Annie Duke: in Tunica - Poker Player Newspaper

Transcription

9
Celebrity Crossword PAGE
tribute to
Alan Goehring
12
26
14
17
20
Nancy Grout
Player Profile by
Phil Hevener
PAGE
PAGE
Entertainment
Best Bets
28
40
POKER PLAYER
Annie Duke:
TWO
in Tunica
Vol. 11 Number 16 February 4, 2008 A Gambling Times Publication www.pokerplayernewspaper.com Copyright ©2007 Bi-Weekly $3.95 USA/$4.95 CANADA
Jason
Stern of
San Jose, CA
won $12,762 in
event #10 at Grand
Casino’s WSOP
Circuit Event
If you feel like you’re holding up a mirror and seeing
your reflection no matter
which way you turn, that’s
just the way it is in Tunica
these days. For a few
weeks each year in January,
Tunica, Mississippi, lays
claim to being the poker
capital of the world with
two major poker tournaments taking place within a
stone’s throw of one another, at the same time.
Over at the Grand Casino
Tunica, you have the
2007-2008 World Series of
Interview Conclusion
Meanwhile,
at the Gold
Strike’s WPO,
Christopher
Amaral wins
$17,019 in
event #7.
Poker Circuit running from
January 3-22.
At the Gold Strike
Casino Resort, it’s the
World Poker Open/ World
Poker Tour Season 6, a
tournament series that runs
(Continued on page 11)
Tournament Circuit Begins
Anew After a Short Off-Season
After
Afte
Af
ter a sh
shor
short
hortt of
off-season
ff-se
f-seas
ason
on
llasting
astingg al
alll of about ttwo
wo or
three
thre
th
ree weeks,
s, tthe
he tournaament circuit is off and running again. The Irish Poker
Championship started play
on January
Galway,
JJan
an
nua
uary
ary 4 iinn Gal
G
alway
lway
y,
Ireland,
familiar
Irel
Ir
eland, with some
me ffamilia
iarr
faces ante
anteing
includein
ingg up,, in
incl
cluding Mike Sexton, Noel
Furlong—1999 WSOP
main event winner, Marcel
CORRECTION
This is the third
and final
t
installment of Jennifer
Matiran’s interview with
Annie Duke.
During their initial conversation, Annie said, “I
know players that have
more talent in their pinky
than I do in my whole body
and they’re broke.”
“What do you mean?”
Mike Caro
“ALWAYS”
Today’s word is...
Turn to page 4 for more
0
74470 05299
9
0 6>
The cover of Poker Player’s November
12 issue featured an incorrect spelling
for World Poker Finals winner John
Ruggieri. Our apologies, John. Hope
to see you on the cover again soon!
e John Ruggieri won $39,513 in
Foxwoods $600 Omaha Hi-Lo event
Luske,
Robert
Williamson
Lusk
Lu
ske,
k R
ober
ob
bertt Wi
Will
lliiams
ll
iamson
onn
III, Bruno Fitoussi,
Roy
i, and
and R
oy
Brindly.
Harrah’s WSOP Circuit
at Grand Casino Tunica
drew an impressive 781
players for the January 3-4
opening event, a $300 nolimit hold’em tournament,
won by Howard Reid,
who collected $58,500.
Tournament director Jimmy
Sommerfeld revamped,
upgraded and added many
By
Jennifer
Matiran
w w w. p o ke r p l a y e r n e w s p a p e r. c o m
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
P O K E R P L AY E R
1
FOXWOODS POKER CLASSIC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
BUY-IN/
ENTRY FEE
STARTING CHIPS/
TIME PER LEVEL
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Top 3 players at each table advance to the Finals on 3/24/08 @ 4pm
$260/$40
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1pm
$300 No-Limit Hold’em Shoot-out Round 2 (Limited to 600 entries)
Top 3 players at each table advance to the Finals on 3/24/08 @ 4pm
$260/$40
2,500/20min
Mar 24
4pm
$300 No-Limit Hold’em Shoot-out Finals
Only Round 1 & 2 table winners from 3/24/08 will be allowed to play
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Mar 25
10am
$600 7-Card Stud
$530/$70
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Mar 26
10am
$600 No-Limit Hold’em (Limited to 938 entries)
$530/$70
5,000/50min
Thu
Mar 27
10am
$600 Limit Hold’em
$530/$70
3,000/50min
Fri
Mar 28
10am
$1,000 No-Limit Hold’em (Limited to 938 entries)
$910/$90
6,000/50min
Sat
Mar 29
10am
$600 Ladies Only No-Limit Hold’em
$530/$70
5,000/50min
Sun
Mar 30
10am
$1,500 No-Limit Hold’em (Limited to 938 entries)
$1,375/$125
7,000/50min
Mon
Mar 31
10am
$2,000 No-Limit Hold’em
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Apr 01
10am
$2,800/$200
10,000/60min
Wed
Apr 02
10am
$4,800/$200
15,000/50min
Thu
Apr 03
10am
Act 3 $10,000 Championship Qualifier
$1,040/$60
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Thu
Apr 03
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Act 3 $10,000 Championship Qualifier
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Apr 04
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Day 1 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship
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Apr 06
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DATE
START TIME
Mon
Mar 24
10am
Mon
Mar 24
Mon
TOURNAMENT
Day 6 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship “WPT Final Table”
• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• 3% of each prize pool will be withheld for
Tournament Staff.
• Foxwoods reserves the right to limit seating,
cancel or modify tournaments at its sole
discretion and without prior notice.
Visit foxwoods.com for
tournament information/results
or call 1-800-48-POKER
2
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
Hotel Reservations Call 1-800-FOXWOODS
Two Trees Inn: Fri – Sat $139 • Sun – Thur $89 (Group #1683)
Great Cedar Hotel: Fri – Sat $159 • Sun – Thur $109 (Group #9651)
Grand Pequot Tower: Fri – Sat $209 • Sun – Thur $149 (Group #4753)
Rooms may be booked beginning Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 10am
M a s h a n t u c k e t P e q u o t Tr i b a l N a t i o n
w w w.
w. p o k
ke
erplayernewspaper
r.. c o m
FEBRU
UA
A RY
RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
P O K E R P L AY
AY E R
3
POKER NEWS
Caro’s Word: “Always”
By John Caldwell
SHOULD ONLINE SINS BE
PUNISHED OFFLINE?
As part of a public mea culpa issued just
weeks before his 18th birthday, admitted
internet poker multi-account user Josh “JJProdigy” Field
announced his plans to attend and play in PokerStars’
Caribbean Adventure. Not so fast, said PokerStars. In its
widely distributed email response, Stars announced that it
was extending the ban against Field through the PCA, and
Field was not welcome. On the other side of the world, the
Aussie Millions, after considering the matter, decided to
let Field play, citing the fact that Field had never violated
any of their terms and conditions, and therefore should be
allowed to play. We haven’t heard the last of this issue yet,
and internet message boards are aflame with the debate.
YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP!
With action in the main event of PokerStars’ Caribbean
Adventure nearing conclusion, a little bit of fun ensued
for players not deep in the final rounds of play. That fun
was the return of the PokerStars World Championship of
Battleship Poker, where players put their laptops back
to back and play an online heads-up match where they
can see their opponents’ cards, but not their own. The
match was won by Dustin “neverwin” Woolf, who defeated
Vanessa Selbst to win the $48,000 first prize. Selbst collected $25,600 for finishing second. Terrance Eischens and
Sorel Mizzi both won $12,800 for making the semis, while
quarterfinalists Steve Silverman, Elia Ahmadia, Matt Kay,
and Mike Glasser each collected $8,000.
CAN GUS BUY A VOWEL?
Gus Hansen hopes to cement his status as one on the
world’s most recognizable poker players with the launching of his ThePlayr.com poker website. Loosely evocative of
Daniel Negreanu’s Full Contact Poker, ThePlayr.com will offer news, articles, a poker forum, events and competitions,
an “Ask Gus” area and a complete “Gus Hansen’s Poker
Academy,” where Gus “… will teach poker the way poker
should be played—aggressively.” A number of the site’s features were designed with the assistance of Full Tilt, where
Hansen remains under sponsorship. The site launched on
Friday with a kickoff conference at the Aussie Millions.
IS SOME OF THIS THIRTEEN MILLION
YOURS?
While many U.S. based poker players have long since had
a fading interest in NETeller’s well-being, there are many
that should pay heed to the online payment processor’s
latest press release. While NETeller announced it had
reimbursed $81 million to US customers affected by the
company’s account freeze in early 2007, there is still approximately $13 million that has gone unclaimed. Former
US account holders have only until January 26 to claim
their assets using the NETeller website.
MORE ELECTRONIC TABLES COMING
AS LIGHTNING POKER, INC. IS
AWARDED PATENT
Pennsylvania-based Lightning Poker, Inc., one of the two
largest makers of electronic poker tables for use in liveaction casinos, has been awarded a patent for one specific
element of its products. The 10-seat Lightning Poker tables
continue to be distributed under an agreement signed
last year with leading casino-equipment supplier Shuffle
Master, Inc. The automated Lightning Poker tables offer
both Texas hold’em and Omaha programming options and
are available for play in several casinos in the U.S. The
firm also has installations in Canada, Australia, Macau,
Germany, Australia, Bulgaria, Romania and Lebanon among
other countries.
John Caldwell is the Editor-In-Chief of PokerNews.com,
a leading poker information portal. He spent 15 years in
music artist management, working with Stone Temple
Pilots, and Hootie and the Blowfish. Contact him at
[email protected].
4
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
S
ometimes you’ll
hear a recommendation that you
should always take
a specific course of action
in poker under certain
conditions. Such advice is
almost always wrong. Note
that I said almost always
wrong—that “almost”
modifies today’s word,
“always.” “Always” has its
moments, but not many.
Your best tactics in
poker and in everyday
life come from assuming you’re always going
to routinely do something and then try to find
reasons why you won’t.
That’s the function of
“almost.” If you don’t
find compelling reasons
to overrule “always,” you
stick to your choice and do
the obvious. If you do find
reasons, you’re honoring
the “almost.”
Don’t be bewildered by
what I just said. The key
is that if you try to make
decisions under time constraints with no starting
point, your evaluation is
apt to be muddled. You
usually won’t be able to
organize your thoughts
quickly enough. So it’s
helpful and appropriate to begin with a bias.
Understand that a bias,
used in this way, isn’t a
bad thing. It isn’t a realworld prejudice. Instead,
it’s just an initial best-
guess to which you have
no emotional attachment
and don’t care whether—
after examination—it turns
out to be right or wrong.
Today, I’ll continue
this series that allows me
to both ask and answer
my own questions, and
I’ll focus on the “almost
always” method.
Question 21: When you
have a choice to bet or
check, which should you
choose as an initial bias?
Under the method I’ve
just described, it’s wrong
to start without a bias!
This runs counter to the
lifestyles of fair-minded
thinkers. In courts of laws,
jurors sometimes are told
not to form an opinion
until hearing all the evidence. But that’s stupid.
By doing that you give
the evidence opportunities
to confuse you, because
you won’t know where to
start in your evaluation,
and you might give more
importance to issues that
seem to stick out in your
mind at whim. To be fair,
you can evaluate evidence
this way if you’re quite
careful in your methodology and take the time to
rate and compartmentalize
all the factors. But human
beings who aren’t trained
in being objective often
fail as jurors when they
try. So, what I’m saying is
POKER PLAYER
A Gambling Times Publication
3883 West Century Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90303
(310) 674-3365
www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
Stanley R. Sludikoff
PUBLISHER
[email protected]
Lou Krieger
EDITOR
[email protected]
A. R. Dyck
MANAGING EDITOR
[email protected]
John Thompson
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
FOR idrome INFO DESIGN
[email protected]
Joseph Smith
WEBMASTER
[email protected]
Mike Caro
SENIOR EDITOR
[email protected]
Jennifer Matiran
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
[email protected]
Len Butcher
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
[email protected]
Wendeen H. Eolis
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT
Phil Hevener
CONSULTANT
Contributing Editors
Ashley Adams Robert Arabella
Richard Burke John Caldwell
John Carlisle Nick Christenson
Leo Cummins Barbara Connors
Nolan Dalla George Epstein
Tony Guerrera
“Oklahoma Johnny” Hale
Tom Leonard
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire
Diane McHaffie James McKenna
Myles Mellor Sam Mudaro
Jennifer Newell Jonathan Raab
I. Nelson Rose Howard Schwartz
Max Shapiro Joseph Smith, Sr.
David Valley Donald Woods
Poker Player will be published Bi-Weekly by
Gambling Times Incorporated,
Stanley R. Sludikoff, President.
Volume 11 Number 16.
Copyright ©February 2008 by Gambling
Times Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without
written permission is prohibited.
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Distribution to newsstands, card clubs, poker rooms and
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
5
Betting Patterns, PART 1
LOU KRIEGER ON POKER
By Lou Krieger©
Identifiable betting patterns are there for
you to spot in most poker games, and any information
you can glean about another player’s betting patterns
will help you gain an edge on that opponent at the poker
table. Every top-notch poker player is aware of betting
patterns and knows how to capitalize on the information
they provide.
Information picked up from betting patterns can serve
a number of purposes—from tracking the playing styles of
your adversaries to tracking down some areas of your own
game that might need improvement.
When you put it all together and are able to combine
information learned from betting patterns with physical
tells exhibited by players at the table, then combine that
with the community cards that show up in a hold’em game
and the cards that other players turn up at the showdown,
you can consider yourself to be a very skillful, savvy player. It might even appear to your opponents that you have
some unerring, almost mystical sort of card sense, but
most of this magic act can be learned and improved upon
through diligence, practice, and repetition.
The most common pattern you’ll find in a hold’em game
is one your opponents do all the time and you probably do
yourself. It’s: call, bet, bet, check. That’s simple, isn’t it?
You call the blinds before the flop, catch a hand you like—
something like top pair with a good kicker—so you bet
the flop and the turn too, but when you fail to improve to
three-of-a-kind or two pair, you decide to check the river
to save a bet just on the odd chance that you’re beaten.
Becoming aware of this most common of betting patterns allows you to pick up a small leak in your game.
You’re leaving money on the table. Can you see how?
When you have the best hand on the turn, most of the
time the river card won’t promote your opponent’s hand to
one that’s better than yours. When the river does improve
an opponent’s hand, it’s usually a case of a third suited
card that screams “flush,” or a sequenced card that has
“straight” written all over it.
If a third suited card jumps out of the deck on the river,
feel free to check as long as your opponents act after
you do. But if you have the luxury of acting last, go ahead
and bet. You’re likely to be safe, not sorry, if you do. The
only time you’ll get in trouble acting on this assumption
is when the river pairs your opponent’s side card to give
him two pair. But there are only three cards in the deck
that will pair his kicker, and if he’s willing to play second
or third pair against your top pair you’ll win much more
money from him in the long run than you will ever lose
on those rare and lucky occasions that he pairs his kicker
with a miraculous catch on the river.
A player who is fortunate enough to catch his flush
card on the river will usually bet when it’s his turn to act.
And if he had a bigger hand than yours before the river—
suppose he flopped a set, or the top two pair—he’ll do his
checkraising on the flop or the turn, not the river.
What’s the message in this bottle? Most times you have
the best hand on the turn, you’ll have the best hand on
the river too, and you ought to bet it. OK, OK, so you’ll run
into some nasty situations when you bet and are called
or even raised and lose the pot. Don’t worry about it. It’s
no big deal in the grand scheme of things because you’re
far more likely to attract a crying call from a weaker hand
than you are to induce a raise from someone holding a
stronger one.
More on betting patterns next issue.
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].
6
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
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01.21.08 10:57:59 AM
-),,)/.
$/,,!2
Jennifer Newell did a bangup job of reporting in her
multi-part series about the
Absolute Poker scandal,
which continues in this issue
of Poker Player Newspaper.
She deserves all the kudos
tossed her way in this reader’s letter.
Because the writer criticizes
Card Player Magazine’s coverage of the Absolute affair
in his letter, we sent a copy
of his note to Jeff Shulman
for a response. While he
acknowledged receiving it,
he chose not to comment on
this letter.
—Lou Krieger, Editor
&2%%2/,,3
DWaWb^ZOgSà]\ZgQ][^]YS`^ZOgS`
T]Ò^]YS`P]\cac^b] Jennifer Newell
c/o Poker Player Magazine
Dear Jennifer I am writing to tell you
that I have the greatest
respect for you and what you
wrote in your recent column
in the January 21st, 2008
edition of Poker Player. You
are the sole print journalist in
the last two months to even
mention the Absolute Poker
cheating scandal and the
revolting “don’t look, don’t
tell” attitude that the mainstream poker industry seems
to be espousing in the wake
of this shocking scandal. You
and your publisher Stanley
Sludikoff deserve the highest
praise for your integrity and
courage in the face of what
appears to be a giant coverup by silence.
However, I don’t think
that a simple apology by
Absolute Poker and some
untestable assertion by them
that their on-line security has
improved goes anywhere
near far enough to address
the problem, even if they are
forced into a full disclosure.
Crimes have been committed, indictments should be
delivered, those responsible
should go to jail and pay
compensatory fines, and
the Absolute Poker web
site should be shut down
while these crimes are being
thoroughly investigated and
prosecuted.
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
7
Turbos Tourneys:
Rapid-Fire Combat
CONNORS’ CORNER
By BARBARA CONNORS
Here’s one way to look at it: A turbo tourney is just like a
regular tournament—if we can just imagine that this regular
tournament is hyperactive, on speed, and has drunk about
three pots of very strong coffee. In a turbo, blinds increase
very rapidly, usually every five minutes, though sometimes
they’ll go up as quickly as every three minutes. From this
one difference the entire texture of the tournament alters
dramatically.
Everything about the event is handled in such a way
to move things along quickly, and the end result is that
a turbo event will be finished in about 50-75 percent of
the time that it would take to play a regular tournament.
Turbos come in all shapes and sizes—multi-table events,
sit-n-goes, and satellites. Because of their increased speed,
turbos are more action-filled and exciting than ordinary
tournaments, and thus have become extremely popular. But
this extra excitement comes at a price.
Strategy-wise, a turbo event is fundamentally different
from a regular tourney in a number of ways. First, your
starting standards must be lowered. If you only play premium starting hands, you’ll quickly get blinded down to a
small stack, with all the handicaps that accompany smallstack play. Second, good preflop play is paramount. The
speedy format favors a hyper-aggressive style—especially
for those players who love to push all in before the flop.
So there will be less opportunity for you to out-play your
opponents after the flop.
To avoid being eaten by the blinds, you’ll need to start
building up your stack ASAP. That means pushing every
single edge you can find right from the get-go, no matter how small it may be. It means playing more marginal
cards, because the blind structure just won’t allow you to
wait for something better. It means you have to take more
risks. It means bluffing won’t succeed as often as it will in a
regular tourney, because opponents are more likely to call
down you with borderline hands. It means a patient, tight,
conservative strategy will almost certainly fail. In short, it
means you’ll need to gamble more if you want to win.
Turbos have a significantly higher luck factor than regular tournaments. That’s just the nature of the beast. With
so many preflop all-in confrontations, victory is frequently
a simple matter of who catches the better cards. Who gets
lucky, and who does not. Turbos may be more exciting to
play, but the poker skills you have worked so hard to develop will matter less when you’re playing them. Which is not
to say that skill doesn’t matter at all in a turbo. Of course it
does. At best, any poker tournament contains a tremendous
element of luck, and even the most skilled player in the
world cannot win a big multi-table event without a measure
of good fortune. The turbo format just makes pure dumb
luck a more powerful factor than it already was.
But on the flip side, because turbos take much less time
to finish, you can actually play more tournaments within
the same space of time. For as long as it would take you
to complete two normal tourneys, you could play in three,
maybe even four turbos. Pro players argue that this ability
to compete in more events within the same time-frame is a
big advantage for the skilled player, and it compensates for
the fact that a turbo’s quick blind structure increases the
importance of luck. Turbos favor quick-thinkers. They favor
decisive players who excel at preflop play. But most of all
they favor aggressive players who know how to push small
edges and who aren’t afraid of risk.
Barbara Connors is a sucker for classic old movies, science fiction, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Her life’s ambition is to figure out the unusual behavior patterns of that
unique breed of humans who call themselves poker players. Contact her at [email protected].
8
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
Carol we sure have had
a wonderfully happy and
successful year in 2007,
and it’s going to be hard
for 2008 to top it.
But we have a lot of
new plans for the coming year. We are hosting
a cruise on The Freedom
of the Seas on March 30 -
tions for 2008.
1. Win each time I sit
down to play, because
Carol may have other
things on her fix up list!
2. Let the dealer run the
game.
I have been in poker
games where a player tries
to be the pot sergeant and
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS
BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
By oklahoma johnny hale
April 7, 2008.
And the Oklahoma
Johnny Hale Kid’s Kamp
will be sponsored by
The Seniors Charities in
Arizona. It’s planned for
the summer of 2008 and
we will release all the
details soon on www.ok-j.
com, but here is some
advance information
It will be free for the
kids, and we expect to
have between 50 and
100 of them. The camp
will be called, The Sign
Design Group for Special
Children, kids who have
a little trouble hearing.
They’ll be joined by other
children too.
The camp will be funded by poker events in several of our friend’s poker
rooms. I invite all the
poker room managers who
read this column to email
me at Oklajohnny@aol.
com if they want to be a
part of this.
The poker players of the
world will be invited to
play in these special, send
a kid to camp, poker tournament events.
But right now I want to
tell everyone my resolu-
attempts
to control
the game. I will not be a
pot sergeant; that is the
dealer’s job. He is the mail
man and he delivers all the
cards to the poker players.
The dealer controls the
game, which is why they
pay him the big bucks if
he does a good job.
I will tip the dealer to
show my appreciation. He
is a professional dealer
and does not care who
wins the pot. But it is his
job to see that the money
is correctly handled and
that all the rules of the
game are followed.
I will remember that the
dealer is also in charge of
decorum, to see that all
the players conduct themselves as ladies and gentlemen.
If the dealer does not
do his job correctly, I will
not try to correct him. The
floor person is the dealer’s
immediate supervisor. If
an error has occurred that
the dealer has not corrected, the floor person
will make the decision to
correct the problem.
I will remember that the
floor person’s decision is
final—there is no appeal—
and I will move on to the
next hand.
