The Texas Holdem poker phenomenon has taken the country by storm. There are reportedly over 100 million active poker players worldwide. Pokers popularity is largely the byproduct of technology and several recent trends: 1) online gaming, where players engage and socialize in real-time over the Internet, and 2) the broad publicity created by high profile TV shows like the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour.

With all the poker-mania, theres an amazing shortage of quality information to help people learn how to play properly and become great players quickly. This is the first in a series of Texas Holdem strategy articles aimed at helping players learn how to win at Texas Holdem poker. Tournament play is a popular, fun sport. These articles will help players understand how to approach tournaments, which differ greatly from regular ring game play.

This installment deals with the most-asked question: How do I deal effectively with aggressive players? Many players struggle against "maniacs", the aggressive, wild players who play most every hand, somehow seem to pull cards out of thin air, and often manage to dominate the table.

Here's what actually happened in a recent poker tournament. I entered a tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, about 20 minutes from my home in South Florida. This weekly $300 entry-fee tournament fills the poker room with 220 players every Monday night.

The blinds start at 50/100 and go up every 15 minutes. I spent the first 30 minutes just hanging out and occasionally limping in to see a flop. The reason for "treading water" was to study my opponents and their playing patterns very closely. There were a number of solid poker players, but right away I spotted the aggressive ones.

I was sitting in the middle, directly across from the dealer. There were two "wild men" to my right. These two participated in most every hand, and agonized with themselves whenever they had to throw a hand away. This was hilarious to me, and it was also very telling. I knew these dudes were doomed from the onset, yet they were extremely dangerous if they caught something with one of their trash hands. These types are great targets, but only when you know how to play them correctly. If you do, youll end up with most or all of their chips in your stack. The key is to get to their chips before someone else does.

There were some squeaky-tight and solid players, as usual. Finally, there were two other players to my left who knew one another very well and spoke what sounded like Russian. These two played very aggressively. They rarely called or checked. They would bet or raise the pot significantly, so if they played a hand, you knew they were going to bet it big and youd better be prepared to push a bunch of your chips into the middle. As a result, the table became tight overall, except for these four players who controlled the early action and dictated the table tempo for the first hour or so. They gambled with wanton abandon, trading chips with each other as the rest of us just observed and wished for a real hand to materialize.

It became apparent that our maniacs were playing mostly garbage hands, and using assertive chatter in an attempt to intimidate everyone. They were enjoying pushing everyone around with their aggressive betting and raising style. Humorously, they got into a number of showdowns, causing all of their trash hands to become openly exposed; e.g., 69 off-suit, Q3 suited, etc. I definitely had these guys pegged now if only I could get a strong hand

Later, one of my Russian "friends" came in over the top of a bet Id placed with a huge raise, then smiled at me as he leaned his head back as if to say Go ahead. I dare you. My middle pair just wasn't strong enough to engage with him, but I remembered this little "lesson" and my mistake. He'd used this tactic many times against the others and I shouldve expected it. I also realized that we had not seen any of his supposed "big hands", as he always mucked them. Whenever you see an aggressive player dominating, and then mucking all those supposed "great hands", you know you've spotted a target.

We played on, with the two maniacs to my right getting busted out by the Russian contingent. Its been an hour and fifteen minutes - and I still havent seen even one decent hand yet! This is, unfortunately, typical poker.

After about an hour-and 45 minutes, I finally pick up a pair of wired 9's (99). Now I was hoping the flop would yield a set (trips). Sure enough, it came: 9, K, 5. I was elated and jumping up and down (inside). I was finally in a position to make my move, and hoped it would be against one of my aggressive Russian friends with their big stacks.

To prepare my trap, I delayed and muddled around for about ten seconds, and then casually "checked" verbally and using my hand in a chopping motion, with a slightly disgusted look. Next, the younger Russian moves in with a big bet of 3,000 chips. I was sure I had him now. As expected, everyone else quickly folded and got out of his way except me. This fellow had pushed everyone around and I was finally properly armed and ready to do battle on my own terms. Note that this had been my "battle plan" all along. I was deliberately targeting these aggressive characters, knowing that when the time was right, their ill-gotten stacks would become mine!

The action came back around to me, so now it was just the two of us heads-up. The two Russians said something to each other that the rest of us couldnt decipher. I delayed and bobbed my head around as if to be struggling with my decision. Then, I motioned with both hands and uttered I'm all-in". I knew this series of actions would likely trigger an aggressive reaction, since my check-raise made it appear as if I was trying to steal this pot! A check-raise almost always triggers a full-tilt response from an aggressive player.

