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Learning basic Texas Holdem strategies is a key fundamental to building a successful poker player.

As you know, Texas Hold’em is the most popular form of poker in the world. You must develop proper Texas Hold’em strategies before you start playing.

You must first familiarize yourself with Texas Hold’em basics and hone your Texas Hold’em skills to improve your chances of winning. Technically speaking poker is a game of chance and every player has an equal chance of winning or losing a particular game.

It is in your best interest to be aware of the Texas Hold’em basics like the commonly used terms and minimum and maximum permitted bets in a game. With a solid grounding in the basics, you can chart your own Texas Hold’em poker strategy depending on your experience and skill sets.

Texas Hold’em poker can have fixed limits on betting where you cannot wager above the table maximum for a particular game. You must first place the minimum bets and the double your bets in these fixed limit games.

If you can guess your opponent’s cards and then bet accordingly, it implies you have a desirable degree of Texas Hold’em skills. You must observe other players and their betting behavior to get an indication of their hands. You must be spontaneous in your betting so that your opponents can never guess your next move.

If you have strong cards, you can bluff for a while and get your opponents to place all their cards on the table. Your Texas Hold’em skills indicate how well you can outsmart your opponents to win the jackpot.

Poker Player Styles and Types

As a part of the Texas Hold’em strategy, you can categorize players in to distinct types and then play accordingly. A passive player is one who calls in every round of the game and you never know if he has weak cards or strong cards.

He may lack proper betting skills and hence give you a chance to make money. The next type of player is one who is will continue to raise in successive hands even though he may have average cards. Such players raise the stakes of the game but you can lose a lot of money if this player wins at your expense.

Another player is one who holds on to his cards and will make a raise only with the best cards. Such players limit the game to a low value so avoid games with such a player. The other type of player is one who has the skills but is a little risk averse.

If you encounter such a player at your table, you must adapt your Texas Hold’em strategy to take advantage of such an under confident player. The best player who is a threat to you is the smart player with the best skills and the best cards. He plays a few cards and the best you can aim for is to get back your money against such a player.

Best Gambling Strategy

The best gambling strategy is to pass the bet if you do not have good cards or are sure to lose. This gives you time to analyze other player’s cads and then to make your best gambling move. You must know the number of raises allowed in a game to plan your Texas Hold’em poker strategy.

You must learn to classify the best Texas Hold’em starting hands into three types, the big cards, the draws, and the milking cards. A big pair will have aces, kings, queens, and jacks in different combinations. A draw hand would comprise of smaller value pairs while a milking hand can be a pair of deuces or better that can lead to a flush or a straight.

A part of the best gambling strategy is to occupy the last position on the table. This gives you ample time to study every player and to guess his cards. Based on this you can weigh your hand and then play accordingly to maximize your wins and cut your loss.

This also gives you an opportunity to guess whether the game is tight or loose and then to play your best starting Texas Hold’em hands accordingly.

Based on the above discussion you can formulate Texas Hold’em strategies for betting, and deciding when to check and when to raise. You learned about the best Texas Hold’em starting hands and the different types of players that you might meet. This knowledge can help you to formulate a basic Texas Hold’em winning strategy.

About the Author

PD Laughlin is a successful professional poker player and publisher of Learn-Texas-Holdem-Strategies.com. He provides free information on Poker Skills, Strategies and Systems on his website

The digital camera is essentially a computer-based device, whose core is controlled by the computer. And as a result the photographs are stored in a location called memory. Now, this concept is or paramount importance in discussing digital camera. Strictly speaking, digital camera memory is where digital pictures are stored inside the camera. The digital camera memory is an essential and often a very neglected and overlooked section of equipments for digital photography and camera. There are many types of memory available for digital cameras, and it is a good practice to mull over what type of memory a camera uses before buying a digital camera. This discussing is aimed in revealing some of this relevant information!

Knowledge of the digital camera memory is very essential for using such a camera and capturing photographs. The most common form of such memory is a memory card. These are reusable, have a limited capacity and can always be installed when required in excess. A person needs to be well informed about enough memory available for taking photographs. And accordingly make arrangements. Generally, digital cameras come available with low capacity memory cards, and it is a wise purchase to acquire higher capacity memory cards in order to budget for an additional card for later use.

With the increment of a camera mega pixel counts, it becomes essential to use higher capacity memory cards. Some of the small sized cards are for example the 64 megabyte cards and larger ones are like 1-gigabyte cards or combinations of megabyte cards.