3. I will remember that
the best hand should get
the money: This means
that when all the cards
are out in whatever game
of poker that I am playing, and all the betting
has been completed (and
the Fat Lady has sung her
song), the player with the
best poker hand should
win the money in the pot.
4. I will dress appropriately—warmly and correctly.
5. I will remember my
mother’s teachings when
she sent me to cotillion,
and conduct myself like a
gentleman. I will be cheerful and never have a baleful glare on my face.
6. I will always remember The Golden Rule of
Poker, and I will do unto
other poker players what
I would like to have other
poker players do unto me!
7. I will never ever lie
to Carol about how much I
win when I play poker!
She thinks I win every
time I sit down to play a
little poker and that is just
one of the ways I keep her
the happiest girl in Las
Vegas!
Until next time remember to STAY LUCKY!
You may contact OK-J at
[email protected]. You
are invited to cruise with
OK-J & Carol & OK-Sarah
on THE FREEDOM OF
THE SEAS on March 30,
2008. For detailed information go to www.ok-j.com.
Results: Hollywood
Park Poker Derby
POKER DERBY
POKER DERBY
POKER DERBY
1/13/08
1/11/08
1/10/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
7-CARD STUD HI-LO/
OMAHA HI-LO
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY UNLIMITED
BUY-IN $300 + $40
BUY-IN $100 + $25
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 125
PLAYERS 78
PRIZE POOL
$60,625
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Adam
Yamauchi
Adam Yamauchi . . . $22,935
Albertin Hernandez $11,520
David Cornan . . . . . . $5,700
David Wortham . . . . $3,640
Raffi King . . . . . . . . . $2,425
Cody Shedo . . . . . . . . $2,120
Michael Christiansen $1,820
Adnane Daghsen
AKA “eddie” . . . . . . . $1,515
Drew Trantowpearson $1,215
PLAYERS 238
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$24,440
$72,650
Samuel Medina
Richard Bagley
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Samuel Medina . . . . . $9,780
Steven Friedlander . . $5,620
Don Halpern . . . . . . . $2,930
Ted Chhoeung . . . . . . $1,710
Henry Minasyan . . . . $1,465
Bobby Beckerman . . $1,220
Paul Vinci . . . . . . . . . . .$980
Adam Corey . . . . . . . . .$735
1. Richard Bagley . . . . $26,880
2. Michael Avissar . . . $13,805
3. James Heath . . . . . . . $6,905
4. Thinh Nguyen . . . . . . $4,360
5. Wayne Harman . . . . $3,270
6. Ray Manlaglit . . . . . . $2,545
7. Patrick McSharry . . $1,815
Deep Stack
Extravaganza
Returns to
Venetian
The Venetian’s Deep Stack
Extravaganza (DSE) really
touched a nerve with poker
players when it was introduced last summer as a
complementary event to the
World Series of Poker that
was underway just a few
miles away. To call it a hit
was an understatement. It’s
obvious that tournament
aficionados like lots of chips
in their arsenal and a lot of
play for their buy-in.
Deep Stack Extravaganza
is now a series comprising
two tournaments a year, and
featuring no-limit hold’em,
pot-limit Omaha, Omaha/8,
and HORSE. This year’s
DSE will debut February 4
and run through February
24, while the second tournament coincides with the
WSOP in June.
Each DSE event consists
of individual daily tournaments with buy-ins ranging
from $300 + 30 with $6,000
in starting chips to $1,000 +
60 with $10,000 in starting
chips. Daily satellites will
give players an affordable
opportunity to participate
in any or all of the main
events.
“We are thrilled to be
bringing back the Deep
Stack Extravaganza as a
full-fledged series with
two annual tournaments a
year and giving players the
opportunity to experience
great tournament formats
run by a very knowledgeable
and friendly staff,” stated
Kathy Raymond, director of poker operations for
The Venetian. “With lower
buy-ins, larger chip counts,
more play, and great blind
structures in our luxurious,
spacious, and exquisitely
decorated poker room, these
tournaments are like no
other in Vegas.
“We received tremendous feedback from the
players regarding the Deep
Stack tournaments,” stated
Raymond “With the amount
of phone calls and emails we
received everyday requesting the return of the tournament, we knew it was only
right to bring the tournament
back as an annual series.”
3)'.50"/.53
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
9
Giving Up Your Power
POwer POKER PSYCHOLOGY
By JAMES A. McKENNA, PhD.
About four years ago, I wrote an article
about tilt. I said that,
“When you abuse a pinball machine it will go on
“tilt” and stop playing. The same thing will happen
with many poker players. If they feel abused, they will
go on ‘tilt’ and stop playing their best game.”
What I didn’t realize until lately was that other players don’t cause tilts. We do it to ourselves. What I
didn’t say was that we often tilt our own poker games.
No one can put you on tilt without your consent. So I
thought it would be worth while to re-visit the land of
tilt and see how we put ourselves on tilt. Here are a
few examples:
Have you ever had the experience of just not playing very good poker when certain dealers show up?
It happens, and you will hear players complain when
certain dealers come into the game. However, it’s not
the dealer but your state of mind that tilts you when
certain dealers show up. I noticed that with one dealer, I might as well go take a half-hour break when she
shows up. One time I did just that. While on this break
it occurred to me that I was giving her a lot of power
in my life.
Actually, it wasn’t how she was dealing the cards.
All the dealers have a routine way of shuffling, cutting, and dealing. No, what I realized was that this
dealer made a lot of mistakes, like burning and turning too soon—before everyone had called or folded.
She also would be constantly carrying on a conversation with other players and not paying attention as
other dealers would. In short, she wasn’t a very good
dealer and I tilted as soon as she showed up.
I gave her the power to put me on tilt, to shake my
pinball machine and to get me to start playing poorly—not that I needed her help for that. Now, when she
shows up, I welcome her to the game, I stay and practice self-control. She’s now my chance to become a
better player. I no longer give her the power to switch
my tilt button.
How often have you been beaten by a loose player
who sucked out on the river? It’s part of the game
and without these players, you wouldn’t win as much
because their good luck is no better than anyone
else’s, and their play is worse. Now you could go on
tilt, but why give poor players the power to control
your emotions? Again, it’s a chance to practice the
tolerance and discipline required to be a good player.
I have often said that when you play low-limit poker
games you are inviting suckouts. Players in such
games will stay longer and reason that it doesn’t cost
them that much to stay in. You literally lose your
whining rights when you play lower-limit games. That
doesn’t mean that it isn’t any more fun. It’s just part
of what happens in such games.
When the stakes are higher, loose play is limited.
Although, you will find it in the higher limit games—
consider it a chance to practice patience. If you do go
on tilt, it’s still a good idea to give yourself a break
while you are upset. Once you have calmed down,
ask yourself what did you do to allow someone else’s
actions to get to you.
So, the next time that you are invited to go on tilt,
it’s a good idea to ask yourself who’s tilting whom.
Since, in the final analysis, no one can tilt you without
your consent. Also, ask yourself, “What benefit do I
get out of letting others have such power over me?”
Jim McKenna, has been practicing psychotherapy for more than
thirty-five years. His books, the acclaimed Beyond Tells: Power Poker
Psychology, and Beyond Bluffs: Master the Mysteries of Poker, are published by Kensington Press. E-mail Jim at [email protected]
10
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
Sam Mudaro, BA, MBA, is a practicing tax
accountant and financial executive with
35 years of analytical business expertise. He uses simulation software to analyze and develop strategies for Omaha/8
and other forms of poker. Reach Sam at:
[email protected].
W
Sam Mudaro is the...
Omaha Starting Hands, PART 2
e’re continuing to
analyze starting
hand recommendations
appearing in Winning
Omaha/8 Poker by Mark
Tenner and our very own
Lou Krieger.
Their fourth recommendation reads “Play any
ace plus two prime cards.”
They define a prime card as
those comprising a wheel,
namely the ace through
the five. They also add
“You can play an ace with
any other two prime cards
except A-5-5.” I am not
sure if this recommendation is intended to include
hands containing a pair of
aces. Since a pair of aces is
not covered by any of their
other recommendations, I
will assume this rule does
include a pair of aces with
any other prime card.
Another area of confusion is whether this recommendation is intended to
include hands containing
four
prime cards such as A-2-3-4
or A-A-3-3. I will assume
this recommendation does
not include four prime
cards as they cover that
specific situation elsewhere.
Based on these assumptions I developed a template
consisting of Ace-PrimePrime-6+. The template
reads: Any ace, plus any
prime card, plus any prime
card, plus any six or higher
card.
We have already dealt
with starting hands containing an A-2 and A-3 in my
last article. The A-2 was
a blanket recommendation so I will exclude all
hands containing an A-2.
The A-3 required the ace
to be suited to one of your
other cards. Our revised
template now looks like
A-(3-5)-(3-5)-(6+) and may
be read as any ace with a
trey to five as your second
and third card, and a six or
The one exception would
be hands that contain three
aces. All of these should
be avoided. The chart on
the right indicates they are
basically all losers.
Excluding the hands
in the chart above there
are 440 remaining starting hands that meet the
template requirements.
Of those hands, 99 are
non-profitable. That is
22.5 percent. There are 20
hands that are marginally
profitable for a total of 119
hands that a novice should
avoid. Taking these into
account that is 27.0 percent or over one quarter of
the recommended starting
hands.
I offer one simple rule
which will eliminate 47 or
almost half of the non-profitable hands. Unfortunately
it will also eliminate ten
profitable hands and seven
marginally profitable
hands. My philosophy here
is that it is far better to err
on the side of conservatism.
The simple rule is to
eliminate all pairs containing a single ace unless
the hand is double suited,
1PDS.
The chart below shows
all the marginally profitable
and profitable hands that
are eliminated by this rule.
Hand
A-3-3-T
A-4-4-6
A-3-3-T
A-4-4-6
A-4-4-K
A-4-4-K
A-3-3-J
A-3-3-7
A-3-3-J
A-3-3-7
A-3-3-K
A-3-3-Q
A-3-3-Q
A-3-3-6
A-3-3-6
A-3-3-K
A-3-3-K
Suit
1PHS
1PHS
1PBS
1PBS
1PBS
1PHS
1PBS
1PHS
1PHS
1PBS
1PLS
1PBS
1PHS
1PHS
1PBS
1PHS
1PBS
W Rate
33.79%
31.26%
33.91%
31.26%
35.56%
35.64%
35.05%
32.05%
35.26%
32.14%
38.08%
36.11%
36.42%
32.75%
33.10%
38.76%
38.86%
Net
0.04
0.12
0.30
0.46
0.67
0.72
0.98
1.03
1.10
1.23
1.56
1.88
1.89
2.15
2.66
3.92
4.01
This simple rule brings
the non-profitable hand
count down to 52 while
reducing the total number
of hands to 376. That is a
much more acceptable 13.8
percent down from 22.5
percent.
We could simply exclude
from the rule above the A-33-K, A-3-3-Q and A-3-3-6
except for when these hands
are non-suited. This will let
in 2 non-profitable hands. It
is a simple adjustment but
higher for your fourth card.
The authors do mention
that “Unpaired prime cards
are what you’re really looking for …” While this is
said with respect to A-3-3
and A-4-4 it should be clear
that it does not apply to
A-A. All hands containing
a pair of aces with a prime
card are extremely profitable and playable.
Hand
A-A-A-6
A-A-A-6
A-A-A-7
A-A-A-7
A-A-A-8
A-A-A-8
A-A-A-9
A-A-A-9
A-A-A-T
A-A-A-T
A-A-A-J
A-A-A-J
A-A-A-Q
A-A-A-Q
A-A-A-K
A-A-A-K
Suit W Rate
3S 11.63%
3NS 7.19%
3S
7.93%
3NS 3.24%
3S
7.79%
3NS 3.05%
3S
7.00%
3NS 2.72%
3S
7.14%
3NS 2.92%
3S
7.16%
3NS 2.95%
3S
7.14%
3NS 2.94%
3S
7.77%
3NS 3.07%
Net
0.06
(0.77)
(0.54)
(1.05)
(0.74)
(1.21)
(1.37)
(1.45)
(1.23)
(1.28)
(1.30)
(1.24)
(1.34)
(1.29)
(1.10)
(1.27)
I like to follow the KISS
principal.
What helps the A-3-3-K
and A-3-3-Q is the high
flush potential combined
with the low potential. The
A-3-3-6 is helped along by
the high straight potential,
when the winning low is
a wheel. It may keep you
from getting quartered and/
or allows you to raise the
pot, and scoop the high.
Another simple rule that
will eliminate another 19
non-profitable starting hands
is to eliminate all nonsuited, NS starting hands
except A-3-4 and A-3-5 with
a king or queen. With these
two exceptions the rule will
eliminate a total of 20 hands
which includes one marginally profitable hand the
A-3-4-J with a net of $0.66.
We now have only 33 nonprofitable hands left out of
a total number of 355 hands
or 9.3 percent, or less than
ten percent.
So what have we
learned? With a little modification we can improve
upon a general rule of hand
selection. We however must
pay the price of increased
complexity.
TWO
In Tunica
(Cont’d from page 1)
from January 3-23.
There’s a lot of similarity
to be sure, but more importantly, it’s a lot of poker,
and the opportunity to play
in one event or another—
take your pick, you’ve two
to choose from—has made
this a major stop for touring
professional poker players
and “hundred milers” alike.
Any way you slice this loaf,
there’s no shortage of players or poker in Mississippi
this time of year.
Both of these events span
publication dates for Poker
Player Newspaper, so early
results appear in this issue,
with later results, including results from the main
events at each tournament,
set to appear in our next
issue.
After a very short offseason, the poker tournament season is in full swing
once again. So find a table
at a tournament near you
and tell ‘em to deal you in.
-),,)/.$/,,!2
'5!2!.4%%$
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GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #7
1/9/08
WORLD POKER OPEN
7-CARD STUD HI/LO
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 130
PRIZE
POOL
$65,000
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Christopher Amaral $17,019
Samuel Whitt . . . . . . $9,458
Dale Phillips . . . . . . . $7,566
John Phan . . . . . . . . . $5,675
Kurt Kirner . . . . . . . $4,414
Sandra Chalkey . . . . $3,783
Jason Williams . . . . . $3,153
Sterling Comeaux III $2,522
Abe Stevens . . . . . . . . $1,892
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #6
1/9/08
WORLD POKER OPEN
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $40
PLAYERS 594
PRIZE POOL
$178,200
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Harold
Lockwood
Harold Lockwood . . $47,227
Miles Taylor . . . . . . $24,917
Johnnie Blaze Short
AKA “Blaze” . . . . . . $13,028
Jack Andrus . . . . . . $11,400
Grant Watson . . . . . . $9,771
John Valet . . . . . . . . . $8,143
Joseph Gore . . . . . . . $6,514
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
11
Taxes Isn’t a FourLetter Word, PART 1
Player
Wreck
THE FOX’s DEN
BY Russ Fox
Every so often I get an email stating, “Taxes are voluntary,
right? So I don’t have to pay taxes on gambling if I don’t
want to.” Of course, you don’t have to do anything. If you
don’t pay your taxes and the IRS or your state tax agency
catches you, you’ll likely end up paying the taxes, plus interest and penalties. And you could find yourself in prison.
Like it or not, all gambling income is taxable for
Americans. If you’re an amateur you are required to include
all of your gambling winnings on line 21 (Other Income). You
can take all of your losses up to the amount of your winnings, and take that as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.
The professional gambler gets to net his wins and losses
on Schedule C. However, he must pay self-employment tax
(Schedule SE) on his net income after “ordinary and necessary” business expenses are deducted. Ordinary expenses
are those that are common and accepted in your business.
Necessary expenses are those that are helpful and appropriate for your business.
All gamblers—even the professional—must keep a gambling
log. Tax Court cases have repeatedly held that this should
be a “contemporaneous, written log” for gambling done in a
casino. If you play online, keep a spreadsheet or some other
similar record of your play.
We’re all “innocent until proven guilty,” right? Not in the
tax world. When you submit a tax return and sign “under
penalty of perjury” your return is assumed correct. If your
return is selected for examination (audit), you must justify
whatever numbers the IRS questions. In Tax Court, the burden of proof is generally on you, not the IRS.
I’ve represented numerous taxpayers in audits, and one
thing is quite clear: The taxpayers who presented organized
records to the IRS generally fared much better than those
who gave the IRS the proverbial shoebox. So keep good
records. If you’re a professional, a file cabinet is a deductible expense.
My best friend told me after reading the above, “Russ,
you sure make taxes sound like a four-letter word. There’s
nothing that I see that’s positive in what you’ve written.”
And he’s mostly right. The U.S. Tax Code is very unfair
towards gamblers. The Tax Code is ridiculously complex and
no one understands it completely.
Yet there are things we can do to make April 15 less
taxing. First, keep well organized records. If your records
for 2007 are lacking, make a fresh start with good recordkeeping for 2008. Organize the paperwork you give your
accountant—he will appreciate it. And don’t wait until the
last minute to start preparing. You’re probably now receiving
most of your government paperwork. If you do a little work
each week you’ll be ready to confront your taxes.
In the second part of this article I’ll look at some of the
deductions that are available to gamblers. Although most
of the Tax Code is a lemon, there are a few cherries to be
found.
Disclaimer: This article is limited to the one or more
Federal tax issues addressed in the opinion. Additional
issues may exist that could affect the Federal tax treatment
of the transaction or matter that is the subject of this article and the article does not consider or provide a conclusion
with respect to any additional issues. With respect to any
significant Federal tax issues outside the limited scope of
this article, the article was not written, and cannot be used
by the taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that
may be imposed on the taxpayer.
A Joe & Hobby fiction by
David J. Valley
obby called to ask if I
wanted to play some
poker. When I looked outside
and saw what a wet day it
was, I gave up on going to the
Farmer’s Market. Anyway, I
needed practice for a tournament coming up in Vegas.
“I’ll drive the pickup. I’m sure
you don’t want to take out the
Rolls in this weather.”
We hadn’t been to
Hawaiian Gardens Casino for
a while, so we headed there.
In an early round I caught a
pair of sixes, under the gun. I
made a bet five times the big
-blind, just for the hell of it,
and got two takers. Lucky me.
I flopped a set, went all in,
and was called! My opponent
caught an ace on the flop for
a pair and paid the price. Not
long after that I had an A-K
off-suit when a player, who
I had barely covered, went
all-in. I felt I was on a run and
was the only caller. A Chinese
straight 2-4-6-8-10 was put
down in order. I thought I was
dead meat, but my opponent
turned over less worthy A-Q.
By now my good fortune
was clouding my mind. I
limped in with an ace-deuce
of spades and salivated over
the flop of a 3-4 of spades
and ace of hearts. The bid-
H
Russell Fox is the co-author of “Mastering No-Limit Hold’em,”
“Why You Lose at Poker,” and “Winning Strategies for
No-Limit Hold’em.” He’s also a federally licensed tax preparer,
specializing in gambling. His tax blog is at taxabletalk.com.
E-mail Russ at [email protected]
12
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
ding was lively, taking a
good chunk of my chips, but
I was happy to oblige. I felt
certain I was good for a flush,
straight-flush, two-pair, or set
of aces. The turn was an eight
of hearts which brought out a
small bet. I called, the other
player folded. The river was
a nine of clubs. My opponent
checked—and this is where
my brains went south. I went
all-in on a colossal bluff, and
was called! When the stinking little 2-5 showed, I was
ready to slit my wrists. I left
the table.
I sought practice for a big
money tournament, so what
lesson could I take away. My
thinking was so fundamentally flawed that I didn’t know
where to begin. Just then an
old friend, Kelly Pope, joined
me at the bar. “You get busted
too?” He asked.
“Yeah, and it was no bad
beat. It was bad playing.”
“Well, there’s always some
benefit, if you learned a lesson, Joe.”
“Kelly, I’m so stupid I’m
still trying to figure out what
the lesson was.”
Hobby showed up. “Hi,
Kelly. Hi, Joe; are you crying
in your beer?”
“No, and it’s 7-Up. I’m
driving; the roads might be
bad.”
“I just checked,” Kelly
said. “It’s really coming down
hard. I’m getting out of here.”
“Be careful. We’ll be right
behind you.”
It was raining in sheets.
That, with limited night visibility, was not propitious for
freeway driving. “Just take it
easy,” Hobby said.
“You don’t have to tell me,
it’s a … oh shit!” Suddenly,
a half-mile of freeway was
compressed into 50 yards of
blazing red tail lights. I barely
had a margin of safety as I
slowed down.
“Watch it Joe!” Hobby
shouted. A car coming from
behind in the fast lane failed
to recognize cars were
stopped ahead. He passed us
going much too fast. It was
like a pin ball game. When
he crashed it started a chain
reaction. A small car in front
of us was hit on the side and
went over the edge. We came
to a stop not far from the
wreck, which had rolled over
and caught on fire. Before I
could say anything, Hobby
was gone, running toward the
wreck.
Flames were billowing
dangerously close. “Joe,
help me. Someone’s trapped
underneath.” Hobby had his
hands inside the top of a door
well. I grabbed an edge and
tried to lift, but there was no
way it would move. I looked
down and saw the face of
the trapped occupant. It was
Kelly.
He recognized us and
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
13
I Had a Dream
THE EIKS’ VIEW
BY Mike Eikenberry
I had a dream that I was hitchhiking on
Interstate 40, heading east out of Las
Vegas and ran into my gambling buddy Max, who was
also hitchhiking. “Where are you going,” I asked?
“Houston,” he replied. “My A-K should have beaten
my opponent’s puny little pair, especially in the first
hand of a tournament when I shove all my chips in.
However, it didn’t and that’s why I am ‘walking back to
Houston.’ How about you? What are you doing here?”
“I lasted twice as long as you,” I replied. “The second hand of the tourney some stupid amateur called
on the little blind with deuces after everyone else
had folded. I pushed all my chips to the middle with
the Aa-Ka and he called. The board finished with all
babies and the next thing I know I am ‘walking back to
Houston’ myself. What a pair of bad beats! The odds of
that happening must be at least a thousand to one.”
“Yeah,” Max replied, “About the same odds of you
and me actually making it to Houston.”
