randomize - Poker Player Newspaper

Transcription

Ignorant Brits Rule: PAGE
Poker a “Game of Chance”
in Gutshot Case
Wendeen Eolis:
Poker’s
Listening Laws
30
PAGE
Doyle Brunson’s
new column—
Power Poker!
13
PAGE
22
POKER PLAYER
The new king of Australian
poker was crowned the evening of January 19, when,
That’s 1.5 Million Aussie
Dollars boomeranging
back to Gus Hansen!
Hansen Wins
Aussie Millions
the only player to win three
WPT titles, Gus Hansen
(nicknamed ‘The Great
Dane’) won the No-Limit
Texas Holdem Main Event
at the 2007 Aussie Millions
Poker Championship held at
Melbourne’s Crown Casino.
Hansen took home
AUD$1.5 million, the largest prize ever awarded in a
live poker tournament in the
Southern Hemisphere.
He outlasted a record field
of 747 players who anted
up the AUD$10,000 buy-in
for the Main Event, creating
an unprecedented prize pool
of AUD$7.47 Million. The
Main Event at Melbourne’s
Crown Casino was the cul-
PHOTO COURTESY EAGLE IMAGE - DAVE GOUDIE
Vol. 10 Number 16 February 5, 2007 A Gambling Times Publication www.pokerplayernewspaper.com Copyright ©2007 Bi-Weekly $3.95 USA/$4.95 CANADA
Iron Fortitude
...pays off BIG for
Dennis Perry at Tunica
circuit event—$563,402!
(Continued on page 17)
Ten “Horses” Win
HPC’s Poker Derby
Well, they weren’t exactly
“horses,” they were poker
players who won the ten
events of the Hollywood
e Poker Derby event #1
winner, Tommy Wang
Park Casino’s Poker Derby
tournament held from
January 5-15th. This event
is the first major US tournament to finish in the new
year. Untypically, Tommy
By Nolan Dalla
Dennis Perry, a former
ironworker from Kentucky,
Won the WSOP Circuit
Championship event in
Tunica. “It was my time to
win,” the poker champ said
afterward.
Some things are meant
to happen. No power in
the universe can hold back
destiny. Call it what you
Sexton Appointed WSOP
Circuit Tournament
Director
0
74470 05299
9
0 6>
By Debbie Burkhead
The appointment of Janis Sexton as the
Tournament Director of the World Series of Poker
Circuit Events was a history-making event. Sexton
is the first woman to hold the title of Tournament
Director in the 38 years of the WSOP.
She learned of the promotion during a January
3 phone call from Jack Effel,
(Cont’d on page 41)
want – skill, luck, willpower,
chance, divine intervention, or whatever – natural
law suggests that once an
object begins its locomotion, that object continues
to move onward. Progress
is perpetual. For example,
don’t stand in front of a roaring freight train. If you do,
the result will get ugly and
A Word from the
“Mad Genius,”
Mike Caro
Today’s word is...
“RANDOMIZE”
Turn to page 6 for more
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
5
POKER NEWS
By John Caldwell
TWO FORMER NETELLER
EXECUTIVES ARRESTED
Stephen Eric Lawrence and John David
Lefebvre, founders and former executives of the online payment company Neteller were
recently arrested on charges of money laundering.
These arrests sent a shot through the online gaming industry, as this action was the first time the U.S.
Government had targeted people that no longer were
actively in the online gaming industry. The charges
mostly stem around the fact that NETeller processed
transactions from online sports books - the one type of
gaming that has been interpreted to be valid under the
Wire Act.
Although no part of the press release, or any part of
the arrest report mentions that the arrests are UIGEA
related, part of the release does state that these
arrests are “part of the US Department of Justice’s
effort to combat unlawful internet gambling through,
among other things, the implementation of the antimoney laundering statutes.”
Since there is no language in the UGIEA that makes
online poker illegal, and the bill has no teeth for anyone but U.S. banks, the government has decided to take
the tried and true route of money laundering. But, the
early word from legal experts is it could be difficult
for prosecutors to get money laundering to stick for
anyone except those who took transactions from online
sports books (eg: not poker).
THE CYBER SHOT HEARD ‘ROUND
THE WORLD
Massive news from the world of online poker recently,
as online payment provider NETeller decided to stop
allowing U.S. players to transfer to and from online
gaming sites, including online poker rooms. This decision was a reaction to two of the founders of the company being arrested for money laundering (above).
NETeller has become the currency of choice for
online poker players, and the elimination of such transactions will surely put a short term dent in the smoothness of the process of playing poker online. Many
‘e-wallet’ services like ePassporte, and Click2Pay are
available, and indeed many of them are experiencing a
surge in signups in the few days since NETeller changed
their policy. One must wonder if any executives from
ePassporte, or Click2Pay are currently in the U.S.
At press time, it appears all the recent developments
will cause at least one more major online poker room
to withdraw from the U.S. market. Stay tuned.
POKER NOT A GAME OF SKILL,
U.K. JURY SAYS
Derek Kelly believes poker is a game of skill. He went
to tremendous personal risk to try and prove that.
Kelly, who owns the ‘Gutshot’ Poker Club in London
ran poker games out of the club despite warnings from
authorities. Kelly’s contention was that poker was
a game of skill, not gambling, and as such he should
not need a gaming license to run a poker-only club.
Recently, a jury heard Kelly’s case, but ultimately
convicted him for violating the 1968 U. K. Gaming Act.
While this decision won’t change too many things in
the U.K., if the jury would have found poker as a game
of skill, the effect on the global gaming business could
have been massive. Kelly is appealing the decision, and
at worst case will face only a hefty fine – no jail time.
John Caldwell is the Editor-In-Chief of PokerNews.com,
a leading poker information portal. Prior to PokerNews,
John spent 15 years in music artist management, working
with artists like Stone Temple Pilots, and Hootie and the
Blowfish. Originally from Redondo Beach, CA, John lives
in Los Angeles, and spends about 4 months a year in Las
Vegas.. Reach him by e-mail at [email protected].
6
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Caro’s Word: “Randomize”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
S
hould you check or
raise? Should you
just call or fire all
your chips at the
pot? Should you play a
hand or fold it? In poker
you face these and other
decisions routinely. Top
poker strategists correctly will tell you that
you shouldn’t make the
same decision every time
the same or a very similar
situation arises.
You need to randomize
so that alert opponents
won’t be comfortable in
planning a counter strategy based on your predictability. The more opponents can correctly guess
how you’re playing a
hand, the more likely you
are to suffer financially.
This is true in both limit
and no-limit poker games.
In limit hold ’em games,
if you always raise with
aces from an early position and never with anything else, skillful opponents will eventually grow
wise. They will fold most
big hands when you raise,
denying you the profit you
expect.
If you never play small,
unpaired cards from the
dealer position, opponents
can discount any possibility that you might have
combined with the board
to make a small straight.
But if you play those
TUSCANY
Suites & Casino
unlikely cards occasionally – even just once in a
hundred opportunities –
your opponents can never
be absolutely certain what
you hold at the moment.
The science
The science that accompanies this randomization
of decisions is steeped in
careful analysis of both
decisions and opposing
responses -- and in game
theory. The truth is, if
you hope to compete in
the high-tension world of
big-league poker, you’ve
got to do the unexpected
sometimes.
But you can’t do it too
often. If you do, you’ll
stray so far from what
is the best, most-obvious choices that you’ll
be playing too poorly to
win. So, yes, randomize.
But don’t be cute more
times than are dictated
by your need to confuse
opponents. The choice you
should make most often
is the one that seems the
most compelling. Some
players – even world class
players – fall into the
bad habit of mixing up
their play more than they
must. Doing that just eats
away at their bankrolls.
It becomes what I’ve
defined as “Fancy Play
Syndrome” (FPS) – the
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EDITORIAL CONSULTANT
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CONSULTANT
Contributing
Columnists
Nolan Dalla
George Epstein
“Oklahoma Johnny” Hale
Ashley Adams
Diane McHaffie
James McKenna
I. Nelson Rose
John Vorhaus
Poker Player will be published Bi-Weekly by
Gambling Times Incorporated,
Stanley R. Sludikoff, President.
Volume 10 Number 16.
Copyright © February 2007 by Gambling
Times Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without
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Distribution to newsstands, card clubs, poker rooms and
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
7
What’s Important
KRIEGER’s CORNER
By Lou Krieger©
It’s difficult to digest all the material that’s been written about poker over the past few years and probably impossible when
you’re in the midst of a cash game or a tournament and trying to recall
some strategic gems you read.
Poker is not chess. You can’t ponder a tough decision for ten minutes
while you weigh each and every variable before taking action. Chess
players have more time allotted to them to make decisions, and they
use it. Poker players only have a limited amount of time to decide on a
course of action — which raises an obvious question. What should you
think about first?
Three areas of concern are of equal importance.
• Frequent decisions
• Costly decisions
• Decisions influencing subsequent actions
Frequent decisions. The cost of an incorrect decision made frequently,
even if each instance is relatively inexpensive, can add up. The repetitive nature of errors may even go unnoticed, although their sum can
amount to a rather large leak in your game.
The result of a series of smaller-cost, repetitive errors is a leak that
you might not even realize is occurring. You lose money. You don’t know
why. You believe you are playing well because you make good decisions
in each and every situation /that you recognize/, but because you are
blind to one or two repetitive leaks in your game, you may be bleeding
to death without knowing why.
Recurring events must be handled correctly to keep your game
watertight. Knowing the basics and knowing them cold goes a long way
to preventing repetitive errors from punching holes in your vessel.
Costly decisions. Costly decisions are important even if they do not
occur as regularly as basic, repetitive, frequent decisions. They’re far
more dramatic, if for no other reason than the fact that more money
rides on each of them. If you’re facing a $10 bet on the river into a $90
pot and you think there’s a 70 per cent chance you’re beaten, what
should you do? A wrong decision can be expensive.
If you call that last bet and you lose, which happens the majority of
the time, you’ll cost yourself one additional bet. But if you fold a hand
that would have won, the cost is nine bets, and that’s a lot higher.
Actually, if you estimate you have a 70 percent chance of losing, it
means you have a 30 percent chance of winning. If you could replay
this hand 1,000 times, you’d lose $10 for every 700 times you play at a
loss of $7,000. However, you’d win the entire $90 pot on 300 occasions,
which amounts to a win of $27,000.
If you subtract your losses from your wins, you’d walk away with a
net profit of $20,000. If you divide that $20,000 by the 1,000 hands it
would take you to win it, you’ll find that each correct decision is worth
$20 to you.
Decisions influencing subsequent actions. A bad decision made
late in a hand is less consequential than a bad decision made early.
That’s because in poker, as in so much of life, early decisions lead you to
related decisions that occur subsequently.
If you get involved early with a hand that screams out, “I should have
known better,” you’ll often find yourself tied to a hand that catches a
piece of the flop. Although it’s not enough of a hand to bet aggressively,
it’s seductive enough to keep you calling. The result is usually a hand
that might win a small pot or lose a big one.
How often have you seen a player get sucked into a pot in a no-limit
game by calling a bet on the flop, only to be confronted with a bigger
bet on the turn and the possibility of having to commit all of his chips
with a vulnerable hand on either the flop or the river?
This is simply not what you want to do in most poker games. You are
usually better off avoiding dicey hands that can hurt a lot more than they
can help you. However, it’s tougher to extricate yourself from these situations in a live game than it is to discuss them as pieces of poker theory.
Just do yourself a big favor and pay close attention to these three
areas of concern. If you do, I’m betting your results will improve dramatically.
Visit Lou Krieger online and check out all his
books at www.loukrieger.com. You can read his
blog at http://loukrieger.blogspot.com and write
directly to him at [email protected].
8
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
9
The Un-American Activities
of the U.S. Congress
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Topsy-Turvy
Hold’Em
By Byron Liggett
Our present United States Congress, in a desperate
effort to do something Right, did something wrong...
again. They’ve declared Internet Gambling to be evil and illegal.
In an effort to stop Internet gambling, Congress passed a bill making it
illegal for banks or credit card companies to process payments to online
gambling operations. President Bush signed what is already being called
“Prohibition II”.
The law is un-American! Restricting citizens’ right to gamble violates
the history, tradition and culture of the United States. It’s un-Patriotic!
Americans have always been gamblers.
Early Colonists braved uncertain seas and a treacherous environment to
win a new beginning. Only the most rugged, self-reliant, independent individuals willing to take risks were attracted to the “New World”.
Neither was American Independence a gift, it was won. The Founding
Fathers were courageous competitors who staked their lives in a no-limit
contest with Great Britain, the world’s strongest player.
In 1787, 55 American revolutionaries created a new nation based on the
principles of Democracy and Free Enterprise Capitalism. It was a natural,
ideal system for a nation of self-reliant gamblers.
With the Louisiana Purchase, gambling flourished throughout the early
frontier settlements and waterways. Riverboats and gamblers spread from
New Orleans, up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and throughout the vast
interior of America.
Throughout the 19th Century, gambling continued to play an intimate
roll in the history and development of the United States. America’s
“Westward Movement” was led by gamblers, gunslingers, and gold hunters.
The late 19th Century and early 20th Century witnessed the industrialization of America. A new form of gambling, stock speculation captured
the country’s desire for gambling. The New York Stock Exchange was the
“house”, brokers were the players.
Then, on a Tuesday in October, 1929, the game went broke when the
Stock Market crashed. Franklin D. Roosevelt was swept into office in 1932.
A poker player, who understood that a nation of gamblers needed hope,
FDR called for a New Deal.
In 1931 Nevada became the first state to legalize gambling. By the end
of the 1980s, most other states had followed suit.
Clearly, Americans are gamblers. A nation of risk-takers, gambling
reflects much of the American character and personality. It is apparent in
the nation’s leadership, particularly its Presidents and greatest Americans.
Nineteen of America’s forty-three Presidents enjoyed gambling (at least
during some period of their life) What’s more greatness seems to go to the
gamblers. The list of U.S. Presidents who enjoyed gambling illustrates how
much a part of America is gambling:
George Washington
William Howard Taft
John Quincy Adams
Harry Truman
Zachary Taylor
Richard Nixon
Grover Cleveland
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Pierce
Lyndon B. Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
Theodore Roosevelt
John Adams
Warren G. Harding
Andrew Jackson
Dwight Eisenhower
Abraham Lincoln
George W. Bush
Many of America’s greatest heroes were gamblers. Following is only a partial list and in no particular order:
Bill Gates
W.C. Fields
The Marx Brothers
Barry Goldwater
Mark Twain
Audie Murphy
John Wayne
Daniel Webster
Dolley Madison
Babe Ruth
Henry Clay
Benjamin Franklin
Joseph McCarthy
Edgar Allen Poe
Congress has subverted 300 years of history and culture. They’ve violated
our right to the pursuit of happiness – which for many citizens is beating
blackjack, flopping the nuts, or winning an online tournament. It’s unAmerican!
It’s time to exercise another right (while we still have it) -- our right
to vote! Take a chance; elect Patriotic Americans – citizens who believe in
“Truth, Justice, and the American Way!” – and a citizen’s right to gamble,
online or at the line.
Byron Liggett, originally from the Northwest, lives in Reno
and has been a gaming & poker writer, columnist and consultant for 25 years. email: [email protected]
10
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
A Joe & Hobby fiction by
David J. Valley
obby and I had been
playing poker at
Hollywood Park. I couldn’t
get any traction. Lousy
cards, and when I tried a
time or two to make a play,
they fizzled. I decided to
cash in my remaining chips
and see what Hobby wanted
to do. He was at a nearby
table.
“I’ve had it, Hobby. Are
you going to play for a
while?”
“Nope. I’ve had enough.
You hungry?”
“Yeah. How about
Chinese?”
“Sounds good. Let’s do
it.”
I was doing the driving. Hobby was looking at
a copy of Poker Player he
had picked up at the casino.
“Hey, Joe. Here’s something
right up your alley. It says
here that a major tournament is looking for a mystery poker game for a special event next year. They’re
asking for proposals. Right
up your alley, Joe.”
“I don’t think so, Hobby.”
“It could be interesting.
They’re going to invite 100
top professionals to play
in the mystery game and
here’s the best part—the
designer gets a free $5,000
seat. That would be cool
and don’t you think you’d
have an advantage if you
invented the game?”
“I don’t know, Hobby,
but anyway I’m not interested.”
“Okay, if you say so,
Joe,” Hobby said as he gave
me a cockeyed look.
After dinner we decided
to call it a night. At my
condo, I looked at the copy
of Poker Player Hobby had
been reading. I didn’t want
Hobby to know I might be
interested in the mystery
poker game—it was intriguing. I read the story carefully and learned more of the
details, such as: the game
must be decided on the
basis of five cards using the
usual order of winners; the
game must be unknown and
challenging to experienced
H
players; it must be suitable for tournament play.
Hmm…I consider myself a
creative guy, maybe I could
come up with something.
It was a week later when
I told Hobby that I had an
idea for a game.
“I knew you couldn’t
resist. Tell me about it, Joe.”
“I’m sure there’s never
been anything like it, but
the problem is, I don’t know
how well it will play. I’ve
tried with dummy hands,
but I can’t decide how players would react.”
“Just tell me what you’ve
got, Joe.”
“Alright. It’s simple
enough to describe. I call
it Topsy-Turvy Hold ‘Em.
Each player gets a deck
of cards. The dealer has
his own deck. The game
begins with the dealer putting down the flop, then
each player selects two hole
cards from his deck and the
betting begins. After the
betting is complete, the turn
card is shown by the dealer,
betting again, then the river
and final betting.”
Hobby was silent for a
minute and then said, “Is
that it, Joe? It sounds kind
of stupid.”
“Well, thanks for your
encouragement, Hobby.”
“Ah, come on, Joe. I’m
just pulling your chain. Tell
me more about it.”
I took a deep breath
and said, “Okay. Here are
some of the subtleties. For
each hand, the player must
give up two cards from his
deck, knowing that every
other player is looking at
the same flop. If he does
the obvious it’s likely that
other players will select the
same hole cards. Splitting
a pot two or three ways
wouldn’t be very profitable.
Also a player may wish to
conserve his better cards
for later in the game when
blinds go up and pots get
bigger.”
“Is it winner take all?”
“It depends on how the
tournament director wants
to run the game. For a single deck of cards there will
be 26 hands. Depending on
how rapidly the blinds go
up, a field of ten players
could be small before they
get through a deck.”
“Why don’t you try it out
with me, Joe?”
“Wouldn’t work. More
players are needed to test it.
I spoke to a friend of mine
at UCLA about a computer
simulation. Turns out it
would take too much time.”
“Well, how about my
poker club?”
“I was about to suggest it,
Hobby.”
We started with two
tables of nine players each.
After I explained the game,
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PLAYERS 86
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Jorge Pineda . . . . . . $22,465
Viet Tran . . . . . . . . . $11,235
Ted Simonson . . . . . . $5,615
Sang Pham . . . . . . . . $3,650
Floyd Lewis . . . . . . . . $2,810
Jae Bahn . . . . . . . . . . $1,965
Jimmy Lim . . . . . . . . $1,405
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Jack Read
POKER DERBY
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REBUYS 88
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1.
2.
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PLAYERS 191
REBUYS 319
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
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$19,495
Michael Simhai
Henry Ferguson . . . . $7,800
Eugene Brockett . . . . $4,485
Dennis Thorn . . . . . . $2,340
Zoltan Veres . . . . . . . $1,365
Daniel Hart . . . . . . . . $1,170
Reza Payvar . . . . . . . . .$975
Bill Wells . . . . . . . . . . . .$780
Aram Kouleyan . . . . . .$580
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REBUYS 225
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Henry Ferguson
1. Charles Davidson
AKA “Chuck” . . . . . $29,680
2. Frank Digiorgio . . . $14,840
3. Henry Antanesian . . . $7,420
$83,420
4. Moshe Bouskila . . . . $4,825
5. Alan Meyerson . . . . . $3,710
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(Cont’d from page 1)
POKER DERBY
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REBUYS 1228
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1.
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Loc Hoang . . . . . . . . $15,805
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Makya McBee . . . . . . $7,485
1. Jack Read . . . . . . . . $33,370
2. Sam Simon . . . . . . . $19,185
3. David Rosenbloom . $10,010
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1. Julie Nhien Thi
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
11
LESSON 94:
Should You Tip the Dealer?
Lessons from mike caro
university of poker
BY DIANE M C HAFFIE
How much should you tip in a real-world poker
game? Should you tip at all? Many dealers only
earn minimum wage or a little more? I know, I
was surprised, too. Tips are important to them.
You probably agree that it’s proper to tip when you win pots.
Mike feels that even professional players in big games should
routinely tip the dealers, even though some don’t.
Skilled, conservative players will pay less in tips. Why?
Because these players aren’t involved in as many pots, so they
win fewer, therefore paying tips less frequently.
Surprise. Surprisingly, lower-limit games often earn the
dealers more in tips than bigger games. This is because people
involved in the smaller games tend to be more generous with
their chips. To them, those chips are purely recreational and
expendable. Mike says that another reason lower-limit games
might be more lucrative for dealers is that some big-game
players simply tend to be stingy.
Beware! Over-tipping will eat into your winnings. If you
aren’t winning a considerable amount, then tipping is going
to make a significant difference. Mike’s tipping is often rather
generous despite his warnings. Mike says that it makes him
“feel good” to tip the dealers. And I’ve seen him hand $100
bills to strangers, just as an unexpected token of thanks to
them for doing a good deed or a good job. Still, at poker, Mike
advises professionals to tip what’s appropriate – usually $1 or
$2 a pot and only occasionally more if the pot is enormous. He
says that if you add it all together at the end of the year, tipping excessively, rather than tipping appropriately, can make
the difference between losing and winning.
Strategy is affected. Set a course of action for tipping and
stick to it. If you’re playing in $3/$6 games and the pots are
pretty small, you shouldn’t feel the need to tip at all – or tip
just 50 cents. On medium pots you should probably tip a dollar, and on the bigger pots, $1 or $2. The $1 or $2 tip would still
apply to most larger pots in $5/$10 games or even if you’re
playing in much bigger games than that. Many players think
the size of tips increases in big games, but this isn’t always
true. Professionals often feel they’re paying a gratuity for the
same service, no matter what size of game. In restaurants, you
tip by the amount of the check; but in poker it’s not customary
to tip by the size of the game.
Strategically, tipping affects which hands you can play.
Factor in how much profit from a pot will be subtracted by
the tip. Mike says you need to avoid playing a lot of medium
strength hands, just because of the tipping. These hands would
average a tiny profit in the long run if there were no tipping,
but because there is, they’re actually unprofitable. Yes, tipping
really does affect strategy!
A few players will pay the new dealer a set amount as he
or she comes to or leaves the table. Then they can play the
medium hands as well as the strong ones, because how many
hands they win won’t change the amount. This alternative tipping strategy is something you might consider – but be sure to
explain to the dealer the unusual manner in which you intend
to tip, so it will be understood in advance.
Tournaments. Mike recommends tipping four-to-five percent in a large tournament. In smaller tournaments, with smaller prizes, tips from five to 10 percent are not uncommon. Even
if you don’t finish first, but place high in the money, you should
still tip. Factor in your entry fee, buy-ins, and re-buys and subtract that from your profit to determine how much to tip.
