The All-New Bad Beat Jackpot is Here!

Very few things in life can’t be tweaked to our advantage and, as exciting as the Bad Beat Jackpot has been at 32Red Poker, the latest version, which comes into effect today, promises to put smiles on more faces and thus make our quest all the more promising when hunting down the elusive ‘losing’ jackpot hand at the Bad Beat tables.

Whereas we have been used to the only recipients of the jackpot being those at the actual table where the hand was finally played (where the minimum blinds were €0.50/€1), the all-new Bad Beat Jackpot enables players sitting at any of the €0.10/€0.20 or higher special Hold’em tables a chance of poker riches, just by virtue of opting in!

And opting in is done simply by clicking the Bad Beat icon found at the bottom right of every qualifying table. After that we contribute 2 cents per hand toward the jackpot and (the point…) everyone opted in at their particular stake is then eligible to win a piece of the jackpot when the hand finally does appear somewhere.

As for hand criteria, there is good news here, too, as the losing hand, which used to have to contain four of a kind 8s or better, has now been downsized to a lower four of a kind 2s or better. And the jackpot hits even if those involved in the actual Bad Beat aren’t opted in!

Now that the action is going to hot up considerably on the Bad Beat tables as everyone will be going with any pair, we might as well acquaint ourselves with how the jackpot is distributed. In order to keep the ball rolling, 20% of the total is used to ‘seed’ the new jackpot, so the remaining 80% is shared out as follows:

• 40% goes to the Bad Beat Jackpot winner (i.e. the player with the losing hand at showdown)
• 20% goes to the player with the winning hand
• 10% is shared between the remaining players at the table triggering the jackpot
• 10% is shared between the players at the same stakes!

Click here for more information and good luck at the Bad Beat Jackpot tables!

Sit n Go Promo at 32Red Poker

Thanks to my being without an internet connection for a week or so (which seems like an eternity when being online is a professional imperative; plus the fact I was missing out on poker fun…) I missed the beginning of 32Red Poker’s new Secret Agent Sit n Go promotion, which runs until February 15^th and features a range of prizes.

These include five iPhone 5’s, 10 TAG Heuer Aquaracer watches (each worth over €1300!) and a whopping 1500 tournament (€20 + 2) tickets.

The idea is to earn scratch cards by playing in the special Secret Agent Giveaway Sit n Go tournaments that have numerous formats and buyins from as little as €1+0.10 (or 147 Redbacks) – 1 scratch card is awarded for every 10 tournaments played.

If you don’t strike lucky on a scratch card you’ll be automatically entered for the 2^nd Chance Tournament which takes place on February 17^th, where the five iPhones and any watches and tickets that weren’t won by the end of the promotion will be up for grabs. Also, with each non-winning card you earn you’ll receive 100 starting chips for the tournament!

Note that this promotion is perfect for those yet to try this exciting tournament format as the buyins available are reassuringly low for Sit n Go newcomers, you can pick up scratch cards as you navigate your way through the learning experience and there’s also the usual prize money to be won, too!

Good luck at the Secret Agent tables!

Meanwhile, at the time of writing the Badbeat Jackpot has reached nosebleed levels, and it currently stands at over €648,000 and rising! You’ve got to be in it to win it…

Angus Dunnington (AngusD at the tables)
32Red Poker Ambassador

World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters 2012

This year’s World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters (WSM), previously known as the European Championships of Single Table Tournaments or ECOSTT, was held in the fabulous city of Prague which of course is the Czech Republic’s capital and the cradle of Czech culture. This ‘Golden City’ is situated on both banks of the Vltava River in central Bohemia and is home to many famous writers, artists, athletes, sports players, models and film directors, bringing forth talents such as Mozart and Kafka to mention but a couple.

The WSM event was held in the 5 star Corinthia Hotel which is only two ‘metro’ stops away from the city centre, a place that boasts incredible museums and stunning medieval, baroque and renaissance architecture. The hotel is a landmark in itself, standing atop one of Prague’s seven hills and offering outstanding views of the capital city.