Watching for Tells. Poker is not the only game
where reading tells is important. During last year’s
United States Open Tennis Championships, John
McEnroe asked Andre Agassi how he did so well
against Boris Becker over the years. Andre said that
he could always read when Boris was going to serve
up the middle in the ad court. And when he did not see
the tell, he knew he was going to serve wide. What a
tremendous advantage! No wonder Agassi had such a
winning record against Becker.
In football today, coaches and their assistants spend
hours breaking down opposing team’s previous game
films in search of predictable patterns—tells. The most
valuable coach is the one who’s best at reading reads
tells accurately and quickly. I predict that an underpaid assistant coach for a pro football team will win a
major poker tournament in 2008.
Televised poker provides this potential to top poker
player, some of whom are already studying tapes to
read opponents. Phil Laak, “the Unibomber,” spent
hours looking at tapes of GSN’S High Stakes Poker last
year, not only to read them, but to get his opponents
to fold when he used a reverse tell.
Doyle Brunson says that tells are a huge part of his
game. He claims to be able to beat any amateur without looking at his hand, as long as his opponent does
not know he is not looking. The WSOP Academy features a former CIA agent who is haled as the greatest
poker tells expert ever.
Million Dollar Hold’em Tips. This is the first in a
series of tips that have either won me or lost me a
million dollars over my 40 year poker playing life.
Tip No. 1—Not value betting enough on the river. This
hole in my game has easily cost me a million dollars.
If I could see how a river card might beat me in one or
two ways, I would not bet even though my opponent
may have had several losing hands with which they
would have called a value bet.
In limit poker you should not bet just because you
think you have the best hand, but only if a bet has a
positive river expectation. For example, if you will win
19 out of 20 times, but will only get called the one
time you are beaten, then you should not bet.
In And Out Riddle Answer (From The Last Issue).
To make the In List, the word simply had to have double letters in the spelling (as in “spelling”). Everything
else was in the Out List.
Mike Eikenberry got his undergraduate and law degrees from
the University of Virginia, where he played varsity tennis and
basketball. He has played tournaments and live games for
more than 25 years. Contact Mike at [email protected]
14
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
A Poker Player Murder Mystery by Robert Arabella
WHEN POKER PIGS FLY
“I’ve a right to think,”
said Alice.
“Just about as much
right,” replied the
Duchess, “as pigs have
to fly.”
—Lewis Carroll, Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland
[This article is based on
Robert Arabella’s Decline
and Fall of the Poker
Empire, published in 2026
by Poker Player.]
The Reverend Biggs
Brother, founder of
The Puritan Church Of
America, yearned to be
a charismatic leader of a
great moral crusade. He
longed for the day that
he could declare what St.
Augustine defined as a
“just war,” a heavenly-
inspired battle to the death
against “The Evildoers.”
The Reverend dreamed
of the chance to lead
millions of his devout
followers—at the time he
had only about thirty—
away from the sins that
would forever damn their
mortal souls. He took for
his role model the Puritans
of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony, who, trying to create “God’s Shining City
on a Hill,” enacted laws
forbidding degenerate
secular entertainments such
as dancing, drinking, and
gambling.
It was gambling, especially poker, that attracted
the Reverend’s greatest
wrath. In sermon (Hold’em
In Hell) after sermon (God
Hates Cards) after sermon
(The Curse Of The Poker
Room), the Reverend
demanded that poker be
outlawed by the passage of
a poker prohibition amendment.
The Reverend regularly
referred to poker players as
pigs, which were, according to the Holy Bible,
the most unclean and the
most abhorred of all God’s
creatures. Critics laughed
that pigs, poker playing
or not, would fly before a
Constitutional amendment
prohibiting poker was ever
passed.
Then, as the Reverend
came to believe, divine
intervention, in the person
of U.S. Senator Phil Fist,
delivered into his hands
a chance to offer the sacrificial lambs to God that
would further his cause.
The first poker player
charged with violating
Senator Fist’s Criminal
Internet Poker Act was
being tried inside Las
Vegas’ Oscar Goodman
Federal Courthouse. The
media interest in the Great
Poker Trial was enormous
and the The Reverend
Biggs Brother determined
it was his moment to step
into the national spotlight.
The only question was how
to break into the headlines.
The Reverend mounted his
pulpit and told his followers, “My friends, it is time
for poker pigs to fly!”
There is no evidence
that the great American
philosopher Henry David
Thoreau either approved
or disapproved of poker.
Since no stories exist
of wild, all-night poker
games with Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, and Louisa
May Alcott all gathered
around a card table at
Walden Pond, we will
probably never know what,
if any, feeling Thoreau had
about poker at all. Yet it
was Thoreau’s 1849 essay
Civil Disobedience which
The Reverend turned to as
blueprint in his campaign
against what he called
“poker playing pigs.”
On the trial’s second
day, The Reverend, a
dozen of his followers,
and half as many greased
piglets, walked into the
Las Vegas Crystal Casino.
Entering the poker room,
they began to fling the
Play Against Him!
squealing squirming piglets
onto poker tables and to
disrupt games in progress.
While poker pigs were flying, and poker tables being
overturned, a small group
of Puritans, “liberated”
a poker table and began
chanting for the TV camera crew that had followed
them in:
This little piggy played
hold’em.
This little piggy went allin.
This little piggy forgot to
fold’em.
And went “wee, wee, wee,”
wallowing in sin!
What followed is today
remembered as The Great
Las Vegas Poker Room
Riot.
[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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15
Compacts, Elections and
Bureaucrats—Oh My!
POKer AND THE LAW
By I. NELSON ROSE
On February 5, 2008, Californians will vote on whether
four tribes can triple the number of slot machines in
their casinos, from 8,000 to 25,000.
But, no matter who wins, the losers will sue. And they will have good
arguments on their side.
Opponents, primarily unions and competing tribal casinos and racetracks, believe this legal mess was created by underhanded attempts to
guarantee that these four tribes would get their slots, even if the voters
disapproved.
I believe the problems were the result of federal and state bureaucrats following what they thought was the letter of the law, without using
common sense.
This particular fight started a couple of years ago, when Gov.
Schwarzenegger signed compacts giving these tribes more slots in
exchange for the state receiving up to 25 percent of the net gaming
revenue. The compacts had to be approved by the State Legislature.
The Senate approved immediately. But opponents stalled the approvals
in the Assembly until the tribes agreed to a few additional terms in side
agreements. This creates the first legal question: Are side agreements
between the state and tribes enforceable, when they are not part of the
compact?
The opponents did not give up. They launched referenda campaigns
and got enough signatures to put the compacts on the February 5 ballot.
Meanwhile, Gov. Schwarzenegger, with approvals in hand from the
State Legislature, signed the compacts and gave them to state Secretary
of State Debra Bowen to forward to the federal Department of the
Interior. That she did, because she read state law as requiring her to do
so.
This creates the second set of lawsuits. California law does require
her to forward approved compacts. But were the compacts approved?
Technically, the State Legislature’s approval has to be in the form of a
statute. Statutes normally don’t take effect until January 1 of the following year. So, maybe Bowen sent the compacts too soon.
Plus, under California law, normal statutes do not take effect at all,
once they have been challenged by a referendum. Opponents argue the
approvals only take effect if the voters say they do in February.
The Secretary of Interior is not supposed to rubber-stamp these compacts. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires that he review them to
see that they meet all legal requirements. But government bureaucrats
being bureaucrats, his office apparently misplaced the compacts.
No big deal ... except the Act also says that the compacts are
“deemed approved” if the Secretary fails to take any action on them for
45 days.
These compacts were big news. Anyone in the Dept. of Interior with
common sense would have treated them with special care. And the
Secretary should have returned them to California, or at least asked
questions whether the approvals by the State Legislature were still valid.
Even after screwing up for 45 days, the Secretary should have done
something, such as ask for guidance from the courts. Instead, he
announced that the compacts had been deemed approved.
In the uproar that followed, someone noted that federal law requires
more than an announcement by the Secretary. To be official, the
Secretary’s approval must be published in the Federal Register.
So, all the Secretary had to do was not publish his approval until after
the February election.
On December 19, this Bush appointee published his approval in the
Federal Register.
When asked why he did such a bonehead thing, his reply was pure
bureaucratese: Once deemed approved, the law required him to publish
the approval.
So one way to look at the February referenda is not that it will decide
whether there is a massive expansion of tribal casino gaming. Rather, it
is a make-work project for lawyers.
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.
16
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
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Jennifer Matiran Interviews Annie Duke
Jennifer asked. “They have
leaks,” said Annie.
“Leaks, what are
leaks?” Jennifer asked
curiously. “Leaks are
when someone wins at the
poker table and then proceeds to bet what they won
on something else, and
they end up losing everything they won in the first
place.”
“Ahh, so you don’t have
leaks?” Jennifer said.
Annie laughed, saying “my
children are my leaks.”
JENNIFER: How does
your attitude affects your
decisions?
ANNIE DUKE: We make
decisions when we are
thinking positively. Here’s
a case in point. If you are
losing at a poker table you
are more likely to make a
bad decision. You will play
too many hands and throw
good money after bad.
When you play too many
hands because you’re trying
to get your money back, it
is a bad decision. It is bad
mathematical decision—a
bad game theory decision
JM: I think I’m a pretty
good player, but I don’t
recover well from a big
beat. What would you
advise?
AD: That’s a very good
question. Most people can
recognize the physiological signs of guilt, blushing cheeks, the heart rate
thing, the breathing. If
you can’t stop the feelings
quickly, get up and walk
away from the table.
Don’t keep playing, no
matter how good that game
is, if you can not stop
those physical feelings,
and the “why are these
things happening to me”
feelings. The first way that
you deal with these things,
especially if you are a new
player, is to have a very
strict loss limits when you
sit down in a game. Not
win limits, loss limits.
In a limit poker game,
you can set 30 big bets as
a loss limit. For example,
if you are up 15 big bets
and you get down 30 big
bets you are done. You are
now 30 bets down from
your peak.
People at the table perceive you as a loser and
will come after you, while
you will lose the ability
to knock people out of the
game. When you are playing with confidence and
are winning at the table,
it is easy to continue winning. But you are losing;
you may not be the best
judge of whether or not
you are losing because
you are playing poorly or
because you are unlucky.
None of us—not even
experts—when losing is
particularly good at judging our own play. When
you first sit down, put a
control on how we are
might be playing if we
begin to lose.
In a no-limit game
you want to be looking
between 50 or 100 big
blinds. Now, in terms of
overall bankroll management you don’t ever want
to risk more than 5-10
percent of your entire
bankroll.
You need to be a very
good player to risk 10
percent. If you are playing
$1-$2 no-limit hold’em,
you should have at least
$1,000 to $2,000 in your
bankroll. That’s much
more money than most
people think.
When we play from
behind we are never playing our best game. And try
not to play tired. We have
more emotional control
when we are not tired.
You want to put a limit on
the number of hours for
your tournament and you
want to play tournaments
that are no more than 6-8
hours long. In terms of the
actual ideation that you
have during the game, one
thing you can do is get
up and walk around until
the physical symptoms go
away.
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JM: Even during a tournament?
AD: Yeah, even during a
tournament, I get up and
walk around. In turns of
the ideation, there is really
one good way to deal with
those thoughts, whether
they are good thoughts
or bad thoughts. The bad
thoughts are like “I’m so
unlucky,” “I can’t believe I
played so poorly, why did
I let that happen to me?”
“Bad things are always
happening to me at the
table.” The best substitutes
for bad thoughts are good
thoughts. If a hand was
particularly bad, keep a
journal and find someone
to discuss it with so that
you can learn from the
experience.
301 Fremont Street • Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-388-2400 • www.fitzgeraldslasvegas.com
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
17
Are You Having Fun?
SENIORS SCENE
By George “The engineer” EPSTEIN
In a recent column, I wrote about the
great seminar that John “The Scientist”
Hayes presented to my Claude Pepper
Seniors Poker Group when we were hosted by the Normandie Casino in Gardena, Calif. John did
a super job. “Fantastic” was what some of my students
said. But he made one noteworthy observation with
which I take exception:
John asked the group of about 50 seniors for a show
of hands if they play poker for the enjoyment of the
game—to have fun. All of us held up our hands. Yes,
we play to have fun. None of us are professional poker
players, so we play for recreation and for enjoyment.
John explained that if you are playing for the fun of
the game, then you should “expect to lose money … So
don’t be upset when you lose. In a way, you are paying
the price for the entertainment,” he added.
Well, I don’t agree! I do not expect to lose; and I am
disappointed if and when I do lose my money. I know
how to win – and that’s what I try to teach my students.
Later, John expanded: “You must be willing to study,
study, study … And if you view poker as all fun and no
study, you should expect to lose.” Yes, study—learning
and improving your game—is important to being a winner. That’s why you are reading this newspaper. But,
since he raised the question, let’s discuss playing poker
for fun.
To summarize my position, I quote from my first
poker book, The Greatest Book of Poker for WINNERS!
“It’s fun to win.”
My wife, Irene, who was a better, smarter poker player than I will ever be, used to say: “Winning is great
fun.” Now that I agree with, and I think you will too.
To further prove my point; I ask you, Have you ever
seen a really happy loser? The words “happy” and
“loser” just don’t go together. On the other hand,
observe the face of a player who has just won a big
pot. Ecstasy! Boy, is he happy! Winning is great fun.
How about you? What’s your reaction when your
hand is second-best and you just lost a good-size pot?
Not very happy, I dare say. Contrast that with the elation as you scoop in a monster pot. In fact, you are
happy even when you win a small pot. When you are
winning, you are happy and it’s great fun. And when
you lose, you are saddened; it’s not much fun and not
very enjoyable. . .
Most of us play poker for recreation; we are not professionals who need poker winnings to support themselves and their families. Most of us play for the challenge and excitement—just like playing any other sport,
except that poker doesn’t require the physical stamina
and athletic skills of football or basketball. We enjoy
winning at whatever game we are playing. Indeed, it
is winning that makes it fun. You may also enjoy the
social interactions with other people, and the mental
challenge. Those are valuable too. But don’t let anyone
tell you that it’s fun when you lose.
Nor should you go to the casino expecting to lose
because you “are only playing to have fun.” In fact,
if you go there with that state of mind, you are likely
to go home a loser. Your self-confidence and personal
image as a winner are important. Yes, you want to
have lots of fun because winning is great fun! And your
mindset should be: “I am a winner.”
So, readers what’s YOUR opinion?
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 and
teaches poker at the Claude Pepper Sr. Citizen Center in
Los Angeles. Contact George at [email protected].
18
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
H
awaiian Gardens
shift manager Nancy
Grout says it was the
long ago phone call from a
girlfriend that changed everything, taking her across the
country and into a new life.
knew everybody … You
went in a restaurant, you
could count on the maitre‘d
to take good care of you.”
NANCY
POKER
Profile
Grout
BY PHIL HEVENER
She was back home in
Pittsburgh on a break from
studies at a Miami fashion
school on a day in the mid1970s when she got a call
from the friend whose family
had moved to Las Vegas.
“Her father had been a
policeman in Pittsburgh,”
Nancy says, “and he went out
to Las Vegas to be a security
guard at the MGM which
was then the new big place in
town.”
“I asked her what she’s
doing and she says she’s
dancing with Chubby
Checker over here at Dirty
Sally’s.”
“Doesn’t that sound like
fun?” the friend asks. And I
go, ‘Oh absolutely,’ because
she and I were both disco
queens, you know, practicing our routines together and
everything. She tells me what
I should do is get on a plane
and come on to Las Vegas.”
Las Vegas … that place
where the parties seemed to
go on forever.
No one had to twist
Grout’s arm. She got on the
plane to Las Vegas, never
looked back and poker had
absolutely nothing to do with
anything.
Not then, anyway.
“My parents used to play
cards but their preference
was canasta, stuff like that.
Making the move was easy
for me. I was an only child.
My mother had died the year
before and my father had
remarried.”
So she and her girlfriend
hooked up, began sharing
an apartment and doing the
town with youthful enthusiasm.
“My friend was a keno
runner at the Sands and knew
everybody. She was friends
with Wayne Newton,” her
tone suggesting that having the chance to stop by
Wayne’s dressing room for a
little pre- or post-show chitchat helped open doors to a
full social life.
“Las Vegas was a lot
smaller then and everybody
room and there’s Johnny
Moss, the legend-in-his-owntime poker pro who ran the
room. He’s sitting there during a slow moment, watching these two pretty woman
passing him by.
So one night she and her
friend are walking through the
Flamingo, passing the poker
The way Grout remembers
it, “Johnny calls over to us,
he says, ‘So what are you
two girls doing?’ We stop to
talk and upshot of it all was
that Johnny says I should
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.
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
19
The ICM,
PART 8
STRAIGHT SKINNY
By RICHARD G. BURKE
In the last issue of Poker Player newspaper, we showed tactics for tournament play
derived from the Independent Chip Model. In this issue, we
present more tactics, and counter-measures for small, medium, and large stacks.
Suppose you’re in the stage of a tournament, I told Fred,
where half the remaining players will make the money and
the stacks at your table range from five to fifty times the
big blind. Furthermore, suppose that one of the small stacks
is the big blind and her starting hand requirements are any
pair, any ace, any king, or any two cards ranking higher than
sevens.
The short-stacked big blind will therefore call an all-in
raise 45.1 percent of the time. Her win probability is .6138 (or
better) against 9d-8a (or worse). Should anyone raise her
all-in? The ICM answers that question.
Stack
Fold
Call&Win
Call&Lose
dEquity
Small
$ 291.43
$ 345.46
$ (557.59)
$ 79.29
Medium
$ 236.57
$ 285.52
$ (458.89)
$ 63.20
Large
$ 126.86
$ 153.66
$ (240.70)
$ 39.81
The second column shows your “fold equity,” the dollar
equity that would arise if the big blind were to fold times the
probability that she would fold. The last column shows your
probable change in equity from putting the big blind all-in. If
the big blind were to call, then as shown in columns 3 and 4,
a small stack has the most to gain, and also the most to lose.
The above table suggests that someone ought to raise
the short-stacked big blind, even with hands as marginal as
9d-8a. According to the ICM calculations, any stack size
would gain equity.
Fred asked about raising a small stack with “air.” The next
ICM table shows the results of raising all-in with the hammer,
7d-2a. Since the probable change in equity is negative for
all stack sizes, the ICM doesn’t support raising all-in with
“air” against a short-stacked big blind, or limper, with those
calling requirements.
Stack
Fold
Call&Win
Call&Lose
dEquity
Small
$ 277.98
$ 290.98
$ (663.86)
$ (94.90)
Medium
$ 225.66
$ 240.49
$ (546.35)
$ (80.19)
Large
$ 121.01
$ 129.43
$ (286.57)
$ (36.14)
Everyone at the table increases his equity when someone
busts out, so if a small stack limps, then either he’s foolish
or trapping. He would be foolish because anyone could raise
him all-in. But knowing that, a short stack might trap with a
big hand, hoping to entice someone to raise him all-in and
thereby double up. Fred said he might try that play himself,
although he rarely had a big hand and never when he needed
it.
While the larger stacks might prefer to wait patiently until
the smaller stacks eliminate each other, often a large stack
is last and only to act. If so, then he can pressure the blinds
with a min-raise at least.
Medium and large stacks might better use their ammo to
pound on medium stacks. The small stacks are desperados
and more likely to push with anything; the medium stacks
tend to play too tightly, hoping to keep a low profile and
to back into the money. Because they play too tightly, any
attacker has very large fold equity, and may profit from raising with “air.” A frustrated medium stack may play back at
you, I told Fred, after you’ve raised his big blind yet again, so
you need to pick your spots, and trust your reads.
Fred wanted copies of all these ICM columns for further
study. Go to www.pokerplayernewspaper.com, I told him.
Reviewing them will be well worth your while.
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]
20
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
Varied wisdom has been
espoused concerning
evaluating what fights
one should enter in many
diverse fields of endeavor.
If your evaluation is sound
then the only time one
raise. Everyone else folds
to you, hopefully alerting
you to the fact that this
may not be a fight you
should enter. Sure you’re
already in for half a small
bet but now it’s two small
part 115, Pick
Your Fights
IMPROVING
PERFORMANCE
By Tom “TIME” Leonard
should enter into harm’s
way is when you are an
overwhelming favorite to
prevail. Ah … if only it
was that easy.
All poker players, with
the exception of the most
beginning of beginners,
know that the single most
egregious error that is
made in hold’em is playing too many hands. Today
let’s look at a hand that on
the surface appears very
playable, but maybe we
are blinded by its good
looks.
Let’s imagine we are in
the small blind in a limit
hold’em game holding a
suited king and queen. You
immediately take a peek
and think, “They sure look
pretty.” Before we continue, looking at your cards
instead of your opponents’
reactions to their cards is
your first mistake!
That lesson aside, you
begin to think about how
you should play this
pretty suited K-Q. As
you are formulating this
thought, the under-thegun player opens for a
bets and you
still have
the big blind behind you.
As nice as that suited K-Q
looks, let’s examine some
reasons why it should be
tossed into the muck.
Ideally, you were looking for a larger multi-way
pot with several callers so
you could just complete
the bet and see a flop with
your suited high cards.
Well, we can’t always get
what we want, and in this
situation the hand will be
played three-handed at
most, and you might even
be heads-up against the
under-the-gun raiser.
Secondly, what kind
of hands do players who
raise under-the-gun typically hold? The answer is
good hands! The kind of
hands that in all likelihood
will crush K-Qs or at the
very least have it severely
dominated. On top of
these two significant negatives you will be out of
position the entire hand
and be forced to act first.
Man, it looked so good at
first glance! Many things
do … including fool’s
gold.
Weaker players regularly allow themselves to be
seduced into playing these
types of hands because
they focus more on their
potential than their downsides. Sure K-Qs is a
nice hand with plenty of
potential for high pairs,
straights and flushes and
it’s a hand that can often
be played from any position. However, in this situation most of the positives
have been eliminated. If,
for example, four other
players between the raiser
and you called, then the
pot odds would dictate
taking a flyer and seeing
the flop.
Our goal for today is to
always evaluate the current context before deciding whether to fight or
flee. We must always consider our opponent’s position and the likely hands
he would be playing, coupled with the price we are
getting to enter the fray.
Don’t allow yourself to
be swayed by good looks
alone. Remember, many a
prospector went broke in
the old west thinking the
fool’s gold he had found
would bring him riches.
See you next “TIME.”
