Poker News: Women's Poker Spotlight: Clonie Gowen Wins World Poker Open Main Event

Nine players returned to the Gold Strike Casino on Tuesday to take their seats at the final table of the World Poker Open's $5,000 buy-in. The chip leader of those final nine was professional poker player Clonie Gowen.

Clonie Gowen was introduced to poker as a teenager by a boyfriend's father. She spent weekends driving between Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana to be able to play on a more serious level. Her competitive nature spurred her further and earned her a tenth-place showing in her first major tournament, The 2002 World Poker Tour Costa Rica Classic. She followed that up by winning the World Poker Tour Ladies' Night Invitational.
This year, Clonie is back with a vengeance, cashing in four separate events at the World Series of Poker as well as her largest win to date, a first-place showing at the Bellagio Cup's No Limit Hold'em Main Event in July. To date, Clonie has won NBC's "Poker After Dark" six-player tournament three times, a record she shares with Phil Helmuth.

Clonie came into Day Two of the World Poker Open in second place but struggled for most of the day. When the tournament wound down to 12 players -- in what Clonie described as a key hand that led her to the final table with about an 80,000-chip lead over then second place Kirby Brewer -- she was able to see a free flop with three limpers from the big blind. The board at the river showed Q-10-6-7-K. Nam Huynh moved all in and Clonie called with 10-6 for two pair to beat Nam's 9-7 for a pair of sevens.

With eight poker players left, Clonie dropped down to fifth place. She jumped into second place when her pocket queens beat out Brandon Jarrett's A-10, doubling her up. She took a huge chip lead with six players left when her A(c),5(c),hit top pair on the flop and Brandon's suited Q-J failed to connect, taking him out of the tournament in third place.

Besides a few short stints, the two-hour heads-up between Clonie and BJ McBrayer was Clonie's game. She played an aggressive style, making the right plays at the right times.

Seeing women like Clonie Gowen take on the odds and make the dream of the felt come true is an inspiration to all the women working towards that same goal.

Congratulations, Clonie!

Learn to play against calling stations

First of all, we need to know that calling station can be defined as a player who usually won’t take control of their hands but leave the betting option to you and will probably just call if they hit something on the flop. They may hit a pair of improve into a straight or a flush draw.
Then after we know what they are and how often they play their hands, we shall figure out our correspondent strategies against them.
Calling stations could be double-edged swords as they can be great to value bet and you can benefit from them to gain some extra profit. If you hit some strong hands on the flop you can bet a reasonable amount into them and keep them calling you to the river. They'll offer you the chances of building the pot and winning more bets if they don't draw out on your hand.
However, you also need to keep in mind that calling stations would also be calling on straights or flush draws as well. What you should do under such circumstance is just let them hit their draw cheaply. Adjust the pot odds to your favor by betting the correct amount. If you're heads-up against a calling station and you have a strong hand but could also be outdrawn, you should consider betting at least the size of the pot. If your opponent calls this bet on a straight or flush draw, he's statistically making a mistake and you're making him pay to do it. He'll still draw out on you at times, but most of the time you'll just be gaining extra bets. Keep in mind that most players aren't completely clueless, so if you think that your opponents missed his draw, you should check on the river and try to induce a bluff.
So as soon as you start a round of game, start to watch your opponents and analyze their playing styles for your precise decisions. As you decide they are calling stations, just lead them to value bet and show down strong hands to win the pot.