WSM TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Tournament Details	Buy-in
Tuesday 27th	16:30pm	Welcome drinks & buffet dinner
November	19:30pm	Round 1 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters (WSM)	€ 2,200
Wednesday 28th	12:30pm	Round 2 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters (WSM)	As above
November	18:00pm	1 hour dinner break
	19:00pm	Round 3 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters (WSM)	As above
Thursday 29th	12:30pm	Round 4 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters (WSM)	As above
November	18:00pm	1 hour dinner break
	19:00pm	Super Eliminator Tournament for 9 players	As above
	19:00pm	MTT Turbo Bounty Tournament for players not in the
		Super Eliminator	€ 120
	01:00am	End of Bounty Tournament & prize giving
	01:00am	End of Super Eliminator Tournament
Friday 30th	12:30pm	Final table of the WSM – 9 players	As above
November	12:30pm	NL Hold’em Side Event	€ 550
	19:00pm	1 hour dinner break
	20:00pm	Conclusion of WSM Final Table (if applicable) and
		conclusion of NL Hold’em Side Event
	10:30pm	WSM Main Event & Side Event prize presentations and farewell drinks
Saturday 1st		Players depart
December

 

Day 1 – Round 1 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters

Three 32Red Poker players were involved in the opening day of the Prague Poker Festival as the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters got under way on Tuesday 27^th November 2012. Held at the King’s Casino, in the luxurious surroundings of the Corinthia Hotel, the 55-player event featured Jianping Zhang of Belfast (‘LeoLeou’ at the 32Red Poker tables), Vancouver’s Brant Taylor (stealth90) and our very own Poker Ambassador Angus Dunnington (AngusD).The format, with a scoring system along the lines of Eurovision, meant that everyone played four 9-player Sit ‘n’ Go rounds, with 12 points going to 1^st place, 10 to second, 8 to 3^rd, 6 to 4^th and then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point for 5^th down to 9^th. Significantly different to the usual set-up, where 4^th is no better than last place, here every point counted, which explains why Angus Dunnington’s table, despite escalating blinds, still had all nine players involved after two and a half hours while other tables were well on the way to just a few survivors!

Jianping, Brant and Angus came 8^th (2 points), 5^th (5 points) and 6^th (4 points) respectively. Angus said: “It was strange adjusting to the format as a couple of players amassed most of the chips and the shorter stacks – myself included – tried to find a balance that would help earn useful points.”

Microgaming’s organising team certainly put together an interesting tournament, and everyone after Day 1 remained in contention for the final table, which would consist of the top cumulative scorers after four gruelling rounds in a hectic schedule. The rest of the field would also have additional opportunities for success, with two further tournaments running alongside the latter stages of the Masters.

Day 2 – Round 2 & 3 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters

Just as a successful race horse trainer likes to enter several runners in a major race, 32Red Poker remained in contention at the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters in Prague thanks to having three ‘runners’ in the hunt.

Jianping Zhang continued his unfortunate run in the second and third rounds on Day 2, following up an opening 8^th place (2 points) with a 6^th and 8^th. Our Poker Ambassador Angus Dunnington got off to a great start in the second round and felt fortunate to have been drawn on a less demanding table than in round 1. He built up his stack and found himself in the ‘ideal’ position of getting KK at the same time the table bully was up to his stealing tricks. Alas this time his opponent did indeed have a hand… AA, and Angus went out in 7^th place when a high finish seemed on the cards.

Which brought us to our third runner in the shape of Brant Taylor (stealth90). The man from Vancouver could have considered himself unlucky, too, despite finishing 3^rd in round 2, and he kept up his great form by winning his third round to be amongst the leaders on 25 points with just one round to go…

Day 3 – Round 4 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters

Day 3 unravelled with Round 4 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters as well as a ‘Super Eliminator‘ and ‘Bounty‘ tournament as side events. Neither Jianping Zhang nor Angus Dunnington managed to qualify for the WSM final, but one 32Red player did, Brant Taylor (alias, stealth90). Brant now faced 8 other players in the final table of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters on day 4, where 9th place paid a whopping €5,000!

Day 3 – Bounty Tournament

Meanwhile at the Bounty Tournament, last year’s WSM winner David Rudling knocked 32Red’s Poker manager Nick Diaz out of the tournament to win a top notch remote control helicopter. David proceeded to win the Bounty Tournament along with plenty of bounty chips (each worth €50) from every player he managed to knock out in the process.

Day 4 – No Limit Hold’em Side Event (€500 buyin)

Meanwhile in the €500 NL Hold’em tournament Angus Dunnington (AngusD) narrowly missed the final table after fighting back from having a very short stack. Angus was looking forward to his favourite format and, sure enough, built his stack from 20k to 35k. This came crashing down after he lost a critical hand where he was favourite until the river, leaving him with only 5k! He managed to get to over 40k and Lady Luck intervened once more when he was eliminated in a make or break pot to finish 14th.

A pretty juicy side event nonetheless, for those who hadn’t made the final table of the WSM. This was also open to other players, so anyone battling through to the final table was in for a decent payout.

