker, a bet might even be met with a raise. If this happens, it is make-your-mind-up-time for the original bettor. Has the raiser actually hit the flop or is it a bluff?
The answer to this is whether or not the player in question is capable of trying a coup of this nature. What an average player might see as a threat, another, more skilled, player might view rather differently - as an opportunity.
Copyright 2005 Independent Newspapers UK Limited
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
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FHM poker school will rid gambling of `the smell of old men'
Published: 2005-02-01
 FHM poker school will rid gambling of `the smell of old men'
Independent, The (London), February, 2005 by Ciar Byrne
Girls in bikinis and pub humour are no longer enough to cut it in the world of men's magazines, prompting the leading men's monthly, FHM, to stake its future on the world of poker. Over the next six months, the title will attempt to turn its three million, predominantly 16- to 34-year-old readers into poker aces as well as hosting a "wooden" online poker competition (meaning no money will change hands).
The top 10 players will then be invited to London to battle it out for a pounds 10,000 cash prize, before gaining entry to a professional poker tournament where their progress will be filmed for a television show on Bravo.
The campaign is the brainchild of David Pullan, the new managing director of FHM Worldwide, who is responsible for the 28 editions of the men's title around the world.
FHM has teamed up with the US-based online World Poker Exchange as well as Flextech-owned Bravo and the London dance music radio station Kiss FM (like FHM, part of the Emap group) to promote the game.
Pullan deliberately chose a partner in America, where poker has achieved the status of a fashionable rite of passage. "One of the problems with a lot of traditional forms of gambling is the smell of old men associated with them," he says.
"American brands, particularly in poker, have a more aspirational sheen. It's that whole Vegas thing, Ocean's Eleven. The bookie on Streatham High Street doesn't quite impart the same feeling of glamour."
In the magazine, FHM readers will find "non-didactic" poker tips on the etiquette of the game and how to bluff, while online they can view tutorial videos "delivered by a model wearing an evening gown rather than a bloke in a tux".
Pullan says the TV programme following the FHM winners will be a bit like the Channel 4 hit show Faking It. "It's got all that dramatic tension around how our plucky amateurs will get on. But the difference here is you're not trying to win a horse trial or a cooking competition. There's a million-dollar pot."
Formerly head of marketing at Five, he admits that FHM as a brand has "probably not been fully exploited to the maximum effect". As part of his remit to create an FHM brand that stretches beyond the magazine, he is keen to expand further into television, as well as embracing the internet and mobile phones.
In another joint venture with Bravo, FHM has made a half-hour documentary about its popular "High Street Honeys" competition, charting the progress of the winner from girl next door to cover star.
Talks are also under way to create a fully fledged FHM spin-off show based around the magazine's catch phrase "funny, sexy, useful".
"The biggest problem is that replicating magazine content on television is hugely expensive. One feature in FHM is a half-hour documentary on Channel 4. You have to think laterally," says Pullan.
Promoting the magazine across a number of platforms has become more urgent in the face of fresh competition from the new men's weeklies Nuts and Zoo. Pullan insists that FHM has hardly been affected by the success of these titles, thanks to its decision not to take them on in the areas where they excel because of their quick turnaround - sport, topical news stories and entertainment.
"The strategy was to make FHM feel like an indulgence, something you buy because it sits on your table for a full four weeks, with different girls, time-relevant rather than topical information and we really focus on making it funny."
Copyright 2005 Independent Newspapers UK Limited
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
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