So, tipping is proper. But tipping diminishes your bankroll, so
tip reasonably.
Diane McHaffie is Director of Operations at Mike Caro
University of Poker, Gaming, and Life Strategy. Her
diverse career spans banking, promotion of major financial seminars and the raising of White-tailed Deer. You
can write her online at [email protected].
12
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Sam Mudaro, BA, MBA, is a practicing tax
accountant and financial executive originally
from New York with over 35 years of analytical business expertise. He and his wife Eva
are nine-year Las Vegas residents. Sam uses
simulation software to analyze and develop
strategies for Omaha Hi/Lo and other forms of
poker. Reach Sam at: [email protected].
Y
ou’re sitting in your
normal Omaha H/L
game. On the button you
look down and see your
first two cards, A-4 unsuited. The best two cards you
have seen in over an hour.
There are five callers in
front of you and the tight
player to your right raises.
You are certain he has an
A-2. Should you play your
hand?
Today we will look at
various situations in which
you hold A-4 and are up
against A-2. Today’s simulations were run with our
tight player at a full tight
table holding the A-4 and
two random cards. A single
player held A-2 with two
random cards dealt to him. I
should point out that based
on the randomness of the
deal our player may have
received a deuce as his third
and/or fourth card. Here
are the results of 2,000,000
simulations.
Hand Win % Net High Low Scoop
A-2 38.2% 10.03 5.2% 9.2% 12.8%
A-4 21.7% 0.10 5.0% 3.7% 7.8%
Clearly starting A-2 is
superior to A-4. It wins
about 16.5% more often
and more importantly averages close to $10 more per
hand. Both hands win about
the same amount with the
high, while the A-2 will
win 2.5 times more with a
low. There were multiple
nut low winners 10.3% and
a single nut low winner
23.8% of the time. While
the hand is a net winner it
should be played very cautiously. You probably want
to see the flop as cheaply as
possible and get away from
it if you don’t see a deuce
or have a shot at the high
based on your other two
cards.
The question now is: Can
we improve upon the above
results by the addition of
a third low card for the
A-4 starting hand? Isn’t it
always good to have some
counterfeit protection? To
test that hypothesis I dealt
another 2,000,000 hands
under the same conditions
adding a five through eight
to the A-4, rendering it a
Sam Mudaro is the...
three card low
starting hand ver- with
sus the A-2. The
results are presented
below.
Hand Win %
A-2 36.2%
A-4-5 24.8%
A-2 39.6%
A-4-6 17.2%
A-2 41.6%
A-4-7 12.7%
A-2 42.2%
A-4-8 11.5%
Net
10.92
(3.38)
10.50
(2.23)
10.14
(1.55)
10.36
(2.01)
High
5.0%
6.2%
5.0%
4.5%
4.9%
3.4%
4.8%
3.0%
Low
9.0%
4.3%
8.9%
3.2%
8.8%
2.3%
8.8%
2.1%
Should I continue
A-4, when up against
an A-2?
Scoop
12.8%
9.2%
13.2%
5.9%
13.2%
4.3%
13.4%
3.9%
Surprisingly, the extra low
card causes the A-4 to lose
more money. Oddly enough
the win percentage increases
4% for the A-4-5 to 24.8%.
This is the worst three card
hand for the A-4. Two things
are going on here. A-4-5
looks very good in your hand
but is second or third best
to a number of hands. There
is a tendency to draw more
often when you hold three
cards to a wheel. Under all
the scenarios above the A-2
wins more by scooping in
addition to the low.
The above simulations
were run at a tight table.
Would the results be different if we played at a loose
table? We will look at those
results next time.
Today I will also begin
a series of supplements to
my articles, explaining the
vernacular of poker. New
as well as seasoned players
sometime hear phrases or
statements that they are not
familiar with. Sometimes
you think you may know
what the other players are
talking about, but are too
embarrassed to ask. I have
always found when I had
to read a book, especially
a “How To” or text book, I
would always start by reading the glossary first. I found
it to be extremely helpful
to learn the words before
learning what the author was
attempting to explain. So
here we go.
ABC Player – This label
is applied to a player who
is very predictable based on
the hand types they play and
their betting pattern which is
generally pretty tight. They
typically read poker books
and consistently follow the
recommendations presented
therein. They are most likely
to be winners at lower stakes
and loose games but will
have a difficult time with
advanced players.
Ace High – This is a
poker hand that does not
contain a pair or anything
higher than a pair. With the
ace as the high card this
hand may be good enough
to beat other hands that are a
bust, (a hand not containing
a pair or higher).
Ace in the Hole – This
is generally heard in stud
games. A player has an ace
in the hole when one of their
three down cards is an ace.
Ace Out – Refers to winning or bluffing with nothing
more than an ace high.
Aces & Spaces – A hand
that contains a pair of aces,
usually with a low kicker
and nothing else.
Aces Full – A full house
consisting of three aces and
another pair.
Aces Over – Generally
refers to a hand contain two
pair one of which is aces. It
may also refer to a full house
when holding three aces and
any other pair as in A-A-A4-4.
Aces Up – A hand consisting of two pair where the
top pair is a pair of aces.
Acey-Deucy – Two
pairs consisting of aces and
deuces.
Acey-Uppy – This refers
to two pair where the top
pair is aces or a full house in
which the player hold three
aces.
Action – Action is the
overall term collectively
used to refer to checking,
betting and or raising. The
action is on you when it is
your turn to check, bet, raise
or fold.
So what have we
learned? A-4 may be
slightly profitable when up
against a random A-2. The
addition of a second low
card actually wipes out the
small advantage the A-4 had
and actually turns it into a
loss.
Obey Your Listening Laws at the Table
watched more bankrolls
evaporate in an instant in
bet the ranch negotiations
other person thinks that
you are thinking about
his answers?
Wendeen H. Eolis, CPC
Editor’s Note: This story
is excerpted (and adapted)
from Ms Eolis’ forthcoming
book, Power Poker Dame
(publication 2008)
Of all the concepts
that speed up an accurate
people reading assessment—whether it be in a
card room, a conference
room, or a courtroom, listening skills are at the top
the list. It is easy to miss
the subtleties, nuances, and
signals that occur in every
exchange. It is also easy
to catch them by obeying
the “listening laws” that
are part of my 12 Step
System to People Reading
Excellence—formulated
from decades of experience in reading people in
business, politics, and card
rooms.
At the poker table, careful attention to these listening laws helps substantially
in maximize winnings and
minimize losses. The key to
this positive state of affairs
in my own poker experience is a consistent effort
splice into my read of an
opponent not only what he
says but also other audio
connections to the hand;
the dealer’s interactions,
a whispered conversation between two players
that are not involved in
the hand, the words of a
friendly “sweater” at the
opponent’s side, or a floor
person’s ruling.
Listening for audio clues
and taking notice of silence
are similarly important, as
is eyeballing facial movements and neck pulse.
Common sense and pure
logic are your friends at the
poker table in validating
both oral data and pointed
silence.
But no matter how enamored I may be with the
notion of womanly intuition, I know that my own
results improve markedly
with continued validation
and adjustments of intuitive
impressions of the players in a transaction—from
the card room to the board
room. In fact, I have
thanks to intuition that has
gone awry.
In a fast paced poker
game, the proficient listener
has a big edge. One of my
10 listening laws calls for
customizing questions for
the person and the situation
with a view toward eliciting
fast relevant answers rather
than defensive or nasty
replies. Consider the following before you leap into
a full on engagement:
1. Are there specific
pieces of information
you are attempting to
obtain? If so, how can
you frame a conversation that will lead to
this information without
direct interrogation?
2. Are you trying to get a
“baseline” reading of a
person for better interpretation of subsequent
interactions?
3. Do you have background information
about the person’s
current level of self
esteem? Do you have
information about this
person that should be
kept quiet?
4. Does the person to
whom you will be
speaking have specific
expectations of you?
5. Is your opposite going
to try to rush you into
judgment or exert other
pressure?
6. How do you feel? Are
you clear-minded and
in control? Are you
calm, grounded, and
confident in your own
position?
7. Do you appear to be
an empathetic listener?
Is your demeanor an
asset or a liability at the
moment?
8. On a scale from lifeand-death to casual
banter, how important
is this transaction or
poker hand that is in
progress and how much
do your feeling show
through?
9. If the interaction takes
a surprising downturn,
will you be able to
remain centered?
10. What do you think the
Listening
Law 5 directs the people
reading student to “Be in
the Now and Stay There.”
The thoughtful listener
tunes his ear both to the
content of an answer and
the style of delivery, recognizing that the care you
take in framing questions
will be reflected in the time
it takes to unmask disingenuous answers. Your people
reads are only as good as
your understanding of the
effect you have on the person you are trying to gauge.
In poker, the pros excel at
playing the player.
How To Listen To the
Answers
Being a good listener is
obviously the flip side to
being a good questioner. It
starts with a simple precept:
allow others to say what
they want to say fully. The
experienced people reader
does not worry about an
orderly probe. It will flow
naturally from his progressive read.
Questions can be presented in a wide variety of
postures and guises—informational, open-ended,
casual, humorous, rhetorical, confrontational, seduc-
tive, etc. Likewise answers
can be filled with spin. A
good listener hears with
trained ears. In any negotiation, I listen to answers with
special attention to how a
person responds. Are there
points of emphasis, repetitions, significant pauses, or
nervous coughs? The modulation of tone is always
significant, as is the speed
and the volume of a voice.
But in a poker game there is
precious little time to chat
up an opponent so as to peel
away the layers of meaning
in his banter. Ergo, the test
bet is often the dynamite
“listening” tool...
Silence can be a more
complex response to unravel than long winded words.
I ask myself constantly,
“Am I hearing evasion
or deliberate omissions?”
Visual cues frequently come
to the rescue in a crisis of
silence; body language and
facial expressions reveal
much about a person’s comfort level, his attitude, and
reactions to certain subject
matters. Indeed, the way
the person uses his eyes
while answering questions
is almost always a useful indication of thoughts
behind the words. Does he
maintain eye contact? Does
he blink excessively? Does
he look down during some
answers and up on others?
Thankfully, all but the
most savvy poker players
have body and behavior
tells that can be deciphered
with common sense.
Nevertheless, the silent
treatment can be unnerving
and frustrating. But let’s
face it: you are not always
so lucky as to be dealing
with a chatterbox!
So what do you do when
you are stared down or
someone is acting as if he
is hard of hearing? At the
poker table you can’t afford
to let the other party shut
down your fact gathering
apparatus—part of which
is interaction with him. It
is in your interest to learn
the general modus operandi
and habits of an opponent
in a negotiation of any sort.
If you know the odds
are that the silent treatment
will emerge as a regular
part of a poker player’s
table image, your best
bet is to try to create an
amiable relationship with
him—away from the table...
If you ask innocuous, nonthreatening questions when
he is not in the throes of a
big pot, there is a chance
that he’ll exempt you from
the silent treatment at a
critical moment in a hand
against him later. In poker,
most players are more on
guard while engaged in a
“Oklahoma Championship
of Poker” – A Major Title
By Byron Liggett
Oklahoma, “where the
South meets the West” has
become recognized as a
“National Poker Power”
in recent years. Bordered
by Kansas, Arkansas and
Texas, where Poker is prohibited or restricted, Native
American casinos have
made it a principal feature
in the Sooner State.
That is why the
Oklahoma State
Championship of Poker
is one of the most coveted
and prestigious titles in the
country. From Deadwood to
Dallas, Memphis to Mobile,
every player wants this one.
The 2007 Oklahoma
State Championship of
Poker, Feb. 1-13, at the
Cherokee Casino, in Tulsa,
promises to be a major
American poker competition. The event is being
hosted by the “Sweet Prince
of Poker”, Scotty Nguyen,
and Oklahoma’s own favorite son and former WSOP
Champ, Berry Johnston.
One of the featured
events is the “Duplicate
Poker” tournament. Players
receive identical hole and
board cards. Scoring is
based on comparing the
results achieved by each
player in a given position.
Among the superstars of
Poker who intend to participate are Linda Johnson,
Bob Ciaffone, and T.J.
Cloutier.
“Oklahoma is on the
table. Come ‘n get it!, is the
challenge issued by Rick
O’Connell, the Director of
Table Games & Poker and
the man who’s guided the
ascendancy of the Cherokee
Casino to poker preeminence.
POWERFUL ADVERTISING REACH—USE IT!
poker player
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
13
Pump a Slump
POwer POKER PSYCHOLOGY
By JAMES A. M C KENNA, P H D.
Or
t
-Ac
Non
in g
ie n
ted
Responsive
ted
ien
k
Thin
Reserved
Or
Con
vic
tio
n
d
nte
rie
sO
These are just a few sugIn my last article, Surviving Slumps--Part II, I said
that we will discuss how to pump a slump into becom- gestions to taking stress and
doing some serious examination of what you
ing a better player and person because of stress.
need. First of all, ask yourself if what is hapThat’s because, each slump can be a doorway to
pening is in anyway something that you can
developing other playing skills. I have said for some
control. If the answer is negative, stop beating
years now that the true test of character is not how
on yourself and decide whether you need to be
a player handles good times. Rather, the way that
in another game or to wait for more favorable
player manages bad times and bad cards are truer
conditions. The only area that you can change
measures of that player’s character. Let’s look at
is to look at yourself and ask what it is that
alternatives to turning stress into distress. Success
you need to change. You will become powerless
in anything is stress turned inside-out. That’s right.
when you focus on changing others. You can
Stress happens to everyone on the way up and each
succeed in changing yourself. I know, some of
stress can be a rung in the ladder to the top. Here’s
the chart that I presented in the last article on how a you are saying that part of poker is how you can
influence others. What we are discussing here
person can turn stress into distress.
T U R N I N G ST R ESS I N TO D I ST R ESS is not actions to influence how
other players respond. Rather,
LEFT BRAIN DOMINANT
RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANT
attempting to change the stripes
Rea
on a zebra will prove futile. A
d Aggressive Will ction
e
therapist friend of mine had a
t
n
rie
try harder
O
poster that read, “Don’t try to
s
and blame
Acti
teach a pig to sing! It will annoy
on others
s
you and aggravate the hell out of
Will expect
the pig.”
Expect perfection
others to be
from others and
Things that you can do to
stronger and
push their beliefs
manipulate
focus on things that you can
change are to use stress or
Will smile &
please and
slumps as a chance to pay betmake
Will
ter attention to what is going
mistakes
strive O
on. If what is happening has
s
for per- rie
on
nte
i
to do with you, you can change
t
fection in
d
E mo
Strives
their play and become
it. If not, you can decide to
to be strong O over-controlling
take a break or be patient with
and passively rien
t
Receptive
ed
what is going on. When you
waits
are distressed, it’s a mistake to
TIGHT PLAY
LOOSE PLAY
do what is impulsive. Stop and
THINK. What is it that you need
Escape from these distress responses is mainly to that whining is not likely to help? ASK yourself
learn to be good to you. That means learning to GIVE how you can GIVE yourself what you need—a
break, a new table, a change in how you play, or
yourself what you need at such times; to TAKE what
just go home for the day? TAKE what’s available
you can from your arsenal of skills; to ASK yourself
what it is that is going wrong; and, finally to say “No” to ease your pain. This might be some “poor
babies” from your friends. You could be hungry
to continuing to play the same way when conditions
are so poor. Sometimes you will need to start pleas- and need to get something to eat or you may be
ing yourself. At other times, you may need to loosen sleep-deprived and need to take a nap. Finally,
it’s important to refuse to give your opponent
or tighten how you are playing. Self-talk is the
what they want—usually more of your chips. Do
cement that will pull together stress into success.
you have a loss/win limit? If not, it’s time. If you
Here’s how that chart would look if you are turnare inclined to do what pleases others, it’s time
ing stress into success:
to please yourself. If you prefer
T U R N I N G ST R ESS I N S I D E- O U T
to blame others when things go
LEFT BRAIN DOMINANT
RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANT
wrong, it’s time to practice more
Rea
humility and examine your own
Aggressive
ASK cti
d
contribution to the distress.
nte
yourself on
rie
O
how
you
can
s
Acti slow down
Jim McKenna, better known in
on
s and think
TAKE
poker
rooms as “Jimmy Mac,” has
GIVE yourself
more.
time to
been practicing psychotherapy for
more time and be
get along with
patient with your
over thirty-five years. This knowlothers, rather
own mistakes
than fighting
edge of human behavior combined
with his many years of gaming
Instead
Instead of makof
experience gives him a unique pering mistakes,
waiting
start saying
spective on the psychology of the
ASK
for
“NO” to pleasing
O
yourself
gamer. His books, the acclaimed
things
r
ns others
o
what it is ient
i
to
“Beyond Tells: Power Poker
t and do what
Emo pleases
you need to get ed
change,
you.
Psychology,” and now “Beyond
take a break O some order back.
Bluffs: Master the Mysteries
r
and then come ien
Receptive
back with a new spirit ted
of Poker,” are published by
Kensington Press. Jim welcomes eTIGHT PLAY
LOOSE PLAY
mail comments and suggestions at
[email protected]
ion
ted
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in g
Or
Responsive
ted
ien
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14
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Caro’s Word: “Randomize”
practice of too often looking for an unusual way to
play a hand when the most
obvious, straightforward
choice is better. FPS is a
contagious disease – one
that you should take precautions not to acquire.
Now that I’ve told you
that it’s necessary to be
versatile in your poker
decisions, while sticking
to the basic best choices
as much as possible,
there’s something else you
need to know. There are
times when you shouldn’t
randomize your poker
decisions at all. And nothing drives home this point
better than a short lecture
I gave years ago. Here is
the text of that lesson…
When not to
randomize
Today we’re going to talk
about randomizing your
poker decisions. You’ve
heard it time and time
again, right? In order to
win at poker, you’ve got
to randomize your actions,
don’t do the same thing all
the time, change speeds,
shift gears.
But I’m going to tell
you a secret. Sometimes
it’s wrong to change
gears. Sometimes it’s not
profitable to randomize.
Listen. The truth is that
most of the time the only
reason we should randomize is to put our opponents
off-guard and to keep
them guessing.
For each common poker
situation, usually there’s a
very strong play we’d like
to use every single time,
but if we use it too often,
we’re afraid our opponents will catch on and
adapt.
So, we choose to be
deceptive. One way to be
deceptive is to randomize our poker decisions.
Maybe we want to raise
every time we have strong
hands and never raise
otherwise. Fine, but we’re
afraid our opponents will
soon catch on. We fear
they’ll fold whenever we
raise, because it’s obvious
that we have them beat.
What to do? The
answer, of course, is to
sometimes just call with
these monster hands and
sometimes raise with
weaker hands. That will
fool our opponents.
Not aware
But what if our opponents
are too unaware to be
fooled? What if they’re
just weak players who
aren’t paying any attention
at all to what we’re doing?
Ah, there’s the point.
Against weak players who
aren’t paying attention,
it’s almost always better not to randomize. Just
make that raise every time
with your strong hands.
Everywhere, on every
planet, every place poker
is played, it’s a powerful truth that players who
randomize their decisions
without having a good
reason are simply costing
themselves profit. That’s
important, and I’ll repeat
it. Players who randomize without a reason lose
profit.
If you know what
you’re strongest play is,
but you randomize and
you’re not sure why,
you’re usually costing
yourself money. When
you’re against weak opponents, be less deceptive,
choose your strongest
play, stick to it, don’t randomize.
This is “The Mad
Genius of Poker” Mike
Caro. And that’s my secret
today.
Mike Caro is widely
regarded as the world’s
foremost authority on
poker strategy, psychology,
and statistics. A renowned
player and founder of Mike
Caro University of Poker,
Gaming, and Life Strategy,
he is known as “the Mad
Genius of Poker,” because
of his lively delivery
of concepts and latest
research. You can visit him
at www.poker1.com.
A Poker Player Murder Mystery by Robert Arabella
FORBIDDEN POKER BOOKS
Where they begin to burn
books, they will end in
burning human beings.
—Heinrich Heine
[This article is based on
Robert Arabella’s Decline And
Fall Of The Poker Empire,
published in 2026 by Poker
Player.]
The great irony in the story of
The Prisoner Of Poker is that
Winston Smith was not, when
he found the forbidden copy of
Super/System, a poker player.
Truth be told, Smith had never
been able to master either the
intricacies of Old Maid or the
subtleties of Go Fish. He had
no interest in poker at all. “I
thought they already burned
all the poker books.”
The Forbidden Poker
Books List criminalized the
possession of all perfidious
poker books. The model for
this was J. Edgar Hoover’s
“Radical’s Reading List”
which, in the ’60’s, had
stigmatized those in possession of subversive books,
including The Autobiography
Of Malcolm X and Che
Guevara’s Motorcycle
Diaries. That list was itself
based on The Catholic
Church’s 500-year-old Index
Librorum Prohibitorum (List
of Prohibited Books) which
had led to the excommunication of all those in possession
of heretical books, including
Galileo’s Starry Messenger
and Darwin’s Origin Of
Species. All these books were
ordered burned.
All cultures burn books.
In biblical times, A number
who had practiced sorcery
brought their scrolls together
and burned them publicly
(Acts 19:19). In 1492 Spain’s
Grand Inquisitor, Tomás de
Torquemada, ordered the burning of all Jewish and Moorish
prayer books. In 1497 the
Vicar of Florence, Girolamo
Savonarola, ordered the burning of Lorenzo de Medici’s
Library. In 1624 Pope Leo X
ordered the burning of Martin
Luther’s Protestant Bible. In
1793 France’s “First Citizen,”
Maximilien Robespierre,
ordered the burning of King
Louis XVI’s Library. In 1917
Vladimir Lenin ordered the
burning of the Tsar’s Library.
In 1933 Nazi Führer Adolph
Hitler ordered the burning
of all “un-German books.”
In 1989 Iran’s Ayatollah
Khomeini ordered the burning
of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic
Verses. In 2020 Reverend
President Biggs Brother
ordered the burning of poker
books.
The all-time best-selling
how-to-play-poker book was
Doyle Brunson’s Super/
System. In a tribute to the
original anti-poker legislators, Congressmen Robert
Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim
Leach (R-IA), Reverend
Presidential Biggs Brother
held the first two public
burnings of Super/System in
their former home districts of
Roanoke, Virginia and Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, honoring the
two legislators who, years
before, had fired the first shots
in “The War Against Poker.”
The maximum penalty for
possession of a Forbidden
Poker Book was twenty
years. Even though no one
had ever actually gone to
jail for possession of a poker
book and that many people
he knew continued to secretly
play poker, Smith wanted no
trouble with the authorities.
“What am I going to do?” he
asked the empty room, which
supplied no answer. “Wait! I
know! I’ll return these books
to their rightful owner!” Smith
grabbed the box of books and
hurried back to the garage
sale.
“Excuse me, Miss,” said
Smith to the woman running
the sale, “I’d like to return this
box …” and got no further.
“Sorry,” she told him, “like
the sign says, ‘All sales are
final.’”
“You don’t understand.”
“What? The meaning of
‘All sales are final’? ”
“I was sold something … I
don’t want … shouldn’t have
… a dangerous book.”
“What kind of dangerous
book?” asked the woman.