Digital camera memory is available in many shapes and facade depending on the type of digital camera that is being used and even and the number of pictures that are required to be stored in the digital camera memory. These different types of memory are solely dependant upon the requirements of the digital camera, like for example a camera using compact flash type 1, requires the use of compact flash type 1 digital camera memory. Other examples of types of digital camera memory are Compact Flash Digital Camera Memory. It is suitable for rugged and rough handling and is also resilient for incessant usage. This is also small in size to assist better handling and flexibility. What more, it is cheap and anyone can afford it!

Generally, the sizes of a digital camera memory are as follows, 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1 GIG. Again, the digital camera memory depends upon the file format used to store photographs upon and the compression used by the manufacturer when storing digital images into memory.

Coming to the concluding portion, it is recommended to get hold of one 256 megabyte or two 128 megabyte cards for a 3-5 mega pixel compact digital camera. For higher resolution photographs, 512 megabyte and 1 gigabyte cards are also available. These are some of the guidelines for revealing the true facts about the different digital camera memories and their secrets. Summing up in a few words, with such a powerful tool as the digital camera, a proper selection of memory can help a person achieve the glorious tasks of freezing a precious moment from life for eternity!

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of snapjunky.com” target=”_new snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

Bona Fide, very talented Smooth Jazz artist has released his latest album titled Soul Lounge and Wow! It’s really a good one.

It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply isn’t a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.

One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and you’ve got one of Bona Fide’s most impressive releases ever.

Listen to Soul Lounge and I believe you’ll find there’s not much to dis-like about it. The songs are inspired, and the production is simply outstanding. If you’re even mildly into Smooth Jazz music you’ll enjoy this album.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 6, The Journey. What a nice track!

Soul Lounge Release Notes:

Bona Fide originally released Soul Lounge on Sep 27, 2005 on the Heads Up Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Bona Fide Club
2. Funk Box
3. Soul Lounge
4. Girand’s
5. Midnight Train
6. The Journey
7. Bromo Tower
8. Deep Chill
9. 23rd Of May
10. B. More Knights
11. Rosebank Gang

Bona Fide: George Hazelrigg (guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer piano); Kevin Levi (saxophone, keyboards); Tim Camponeschi (keyboards, bass guitar); John E. Coale (drums); Howard Zizzi (percussion). Additional personnel: Rick Aurich, Willie Williams (guitar); Chuck Loeb (electric guitar); Jimmy Wilson (flugelhorn); Joe Ercole (keyboards)

Get the information you want on your favorite smooth jazz songs and artists at ilovesmoothjazz.com iLoveSmoothJazz.com

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. smoothlee.com SmoothLee is a life long music fanatic, smooth jazz in particular, and does a daily online radio show featuring smooth jazz music that can be heard at orlandosmoothjazz.com OrlandoSmoothJazz.com

Finding the right tattoo is obviously very important since you’ll be wearing it for life. Finding that tattoo can be challenging, and exhausting if you don’t look in the right places. A tattoo gallery can actually take many forms. From print, to online, to outdoors. Here are three forms of a tattoo gallery where you can find your ideal tattoo.

1. The Parlor. Naturally there is going to be a decent tattoo gallery in a tattoo parlor. Here you can go through books of various designs and photos. The walls should also be covered with various tattoo design ideas. The disadvantage is you’re not in a library where you can sit down and scour through the books for hours or check them out to bring home. You may need numerous visits to a tattoo parlor to look at your favorite designs over and over before making that important decision.

2. The Outdoors. Here’s a tattoo gallery one doesn’t generally think of. But the outdoors provides a vast assortment of tattoo ideas and if you can develop your eyes to see in tattoo imagery, the outdoors can be a great tattoo gallery. Areas of specific interest are graffiti areas where you can view not only potential tattoo images, but murals as well. I personally have a whole graffiti mural picked out which has inspired a tattoo design. Be sure to bring a camera and photograph any ideas.

3. Print books or Online Catalogues. Perhaps the best place to see a tattoo gallery is in the comfort of your own dwelling, alone, sifting through a printed book or an online catalogue. Here you can really feel out your tattoo design, let it sit with you for a few weeks and then come back to it and see if it’s personally the real deal for you. Many guides or books can cut to the chase and show you the latest and best designs available as well as older, classic, tattoo designs.

