No-Limit Hold`em - Poker Player Newspaper

Transcription

9
Celebrity Crossword PAGE
tribute to
Josh Arieh
12
28
14
17
20
The U.K.’s most PAGE
consistent player—
Nik Persaud
PAGE
Entertainment
Best Bets
30
32
POKER PLAYER
Vol. 11 Number 25 June 9, 2008 A Gambling Times Publication www.pokerplayernewspaper.com Copyright ©2008 Bi-Weekly $3.95
Kevin Kelly Plays
Divinely
to Take
Heavenly
Hold’em
Championship
PART 2
Jennifer
Matiran
Interviews
David
“The Dragon” Pham
winning, then going broke,
when getting started as a
professional poker player.
Her interview with Pham
concludes in this issue.
Please visit www.pokerplayernewspaper.com to
read this interview in its
entirety.
(Continued on page 15)
By Nolan Dalla
The 2007-2008 World
Series of Poker Circuit
season concluded today
at Harrah’s New Orleans
Casino and Hotel. The
Harrah’s New Orleans’
$5,000 buy-in main event
attracted 249 entries,
with a prize pool totaling
$1,196,650. The No-Limit
Hold’em Champion is Nick
Ceci from Peachtree City,
Georgia. Ceci, a 38-year-old
demolition contractor, did his
Players Turn Out
for Classic Poker
at the Cherokee
The Cherokee Casino
in Tulsa Oklahoma has
recently been establishing a
reputation as a major poker
destination for the midUSA. Even more so with
their addition of the MidSouth Poker Classic, which
ran from May 16th-26th.
This series was comprised
of 20 tournaments, featuring a wide variety of poker
games, including no-limit
and limit hold’em, shorthanded hold’em, pot-limit
Mike Caro
“ATTENTION”
Today’s word is...
Turn to page 3 for more
0
74470 05299
9
2 4>
Last issue our intrepid
reporter Jennifer Matiran
caught up with David
“The Dragon” Pham, who
explained how he came to
America, learned to play
poker with the help of his
cousin, Men “The Master”
Nguyen, and described the
trials and tribulations of
The Arlington, Texas
native outlasted 304
other players to win the
$1585 buy-in No-Limit
Hold’em Championship at
the Commerce Casino on
May 18th. Kevin Kelly,
who had been the runnerup in Heavenly Hold’em
No-Limit Event No. 13,
finally got the taste of
victory in the championship tourney, taking home
a celestial $119,815 for
his win. Bob Kirkeby of
Orange, California, took
second place, pocketing
$67,010.
The Heavenly Hold’em
series runs every May at
the Commerce Casino in
Los Angeles, California.
This year, it ran from
May 2nd-18th, featuring a
line-up of hold’em tournaments (naturally), mostly
no-limit, with one HORSE
event. Once again this
year, Heavenly Hold’em
has proved to be hugely
popular, drawing thousands
of players and creating sixfigure prize pools. Results
Demolition Man
Nick Ceci
Smashes
the
Competition at
Harrah’s
Bayou Poker Challenge
w w w. p o ke r p l a y e r n e w s p a p e r. c o m
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
P O K E R P L AY E R
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Additional tournaments NIGHTLY at 10 p.m.ÊUÊf£ÓxÊ-Õ/ÕÀÃÊUÊfÓÓxÊÀÊEÊ->Ì
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Tournaments start each day at noon (June 6 event starts at 6:00 p.m.)
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POKER PLAYER
A Gambling Times Publication
3883 West Century Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90303
(310) 674-3365
www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
Stanley R. Sludikoff
PUBLISHER
srs@gamblingtimes.com
Lou Krieger
EDITOR
loukrieger@aol.com
A. R. Dyck
MANAGING EDITOR
ard@gamblingtimes.com
John Thompson
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
FOR idrome INFO DESIGN
poker@idrome.net
Joseph Smith
WEBMASTER
jsmith@pokerplayernewspaper.com
Mike Caro
SENIOR EDITOR
caro@caro.com
Jennifer Matiran
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
jm@gamblingtimes.com
Len Butcher
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
lennylv@netzero.net
Wendeen H. Eolis
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT
Phil Hevener
CONSULTANT
Contributing Editors
Ashley Adams Robert Arabella
Richard Burke John Caldwell
John Carlisle Nick Christenson
Leo Cummins Barbara Connors
Nolan Dalla George Epstein
Russ Fox Tony Guerrera
“Oklahoma Johnny” Hale
Tom Leonard
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire
Diane McHaffie James McKenna
Myles Mellor Sam Mudaro
Jennifer Newell Jonathan Raab
I. Nelson Rose Howard Schwartz
Max Shapiro Joseph Smith, Sr.
David Valley Donald Woods
Poker Player will be published Bi-Weekly by
Gambling Times Incorporated,
Stanley R. Sludikoff, President.
Volume 11 Number 25.
Copyright ©June 2008 by Gambling
Times Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without
written permission is prohibited.
Advertising Sales
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NATIONAL SALES MANAGER
702-784-5112
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702-269-1733
fax 702-614-1650
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Caro’s Word: “Attention”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
If
you use my style
of play, it’s important to get your
opponents’ attention. That’s because one of
my main objectives at the
poker table is to dominate
the game and to control the
other players psychologically.
Why does this method
work? Will it work for you?
Does it ever backfire? Can
you overuse it? These are
some of the questions I’m
going to address in today’s
quiz. If you’ve been following this series, you know
the formula by now: I get
to ask and answer my own
questions. That way, unlike
with some other interviews,
neither you nor I will need
to dance around any questions that are unimportant
or inappropriate. Get ready,
get set, go …
Question 58: Can you
tell us why you believe
your method of trying to
make players focus on you
in a poker game is successful?
Let me answer your
question this way: This is
my 100th column for the
revived Poker Player newspaper. That’s a milestone,
I guess. When the original
Poker Player launched in
the early 1980s, I wrote
even more columns. And
I’ve contributed hundreds
or articles and columns to
other poker, gambling, and
general-audience magazines. I’m not sure what the
count is, but I’m guessing
it’s getting pretty close to a
thousand.
Let’s just suppose, for
the sake of argument, that
I’ve written 897 columns
and a total of 278 of them
have been for Poker Player.
That would mean that 31
percent of all the columns
I’ve written that provide
poker advice have been for
Poker Player. Do you see
my point?
Question 59: No. I don’t
see your point at all. I’m
confused. The question
was: Can you tell us why
you believe your method
of trying to make players
focus on you in a poker
game is successful?
My point was, in addition to wanting to point
out that this is my 100th
column, that when you do
the unexpected at poker,
either through conveying
bizarre, non-threatening
behavior or making strange
plays, you get attention.
You leave players scratching their heads. That’s what
happened to you just now
when I answered in a way
that was totally unexpected—and that’s why you got
confused, which is what I
intended. When I do this, I
steal the stage and demand
that interviewers or readers or poker opponents
SOUTHERN CA
Jennifer Matiran
714-585-3299
jm@gamblingtimes.com
NORTHERN CA
Peter Secor
510-299-7915
peter@scfrey.com
EASTERN & SOUTHERN STATES
Gary Shenfeld
P.O. Box 780
Atlantic City, NJ 08404
609-892-6472
fax 609-822-4478
garyshenfeld@yahoo.com
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PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT
This notice will certify that 48,500 copies of Volume
11, Number 25 of Poker Player were printed at Valley
Printers, 16230 Filbert Street, Sylmar, CA 91342.
Distribution to newsstands, card clubs, poker rooms and
other distribution points throughout the United States,
Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and Europe.
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POKER NEWS
By JOHN CALDWELL
THIS WEEK MARKS THE
FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF
MONEYMAKER
Five years ago this week, the poker world
changed. Chris Moneymaker turned an online satellite and a
dream into $2,500,000 and an industry was born.
A lot has changed in five years. Online poker rooms that
were market leaders at the time are now out of business, or
nothing more than a name “imprint” that’s part of a bigger
network of poker sites. Other online poker sites—only just conceived when that 5a fell on the river, making Moneymaker a
full house—have since launched, and are now market leaders.
So, what can we look forward to for the tenth anniversary
of Moneymaker’s win? Will the merry-go-round ride of the
last five years speed up, slow down, or stop completely?
Take a moment today to think about how much your life has
changed over the last five years. I’m sure Chris Moneymaker
is out there somewhere thinking about how much his life has
changed since that fateful day.
DOES POKER NEED MORE
TESTOSTERONE?
The World Series of Poker has announced that they have
signed an agreement with Gamma-O Plus Pomegranate, a drink
with a natural additive in it that increases the production of
testosterone in the body, as well as containing pomegranate
juice, which reportedly lowers the body’s chance of suffering
prostate problems. The drink will be the “official testosterone
booster” of the World Series of Poker. Look for more pre-flop
re-raising and fewer trips to the bathroom at the Rio this summer.
IOWA CASINO TO LOWER POKER AGE
MINIMUM FROM 21 TO 18
College-aged poker players in the Tama, Iowa vicinity may
soon have a brand new option for playing poker. The Meshwaki
Tribal Council, operators of the Meshwaki Casino and Hotel
near Tama, has approved a plan to allow 18-years-olds to play
poker at the site. An exact date has not yet been set, though
tribal spokesman Larry Lasley Jr. has been quoted as saying the change can be made because poker is not a “house”
game; rather, the players compete against each other. The
Tama casino is also a popular Heartland Poker Tour venue.
POKERSTARS OPENS LIVE CARD ROOM
IN MACAU
PokerStars has announced the opening of their first permanent, live poker room in Macau. The room, to be known as
“PokerStars Macau,” has 25 tables, and will be housed at the
prestigious Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino, the same location
that hosted the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macau event last year.
The news is significant in that it’s the first time this reporter is aware of that a poker-only facility opened under the banner of an online poker room. Look for more of this to occur in
the future.
ANNIE DUKE AND DON CHEADLE RAISE
ANOTHER $500,000 FOR AFRICA
A couple of years ago, Annie Duke and Don Cheadle decided to
team up for a cause that meant a lot to them. This led to last
July’s inaugural Ante up for Africa poker tournament, where
Annie and Don saw a good opportunity to raise money for a
cause they believed in, with a partner (the WSOP) that they
knew would help raise awareness.
The pair hosted another Ante Up For Africa event this past
week at the San Manuel Casino near Los Angeles, California,
and thanks to a very generous donation from the casino itself,
over $500,000 was raised for this very worthy cause. The
next big event on the Ante Up For Africa calendar will be the
organization’s return to the WSOP this year on July 2nd. See
you there.
John Caldwell is the Editor-In-Chief of PokerNews.com,
a leading poker information portal. He spent 15 years in
music artist management, working with Stone Temple
Pilots, and Hootie and the Blowfish. Contact him at
john@pokernews.com.
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
3
Calling,
PART 2
LOU KRIEGER ON POKER
By Lou Krieger©
Last issue began a three-part series
about calling, which we initiated by pointing out that
when you examine hands dealt to you, much of the
time raising or folding are better options than calling.
Nevertheless, there are times when calling is the play
of choice. Here are a few of them:
Call when you have a drawing hand and need to make
your hand as inexpensively as possible.
Call when you want to deceive your opponent into
thinking he has a better hand, so that he will come out
betting on a more costly wagering round and you can
check-raise him.
Call when you want to take an inexpensive card that
might improve your hand.
Call from the small blind and check from the big blind
when no one has raised and you don’t have a hand to
raise with either.
Call when an opponent seated on your right comes out
betting and you have a huge hand and you believe additional calls will come from players who act after you do.
Let’s examine these situations one by one.
Buying a card to complete a draw: When you have
a draw and you’re sure you’ll win if you complete your
hand, it’s OK to raise against a large field of callers.
Raising is also a good idea whenever you think that it
might win the pot right now, regardless of whether you
complete your hand.
When you have only a few callers and you’re sure that
your raise will not cause any players to fold, calling is a
better option than folding or raising. In fact, if you were
to raise, it might reopen the betting and subject you to
a large reraise from a player in early position. His raise
might even price you off your draw and force you to
release your hand.
But when your call will close the betting on that
round, or stands a good chance of closing the betting
because you are near the end of the line in the betting order, calling keeps you in the hand and allows you
to see another card. This is the best course of action
whenever you believe that raising won’t allow you to
win the pot right now and might even bring you face-toface with a big reraise that you really shouldn’t call.
There’s nothing mysterious here. Draws are always
a high wire act. At one extreme is the opportunity to
bet big and cause your opponents to fold. On the other
end of the spectrum is an opportunity to complete your
hand on the cheap, and then trap your opponents for
a big bet or two when you have the best of it. Calling
allows you to get to this point with the minimum investment in your hand.
Deceiving your opponent: Every now and then
you’ll flop a hand that’s a monster and none of your
opponents will suspect you of having anything. When
that’s the case, a little deception can lead to a big win,
especially if you are playing against very aggressive
opponents. I was in a no-limit tournament recently and
had Ah-9h in the big blind. The pot was raised to three
times the big blind and there were four callers, so I paid
the equivalent of two additional big blinds to look at the
flop against a large field. To my surprise, the flop was
9-9-Q of three different suits. I was as sure as could be
that I had the best hand and that there were no obvious
draws that could beat me.
We’ll talk more about how this all played out when we
wrap-up this three-part series next issue.
Visit Lou Krieger online and check out all his
books at www.loukrieger.com. You can read his
blog at http://loukrieger.blogspot.com and write
directly to him at loukrieger@aol.com.
4
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
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J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
5
Blasting Into Orbit
CONNORS’ CORNER
By BARBARA CONNORS
Satellite tournaments come in all shapes and
sizes, from a single- or double-table contest
to a multi-table super-satellite. It can be a winner-take-all
affair where only one entry is awarded and everybody from
second place on down gets bupkus, or it can be the type of
event where multiple entries are given away. There can be
satellites of satellites of satellites.
Online satellites were largely responsible for the explosive
growth of larger mega-tournaments, especially the WSOP
main event. Most players cannot afford to plunk down thousands of dollars to enter a poker tournament, and satellites
give them a chance to win their way into a seat.
Generally, satellites fall into one of three categories:
Single-table winner-take-all events, single-table multiplewinner events, and multi-table super-satellites. Naturally, the
optimum strategy depends entirely on the type of satellite.
The first and most important question is: How many seats
into the larger tournament are being awarded? If the answer
is that only the first-place winner receives an entry and
everybody else gets nothing, it has a dramatic impact on how
you should play.
In a winner-take-all event, conventional wisdom says to
play more aggressively—much more aggressively. Since first
place is all that matters—and finishing second is actually “on
the bubble”—your goal should be to build your chip stack
as much and as soon as possible. To do this, you must push
smaller edges and take bigger risks.
The need to accumulate chips trumps the need to hang
in there and survive. Especially if it’s a no-limit hold’em
event, where stack size is of supreme importance in the final
stages. Now more than ever, as soon as the game gets shorthanded, big stacks will be bullying the smaller stacks. It’s
also worth noting that in satellites, the bubble stage will produce a lot of uber-tight conservative play. To have any kind
of a decent shot at winning, you’ll need to be one of those
pushy big stacks at the end. And to achieve this, you’ll have
to take a lot of risks along the way—and get a little lucky too.
However, if you have reason to believe that the final two
or three players might strike some sort of deal—this happens even in satellites, the negotiations just get a little
more creative—second or even third place doesn’t necessarily represent a goose egg. Now those spots might be worth
shooting for, and if that’s the case then your playing strategy
should get more conservative, especially in the earlier stages
of the event.
Once you get into the multiple-winner events, the situation
changes considerably. If the top five finishers all win seats
into the bigger tournament, then it absolutely doesn’t matter
whether you come in first place or fifth. You win the exact
same prize either way, and so your strategy should adjust
accordingly. In short, dial down the aggression. Once you’ve
achieved a comfortable chip stack, pure survival becomes
a high priority—at the expense of confrontations and risks.
Avoid mixing it up with bigger stacks who can bust you. Stay
out of their way. All you have to do now is make it to the
lowest position that still awards an entry, and you will have
“won.”
How much you should dial down the aggressiveness
depends on a vast array of factors, most notably the ratio
of players to entry prizes. That ratio can be as high as one
seat for every 80 players, and if that’s the case then you still
need to push a lot of edges. With a lower ratio, such as one
seat for every 20 players, you can afford to play a more conservative survival game, and in fact this type of event plays
much like a regular multi-table tournament.
Barbara Connors is a sucker for classic old movies, science fiction, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Her life’s ambition is to figure out the unusual behavior patterns of that
unique breed of humans who call themselves poker players. Contact her at fyreflye222@yahoo.com.
6
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
This is OK-Sarah and today
I want to give you an update
on poker in Las Vegas, and
how I take good care of my
poker playing money.
The poker rooms of Vegas
are red hot—almost every
pot is well contested by the
players and there is a lot of
action all over town. I play
Now this means that if the
buy in for the game I select
to play in requires $500, I
must have at least $10,000 in
my poker bankroll.
Following this rule means
I would have to lose twenty
straight buy-ins to go broke.