“What kind of dangerous book?” asked the Poker
Policeman.
[This is a work of poker fiction set ten thousand hands in
the future. Any resemblance to
persons living or dead is coincidental.]
(To be continued in the next
issue of Poker Player)
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
15
Pocket Flop Probs.
STRAIGHT SKINNY
By RICHARD G. BURKE
Fred groused that he couldn’t remember the
odds at Hold’Em for improving pocket Pairs on the Flop. He
knew he could find those odds in my and some other poker
books, but he didn’t have them handy. Would I derive them
while he watched? Here goes.
In order to flop Quads, you need both remaining cards of
your pocket Pair’s rank and any card from the other twelve
ranks. Knowing only your own cards, there are C(50,3) possible Flops, including suits, so dividing obtains the probability.
C(2,2)*48/C(50,3) equals 0.002449.
Fred asked me to explain C(N,M). That’s shorthand for
N!/(N-M)!/M!, I told him, where N >= M and both are non-negative integers. For example, C(50,3) means 50!/47!/3!, which
equals 50*49*48/(3*2*1) after cancellations, or 19,600 different Flops, including suits.
You can flop a Full House two ways, I told Fred. A Full House
of the first kind contains one of your rank and another Pair.
That probability is C(2,1)*12*C(4,2) divided by 19,600, or
0.007347. A Full House of the second kind has three cards of
another rank on the Flop. That probability is 12*C(4,3)/19600,
or 0.002449.
To flop just a Set, you need one from your rank and one
from two other ranks. C(2,1)*48*44/2!/19,600 obtains the
probability, 0.107755. (Since the order of the two odd cards is
immaterial, we divide by two factorial.)
When holding pocket Pairs, flopping Two Pairs is often a
problem because anyone holding a card of the paired rank
would make Trips. Problem or not, the probability of flopping
Two Pairs is 12*C(4,2)*44 divided by 19,600, or 0.161633.
Ignoring flopping Straight or Flush draws, your most likely
outcome is no improvement. That probability is given by
48*44*40/3!/19,600, or 0.718367. (Because card order is
unimportant, we divide by 3!.)
The table below shows the results so far.
The odds against flopping Quads are 407 to 1. The odds
Outcome
Probability Odds to 1 against flopping
either Full House
Quads
0.002449
407
are 101 to 1. The
Full House (1) 0.007347
135
odds against flopFull House (2) 0.002449
407
ping a Set are 8.3
Set
0.107755
8.3
Two Pairs
0.161633
5.2
to 1.
No Help
0.718367
0.4
The odds against
Sum r r r
1
flopping a Full
House or better are 81 to 1. The odds against flopping a Set or
better are 7.33 to 1. The table below shows those probabilities
and odds.
Fred asked me
Probability Odds to 1
when
the pot odds
Full House + 0.012245
81
Set +
0.120000
7.33
would warrant calling with small pockets. In a limit Hold’Em game, I answered,
that depends your opponents’ styles. If five players typically
pay to see the Flop, then I call with all pocket Pairs, and muck
when the Flop disappoints. I raise in late position even with
small pockets when there are numerous customers.
In a no-limit Hold’Em game, because the potential pot odds
are so large, I call with any pocket Pair, providing it’s not too
expensive to see the Flop. If anyone were to go all-in before
the Flop, then I’d fold pocket Sevens and smaller, go all-in
with pocket Aces and Kings, and intuit my chances with Eights
through Queens.
Because you’re dealt pocket Pairs so seldom, you’re
inclined to imagine they’re valuable, I told Fred. Unless you
can get heads-up before the Flop, usually impossible in a limit
game, pocket Pairs are fragile. However, with a little help
from the Flop, you can take down some nice pots.
Mr. Burke is the author of Flop: The Art of Winning at
Low-Limit Hold ’Em, on sale at amazon &
kokopellipress.com. E-mail your Hold ’Em questions to
[email protected]
16
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Hansen Wins Aussie Millions
mination of the 13 individual
events, which this year generated more than AUD$10
Million in total prize money.
Results of all the events follows:
CROWN CASINO AUSSIE MILLIONS
EVENT 9
1/19/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN AU$10,000 + AU$500
PLAYERS 747
PRIZE
POOL
AU$7,470,000
1. Gus Hansen AKA “The
Great Dane” . . AU$1,500,000
2. Jim Fricke . . . . AU$1,000,000
3. Andy Black . . . . . AU$700,000
4. Julias Colman . . . AU$500,000
5. Hans Vogl . . . . . . AU$400,000
2. Erik Seidel . . . . . . AU$550,000
3. Masaaki Kagawa AU$250,000
EVENT 7
1/11/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BOUNTY FEATURE
EVENT
BUY-IN AU$1,500 + AU$150
PRIZE
POOL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
AU$495,000
Jesse Jones . . . . . AU$176,000
Andy Black . . . . . AU$115,500
Steve Hegyi . . . . . . AU$66,000
Van Marcus . . . . . . AU$49,500
Ralph Burd . . . . . . AU$33,000
Mark Vos AKA
“pokerbok” . . . . . . AU$20,000
PLAYERS 533
PRIZE
POOL
AU$799,500
1. Alex Masterman . AU$214,944
2. Sam Korman . . . . AU$121,805
3. Martin Comer . . . . AU$71,650
EVENT 6
1/10/07
POT LIMIT OMAHA
BUY-IN AU$3,000 + AU$200
PLAYERS 55
REBUYS 108
EVENT 5
1/10/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN AU$1,500 + AU$150
PLAYERS 32
PRIZE
POOL
AU$31,000
1. Adam Weiss . . . . . AU$12,400
2. John Juan . . . . . . . . AU$9,300
3. Dennis Huntly AKA
“Dangerous” . . . . . . AU$6,200
4. Barry Warner . . . . . AU$3,100
EVENT 4
1/9/07
EVENT 2
1/7/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN AU$1,000 + AU$150
BUY-IN AU$1,000 + AU$100
PLAYERS 164
REBUYS 300
PRIZE
POOL
PLAYERS 170
PRIZE
POOL
AU$470,000
AU$170,000
1. Gary Benson . . . . AU$148,480
2. Cody Slaubaugh . . AU$88,160
3. Jim Sachinidis . . . . AU$57,040
1. Nick Suter . . . . . . . AU$54,400
2. Billy Argyros . . . . . AU$32,300
3. John Juan . . . . . . . AU$18,700
EVENT 3
1/8/07
LIMIT OMAHA HI/LO
BUY-IN AU$1,000 + AU$100
EVENT 1
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN AU$1,000 + AU$100
PLAYERS 515
PLAYERS 96
PRIZE
POOL
PRIZE
POOL
AU$96,000
1. Jethro Horowitz . . AU$33,600
2. Adam Geyer . . . . . AU$19,200
3. Constantin Harach AU$11,520
1/6/07
AU$517,060
1. Gabriel Xiourouffa AU$139,047
2. Zhi Hong Ma . . . . AU$84,975
3. Paul Effeney . . . . . AU$56,650
EVENT 13
1/18/07
2-CARD AUSTRALIAN
MANILA CHAMPIONSHIP
REBUY
BUY-IN AU$3,000 + AU$200
PLAYERS 32
PRIZE
POOL
AU$222,000
1. Mark Ericksen . . . AU$90,000
2. Fred Bart . . . . . . . . AU$55,000
3. Graeme Putt AKA
“Kiwi” . . . . . . . . . . AU$37,000
EVENT 12
1/19/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN AU$500 + AU$50
PLAYERS 554
PRIZE
POOL
AU$277,003
1. Jozef Berec . . . . . . AU$74,790
2. Jim Ghobrial . . . . . AU$45,705
3. Daniel Eckhaus . . . AU$30,470
EVENT 11
1/17/07
POT LIMIT HOLD’EM
TEAMS EVENT
BUY-IN AU$1,000 + AU$100
PLAYERS 145
PRIZE
POOL
AU$145,000
1. Mark Roland AKA
“The Omaholic” . . AU$23,195
2. Matthew Vengrin . AU$23,195
3. Morton Schou . . . . AU$13,775
EVENT 10
1/16/07
HEADS UPNO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN AU$5,000 + AU$200
PLAYERS 32
PRIZE
POOL
AU$160,000
1. Dave Saab . . . . . . . AU$64,000
2. Owen Crowe . . . . . AU$32,000
3. Randy Propson . . . AU$16,000
EVENT 8
1/12/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
$100,000 EVENT
REBUY
BUY-IN AU$100,000 + AU$500
PLAYERS 18
PRIZE
POOL
AU$1,800,000
1. Erick Lindgren AU$1,000,000
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
17
Brown began
Common Hold’Em Leaks— C had
playing poker in New
York City’s Italian cafes.
The Small Pairs
“I wasn’t doing it for a
NEVER PLAY Poker with
a man CALLed “DOC”
By Scott Aigner, M.D.
Last time I briefly introduced the next group of hands
that are frequently misplayed- the small pairs. Just like
the trouble hands and Ace rag holdings, the small pairs
do not do well in early position. Your primary objective
is to see the flop cheap and to try to hit a set. Despite
this I often see players who are willing to come in for
a raise in early position with any pocket pair. At best
these pairs are only slight favorites against two over
cards. These aggressive players frequently ignore that
they are at least a 4 to 1 underdog to a bigger pair.
Even when they do flop a set they end up winning a
pot that is usually only a fraction of what it could have
been if more players had seen the flop as well. Playing
small pairs out of position is another one of those
hands where the post flop decisions often become total
guesswork too. More often than not playing a small pair
is no different than a flip of a coin.
Another interesting finding I have noted (especially in
online play) are the number of players who are not only
willing to play the small pairs in early position either
with a raise or by limping in but are willing to reraise
an early position player to try to isolate an opponent.
I just don’t see much logic with this play especially if
the initial raiser is in earlyposition. Pushing small edges
is definitely an important concept in limit hold em but
you never know when you do have a decided small
edge. Position improves your ability to play the small
pairs but personally risking three bets when you can be
a 4 to 1 dog, can be out flopped, or where you cannot
make a bet on the later rounds due to the board texture
often make a value bet impossible on the later rounds.
The reverse implied odds of these situations lower the
profitability too often which means that your opponent
actually gains the edge as he is more likely to gain extra
bets when he is ahead and gain free cards when he isn’t.
Isolating a loose aggressive player makes even less
sense to me as they can hold any number of holdings
and you will never know for sure that you have the
best of it except in those situations when you flop a
set. About the only time where reraising preflop with a
small pair makes sense is when the initial raise comes
from late position, and/or you have good control over a
particular opponent who will often check fold when they
miss the flop. These situations are not that common
compared to the frequency of times I see the reraise
strategy utilized.
Another common leak is when players call preflop
correctly either by limping in cheaply in a multi handed
pot or even calling a raise in a multi way pot but then
they chase after the flop to try to catch a set on the
turn or river. I find this mistake more often in the online
setting but I have seen players who chase even in a
live100-200 limit hold em ring game. It goes beyond
reason why so many players are willing to chase despite
the fact that the pot might only have 8 small bets or
so in it after the flop action. Trying to hit a two outer
is one of the most costly mistakes as even when the
player does get lucky and hit that 22 to 1 shot on the
turn (11 to1 if he chases from the flop to the river) he
still cannot make up the number of bets necessary to
profit from his play. Next time I will continue with small
pair playing mistakes.
Dr Aigner is a board certified Urologist. He has multiple final table finishes in major tournaments including a WPO bracelet in 2001. You can contact him at
http://www.PokerStrategyForum.com
18
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
living then.” He says. “I
was doing it for fun and
winning on a regular basis
as I worked at becoming an
actor.”
Later, he moved his
acting career to Southern
California and was ready
were a lot of people standing around . . .
“This one lady comes up
to me, she didn’t seem to
know my name, but she’s
super enthusiastic telling
me, ‘My son just loves
you. He thinks that you’re
the best. Could you just
couple,” the way Rousso
describes it since meeting
last year at the Bellagio
during a WPT event – did’t
do badly in the Bluff competition, finishing 19th.
But we’re getting ahead
of ourselves . . .
Even as Brown was relocating to the West Coast
and laboring to push his
acting career forward, cir-
PLAYER
CHAD
BY PHIL HEVENER
Brown
Profile
to get a job as a waiter or
bartender – “you know, the
kind of thing actors do as
they’re waiting for that
big break” – but, surprise,
surprise, he discovered
there were lots of legalized
poker casinos.
Brown recognized an
opportunity and decided to
follow its scent.
“I thought about that
and said to myself that I
was winning regularly in
the cafes, so maybe, just
maybe I might also be able
to win in the poker casinos
as well.”
Turned out that he could,
even as his focus remained
on trying to build an acting
career.
What did he prefer?
“When you start out to
find work as an actor you
don’t set limitations for
yourself.”
Which meant that he
would have been willing
to take a shot at everything
from Broadway musicals to
heavyweight drama. What
he found between New
York and LA were opportunities to work in everything
from, soaps to film and TV
projects.
His work on the soaps
included Another World,
a gig that left him with
a memorable story even
though he was never one of
that show’s stars.
“I went to see a
Broadway play with a
girlfriend – this was just
after I stopped working
on Another World. We’re
outside waiting to go to
the show. This was an
opening night and there
sign your autograph. His
name is Tom?’”
Brown said, yeah, sure,
no problem, and took
her paper and pen as his
girlfriend on that evening
absorbed the scene with an
expression that said, who
does she think you are?
The scene attracted the
attention of others in the
building crowd of people
waiting to get into the theater.
“And all of a sudden,”
Brown laughs about it now,
“there is this line of people
wanting my autograph . . .
Was there a chance any of
them recognized me from
Another World? A slight
chance, but I think it is
much more likely that the
first woman mistook me
for someone else and the
other people didn’t want
to take a chance of missing someone who might be
someone.”
Better to get the autograph and figure it out
later.
Or did any of them
imagine that the man being
asked for autographs outside a New York theater on
that evening in the 1989
was destined to be named
Player of the Year” nearly
20 years later by one of the
leading gambling magazines.
That’s the honor Brown
recently received from
Bluff. His significant other
Vanessa Rousso – they
consider themselves “a
Poker Player is pleased to welcome Phil Hevener back to its pages.
Hevener was the Managing Editor of Poker Player from July 1983 to
December 1985. Phil wanted to produce his own publication, which he
did with Larry Hall. They called it, “Las Vegas Style.” A popular journalist who writes for many major publications, Phil was replaced in 1985 by
Gary Thompson, who is now the spokesman for Harrahs Entertainment.
cumstances were combining to nudge him in another
direction, toward poker.
This is where Rousso
jumps into the conversation
to say, “He gets a lot more
autograph requests these
days from people who
recognize him as a poker
player or poker commentator.”
As for the acting, there
were “bit parts here and
there” but the long and the
short of it led him to the
discovery he was going to
make far more money as a
poker player than he was
an actor.
Brown did not fight it.
For years he was mostly
a cash game player, but as
the world of big money
tournaments began to heat
up, he saw lot of opportunity . . . opportunity of
more than one kind, as it,
turned out. He first took
notice of Vanessa when
they found themselves at
the same table last April
in a $25,000 buy-in World
Poker Tour tournament at
the Bellagio.
The way Brown remembers it, “We’re down to,
like, four tables, and we’re
all in the money so I’m
feeling good when this
really pretty girl sits down
at my table and I’m wondering who she is.”
He remembers her “putting on this act like she
wasn’t sure what was going
on,” something Brown
picked up on right away,
recognizing that she was
something more than this
cute, vulnerable girl, who
didn’t know what she was
doing.
It was when their table
broke and they were
headed in different directions that he made his
introduction.
Perry Wins Tunica
WSOP Circuit Event
there will be quite a mess to
clean up after it’s all over.
No mess here as Perry and
several other poker players
had some glorious days in
Mississippi, under the direction of Janis Sexton, Poker’s
first woman director of
major tournament. (see interview in this issue). Results
of the Series events will be
found below.
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #10
1/17/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN $5,000 + $150
PLAYERS 377
PRIZE
POOL
$1,817,450
1. Dennis Perry AKA
“Ironman” . . . . . . . $563,402
2. Gioi Luong . . . . . . $290,792
3. Lance Allred . . . . . $145,396
4. Larry Vance . . . . . $127,222
5. Peter Martin . . . . . $109,047
6. Michael Mizrachi . . $90,873
7. Matt Dean . . . . . . . . $72,698
8. Andi Chang AKA
“The Eliminator” . . $54,524
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #7
1/13/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
H.O.R.S.E.
BUY-IN $1,000 + $60
PLAYERS 112
PRIZE POOL
$108,640
Michael Conti
1. Michael Conti . . . . . $35,307
2. Melandro Alina
AKA “Andy” . . . . . . $19,555
3. Yuebin Guo . . . . . . . $11,950
4. David Bach AKA
“Gunslinger” . . . . . . . $8,691
5. Bobby Moon . . . . . . . $7,062
6. JJ Joseph . . . . . . . . . . $5,432
7. Brian McKain . . . . . . $4,346
8. Damon Ramirez . . . . $3,259
9. Peter Moore . . . . . . . $1,956
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #6
1/12/07
LADIES NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $200 + $30
PLAYERS 465
PRIZE POOL
$90,750
Erin Elwood
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Erin Elwood . . . . . . $27,060
Alani Delrios . . . . . . $14,524
Sally White . . . . . . . . $7,217
Kelley Reynolds . . . . $6,315
Noui Phrathep . . . . . $5,413
Ruth Chodwiewicz . . $4,511
Donna Cobb . . . . . . . $3,608
Kimberly Kirby . . . . $2,706
Cindy Burks . . . . . . . $1,804
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000 + $60
PLAYERS 235
PRIZE POOL
$227,950
Hal Cromwell
1. Hal Cromwell . . . . . $71,360
2. Mark Miley . . . . . . . $39,891
3. Chester Gwin AKA
“SlimShadie” . . . . . $23,934
4. Hewitt Poland . . . . . $17,096
5. Robert Allen . . . . . . $14,132
6. Mary Jones . . . . . . . $11,169
7. Matt Sterling
AKA “Indiana” . . . . . $8,890
8. Danny Fraser . . . . . . $6,382
9. Nelson Herchberger . $4,103
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #5
1/11/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,500 + $70
PLAYERS 176
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #8
1/13/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
PRIZE POOL
$256,080
David Robbins
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 750
PRIZE POOL
$363,750
Donaldson Brown
1.
2.
3.
4.
Donaldson Brown . . $98,184
Lyde Wagers . . . . . . $51,471
Dale Poynter . . . . . . $29,100
Trophy John Bradley $25,463
A
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #9
1/14/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
Jim Johnson . . . . . . $21,825
Peter Martin . . . . . . $18,188
Scott Bell . . . . . . . . . $14,550
John Marinca . . . . . $10,913
Quang Tieu . . . . . . . . $7,275
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
David Robbins . . . . $82,971
Jeff Burns . . . . . . . . $43,534
James Mankowski . $25,608
Ken Blanton . . . . . . $20,486
Charles Potter . . . . . $15,365
Paul Nichols . . . . . . $12,804
James English . . . . . $10,243
Tony Cason . . . . . . . . $7,682
Lance Popp . . . . . . . . $5,122
THERE’S MORE... ONLINE!
www.
pokerplayernewspaper.
COM
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
19
Can We/Should We... Legislate
Human Behavior?
SENIORS SCENE
By George “The engineer” EPSTEIN
This column is different than my usual ones;
but the recent Congressional legislation
against online poker got me thinking. . .
The major argument against online poker is that some
people have become addicted to gambling on the Internet.
Ex-Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa was one of the powers in Congress who pushed the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement (UIGE) Act, getting ex-Senator Bill Frist of
Tennessee to attach it to the must-pass bill on port security.
(Leach was defeated by a Democrat.) After UIGE was enacted,
Leach argued that “many American families have been touched
by huge losses from Internet gambling. . .” Then he added,
“Just click the mouse and lose your house.”
Personally, I don’t know any such family, but I won’t deny
that Leach’s statement could very well have substance. Yes, it
is really unfortunate if someone loses huge amounts of money,
more than he can afford, playing poker or any other form of
gaming – betting on horse races and other sports, playing roulette or the slots in Indian casinos, or buying lottery tickets at
the corner 7-11 store. . .
So what’s the best way to solve that problem?
Is it Government’s place to legislate laws that protect us from
ourselves? Should our elected representatives make laws to deal
with human behavior? Is that the way to solve this problem?
To solve a tough problem, often it helps to find an appropriate analogy. For example: If I over eat – and, as a result,
become dangerously obese (perish the thought) – is the
Government going to make a law that prevents me from purchasing my favorite foods or entering a fast food restaurant?
Ridiculous, you say. Besides a lot of our “fat cat” Congressmen
already over eat. Well, the same applies to playing poker
– online, in a casino, or in a home game. I wonder what exCongressman Leach would say to that. . . (In fact, I will send
this to my own Congressman. Henry Waxman is an honorable
and intelligent human being; and I have the greatest respect
for his judgment.)
When I was a child, Congress passed a law making it illegal
to drink alcoholic beverages. They called it Prohibition. Years
ago, my father, then in his twenties, and other young men
learned to make an alcoholic beverage from potatoes; he set
up a still in the bathtub. And my grandmother made a delicious alcohol-containing wine from grapes. (I sampled it when
I got older.) In fact, the only thing that emerged from that
prohibition was to make lots of people into criminals and to
encourage crime. As a matter of fact, isn’t that the situation
with the war on drugs. Personally I think anyone who uses
illegal drugs is a fool; but I wouldn’t try to solve the problem
by using an act of Congress making it a crime. (But, then, I’m
not a Congressman.) The solution, of course, is to educate
people. I’m not a psychologist – just an engineer who learned
how to solve technical/engineering problems and now (in my
“retirement”) enjoys the challenge and excitement of playing
(mostly WINNING!) poker; but I do know that human behavior
is not something that Congressmen can legislate. If you want
to change how we the people behave, teach us the pros and
cons of such behavior so we can make the best decisions. The
trouble is too many of our elected representatives THINK they
know how to change or control human behavior. Good education is THE answer – not new laws!
So, readers, what’s YOUR opinion?
Listening Laws
hand. The hats,
sunglasses, and silence are
part of the camouflage outfit that competitors wear for
special effect – the Game
Face. If you see someone
– in any situation – wearing his Game Face, you’re
going to have to break
through the façade – or go
around it – in order to get
any revealing insights.
Between hands, or before
and after the game, poker
players are generally more
willing to chat and socialize
as a means of relaxation.
This is a good time to get
baseline readings about
an opponent’s demeanor;
insure that any prior stress
with you has fully dissipated, first. Take special
note of voice modulations,
and eye connections in a
non-provocative environment. When he replies
with enthusiastic praise for
“Phantom of the Opera,” I
note his gestures, how his
eyes light up, vocal inflections—loudness, pitch, etc.
These reactions will provide you with reliable reads
of the person’s behavior
when he is on a more even
keel – neither excited by
the sudden prospect of a
winning hand nor nervous
about bluffing with modest
cards.