He immediately called me - he was so aggressive (and pot-committed) that it was like a fish taking the bait and running for deep waters - hook line and sinker! I threw my pair of 9's over, revealing the trip 9's. There was a low murmur around the table from the other players. My young Russian friend reluctantly flipped his five/trash hand over - he had a pair of fives (with a King over-card showing on the board!). He was definitely angling to drive me out of this pot with his ascertive play one too many times

You see, no one actually gets that many great hands in poker - nobody. If someone plays 30% to 40% or more of the time, they're just "gambling" and bluffing. This guy thinks he has a "good" hand, because he actually had a real pair something he doesnt often have when pushing everyone around with mostly aggressive betting as his only real weapon.

The turn came and it wasn't a five - then someone pipes up and says "he's drawing dead". Believe me, you never want to hear that when you're in a showdown! I looked over as he said something in Russian to his buddy - another violation of tournament rules, as everyone is compelled to speak English at the tournament table. It wouldnt matter, as he stood up, grabbed his jacket and left after receiving some consolation from his friend.

His older friend glared over at me and uttered something derogatory in Russian. I had no clue what he said, but I knew from his tone that I didn't like it. I also knew I'd gotten under his skin by taking down his buddy and raking in all of his chips. I responded with "what's that, I don't understand what you're saying since you're not speaking English? loudly so everyone at the table could hear me.

He mumbled something about his friend...I smiled and said politely with a smile "I deliberately laid that trap for your friend and he fell right into it!", pushing the knife in deeper, knowing he'd be gunning for me anyway - might as well make sure my next trap was fully set. This also signaled to everyone else at the table that whenever I checked or limped, it could be extremely dangerous if assumed to be a sign of weakness - something Id leverage later as the blinds and antes rose and the proper time to bluff and steal blinds actually arrived.

After a slight pause, my Russian friend noticed that everyone was now looking at him. He looked down at his chips and said "nice play" with a reluctantly polite tone.

Boy, I was elated! My battle plan was definitely becoming field-proven here - and my next target was clearly sighted. It had taken careful observation, planning and a lot of patience to wait for the right hand, and then play it correctly to take this highly-skilled, aggressive player out and rake in all of his chips.

About ten minutes later, it was tournament break time, after two hours of play. I counted my chips, which totaled 14,900 (we started with 5,000 each), then grabbed a quick bite to eat, reflecting on what had just taken place.

Within ten minutes of returning from break, I finally picked up a serious starting hand: Cowboys (KK). I knew it was time for my new Russian friend and me to tango, so I fired out a bet of 3 times the big blind: 3,000 chips, bait that I was sure he couldnt turn down. Sure enough, he bit - big time. His all-in raise came almost instantaneously, before I could even get my bet onto the table. He was totally ready to engage, and had been laying in wait for me - just like I had planned. I had set him up by taking out his friend and then challenging his poker ego in front of everyone. He just had to retaliate against me it was a totally predictable full-tilt response from this kind of player.

This is what the game of poker is really all about having a well-defined strategy, the patience to wait for the right hand, and then executing properly. Its what makes poker a game of strategy instead of a game of chance (for some of us).

He raised by going all-in with around 8,000 chips to my roughly 14,000. I quickly called his all-in bet. Everyone else quickly folded and got out of our way.

I flipped my pocket kings over, then looked him straight in the eye and just smiled. Then someone says "Yeah! Now we've got some action!" He sighed and flipped over QQ - he actually had a real hand for a change. That's one of the problems with these kinds of "semi-solid, aggressive" players, like my Russian friend here, and other poker greats like Gus Hansen. You never really know exactly what to expect from them. Of course, my opponent could've held pocket rockets (AA), but I'll play those KK cowboys strong each and every time I get them, since theres only one hand that can beat them heads-up. I also knew this aggressive player on tilt was likely to be overplaying his hand, improving my odds significantly.

The flop, turn and river came and went without another Queen and it was done - my cowboys stood up and I had all of both Russians stacks, which included most of the other two poor maniacs chips (who lost to the Russians earlier). This instantly made me by far the chip leader at our table with well over 22,000 chips!

I went from having an average chip stack to being the table chip leader, against tough, aggressive opponents, within less than half an hour by:

a) Playing solid, reasonable tournament poker,

b) Not taking big, undue risks with weak or "drawing" hands,

c) Studying my aggressive prey and where the chips were sitting,

d) Formulating and refining a battle plan while observing the game progress,

e) Remaining patient while waiting for the right hand to make my move, and

f) Executing this plan with precision against a predetermined opponent, and on terms of my choosing not the opponents.

There was no luck involved at all except that my opponent didnt hold AA or pull some lucky cards with a trash hand which was simply playing the odds in my favor.

I started out with a high-level strategy to target aggressive chip leaders, and go after them with strong hands from the right position. I planned this before I ever arrived at the casino that day, or knew who these players would be. Then, I refined my plan once I knew for certain whom the evenings targets would be and how Id provoke them. It certainly helped that I caught two decent hands during those first hours of play.

