tells - Poker Player Newspaper

Transcription

9
Celebrity Crossword PAGE
tribute to
Michael Mizrachi
12
34
14
17
20
Vanessa Rousso
profile by
Phil Hevener
PAGE
Doyle Brunson’s
new column—
Power Poker!
16
PAGE
20
POKER PLAYER
Hennigan’s
first WPT
win, and it’s
for $1.6
million!
That’s
worth
smiling
about!
A World-Class Brian Sumner Strikes
Victory at the Gold at Tunica
Borgata
L.A. Poker Classic
Kicks Off at Commerce
Excitement with a blend of
nervous tension filled the
air on January 25 as players packed the Commerce
Casino for the kickoff of
the annual L.A. Poker
Classic. More than 400
hopefuls are expected to
vie for one of Los Angeles’
most prestigious poker
titles, not to mention the
estimated prize pool of
Family members congratulate Sumner on his $913,986 win.
Unsmiling to the end, Brian
Sumner of Smirna, TN, came
from the middle of the pack
to score an upset victory
over a number of famous
poker pros in the final event
of the World Poker Open
at 12 a.m. on January 26
in the Gold Strike Casino,
Tunica. Winning his first
major tournament, Sumner
took home $913,986 in cash,
an entry to the WPT Season
Mike Caro
CORRECTION
1 (800) 648-6992,
as shown in the Peppermill ad on
page 33 of this issue
(Continued on page 9)
A Word from the
“Mad Genius,”
In the January 22, 2007 issue
of Poker Player, the advertisement for the Peppermill Reno’s
Spring Poker Tournament (Feb.
23 - March 4, 2007), the toll-free
number was incorrectly listed.
The CORRECT number is
5 Championship at the
Bellagio valued at $25,500,
and the coveted gold-anddiamond championship
bracelet.
As the six survivors seated
themselves at the final table
Sumner had only a quarter
of the chips of chip-leader
Young Cho. Chips kept
being redistributed around
the table in mostly pre-flop
Today’s word is...
“TELLS”
Turn to page 4 for more
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9
0 8>
(Cont’d on page 18)
John (“World”) Hennigan
returned home $1.6 million richer after winning the final event,
the No Limit Hold ‘Em
Championship, at the
Borgata Winter Open in
Atlantic City on January
30. The $5.5 million
prize pool drew 571 players from as far away as
Austria, as well as from
throughout the U.S. and
Canada. John’s 3s full
of Aces beat the 3s full
of 7s of second-place
winner Chuck Kelly,
who took home $800K.
This was the first WPT
title for Hennigan, a
Philadelphia native and
former professional pool
player. He also holds two
WSOP bracelets, including the first awarded in a
H.O.R.S.E. event (2002).
Detailed results follow.
*See Web site for details. Enjoy the free games, and before playing in the real money games, please check with your local jurisdiction regarding the legality of Internet poker. ©2005 Full Tilt Poker. All rights reserved.
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
P O K E R P L AY E R
1
PHOTO COURTESY IMAGE MASTERS PHOTOGRAPHY & WPO
Vol. 10 Number 17 February 19, 2007 A Gambling Times Publication www.pokerplayernewspaper.com Copyright ©2007 Bi-Weekly $3.95 USA/$4.95 CANADA
2
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
3
POKER NEWS
By John Caldwell
LOTS OF ACTIVITY IN THE
ONLINE POKER WORLD
The online poker business has been
flooded with new developments since
the arrest of NETeller founders Stephen Eric Lawrence
and John David Lefebvre.
The company made a number of adjustments to its
services in the first few days after the arrests, leaving its American customers with no ability to transfer
funds in and out of online poker sites. In addition,
the flood of withdrawal requests to the company has
resulted in players having to wait weeks – or longer to
get their money out of the Internet bank.
In the few days since the NETeller changes were
announced, players have been flocking to other ‘eWallet’ services. One online poker room even launched
a completely new payment system. The issue of how
players get their money in and out of online poker
sites will likely continue to get more interesting. Stay
Tuned.
WTO RULING REINFORCED
The World Trade Organization reaffirmed its position
in the case of Antigua vs. The U.S. that the U.S. position on online gaming is discriminatory toward the
tiny island nation. The U.S. is expected to appeal the
decision by the March deadline. Although the U.S. has
not complied or shown any interest in complying with
the WTO ruling, this latest statement by the WTO did
bring a suggestion by one U.S. spokesperson that the
U.S. position could need to be modified. This is the first
suggestion on the part of any government entity that
something in the current U.S. policy may need to be
adjusted.
‘HONEY, I’VE GOT SOME BAD NEWS’
This just in from Russia - Andrei Karpov from
Murmansk went broke in his local poker game, so he
decided to offer his wife up as collateral to stay in the
game. He subsequently ‘lost’ her as well. When opponent Sergey Brodov turned up at the house to ‘claim’
his prize, Karpov’s wife Tatiana was so mad she left
with him. The couple have started a relationship, and
at last report are still together. Tatiana commented- ‘It
was humiliating and I was utterly ashamed’
JAMIE GOLD AND BODOG PART WAYS
A representative of Bodog recently confirmed that the
company ended its promotional contract with current
WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold. The company
cites none of the difficulties encountered by Gold following his breakthrough win as a factor in the decision.
Instead the reason given for the termination is Bodog’s
recent move to cease all non-Internet related advertising in the U.S.. There may be more of these coming
down the track, as many an American poker player
have endorsement deals with sites that can’t take
American players.
POKER MOVIE NEWS
Pierce Brosnan, who has made a career of playing
suave types (James Bond, Remington Steele) is set
to portray a wise card shark who takes a headstrong
young protégé under his wing in ‘The Big Biazarro’.
Brosnan will also produce the film with co-producers
the Maloof brothers (owners of the Palms Casino). A
similar movie, ‘Lucky You’ starring Eric Bana, Drew
Barrymore, and Robert Duvall has been plagued by
delays, but appears to be slated for release May 4th.
John Caldwell is the Editor-In-Chief of PokerNews.com,
a leading poker information portal. Prior to PokerNews,
John spent 15 years in music artist management, working
with artists like Stone Temple Pilots, and Hootie and the
Blowfish. Originally from Redondo Beach, CA, John lives
in Los Angeles, and spends about 4 months a year in Las
Vegas.. Reach him by e-mail at [email protected].
4
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
Caro’s Word: “Tells”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
I’m not sure what to say,
except that it’s difficult
to access my reservoir of
poker knowledge, research,
and statistics without my
regular computer at my
side. Usually, even when
I’m on the road, I can link
up to my central computer
whenever I need to. But
right now I can’t, even
though I’m home.
Wanna know what happened? OK, I installed the
newest Windows operating
system (Vista) on day one
of it’s release. Usually these
upgrades go smoothly, but
something very weird happened and after 40 hours
of installation attempts,
I’m left with nothing. I
have backups of my data,
obviously, but it will take
a great deal of time to get
a complicated fresh new
system up and running. The
meltdown was unexpected
and catastrophic. But that’s
enough moaning — I’m
sure you’ve already extended all the empathy I should
expect. You have your own
problems to deal with,
right? On with the show.
My favorite
There are probably about
50 facets of poker that I can
cover thoroughly without
accessing research, and
poker tells are my favorite
such topic. We haven’t visited the big picture regard-
TUSCANY
Suites & Casino
ing poker tells in ages.
So, consider this a partial
refresher course if you’re
already familiar with my
basic tell teachings. And,
if you’re new to this aspect
of poker psychology, make
sure you think about the
following list next time you
play poker.
1. Be aware that learning tells can be dangerous
for many players. That’s
because most people have
a natural urge to call bets.
They’d rather play hands
than fold. Because of this,
players who aren’t objective
are eager to look for and
exaggerate the importance
of tells that prompt them to
call. They also pretend not
to see tells that suggest that
they should fold.
If you use tells in that
matter, you’re doing yourself a disservice and you
might be better off not
understanding tells at all.
2. Even if you’re an
objective observer, tells
won’t allow you to win
by themselves. You need
a solid understanding of
poker strategy and tactics
to win. Beyond that, tells
can help you fare much better. In fact, for top winning
players, tells and related
psychology can account for
the majority of profit.
3. The main concept governing tells, which I defined
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
5
Fit or Fold
KRIEGER’s CORNER
By Lou Krieger©
The flop is hold’em’s defining moment. For the
cost of one small bet, you get to see 71 percent of your cards
on the flop. That’s right; the flop comprises five-sevenths of
your entire hand. It’s one of poker’s biggest bargains.
Because of that, it’s imperative that the flop fit your hand
in order to warrant the relatively pricy decisions to see the
turn and the river. Deciding to see the turn or the river means
seeing fewer cards at a higher price, and you need to have
something that makes your investment worthwhile before
making this decision.
Fit or fold — a phrase coined by poker author Shane Smith
— means a couple of things. The first example is obvious: The
flop should help your hand. If you begin with Q-J and the flop
is Q-J-3 you’ve made two pair and were obviously helped by
the flop. In fact, you can say it fit your hand like a glove. If
you began with a weak hand such as 4-4 in the big blind and
flopped a set of fours, the flop smiled on you in an even bigger way.
But that’s not the only way the flop can fit your hand. If
you started with 9-8 and the flop was T-7-3 you flopped four
to a straight and will probably get the right price from the pot
to justify playing on in hopes of making a straight. The same
holds true if you began with two suited cards and were fortunate enough to find two more cards of your suit on the flop.
Now you have a four flush and that’s usually a draw worth
playing too.
In addition to a flop that fits by pairing your hand or providing a draw to a big hand, the flop can help you by not
assisting your opponents at all. Suppose you raise with a pair
of queens before the flop. You’re rooting for a third queen on
the flop, but there are a lot of cards you’re rooting against
too.
Even though you were the raiser before the flop, you’d like
to dodge a king or an ace, because those cards can give an
opponent a pair higher than your queens. You’d also like to
duck two or three mid-range or big adjacent cards because
they increase the possibility of someone making two pair, a
straight draw, or what’s worse, a straight. If the cards are
two-suited you have to fear a flush draw, and if they are all
one suit another player might already have a flush.
But if the flop is J-7-3 of mixed suites it effectively fits
your hand because it probably missed your opponents’ hands.
Unless someone has flopped a set — and the odds are against
that —your hand, which was almost surely the best one before
the flop, is probably still in the lead with only two cards to
come.
You’re in good shape at this point. You can bet and force
any opponent with a lesser hand to take the worst of it if he
or she decides to call. With the best hand, betting gets more
money into the pot, and that’s a good thing too. You are building a pot you are favored to win, while making it more costly
for any opponent to stick around in hopes of outdrawing you.
When you’re playing Texas hold’em, here are three rules of
thumb for playing the flop:
• Play if the flop improves your hand right now.
• Play if the flop provides a draw to a straight or a flush
that figures to win the pot if you complete it.
• Play if you have the best hand before the flop and the
flop is so ragged in texture that it figures to miss your
opponents’ hands as well as your own.
If none of these conditions are present, you can consider
the flop to have missed your hand, and you have no reason to
be in the pot unless you have a valid reason to believe your
opponent is likely to fold to a bluff. But that’s a different
story for a different day.
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 1 9, 2 0 0 7
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
7
Turn On, Tune In, Flop Out
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
By Byron Liggett
Northern California and Reno/Tahoe players have
their own “Poker Room Radio Show”. It’s broadcast every Saturday at 7pm on KFBK 1530AM in the
greater Sacramento Valley area and on KNEW 910AM in the Bay Area.
Among the most powerful radio stations in California, the show
can be heard from Bakersfield to the Oregon border and east to Lake
Tahoe and Reno.
The show is created for, and directed to, the average poker
player. The show succeeds because it is interesting, informative, and
entertaining. It features variety, including humor, discussion, analysis, guests, news, views, and how-to’s.
The show has three hosts: Kevin Schayltz, “The King of Clubs”, is
Manager of The Lucky Derby Casino, in Citrus Heights, CA. The Lucky
Derby has long been one of the most popular and successful cardrooms in the Golden State.
Kevin, who grew-up in the poker room is not only a savvy operator,
but a top player as well. He’s able to see both sides of issues and his
insight into the “business” of poker is refreshing and worthwhile.
Host SpiritWalker, “The
Joker”, is a professional comedian and passionate poker
player. He’s been featured in
clubs, casinos and corporate
events all across the country.
“Poker Radio Show” Hosts (L to R): Kevin SpiritWalker brings a humorous
Schayltz, Tara Pascale, SpiritWalker
perspective to the show. He
explains, “People want to listen to fun. They don’t want to listen to
all strategy.”
Complimenting the two beasts is a beauty, Tara Pascale, the
hostess with the most-ess. “The Queen of Hearts”, Tara has been a
professional dealer for ten years and is able to add insight and illustration to any discussion.
Tara has a thorough understanding of the game. “In a poker game,
the weaker sex is anyone with the second-best hand,” she says.
The show was created for, by and about poker and poker players.
In less than a year, it has become a popular program supported by
six of northern California’s best known poker rooms:
The Lucky Derby, Citrus Heights
The Phoenix Casino, Citrus Heights
The Silver Fox Casino, Sacramento
Capitol Casino, Sacramento
Artichoke Joe’s, San Bruno
Bay 101, San Jose
The show is interactive, taking questions and comments live from
listeners by phone and over the Internet. Topics discussed include
the pros and cons of Internet play, tournament issues, how best to
play pairs, should women bluff more, player conduct, etc.
The radio show is supported by a sophisticated online website:
www.pokerradioshow.com. During the broadcast, listeners can
phone in by calling: (866) 776-5378, or they can email the hosts live
at: [email protected].
*
*
*
There’s more than one way to “tune in” Poker. Michele Burghardt, a
“Certified Poker Hypnotherapist” and poker player, offers “The Edge
Poker System”. Three 15-minute tracks containing positive subliminal messages presented with soothing music train you to focus, be
patient, and develop the desire to win.
Also available are ‘No-Tilt’ Audio CD’s. Each 45-minute CD teaches
you control of your emotions, encourages a positive attitude and
develops concentration. In addition to odds, tactics and strategies,
emotional and psychological control is also critical to success.
Michele also offers one-on-one mental conditioning and coaching.
It’s like having a personal trainer to target and work on your individual challenges, conditioning you to recognize and respond to live
game experiences. Players can check out Michele’s psychological
training products and services at catchtheriver.com.
Who Really Was the
Poker Player of the Year
in 2006?
Rating systems continue to be plagued by inconsistency
Analysis and opinion by
Dennis Oehring
Last year Poker Player ran
a column similar to this one
on who really was the Player
of the Year for 2005. The
column showed that several
entities close to the game are
involved in ranking the performance of tournament players, but that there were surprising inconsistencies once
the results were tabulated in
determining a unanimous
winner.
Well, 2006 isn’t much
different, other than the
consensus player of the year
appears to be a little clearer
among the majority of the
ranking systems evaluated,
but more on that later. Let’s
begin again by differentiating
between rankings and polls.
For the most part, rankings
are based on some sort of
predetermined criteria usually associated with a points
system that rewards players
depending on how they finish
in major tournaments. On the
other hand, polls are generally opinion-oriented, and not
necessarily based on fact.
Now let’s look at the
changes that were made in
the collection of data from
the column last year to those
made for this column. Last
year, five ranking systems
Byron Liggett, originally from the Northwest, lives in Reno
and has been a gaming & poker writer, columnist and consultant for 25 years. email: [email protected]
8
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
were compared, as will be
this year, but two of the
sources have changed.
A slick new website called
the International Poker
Ranking Database (IPR for
short) (http://www.iprdata.
com/ipr/home.html) replaces
Top Pair magazine in the
rankings. Similarly, Poker
Pages website (http://www.
pokerpages.com/) replaces
the International Poker
Federation (IPF) from last
year. Even though Poker
Pages rankings are technically power rankings and are
accumulated over a two-year
period, they are far more
accurate than the IPF’s this
year and very much mirror
those focusing on 2006 alone.
Returning from last year are
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Brian Sumner Strikes Gold at Tunica
play for some four hours
before the first player, J.C.
Tran, was knocked out. But
then momentum began to
build. A half-hour later Kido
Pham was shown the door,
in the next hand Gary Kainer
was eliminated. Cho, badly
hemorrhaging chips, was
given the boot by Sumner in
six more hands, with only
Daniel (“the Kid”) Negreanu
left standing. Sumner, with a
commanding chip lead, made
short work of him, calling
with his pocket 8’s when
“the Kid” pushed with A-3
pre-flop. The Board came
8 5 4 3 Q, and Sumner was
the new champion. Detailed
results follow
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1. Calvin Crain . . . . . $146,517
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Tom McCormick
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PRIZE POOL
EVENT #14
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Mike Postle
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1. Mike Postle AKA
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John Phan
PRIZE POOL
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Len Ashby
$372,366
1/17/07
BUY-IN $1,000 + $70
PLAYERS 109
BUY-IN $1,000 + $70
PLAYERS 59
1/16/07
1.
2.
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Len Ashby . . . . . . . . $58,085
Les Lescari . . . . . . . $33,191
Galen Kester . . . . . . $19,915
James Weir . . . . . . . $13,276
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1. Tom McCormick AKA
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2. Steve Austin . . . . . . $42,360
3. David Matthew . . . . $29,122
4. Tony Cousineau . . . $23,828
5. Jackie Chitwood . . . $11,617
6. Mickey “Mouse”
Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,957
7. Bobby Roberts . . . . . $8,298
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Brad Johnson . . . . . $65,309
Rene Mourisant . . . $33,397
Kevin Ratliff . . . . . . $25,976
Paul “Eskimo” Clark $22,264
Bill Eichel . . . . . . . . $18,554
Chris Harden . . . . . $14,483
(Cont’d from page 1)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
9
LESSON 95:
Top Pairs
Lessons from mike caro
university of poker
BY DIANE M C HAFFIE
As I play hold ’em more often online I run into various
scenarios in which I find that I need to consult Mike or his
teachings. One of those instances was trying to decide
whether to bet or check when I flop a top pair?
In my research, I discovered that not all top pairs are
considered in the same light. If you hold an 8 of clubs and
a 6 of spades and the flop is 8 of diamonds, 4 of clubs, and
2 of diamonds. You hold top pair, eights with a six kicker.
Not bad.
Actions vary. Ah, but if you hold an Ace of spades and
a king of diamonds, and the flop is king of clubs, ten of
hearts, and four of spades. You hold top pair, kings with an
ace kicker. Quite different than a pair of eights without a
strong kicker, wouldn’t you say? So, your actions are usually going to vary from one top pair to another.
You should consider two things when you’re trying to
determine how big your “top pair” actually is. How high
does your top pair rank? What size of a kicker do you have?
You also need to keep in mind whether straights or flushes
will figure in.
If you are the first to act in a limit hold ’em game, and
you flop a small or medium pair, without a large kicker, you
usually should bet instead of check, if no one has raised
before the flop. This isn’t a time to try being misleading
and check. You want to attempt to reduce the number of
opponents that you are going to be up against.
Assertive. Those opponents could be holding higher
cards than you. So, if they believe you hold something
impressive and fold as a result, that is to the good. You
have to be assertive, as you are in a rather tenuous situation. Hopefully, by taking this forceful move you can eliminate some of your opponents, particularly those holding
better cards. If you check, it gives your opponents a chance
to get a free card and that card could be tragic for you.
Suppose the person sitting to your right is an aggressive
opponent that bets frequently and, because you were in
a blind position this hand, has the luxury of being the last
of several players to act? This isn’t an ideal betting situation for you. In that case, you should probably check when
you’re holding a smaller pair with a small kicker. Then if the
last opponent insists on betting into a weak flop, you can
raise and probably chase out any other players. After that
it’s you and the aggressor head to head, assuming he calls.
The circumstances will be different if you flop top pair
with an imposing kicker. You’re sitting pretty with less to
fear. The next two cards shouldn’t have you shaking quite
so bad. See, when you hold a large top pair, there is less
of a chance that a higher rank will fall and harm you, especially if you hold an ace with a king kicker. Your main fear
often will be a straight or a flush.
Different scenarios. If you’re first to act with a great
top pair and a high kicker, Mike says that he will bet most
of the time, but he will occasionally check to be deceptive.
There are different scenarios, of course. For instance, if
you’re playing heads-up in a limit hold ‘em game and your
opponent bluffs frequently, you might consider checking
and then calling. This has the potential to be a profit-making circumstance. Let him bluff away his money.
You’ll find that when you have a big pair, with a big
kicker you can afford the comfort of choices. When you
have a smaller pair with a little kicker, your choices are
fewer and you should probably bet to try to discourage
your opponents.
Diane McHaffie is Director of Operations at Mike Caro
University of Poker, Gaming, and Life Strategy. Her
diverse career spans banking, promotion of major financial seminars and the raising of White-tailed Deer. You
can write her online at [email protected].
10
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
Sam Mudaro, BA, MBA, is a practicing tax
accountant and financial executive originally
from New York with over 35 years of analytical business expertise. He and his wife Eva
are nine-year Las Vegas residents. Sam uses
simulation software to analyze and develop
strategies for Omaha Hi/Lo and other forms of
poker. Reach Sam at: [email protected].