Well, a few hours or days
later when I ask him how
he likes his hand, even if
George “The Engineer” Epstein is the author of The
Greatest Book of Poker for Winners! and Hold’em or
Fold’em? – An Algorithm for Making the Key Decision
(T/C Press, PO Box 36006, Los Angeles, CA 90036) He
teaches poker courses and the Poker Lab at the Claude
Pepper Sr. Citizen Center under the auspices of the City
of Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks. George can
be reached by e-mail: [email protected].
20
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
he does give
me the silent
treatment, I may get clues
from his demeanor. If he
replies with the same tone
of enthusiasm, I have reason to suspect that he has a
good hand. If his response
is slower, lower, with eyes
averted – even if he tells
me the cards are running
hot for him -- I might have
good reason to suspect that
he is bluffing.
Other than the most disciplined pros – who know
how to use “the silent
treatment” as a powerful
weapon – most silent players have “tells” or giveaway
behavior that an attentive
listener/observer can read
and understand. You’ll find
that a majority of the quiet
ones in any negotiation
– at the poker table or the
conference table – fall into
silence as a form of insecurity. They don’t know what
to do to protect themselves
from giving out revealing
signals of weakness and
therefore settle on trying
to conceal their feelings
entirely. With these insecure
types, know that your calculated momentary silence
in interactions with them
can be more powerful than
theirs with you. And in any
negotiation, sometimes it’s
best to wait a second or
two before jumping into the
dialogue. If you don’t speak
right up, a nervous person
is likely to keep right on
Wendeen H. Eolis
talking in order to fill the
awkward void, giving you
valuable information that
might otherwise go by the
boards.
Questions and answers
are the most fundamental and formidable verbal
interaction people have. By
being aware of the different
kinds of information that is
provided in these exchanges, you develop sophistication as a people reader that
most men and women never
consciously develop. If you
Obey Your Listening Laws
in my 12 Step System to
People Reading Excellence
you will score home runs
in the evaluation process of
others’ answers.
Ms Eolis has decades of
experience as an expert people reader in business, politics, and card rooms. The
CEO of EOLIS International
Group, she formed the
People Reading Institute
to offer to the public, seminars lectures and coaching
in her 12 Step System to
People Reading Excellence.
Wendeen was the he first
woman to cash in the final
event of the WSOP and has
proved that she has staying power with another
four WSOP cashes (most
recently in 2006) as well as
her election to membership
on the WPT’s Inaugural
Professional Poker Tour. She
may be reached at wheolis@
aol.com.
Cherokee Casino Resort Plans $100 Million Expansion
At Cherokee Casino Resort press conference, artist’s rendering of the new expanded facility is unveiled.
Cherokee Casino Resort is
ushering in a new era with
the New Year. Oklahoma’s
first, and premier, gaming
and entertainment destination is preparing to undergo
an expansion and construction project worth more
than $100 million. The
post-construction facility
will encompass approximately 337,000 square feet,
making Cherokee Casino
Resort the largest gaming
destination in Oklahoma.
More than 1,700 people
already work at Cherokee
Casino Resort, but 450
additional employees will
be needed to staff the
newly expanded facility. With more than 2100
employees, Cherokee
Casino Resort will soon be
one of the largest employers in the area.
“If we were standing
at the Catoosa facility
eight years ago, we’d see
a ‘mom and pop’ operation with a little bingo hall
and a few employees,”
said Chad Smith, Principal
Chief of the Cherokee
Nation. “Standing in front
of it today, the contrast is
amazing. Cherokee Casino
Resort has quadrupled in
size and the number of
workers it employs. It supports thousands of new jobs
and has continued to create an economic boom in
this region. The expansion
brings us one step closer
to achieving our vision of
complete self-sufficiency
for the Cherokee people.”
The expansion will
include a new hotel tower,
added convention space,
new restaurants and other
amenities that help make
Cherokee Casino Resort
unique in Oklahoma.
“As Oklahoma’s first
casino resort hotel destination, we intend to remain at
the forefront of the gaming
and entertainment industry
in the state,” said David
Stewart, CEO of Cherokee
Nation Enterprises, which
operates all Cherokee
Casinos. “Our innova-
tive ideas and focus on
the customer experience
have enabled us to give our
guests exactly what they
want-a beautiful, safe and
exciting facility. This mas-
sive expansion will most
certainly create a unique
experience for guests in the
Oklahoma market. When
we say, ‘Only at Cherokee’
we mean it.”
A groundbreaking is
scheduled to take place
within the next 60 to 90
days, with completion
tentatively slated for late
2008.
Get in on the action at the
Foxwoods Poker Classic, March 19-April 4, 2007.
Last year’s prize pool exceeded $6,800,000.
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
Conveniently located off I-95 in the Mystic Country region of southeast Connecticut. For more information,visit foxwoods.com.
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
21
Participating in the Party
POWER POKER
By DOYLE BRUNSON
Most players will participate in private games
sometimes. These may be played among
friends – your typical Friday night variety of
poker. The purpose isn’t only poker; it’s purpose is also bonding.
Although I never play in that sort of game anymore, most
readers occasionally will. And I’m going to share something
that happened back before I played poker for a living that
changed my perspective on how you should treat that common
type of game. This is the story of Scotty and Professor Math.
Just a college student. Now Professor Math wasn’t really
a professor. He was just a college student, like myself and all
the others in the game. We called him that, because he was
quick to calculate. He would then point out poker mistakes,
aggravating the other players, even he thought he was being
friendly. Oh, and P.M. was frail, really scrawny.
Then there was the other character who played a part in
this unexpected poker lesson. His name was Scotty. He was
double P.M.’s size, strong, and temperamental. Most of the
time, he was friendly, but you tried not to get him mad.
Games like this tend to be experimental. It was dealer’s
choice, meaning that after each hand the deal was passed to
the next player, who could choose any form of poker he liked.
At first, we just played hold ’em, but predictably, the dealers
became more inventive, and there was draw poker, seven-card
stud, lowball, and a couple other ingredients added. That was
fine with P.M.; he was familiar with these games.
Then a dealer chose seven-card stud with deuces wild. Now
wild card games are a staple of many Friday night poker game.
So, everyone readily adapted, except P.M., who complained
that it made it too hard to calculate odds and asked to be
dealt out. A few players grumbled, but we played without him.
The laughter grew along with the size of the pots, and all of
the next deals were wild card games, some with both deuces
and fours wild. Finally, the deal returned to Professor Math. He
announced the game, “Draw poker, nothing wild.”
The glare. Scotty glared at him. The glare continued and
turned stone cold and he snarled, “Deal me out.” Almost
immediately, everyone else asked to be dealt out, too, so P.M.,
embarrassed, slammed the deck to the player on the left.
“You deal,” said P.M.
“No,” Scotty retorted, reaching across the table and returning the deck to P.M. “It’s your deal.” So, ludicrously, P.M. was
intimidated into dealing five cards to just himself.
“You forgot to ante,” Scotty reminded him. So P.M. anted.
And then Scotty made P.M. wager right to the end, then show
his hand and take his own pot. Then, finally, the dealt was
passed to the next player.
After that, P.M. played all the hands quietly. He was uncomfortable, I’m sure, but the point had been made, and he was
– at least – participating.
In home games, you don’t only need poker skills --you need
public relation skills, too. You can’t always have things your
way. The whole purpose of that sometimes weird and inventive
poker gathering is enjoyment. Everyone’s enjoyment. It’s a
party in which unexpected things can happen – a poker party
in which unusual forms of the game are dealt. And you’ve been
invited to participate in the adventure. Ignore that simple
truth and you’ll not only be unpopular, I’m betting you’ll cost
yourself money.
Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson stands unchallenged as the
most celebrated poker player who ever lived. In 2005,
at age 72, he won an unprecedented 10th championship
gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker. He is among
the few living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, and
his books are the bibles for poker professionals. Through
www.poker1.com and www.doylesroom.com, Brunson has
teamed with Mike Caro, today’s premiere poker educator,
to offer a free learning experience to players worldwide.
This column is founded on those collaborative teachings.
22
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Bill Frist, then Majority
Leader of the U.S. Senate
and now ex-would-be
presidential candidate,
online gaming. In Nevada,
the problem is the opposite: there are already so
many (landbased) licensed
of chance, so long as it
does not give valuable
prizes. Bragging rights
don’t count. So, someone
could start a contest for
the world’s greatest poker
player, if all they win is a
trophy, no cash.
Some poker sites allow
players to play for free.
For example, at BetZip.
com (one of my clients),
anyone from more than 20
states can enter by merely
mailing in a hand-written
card. This is not gambling,
even though players can
win up to $10,000 cash.
Since there is no consideration, it does not violate
federal law or the laws of
most states.
Others are looking at
showing that poker is a
game of skill. I am writing
a Legal Opinion for one of
the biggest operators that
at least tournament poker
is predominantly skill, and
therefore legal under federal law and the laws of
most states.
There may or may not
ever be lawsuits on the
issue. After all, is there
any government lawyer
who wants to be made a
public laughingstock by
claiming that poker is a
game of chance?
Legal Poker Under
Prohibition 2.0
POKer AND
THE LAW
By I. NELSON ROSE
designed the Unlawful
Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act
(“Prohibition 2.0”) to cover
Internet poker. He defined
“bet or wager” as including risking something of
value on the outcome of a
contest, sports event “or a
game subject to chance.”
Is there any game, even
chess, that is not “subject
to chance?”
But Frist, whose arrogance was matched only by
his incompetence, actually
created the greatest explosion of creativity in the
poker industry that I have
ever seen. Everyone wants
to be the next PartyPoker.
com, to figure out a way to
spread legal poker games
online.
The cleanest way to run
a traditional Internet poker
site that does not violate
any federal or state law is
to be licensed by a state
and limit players to people
who are physically present
in that state.
Even in this situation,
it is possible the federal Department of Justice
might say there is a violation of the Wire Act, since
a phone line might pass
temporarily into another
state. But the DOJ would
lose this argument for
many reasons. The sole
purpose the Wire Act was
enacted in 1961 was to
help the states enforce their
public policy, which, at
the time, was prohibition.
What could possibly be the
justification for preventing
a state, like Nevada, from
allowing its residents to bet
with its own state-licensed
poker sites?
The main obstacle to
every state licensing,
regulating, and of course,
taxing, their own Internet
poker sites is politics.
Utah is not the only place
where legislators would
hesitate to authorize even
the most limited form of
poker rooms that it is difficult to work out the details
for sharing the new online
revenue, and there is fear
of diverting players away
from the existing gaming
floors.
In general, the answer
is “skins.” Players will
log on to Caesars Palace’s
future online poker room
and choose which game
they want to play, say
$5 - $10 Hold’em. They
then are placed at a table
that has a Caesars Palace
logo on it. They probably
will not know, or care,
that other players may see
different logos because
they signed up through
different casino websites.
Computers ensure that
each casino gets its correct share of the table’s
revenue.
But there are at least
three other ways to have
legal online poker. All
gambling requires prize,
consideration and chance.
Eliminate any one, and it is
not gambling.
A site could charge
money, even for games
Professor I Nelson Rose is recognized as one of the world’s
leading experts on gambling
law. His latest books, Gaming
Law: Cases and Materials
and Internet Gaming Law, are
available through his website,
www.gamblingandthelaw.com.
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
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with your local jurisdiction regarding the legality of Internet poker. ©2007 Full Tilt Poker. All rights reserved.
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www.binions.com
Time. Some events
C start after the hour
...........AM, PM
O A,WkP................Week
..... Additional gameD &.times
on this day. Call.
E ........Hold’em
.No Limit Hold’em
.Limit Hold’em
N .............No Limit
L ................... Limit
.............Stud
..7-Card Stud
..5-Card Stud
........ Omaha
H/L .High/Low Split
Pi...........Pineapple
Po...........Pot Limit
Pn.........Panginque
Mx ..Mexican Poker
DC .Dealer’s Choice
MONDAY
•GOLD BAR DENOTES ADVERTISER
TIME
|
HH ...... Headhunter
B ............ Bounties
Sp .............. Spread
Al .........Alternates
Z........... Freezeout
Cz ................ Crazy
E..........Elimination
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
Q ............... Qualify
Sh ...........Shootout
+ ..Re-Buys and/or
Add-Ons allowed
F ............... Freeroll
Lad ..... Ladies Only
Men ........Men Only
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
27
Online Hands
ONLINE POKER
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire
Here are a couple of random hands from
three different ring games that happened
online at Full Tilt or PokerStars in the last week or so.
7-7: 1/2 NL... I had been mucking tons of crappy hands
during my fifth orbit at a nine-handed NL table. Three
different super-loose players played most of the pots
and the majority of the money was being pushed back
and forth between those three. The remainder of the
table was weak-tight with two short-stacks. With 7-7,
I raised 4x the BB. The CO, button, and both blinds
called. I lost position in a five-way pot and asked the
poker gods to flop me a set. A beautiful 7 of diamonds
appeared on the flop on a board of Ad-7d-3c. “Action
flop!” I yelled at my laptop. I bet the pot (about $40)
and the button raised to $80. The LB check-raised all in
for $100 total. I had both players covered and pushed
my remaining $150 in as well. Up against A-8o and Jd10d, I was ahead. The turn was the 2d and I lost the lead.
The river was the case 7. My re-suck felted two players. I
left two hands later because the nimrod who went broke
with TPBK (top pair bad kicker) did not rebuy. I tagged
him for future hunting expeditions.
Kh-Kc-Qh-Jc: 2/4 Pot Limit Omaha (Six-handed)... I’m
a big fan of double suited royal cards in PLO, especially
in a short-handed game. I lost 1/3 of my stack two hands
earlier after I flopped a straight and missed a flush
redraw. I was ready to get my chips back after a flop
of: Js-Jh-9c. I flopped trips and had two backdoor flush
draws with a gutshot straight draw. I bet out and was
raised the pot. I thought about reraising the guy with
the donkey as an avatar, but wanted to see if I could
pick up more outs before I committed the remainder of
my chips. The turn 10c. I made a straight and picked up
a redraw to a straight flush. I bet out and he raised the
pot. I re-raised and he pushed all-in. I called the rest of
my chips and yelled, “D’oh!” when he showed: 9-9-A-10.
He flopped the boat and I was chasing outs for a bigger
boat or the gutshot straight flush. Both missed and I got
felted. Rebuy!
K-Q: 5/10 Limit...Classic example of how my luck prevails over any skills in my arsenal. I don’t know why I
called a raise in MP with K-Qo especially after the guy
UTG + 1 raised, but I did. Usually those hands are tossed
into the muck or if I do play them, I come in for a raise
especially in EP. For some reason I felt like gambling and
quickly hit the call button. The flop: A-10-9. He checked
to me and I checked. The turn: J. My money card gave
me a Broadway straight. He checked-raised me on the
turn and I three-bet. He quickly capped. I had to put
him on K-Q or J-J. Would he be raising with K-Q in EP?
I’ve seen a plethora of Partyfish that have invaded the
5-10 games on Full Tilt raise with marginal hands like
that so K-Q was possible. J-J seemed more likely and I
hoped that the board wouldn’t pair. River was a blank.
He bet out and I raised. He called and my Broadway
took it down. He had A-9 and slowplayed his flopped two
pair. His fancy play cost him the pot. His first mistake
was playing A-9 in EP (at least he raised with it) and
his second mistake was slowplaying two pair. Then he
got greedy and wanted to check-raise me, which backfired when I checked behind him to get a free card. If
he bet out on the flop, I would have folded my gut-shot.
Instead, he let me catch up and nail a four outer. Always
play your hands fast online. Like my friend Grubby says,
“Never slowplay in a Limit game online unless you flop
the absolute nuts.”
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire is a writer, poker player, and avid
traveler from New York City. He’s the author of the Tao of
Poker blog which can be found at taopoker.blogspot.com.
Feel free to contact him at [email protected].
28
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Do you think that professional lifeguards go to the
beach on their vacation? I’m
guessing they might be sick
of staring at sand. I wonder if residents of Hawaii
like to holiday in Canada
and Alaska just to get away
play. But we can play online
anywhere, so what we really
want is to play at an entirely
new venue. We want to play
against “the world.”
I’ve been lucky enough
to test my skills in casinos
across the globe, includ-
Psychology of the
Poker Vacation
POKER COUNSELOR
By John Carlisle, MA, NCC
from the perfect weather
and warm temperatures for
a while. All of us seem to
long to break the monotony
of our daily lives once in
a while to get away, even
if the monotony is pretty
darn good to us. A weekend jaunt, or a long hiatus,
is often just what the doctor prescribes to reset our
minds and soul. With that in
mind, we might expect that
poker players would desire
to avoid the card room while
on vacation. I know many
players who log more than
40 hours per week in casinos
and playing online. They
devote nearly every waking
hour to poker in some way:
playing it, reading about it,
watching it, talking about it,
etc. Yet, when looking to
take a vacation these poker
players invariably look for
the nearest legal (or illegal)
card room at the vacation
destination of their choice.
Most of us can’t imagine a
relaxing vacation that does
not include some sort of
poker. At the very least we
must find somewhere that
has a strong and fast internet
connection so that we can
carry our laptops along to
POKER
ON
TV
ing Aruba,
Bahamas, Monte Carlo,
aboard cruise ships, and on
small Indian reservations to
posh properties in the USA.
Every one of my playing
experiences at these exotic
and unique venues has a
special place in my heart.
Even in places that I’ve lost
money (whew did I ever
catch a cold run of cards in
warm Aruba), a certain sense
of satisfaction is etched in
my memory and consciousness in regards to each place.
It seems that poker grows to
become a part of the fabric
that composes us. Thus, we
feel compelled to integrate
poker into our trips as well
as our daily lives. It is not
that we are led to gamble
during our vacations due
to some sort of addictions.
Instead, it simply heightens
our experience to integrate
our poker identities into a
vacation.
Also involved in the
desire to include poker
into our trips involves the
psychological motivations
that push us to play. In all
reality, very few poker players play exclusively for the
money. That type of play
would be terribly robotic and
boring. Instead, our emotions are indeed involved.
We play to beat our opponents. We play to experience the thrill and energy
associated with outplaying
those around us. Facing off
against faceless opponents
on the internet does not
suck us in like a live game.
Likewise, the thrill of butting heads with the same old
compatriots in your regular
live casino wears off pretty
quickly. Our minds and
emotions are involved. It is
a competitive fire that brings
us to the table. Essentially,
we want to best as many
people as we can to establish a strong sense of power.
Doing this in locales that are
exotic and fresh heightens
the experience. It is like we
are conquering the world on
our own tiny little scale.
Don’t feel bad if the planning for your next vacation
involves a night or two in
a casino. A trip to a new
casino somewhere across
the globe might help to
refresh your soul and satisfy
your personal psychological
mindset. Perhaps lifeguards
just might enjoy vacationing
at a nice beach, because it
does seem that poker players
love to holiday at a poker
table.
John Carlisle is a
National Certified
Counselor with a Master’s
degree in Counseling
Psychology from West
Virginia University, and a
Bachelor’s of Psychology
from Lock Haven
University. Find out more
by emailing him at
[email protected]
Heartland Poker Tour. (Check
local listings for times/stations).
Poker Superstars Invitational.
Mondays 6 AM & 4 PM. Fox Sports.
High Stakes Poker. Mondays 8, 9
& 10 PM, Tuesdays & Wednesdays 2 AM,
Thursdays 9 PM EST. GSN
Professional Poker Tour.
Saturdays 8 PM & 11 PM EST. Travel.
Ultimate Poker Challenge.
(Check local listings for times/channels).
MansionPoker.net Poker
Dome Challenge. (Check local listings for channels). Wednesdays 3 PM &
Sundays 10 PM EST. FSN.
U.S.P.C. (Check local listings for
times/channels). ESPNC.
Poker After Dark. Sundays 2 AM,
Tuesdays through Saturdays 2:05 AM
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d
World Poker Tour. Wednesdays 9
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118 20th St. West
Rosamond, California
Exit A 14 Freeway
The Best Little No-limit Tournament in Southern California
The Last Sun of Each Month, 2pm $200 Buy-in–No Rebuys $10,000 in Tournament Chips
Call for more info: 661-256-1400
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PLAYER
IT WORKS!
Time. Some events &. ........ Additional
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start after the hour
gametimes. Call. N ..........No Limit
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
DIEGO
CALIFORNIA—NORTH CALIFORNIA—SAN
& INLAND EMPIRE
CALIFORNIALOS ANGELES
TIME
DAILY TOURNAMENTS (CONT’D FROM PAGE 27)
B ......... Bounties
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
..... Omaha Pi........Pineapple Pn......Panginque DCDealer’s Choice Sp ........... Spread
.5-Card Stud H/LHigh/Low Split Po........Pot Limit Mx .Mexican Poker HH ...Headhunter Al ......Alternates
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
FRIDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z........ Freezeout Sh ........Shootout
Cz ............. Crazy + Re-buys and/or
E...... Elimination Add-ons allowed
Q ............Qualify F ............Freeroll
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN
Commerce Club
Crystal Casino
Hustler Casino
Normandie Casino
Casino Morongo
Casino Pauma
Harrah’s Rincon
Lake Elsinore
Lucky Lady
Oceans Eleven
Sycuan
Viejas
Village Club
Artichoke Joe’s
Cache Creek
California Grand
Casino San Pablo
Club One Casino, Fresno
Colusa Casino
Del Rio Casino, Isleton
Feather Falls Cas., Oroville
Garden City
Gold Country Cas.-Oroville
DA I LY TO U R N A M E N T L I ST I N G S CO N T I N U E O N PAG E 3 1
As we go to press some
12 of the 23 events scheduled for the World Poker
Open held at the Gold
Strike Casino in Tunica
Mississippi have been
completed. The winners
represent a wide distribution of players, principally
local Good ‘Ol Boys, with
about half the events being
won by American Pros like
John Phan, and European
Pros like David “Devilfish”
Ulliott. Check the listngs
below to see if one of your
favorites has won another
event. The rest of the
events and their results will
be brought to you in the
next issue of Poker Player.
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
WORLD POKER OPEN
EVENT #12
1/13/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000 + $70
PLAYERS 385
PRIZE POOL
$354,305
Dave Ulliott
1. Dave “Devilfish”
Ulliott . . . . . . . . . . . $109,192
2. Dale Morrow . . . . . . $56,361
3. Hieu “Tony” Ma . . . $28,180
4. Woody Van Stratum $24,658
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
WORLD POKER OPEN
EVENT #11
1/12/07
POT LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000 + $70
PLAYERS 178
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
$158,276
EVENT #8
Randy Holland
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
1/11/07
7-CARD STUD HI/LO
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 163
$77,518
WORLD POKER OPEN
1/11/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000 + $70
PLAYERS 363
Dale Hackney
1.
2.
3.
4.
BUY-IN $500 + $50
953385
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
WORLD POKER OPEN
1/7/07
7 CARD STUD
Vinnie Vinh . . . . . . . $32,932
Minh Nguyen . . . . . $18,422
Bruce Van Horn . . . . $9,263
An “The Boss” Tran $7,204
Jack Huff . . . . . . . . . . $6,175
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 97
PRIZE POOL
1. James “Catfish”
Bullard . . . . . . . . . . $113,596
2. Ed Musser . . . . . . . . $60,273
3. Charles Lineberry
AKA “Chuck” . . . . . $42,739
1.
2.
3.
4.