If that were to happen to me,
I would rethink ever playing
RULES THAT WORK For ME
BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
By oklahoma SARAH hale
in all of these rooms—and
my home poker room is the
Venetian. The most profitable times to play poker are
after 10 p.m. on Fridays, and
weekends.
In all of the poker rooms
of Las Vegas there are so
many good games that
there’s not enough time to
play in all of them.
I have kept records of the
results of my poker playing
and if I break any one of the
rules my poker bankroll will
suffer. It is hard to lose when
playing in the Las Vegas
poker rooms when following
a few simple rules!
I keep a daily log. In this
log I record where I am playing, the times I start and quit,
the results of my play by the
day, week, and month. I also
keep notes on my opponents
in these games.
Here is just one other item
that I keep in this log: I keep
a running balance of my
poker bankroll.
I carry very little money
with me, and keep my poker
bankroll in the casino cage.
I always use valet parking
and never follow recurring
patterns!
This is the New West and
there are concerns that you
need to be careful about—
like what you do, as well as
where and when you do it.
Here are a few of my
poker playing rules:
Rule #1: I permit myself
to take money from my
poker bankroll and spend
it—or put the money that I
take out of my poker bankroll into my long term savings account.
I do not take money out
of either my short term or
long term savings accounts
to add to my poker bankroll.
If I could not win, I would
not play.
Rule #2: I never risk or
play in any game where the
buy-in exceeds more than
five percent of my poker
bankroll.
poker again.
Rule #3:
I must be focused to play
poker. If I have something
important on my mind that
I need to do, I do not play
poker until I have taken care
of that important thing.
Rule #4: I must be in a
good humor and at peace
with the world before I begin
to play.
Rule #5: I do not play
against the clock. I play until
the game is not good any
longer or until I have made
a win!
If I have a doctor or any
other appointment that would
cause me to have to quit the
game before I wish to do so,
I do not play.
Rule #6: When I am a
winner, I quit!
Now I have a lot of other
rules that I will share with
you from time to time, but
if you have any poker questions please email me at
Stiklebery@aol.com
I am OK-Sarah and I
always stay lucky!
You may contact Sarah and
OK-J at Oklajohnny@aol.
com. Visit Oklahoma Sarah
and Oklahoma Johnny
at their website—
www.ok-j.com.
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POKer AND THE LAW
By I. NELSON ROSE
Stella Romanski couldn’t win a hand in a casino. But she hit the
jackpot—thanks to a runaway jury, and judges who think casinos
have too much money.
Stella, 72, had paid $9 for bus rides and a lunch buffet at
Detroit’s MotorCity casino. After playing and losing, Stella
apparently decided to do a little “slot-walking,” looking in the
trays for spare change. She found one nickel token.
Stella claims she was then accosted by uniformed officers,
led to an interview room without windows, seated at a desk,
and informed that she had stolen a coin from the slot machine
tray. They even took her nickel. The trial judge, Lawrence
Zatkoff, bought her story. “Ms. Romanski began to cry at the
thought that she, a grandmother of nine children, could commit
a crime.”
Actually, the first and only security officer at the scene,
Marlene Brown, testified she was in plainclothes, not in uniform.
Stella, far from being the shy little elderly lady, was loud, hostile and “even belligerent,” so she was led off the floor.
The jury found there was no defamation and no intentional
infliction of emotional distress. So this left only a civil rights
claim and false arrest. Damages were thus limited to what happened to Stella from the time she was approached by Officer
Brown, to the time she left the interview room.
Since she never needed psychiatric care for this traumatic
incident, the jury awarded Stella $9 for the bus trip and lunch,
$270 for compensatory damages for being detained, five cents
for the nickel token, and $850,000 in punitive damages.
Civil rights claims can only be brought against someone
“acting under color of state law.” Some courts have held that
private security guards, and their deep-pocket employers, can
be sued if they act like agents of a state. They have developed
complicated “public function” tests, to see if the guard has
the power of a government policeman. What has gotten lost is
the reason for the tests. Private guards can be sued for state
violations of civil rights only because the state has decided to
delegate its police power to those private individuals.
Does anyone really think the security guards at casinos were
acting for the state in this case?
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Officer Brown had
“arrested” Stella. A real cop can make an arrest when there is
“probable cause” to believe a crime has been committed. But
here there could be no crime, because the casino was wrong in
thinking the nickel token was its property.
The Court ruled the slot token was abandoned property.
Since the real owner could not be found, the law of finderskeepers kicks in. Stella, being the first person to find the abandoned token had a superior title over everyone else, including
the owner of the place were the property was found.
The Court held that $850,000 was excessive, but $600,000
in punitive damages sounded right. It got that number by looking at cases where victims had been strip-searched, falsely
convicted and even beaten to death.
It noted that Wal-Mart had been hit for $600,000 in a horrendous case of a pregnant woman falsely convicted and sent
to jail, as if that were the same as Stella’s half-hour in the
interview room.
This windfall all belongs to Stella and her lawyer. With a onethird contingency fee, he gets $200,000 and Stella walks away
with $400,000.
Personally, I would put up with being questioned by security
guards, even called a thief, for $400,000.
Professor I Nelson Rose is recognized as one of the
world’s leading experts on gambling law. His latest
books, Gaming Law: Cases and Materials and Internet
Gaming Law, are available through his website,
www.gamblingandthelaw.com.
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
7
The Art of Quitting
POwer POKER PSYCHOLOGY
By JAMES A. McKENNA, PhD.
There are those of us who ignore the
warning signs of pending problems.
Whether it is noticing a persistent
cough, out-of-control credit card balances, or children who are on drugs—some people just
don’t pay attention.
And then we’ll hear what seems like sound advice on
becoming a winner. You’ve heard it said: Winners never
quit and quitters never win. Well, excuse me, but that’s
just hogwash! The truth is that winners know when to
quit, and they know how to get back up when they are
down. Witness story after story of millionaires who go
bankrupt an average of 2.5 times in a lifetime. They
can go bankrupt, because they know how to make it
back. This is true of poker players who know when to
quit, how to come back when they are down, and how
to walk away ahead. Most players can quit when they
have garbage hands. Few can divorce good hands.
One indispensable skill in playing poker is the ability
to lay down good hands. Although many can muck bad
hands when they think that they’re beaten, it’s a lot
harder to lay down a strong holding. If you are paying
attention and begin to think you have a second-best
hand, you can save a ton of money by listening to your
gut and paying attention to what’s happening around
you. For example, if you have a strong pair (like a pair
of jacks or queens) and the flop comes out garbage
with a couple of suited cards, it’s time to pay attention.
Players who may have been limping in are suddenly
betting and raising aggressively. True, they may be
bluffing. That’s why it’s important to know your players. There are a good number of players who get married to high pairs and refuse to let them go—even in the
face of raises and probable flush and straight draws.
Think of how often you have seen a pocket pair of aces
beaten by two small pair. The last time you were beaten with a strong pair or two pair, were you surprised?
At least good players are not surprised. They might
have stayed in too long and been beaten by a stronger
pocket pair or a straight. However, they thought about
it and calculated that it was worth risking their hand
might hold up. What would you do if you raised with
a pocket pair of queens and everyone folded but one
player behind you? In fact, suppose this one player,
who’s on the button, even went over your raise (which
was three times the blind)? Would you give up your
queens? Or, do you even have enough information to
make such a decision? The button could be on a stonecold bluff.
On the other hand, he could be telling you that he
has the pre-flop nuts (a pocket pair of aces). If you
were paying attention to how he played earlier hands,
this is when your diligence can pay off. Knowing what
specific players do when they have strong hands, when
they are bluffing, or when they are afraid, comes in
handy. This skill of laying down good hands requires
attention to details about your opponents. If you had
previously pegged the button an aggressive and loose
player, his all-in would look a lot different than if you
knew him to be a conservative player. Actually, tight
and conservative players might go over you when they
have nothing—just to count on their reputation once in
a while.
So, it’s best not to ignore signs of pending problems—whether you are looking at your health, your savings, your children, or your poker hands.
Jim McKenna has been practicing psychotherapy for more than thirtyfive years. His books include the acclaimed Beyond Tells: Power Poker
Psychology, Beyond Bluffs: Master the Mysteries of Poker, and Beyond
Traps: The Anatomy of Poker Success, all published by Kensington
8
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
Sam Mudaro, BA, MBA, is a practicing tax
accountant and financial executive with
35 years of analytical business expertise. He uses simulation software to analyze and develop strategies for Omaha/8
and other forms of poker. Reach Sam at:
realguru2003@yahoo.com.
B
efore we continue, if
you have missed any
of my previous articles
in this series you may
retrieve them at: http://
www.pokerplayernewspaper.com/backissues.
php. Today we’ll begin
with starting hands that
do not contain an ace and
may form a low. These
hands may contain one or
two high cards. We start
with 126 starting hands of
which 38 are profitable,
14 marginally profitable,
and 74 non-profitable.
Rule 20–Eliminate all
remaining hands that
begin with a trey except
3-4-5-6 double-suited high
to low, DSHL and 3-4 or
3-5 when combined with
a pair of kings. Yes this is
a complicated rule but it
does eliminate 27 percent
of the remaining hands. It
eliminates 33 non-profitable and one marginallyprofitably hand.
Looking at this rule in
two parts can help. The
best low hand that may be
formed beginning with a
trey is 3-4-5-6. The best
way to have a hand suited
is double-suited. The best
way to be double-suited
is when your high card is
suited to your low card—
DSHL. This allows you
to form the highest possible flush. You may want
to remember this as the,
“Best of the best.” On
the other hand, a doublesuited pair of kings will
turn any hand containing
two unpaired prime cards
profitable.
Let me further state that
if we ignore the 3-4-5-6, it
wouldn’t be a big mistake.
The DSHL and DSHM
version of these hands
only generate a net win of
$1.14 and $0.95 respec-
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Starting Hand Rules, PART 6
tively.
remaining hands that contain a single king except
for 2-3-4-K. This rule
actually excludes two double-suited hands, 2-3-4-K
DSHM and 2-3-4-K
DSHL. It will only eliminate eight non-profitable
hands.
Rule 22–Eliminate any
hand beginning with a
2-5 except for 2-5-K-K.
To clarify, let me state
that 2-5 means: begins
with a deuce and followed by a five as the
next-lowest card. It does
not mean begins with a
deuce through a five. This
rule only eliminates six
non-profitable hands and
brings the totals down to
78 starting hands with 38
profitable, 13 marginal,
and only 27 non-profitable
hands to go.
Rule 23–Eliminate any
hand containing a pair
that ends with a six. This
simple rule eliminates 21
of the 27 remaining nonprofitable hands. There
are now 57 starting hands
left, of which 38 still are
profitable, 13 marginallyprofitable and six nonprofitable. All the remaining non-profitable hands
consist of pairs.
pairs where the two low
cards or the two high
cards are suited to each
other except 2-3-K-K,
2-3-4-4 and 2-3-3-4.
This rule is the last rule
for hands not containing
an ace. It eliminates the
last six non-profitable
hands. It also eliminates
eight of the 13 remaining marginally-profitable
hands. As it did above,
a pair of kings saves the
2-3-K-K. The other hands
consist of a deuce, trey,
and four in various combinations. Oddly enough
the pair of deuces either
1PHS or 1PLS have net
returns under a dollar.
The 2-2-3-4 when doublesuited will generate a net
win of $3.41 with a win
percentage of slightly over
30 percent.
Suit
2HM
H2M
L2L
H2L
DSHL
2-3-4-5
0.92
0.83
0.78
0.29
2-3-5-6
0.06
The chart above shows
the remaining five marginally-profitable starting
hands. The 2-3-4-5 singlesuited comprises all but
one of the hands. This is a
tough hand for many players to muck. What makes it
so appealing is that it contains four prime cards and
offers a draw to the nut low
and a six, seven, and eighthigh straight. There’s also
the possibility of a flush.
What it lacks though, is
an ace. Replacing the five
in these hands with an ace
generates a double-digit net
win. Replacing the deuce
with an ace turns all the
hands profitable.
In recapping, we started
with 4,551 starting hands
that didn’t contain an ace.
We’ve now reduced that
number down to 43. Along
the way, for simplicity’s
sake, we eliminated eight
starting hands with net
wins of just over one dollar. We eliminated all 4,500
non-profitable hands! We
eliminated all but five of
the 55 marginally-profitable
hands.
Next time, we’ll begin
analyzing hands containing an ace. There are 7,718
unique starting hands that
contain an ace that passed
the original first five elimination rules.
In response to the numerous requests I have received
for a book, I am currently
offering a listing of all
1,679 profitable hands,
(those with net wins of over
$1.00), for $5.00 e-mailed
or $6.00 US postal service.
If interested, send an email
to realguru2003@yahoo.
com with “Hand List” in
the subject line.
So what have we
learned? 2-3-4-5 may look
like a great starting hand
but unless it is double-suited you may want to muck
it, especially in a tight
game if there is any action.
Book reviews
Practical Poker
Math—Basic Odds
& Probabilities for
Hold’em & Omaha
by Pat Dittmar
ECW Press (2008)
ISBN: 1-55022-833-1
231 pp, $29.95
He’s not necessarily a
media star, doesn’t highfive his fans in the TV gallery, and he isn’t a household name mentioned in the
same breath as the big tournament title holders—but
Pat Dittmar is a poker pro.
A true journeyman, he has
been playing and succeeding for 20 years, because he
understands the mathematics of the game.
In his book, Dittmar
answers many questions
and fills in a lot of gaps
about poker mathematics,
starting with basic calculations (including combinations, permutations, and
factorials) and covering it
all for both hold’em and
Omaha/8.
In an organized and
sequential format, using
sample hands and uncomplicated mathematical
formulas illustrated in
color, he helps the player
understand what his own
odds are, and his opponents’ chances of improv-
ing before and after the
flop. The explanations
have added visual impact
because he uses red and
blue text to separate various concepts. He discusses
access to this common
knowledge, not everybody
is smart enough to use it.
(Whether all players will
react in a rational manner
is up for grabs.) Since no
single player has complete
knowledge, some folks are
just better at processing the
available common knowledge than others. And
that’s why they appear to be
defying the odds when they
do something the math says
they shouldn’t do.
Though most players
might be interested in these
concepts for hold’em, it’s
nice to see that a good deal
of Dittmar’s work focuses
on the odds for Omaha/8.
This
includes
before and
after the flop,
the nut hand or nut draw,
money and expectation
after the flop, odds with
two cards to come, runnerrunner, and the river bet.
An interesting category
is the “will” or “will not”
occur. His way of presenting his poker math is
unique, not heavy, yet not
so simplistic. His book is
for the thinking player who
wants to incorporate some
mathematics and an understanding of odds into his or
her mode of play.
—Howard Schwartz
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(Cont’d from page 1)
best work in this tournament,
demolishing his competitors.
As heads-up play began,
Nick Ceci enjoyed a slight
advantage over T.K. Miles,
with 1.2 million to 840,000.
The players battled for nearly
two hours, with no significant action. This became a
final table in two parts—
the first part during which
seven players were knocked
out, and then hours more of
heads-up play.
The critical hand of the
tournament came when
Miles was dealt A-Q against
Ceci’s 4-3. After the flop
came Q-4-4, Ceci went all in
with his trip fours, and Miles
called. With 2.3 million in
the middle, Ceci dragged
the pot and gained a massive chip lead—up by an
11-to-1 margin. The tournament ended soon after, as
Miles tried to steal the blinds
with Q-4. Ceci called with
the odds that the turn card
will do this or that; odds
with two cards yet to come;
odds of hitting on either or
both the turn and river, the
runner-runner, and the river
bet.
In the opening pages of
the book, Dittmar puts the
whole concept of math—
perhaps the ultimate knowledge that gives one player
the edge over another—into
perspective. He explains,
quite simply, that, “Game
Theory assumes everyone
has equal common knowledge, and everyone will
act in a rational manner.”
As most players know,
even though everyone has
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J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
9
Thank You, Mick!
THE FOX’s DEN
BY Russ Fox
Earlier this week I made one of my
rare forays into limit hold’em. I was
playing in a ten-handed $10-$20 limit hold’em game.
There were four nits, one loose-aggressive player
who knew what he was doing, three very weak players, and myself. And Mick, my favorite maniac.
When I sat down at the table Mick had $1,000 in
front of him. Half that stack was profit according to
my left-hand opponent. Early on, a huge pot developed. I was on the button with JsJf. Leslie raised
from early position, Mick re-raised, Sam (the good
loose player) made it three bets, and Louise, on my
right, capped the betting. I called the $40 with my
jacks, the blinds folded, and the other raisers called.
The flop came 6a7s8f. Leslie checked, Mick
bet $10, Sam raised to $20, Louise and I called,
Leslie folded, Mick re-raised to $30, and Sam, Louise
and I all called. It was time for me to consider my
opponents’ hands. Mick could have anything—an
overpair, 10-9, 8-6, or nothing. I felt that Sam probably had an overpair: 10-10 or 9-9 most likely. I discounted J-J because of my jacks and A-A, K-K, and
Q-Q because I felt he might cap the betting with
those hands. Louise likely held a pair, because she
would play any pair to the river.
I didn’t like my hand as much here, because the
possibility of an overpair to my jacks was very real.