L
ast time we examined how A-4 held up
against A-2 in a tight game.
We determined the A-4 was
a marginal hand at best,
even when we help it along
with a third low card. But
that was at a tight table.
Would our results be different at a loose table? A loose
table may be defined as one
in which five or more players regularly see the flop.
Weaker players and weaker
hands generally do better in
a looser game. The trick is
to be better then the strongest player and not be as
loose as the loosest player.
The pots are generally larger and make up for a number of mistakes. This is not
to say a strong player will
not perform better. A strong
player will adjust to a loose
game by lowering his starting hand requirements
to just above that of the
tightest player at the table.
Below is the chart showing
how the exact same hands
from last time when played
out at a loose table.
Hand
A-2
A-4
A-2
A-4-5
A-2
A-4-6
A-2
A-4-7
A-2
A-4-8
A-2
A-4-9
Win %
23.9%
18.0%
23.5%
18.2%
23.9%
16.4%
24.5%
13.4%
24.7%
12.4%
25.7%
11.8%
Net
15.05
2.04
15.30
(1.01)
15.58
(2.19)
15.10
(1.21)
15.25
(1.86)
17.17
(2.65)
High
3.7%
4.2%
3.6%
4.6%
3.6%
4.4%
3.6%
3.8%
3.5%
3.4%
3.8%
2.8%
The biggest change is
that the A-4 unassisted
improved from an average
net of 10 cents per hand to
over $2. Overall the A-4
improved from an average net win of negative
$12.01 to a negative $6.88
across the selected hands.
I should also point out the
A-2 increased from an average net win of $63.87 to
$93.45. These results indicate that both these starting
configurations improved
in a loose game. The A-4
lost 57.3% less money in
the loose game by winning
almost 32% more with his
low hands and 9% more in
scoop pots. He did however
Sam Mudaro is the...
Playing A-4
lose 5.4% more with his
in a Loose Game
high hands.
to do before it is their time
The results seem to
to act. For example if you
support the hypothesis that
are on the button after the
lesser value hands perform
flop, you may select the
better in a loose game. The
action to “check or fold to
question remaining now is
any bet”. This allows you to
what would happen if we
enter your decision before
replaced our tight player
the other active players act
from the first simulation
with a loose player? Would on their hand. It is basically
he perform better or worse? designed to speed up the
game.
I will give those results
Advertise - Advertising
next time.
is a method of play used
Here is the next installment of the poker glossary: to let the other players at
Action Game - An action the table know or believe
you play a certain way.
game is one in which there
You may for example show
is “a lot of action” which
your great hands accomtranslates to a lot of money
entering the pots. It is often panied with a comment
that you only bet the best
characterized by a lot of
hands. Your motive may
raising and pot capping.
be simply to tell the others,
Action Player - An
don’t bother chasing when
action player is one who
I bet, I am already there.
stimulates actions by betAlternatively you may
ting and raising more than
send the previous message
normal. With an action
player at your table the pots in an attempt to set up a
steal. This occurs when you
are usually larger then norchoose to bet and do not
mal.
have the goods to support
Active Player - An
it. You are then considered
active player is one who
to be advertising or repreis
still
in
the
Low Scoop
senting a certain hand.
9.7%
9.1% hand.
Aggressive - Aggressive
Add-on
4.4%
8.0%
play
or an aggressive player
Usually
heard
9.2%
9.2%
is
one
who bets or raises
with
respect
4.8%
7.8%
more often than normal
to tourna9.4%
9.4%
with marginal or drawing
ment play. It
4.4%
6.6%
hands. The style of play
is an option,
9.5%
9.7%
is used to put pressure on
offered at the
3.3%
5.5%
opponents. It may be quite
beginning or
9.6%
9.8% end of a reeffective when you are in
3.1%
5.2% buy period or
command of a big stack and
10.4%
9.8% the passage
facing a small stack.
3.1%
5.1% of a specified
Ajax - A name assigned
to the holding of A-J. Other
period of time. It allows a
names for the same hand
player the option for a set
include blackjack and
sum of money to purchase
Aussie jewel.
additional tournament
Alexander - Refers to
chips. Unlike a re-buy there
the king of clubs. Its origin
is usually no restrictions as
may be linked to Alexander
to current stack size and it
is usually only offered once the Great.
All Red - Refers to a
during the tournament. The
flush consisting of diaterm is sometimes used to
monds or hearts all of
refer to the act of increaswhich are red in a traditioning the amount of money
al deck of playing cards.
a player has on the table
So what have we
in a cash game in-between
learned? Starting hand valrounds to avoid being
ues go up in a loose game.
busted.
This means if your game
Advance Action is loose, 5 or more people
Associated with Internet
seeing the flop, you may
play it refers to the ability
of the player to choose their lower your starting hand
requirements.
action or what they intend
the Holland Casino gave a
at the Five Diamond World
MVP award to a player, who
Poker Classic, which netted
was then granted 2% of the
him $315,630.
So what types of poker are total prize money. This award
is earned by finishing well in
offered at Holland Casino
any of the five events. Plus,
Utrecht?
any player who pre-regis“Texas Hold’em - €10tered for all five tournaments
20 limit and €5-5 no limit
received a 20 MVP point
during the week, and on our
bonus – equivalent to finishbig event on the last Sunday
ing first in an event.
of the month, €20-40 limit
The other major event in
and €10-10 no limit,” says
Richard Baars, poker manag- the Netherlands in the Master
er at Holland Casino Utrecht. Classics of Poker. This year’s
event will be November 2(Note: €1 = $1.29.) Baars
says that the tournament buy- 10 and is also
run by Holland
ins range from €100 up to
Casino.
€1,000.
The 2006
“[We have] weekly cash
event was a
games from 8 p.m. till
record success.
3 a.m,” Baars says. “On
Thursday, a tournament of 60 Taking place
here are at least three Williams, and through
players. Last
Boeken met his mentor
very well-known
Sunday there
– fellow Dutchman, Marcel
Dutch poker playwas a tournaers. Rob Hollink was born in Luske, probably the most
ment from 3
Enschede and is a huge force well-known Dutch poker
By Steve Horton
p.m. till 3 a.m.
player in the world.
in tournaments. Hollink has
at the beautiful
The poker is getting bigger;
Luske, known as “The
cashed twelve times at the
Holland Casino
WSOP and twice at the WPT, Flying Dutchman”, is known therefore we’re organizing
Amsterdam, this
a big event in January 2007,
for singing at the table
including fifth in the Season
nine-day poker
the Dom Classics.”
and wearing upside-down
3 WPT Championship at
# ON
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TOURNAMENT
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L, N
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C10/20
=
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Utrecht
Hold’em with Rebuy event.
Holland Casino
2
5
L, N, PLO Y =
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The following day, 290 playAmsterdam Amsterdam 7 days 1:30p-3a
ers arrived for the No Limit
Holland Casino
3
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7 days 1:30p-3a
4
L, N
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=
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S
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Breda
event with unlimited rebuys
Holland Casino
Mon-Sat 8p-3a;
=
C10/20
=
C50
S
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4
Eindhoven
3
L
N
– and there were a staggerEindhoven
Sun 3p-1a
ing 515 of those! Even more
Holland Casino
5
Enschede
7 days 10p2-6
L, N
Y =
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=
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N
Enschede
players showed up – 302
Holland Casino
– for the no-limit, single reGroningen
7
days
8p3
L,
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Y
6
=
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=
C50
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Groningen
buy event. Even the Pot Limit
Holland Casino
Mon 7p-, Tue-Sun
7
3
L
N =
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Leeuwarden Leeuwarden
8pOmaha event the day after
Holland Casino
that did not see much reduced
=
C10/20
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Nijmegen
7
days
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L
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attendance – 284 players
Casino
9 Holland
=
C50
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Rotterdam
Mon-Thu 8:151
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Y
N/A
Rotterdam
entered. Unusually for an
Holland Casino
Omaha event, this one offered
Valkenburg
7 days 8p3
L
N =
A
C10/20
=
C50
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Valkenburg
unlimited re-buys as well, and
L, N,
B Holland Casino
Venlo
7 days 8p5
PLH,
Y =
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=
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N
players re-bought 543 times.
Venlo
T
C
NETHERLANDS
PLO
Holland Casino
Zandvoort
Mon-Tue 8p4
L
N
Zandvoort
=
C1 = $1.29
S/NS – Poker room allows smoking (S), non-smoking (NS) or both (B)
Days open, hours of operation, games offered and tables may vary
Bellagio. This all pales next
to his win in the European
Poker Tour’s Grand Finale
in Season 1. He took first in
a very tough field, earning
$845,190.
Noah Boeken is a former high-level Magic: the
Gathering player – he won
the European Championship
in 2000. Since turning to
poker, he’s cashed twice
at the WSOP, including a
final table appearance at the
$2,500 limit Hold’em event.
Like Hollink, he’s also won
an EPT title – Season 1’s
Scandinavian Open, defeating Ram ‘Crazy Horse’
Vaswani heads-up. Boeken
is good friends with poker
pro and Magic player David
After these preliminary
events came the main event –
a €5,000 No Limit Hold’em
tournament, which attracted
345 players. The roster
read like an all star game of
European poker, with one
Canadian ringer thrown in:
Ram ‘Crazy Horse’ Vaswani,
Isabelle ‘No Mercy’ Mercier
(from Quebec), the entire
Hendon Mob, Tony G,
Marcel Luske, Noah Boeken,
Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott and
Andy Black, among many
sunglasses to see the cards
better – and even with his
own PokerSpecs sunglasses
named for him, specifically
designed to see hole cards, he
still wears them upside down!
Luske is known for making 14th in the 2003 WSOP
Main Event and then 10th
just one year later, narrowly missing a television
appearance both times. He
was runner-up in the $5,000
Seven Card Stud event at the
2004 series, and took 7th in
the EPT Season 2’s Grand
Finale. His most recent major
wins were the Hall of Fame
Poker Classic in Paris in July
2005, in which he earned
$153,760, and the $3,000
preliminary No Limit event
N/A
Ð60
S
others.
It was Alex Jalali of
Germany who rose to the top
of this tough field to win the
€700,000 first-place prize.
To get there, he had to best
Jan ‘The Balrog’ Sjavik,
the Nordic pro player with
the best nickname ever, and
Keith ‘The Camel’ Hawkins,
of Ascot, England, whose
nickname is somewhat less
cool than the Balrog. Jalali
only has two other cashes to
his name, but look for him
to prove himself on the Euro
circuit in 2007.
N
The Dom Classics was a
series of five poker events
from January 23-27. It started
with the Dutch Heads-Up
Championship, a €250+25
heads-up event limited to 128
players – heads-up being a
rarity in tournaments. The
finals for this event took
place on January 28. Next
was a €100+10 no-limit
re-buy tournament. After
that was a €250+25 freezeout, then a €200+20 limit
Hold’em event with a single
re-buy and a single add-on.
Finally, on Saturday, January
27, the main event took place
– a two-day €1,000+50 buyin freezeout, finishing on
Sunday.
Following the main event,
Day
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
11
Metaphysical Poker & Life
Passage
POwer POKER PSYCHOLOGY
Charlie Shoten
By JAMES A. M C KENNA, P H D.
Most players that I know start out in lower limit
games and as their comfort levels progress,
they will go to the higher limit games. It has been the traditional
“rite of passage.” However, I have noticed that with the sudden
surge of interest in Texas Hold’em, a lot of younger players are
going directly to the higher limit games. No doubt, the influence
of watching large profits on televised games has its effect on
tradition.
Yet, before all of these changes had developed, I preferred
to play the lower limit poker tables. This preference was for
two main reasons. First, the lower limit games were more fun.
People were there to play, be with others, and to relax more.
Secondly, since I write about poker players, I could find more
stories in the lower limit games. People welcome more conversation and are willing to discuss the game more. That helped my
research. So, I began to wonder if there was really all that much
difference in the people who play lower limit and those who
player higher limit games. So, I began some serious research.
Most of what has been written on this subject will compare
the playing strategies and how they are different in higher limits
from lower limit tables. So, a review of the literature didn’t help
much because I was more interested personality differences than
strategies. So, I began to question poker dealers. All of them
had definite opinions about the subject.
Here’s some of what they had to say. First of all, how much a
person has in wealth will have a lot to do with how comfortable
they are with risking a hundred or a thousand dollars. Also, the
excitement of risking will vary with a person’s station in life. So,
let’s rule out the fact that some players can afford more than
others. In fact, I know players who are quite wealthy and have
great incomes, who prefer lower limit games. Why? It’s for the
same reason that I do—they can have more fun there. Secondly
there is a myth that higher limit players are better players.
False! They just have more expensive red, green, and black toys.
The dealers would say that higher limit players, in and of
themselves, are not more skilful. In fact, some dealers felt that
a lot of the higher limit players were worse players than many of
the lower limit ones. It’s true that in the lower limit games, players don’t have as much to lose and will often play looser than
most players in higher limits. However, that said, you will find
your share of players who are too loose and too tight at both
types of tables.
There a difference in people who have a lot of money. They
are usually successful in business and occupy top levels of management. Many, in the higher limit games, are used to being the
boss and have difficulty being second best to anyone. A lot of
dealers felt that such players have a hard time losing and have
more to prove. Yet, it’s a mistake to assume that everyone at a
high limit table is successful in their careers. In fact, one dealer
was convinced that a lot of higher limit players are insecure people. They are there to prove their worth and their egos are more
on the line. Who knows? Who would’ve thought that people with
more or less money don’t have much to prove?
The bottom line in all of this comparison between low and high
limit players is that people are people. They can act like fools
or geniuses regardless of how much money they put into action.
So, whether they are risking 1% or 60% of their paychecks, they
bring their personalities with them. Some are opinionated and
others are there for a good time. One thing’s for sure, the higher
a lot of players are risking their money, the more serious these
players become. What’s your comfort level and is it helping your
game?
Jim McKenna, better known in poker rooms as “Jimmy Mac,” has been
practicing psychotherapy for over thirty-five years. This knowledge of
human behavior combined with his many years of gaming experience
gives him a unique perspective on the psychology of the gamer. His
books, the acclaimed “Beyond Tells: Power Poker Psychology,” and
now “Beyond Bluffs: Master the Mysteries of Poker,” are published
by Kensington Press. Jim welcomes e-mail comments and suggestions
at [email protected]
12
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
STRESS
it or any relatively simple
way to free myself from
it. At age 66 I developed a
I hope you enjoy reading
strategy that I can now say
my columns about identifyworks for me. I cleared a
ing, reducing and elimipath that is freeing me from
nating stress. It fascinates
each stressful feeling as I
me because it is the most
experience it. I never make
important least understood
any attempt to go back
topic in the world. It goes
to, or remember or try to
under the radar while it is
understand past experiences
our most destructive force
of stress, because they are
we ever experience. It deterrealities that happened and
mines whether we feel good
can never be changed. The
or bad, are healthy or sick,
stressful feeling I experihappy or sad. I refuse to put
Do the
enced as a child is
up with it anymore
unthinkable. Question everythe same feelbecause I
thing. “Is remembering to use the tools
ing that I am
finally
(ten
commitments),
and
then
using
them
a
diffiexperiencfound a
cult way to live? No. What is truly difficult is living life ing today.
way to
without the tools.” Every day it’s the same old thing. When I
elimiBreathe! Breathe! Breathe! Every day it’s the same identify and
nate it.
old thing, ten commitments, ten commitrealize any
What could
ments, and ten commitments!
core belief is false,
be more importhe thought that is based
tant? We spend trilon it that causes stress goes
I simply gave them up and
lions of dollars every year
away. That type of stress
the stress they caused went
in every way engaging in
never comes back.
activities to help us feel bet- away. Why should I conThese steps are my best
ter (mask stress). When you tinue believing something
effort to give you a simple
boil it down, the underlying once I realize it is has no
motive for everything we do basis in fact? It would make overview of how I reduce
no sense. Being exposed for and eliminate stress.
is what we perceive helps
Step #1. Embrace any
what they were, false, they
us feel better. If we are in
stressful feeling when it
went away and so did the
pain, we look for relief. If
appears. Don’t run or hide
thought and that particular
we feel great, we create
from it anymore. It will not
what gives us deep satisfac- form of stress it caused.
go away until you allow
There is no one definition. Now that I have found
yourself to experience its
tion for stress. For some it
a way to help me reduce
might be guilt, others lust or wrath fully.
and eventually eliminate
Step #2. Look for and
anger, still others jealousy,
stress, it is my number
identify the thought that
doubts and fears, expectaone priority. I include it in
appears related to that feeltions, anguish or any of the
all my daily activities. It
ing. The feeling is caused
other feelings we endure as
hardly interferes with any
by some thought that you
of them. The strategy I have realities of our daily lives.
are thinking. The job is to
Most of us assume we are
developed works effortidentify every detail of it.
not able to do anything
lessly 24/7/365 much like
Step #3. Behind that
breathing. It helps me focus about stress except seek
thought is your core belief
and improves my poker and temporary relief anywhere
system. Now you must
handball game and the qual- we can. I never was told
become a criminal prosecuby anyone that there was
ity of my life.
tor. Will that belief you are
anything I could do to free
The medicines I took,
myself from stress and I put holding that creates and
or the activities I despersupports that thought hold
up with it as best I could.
ately engaged in over the
up in court? If during this
Many forms of stress
years, only helped me feel
trial the evidence is inadmade me feel ashamed
better temporarily. They
equate or has no ground to
and I tried to hide them. I
numbed and distracted me
stand on, the case for mainthought there was somefor a short time and the
same stress always returned thing inadequate and wrong taining your stressful feeling will be dismissed, that
with me. I spent years
another day. No one ever
feeling will be diminished,
searching to free myself
told me what the real cause
and eventually will go away
from stress through psyof my stress was or how to
forever.
chiatry, medicine, religion,
dismantle it and eliminate
That early stressful feelsports, achieving status,
it from my life. I spent my
ing (same one) you have
medals, titles, fame and
life searching for ways to
been a victim of ever since
fortune. No matter what I
help me feel better. What I
your childhood will also
was searching for was right did it always came back.
go away. It will not have a
No one ever gave me any
in front of my eyes, too
accurate understanding of
close to see and too simple
to pick up.
Our thoughts that are
founded on any untrue core
beliefs we live our lives
by cause stress. False core
beliefs are the underlying foundation of these
thoughts. They need to be
identified, understood and
then convicted and executed
as in a criminal proceeding.
Once I realized those core
beliefs I held that were false
were making me miserable,
A Poker Player Murder Mystery by Robert Arabella
A WORLD WITHOUT POKER
Cards are war, in disguise of a
sport.
—Charles Lamb
[This article is based on Robert
Arabella’s Decline And Fall Of
The Poker Empire, published in
2026 by Poker Player.]
After the passage of 2021’s
Poker Prohibition Act, Reverend
President Biggs Brother needed
to appoint the first Poker Police
Chief, someone unafraid to
enforce Prohibition’s strict criminal provisions. He knew just
the man for the job: Augustus
“Gus” Stappo, Chief of the SS,
the Puritan Party’s Office of
Special Security.
Stappo’s resume—ex-special
forces (dishonorably discharged
for brutality), ex-prison guard,
(fired for gross cruelty), expoliceman (dismissed for
excessive use of force), and
ex-bodyguard (terminated for
inappropriate violence)—plus
his well-known personal loathing for poker players, made him
the perfect choice to head the
Poker Police. (Why Gus Stappo
hated poker players is unknown,
but rumors circulated at the
time that he suffered from an
embarrassing inability to perform at the poker table. Doctors
called the problem PD, “Poker
Dysfunction.”)
The Poker Police, part of the
Department of Internal Security,
soon filled their ranks with nonpoker-playing, right-thinking,
right-living, right-God-fearing
Puritan Party members, who
understood the Poker Player
Menace had to be suppressed by
any means necessary.
In the first six months of
Reverend Biggs Brother’s
Presidency, the “Gus Stappos”
went to work with a vengeance.
Playing cards were shredded.
Poker chips were crushed.
Poker tables were smashed.
Poker rooms were trashed.
Poker books were burned. Poker
players were rounded up and
forced to undergo “re-education
lectures,” which told them, in no
uncertain terms, their kind were
no longer welcome in “Poker
Free” America. The message
of the Poker Police was as loud
as it was clear, “We don’t play
games. You won’t play games.”
Reverend President Biggs
Brother, believing that “The
Evil Empire Of Poker” had
been all but defeated, was able
to declare, “Poker Mission
Accomplished!”
Then disaster struck.
The Federation of Poker
Players (based on the old
Poker Players Alliance,
which way back in ’06 had
beaten an attempt by Bible Belt
Congressmen to pass anti-poker
legislation) petitioned the U.S.
Supreme Court to hear their
arguments on the unconstitutionality of Poker Prohibition. The
Court, the only branch of government not controlled by the
Puritan Party, agreed, and halted
enforcement of the law.
Reverend President Biggs
Brother called in his closest
advisors for an emergency meeting.