Unortunately for our other player Jianping Zhang (LeoLeou), a place on the final table proved equally elusive as he survived longer than Angus but fell at the final hurdle. Jianping put in an impressive display for someone new to these tournaments, falling just short of the final table in 11th place. Jianping said: “Many thanks for organising this event. It was my first live tournament and I really had a lot of fun.”

Day 4 – Final table of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters (9 player)

The Final Table of the WSM was to take place in a different room to the rest of the tournament, on a state-of-the-art table that had been set up to showcase the action to poker fans online across the globe via a ‘live’ broadcast. Angus Dunnington had been invited the previous day to take part in the final testing and sat next to David Brannan and the rest of his excellent Mind Sports International team as they played out hands to test the system. 32Red player Brant Taylor then took his actual seat on the Final day…

Final table and starting stacks:

Steven Van Zadelhoff: 75,000
Artur Ladny Jacek: 70,000
Kemio Suominen: 65,000
Brant Taylor: 60,000
Mikko Koponen: 58,000
Martin Hanitz: 56,000
Mikael Johansson: 54,000
Anne Meri: 52,000
Kim Minseok: 50,000

Day 4 of the World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters ended in success for 32Red player ‘Brant Taylor’ who, after a gruelling stint at the final table, managed to finish in an impressive 3rd place, winning €15,000! In his own words, “Great week, great result and thanks for the support and everything Nick! … Almost! … Thank you for making it even funner.” This was well earned in view of the fact that 9th place paid €5,000 and with each successive elimination he could see his ultimate prize getting jucier.

It was a great day for poker in general as the latest technology was used to bring the excitement of a final table into people’s homes across the globe via a live stream.

It was a very enjoyable event packed with fun and excitement, some interesting plays and the usual highs and lows with good and bad luck. We all had a great time in Prague and we look forward to the next offline event…

Tournament: World Sit ‘n’ Go Masters
Location: Kings Casino, Prague
Date: 27th – 30th November, 2012
No. Entrants: 55
Prize Pool: €104,000
Finishing Positions: See below…

Position	Name	Location	Prize Money
1st	Steven Van Zadelhoff	Netherlands	€23,000
2nd	Mikael Johansson	Sweden	€19,000
3rd	Brant Taylor	Canada	€15,000
4th	Anne Meri	Finland	€12,000
5th	Mikko Koponen	Czech Republic	€9,000
6th	Keimo Suominen	Finland	€8,000
7th	Jacek Ladny	Poland	€7,000
8th	Martin Hanitz	Norway	€6,000
9th	Kim Minseok	Philippines	€5,000

Check Out the Lobby. Literally!

Select your favourite tables types and stake levels by checking the box next to that stake level in section 1 of the client lobby.

You can carry on checking in section 2. By checking which tables you’d like to join instantly (provided you’ve selected the auto buy-in option) you can then click the Join Tables button and be seated and playing at every table you selected with a check mark. If you haven’t set your auto buy-in options, you will be asked to confirm your entry into each table but your place in the tournament or table will be reserved until the purchase dialogue expires.

Be sure to select the Hide Full Tables option to avoid opening a table that’s already full. You should also be sure and have either the Tile Tables or Custom Table layout set at the bottom of section 2 before you join multiple tables. With these options selected, your tables will be displayed just as you want them, ready for play. If you want to start from scratch or have one check too many then the Clear button at the bottom of sec-tion 1 will give you a clean slate to start afresh.

The Custom Bet-Slider

Why conform to the way the poker software tells you to play?

Set your preferences up to bet exactly the way you want with Bet Slider Options…

This seldom used tool is a great way for multi-tablers to streamline their play. Change the settings on the bet slider to suit your personal playing style. The General tab settings control default betting actions and keyboard shortcuts such as “bet with the Enter key” and “set fo-cus options”. If a precise bet size is preferred, use these options to type in the exact amount you want to bet or raise by and hit the enter key to perform the action, a great feature for multi-tabling players.

Most players prefer a linear increase or decrease in bet size as the slider is moved, but if you’re feeling hyper-aggressive, you could choose to raise the bet amounts exponentially as you drag.

You can get even more granular depending on the game you’re playing or the mood you’re in. Put your opponents to the sword with an all-out aggressive profile. Perhaps a passive pre-flop, aggressive post flop approach is more to your taste. These detailed options are available in the Texas Hold’em/Omaha and Stud/Draw tabs.