Barry Mullinax . . . . $14,144
Thomas Witherspoon $7,301
Stephen Ladowsky . . $4,705
Yuebin Guo . . . . . . . . $3,764
1/7/07
LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 357
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 160
REBUYS 267
PRIZE
POOL
$196,795
1. Roger Kamuf . . . . . $62,991
2. Cesar Villagran . . . . $34,742
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
WORLD POKER OPEN
EVENT #1
EVENT #6
PRIZE POOL
BUY-IN $500 + $50
$173,145
PLAYERS 607
PRIZE
POOL
Raul Paez
1/8/07
OMAHA HI/LO
BUY-IN $500 + $50
1. Raul Paez . . . . . . . . $44,981
2. Deane Karacson . . . $24,737
3. An “The Boss” Tran $12,650
1/4/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
WORLD POKER OPEN
1/5/07
POT LIMIT OMAHA
REBUY UNLIMITED
Barry Mullinax
EVENT #4
1. Andy Ward . . . . . . . $81,694
2. James Mallinak . . . $43,098
3. John Connolly . . . . . $22,535
James Bullard
EVENT #2
WORLD POKER OPEN
Andy Ward
$451,905
WORLD POKER OPEN
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
$283,491
PRIZE POOL
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
PRIZE POOL
$47,045
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
1/9/07
Jim Sears . . . . . . . . . $52,061
Charles Chan . . . . . $26,782
Don Mosely . . . . . . . $13,436
Freddie Fields . . . . . $11,756
EVENT #5
1/6/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
Jim Sears
$103,811
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 620
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
$333,401
PRIZE
POOL
EVENT #7
1. Doug Saab . . . . . . . . $23,356
2. John Kelley . . . . . . . $12,270
3. Harvey Goldstein . . . $7,669
PRIZE POOL
PLAYERS 240
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
Doug Saab
EVENT #3
$173,145
WORLD POKER OPEN
PRIZE POOL
WORLD POKER OPEN
PRIZE POOL
BUY-IN $500 + $50
1. Randy Holland . . . . $51,971
2. Rodney Shows . . . . . $28,663
3. John Phan . . . . . . . . $15,749
EVENT #9
1/10/07
SHOOTOUT - NO
LIMIT HOLD’EM
WORLD POKER OPEN
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
PLAYERS 357
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
WORLD POKER OPEN
PRIZE POOL
EVENT #10
Dale Hackney . . . . $102,783
Paul Guthrie . . . . . . $53,049
Wilson Carnes . . . . $26,525
Mike Haney . . . . . . . $23,209
Richard Mowry . . . $19,894
$287,327
1. Frank Caldwell
AKA “Dee” . . . . . . . $79,924
2. Woody Van Stratum $42,163
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
29
PHOTOS COURTESY IMAGE MASTERS PHOTOGRAPHY & WPO
Results: World Poker Open at Gold Strike-Tunica
Balancing the Poker
Equation
POKER IN EUROPE
By JONATHAN RAAB
All players experience the same degree
of luck and misfortune over the long
course. This is often cited as a pretext to explaining how the skill factor in poker separates the winners from the losers. If poker were purely a game of
chance then all players would fair roughly the same
in the long run and the only people making any kind
of sustainable profit would be the casinos and poker
room operators who spread the games. But this is
not the case, as poker as we know it involves more
than just pure luck. The first couple of weeks of 2007
have seen luck and misfortune affect several different European operators in unequal measures.
The European Poker Tour (EPT) has had to
announce the cancellation of the French Open in
Deauville, scheduled for late February. EPT Director
John Duthie explained that this was due to the
French authorities having a change of heart regarding the provision of poker games in the provincial
town in Northern France. While this was a shock
announcement, disaster has been averted as two new
venues have recently joined the Tour. In March new
events in Dortmund and Warsaw will help to restore
balance to the continent’s premier poker tour.
Meanwhile London’s Gutshot cardroom is in court
fighting for its survival. At the time of going to press
the case rests upon whether the jury believe poker
is game of pure chance, pure luck or a combination
of the two. Worryingly for Gutshot, it seems that
the prosecution has instructed the jury that if they
deem it to be a combination of both luck and skill,
they must find the club in breach of the 1968 Gaming
act, a decision that barring appeals would lead to the
closure of the club and the dozens of copycat operations that have set up all over the UK over the course
of the past two years.
On the positive side of the poker equation the
recently launched Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT)
sold out it’s first event in Bolton. At the time of writing the event had just gotten underway, but the success of the first event is likely to lead to an increase
in capacity from 200 to 400 for the remaining
events on the schedule.
Rival UK casino operator Gala, has also recently
announced a tour of their own – the Great Britain
Poker Tour (GBPT). The tour comprises five £500
main events. Unlike rival Grosvenor, Gala’s tour will
not be televised but nevertheless it’s very existence
is indicative of how fast the poker market is growing
in the UK.
So, while casino poker players in the UK are basking in a climate of major events every other weekend,
poker club players may be finding it tougher and
tougher to find a game they can legally play in before
too long. Of course, this may all be irrelevant if the
Gutshot jury decide that poker is a game that is
purely skill based. But even the most savvy of poker
sages would be hard pushed to deny that luck plays
some kind of factor in determining the outcome of
the game. It’s getting harder and harder to balance
the poker equation both in Europe and America, but
somehow a solution will be found. Poker in Europe is
here to stay, whether it’s legal or not.
Jonathan Raab is a poker consultant and tournament reporter. He works for online poker site Blue
Square as their representative at live poker events in
the UK and Europe and is the Tour Manager for the
GUKPT. Email: [email protected]
30
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
The Gutshot Case: Who Breaks
a Butterfly Upon a Wheel?
By David Lloyd,
Editor, Gutshot.com
“A jury decided today, that
poker was a game of chance,
NOT skill,” said the anchor
on the ITV national evening
news here in the UK after
the Crown’s ‘successful’
prosecution of Derek Kelly,
Chairman of the Gutshot
Private Members Club. The
same story reverberated in
newspapers worldwide, on
the radio, on TV and across
the internet.
The charges in this land-
Gutshot Chairman
Derek Kelly
mark case stated that Derek
Kelly had broken British law
by organising a poker game
and charging a levy on that
game without a licence at the
Gutshot in London, the largest and most popular card
room in Europe. The defence
argued that poker was a
game of skill and did not
require a licence as the law
only required it for games of
chance.
The thrust of the prosecution’s argument was that
the 1968 Act defines a game
of chance as one in which
chance and skill are combined. The defence argued
that this created an absurdity,
since ALL games contain an
element of chance and skill
combined. In that case ALL
games would fall under the
act.
The Defence Council
argued that if poker was a
game of chance, then so too
was Scrabble. The tiles in
Scrabble are taken at random
much the same as cards are
dealt in a game of poker and
it was what the skilled player
did with the tiles/cards after
that random distribution that
separated the great, the good
and the downright terrible.
The prosecution ignored
this point, ignored ALL other
games for that matter and
simply argued that since
the cards were shuffled and
distributed randomly, an element of chance existed. The
Jury bought it.
Calling poker a game
of chance is a bit like telling Tiger Woods that he’s a
lucky golfer. The problem
lies in the one dimensional
definition given in the
Gaming Act of 1968, not
with the jury, the Honourable
Judge Wilkinson or even
with the Crown Prosecution
Service.
I’ve sat at poker tables on
three corners of the world
for more years than I can
remember. From back rooms
and bars, to pool halls and
hotels, not to mention something like 40 casinos, I’ve
been lucky (or should I say
predominately fortunate)
to play this beautiful game
in a myriad of surroundings, some good, some bad
and some fairly awful. My
conclusion is this. There’s
no place like Gutshot, I’ve
never seen anything like
Gutshot. For many, it’s a
second home and it’s more
than just a poker club, it’s
a community where poker
is but the common theme
and friends collide with
new friends in what even
the police describe as ‘very
pleasant surroundings.’
What’s so bad about that
then?
act had other things on their
minds. So what a shame
then, that it came to this. A
prosecution that the police
had no interest in bringing
was somehow grandfathered
in by outside forces with
selfish interests and then
when it finally came to court,
the judgement rested on an
interpretation of an act that
could not be read without
causing partial dizziness.
Even the Honourable Judge
Wilkinson called it ‘garbled.’
There’s a certain madness
involved when rulings are
made on a game by people
who have no understanding of that game. When in a
court of law, we pick through
the bones of an Act drawn
up nearly four decades ago
by people who clearly had
no understanding of poker
and then have it quoted back
to us by officials from the
Gaming Board who freely
admit under oath that they
don’t even know what a flop
is.
I’d like to think that
certain witnesses for the
prosecution truly believe
that poker is a game of
chance. I’m pretty sure they
do. Does that make them
right? Of course it doesn’t.
I find it incredible that representatives of the Gaming
Board at no time took it
upon themselves to explore
the game and find out more
about it (the investigation
began in 2004 after all). To
stand up in court and say
that they know nothing about
poker but give a considered
opinion on it, was to me an
obscenity.
Gutshot club interior
Let me suggest that the
law in question was not put
in place to protect the world
from Gutshot. I’m quite sure
those who drafted the 1968
In Court, there was
NEVER any dispute that
skill in poker far outweighed
elements of chance in the
game. Mr. Graham Trembath
Limit Hold’em
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
CALIFORNIA—NORTH
TIME
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
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| SATURDAY |
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SUNDAY
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Gold Rush
Golden West-Bakersfield
Kelly’s Cardroom
Limelight Cardroom-Sac’to
Lucky Chances
Lucky Derby Casino
Oaks Card Club-Emeryville
Sonoma Joe’s
Tachi Palace Casino
Blue Water Casino
Bucky’s Casino
AZ
Casino Del Sol
Cliff Castle
Fort McDowell
SOUTHWEST
Gila River/Wild Horse Pass
AZ
CO
Gila River-Vee Quiva
Harrah’s Ak Chin
Hon-Dah Casino
Paradise Casino
Gilpin Hotel & Casino
Midnight Rose-Cripple Crk
Ute Mountain
KS
Harrah’s Prarie Band
NM
Cities of Gold
Isleta Casino & Resort
Route 66 Casino
OK
Thunderbird Casino, Norman
DA I LY TO U R N A M E N T L I ST I N G S CO N T I N U E O N PAG E 3 3
QC for the prosecution was
quite happy to live with a
70/30% skill/luck ratio (Joe
Hachem’s estimate) after
reading it in the Gutshot
WSOP Souvenir Programme.
The Defence’s expert witnesses felt that the 30% was
fairly generous. Professor
Joseph Kelly of Buffalo
State University, New York
smiled across the court at
the Prosecution’s suggestion,
“I would not want to put a
figure on it, it may well be
higher, but if you were ever
to offer me a seventy/thirty
proposition, I would happily
take your money and run!”
A more sinister part of
this case came out in court
when it was revealed that by
July 2004, after a 3 month
investigation, the police had
decided that no further action
should be taken against
Gutshot and on the 14 July
Robert Good, the Senior
Line Manager at the Gaming
Board wrote to his senior
Inspector, Mr Henry Kirkup
saying that the investigation
had run its course and that
there was nothing more that
the Gaming Board could or
should do on this case. “It’s
over.”
It was at that point RANK
(owners of Grosvenor
Casinos, of which there are
5 in London alone) commissioned an outside agency
AIM Ltd to carry out a
covert investigation into
Gutshot (something that
the Gaming Board could
not do themselves under
British Law). The AIM Ltd
letterhead lists a Mr. Roy
Penrose as a consultant
alongside its list of directors. Coincidentally, Mr.
Penrose happens to be the
Commissioner for the main
board of the Gaming Board.
As Derek Kelly left the
court (sentencing was held
over until the 14th February)
flanked by friends and
Gutshotters alike, he paused
briefly to say this to the
assembled World’s Press…
It’s very brief what I want
to say. It is important that we
take time, take stock, and go
down to Gutshot to rearrange
what we do, but we are NOT
CLOSING. There will be
poker played at the Gutshot
tonight - but we may have to
change the way we do it.”
Two days later, Mr. Kelly
announced, “After serious
consideration and professional advice, instructions
were given to my legal
team this morning to commence procedures to appeal
the judgment against me at
Snaresbrook Crown Court
last Tuesday.”
Commerce Hosts
L.A. Poker Classic
If poker is your game,
than you’ll find a full house
at Commerce Casino Jan.
25-March 5, with the start of
the L.A. Poker Classic. The
world’s largest poker room
will host its six weeks of
non-stop poker action with
31 different tournaments,
culminating in the $10,000buy-in World Poker Tour®
(WPT) main event Saturday,
Feb. 24. Commerce Casino
will guarantee $2 million
to the first place winner
of the L.A. Poker Classic
Championship event and $1
million to the runner-up.
WSOP Circuit
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #4
1/11/07
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #2
1/9/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
OMAHA HI/LO
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $50
BUY-IN $1,000 + $60
PLAYERS 214
PLAYERS 181
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$103,790
$175,580
Greg Jamison
Terry Hill
1. Greg Jamison . . . . . $33,212
2. John Bouin AKA
“The Barber” . . . . . $18,267
3. Thomas Witherspoon $9,341
4. Jason Stern . . . . . . . . $7,265
5. Reuben Nixon . . . . . . $6,227
6. Sean McMahon . . . . . $5,190
7. Ted Brooks . . . . . . . . $4,152
8. Suzanne Matzura . . . $3,114
9. Nathan Weisner . . . . $2,076
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Terry Hill . . . . . . . . $56,884
Robert Meier . . . . . $29,847
James Lindsay . . . . $17,567
Blake Hall . . . . . . . . $14,046
George Austin . . . . . $10,534
Jimmy Smith . . . . . . . $8,779
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #1
1/8/07
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT #3
1/10/07
BUY-IN $500 + $50
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
PLAYERS 694
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PRIZE POOL
$336,590
PLAYERS 540
PRIZE POOL
$261,950
Corey Sanders
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Corey Sanders . . . . $75,939
David Nunez . . . . . . $40,071
Parker Binion . . . . . $20,952
Mark Lucas . . . . . . . $18,333
Nick Andricopulos . $15,714
Ronald Brown
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Ronald Brown . . . . . $94,245
Eric Abate . . . . . . . . $48,806
Chris Back . . . . . . . $26,927
Ty Wilson . . . . . . . . $23,561
Norman Contreras . $20,195
Gary Link . . . . . . . . $16,830
Perry Ryan . . . . . . . $13,464
Marvin Britt AKA
“Big Dog” . . . . . . . . $10,098
31
WSOP Opportunities Are Popping Up Like
Spring Tulips Throughout The Midwest
MIDWEST MILIEU
By bonnie demos
Satellite tournaments began around
1978 for the World Series of Poker. In
earlier years many players could not
afford the $10,000 entry fee into the
final event. Tournament director Eric
Drache was trying to entice players to
sign up for the main event in hopes of
increasing attendance from the previous year. He noticed that at one of
the cash games taking place, all of the
players had at least $1,000 in chips in
front of them. Deciding to take action,
he suggested that each of the players put up $1,000 and play a freeze
out with the winner getting the entire
$10,000 to pay for an entry in the ‘Big
One.’ They agreed and the first single
table satellite was held. The rest is
history.
Since that time satellite tournaments
have continued to be a way for players to win an entry into a tournament
that they may not have been able to
afford. In 1983, history was made once
again as Tom McEvoy became the first
player to win a WSOP event via a satellite entry. Satellite tournaments have
evolved from the single table format
to multiple table, and mini-tournaments with low entry fees all offering
a chance of winning an entry into the
tournament of everyone’s dreams, a
WSOP event.
The owners of the World Series of
Poker, Harrah’s Entertainment, have
announced that they will no longer
accept online poker room registrations from their customers, a practice
that was primarily responsible for the
skyrocketing number of attendees at
the WSOP over the past three years. In
view of that turn of events, should you
throw in the towel on your dreams of
playing in the Main Event, something
that currently has a $10,000 price tag?
Not necessarily, there are plenty of
satellite opportunities to be found in
live poker rooms throughout the country, including the Midwest. In addition,
Harrah’s will host two Midwest WSOP
circuit events beginning in the end of
January. If you have been lucky enough
to earn your seat into the finals or wish
to brush up on your skills before the
main event, don’t miss the new WSOP
Academy, which is scheduled to take
place at Caesar’s Indiana the first week
in April.
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENTS- SPRING 2007
1) January 29th – February 7th. Harrah’s
Horseshoe – Council Bluffs, IA. Phone
(712)323-2500. One million dollar first prize,
plus a WSOP ring, and a $10,000 to the main
event in Las Vegas.
2) March 26th – April 5th. Caesar’s Indiana,
Elizabeth, IN. Phone 1800-660-9744. Call
poker room direct for details.
32
Caesar’s Indiana To Host
New WSOP Academy
The WSOP Poker Academy is a new
poker camp designed to arm you with
the skills you will need to win a WSOP
Bracelet and immortalize yourself in
poker history.
The instructors include some of
the world’s best poker players, all of
which have won WSOP Bracelets and
will be there to share their secrets
and strategies.
Through seminars, live demonstrations and poker tournaments, the
WSOP Academy will elevate your
poker game and give you the tools to
dominate your poker table – be it your
home game or the Main Event! The
pro instructors are not only some of
the world’s best poker players; they
are also personable, approachable and
accomplished poker instructors. The
instructors are also WSOP bracelet winners and possess the necessary knowledge and experience needed to help
you improve.
The instructors scheduled for the
WSOP Academy, Caesar’s, Indiana
include the following (left to right,
below): Greg Raymer, Scott Fischman,
Joe Navarro (FBI, ret.), Alex Outhred
WSOP Spring Satellites
Kewadin Casino, St. Ignace, MI. Phone: 1-800539-2346. 2007 WORLD SERIES OF POKER
Satellite Tournaments—No Limit Texas Hold
‘Em—Mondays at 6 p.m. through April 2, 2007
to qualify.
Topsy-Turvy
Hold’Em
(Continued from page 10)
Hobby and I took on the
dealing. The players were
confused with the concept
at first, but quickly caught
on. As I expected there were
many split pots to begin
with. Straights, flushes,
and even four-of-a-kind
turned up more frequently,
which was to be expected
as players selected hole
cards to suit to flop. By the
time players were half way
through their decks of cards
many were falling by the
wayside. Also, the higher
blinds were taking a toll on
short stacks. At my table
a three-way all-in quickly
reduced our active players
to three. We had to wait on
Hobby’s table.
“What happens if we
use up the decks before we
get down to three player?”
Hobby asked.
“We’ll give them
full decks,” I answered.
Fortunately, the field was
narrowed to three before
their decks expired.
Once there were three
players on each table, they
were combined and given
full decks. Hobby took on
the job of dealing while
I observed. I was pleased
with the inaugural trial,
and the players seemed to
be enjoying the game. We
wound up with an exciting
heads-up match.
After refining my submission, I sent Topsy-Turvy
Hold ‘Em to the selection
committee. There was hardly a day that went by but
Hobby would ask if I heard
about my game. A week
later I got a letter saying I
was one of the finalists.
“I knew you’d win, Joe.”
“Not yet, Hobby.”
The day came when I
received another letter from
the committee. I took it with
me unopened when I met
Hobby for lunch.
“Here it is, Hobby. I’ll
celebrate or cry in my beer.
You open it.”
Hobby read the letter
without showing a tell, but
when the waiter came by he
said, “Bring us a pitcher of
beer and keep ‘em coming.”
Write to author David Valley
at: [email protected]
Coming
Soon!
Meeting All Your Travel Needs...
PokerPlayerNewspaperTravel.com
-or-
PPNTravel.com
Jackpot Junction Casino, Morton, MN. Phone:
1-800-946-2274. Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel
will send one lucky player to the World Series of
Poker in 2007! To participate: A point system will
be utilized for upcoming No-Limit Texas Hold’em
Tournaments; dates include: January 6 & 21,
February 3 & 18, March 3 & 18, April 7 & 22.
Chip-In’s Island Resort and Casino, Harris, MI.
Phone: 1-800-682-6040. WSOP Super Satellites
Wednesdays 6:30 pm.
What are you waiting for? Shake off
that old cabin fever with some new
WSOP action, unglue yourself from
your computer screen and set your
sights for some fresh spring action in a
live poker room.
This year, you may find yourself
seated at a WSOP main event, instead
of seated in front of your TV watching
someone else take home the $12 million in cash. Good luck!
Bonnie Demos from the midwest, Gambler,
poker player and award winning chef, has
enjoyed working in the gaming industry for the
past several years. Write her at
[email protected]
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Day
Game
Buy-in
Sun. nite/Mon. am ♦ Spread Lmt Hold’Em ♦ $120
Mon. nite/Tues. am ♦ Spread Lmt Hold’Em ♦ $120
Registration begins 12am. Tournaments begin 1:45am.
Limited seating.
1801 Bering Drive, San Jose, California (408) 451–8888 bay101.com
Play with your head, not over it. Is gambling a problem? Call 1.800.GAMBLER
Limit Hold’em
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
NORTHWEST
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
TIME
OR
WA
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
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SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
Chinook Winds Casino
Wildhorse Casino Resort
Blue Mountain Casino
Chips Bremerton
Chips La Center
Chips Lakewood
Chips Tukwila
Drift-On-Inn
Final Table Cas., Everett
Goldie’s
Little Creek Casino
Muckleshoot Casino
Northern Quest
Point Defiance Cafe & Cas., Tacoma
Suquamash Clearwater
Wild Grizzly
MT Black Jack’s Casino
4 Bears Casino
ND Dakota Magic
NE Rosebud Casino
SD
Dakota Sioux
Gold Dust Cas., Deadwood
Rosebud Casino
Silverado Casino Deadwood
NORTHEAST
CT Foxwoods
NH Seabrook Greyhound Park
NJ
Akwesasne Mohawk
Majesty Casino Boar
NY
IA
MIDWEST
IL
IN
MI
Turning Stone
Catfish Bend
Isle of Capri
Winn-A-Vegas
Hollywood Casino-Aurora
Belterra (Florence)
Caesars Indiana
Majestic Star
Chip-In’s Island
Lac Vieux Desert Cas., Watersmeet
MN Fortune Bay Casino
WI
LA
MO
MS
FLORIDA
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Caesar’s Atlantic City
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Tropicana
Northern Light Casino
Shooting Star Casino
Menominee Casino, Keshena
Oneida Casino, Green Bay
Potawatomi Northern Lights, Carter
St Croix Casino, Turtle Lake
Grand Coushatta
Horseshoe CasinoShreveport
Harrah’s St Louis
Isle of Capri
Copa Casino
Gold Strike Casino (Tunica)
Grand Casino(Tunica)
Horseshoe Casino (Tunica)
Pearl River Resort
Dania Jai-Alai
Derby Lane
Hard Rock
Mardi Gras Gaming Ctr, Hollywd
Palm Beach Kennel Club
Palm Beach Princess
Pompano Park Casino
St Tropez Cruise
CANADA Casino Regina
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
33
Doing Like the Romans
STUD SENSE
By ASHLEY ADAMS
I tend to play a squeaky tight-aggressive style
in the typical $10/20 and $20/40 stud games I
find at Foxwoods, the nearest public poker room. I make most
of my money by squeezing money from the loose-passive bad
players I face in those games. It’s a style that’s worked well
for me there and in the low limit no limit hold ‘em games I
play in, around Boston.