“Ignore the Court!” yelled
Vice President Shackles.
“Fight the Court!” yelled
Attorney General Ashes.
“Arrest the Court!” yelled
Internal Defense Secretary
Rumsfold.
“Kill the Court!” yelled
Poker Police Chief Stappo.
The Reverend President
turned to the only person not
yelling, his Special Counsel,
“Silas, what should we do?”
“Nothing,” replied Silas
Coldcoffee. “Absolutely nothing.”
After the renewed yelling
died down, Coldcoffee continued, “Mr. Reverend President,
we’ve come too far too fast.
The non-poker-playing public is
starting to get nervous. They’re
thinking if we can stop poker
players, who will we come
after next? Scrabble players?
Monopoly players? Candyland
players?”
“Candyland is a gateway
game,” said the Vice President.
“It hooks kids early. The next
thing you know, they’re playing
Clue and Risk.”
Coldcoffee ignored the interruption. “No, Mr. Reverend
President. The mistake our
anti-poker predecessors made
was going forward against poker
without the full support of the
public. We have to lower our
profile, let the law take its time,
let the people get used to the
idea of a world without poker.”
[This is a work of poker fiction set ten thousand hands in
the future. Any resemblance to
persons living or dead is coincidental.]
(To be continued in the next
issue of Poker Player)
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
13
Successive Quads
STRAIGHT SKINNY
By RICHARD G. BURKE
A Poker Player reader asked me the
odds against having quads twice in a row at Hold’Em,
because he did so last month. He had been playing
poker for 60 years, he wrote, and it hadn’t happened
before, so he guessed that it was rare. How rare was
it really, he asked. Although Texas Hold’Em is more
recent than that, it’s still a good question.
There are two ways to make Four of a Kind: you can
start with a pocket pair, and then have the other two
appear among the community cards; you can start
with an unpaired hand, and then have three of either
rank appear on the tableau.
Given that you started with a pocket pair, the probability that the other two will appear on the table is
C(2,2)*C(48,3)/C(50,5), which equals .00816, or about
1/122.5. The probability of having been dealt a pocket
pair is 1/17. Before you peek at your hole cards, the
probability that you’ll have Four of a Kind this way
is the product, .00048, or odds of about 2081 to 1
against.
With an unpaired start, a probability of 16/17, you’ll
make quads if three cards of either rank appear on the
tableau after all the cards are out. That probability is
given by 2*C(3,3)*C(47,2)/C(50,5), .00102, or odds of
979 to 1 against. Before you peek at your cards, the
probability of Four of a Kind is the product of those
probabilities, .00096, odds of about 1040 to 1 against.
You’re twice as likely to make quads of the second
kind than the first after all the community cards are
out. That surprised me. I thought quads of the first
kind were more likely, and they are, on the Flop.
(The probability of flopping quads of the first kind
equals 1/17*C(2,2)*C(48,1)/C(50,3), odds of about
6941 to 1 against. The probability of flopping quads of
the second kind equals 16/17*2*C(3,3)/C(50,3), about
10,412 to 1 against.)
At poker, after the cards have been ordered randomly, the probability of getting quads right after you’ve
just had quads is either 2081 or 1040 to 1 against,
because the cards have no memory. So your chance
of getting quads on the next hand remains the same
whether you’ve just had quads or not. That’s one way
to look at it. Here are other ways.
If, before looking at your hole cards, you were to
wager anyone that you would have successive quads
of the first kind, then odds of 4,336,805 to 1 would be
fair.
of the first kind and then the second kind, or vice
versa, then odds of 2,168,402 to 1 would be fair.
of the second kind, then odds of 1,084,201 to 1 would
be fair.
Looking at it another way it’s a 50-50 chance of
getting successive quads: once in 3,006,045 hands
for the first kind; once in 1,503,022 hands of the first
kind and the second kind, or vice versa; and, once in
751,511 hands for the second kind.
A player would pick up 4,200,000 starting hands
in 60 years, playing 2000 hours per year at 35 hands
per hour at Hold’Em. Therefore, his chances of having
successive quads even of the first kind would be more
than 50-50.
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]
14
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
World-Class Victory at the Borgata
BORGATA POKER CLASSIC
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #10
1/30/07
WPT NO LIMIT
HOLD’EM
CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN $9,700 + $300
PLAYERS 571
PRIZE
POOL
7. David McDonald . . . $8,600
8. Lawrence Paden . . . . $6,450
9. Jordan Solomon . . . . $4,300
8. Lee Biars . . . . . . . . . . $8,168
9. Bill Kontaratos . . . . . $5,445
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #8
1/23/07
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #9
1/24/07
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #11
1/27/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $5,000 + $200
BUY-IN $500 + $60
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #12
1/28/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
6.
7.
8.
9.
John Hennigan . .$1,606,223
Charles Kelley . . . $849,082
John Gale . . . . . . . $443,096
Joe Simmons . . . . . $387,709
Michael Sukonik
AKA “Shag” . . . . . $332,322
Jon James, Jr. . . . . $276,935
Joseph m. Cappello
AKA “bobo” . . . . . $221,548
John Racener . . . . $166,161
David Redlin . . . . . $110,774
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$1,210,000
$330,500
PRIZE POOL
Matthew Casterella
Mark Latorre
$325,001
PRIZE POOL
$272,250
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Craig Kolk
Emad Alabsi . . . . . . $83,036
Jianhua Zhou . . . . . $45,738
James Stenella . . . . $22,189
Joseph Lopresti . . . $19,058
John Coppla . . . . . . $16,335
Leon Kunkel AKA
“chino325” . . . . . . . $13,613
7. Marc Manin . . . . . . $10,890
PLAYERS 661
PLAYERS 325
PLAYERS 363
Emad Alabsi
PLAYERS 242
BUY-IN $1,000 + $80
BUY-IN $750 + $60
$5,538,700
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Craig Kolk . . . . . . . $99,125
Payman Azizoghli . . $54,600
Nick Visconti . . . . . . $26,487
Alan Schein . . . . . . . $22,750
Dylan Membrino . . $19,500
Patrick Healy . . . . . $16,250
Joseph Calandrino . $13,000
Carl Restifo . . . . . . . . $9,750
Eric Williams . . . . . . $6,500
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Matthew Casterella $375,100
Elio Cabrera . . . . . $211,750
John Myung . . . . . $114,950
William Edler
AKA “Bill” . . . . . . . $84,700
Josh Spiegleman . . . $72,600
Nick Binger . . . . . . . $60,500
Joseph Brooks . . . . . $48,400
David Daneshgar . . $36,300
Jason Adler . . . . . . . $24,200
1. Mark Latorre . . . . . $92,110
2. Chris McClung
AKA “doritos” . . . . $50,731
3. Francis Mahiout . . . $26,440
4. Anthony Hill . . . . . . $23,135
5. Nicholas Caltabiano $19,830
6. Brian Rodkey . . . . . $16,525
7. John Stojanovski . . $13,220
8. Eric Ng . . . . . . . . . . . $9,915
9. Richard Hall . . . . . . . $6,610
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #13
1/29/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $60
PLAYERS 4301
PRIZE
POOL
$215,000
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Laurence Wolf . . . . $63,275
Mike Ventresca . . . . $33,325
Luigi Grilla . . . . . . . $17,200
Pablo Alvarez . . . . . $15,050
Ramchand Deba . . . $12,900
Jason Catania . . . . . $10,750
Peppermill
Announces
New 17-Day
Tournament
“17 days of great tournament action” is how
Peppermill Reno Poker
Manager Mike Gainey
described his room’s newest
event to POKER PLAYER.
Designed to be an affordable, fun, flop-fair, Gainey
expects it to be popular.
All 17 events require just
one $100+$15 buyin, no
rebuys nor add-ons. Every
player gets $3,000 in chips
and the rounds are 20 minutes. Because it’s affordable
for most players, the prize
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“It’s intended to be
an action attraction,” the
Peppermill Poker Manager
explained, “Win or lose,
everybody will get a chance
to rock ‘n roll.”
The 17-day tournament kicks-off Friday,
March 9 and runs through
Sunday, March 25. A handsome MVP trophy will be
awarded to the overall point
leader
Get in on the action at the
Foxwoods Poker Classic, March 19-April 4, 2007.
Last year’s prize pool exceeded $6,800,000.
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
Conveniently located off I-95 in the Mystic Country region of southeast Connecticut. For more information,visit foxwoods.com.
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
15
thing happened
Common Hold’Em Leaks—The A funny
to Vanessa Rousso
on her way through law
Small Pairs, CONTINUED
school. She discovered
NEVER PLAY Poker with
a man CALLed “DOC”
By Scott Aigner, M.D.
Last time I discussed how players will often chase to
the river with a small pair hoping to hit that elusive
set. A little math will confirm why these chasers are
overall losers. Let’s say he hits that set on the river
and raises his lone opponent who had been betting the
whole way. The opponent grudgingly calls as the pot
odds are favorable with 9 big bets in it. He also has a
solid hand and knows that his weak opponent who hit
an unlikely set is capable of bluff raising on the river or
raising with a hand that the bettor has beat. The player
that hit his unlikely set ends up winning less than half
of what he actually needed just to break even. If he
chases every single time and hits that set based on
probability then he is actually losing more than12 big
bets per attempt. That is very unprofitable play no
matter how you look at it.Of course the lucky player
will often believe he was correct to call to the river
because he thought he had the best hand. That could
be true if the board is all small cards but not as often
as the small pair holder believes.
Playing a small pair requires implied odds yet you
rarely receive them when compared to the no limit
structure. Briefly, implied odds is the expected number
of bets you expect to win on future rounds in addition
to what is already in the pot. David Sklansky recommends having at least 5 to 1 pot odds preflop in order
to play a small pair profitably. One example where 5
to 1 pot odds is a profitable situation occurs when you
are in a three handed raised pot situation and you sit
in one of the blinds. In this particular situation when
you do flop that elusive set (it is 7.5 to 1 against flopping a set, full house, or quads) you can gain additional
bets because both players should have fairly strong
hands. Even if they don’t have a big pair in the hole
they can flop top pair top kicker, a draw, or be willing
to play two over cards all the way to the river hoping
to catch a pair. In the typical tight aggressive games
the preflop raiser will almost always bet with a big Ace
holding despite missing the flop in a three handed situation when it is checked to him. If things work out well
they will catch a pair on the turn and continue to play
aggressively or have a big pocket pair already. It is not
unusual to win a pot containing at least 10.5 big bets if
one or both of your opponents call a check raise on the
turn and one of them makes a crying call on the river.
I actually prefer the multi handed settings when I
play the small pairs and flop a set. Although there is
going to be an increased likelihood of one or even more
of your opponents flopping a flush draw ora straight
draw as a result of the number of players there is
frequently additional bets put into the pot because
another opponent (or even several) will have flopped
a made hand like top pair. The top pair holder will frequently raise to try to protect their hand against possible draws and to narrow the field. Flopping a set in
the multi handed situations make you a favorite to win
the biggest pot of the night. Unfortunately it is also
possible that you could end up losing as well. Having
last position once again adds bets to your win as well
as possibly saving a bet or two. Next time I will discuss
the play of suited connectors in a typical limit hold em
setting.
Dr Aigner is a board certified Urologist. He has multiple final table finishes in major tournaments including a WPO bracelet in 2001. You can contact him at
http://www.PokerStrategyForum.com
16
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
poker.
Not that she was a
stranger to the appeal of
competitive game playing. Competition ran in the
Rousso genes. Her father is
a chess grand master. There
was always a lot of back-
who knows . . .
The world of politics has
a lot of appeal. She was,
after all, a debate champion
in high school.
Rousso was at Duke
when she dove into the
swift-moving river of circumstances that have car-
the cable channels.
Rousso also recently
agreed to an extension of
the agreement that has her
playing for the PokerStars
team in major tournaments
around the world. Look for
her online when she signs
in as “Lady Maverick.”
Her pursuit of serious
poker began as an offshoot of a course she was
PLAYER
VANESSA
BY PHIL HEVENER
Rousso
Profile
gammon, gin and assorted
card games in the household.
“We are a very game
oriented family,” is how
the 23-year-old Rousso
puts it, but no one else in
the family plays poker the
way Rousso has come to
approach it.
An honors graduate of
a high school in the Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla., area,
she flew through Duke
University in two and a
half years, earning a BA
with a major in economics
and a minor in political science. Then it was on to law
school at the University of
Miami where she’s a third
year student. Graduation is
likely next year.
At least that’s the current
plan. Poker’s been great
and she expects to continue giving it a lot of her
time but it is definitely not
everything.
“I like education as an
end in itself and the idea of
completing something that
I have started.”
On the other hand, no
has been more surprised
than Rousso herself by
the events of the last
couple years. Who’d have
Imagined she would do so
well so quickly?
“If you had asked me
10 years ago, could I see
myself playing poker as I
am now, it probably would
not have been among my
top 20 interests.”
For the next 5 to 10
years she sees herself concentrating on poker and,
of course, finishing law
school. But down the road,
ried her toward success
in poker’s most attractive
events. Tournament prize
money alone now totals
close to $700,000 in less
than two years.
And things seem to keep
getting better. The possibilities have come her way.
All she’s had to do is field
them and think about them.
Executives behind the
ubiquitous television cameras across the landscape
of the poker world, cameras like what they see in
Rousso. They’re anxious
to create the personalities
that fuel added interest in
poker shows.
There is, in no particular
order, personality, looks
and sufficient skill to satisfy viewers who are very
serious about their poker.
Looking into the year
ahead, Rousso expects to
be playing in a number of
the biggest invitational TV
poker events. There’s a
new season of FSN’s Poker
Superstars and probably
the National Heads-Up
Championship which is to
be filmed in late February
or early March at Caesars
Palace. Her first appearance
on NBC’s Poker After Dark
has aired and Rousso is
one of 64 men and women
drafted by the eight teams
that hope to have a league
of their own, a professional
poker league active by midyear. The action would be
filmed at the Venetian with
everything shown on one of
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.
taking as Duke. She was
trying to fill out a course
schedule and came across
this class that included a
reference to game theory.
Hmmmm. It sounded
more interesting, she jokes,
than astro physics. Half
way through the curriculum
she came on the exercise
known as “The Prisoner’s
Dilemma” which addressed
the importance of – and
here was another mindcatching phrase – “optimal
strategy” in working your
way through a game or
challenge.
What is game theory?
It has been described as
a branch of applied mathematics and economics that
provides a “formal modeling approach to social situations in which decision
makers interact with other
minds.” John Nash, who
won the 1994 Nobel Prize
for economics and whose
life was depicted in the hit
film of several years ago A
Beautiful Mind, has worked
in game theory.
When her professor used
the occasion of the course
to discuss poker-related
mathematics, a light bulb
went on in Rousso’s head
and she began thinking
about game theory and its
applications to poker. She
began visiting the poker
room at the Seminole
tribe’s Hard Rock Casino
near her south Florida
home.
Good things happened
She won, beginning to
build a bankroll. By May
2005, she was ready to
step it up a couple of
notches and flew to the
World Series of Poker circuit event in New Orleans
where she tested herself in
one of the smaller tournaments, a $200 buy-in event
Charlie Shoten, CONT’D FROM PAGE 12
Stress tortures us through
belief system to continue
the mental and physical
supporting the thought that
causes that particular stress- disease it causes, it limits
ful feeling. Again, never go us from experiencing our
grandest hopes and dreams,
back to the past. Trying to
and then it kills us. That, we
understand what happened
all know.
in the past only creates
In the meantime I will
more stress. You cannot
merrily go about my life
change the past. Always
doing everything I can to
live in the present moment
eliminate stress from it.
embracing every feeling
Remember, when in pain
affecting you. Unless the
feeling of hate, for instance, you have two choices.
One is healing. Any other
is experienced in the preschoice, no matter what it is,
ent moment, you will not
leaves you in your pain.
be able to get to the bottom
of it. It will never get out of
Reach Charlie—
your system permanently.
For Speaking
The best news is that when
Engagements & Live
any stressful feeling you are
Play Internet Tournament
experiencing, like hate, is
Coaching
dismantled, discredited and
702 270-4877
eliminated from your mind,
[email protected]
all hate regardless of when
it was first created goes
Read “No-Limit Life”:
away. When the core beliefs
supporting the thoughts that
cause hate are discredited,
you will not experience the
stress it causes anymore.
How about chiming in
♥♣ ♦ ♠
DA N G E R O US
through e-mail with any
C O N T E N TS :
of your relevant insights
PROFITABLE
on this subject. It would
POKER
be helpful for all of us
♥♣ ♦ ♠
to share them. The more
C
CH
HA
AR
R LL II E
E SS H
HO
O TT E
EN
N
input I receive from you,
the clearer we all can get
(Best Book Award:
about stress. My efforts
USA Book News 2005)
are helping me experiencCategory: Psychology/
ing a genuine freedom so I
Mental Health
am sharing them with you.
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F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
17
WISDOM
FRESH YOUNG FACE OF Poker
L.A. Poker Classic
By Jennifer Matiran
I once read that “it is the sign of a noble
heart to be well-endowed with patience,”
patience is the sign of a great poker player as well. You
will never see a strong player get desperate; desperation is the enemy of patience, it’s the worst emotion
on and off the poker table. It always amazes me when
a dumped lover gets so desperate that they begin to
obsess about their ex-lover the dumper. They call the
dumper over and over and over and over again, they let
the person who dumped them know that “they will never
be the same without them.” That is the worst thing to
do for your pride, self-respect and most importantly, the
worst IF YOU WANT THEM BACK or if you want to “get”
back at them or if you want to get over them.
The preceding illustration parallels what happens at
the poker table, in live and in tournament games. If Mr.
or Ms. Desperate plays a hand, they are the best people
to annihilate because they are off, they are irrational,
and they will make decisions that are clouded, desperate and lack poise and patience. Exercise patience
especially when you have none left. There is no pill you
can take to for patience it takes faith and discipline and
stumbling and standing up again and again. The only
way for patience to grow inside us, is by asking ourselves and beyond for it. Lady Patience is a mysterious
realm, don’t dissect her too much, she is not a mathematical equation, just be gentle with her and she will
appear.
Everyone feels desperation, nobody is immune to
this or any emotion, (even if you are a mathematical
Godless “human” robot) we all feel a buffet of emotions but the difference between human beings is how
they/we deal with these emotions, especially desperation and negative feelings. I am a person who leads
life with my heart, I’m kinesthetic by nature and it has
taken me a long time to learn, that when I do feel desperate, to call on Mr. Logic and Mr. Rational in spite of
how I feel. I love who I am, I see God in rainbows and I
am thankful for that BUT I have learned that logic, realism and rational thinking are very important tools in
life and especially poker. There’s no crying in baseball
and there is none in poker but hey we are human beings
and we feel what we feel. So when you do feel negative
emotions it’s okay but do not camp there. Don’t stay
in those ugly places because the dealer’s about to give
you two fresh cards, call in Mr. Logic and Mr. Rational
because Miss Heart needs to cool off so she can restore
herself and sharpen her sister Miss Instinct. Greg’s
Poker Mantra is: “You can always wait longer than you
think.” Greg happens to be a genius who is my new
best friend and poker mentor, hallelujah!
Have A Mentor? All the great poker players of the
world have or have had a poker mentor. My mentor is
my Papa; he is consistently a lucrative player in live,
limit cash games. Because of my Dad, I can break you
in live, limit cash games, best believe that one, or someday you may learn the hard way, (big smile.) Now, my
friends I have Greg, he is my mentor for tournament/
cash/no-limit games. Since listening to Greg who is
(in my opinion) the best player in the world my tournaments skills are catching on fire, watch out!
Until we meet again, don’t worry, when you are ready
for a mentor, he or she will appear.
$7 million, including a
likely first prize of $2 million. The No Limit Texas
Hold ‘Em Championship
will run from February 24
to 28, and the event will
culminate in the Celebrity
Invitational from March 3
to 5. The Championship
and Invitational will be
filmed for broadcast on the
Travel Channel as part of
the World Poker Tour. As
we go to press, results for
the first seven events are
available
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
COMMERCE CASINO
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
EVENT #5
1/29/07
7 CARD STUD
BUY-IN $300 + $30
PLAYERS 248
PRIZE
POOL
$72,168
1. Victoria Cinquegrani . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26,690
2. Stephen Waggoner . $13,710
3. David Bach AKA
“Gunslinger” . . . . . . . $6,930
4. Paul Vinci . . . . . . . . . $4,330
5. Azang Shafiei . . . . . . $3,610
6. Winton Lemoine . . . . $2,885
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
EVENT #7
1/31/07
SHOOTOUT NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $40
PLAYERS 320
PRIZE
POOL
$155,200
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Lance Allred . . . . . . $52,800
Bill Luu . . . . . . . . . . $27,935
Anton Ulker . . . . . . $14,745
Hohn Steven . . . . . . $10,090
Paul Tran . . . . . . . . . $7,295
Berney Hoover . . . . . $5,740
Scott Gould . . . . . . . . $4,190
Armen Oganesyan . . $3,415
Brett Radin . . . . . . . . $2,795
COMMERCE CASINO
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
EVENT #6
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #2
BUY-IN $500 + $40
PLAYERS 730
PRIZE POOL
$354,050
Theo Tran
1.
