Growing up in Paris David Benyamin’s first love as a child was tennis, a game that he got good enough at that he was able to turn pro. His career did not last long however as he would suffer a back injury that would force him to retire when he was just twenty. He was also at one point in time the top ranked billiards player in France. He got his start in poker as a child playing mainly for fun but when his tennis career came to an end he decided to start taking the game more seriously.

In the early days of his poker career David Benyamine followed the path that most players do and started to enter a lot of tournaments. He had some notable successes as well, the biggest of these being winning a World Poker Tour event. Like a lot of top players however he soon realized that the real money to be made was in cash games which is what he started to focus on. The result is that he rarely plays in tournaments any more.

Becoming well known as a cash game player is not easy, there are lots of cash games played every day that nobody ever hears about. In the case of David Benyamine however his games are often reported on mainly because of the very high stakes that are involved. One would think that a player as good as Benyamine would have a hard time finding people willing to play him for high stakes but this has not been the case. There are lots of people who have plenty of money who are willing to risk it for the chance to see how they do against one of the best players in the world.

In 2004 David Benyamine discovered that there are downsides to playing in cash games for a living, in this case it is that you have to live in Las Vegas if you want to find people to play with. Benyamine was deported when it was discovered that he did not have the right visa and he was not allowed to come back to the United States. This seriously impacted his earning potential as there are nowhere near as many high stakes games in Europe. Now that he is allowed back in the US however David Benyamine is back playing high stakes poker in Las Vegas. 

The regular players of the Prime Time Fights will get their rankings depending on their performance for a given week or month. Leaders of the tourneys will have a chance to grab some special prices like going toe-to-toe with a member of Brunson 10. On a weekly basis, the player who gets the most bounties will get a cash reward of $250. Players who played the Tuesday games and Thursday tournament will be eligible for the special bonus.

DoylesRoom will also reward the Monthly Heavyweights or the top 5 of the leaderboard of the PTF. The top player will receive a $250-bonus and an additional $250 more if he or she beats someone from the Brunson 10 in a heads up. The second placer gets $100 in bonus , 3^rd ($75), 4^th ($50), and the 5^th takes home $25. Players do not need to participate in all matches of the month to get a chance to grab these bonuses.

Any tie or the Monthly or Weekly prize will be resolved via a heads-up match.

Poker would ensure that you think before playing a game. All the poker players are faced with difficult decisions during their playing stint. How can you be sure of your opponent? How would you know if he is bluffing or not? How do you decide if your cards are the premium ones on the poker table?

All the players are attacked with similar questions. Seasoned players like Michael Mizrachi or Kathy Liebert have flair to turn games as per their advantage because of their rich experience but amateurs cannot. You may be at the edge of your seat when you have to take an important decision while playing as huge sums of money is involved.

One of the most common acts is to either raise or fold when you have doubts about your hand. There is no yardstick to measure if you have a marginal hand or not. Most inexperienced players indulge in bluffing when they have marginal cards and matured players see through this trick and thus they get caught.

Players should not feel defeated if they need to fold hands. A sense of dejection should not sink in. It is better to fold hands than playing recklessly with your own money. Players must gamble with money but a safe and sound investment would reap better returns than a spontaneous investment. You should keep your ego aside when you play poker and should be sporting enough to fold cards if they are marginal and not worth playing the game.

Raising bets is another way of ruling the table. You may engage in bluffing in order to dupe your opponents. This shift of gear is a positive way of alternating your playing style and winning a hand with a marginal hand.

Poker players should be aware of the opponents and their playing styles. This is an important determinant which would help the player in deciding whether to proceed or not with marginal hands in game. Luck plays a vital role in this as well. If you are lucky then you may win a pot with marginal hands as well.

Against an agrressive opponent; i don’t advise EVER checking when you flop a good flop in position when you raised. Bet out – people EXPECT you to bet, and it can be way more suspicious to check!

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NAUGHTY SOME?

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Phil Laak Hoping for a Free Card during a hand on High Stakes Poker

A free card in poker is watching the turn of the cards without the players having to bet or call.

There are situations when you do not really obtain a free card in Poker. When you are implementing the method of betting or boost the stakes in order to graduate to the next level. As you have heard a popular saying nothing comes free in life. The same applies here. Think about it.The card is not actually free. It has cost you a bet in the prior round.

The free card may turn out to be a very costly card for players. What would happen if other players may choose to re-raise the stakes and bet? Obtaining a cheap card is beneficial especially when you have very standard cards. But if you have a genuine hand it is generally a vice to give free cards as it helps your opponent to quit. This strategy is applied by poker players to eliminate competition.

If there are 2 flush cards present on the board and 2 more cards are yet to come you should be willing to bet if there is a superior chance to be raised. You may go ahead and take the plunge. But you should remember that it is accurate to gamble on the flop with a small pair and an overcard. A hand of 5 cards will get better and if it is a flush draw then you would still be at a gainful position as you would still be able to avail 6 cards that would immeasurably help in structuring a winning hand. Poker players should know that 6 outs against the other player’s flush draw is a big deal as five outs gambled against a non flush-draw where you have the opportunity of catching but also losing. If you have a gutshot nut straight draw against a flushdraw, you can have as little as two outs…

Players usually bet on the top pair or any pair which help in augmenting your figures in the hand. If the stakes are elevated before flop which is a signal that you may not be able to rule the poker table as other players may have superior pairs than you. Checking and calling is not a great strategy but most players adopt this method to eliminate most of the opponents.

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AND YES, MAVERICK GOES ALL IN ON  A…. ROYAL FLUSH DRAW!

Excellent television, and great promotion for both Phil and Tom, no doubt about that!

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David does flop top pair, but ends up losing way more than he should have. For once, I agree with poker commentator and idiot author Michael Konik. The only thing David can beat there is Antonius’ missed flushdraw, and it can’t be the TcJc. That’s not too many hands the man can beat to make a pot-sized call on the end, right?