But I found myself in an atypical game. A local poker club
owner organized a $20/40 stud game– but one with the same
guys who played on other nights in his much bigger games.
They brought their rampaging big game style to this $20/40
game.
Though my bankroll was sufficiently large for this bigger
action $20/40 game, my instincts had me running for cover at
first. With guys typically capping the betting on third or fourth
street –my reaction was to tighten up. Unless I was virtually
certain to be in the lead, I’d fold.
I was safe -- but sorry. When I finally did catch decent starting cards and raised, they all folded, knowing I had a superstrong hand. They were wildly aggressive but not blind. How
different from Foxwoods where I could typically find at least
one player to call me down when I became aggressive with a
strong starting hand.
Here, I had to give action to get action. I threw my strict
starting standards out the window – planning to use my read
of their hands and a selective hyper-aggression to win me
enough on my strong hands to more than compensate for my
relative looseness early on.
So, for example, if I had a couple of high cards and someone
raised or even re-raised with a card lower than both of my
high cards, I’d re-raise sometimes – just hoping to catch a pair
on fourth or fold to any action. I’d slow play premium pairs
– violating one of my cardinal rules of stud play –planning to
check raise on fourth street if I remained high on board, or reraise if someone else initiated the betting. Many times, if I had
any hand at all, I’d use hyper-aggressive bullying to limit the
field on third, fourth, and fifth street – hoping to turn loose
and wild early money into dead money.
My strategy worked. I got action when I had strong hands.
Though I frequently was competing without the best hand at
the moment, the combination of my chances of winning and
the dead money already in the hand gave me positive expectations – even when I was behind.
This is a key concept. You can have positive expectations
even if you are behind. Think about an extreme example of this.
Imagine a pot in a $20/40 game that is engorged with $10,000
by fifth street. Even if you’re a 20:1 underdog to win the hand
by the river, you have very positive expectations in the long
run because of all of the dead money already in the hand.
My style of play recognized this. More realistically, if I could
create a pot with a lot of dead money, I could chase with a
hand that might be a 35% underdog. My keeping myself out of
hands when I was hugely behind, and by learning to contrive
bets to drive out other players after they had already put
money in the pot, I adopted a winning style of play for this
game.
I wish I could end by saying that I won for the four-hour
night of stud. I didn’t. I finished down $150. But that was insignificant in the scheme of things. The bottom line was that I
had adopted a winning style of play for this game – one I’m
eager to return to.
Ashley Adams is the author of Winning 7-Card Stud,
(Kensington Press 2003). He has been playing 7-Card
Stud for 40 years—and profitably in casinos for the past
10 years. He has played in casinos all over the world,
including England, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Hungary,
Canada and the United States, but plays most frequently
at at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard Connecticut.
Professionally, he is a union organizer and an agent for
broadcasters. He can be reached at: [email protected]
34
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Saratoga Springs, NY
America’s First
Gambling Resort
By Byron Liggett
Indicative of its future, the
first structure built on the
site that was to become
Saratoga Springs was a
tavern and boarding house
in 1773. At the time it was
believed the spring water
had medicinal properties.
The first bathhouse was
built in 1784 and the village
of Saratoga Springs continued to grow as a spa resort
for the healthy ‘n wealthy. It
was incorporated in 1827.
The man who developed Saratoga Springs
into high class gambling
resort patronized by the
rich and powerful was John
Morrissey. A tough Irish
immigrant, he won the U.S.
Boxing Championship in
1852 at the end of a 37round melee.
Morrissey used his fame
and fortune to promote his
gambling businesses. He
owned and operated five
casinos in New York City.
According to historian
Herbert Asbury, Morrissey
“was an expert Poker player,
and in private sessions with
his friends was noted for
scrupulous fairness” but his
public casinos “were operated as skinning houses”.
John Morrissey looked
upon Saratoga Springs as
an opportunity to create the
foremost gambling resort in
the country. He built a luxurious casino, hotel, health
spa, opera house, theatre,
and elegant ball rooms.
In order to woo a daytime
crowd, he constructed the
Saratoga Race Track and
introduced horse racing in
1862. It remains the oldest
course still in use today.
Morrissey spared no
expense on “The Club
House” casino. Ornate chandeliers, statues, brass, wood,
and glass distinguished it
as the most elegant gaming house ever constructed
in America. The first floor
was open to the public and
featured Faro and Roulette.
The second floor was
reserved for Poker and highrollers. Employees dressed
in formal wear.
One visitor to Saratoga
reported that “Almost every
game of chance is played…
and the stakes are very high
and unlimited. Flocks of
well-dressed men of all ages
pass in and out all day and
night; tens of thousands of
dollars are lost and won; the
click of the markers never
ceases”.
Called the “Monte Carlo
of America”, Saratoga
became America’s first and
finest gaming and entertainment resort. Some of
the foremost names of the
century were patrons including Mark Twain, Civil War
Generals Sherman and
Sheridan, several Presidents,
and early industrialists such
as Cornelius Vanderbilt,
John D. Rockefeller,
“Diamond Jim Brady”, and
“Bet-A-Million” Gates.
A poor, uneducated
immigrant, John Morrissey
became one of the most
wealthy and powerful citizens in the country. Even
President Lincoln was
aware of the gambler’s
extensive control. Frustrated
with the lack of initiative
among his generals during
the Civil War, Lincoln sarcastically quipped, “They
wouldn’t dare order out
the guard without asking
Morrissey.”
Success, fame and its
friends eventually convinced Morrissey to get into
politics. In 1866 he ran as a
Democrat and was elected
to Congress. He sold all his
gambling interests and was
content to confine his own
need for action to the Stock
Market. Not his game, he
lost millions playing it.
After Morrissey, it was
another New York City casino owner, Richard Canfield,
who took the gambling
resort to the next level. In
1894, he bought “The Club
House” and race track. He
sold his NYC casinos and
invested millions to further
develop Saratoga Springs as
one of the premier gambling
resorts in the world.
Elegant fountains and
beautiful landscaping,
including an elaborate
Italian garden, welcomed
visitors to the Club House.
Inside, an art galley displayed priceless paintings.
Canfield was respected
worldwide as a collector of
fine art.
The public gaming room
was on the first floor. It featured ten Roulette tables and
four Faro games. Private
rooms upstairs were provided for the highest rollers.
Limits were twice those of
Monte Carlo. All gambling
was done with chips whose
values ranged from $1 to
$1,000. Canfield had his
own security force.
Canfield was an honest operator who presented
gambling in luxurious
splendor and relied on the
inherent percentages of the
games for his profit. He was
a gracious host and treated
his guests to fine wine and
lavish dinners. Popular
with gentlemen of means,
Canfield’s soon became one
of wealthy New Yorkers’
premier getaways.
Club House casino
patrons were treated to
the very best cigars, wines
and cuisine. Canfield lost
$70,000 on just food. Of
course, he made up for it
at the tables. It’s estimated
that around $2 million was
wagered each day in his
casino.
In the new industrialized nation, his patrons
became the wealthiest, most
powerful men in the country. Presidents Cleveland
and Taft were frequent
guests. “Bet-A-Million”
Gates dropped $400,000
at the track one afternoon.
Cornelius Vanderbilt once
had an epileptic seizure
while playing poker there.
When he recovered, the
game resumed.
Canfield kept his resort
in good standing with the
community by being a good
citizen. He made “large
and frequent donations” to
churches, hospitals, civic,
and charitable organizations.
By the turn of the century
an anti-gambling, anti-alcohol, conservative Christian
reform movement reacting
to the excesses of the 1880s
and ‘90s, was gaining domi(Continued on page 40)
Player Profile: Chad Brown
Recent circumstances
have them pointed toward
an opportunity to work
together. They have both
been drafted for the same
team in a proposed league
of professional poker players that may begin televised competition at the
Venetian in Las Vegas by
April or May.
The timing of all this
remains uncertain, since
the projected schedule of
events has already been
shifted several times as
organizers have worked to
deal with situations such
as the recent passage of
anti-Internet legislation
that has organizers scrambling in unexpected directions looking for sponsorship money.
What is Brown’s expectation as he waits for it all
to come together?
He gives that a moment
of thought before saying,
“Well, in poker terms,
it is something of a free
roll for us. You know, if
it turns out to be really a
big deal that will be wonderful, but if it does not
work out, we are certainly
happy to be where we
are in our lives right now
what with the progress and
success that we have both
been having . . .
“We’re hopeful, like
everyone else is, that it is
going to be a huge success
and we’ll certainly do our
part to help it along but
we’re not counting on anything.”
How did they happen to
make themselves available
to the league?
“It’s not that we made
ourselves available,”
Brown explains, “they
contacted us, which is
what they did with everyone. There are 64 players
involved, although I’m not
sure how they arrived at
that number. The captains,
people who are unquestionably at the top of the
poker business, then voted
on all of the players in the
world.”
Berry Greenstein and
Phil Ivey are co-captains
of their team that also
includes, among other people, /POKER PLAYER’s/
Mike Caro.
Brown says that Chip
Reese, who is generally
regarded as the man behind
the concept of the league,
apparently exercised the
final say on all of the 64
selections.
Rousso says her selection may have been a bit
surprising to some people
since she was not as well
known as many of the individuals who were selected.
“A lot of the captains had
not met me yet, so I actually spoke at length to Chip
on the phone.”
Brown notes that he was
a cash game player almost
exclusively until a couple
years ago when he trcognized “the writing on the
wall” as a lot of poker professionals did and decided
to spend more time with
tournament action.
But Brown notes that
the forces involved in the
planning of televised high
stakes poker action have
been developing plans
that seem to blur the lines
between cash and tournament events.
“We’ve done something
with the Ultimate Poker
Challenge that is called
the Ultimate Cash Game.
Vanessa played in it and
I played in it. We shot it
in December and it starts
airing in January. It has a
$25,000 buy-in.”
Current plans call for the
UCG to be filmed once a
month with that one day
or filming to be edited
into four shows. The new
shows will be seen once
a week on the Chicago
superstation WGN but they
are also being syndicated.
Brown suggests going to
the Ultimate Poker website
for more information. The
website also has a schedule
of for the monthly filmings
at Binion’s which he says
are open to anyone who
shows up with the required
buy-in.
Brown says his work as
a commentator with the
Ultimate Poker Challenge
came out of his final table
appearance in the sevencard stud championship at
the 2004 World Series of
Poker when he finished
second.
“It has been great, it’s
fun,” he says, “but the way
it came about was the producer (for the UPC) saw
me in 2004 and ESPN had
done a little bio and he
called and offered me the
chance to do commentary.”
His work on the
Ultimate Cash Game represents the first time on
television that the person
doing commentary is also
playing in the game.
Kind of analogous to the
old concept of a playermanager in baseball, huh?
“Exactly,” he grins.
Brown is once again
willing to follow the scent
of opportunity.
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
35
My Most Memorable
Poker Hands, PART 1
THE EIKS’ VIEW
BY Mike Eikenberry
On a recent trip to Las Vegas with my dearest and oldest friend, we celebrated our
100th anniversary (50 years each that we have been playing
cards together). This trip, along with the announced demise
of the Stardust Hotel and Casino where my wife and I had
honeymooned 35 years ago, started me thinking about the
hands that I had played during that time.
Following are my most memorable poker hands — I hope
you enjoy reading about them as much as I did playing them:
1. UNDEFEATED LOSER— My very first hand of Vegas poker
was at the Stardust during my honeymoon. I bought in for
$20 at the cage and sat down in a $1-3 stud game with a
quarter ante. The first hand I raised the $3 max, and won
the pot when everyone folded. Before another hand could be
dealt, I received a page and had to leave. I picked up my chips
and went back to the cage to cash in. The cashier counted
out $18.25. But that could not be right. I quickly retraced my
steps, but did not see any dropped chips or coins.
When I got to the table where I’d played, no one had
seen any chips or coins that I had dropped or left behind.
However, one kindly gentleman said he thought he knew
where my money had gone. He invited me to join him for a
cup of coffee at an unused poker table. He then explained
that although the casino had specific rules for raking pots,
some dealer’s were adept at over-raking pots by grabbing
money after each round was dealt and immediately stuffing
it down the open hole that went directly to the rake box.
Newcomers like me were particularly easy targets. Thus, I
left my first Vegas poker game wiser but one of a rare breed
of undefeated losers.
2. BAD BEAT NOT— In 1995 I reached the final table of
a super satellite for the WSOP main event. Only six of
us would win entries. An hour later only seven players
remained. One more player to eliminate and I would be in.
But, then my cards went stone cold. Thirty minutes later I
was down to my last four chips when my big blind came up.
All the other players had 15 to 30 chips. Everyone folded
around to the player on my right, former world champion
Hamid Dastmalchi. He threw in 4 chips after quickly looking
at his hand.
I peaked at my cards--the 5 of diamonds and the 4 of
hearts. After a few seconds deliberation, I called with my
final 2 chips. Folding seemed a worse option than playing
against one player with two cards that figured to be live.
Amazingly the flop came 9 9 9. The next card turned up
was an Ace. My chances with one card to come looked bleak
but not completely hopeless. I would split the pot if the last
card were a nine (or also probably an Ace). I would win the
pot if a 4 or 5 were the last card (if my opponent had no
pair, no Ace, and no 9).
As the last card was turned, I was rooting for a 4, 5, 9,
or an Ace. I was crushed when a deuce fell. I got up, put my
coat on, and (almost as an afterthought) rolled my hand over
face up.
As I turned to leave, I looked around and Hamid had
turned over his hand — a 3 and 4(the only hand in the deck I
could beat!!). My hand of 999A5 beat his hand of 999A4. Now
I had 8 chips. Three hands later, I doubled up again. Finally
another player was eliminated and I had my first seat in the
“Big Show.”
That’s right… Texas Dolly, the
man himself and Tom “TIME”
Leonard for all the marbles!
I wound up at the final table,
heads-up at the WSOP with
PART 91,
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
of quads all in the same hand
and I lose to Texas Dolly’s Ace
kicker. Once again, I feel like
the Cincinnati Kid or Mike
McDermott as the crushing
Heads-up with Doyle
IMPROVING
PERFORMANCE
By Tom “TIME” Leonard
Mr. Doyle Brunson. Surprised?
Don’t believe me? Well, before
you just dismiss me as a lying
bag of... hmmm whatever, let
me qualify our setting a tad.
It was the final table of the
World Series of Poker but did I
mention it was on the Masque
computer game? But hey, it
was still the WSOP and Doyle!
Today, I’d like to share that
momentous occasion when I
sat across from the Godfather
of Poker and we traded chips
back and forth in a thrust
and parry duel worthy of two
poker titans. OK... I guess my
meds have kicked in, wouldn’t
you agree? My strategy was
simple. I was planning to use
the Legend’s aggressiveness
against him by being patient,
waiting for a big hand and
then bagging the elephant. No
offense, Mr. Brunson. As I
sat there I “allowed” Doyle to
steal as I tossed a series of 7-2, Jack--4, 5--3 and 6--deuce
type junk into the muck. Time
out... a beautiful Queen-Queen and a raise from Doyle.
He had just a few more chips
than me and I didn’t want to
lose him so I made only a
modest re-raise. Well, Texas
Dolly pushes all-in along with
that annoying computer voice
Mike Eikenberry got his undergraduate and law degrees
from the University of Virginia, where he played varsity
tennis and basketball. Founder of one of the leading
national tennis camps, Mike is an avid amateur who has
played both tournaments and live games for over 25
years. He can be reached at [email protected]
36
telling me that, “All trappers
don’t wear fur hats”. I sense
he is just trying to move me
off my hand and immediately call. Before the cards
are turned up
I dread that
my Ladies are worth not a sou
more than 7-2 offsuit as I am
now convinced that Doyle has
Pocket Rockets or Cowboys.
The cards are turned over and
lo and behold, all the man has
is the Ace--3 of hearts. Even
though I am a huge favorite
I’m convinced, with all the
chips in the middle, that my
Ladies will become their usual
Ace magnets and Doyle will
flop top pair and win. Yeah,
I know, the power of positive thinking! Easier said than
done.
The flop comes Queen-King--King. Woo hoo, I just
flopped Queens full and have
the Godfather crushed. The
turn is another King which
improves my hand to Kings
full but also makes me vulnerable to a river Ace. I hear a
drum roll in my head as the
river card is exposed and thank
the Poker Gods it is not an
Ace. I feel like the Cincinnati
Kid or Mike McDermott as I
think to myself, “I’ve got him,
I’ve got the man!” The river is
actually another King putting
all four Kings on the board.
Holy guacamole! I had two
different full houses and a set
truth of this bad beat sinks in.
Can there be a goal to
take away from this fantasy
tale? But of course….there
is always a goal. Our goal
today is to develop realistic
expectations. Come on, let’s
face it, you’re not going to
beat the Godfather of Poker
heads-up at the World Series.
If you’re ever lucky enough
to find yourself that close, just
remember... first he’ll spot you
the nuts and then suck out on
you just to show you who’s the
boss. That’s why he’s the man
and we’re not! At least the
sting of this adversity should
make you stronger and hopefully you won’t need to buy a
new computer monitor after
the smug voice in that Texas
drawl says, “Thanks for playing.” See you next “TIME”.
No stranger to the green
felt, Tom “Time” Leonard
has played poker for more
than 30 years and has
been a serious student of
the game and writer on
the subject since 1994. He
has regularly played the
cardrooms of Atlantic City,
Las Vegas and California.
His experience as a sales
and marketing professional
have helped him hone
his skills at “selling” a
hand and “buying” a pot.
Tom can be contacted at:
[email protected].
Tournament
Buy-In
2/07/07
2/07/07
2/08/07
2/09/07
2/09/07
2/10/07
2/10/07
2/11/07
2/11/07
2/12/07
2/12/07
2/13/07
2/13/07
2/14/07
2/14/07
2/15/07
2/15/07
2/16/07
2/16/07
2/17/07
2/18/07
2/19/07
MRPC Kickoff
1
2
Daily Cash Event
3
Daily Cash Event
4
Daily Cash Event
5
Daily Cash Event
6
Daily Cash Event
7
Couples Tournament
8
Daily Cash Event
9
Daily Cash Event
Mega Satellites
Main Event
Satellites Begin
No-Limit Hold ‘Em @ 3 p.m.
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
Ladies Only (NLH) @ 3 p.m.
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
Pot Limit Hold ‘Em
No-Limit – 1/2 Hold ‘Em, 1/2 Omaha High
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
Satellites @ Noon & 6 p.m.
No-Limit Hold ‘Em
Final table of Main Event
$500 + $50
$300 + $40
$500 + $50
$200 + $25
$1,000 + $60
$500 + $50
$200 + $25
$500 + $50
$300 + $40
$200 + $25
$500 + $50
$200 + $25
$300 + $40
$200 + $40/Couple
$300 + $40
$200 + $25
$500 + $50
$200 + $25
$270 + $30
$2,500 + $100
The winner of the Midwest
Regional Poker Championship
Main Event wins an automatic
entry into the 2007 World Series
of Poker Main Event.
• Registration is now open! Visit the
Poker Room or call the Poker hotline
for more information: 1-800-660-9744.
• All tournaments begin at noon
unless otherwise noted.
• $300 Mega Satellites will be held daily
at 6 p.m., February 7-17, and one at
noon on February 17.
• The winner of all daily events will
receive entry into the Main Event
to begin on February 18.
• Single-table satellites for all
events will run every day
from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m.
Must be 21 years or older to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start®. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT. ©2007 Harrah’s License Company, LLC.
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
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25 etu
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Event #
W
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Date
37
Perks and Picks
Card Room Roundup
The Bargain Bin
By H. Scot Krause
Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino near
San Diego, CA has several interesting weekly
poker room promotions going on.
“Morning Rack Attacks” run every Sunday through Saturday
morning from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. One table will be randomly
drawn every half-hour (9:45 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:15
a.m., 11:45 a.m., and 12:15 p.m.) to have $100 added to the next
pot.
“Aces Cracked, Win A Rack” is the promotion running every
Monday through Friday from noon to 4:00 p.m. If a Texas Hold’
Em player loses with pocket aces and the pot qualifies, the
player wins a rack of $1 chips ($100.) To qualify the pot must
contain at least $20.
The Poker Room will be giving away $1800 in “Mega Rack
Attacks” every Monday. Beginning at 6:15 p.m.through 11:45
p.m. two tables will be drawn 15 minutes after the hour and one
table will be drawn 45 minutes after the hour.
Every Tuesday is “Two Chip Tuesday” starting at 6:00 p.m.
Make a full house or better in any live poker game and win up
to $200. In Texas Hold’ Em, both hole cards must play. Tying
the board qualifies. Player must play their best five cards and
hands must be shown. Qualifying hands are during a called
showdown or the last remaining hand with no callers. Dealers
will pick the envelopes and hand them to the player. The envelope will contain two casino chips ranging from $10 - $200.
In Las Vegas, The Silverton Casino Lodge has just
announced a new daily tournament schedule. All tournaments
are $42 Buy-In No-Limit Hold’ Em Events. The weekday Morning
Tournaments are held Monday through Friday starting at 9:00
a.m. On Saturdays and Sundays they start at 10:00 a.m. The
Evening Tournaments are held Monday through Saturday (no
Sundays) beginning at 6:00 p.m. Players will be issued $1,000
in tournament chips to start. Players can purchase an additional $1,000 in chips for $3 that is added to the dealer tip pool.
The Tournament outline and rules are as follows:
---30 seats will be available for each Tournament.
---Entries will be accepted until the end of the first limit.
---Each limit will be 20 minutes for all tournaments listed.
---A $7 entry fee is subtracted from each buy-in for all
events listed.
---T.D.A. rules will apply for all tournaments.
The prize pool distribution for all tournaments will be as follows:
Up to 24 players: 1st 50%, 2nd 30% and 3rd 20%. For 25
- 30 players: 1st 45%, 2nd 27.5%, 3rd 17.5%, and 4th 10%.
And throughout the casino and including the poker room,
Silverton is also hosting the $3,000,000 Treasure Seekers promotion currently underway through February 10. Every Friday
and Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. a drawing is held for Discovery
Club members. The lucky member who is selected gets to pick
one of several numbered bags located at the bottom of the
Silverton’s 117,000-gallon aquarium. Once the player chooses a
bag, a mermaid inside the tank will grab the selected bag and
reveal the cash prize. Each drawing will have a top prize bag
of $250,000 inside the tank. However, a minimum $50,000 is
guaranteed weekly.
Discovery Club members can earn tickets for the drawings by
playing their favorite table games, slots, video poker, keno and
live poker. Members also receive 10 free tickets per day when
they swipe their Discovery Club card. See the club booth for
complete details.
That’s it for this week!
Silverton
Hotel Casino
3333 Blue Diamond Road, Las Vegas, NV 89139
Toll free: 1.866.946.4373 Local: 702.263.7777
www.silvertoncasino.com
4,000 fish. Indoor waterfalls, a stream, rapids and
a pond filled with large
colorful Koi plus some
mallard ducks. 165,000
square foot Bass Pro Shops
Outdoor World and 30,000
additional square feet of
gaming space with new,
all-paper slot machines.