2.
3.
4.
Theo Tran . . . . . . . $113,300
Shyan Madiraju . . . $54,880
Alan Meyerson . . . . $28,325
Alfredo Aquino . . . . $21,245
1/26/07
LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $30
PLAYERS 550
PRIZE POOL
$160,050
Joseph Kishak
COMMERCE CASINO
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
EVENT #4
1/28/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY UNLIMITED
BUY-IN $300 + $30
PLAYERS 1035
REBUYS 1779
PRIZE POOL
$818,874
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Michael Woo
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Michael Woo . . . . . $262,038
Tom West . . . . . . . . $126,925
Davis Aalvik . . . . . . $65,510
Alan Meyerson . . . . $49,132
Ryan Redler . . . . . . $36,849
Anthony Guadagni
AKA “bbwolf” . . . . $27,760
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
EVENT #1
BUY-IN $300 + $30
PLAYERS 1220
PRIZE POOL
$355,020
COMMERCE CASINO
1/27/07
OMAHA HI/LO
BUY-IN $300 + $30
PLAYERS 422
PRIZE POOL
$122,802
Hung Giang
1. Hung Giang . . . . . . . $41,755
1/25/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
EVENT #3
Joseph Kishak . . . . . $54,420
Xuan Nguyen . . . . . $28,810
Adam Spiegelberg . $14,405
Frank Scarpulla . . . . $9,605
Unknown . . . . . . . . . . $7,200
Fredrick Masjedi . . . $5,600
Ty Witteman . . . . . . . $4,000
Kevin Fox . . . . . . . . . $3,200
Bui Lich . . . . . . . . . . . $2,560
COMMERCE CASINO
1/30/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
Mason Richburg . . . $22,285
Eddie Ngo . . . . . . . . $11,050
Michael Lemkin . . . . $7,370
Ed Fishman . . . . . . . . $5,525
Brett Radin . . . . . . . . $4,300
Jason Steinberg . . . . $3,070
Ahmedin Mohamed . $2,455
Jamshed Bokhari . . . $1,967
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
COMMERCE CASINO
L.A. POKER CLASSIC
Changing the world one sentence at a time, Jennifer
Matiran believes the pen is, and always will be, mightier
than the sword. She hopes to emerge into the tournament
circuit of Poker. Contact her with questions, comments
or interesting material at [email protected]. Ms.
Matiran has just completed her latest screenplay, her
other passion (besides Poker!).
18
5. George Pierce . . . . . $15,930
6. Carlson Le . . . . . . . . $12,000
7. Raymond Davis . . . . $8,850
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Raymond
Vokanian
Raymond Vokanian $113,580
Massoud Setayesh . $55,030
Andrew Bick . . . . . . $28,400
Mike Longo AKA
“The Hat” . . . . . . . . $21,300
Phillip Luong . . . . . $15,975
Nikkailette Letran . $12,035
Tom Shin . . . . . . . . . . $8,875
Unknown . . . . . . . . . . $7,100
Mark Lee . . . . . . . . . . $5,680
Who Really Was the Poker Player of the Year in 2006?
POY rankings from Card
Player magazine, Bluff magazine, and Phil Hellmuth’s
Poker Champion of the Year.
For the most part, invitational events are excluded,
with the exception of
the National Heads-Up
Championship. Card Player
notes this exclusion by setting the minimum number of
participants in an invitational
event at 60 with a prize pool
of at least $500,000. Phil
Hellmuth’s website still
states that his ranking system
includes WPT and WSOP
events only with buy-ins
of at least $5,000, but he
clearly uses the results of
the NHUPC in his rankings.
Otherwise, it is doubtful that
Shawn Sheikhan would have
made his top 20, as Shawn
finished 3rd in the 2006
NHUPC.
Of the five, unquestionably the award from Card
Player carries the most clout
among fans and players.
Card Player’s ranking system
has been in place longer than
anyone else’s has, and it has
been tweaked over the years
to lend it more credibility due
to the surge in the game’s
popularity. Yet it is far from
perfect, as we’ll soon see.
Many found it interesting
last year to see how the final
2005 Player of the Year rankings compared when laid out
side-by-side, so let’s do it
again for 2006. Those players highlighted in red appear
in the top 20 of all five of the
rankings compiled; those in
yellow show up in four; those
in green make it into three;
those in blue qualify in two,
and those not highlighted
only appear one time.
As you can see from our
chart, only two players,
Michael Mizrachi and David
Williams, appeared in the top
20 of all five ranking systems. Mizrachi was named
#1 three times, #2 once, and
#15 by Bluff. He would
appear to be the consensus
winner of the 2006 Poker
Player of the Year award,
based on this chart alone.
Those players who made
it in the top 20 in 4 of the
rankings included Nam
Le, Shannon Shorr, David
Daneshgar, Joseph Hachem,
and Allen Cunningham.
Those recognized in 3 were
J.C. Tran, Roland de Wolfe,
Joe Tehan, Joe Pelton, Paul
Wasicka, David Singer, and
Jeff Madsen. Players John
Hoang, Gioi Luong, Phil
Hellmuth, David Pham, Erick
Lindgren, Barry Greenstein,
John Juanda, Carlos
Mortensen, Kathy Liebert,
RANK
Card Player
Jamie Gold, Scotty Nguyen,
and Joe Bartholdi were
named in 2 of the rankings.
The other 25, or roughly half,
were only recognized once.
Mizrachi won nearly $2.4
million last year, making 11
final tables, and winning 5 of
them, including a WPT title.
Overall, a great year. Which
Int’l Poker
Rankings
Bluff/ESPN
is what makes Bluff magazine’s POY choice so interesting. Their recipient was the
likeable Chad Brown, who,
while enjoying a good year,
had nothing like the kind of
year Mizrachi or many other
players did.
Brown earned $658,623,
Phil Hellmuth’s
Poker Pages.com
#1
Michael Mizrachi
Chad Brown
Michael Mizrachi
Jeff Madsen
Michael Mizrachi
#2
Nam Le
John Juanda
Nam Le
Michael Mizrachi
J.C. Tran
#3
J.C. Tran
David Daneshgar
Allen Cunningham
Joseph Hachem
Joe Sebok
#4
Shannon Shorr
Erik Cajelais
Daniel Negreanu
David Williams (tie 4th)
Nam Le
#5
Jeff Madsen
Nam Le
Roland de Wolfe
Joe Pelton (tie 4th)
David Williams
#6
David Daneshgar
Victor Ramdin
Shannon Shorr
Phil Hellmuth
Shannon Shorr
#7
John Hoang
Barry Greenstein
J.C. Tran
Allen Cunningham
John Hoang
#8
Roland de Wolfe
Paul Wasicka
David Daneshgar
Jamie Gold
Roland de Wolfe
#9
Joseph Hachem
Jeffrey King
Gioi Luong
Phil Ivey (tie 9th)
Joe Bartholdi
#10
Gioi Luong
Eugene Todd
Carlos Mortensen
Scotty Nguyen (tie 9th)
Lee Nelson
#11
Phil Hellmuth
Kathy Liebert
Joseph Hachem
Joe Bartholdi (tie 11th)
David Daneshgar
#12
David Pham
Gavin Smith
David Williams
Chip Reese (tie 11th)
Allen Cunningham
#13
Alex Jacob
Shannon Shorr
Jeff Madsen
Erick Lindgren (tie 13th)
David Pham
#14
Steve Wong
David Williams
Joe Tehan
Mark Newhouse (tie 13th) Carlos Mortensen
#15
Allen Cunningham Michael Mizrachi
Men Nguyen
Paul Wasicka (tie 13th)
Joseph Hachem
#16
Erick Lindgren
David Singer
Barry Greenstein
Christian Grundtvig
Joe Pelton
Jamie Gold
#17
Ralph Perry
Joe Tehan
John Juanda
William Chen (tie 17th)
#18
Joe Tehan
Casey Kastle
Kathy Liebert
Shawn Sheikhan (tie 17th) David Singer
#19
Joe Pelton
Vanessa Rousso
David Singer
Andy Bloch
Scotty Nguyen
Thomas Koral
Paul Wasicka
Anders Hendriksson
Kenna James
#20 David Williams
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
19
The Fifth Fear
POWER POKER
By DOYLE BRUNSON
I once wrote that there are five great fears
that haunt gamblers. They are: (1) The fear
of getting broke; (2) The fear of getting
robbed; (3) The fear of getting arrested; (4)
The fear of getting cheated; and (5) The fear of not getting
paid.
Of course, I was writing about my early career as a poker
player in Texas and the southern United States. There were
no legal casinos there to protect you against robbery,
arrest, cheating, or deadbeats. You were on your own. If
you always play in a licensed casino, I guess the only real
fear remaining is #1 – getting broke.
But, gamblers being gamblers, not every wager you make
will be governed by the niceties of written rules and procedures. So, this column mostly is about fear #5 – not getting
paid.
Armed groups. This happened so many years ago, I’m
not sure exactly when. I’d guess it was in the late sixties and we worried a lot about armed groups invading
our games and taking our money. Games were frequently
hijacked, which is the word we used to mean robbed.
The fear of hijacking got so severe that when I called to
see if there were seats open in “Old Man Don’s” game, he
said, “Yes, but the rules have changed. There’s a $20 limit.”
He paused, anticipating my surprised response, which
came several seconds later after I’d had time to absorb the
impact of his words. After all, the game had always been
sizable and played no limit.
“Isn’t there quite a bit less gamble to that than our usual
game?” I pressed.
“No,” he quickly responded, savoring the fact that I’d
fallen into his word trap. “We’ll play the same game as
usual, but I’ll keep the results on paper. Nobody’s allowed
to bring more than $20 with them. Anyone that has more
than that $20 limit in his possession gets barred permanently. You pass the word along – Old Man Don’s game just
ain’t worth the trouble, if you’re a hijacker.”
The library. “How do we settle up?” I wondered.
“At the library,” Don said. “And don’t worry, I’ll stand
behind all payments.” The idea sounded crazy to me, but
since Don was fairly rich, his guarantee was good enough
Well, the game went late into the night, and it seemed
new stacks of chips were ordered more often than they
would have been if players actually had to use money from
their pockets. When it’s just ink on a notepad, it’s not as
painful, I suppose. The result of the game was that I won
about $2,000 and there was only one loser, Phil. He owed
$28,000. The biggest winner turned out to be Don himself,
scoring $20,000.
As agreed, at 10 the next morning, we sauntered into the
library, attempting to be inconspicuous while browsing the
shelves. Only one player didn’t show up. Guess who? You’re
right, it was Phil who owed the $28,000.
Don kept his word, paying out $8,000 and suffering the
$20,000 setback by not getting paid himself. And the very
next week, the game returned to cash. No credit. No pen
and paper. We still had to worry about being robbed, one of
the five fears on my list. But we didn’t have to worry about
not getting paid, also on my list.
In gambling, just like in life itself, there are tradeoffs.
Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson stands unchallenged as the
most celebrated poker player who ever lived. In 2005,
at age 72, he won an unprecedented 10th championship
gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker. He is among
the few living members of the Poker Hall of Fame, and
his books are the bibles for poker professionals. Through
www.poker1.com and www.doylesroom.com, Brunson has
teamed with Mike Caro, today’s premiere poker educator,
to offer a free learning experience to players worldwide.
This column is founded on those collaborative teachings.
20
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
Borgata Poker Classic
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #7
1/22/07
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #4
1/20/07
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #2
1/18/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $2,500 + $150
BUY-IN $1,500 + $100
BUY-IN $750 + $60
PLAYERS 249
PLAYERS 455
PLAYERS 619
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$622,500
$682,500
$464,250
Jack Schanbacher
Leonard Cortellino
Jose Gomez
1. Jack Schanbacher $192,975
2. Richard Freire AKA
“Knucklehead” . . . $108,937
3. Jon Turner . . . . . . . $59,138
4. Richard Aquino . . . $43,575
5. Bob Fikac . . . . . . . . $37,350
6. Vincent Devita . . . . $31,125
7. Julian Studley . . . . . $24,900
8. Frank Flowers . . . . $18,675
9. Dao Lin AKA “Kenny” . . . .
$12,450
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #6
1/21/07
1. Jose Gomez . . . . . . $129,386
2. Leonard M Cortellino
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $71,262
3. Savanh “Ronnie Kevin”
Vilayvanh . . . . . . . . $37,140
4. Todor Blazevski . . . $32,497
5. Christopher Licata . $27,855
6. Kyle Daniel Lyle . . . $23,212
7. Ut Nguyen . . . . . . . . $18,570
8. Matt Brady . . . . . . . $13,928
9. Kevin Kaikko . . . . . . $9,285
1. Leonard M Cortellino
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200,860
2. James Van Alstyne $105,788
3. Frank Lupo . . . . . . . $54,600
4. Jeremy Shor . . . . . . $47,775
5. Evangelo Sideras . . $40,950
6. Brent Roberts . . . . . $34,125
7. Joseph Collis . . . . . . $27,300
8. Mike Russo . . . . . . . $20,475
9. Raymond Bell . . . . . $13,650
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #3
1/99/07
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #1
1/17/07
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000 + $80
LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $60
PLAYERS 626
BUY-IN $500 + $60
PLAYERS 1370
PLAYERS 256
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$626,000
Louie Esposito
$132,500
Daniel Occhipinti
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Daniel Occhipinti . . $41,075
Shawn Berthiaume . $23,187
Justin Peckholdt . . . $12,588
Jason L. Roth . . . . . . $9,275
James Paluszek . . . . . $7,950
Jonathan Savar . . . . . $6,625
Arthur Reber . . . . . . $5,300
CJ Mucciaccio . . . . . $3,975
Hui Ming Zhu . . . . . . $2,650
PRIZE POOL
$685,000
Tae Baik
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Louie Esposito . . . $174,466
Jonathon Chehanske $96,091
Peter Konolige . . . . $50,080
Mathew Cherackal . $43,820
Akio Ishige . . . . . . . $37,560
Will The Thrill
Emanuel Failla . . . . $31,300
7. Arnie Toler . . . . . . . $25,040
8. John Renzi . . . . . . . $18,780
9. Jack Barnes . . . . . . . $12,520
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Tae Baik . . . . . . . . $152,960
Hui Ming Zhu . . . . . $95,900
Emad Alabsi . . . . . . $58,225
Anthony Gelfen . . . $51,375
Ted Karidis . . . . . . . $44,525
Akio Ishige . . . . . . . $37,675
Vincent Rocopio . . . $30,825
Brent Keller . . . . . . $23,975
Sergio Vizcaino . . . . $17,125
WPT EVENT SEASON V
EVENT #5
1/21/07
LADIES NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $260 + $40
A PROPERTY OF
PLAYERS 390
4000 W. Flamingo Road • Las Vegas
367-7111
PRIZE POOL
$101,400
Emily Flax
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Emily Flax . . . . . . . . $30,927
Nicole Rowe . . . . . . $17,035
Krista Van Wart . . . . $8,264
Pastora Sorensen . . . $7,098
Karen Rusum . . . . . . $6,084
Tracy Campola . . . . . $5,070
Norma Pane . . . . . . . $4,056
Kristine Glassman . . $3,042
Michelle Ferrante . . . $2,028
SPREADING DAILY
$
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$
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$
100 Buy-in No-Limit Hold’em
$
1-$2 Blinds
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Monday - Thursday
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$
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E X T R AVA G A N Z A
F E BRUARY 2 1 S T – M AR C H 1 1 T H , 2 0 0 7
More chips, more play – at The Venetian Poker Room.
DATE
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
2/21/07
2/22/07
2/23/07
2/24/07
2/25/07
2/26/07
2/27/07
2/28/07
3/1/07
3/2/07
3/3/07
3/4/07
3/5/07
3/6/07
3/7/07
3/8/07
3/9/07
3/10/07
3/11/07
EVENT*
STARTING CHIPS**
$330 No Limit Hold ’Em
330 No Limit Hold ’Em
330 Omaha 8 or Better
330 P.L.O.
330 H.O.S.
$6,000
6,000
6,000
10,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
10,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
6,000
10,000
10,000
6,000
T H E N E W F A C E O F P O K E R .TM
For information call 702.414.POKR (7657) www.venetian.com
*All $300 buy-in events will begin at 2:00 p.m. All $500 events will begin at noon. Levels for all events will be 40 minutes. All events
will conclude the same day. ** Total starting chips include an optional $1,500 and $2,500 additional starting chips for the
$300 and $500 events respectively when an optional $10 staff bonus is purchased.
TDA rules apply to all poker tournaments held at The Venetian. Management reserves the right to cancel or change tournaments. Three percent of total prize pool is withheld
for poker room staff. Winners will be paid in casino chips. Residents of foreign countries without a U.S. tax treaty will be subject to withholding. Registration begins in the poker room two hours prior
to the start of the event. Must be 21 years or older to attend. The Venetian management reserves all rights. Applies to all live poker games.
Time. Some events
C start after the hour
...........AM, PM
O A,WkP................Week
..... Additional gameD &.times
on this day. Call.
E ........Hold’em
.No Limit Hold’em
.Limit Hold’em
N .............No Limit
L ................... Limit
.............Stud
..7-Card Stud
..5-Card Stud
........ Omaha
H/L .High/Low Split
Pi...........Pineapple
Po...........Pot Limit
Pn.........Panginque
Mx ..Mexican Poker
DC .Dealer’s Choice
MONDAY
•GOLD BAR DENOTES ADVERTISER
TIME
|
HH ...... Headhunter
B ............ Bounties
Sp .............. Spread
Al .........Alternates
Z........... Freezeout
Cz ................ Crazy
E..........Elimination
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
Q ............... Qualify
Sh ...........Shootout
+ ..Re-Buys and/or
Add-Ons allowed
F ............... Freeroll
Lad ..... Ladies Only
Men ........Men Only
DAILY TOURNAMENTS
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website:
www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
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
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
FRIDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
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Arizona Charlie’s
LAS VEGAS & NEVADA SOUTH
Caesars Palace
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Luxor
Mandalay Bay
MGM
Nevada Palace
Oasis-Mesquite
Plaza Casino
Rio Suite Casino
River Palms
Sahara
Speedway
Stratosphere
Sun Coast
NEVADA NORTH
Virgin River Casino
Atlantis Casino
Boomtown
Cactus Petes-Jackpot
Carson Valley Inn
Circus Circus
Eldorado
Harrah’s Reno
Harvey’s Tahoe
Rainbow Cas. W Wendover
Reno Hilton
Sands Regency, Reno
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
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Excitement at the Speed of Hound
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
25
Tilt and Flow
ONLINE POKER
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire
In early December, I found myself mired
deep into a macabre of a losing streak,
stuck over $2K playing online in a two week span playing
higher stakes than I normally would. Poker is as fickle as
the Northern Lights, but I didn’t freak out because I had
been playing some of the best poker of my life. I won a
tournament and had a couple second place finishes in that
span, but even those cashes could not overcome the losses
at the cash game tables. It’s mind numbing that I’m making great decisions and playing some of the best all-around
poker in my career, yet when I open up my bankroll spreadsheet the numbers spell out... L-O-S-E-R.
That’s poker. I’m not going to change a thing or tweak my
game. I had been minimizing my mistakes and made solid
decisions although I’ve become a victim of the capricious
nature of variance. You have to let the game of poker come
to you and come through you. Buddhists have preached
about letting life flow through you including all of its experiences is really about training your mind to focus on the
present moment... the now.
One of the most difficult aspects of poker to overcome is
that the flow of the game rarely cooperates to your hands
and mental status. The more you try to force the situation
and impose your will onto the game, the more frustrated
you become. Going card dead or playing against calling stations will often test your patience and focus.
Letting go of the ego is the quickest path towards living
in the moment. Suppressing your ego at the poker table
is essential. Tiltdom sets in when you are convinced that
the strategy which you’ve worked on and developed after
hundreds of thousands of hands and decades of experience is no longer valid and you have to deviate from your
game plan in order to achieve success. That includes taking
chances that you normally would avoid like chasing gutshots and two outers or playing hands out of position that
you would never consider playing. But after losing a few
hands or getting bluffed out of a big pot will often make
you question the foundation of how you play.
Tilt is a powerful liability that has the potential to corrupt almost every facet of your daily existence such as
work-tilt, ex-wife-tilt, or traffic-tilt and proceed to allow
anarchy and chaos running rampant through your life. Most
of the time, you had no idea how foolish you were acting.
Your reality had become tainted by tilt. Not only should you
not operate heavy machinery, but you should also not be
near large sums of cash that you’re ready to donk away at
the tables.
Although mathematics and strategy play a tremendous
role in success at the tables, so too does psychological
temperament. And aside from a book or two, there’s very
little on the subject matter on how you should be experiencing poker.
That mental grasp is the edge that the best poker pros
in the world have over the rest of their peers. Some good
players in the world are erratic. And you have to be to
play poker. You have to have a reckless streak inside and
that “gamble” in you that sets you apart from 99% of the
people on this planet.