However, my hand did improve when the Ja came
on the turn. Again, Mick bet $20, Sam re-raised
to $40, and Louise called. I re-raised—I was facing
both possible straight and flush draws—and all three
opponents called.
The river was the Qa. Mick looked at his chips and
then checked. I was certain he had hit the river, and
that was not a good thing for me. That limited his
hand to Q-J, Q-Q, or a heart flush. Most likely, I was
now losing this pot. After Sam and Louise followed
with checks, I also checked. Mick showed his QsQf
and took down the pot. Mick’s obvious tell saved me
$40 (he was clearly going for the check-raise).
Later in the session, Mick again saved me some
money. I had raised pre-flop with AsKf and only
Mick had called from one of the blinds. The flop was
Ks8f3d. Mick checked, I bet, and Mick called.
The turn was the 4f. Mick checked, I bet, and Mick
called. The river was the 7d. Mick said, “You’re not
going to like this. I made two pair.” He then bet, and
I believed that Mick did make two pair. Indeed, he
turned over 7f3f. As to why Mick stayed in the
hand with his bottom pair, you’d have to ask him.
Mick made two other hands against me and told
me that he did (and showed them). Altogether,
Mick’s tell and his remarks saved me about $100.
Mick left the game when he ran out of chips, yet he
was up over $1,000 at one point.
It’s tough to win if you’re a maniac. You’re playing
lots of hands, many of which you should fold at no
cost. A maniac who compounds his poor playing tactics by helping his opponents just goes broke faster.
I was appreciative, though, of Mick’s assistance. I
did not have a good session, losing over $700. Yet,
it could have and should have been worse. Had Mick
not helped me I would have lost over $800. In poker,
a bet saved is just as important as a bet won. Thank
you, Mick, for saving me $100.
Russell Fox is the co-author of “Mastering No-Limit Hold’em,”
“Why You Lose at Poker,” and “Winning Strategies for
No-Limit Hold’em.” He’s a federally licensed tax preparer
specializing in gambling, with a blog at taxabletalk.com.
E-mail Russ at rcfox@claytontax.com
10
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
A Poker Player Murder Mystery by Robert Arabella
THE POKER CZAR
Power corrupts. Absolute
power corrupts absolutely.
—Lord Acton’s Dictum
Hurrahs! Gaming, not to
be confused with Harrah’s
Entertainment, owned several
Las Vegas Strip Casinos.
Their flagship, The Crystal
Hotel & Casino, was in chaos
and chaos was not good for
business. The Great Poker
Room Riot had put Hurrahs!
board of directors on edge,
and the Poker Room Suicide
Bombing had pushed them
far over the edge. While
Hurrahs!’ overall take was
off less than .001 percent,
the stock price was off more
than 5 percent, which, with
their executive compensation
package tied directly to the
stock price, was a cause for
outright panic in the board
room.
An emergency meeting
was called to discuss “The
Poker Problem.”
The CEO complained,
“Senator Phil Fist’s
Subversive Card Games
Committee is threatening to
subpoena the testimony of all
Hurrahs! Executives in order
to ask us, ‘Are you now or
have you ever been poker
players?’ The Reverend
Biggs Brother is threatening
a hunger strike right here at
Hurrahs! Headquarters until
all our executives take the
No-Poker Oath: ‘This I swear
to Almighty God/I will never
touch a poker card.’ We need
to surrender without looking
like we’re surrendering.
“We need is to come up
with a quick plan to make
The Poker Problem go
away.” The CEO then told
the COO to come up with
an immediate plan or else.
The COO pressured the EVP,
who warned the VP, who
threatened the AVP, who
screamed at a VP, Jr., and
so on down the corporate
ladder until someone said,
“Let’s find a highly respected
person from outside the
company to be ‘The Poker
Czar,’ which lets everyone at
Hurrahs! wash their hands of
the whole poker problem.”
Washing their hands of
the whole poker problem, a
kind of corporate ritual purification, sounded very good
to Hurrahs! board of direc-
tors. They conjured up “The
Committee to Save Poker,”
and sent it out to find a Poker
Czar.
“The Committee to Save
Poker” could have saved
itself the time and poker
the trouble if they had first
reviewed the sorry history of
people appointed to be “The
Czar of Some Big Problem.”
Under the “The Drug Czar,”
the price of illegal drugs went
way down, while under the
“The Energy Czar,” the price
of foreign oil went way up.
The Russians had put their
Tsar up against a wall which,
while extreme, at least ended
their Tsar problem.
Seeking guidance from
some other game that
had needed “saving,” the
Committee turned to baseball. The 1919 Black Sox
Scandal almost ruined
baseball. In order to save
the game—not to mention
their enormous profits—
the owners had appointed
Federal Judge Kennesaw
Mountain Landis Baseball
Commissioner and given him
dictatorial powers.
“We need,” decided the
Committee to Save Poker,
“a modern-day Judge
Landis.” The person finally
selected was no less than
The Honorable Roy Bean,
the ultra-conservative federal judge who had just
finished presiding over The
Greatest Poker Show Trial
on Earth. “What you people
need,” Judge Bean told the
Committee, “is a good oldfashioned ‘hold’em hanging.’
There is nothing like seeing
one player dancing at the
wrong end of a rope to make
all the other players see the
error of their ways.”
With great public fanfare,
and without consulting anyone else, Hurrahs! Gaming
appointed Judge Roy Bean
“The Poker Czar” with full
plenipotentiary, or in plainEnglish, absolute power over
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)
C-NOTES FOR
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J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
11
DEBBIE DOES POKER
Father’s
Day
By DEBBIE BURKHEAD
Linda Gerard gambled $99,000 in an
attempt to win $1 million. “Lucky Linda”
has always been a gambler and comes by
it naturally.
Gerard hails from Trenton, New Jersey where a regular group of friends got together every Sunday night at
5 p.m. to play poker. The game lasted all night and didn’t
break up until Monday evening when everyone had to go
back to work.
Living in Palm Springs, California, Gerard is the night
manager of the Agua Bar & Grill in the Spa Hotel. During
her free time she plays $4-$8 hold’em at the Agua
Caliente Rancho Mirage Resort. She has been an avid
watcher of poker on television for the last few years and
has dreamed of playing the World Series of Poker.
During a shift in November 2006 a group of casting
directors was having dinner after auditioning 200 callbacks for the game show Deal or No Deal. Gerard was
being her bubbly self and caught the eye of Mary-Rachel
Foot, one of the casting directors. Foot asked if she
would consider being a contestant on the show. Gerard
had never heard of the show and asked, “Do you have
to be smart?’ Foot answered, “No, you just have to pick
numbers.” Foot continued, “I’ll call you tomorrow to set
up an audition.” Gerard thought, sure I’ve heard that a
hundred times and went on about her job.
Gerard went in for the audition and was told she had
done a fabulous job. A year later she received a phone
called from John Quinn who wanted her to come back
and be on the show. It had been so long since the audition that Gerard thought one of her friends was playing a practical joke on her. Quinn eventually convinced
her it was no joke; they really wanted her on the show.
According to Gerard the taping went very quickly and
she headed back to Palm Springs.
Gerard played down to the following seven suitcases:
.01, $1, $25, $50, $75, $200 and $1 million when she
was offered $99,000 to quit. If she turns down the deal
she has to pick another case and if she picks the $1
million case, the most she can go home with is $200.
Gerard isn’t sure to this day what made her turn down
the $99,000 offer and admitted it was very stressful but
she is a gambler. Once she turned down the offer she
had to pick a case and pray that it wasn’t the $1 million.
The next case she chose had $200 in it and the banker
increased the offer to $165,000. At this point she had
six cases remaining and if Gerard refused the deal she
would have to pick another case, again avoiding the $1
million case or the most she could go home with would
be $75.
After considerable thought she decided it was a generous offer and she could fulfill two dreams with that
amount of money. She wanted to open a no-kill shelter
for abandoned and abused four-legged friends and she
wanted to play in the World Series of Poker. Gerard
made a great deal; her case was only worth $75.
Gerard received a congratulatory call from Seth
Palansky, of Harrah’s Entertainment, thanking her for
the mention of the WSOP and complimenting her on how
well she represented Palm Springs and the WSOP. Gerard
who has never been to the WSOP and has never played
in a major tournament was urged by Palansky to try
some smaller events before tackling the main event. She
took his advice and pre-registered for the Ladies event.
Gerard has not committed to playing the main event, as
yet, but is leaning very heavily in that direction.
Don’t underestimate “Lucky Linda” this filly has
guts and a lot of gamble and if she makes a final table
you may want to think twice about asking, “Deal or no
deal?”
Debbie Burkhead is a long time poker player, writer and sales rep
for Poker Player. You may contact Debbie at PokerMs@aol.com.
12
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
A Joe & Hobby fiction by
David J. Valley
obby and I were on
the fantail of his yacht,
Lazybuns, enjoying sunshine that had just broken
through the early morning
cloud cover. I saw he had a
pensive look on his face and
asked, “Something bothering
you, Hobby?”
“You know, Mother’s Day
was just a couple weeks ago
and I noticed Father’s Day
is coming up soon. I miss
my parents. How about you,
Joe?”
“Yeah. They’ve been gone
a long time, but I think of
them often.”
“Me, too.”
Our thoughtful silence
was broken when Pablo
came on the scene. “Capt.
Hobby, I’ve finished my
chores and I’m taking Maria
to dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Pablo is a young man—
well not so young now, he’s
21—a former tagger whom
Hobby caught decorating
the hull. To Hobby’s credit,
he rehabilitated the one-time
gang banger by putting him
to work on Lazybuns. An apt
student, he quickly learned
the ship’s chores and, under
Hobby’s expert tutelage, he
became adept at martial arts.
Since he was smaller than
average, in the past he had
often suffered the brunt of
bullying. His self-esteem has
now soared and he walks
six-feet tall.
“Fine,” answered Hobby.
“You getting ready to propose to her yet?”
“No, sir. First I need to
save more dinero.”
“Say, Pablo, I never
thought to ask before. Is
your father still living?”
“Yes, but he’s not too
good. He’s got arthritis. I
think he worked too hard
trying to feed us eight kids.
He misses my mom too, but
he’s OK.”
H
“You’re lucky your
father’s still living. Don’t
forget Father’s Day is coming up soon.”
“I know. Maria and I have
been talking about doing
something for both our
fathers, maybe take them to
dinner. Adios!”
After Pablo left Hobby
said, “I’ve got an idea. We
don’t have fathers anymore, but maybe we could
honor ours by making a
nice Father’s Day for someone else—like Pablo’s and
Maria’s fathers.”
“That’s a good idea. What
do you have in mind?”
“Joe, I did the hard part.
Now you work out the
details.”
“Only if you’ll fix me
another margarita.”
As to be expected, the
margarita was superb.
“Willing to spend a few
bucks?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“OK, here’s my idea.
Invite Pablo, Maria, and
their fathers to Lazybuns.
Pablo can show them around
and then you take them out
for a little cruise. You with
me so far?”
“Sounds good.”
“We’ll make arrangements
ahead of time for a catered
dinner for when we get back.
They’ll think they died and
went to heaven.”
“Fantastic, Joe! What do
you think we should have
for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Probably
anything but Mexican—
they’ve had plenty of that—
but it should be spicy.”
“How about a mixed
BBQ?”
“That’s the ticket, Hobby.”
“We’ll do it.”
When Hobby next saw
Pablo and told him the plan,
his apprentice went into
orbit. “You’d really do this
for us, Capt. Hobby?”
“Sure, you’re muy compadre.”
“But, how about your
father?”
“Both my father and Joe’s
are dead, so we’d like to
share yours. It’s our ’borrow
a dad’ program.”
“Wow. I can’t wait to tell
Maria. She won’t believe
it. We’ve already said we’d
take them out for dinner.
What a surprise this will be.
Wow!”
On the appointed day
they came aboard. Maria
was familiar with Lazybuns
because she had helped
Pablo serve at Hobby’s last
poker party. The fathers had
never been so close to a
yacht. They were awestruck.
While Pablo showed them
around, Hobby and I brought
out hors d’oeuvres and a
bucket of chilled long-neck
cervezas. “How we doing so
far?” Hobby asked.
“Man, just to see the
smiles on their faces made
my day.”
We lounged on the fantail deck while enjoying the
food and drinks. “How about
going for a little cruise?”
asked Capt. Hobby.
“Out on the ocean?” one
of the men asked rather
incredulously.
“Not far. We’ll go out
about a mile so you can see
the California coast.”
Later, when the caterers
came aboard and set up dinner, our guests went from
incredulous to stunned.
Maria’s father was almost in
tears when he said, “Never
in my life did I think I would
have such a wonderful experience.”
During our meal Pablo
father’s said, “My son
tells me that you like to
play poker. I watch Texas
hold’em on TV. It’s interesting.”
“How about after dinner
we play some hands, just for
fun?” I suggested. Everyone
agreed. We played for about
an hour before Pablo suggested they go on their way.
“Just wait ten minutes and
I’ll meet you below,” Hobby
said as he dashed off. No
one but I knew that Hobby
was bringing up the Rolls.
Fast Answers About
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Commerce Heavenly Hold’em
for Events No. 9 through
the Championship follow:
PLAYERS 168
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #10
5/11/08
PRIZE POOL
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
POKER COUNSELOR
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
By John Carlisle, MA, NCC
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #16
5/17/08
$48,888
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
Paramjit S Gill
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN $1,500 + $85
PLAYERS 305
PRIZE
POOL
$443,775
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Kevin Kelly . . . . . . $119,815
Robert Kirkeby . . . $67,010
Bernard Chung Fo . $45,490
Minh Ly . . . . . . . . . . $31,510
Lance Haysom . . . . $23,520
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #11
5/12/08
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
REBUY 1 ONLY
BUY-IN $500 + $45
PLAYERS 70
PRIZE POOL
$33,950
Michael
Christian
1. Michael Christian . . $11,540
2. Raed Hariri . . . . . . . . $6,400
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #13
5/14/08
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300 + $35
PLAYERS 255
PRIZE POOL
$74,205
John Crebassa II
1. John Crebassa II . . $20,805
2. Kevin Kelly . . . . . . . $12,320
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #12
5/13/08
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
H.O.R.S.E.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Xuan Nguyen
1. Xuan Nguyen . . . . . $28,235
2. Adrian Cimpan . . . . $16,740
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #9
5/10/08
BUY-IN $500 + $45
$79,540
PLAYERS 223
Todd Witteles
PRIZE POOL
Todd Witteles . . . . . $22,280
Gioi Luong . . . . . . . $11,220
Jae Chung . . . . . . . . . $8,750
Henry Antanesian . . . $6,760
$108,155
Gioi Luong
1. Gioi Luong . . . . . . . $30,315
2. Jinyun Lin . . . . . . . . $17,955
Cherokee Mid-South Poker Classic
Omaha, and Omaha/8.
Of special note among
the events was the
Budweiser Celebrity Poker
Classic charity event. Also,
several poker luminaries were in attendance,
like Scotty Nguyen, Linda
Johnson, and our own Jan
Fisher. Results for the first
seven events follow:
CHEROKEE CASINO
MID-SOUTH POKER CLASSIC
EVENT 7
CHEROKEE CASINO
EVENT 4
BUY-IN $120
PLAYERS 175
5/17/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300
PLAYERS 193
PRIZE
POOL
$54,040
1. Austin Edgar . . . . . . $17,835
2. Michael Algerio . . . . $9,835
CHEROKEE CASINO
EVENT 3
5/16/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $150
5/18/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUDWEISER CELEBRITY
POKER CLASSIC
BUY-IN $300 + $35
PLAYERS 340
PRIZE
POOL
$35,700
1. Vincent Standridge $11,416
2. Chris Hooper . . . . . . $6,212
9. Bernie Papin . . . . . . . . .$571
PRIZE POOL
Harrahs N.O.
$18,440
James Smith
J-7, and the flop came J-9-7.
Ceci’s hand held up, and
Miles was paid $210,610 for
second place.
Nick Ceci collected
$382,928 for first, along an
entry into the 2008 World
Series of Poker main event.
“I’m very excited to win,”
Ceci said. “It was a tough
final table, especially during
the heads-up part. I think
I played my best and I was
very fortunate to win it.”
