Poker Book

Mike Matusow: Check-Raising the Devil
This was a really great read. You won't find much strategy here but, it's very entertaining. I had no idea Matusow went through so much. He's lead a very colorful life from a poor upbringing, drugs, jail, dealing poker, high stakes poker, and a champion many times over. I remember seeing him for the first time on a WSOP episode. It was the year Raymer won. I thought Matusow was such an asshole and I remember saying, It's like he's on drugs or something. Well, he was. He suffers from depression and other things. Basically, he self medicated himself before seeking professional help. I won't go into any more detail because I don't want to ruin a good read. Check this one out and you won't be displeased. Mike Matusow: Check-Raising the Devil

SNG Grinders

This website rocks! I always wanted to sign up for one of these training sites but, just never got around to doing it. I improved my game tremendously because of SitnGoGrinders.com. There are videos to watch of some of the best online players in the world and you get to look over their shoulder to see how they play. They discuss what they're doing and why they do it.

There's a forum to post hand histories and ask questions. Regular forumers will give good advice and the instructors monitor the forum to answer any questions. If you have a question about one of the videos, post in the forum and the instructor who made the video will answer for you. That's awesome! Also, there's articles written by these top online players.

They have 11 instructors and some guest instructors too. Each instructor teaches a specific type of NL Holdem. Whatever your game, they teach it. From HU, 6, 9, 18, 45, or 180 man. Low, medium, high stakes. Turbo or Non-Turbo. They don't have an instructor that does Super Turbos. They do have one that does DONs.

I did some searching on the internet about training sites and this one fit my game the best. Other training sites concentrated on cash games or some were more well known for large MTTs. If you're looking for STT or smaller MTT instruction, this is the place for you.

I could go on and on about how great SitnGoGrinders.com is but, you'll have to find out for yourself.

SNGwiz

This is a great tool for all SNG(Sit N Go) players. The end game or short stack play is so critical in SNGs. This little device is used after you have completed a tournament and you want to review your shoves(all ins). Did I make the right shove here? Did I make the right call there? Fire up SNG Wiz and this computer program will tell you what you did right or wrong.

I've played over 4000 tournaments and I wish I knew about SNG Wiz earlier. I could have saved tons of money. Oh well. I've used it my past 2000 tournaments and my results speak for themselves. I was ranked #12 on the sharkscope leaderboard for 2010 and one of the reasons is SNG Wiz.

SNG Wiz teaches you proper ICM play. Simply put, ICM is a way of representing your equity in a tournament based on the remaining stack sizes and the payout structure. Essentially, it calculates what your chips are worth in a dollar value based on how your stack and the payouts would influence your finish on average. In practice, ICM calculations will allow you to to compare the amount risked by making a specific play to the potential reward.

If you want to learn how to shove properly, give SNG Wiz a try. You won't regret it.

Rakeback

Why do I like rakeback? Because it saves me alot of money. I play the micros and I have made over $300 more because I have rakeback. It's definitely worth it and it's nothing but a plus to have it. I'll explain how casinos use rake and how I get rakeback.

The Rake: The online poker casino where you play takes a rake for each tournament or for each pot in a cash game. If the tournament is an $11 buy in, $10 goes to the prize pool and $1 goes to the casino. For a cash game, each pot that is won, the casino takes a percentage of money from that pot. That's how the casino makes their money.

Rakeback: I play at Full Tilt and I get 27% of the rake back. It adds up especially if you play higher stakes. Most online casinos allow 30% or more Rakeback. Every Friday I see new money in my account automatically. I do nothing at all. The rakeback provider I use is called Rakeback.com. Make sure to add my name(MainEventMike) as the referral. This next sentence is important. Register for rakeback before you sign up to a new poker room.

Here's some information directly from their website:
How It Works
Getting rakeback is as easy as downloading a poker client.
We provide download links and codes to software of online poker rooms, which have rakeback added on as an extra service. You just play poker and get rake back!

1) Create New Poker Account
Select a new poker room from rakeback offers. Our tracking links ensure your new account is receiving Rakeback, but to take advantage of any bonuses - please enter the code (if applicable) when opening your new account.
2) Play Poker as Usual
Once your rakeback poker account is set up, all you need to do is play poker. You can see your daily rakeback accumulate in our online Rake Tracking service.
3) Get Rakeback and Watch Your Bankroll Grow
Rakeback is automatically paid directly to your poker account once per week or month, depending on the poker room.

Are you playing at Full Tilt and don't have Rakeback? If you have an established account at Full Tilt, go to the website listed below(As long as you signed up at Full Tilt directly through their website, you can still get rakeback).
http://www.rakebackpros.com/
***If you have any questions, leave a comment.