But from what I’ve seen covering tournament poker over
the last two years is that the most successful poker players
over the long term are the ones who have the best temperament. They control their emotions and while their internal
chatter might resemble the drunken hotel room scene in
Apocalypse Now, their external appearance is stoic and
they look unfazed by the bad beats and suckouts.
The best way to endure a losing streak? Play through it.
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 1 9, 2 0 0 7
Those lawyer and police
detective TV dramas get the
best ratings these days. Like
many other viewers, I have
to admit that I find them
wickedly entertaining. The
best shows are never obvious. Just when the writers
the TV characters on those
well watched TV dramas
almost superhuman.
Top professional poker
players have similar qualities to the characters in top
shows like CSI or Law &
Order. Watching poker
PSI: Poker Scene
Investigation
POKER COUNSELOR
By John Carlisle, MA, NCC
have the watchers thinking
that the victim’s spouse is
probably the killer, they
twist the plot to get us to
wonder if the preacher who
lives next door may actually be the triggerman. It
makes us always stay on our
toes. They throw in little
hints and clues along the
way. The smallest little tidbit is often the breakthrough
of the entire case. The
savvy investigator always
seems to have the uncanny
ability to link together the
pieces of the mystery. They
hyper-analyze even the
smallest hints to have each
one to balloon into obvious
leads. While the shows are
clearly overly dramatic, they
do provide us some nice
insights into thinking thoroughly and analytically. Our
brains are simply not wired
and trained to think as the
detective thinks. Instead,
we usually make an assumption and look for details to
support that notion. In other
words, if a layman was to
think that the husband did it,
we’d look for evidence that
would support that hunch.
We’d likely overlook those
miniscule clues that seem
to point elsewhere. It takes
a different mindset to question everything. It takes a
determined mind to not let
assumptions interfere with
reality. That is what makes
POKER
ON
TV
pros like Ivey, Negreanu,
Brunson (either of them),
and Cloutier is much like
a real life version of those
television characters: savvy,
insightful, confident, intelligent, cunning, etc. The pros
use an almost superhuman
way of deducing small bits
of information to reconfigure them into an accurate
snapshot of the situation.
They add up tells, hunches,
reads, history, psychology,
and situations to make the
fold and save their chip
stack.
Daniel Negreanu may be
one of the most entertaining
poker detectives. He often
thinks through his decisions
aloud. He might start with a
quip, buzz a few coy questions, then sit back in his
chair and furrow his brow in
thought. He sometimes runs
through hand options for all
to hear. He often makes his
calls or folds with a certain
flare. He even seems to relish in his ability to call out
his tablemate’s exact hands:
“I’m thinking Jack-Queen of
hearts … did you have JackQueen suited?” His theatrics could mimic the writing
of any popular primetime
show.
Just like TV detectives,
poker pros always pause to
challenge the obvious. They
do not allow themselves to
only search for evidence
Heartland Poker Tour. (Check
local listings for times/stations).
High Stakes Poker. Mondays 8, 9
& 10 PM, Tuesdays & Wednesdays 2 AM,
Thursdays 9 PM EST. GSN.
Inside Poker. Fridays 2 PM EST. FSN.
MansionPoker.net Poker
Dome Challenge. (Check local listings for channels). Wednesdays 3 PM &
Sundays 10 PM EST. FSN.
Poker After Dark. Tuesdays
through Sundays 2:05 AM EST. NBC.
Poker Superstars
Championship. Sundays 1 PM EST. NBC.
that points back toward the
one option. After all, in
the TV shows it is rarely
the husband who has committed the crime. Instead,
top poker pros break down
every aspect of the game,
the situation, and the opponent. On TV, it is never the
most obvious choice that is
the culprit. In poker, it is
much more unpredictable.
Sometimes it is indeed the
obvious, simple choice. A
fool who’s missed his draw
pushed All-In on a clear
bluff might indeed be trying
to donate his chips to your
stack. On the other hand, he
may be attempting to set a
trap with a monster hand.
Move over Matlock.
Poker is scorching hot
because it is what the television dramas try to copy.
Deciphering tells at the
poker felt is real detective
work. Sniffing out a slowplayed monster or producing
a perfect bluff is more thrilling than any script. Poker
has the thrills in real life
that producers are attempting to emulate. I’m sure
we’ll never see number one
in the Nielsen ratings anytime soon, but we are sure
to keep a healthy future.
People love the twists and
turns. They love the drama.
They love to see the deductive mind at work. As long
as we awe at the ability of
the pros to evaluate situations and make the right
moves, we will continue to
watch the show.
John Carlisle is a
National Certified
Counselor with a Master’s
degree in Counseling
Psychology from West
Virginia University, and a
Bachelor’s of Psychology
from Lock Haven
University. Find out more
by emailing him at
[email protected]
Poker Superstars Invitational.
Mondays 6 AM & 4 PM & Fridays 8 PM
Fox Sports.
Pro-Am Poker Equalizer.
Wednesdays & Thursdays 3 AM EST. ESPN.
Professional Poker Tour.
Saturdays 8 PM & 11 PM EST. Travel.
World Poker Tour. Wednesdays 9
PM, Thursdays 12 AM & Saturdays 12 PM
EST. Travel
World Series of Poker. (Check
local listing for times). ESPNC/ESPN2.
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
DIEGO & CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA—NORTH CALIFORNIA—SAN
LOS ANGELES
INLAND EMPIRE
TIME
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
DAILY TOURNAMENTS (CONT’D FROM PAGE 25)
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
FRIDAY
Z........ Freezeout Sh ........Shootout
Cz ............. Crazy + Re-buys and/or
E...... Elimination Add-ons allowed
Q ............Qualify F ............Freeroll
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
Club Caribe
Commerce Club
Crystal Casino
Hustler Casino
Normandie Casino
Casino Morongo
Casino Pauma
Harrah’s Rincon
Lake Elsinore
Lucky Lady
Oceans Eleven
Sycuan
Viejas
Village Club
Artichoke Joe’s
Cache Creek
California Grand
Casino San Pablo
Club One Casino, Fresno
Colusa Casino
Del Rio Casino, Isleton
Feather Falls Cas., Oroville
Garden City
Gold Country Cas.-Oroville
DA I LY TO U R N A M E N T L I ST I N G S CO N T I N U E O N PAG E 29
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
27
To Deal or Not To Deal?
That is the Question.
POKER IN EUROPE
By JONATHAN RAAB
Online poker site Blue Square and Grosvenor
Casinos have announced a UK poker tour for
2007. The Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT) takes in ten different locations in England and Wales and features ten £1,000
buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournaments plus a £3,000 buy-in end
of year Grand Final. Added prize money of £10,000 plus a seat
in the Grand Final is being put into each of the first ten legs,
with £50,000 being added to Grand Final, which will take place
at the casino group’s flagship Victoria casino in London.
All eleven events
will be televised
for transmission on
Channel 4, one of the
UK’s largest TV stations. It will be the
first UK based poker
tour to appear on terrestrial television in
the UK. While most of
the poker shows that
GUKPT Leg 1 Winner Praz Bansi
have graced the small
screen on the UK’s five main terrestrial stations have been
single table studio events, these will be casino based multitable tournaments.
One of my main criticisms of UK based poker publications is
that they seem to be infatuated with the big name American
players and don’t give enough exposure to home grown talent.
Hopefully the tour will go some way to creating a new wave of
British poker superstars who through the TV coverage, will get
the media attention that they deserve.
It is with great pleasure that I am writing about this, as I
have been heavily involved in devising the concept and structure of the tour and the original suggestion to run it came
from me. It is personally satisfying to see it finally come to
fruition and to continue to be involved in running it. My role
will be that of Tour Manager. This does not mean that I am the
head honcho of the tour. Far from it, but I will be involved in
many of the aspects of the way it is run. I will also be co-ordinating the live coverage and reporting on the events on the
tour’s website grosvenorukpokertour.com.
Sponsor Blue Square is putting up the added prize money
and running exclusive online super satellites to all the events.
Unfortunately the site does not accept US players, but it is
anticipated that up to 20% of the seats at these 200-400 runner events, will be filled by online qualifiers. Any Americans
wishing to play will have to make the trip across the pond to
buy-in directly or take part in live super satellites at each host
venue. The first event takes place in the Lancashire town of
Bolton in mid January and continues monthly throughout the
year, with a break in June during the WSOP.
The full tour schedule is as follows
GUKPT
Dates
Location Buy-In
Leg 1
Jan 12th - 14th
Bolton
£1,000
Leg 2
Feb 15th - 18th
Walsall
£1,000
Leg 3
Mar 22nd - 25th
Cardiff
£1,000
Leg 4
Apr 20th - 22nd
Manchester £1,000
Leg 5
May 18th - 20th
Brighton
£1,000
Leg 6
Jul 20th - 22nd
Newcastle £1,000
Leg 7
Aug 9th - 12th
Luton
£1,000
Leg 8
Sep 7th - 9th
Plymouth £1,000
Leg 9
Oct 18th - 21st
London
£1,000
Leg 10
Nov 15th - 18th
Blackpool £1,000
Grand Final Nov 29th - Dec 2nd
London
£3,000
Jonathan Raab is a poker consultant and tournament reporter. He works for online poker site Blue
Square as their representative at live poker events in
the UK and Europe and is the Tour Manager for the
GUKPT. Email: [email protected]
28
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
EPT Copenhagen
uro poker
by Stephen Bartley, Gutshot.com
After a two month break
for Christmas spirit and a
New Year hangover to wear
off, the European Poker
Tour picked up again; starting 2007 in Copenhagen,
Denmark. It’s normally
the coldest stop on the tour
and last year a blizzard
and sub zero temperatures
welcomed the predominantly Scandinavian field
lier, which ran until 3.30am
as eventual winner Mads
Andersen traded all-ins with
Norwegian Edgar Skjervold,
this year the final was into
its heads up duel within four
hours; one of the quickest
finals in EPT history.
It was ElkY looking the
more comfortable under the
TV lights. His chip stack
no doubt helping to put the
former pro-gamer at
EPT qualifiers (top to
bottom):
Magnus Petersson,
Bertrand ‘ElkY’
Grospellier
and T.J. Cloutier
to the Casino
Copenhagen.
Alongside
the locals were
the qualifiers,
one of which
went by the
name of TJ Cloutier, playing
in PokerStars paraphernalia.
He began on perhaps one
of the tougher tables, with
Flying Dutchman Marcel
Luske, EPT Barcelona winner Alexander Stavic, and
Juha Helppi alongside him.
Also on the table was one
Magnus Petersson, playing
his first ever EPT event.
There would be more of him
later.
After playing into day
four, the tournament had
found its last eight.
Thomas Holm (Denmark) . . . . 409,000
Samir Shakhtoor (Sweden) . . . 367,000
Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier
(France) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,086,000
Magnus Petersson (Sweden). . 622,000
Richard Toth (Hungary). . . . . . 814,000
Alexandre Poulain (France). . . 128,000
Anders Wijk (Sweden) . . . . . . . 255,000
Theo Jorgensen (Denmark) . . 305,000
Whilst many final tables
begin cagily, Copenhagen
proved to break with convention. In contrast to the
season two final a year ear-
ease. But first out
was Anders Wijk.
His Ace-Jack was
battered by Richard
Toth’s pocket Kings.
A King on the turn
and the final was
down to seven.
Whilst Theo Jorgensen
doubled up to 200,000,
Thomas Holm followed
Wijk when he moved in with
Richard Toth again the dutiful caller with pocket sevens.
Thomas’s Ace-Queen held
potential but nothing more.
As Jorgensen doubled
up again, the hour mark
approached with another
exit. Alexandre Poulain
moved all-in for 50,000, the
only move left open to him.
ElkY was among the callers,
who found his single Ace
good enough to defeat his
countryman, who could only
manage King high.
Moments later the tournament was down to four when
Samir Shakhtoor moved
in, again seeing chip leader
ElkY doing the humane
thing with pocket Queens.
Ace-Three for Samir which
quickly looked less promising than it had. Cruelly, the
flop gave Samir another Ace
but brought another Queen
to see him out.
Then the big pots arrived.
In one measuring 2.8 million on the chip scale, it
was Richard Toth and ElkY
looking for the spoils. As
ElkY made a 45,000 bet preflop, it was raised by Toth
but re-raised by Elky again
to 285,000. Big swathes of
chips were riding to the middle and neither player
looked capable of holding onto the reigns. The
pot measured 600,000
going into the ThreeFour-Jack flop that was
checked by both. With a
Queen on the turn Toth
checked again, but ElkY,
looking like Serpico
in open neck shirt and cop
shades, fired in 250,000. A
huge bet that Toth called.
A six on the river. Again
Toth checked, prompting ElkY’s to move all-in.
“Call” said Toth. Somehow,
ElkY dug out a Five-Seven
for a straight on the river, to
the shock of Toth and everyone watching.
The background plot to
this final seemed to be Theo
Jorgensen doubling up.
The local hero was never
close enough to the lead but
always far enough away
from defeat to keep the
home crowd spirits high.
His next all-in move
brought Richard Toth to
Limit Hold’em
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
CALIFORNIA—NORTH
TIME
AZ
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
Gold Rush
Golden West-Bakersfield
Kelly’s Cardroom
Limelight Cardroom-Sac’to
Lucky Chances
Lucky Derby Casino
Oaks Card Club-Emeryville
Sonoma Joe’s
Tachi Palace Casino
Apache Gold
Blue Water Casino
Bucky’s Casino
Casino Del Sol
Cliff Castle
Fort McDowell
SOUTHWEST
Gila River/Wild Horse Pass
AZ
CO
Gila River-Vee Quiva
Harrah’s Ak Chin
Hon-Dah Casino
Paradise Casino
Gilpin Hotel & Casino
Midnight Rose-Cripple Crk
Ute Mountain
KS
Harrah’s Prarie Band
NM
Cities of Gold
Isleta Casino & Resort
Route 66 Casino
OK
Thunderbird Casino, Norman
DA I LY TO U R N A M E N T L I ST I N G S CO N T I N U E O N PAG E 3 1
Girl’s Night Out
Who REALLY Was?
MIDWEST MILIEU
By bonnie demos
In my travels throughout the Midwest I have had
the opportunity to meet many great women poker players. These
women can really mix it up and always give the guys a run for their
money at the tables. I have also noticed women seated at cash
games and tournaments in increasing numbers lately. Poker room
managers have taken note of this growing trend and are beginning to offer special seminars for women to introduce them to the
game, or to give them the opportunity to improve their skills. This
is a very fortunate turn of events for women as the game of poker
continues to evolve. As a result, many casinos are beginning to
include Ladies Poker Night Tournaments in their venues. This is not
to undermine the skills of women as poker players, however it does
offer the opportunity for new women players to learn the game
in a less intimidating manner. In addition it offers women that do
play in traditional formats a “girls night out” experience, which is
a real treat. Let’s face it, gossip and girl talk is fun, and it makes
for a refreshing change of pace, as well as some interesting new
challenges. The following are some of the great Midwestern poker
rooms that are currently offering Ladies Poker Tournaments and
events:
St. Croix Casino, Turtle Lake, WI. 1-800-846-8946. The
first Monday of every month, No Limit Ladies Texas Hold’em
Tournaments, Buy-in $55 + $5.
Caesars Indiana, Elizabeth, IN. 1-888-766-2648. Weekly No
Limit Texas Hold ‘Em Tournaments, Tuesdays at 7 p.m.* $70 entry
fee with a $20 non-refundable registration fee. *Ladies tournament
every 3rd Tuesday of the month
Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen MN. 1-800-453-7827.
Ladies’ Special No Limit Hold’em, Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m.
Ladies: $15 buy-in, plus $10 entry fee, Gentlemen: $30 buy-in, plus
$10 entry fee, registration begins at 4 pm. A lady and a gentleman
will be drawn and receive a free seat in the following week’s tournament.
Potowatomi Northern Lights Casino, Carter, WI. 1-800-4879522. Wednesdays Ladies Night Tournament at 7 p.m. $20 buy-in;
$5 registration fee, one re-buy, one add-on allowed. Register from
4 p.m.
Canterbury Park, Shakopee, MN. 1-800-MNPOKER. Fall
Classic L.I.P.S. Tournament - October. Additional women’s seminars
and tournaments scheduled throughout the year. Contact the poker
room for additional information.
Ladies Nite Tournaments are being added to casinos every day,
as well as exciting seminars and special events, contact your local
favorite casino to check out the action!
Some poker rooms just seem to attract female players, and
some are just great getaway destinations. Listed below are 5 of the
top Midwest poker room “Chic Picks”:
Menominee Casino-Forest Edge Poker Room, Keshena, WI.
1-800-343-7778. Lil Duquaine, an avid player herself, is the Poker
Room manager. You will always find plenty of women at the tables
and in tournaments here.
Canterbury Park, Shakopee, MN. 1-800-MNPOKER. This is a
great getaway destination; an added bonus is that Canterbury is
located about 15 minutes from Mall of America.
Treasure Island, Red Wing, MN. 1-800-222-7077. This poker
room is gorgeous as well as the casino surroundings.
Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino, Dubuque, IA. 1-800373-3647. Enjoy the relaxed amiable atmosphere in this poker
room, as well as the quaint Victorian village of Dubuque.
Majestic Star Casinos, Gary, IN. 1-888-2BLUCKY. A must stop
if you are in the Chicagoland area. Dom Niro the manger and his
entire staff are stellar.
What are you waiting for ladies? The cards are calling you,
test your skills and engage in some fun and friendly poker action
at your favorite casino’s Ladies Night. Good luck, I hope your chips
stack up as high as that pile of dirty laundry.
Bonnie Demos from the midwest, Gambler, poker player and
award winning chef, has enjoyed working in the gaming industry
for the past several years. Write her at [email protected]
30
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
a little better than a quarter
of Mizrachi’s total, while
appearing at 5 final tables and
finishing no higher than 5th
at any of them. The IPF listed Brown 26th, Card Player
88th, Poker Pages 166th, and
Hellmuth’s had him in the
middle of the pack.
In defense of Chad, who
deserves recognition for his
achievement, many in Bluff’s
rankings didn’t appear on
anyone else’s list either. Bluff
led the way with 9 players
who were only mentioned
once, followed by Hellmuth’s
rankings with 8, Card Player
and Poker Pages with 3, and
the IPF with only 2.
To Bluff’s credit, at least
this year they compiled two
separate ranking systems
instead of last year when they
had only one, a power ranking that was figured over the
course of two years. Here’s
hoping Poker Pages does the
same this year. But from the
looks of their POY results
this year, it appears that they
need to do some fine-tuning
as to how they award points
to be more in line with the
consensus.
An area that could be
addressed to bring the rankings more in sync is one that
some of the systems appear
to incorporate, but it is questionable whether they give
this factor adequate emphasis.
It involves the size of the
field, and perhaps Shannon
Shorr and Jamie Gold are the
best examples here to illustrate this. This is what was
referred to earlier as far as
Card Player’s system being
less than perfect. Here’s
why:
Shorr had a great year,
winning more than $1.6 million, most of which was in
the Bellagio Cup II tournament, which runs concurrently with the WSOP in Las
Vegas. Because of this, the
event attracts much smaller
fields than those at the
WSOP. Shorr won 2 events
at the Bellagio Cup, including
the $10,000 championship
that drew just 324 competitors.
But because more emphasis in the ranking systems is
placed on the buy-in amount,
a minimum rather than a
total number of participants,
and where an individual finishes instead of the size of
the field one has to conquer,
Shorr shot up in the rankings
with his championship victory at the Bellagio, earning
1536 POY points under Card
Player’s system. He garnered
another 960 POY points from
Card Player for defeating
434 players in a $1,000 buyin event, the same number
of points that Jon Friedberg
was awarded for defeating
a whopping 2890 players in
a $1,000 buy-in event at the
World Series!
Which brings us to Jamie
Gold, the reigning World
Champion. Gold received
1920 POY points from
Card Player for winning the
WSOP Championship event,
just 384 more than Shorr did
for his Bellagio Cup victory.
This hardly seems fair given
that Gold had to beat 8772
players, or roughly 23X more
than Shorr did, and won 12X
more than in prize money for
his victory than Shorr did for
his.
It would also appear that
none of the ranking systems
give enough emphasis to the
size of the field currently in
WSOP events, and particularly the main event, as Gold
only appears twice in the top
20 of the 5 ranking systems,
Hellmuth’s and Poker Pages.
Card Player ranked him
48th, the IPR 167th, and Bluff
226th.
Daniel Negreanu is another
interesting example. Daniel
won the Jack Binion WSOP
circuit event championship
in Tunica, finished 2nd in the
Tournament of Champions,
cashed in 5 WSOP events,
and finished 3rd in the WPT
North American Poker
Classic. His winnings
exceeded $1.9 million, vaulting him to 3rd on the all-time
money list. Yet he finished
in the top 20 of only the IPR,
where he was 4th.