PRIZE POOL
$100,845
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
PRIZE POOL
LIMIT HOLD’EM
PLAYERS 295
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
PLAYERS 123
REBUYS 41
HEAVENLY HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500 + $45
BUY-IN $300 + $35
1. Paramjit S Gill . . . . $14,690
2. Gordon Trachtenberg $8,311
COMMERCE CASINO
EVENT #14
5/15/08
CHEROKEE CASINO
EVENT 2
1. James Smith . . . . . . . $6,088
2. Salam Eid . . . . . . . . . $3,356
CHEROKEE CASINO
EVENT 6
5/16/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
5/18/08
OMAHA HI-LO
BUY-IN $200
BUY-IN $230
PLAYERS 209
PRIZE
POOL
$37,620
1. Daniel Burton . . . . . $12,040
2. Todd Etzel . . . . . . . . . $6,621
CHEROKEE CASINO
PLAYERS 119
EVENT 1
PRIZE POOL
5/15/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
JACK AND JILL
$21,420
BUY-IN $120
Jean Sparrow
PLAYERS 182
1. Jean Sparrow . . . . . . $7,497
2. Eric Butts . . . . . . . . . $4,284
PRIZE
POOL
$16,380
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
BAYOU POKER CHALLENGE
CHEROKEE CASINO
5/21/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
CHAMPIONSHIP
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
EVENT #15
BUY-IN $5,000
PLAYERS 249
PRIZE
POOL
$1,196,650
1. Nick Ceci . . . . . . . . $382,928
A Humbling
Experience
EVENT 5
5/17/08
BUY-IN $150
PLAYERS 274
PRIZE
POOL
$28,770
1. James Forrester . . . . $9,211
2. Shawn Arnold . . . . . . $5,064
Scott Robertson & Gretchen Archer
TIE. Gretchen Archer . . . . $2,702
TIE. Scott Robertson . . . . $2,702
It seems apparent that the poker world is somewhat
overridden with an unusually high percentage of
individuals at emotional extremes. Check any card
room in America, and you are sure to find a majority of amateurs who honestly believe that they are
better than the average player, brimming with cockiness. The online version of the game is the same,
with most players feeling that they could be a bigtime success story if only they would just catch a few
breaks.
Most players coast along with their inflated egos
in place for some time, using that emotional façade
as the shield against their bad beats and bad play.
Eventually though, that ego bubble is worn away
and an emotionally raw player comes to the surface.
Self-doubt and a lack of confidence begin to come
to the surface. The once-cocky player can be seen
as a spiritless, broken man after some time passes.
These grouchy, weather-beaten souls also seem to
be prevalent in every card room in America. In short,
poker is emotionally brutal enough to break a man’s
confidence over time.
Simply put, most players are unable to buzz about
with a sense of overconfidence for too long. Over
a few years of grinding in this difficult game, even
the cockiest players are forced to take pause and
reevaluate their lofty visions. Even the most skilled
poker players in the world will attest that this game is
amazingly difficult to get the better of in the long run.
Perhaps more than another other sporting endeavor, poker is a humbling game. Since it is so very
psychological in nature, defeats seem to linger and
wear upon our resolve. Psychologically, we do not see
poker as a game of chance or a matter of statistics
like we might other table games. Instead, our minds
measure poker as a man-versus-man battle. It is not
a battle of cards as much as it is a battle of wits,
wills, intelligence, knowledge, patience, and savvy.
When we keep having experiences where our minds
click in with the feeling that we did not measure up
against the next guy, it wears at us and has a dramatic impact.
As American journalist Ambrose Bierce once said,
“The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over
his own bluff.” Confidence is an invaluable asset at
the poker table. A well-balanced, confident poker
player is able to see the situation of hands with a
certain clarity.
Cockiness, though, can damn a player to a cycle
of poor play and steady losses. Cocky players are
prone to costly mistakes with poorly-timed bluffs and
idiotic calls. On the other extreme, exhibiting selfdoubt at the poker table is sure to invite the sharks
to attack mercilessly and pick at your bones. Players
who appear weak will have pressure applied to them
from all angles, and they will eventually wilt in the
barrage. So, every player must find that ideal psychological balance that can lead him toward continual
poker success. Much like a player may label himself
as tight-aggressive; perhaps we might also add selfevaluative labels such as humble-confident. Take a
moment to think through your level of confidence
with the game of poker, to see how you are doing
with this humbling game.
John Carlisle is a National Certified Counselor with a
Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from West
Virginia University. Contact John at
carlisle14@hotmail.com.
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
13
Take the Initiative
POKER TO THE NTH DEGREE
By Tony Guerrera
A few years ago, no-limit hold’em was
just about winning the big pots and foregoing the small
ones. This approach won’t get you into trouble in today’s
playing climate. But in certain playing conditions, your
tact needs to be a bit more advanced if you want to win
consistently. Sure, if you concentrate on cash games, you
can exercise disciplined table selection and try to find
tables featuring action with lots of large pots. But what if
no crazy games or available, or what if you’re in a tournament (i.e. you’re stuck where you are)?
Taking down small pots is an important part of successful poker in today’s climate. After all, two ways exist
to win a hand of poker: win in showdown, or force your
opponents to fold. Small pots stolen, though not worth
much individually, can add up to some serious money
over time. All it takes to win some uncontested pots is
some initiative on your part:
Raise Pre-flop: When action folds to you and you’re
in late position, be inclined to raise pre-flop with a wide
range of hands—something on the order of: A-A though
2-2, A-K though A-2, K-Q though K-7, Q-J through Q-7,
J-10, J-9, and J-9s through 5-3s. Such pre-flop raises
don’t have to be very big—keep them to about 2.5 big
blinds (three big blinds at most).
Continuation Bet: If you’ve raised pre-flop, no one
has bet, you don’t have many opponents, and the board
doesn’t contain many connected cards, fire a bet.
Delayed Continuation Bet: Instead of betting the flop
after you’ve raised pre-flop, wait until the turn. If you’re
out of position, this line of play allows you to get information about how your opponents act on the flop before you
commit any chips to the pot. If you’re in position, it allows
you to see if your opponents check to you twice; players
who check twice typically don’t have much of a hand.
Covert Post-flop Operations: Instead of always raising pre-flop, change things up by limping. When your
opponents fail to bet the flop—or fail to bet the flop or
the turn—fire a bet, unless the board is draw-heavy and
your opponents’ possible draws beat your hand even
when unimproved (e.g. you have 3s2f and the board is
Jd10d8s; almost any draw that your opponents have—
and will call your bet with—will beat your hand).
An important aspect of all these lines of play is bet
sizing. If your raises and bets are too large, you won’t
be getting a good return on your investment, and you’ll
put yourself in a position where you overexpose yourself
to your competition. Keep your raises and bets small so
you can apply constant pressure in a way that’s difficult
to exploit. Pre-flop, open to something like 2.5 big blinds
(three big blinds maximum). Post-flop, make bets that are
no more than 50-60 percent of the pot.
When players talk about focus and discipline, they usually refer to the art of being patient. However, constantly
keeping your foot on the gas requires just as much focus
and discipline—perhaps even more. Once you get used to
hyper-aggression, it can be difficult to ease up; easing up
can feel like you’re yielding power to other players. So,
knowing when to change gears is important. But having
the courage of your convictions is just as important. As
long as your opponents aren’t fighting back consistently,
keep on firing to pick up the small pots. Those small pots
add up, and the constant bullying will induce some of
your opponents to cough up huge implied odds when you
have big hands.
Tony Guerrera is the author of Killer Poker by the Numbers and
Killer Poker Shorthanded (with John Vorhaus). Visit him online
at www.killerev.com, and check out his weekly show, Killer
Poker Analysis, on Rounder’s Radio (www.roundersradio.com)
Fridays from 5:00PM to 6:00PM Pacific Time.
14
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
David Pham
JM: So you never read
books on poker?
DP: No.
JM: You don’t believe in
them?
DP: Not really.
JM: (laughing) You had
Men the Master; of course
you didn’t need a book.
Okay, tell me more.
DP: In 1998-2000 nolimit play started to become
popular. I was still working
in the nail salon. I played
in $20-$40 games … sometimes $40-$80. Although I
won more than I lost, I did
not make a lot of dough,
but I learned more every
day that I played. Then
in 2000 I played in larger
games and won. I kept winning and eventually was
named Player of the Year
by Card Player Magazine.
JM: You were Player of
the Year in 2000, runner-up
in 2004, and won Player
of the Year again in 2007.
That’s amazing; how did
you do that? What is your
secret to winning these
tournaments?
DP: Tournament play is
different than live play.
At tournaments you can
calculate the amount of
chips each player has and
make use of that knowledge. Even from the beginning, my strategy is to use
my strength to attack and
knock out players. I attack
players with fewer chips
than me. You have to watch
your chips, because you
have to keep your chips
level or keep building up
your stacks, because the
blinds keeps going up and
if you’re not building your
stacks, you’re essentially
going backwards.
JM: Do you talk or drink
alcohol at during a tournament?
DP: Not really, sometimes
I a say a word or two. I do
drink alcohol, but not while
I am playing.
JM: Are your parents
proud of your accomplishments? Do you take care of
them?
DP: Yes, and whatever I
make playing, I always take
care of my parents first.
They are number one.
JM: Would you let your
children become professional
poker players?
DP: I have two boys. My
13-year-old sometimes
watches me play poker
online. I always talk with
him, I tell him that you have
to go to school, become an
engineer, a teacher, or a doctor, which is better than playing poker. Poker is a very
cutthroat business. It is a very
hard business. It’s not as simple as it seems on television.
JM: Did you ever think that
you would become famous
for playing poker?
DP: No; I did it to take care
of my family… I play poker
like it’s a business.
JM: So the fame just came?
DP: Yes.
JM: What do you think of
the $1,000 limit games at
Hawaiian Gardens?
DP: It’s really good. I think
a lot of players picked up a
lot from watching TV and
by playing online, because
there are a lot of good players there. I see all these
games $30-$60, $40-$80,
no-limit and I think they do
a very good job at Hawaiian
Gardens.
JM: What do you think of
women players?
DP: A lot of women players
are good players, but I don’t
think they are as strong as
men.
JM: What do you mean by
that, do you think they are
not as strong mentally?
DP: A good woman player
cannot compare to a good
male player with the same
skills, because I think they
[women] are too emotional…
I think they get a little frightened.
JM: Who is your favorite
player?
DP: There are lots of good
players; they all have their
own style. I like many players for different reasons.
)
#'
), 0,
JM: How do you come back
so quickly after a big loss?
How are you able to play
another big game the next
day?
DP: I clear the loss from my
mind.
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
15
Riding Solo
STRAIGHT SKINNY
By RICHARD G. BURKE
In spring, a young man’s fancy turns
to love motorcycles. After I signed
up for a few games in the busy poker room on a
Thursday at our local casino, I spied Fred filling out
entry forms. Our casino had a six-week motorcycle
promotion going, hence the crowds. Each frequentplayer club member received one entry form just
for showing up at the service desk Monday through
Thursday. On Thursdays at 7:00 pm a casino
employee drew a form from a bin and that person
had five minutes to present himself and win one of
the six road bikes.
I asked Fred why he had so many entry forms. He
told me he earned them by showing up every day
and had saved them for six weeks so he could better his chances at winning a bike in this, the last
drawing. He had ridden in his youth, remembered
the fun, and wanted to start riding again. I told him
he forwent a better chance of winning a bike by
doing it that way. Fred was surprised, and asked if I
was certain. Yes.
Suppose you and 999 others put four tickets
in the bin each week. Since the casino empties
the bin every Friday, your probability of winning
is given by this formula, [1-(999/1000)6], which
equals 0.005985, a chance of about 0.6 percent.
By saving up your entry tickets, not only do you
forgo any chance at all of winning twice, but also
your probability of winning on the last day is
24/4020, or 0.005970, less than if you entered
every week.
Fred agreed that the probability was less, but
only by “a hair.” He also agreed that by waiting
until the last drawing, he missed any chance to win
more than once, but he could ride only one bike at
a time, and therefore hadn’t missed all that much.
He would be correct if he were the only one
using that tactic. Suppose there were 99 others
who also saved all their entries until the last drawing. Then his probability of winning would be given
by 24/6000, or 0.04, a 33 percent reduction from
his nominal win probability.
The absolute best he could do would be to persuade as many others as possible to adopt the
tactics of waiting until the last week to enter their
tickets, and then to cross them up by putting his
tickets in weekly. The more players waiting until
the sixth week, the better his chances would be in
the prior five drawings.
Fred looked disappointed. Not only were his tactics inferior, but he was getting writer’s cramp from
filling out all those damn forms at the last minute.
He started to dump his tickets in the trash. I told
him he still had a non-zero probability of winning
the bike of his dreams, and to go ahead with filling
out the entry forms. If there weren’t too many others also waiting for the last drawing to dump their
24 entries in the bin, then his chances were still
reasonable, considering that they cost him nothing
except a small risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.
“Don’t try to game the system,” I told him, “until
you run the numbers. For these weekly drawings
you’re better off putting in your entries every
week. Maybe next spring you’ll win two bikes and
your wife can ride with you.” He nodded, although
that prospect seemed to enchant him not.
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
richardburke@comcast.net
16
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
Regular readers of my column are familiar with my
use of poker posers as a
coaching tool. They may
also remember my favorite
student, a small-stakes internet junkie, who goes by the
nerable hand and get headsup. It works, as the two
limpers fold and the button
just calls. Now the turn is
a king, not of Markers’ suit
which kills his back-door
flush draw. The action is on
Another Poser
IMPROVING
PERFORMANCE
part 124,
By Tom “TIME” Leonard
handle “Markers.” Markers
seemed to be wrestling with
the Sniper Syndrome, freezing up whenever a scare
card hit the board. I told
him that while everyone
knows tight is right in limit
hold’em, playing downright
scared is not a winning formula. The meek may well
inherit the earth but they
sure aren’t going to be winning poker players. Allow
me to describe the poser that
was the focus of our discussion.
I outlined a limit hold’em
situation that puts Markers
in the big blind holding a
suited J-9. Two middleposition players limp in and
the button raises. The small
blind elects to pass and
Markers and the two limpers call the raise. It is fourhanded and the flop comes
down 9-6-2 with only one
of Markers’ suit. Our hero
has top pair, so-so kicker,
and a back-door flush draw.
He checks, as do the two
limpers, and the button
makes a continuation bet.
Markers decides to raise in
an attempt to protect his vulC H U M A S H
Markers and
the question
of, “What do you do and
why?” is posed.
Think about this situation
and decide what you would
do before continuing. In
addition to deciding what
action you would take, think
of a rationale as to why.
OK, time’s up … Markers’
response was to check, as
he felt the king was a problem for him and thought
his opponent would raise
if it helped him. He further
indicated that if his check
resulted in a bet he would
fold. Do you agree or disagree? I disagreed and while
I didn’t call him a wuss for
not betting, I did tell him
that checking is very weak
poker.
In our discussion, I indicated that while it certainly
is possible that his opponent
holds a king, there are many
other hands—such as A-Q,
A-J, A-10, J-10, 8-8, or
7-7—that could have been
played the same way. The
problem with checking is
twofold. First, if your opponent holds any of these other
C A S I N O
hands you will be giving
him a free card. Secondly,
if your opponent bets after
you check it doesn’t mean
he has a king… he may
have decided to bet mainly
because you checked and is
now seizing control of the
hand.
In addition, assuming he
is straightforward, if you
check and he raises you can
pretty much safely throw
your hand away. Another
advantage to betting if you
are ahead is that you may
take down the pot immediately. Checking and giving
your opponent a free card
would be a big mistake in
my opinion.
Our goal for today
should be the one I gave to
Markers. When in a situation as described, put your
opponent on a likely range
of hands based upon the
position and actions taken
thus far. If there are a significant number of hands
that you can beat, don’t be
too timid to maintain control
of the hand. These types
of situations do not favor
the faint of heart. Continue
to embrace the tight part
of your tight/aggressive
strategy—just don’t forget
the aggressive part. They do
work best in concert!
See you next “TIME.”
Tom “Time” Leonard has
played poker in Atlantic
City, Las Vegas, and
California for more than 30
years and written about the
game since 1994. Contact
Tom at thleonard@msn.com.
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J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
17
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The Venetian management reserves all rights.