Tom “Time” Leonard has
played poker in Atlantic
City, Las Vegas, and
California for more than 30
years and written about the
game since 1994. Contact
Tom at [email protected].
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lley
yR
Ran
an
nch ((6)) 10A
Harrah’s Las Vegas
11A&
Imperial Palace
1P
2P
Jokers Wild
7P
Luxor
9A&
Mandalay Bay
10A&
MGM
11A&
Miraage (7))
7P
9A&
Mont
Mo
ntte Carl
rloo
6P
Nevada Palace
10A
Oasis--Mesqui
uitee ((41
41)
11A
9A
Palaace S
Staation
on (6)
5P
Paris
1P&
Planet Hollywood
1P&
Plaza Casino
12A&
Rampart
12P
Redd Rockk Stati
tatioon ((6)
6)
10A
Rio Suite Casino
12P&
River Palms
10A&
1P&
Rivi
v erra Po
vi
Pokeer Ro
Room
om (8)
8
10A
Sahara
11A&
7P
Sam
m’s Tow
Town (9)
11P
Sant
Sa
ntta Fe
Fe Staati
t on (6
6)
12P
10A
Sooutth Poin
nt Casi
sin
si
no
7P
Speedway
4P
Stratosphere
8A&
10A
Sun
n Co
Coasst (118)
7P
S nset
Su
ett Stati
ta ion (6)
11A
Texaas Stat
Te
St tion
n (6
(6)
7P
Trea
easu
ea
su
ure Islaand
11A&
Tropicana
10A&
Tropicana Express-Laughlin
4A
Tuscan
an
ny (4))
7P&
12P
Vene
netiaan (35
35))
8P
Virgin River Casino
6P
Wynn Las Vegas
Atlantis Casino
12P&
Boomtown
Cactus Petes-Jackpot
7P
Carson Valley Inn
12P
Circus Circus
11A
Eldorado
........ Omaha
H/L .High/Low Split
Pi...........Pineapple
Po...........Pot Limit
Pn.........Panginque
Mx ..Mexican Poker
DC .Dealer’s Choice
MONDAY
|
HH ...... Headhunter
B ............ Bounties
Sp .............. Spread
Al .........Alternates
Z........... Freezeout
Cz ................ Crazy
E..........Elimination
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
Z
$17 8A
Q ............... Qualify
Sh ...........Shootout
+ ..Rebuys, Add-Ons OK
F ............... Freeroll
Lad ..... Ladies Only
Men ........Men Only
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
12P&
NH
$65 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$200 12P&
NH
$35+ 10A
L/N H $40+ 11A
NH
$35 6P&
NH
$25 10A&
$65 11A
$50 10A
$70 2P&
$200 12P&
$35+ 7P&
$40+ 11A
$35 6P&
$25 10A&
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
$65 11A
$50 10A
$70 2P&
$200 12P&
$35+ 7P&
$40+ 11A
$35 6P&
$25 10A
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$60 10A
$50+ 11A&
$50+ 7P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$65 11A&
$125 7P
$50 9A&
$60 6P
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$35+ 9A
$35+ 5P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P
$45+ 11P
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65 7P
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$40 11A
$40 7P
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
O H/L B
NH
NH
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
$50+ 11A&
$50+ 1P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$65 6P
$125 7P
$50 9A&
$60 6P
$19 10A
$15+ 11A&
$35+ 9A
$35+ 5P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P
$45+ 11P
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65 7P
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$50+ 11A
$37+ 7P
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
$35+
12P
$15 10A&
7P
$15+
$20 12P
$17 11A
6P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
7 Sh
NH
$330 12P
$15 12P&
$22+
7P
$20 6P&
$17 11A
$22+
Pi
N H Sh
NH
N H Sh
NH
NH
w w w. p o k e r p l a y e r n e w s p a p e r. c o m
Note: All tournaments are subject to change. Check with the Cardroom for any updates. Cardrooms—
please send your schedules to Managing Editor A.R. Dyck, [email protected]
| WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
L H Sh
DAILY TOURNAMENTS
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website:
|
FRIDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
N H $240+ 12P&
NH
$65 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$200 12P&
NH
$35 10A
L/N H $40+ 11A
NH
$35 1P
NH
$25 10A&
NH
L H Sh
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$60 10A
$50+ 11A&
$50+ 7P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$125 11A&
$125 7P
$50 9A&
$60 6P
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$35+ 9A
$35+ 5P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P
$45+ 11P
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65 7P
$23+
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$40 11A
$40 7P
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
6P
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
6P
$330 12P
$15 10A&
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
7 Sh
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
$50+ 11A&
$50+ 1P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$65 11A
$230
$50 9A&
$60 6P
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$35+ 9A
$35+ 5P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P
$45+ 11P
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$50+ 11A
$40
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
Var
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
$35+
$330 12P
$15 12P&
7P
NH
NH
NH
F+
$40 6P&
$17 11A
NH
NH
$45+ 12P
$17 11A
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
NH
$20+ 12P&
NH
$65 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$330 12P&
NH
$35 10A
L/N H $40+
NH
$35 1P
NH
$25 10A
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
NH
$20+ 12P&
NH
$80+ 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$330 12P&
NH
$35 10A
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
Z
$17
NH
$20+
NH
$80+
NH
$50
NH
$70
NH
$330
NH
$35
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NHZ
N HZ
NH
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$60
$50+ 11A&
1P
$25+ 2P
$35+ 7P
$22+ 12P&
$40
$65
NHZ
NH
NH
$35 6P&
$25 10A&
12P
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NHZ
$50+ 11A&
$50+ 1P
$25+ 2P
$35+ 7P
$30 12P&
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
$50+
$50+
$25+
$25+
$30
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$50 9A&
$60 3P
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$35+ 9A
$35+ 5P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P
$45+ 11P
$35+ 10A
$45 10A
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
Lad N H
NH
6P
5P
$50 9A&
$60 6P
$18 10A
$15+ 2P
$35+ 9A
$35+ 5P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 2P
$45+ 7P
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
HORSE
NH
NH
NH
$125
$125
$50
$60
$18
$35+
$35+
$35+
$65
$50+
$65+
$40
$100
$40+
$30+
$44+
$44+
$40+
$120
$45+
$35+
$45
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$40 11A
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$23+
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$50+ 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
$60
$40+
$40+
$50+
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
Var
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$540 12P
8P
2P
NH
NH
$60
$50+
NH
NH
NH
NHB
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
6P
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$195
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$22
$22
$145
$135+
$35+
NH
L H Sh
NH
$540
$15 10A&
$22+
7 Sh
N H Sh
NH
$20 12P
$17 10A
N H Sh
NH
$15 12P&
7P
12P
$20 6P&
$17 10A
L H Sh
NH
H
N H Lad
NH
$15
$22+
F+
$30
$17
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
$35
$25
$65
$35
$22
$55+
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 27
POKER
CRUISES
Early Booking Bargains 1-888-842-0212
In Affiliation with Sunshine Players Travel
5,7 & 8 days–$160 to $390ppdo SUNPG.com
WEEKLY SAILINGS
Mexican Riviera Cruises
with
Live Texas Hold’em Poker
and Tournaments
Poker Hosts &
Silen Prop Players Needed
Silent
“BUY
Y ONE GET ONE FREE*”
SECOND
SEC
COND GUEST IS FREE*
*Pay for one cruise fare in full and get a second person free. 5-day cruises and less require 50 hrs live
play per cabin. 7-day cruises and more require 70 hours live play per cabin. Double Occupancy required.
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
25
Turbo SNGs
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire
I love turbo sit-and-go online tournaments, which are like regular SNGs except
they have an accelerated blind structure with shorter
levels. They are the crack cocaine of online poker and a
quick fix for people who don’t have too much free time
on their hands, much like myself.
You need to employ a different strategy for turbos
which last around 30 to 35 minutes, so you can’t sit
back and play super tight. Rather, you have to play position and see a lot of flops for cheap. Players in turbos
tend to be looser, which means there are more opportunities to pick up chips from aggressive players and
double up with marginal hands during the early levels. I
love to set mine and will see a flop with any pocket pair.
Nothing is more satisfying than stacking an opponent
when they aggressively push all-in with top pair or an
over pair after you’ve flopped a set.
By the middle levels, it’s important to know when to
steal and re-steal. Some sites like PokerStars include
antes in their turbos, which means there’s more dead
money in the pot before the cards are dealt. If you are
not getting cards, it’s essential that you pick up chips by
any means necessary. I almost prefer to be out of position in the later stages of turbos so I can be the first
person in the pot and put the pressure on my opponents
to make a difficult decision.
There are plenty of other advantages to playing in
turbos, such as the inferior skill level of your opponents.
Turbos tend to have a lot of variance, so a lot of bad
players end up winning from time to time. They overlook
their short term success, and eventually lose back all of
their winnings. Due to the faster structure, opponents
in turbos are prone to bad mistakes. Some of them play
too passively and should be re-stealing more, while others overvalue hands and play too loosely.
Most sites have a reduced rake for turbos. And if you
play a lot of SNGs, you are well aware that the rake eats
into your profits. You can also accumulate frequent player points and qualify for special promotions much faster
by playing turbos. I used to clear my deposit bonuses
on PokerStars by playing simultaneous turbos. You know
those stories that you hear about guys who earned
Porsches by cashing in player points? Well, they got the
majority of those points playing turbos.
Turbo SNGs are a valuable tool to help acclimate yourself to live SNGs. The satellites during the World Series
of Poker at the Rio utilize an accelerated structure.
Many of those players are not familiar with a fast-paced
SNG, so anyone who has experience playing online turbos will gain an edge.
There are several disadvantages to turbos. They go
fast, so if you have a compulsive addiction to things, you
can blow your entire bankroll inside of a weekend. The
majority of turbo players are bad, which means you have
to have a thick skin because suckouts are commonplace.
I’ve taken some sick and brutal beats in turbos. Also,
the higher stakes turbos tend to attract multi-tablers.
Many of them are online pros who play turbos for a living. I always use the “search feature” for players at my
table to find out if they are playing other turbos. You
need to quickly identify those players because you have
to play against them a little differently, since they are
almost always better than average players.
If you don’t play turbos, give them a try. You might
discover that you are better at a faster paced format
than regular SNGs.
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].
26
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
X
X
X
X
Poker Player
ONLINE POKER
Each issue’s crossword puzzle
honors a poker celebrity
and will be about that
person’s life. Today’s puzzle
honors pro poker player Alan Goehring. Crossword by Myles Mellor.
Word
26. Bluff in a white way?
ACROSS
DOWN
1. First two down cards
27. Best flush
1. Wired queens (2 words)
4. Very big hand
29. Poker pro, Alan
2. Unrefined rock
8. Russell Crowe’s middle
name
32. Lane, for short
3. Unabomber
11. Meadow
33. May be checked, if you
are young looking
12. Land of WSOP
34. Jerk
13. Pro poker player,
Lindgren
35. Personal codes of conduct
38. Hidden trap
14. “The Cincinnati __”
Steve McQueen movie
5. Place famous for a poker
game and steaks
6. 1996 WSOP main event
winner, Huck
7. Pro poker player, Seidel
9. Mel, “The Silver Fox”
41. Vegas hotel
10. Jerry Yang __ “The
Shadow”
15. Kept a secret
42. Slippery creature
17. That hurts, expression
44. French for gold
19. He took 2nd place in
the WOSP main event in
1999 (goes with 29 across)
45. American Express, for
short
18. Come out on top
46. Three of a kind
20. Chinese philosophy
47. Flop containing three
different suits
22. Unlikely, per the odds
(2 words)
21. Zilch
23. Check
1
2
3
4
8
9
11
12
18
21
6
23. Poker pro, J.C.
7
10
13
14
17
5
16. __ the money
15
25. Secured victory for sure
16
28. Swordsman
19
20
22
23
30. Newport’s state
24
25
31. Actress, Lupino
27
26
32. She was 1st in the Feb
2007 Wynn Classic: ___
Adams
28
29
30
31
32
33
35
24. Hasta la vista!
36
38
37
41
42
46
47
43
34. You, in Paris
34
39
40
44
36. Come in equal
45
37. Beach water
39. The Hendon ___
The correct solution to the puzzle will be found
only at: www.pokerplayernewspaper.com.
It will be posted on the cover date.
POKER
ON
TV
Heartland Poker Tour. Saturdays
11 PM. Check local listings for channels.
40. “Don’t tase me, __”
43. “Fearless” star
VH1 Classic Rock ‘n Roll
Celebrity Tournament. Mondays
2 AM. VH1CL.
High Stakes Poker. Mondays 8,
9 & 10 PM. Tuesdays-Saturdays 2 AM.
GSN.
Poker After Dark. Mondays
through Saturdays 2:05 AM, Sundays 2
AM. NBC.
Poker Superstars Invitational.
Wednesdays 8:30 AM & 3 PM. Fox
All Times EST Sports
World Poker Tour. Saturdays 7, 9
& aa PM, Sundays 1 AM. Travel.
World Series of Poker. (Check
local listing for times). ESPNC/ESPN2.
DAILY TOURNAMENTS (CONT’D FROM PAGE 25)
Time. Some events &. ........ Additional
Limit Hold’em
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
CALIF.
NORTH
CALIFORNIA—SAN DIEGO &
INLAND EMPIRE
CALIFORNIALOS ANGELES
NEVADA
NORTH
Grand Sierra
Harrah’s Reno
Harvey’s Tahoe
Peppermill (11)
Rainbow Cas. W Wendover
Sands Regency, Reno
Winners Hotel/Casino-Winnemucca
Biccyclee Cl
Bi
Clubb (21)
Club Caribe
Coomm
mer
erce
ce Clu
l b (4
(44
4)
4)
Crystal Casino
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
99AA
10A&
NH
NH
1P&
8P
10A&
6P
12P
7P
8P
NH
NH
NHB
NH
O H/L
NH
NH
|
TUESDAY
$40 9A
9A
$25 10A
6P
$25 1P
$25+
$25 10A&
$30+ 6P
$20+ 12P
$40+ 7P
$10+
NH
NH
$40 9A
9A
$25 10A
NH
NH
$40 9A
9A
$25 10A
NH
NH
$40 10A
10A
$25 10A
NH
$25 7P
NH
NHB
N H Turbo
NH
NH
$25 10A&
$18+ 6P
$20+ 12P
$50+ 7P
NHB
N H Turbo
NH
NH
$25 10A&
$18+ 6P
$50+ 12P
$40+ 7P
NHB
NHZ
NH
BNH
$115+ 6P
8P
$25 10A&
$12+ 6P
$20+ 12P
$40+ 7P
NH
LH
NHB
O Po
BNH
NH
$110
$25+
$25 10A&
$30+ 4P
$20+
$100+
Pn
O
Lad L H
$40
$60+ 7P
$25
NH
7P
$50 7P&
Pn
NH
$40 1P
$20+ 7P
1P
Pn
NH
LH
$20+ 4A
4P
$20+ 11A
$20+ 8P
$125+
25+ 4P
$60 10A
4P
$60+ 7P&
$40 12P
$17+ 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
$65+ 6P
$155
$20+ 11A
$200+ 4P
Mx
NH
O Pi H
$60+ 7P
$25+ 6P
NH
LH
1P
8P.
11A
7P
7P
7P
10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
5O
$20+ 1P
$100 6P
$20+ 11A
$60+ 7P
$125+ 7P
25+ 7P
$30+ 7P&
O H/L
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$65 1P
$40+ 6P
$20+ 11A
$20+ 7P
$125+ 7P
25+ 7P
$50+ 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$40+ 1P
$40+
$20+ 11A
$20+ 7P
$230 7P
25+ 7P
$30 7P&
NH
7P&
7P&
10A
NH
NH
O H/L
$60+ 1P
$40 7P&
$17+ 10A
NH
NH
LH
$30+ 7P&
$40 7P&
$17+ 6P&
NH
NHB
NH
$60+ 7P&
$40 7P&
$20+ 10A
NH
NH
LH
LH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O
$35 10A
$20+ 10A
$20+ 6P
$25 10A&
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O H/L
NH
$35 10A
$35+ 10A
$20+ 6P
$30 10A&
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
$55 10A
$20+ 10A
$35+ 9P
$25 10A
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
Artichoke Joe’s
11A
LH
$28+ 11A
LH
$25 6P
Bay 10
B
01 (36
6)
Cache Creek
California Grand
Casino San Pablo
9A&
Sp L H
$70+ 9A
12P
Sp L H
H
$50+ 9A
$25+ 12P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O
L H/L
O H/L
Sp L HH
O H/L
NH
NH
Soboba
Sycuan
Viejas
Village Club
10A
10A
6P
10A
10A&
10A
10A
Holl
lllyw
woood Park
Park (5))
Hustler Casino
Norm
No
rman
a diee Casi
Casi
sinoo
Casino Morongo
Casino Pauma
Fantasy Springs, Indio
Harrah’s Rincon
Lake Elsinore
Lucky Lady
Oceans Eleven
Pech
chan
anga
ga (39)
| SATURDAY |
$40 9A
9A
$25 10A
$25+
$25 1P&
7P
6P
H waii
Ha
iian
ii
an
n Garddens (23
3)
FRIDAY
NH
NH
H
NH
7P
$60+ 7P
$20+ 6P
Diamond Jim’s
|
Z........ Freezeout Sh ........Shootout
Cz ............. Crazy + Re-buys and/or
E...... Elimination Add-ons allowed
Q ............Qualify F ............Freeroll
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NHB
NH
O
O
$35 10A
$20+ 10A
$20+ 6P
$30 10A&
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
$50+ 11A
LH
$48
$55+ 9A&
$55 6P
Sp L H
H
$50+ 9A
$10
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
O H/L
LH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
25+ 4P
$45 11A
$5+ 4P
$110 12P
$40 11A&
$17+ 10A
10A
$35 10A
$20+ 10A
$20 +
$25 11A
$26+ 10A&
$12+ 10A
$30+ 10A
NH
NH
$50 10A
10A
$25 10A
NH
NH
$50
$25
NHB
NH
LH
2P
6P
$25 10A&
$55+ 6P
20+
NH
NH
NHB
NH
BLH
$35+
$50
$25
$30+
40+
LH
N H Sh
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
LH
O H/L
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O
2P
$40 1P
$20+ 5P
$25+ 1P
1PWk4
F+ 4A
1P
$20+ 11A
$100 8P
3P
25+ 4P
$55 11A
$5+ 4P
$40+ 12P
$40 5P
$17+
$22+ 10A
$65 10A
$35+ 10A
4P
$40 1P&
$48 10A&
$12+ 10A
$30+ 10A
6P
Sp L H
$110 9A
10A
SUNDAY
Mx
$33
Pn
$40
NH
$120
NH
$50
NH
$100
NH
$65+
NH
$125+
NH
$25+
NH
$120
Pai Gow
NH
25+
H
$5
H
$5+
NH
$40+
N H $50-$3Kguar
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
LH
$22+
$40+
$20+
$40+
$45
$16
$12+
$25+
NH
$49+
Sp L H
$125+ 9A
Sp L H
$70+
NH
10A
$25+ 10A
NH
$55
$25+
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 29
Date
Jan. 15
Jan. 15
Jan. 16
Jan. 17
Jan. 18
Jan. 19
Jan. 20
Jan. 21
Jan. 21
Jan. 22
Jan. 22
Jan. 23
Jan. 24
Jan. 25
Jan. 26
Jan. 27
Jan. 28
Jan. 28
Jan. 29
Jan. 29
Jan. 30
JJan. 31
Time
2PM
6PM
6PM
6PM
2PM
2PM
2PM
2PM
6PM
2PM
6PM
6PM
6PM
2PM
2PM
2PM
2PM
6PM
2PM
6PM
6PM
6PM
Poker Room Schedule
Event
Free Roll
Limit Omaha Hi/Low
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
Battle of Sexes Men’s
NL Hold ‘Em
Free Roll
NL Hold ‘Em
Free Roll
Limit Omaha Hi/Low
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
Battle of Sexes Final
NL Hold ’Em
Free Roll
NL Hold ‘Em
Free Roll
Limit Omaha Hi/Low
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
NL Hold ‘Em RB/AO
Entry Fee
FREE
$60+$10
$15+$10
$50+$10
$15+$10
$100+$25
$200+$25
FREE
$100+$25
FREE
$60+$10
$15+$10
$50+$10
$15+$10
Restricted
$300+$30
FREE
$100+$25
FREE
$60+$10
$15+$10
$50+$10
2nd Annual
King’s and Queen’s Tournament
nt
Male and Female Tag Team
$2000 Added Money
$200+$50
Win a seat into the
Oklahoma State
Championship
of Poker
Comanche Red River Casino is
Guaranteeing 5 seats to this event!
Tournament to be held
Sunday February 10th, 2008 at 2 PM
$125 Buy in with $100 Re-Buys
CRRC management
C
g
reserves all ri
rights to cancel, alter or re-schedule all tournaments and promotions.
Februar
y 14
@6P
M
For
F
orr m
more informa
information
atiion o
on
n ou
our to
tournaments
ourna
rnam
ments please con
contact
ntact
the poker room at 866-280-3261 ext 2135
Located in Devol, Ok
Exit 1 or 5
www.comancheredrivercasino.com
For information on Table Games
Call us toll free at
1-866-280-3261
Blackjack ext. 2132 or Poker ext. 2135
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
27
Honors Abound! Women in Poker Hall
of Fame Commences in 2008
FISHING AROUND
By Jan Fisher
The new Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WIPHOF) is
scheduled to launch with a luncheon and induction
ceremony at 11 a.m. on February 2, 2008 at Binion’s in Las Vegas, and
will honor some of the top females in the poker industry, including
Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson, and Marsha Waggoner.
World Poker Tour’s Mike Sexton will be the master of ceremony. The
event and is open to anyone who wants to join the organization. I
have the honor of being a guest speaker at the ceremony.
Membership in the WIPHOF is $75 and includes a one-year membership, a ticket to the luncheon, and a special commemorative gift.
Following the induction luncheon, a $500 buy-in no-limit tournament
will take place.
To be an eligible candidate for induction into the WIPHOF, all of the
following three requirements must be met:
1. A candidate must have been active as a player or industry
leader at some time during a period beginning fifteen years prior to
election.
2. A candidate must have contributed to the world of poker in
some significant way, either by winning and cashing in major tournaments or by making significant contributions to the poker industry.