For an online tattoo gallery, check out tattoo-book.info tattoo-book.info Here you can find hundreds of unique designs as well as the classics - tattoo-book.info tattoo-book.info

Some of the reasons for buying art online:

These days you can see just about every style of art there is to be seen online in the comfort of your own home or office. This saves you a tremendous amount of time where you don’t have to go walk around a huge gallery, drive a long distance and end up looking at art that you have no idea who painted it, what materials they used, etc. You’ll be surprised how many people just love art and are not experts on techniques, painters’ names or styles. Another benefit to buying art online is the fact that at most online galleries, you will get a short biography on the artist who painted the piece as well as the and their style & price. What if you have a question that isn’t answered at the online gallery you’re viewing? Well in the real world, sometimes finding someone to help answer your questions can take you a tremendous amount of time & there are even times when you won’t find anyone who can help you at all. When you browse online galleries you generally have the option to email the artist directly and then you can have your answer within minutes- depending on how busy the artist is and when they’re checking their email but that’s still a huge bonus over scouring an entire gallery for someone to help you.

Reasons you have for purchasing art:
I’m sure it seems like the obvious thing but in truth many people overlook this point as their basis for buying art in the first place. You have to know WHY you are purchasing art in order to get the right piece. Think about it for a moment, are you buying a painting for someone you love, for your home, for the office decor or maybe as an investment piece? Or perhaps you want to start collecting artwork from a particular artist to build up a nice collection. Each reason I’ve shown you as well as others you might have in mind require a different outlook when you’re purchasing from the style of art, the subject matter to the most obvious- the price. Not too many people want to spend a few thousand on a painting they’re just going to hang up in their living room or hallway but on the other hand, if you’re wanting your first piece of art for investment reasons, you won’t want to pick up a 5 x 7 picture of a fruit salad in a plastic frame. Also, don’t just consider the piece you’re looking for but also the artist, their reputation as well in determining the price of the piece. Naturally, a very well-known artist who sells a lot of their work and is featured in many showings will charge more for their work than someone who’s just beginning in the art world.

What’s more important? The latest trends or Personal Taste?

Let’s face it, we all fall into this trap at some point in our lives- whether it’s to do with clothes, cars and yes, even art. There are so many people who purchase an art piece simply because the style is popular or the artist is very well-reknowned yet they honestly don’t like the piece they bought at all-they bought it just to be “fashionable”. Well speaking from personal experience and as an artist myself I want to give you a big tip that is too often overlooked but it is the VERY reason you should be buying art in the first place- because you love it!!
Don’t worry about the latest trends in art styles or the popular subject matter for paintings or even how the frame looks that the piece came in. First and foremost before going any further in the purchasing process ask yourself this- ” DO I really like this piece?”, “Does it speak to me?” These are the sorts of questions you need to ask yourself before you even talk to the artist. I will admit it, naturally I want people to purchase my work BUT most importantly I want them to be in love with it, to have it speak to them in some form, have it convey an emotion to them that just cries out “I have to have that painting!!” Unlike a car or a blouse, always go with your personal taste and intuition when purchasing any form of artwork.

What sort of medium should I choose?

As you may well know, art comes in so many forms, I can’t even begin to do them justice here but as a few examples: you have watercolors, oils, acrylics, photographs,digital art, statues, murals, etc. Which style is the most valuable or the most respected? The truth is that the medium the artist used to create their painting means very little in the end buying decision if you’re truly in love with the piece. Take for example, I’m going to a site that sells acrylic paintings and even though I’ve never owned such a painting and never really cared for that medium, I find a piece that speaks to me; it has a beautiful bright and bold tropical rainforest scene with a gorgeous flock of birds in the foreground and I’m just in awe of the craftmanship this artist has used. Would I just say to myself,” Mike, you hate acrylic paintings, don’t waste your money on that”? NO WAY in the world would I be this foolish!! Naturally I’d buy this piece because it spoke to me, it gave me something that transcends the paint used or the surface where it was painted on. This is the sort of mindset you have to get yourself into. There are so many wonderful pieces of art that are being created every day around the entire world in various mediums- from acrylic to digital paintings to 3-D images- what makes any of these styles less important than another? Absolutely nothing but your own taste. If you see a watercolor painting and love it- buy it!! if you see a digital painting that speaks to your soul- buy it!! Do you see where I’m coming from here? If you’re brand new to the art world, let me give you a few definitions of some of the more popular styles:

1. Abstract- This is art where the artist an artist either exaggerates or simplifies the form of the subject to attach emotion or other meaning to it.