Silverton Lodge offers
300 renovated guest rooms
and suites providing beautiful accommodations for
hotel guests. The refurbishment has given the hotel
a decidedly ‘Adrirondak
Lodge’ atmosphere and
it now includes an ultramodern, spacious Fitness
Center. Call the tollfree
number to make reservations at the Silverton for
your next visit or go online
at www.silvertoncasino.
com to make your own reservations.
You’ve checked into
your room and now it’s
time to sample some of the
legendary Vegas food you
can’t miss with a visit to
the Twin Creeks Restaurant
featuring steaks, chops,
and seafood. The res-
taurant was voted Best
New Restaurant by Las
Vegas newspaper readers.
Longing for pure comfort
dining with above average
service and the best food
you’ve ever tasted? Yes?
Then an evening at the
Twin Creek Steakhouse is
a must.
Enjoy a truly voyeurism dining experience at
Mermaid Restaurant and
Lounge. Sample outstanding seafood, steaks and
cocktails while watching
the schools of 4000 fish
swimming in the huge salt
water aquarium. Maybe
you’re in the mood for
Mexican then head for Mi
Casa. Enjoy a full menu of
south of the border favorites and an extensive margarita menu.
Regular coffee shop
fare can be had around
the clock at the Sundance
Grill, looking for just
coffee and pastry, great
breakfasts or a full dinner pull into the Sundance
Grill. Season’s Buffet
provides the all you want
crowd with a bewilder-
Silverton Casino Lodge
Las Vegas located on the
south end of the Strip is
the first Vegas casino for
visitors driving in from
California. The Silverton is
the only resort in town that
has a Pro Bass Shop and
their showroom fronts the
property. If you’re wondering about the unusual
mix of fish and chips stop
and sample it first hand.
The Silverton is rights
and clientele a neighborhood resort serving the
southwest quadrant, but
it resides within spitting
distance of the Las Vegas
Strip just on the other side
of I-15 and has a high
number of out-of-towners.
Be prepared for a surprise when you walk into
the Silverton Casino for
the first time, because it is
large. The owners of the
resort have been upgrading the property and adding attractions during the
past months with all of
the work now complete.
Additions included a
117,000 gallon saltwater
aquarium with more than
H. Scot Krause is a freelance writer, gaming industry
analyst and researcher, originally from Cleveland, Ohio.
While raising his four year-old son, Zachary, Scot reports,
researches, and writes about casino games, events, attractions and promotions. He is a twelve-year resident of Las
Vegas. Questions or comments are welcomed. Card room
managers are also invited to send your specials
and promotions to: [email protected]
38
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
ing variety of food offerings. Sample them all at
the Silverton Buffet. The
Shady Grove Lounge is an
experience unto itself. All
of your favorite cocktails
plus plenty of bar food
selections makes this an
ideal place to enjoy the
game with friends. The
Silverton offers some of
the best entertainment bargains in town. Catch one of
the legendary rock bands
performing often at the
Silverton.
A new 5 table poker
room was added to the
casino during the renovations. Under the manage-
blinds with a $50 min $200
max buy-in and a $4-$8
blinds with $100 min $300
max buy-in. The room will
spread most poker games
providing there is enough
interest.
Tournaments are offered
Monday through Friday
at 9:00 am and 6:00 pm.
Saturday and Sunday one
tournament is offered at
10:00 am. All tournaments
are $42 buy-in for $1,000
in chips plus one optional
$3 dealer add-on for
another $1,000. The poker
room is currently offering
a series of freeroll tournaments that will result in a
Staffers Chris Cunning (left) and Eric Hauch (right)
welcome you to Silverton’s Poker Room
ment of casino veteran
Ben Irwin the room was
designed from the ground
up to provide poker players with a comfortable setting to enjoy their choice
of card games. The room
spreads Limit Hold’em
with a $2-$4 and $4-$8
blind structure. No-Limit
Hold’em is typically $1-$2
player winning a seat in the
$10,000 World Poker Tour
(WPT) LA Poker Classic
February 24, 2007. Play
five hours in a qualifying
period to earn a satellite
seat. Complete tournament and satellite details
are available by calling
the poker room direct at
Pechanga Poker
FEBRUARY TOURNAMENT SERIES
THURSDAY, FEB 1ST
6:30 PM
$5,000 Guarantee No-Limit Hold’em
$40 + $10 Buy-in
FRIDAY, FEB 2ND
6:30 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
SATURDAY, FEB 3RD
4:00 PM
$85 + $15 Buy-in
SUNDAY, FEB 4TH
4:00 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
THURSDAY, FEB 8TH
Ladies Only No-Limit Hold’em
6:30 PM
$85 + $15 Buy-in
1st Place: $1,000 Buy-in seat 2007 World Series Ladies Only Event
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14TH $5,000 Guarantee No-Limit Hold’em
6:30 PM
$30 + $10 2-for-1 buy-in
multiple $20 re-buys
First place wins sweetheart jewelry
THURSDAY, FEB 22ND
6:30 PM
$40 + $10 Buy-in
FRIDAY, FEB 23RD
6:30 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
SATURDAY, FEB 24TH
2007 Big Showdown Series Tournament
4:00 PM
$200 + $25 Buy-in
1st Place: $10,000 Buy-in seat to the 2007 World Series, Guaranteed
SUNDAY, FEB 25TH
4:00 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
DAILY TOURNAMENTS
DAILY DOUBLE JACKPOTS • Mon. thru Fri. 2-5PM • 1:30-5AM • 6-9AM
Monthly $7,500 Free Roll – February 28 • 6:30 PM, 40 hours to qualify
Mornings Limit Hold’em Tournament
10AM
$2,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Wed
Mornings No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments
10AM
$2,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun
10AM Sundays - Free Entry for TOC Players
$4,000 Guarantee $35 + $5 Tuesdays
$4,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Saturdays
Evenings No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments
6:30PM
$3,000 Guarantee $25 + $5 Mondays
$2,000 Guarantee $0 + $5 Tuesdays
$2,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Wednesdays
$5,000 Guarantee $40 + $10 Sundays @ 4PM
Splash the Pot
Tuesdays & Thursdays • 4AM - 8AM
$200 drawings at the top of every hour
High Hand Every Hour
Thursdays • 1PM - 11PM
$200 for all Hold’em and $50 for Omaha
$40,000 Hold’em Jackpot Fridays
Fridays • 6PM to 8PM
All Hold’em Games • Stud and Omaha Doubled
Double Jackpot Sundays
1PM to 3PM & 6PM to 1AM
Superbowl Sunday
2PM to 11PM
$500 for live games or $250 for tournament
Must be seated in a game to be eligible to participate
All Weekday AM/PM Tournaments have an Entry Fee. No
tournament re-buys unless specified otherwise. All Jackpot
promotions reset and doubled until end of promotion time.
Tournament Series replaces Daily Tournaments on dates shown.
Hotel Poker Rate is subject to availability Monday thru Thursday
and no discounts
Unique features of Silverton include the huge salt water
aquarium that adjoins its Mermaid Restaurant and fine
Mexican cuisine of Mi Casa
45000 Pechanga Parkway • I-15 • Temecula
877.711.2WIN • www.pechanga.com
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
39
Cold Paris,
Colder Oklahoma
BacK in the saddle Again
Book reviews
MILLION DOLLAR
HOLD’EM:
Limit Cash Games
By OKLAHOMA JOHNNY HALE
We are checked in at the Warrick Hotel. The Warrick is
just around the corner from the world famous AVIATION
CLUB on the Champs Elysee here in Paris, France.
They play a lot of pot limit poker here in Europe, and
they still smoke a lot, but we are the guest of Bruno
Futossi, who is the poker Guru here in Paris.
Bruno has been a wonderful host and I know that Carol
and my girls are enjoying all of the fancy French cuisine
in the Aviation Club’s five star restaurant—I will make it
until I can return home for some good old Okie food.
“The European Seniors” No Limit Poker Tournament
(Which I created and have been hosting at the Aviation
Club for the past five years) sure is fun to play and host.
I am so happy that Bruno has agreed with me that there
will be no smoking in the tournament area.
It sure is good that Carol remembered that it would
be raining, windy and cold here in Paris, and that she
thought to bring my Oklahoma longjohns—they sure feel
very good.
Our Oklahoma daughter, Sheri, who came along with
her sister, “Oklahoma Sarah,” to be with us while we host
‘THE EUROPEAN SENIORS’ poker tournament here at
the Aviation Club, just told me that in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
they are suffering with a winter snow storm that is rated
to be a once in one hundred year storm, and that the
temperature is down to near zero.
We learned how to dress for the winter weather when
I was a kid in Oklahoma. We would take some toe sacks
and wrap our feet up in them—then take the bailing wire
from the bales of hay and wrap the wire around the toe
sacks and you could be out all day in the cold and snow
and our feet would never even know it was cold.
My wife Carol comes from Pennsylvania and they get a
little cold weather and some snow up there but I do not
think they ever have the kind of cold wind blow in from
the North Pole that we do in the plains of Oklahoma. I
remember once a Blue Northern Storm that came down
thru Kansas. Let me tell you about an Oklahoma Blue
Northern. The sky in the North turns a very bright blue
(hence the name of the storm). Then there is a temperature inversion, and the temperature will drop between
forty and sixty degrees in less than an hour. Then the
North wind will blow like a poker player telling a bad beat
story.
There is nothing to stop the north wind from roaring
down from the North Pole through Kansas—Except for
that four strings of a bar wire fence up there near or
about Kansas City, and most of the time those folks up
there forget and leave the gate down.
I guess that is why we have so many wonderful
poker players and beautiful girls in the great state of
Oklahoma—because there is nothing else left to do,
except get into bed and pull the covers up over your
head. Or put some more logs on the fire and play poker
for a few days—Until that fellow up there in Kansas
remembers to put the gate back up.
Well, forgive me, I was going to tell you a little bit
about my girls—and their shopping and sight-seeing in
Paris—Tune in next issue and I will try to tell you about
“The European Seniors” no limit poker tournament which
was hosted by me on Wednesday the 13 of December
while my girls were out doing Paris.
Until Next Time, Remember to STAY LUCKY!!
You may contact OK-J at his e-mail Oklajohnny@
aol.com, or play poker LIVE, ONLINE with Johnny,
Carol and Sarah at www.OK-J.com. Johnny’s book,
“The Gentleman Gambler,” is in its third printing.
Contact Johnny for your copy.
40
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
by Johnny Chan and
Mark Karowe
Cardoza, 2006
ISBN: 1580422004
350 pp, $29.95
If Anyone Can Help
Improve Your Game,
Chan Can
Before the great tournament
poker craze overwhelmed the
world, we had poker games
for cash. Players used folding
money or chips, match sticks
or coins, or anything they
could scavenge that could represent cash. Many seasoned
players shunned competitions
because every time a casino
hosted a huge tournament, the
cash games drew all kinds of
players who brought all kinds
of money into action.
It was not unusual, for
example, to see the players
we know today as champions,
sitting in limit cash games
with strangers who came from
all over the world to watch
and/or participate in big tournaments. One of the biggest,
most notable cash-game players of our time, who takes on
all comers, is two-time World
Champion Johnny Chan. With
Mark Karowe, Chan has compiled an excellent tutorial for
the sharp investor who understands that there’s money to
be made without the threat of
going out on the bubble.
Don’t expect to learn the
fundamentals with Chan’s
help. You should be way
beyond understanding starting hands and position and
the basic concepts of bluffing
and semi-bluffing, for example. Here you are going to sit
down at the illustrated table,
grasp the hand, then learn
how to deal with
it and why. The
authors divided the
work into 11 sections that cover not
just the concept of
fold, bet, raise and
re-raise but also
vital material such
as bankroll requirements and moving
up and down in limits and
more esoteric subjects such
as keeping in shape.
While discussing hands
in a variety of situations the
authors also explain why
the first bet often wins a pot,
why you should play the
player, the trick of betting
a big hand on the flop and
Saratoga Springs, NY
(Continued from page 34)
nance in America. Saratoga
was raided by the police.
Resort owner Canfield
was irate. He considered
himself an honest businessman and gambling an
honorable profession. He
reminded his critics, “They
gambled in the Garden of
slow playing on the
turn, how
to take
control of a hand plus folding top pair in the blind or in
late position and betting for
value. Other sections concentrate on leading
into strength to get
maximum value,
disguising the
strength of your
hand and re-raising to isolate with
a hand that plays
well heads-up.
This is the kind
of book you’ll
want to have near your
computer if you’re playing
online, not just to get instant
information about a situation but also to find out if
you played a particular hand
properly. It’s also the kind
of book you don’t want your
opponents to read.
—Howard Schwartz
Eden!”
Disgusted, Canfield
sold his Saratoga Springs
interests to the city in 1907.
He decided to return to
more liberal, cosmopolitan
New York City. And with
Canfield went the glory of
America’s first great gambling resort city.
e-mail: [email protected]
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of dealers chosen to deal the
final table of
the main event
at the WSOP.
Janis
Hoegen and
( C O N T I N U E D F R O M PAG E 1 )
Tom Sexton
ized “I had gathered up the were married on April 17,
deck of cards into her crib.
2004. They share an interantes thinking they were
The road to Tournament
est in poker and ballroom
my tokes.”
Director began for Sexton
dancing. As an anniversary
In 1992, Sexton moved
in 1990 when she and her
daughter Lori moved to Las to the Mirage for two years gift Tom arranged a trip to
Argentina so they could
and in 1994 she hit the
Vegas to pursue her dream
learn the Argentine Tango.
of becoming a poker dealer. tournament circuit. She
Tom is very proud of his
began dealing the tournaWith her oldest daughter
ment trail at the Peppermill wife’s professional accomDina attending college in
plishments. “She started
Massachusetts, she sold her in Reno, NV and then the
as a dealer and earned her
Reno Hilton. The tournanightclub and limo busiway into upper manageness in Rhode Island. They ment circuit suits her lifement, as a WSOP Assistant
style. She enjoys the travel
moved into an apartment
Tournament Director. I’ve
and meeting new people
on the East side of town
“It’s like a two week work- had many dealers go out of
that was surrounded by
their way to tell me how
ing vacation and I enjoy
nothing but desert. When
much they respect the job
the hospitality of the host
mom and daughter went
my wife does. They have
casinos,” Sexton said.
for a walk one evening, as
noticed how hard she works
Although, she admits there
the tumbleweeds blew by,
and they appreciate all she
are drawbacks in spendLori wondered out loud
does. The fact that she has
what they were doing there, ing 28 weeks a year away
made history in the poker
from home which includes
Mom assured her things
world, by becoming the
missing her husband, her
would get better.
friends, and sleeping in her first female WSOP Circuit
Janis Hoegen, (as she
Tournament Director,
own bed. When she is in
was known at the time)
makes me very proud of
took her first dealing job at town she spends her free
her indeed,” Tom said.
time with her friends and
the Sahara. Sexton’s first
In fact, Sexton has a
family.
time in the box, dealing a
reputation for being fair,
Sexton has held nearly
stud game was a comical
honest and extremely
every position in the tourone. Each player put out
knowledgeable, leading
the 50-cent ante and having nament world throughout
by example. Nick Gullo,
her years in the business.
been told by her trainer “if
WSOP Floor Supervisor
At the WSOP those jobs
the money comes across
agrees, “Janis is one of the
have included dealer,
the line it is yours,” she
most experienced and talSingle Table Satellite and
took each ante, tapped the
ented poker and poker tourMega Satellite supervitable, thanked each one of
nament people I have had
sor, Dealer Coordinator
the players and dropped
the pleasure to work with.
and Assistant Tournament
them in her pocket. The
Director. She is most proud Her leadership and the help
table erupted in laughter
being among an elite group she gave the new people at
and it was then she real-
Sexton Appointed WSOP
Circuit Tournament
Director
Director of Poker
Operations for Harrah’s.
Her immediate response
to the news was both a
surprise and a thrill being
promoted to such a prestigious position. “I had
no idea I was even being
considered, but I am really
grateful that Jack gave me
the opportunity,” Sexton
said. She will also continue her role of Assistant
Tournament Director of the
2007 WSOP.
The Grand Casino
Tunica WSOP Circuit
Event in Tunica, MS
began on January 8, 2007
with Sexton at the helm.
Rounding out her crew of
top tournament officials
were three other women,
the first time in poker history four women have held
these positions at a single
tournament. Karen Kaegin
is hard working and outgoing as the Grand Tunica’s
Poker Room manager,
Sue Phillips was the very
capable Dealer Coordinator
and Dixie Lindsey was the
Payout Coordinator.
Sexton was born in
Cranston, RI on April 1,
1948 she says that poker
playing is in her blood, and
jokes she began to play
when her father threw a
the World Series is unparalleled,” Gullo said.
Her mentor over the
years has been Jimmy
Sommerfeld, someone
Sexton says knows the
business inside and out.
She is grateful to Jack Effel
who has shown confidence
in her by giving her many
opportunities to advance
her career. “I have definitely had some of the best in
the business to learn from,”
Sexton said. She feels that
her new position of TD will
help mentor women into
the poker world. She feels
they won’t be as intimidated, in fact the Grand
Tunica Ladies Event had a
record field of 465 entrants,
second only to the WSOP.
You’ve come a long
way baby, from the days of
gathering up antes as tokes.
Janis Sexton dealing a final
table at the 2002 World
Series of Poker.
Minimum of $100,000 in prizes including
an entry into the 2007 World Series of Poker®
To qualify, you must play 50 hours* each month in the Bally’s or Paris Poker Rooms starting
December 1, 2006 and ending March 1, 2007 or a combined total of 200 hours for that period.
The No-Limit Hold ’Em Freeroll Tournament will take place on Saturday, March 3, 2007.
VIP parking available to qualified players.
See a Poker Room Supervisor for details.
www.ballyslasvegas.com
www.parislasvegas.com
*You must play limit or no-limit live poker to qualify. Tournaments and lessons not included. A Total Rewards® card is required to record hours.
You must present your Total Rewards card to the Poker Room Supervisor before you start playing and you must have your card checked out
when finished in order to accumulate hours. Any player who does not check out will forfeit all hours for that day. Must be 21 or older to gamble.
Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. ©2006, Harrah’s License Company, LLC.
B6-0147
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
41
Entertainment
Listings
Entertainment RePORT
By LEN BUTCHER
A number of years ago there appeared
an ad for women--I can’t remember what
it was for--that read, “You’re not getting
older, you’re getting better.” The reason it came to mind
now is that I was just listening to one of the old classics by
Rod Stewart from his CD, Stardust ... The Great American
Songbook Volume III. Or should I refer to him as Roderick
David Stewart CBE (Commander of the British Empire)?
Whatever you want to call him, here’s a guy who has definitely become better as he’s gotten older and that ’s good
news for us. It’s also great news for any of you who are
going to be in the Connecticut area and in driving distance
to the Mohegan Sun on February 2, where Stewart will be
performing.
At 62, this singer with the distinctive raspy voice and
hair that doesn’t want to be tamed is still on the road, playing to sold-out audiences around the world and continuing
to win awards and add new, young fans to his list.
Here is just a sample of what he’s achieved throughout
his career and unlike many entertainers, didn’t accumulate all of them only when he was a young man. He won
the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album,
2005, Stardust ... The Great American Songbook Volume
III -- the one I’m listening to as I write this column. In 2001,
he was presented with the Diamond Award of World Music
Awards for over 100 million records sold worldwide. It was
a big year and an equally big honor in 1994 when he was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This past year,
he was finally inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. He’s
also credited with playing to 3.5 million people, the largest
crowd every recorded for a concert. And this compliment
from Elton John, who said: “Bar none, he’s the best singer
I’ve heard in rock ‘n’ roll. He’s also the greatest white soul
singer.” High praise indeed.
I have seen Stewart perform twice. First, some 20-odd
years ago, and then again two years ago and both performances, though different, showed the talent and diversity
of this guy. He puts on one helluva show and soon has the
audience eating out if his hands as well as rockin’ the joint.
Quite an accomplishment for a kid who grow up in
Highgate, London, whose passion was soccer (football in
England). He tried out with several clubs before getting a
job as a grave digger. Not to his liking, he decided to try
music, hooking up with a folk singer by the name of Wizz
Jones in the early ‘60s. The two of them performed as
street singers, traveling around Europe, until the cops in
Spain picked them up for vagrancy and sent them packing
out of the country.
Not to be deterred, he returned to England, founded the
Ray Davies Quartet that later became the successful band,
The Kinks, with Stewart as the lead singer.
His career stumbled along, as he moved from band to
band, making a living but far from becoming a household
name.
This didn’t happen until 1971 when his album, Every
Picture Tells A Story was released and the single Maggie
May started to hit the airwaves. Songs like Hot Legs and
Da Ya think I’m Sexy? added to his success and image as a
ladies man.
In recent years, Stewart concentrated on singing 1930s
and 1940s pop standards and las fall made his return to
the rock ‘n’ roll, with the release of Still the Same... Great
Rock Classics of Our Time, a new album featuring rock milestones from the last four decades. The album debuted at #1
on the Billboard charts. Not too bad after being in the business for almost 50 years. Getting older doesn’t seem to be
having any negative effects. Catch his show if you can.
Len Butcher, a 25-year resident of Las Vegas, is an
online columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal
and a former Managing Editor of the Las Vegas Sun
and of Gaming Today. Reach him at [email protected]
42
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
Poker Player Advertisers are shown in RED along with their ad’s page number
To list your event, contact Len Butcher, Entertainment Editor at [email protected]
ARIZONA
Casino Arizona (15)
Jerry Jeff Walker
Feb 18-19, 7 & 9 p.m.
CALIFORNIA
Chumash Casino Resort (40) Tower of Power
Feb 8, 8 p.m.
Ballroom Dance Party
Thursdays 8 p.m. to Midnight, Sundays 2-6 p.m.
Cambodian Dance Party
Fridays 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Crystal Casino & Hotel
Karaoke
Thursday through Monday
El As De Oros Night Club
Presents Banda Nortina Sats 8 p.m.-3 a.m.
Harrah’s Rincon
Bruce Hornsby
Feb 1, 8 p.m.
Hollywood Park Casino (7) Finish Line Lounge
Live Jazz, Tues. 8 p.m.
Pechanga Resort & Casino (39) Gordon Lightfoot
Feb 2, 8 p.m.
CONNECTICUT
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Howie Mandel
Feb 10, 7 p.m.
NEW JERSEY
Hilton Hotel & Casino
Sheena Easton
Jan 28-Feb 1, 7 p.m.
Trump Taj Majal
Trace Adkins
Feb 16, 8 p.m.
NEW YORK
Seneca Niagara Casino
PATTI
Feb 10, 8 p.m.
NEVADA-LAS VEGAS
Aladdin Hotel & Casino
Magician Steve Wyrick
Ongoing, Wednesday through Monday, 7 & 10 p.m.
Donn Arden’s Jubilee!
Sat-Thu, 8 p.m.
Bally’s Resort & Casino
“The Price is Right” Live Stage Show Tues, Thurs & Sat, 2:30 p.m. & Fri, 8 p.m.
Boulder Station Hotel & Casino (8) Little River Band
Feb 3, 8 p.m.