The Bet Slider Options are found in the Preferences menu in the 32Red Poker lobby or via the table menu options while playing.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s Blaze Poker! (Part 2)

Here are a few more thoughts to consider when playing 32Red’s exciting new Blaze Poker:

Position

The ‘Position! Position! Position!’ poker mantra should never be forgotten, but with the Blaze format it is even more significant than usual. Information being paramount at standard NL tables, we’re not going to have as much to go on here because, despite getting to know some of the players as we occasionally bump into them during our random table assignations, in many hands we’ll find ourselves up against players about whom we know very little or even nothing. Consequently, without any useful history and playing habits to work with, it would be too much of an edge to give away were we to voluntarily enter the fray with sub-optimal holdings out of position. Moreover, given the nature of the game, whose Quick Fold facility essentially embarrasses people into concentrating so heavily on premium hands, we have to take into consideration the fact that many more players who get involved will have considerably stronger hands than usual, in turn increasing the importance of position. Once the hand gets going we need – particularly post-flop – as much in our armoury as possible.

Look out for the Small Blind Thieves!

Stealing the blinds is part of the game but there is a different kind of dynamic to the psychology in Blaze Poker due to the collective (early, out of position) auto-folding that induces the SB to think a steal could be on the cards if the BB, too, isn’t prepared to invest any more in a hand. When in the BB, rather than blindly (ahem) joining in the fold-fest (thoughtlessly using the ‘check-fold’ button, for example), I would recommend waiting to see what’s happening – we’re already going to be able to fit many more hands into a session with Blaze Poker, so there’s no need to go overboard at the cost of potentially exploitable, profitable opportunities.

Following on from what we touched upon in Part 1, an effective play might well be to 3-bet the SB’s aggression when heads-up, regardless of our holding. We will be raised very rarely (and will anyway have position after calling), will pick up the pot quite often, and be in position – with the initiative – the rest of the time.

Call pre-flop all-ins only with a monster

Again, Blaze Poker is going to affect different people in numerous ways as some seek to exploit how they perceive others will approach the format, some will tweak their game slightly, some won’t change at all, some will take an unorthodox stance, and so on. Remember also that at these popular (lower) blind levels there will be players who are simply enjoying the change of scene.

Nevertheless, when it comes to straight shoves pre-flop, it’s risky calling with anything less than premium, and I’m not even sure that KK merits a place alongside AA as a premium all-in calling hand in the Blaze format; certainly QQ, JJ and AK are just asking for trouble.

Perhaps suggesting we stand down with KK in this situation could be considered a little too cautious, but at least the fact that we’re being dealt so many hands at such a comparatively rapid rate means we should not be impatient as AA will come around sooner than on a standard table.

Of course there are numerous practical (and psychological) implications and considerations to keep in mind when switching to Blaze Poker but, for the time being, at least, I hope these tips help make a session easier to handle!

Good luck at the Blaze tables!

Angus Dunnington (AngusD at the tables)
32Red Poker Ambassador

Bewitching addition to 32Red Poker’s Casino Games

Four generous bonus opportunities make this a magic slot!

32Red Poker has just launched a brand new 5 reel 15 payline slot jam-packed with interactive features and bonuses and appropriately titled LUCKY WITCH.

This blockbuster of a game boasts four different bonuses, each with its own interactive and entertaining mysteries and rewards, along with retriggering Free Spins, Scatters and stacked Wilds.

Free Spins fans will be more than pleased when the Potion Scatter symbol shows up; 3, 4 or 5 delivers 13 Free Spins and a Witch as an extra Wild with a 2x Multiplier, adding to the rewards of Scatter wins being multiplied by the total bet staked.

Then there’s the Mystery Bonus which is triggered when the Cauldron symbol appears on reels 1, 3 and 5. The player gets a very worthwhile range of mystery bonuses – a visit to the Potion Bonus; access to the Pumpkin bonus; a scary visit to the Witch’s Vault and its mystical symbols; and a browse through the Witch’s Spell Books.

The Potion Bonus screen features the delectable Lucky Witch herself, and the player is invited to pick from 12 potions in a search for the big-prize ‘Win All’ icon….but beware the skull-and-cross-bones icon which will prematurely end the bonus.

In the Pumpkin bonus the player gets to make up to 3 choices from five typically Halloween pumpkins, with the option to re-pick for a better prize. Whilst in the Vault bonus, the player is presented with 12 witchcraft symbols, each concealing a prize. The player has three choices, and then 1 further chance to select from the three chosen.

Finally, the Lucky Witch’s three top secret Spell Books are displayed to the player, with an invitation to pick one to reveal a prize. Spicing the feature up is the possibility that a magic imp can appear and cast a spell to boost Multipliers up to as much as 52x the player’s total bet.

All of this interactive action takes place against a theme backdrop full of eerie sounds and witchified, intensely coloured graphics portraying sinister looking cats, magic crystals, Halloween pumpkins, potions and spell charts.