2. Art Deco- A form of abstract art, this celebrates technical advances of the 1920’s and 30’s. Art deco paintings have a slick, metallic look, they include jarring angles & use machinery colors.

3. Gouache watercolors- This is a type of watercolor that include white pigments that make them thicker & more opaque than other types of watercolor paintings.

4. Impressionist- This type came into being in the late 19th century and include such well known painters as Monet and Renoir. These painters altered their strokes to approximate the effects of changes in lighting on the subject. Impressionism still remains very popular among artists, collectors & art enthusiasts.

5. Pop- Pop art shows contemporary, common objects in a way that makes a statement about modern culture. You might be familiar with the work of Andy Warhol who painted Campbell’s soup cans- he was a pop artist.

6. Realist- Realism art portrays faithful and realistic depictions of subjects; this comes from the idea that any subject is worthy of being painted in and of itself.

7. Surreal- Surrealism, is a very cool approach to art; it features objects that look or act unnaturally or are depicted together unexpectedly; this is similar to a dream.

Written and property of Mike Sexton, owner of Birdman’s Designs
birdmansart.com birdmansart.com
Please check out my site if you’re interested in digital art or if you need work done for your personal or business needs.

John Belushi was born in Illinois to father Adam Belushi and mother Agnes Butchner. His hometown is Wheaton, Illinois where he played football at Wheaton Central High School. After his high school years, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the College of DuPage in the outskirts of Chicago. He had one brother named James who would go on to be a comedian. While in high school, John met a girl named Judy who he would go on to marry and stay married until he died.

In 1971, Belushi joined the cast of the The Second City which gave him the chance to show his comedic talent. After this he was asked to join in a stage performance called National Lampoon’s Lemmings. Many other future Saturday Night Live cast members would find be there including Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.

After this in 1973, Belushi took over the director spot for a radio program called The Radio Hour which was eventually canceled. He would also marry his high school sweet heart, Judy Jacklin. In 1975 he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and during that time he starred as “Bluto” in Animal House (1978). During this remarkable time for a short while he dad the number one movie in the United Stated (Animal House, the number one music album (The Blues Brothers “Briefcase Full Of Blues”) and Saturday Night Live was the late night show with the highest-ratings.

In 1979 he departed from Saturday Night Live to focus on his film career. He made to two movies with SNL friend Dan Akroyd including Neighbors (1981) and The Blues Brothers (1980). After Belushi died, several future projects he was working on were stopped.

On March 5th, 1982, Belushi was found from usage of cocaine and heroin. The night he died he was accompanied by Cathy Smith who was later arrested on murder charges from giving Belushi a speedball shot.

Chad Stroh represents the FMT website. You can find several helpful movie resources including findmovietrailers.googlepages.com/moviereviews2″ target=”_new movie reviews, findmovietrailers.googlepages.com/moviepreviews” target=”_new movie trailers, findmovietrailers.googlepages.com/dvdreleases” target=”_new DVD releases and more!

Most people are surprised to learn that the music to this favorite was written by the legendary silent film star Charlie Chaplin, whose “Little Tramp” character is perhaps the most enduring of all figures of the silent film era.

Chaplin composed the song to be used as the theme to one of his very last (and ultimately one of the best known) silent films, Modern Times, released in 1936.

The song didn’t become known as “Smile” until lyrics were added in 1954 by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons and it was recorded by Nat King Cole. It reached #10 on the Billboard charts that same year.

Chaplin also wrote the Academy Award winning (1952) score from his movie, Limelight.

Ironically, trouble and controversy clouded much of the life of this slap-stick genius. He grappled with the government over taxes; he was targeted as a communist sympathiser during the “Red Scare” Senator Joe McCarthy era; controversy surrounded his marriage late in life to Oona O’Neill, twenty years younger than he, and daughter of famous playwright Eugene O’Neill.

Despite his “fear and sorrow,” throughout his long and productive life (he died on Christmas day in 1977 at the age of 89), Charlie Chaplin mostly brought joy and laughter to his millions of fans…and certainly many a “smile.”

“Smile” has been recorded and released countless times, including as the recent Tony Bennett / Barbra Streisand collaboration on Bennett’s 2006 Duets album.

