The last time professional golfer Rocco Mediate made a run at the U.S. Open he also played in the Main Event at the WSOP. Mediate finished tied for sixth in 2005, not quite as heartbreaking as his runner-up finish to Tiger Woods this year. His golfing stats include five PGA Tour wins, and another four wins in high-profile invitational events.

Rocco compares poker to golf in the way he feels his way through the game – not being robotic, using his instincts to guide him to decisions. He and Greg Raymer have golfed and played poker together, sharing tips and strategies for each. Maybe Rocco will take some of that second-place U.S. Open prize money and take a run at the WSOP Main Event this year. He has no major cashes on the felt to date, but maybe we’ll still see him on the poker tours after he retires from golf.

Season 5 of the European Poker Tour kicks off in September 2008 in Barcelona with nine events scheduled, including the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and a welcome return to Deauville, France, in January.

“The new EPT season includes all the events which have made the past four seasons such a triumph with record fields across Europe and record prize pools,” said EPT Chief Executive John Duthie. “We have set very high standards and aim to improve on this still further in Season 5.”

“This year’s EPT kicks off in the magnificent city of Barcelona at the beginning of September. The tour will take in nine countries including the return of the ever popular Deauville event in France and we are expecting to add new venues to the tour. Last year’s EPT proved a massive success, generating a total prize pool of almost Euros 40,000,000 ($62,000,000), 5,902 players and the biggest single prize pool ever generated outside Las Vegas at the Monte Carlo Grand Final. We anticipate the EPT making an even bigger impact in Season 5, attracting more players from all around the world and even larger prize pools.”

Poker enjoyed a huge boom in 2003, and has continued to grow in popularity worldwide. Most of the new players have been playing Texas Holdem variations of poker for the last five years. But once they play holdem long enough, they start to look at other variations of poker to break up the boredom. The natural progression is to play Omaha next. The rules are the same as holdem, other than the fact that you have four cards to play instead of two.

It’s been long enough into the poker boom now that many new poker players are expanding the versions of poker they play. Omaha action is on the rise both online and in live events. This year’s $1500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament at the WSOP had 758 entrants, compared to 158 entrants in 2006. Omaha hi/low split is also increasing in popularity, with tournament fields bigger than ever. 

Razz poker is an old game of lowball seven-card stud poker. It’s regular seven-card stud, but the lowest hand wins. It’s probably the simplest version of lowball there is. Straights and flushes don’t come into play, so the best hand you can get is A-2-3-4-5.

If you understand the basics of seven-card stud, you will catch on to Razz rather quickly. The game is always played in the limit version, meaning the betting is limited to four bets per round.

Razz tournaments are great fun, and if you understand the basics you can easily money in a Razz tournament. Basic strategy dictates you only play hands that start with three cards under 8, and you watch your opponents’ up cards to try and put them on a hand. You should also count and eliminate outs for your hand that they may be showing. Bet if you think you have the lead.

Taking notes regarding your online poker play is an important part of being successful. Notes are a lot easier to keep today. Websites often provides hand histories and information about other players. The only real information to keep is a list of action players. These are players who are overly aggressive or just don’t know how to play. Compiling a list of these players can be a very profitable practice.

Every time you find yourself in a game with one of these players you should make note of them and how they play. Then when you decide to play a session, you can pull out your list and see if there are any action players at tables where you can find a seat. If most of your sessions have an action player present, you’ll find that your profit will increase at much faster rate. And don’t share that list with anyone.

Playing suited connectors can be done from most positions, providing you can get into the hand inexpensively. These hands can be very profitable when the flop hits you, and most opponents won’t put you on these types of hands because it’s widely considered poor poker to play them. But experienced players play all sorts of hands in the hopes of hitting a flop.

Once you’re in a hand with cards like these you’ll need to either hit trips, two pair or a good draw. If you have a lead like two pair, it’s important to try and take down the pot right there with a big bet or raise. The board could easily pair, and your lead may get counterfeited if your opponent has a bigger pair. If you’re on a draw, you should be getting proper draw odds to stay in the hand if someone has bet into you.