ALL IN magazine again
conducted a poll among 15
top pros to see who they felt
deserved POY honors. ALL
IN asked the pros to consider
prowess in cash game play,
but give more emphasis to
tournaments, especially in nolimit hold’em.
The pros were asked
for their top five choices.
After the votes were tallied
with a different number of
points being awarded for
first through fifth place,
Michael Mizrachi was
chosen by 13 of the pros,
and Allen Cunningham by
11. However, Cunningham
received 7 first place votes,
compared to 3 for Mizrachi,
to win the honor.
So once again, the rightful
Player of the Year in 2006
remains somewhat clouded,
though perhaps a little less
so than last year. And until
a unified ranking system is
put into place that everyone
agrees to abide by, the reader
is still left to draw his or her
own conclusions.
Fitzgeralds To Host
NBA Legends Charity
Poker Tournament
Fitzgeralds Casino Hotel in
downtown Las Vegas will
kick-off February’s citywide
NBA All-Star Weekend with
a daylong Legendary AllStar Celebration highlighted
by a Legends of Basketball
Charity Poker Tournament,
Thursday, February 15, 2007
at 5 p.m.
Participants in the $500
buy-in/ $125 re-buy tournament will have a unique
opportunity to match wits
against such basketball
legends as Moses Malone,
George “ice Man Gervin,
Rick Berry, JoJo White,
Connie Hawkins, Bob Love,
Darwin Cook, Fat Lever,
Spencer Haywood, Ed
Ratleff, Rickey Pierce, and
actor Glynn Thurman and
many others.
The tournament which will
raise money for the Legends
charity, Athletes Services
Network of America, will
feature an action-packed
evening of No Limit Texas
Hold’em. Seats are limited
for the event, so interested
players are urged to pre-register in person at the Fitz Poker
Room on the second floor.
All participants are invited
to join the legends for a
party including food, drink
and entertainment in the
Losers Lounge, 6-10 p.m.
Autographed memorabilia
will also be available.
Limit Hold’em
A, P ....... AM, PM
..... Hold’em L ................ Limit
Wk .............Week
.No Limit Hold’em
..........Stud
MONDAY
NORTHWEST
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
TIME
OR
WA
T ............... Turbo
.7-Card Stud
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
Chinook Winds Casino
Wildhorse Casino Resort
Blue Mountain Casino
Chips Bremerton
Chips La Center
Chips Lakewood
Chips Tukwila
Drift-On-Inn
Final Table Cas., Everett
Goldie’s
Little Creek Casino
Muckleshoot Casino
Northern Quest
Point Defiance Cafe & Cas., Tacoma
Suquamash Clearwater
Wild Grizzly
MT Black Jack’s Casino
4 Bears Casino
ND Dakota Magic
NE Rosebud Casino
SD
Dakota Sioux
Gold Dust Cas., Deadwood
Rosebud Casino
Silverado Casino Deadwood
NORTHEAST
CT
NH Seabrook Greyhound Park
NJ
NY
MIDWEST
IA
Turning Stone
Catfish Bend
Isle of Capri
Winn-A-Vegas
IL
Hollywood Casino-Aurora
IN
Belterra (Florence)
Caesars Indiana
MI
MN
WI
LA
MO
MS
FLORIDA
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Caesar’s Atlantic City
Harrah’s Atlantic City
Tropicana
Trump Taj Mahal
Akwesasne Mohawk
Majesty Casino Boar
Chip-In’s Island
Lac Vieux Desert Cas., Watersmeet
Canterbury Park
Fortune Bay Casino
Northern Light Casino
Shooting Star Casino
Menominee Casino, Keshena
Oneida Casino, Green Bay
Potawatomi Northern Lights, Carter
St Croix Casino, Turtle Lake
Grand Coushatta
Horseshoe CasinoShreveport
Harrah’s St Louis
Isle of Capri
Copa Casino
Gold Strike Casino (Tunica)
Grand Casino(Tunica)
Horseshoe Casino (Tunica)
Pearl River Resort
Dania Jai-Alai
Derby Lane
Hard Rock
Mardi Gras Gaming Ctr, Hollywd
Palm Beach Princess
Pompano Park Casino
St Tropez Cruise
CANADA Casino Regina
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
31
7-Card Stud Home
Game Variations, PART 1
STUD SENSE
Deadwood
By ASHLEY ADAMS
For the past two and a half years I’ve been covering the standard
7-card stud game found in casinos and poker rooms in the United
States. But stud is played more often as a home game these days.
As such, it is often given to many twists and turns. I thought
I’d branch out for my next few articles and write about 7-Card
Stud the home game. I’d like to look at some of those variations.
There’s a lot of skill involved that players often don’t consider.
I had an argument with a budding author a few months back.
This young guy sent me an email seeking assistance. He said that
he was working on a new book on home poker and he wanted
some help making his case.
Here’s what it was. He noticed that many “friendly game” type
players played all sorts of “crazy games”. He took this as a sign
of their immaturity and inexperience. His mission was to reform
them by getting them to eschew those games that were, in his
estimation, almost completely luck, and instead to concentrate on
learning real poker games like they played in casinos. He wanted
me to help him with this effort.
I told him that the only assistance I would provide would be in
trying to dissuade him from writing such an incorrectly premised
text. At first he thought I was joking with him. So he laughed.
And then, when he realized I was serious he tried to convince me
that his was a truly noble mission.
As he saw it – and admittedly as many “serious” poker players
see it – anything other than the standard games that are or were
played in casinos are not truly games of skill. They are just luck
fests that reduce poker to a game of showdown – where the luckiest guy wins.
In my view this is terribly wrongheaded. There are so many
great variations of those standard casino games that require
extraordinary skill to play well. Why convince people to stop playing them? Better, I’d think, for the skilled player to encourage
the proliferation of those types of games. That way, there will be
ample opportunity for the truly skilled player to exploit his advantage against the inexperienced and unskilled.
Let’s start with the most common standard variation of stud
called in home games: 7-Card Stud, Hi Lo declare. There isn’t
a casino anywhere around that spreads this game. And yet it’s
immensely popular in home games up and down the East Coast
– and I suspect in kitchens and living rooms from coast to coast as
well.
This is not a game of luck. In fact, it is a game of such fine skill
– requiring many skills in fact to play expertly – that an expert
playing with novices or otherwise unskilled players will be able to
win almost regardless of the cards he holds.
It’s dealt exactly like the 7-Card Stud we know from the casino.
But there are a few differences. First of all, low hands – hands
that would be considered terrible in standard 7-Card stud – can
win half the pot. For those of you who aren’t familiar with low
hands, it’s really just turning hand values on their head. You want
the weakest standard hands. So if a seven is the highest card in
the worst five card poker hand you can make that’s a very good
hand in low poker. And since you’re trying to make your hand as
low as possible you count the Ace as low. The rules are (in my
home games anyway) that in your low hand straights and flushes
don’t count. So the best low would be the A-2-3-4-5 --known as
the “wheel” or “bicycle”.
In the next article in the series we’ll look at more of the rules
of 7-card hi-lo declare.
Ashley Adams is the author of Winning 7-Card Stud,
(Kensington Press 2003). He has been playing 7-Card
Stud for 40 years—and profitably in casinos for the past
10 years. He has played in casinos all over the world,
including England, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Hungary,
Canada and the United States, but plays most frequently
at at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard Connecticut.
Professionally, he is a union organizer and an agent for
broadcasters. He can be reached at: [email protected]
32
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
Gold, Gamblers,
and Gunslingers
By Byron Liggett
Deadwood was created by
gold seekers in 1876. It
was made notorious by the
gamblers and gunslingers
that soon came to mine the
miners.
The United States ceded
the Black Hills in the
Dakota Territory to the
Lakota Sioux in the 1868
Treaty of Fort Laramie. It
belonged to the Sioux; anyone else was an illegal alien.
Six years later, General
George Custer, on an expedition through the Black
Hills, reported evidence of
gold. When the news got
out, the rush was on. It
wasn’t long before a miner
found gold in a narrow canyon known as “Deadwood
Gulch”.
More than 10,000 fortune
seekers had moved into
the Black Hills by 1876.
Sitting Bull summoned ten
tribes to his Montana camp
to discuss the situation. On
June 25, 1876, the Indians
answered. Custer and more
than 200 soldiers were
killed in less than 20 minutes by 4,000 Indians in the
Valley of the Little Bighorn.
By 1877, the mining camp of tents and
lean-to’s was giving way
to wood and brick buildings. Flooded with desperados and the desperate,
Deadwood was dangerous.
It was also the last great
chapter in the American
Wild West. The railroads
were bringing “civilized
society” to the frontier.
The California Gold Rush
and fabled Comstock
Silver Strike were gone.
Deadwood was the last
chance for a poor man to
get rich.
In the late 1870s and
1880s, Deadwood was
action alley. It attracted
dreamers ‘n schemers, gamblers ‘n gunslingers, heroes
‘n zeroes.
One of the earliest arrivals in the boomtown was
Wild Bill Hickock in 1876.
He’d been dismissed as
marshal of Abilene, Kansas
for being “too enthusiastic”
in his pursuit of justice.
A dedicated poker player,
Hickock was immersed
in a hand at the No. 10
Saloon when a coward with
a grudge, Jack McCall,
shot him in the back of the
head from two feet away.
Hickock’s hand, Aces ‘n 8s,
became known forever as
the “dead man’s hand”.
Eventually, McCall was
lynched.
The day Seth Bullock
arrived in town, he was
shocked to see a man riding
up and down Main Street
waving the severed head
of an Indian. The next day,
Hickock was murdered.
The only man bold enough
to call for law and order;
young Bullock soon became
the de facto Sheriff of
Deadwood.
In later years, Seth
Bullock became good
friends with Theodore
Roosevelt. He was a commander in the Rough
Riders during the SpanishAmerican War in 1898
and was appointed U.S.
Marshal for South Dakota
by President Roosevelt in
1905.
Al Swearengen opened
the Gem Theater, a dance
hall, gambling house and
brothel in early 1877. He
enlisted young women from
the East Coast to work as
dancers and singers. Once
having made the arduous
trip to distant, remote, and
mostly male Deadwood,
they were forced into prostitution. The women were
commonly beaten and kept
doped on morphine or laudanum.
Bat Masterson, Doc
Holliday, and Wyatt Earp
were among the legendary
gamblers ‘n gunmen who
spent time in Deadwood.
But men did not win
the West alone. Among
Deadwood’s foremost citizens were several notorious
women, including Calamity
Jane.
One of the earliest professional gamblers to arrive
in town was a young Texas
woman, Kitty LeRoy. She
opened a gambling den
called “The Mint”. A journalist at the time wrote that
she “had five husbands,
seven revolvers, a dozen
Bowie knives”.
It’s said that Kitty once
donned a man’s clothes in
order to challenge a fellow who refused to fight a
woman. She gunned him
down. Her career came to
a violent end in Deadwood
when her fifth husband shot
her and himself to death
because she told him to get
out.
Alice Ivers, a young
English girl educated in a
fashionable female seminary, came West with her
parents and married a
Colorado mining engineer.
When he was killed in
an accident, Alice found
it necessary to become a
professional gambler to
survive. She was already
widely known as “Poker
Alice” when she arrived in
Deadwood.
Poker Alice, one biographer tells us, “was not a
prostitute…. but a professional”. He added, “She met
men on an equal basis, asking no quarter and granting
none. She took her booze
straight, smoked cigars,
packed a .38, and could
cuss like a mule skinner”.
Another legendary lady
gambler was Belle Siddons,
alias Madam Vestal. Born
into pre-Civil War Southern
society of wealth and privilege, she graduated from
a women’s university in
Lexington, KY.
During the Civil War,
beautiful Belle was a spy
for the Confederacy and
used her feminine charms
to gain information from
Union officers. After the
war, she headed West and
was among the first to open
a saloon and gambling hall
in booming Deadwood.
Settlers continued to push
into the Dakotas throughout the 1880s. By 1889,
the population was large
enough that the Dakota
Territory became the states
of North and South Dakota.
Two years later the railroad
connected Deadwood to the
outside world.
The target of reformers
Player Profile: Vanessa Rousso
that attracted some 500
entries.
“That was a lot of money
for me at the time because
I only had a small poker
bankroll, but I managed
to finish seventh (winning
$6,400) and that helped to
propel my career forward.”
Less than a month later,
she was in Las Vegas, taking a look at the action
associated with the World
Series of Poker, and, by
the way, winning a hold
‘em tournament at the
Palms.
“Things seemed to happen very quickly during the
months after that as I was
learning more and more
about the game.”
By the spring of 2006
she had finished another
year at school and was
ready to turn her attention
back to the tournament
action. The World Poker
Tournament action at the
Bellagio in Las Vegas
looked like the place to be
and everything was working. Rousso was in the final
four tables, guaranteed
some prize money, when
she and poker professional
Chad Brown found themselves assigned to the same
table in this $25,000 buy-in
championship event.
Brown recalls glancing over at this “pretty
blonde,” wondering who
she was, this girl sitting
there projecting an attitude
that suggested she was not
quite sure what was going
on.
Didn’t fool him for a
minute, he says now, deciding she was someone he
wanted to get to know better. And he did, sparking
an experience they could
both smile about in countless retellings. She remembers Brown approaching
her, saying if she wanted
to have dinner to give his
room a call.
Her thought at the time:
Like I’m gonna do that!
A month or so later they
bumped into each other
again at an airport and
lined up what she considers
their first date.
“We have since become
very much a couple,”
Rousso was saying a few
weeks ago.
But what about that
Bellagio tournament, the
poker, their reason for
being there?
Oh yes . . .
It was one of those
happy endings. They both
finished in the top 10,
Rousso seventh and Brown
ninth and Rousso found
herself enjoying one of her
biggest paydays in tournament poker up to that time
– $263,625. Months earlier
at the Borgata Poker Open
in Atlantic City she had
won one of the hold ‘em
events, earning more than
$285,000.
More recently, she has
become part of the Ultimate
Cash Game, a spin-off of
the syndicated Ultimate
Poker Challenge. Cash
Game is to be filmed once
a month at the Horseshoe
and edited into four weekly
shows. The first one aired
in January and Rousso says
that, yes, she did have a
winning session.
The Cash Game buy-in
is $25,000 and as for who
is eligible to play, it’s first
come, first served.
Rousso’s profile in the
poker world has not been
hurt by the fact that she
has co-hosted with Brown
some of the Ultimate Poker
Challenge events. Brown
was already a commentator
on these events when the
two met.
When Brown won Bluff
Magazine’s Player of
the Year award last year,
Rousso did not do badly
herself, considering she
was still very much a newcomer. She finished about
19th, the second highest
ranked woman behind
Kathy Leibert.
“I felt pretty good about
that, considering I didn’t
even have a full year of
play. I didn’t start until
Apriil.”
So let’s see what happens
this year, she says, her tone
suggesting she’s aiming for
much better things.
A woman winning the
World Series is just a matter of time, she maintains,
as the number of skilled
female players in the big-
gest action continues to
increase.
The fact is, she says,
women at poker tables tend
to be viewed through a filter of faulty perceptions.
“Women are perceived
as very tight players, that
we can’t bluff, but the fact
is we’ve been bluffing for
centuries. We’re better at it
than you guys . . .”
Brown is listening carefully as she speaks and
gives this an agreeable
sounding chuckle.
“And so the best women
players can use this misconception or stereotype to
their advantage.”
A little bit of game theory, Rousso suggests, can go
a long, long way.
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
33
My Most Memorable
Poker Hands, PART 2
THE EIKS’ VIEW
BY Mike Eikenberry
1. A PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER:
Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease. From 1998 until 2005 my primary
prescription drug was Mirapex. This drug, used by thousands of patients, can create an obsessive, compulsive
need to recklessly gamble (often on the internet) as a
side effect. The day before going into the hospital for
a life changing operation, I remember playing well into
the night and losing several hundred dollars on my last
hand. After the operation, I no longer felt a compulsion to
play. In fact, I did not play another hand for six months.
A number of lawsuits have been filed by Mirapex users
who lost everything. (For more information see “Sudden
Impulse” in the September 6, 2006 PEOPLE MAGAZINE).
Prescription drugs side effects can be disastrous to your
poker play.
2. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: I was playing
in a limit hold’em one-table satellite heads up. On a pivotal hand, I raised with a pair of sixes and got re-raised. The
flop came: 762 – all diamonds, but giving me three sixes.
I bet, my opponent raised, and I re-raised. He called, putting all his chips in the pot. He could have had a flush, but
I felt he probably had a large pair (maybe Js, Qs, or Ks)
and one of his cards was a diamond. If I was right, another diamond on the turn would give him a winning flush. As
the dealer turned the next card face up, I was saying out
loud, ”No diamond, no diamond.” The dealer turned up
the three of diamonds. I was not happy but, surprisingly,
my opponent said he had no diamond. Since all the betting was over, he had no reason to misinform me. As the
dealer prepared to put the last card face up, I was sure I
had him beat. However, if another diamond turned up on
the river, both of us would have the same flush composed
of the five diamonds face up on the board. I was again
saying, “No diamond, no diamond.” The end card was the
K of diamonds, making a flush on board and a split pot.
I rolled over my pair of sixes (showing I had three) and
said, “I knew you were good, but I did not know you were
so lucky.” He smiled and good-naturedly turned over his
pair of sevens (showing me that he had me beat with
three sevens all the way until the last diamond). Except
for a fourth six, the only way that I could win any of the
pot was for the VERY thing to happen (both the last two
board cards being diamonds) that I was rooting so hard
against.
3. KILL PHIL No one is more fun to beat in a poker
tournament than the poker brat, Phil Hellmuth. Three
hands against Phil stand out: the first was in a Super
Satellite at the Hilton for the WSOP main event. Phil, in
first position smooth called with Kings and I went all in
on the button with Queens. I went broke, Phil went on to
win the Satellite and the WSOP main event; next was a
few years later in a $5000 buy-in tourney at Foxwoods — I
called in early position with pocket Tens and Phil raised
me substantially in late position with pocket Jacks. To his
surprise, I went all in; after thinking a few minutes, he
folded his Jacks face up, saying, “I know this guy and he
had to have Queens, Kings, or Aces.” Phil was so sure of
his read that he never asked for a confirmation.
Lastly, was the first time I won a Super Satellite for the
WSOP main event--At the final table, I eliminated Phil’s AK
with my two Jacks. It is always fun (but rare) to beat Phil.
X
X
X
X
Poker Player
Each issue’s crossword puzzle
honors a poker celebrity
and will be about that
person’s life. Today’s puzzle
honors poker pro Michael Mizrachi. Crossword by Myles Mellor.
Word
34
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
6. Put down, his cards, for
example
1. ____ Goehring
33. “Shaft” singer, Isaac
4. ____ Wasicka
34. NY railway
7. Employers Insurance
number, for short
6. ____ Watkinson
35. Italian volcano
8. _____ Lindgren
9. Girl’s name
37. Red Cross, for short
13. Adjusted or content?
10. Fresh ___
38. Nerves of ____
11. Doyle’s son
40. Reaction when the river
card is the wrong one
14. Made it to the last table,
perhaps
12. ___ hand: very strong
hand
16. Slippery creature
19. Has
41. Unwell
20. Fooled
13. Skirt or BMW
43. Science degree
14. Sci- ___
44. __ at the table
15. Spot a tell
22. Card that saves the
day....
45. Huck ____
23. Dwellings
46. Add money
24. Amir _____
47. Former lover
25. Copy
17. Rejection word
18. He won first place in
the LA Poker Classic in
February 2005 (see 30
across)
26. ____ Habib
DOWN
19. Approve
1. The magician’s first
name
21. Name for a version of
poker
2. Contributes to
24. Vinnie ___
28. South Carolina, for
short
29. ____ Ferguson
31. Chip _____
3. Type of tell
28. ___ Farha
4. That horrible fear when
you know your hand is
going to be beaten
29. Credit, for short
5. Extra
27. Someone looked up to
1
2
3
32. Everyone
36. Santa Fe locale
39. Recede
42. __ Mans car race
4
5
6
9
12
8
13
14
17
7
10
11
15
16
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
27
25
26
28
29
30
31
33
32
34
37
41
Mike Eikenberry got his undergraduate and law degrees
from the University of Virginia, where he played varsity
tennis and basketball. Founder of one of the leading
national tennis camps, Mike is an avid amateur who has
played both tournaments and live games for over 25
years. He can be reached at [email protected]
30. See 18 across
ACROSS
38
42
45
35
39
43
46
36
40
44
47
The correct solution to the puzzle will be found only at:
www.pokerplayernewspaper.com. It will be posted on the cover date.
March 24 - April 1
Date Time Event
Buy-in
March 24 7 p.m.
March 29 7 p.m.
March 30 7 p.m.
$80
$100 + $20
$200 + $30
March 31 12 p.m.
April 1
12 p.m.
April 1
2 p.m.
Mega Super Satellites
Jack & Jill No Limit Hold ‘em
No Limit Hold ‘em
Live Chip Bounty
Main Event
Main Event Continued
Last Chance No Limit Hold ‘em
$500 + $50
N/A
$100 + $20
Win your share of the prize pool and one
rockin’ belt buckle!