Learn to Check

As all poker players know, checking is just a very common action poker players take while playing in the game. But how to make full use of this common action as a wise strategy is really not that easy as you imagine. After all, checking is not an act of surrender or a form of capitulation.
To check could means that you’d like to defer your option to act and passing that opportunity over to opponents who act after you in the betting order. You are not relinquishing your chance to act; you are merely deferring it. If someone else takes the lead and comes out betting, you still have three options available when the action gets back to you. If someone bets, you can fold, call, or raise. All of your options are at your disposal. You haven’t surrendered a thing while you make your way ahead much more clearly.
Checking is also a good idea when you have a very big hand and the opponent to your left is aggressive. Your check should convince him to bet. Then you can check-raise and win a bigger pot. If your overly aggressive opponent’s bet attracts calls from players who act after he does, you can trap them all for two big bets in a fixed limit game, or blow them out of the pot with a big raise in a no-limit game. If your opponents realise that you will check-raise very big hands, it might allow you to check and get a free card when you’re the one who’s on a draw and in need of help to complete your hand.
Checking in early position can be vitally important when you’re playing no-limit. No-limit is a game where position is even more important than in fixed-limit poker. If you have a draw in early position and are facing two or three opponents, it’s wise to check and see what your opponents do. If they check, that’s great. A free card may allow you to complete your hand at no cost or risk to yourself.
Again, remember that practice makes perfect. Just try your best and you will pay off.:)

Playing Texas Holedem against highly skilled players

If you often play poker online and think you are a reasonably skilled Texas Holdem player, you would face a mix of opponents, some less skilled than you, some perhaps a bit more. However, have you ever thought that you may come across some really highly skilled players? And if so, how would you play against them? If you really want to improve your level of poker playing, it’s inevitable and rather essential to sitting together with some tough strong players who will make you learn and move forward.
Someone is a pro doesn’t mean he is going to blow you out of every pot with huge raises or see right through to your soul when you try to bluff. A pro is simply someone who makes more correct decisions than the average player does. If you are a skilled player and play your best game, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to win, at least in the short term. You should have confidence in your ability to play against them in Texas Holdem online.
Another thing you can do when playing against highly skilled players is that you can adopt the tactic of short stacking. By doing this you just buy in to the game for a small amount, often the minimum. The sharks in the game are looking for whales, bad players that will throw money at them. When they see your small stack, they may forget about you and look for tastier prey, therefore a pretty great chance to learn from their playing modes.
Remember that top players are not born on top. They also grow from fish, just like you, he or me. Play your best and you ARE on the way to be one of them or even on top of them.

Poker News：WPT North American Poker Championship Starts Friday

Making its only trip outside of the continental U. S., the World Poker Tour’s North American Poker Championship starts this Friday at Fallsview Casino Resort in Ontario, Canada.
Previously held during the tournament schedule at the Bellagio’s Festa al Lago, the North American Poker Championship has shown growth in every year that it has played. Since its inaugural tournament during the third season of the WPT, the NAPC has grown from 312 runners to last year’s 504 player field. This year’s field is expected to meet or exceed last year as the multitude of transplanted Canadian poker pros enjoy a trip back home and the Canadian dollar offers a good deal for all who participate.
The four year history of the tournament has provided the breakout victory for young players as well as established veterans. In 2004 (when it was named in honor of the legendary Doyle Brunson), former WSOP World Champion Juan Carlos Mortensen outlasted Erik Seidel and John Juanda to capture the crown. The next year was one for the veterans too as noted cash game player Minh Ly defeated “Action” Dan Harrington to win the event.
Once it moved to Canada in 2006, the NAPC dropped the “Doyle Brunson” in its name and became a battleground for the young internet stars. Soren Turkewitsch was the champion on the first visit to the banks of Niagara Falls and last year Scott “BigRiskky” Clements defeated fellow online player Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little, winning over $1.1 million.
With its proximity to the United States, the NAPC is a popular stop for tournament poker professionals and young internet players. Because of the lower age restriction (eighteen years old versus the 21-year age minimum in the States), the best the online world has to offer storm the Fallsview Casino Resort to take part in the action. With this influx of online money, the field should be around 550 players, making a $1 million first place prize, and Scott Clements will be there to defend his crown.
Fallsview Casino Resort is currently offering satellites to enter into the NAPC and the first of three Day Ones starts at noon on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will see the remaining players begin the tournament with the survivors from the weekend combined at the start of play on Monday. Three more days of battle will lead up to the final table, scheduled for October 16th.