Smile Lyrics
Theme Music for Modern Times
(Music by Charles “Charlie” Chaplin — Lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons)

Smile tho’ your heart is aching,
Smile even tho’ it’s breaking,
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by,

If you smile
thro’ your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow,
You’ll see the sun come shin-ing thro’ for you

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide ev-’ry trace of sadness,
Al -’tho a tear may be ever so near,

That’s the time,
You must keep on trying,
Smile, what’s the use of crying,
You’ll find that life is still worth-while,

If you just smile…

DA Jack Hayford is the editor of the popular music reference website, events-in-music.com Events-in-Music.com.

Mr. Hayford is also the Program Director and co-founder of durangosong.com DurangoSong.com, the online home of the ten-plus-year old Durango Songwriters Expo, a premier annual educational and inspirational event for aspiring songwriters.

Ashton Kutcher isn’t a great actor. Let’s face it — he isn’t going to win any acting awards anytime in the near future. However he is quite competent at playing variations of Kelso — the character that made him famous on the hit FOX series ‘That 70’s Show.’ Kelso is bumbling, inept and manages to possess an uncanny combination of insecurity and confidence. Kutcher’s film roles don’t stray much from that formula and his character Oliver in his new movie ‘A Lot Like Love’ isn’t an exception to the rule. While being light-years ahead of Kelso in the intelligence department he has all the other characteristics that make him just as endearing and lovable and fun to watch.

Amanda Peet’s character Emily is just as bumbling, inept and simultaneously sure and unsure of herself as Oliver. The relationship that develops between the two works because they seem like twin souls that were destined to meet and no amount of time or separation will change the fact that they are made for each other. The movie also works because the chemistry between Kutcher and Peet is palpable and one could easily believe that the two would make a great couple off screen as well.

Taking place over a seven year span Emily and Oliver have several short and not so chance encounters that take place after an initial chance and very memorable meeting on a plane as they travel from Los Angeles to New York. Unlike most romantic comedies, their relationship is allowed to develop over the course of the plot, and while they never have that much time together their initial friendship and later romance seems natural and believable.

The film could have easily fallen into the trap of many romantic comedies that force the audience to believe that two completely different individuals manage to fall madly in love with each other in a matter of days, despite overwhelming odds and all the obvious signs that they are completely wrong for each other. Hell, in many romantic comedies the characters know they are in love long before the audience can figure out why they even like each other let alone are in love. In ‘A Lot Like Love,’ the audience recognizes how right the characters are for one another before they are willing to make such an admission to themselves. Watching Oliver and Emily struggle with their pride and plans, and the natural fear that comes with putting your heart on the line, is sweet and endearing and tugs at your heartstrings without feeling forced or contrived.

The movie also doesn’t shy away from how imperfect the characters are. Emily has a problem with being by herself and has to confirm she “still has it” by hooking up with the first guy she meets when a relationship has ended. And Oliver doesn’t know how to live in the moment and must plan every aspect of his life well in advance or he is unable to function. Their flaws are realistic and they experience many of the problems young twenty somethings face as they try to find their way in life and love which adds to the convincing nature of the story and its characters.

The movie isn’t perfect. There’s some dialogue that I could have lived without and the attempt by Oliver to get Emily back via a musical serenade outside of her home is an over-used movie device that has seemed cliched ever since John Cusack’s boom box blasted out Peter Gabriel on the lawn of Ione Skye’s house in ‘Say Anything.’

But I will admit I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining I found ‘A Lot Like Love.’ I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a smart, funny, innovative comedy about looking for, finding, and knowing when to take hold of the love that lies right within your grasp.

In Need of a Review? PrologueReviews.com Offers Professional Reviews for Everyday Artists. To Have Your Book, Music, Film or Video Reviewed Visit prologuereviews.com prologuereviews.com Today!

In the present day, everyone is getting in on the poker tournament boom. It’s on television, on the Internet, in homes all over the world and probably at your local charity function. But people aren’t just playing poker; they’re playing a particular structured form of poker: the poker tournament. Those of us who have been playing poker for ten years or more probably don’t remember any mention of any kind of “tournament” at their regular Thursday night game. Yet today, it is probably the preferred form of poker and with the growing popularity of televised poker tournaments, the way most new player are learning to play poker. So where did these poker tournaments come from and how did they become so popular?