3. A candidate must be a proponent of women’s poker.
Barbara Enright has more than $1,200,000 in tournament wins and
cashes and is the only woman with three bracelets from the World
Series of Poker. She also has the best female finish—fifth place—in
the main event at the WSOP.
Susie Isaacs has made her mark as a player and a poker writer.
She has won two WSOP ladies events and has a tenth place finish in
the main event at the WSOP. Susie has more than 50 cashes in major
tournaments and has written several poker books.
Linda Johnson, known as the First Lady of Poker, has many
accomplishments in the poker world, both as a player and an industry
leader. She has a WSOP bracelet and has many tournament wins and
cashes in major events. Linda is the studio announcer for the WPT
and a WPT Boot Camp instructor. She was the honored recipient of
the prestigious Brian Saltus award, an award given for representing class and dignity at the poker table. Other credits include cofounding the Tournament Directors Association, and the World Poker
Industry Conference. Linda is also a co-owner of Card Player Cruises.
Marsha Waggoner, the Grand Dame of Poker, has tournament winnings of about $1,000,000. Her origins in poker began as a dealer.
She is a member of the Senior’s Poker Hall of Fame and has more
than 80 cashes in major tournaments. Marsha is an executive host at
Hollywood Park Casino.
Lupe Soto, founder of the Ladies International Poker Series which
created the WIPHOF, had this to say: “Although many women have
made major contributions to the poker world, it wasn’t until 2007
that a woman (Barbara Enright) was finally inducted into the Poker
Hall of Fame. It’s time for the women in poker to be recognized and
honored and the WIPHOF was formed to do just that. A permanent
wall displaying the photos of the inductees will be on display at
Binion’s.”
Some of the most prominent women in poker have worked hard
over the past nine months to make this happen. The Board of
Directors includes Suzanne Carter, Maureen Feduniak, Karina Jett,
Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, and Lupe Soto. Induction ceremony event
producer Gyla Whitlow and Margie Heinz, the first woman to deal
the World Series of Poker, have also donated their time to make this
inaugural event take place.
To order tickets for the luncheon and induction ceremony or if
you have questions, write to [email protected]
or [email protected]. Seating is limited to 250 and open to
men and women.
Editor’s Note: Jan Fisher has 30 years experience as a
poker player, tournament director, strategist/columnist, cofounder of the Tournament Directors Association, Partner
in Card Player Cruises, WPT Boot Camp instructor and
statistician, and live studio announcer for the Professional
Poker Tour. E-mail Jan at [email protected].
28
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
A little Madness in the
Spring
Is wholesome even for the
King.
—Emily Dickinson
No.1333
(c.1875)
Daily satellites are
currently underway
at Cherokee Casino.
Players also have the
opportunity to win one
of five guaranteed seats
to the OSCP main event
AROUND
THE CORNER
MIDWEST MILIEU
By bonnie demos
As we eagerly wait
for Punxsutawney Phil
(named after King
Phillip) to emerge from
his winter hibernation, the spring forecast
for poker action in the
Midwest promises to be
anything but mild.
There will be more
war than love in the air
throughout the month of
February, as three major
events kick off the action
packed spring tournament season. Cherokee
Casino will be the
host to The Oklahoma
State Championship of
Poker from February 14
through 26, starting with
a special Valentine’s Day
Jack and Jill event.
A variety of state
championship tournaments are scheduled
daily including Omaha,
H.O.R.S.E., ladies,
seniors, triple draw lowball, limit, pot-limit,
no-limit, and the $3,150
buy-in main event that
begins on February 24.
at the Comanche Red
River Casino in Devol,
OK at their $125 buy-in
satellite scheduled for
February 10. Please contact the Comanche poker
room at 866-380-2161
Ext. 2135 for further
details.
Additionally, the
Horseshoe in Council
Bluffs, IA will be host
to the largest WSOP
circuit event in the
Midwest from February
18 through the 27.
Heartland Poker Tour
begins its 2008 season
with The Grand Series,
at Grand Casino Mille
Lacs, located in Odana,
MN, from February 17
through the 24.
Enter March roaring
like a lion at the March
Madness $500 buy-in
event on March 8 at the
Menominee Casino in
Keshena, WI. You can
pre-register by calling (800) 343-7778 ext.
4024. Seating is limited
to 121 players.
You can also take a
shot at being crowned
king of the jungle—at
least for a day—at the
Heartland Poker Tour
Event No. 2 beginning on
March 2 at the Meskwaki
Casino in Tama, IA. Just
don’t go out like a lamb!
April promises to
bring showers of dollars,
beginning on the first of
the month with Heartland
Poker Tour Event No.
3 at the Golden Gates
Casino in Blackhawk,
Co. This will be followed by event No. 4
from April 19 – 28 at the
Majestic Star Casinos in
Gary, IN.
Caesar’s, located in
Elizabeth, IN is host to
the perennially popular
spring WSOP tournament
circuit event which runs
April 2 - 16.
Canterbury Park’s
Second Spring Classic
Tournament in Shakopee,
MN will also be on the
agenda for many of the
areas top players. Dates
to be announced later.
Wishing all of you an
early spring filled with
sunshine, warmth, and
a little bit of madness,
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 bdemos1@
wi.rr.com
Player Profile: Nancy Grout
come to work at his place.”
Which is what she did.
Her first position was as a
shill. It was a job offering
a close-up view of the ups
and downs of the legendary
Moss’ legendary personality and the high end of the
poker business as it was in
the 1970s.
“When Johnny was winning he was a prince, but
when he wasn’t winning he
had the temper of the devil,
but all in all he was a great
guy to work for. He took
good care of us and after a
while I became the cashier
on the graveyard.”
All the great names of
poker were regulars at the
Flamingo’s tables then:
“Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese,
Eric Drache, Sid Wyman,
they were all there.
“They’d do things like
send me out on runs to
McDonald’s and other places
for food, give me waaaay
too much money and tell me
to keep the change. I was
feeling for a while like a girl
who fell into a gold mine.”
Her climb through the
ranks took a big step forward
on one of those nights when
Moss was not getting dealt
any winners and his mood
was souring by the minute.
“Johnny had this, uh,
thing,” choosing her words
carefully, “where he’d ask
the dealers to, well, leave the
room for a few days when
they weren’t dealing him any
winners.”
When the room had, figuratively speaking, reached the
bottom of the barrel in terms
of available dealers, someone
looks around and wonders,
“Okay, so whose gonna deal
now?”
Moss looks in Grout’s
direction at the cashier’s desk
and says, “We’ll let the little
girl deal.”
So they pull her out from
behind the desk, put her in
the box and, step by step,
taught her how to deal poker
to some of the best known
names in the world of poker.”
Pick up the cards this way,
hold the deck this way, pitch
the cards this way. Grout listened carefully and, one day
at a time, one hand at a time
became a poker dealer.
Limit Hold’em
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
CALIFORNIA—NORTH
SOUTHWEST
AZ
CO
Club One Casino, Fresno
Colusa Casino
Del Rio Casino, Isleton
Feather Falls Cas., Oroville
Folsom Lake Bowl
Garden City
Gold Country Cas.-Oroville
Gold Rush
Golden West-Bakersfield
Jack
Ja
ckso
son
n Ra
Ranccheri
riaa (3
ri
(38
8)
Kelly’s Cardroom
Limelight Cardroom-Sac’to
Lucky Chances
Lucky Derby Casino
Oaks Card Club-Emeryville
San Pablo Lytton Casino
Sonoma Joe’s
Tachi Palace Casino
Apache Gold
Blu
Bl
ue W
Watter Casi
sino
in (1
(12
2)
Bucky’s Casino
Caasino
noo Ariz.-Sco
cotttsd
s al
ale (1
( 3)
Casino Del Sol
Cliff Castle
Fort McDowell
TIME
7P&
6P Wk1 Lad N H
10A&
NH
10A
Sp L
7P
NH
10A&
6P
10A&
10A
TUESDAY
NH
HZ
N H Sh
NH
6P
$55+ 6P
$40 10A&
$60+ 10A
$25 7P
1P
6P
$30+ 10A&
$20
$25 10A&
$50+ 10A
6P
7P
$40 7P
12P
$60 7P
$10+ 10A
$25 10A
$13+ 12P&
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$27+ 7P&
LH
NH
NH
H
NH
H Sh
NH
NH
Sp L H
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
O H/L Z
L H Sh
NH
$15
$10+ 6P
$40 10A&
$40+ 10A
$25 7P
$15 1P
$20+ 6P
$30+ 10A&
6P
$25 10A&
$100+ 10A
$55
6P
$20+ 7P
$75 7P
6P
$25+
$130 7P
$10+ 10A
$25 10A&
$13+ 12P&
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$50 7P&
6P
6P
LO
$55+
NH
$40 10A&
Sp L
$40+ 10A
NH
$25 7P
H Sh
$15 1P
NH
$58
$30+ 10A&
NH Sh
$20
NH
$25 10A&
Sp L H $50+ 10A
$50 10A
NH
Sp L H
$25 10A&
$100+
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$27+ 7P&
NH
$30+ 4P
LH
$15 6P
NH
$45
NH
$40 10A&
Sp L
$60+
NH
$25 12P&
H Sh
$15 1P
2P
$60 10A
5P
NH
$25 10A&
$65+
H
NH
H
$20+
$55
$25+ 7P
7P
$130 11A
$10+ 10A
$25 10A
$13+ 12P&
11A
O H/L
HB
NH
$40 10A&
NH
$40
NH
H Sh
LH
NH
$15
H
NH
$15 12P&
$15
$5+ 2P
$60 10A&
F 6P
$25 1P
10A
$40 11A
$65+ 1P
$55
6P
Varies
3P
2P
$25+ 1P
$150
NH
NH
$30+ 12P&
3P
1P
$10+ 12P&
F 12P
$35+ Varies
NH
NH
NH
Var
NH
Varies
$20
$25
$60 11A
$10+ 10A
$25 10A
$13+ 12P&
$20 11A
$30+ 1P&
$10 6P
NH
NHZ
L H Sh
NH
Men H
NAI
HB
NH
O H/L
$20
$30+ 1P&
$25
NH
Pi
N H Sh
NH
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN
NH
$60 12P
NH
$50
NH
$30+ 2P Wk2 N H
$170
LH
$15
NH
9A
11A
10A
LH
NH
Cz Pi Z
N H Sh
NH
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
F 10A
NH
$15+ 6P
NH
$30+ 6P
6P
NH
$40 10A&
H
$40+ 10A
NH
$25 12P&
H Sh
$15 1P
12P
$60 10AWk4
$10+
$25 11A
$13+ 12P&
H
O H/L
7F
$20+
$25
$80+ 10A
$13+ 12P&
O Sh
NH
$25
$13+
NH
H
O H/L
NH
NH
11A
$60 12P&
$10
$13 1P
$20+ 12P&
$60 12P
12P
HB
NH
$20
$60
H
NH
NH
7
$13
$20+
$55
$15
$25+
Gila River-Vee Quiva
Harrah’s Ak Chin
Hon-Dah Casino
Paradise Casino
Gilpin Hotel & Casino
Midnight Rose-Cripple Crk
Ute Mountain
11A
1P&
6P
7B
NH
Flop
$20 11A
$30+ 1P&
$10 6P
HB
NH
H Sh
12P&
8P
6P
N H Sh
NH
H
$10+ 12P&
$60 7P
$20+
NHZ
NH
$24 12P&
$45 7P
N H Sh
NH
$10+ 12P&
$35 7P
NHZ
NH
$24 12P&
$55+ 2P
6P&
NH
$25+ 6P&
NH
$40 12P
NH
$10+ 7P&
NH
$40+ 12P
NH
$100 10A
NH
$10+ 3A
NH
$200+
6P
2P
11A
NH
NH
NH
Cz Pi
NH
NH
Var
NH
LH
NH
Lad N H
NH
Lad N H
$30 6P
$20+ 2P
$25 11A
$35
$35 10A
$35 7P
$20 10A
$20+ 10A&
$65+ 6P
$20
NH
NH
NH
$30 6P
$5+ 2P
$25 11A
NH
NH
NH
$30 6P
$20+ 2P
$25 11A
NH
NH
NH
$50 5P
$20+ 2P
$25 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
Srs N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$30 6P
$10+ 2P
$25 11A
7P
$35 10A
$25 7P
$20 10A
$20+ 7P
$25+ 6P
$40 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35 10A
$120 7P
$20 10A
$20+
$25+ 6P
7P
NH
Lad N H
NH
$35 10A
$30
$20 10A
NH
$40 5P
$5+ 2P
$18 11A
12P
$35 10A
$120
NB
NH
NH
Var
NH
$110
$5+
$25
$35
$35
$65+ 2P
$40 7P
NH
H
$25+ 4P
O H/L
$25+ 4P
NH
$25+ 4P
$25+ 4P
H
4P
NH
$25+
1P
H
$18+
NM
Cities of Gold
Isleta Casino & Resort
Route 66 Casino
Sandiaa Casin
Sand
no (1
( 6)
OK
10A
5P
Cherookee
ee-R
Rolland
10A
Cher
erokkeee-W
-W. Si
Silooam
10A
Coomannche
he Red
e Rivver Cass.
6P
Thunderbird Casino, Norman 7P
Chinook Winds Casino
Wildhorse Casino Resort
4P
12P
6P
H
$20 11A
$30+ 1P&
F 6P
$18+
HB
NH
H
6P
NH
NH
Tahoe
H/L
NH
$25+
$15+
$120
N H Sh
$20
NH
$50
Sp L H $100+
Var
Var
NH
$125+
NH
$55
O H/L
F+
NH
NH
Ch
herrokeee-C
-Cat
atooosaa
PACIFIC
N’WEST
NH Sh
NH
Sp L H
7P Wk1&3 Lad N H
11A
10A
10A
12P&
|
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
NH
$100 7P
Z........ Freezeout Sh ........Shootout
Cz ............. Crazy + Re-buys and/or
E...... Elimination Add-ons allowed
Q ............Qualify F ............Freeroll
Gila River/Wild Horse Pass 12P
KS Harrah’s Prarie Band
OR
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
12P
NH
NH
$35 10A
NH
4P Wk1-4 N H B
$20
$65+ 2P
F 5P
NH
NH
$25+
$33+
$60+
$50
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
“That’s how I learned,
right then and there. I kept
practicing at home.”
Moss gave the matter
some thought over time—this
woman, his cashier suddenly
becoming a poker dealer on
a night when nothing was
going right – and he said,
“I don’t think you should
be dealing here because this
crowd can be tough.”
He said he’d find a place
for her and he did, sending her over to the Stardust
where she spent the next
seven years, 1977 to 1984,
when the time was suddenly
right for another change in
her life.
“At the Stardust they put
me on a fifteen and thirty
razz game and I discovered
that could be a rough crowd,
but I happened to know a
lot of the guys there and that
helped.”
But other changes were to
come.
As soon as she discovered
that some of the dealers handling the small stud games
at the front of the room were
making “way more money”
than she was, she set about
finding herself a spot there
and spent her last five years
at the same Stardust poker
table at the front of the
room.
Grout left in 1984 as the
Boyd Gaming Group was
in the process of taking over
after the previous owners of
the casino lost their license.
Boyd execs invited her to
remain, but she decided to
cast her fortune with the new
Bicycle Club in Southern
California.
A case of California
dreaming or something like
that, she thinks.
Grout moved to Hawaiian
Gardens when it opened
in 1997 and has been there
since, not regretting a
moment of the last 10-plus
years.
“I think we had six tables
and I was back to dealing
when we opened in that
small trailer on Dec. 17,
1997. I expect that this is the
place I’ll be retiring from.”
What makes the Gardens
unique among the crowd of
mostly bigger clubs?
“I think it is the casual,
friendly easiness of the
place,” she says, giving
the question some careful
thought. “A lot of our customers, you might say, have
grown up with us … We
really work hard at stressing
the importance of customer
service because it does make
a difference.
“People have come to
know that they can trust the
staff and the management to
protect their interests.”
And the big money giveaways also certainly help
to keep the joint jumping,
events like the $75,000
free-roll tournaments during
January.
She has watched the poker
business evolve in directions
that seemed incomprehensible not so many years ago.
For instance: “The world
is full of young players who
spend a lot of time on the
Internet, quickly developing skills that enable them
to compete with the best and
make a lot of easy money.
I’m not certain I like that.”
Why?
“They get the idea that
life is too easy … There
are a lot of responsibilities
that go with having money,
and I don’t think this is
the sort of thing they learn
over the Internet. Some of
them have made so much so
quickly … I would like to
see more emphasis on staying in school, working hard
and doing all the things that
encourage a healthy perspective.”
Grout and her husband
Michael—she met him when
he was also a dealer at the
Stardust—have two sons,
ages 20 and 17.
Grout does not consider
herself a serious player. Her
focus is on the other side of
the table. “I enjoy getting
out for some of the women’s
tournaments but I’m not otherwise much of a player. Just
never interested me like the
business side of things.”
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
29
HPC Poker Derby
Motel 6 or Seat 7?
POKER COUNSELOR
8. Davis Aalvik AKA
“psycho ward” . . . . . $1,455
By John Carlisle, MA, NCC
Las Vegas has so much to offer that
visitors seem to rarely sleep. Poker players have a
distinct advantage over those who play slots and
table games. With the house advantage being relatively significant in most of these other games, their
gambling budget often shrivels up pretty quickly
leading them to find the nearest ATM or another
source of entertainment.
If we hit upon some losses at the start of our trip in
poker, we can drop down some playing levels, hit the
limit games, or enter some lower buy-in tournaments
that provide more play-time for the buck. And there
is a little trick that frequent Las Vegas poker visitors
use to save some dough and maximize their playing
time.
Let’s say that you are in town for a long weekend.
You’ve flown into town after work on Thursday, and
you are planning to fly back on Sunday. You can bet
the cost of the hotel room on Saturday night will be
much higher than that of the rest of the week. Many
poker players say, “Why pay?” If you have the zest
and the energy, there is a very comfortable accommodation awaiting you in your favorite poker room.
Instead of hundreds of dollars to sleep, take that
cash down to the poker room and take a seat. They
are open all night, and they won’t kick you out no
matter how many times you yawn or how bloodshot
your eyes get! Pull an all-nighter like you are back in
college and skip the hotel room charge!
The drill is quite simple. Check your luggage at the
bell desk, informing them that you’ll retrieve the
bags the next morning. Provide a nice smile and a
nice tip, and your bags will be safe and sound. Head
to the poker room and settle into a game that fits
your budget. Now, you can be the definition of a true
tight-aggressive player. You have time on your side
with a 12 hour overnight marathon session ahead of
you.
Be kind to the cocktail waitress, and allow her to
bring you the coffee and energy drinks that you’ll
need to keep your motor running. Keep your head
on a swivel, looking for other tables in the room that
might better suit your style and provide more potential profits. Since you are becoming a temporary fixture in the poker room, perhaps you can sweet talk
the Floor Manager into letting you hop tables a bit.
Get up and move around to keep your blood flowing, and don’t be afraid to let your chips sit upon the
table while you head off to hit a midnight buffet.
Before you know it, it will be time for you to catch
your flight at McCarran the next day. Even if you
have only broken even at your poker marathon, you
are still way ahead since you did not pay for a room
on a predictably salty Saturday night! On the trip
back home you will be able to sleep through any
turbulence and crying babies, since you’ll be near
exhaustion! Mostly, you’ll feel that you have maximized your playing time and sucked all of the poker
fun that you possibly could from your Las Vegas
vacation.
John Carlisle is a National Certified Counselor with a
Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from West
Virginia University. Contact John at
[email protected].
30
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
POKER DERBY
1/9/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY 2 OPTIONAL
BUY-IN $200 + $30
7. Josh Parker . . . . . . . . . .$955
8. Michael Mercado . . . . .$685
9. Don Pagucci . . . . . . . . .$550
POKER DERBY
1/7/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY 2 OPTIONAL
BUY-IN $200 + $30
PLAYERS 35
REBUYS 24
PRIZE POOL
$11,830
$17,845
Kevin Dillard
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Kevin Dillard . . . . . . $5,305
Ernest Bennett . . . . . $2,930
Twitch Anderson . . . $1,775
Andre Cullins . . . . . . $1,180
David Simityan . . . . . . .$640
POKER DERBY
1/8/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $40
PLAYERS 94
PRIZE
POOL
$27,350
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Mike Schwartz . . . . $10,940
Tom Broz . . . . . . . . . . $6,290
Mike Haas . . . . . . . . . $3,280
Alfie Shanfeld . . . . . . $1,915
Joel Sherman . . . . . . $1,505
Michael Avissar . . . . $1,230
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
David
Rosenbloom
David Rosenbloom . . $8,030
Nicholas Dileo . . . . . . $4,460
Unknown . . . . . . . . . . $2,675
Steve Shkolnik . . . . . $1,785
Nick Kurzon . . . . . . . . .$895
1/6/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY UNLIMITED
BUY-IN $100 + $25
PLAYERS 225
PRIZE POOL
$78,300
Sam Simon
1. Sam Simon . . . . . . . $28,100
25 Years Ago in Poker Player
No-limit poker games were
not nearly as popular 25
years ago as they are
today. But in this issue,
you’ll find some building
blocks that contributed to
the phenomenon of the nolimit Hold’em we know and
love today. There’s a series
about winning hold’em, and
back then Johnny Chan
used to be just “John”
Chan. How things have
changed. To read this fascinating issue in full go to
Richard Bagley . . . . $14,430
Raymond Colbert . . . $7,215
Chau Nguyen . . . . . . $4,555
Christopher Barash . $3,420
Jorge Pineda AKA
“Cipote” . . . . . . . . . . $2,660
7. John Boswell . . . . . . . $1,900
8. Gabriel Latson . . . . . $1,520
9. Shyan Madiraju . . . . $1,215
POKER DERBY
1/5/08
SHOOTOUT
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $200 + $30
PLAYERS 108
PRIZE POOL
$20,950
POKER DERBY
TOP STORIES: Brunson’s
Picked for ‘Stars,’
Chipsters Pulling Double
Duty, Slim’s Super Bowl
Ready, hold’em Series
Begins Today, Winning
hold’em Quick and Simple,
Newspaper
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
PLAYERS 43
PRIZE POOL
(Volume 1, Number 6)
No-Limit True/False
Hold’em Poker Quiz, Four
Queens Set For $4-$8
Hold’em, BP Draws Huge
Crowd, Golden Nugget
Adds New Game, Mixed
Couples Event Back at
Tropicana, McIntosh Wins
7-card stud, Morton Wins
1st hold’em, Sam Nassi
Wins Ace-to-Five Lo Ball,
$2-$6 Stud Debuts At IP,
Abe Feiner Wins hold’em
At Fremont, Karen Wolfson
Takes Womens 7-Card Stud,
Turner Tops in Ace-5, Troy’s
Club A Winner, California
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Adnane
Daghsen
Adnane Daghsen
AKA “eddie” . . . . . . . $7,960
John Boswell . . . . . . . $3,980
Kevin Dillard . . . . . . $2,095
Tony Grand . . . . . . . . $1,675
Joaquin Lopez . . . . . $1,255
Michael Shearer . . . . $1,050
Jim Pieczgnski . . . . . . .$835
Igor Zektser . . . . . . . . .$420
Frank Scram . . . . . . . . .$420
Roundup, Caesars Shifts to
Hawaii, hold’em holding At
Harold’s Club, John Chan
Wins No Limit hold’em,
COLUMNISTS: Mike Caro
discusses “Scam,” David
Slansky Wizard of odds,
Stu Jacobs People, places
and things, Bobby Baldwin
Tales out of Tulsa, Tex
Sheahan Win, places and
pros, Rex Jones The railbird, Michael Wiesenberg
According to me, Doyle
Brunson’s A champion’s
Perspective,
PHOTOS IN THIS ISSUE
(in order): John Chan,
Scott Fawaz, David Heyden,
Jack Strauss, Charlie
and Ruth August, Karen
Wolfson, Robert Turner,
Ralph Morton, Buddy
Mcintosh, Sam Nassi, Bob
Thompson, Billy Smith,
Bobby Brooks and Ken
Smith.