Such a big game demands equally large reward opportunities, and Lucky Witch does not disappoint in this regard. On a maximum bet of 60.00, achievable jackpots include 120 000.00 in the base game, the same on Free Spins, and 6 000.00 on bonuses.

Lucky Witch is also a game for all pockets, with a bet range that starts at 0.01 and runs to 0.20 a line.

32Red Poker is among the first to offer this fun and exciting new slot, so pay us a visit soon and see if the Lucky Witch’s magic will work for you!

Tweet

FREE POKER QUIZ!

Congratulations to THExROCKER for winning our last Poker Quiz! (click here for details).

Welcome to 32Red’s regularly updated Poker Quiz section where we ask you all sorts of poker questions and all you have to do is answer them correctly to enter our draw for free cash prizes & tournament tickets!

Are you ready?

 

Predict 32Red’s next Bad Beat Jackpot amount and win €50!

Click here to view our current Bad Beat Jackpot amount!

Post your answers below and whoever comes closest to the Bad Beat Jackpot amount when it next hits will receive a FREE poker chip worth €50 to play at 32Red Poker.  Note that only a player’s first answer will count.

Tweet

Progressive Jackpots on 32Red Poker

Here are the current Jackpots waiting for you at 32Red Poker!

32Red Jackpots

 

• The Bad Beat Jackpot is €50,000 (click here)
• The MTT Jackpot is €20,000 (click here)
• Mega Moolah is 1,246,819.00
• Major Millions is 1,402,163.00
• Cash Splash is 31,288.00

DOWNLOAD 32RED POKER NOW!

If you’re depositing for the first time don’t forget to take advantage of our $1,000 Welcome Bonus whilst enjoying 30% Instant Rakeback.

If you have any questions or require any assistance, you can contact our 24-hour Player Support team via Live Chat, Email or Telephone – we’re always happy to help.

Tweet

Bet Sizing

Beginners are not the only players to make inappropriate bet sizes. It stands to reason that, because the size of the pot relative to bet and stack sizes forms the foundation of each hand, we should try our best to at least find the right bet sizing range. It is imperative that we make correct bet sizes in order to get the most value from each hand we are involved in, whether this is maximizing gains or minimising losses.

Making weak, smallish bets gives the opposition both favourable odds for drawing hands (indeed decent odds for all sorts of hands to overtake us) and the opportunity, upon sensing our inability to bet more aggressively, to bully us and thus collect what should be our spoils. Betting strongly has the advantage of forcing drawing hands to pay over the odds to continue as well as reminding others that when we bet we mean business.

First, let’s assume that we already follow a general rule pre-flop along the lines of raising 3xBB plus 1xBB for each limper (some players, depending on the action, might opt for 4xBB) so that we don’t give anyone a cheap ticket to see the flop. Also, if we are going to raise someone else’s pre-flop bet, then we should be raising roughly three times their original bet to make their odds unattractive.

Moving on to the flop and beyond, we should always be aware when making a bet of both the size of the pot and relevant stack sizes but, as a rule, in order to optimise our play and thus induce incorrect play from opponents we should be looking to have a minimum bet in mind. In ‘normal’ circumstances – when we think we have the best hand at the table, for instance – we really need to be betting around 3/4 of the pot on the flop. Many players put themselves off betting this much, either not wanting to scare off the opposition or even because they are afraid to bet so big in case they are up against a monster (an awful, negative line of thought!). But this is in fact an optimal bet size as it achieves the two key aims of giving opponents with drawing hands incorrect pot odds and maximising value every time someone calls with a worse hand.

Unless we are absolutely positive that a 3/4-pot bet won’t bring the desired result (of course there will be instances where smaller bets are called for) we should get into the habit of betting strongly rather than giving away pot odds and losing value. Moreover, if we aren’t prepared to bet big we might consider not betting at all. It might feel a little difficult at first if we are instead used to betting 1/3 of the pot, for example, but it won’t take long to appreciate that more appropriately aggressive play is far more effective.

Remember also that big bets garner information (and thus help us better define hand ranges) as the opposition needs a genuine reason to remain in the hand – betting small merely invites all kinds of hands to stay in contention.

To make life so much easier when it comes to bet sizing, take advantage of 32Red‘s very useful Bet Slider tool, a facility that allows us to pre-select bet sizing options so that we don’t have to fiddle about during a hand. This has a massive range of pre-settings to choose from so that we are able to decide precisely the values in the bet boxes that pop up when it is our turn to act. When seated at a table, sort out this excellent tool by clicking on Menu, Options and Bet Slider and, in the Texas Hold’em/Omaha tab, create a new profile.

Good luck at the tables!

Angus Dunnington (AngusD at the tables)
32Red Poker Ambassador

Tweet

Next Page »