Poker tournaments as we know them did not exist before 1970. What did exist was something called a “freeze-out.” What a freeze-out meant was that the players, often just two, referred to as a “heads-up freeze-out,” would come to the table with a prescribed amount of money, no more, no less and they would play, with scheduled breaks if necessary, until one player had all the money.

In 1970 Benny Binion, owner of Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, hosted a heads-up marathon between two famous poker players, Nick “The Greek” Dandalos and Johnny Moss. Following the popularity of this event, Binion invited the best poker players in the world to compete in a series of poker games, with the group voting for the champion at the end. Johnny Moss was selected that year. The following year, a freeze-out was used to determine the champion (Moss again). This freeze-out became what is now known as the main event of the World Series of Poker. The tournament format proved popular and other Poker tournaments began to crop up, starting with Amarillo’s “Super Bowl of Poker” in 1979 and expanding from there.

The first World Series of Poker No Limit Hold ‘em championship event in 1971 had six players. In 2005, The Championship event had a whopping 5600 players! In 1971, the $10,000 buy-in main event of the World Series was the only poker tournament of its kind; today, multiple 10,000 dollar events can be found every month. So what happened? A number of events contributed to the massive boom poker tournaments are now experiencing.

The first big innovation was the decision in 1978 to structure the tournament payout so that the tournament was no longer winner-take-all. It’s unlikely 5600 or even 56 people would be willing to put up $10,000 dollars if they knew only one person was going to walk away with any money. Today’s tournaments are usually structured for multiple payouts, so that about ten percent of the players get some money, 34-37 percent goes to the winner and a rapidly decreasing percentage gets distributed to each successive player.

The next and probably most important contribution to the history of tournament poker is the introduction of the “satellite” tournament. While Eric Drache was running the World Series of Poker for the Binion family in the 1970s, he noticed a number of players in side games who did not appear willing or able to put up $10,000 for the main event, playing in a game where there was $10,000 on the table among them. Drache suggested they play a freeze-out for the whole thing, with the winner playing in the main event. Thus the satellite tournament was born. In a satellite tournament, a group of players put up a certain amount, about ten percent of the entry fee to a larger tournament and play a freeze-out, with the winner then having the money to play in the larger tournament.

Players can also try super-satellites, multiple table tournaments which pay one seat for every ten players, or however many players it takes to make up one entry fee. (e.g. in a $200 super satellite for a $10,000 tournament, the tournament organizers would award one seat to the main event for every 50 players; $200 multiplied by 50 players equals $10,000). This system allows ordinary people, who may not have $10,000 to risk on a poker tournament, a chance to take a shot at the pros for a reasonable price. Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 World Series Champion, won his buy-in through online satellites starting with only $40.

Moneymaker’s feat brings us to the final factors contributing to the growth of tournaments; online poker and televised poker. For most of poker’s history, televised poker was very difficult to watch. Since there was no way to know what cards each player held, viewers could not speculate on the play of those at the table and lost interest quickly. With the advent of hole-card cameras and other technology which showed viewers exactly what cards each player held, televised poker became a phenomenon, just in time for Chris Moneymaker to complete an improbable run to victory at the World Series, taking advantage of online poker satellites, another relatively new innovation allowing anyone, anywhere in the world an opportunity to win a seat in a big poker tournament. Chris’s win showed that not only could anyone win a seat at the World Championship, anyone could actually win the tournament and the rest is history.

Will poker tournaments continue to grow? With online, home and casino tournaments of every buy-in imaginable plentiful and accessible, there’s no reason to believe the tournament craze will not continue well into the 21st century. And whether you’re a casual player or a budding pro waiting to bloom, the right tournament is definitely out there for you. So what are you waiting for?

Rick “Stone Face” Ellers started playing poker while he was a paratrooper stationed in Fort Bragg, NC. He currently writes part time for

The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE HERO’S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

and more…

*****Antihero Battle*****

The antihero often loses the battle with the antagonist or Threshold Guardian until he is rescued by allies, demonstrating their worth. If the antihero required the supernatural aid to be present, this indicates that he is unable to complete his transformation alone. Blood and physical wounds are common here, representing the beginning of the transmogrification. In Al Pacino Scarface (1983), Tony needs Manny to defeat the Colombians and even take out Frank.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at clickok.co.uk/ clickok.co.uk/

The Managing Creativity and Innovation MBA dissertation, DIY creativity Audit, Powerpoint presentation and Good Idea generator software can be found at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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