Tournament Circuit Begins Anew
new ffeatures,
eatur
urees, iincluding
nclludi
ding
guaranteed
$100,000
a gu
uar
araanteed
ed $$10
00,
0,00000
all-around
prize
best all
be
ll-a
-aroun
undd pr
riz
izee pool
ol
was added
by
taking
$5
dd d b ki $5
per player taken from the
tournament prize pools, a
$7,500 buy-in and a four
day length for the championship event, and players in
each event started play with
10,000
10,0
,000
000
00 in
in ddeep-stack
eep-sta
taack
ck cchips
hips
hi
(20,000
(20,
0,00
000 for the
the ma
main
in event).
Sommerfeld
Sommer
erfe
felld al
aalso
lso added
many llevels
and
l
d slowed
l
d
the tournament down “to a
crawl” in the middle and late
stages. More games were
added to the mix, including
two $700 events and a shorthanded tournament.
The
PokerStars
Th Pok
P
okerStars
S
Caribbean
Adventure,
Caribbbean Adventur
Cari
uree,
e, nnow
a European Pok
Poker
okeer
er Tour
T
(EPT) event, bbegan JJanuary
5 at the Atlantis Resort
and Casino on Paradise
Island in the Bahamas with
Day 1A of the main event,
followed by day 1B on
January 6.
Limit Hold’em
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
NORTHWEST
PACIFIC N’WEST
WA
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
NORTHEAST
10A
10P
11A
5P
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
N O H/L $20+ 1P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$35 12P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
LO
$15+ 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35 10A
$40 10P
$20 11A
$13+ 5P
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20+ 1P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$35 12P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
L/N H
$25
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35 10A
$40 7P
$20 11A
$13+ 5P
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20+ 1P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$35 12P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 7P&
NH
$13+ 11A
7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35+ 10A
$65+ 10P
$20 11A
$13+ 5P
7P
4 Bears Casino
7P
ND Dakota Magic
7P
NE Rosebud Casino
7P
SD
NH
NJ
NY
IA
IL
MIDWEST
TIME
1P
9A
12P
9A
4P
11A
12P
11A
7P
MT Black Jack’s Casino
Dakota Sioux
6P
Gold Dust Cas., Deadwood
Rosebud Casino
7P
Silverado Casino Deadwood 6P
ds (3)
3))
CT Foxxwoods
IN
MI
Rockingham Park, Salem
The Lodge at Belmont
Seabrook Greyhound Park
Caesar’s Atlantic City
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Tropicana
Trump Taj Mahal
Akwesasne Mohawk
Majesty Casino Boar
Seneeca Alleggany
Se
Se eca Irv
Sene
rvvin
ng
Seneca
ca Niaga
ia ara
Turning Stone
Catfish Bend
Diamond Jo’s “Worth”
Isle of Capri
Winn-A-Vegas
LA
F+ 7P
NH
Northern Light Casino
Shooting Star Casino
Menomiineee Ca
Cassino
no
Oneida Casino, Green Bay
Potawatomi Northern Lights, Carter
St Croix Casino, Turtle Lake
Gran
Gr
andd Cous
Coushaatta
tta
Horseshoe CasinoShreveport
Copa Casino
Gold Strike Casino (Tunica)
MS Grand Casino(Tunica)
Horseshoe Casino (Tunica)
Pearl River Resort
Dania Jai-Alai
Derby Lane
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino
Hard Rocck (3
33)
Mardi Gras Gaming Ctr, Hollywd
Palm Beach Kennel Club
Palm Beach Princess
Seminnole Casinno Brig
Semi
ightonn
Semi
minnolee Holly
lyw
woodd Cass.
St Tropez Cruise
The Isle at Pompano Park
CANADA Casino Regina
$30+ 7P
S H/L
$10+ 7P
F+ 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
N
O H/L
H/L
Sp Z
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20+ 1P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$35 12P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
5P
NH
NH
NH
$35
$40 10P
$20 11A
2P
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
N O H/L $20+ 1P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$100 12P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
NB
$35
NH
NH
NH
NH
10A
$40 7P
$20
$25+
GAMES BUY-IN
NH
$20+
NH
$20
NH
$35
NH
$20
NH
$20
H
$35
NH
$50+
NH
$28+
NH
NH
$35
$115
H
F+
F $100
$10+ 7P
H
$10+ 2P
$25 7P
NH
2P
NH
$30+ 3P
H
$20+
$30+
7P
NH
$30+ 7P
NH
$30+
$10+
6P
O H/L
$10+ 4P
NH
7P
NH
$25+ 4P
2P
$30+ 6P
3P
NHZ
H
NH
NH
$60
$40
$30+
$88
7P
NH
NH
Varies
H
$30+
$44
$35 7PWk1
7P
Varies 10A&
Varies
Varies 10A&
Varies
Varies 10A&
Varies
Varies 10A&
Varies
Varies
NH
NH
NH
NH
LH
NH
NHZ
NH
$40 6P
7P
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$150 8P
$30+ 4P
$120 6P
$57 7P
$65 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$60 2P
$10+ 4P&
$50 1P&
$80+ 1P
$330 12P
$60+ 12P
$225 6P&
$37+ 12P
$65 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
$60 2P
$75 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$100+ 7P
$560 12P
$65+ 12P
$340 6P
$87 7P
$65 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$60
$50
$50+
$85+
$1,200
$55+
$120
$58
$65
NH
$60 7P
NH
$60 12P
NH
$20+ 7P
NH
$60
11A
11A&
Var
NH
NH
NH
$85 11A
$20+ 3P
Var 12P
NH
NH
NH
$120
$60
$25+
2P
N H/O
$10+
11A
NH
$90
NH
NH
NH
NH
$80
$25+
$30+
$50+
NH
Var
NH
7
$15+
$10+
$30+
$25
NLH
NHB
NH
NH
NH
N H Sh
Sit N Go $55/100
NH
$11+
$40 6P
Varies
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$150 7P
$40+ 7P
$65 6P
$27+ 7P
$65 7P
$60+
$35+
$25+ 7P
$35+
$85+ 12P
$20+ 7P
6P
$50
$10+
1P
6P Wk3
NH
Varies 10A&
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$65 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35+ 10A
$35+ 7P
$60
$35+ 10A
$60 7P
$20+ 7P
$30+ 6P
$15 6P
12P
7P
7P
BNH
Varies
NH
NH
NH
NH
LH
NH
O H/L
NH
NH
$50
$40 6P
7P
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$120 7P
$30+ 7P
$65 6P
$57 7P
7P
$60+ 10A
$60+ 7P
7P
$120 10A
$50+ 7P
$20+ 7P
$45
$15 6P
7P
10A
7P
7P
10A
12P
7P
6P
10A
N H Sh
H
Varies 10A&
NH
NH
NH
7
NH
NHZ
$40
$45+
$100+ 12P&
$110 7P
NH
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$150 12P
$30+ 7P
$120 6P
$67 7P
NH
NH
NH
H
Varies
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
N H/O
NH
6P
$80 1P&
6P
NH
NH
Pi
7P
NH
N H Sh
NH
NH
$50
$40+
$65
$160
7P
$85+ 12A
$100+ 12P&
$10+ 6P
NH
LH
NH
NH
$50
$65+
$80 10A
$30+ 6P
NH
NH
$200 12-10P Sit N Go $55/100
12P
$55 12P&
$40+ 1P
Wk3
$50+
$55+ 6P
$25 12P
$25+
$35+
6P
$120+
6P
7
NHZ
H
$75+
6P
NH
1P&
NH
$25 1P&
4A&
NH
1P
7P
7P
$25+ 6P
$25 12P
7P
7P
$30+
6P Wk2
F+
NH
NH
NH
NH
$25+
$25+ 12P
$40+ 6P&
$65+
6P
$120+ 6P
NHZ
N H Sat
$55+
$60
$140 1P&
LH
F$5+ 12P
NHZ
$25 12P
N H Sat $40 + 12P
$200+
$200 8A&
$60 3P
2P
Lad N H $100+ 10A Wk3
12P Wk1
24
5P
NH
$10+ 12P
NH
$50+ 12P
NH
$60
NH
NH
NH
12P
12P
NH
Var
$115
Var
$40 2P
NH
$110 12P
NH
NH
$35+ 1P&
BNH
$65+
NH
$130 1P
NH
$130
NH
$130+ 4P
$75+
NH
NH
$25 1P&
NH
$25 1P&
NH
5P
$65 5P&
7
NH
$25Z 4P
$90+ 11A&
Pi Z
NH
$25 5P
$35+ 5P&
H
NHZ
NH
$65 1P
NH
$65 1P
NH
$65 1P
NHB
NH
NH
$130B 7P
Sit N Go
NH
NHZ
NH
NHB
6P
NH
$65 6P
NH
NH
LO H/L
NH
NHZ
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NHB
LO
H/L B
7P
$20+
$45 12P&
$45 1P
$60 6P&
$150
$42 12P&
$100 12P
$200 6P
$35+ 7P
$120 12P
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NH
$65+
$20+ 7P
12P&
$45 6P
$60 6P&
$100 6P
$45 12P&
$65 6P
$55+ 6P
$125 7P
$150 12P
$75+ 6P
NH
8P
6P
O H/L
NH
$70+
$120 3P
8P
NH
Var
$150 1P&
$25+
NH
NH
NH
NH
12P
$25 2P
$30 7P
NH
11A
1P
6P&
11A&
12P&
12P
6P
7P
12P
$40 10A
$40 10P
$20 11A
$13+
FRIDAY
Sh ........Shootout
+Rebuys, Add-ons OK
F ............Freeroll
Sat .......Satellite
NH
5P&
3P
7P
7P
6P
7P
6P
7
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
N O H/L $20+ 1P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$35 12P
NH
$20 9A
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
Lad N H $25+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
NH
$45
Z........ Freezeout
Cz ............. Crazy
E...... Elimination
Q ............Qualify
7 H/L
6P
Belterra (Florence)
1P
Caesars Indiana
11A
Majestic Star
7P
Chip-In’s Island
Lac Vieux Desert Cas., Watersmeet
2-10P
Cant
Ca
nterrbury
ry Par
arkk
10P
MO Harrah’s St Louis
FLORIDA
10A&
S
Hollywood Casino-Aurora
MN Fortune Bay Casino
WI
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
NH
NHB
$50Z
$120 5P&
NH
$120+ 11A&
1
P
W
S
O
P
$100 ACADEMY
$65+ 1P
$65+ 4P
NH
$65+ 2P
2P
N H Sh
$35
$45 12P&
NH
$45 12P&
$45 1P
NH
$45 1P
$60 6P&
NH
$60 6P&
11A
NHZ
$150 11A&
$42 12P&
Sit N Go
$45 12P&
$65 12P
Sh
$65 12P
$200 6P
NH
$200 6P
7P
NH
$150 7P
$150 12P
NH
$100 12P
$65+ 6P
NHB
$350 6P
NH
$65 6P
NHB
$150 6P
NHB
$75
$100 6P
NH
8P
$350 2P
L/N H
NH
$70+
$200 2P
NH
$200 12P
NH
$350
$45 12P&
$45 6P
$60 6P&
$45 12P&
$100 6P
$120 6P
$20+
$150 12P
NH
NH
NH
NH
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NH
$45 12P&
$45 1P
$120 6P&
$200
$45 12P&
$65 12P
$200 6P
$130
$65 12P
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
$130+
NH
NH
NH
$45
$45
$60
Sit N Go
NH
NH
$45
$100
$200
NHB
$150
31
The Wynn Classic is Back—Bigger and Better than
Ever. The Wynn Classic begins on February 26 and
runs through March 19 with events ranging from
$500 to $10,000. The Wynn has made several chang-
DEBBIE DOES POKER
By DEBBIE BURKHEAD
es to this year’s event by increasing
levels in the $1,000 event from 45 minutes to 60 minutes. They also increased
starting chips in the $2,000 event to
$6,000, and the $3,000 event to $8,000, along with
adding three new levels in the main event.
They also added a H.O.S.E. event and two rebuy
tournaments. To assure all rebuys are accounted for,
the Wynn implemented an exact real time accounting system. All floor personnel will be equipped with
hand held devices to scan your buy-in ticket when
you make a rebuy. The rebuy will show up on the
board immediately, allowing players to visually track
the prize pool.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this event
in the past, they are doubling the poker room’s space
by adding 30 tables on the main casino floor. All
entrants will receive a $20 comp upon registering. All
tournaments start at noon and are two-day events,
with the exception of the main event, which will run
four days, and the opening $500 event that will run
three days. Single table satellites begin on February
26, and a super satellite for the main event will be
held on March 15. The Wynn is offering a $129 room
rate Sunday-Thursday and a $199 rate on Friday and
Saturday.
Play live poker from January 1-February 18 for 13
chances to win your way into the Classic. For every
hour of live play you will receive one ticket into a virtual drawing. Players will not actually receive tickets
because the process is computerized. Four drawings per day will be held on February 18-20 for three
$1,000 seats and one $2,000 seat. Drawings will be
held at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Drawings
vary so everyone has a chance to win the $2,000
seats. The last drawing will be held on February 21
at 7 p.m. for a $10,000 buy-in to the main event.
Players must be present to win. For more information
and a complete schedule of events see the Wynn ad
in this issue of Poker Player Newspaper.
Tournaments at Casino Arizona. If tournaments
are what you are looking for, check out Casino
Arizona’s daily tournament schedule. No-limit events
are held on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, at 11:15
a.m., Tuesday and Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. and 7:00
p.m., and the last Saturday of the month at 10:00
a.m. For you Omaha/8 players, tournaments are
January 19, April 19, and October 18, at 9:00 a.m.
For more information see Casino Arizona’s ad in this
issue of Poker Player Newspaper.
Win a $10,000 World Series Seat at Tachi. On
the first Saturday of each month Tachi Palace is the
place to be if you want to win your way to the WSOP.
The no-limit event has a $200 price tag and the winner receives a $10,000 seat in the main event at the
2008 WSOP plus all expenses. The entire package
is valued at approximately $17,000. The tournament
starts at noon but sign up early because registration
ends at 11:45 a.m. the day of the event. The event is
limited to 16 tables with 10 players per table, but they
do take an alternate list for up to one hour. The last
event was sold out with 32 alternates and 29 of them
made their way into the tournament. Second place
through tenth place receive cash. For more information see the Tachi Palace ad in this issue of Poker
Player Newspaper.
Player
Wreck
(Continued from page 12)
grunted, “Forget it guys. I’ve
got a bad hand, but I might as
well go all-in.”
“I’m not folding, Kelly; I
call!” Hobby shouted. “Lift,
Joe.”
It was in futile desperation, but I gave it all I could
muster. To my surprise the car
rolled upward. “Pull him out,
Joe. I can hold it.”
I grabbed Kelly’s jacket
and pulled him clear. Later,
as we put him onto a gurney
Kelly said, “Did you hear me?
I said ‘I’m all-in.’”
“We heard you, Kelly. I
called, and you won,” Hobby
answered.
“I sure did,” he said as the
morphine took over and put
him to sleep.
#
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
,
),0,
Debbie Burkhead is a long time poker player, writer and sales rep
for Poker Player. You may contact Debbie at [email protected].
32
When the ambulance
started through the traffic
jam I said, “Hop in the truck,
Hobby. I’ll try to follow it.”
We had almost made it out
of the mess when a trooper
stopped us. “Our friend’s in
the ambulance. He’s dying.”
He gave me a hard look
and said, “OK.”
“Do you think Kelly is
dying, Joe?”
“I don’t know. He could
have been badly crushed.” We
followed to the hospital’s ER
entrance. “Hobby, stay with
him. I’ll park.”
When I got inside, Hobby
was talking to a hospital
worker. “Do you know where
Kelly lives, Joe?” He asked.
“Somewhere in West LA.
How’s he doing?”
“He’s in surgery. They
asked me about ‘next of kin.’”
“I’ll call someone I know
at the Precinct. See if they can
locate anyone.”
A couple hours later my
cell rang. I listen for a while
and hung up. “Was it about
Kelly,” Hobby asked.
“Yeah, they sent a squad
car to his address and spoke
to a neighbor. His wife died
last year. The neighbor didn’t
think he had any other family.”
“Oh, boy,” Hobby said.
At seven in the morning
a doctor in messy scrubs
came looking for us. “I’m
sorry; your friend had too
much internal damaged. We
couldn’t save him.”
It was quiet on the way
home until Hobby said, “Well,
Joe. He went out a winner.”
“Damn straight. He can
take his chips and play in that
big game in the sky.”
Write to author David Valley
at: [email protected]
WSOP Circuit at Grand Casino Tunica
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
2. Jim Sears . . . . . . . . . $14,334
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
3. Matt Brady . . . . . . . . $8,130
POT LIMIT HOLD’EM
4. Doug Taylor . . . . . . . $6,459
EVENT 7
1/9/08
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 74
6. Nicholas Woolworth . $4,428
PRIZE POOL
EVENT 4
BUY-IN $200
PLAYERS 287
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
1/8/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
SHORT HANDED
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 205
PRIZE POOL
$98,400
Johnathan
Westra
1. Johnathan Westra . $26,742
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
$54,863
BUY-IN $500
1/7/08
OMAHA HI-LO
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 207
PRIZE POOL
$99,360
Chris Reslock
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1. Chris Reslock . . . . . $30,860
2. Martin Berchenko . $16,979
3. Greg Giannokostas . . $8,690
4. Douglas Lorgesee . . . $6,763
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
1/5/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $700
5. Tom Chambers . . . . . $5,800
PLAYERS 277
PRIZE POOL
6. Randall Witt . . . . . . . $4,968
7. Brooke Stephens . . . . $3,974
$186,698
8. Peter Dawson . . . . . . $2,981
Kerry Rowden
9. Roland Israelashvili . $1,987
POWERFUL ADVERTISING REACH—USE IT!
poker player
1.
2.
3.
4.
3. Todd Cashion . . . . . $17,343
4. Bobby Byram . . . . . $15,177
5. James Rapp . . . . . . . $13,010
6. Randy Rothwell
AKA “LuCkY” . . . . $10,843
7. Carroll Dye . . . . . . . . $8,677
8. Jack Andrus . . . . . . . $6,510
PRIZE POOL
Jennifer Golin . . . . . $17,291
Shelia Carwile . . . . . . $9,512
Jo Cain . . . . . . . . . . . $5,011
Peggy Ledman . . . . . $3,897
Darlene De Jesus . . . $3,341
Sherry Hollis . . . . . . . $2,784
Connie Rice . . . . . . . . $2,227
Ellen Van Buren . . . . $1,670
Nancy Manley . . . . . . $1,114
EVENT 3
2. William Graveline . $30,668
9. David Rylander . . . . . $4,467
PLAYERS 383
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
EVENT 5
1/4/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
Jennifer Golin
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
Ross Rehrig . . . . . . . $10,889
Renea Mahaffey . . . . $9,078
Grant Phillips . . . . . . $7,267
Steven Hipes . . . . . . . $5,601
Michael Ciaravino . . $3,734
EVENT 2
PRIZE POOL
9. Jim Shipley . . . . . . . . $2,952
Howard Andrews . . $13,799
Richard Ferro . . . . . . $7,941
Todd Bernstein . . . . . $4,262
Clyde Bass . . . . . . . . . $2,486
James McBride . . . . . $1,954
Chad Smithson . . . . . $1,598
Vince Burgio . . . . . . . $1,213
Kyle Caslin . . . . . . . . . .$888
Bob Redman . . . . . . . . .$710
1/6/08
LADIES - NO LIMIT
HOLD’EM HIGH
HEELS TOUR
8. William Ross . . . . . . . $3,198
Howard Andrews
EVENT 6
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
7. Steve Graham . . . . . . $3,444
$35,520
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
5. Ron Picou . . . . . . . . . $5,412
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
Kerry Rowden . . . . $57,974
Matthew Botzer . . . $31,896
Kyle Strader . . . . . . $16,322
Khalid Dghaim . . . . $12,700
$183,840
Poker Derby
Carlos Cuentas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Carlos Cuentas . . . . $55,302
Corey Sanders . . . . $28,548
Jerry Barlow . . . . . . $14,282
Adam Ross . . . . . . . $12,499
Gebrehiweb Goitom $10,716
David Garrison . . . . . $7,150
David Garrison . . . . . $7,150
Tony Boles . . . . . . . . . $5,515
Michael Hanelin . . . . $3,677
GRAND CASINO TUNICA
POKER DERBY
1/4/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY
BUY-IN $100 + $25
PLAYERS 1458
PRIZE POOL
$303,080
WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT
EVENT 1
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300
PLAYERS 781
PRIZE POOL
$223,366
Howard Reid
1. Howard Reid . . . . . . $58,500
William Vo
1/3/08
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
William Vo . . . . . . . $49,570
Greg Caul . . . . . . . . $26,245
Danny Morgan . . . . $12,540
John Hernandez . . . . $8,750
Osmin Dardon . . . . . $5,975
Star Baltazar . . . . . . . $4,520
Chau Nguyen . . . . . . $3,645
Hao Le . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,915
Steven Ayoub . . . . . . $2,335
33
Broadening
Your Mind
21-Year-Old Alexander
Kostritsyn Russian Wins
STUD SENSE
By ASHLEY ADAMS
I’d like to use this column to urge all poker players to read more.