Unfortunately, I later lost to a legitimate full house, but made it into the top 40 it happens

The key to playing against aggressive and maniac players is having a viable Texas Holdem strategy you can profit from when you get some good hands. If you have a good plan, you can convert it into a formidable stockpile of chips - a stack that youll definitely need as the blinds and antes increase and the tournament field narrows in the latter stages.

This is how I approach Texas Holdem strategy for tournaments now - at least when the tables are full with 8 or more players, some of them aggressive and maniacs. So, the next time you encounter wild and aggressive players at your poker table, get ready to have some fun! It's like Tae Kwon Do - using the opponents own energy and momentum against them.

In the next installment, well detail this Texas Holdem strategy more formally, along with exploring some other tournament tips for playing better Texas Holdem poker.

Until then good luck!

Rick

Rick Braddy is an avid writer, Texas Holdem player and professional software developer and marketer for over 25 years. His websites and Texas Holdem poker software specialize in helping people become better players. If you're a poker player, be sure to visit his BetterHoldem.com Poker Tournament Strategy website today and learn how you can play better Texas Holdem, too.

The bass guitar is an integral part of any band these days. It started life in the nineteen thirties as a more user-friendly alternative to the double bass but never found its feet until the nineteen fifties when it took its place as the rhythm section of rock and roll bands. Since its initial use as a bass instrument there have been a number of musicians and composers who have felt moved to compose solos for the bass guitar. Even though the bass guitar is descended from the double bass, a solo instrument used in orchestral music, rock and roll bass guitarists seem to have been inspired by their counterparts in jazz when it comes to soloing.

Probably the most recognizable bass guitar solo was performed by John Entwhistle of The Who in the song My Generation recorded in 1965. This is an outstanding example of a bass solo inspired by double bass solos found in jazz music. It is typical of many bass solos in that it is unaccompanied. It was always the standard mode of presentation of jazz bass solos to do them without other instruments or only drums played with brushes so the solo could be easily heard.

The list of bass solos in modern music in rock, funk, jazz and fusion could go on and on but it is in pop music that bass solos have been successful as musical works in their own right. In the early nineteen sixties the first musician in England to own an electric bass guitar was Jet Harris who was the bass player in an instrumental group called The Shadows. Inspired by the American solo guitarist, Duane Eddy, Jet Harris left the shadows to pursue a solo career. In 1962 he had a hit single with the 1940 song, Besame Mucho played as a solo on a six string bass guitar. Another hit bass guitar solo was by The Shadows themselves with Stingray recorded in 1965.

Meanwhile in America in 1963 a young composer and arranger named Jack Nitzsche made a lush orchestral single called The Lonely Surfer. The orchestra was merely the backdrop for a simple melody played on the bass guitar. The Lonely Surfer never climbed higher than number thirty-nine on the charts, but that is pretty good for a bass guitar solo!

If you are interested in playing bass guitar, the most common course of action to take is to learn to play a regular guitar first. Strictly speaking this is not necessary but it seems to be where most bass players come from. For someone with a grasp of the basics of guitar playing, it is not difficult to make a smooth transition to bass guitar. There are plenty of bass guitar tabs available on the internet to help you to learn the music. You might need to get a teacher in order to grasp some of the techniques involved in bas playing. For a start you can choose whether to use a plectrum or just your fingers. Slapping and popping techniques can be found on video clips on the internet but one-on-one tuition is probably best. But if you are not able to buy lessons there are some available for free on the net.

Once you have sorted out which techniques you want to use to play bass, it is just a matter of practice and developing some kind of individual style before you begin working out your own solos.

Ricky Sharples has been playing guitar his whole life, and is presently engaged in building a blog called Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free. Ricky's blog features free tools, lessons and resources for guitarists of all ages and stages. Ricky updates the blog regularly so if you are interested in learning to play guitar there will be an enormous variety of tip, tools and tutorials for you.

A while back, I wrote an article that compared flower arranging to music arranging. While this may seem a world apart, it really isn't.

In flower arranging, the goal is to create a pleasing whole using different flowers, colors, textures, etc. If you've ever seen a beautiful flower arrangement, you'll know what I mean. The eye takes in the various contrasts and colors and is pleased when it forms into one satisfying whole.

In music the object is the same. When arranging a piece for New Age piano, we work with sections. We can label the sections (A) and (B) and then "arrange" the sections into an order. The most common order is ABA form. It has the benefits of simplicity and is a good place to start with New Age piano.

Most times, I'll use an 8-bar phrase for the (A) section. This gets repeated 2 or 3 times. Then it's time for some contrast - the (B) section. This can be a 4 or 8-bar phrase depending on taste. Then the (A) section is repeated one last time.

Now, there are other elements that go into our arrangement such as introductions, transitions, and endings. Using these elements, we can create a pleasing musical arrangement that satisfies the minds need for order and beauty creating art!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

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