20
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
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
MONDAY
LAS VEGAS & NEVADA SOUTH
•GOLD BAR DENOTES ADVERTISER
NEVADA
NORTH
........ Omaha
H/L .High/Low Split
Pi...........Pineapple
Po...........Pot Limit
Pn.........Panginque
Mx ..Mexican Poker
DC .Dealer’s Choice
TIME
Aquarius Resort & Casino 8A
Arizona Charlie’s
Bally’s
11A
10A
Biniionn’ss Gam
Bini
ambl
bliing
ing Hall (7
7)
7)
2P&
Caesars Palace
12P&
Cannery Casino
7P&
Circus Circus
11A
Club Fortune-Henderson
Colorado Belle-Laughlin
10A&
Edgewater-Laughlin
Excalibur
9A&
Go d Cooast (25
Gold
25))
10A
Goolden
en
n Nuggett (2
2)
11A&
10A
Green
n Vaall
lley
y Ran
anch
an
ch
h ((31
31))
7P
Harrah’s Las Vegas
11A&
Imperial Palace
1P
2P
Jokers Wild
7P
Luxor
9A&
Mandalay Bay
10A&
MGM
11A&
Mirage
7P
Monte Carlo
9A&
Nevada Palace
10A
Oasi
s s-M
si
Mesquiite
Mesq
11A
11A
Paalaace
ce Staation
on (4
4)
6P
Paris
1P&
Planet Hollywood
1P&
Plaza Casino
12A&
Rampart
12P
Red Ro
Red
Rockk Sta
tattion
on (4)
10A
Rio Suite Casino
12P&
River Palms
10A&
1P&
Riviiera Pooker Room (7)
Ri
7)
10A
Sahara
11A&
Sam’s Town
7P&
Sant
nta Fe
Fe Staation
on (4
4)
12P
10A
Sout
So
utth Poin
nt Ca
C si
sinoo ((3
31
31)
7P
4P
Speedway
Stratosphere
8A&
10A
Sun
n Co
Coasst (6
6)
7P
Suns
nsett Sta
tati
ta
tiion ((4))
11A
Texaas St
Te
Stat
attio
ion
n (4
4)
Treasure Island
11A&
Tropicana
10A&
Tropicana Express-Laughlin
4A
Tuscan
any (3)
7P&
12P
Veneeti
Ve
tian
an (20)
8P
Virgin River Casino
6P
Wynn Las Vegas
2P
Atlantis Casino
12P&
Boomtown
Cactus Petes-Jackpot
7P
Carson Valley Inn
12P
Circus Circus
11A
Eldorado
Grand Sierra
9A
Harrah’s Reno
10A&
|
HH ...... Headhunter
B ............ Bounties
Sp .............. Spread
Al .........Alternates
Z........... Freezeout
Cz ................ Crazy
E..........Elimination
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
Z
$17 8A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
L O H/L
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
O H/L
O H/L
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L H Sh
Pi
N H Sh
NH
NH
NH
Q ............... Qualify
Sh ...........Shootout
+ ..Rebuys, Add-Ons OK
F ............... Freeroll
Lad ..... Ladies Only
Men ........Men Only
DAILY TOURNAMENTS
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website:
w w w. p o k e r p l a y e r n e w s p a p e r. c o m
Note: All tournaments are subject to change. Check with the Cardroom for any updates. Cardrooms—
please send your schedules to Managing Editor A.R. Dyck, ard@gamblingtimes.com
| WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
12P&
NH
$65 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$200 12P&
NH
$35+ 10A
L/N H $40+ 11A
NH
$35 6P
NH
$25 10A&
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
N H $240+ 12P&
NH
$65 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$200 12P&
NH
$35 10A
L/N H $40+ 11A
NH
$35
NH
$25 10A&
$65 11A
$50 10A
$70 2P&
$200 12P&
$35+ 7P&
$40+ 11A
6P
$25 10A&
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
$65 11A
$50 10A
$70 2P&
$200 12P&
$35+ 7P&
$40+ 11A
$35 6P
$25 10A
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
$40
$60+ 11A&
$50+ 7P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$65 11A&
$125 7P
$50 9A&
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$40 11A
$40 6P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P&
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65 7P
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$40 11A
7P
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
O H/L B
NH
NH
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
7P
$60+ 11A&
$50+ 1P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$65 6P
$125 7P
$50 9A&
$19 10A
$15+ 11A&
$40 11A
$40 6P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P&
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65 7P
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$50+ 11A
$37+
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
Horse
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
$40 7P
$60+ 11A&
$50+ 7P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$125 11A&
$125 7P
$50 9A&
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$40 11A
$40 6P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P&
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65 7P
$23+
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$40 11A
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
O H/L
O H/L
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NHB
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
$100
$60+ 11A&
$50+ 1P
$25+ 2P
$25+ 7P
$22+ 9A&
$40 10A&
$65 11A
$230
$50 9A&
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$40 11A
$40 6P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40 12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+ 1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P&
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
$65
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$50+ 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
7 Sh
NH
$120+ 2P
$15 12P&
$22+
7P
$20 6P&
$17 11A
$22+
$40 9A
$25 10A
NH
L H Sh
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
6P
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
6P
$120+ 2P
$15 10A&
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
7 Sh
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
Var
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
$35+
$120+ 2P
$15 12P&
7P
NH
NH
NH
F+
$40 6P&
$17 11A
NH
NH
$45+ 12P
$17 11A
NH
NH
$40 9A
$25 10A
NH
NH
$40 9A
$25 10A
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$135+ 8P
$35+
$120+ 2P
$15 10A&
7P
$15+
$20 12P
$17 11A
6P
$40 9A
$25 10A
N H Sh
NH
NH
NH
NH
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
NH
$20+ 12P&
NH
$65 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$330 12P&
NH
$35 10A
L/N H $40+
4P
NH
$25 10A
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
Z
$17 8A
NH
$20+ 12P&
NH
$80+ 11A
NH
$50 10A
NH
$70 2P&
NH
$330 12P&
NH
$35 10A
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
Z
$17
NH
$20+
NH
$80+
NH
$50
NH
$70
NH
$330
NH
$35
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
$40
$25 10A&
12P
$35 9A&
$22 10A
$55+ 11A&
$40 10A
NHB
NHZ
NH
NH
NHZ
N HZ
NH
$60+ 11A&
1P
$25+ 2P
$35+ 7P
$22+ 12P&
$40
$65
NHB
NHZ
NH
NH
NHZ
$60+ 11A&
$50+ 1P
$25+ 2P
$35+ 7P
$30 12P&
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
$60+
$50+
$25+
$25+
$30
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$50 9A&
$18 10A
$15+ 11A
$40 11A
$40 6P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
$40
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
$44+
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P&
$35+ 10A
$45 10A
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
Lad N H
NH
6P
5P
$50 9A&
$18 10A
$15+ 2P
$40 11A
$40 6P
$65 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$65+ 12A&
12P
$100 10A
$40+ 12P&
$30+ 10A&
1P&
$44+ 10A
$40+ 11A&
$45+ 7P&
$35+ 12P
$45 10A
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$125
$125
$50
$18
$35+
$40
$40
$65
$50+
$65+
$40
$100
$40+
$30+
$44+
$44+
$40+
$45+
$35+
$45
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$23+ 4P
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$40 11A
L/N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$23+
$60 8A&
$40+ 10A
$40+ 7P
$50+ 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
$60
$40+
$40+
$50+
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
Var
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$540 12P
8P
2P
NH
NH
$60
$50+
NH
NH
NH
NHB
$60 11A&
$50+ 10A&
6P
$22 4A
$22 7P&
$145 12P
$195
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$22
$22
$145
$135+
$35+
NH
L H Sh
NH
$120+
$15 10A&
$22+
7 Sh
N H Sh
NH
$20 12P
$17 10A
N H Sh
NH
$15 12P&
7P
12P
$20 6P&
$17 10A
L H Sh
NH
H
N H Lad
NH
$15
$22+
F+
$30
$17
NH
NH
$40 10A
$25 10A
NH
NH
$50 10A
$25 10A
NH
NH
$50
$25
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
L O H/L
$25
$65
$35
$22
$55+
$40
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 23
Father’s
Day
(Continued from page 12)
Later when I brought them
dockside they saw the car
with Hobby standing nearby
wearing a chauffeur’s cap.
To make more room for the
passengers I opted to stay on
Lazybuns.
“Did it go OK?” I asked
when he returned.
“Joe, they kept thanking
me, over and over. It got
embarrassing. At Pablo’s
house as they were exhausting their gratitude a crowd
gathered to see the car. Pablo
got out with his father and
was saying goodbye when
a couple of gang-bangers
showed up. One got into
Pablo face and said, ‘You
think you’re a big shot now,
but you’re just some rich
dude’s peon.’
‘Back off; let my father
into the house.’
‘Who’s going to make
me?’ the bully said as he
shoved Pablo.”
Hobby’s face lit up as he
continued, “Pablo executed
a quick hip-roll toss sending the bully sprawling on
his ass. Then he turned to
the other guy and said, ‘You
want some, Ramon?’ The
two jerks heard the crowd
laughing and took off.”
“What a day this has
been,” I commented, “and to
hear about Pablo...”
“He’s m’boy, Joe,” Hobby
said, with booming pride
like a father.
Write to author David Valley
at: dvalley1@san.rr.com
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
21
LESSON 129:
Favorite Points
Lessons from mike caro
university of poker
BY DIANE MC HAFFIE
Recently I was assisting Mike in updating his book, which
will be out soon as Caro’s Secrets of Winning Poker. I realized
that this was the first book I read upon entering the poker
community. As well as being educational, it was a fun read. I’d
like to summarize some of the most helpful points:
Best. One of the first things Mike taught me was that you
must play your best game all of the time. Although you may
be having an off day, that’s no excuse. That is, unfortunately,
why so many players don’t win consistently. They allow their
emotions, or their cards, to determine how they’re playing. This can be very damaging to their bankrolls, because
at some point they can get so depressed that it no longer
matters how much they lose. Mike refers to this as crossing
Caro’s Threshold of Misery. The need to make good decisions
all of the time is vital.
Misconception. Many players go into a game with the
misconception that they are there to win pots. Wrong. They
are there to make correct decisions. Anyone who sets out to
be the winner of the most pots is going to be the loser of the
most money. That’s right! So, if you’re determined to play as
many hands as you can, attempting to take every pot, you’ll
quickly deplete your bankroll. Not a wise move! You definitely
wouldn’t be playing your best game.
Bluffing. If you’re considering bluffing, consider that the
players who are the most profitable to bluff are those who
are either just joining the game, or who’ve been behind in
chips and have now gotten even.
If your opponent is chatting away and bets without breaking stride in the conversation, he is betting a serious hand,
while an opponent who ceases the chatter will often be bluffing. An even more blatant tell is when an opponent’s conversation no longer makes sense. It’s pretty safe to call in that
instance.
FPS. Some players get overconfident as they acquire skills
and decide they need to show off by getting creative. Mike
calls this Fancy Play Syndrome or FPS. This isn’t apt to be
productive if intended to trick weak players. They aren’t going
to “get it,” and they aren’t refined enough to understand
what the fancy play is attempting to do, or what they “should
have” done in response.
An important hold’em strategy that you need to remember
is if the player who is in the small blind re-raises an opponent
in early position, there’s a good chance that the small blind is
holding fantastic cards. So, beware!
Tells. Now, anyone who has been to one of Mike’s seminars
knows how important tells are to the game. I first realized the
importance when we were at the license bureau in 2003 and
the man behind the counter recognized Mike and requested
a copy of Caro’s Book of Tells. It seems he was a mayor and
a police officer and it was important for him to be able to
“read” the people he arrested. Tells are an important part
of your poker arsenal. Even if you aren’t involved in a hand
you can still observe your opponents discreetly. Do not let on
when you do spot a tell. Save the information for later use.
Fooled. If you notice a player appearing to be oblivious
to the fact that you’re about to bet, that’s an act. Don’t be
deceived by his apparent lack of interest. Instead, reconsider
your bet, because this player plans on pouncing.
If a player bets “sadly,” don’t be fooled, as he’s secretly
laughing inside at how he’s about to fool you into making a
bad call.
These are important tips, but the single most important
thing to remember is to play your best game all of the time!
Diane McHaffie is Director of Operations at Mike Caro
University of Poker, Gaming, and Life Strategy. Her
diverse career spans banking, promoting financial
seminars and raising white-tailed deer. Contact her at
diane@caro.com.
22
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
I love using metaphors—
figures of speech in which
a word denoting one thing
is used in place of another
to suggest a similarity
between them. A classic
example often cited is, “The
ship plowed the sea.” Now,
a ship doesn’t actually plow
The rainbow at the end of a
storm is beautiful to behold.
Awesome! It makes you
feel good . . . just as you do
when your bluff succeeds.
You just took a pot when
you did not hold the best
hand. Exciting! Inspiring!
The chips you just earned
Metaphors in the
Game of Poker
SENIORS SCENE
By George “The engineer” EPSTEIN
the sea, but the similarity is
quite striking. You get the
picture!
Our game of poker is full
of metaphors. We use metaphors without realizing it.
For example, a monster hand
is not really a monster—an
animal of strange or terrifying shape. Nor is a monster
pot. In fact, we love to win
those. It may be strange in
that it is rare, but it certainly
does not terrify us.
And when the board
brings you the nuts, it’s
exciting, but we all know
it’s not really a dry fruit or
seed with a hard shell. Nor
is it an eccentric person.
How did we get to label
five cards in sequence a
straight, which literally is
something that is free of
curves, bends or angles?
Use your imagination.
A draw to a flush—four
cards of the same suit—has
lots of outs (as many as nine).
Lots of metaphors here: draw,
flush, outs, suits . . .
Wanted: Unique
Metaphors. But I wanted
to find some unique metaphors that we can apply to
the game of poker—not the
ones we already use, usually without even realizing
that they are metaphors. So
I offered my 12-year-old
granddaughter, Esther Fayla
Epstein, a challenge. She
knows the game of poker
quite well. (In fact, she gets
credit for the Esther Bluff
that is so powerful!) She
came up with three beauties. My reaction when
she presented these to me:
Wow! Great! I’ll share them
with you:
A successful bluff is
the rainbow at the end
of a storm.
are all the
more beautiful for your accomplishment. (In fact, the words
pot and chips in a poker
game originated as metaphors.)
I split the apple by
drawing to an inside
straight.
I won’t comment on
Esther’s second poker
metaphor, leaving it to your
imagination to “see” the
similarity between cutting
an apple in half and going
for an inside straight.
His poker face was a
porcelain mask.
As for the third, certainly
a porcelain mask is a great
metaphor for a poker face.
Porcelain implies a hard
ceramic and a mask serves
to conceal your emotions.
Never give your opponent
information that he can use
against you. If you don’t
have a poker face, you may
be giving him or her a tell.
(Yes, tell is another metaphor. When you recognize
a tell, your opponent is
providing information—just
as if you were being told
about his hand.)
A Challenge for You.
Here’s my challenge to
you, the readers of Poker
Player. Send me your best
poker metaphor. It must
be unique—not in current
usage. Esther and I will
select the best one. The
prize will be a signed copy
of my hold’em algorithm
booklet (it’s awesome!).
We will be the sole judge
and jury, and I will have
the right to publish your
poker metaphor, including
your full name and city.
Send to geps222@msn.
com. Please include your
mailing address and how
you would like the book
signed to you.
George “The Engineer”
Epstein is the author of
The Greatest Book of
Poker for Winners! and
Hold’em or Fold’em?—An
Algorithm for Making the
Key Decision and teaches
poker at the Claude Pepper
Sr. Citizen Center in Los
Angeles. Contact George at,
geps222@msn.com.
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BACK ISSUES, SPECIAL FEATURES & UP-TO-THE MINUTE POKER INFO—
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 D F R O M PAG E 2 1 )
MONDAY
CALIFORNIANORTH
CALIFORNIA—SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA- NEVADA
LOS ANGELES NORTH
& INLAND EMPIRE
|
TUESDAY
TIME
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
1P&
8P
10A&
6P
1P
7P
8P
6P
7P
6P
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O Pi H
6P
$25 1P
$25+
$25 10A&
$30+ 6P
$40 1P
$60 7P
$10+
$65+ 6P
$30+ 7P
$25+ 6P
1P
8P.