Reading opens up your mind to the thinking of other people—
broadening your mind by broadening the experiences you can
understand and consider. Whether it’s poker strategy, fiction, or
just life experience that you’re reading about, you’re entering a
world you would not normally enter yourself. By broadening your
mind you broaden your perspective and expand how you think—
which, in my view, can only help but develop your ability at the
poker table.
As the year ended I was lucky to find myself with two books of
fiction, which I read for pleasure. They were also, at least tangentially, books about poker. Though neither is a book about poker
strategy, I recommend them each to you.
Written with co-author Robert Randisi, Vince Van Patten’s The
Picasso Flop sets a murder mystery inside the exciting and, for
we poker players, familiar world of a major poker tournament in
Las Vegas.
Van Patten should be familiar to anyone who watches the
World Poker Tour events. He is the announcer. He has also been
a screenwriter, producer, and director—as well as a professional
tennis player. He joins forces with acclaimed mystery writer
Randisi to produce one of the few realistic poker mysteries.
I liked three things, chiefly, about this fast paced mystery.
First, and most important, I really appreciated that they got the
poker content right. So many authors these days don’t. They use
poker in their stories—but without really understanding the game,
the rules, or the trappings of it, it comes off either unrealistic or
dead wrong. Not so here. The details are clear and accurate.
Van Patten also uses real poker figures to spice up his fictitious tale. Mike Sexton plays a large role in the drama, as do
Doyle Brunson, James Woods and a thinly disguised Eskimo Clark.
Finally, I enjoyed the rapid pacing of the story. It is high energy
throughout—and can be finished in six hours or so of steady reading. It’s the absolutely perfect book for your next flight to Las
Vegas (at least if you’re coming from the east coast).
I was also pleased with the latest offering by Susie Isaacs.
Susie is probably best known as one of the greatest female poker
players competing today. She won the ladies tournament at the
World Series of Poker in successive years (1996 and 1997) and finished at the final table in the $10,000 main event in 1998. She is
also an accomplished author, having written five other books and
the long-running poker magazine column “Chip Chatter.”
Since most of her writings have been focused on women in
poker, I wasn’t sure that I’d really enjoy her latest book and her
first novel, White Knight Black Nights. But, surprisingly, I found
that I couldn’t put it down. It was a terrific read.
It’s the story of a woman who is caught in the conflict between
being a dutiful and loving spouse while at the same time discovering and becoming a thoroughly independent woman—who happens
to be a successful poker player and writer. Her journey includes
more than enough spice, drama, sex, and violence to keep the
attention of men and women alike.
Isaacs is at her best in developing her two main characters—
one of whom seems to be based at least loosely on the author
herself. Their dialogue is realistic and moving. Their experiences
are poignant and unpredictable. Isaacs’ interweaving into the
story line of the realistic poker world of Las Vegas is also a nice
touch for we poker players who thrive there. The concluding
scenes are as powerful as they are unexpected. I’m eager to see
what other fiction she might have in the year to come.
As we begin a new year, I wish all of you a successful, literate,
and profitable 2008.
Ashley Adams is the author of Winning 7-Card Stud,
and profitably plays 7-card stud all over the world,
including England, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Hungary,
Canada and the United States, but most frequently at
Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino.
You can reach Ashley at [email protected]
34
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
The new king of
Australian poker was
crowned when Alexander
Kostritsyn won the
no-limit Texas hold’em
main event at the
2008 Aussie Millions
Poker Championship
at Melbourne’s Crown
Casino, defeating
American poker great Erik
Seidel for the victory.
The 21-year-old
Kostritsyn took home
a cool $1.65 million in
Australian dollars, the
equivalent of $1.45 million in US dollars, the
largest prize ever awarded
in a live poker tournament in the Southern
Hemisphere. Kostritsyn,
who hails from Moscow,
was the youngest player
at the final table at 21 and
outlasted a record field of
780 players.
“We congratulate
Alexander Kostritsyn on
his tremendous accomplishment,” said Peter
Mim, Executive General
Manager of Table Games at
Crown. “He played superb
poker over a prolonged
period against a record
field that included virtually
every top professional and
hundreds of talented amateurs from Australia and
around the world.”
Finishing third and collecting AUD $700,000
was Melbourne’s Michael
Chrisanthopoulos.
The remaining players
at the final table were:
4th place: Peter Ling$500,000
5th place: Nino Marotta$400,000
6th place: Antonio
Casale- $300,000
Gold Strike WPO
8. Stephen Garcia
AKA “Penguin” . . . . $4,886
9. Jeff Whitson AKA
“White Chocolate” . . $3,257
8. Stan Striker . . . . . . . . $2,814
9. Harold Burnham . . . $1,876
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #5
1/8/08
WORLD POKER OPEN
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #3
1/6/08
WORLD POKER OPEN
OMAHA HI-LO
PLAYERS 265
John Lovejoy . . . . . $41,131
Hugh Spiegel . . . . . . $22,620
Ralph Smith . . . . . . $11,567
Mike Lutz . . . . . . . . . $8,997
Thomas Witherspoon $7,712
James Summer . . . . . $6,426
Richard Collinsworth $5,141
Robert Tate, Sr . . . . . $3,856
Denny Axel . . . . . . . . $2,571
6. Heather Escuin . . . . $12,037
$214,000
7. David Grandstaff . . . $9,630
8. Daniel Delnoce . . . . . $7,222
9. Anthony Sapio AKA
“North Fulton Tony” $4,815
Terry Stewart
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Terry Stewart . . . . . $61,255
Tony Hartmann . . . $31,613
Rhudy Maxwell . . . $15,806
John Vonholle
AKA “JVH” . . . . . . $13,831
Frank Kassela . . . . . $11,855
Jonathan Tare . . . . . . $9,879
Travis Copeland . . . . $7,903
Ray Weaver . . . . . . . . $5,927
David Milam AKA
“Danville Dave” . . . . $3,952
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #4
1/7/08
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #2
1/5/08
WORLD POKER OPEN
WORLD POKER OPEN
LIMIT HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $50
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 214
4. Burt Madden . . . . . $16,852
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PRIZE POOL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
3. Kerry Dawson . . . . . $19,260
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
PRIZE POOL
$132,500
John Lovejoy
2. Quoc Truong
AKA “Mark” . . . . . $38,278
5. Larry Kozlove AKA
“wizard of koz” . . . $14,445
PLAYERS 428
BUY-IN $500 + $50
PLAYERS 517
GOLD STRIKE CASINO
EVENT #1
1/4/08
WORLD POKER OPEN
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $40
PLAYERS 782
PRIZE POOL
$234,600
Joe Sharp
1. Joe Sharp . . . . . . . . $58,739
2. Tim Burt AKA
“misipimachine” . . . $30,549
3. Gerard Rodrigues . $17,144
4. Kimberly Robertson $15,229
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
5. Souvanh “Ronnie
Kevin” Vilayvanh . . $10,878
$107,000
$240,745
6. James MacKey . . . . $10,354
John Pack
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
John Pack . . . . . . . . $30,951
John Carter . . . . . . . $17,070
Robert Chow . . . . . . . $9,379
Billy Young . . . . . . . . $7,503
Tannie Shannon . . . . $5,627
John Valet . . . . . . . . . $4,690
Minh Nguyen . . . . . . $3,752
Matt “Cub”
Culberson
1. Matt “Cub”
Culberson . . . . . . . . $72,705
7. Shelly Adler . . . . . . . . $8,702
8. Becket Moore . . . . . . $6,527
9. Campbell Davis . . . . $4,351
BACK ISSUES, SPECIAL FEATURES & UP-TO-THE MINUTE POKER INFO—
D E E P S TA C K
E X T R AVA G A N Z A
F E BRUARY 4 T H – F E BRUARY 2 4 T H , 2 0 0 8
More chips, more play – at The Venetian Poker Room.
DATE
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Saturday
Sunday
2/4/08
2/5/08
2/6/08
2/7/08
2/8/08
2/9/08
2/10/08
2/11/08
2/12/08
2/13/08
2/14/08
2/15/08
2/16/08
2/17/08
2/18/08
2/19/08
2/20/08
2/21/08
2/22/08
2/23/08
2/23/08
2/24/08
BUY-IN
EVENT*
$330
540
330
540
1,060
540
1,060
330
540
330
540
540
540
1,060
330
540
330
540
1,060
540
225
2,600
No Limit Hold ’Em
P.L.O. with Rebuys
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
Omaha 8 or Better
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
H.O.R.S.E.
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
No Limit Hold ’Em
Satellite with Rebuys*
No Limit Hold ’Em
STARTING CHIPS
ADDITIONAL CHIPS WITH
ADDED $10 STAFF BONUS
$4,500
4,500
4,500
7,500
7,500
7,500
7,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
7,500
7,500
7,500
7,500
4,500
4,500
4,500
7,500
7,500
7,500
1,500
10,000
$1,500
1,500
1,500
2,500
2,500
2,500
2,500
1,500
1,500
1,500
2,500
2,500
2,500
2,500
1,500
1,500
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
35
LESSON 120:
Caro’s Word: “Always”
The Truth About Bankrolls
Lessons from mike caro
university of poker
BY DIANE MC HAFFIE
As director of operations for Mike Caro University of Poker,
I’m in charge of scheduling Mike’s meetings, appearances,
and interviews. Several days ago I was approached by the
Harrah’s Casino Poker Power Hour, broadcast on WHCO
1230 AM in St. Louis, requesting a radio interview with Mike.
Johnny B. and the Randoman, the on-air hosts, wanted to ask
Mike’s advice on how low-limit poker players could attempt to
make a steady income from playing poker.
I was able to schedule the interview, but unfortunately I
missed the show and so I asked Mike to fill me in. So, he studied his notes and now I’d like to share them with you.
Spend. As a beginning poker player, you must understand
that you absolutely can not spend your bankroll. The day has
finally come that you’re able to proudly fold three $100 bills
into your pocket and go to the poker table. If you win $5,700
over the next week and then you decide to purchase a $3,000
HD, flat screen TV to watch the Super Bowl, you reason that
you still have $3,000 left, ten times what you started with.
No problem, right? Wrong.
Suppose you run into a bad streak and lose the $3,000.
Then you’re broke and miserable. But, in truth, you’ve won
$2,700. Such tragedies happen frequently. Why? Because
many beginning players don’t understand that they need to
keep a healthy bankroll. In fact, bankrolls need to be larger
than most beginners expect. Many of the skilled players that
have gone on before you have already determined the comfort zones of their bankrolls. Beginning players fail to realize
the importance and often go on a spending spree.
Establish. Mike says that it isn’t necessary to start with
an impressive bankroll. The important thing is to keep the
increased bankroll once you build it. Any bankroll is adequate,
although it does, obviously, need to be large enough to meet
the minimum table requirements. Mike doesn’t like to dictate
to novice players an exact bankroll amount.
You can acquire a big bankroll quicker by taking more risks,
but keep in mind that you’re also endangering it with those
higher risks. You could get rich fast, but you could easily
go broke. When your bankroll is sadly dwindling, you might
decide to continue playing in smaller games. But Mike says
that when your bankroll gets to such a depleted state, it isn’t
practical to protect it from ruin. Just start over again, either
by saving the money or borrowing it.
Quality. Keep in mind, if you’re tempted to play in smaller
games, your opponents are probably not going to be as
skilled and challenging as you would find in larger games, so
the quality of your learning experience will be diminished.
If you begin your poker adventures with $400, it’s going
to be relatively easy to replenish, if need be. But as your
bankroll grows you must to be more protective and when it
reaches $15,000, $30,000, or more, it is absolutely imperative
that you guard that significant bankroll and not take unnecessary chances, since it will take a very long time to restock
that amount of money if it gets destroyed.
Ego. Mike advises poker players to choose levels at which
they can easily prevail and when necessary drop to a lower
level when the bankroll dictates. Don’t let your ego totally
endanger your bankroll by refusing to step down to a lower
limit when necessary. When you enter the larger games, it’s
to enlarge your bankroll, not to preen like a peacock.
A mistake that many beginners make is they expect to add
significantly to their bankroll immediately. Unless they are
very lucky, that rarely happens. They should look upon their
first poker games as an inexpensive, educational experience.
Diane McHaffie is Director of Operations at Mike Caro
University of Poker, Gaming, and Life Strategy. Her
diverse career spans banking, promoting financial
seminars and raising white-tailed deer. Contact her at
[email protected].
36
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
that, as a juror with almost
unlimited time to weigh
evidence, you can start
from a clean slate without
any bias—but it’s usually
not the best method. The
so-called “presumption of
innocence” makes sense,
because it establishes an
initial bias. But the advice
to not lean toward a decision until you hear all the
evidence doesn’t always
make sense.
Wrong for a
poker player
And if it’s not the best
method for a juror with
all the time in the world
to evaluate, it’s definitely
wrong for a poker player
who has scant seconds to
decide. Be initially biased
and be proud of it! When
you begin to employ this
counterintuitive key to
success, you’ll be rewarded almost immediately.
I’ll remind you one
more time: In this discussion, I’m not using the
word “bias” to mean that
you’re not objective. This
isn’t the kind of bias that
causes you to seek conformation of your opinion
and reject evidence to the
contrary. Instead, this is
a contrived starting-point
bias that you’ll try to
override. As such, this is
closely related to what’s
become known as the scientific method—where you
declare a hypothesis and
then try to destroy it.
Now, as to checking or
betting, which is the better
initial bias? You could routinely assume you’re going
to check and then try to
find solid reasons why betting is a superior choice.
Or you could routinely
assume you’re going to bet
and then seek reasons to
check. Which is better?
Neither. Choose one
that’s easiest for you. If
you’re objective, both
biases will lead you to the
same correct decision!
Question 22: Is there a
better method for choosing an initial bet-orcheck bias?
Yes. You can make more
powerful use of the limited
time you have to make a
bet-or-check decision by
using these biases…
Assume you’re initially
going to check if your
opponents are tricky or
if your image isn’t commanding at the moment.
At all other times, assume
you’re going to bet. Then
evaluate the situation right
now and try to override
that decision. If you succeed, do the opposite of
your original bias—check
instead of betting, or
bet instead of checking.
Otherwise, stick with your
bias.
If you use this simple
method, you’ll be surprised how quickly
and how clearly your
poker decisions begin to
improve.
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.
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
37
Showdowns: Information Feast;
Information Famine
Critical Mass
Here’s the conclusion of Leo Cummins’ fiction
piece that began in the 12/24/07 issue of
POKER TO THE NTH DEGREE
By Tony Guerrera
I arrived at John Vorhaus’ house to resume a
tradition set aside for way too long … afternoon heads-up no-limit hold’em freezeouts. We’ve done lots
of great poker theorizing during these freezeouts, and I was
excited to get the ball rolling again. I can’t remember the last
time I played J.V. heads-up, but it was like the train never left
the tracks. The afternoon was filled with quality poker and
banter.
Around our third or fourth freezeout, J.V. posed the following question: how many times in a row could he deal himself
A-A without prompting suspicion on my part? J.V. is an honorable competitor, and highly improbable events aren’t impossible. In that sense of the question, I would have to say that
I’d never get suspicious. But being the class act that I am, my
immediate response was to insult his integrity by crunching
numbers and calculating confidence intervals in my head.
Of course, I can’t know that J.V. has dealt himself A-A every
hand unless he voluntarily shows his A-A after every hand—not
every hand goes to showdown. Subconsciously, J.V.’s question
probed into how we gather information when playing poker.
While exceptions exist, showdowns seldom occur in no-limit
hold’em. Rare things are typically valuable. And indeed, showdowns sometimes reveal valuable pieces of information. But
other times, showdowns reveal nothing.
You raise from middle position. Everyone folds except the
big blind. You miss the flop and make a standard continuation
bet after your opponent checks to you. Both of you check the
turn. You hit top board pair on the river, and your opponent
fires a one-third pot bet on the river. You call, and your opponent has nothing.
In fact, he called your preflop raise with 82o and had nothing throughout the hand: no draw; no pair; absolutely nothing.
He entered the pot with the pure intention of running that
scripted line of play. You’ve just gained a lot of information
from this showdown. This player is capable of calling with air,
intending to steal the pot later in the hand. He probably won’t
always use this line of play, but at least you discovered that
it’s a weapon in his arsenal, and you can make appropriate
adjustments against him.
Meanwhile, suppose you’re in a no-limit hold’em game with
blinds of $1 and $2. You open for $8 preflop from middle position with Q-Q. Action folds to the button, who reraises all-in
to $50. The blinds fold, and action is on you. You put the button on {AA-88, AK-AQ}, so you call. Your opponent shows A-A.
Was your {AA-88, AK-AQ} read incorrect? Who knows? This A-A
showdown alone doesn’t give you enough information to adjust
your assumptions about his hand for similar situations arising in the future. Remember that being profitable against an
opponent’s distribution isn’t the same as being favored against
every hand in an opponent’s distribution.
Winning in no-limit hold’em, as well as in all other forms of
poker, is about executing lines of play that show long term
profitability. Put your opponents on accurate hand distributions
and actions, and deducing optimal lines of play becomes a pure
math problem.
Because showdowns are rare in some forms of poker, our
reads are often based on the frequency of events rather than
specifically observed correlations between actions and cards.
As a result, one key showdown can sometimes give you the
information needed to destroy an opponent. But other times,
showdowns offer no information—or even worse, they offer
misleading information. Pay attention, think hard, and separate
the fool’s gold from the real deal.
H
ank Hatton continues
his interview with
Stanley Kinzer and his
lady Velma on how
they plan to achieve critical
mass at the no limit hold’em
tournaments in Las Vegas.
“Three years ago I was in
Iraq,” Stanley began. “I was
on a re-con mission in northern Baghdad. Our HumVee
hit an IED and I was peppered with enough shrapnel
to send me to Walter Reed.
I met Velma when I was in
rehab. She was my physical
therapist. For some crazy
reason we were attracted to
each other.
“And no,” Velma said,
placing a hand on Stanley’s
wounded knee. “It wasn’t the
classic case of the therapist
falling in love with the bird
with a broken wing. I really
liked the guy.”
Stanley smiled and continued. “After about four
months, I was ready to be
released with a disability
discharge. The army set me
up with a couple of employment opportunities—none of
which were very appealing.
Velma suggested I move in
with her until I decided what
I wanted to do. I jumped, as
best I could under the cir-
To
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
BY LEO CUMMINS
Poker Player. If you haven’t read it, find it online
at pokerplayernewspaper.com/backissues
cumstances, at the offer.
”When Velma was rotated
to the night shift at the hospital, I began watching poker
on television and became
intrigued with no-limit
hold’em. I picked-up a few
books on the subject and
after awhile I thought I had a
handle on the game.”
“Velma had a long
weekend coming up so we
decided to give poker tables
in Atlantic City a try. Let me
tell you it was a revelation.
Huge rooms with tables full
of loud people, cards in the
air and piles of chips being
scooped up by the winners.
Never saw anything like it.”
“It was very intimidating,”
Velma said. “Stanley wanted
to leave, but I talked him into
entering a small satellite.”
“When I sat down at the
table, I was almost as scared
as I was on my first patrol
in Baghdad. Here I was with
nine strangers looking to take
my money. My mind went
blank. I forgot everything I
saw and read about poker.
Velma sensing my
fear, whispered in my ear.
“Concentrate, Stanley. Be
patient.” Then she started to
massage my back. Soon the
energy from her hands began
y
l
i
a
D
r
e
k
Po
nts
e
m
a
urn
Tony Guerrera is the author of Killer Poker by the Numbers and
Killer Poker Shorthanded (with John Vorhaus). Visit him online
at www.killerev.com, and check out his weekly show, Killer
Poker Analysis, on Rounder’s Radio (www.roundersradio.com)
Fridays from 5:00PM to 6:00PM Pacific Time.
38
PART 2
to flow through my body and
I began to relax. When the
game began I felt confident
that I could win.”
“Sounds metaphysical,” I
said.
Velma leaned forward
and said, “A good physical
therapist employs metaphysical techniques—at least I do.
When a solder comes back
from combat, busted-up in
one way or another, there’s
mental as well as physical
pain. I try to work on both.
Overcoming the mental pain
is sometimes the hardest”
“Did you win?” I asked
Stanley.
“No,” he said. “But I did
learn a couple of things. A
live game is nothing like the
ones you see on television.
And mistakes can cost you.
But I knew I could correct
them and become a competitive player with the help from
Velma’s massages and by following the basic tenant’s of
the game. Patience. Position.
Luck.”
I took another sip of lemonade and wondered if I
should be skeptical of their
story. But there was certain
genuineness about them I
couldn’t deny.
“When did all this hap-
Monda
y
throug
h Thur
sd
10 a.m
. & 7:3 ay
0 p.m.
Friday
&
10 a.m Saturday
.
Sunda
y
1 p.m.
&
7:30 p
.m
.
pen?” I asked.
“Two—two and a half
years ago,” Stanley said.
“And how long was it
before you began winning?”
“It was during our third
trip. I took second place in a
$200 satellite. And it felt like
I won a million dollars.”
“That’s when you decided
to play seriously?”
“Yes, with Velma covering
my back—I figured I had a
good chance to make a living
at the game.”
“What about your job?” I
asked Velma.
“I couldn’t be with Stanley
at the tables and continue
working—so I quit may job
at the hospital,” she said.
“You were also gambling,”
I said.
She shrugged. “Life is a
gamble—so why not gamble
with Stanley.”
“What happened next?”