Caesar’s Palace
Elton John
Feb 13-14, 9 p.m.
Cannery Hotel & Casino
The Fab
Feb 9, 8 p.m.
Fitzgerald’s Hotel & Casino
Steve Connolly
Thurs thru Mon, 10:30 p.m.
Tue thru Sun (dark Mon), 7:30 p.m.,
Gold Coast (22)
Forever Plaid
Sun 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Harrah’s Hotel & Casino
Rita Rudner
Ongoing (dark sundays), 8 p.m.
Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino
Legends In Concert
Mondays through Saturdays, 7 & 10 p.m.
Joker’s Wild (10)
Troubador Lounge-Live Entertainment Fri & Sat, 9 p.m.
Moody Blues
Feb 8-10, 8 p.m.
Las Vegas Hilton
Menopause, the Musical
8 p.m. nightly Sat thru Thu
Luxor Resort & Casino
Carrot Top
Sun thru Fri, 8 p.m. & Sat, 7 & 9 p.m.
Mandalay Bay Resort &
7
p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays; 8 p.m.
Mamma Mia
Casino
Fridays; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Saturdays, Mondays.
George Strait
Feb 3, 8 p.m.
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
KA.
Fri thru Tue, 7:30& 10:30 p.m.
Impressionist Danny Gans
8 p.m. (Monday thru Friday)
The Mirage Hotel & Casino (11) Jay Leno
Feb 16-17, 10:30 p.m
The Beatles LOVE
Thursdays thru Mondays, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m.
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino
Tuesdays
thru Saturdays, 7pm; Tuesdays &
Magician Lance Burton
(43)
Saturdays. 7 & 10 p.m.
Earl Turner
Thu thru Sun, 8 p.m.
Palace Station Hotel &
Casino (8)
Gabe Kaplan’s Laugh Trax
Tuesdays thru Saturdays, 7 p.m.
Palms Casino & Resort (19) Playboy Comedy Club
Saturdays, 8 & 10:30 p.m.
Red Rock Hotel & Casino
Zowie Bowie
Nightly, 8 p.m.
Crazy Girls
Wed thru Mon, 9:30 p.m.
La Cage
Wed thru Mon, 7:30 p.m.
Riviera Hotel & Casino (19)
Splash
Tue thru Sun, 9:30 p.m
Neil Diamond Tribute
Sun thru Thu, 7 p.m.
The Scintas
Tue-Sat, 7 p.m.
The
Amazing
Jonathan
Fri-Wed,
10 p.m.
Sahara Hotel & Casino (20)
The Platters, Coasters and
8 p.m. nightly
Drifters
Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino (41) Sonora Mar & Mar
Jan 28, 9 p.m.
Santa Fe Station (8)
Kevin Eubanks
Feb 10, 8 p.m.
Bite
Ongoing, 10:30 p.m.
Stratosphere Hotel &
American
Superstars
Ongoing,
6:30 & 8:30 p.m.
Casino
Viva Las Vegas
Ongoing, 2 & 4 p.m.
The Whip-Its
Saturdays, 10:30 p.m.
Sunset Station (8)
Latin Xpress
Thursdays, 9 p.m.
Love Shack
Fri & Sat, 9 p.m.
Texas Station (8)
Oak Ridge Boys
Feb 16, 8 p.m.
Treasure Island
Mystere
Ongoing, Wednesdays thru Saturdays 7:30 p.m.
Phantom of the Opera
Nightly, 7 & 10 p.m.
Venetian Hotel & Casino
Blue Man Group
Nightly, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Gordie Brown
Ongoing, 7:30 p.m. (dark Wed & Thu)
LAKE TAHOE
Harrah’s/Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
Anita Mann’s Party Girls
Ongoing (dark Mondays) 10 p.m.
RENO
Peppermill Hotel & Casino (17) Brooks & Dunn
Mar 15, 8 p.m
OKLAHOMA
Cherokee Casino
Big Bad Bubba
Feb 6, 7 p.m.
4. Orlando Orozco . . . . . $1,840
9. Michelle Rovello . . . . . .$690
Aurora, CO USA
PLAYERS 48
10. Cuong Ly . . . . . . . . . . . .$464
PRIZE POOL
5. Shawn Rice. . . . . . . . . $1,610
El Paso, TX USA
7. Rusty Dems . . . . . . . . $1,150
Manlius, NY USA
8. Edwin Castro . . . . . . . . .$920
BINIONS LAS VEGAS
EVENT 34
1/15/07
NO LIMIT TEXAS
HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $40
PLAYERS 60
PRIZE
POOL
$17,460
1. Ron Smith . . . . . . . . . $6,985
Columbus, OH USA
2. Kelly Storm . . . . . . . . $4,365
Wichita, KS USA
Utica, NY USA
4. Jon Eaton . . . . . . . . . . $1,955
$27,936
Lubbock, TX USA
6. Todd Brunson . . . . . . $1,380
3. Joe Tehan . . . . . . . . . . $3,631
BINIONS LAS VEGAS
EVENT 31
Las Vegas, NV USA
5. California Williamson $1,676
Dean Stevens
Las Vegas, NV USA
1/6/07
NO LIMIT TEXAS
HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $600 + $60
1. Dean Stevens . . . . . . $11,177
Las Vegas, NV USA
2. Kenneth Nay . . . . . . . $6,984
6. Nick Elvidge . . . . . . . . $1,396
Hove, Sussex, England
7. Steve Crockett . . . . . . $1,117
Costa Mesa, CA USA
Boulder, CO USA
Peppermill’s Spring Poker Tournament Is A World-Class Event
Poker is the hottest game
going and the Peppermill
is playing host to some the
game’s top players this Feb.
23-March 4 for the prestigious Peppermill Spring
Poker Tournament, with an
expected prize pool of over
$500,000, including gold
bracelets for the winners of
Championship Events.
Over 1,500 players are
expected to take part in the
10 days of heated poker
action that will include
Limit Hold’em, No Limit
Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha
Hi-Low Split. Each day will
feature two tournaments in
the Tahoe Ballroom, one at
noon the other 7 pm, with
satellites and Sit ‘n Goes
daily at 8 am. Registration
for Noon events begins at 9
am and registration for 7 pm
tournaments begins at 5 pm.
Tournament players will
enjoy playing in the smokefree environment. There is
food service available and
there are several plasma
screen televisions throughout the room. Special room
rates are available for
tournament players, based
on availability. All weekly
tournaments and the Bad
Beat jackpot will be suspended for the duration of
the event.
For further information
please call 800-648-6992
ext. 7275 or 689-7275 or
visit PeppermillReno.com.
3. Julie Allen. . . . . . . . . . $2,270
St. Clair Shores, MI USA
4. Danny Hall . . . . . . . . . $1,222
Edson, AB CANADA
5. Pete Esposito . . . . . . . $1,048
Sayville, NY USA
6. Bob Menake . . . . . . . . . .$873
Las Vegas, NV USA
7. Jamie Daher Jr . . . . . . .$698
Las Vegas, NV USA
BINIONS LAS VEGAS
EVENT 33
1/14/07
NO LIMIT TEXAS
HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $600 + $60
PLAYERS 47
PRIZE POOL
$27,354
Todd Peterson
1. Todd Peterson . . . . . $10,942
Superior, WI USA
2. Jim Clarke . . . . . . . . . $6,838
Rochester, NY USA
3. Jon Eaton . . . . . . . . . . $3,556
Las Vegas, NV USA
4. Brandon Siegmann . . $1,915
Henderson, NV USA
5. Ken Bastien . . . . . . . . $1,641
Henderson, NV USA
6. Pamela Brunson . . . . $1,368
Las Vegas, NV USA
7. Todd Brunson . . . . . . $1,094
El Paso, TX USA
First Place Wins $50,000
BINIONS LAS VEGAS
EVENT 32
1/7/07
NO LIMIT TEXAS
HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $40
PLAYERS 79
PRIZE POOL
$22,989
Play 40 hours of Texas Hold ‘em any time between
now and February 28, 2007, and qualify for our
$100,000 Super Poker Tournament, March 2-4, 2007.
For more information, call 702.730.7780
or visit the Poker Room.
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino reserves the right to discontinue this promotion at
any time and limit participation at its discretion. If you or someone you know has a
problem gaming responsibly, please call the Problem Gaming Helpline
at 800-522-4700. © 2006 MGM MIRAGE®. All rights reserved.
Rickard Ingvarsson
playersclub.com
1. Rickard Ingvarsson . . $7,815
Orebro, Sweden
2. Ted Fender . . . . . . . . . $4,595
Chino, CA USA
3. Carolina Juew . . . . . . $2,525
Anchorage, Alaska USA
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
43
Benevolent
2007 WORLDWIDE
POKER TOURNAMENTS
Moron
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website: www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
KILLER Poker
>Denotes Advertiser; Poker Association Events also denoted: t=World Poker Tour,
s=World Series of Poker and e=European Poker Tour.
By John Vorhaus
To list your 3-day events contact: A.R. Dyck, Managing Editor, at: [email protected]
We speak today of the benevolent
moron image, one you can use to put other players
on tilt without making them so wary that they stop
playing incorrectly, or so angry that they just quit the
game altogether. Here’s a template you can follow if
you care to try this image play, though remember that
no image play works if you can’t sell it, and that there
are some images you will simply not be constitutionally equipped to sell.
First, be friendly. Be super friendly. In fact, be so
friendly that you’re actively annoying. Ask people lots
of questions about themselves. Ask them their theory
of poker. Tell jokes. Be the life of the party. Mike Caro
told us long ago that a happy poker game is a beatable game, and that a sad, serious one generally is
not. So laugh it up and ham it up. Make sure everyone
is having a good time. Or at least that everyone knows
you are.
Next, appear weak and clueless. Throw in some
loose calls (for small bets). Take some draws. Try to hit
a hand or two with junk holdings. Create the impression that you play a very careless brand of poker, the
sort of poker that any strong, sophisticated opponent
(your target for this image play) should by rights
dominate and crush. Remember to project a frivolous
attitude. You want to appear very easy to beat.
Third, show cards. Show every hand you win (but
don’t show any hand you fold). This is the hard part,
because there’s a strong taboo against giving away
information at the poker table. But it’s absolutely critical to the success of this image play that you show
your winners because, frankly, it drives a certain type
of foe (again, your intended target) completely off the
rails. Pretty much every time you win the pot, you
should be showing your cards: the strong ones, the
draws that didn’t get there (but you bet anyhow), the
naked bluffs, the blind steals, all of them. In a sense,
showing cards is very disrespectful: It tells your opponents that you think they’re such poor players that
you can manipulate them, bluff them, give away all
this free information, and still beat them. Like I said, it
drives certain players nuts.
Fourth, monitor your image closely. You are giving away information (though intentionally confusing
and conflicting information) and your opponents will
respond by playing back at you much more aggressively and/or giving you a wide berth. You need to
know who is responding how. See yourself through
their eyes. Your goal is to get them out of phase,
calling when they should fold and folding when they
should call. This only works if you know what phase
they’re actually in.
Fifth, talk up your luck. You’ll be playing (seemingly) frivolously and carelessly, but still winning lots
of money. Credit it to good fortune. The line I use (and
you can use it, too) is, “Luck is the strength of my
game. I have no other.”
Finally, stay happy. If this image works, you’ll have
foes calling you stupid to your face. Don’t get defensive. Admit to being stupid. Keep it light and friendly,
keep showing your cards, and keep winning pots. You’ll
get them leaning the wrong way, and losing so much
money that they’ll want to kill themselves – but hopefully they won’t want to kill you, too.
[John Vorhaus is the author of Poker Night and
the Killer Poker book series, and news
ambassador for UltimateBet.com.]
44
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
DATE
EVENT
LOCATION
Jan 22-Feb 3
Jan 24-28
>Jan 25-29
Jan 25-Mar 5
>Jan. 26-28
Jan 26-30
Jan 29-Feb 7
>Feb 1-13
Feb 7-17
Feb 7-19
Feb 8-10
>Feb 6-8
>Feb 9-11
Feb 11-21
>Feb 21-Mar 11
Feb 21-24
Feb 22-24
>Feb 23-Mar 4
Feb 28-Mar 4
>Mar 1-25
Mar 2-5
Mar 3-5
Mar 3-6
Mar 5-14
Mar 7-11
Mar 7-18
Mar 8-11
>March 9-18
>Mar 12-16
Mar 14-17
Mar 14-18
Mar 25-28
>Mar 26-Apr 4
Mar 28-Apr 1
>Mar 29-Apr 9
Apr 1-4
Apr 7-27
>Apr 12-29
Apr 18-28
Apr 21-27
Apr 23-May 2
May 2-6
>May 3-13
>May 4-17
May 4-20
>May 8-20
May 11-21
May 12-21
May 14-23
>May 21-31
May 25-Jun 4
May 26-Jun 8
>June 1-July 8
>Jun 16-17
>Aug 2-25
Sep 4-23
Nov 2-18
Nov 6-18
Poker Classic
IP Hotel & Casino, Biloxi, MS
Alberta Poker Championship
Casino Edmonton, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Heartland Poker Tour Event
Hooters, Las Vegas, NV
LA Poker Classic
tCommerce Casino, Commerce, CA
Coachella Valley Poker Ch’ship Spotlight 29, Coachella, CA
Borgata Poker Classic
tThe Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ
WSOP Circuit Event
sHorseshoe Council Bluffs, Council Bluffs, IA
OK State Championship
Cherokee Casino Resort, Tulsa, OK
WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ
Midwest Regional Poker Ch’ship Caesars Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
Texas Hold’Em Triple
Casino Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Heads Up LA
Crystal Casino, L.A., CA
Sweetheart Weekend
The Bicycle Casino (AdPg3), Bell Gardens, CA
WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s Rincon, San Diego, CA
The Wynn Classic
The Wynn (AdPg 47), Las Vegas, NV
French Open
eDeauville Casino, Deauville, France
WPT Invitational
Spring Poker Tournament
Peppermill Casino (AdPg 17), Reno, NV
Lucky Nugget Card Club, Deadwood, SD
Winnin’ o’ the Green
The Bicycle Casino (AdPg 3), Bell Gardens, CA
March Madness
Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY
Celebrity Invitational
National Heads-Up Poker Ch’ship Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ
Grand Final
eMonte Carlo Bay Resort, Monte Carlo
Spring Poker Festival
Concord Card Casino, Vienna, Austria
Hohensyburg Open
eCasino Hohensyburg, Dortmund, Germany
Ultimate Poker Challenge
Binion’s Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, NV (AdPg 26)
Bay 101 Shooting Star
tBay 101 (AdPg 32), San Jose, CA
Polish Open
eHyatt Regency, Warsaw, Poland
Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, Tama, IA
World Poker Challenge
tGrand Sierra Casino Resort, Reno, NV
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Indiana (AdPg 37), Elizabeth, IN
EPT Grand Final
eMonte Carlo Bay Resort, Monte Carlo
Sport of Kings
Hollywood Park Casino (AdPg 7), L.A., CA
Foxwoods Poker Classic
tFoxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT
5-Star World Poker Classic
tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Stars & Stripes
Bicycle Casino (AdPg 3), Bell Gardens, CA
Spring Poker Round-Up
Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Pendleton, OR
WPT Championship
tBellagio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
Western Canadian Poker Classic Casino Yellowhead, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge III Cherokee Casino Resort, Tulsa, OK
Mirage Poker Showdown
Mirage Hotel & Casino (AdPg 11), Las Vegas, NV
Heavenly Hold’em
Commerce Casino, Commerce, CA
NPA Tour
Hollywood Park Casino (AdPg 7), L.A., CA
Spring Pot of Gold
Grand Sierra Hotel & Casino, Reno, NV
Turning Stone Classic
Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY
WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
Mini Series Warm Ups
Spring Fling
Sycuan Resort & Casino, El Cajon, CA
Mandalay Bay Poker Ch’ship
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Mini Series
Poker’s #1 Family Tournament Hollywood Park Casino (AdPg 7), L.A., CA
Legends of Poker
Bicycle Casino (AdPg 3), Bell Gardens, CA
California State Poker Ch’ship
Holiday Bonus Tournament
Fall Poker Round-Up
Wildhorse Casino, Pendleton, OR
Silverton Hotel & Casino
(cont’d from page 39)
Card Room Roundup
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—Joseph Smith, Sr.
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F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
45
G
ambling has deep
roots in Germany.
The roulette wheel
itself was developed by
Francois and Louis Blanc
and introduced in Germany.
When the laws turned against
gambling in the late 1800s,
Louis Blanc took the wheel
to Monaco, which led to the
creation of Monte Carlo.
Poker itself was likely
derived from similar games
in Germany and France. In
1440, Johann Gutenberg,
# ON
MAP
CASINO
LOCATION
4
Casino
Aachen
Aachen
Spielbank
Bad
Bad Harzburg
Harzburg
Spielbank
Bad
Bad
Zwischenahn Zwischenahn
Spielbank
Hannover
Hannover
5
Casino
Hohensyburg
Dortmund
6
Spielbank
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
1
2
3
day, TV event has a cap of
500 people. Like all the other
events on the EPT the game
is No-Limit Texas Hold’em.
With the way the EPT events
have been going in the past,
this event will fill up fast.
Players that don’t have a
PokerStars package have to
buy a casino VIP package,
which is €60 per day, but
covers the casino entrance, a
buffet, and drinks. German
beer!
This event has a total prize
OPEN HOURS
the main event with one €300
rebuy and one €300 add-on.
Also, a €1,000 freezeout and
a €500 freezeout.
The EPT Dortmund is one
of those events that require
a jacket, which might put a
dent in some of the hotshot
American players that make
the trip. Remember when
U.S. casinos had such a
requirement? Yeah, me neither.
Though this is the first EPT
foray into the country, it’s not
the first major tournament.
Back in 2005, the online site
Everest Poker sponsored the
German Poker Tour, which
was a series of five tournaments across Germany. The
GPT was organized by a
player’s group calling itself
the German Poker Player
Association. The final was
held in Kalsruhe on Oct.
9, and won by Michael
Thielting. It doesn’t appear
that there’s been another
German Poker Tour since ’05
– a likely reason that the EPT
stepped in.
However, the German
Poker Player Association lives
on, and is associated with the
German Poker League, which
# OF
HIGH TOURNAMENT S/NS HOTEL
TABLES GAMES NL? LIMITS
BUY-IN
Thu 8p
7
N
Y
No
Limit
=C 100
S
N
Fri-Sat 8p;
Wed-Sun 7p
2
H
Y
No
Limit
=C 50-200
S
Y
Fri-Sat 8p;
Sun 7p
2
7, H
N
Pot
Limit
=C 300
S
Y
Tue-Sat 8p
2
H
N
Pot
Limit
=C 200
S
N
9
N
Y
No
Limit
=C 3005,000
S
Y
7
7, H,
O, 5
N
Pot
Limit
=C 75-600
S
N
Mon-Thu 3p-2a;
Fri-Sat 3p-3a;
Sun 2p-2a
Sun-Tue, Thu
5p-3:30a; WedFri 7:30p-3:30a
=C1 = $1.29
S/NS – Poker room allows smoking (S), non-smoking (NS) or both (B)
Days open, hours of operation, games offered and tables may vary
of the famous Gutenberg
printing press, printed the
first entire deck of cards. Of
course, traditional playing
cards in Germany look quite
different than the French
counterpart that the general
public knows about – German
cards use hearts, leaves, bells
and acorns as suits!
After several months of
planning, Germany just added
a new stop on the PokerStars
European Poker Tour – the
first EPT tournament in the
country. The EPT Dortmund
will be held at the Casino
Hohensyburg in Dortmund,
March 8-11. (This casino
has 9 poker tables when not
running special events.) The
buy-in is €5,000 and the four46
pool of €2.35 million, and the
winner gets €700,000 – over
$900,000!
There are also three
other events as part of the
Hohensyburg Open. There’s a
€300 buy-in super satellite to
started back up in January.
The DPL (Deutsche Poker
Liga) is attempting to get
Merkur-Spielothek as sponsors – a major arcade game
operator in Germany.
Following the sponsor-
A magnificent view of Spielbank Wiesbaden’s casino
floor, including the majestic chandeliers.
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
ship of this and a similar
tour in France, Everest Poker
decided to run a championship series of their own – the
Everest Poker European
Championship. The site ran
live events in 7 countries,
including Germany, over
March to June ’06. The finale
took place on September 9,
with a €50,000 prize pool
– won by Sweden’s Peter
Lindström.
One of the most famous
German poker players is
a woman – Katja “Miss
Slick” Thater. According to
Wikipedia, she’s the most
well-known female poker
player in Germany, due to
television exposure on the
888.com Poker Nations Cup
player Eddy Scharf, who was
born in Cologne, Germany,
and has 31 cashes since 2001,
including three cashes in
the 2005 World Series and
Omaha bracelets in the 2001
and 2003 Series.
“Seven Card Stud, Texas
Hold’em, Omaha, Five Card
Draw,” says Kerstin Peterson
of Spielbank Wiesbaden,
when asked about the types
of games the casino offers.
Spielbank Wiesbaden only
plays up to pot-limit, a
European tradition still held
on to by many casinos,
despite the no-limit craze.
GERMANY
By Steve Horton
(where she took second place)
and the Woman’s Poker Open.
Thater is a member of Team
PokerStars and had two cashes at the 2006 World Series of
Poker. Thater is also infamous
for bubbling out of the money
in five straight events at the
World Poker Open in Tunica
in 2005 – earning her a second nickname of “Bubble
Girl”. The 2006 Tunica event
is almost here – let’s hope
this is one performance she
doesn’t repeat.
Then there’s Roland “Mr.
Cool” Specht, who also plays
for Team Germany at the
aforementioned Poker Nations
Cup. Specht specializes in
cash games; specifically potlimit Omaha, from €250 to
€2,000 buy-in. Omaha is
even more popular overseas
than in the states, so finding a
game is not difficult.
There’s also Thomas
“Buzzer” Bihl, a sit-and-go
expert, who took 16th in the
Caribbean Poker Classic in
December ’05 and made a
final table at a rare tournament format – PLO8 – at the
EPT London, and veteran
Tournament buy-ins range
from €75 for rookie events
up to €600, according to
Peterson. The tournament
days are Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday and Thursday from
5 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. and
Wednesday and Friday from
7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.
“Business is growing fast;
on tournament days [we are]
constantly at our capacity
limit,” says Peterson. “Many
more tournaments (four per
week); many more cash
games (three to four tables on
tournament days), many more
younger people. [We run] 4
tournaments every week and
a four day Christmas special,”
he says.
Peterson believes the market for poker in Germany is
changing for the better. “Only
for Germany: More and more
poker in the casinos,” he says.
“Maybe sometime, when the
market is possibly liberalized, poker rooms outside the
casinos.”
The Greek-themed front entrance to Spielbank
Wiesbaden.
F E B R UA RY 5 , 2 0 0 7
47
A MILLION BUCK
GRABS EVERY SS UP FOR
UNDAY
(THAT'S THIS PA
GE x 333.33, JUST
SO Y
OU KNOW)
SUNDAY MILLI
ON
THE WORLD'S L
ARGEST WEEKL
Y POKER TOUR
NAMENT

randomize - Poker Player Newspaper

Transcription

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