11A
7P
7P
7P
10A
6P
7P&
7P&
10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
5O
NH
NH
NH
O H/L
10A&
10A
Peech
hangaa (33
33))
6P
Soboba (23))
10A
Sycuan
y
10A&
Viejas
j
10A
Village
g Club
10A
Angie’s
g
Poker Club, Chico 11A
Artichoke Joe’s
Bay
y 10
01 (24)
Black Oak Casino, Tuolumne
Black Sheepp Inn, Cameron Park
Cache Creek
California Grand
Casino Real Cardroom
Casino San Pablo
Central Coast Casino, Grover Beach
Central Coast Casino, Paso Robles
Club One Casino, Fresno
Colusa Casino
Harvey’s
y Tahoe
Peppermill
pp
Rainbow Cas. W Wendover
Sands Regency,
g y Reno
Winners Hotel/Casino-Winnemucca
Biccyccle Clu
ub (17
7)
Club Caribe
Coommer
mmercee Clu
lubb (3
36)
Crystal Casino
Diamond Jim’s
Hawa
Ha
waiiaan Garde
ar enss (18
18))
Hoolly
ywoood Pa
Parkk (35))
Hustler Casino
Norman
ndiie Casino (1))
Casino Morongo
g
Casino Pauma
Fantasyy Springs,
p g Indio
Harrah’s Rincon
Lake Elsinore
Luckyy Ladyy
Oceans Eleven
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
H
NH
$25+
$25 1P&
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$25 7P
NH
$25 10A&
$18+ 6P
$40 1P
$60 7P
NHB
N H Turbo
NH
NH
$25 10A&
$18+ 6P
$40 1P
$60 7P
NHB
NHZ
NH
NH
NH
NH
LH
$65+ 6P
$30+ 7P
$20+ 6P
NH
$120+ 1P
NH
$30+ 7P
Lad L H
$25
$20+ 1P
$100 6P
$20+ 11A
$60+ 7P
$125+ 7P
25+ 7P
$30+ 7P&
$10+ 6P
$60+ 1P
$40 7P&
$17+ 10A
O H/L
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
LH
$65 1P
$40+ 6P
$20+ 11A
$20+ 7P
$125+ 7P
25+ 7P
$50+ 10A
$10+ 7P
$30+ 7P&
$40 7P&
$17+ 6P&
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O
NH
$40 10A&
$20+ 10A
$20+ 6P
$25 10A&
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
$20 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O H/L
NH
NH
$40 10A
$35+ 10A
$20+ 6P
$30 10A&
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
$20 11A
11A
LH
$28+ 11A
LH
$25 6P
9A&
11A
Spp L H
NH
$70+ 9A
$25 11A
Spp L H
NH
$50+ 9A
$25 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O
NH
L H/L
O H/L
Spp L HH
NH
H
$25+ 12P
12P
NHB
N H Turbo
NH
NH
10A
NH
$20 10A
NH
$20 10A
F
NH
NH
10A
$5
$100 7P
NH
10A
7P&
NH
10A
$27+ 7P&
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
$115+ 6P
8P
$25 10A&
$12+ 6P
$40 1P
$60
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
$110
$25+
$25 10A&
$30+ 4P
$40
2P
6P
$25 10A&
$55+ 6P
7P
NH
LH
NHB
O Po
NH
NH
NH
$120+ 1P
$50+ 7P
NH
NH
$120+ 1P
$30+ 7P
1P
$40+ 1P
$40+
$20+ 11A
$20+ 7P
$230 7P
25+ 7P
$30 7P&
$15+ 7P
$60+ 7P&
$40 7P&
$20+ 10A
NH
$20+ 4A
4P
$20+ 11A
$20+ 8P
$125+
25+ 4P
$60 10A
$15+ 4P
$60+ 7P&
$40 12P
$17+ 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
$65+ 6P
$155
$20+ 11A
$200+ 4P
$60 10A
$20+ 10A
$35+ 9P
$25 10A
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
$20 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
LH
NHB
NH
O
O
NH
$40 10A
$20+ 10A
$20+ 6P
$30 10A&
$16+ 10A&
$12+ 10A&
$30+ 10A
$20 11A
$50+ 11A
LH
$48
$55+ 9A&
$25 11A
Spp L H
NH
$50+ 9A
$25 11A
O H/L
$55 6P
H
$10
NH
$20 10A
NH
10A
$25
$50 7P&
6P
NH
$5
NH
NH
NH
NH
10A
F 10A
$15+ 6P
$20 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
O H/L
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
25+ 4P
$45 11A
$20+ 4P
$110 12P
$40 11A&
$17+ 10A
10A
$40 10A
$20+ 10A
$20 +
$25 11A
$26+ 10A&
$12+ 10A
$30+ 10A
$20 11A&
NHB
NH
SUNDAY
2P
$225+ 1P
$30+ 5P
$25+ 1P
1PWk4
Mx
F+ 4A
1P
LH
$20+ 11A
N H Sh
$100 8P
3P
NH
25+ 4P
NH
$55 11A
NH
$20+ 4P
NH
$40+ 12P
NH
$40 5P
LH
$17+
O H/L $22+ 10A
NH
$70 10A
NH
$35+ 10A
4P
NH
$40 1P&
NH
$36 10A&
NH
$12+ 10A
O
$30+ 10A
NH
$20 11A&
NH
NH
LH
6P
Spp L H
NH
$110 9A
$25 11A
Spp L H
NH
NH
$20 10A
9P
10A
$5
$27+ 7P&
$30+ 4P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$125+ 9A
$25 11A
3P
10A
$20 10A
$65 9P
$10
$60 12P
$30+ 2P Wk2
GAMES BUY-IN
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
$35+
$50
$25
$30+
$60
Mx
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
Pai Gow
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
$33
$120+
$120+
$50
$100
$65+
$125+
$25+
$120
25+
$5
$20+
$40+
$50-$3Kguar
g
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
LH
NH
$22+
$100
$20+
$40+
$45
$16+
$12+
$25+
$20
NH
$49+
Spp L H
NH
NH
$70+
$25
$55
NH
NH
$55
$20
$65
NH
NH
$50
$170
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
23
The Hotties Were
HOT For Mike!
FISHING AROUND
By Jan Fisher
My face is sore from all the laughing I’ve done in the past few
days while on a road trip to Branson, Missouri, with several pokerplaying friends who are part of a bigger group called the Hold’em
Hotties. I first became friends with this group two years ago during
a visit to Cherokee Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when the
Hold’em Hotties bribed Linda Johnson and me to present a poker
seminar to their group in exchange for the best potluck homecooked meal I’ve ever had. Over the past few years, we’ve met up
with members of this group in Oceanside, Los Angeles, and Las
Vegas. Recently, we decided to spend a few days in Branson, going
to shows and shopping during the day, and playing poker at our
vacation rental condo at night.
If you’ve never been to Branson, I hope this article will inspire
you to make the trip. Branson boasts over 50 theaters featuring
more than 90 Vegas-type shows. The only thing missing is gambling, but we overcame that hurdle by playing sit-and-gos until
the wee hours after the shows. We saw six shows in the five days
we were there. Joining me on this trip were Linda Johnson, our
hostess/driver/reservations maker/group organizer Diane Hughes
and her friends Karen Fisher (no relation), Della Jones, and Cheryl
Baugus. These ladies showed no mercy at either the poker table
or any of the shopping malls. While I chose to sit the shopping out,
they shopped and were still able to stay up late at night checkraising, and then get up at dawn ready to do it all over again.
Wanting to surprise them with something special, since they’d all
gone to so much trouble to show us “big city” girls such a “yee
haw” time, Linda and I arranged a surprise visit to one of the biggest poker stars today—the Mad Genius of Poker, Mike Caro.
(l. to r.) Diane McHaffie, Karen Fisher, Mike Caro, Diane Hughes, and Jan Fisher
Mike Caro moved to a rural Ozark community called Shell Knob
about six years ago and spends lots of time riding golf carts and
ATVs through the woods on his 41-acre compound at the edge of a
lake. He invited us to stop by for a visit, and though he professes
to be a hermit, I think he secretly enjoyed our company. Mike’s
Director of Operations Diane McHaffie graciously made up “goody
bags” for the Hotties, with books and DVDs of some of Mike’s best
works. Mike and Diane joined us for lunch at the nearby town of
Eureka Springs, where we all laughed and told stories of the old
days and played some trivia. Mike even allowed me to drive his
MINI Cooper S, which hugged the winding roads at ridiculously high
speeds. The afternoon with Mike and Diane will go into my book of
wonderful memories.
The trip ended with a visit to Cherokee Resort Casino in Tulsa
to participate in the Budweiser Celebrity Poker Classic. More than
thirty famous sports figures and a few poker celebrities were on
hand to help raise money for Tulsa Sports Charities. Despite the
fact that only 20 percent of the buy-in went to the prize pool,
more than 150 players came out to play and have fun while benefitting a good cause. I always enjoy my stay at Cherokee and this was
no exception. The games are great and the hospitality is incredible.
Plus I love the “fried-fried.” Do you know they even have fried pie?
Moving right along …
Editor’s Note: Jan Fisher has 30 years experience as a
poker player, tournament director, strategist/columnist, cofounder of the Tournament Directors Association, Partner
in Card Player Cruises, WPT Boot Camp instructor and
statistician, and live studio announcer for the Professional
Poker Tour. E-mail Jan at Jan@cardplayercruises.com.
24
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
Since writing my last article
on effective tournament buyins, I’ve become obsessed
with the subject. Like a melody that plays over and over
again in your head, figures
of tournament rakes, buy-ins,
and percentages have been
swirling in my brain like
numerical alphabet soup.
Determined to find some
answers, I attended a recent
Heartland Poker Tour event
where the direct buy-in was
$1650, no add-on. The number of entrants posted was
76, with no total prize pool
by the number of entrants =
your actual investment into
the prize pool.
2) Total buy-in amount
minus your actual prize pool
investment = actual rake.
3) The percentage you are
paying to enter the tournament = the percentage of
total buy-in/actual rake.
You can figure it will cost
13-15 percent of your buy-in
to compete in an HPT event.
Taking it one step further,
I calculated the qualifiers,
as the majority of buy-ins
are posted as $300+$40,
Tournament ROI, Part II:
Dare To Compare
MIDWEST MILIEU
By bonnie demos
posted. I posed this question
to 15 players: “What is the
actual rake and/or percentage
that you are paying to compete in this tournament?” Of
course no one knew because
the actual prize pool wasn’t
posted. What surprised me
was that these players did
not consider their ROI. Here
are some of their answers:
1) One player calculated $1650 x 76 on his cell
phone; he answered that the
prize pool was $125,400.
Wrong.
2) Another player stated
that $50 was withheld from
the buy-in, making the prize
pool $121,600, the actual
rake being $50, or 3 percent.
Wrong again.
3) The majority of players
assumed that the $1650 buyin translated to $1500+$150,
thus making the prize pool
$114,000, resulting in a 10
percent rake. Wrong again.
4) Several players stated
that all tournament rakes are
basically the same. Wrong.
The actual figures for this
event:
Total Prize Pool: $106,266.
Entrants: 76.
Actual Buy-In: $1650.
$106,266.00 / 76 = $1,398.34.
Actual Rake = $251.66 or 15.25
percent.
I researched the percentages
from the past three years
of HPT events. Arriving at
an exact figure is difficult.
Buy-ins can vary from different hosting properties, and
additional prizes and/or seats
into another event can also
be a factor in the amounts of
the prize pools. Here’s an
effective way to calculate a
tournament ROI:
1) Total prize pool divided
also coming in at a
13 percent rake. Most of
the 2008 HPT prize pools
have been lower than those
in 2007, and I wonder if
the rake could be a contributing factor. Arguably,
it’s not effective to use this
method in determining ROI
in player-based prize pools
prior to entering a tournament; however, you can get
the predetermined figures
from the tournament venue
for the percentage that is
deducted from the buy-in.
Most poker rooms do post
the financial details of their
tournaments in advance of
the actual event. This information is also often posted
on the internet, making it
easy to find the most profitable venues.
Day
Comparatively, an example of an excellent value for
a tournament ROI is The
River, WinStar’s new megaevent. The structure is as
follows:
Total Prize Pool: $3 million.
Entrants: Capped at 1,500.
Actual Buy-In: $2,000+$100.
$3,000,000.00 / 1,500 = $2,000.
Actual Rake = $100 or 5 percent
maximum.
Millions of dollars are up
for grabs, for a nominal
investment. WinStar Casino
is located in Oklahoma
and is home to one of the
country’s top poker rooms.
The $3 Million Guaranteed
River Tournament is part
of the WinStar World
Championship Series, currently underway, with the
final tournament taking place
August 17th-23rd.
For additional details
about the WWCS, call
1-800-622-6317, or log on to
winstarcasinos.com. You’ll
find details of “The World’s
Biggest Deal” as it unfolds
in upcoming issues of Poker
Player, including additional
WWSC news, and coverage
of the finals.
In conclusion, take some
advice from a banker’s
daughter: Maximize your
bankroll by always calculating your ROI before investing your money.
Bonnie Demos from the midwest, Gambler, poker player
and award winning chef,
has enjoyed working in the
gaming industry for the past
several years. Write her at
bdemos1@wi.rr.com
Game
Buy-in
Sun. nite/Mon. am
♦ Spread Limit Hold‘Em ♦ $120
Wed. nite/Thurs. am ♦ Spread Limit Hold‘Em ♦ $120
Registration begins 12 am. Tournaments begin 1:45 am. Lmt. seating.
A MAIN EVENT SEAT
May–June 2008 • Every Sat., 8:15am
Spread Lmt. Hold'em • $125 buy-in, 100 rebuys, 1 add-on
Sign up one day ahead to guarantee a seat.
For more information visit bay 101.com
or call June Richardson at (408) 437-5506
Morning tournaments begin
Sun 9:00am, Mon–Fri 9:30am
1801 Bering Drive,
San Jose, California
(408) 451–8888 • bay101.com
c a s i n o
Play with your head, not over it.
Call 1.800.GAMBLER
www.problemgambling.gov
Bay 101 reserves the right to change
or cancel this promotion at any time.
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
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 23)
MONDAY
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
Del Rio Casino, Isleton
6P
Feather Falls Cas., Oroville 6P Wk1 Lad N H $55+ 6P
Folsom Lake Bowl
10A&
NH
$40 10A&
Garden Cityy
10A
Spp L
$60+ 10A
Gold Countryy Cas.-Oroville 7P
NH
$25 7P
Gold Rush
1P
Golden West-Bakersfield
6P
Jaack
ckso
son Ra
Ran
ncheri
nc
ria
10A&
$30+ 10A&
Kelly’s
y Cardroom
6P
NH Sh
$20
Limelight
g Cardroom-Sac’to 10A&
NH
$25 10A&
Luckyy Chances
9A
NH
$65+ 9A
Luckyy Derbyy Casino
6P
Merced Poker Room
11A&
NH
$7 11A&
Oaks Card Club-Emeryville
y
Poker Flats, Merced
11A&
NH
$15 11A&
San Pablo Lytton
y
Casino
Sonoma Joe’s
7P
Tachi Palace Casino
7P Wk1&3 Lad N H
$40 7P
Turlock Poker Room
11A
NH
$20 11A
Wine Countryy Casino
10A
NH
$20 10A
Apache
p
Gold
Blue Watter Casin
Blu
inoo (15
(15)
Bucky’s
y Casino
12P
Casi
Ca
sinno Arizz.-Scott
ttsddal
a e (11)
1)) 11A
NH
$60 7P
Casino Del Sol
10A
HZ
$10+ 10A
Cliff Castle
10A
N H Sh
$25 10A
Fort McDowell
12P&
NH
$13+ 12P&
CALIFORNIANORTH
TIME
SOUTHWEST
AZ
CO
KS
NM
PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
OR
WA
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
6P
LO
$55+
NH
$40 10A&
Spp L
$40+ 10A
NH
$25 7P
H Sh
$15 1P
NH
$58
$30+ 10A&
NH Sh
$20
NH
$25 10A&
NH
$65+ 9A
NH
LH
NH
$7 11A&
$65+
$15 11A&
$20+
$55
$20 11A
$20 10A
$25+ 7P
7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$20+ 7P
$75 7P
$20 11A
$20 10A
6P
H
NH
NH
NH
H
H
NH
O H/L Z
L H Sh
NH
$25+
$130 7P
$10+ 10A
$25 10A&
$13+ 12P&
NH
Cz Pi Z
N H Sh
NH
$20 11A
$30+ 1P&
F 6P
HB
NH
H
$130 11A
$10+ 10A
$25 10A
$13+ 12P&
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$30+ 6P
6P
NH
$40 10A&
H
$40+ 10A
NH
$25 12P&
H Sh
$15 1P
$50 10A
FRIDAY
NH
NH
$25 10A&
$120
NH
$7 11A&
NH
NH
$15 11A&
NH
NH
NH
O H/L
HB
11A
$20 11A
$20 10A
$20
$25
NH
NH
NH
$60 11A
$10+ 10A
$25 10A
$13+ 12P&
NH
Pi
N H Sh
NH
$20 11A
$30+ 1P&
$10 6P
NH
NHZ
L H Sh
NH
Men H
NAI
HB
NH
O H/L
$20
$30+ 1P&
$25
NH
$25+
Gila River-Vee Quiva
Harrah’s Ak Chin
Hon-Dah Casino
Paradise Casino
Gilpin
p Hotel & Casino
Midnight
g Rose-Cripple
pp Crk
Ute Mountain
Prairie Band Casino & Resort
Cities of Gold
Isleta Casino & Resort
Route 66 Casino
Sand
nddia Casin
in
no (34
4)
11A
1P&
6P
7B
NH
Flopp
$20 11A
$30+ 1P&
$10 6P
HB
NH
H Sh
12P&
8P
6P
6P&
6P
2P
11A
N H Sh
NH
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$10+ 12P&
$60 7P
$20+
$25+ 6P&
$30 6P
$10+ 2P
$25 11A
7P
$35 10A
$25 7P
$20 10A
$20+ 7P
$25+ 6P
$40 7P
$115 7P
$30 7P
NHZ
NH
$24 12P&
$45 7P
N H Sh
NH
$10+ 12P&
$35 7P
NHZ
NH
$24 12P&
$55+ 2P
NH
Cz Pi
NH
NH
Var
NH
LH
NH
Lad N H
NH
Lad N H
NH
NH
$40 12P
$30 6P
$20+ 2P
$25 11A
$35
$35 10A
$35 7P
$20 10A
$20+ 10A&
$65+ 6P
$20
$60 1P
$30+ 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$10+ 7P&
$30 6P
$5+ 2P
$25 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
$40+ 12P
$30 6P
$20+ 2P
$25 11A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
Lad N H
NH
$35 10A
$30
$20 10A
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
Tahoe
H/L
NH
N O H/L
NH
NH
NH
$65+ 2P
$40 7P
$115 11A
$45 7P
NH
NH
NHB
$35 10A
$120 7P
$20 10A
$20+
$25+ 6P
7P
$60 1P
$35 7P
$25+ 4P
H
$33+
$20+ 1P
$20 9A
$35 12P
$20 9A
NH
NH
NH
NH
10A
5P
Cherookee
Ch
eee-R
Rollandd
10A
Ch rokeeCher
ee-W.
-W. Siilo
l am
10A
Comancchee Red River
er Caas.