To earn a seat into an event, play in $35 Sit-n-Go’s
and $75 Sit-n-Go’s beginning March 1.
I-40 & U.S. Hwy 64 in Roland
(800) 256-2338 • CherokeeCasino.com
Management reserves all rights. See Players Club or CherokeeCasino.com for more
details. Know your limits. Gambling problem? Call (800) 522-4700.
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
35
Perks and Picks
Card Room Roundup
The Bargain Bin
By H. Scot Krause
The Cannery Casino Hotel in North Las Vegas
is giving poker players a chance to win a free
$10,000 seat in the 2007 WSOP (World Series of Poker) to be held
June 1-July 17 at the Rio in Las Vegas. A winner will be selected
at the Cannery’s Freeroll Tournament on June 2. See the Cannery
Poker Room for more details on how to qualify.
“Total Rewards Hidden Jackpots” is another new Harrah’s
Entertainment promotion running through March 25 at all Harrah’s
Las Vegas properties, including Caesars Palace, Flamingo Las
Vegas, Bally’s, Paris Las Vegas, Rio and Harrah’s Las Vegas.
Everyday throughout the promotion, a “Hidden Jackpot” of $1
million is placed into a different randomly selected Total Rewards
account from all players who are enrolled in Total Rewards. If the
lucky member swipes his card that day, voila! During the promotion, all players can also collect a “WinFinder” keychain after
earning 50 Base Reward Credits ($250 coin-in slots, $500 video
poker) in a single day at a single property for a chance to win
cash, prizes, or Reward Credits plus two chances to win $1 million
at the promotion’s grand finale to be held at Bally’s Las Vegas on
March 25.
In downtown Las Vegas, the Golden Nugget is running the
“Cold Hand Cash Winter Poker” promotion through February 25.
Poker players can earn entries for every hour of live poker played
and also get one ticket for every paid entry into the casino’s daily
poker tournaments. Winners must be present at the Sunday night
drawings (held at 8:30 p.m.) for a chance to win a share of $2000
in cash prizes.
Also downtown, if you cash your IRS refund check or any government issued check at the El Cortez, you will receive 5% in
free slot play as a bonus. Call 702-385-5200 for details.
Like video poker? The Silverton Casino Hotel Lodge in Las
Vegas is presenting a series of free video poker classes through
April 3, taught by well-known professional player and teacher, Bob
Dancer. The Tuesday classes begin at 10:00 a.m. for beginners and
are followed by an intermediate class beginning at noon. Each
week you will study a different game. The current class schedule
is as follows:
February 20: 10:00 a.m. 9/5 Super Double Bonus---Noon: 8/5
Super Aces Bonus
February 27: 10:00 a.m. 9/6 Jacks or Better Multi Strike---Noon:
NSU Deuces Wild Multi Strike
March 6: 10:00 a.m. Triple Pay Deuces Wild---Noon: 9/7 Triple
Double Bonus
March 13: 10:00 a.m. Two Pair Joker Wild---Noon: 8/5 Super
Double Double Bonus
March 20: Kings or Better Joker Wild
March 27: One class only: “What a video poker player should
know about slot clubs.”
April 3: One class only: “Secrets of a Video Poker Winner.”
All classes are free and held in the Twin Creeks restaurant.
Drawings for free gifts are held at the end of the classes for
those who arrive before 10:20 a.m. and remain until the end of
the sessions. The video poker offerings at the Silverton have been
improved and all of the above games and paytables are available
in various denominations.
Santa Fe Station Casino has opened a brand new pit area in
the casino. They offer free poker lessons daily at 2:00 p.m.
Sign up for the Venetian Player’s Club online at: www.venetian.
com and get $15 in FREE slot play or table game match plays. You
must register online and print out the voucher and take it with
you when you go to the club booth to get the free credits.
That’s it for this week!
Hooters
Casino Hotel
115 East Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Toll free: 1.866.LVHOOTS (584-6687) Local: 702.939.9000
www.hooterscasinohotel.com
Think of Hooters Casino
Hotel in Las Vegas and
most of think of …well,
Hooters. One of the best
known brands in the country established itself in the
former San Remo Casino
Hotel just off the Las Vegas
Strip across from the massive MGM resort. The
familiar wide eyed Hooters’
Owl marks the buildings
providing Vegas visitors
with a handy beacon to
non-stop party fun.
Hooters’ hotel offers
697 rooms and suites in
a high rise setting with
a tropical island theme
throughout. The trademark
Hooters’orange colors are
evident in the décor and
provides the guest rooms
with an upbeat fun atmoRoom Manager Ron Hirana
welcomes you to
Pete’s Poker Room at
Hooters. Heck, get there
on one of Hooter’s unique
double decker buses!
H. Scot Krause is a freelance writer, gaming industry
analyst and researcher, originally from Cleveland, Ohio.
While raising his four year-old son, Zachary, Scot reports,
researches, and writes about casino games, events, attractions and promotions. He is a twelve-year resident of Las
Vegas. Questions or comments are welcomed. Card room
managers are also invited to send your specials
and promotions to: [email protected]
36
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
sphere. The facility was
totally renovated during the
ownership change and now
provides visitors with some
of the best bang for their
vacation bucks to be found
in Las Vegas. The convenient Tropicana Avenue
location means guest have
an easy stroll to many of
the major resorts located
on the Las Vegas Strip and
quick access to the Las
Vegas monorail and strip
Deuce double deck buses.
Guests are treated to an
oversize pool area that continues the tropical island
paradise theme including
plenty of blazing fire pits
surrounded by comfortable
intimate seating, bandstand
with Reggae music, swim
up bar and indoor-outdoor
beach club. A complete
spa facility can provide a
quick fix to jet lag with a
deep message or a complete
makeover for an all-new
you.
Hooters is known for
the food; after all, isn’t
that why we’ve been going
there all these years?
Known for it’s legendary ‘bar food’ including
those famous hot wings
and seafood roasts the Las
Vegas Hooters has also
included some fine dining
with Dan Marino’s in-house
restaurant. Get ready for
an extensive menu featuring hand cut steaks and
chops, fresh fish flown in
daily, appetizers to die for,
pasta dishes, chicken and
the best sandwich board in
town. For an unforgettable
evening of intimate dining
Dan Marino’s is the place
for you.
You’re at Hooters and
that means you’re only
steps away from those
menu choices that made
them famous. Maybe
you’re in the mood for the
Hooters’ food served by
Hooter’s Girls just like at
all of the other Hooters
then head for Las Vegas
restaurant Stop by Pete
& Shorty’s Bar for a cold
one and the local’s favorite hamburger, the Shorty
Burger. Standard Vegas
coffee shop fare is served
up twenty four hours at The
Dam Restaurant and the
health conscious appetite
can find wraps and sushi
at The Bait Shoppe. Prefer
to drink your nourishment
with live entertainment try
the 13 Martini or Nipper’s
Pool bar and don’t forget
Porch Dogs for the night
life.
Thirty thousand square
feet of casino space is filled
with more than thirty table
games and hundreds of slot
and video poker machines
guarantees you’ll find
your favorite. A full service sports book keeps the
prop bettors happy and a
comfortable KENO lounge
provides a good place to
unwind at a leisurely pace.
Being of the adrenalin set
I prefer the fast action of a
live Vegas Poker Room.
Hooter’s Poker Room
is currently a three table
operation that is being
expanded to 7 tables as you
read this. Like many of the
Vegas poker rooms Hooters
offers No-limit Hold’em
in two varieties. A $1-$2
blind structure with a $50
min to $200 max buyin and
a $2-$5 blinds with a $100
min to $500 max buyin.
The friendly poker room
staff will spread almost
any poker game and limit
with enough interest. Poker
operations are managed
by Room Manager, Ron
Hirana. Ron brings two
decades of gaming experience to his job of making
your poker playing session
the best possible.
Poker tournaments are
scheduled for 10:00 am
every day except Saturday.
$27 buy-in plus unlimited
(anytime below chip minimum) $10 rebuys the first
hour. A $5 dealer add on
gets players more starting
chips. Saturdays the tournament starts at Noon for the
$35 buy-in unlimited $15
rebuy event. Entries into all
the tournaments get a comp
for a couple of burgers and
a beer plus a drawing for a
gift certificate follows each
tournament.
Poker players earn food
at the rate of $1/hour of
play and casino room rates
are available for qualified
players. Check with the
poker room for details. As
always, comp time credit is
tracked through your player’s card so on your first
visit to the casino sign up
for your player card before
you play. Hooters’ has a
high hand promotion that
rewards players making any
four-of-a-kind or straight
flush and a progressive
jackpot for a royal flush.
Contact the poker room for
Pechanga Poker
FEBRUARY TOURNAMENT SERIES
THURSDAY, FEB 1ST
6:30 PM
$5,000 Guarantee No-Limit Hold’em
$40 + $10 Buy-in
FRIDAY, FEB 2ND
6:30 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
SATURDAY, FEB 3RD
4:00 PM
$85 + $15 Buy-in
SUNDAY, FEB 4TH
4:00 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
THURSDAY, FEB 8TH
Ladies Only No-Limit Hold’em
6:30 PM
$85 + $15 Buy-in
1st Place: $1,000 Buy-in seat 2007 World Series Ladies Only Event
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14TH $5,000 Guarantee No-Limit Hold’em
6:30 PM
$30 + $10 2-for-1 buy-in
multiple $20 re-buys
First place wins sweetheart jewelry
THURSDAY, FEB 22ND
6:30 PM
$40 + $10 Buy-in
FRIDAY, FEB 23RD
6:30 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
SATURDAY, FEB 24TH
2007 Big Showdown Series Tournament
4:00 PM
$200 + $25 Buy-in
1st Place: $10,000 Buy-in seat to the 2007 World Series, Guaranteed
SUNDAY, FEB 25TH
4:00 PM
$75 + $15 Buy-in
DAILY TOURNAMENTS
DAILY DOUBLE JACKPOTS • Mon. thru Fri. 2-5PM • 1:30-5AM • 6-9AM
Monthly $7,500 Free Roll – February 28 • 6:30 PM, 40 hours to qualify
Mornings Limit Hold’em Tournament
10AM
$2,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Wed
Mornings No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments
10AM
$2,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun
10AM Sundays - Free Entry for TOC Players
$4,000 Guarantee $35 + $5 Tuesdays
$4,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Saturdays
Evenings No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments
6:30PM
$3,000 Guarantee $25 + $5 Mondays
$2,000 Guarantee $0 + $5 Tuesdays
$2,000 Guarantee $20 + $5 Wednesdays
$5,000 Guarantee $40 + $10 Sundays @ 4PM
Splash the Pot
Tuesdays & Thursdays • 4AM - 8AM
$200 drawings at the top of every hour
High Hand Every Hour
Thursdays • 1PM - 11PM
$200 for all Hold’em and $50 for Omaha
$40,000 Hold’em Jackpot Fridays
Fridays • 6PM to 8PM
All Hold’em Games • Stud and Omaha Doubled
Double Jackpot Sundays
1PM to 3PM & 6PM to 1AM
Superbowl Sunday
2PM to 11PM
$500 for live games or $250 for tournament
Must be seated in a game to be eligible to participate
All Weekday AM/PM Tournaments have an Entry Fee. No
tournament re-buys unless specified otherwise. All Jackpot
promotions reset and doubled until end of promotion time.
Tournament Series replaces Daily Tournaments on dates shown.
Hotel Poker Rate is subject to availability Monday thru Thursday
and no discounts
45000 Pechanga Parkway • I-15 • Temecula
877.711.2WIN • www.pechanga.com
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
37
I Don’t Tell Bad Beats
BacK in the saddle Again
Book reviews
52 Greatest Moments
World Series of Poker
By OKLAHOMA JOHNNY HALE
I love to play poker as most of you folks already
know, and my favorite game is Friday nights at the
Orleans here in Las Vegas , Nevada. It’s date night for me—with my
daughter, “Oklahoma Sarah,” future world champion! Future hostess of the LACE ladies tournament at the Horseshoe in Tunica on
January 17, 2007.
I usually go early and play a little no limit—and then sign up with
Tom (Tom is one of the best no limit tournament directors at the
Orleans) to play in the Friday night No Limit Tournament! Then OK
Sarah and I go to the Orleans café and I have my usual, Chicken in a
Pot. I like it so much that I eat too much and it makes me sleepy during the no limit poker tournament, but I always say if you have ever
played seven card stud—and I have—you can sleep and play hold em!
I never tell bad beat stories, but today I am going to tell you
the ultimate bad beat—It has a good ending—but a lot of bad in the
middle.
First of all the bad beat Jackpot at the Orleans here in Las Vegas
on Friday night was about $68,000 dollars. I took a seat in the
$1&2—No Limit Hold em poker game—Here is the hand... I am first to
act in front of the big blind—I have two red tens—I make it $20 to go
the next to act—a really good player makes it $40—one other player
calls—and I call the raise. The flop comes two black tens and the Ace
of Spades. I like it a little and I know that the really good player will
bet if I check—so I check—he bets the size of the pot and the other
player calls. I cry and call.
The turn comes—nine of spades—I check—I know that it will be
bet and I will just get to call with all my chips. The really good player
goes all in—the other player calls—and I do a quick Hollywood, but—I
do put in all of my chips—every one is now all in this good size pot.
I turn over my two red tens—for four tens. The really good player
turns over his two Aces—for Three Aces full of Tens. The other player
turns over his KQ of Spades—he was drawing for a Royal And had
AKQT of spades with a nine of spades.
Every one begins to shout. I don’t know why they are all cheering, but they think we have hit the $68,000 Jackpot. Aces full of
tens—beat by four tens—and almost a Royal is out there. The house
tells us the bad beat news—$$$ THE BAD BEAT JACKPOT WILL NOT BE
PAID $$$.
Why will they not pay the bad beat? I have the two tens in my
hand—So my two cards play—so that is not the reason. The really
good player has the two aces in his hand—and his two cards play—so
that is not the reason. The other player has the Ks&Qs, with As&Ts
in the flop—his two cards in his hand play—but he has missed the
Js—and only has AKQT9 of Spades.
Why then will they not pay? Well, because one of the house (bad
beat) criteria has not been met—The jackpot is tooooo small. They
only pay off on Aces full of Tens being beat when the jackpot equals
or exceeds $70,000.
So no jackpot, but the good news is—I still win a nice pot! I tip the
dealer and go to dinner with Sarah. You win some and you lose some!
But just before I go, as all the cards are still laying out there for
the house to check them out, when every one thought that we were
going to share in the $68,000 jackpot, I requested the dealer to turn
over the river card. It was the fourth ace—so I would have had my
four tens beat by four Aces—and we would have been paid—four of a
kind (10’s beat by four Aces) and I would have won the big end of the
$68,000 except for the thickness of one card.
Then they turned over the burn for the river card—Yes, it was
the Jack of Spades which would have made the Royal in Spades for
the other player. Just the thickness of another card, and I would
have received... nothing! Not even the money that was in the big
pot. I would have been third, beat by the four aces and the royal. So
all bad is not bad. Again I do not tell a Bad Beat—It is a good beat
story—because I won the pot.
Until Next Time, Remember to STAY LUCKY!!
You may contact OK-J at his e-mail Oklajohnny@
aol.com, or play poker LIVE, ONLINE with Johnny,
Carol and Sarah at www.OK-J.com. Johnny’s book,
“The Gentleman Gambler,” is in its third printing.
Contact Johnny for your copy.
38
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
by Mark Rogers
Amalgam Studio, 2006
ISBN: 0-9787446-9-1
157pp, $39.95
Over its 37 year history, the
World Series of Poker has
produced many
moments of
remarkable drama.
Some of these
events have already
achieved legendary status. Mark
Rogers attempts to catalogue
and, ambitiously, rank the
top 52 World Series moments
in his awkwardly titled book,
“52 Greatest Moments World
Series of Poker”.
Rogers’ book is a beautifully bound volume that
contains brief descriptions of
some of the most remarkable
milestones in WSOP history.
The layout is well executed
and the book is filled with
photographs carefully reproduced on high-quality paper.
This is an attractive book that
would look fabulous on any
poker player’s coffee table,
even buried under mounds
of casino chips, bundles of
c-notes, and dog-eared copies
of “Theory of Poker”.
The process of selecting
and ranking these events will
always be controversial. A
certain amount of criticism
over any such selection process is inevitable, and there
certainly are orderings that
caused an arched eyebrow
or two from this reviewer as
I made my way through the
book. Moreover, there are
places where Rogers stretches
what falls within the boundaries of the World Series of
Poker and what doesn’t.
Overall, though, it appears to
me that the author put some
significant time in creating
his list, and at the very least
I think that the choices made
here are defensible. I may
Deadwood
(Continued from page 32)
and Prohibitionists, gambling continued to survive
off-and-on in Deadwood
well into the early 20th
Century. It was officially
abolished in 1947.
But a community in
which gambling had been
not agree
with all of
them, but I
respect the
decisions Rogers made, and
that’s not faint praise.
The text descriptions of
the events listed in this book
are fairly short.
Moreover, without
exception every one
of them has been
covered in other
sources. While “52
Greatest Moments”
can work as a history book,
those interested in detailed
accounts of these events will
almost certainly be more
satisfied with the books and
articles that Rogers uses
as sources. These include
“All In” by Grotenstein and
Reback, “The Biggest Game
in Town” by Alvarez, and
“Big Deal” by Holden among
others. I really appreciate the
carefully compiled bibliography in the back, a feature that
many poker books unfortunately lack. It’s a good thing
that Rogers went to the effort
of referencing his primary
sources.
While Rogers’ book can’t
be categorized as a necessary book for poker readers,
it does have its utility. One
great use for “52 Greatest
Moments” is as a gift for
that poker fan who has
everything. This is an attractive book that isn’t in wide
release, so as a gift it is likely
to both be appreciated and
unlikely to be duplicated.
It’s also a nice book to page
through for someone who
wants to read some entertaining poker stories in small
doses. Is it a must read? No,
it’s not an essential part of
a poker aficionado’s library.
However, it is a fun book
that’s likely to be appreciated
by those with a strong affinity
for the game.
—Nick Christenson
such an integral part of its
history, culture and character, couldn’t keep it in the
closet. In 1988, the citizens
embraced their heritage and
voted to restore not only
the town’s historic sites but
to reintroduce gambling to
Deadwood.
e-mail: [email protected]
uro poker
(Continued from page 28)
face the Dane’s questions;
answered in the unluckiest
of ways.
Thinking over the all-in
call Toth looked like he
needed to recover from the
ElkY miracle, and believed
Jorgensen to be trying something similar. “I have to trust
my instinct” said Toth, “and
it says you have nothing.”
He called. “Wrong instincts”
replied Jorgensen.
It was a terrible misread,
with Jorgensen turning
over Aces. Toth managed a
sheepish Queen-Nine. But
ominously, they were both
hearts. The flop brought a
third. Jorgensen was still
likely to double up. But
another heart on the turn,
and then again on the river,
gave Toth the last laugh.
The tournament was suddenly three-handed. At least
one man, Theo Jorgensen,
thought they were the wrong
three.
Richard Toth’s roller
coaster ride was to end next.
All-in he found ElkY calling in a flash. Ace-Queen
for ElkY, Ace-Five for Toth,
who knew now to squirm.
No help, and in what seemed
like a blink, the tournament
was heads up.
But as a handful of key
hands had defined the
final table, a couple more
would dictate the heads up
match. Magnus Petersson’s
Threes over Twos full
house would change everything. 1.5 million in the
pot, Magnus induced a call
from ElkY who held nothing more than a pair. ElkY
looked beaten.
On what would be the last
hand, and with a board of
Queen-Seven-Six and two
hearts, ElkY moved in with
what he would reveal to be a
flush draw. Magnus though
had made two pairs, Queens
and Sixes, and just needed to
dodge another heart. He did.
From underdog to Champion
in a little over 30 minutes.
An ugly head-in-hands
scream for ElkY. A winners
cheque of €550,000 and a
place in the Monte Carlo
Grand Final for Petersson.
“He was sure he was
going to win” said Magnus,
“I offered him a deal but he
turned it down and didn’t
care… It’s a pity for him
now.”
Entertainment
Listings
Entertainment RePORT
By LEN BUTCHER
As another year came to a close I couldn’t help
thinking how the growth of the casino industry
has given a big boost to the live music business,
especially for entertainers who we have loved to see and hear
over the years, but because of their age, haven’t had any venues
to strut their stuff.
Casinos have changed all that, welcoming groups like Steely
Dan, Aerosmith, Chicago, The Beach Boys and Four Seasons. How
many of us grew up with these groups, still know the words to all
their songs and the great memories they bring?