“I continued to play satellites to win entries into the
large buy-in tournaments.”
Stanley said.
“Why not cash games?” I
asked.
“Tournament play is like
combat,” he said, leaning forward on his cane.
“Your mission is to make
the final table and eliminate
the other players along the
way. It’s the kind of excitement that gets into your
blood.
“Or leaves you bloody,” I
added.
“After six months in
Atlantic City,” Stanley went
on. “We had accumulated a
nice cash cushion. Velma’s
lease on her apartment was
up—so we decided to move
on to Foxwoods.”
I turned to Velma. “Any
problems with you giving
Stanley back rubs at the
tables?”
She smiled. “Not really. At
first its usually guys hitting
on me for back massages—
and other services. After
awhile, word gets around that
I’m exclusive for the guy
with the cane. And I only do
Stanley’s back when he’s out
of a hand and begins to get
tired and looses focus—or
tenses-up when the game gets
tight. So the rest of the time
I’m just Stanley’s girl sweating it out with him. It keeps
the casino bosses happy and
complaints from the other
players to a minimum.
“How long were you at
Foxwoods?” I asked.
“Close to a year,” she said.
“And then from there?”
“Vegas,” Stanley said.
“Why Vegas?” I said.
“More tournaments.”
Stanley said. “Larger payouts. Besides this is where
we plan to end it.”
“As in quitting the game?”
Stanley and Velma looked
at each other for a moment
then turned to me, “Yes!”
they said together.
“All runs in life eventually
end.” Stanley said. “The mistake most people make is not
knowing when to cash-out
and leave the game.”
“And when do you plan on
doing that?”
“When we reach critical
mass.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a circumstance when
one accumulates enough
money and assets to live
conformability—if you’re
careful.”
“And when do you figure
on reaching this—critical
mass?”
“It happened last night
at the tournament,” Stanley
said.
“You won?”
“Yes, and it was enough
for us to reach our critical
mass.
“So where are you going
from here?”
“My family left me some
high country land outside of
Salt Lake. After we square
things up here, we’ll be settling there.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I
said.
I got up, wished them luck
and left them holding hands
like a couple of kids anticipating a life in a new and different world.
Well, that’s the story of
Velma the masseur and
Stanley the soldier card player. Like I figured, it was a
great human-interest story—
one of the many that play out
everyday in Las Vegas. Until
yesterday they were just two
characters in a story that had
receded into the recesses of
my memory. But they came
back into my life this morning when I received one of
those home computer generated postcards. On the front
there was a picture of a stone
cottage nestled in a grove of
aspen and pine trees against a
shining mountain backdrop.
A carved wooden archway
that spelled out, “Welcome
to Critical Mass” fronted
the house. On the back of
the card Velma had written,
“Come visit.”
You can bet—I surely will.
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F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
39
Entertainment
Listings
Entertainment RePORT
By LEN BUTCHER
Picture this. A middle-age guy in comfortable jeans and loose-fitting shirt standing
in front of the refrigerator drinking milk
right out of the jug, or maybe he’s hogging the remote,
or looking for his keys. He might just as well be a caveman, and that’s exactly what Kevin Burke is portraying
in Defending the Caveman, the huge hit at the Golden
Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. In fact, last month, Burke
performed his role for the 1,000th time, about 250 of
those at the Nugget.
Burke is perfect for the role, but it was interesting to
hear how it all came about, which I did when I talked to
him right before his landmark performance. As a kid in
Munster, Indiana, his great love was the drums, which he
played as a replacement drummer on weekends. “I loved
it,” he says. “I got to play in everything from jazz bands
to Greek wedding bands.“
During college, where he majored in theater, Burke
settled into playing drums with an R&B show band,
“… kind of like Society of Seven (which plays at the
Flamingo) and I played with them until I was 25.” He
always had a knack for comedy. “In college I always got
comedic roles. I began working in various improv groups
in Chicago, then had chance to go to Ringling Brothers
Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Here was a chance to
get some really serious physical comedy training. At
the end of 10 weeks Ringling Bros. offered me a job as a
clown with the circus.”
Burke did that for a year, then, he said, “I took stock
of everything that I knew how to do and standup comedy
seemed to be the most wide open and would pay the best
without me having to be famous. It looked like you could
make a living at it right away and that proved true. I did
that for the next 15 years, working in cities all over the
country.”
Along the way Burke got married and had kids. “At one
point I wanted my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to
come with me so that she could understand what I did
and what show business was all about. So I wrote a oneman autobiographical play about being a standup comic,
circus clown, and the great grandson of a fairly notorious, fraudulent, spiritualist medium. My great grandmother had a séance parlor in New York and when she was in
her 80s and she taught me the con when I was a kid.
“My show was about all of that and how all of that
would be the parental legacy that I would pass down to
my children. At the end of the show, my daughter would
run on stage with her clown nose and do some circus
tricks. I did it in Indianapolis for a six-week run and then
took it to the Chicago Comedy Festival. At the same time,
Rob Becker, the original star of Caveman, was looking for
someone to replace him on the Broadway tour. That was
in 2002. Mutual comedy friends put us together and that
in turn put me into the audition process and I got the
gig.” A gig that brought eventually brought him to Las
Vegas where he has been performing to capacity crowds.
As for the future, he says, “I would be perfectly content to be Yul Brynner in the King and I with Caveman
and just do it until I drop dead of old age. It’s a show that
brings people together and makes them feel better about
themselves. And in today’s world, that’s really important.”
You can catch Kevin Burke as the Caveman seven days
a week at the Golden Nugget. Monday thru Wednesday,
shows begin at 8 p.m.; Thursday thru Sunday, 9 p.m. with
matinee shows Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. Brunch and
matinee and dinner and show packages are available.
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]
40
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
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
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Casino Arizona (13)
CALIFORNIA
Chumash Casino Resort (20) Johnny Mathis
Finish Line Lounge
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NEVADA-LAS VEGAS
Boulder Station Hotel & Casino (6) Gary Puckett
Bette Midler
Caesar’s Palace
Larry G. Jones
Fitzgerald’s Hotel & Casino (17) Country Superstars
Tribute
Terri Clark
Green Valley Ranch (6)
Bryan Adams
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Rita Rudner
Harrah’s Hotel & Casino
Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino Legends In Concert
Joker’s Wild
Las Vegas Hilton
Luxor Resort & Casino
Troubador Lounge-Live
Entertainment
Heart
Menopause, the
Musical
The Scintas
Carrot Top
Maceo Parker
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
Mamma Mia
Tom Jones
KA.
Impressionist Danny
Gans
The Mirage Hotel & Casino (7) Ray Romano
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
Feb 17-18, 7 & 9 p.m.
Feb 14, 8 p.m.
Live Jazz, Tues. 8 p.m.
Feb 14, 8 p.m.
Feb 8, 7 p.m.
Feb 22-24, 7:30 p.m.
Thurs thru Mon, 9 p.m.
Ongoing, 8 p.m.
Feb 9, 7 p.m.
Feb 8-9, 9 p.m.
Ongoing (dark sundays), 8 p.m.
Mondays through Saturdays, 7 &
10 p.m.
Fri & Sat, 9 p.m.
Feb 15-16, 8 p.m.
8 p.m. nightly Sat thru Thu
9:30 p.m. nightly Fri thru Wed
Sun thru Fri, 8 p.m. & Sat, 7 & 9
p.m.
Feb 21, 9 p.m.
7 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays,
Sundays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 7 & 10:30
p.m. Saturdays, Mondays.
Jan 17-30, 7:30 p.m.
Fri thru Tue, 8 p.m.
8 p.m. (Monday thru Friday)
Feb 15-16, 10 p.m
Thursdays thru Mondays, 7:30 &
The Beatles LOVE
10:30 p.m.
Magician Lance Burton Tuesdays thru Saturdays, 7pm;
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino
Tuesdays & Saturdays. 7 & 10 p.m.
George Carlin
The Orleans
Feb 21-24, 8 p.m.
Palace Station Hotel & Casino (6) L.A. Comedy Club
Nightly, 7 & 9 p.m.
Zowie Bowie
Red Rock Hotel & Casino
Thu-Sat, 9 p.m.
Crazy Girls
Wed thru Mon, 9:30 p.m.
La Cage
Riviera Hotel & Casino (8)
Wed thru Mon, 7:30 p.m.
Neil Diamond Tribute Sun thru Thu, 7 p.m.
The Amazing Jonathan Fri-Wed, 10 p.m.
Sahara Hotel & Casino
The Platters, Coasters
8 p.m. nightly
and Drifters
Lee Ritenour
Santa Fe Station (6)
Feb 15, 7 p.m.
Suncoast Hotel & Casino (18) Osmond Brothers
Feb 22-24, 7:30 p.m.
Slaughter
Sunset Station (6)
Feb 23, 7 p.m.
Ongoing, Wednesdays thru
Mystere
Treasure Island
Saturdays 7:30 p.m.
Phantom of the Opera Nightly, 7 & 10 p.m.
Blue Man Group
Nightly, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Venetian Hotel & Casino (35)
Ongoing, 7:30 p.m. (dark Wed &
Gordie Brown
Thu)
Spamalot
Ongoing (dark Thursdays), 8 p.m.
Wynn Las Vegas
Le Reve
Nightly, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
OREGON
Wildhorse Resort & Casino (15) Lyle Lovett
Mar 8, 8 p.m.
Book reviews
Limit Hold’em:
Winning
Short-Handed
Strategies
by Terry Borer and Lawrence
Mak with Barry Tanenbaum
D&B Publishing, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-904468-37-0
366 pp, $24.95
Online poker has introduced many new developments to this beloved game.
One of these is the advent
of intentionally short-handed tables. Despite the popularity of these games, few
books have been devoted
to examining the special
circumstances surrounding
short-handed play. One of
the few to do so is Limit
Hold’em: Winning ShortHanded Strategies by Terry
Borer and Lawrence Mak,
with assistance from Barry
Tanenbaum.
The book begins with
several chapters that serve
as an introduction to the
topics it covers. The authors
discuss differences between
online and live play, as
well as general differences
between short-handed and
full games. They also go
into considerable detail
about using statistics and
online player-modeling
tools as playing aids.
After the introductory
material, we get down to
it. Around half of the book
steps through each hold’em
betting round; explaining
how to play at each stage
assuming the game is five
or six handed. Following
this we have chapters that
cover “super short-handed”
situations, defined as those
with fewer than five players. The book concludes
with several chapters on
miscellaneous topics,
including bankroll management, tilt, poker ethics, and
personal development.
One of the things I really
liked about the book was
its use of supplemental
software to help profile
online opponents. Instead of
poker book hand examples
characterizing opponents as
“loose/aggressive,” “tight/
passive,” or the like, the
authors’ metrics were calculated from hand histories.
The chapters on each betting round contain mostly
good advice. I’m sure these
techniques make the authors
winners in the games they
play. The suggestions are
thoughtful and aggressive,
just what I expect you’d
need to beat short handed
games. The supplemental
material at the end of the
book is again, good advice,
but all stuff that has been
covered in more detail in
other places.
I have to admit that I did
have a problem with an
overarching theme of the
book, though. The authors
state that playing in a three
handed game is different
than playing in a full game
where everyone folds to
the player on the button.
Does their rationale have
anything to do with the
possibility that the folders
in the full game may have
had especially poor cards?
No. Their claim is that the
game is different because
it plays differently. Since
the game plays differently,
they focus on how their
opponents play and don’t
consider why it is that
these situations are different. They don’t consider
whether it is the full game,
short game, or both types
of players that are playing
poorly. Apparently, they
don’t think it’s an important
question. Well, I do think
it’s an important question,
and it’s one that I wish the
book had addressed.
So, while I think this
book is likely to be valuable to those looking to
improve their short-handed
online play, and I while I
think the way they parameterize opponents is noth-
ing short of
outstanding,
I don’t think
the authors
did such a good job of providing a strong foundation
that justifies the way they
play. As such, I fear that
the fundamental techniques
described in this book will
not have as wide an applicability or as long a shelf
life as one might hope.
Despite this, I do expect
that those who presently
play in the sorts of games
specifically discussed here
will find Limit Hold’em:
Winning Short-Handed
Strategies quite beneficial.
—Nick Christenson
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“Problem Gambling Helpline” 800-522-4700
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
41
Online Poker Perspective:
An Absolute Mess, PART 5
2008 WORLDWIDE
POKER TOURNAMENTS
Online Poker Perspective
BY Jennifer Newell
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website: www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
As has been detailed in the first four parts of this series, the
Absolute Poker superuser cheating scandal has been in the news
since September 2007. Though the Kahnawake Gaming Commission,
which holds the gaming license of Absolute Poker, had initiated
an investigation, a final report was due from the auditors, Gaming
Associates, in early December. Until the second week of January,
there had been no further word.
While most media outlets let the story slip from their front pages,
a select few continued to demand answers. Poker Player Newspaper
allowed me to continue these columns, for which this writer is
grateful. And when Chuck Barnett, a member of Mohawk Internet
Technologies Board of Supervisors heard Keep Flopping Aces, Lou
Krieger’s radio show—with yours truly as a guest, and an intense
focus on the Absolute Poker scandal—he called in. Barnett shed some
light on the connections between the Kahnawake Gaming Commission
(KGC) and Absolute Poker, which I will detail in the next column. He
also informed us that a decision was forthcoming.
In less than 24 hours, a decision was rendered and published by
the KGC. Dated January 11, 2008, the decision confirmed that cheating occurred on Absolute Poker for six weeks beginning on August 14,
2007 and involved nine different user ID names.
Those responsible for the cheating are no longer connected with
AP, and AP as a corporate entity did not sanction or initiate the
activities. The decision confirmed that all players known to have been
cheated were reimbursed, and anyone not included in that reimbursement of monies can contact the KGC within 60 days for consideration.
The KGC decision noted that AP had “taken the appropriate
actions to address the vulnerability in its systems.” In addition, some
new information came to light. AP failed to contact the KGC within
24 hours after they became aware that cheating occurred, which
violates the Commission’s regulations. And person(s) associated
with AP’s operations deleted certain gaming logs and records that
hampered—but did not prevent—the investigation.
As a result of the violations and breaches, sanctions were imposed
on Absolute Poker by the KGC as follows:
• AP’s Client Provider Authorization was amended to subject AP
to random audits of logs and records for the next two years, the cost
of which will be absorbed by AP. The company must also implement a
compliance program.
• AP was ordered to pay a fine of $500,000 within 60 days of the
decision.
• AP must pay a security deposit of an unspecified amount to
be held by the KGC for two years to offset the cost of any further
breaches in the gaming laws.
• AP was ordered to pay all costs associated with the investigation, audit, and any follow-up matters that may occur as a result.
Within hours of the release of the KGC’s decision, Absolute Poker
released a statement. The company recognized the completeness and
accuracy of the decision, adding that it appointed a team of internal
and external members to improve controls and install safeguards
on the site. In addition, a series of “poker security summits” with
“respected and independent members of the poker community” will
be held to further improve AP’s security.
AP noted that it “regrets the inadvertent deletion of certain gaming logs and records during the course of the investigation,” though
it is unclear how records are ever inadvertently deleted.
Most striking about the AP statement was its several mentions of
relief to have this experience over. It was a “most distressing and
regrettable experience,” and it is glad to “close the book on this sordid affair.” Clearly, this was an attempt at an apology.
The next (and possibly final) column in this series will look at the
ownership of Absolute Poker and the subsequent connections to the
Mohawk Territory.
Jennifer Newell is a compulsive writer. In addition to
Poker Player Newspaper, you can read her at PokerWorks.
com, Poker Pro Magazine, and Pokerati.com. In her spare
time, Jennifer writes about poker. She plays too.
Contact her at [email protected]
42
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
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s=World Series of Poker and e=European Poker Tour.
To list your 3-day events contact: A.R. Dyck, Managing Editor, at: [email protected]
DATE
EVENT
LOCATION
Jan 15-31
Borgata Winter Open
tThe Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ
Jan 23-27
Alberta Poker Championship
Casino Edmonton, Edmonton, AB, Canada
>Jan 24-Mar 3 L.A. Poker Classic
tCommerce Casino (AdPg 44), LA, CA
>Jan 27-Feb 7 WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s Rincon, San Diego, CA
Jan 29-Feb 2
Hohensyburg Open
eCasino Hohensyburg, Dortmund, Germany
>Feb 4-24
Deep-Stack Extravaganza
The Venetian (Ad Pg 35), Las Vegas, NV
Feb 14-26
Okla. State Ch’ship of Poker
Cherokee Casino Resort, Tulsa, OK
Feb 18-25
Heartland Poker Tour Event
Grand Casino Mille Lacs, Onamia, MN
Feb 18-27
WSOP Circuit Event
sHorseshoe Casino, Council Bluffs, IA
Feb 19-23
Scandanavian Open
eCasino Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb 26 - Mar 19 The Wynn Classic
Wynn, Las Vegas, NV.
Feb 28-Mar 2
NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
>Feb 28-Mar 23 Winnin’ O’ the Green
The Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 21), Bell Gardens, CA
>Feb 29-Mar 9 Winter/Spring Poker Tournament Peppermill Hotel & Casino (Ad Pg 11), Reno, NV
>Mar 1-3
WPT Celebrity Invitational
tCommerce Casino (AdPg 44), LA, CA
Mar 2-9
Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, Tama, IA
Mar 5-15
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars, Atlantic City, NJ
Mar 6-30
World Poker Challenge
tGrand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, NV
>Mar 10-14
Bay 101 Shooting Star
tBay 101 (AdPg 36), San Jose, CA
Mar 11-15
Polish Open
eHyatt Regency, Warsaw, Poland
Mar 19-24
PaddyPowerPoker Irish Poker Open Westcity Hotel, Dublin, Ireland
Mar 25-28
World Poker Challenge
tGrand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, NV
Apr 1-5
European Poker Tour San Remo eCasino San Remo, San Remo, Italy
Apr 1-13
Golden Gates Casino, Black Hawk, CO
Apr 2-16
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
Apr 4-9
Foxwoods Poker Classic
Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT
>Apr 10-27
Stars and Stripes
Apr 11-27
Spring Poker Round-Up
Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Pendleton, WA
Apr 12-17
EPT Grand Final
eMonte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Apr 19-26
WPT World Championship
tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Apr 19-28
Majestic Star Casino, Gary, IN
Apr 20-May 1
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
>Apr 25-May 11 Masters of Poker
Peppermill Hotel & Casino (AdPg 11), Reno, NV
Apr 30-May 4
Western Canadian Poker Ch’ship Casino Yellowhead, Edmonton, AB, Canada
sHarrah’s, New Orleans, LA
May 9-21
WSOP Circuit Event
>May 21-29 Mini Series Warm-Ups
>May 30-Jul 6 The Mini Series
May 30-Jul 17
World Series of Poker
sRio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
July 10-15
Bellagio Cup III
tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
>Jul 31-Aug 29 Legends of Poker
tThe Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 21), Bell Gardens, CA
Aug 27-31
Edmonton Poker Classic
Casino Edmonton, Edmonton, AB, Canada
>Sep 25-Oct 12 Big Poker Oktober
Oct 8-12
Canadian Poker Championship Casino Yellowhead, Edmonton, AB, Canada
>Nov 20-Dec 7 Turkey Shoot/Ho-Ho Hold’em The Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 21), Bell Gardens, CA
Letter to the Editor
I called Jeff Shulman
over at Card Player after
the news broke and asked
him when he was going to
write an article or editorial
about this blatant example
of on-line cheating and he
never returned my call. In
fact, he continues to carry
multi-page Absolute Poker
ads in every issue. Shulman
is NOT a journalist; he and
his father are well-paid
industry mouthpieces with
little integrity. I notice that
the current edition of Poker
Player does not contain any
Absolute Poker advertising,
which speaks volumes about
your much appreciated ethics
at a time and in an industry
where ethics have been sadly
neglected ever since 2003
when poker became wildly
and unexpectedly popular.
I am an experienced amateur player who loves the
game of poker but who is
extremely disturbed by the
current state of the poker
industry, which is emitting
a horrible stench of corruption during a period of
immense popularity when
it should strive to assure the
poker playing public that the
games, especially the on-line
games, are on the square.
I implore the poker media
(print, television, Internet)
to stop taking advertising
dollars from criminals and
to expose these criminals for
what they are.
Poker is a wonderful
game, enjoyed by millions
and millions of honest people from all walks of life. All
of us honest players need to
stand up and say “Enough is
enough” to the unmitigated
greed and wrongdoing which
have recently tainted our
favorite pastime...
Sincerely,
Eric Random, Founder
Random Factory
Independent Critical
Thinking
SM
ULTIMATE ACTION. CLASSIC STYLE.
February 26 - March 19, 2008
DATE
DAY
EVENT
2/26
TUES
SINGLE TABLE SATELLITES
2/27
WED
$500/$40 NO LIMIT HOLD ’EM flight 1*
2/28
THURS
$500/$40 NO LIMIT HOLD ’EM flight 2*
2/29
FRI
$1000/$60 NO LIMIT HOLD ’EM
3/1
SAT
$1500/$70 NO LIMIT HOLD ‘EM
3/2
SUN
3/3
MON
$1000/$60 OMAHA HI/LO
3/4
TUES
3/5
WED
$1000/$60 LIMIT HOLD ’EM
3/6
THURS
3/7
FRI
$1000/$60 NO LIMIT HOLD ‘EM w/re-buys
3/8
SAT
3/9
SUN
$1000/$60 H.O.S.E.
3/10
MON
3/11
TUES
$2000 /$80 NO LIMIT HOLD ’EM
3/12
WED
$1000/$60 POT LIMIT OMAHA w/re-buys
3/13
THURS
3/14
FRI
3/15
SAT
SUPER SATELLITES**
3/16-19
SUN-WED
$10,000/$200 NO LIMIT HOLD ‘EM
* 3 day event
**Noon and 7PM
All events start at Noon and are two days unless otherwise noted. 3% of prize pool for all events will be withheld and paid as a gratuity to the poker room staff.
Management reserves the right to modify tournament events at its sole discretion. IRS compliance requires a valid ID and Social Security number. Non-resident
aliens are subject to 30% withholding. ITINs are required for Treaty Country exemptions. Problem Gamblers HelpLine 800-522-4700. Know Your Limits.TM
F E B R UA RY 4 , 2 0 0 8
43