6P
Thunderbird Casino,, Norman 7P
WinS
nSta
taar Worldd Caasinno (5)) 7P
Astoria Bar & Poker Room,, Eugene
g
7P
NH
Srs N H
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHB
12P
Chinook Winds Casino
4P
H
$25+ 4P
O H/L
$25+ 4P
NH
$25+ 4P
W lddhors
Wi
hors
rse Casi
s noo Resoort
or (9)
Blue Mountain Casino
Chips
p Bremerton
Chips
p La Center
Chips
p Lakewood
1P
9A
12P
9A
N O H/L
NH
NH
NH
6P
$20+ 1P
$20 9A
$35 12P
$20 9A
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$18+
$20+ 1P
$20 9A
$35 12P
$20 9A
NH
NH
NH
NH
6P
$20+ 1P
$20 9A
$35 12P
$20 9A
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
LH
$15 6P
NH
$45
NH
$40 10A&
Spp L
$60+
NH
$25 12P&
H Sh
$15 1P
2P
$60 10A
5P
NH
$25 10A&
Gila River/Wild Horse Pass 12P
Ch
herokeee-C
-C
Cat
atooosaa
OK
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
LH
$15
NH
$10+ 6P
NH
$40 10A&
H
$40+ 10A
NH
$25 7P
H Sh
$15 1P
NH
$20+ 6P
$30+ 10A&
6P
NH
$25 10A&
NH
$175 9A
NH
$55
NH
$7 11A&
6P
NH
$15 11A&
Z........ Freezeout Sh ........Shootout
Cz ............. Crazy + Re-buys and/or
E...... Elimination Add-ons allowed
Q ............Qualify F ............Freeroll
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
LH
$15
$40 10A&
NH
$40
NH
H Sh
LH
NH
$15
NH
N H Sh
NH
NH
Var
NH
NH
$15+
$120
$20
$50
$225
Var
$7
$125+
NH
O H/L
$55
F+
NH
NH
H
O H/L
7F
$20
$20
$20+
$25
H
NH
$15 12P&
$15
$5+ 2P
$60 10A&
F 6P
$25 1P
9A
$40 11A
$7 11A&
$65+ 1P
$40
$55
6P
Varies
$20 11A&
$20 10A
3P
2P
$25+ 1P
$150
NH
NH
$80+ 10A
$13+ 12P&
O Sh
NH
$25
$13+
11A
$60 12P&
$10
$13 1P
$20+ 12P&
$60 12P
12P
$10+ 3A
$40 5P
$5+ 2P
$18 11A
12P
$35 10A
$120
HB
NH
$20
$60
H
NH
NH
7
NH
NB
NH
NH
Var
NH
$13
$20+
$55
$15
$200+
$110
$5+
$25
$35
$35
NH
NH
NH
NH
Var
NH
NH
$35+ Varies
$20 11A&
$20 10A
Varies
NH
NH
$25+
GAMES BUY-IN
NH
9A
$7 11A&
11A
$15 5P
10A
12P
$60 10AWk4
$10+
$25 11A
$13+ 12P&
SUNDAY
12P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$30+ 12P&
3P
1P
$10+ 12P&
F 12P
NH
H
O H/L
NH
NH
$100 10A
$50 5P
$20+ 2P
$25 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$35 10A
NH
4P Wk1-4 N H B
$20
$65+ 2P
F 5P
$165
$30 3P
NH
NH
NHB Deepstack
p
$25+
$20+ 1P
$20 9A
$35 12P
$20 9A
N O H/L
NH
NH
NH
$60+
$50
$50 3P
N H Deepstack
p
$110
4P
NH
$25+
1P
$20+ 1P
$20 9A
$100 12P
$20 9A
H
NH
NH
NH
NH
$18+
$20+
$20
$35
$20
NON-SMOKING • 8 TABLES • OPEN 24 HOURS
4000 W. FLAMINGO ROAD • LAS VEGAS • 367-7111
POKER ROOM SPREADING
$2- $4
$100
& $4- $8 Limit Hold’em (Full Blind • 1/2 Kill)
Buy-In • $1- $2 Blinds • No-Limit Hold’em
$4- $8 Omaha High
$3
Maximum Rake on All Games
Lowest Poker Rake in Town
DAILY HOLD’EM TOURNAMENT
10am • $22 BUY-IN • NO RE-BUYS
PROGRESSIVE HIGH HAND
JACKPOTS
4-of-a-Kind Starts at $50
Straight and Royal Flushes
Starts at $100
HOST YOUR OWN PRIVATE OR
COMPANY TOURNAMENT
Contact Poker Floor Supervisor for Details
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
25
Reno Roundup,
PART 1 OF 3
STUD SENSE
By ASHLEY ADAMS
I’ve found a new favorite place for poker—Reno, Nevada. I
just made my first poker trip there and fell in love. Let me
tell you why. And when I’m done, I’ll give you a quick rundown of all the poker in the area.
First of all, Reno, and the surrounding cities of Carson
City, Lake Tahoe, Sparks, and Incline Village, are absolutely
beautiful. You have the snowcapped peaks, Lake Tahoe, and
beautiful sunsets. In late winter and early spring, when I visited for a week, the weather is cool at night and warm in the
daytime. There is a wide open under-developed feel to the
place, with an unpolluted clarity and freshness to the air.
It’s also an inexpensive city. During the week, casino hotel
rooms are available in the downtown area for as little as $20
per night. On weekends you can spend as little as $35. These
are not little flea-bags but major casino rooms. Similarly,
food is very cheap. I had a number of nice dinners in the $10
range. There are buffets for that amount and less as well.
The best Basque food in the United States can be had in
enormous quantity for $20 for a six-course dinner, including
wine.
But this alone wouldn’t distinguish Reno from countless
cities and towns throughout the heartland of our great
nation. What makes Reno and the surrounding area special
is the fact that there are 21 poker rooms within an hour’s
drive. Some are surely better than others. And none, to
be sure, offer the high-stakes action of the biggest Vegas
or Southern California rooms. But each has something to
recommend it. So if you’re looking for a great mid and lowstakes poker destination, then Reno is the place to come.
I recommend that you rent a car. If you’re going to the
area you might as well take in all of Reno, Lake Tahoe, and
the surrounding towns while you’re there. It would be a
shame to miss the gorgeous natural beauty and the many
different poker rooms by staying in just one casino location.
A rental car is cheap. Mine was mid-sized, had XMRadio, got
35 miles to the gallon going 75 miles an hour on the highway, and only cost me $79 for six days. Such a deal!
The poker rooms are relatively close together. I visited 20
rooms in six days, this while also working as a trainer for my
union during the days. I played in nearly all of them, some
a few times and for sessions lasting a few hours. I managed
a few tournaments as well, but mainly stuck to the cash
games.
You’ll find a good mix of primarily low-limit games. I
played stud, stud/8, Omaha/8, and hold’em, both limit and
no-limit. The stud games were generally $1-$5 spread-limit,
with and without an ante, while the flop games were generally $2-$6 spread-limit, as well as $2-$4 and $3-$6 fixedlimit. The no-limit games generally had $1 and $2 blinds,
though there were a couple with $2 and $5 blinds. There
were caps to the buy-ins which generally ranged from $100
to $300. There were some notable exceptions, which I’ll
point out in my individual rundown of the rooms in my next
column.
One room stands out above all of the others—which is saying a lot because each room has something to recommend it.
Without question, however, the major room in the area is the
Peppermill. It had the highest limits, by far the most games,
the best tournaments, and, in general, the best action. If you
only go to one room that’s the one to visit. But plan your
trip so you can visit the others. It’s worth a few extra days
to do so.
Harrahs New Orleans
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Timothy Miles . . . . $210,610
Floyd Vanderford . $107,699
Gabe Costner . . . . . $83,766
Jeff Tims . . . . . . . . . $71,799
Lou Esposito . . . . . . $59,833
Charles Kelley . . . . $47,866
Ed Jatho . . . . . . . . . $35,900
Marc Fratter . . . . . . $23,933
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
EVENT #10
BUY-IN $1,000
BUY-IN $200
PLAYERS 269
PRIZE POOL
$52,186
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
$215,940
PRIZE POOL
Lance Oliver
$55,776
5/17/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $1,000
PLAYERS 284
26
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
$95,550
John Lively
John Lively . . . . . . . . $9,778
Rich Richardson . . . . $5,432
Rowdy Macpherson . $2,988
Joseph Holmes . . . . . $2,173
Ward Kay . . . . . . . . . $1,901
1.
2.
3.
4.
EVENT #3
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
BUY-IN $500
5/14/08
Michael Vardeman . $42,214
Jason Becher . . . . . . $23,218
Paul Vo . . . . . . . . . . $11,873
Jared Brintz . . . . . . . $9,234
Steven Klein . . . . . . . $7,915
Ward Sudderth . . . . . $6,596
5/16/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 187
PRIZE POOL
$92,696
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
EVENT #7
5/13/08
1.
2.
3.
4.
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
EVENT #2
$194,970
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 344
PLAYERS 66
Jeff Tims
Jeff Tims . . . . . . . . . $58,491
Gabriel Andrade . . . $31,390
Lou Esposito . . . . . . $15,598
William Neal . . . . . . $13,648
William Johnson . . . $11,698
J L “the hut” Murtagh. $9,749
Ben Mintz . . . . . . . . . $7,779
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$166,840
$18,915
Andrew Kloc
Bobby Toye
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Bobby Toye . . . . . . . . $6,904
Bobby Flanigan . . . . $4,161
Unknown . . . . . . . . . . $2,459
Bridget Fredericks . . $1,797
Joe Maggio . . . . . . . . . $1,324
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
5/15/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
EVENT #6
5/13/08
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
EVENT #1
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 336
PLAYERS 225
PLAYERS 393
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Daphne Turner . . . . $34,920
David Scarano . . . . $19,206
Unknown . . . . . . . . . . $9,821
Shaun Helmle . . . . . . $7,639
Brian McHann . . . . . $6,548
David Gurievsky . . . . $5,456
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
PRIZE POOL
PRIZE POOL
$162,968
$114,758
Dr. Del Walker
David Avera
David Avera . . . . . . $35,453
Benjamin Mintz . . . $18,298
Frank Folino . . . . . . . $9,149
Tony Hatley . . . . . . . . $8,005
Dennis Booze . . . . . . . $6,862
5/9/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300
PRIZE POOL
Andrew Kloc . . . . . . $51,840
Teddy Trosclair . . . . $26,694
Jozef Pikula . . . . . . . $13,347
Fatolla “Fati” Shahen $11,679
Shaun Higgins . . . . . $10,010
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
$109,129
5/10/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
BUY-IN $300
PRIZE POOL
Johnathan
Westra
Johnathan Westra . $29,385
Brian Walsingham . $15,418
Brandon Robinson . . $9,070
Glenn Hyde . . . . . . . . $7,256
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
PLAYERS 402
5/11/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
$131,920
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Mark Stephen
Edwards
Mark Stephen Edwards $30,957
Will Souther . . . . . . . $16,243
John Lively . . . . . . . . $9,555
James Dunning . . . . . $7,644
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
BUY-IN $500
PLAYERS 272
PRIZE
POOL
Daphne Turner
Ashley Adams is the author of Winning 7-Card Stud,
and profitably plays 7-card stud all over the world,
including England, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Hungary,
Canada and the United States, but most frequently at
Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino.
You can reach Ashley at asha34@aol.com
PLAYERS 197
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
Tyler Smith . . . . . . . $88,154
Will Souther . . . . . . . $48,484
Dusti Smith . . . . . . . $24,793
Russell Bozeman . . . $19,284
Jason Brice . . . . . . . $16,529
Skip Gill . . . . . . . . . $13,774
Jay Lee . . . . . . . . . . $11,019
EVENT #11
BUY-IN $500
$27,161
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
5/12/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
PRIZE POOL
EVENT #8
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
EVENT #4
PRIZE POOL
Tyler Smith
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
PLAYERS 56
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
$275,480
1. Jason Gladden . . . . $25,099
2. Jody Simon . . . . . . . $13,944
3. Ricky Byrd . . . . . . . . $8,366
BUY-IN $500
PRIZE POOL
EVENT #12
5/14/08
Jason Gladden
LIMIT HOLD’EM
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Lance Oliver . . . . . . $68,909
George Bronstein . . $37,900
James Henson . . . . . $19,981
Brian Leung . . . . . . $15,074
James Arruebarrena $12,920
Chris Highers . . . . . $10,767
EVENT #9
Jena Delk . . . . . . . . . $16,700
Rae Payne . . . . . . . . . $9,185
Elizabeth Germann . . $4,697
Carol Bollinger . . . . . $3,653
Kimberly Zobrist . . . $3,131
Sherrie Aiken . . . . . . $2,609
EVENT #13
BUY-IN $500
HARRAHS NEW ORLEANS
POT LIMIT OMAHA
REBUY UNLIMITED
PRIZE POOL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
5/12/08
PLAYERS 44
REBUYS 71
Jena Delk
EVENT #5
PLAYERS 222
5/18/08
LADIES—
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
5/15/08
NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
EVENT #14
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Dr. Del Walker . . . . $50,518
Matt Culberson . . . $26,074
Ryan Welch . . . . . . . $13,037
Matthew Stulting . . $11,407
Bryce Kammeyer . . . $9,778
John White . . . . . . . . $8,148
Robbie Betancourt . . $6,518
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 D F R O M PAG E 25 )
MONDAY
NORTHWEST
PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
MT
ND Dakota Magic
NE Rosebud Casino
SD
CT
NH
NORTHEAST
TIME
Chips
p Tukwila
4P
Drift-On-Inn
11A
Final Table Cas., Everett
12P
Goldie’s
11A
Little Creek Casino
7P
Muckleshoot Casino
7P
Northern Quest
10A
Point Defiance Cafe & Cas., Tacoma 10P
Suquamash
q
Clearwater
11A
5P
Wild Grizzlyy
Black Jack’s Casino
4 Bears Casino
NJ
Dakota Sioux
Gold Dust Cas., Deadwood
Rosebud Casino
Silverado Casino Deadwood
Foxwoods
Poker Room at Nashua Elks
Rockingham
g
Park, Salem
The Lodge
g at Belmont
Seabrook Greyhound
y
Park
Caesars Atlantic Cityy
Harrah’s Atlantic Cityy
Tropicana
p
Trumpp Tajj Mahal
Akwesasne Mohawk
Majesty
j y Casino Boar
Sen
neca
c Alllegany
y (2
27)
7)
NY Sene
n ca Irv
rvingg (2
27)
MIDWEST
S neca
Se
ca Niaagara
ra (27
27)
IA
IL
Turn
r in
ingg Stton
ne (14
(14)
Catfish Bend
Diamond Jo’s “Worth”
Isle of Capri
p
Winn-A-Vegas
g
Hollywood Casino-Aurora
|
TUESDAY
GAMES BUY-IN| TIME
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
LO
$15+ 7P
NH
$65+ 7P
NH
$35 10A
NH
$40 7P
NH
$20 11A
NH
$13+ 5P
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
L/N H
$25
NH
$65 7P
NH
$35 10A
NH
$115 10P
NH
$20 11A
NH
$13+ 5P
7P
7P
S
7P
6P
NH
7 H/L
F+ 7P
NH
$30+ 7P
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 7P&
NH
$13+ 11A
7P
NHB
$80 7P
NH
$35+ 10A
NH
$40 7P
NH
$20 11A
NH
$13+ 5P
7P
7
$10+ 7P
S H/L
F+ 7P
$30+
$10+
7P
H
7P
6P
10A&
6P&
NH
NH
Varies
NH
$30+
$44
Varies 10A&
$75 6P&
6P
Varies
NH
NH
5P&
3P
7P
7P
6P
7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$150 12P
$30+ 7P
$120 6P
$67 7P
NH
NH
NH
7
NH
NHZ
11A
7P
7P
NHB
NHB
NHB
$55 11A
$55 7P
$45 7P
NH
NH
NH
10A
7P
12P
7P
6P
10A
NH
NH
LH
NH
O H/L
NH
$60 10A
$60 7P
$60 7P
$20+ 7P
$30+ 6P
$15 6P
Terminator
Terminator
NHB
NH
NH
NH
$35 7PWk1
|
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
Lad N H $25+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
NH
$45
NH
$65 11A
NH
$40 10A
$65 10P
NH
$20 11A
NH
$13+
N
F $100
O H/L
$10+ 7P
H/L
$25 7P
Sp Z
7P
6P
H
$50
H
$110 7P
7P
Varies 10A&
$75 6P&
$40 6P
7P
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$120 7P
$30+ 7P
$65 6P
$57 7P
7P
$40 11A
$40 7P
$27 7P
BNH
Varies
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
$65 7P
Varies 10A&
$75 6P&
$40 6P
Varies
$50 5P&
$80+ 3P
$150 7P
$40+ 7P
$65 6P
$27+ 7P
$65 7P
$60 6P
$40
$37 9P
$11+
Varies 10A&
$75 6P&
$40 6P
7P
NH
$50 5P&
NH
$80+ 3P
NH
$150 8P
LH
$30+ 4P
NH
$120 6P
NHZ
$57 7P
NH
$65 7P
N H Deepstack
$90 11A
$90 10A
$90 7P
$50+ 7P
$20+ 7P
$45
$15 6P
7P
1P
NH
NH
NH
NH
$90 10A
$90 7P
$85+ 12P
$20+ 7P
6P
$50
$10+
$160
Poker League
$95 1A
Poker League
$95 10A
N H Sh
$50
NH
$40+
NH
$65
NH
N H/O
NH
NH
Varies
NH
NH
NH
$60 7P
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
5P
NH
$60 11A
NH
$35
$40 10P
NH
$20 11A
2P
$10+ 2P
H
NH
NH
O H/L
NH
NH
H
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
NH
$20
H
$35
NH
$50+
NH
$28+
NH
NH
NH
$60
$35
$115
F+
$20+
2P
NH
$30+ 3P
H
$30+ 7P
$10+ 4P
NH
NH
7P
NH
Varies
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
NH
NH
$30+
$25+ 4P
2P
$30+ 6P
3P
Varies 10A&
$60+ 2P&
$60 2P
$75 1P&
$50+ 1P&
$100+ 7P
$560 12P
$65+ 12P
$340 6P
$87 7P
$65 7P
$120 12P
NHZ
H
NH
NH
Varies
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
N H Deepstack
$27 6P
$50
$120 6P
NH
$55
N H Deepstack
$100
NH
NH
NH
$85 11A
$20+ 3P
Var 12P
NH
NH
NH
$120
$60
$25+
N H/O
NH
$10+
$90
Varies Varies 10A&
NH
$75 2P&
NH
$60 2P
NH
$10+ 4P&
NH
$50 1P&
NH
$80+ 1P
NH
$330 12P
NH
$60+ 12P
NH
$225 6P&
NH
$37+ 12P
NH
$65 7P
Terminator
$60 10A
N H Deepstack
GAMES BUY-IN|TIME
NH
$20 4P
H
$35 11A
NH
$30+ 12P
NH
$13+ 11A
NB
$35
NH
$60 11A
NH
10A
$40 7P
NH
$20
NH
$25+
$75 12P
7P
$50 110A
$95
11A
11A&
Var
2P
11A
$60
$40
$30+
$88
Varies
$60+
$60
$50
$50+
$85+
$1,200
$55+
$120
$58
$65
$60
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
27
PLO Junkie
ONLINE POKER
Paul “Dr. Pauly” McGuire
My inner action junkie is a little monster
with an insatiable appetite for pot-limit
Omaha cash games. The money doesn’t matter to me.