Their popularity, as seen by the response when they appear at
casinos around the country, continues, 30 and 40 years later and
many of them sound just as good or better than when we first
heard them. I
One of the groups I mentioned above, Steely Dan, will be
appearing at Chumash Casino in southern California January
19. This band, named for a steam-powered dildo in the William
Burroughs novel Naked Lunch, (Mary is strapping on a rubber
penis. “Steely Dan III from Yokohama,” she says, caressing the
shaft.--From the chapter entitled A.J.’s Annual Party) has been
rockin’ for some 35 years. Its core members were Walter Becker
and Donald Fagen and they brought a unique sound that combined elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop. In the early
‘70s they toured continuously, then took five years doing strictly
studio work, using session players like Michael McDonald on their
recordings. The band then stopped performing and recording from
1981 through 1992 after Becker and Fagen parted company. The
two reunited in 2000 and have shown they are just as good as
they ever were, providing us with their enigmatic, sardonically
humorous and topical lyrics which add to the appeal of the songs.
Becker and Fagen have developed a distinctive style and have
become one of the most accomplished and respected songwriting
teams of their age.
Their songs cover a wide range of topics, but in their basic
approach Becker and Fagen’s writing can be compared with the
observational, novelistic style of Lou Reed, and with songwriters
such as Randy Newman. The duo have said that in retrospect,
most of their albums have a “feel” of either Los Angeles or New
York, the two main bases where Becker and Fagen lived and
worked. Characters appear in their songs that evoke these cities.
If you happen to be in the area come January 19, you won’t go
wrong in dropping into the Chumash Casino and hear what I’m
talking about. One of the great bands is still relevant and very
“cool”.
If you prefer laughs, then it’s Foxwoods in Connecticut for
you when Cedric the Entertainer appears January 26. This
actor/comedian is a really funny guy, both on screen and off. In
his early days he also sang and danced, thus the moniker, Cedric
the Entertainer, which he continues to use, though he no longer
includes singing and dancing in his routine.
A native of Missouri, he began doing standup comedy in clubs
throughout the country before making his first television appearance on “It’s Showtime at the Apollo” where I first saw him. From
there, TV seemed to become his second home, appearing on Def
Comedy Jam and Comic View, before landing a gig playing Steve
Harvey’s friend on the Steve Harvey Show. It was only a short hop
to the big screen where he appeared in a series of movies, including Big Momma’s House, Dr. Dolittle 2, Barbershop, Barbershop 2,
Serving Sara, Johnson Family Vacation, Intolerable Cruelty, Man of
the House, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and
Be Cool and in 2005, the animated Madagascar, as the voice of
Maurice the lemur.
While his acting career grew, Cedric continued stand-up and
traveled the country as one of the Kings of Comedy headliners,
with Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. The act was later
made into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy.
This guy can do it all and do it well. Catch him if you can.
Len Butcher, a 25-year resident of Las Vegas, is an
online columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal
and a former Managing Editor of the Las Vegas Sun
and of Gaming Today. Reach him at [email protected]
40
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
Poker Player Advertisers are shown in RED along with their ad’s page number
To list your event, contact Len Butcher, Entertainment Editor at [email protected]
ARIZONA
Jerry Jeff Walker
Casino Arizona (13)
CALIFORNIA
Chumash Casino Resort (17) Dolly Parton
Ballroom Dance Party
Cambodian Dance Party
Crystal Casino & Hotel
Karaoke
El As De Oros Night Club
Bruce Hornsby
Harrah’s Rincon
Hollywood Park Casino (5) Finish Line Lounge
Pechanga Resort & Casino (37) David Copperfield
CONNECTICUT
Foxwoods Resort Casino (15) Don Rickles
FLORIDA
Seminole Hard Rock (Tampa) (19) Stevie B.
NEW JERSEY
Diahann Carroll
Hilton Hotel & Casino
Trace Adkins
Trump Taj Majal
NEW YORK
Big and Rich
Seneca Niagara Casino
NEVADA-LAS VEGAS
Magician Steve Wyrick
Aladdin Hotel & Casino
Donn Arden’s Jubilee!
Bally’s Resort & Casino
“The Price is Right” Live Stage Show
Boulder Station Hotel & Casino (6) Little River Band
Elton John
Caesar’s Palace
David Brenner
Cannery Hotel & Casino
Fitzgerald’s Hotel & Casino (27) Steve Connolly
Gold Coast (20)
Harrah’s Hotel & Casino
Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino
Joker’s Wild (8)
Las Vegas Hilton
Luxor Resort & Casino
Mandalay Bay Resort &
Casino
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
The Mirage Hotel & Casino (9)
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino
Palace Station Hotel &
Casino (6)
Palms Casino & Resort (17)
Red Rock Hotel & Casino
Riviera Hotel & Casino (18)
Sahara Hotel & Casino
Sam’s Town Hotel & Casino (17)
Santa Fe Station (6)
Stratosphere Hotel &
Casino
Sunset Station (6)
Texas Station (6)
Treasure Island
Venetian Hotel & Casino
(22)
Feb 15, 8 p.m.
Thursdays 8 p.m. to Midnight, Sundays 2-6 p.m.
Fridays 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Thursday through Monday
Presents Banda Nortina Sats 8 p.m.-3 a.m.
Feb 1, 8 p.m.
Live Jazz, Tues. 8 p.m.
Feb 24-25, 8 p.m.
Feb 17, 7 p.m.
Feb 23, 8 p.m.
Feb 18-22, 7 p.m.
Feb 16, 8 p.m.
Feb 18, 8 p.m.
Ongoing, Wednesday through Monday, 7 & 10 p.m.
Sat-Thu, 8 p.m.
Tues, Thurs & Sat, 2:30 p.m. & Fri, 8 p.m.
Feb 3, 8 p.m.
Feb 13-14, 9 p.m.
Feb 17, 8 p.m.
Thurs thru Mon, 10:30 p.m.
Tue thru Sun (dark Mon), 7:30 p.m.,
Forever Plaid
Sun 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Rita Rudner
Ongoing (dark sundays), 8 p.m.
Legends In Concert
Mondays through Saturdays, 7 & 10 p.m.
Troubador Lounge-Live Entertainment Fri & Sat, 9 p.m.
Barry Manilow
Feb 21-24, 8 p.m.
Menopause, the Musical
8 p.m. nightly Sat thru Thu
Carrot Top
Sun thru Fri, 8 p.m. & Sat, 7 & 9 p.m.
7 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays; 8 p.m.
Mamma Mia
Fridays; 7 & 10:30 p.m. Saturdays, Mondays.
Bob Seger
Mar 3, 8 p.m.
KA.
Fri thru Tue, 7:30& 10:30 p.m.
Impressionist Danny Gans
8 p.m. (Monday thru Friday)
Jay Leno
Feb 16-17, 10:30 p.m
The Beatles LOVE
Thursdays thru Mondays, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m.
Tuesdays thru Saturdays, 7pm; Tuesdays &
Magician Lance Burton
Saturdays. 7 & 10 p.m.
Earl Turner
Thu thru Sun, 8 p.m.
Gabe Kaplan’s Laugh Trax
Tuesdays thru Saturdays, 7 p.m.
Playboy Comedy Club
Saturdays, 8 & 10:30 p.m.
Evanesence
Mar 17, 8 p.m.
Zowie Bowie
Nightly, 8 p.m.
Crazy Girls
Wed thru Mon, 9:30 p.m.
La Cage
Wed thru Mon, 7:30 p.m.
Splash
Tue thru Sun, 9:30 p.m
Neil Diamond Tribute
Sun thru Thu, 7 p.m.
The Scintas
Tue-Sat, 7 p.m.
The Amazing Jonathan
Fri-Wed, 10 p.m.
The Platters, Coasters and
8 p.m. nightly
Drifters
Kari & Jerry
Feb 15, 8:30 p.m.
Lee Ritenour
Mar 3, 8 p.m.
Bite
Ongoing, 10:30 p.m.
American Superstars
Ongoing, 6:30 & 8:30 p.m.
Viva Las Vegas
Ongoing, 2 & 4 p.m.
The Whip-Its
Saturdays, 10:30 p.m.
Latin Xpress
Thursdays, 9 p.m.
Love Shack
Fri & Sat, 9 p.m.
Oak Ridge Boys
Feb 16, 8 p.m.
Mystere
Ongoing, Wednesdays thru Saturdays 7:30 p.m.
Phantom of the Opera
Nightly, 7 & 10 p.m.
Blue Man Group
Nightly, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Gordie Brown
Ongoing, 7:30 p.m. (dark Wed & Thu)
LAKE TAHOE
Anita Mann’s Party Girls
Harrah’s/Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
RENO
Peppermill Hotel & Casino (33) Brooks & Dunn
OKLAHOMA
Admiral Twin
Cherokee Casino (35)
Feb 18-19, 7 & 9 p.m.
Ongoing (dark Mondays) 10 p.m.
Mar 15, 8 p.m
Feb 21, 8 p.m.
Caro’s Word: “Tells”
in Caro’s Book of Tells
— The Body Language
of Poker about 25 years
ago, is that opponents are
either acting or they aren’t.
And they’re acting more
often than you think. This
is because poker forces
them into an situation much
different from the real
world. The poker situation
mandates that they seldom
relate the truth about their
hands. When they do provide the truth, it is usually
for deceptive reasons, with
the hope that opponents
will think they’re lying.
When I say “lying,”
I’m not necessarily talking
about words. More often,
poker players lie through
their mannerisms and body
language. That’s what the
science of reading tells is
all about.
Sometimes players aren’t
aware of the signals they’re
conveying. In that case
they’re not acting and the
tells they exhibit are much
different.
The primary point is that
your main job in reading
tells is to determine whether an opponent is acting.
If he is, decide what he’s
trying to get you to do and
disappoint him.
4. When players are acting, they invariably try to
seem weak when they hold
strong hands and strong
when they hold weak
hands. Sometimes, especially against skilled players,
the resulting tells will be
subtle or even deceptive in
unexpected ways. But that
truth always remains constant — strong means weak,
weak means strong.
5. An example of an
acted tell is a discouraged
shoulder shrug. This is an
attempt to show sadness
and means the hand is actually strong.
6. Another example of an
acted tell is when an opponent looks away from the
approaching action, seeming to be uninterested in the
pot. This quite often means
that player will raise.
7. An example of an
profound aspects of tells
in the future, along with
other poker analysis. But
for that we’ll wait until
my main computer has
been resurrected. In lieu of
flowers, please send your
donations to the Microsoft
Research Labs, Installation
Department.
involuntary (non-acted) tell
is the shaking hand, which
we’ve discussed before.
The sudden shaking means
a release of tension after the
favorable outcome becomes
certain. Bluffers bolster
themselves, become rigid,
and don’t tremble. Contrary
to what many intuitively
think, sudden shaking when
wagering indicates a strong
hand.
8. Another example of an
involuntary tell is shallow
breathing — or sometimes
no breathing at all. This
indicates that the bettor is
afraid to do anything to
trigger your call. It usually
means a weak hand or a
bluff.
And that basically
should get you started with
tells. We’ll explore more
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.
Results from Casino Seefeld - Austria: Poker Winter Challenge
CASINO SEEFELD - 1/27/07
POKER WINTER CHALLENGE
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
SUPER FINALE
BUY-IN 0 EURO
PLAYERS 25
2.
3.
4.
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C Papadopolous . . .€22,900
Ivica Pavic . . . . . . . .€16,800
Dumitru Cristinel . .€12,220
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PRIZE
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4. Stefan Burkhart . . . .€8,090
7 CARD STUD
BUY-IN 1,000 EURO
1. Harry Casagrande .€44,260
€73,550
BUY-IN 300 EURO
PLAYERS 79
PLAYERS 62
REBUYS 92
PRIZE POOL
€43,290
Mohammed Peyman
1. Mohammed Peyman
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .€12,980
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Feb 4
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 18
Feb 24
Feb 25
Poker Room Tournament Schedule
Day
Time
Event
RB/AO
Saturday 1 PM
Ladies Tournament
R/B
Sunday
2 PM
Sunday Tournament
N/A
Saturday 1 PM
Ladies Tournament
N/A
Saturday 1 PM
Ladies Tournament
R/B
Sunday
2 PM
Sunday Tournament
N/A
Saturday 1 PM
Ladies Tournament
N/A
Sunday
2 PM
Sunday Tournament
(1)R/B
Entry Fee
$15+$10
$100+$20
$55+$15
$15+$10
$200+$25
$55+$15
$100+$20
Daily Poker Room Tournaments
Day
Time
Event
RB/AO
Entry Fee
Mondays
6 PM
No Limit Hold’em
RB/AO
$15+$10
Tuesdays
6 PM
Ladies Tournament
RB/AO
$15+$10
Wednesdays 6 PM
No Limit Hold’em
RB/AO
$15+$10
Thursdays 6 PM
$500 Added NLH
1 RB/AO
$50+$15
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Poker Room Hours
Monday - Wednesday
12 PM to 2 AM
Thursday - Sunday
24 Hours
Table Games Hours
Sunday - Thursday
12 PM to 2 AM
Friday & Saturday
12 PM to 4 AM
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
41
Two Truths About
2007 WORLDWIDE
POKER TOURNAMENTS
Online Poker
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website: www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
KILLER Poker
>Denotes Advertiser; Poker Association Events also denoted: t=World Poker Tour,
s=World Series of Poker and e=European Poker Tour.
By John Vorhaus
To list your 3-day events contact: A.R. Dyck, Managing Editor, at: [email protected]
I’m a contrarian. I can’t help it. It’s
in my nature. So while everyone around me is
prematurely mourning the death of internet
poker, I remain more interested in how we can
beat the game while the game is yet here to
beat. Here are two crucial truths I hope you’re
still keeping in mind.
IT’S EASIER TO LOSE MONEY FAST THAN TO
WIN MONEY FAST. While winning is slow labor,
losing can happen lamentably fast. It’s easy to
see why. Winning fast requires that we play the
right game at the right time against the right
opponents; that we play correctly against very
bad players, get lucky, and then get out. That’s
quite the harmonic convergence of circumstance, and it comes along quite rarely. Losing
fast, on the other hand, requires only that we
temporarily lose our focus, discipline, or mind.
That can happen any time. Playing when tilty,
angry, or tired is a rapacious bankroll stripper.
Internet poker can be a winning proposition, but
only if you’re self-aware enough and disciplined
enough to get out of your own way! If you stay
in a game you can’t beat, or bring a losing
mindset to the table, you can lose months of
profit overnight.
GIVING ACTION IS A MAJOR MISTAKE. Hands
of internet poker often turns into frenzies of
raises, reraises, and promiscuous loose calls. In
these circumstances, there’s usually someone
betting the best hand, someone betting the
best draw, and someone (or several someones)
on a total loser. These latter players are giving action on hands where they have much the
worst of it, and it’s a leak of ship-sinking proportion in their play. It’s vital that you not be
the one doing this. If you find yourself chasing,
chasing, chasing, just because the pot is large,
you’re merely contributing to the profit of others. On the other hand, if you only get involved
in these betfests with strong hands, you’ll
consistently reap the benefit of the largesse
(and by largesse we mean stupidity) of others.
Can you stand to stay out of the way when the
action is coming fast and furious? Of course
you can! The hand will be over in moments.
Just be patient, and you’ll soon have your
chance to bet with the best of it. Bottom line: In
online poker, never give more action than you
get. If you do just this one thing right, you can
probably show a long-term profit.
I’d like to tell you that online poker is here
to stay. Contrarian that I am, I’d love to swim
against the tide of doomsayers who insist that
the end is near. Sadly, my crystal ball is cracked
(as, some say, am I) so I don’t know the future
any better than you do. But this much I do
know: Whether internet poker lasts another
ten minutes or another ten years, paying close
attention to the two truths in this column will
help you keep beating the online game.
[John Vorhaus is the author of Poker Night and
the Killer Poker book series, and news
ambassador for UltimateBet.com.]
42
F E B R UA RY 1 9, 2 0 0 7
DATE
EVENT
LOCATION
LA Poker Classic
tCommerce Casino, Commerce, CA
OK State Championship
Cherokee Casino Resort (AdPg 35), Tulsa, OK
World Heads Up Ch’ship
Crystal Casino, L.A., CA
WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ
Midwest Regional Poker Ch’ship Caesars Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
Texas Hold’Em Triple
Casino Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Sweetheart Weekend
The Bicycle Casino (AdPg 43), Bell Gardens, CA
WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s Rincon, San Diego, CA
The Wynn Classic
The Wynn (AdPg 39), Las Vegas, NV
WPT Invitational
Spring Poker Tournament
Peppermill Casino (AdPg 33), Reno, NV
Heartland Poker Tour Event
Lucky Nugget Card Club, Deadwood, SD
Winnin’ o’ the Green
March Madness
Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY
Celebrity Invitational
National Heads-Up Poker Ch’ship Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Atlantic City, Atlantic City, NJ
WPS Bahamas Poker Showdown Crystal Palace Casino, Cable Beach Resort, Bahamas
Grand Final
eMonte Carlo Bay Resort, Monte Carlo
Spring Poker Festival
Concord Card Casino, Vienna, Austria
Hohensyburg Open
eCasino Hohensyburg, Dortmund, Germany
Ultimate Poker Challenge
Binion’s Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, NV (AdPg 24)
17-Day Poker Extravaganza
Peppermill Casino (AdPg 33), Reno, NV
Bay 101 Shooting Star
tBay 101 (AdPg 11), San Jose, CA
Polish Open
eHyatt Regency, Warsaw, Poland
Heartland Poker Tour Event
Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, Tama, IA
World Poker Challenge
tGrand Sierra Casino Resort, Reno, NV
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Indiana, Elizabeth, IN
EPT Grand Final
eMonte Carlo Bay Resort, Monte Carlo
Sport of Kings
Hollywood Park Casino (AdPg 5), L.A., CA
Foxwoods Poker Classic
tFoxwoods Resort Casino (AdPg 33), Mashantucket, CT
5-Star World Poker Classic
tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Stars & Stripes
Bicycle Casino (AdPg 43), Bell Gardens, CA
Spring Poker Round-Up
Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Pendleton, OR
tBellagio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
WPT Championship
WPS Caribbean Poker Cruise
Mariner of the Seas, Port Canaveral, FL
WSOP Circuit Event
sCaesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
Western Canadian Poker Classic Casino Yellowhead, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Mirage Poker Showdown
Mirage Hotel & Casino (AdPg 9), Las Vegas, NV
Heavenly Hold’em
Commerce Casino, Commerce, CA
NPA Tour
Hollywood Park Casino (AdPg 5), L.A., CA
Spring Festival (incl. Nat’l Sit’N
Go Ch’ship May 12, 12 noon)
Hawaiian Gardens Casino (AdPg 23), Hawaiian Gardens, CA
May 11-21
Spring Pot of Gold
Grand Sierra Hotel & Casino, Reno, NV
May 12-21
Turning Stone Classic
Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY
May 14-23
WSOP Circuit Event
sHarrah’s New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
>May 17-29
Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge III Cherokee Casino Resort (AdPg 35), Tulsa, OK
May 19-25
CEO Poker Tournament
Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ
>May 21-31
Mini Series Warm Ups
May 25-Jun 4
Spring Fling
Sycuan Resort & Casino, El Cajon, CA
May 26-Jun 8
Mandalay Bay Poker Ch’ship
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
>June 1-July 8 Mini Series
June 12-16
Casino Poker Masters
Casino Seefeld, Tirol, Austria
>Jun 16-17
Poker’s #1 Family Tournament Hollywood Park Casino (AdPg 5), L.A., CA
>Aug 2-30
Legends of Poker
Bicycle Casino (AdPg 43), Bell Gardens, CA
Aug 29-Sep 2
Edmonton Poker Classic
Casino Edmonton, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Sep 4-23
California State Poker Ch’ship
Sep 27-30
California Ladies State Ch’ship Oceans 11 Casino, Oceanside, CA
Nov 2-18
Holiday Bonus Tournament
Nov 6-18
Fall Poker Round-Up
Wildhorse Casino, Pendleton, OR
Jan 25-Mar 5
>Feb 1-13
Feb 6-8
Feb 7-17
Feb 7-19
Feb 8-10
>Feb 9-11
Feb 11-21
>Feb 21-Mar 11
Feb 22-24
>Feb 23-Mar 4
Feb 28-Mar 4
>Mar 1-23
Mar 2-5
Mar 3-5
Mar 3-6
Mar 5-14
May 6-16
Mar 7-11
Mar 7-18
Mar 8-11
>March 9-18
>Mar 9-25
>Mar 12-16
Mar 14-17
Mar 14-18
Mar 25-28
>Mar 26-Apr 4
Mar 28-Apr 1
>Mar 28-Apr 8
>Apr 1-4
Apr 7-27
>Apr 12-29
Apr 18-28
Apr 21-27
Apr 22-29
Apr 23-May 2
May 2-6
>May 4-17
May 4-20
>May 8-20
>May 11-13
Hooters Casino Hotel
(cont’d from page 37)
Card Room Roundup
complete details
of games, comps, promotions and tournaments at
702.739.9000.
Come to Hooters casino
Hotel in Las Vegas for the
poker, food and excellent
value room rates. Enjoy the
friendly atmosphere of an
intimate-sized resort and
meet the Hooters’ Girls.
—Joseph Smith, Sr.
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43
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tells - Poker Player Newspaper

Transcription

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