Neither do the stakes. I crave the inundation of the
gambler’s high that overcomes my senses in PLO when
I shove all in with a monster draw, especially when I get
called in a three-way pot, and I find myself way behind.
Then there’s the invigorating jolt of anticipation as the
river card appears and then you magically spike your
draw on the river.
It’s like the millisecond before Kirk Gibson tagged a
back-door slider on a 3-2 count against Dennis Eckersley
in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Or like that second
before Larry Johnson hit that infamous four-point play
in Game 3 of the 1999 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
As Kirk Gibson said, “That’s the great thing about the
game. People think they got ya and it’s so nice to get
them and snatch it away at the end.”
I always get a slight buzz when I utter the words,
“PLO.” I like saying it out loud. “Pee …El … Ohhhhh.”
My mouth automatically salivates as the letters roll
off my tongue. I beseech any action. No-limit hold’em
doesn’t satisfy me anymore. I require something stronger. My senses need a little more excitement than two
cards. I have played so many hands of hold’em that I
built up a tolerance and I need a game with juiced action
to get any semblance of a rush. PLO has four cards.
Double the dosage, double the rush.
When I sit down at a PLO table, my gambling demons
are quelled as I sink down into a grandiose feeling of
warmth. Relaxation. Pleasure. Satisfaction.
It is tough to find a live PLO game, especially if you
don’t live in Europe, parts of the South, or in Las Vegas.
However, PLO games are available online 24 hours a day.
That’s where I get my fix.
I played PLO the other afternoon against several
Scandinavian players. The flop was Kd-10h-8s in a fourway pot. I held Ad-Kh-7h-5d and fired out at that scary
flop. I got two callers. The turn was the 6d. I redrew to
an open-ended straight draw and a nut flush draw. I bet
the pot. One player called. Another potted. I took all the
time in the time bank as I let the rush build up before I
re-potted all in. Both players called. I took a deep breath
before the Qd fell on the river. For a couple of seconds I
floated a few inches off the ground.
And the thing is, I also take a fair share of brutal
beats in PLO and there’s nothing I can do about it. You
get just as much of a rush when you’re ahead in a hand
and succumb to the river suckout.
The most intoxicating hand that I had all week was
Qh-Qd-7c-7s. It was three-handed. I raised pre-flop. The
flop was 10s-6h-2s. Both players check-called my potsized bet. The Qc fell on the turn. I felt much better with
top set against whatever draws or two pairs were out
there. Again, both players check-called my pot-sized bet.
The river was the Qs. Both players checked, I bet half
of the pot. One player called and the other check-raised
all in. I only called; I didn’t raise. I hoped to induce the
other player to call too, which he did. My runner-runner
quads held up against a flush and a full house and I
dragged a monster pot.
PLO is an action game, but it can also wipe out your
bankroll. Moderation is the key to a fulfilling life; however, discovering the perfect dosage is difficult for people
with addictive personalities, which is why I’m afraid that
I’m turning into a PLO junkie!
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 pro poker player Josh Arieh. Crossword by Myles Mellor.
Word
ACROSS
1. Come over the top
5. Blank
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
45. Bluff, in a way
25. Option to raise the
stakes in limit games
46. The one who survives
heads-up play at the end
DOWN
28. Go down a bit
9. Ace counts like this in a
low hand
29. Jennifer Harman, perhaps
10. Pre-marriage name
30. See 19 across
11. Take advantage of
1. Expert player who travels
around to seek out highstakes games
2. Ensign (abbr.)
12. Willingness to gamble
33. Prettiest girl and a
poker card?
14. The action is ___ Phil
34. Down, for short
4. “The Terrible” ruler
15. Folding when you are
ahead is one in poker!
35. Player paid an hourly
rate to start poker hands
and keep them active
5. Poker pro, Andy
37. “The Dragon’s” first
name
7. Executive, for short
18. Lost the hand: ____ on
the river
19. Third place in the 2004
35th Annual World Series
of Poker no limit hold’em
event (see 30 across)
3. He’s known as “Chip”
39. Paid to view the opponent’s cards
6. __ the money
8. Poker pro, James, aka
Cowboy
40. Fold
13. Part of the Doyle
Brunson hand
20. Gotcha expression
43. Part of a royal flush
16. Strategy
21. After D in the alphabet
44. Old form of you
17. Poker pro, Amir
1
2
3
4
5
9
6
7
8
10
11
12
15
13
18
19
21
23
25. Goes with aahed
17
26. Newport state
20
27. Big ____ (high roller)
22
24
22. Call a bet in order to
take the pot down later
24. Cowardly
14
16
25
26
27
29. Enter the pot cheaply
without raising
31. Email address intro
28
29
30
31
35
44
34
36
37
40
39
32. Deeply invested
32
33
41
45
42
38
43
46
34. They get rolled at casinos
36. “Another rainy day”
singer from the UK
38. Vince __ Patten
40. __ or die
The correct solution to the puzzle will be found
only at: www.pokerplayernewspaper.com.
It will be posted on the cover date.
41. Nurse (abbr.)
42. Power windows, abbr.
Message
deringIRAQ
if there was any way
way that From
we could think of
Message from Iraq
The proud warriors of
Baker Company wanted to
do something to pay tribute to our fallen comrades.
So since we are part of
the only Marine Infantry
Battalion left in Iraq the one
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 pauly@lasvegasvegas.com.
28
23. Face-card
doing that is by taking a
picture of Baker Company
saying the way we feel. It
would be awesome if you
could find a way to share
this with our fellow
countrymen. I was won-
to get this into your papers
to let the world know
that “WE HAVE NOT
FORGOTTEN” and are
proud to serve our country.”
—Semper Fi,
1st Sgt Dave Jobe
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
MIDWEST
IN
MI
MN
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
WI
LA
MO
Belterra (Florence)
Caesars Indiana
Majest
jesticc Sta
taar
Chip-In’s Island
The Island Resort, Harris
Lac Vieux Desert Cas., Watersmeet
Cant
Ca
n erbu
nt
er ury
y Parkk (8
8)
Fortune Bay Casino
Northern Light Casino
Shooting Star Casino
Menominee Casino
Oneida Casino, Green Bay
Potawatomi Northern Lights, Carter
St Croix Casino, Turtle Lake
Grand Coushatta
Horseshoe CasinoShreveport
Harrah’s St Louis
Lumiere Place
Copa Casino
Gold Strike Casino (Tunica)
MS Grand Casino(Tunica)
FLORIDA
Horseshoe Casino (Tunica)
Pearl River Resort
Dania Jai-Alai
Derby Lane
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino
Hardd Rock
Ha
ock
Mardi Gras Gaming Ctr, Hollywd
Palm Beach Kennel Club
Palm Beach Princess
Seminole Casino Brighton
Seminole Hollywood Cas.
St Tropez Cruise
The Isle at Pompano Park
CANADA Casino Regina
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 27)
|
TUESDAY
TIME
1P
11A
7P
GAMES BUY-IN|| TIME
NH
$40
NH
$45+
N H $100+ 12P&
2-10P
6P
Sit N Go $55/100
NH
$55+ 6P
12P
7P
7P
NH
NH
NH
6P Wk3
NH
6P
NH
1P&
12P&
NH
NH
4A&
1P
7P
7P
6P&
1P&
6P&
11A&
12P&
12P
6P
7P
12P&
8P
6P
$25 12P
$25+
$35+
6P
$120+
6P
GAMES BUY-IN||TIME
NH
7
NHZ
H
$75+
6P
$50 1P&
6P
6P
GAMES BUY-IN||TIME
7P
NH
$85+ 12A
N H $100+ 12P&
Pi
$10+ 6P
Pi
$10+ 6P
7P
$25+ 6P
NH
NH
$25 12P
7P
7P
$30+
6P Wk2
F+
NH
NH
NH
11A
|
GAMES BUY-IN||TIME
NH
$50
LH
$65+
NH
$80 10A
NH
$30+ 6P
NH
$35+ 6P
$200 12-10P Sit N Go $55/100
$25+
$25+ 12P
$40+ 6P&
$65+
6P
$120+ 6P
NH
$75+
NH
$25 1P&
$35 12P&
5P
$65 5P&
NH
NH
7
NH
$25 1P&
$35 12P&
$25Z 4P
$90+ 11A&
NH
NH
Pi Z
NH
$25 1P&
$35 12P&
$25 5P
$35+ 5P&
NH
$65 1P
NH
$65 1P
NH
$65 1P
NH
NH
NHB
NH
NH
NHZ
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NH
O H/L
NH
$65+
$20+ 7P
$25 6P&
$25+ 1P&
$60 6P&
$100 6P
$45 12P&
$65 6P
$55+ 6P
$125 7P
$150 12P&
$70+
$120 3P
8P
7P
$20+
$100 6P&
$45 1P&
$60 6P&
$150
$42 12P&
$100 12P
$200 6P
$35+ 7P
$120 12P&
NH
$130B 7P
NH
NH
NH
NH
NHZ
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NHB
NH
Var
$150 1P&
$25+
NHB
$25 6P&
N H DeepStack $600 1P&
NH
$60 6P&
Sit N Go
NH
NHZ
NH
NHB
$45 12P&
$100 6P
$120 6P
$20+
$150 12P&
NH
$100 6P
12P
$25 2P
$30 7P
NHZ
N H Sat
NH
$55+
$60
FRIDAY
| SATURDAY |
GAMES BUY-IN||TIME
NH
NH
NH
Z........ Freezeout
Cz ............. Crazy
E...... Elimination
Q ............Qualify
12P
$50 12P&
$40+ 1P
$35+ 1P
Wk3
LH
F$5+ 12P
NHZ
$25 12P
N H Sat $40 + 12P
12P
12P
$140 1P&
NH
$40 2P
$35 12P
NH
$55 4P
$50Z
$120 5P&
NH
$120+ 11A&
1P WSOP
NHB
$100 ACADEMY
$65+ 1P
NH
$65+ 4P
NH
$65+ 2P
2P
N H Sh
$35
NHB
$50 6P&
NH
$100 6P&
NH
$60 6P&
NH
$60 6P&
11A
NHZ
$150 11A&
Sit N Go
$42 12P&
Sit N Go
$45 12P&
NH
$65 12P
Sh
$65 12P
NH
$200 6P
NH
$200 6P
7P
NH
$150 7P
NHB
$150 12P&
NH
$100 12P&
8P
L/N H
$70+
NH
$350 2P
NH
$200 2P
NH
NH
H
NHZ
GAMES BUY-IN||TIME
Sh ........Shootout
+Rebuys, Add-ons OK
F ............Freeroll
Sat .......Satellite
SUNDAY
GAMES BUY-IN
$200+
$200 8A&
NH
$60 3P
NH
$35+ 6P
NHB
2P
NH
Lad N H $100+ 10A Wk3 N H
5P
NH
NH
$10+ 12P
7
NH
$50+ 12P
NH
$60
NH
NH
NH
NH
NH
Var
$115
Var
NH
NH
$110 12P
$55 12P&
$80
$25+
$25+
$30+
$50+
$15+
$10+
$30+
$25
$35
NH
NH
NH
$35+ 1P&
BNH
$65+
NH
$130 1P
NH
$130
NH
$130+ 4P
NHB
NH
NH
NHZ
Sit N Go
NH
NH
NH
NH
$100 5P&
$60 1P
$120 6P&
$200
$45 12P&
$65 12P
$200 6P
$130
$65 12P&
NH
$200 12P
$130+
NHB
$50
N H DeepStack $600
NH
$60
Sit N Go
NH
NH
$45
$100
$200
NHB
$150
NH
$350
COMING IN JUNE
Now poker is a whole new deal. Enjoy great interaction with your opponents as you make all
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29
Nik Persaud—The GUKPT’s
Most Consistent Player
POKER IN EUROPE
By JONATHAN RAAB
I may have mentioned Nik Persaud in passing in some of my previous columns, but I think it’s about time he had one dedicated to
himself. Londoner Nik has been the most consistent player on the
Grosvenor UK Poker Tour during its short 18-month existence. At
the very first event in Bolton in January 2007 he finished 10th, just
missing the televised final table by one place. Later in the inaugural
year of the tour, he went deep on two further occasions, resulting
in another 10th-place finish (Luton) and a 16th-place exit (Brighton).
He was especially unlucky at the Luton event where, with 10 players left, he went from chip leader to busted out in the space of
two consecutive hands, suffering horrible outdraws in both. At one
point, the tour looked set to rename the bubble “The Persaud” in
honor of Nik’s extraordinary ability to just barely miss out.
While many players would be disillusioned by such consistent
near-misses and put on lifetime tilt, Nik took these defeats well
and used them to spur himself on to better results. This year he
has well and truly put the disappointments of last year behind
him, and has made the final table in three of the four GUKPT main
events that have taken place so far. In January he finished sixth in
the opening event of the year in Brighton, following this up with a
fourth-place finish a month later in Walsall. Most recently he finished runner-up to Marc ‘Mr Cool’ Goodwin at the fourth leg of the
tour in Manchester. The graciousness with which Nik accepted his
defeat prompted leg winner Goodwin to call for a standing ovation
for the young player during the post-event interview. Nik now tops
the tour’s ranking list and has been installed as the early favorite
to take the £10,000 first prize if he can stay there until the end of
the year.
Nik has only been playing poker since 2003, but took to it like
a duck to water. He gave up his previous life as managing director
of his own recruitment company in 2005 to become a full-time
pro. He won multiple packages to the WSOP in 2005 and cashed,
finishing in 423rd place in the main event—but it’s in the UK where
he has had the majority of his money finishes. Although he has yet
to win a major event, the groundwork he has put in at the GUKPT
suggests that this first victory may not be far away. Nik puts his
recent success down to the hard work he has put in to improve his
game:
“I’ve started to play a really technically solid style of poker.
Sometimes when I deviate from this I end up playing badly, but now
I’m playing what I would call a ‘Two Plus Two’ game and the results
speak for themselves, both live and online. This has convinced me
to use this style of play as a foundation to improve my game further and get even bigger and better results.”
Nik also recognizes that to play successfully over a long period
of time, he will have to adapt and change his game, as there is
rarely one single winning formula that remains constant in the
world of poker. The game is continually evolving and although
Nik has managed to find the right way to beat the tournaments
of today, he is also well-equipped to change when it becomes
necessary, so he can beat the games of tomorrow. After playing
in Leg 5 of the GUKPT in Newcastle this May, Nik is heading to
Vegas for the WSOP.
Jonathan Raab is a poker consultant and tournament
reporter. He also represents online poker site Blue
Square at live poker events in the UK and Europe, and
manages the GUKPT. Email Jonathan at jr@bluesq.com
30
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
w w w. p o ke r -
Caro’s Word: “Attention”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
take notice. Doing that in a
poker game makes it much
easier to manipulate other
players, because—in their
confusion—they’re less
likely to attack if they have
an advantage and more
likely to give you extraweak calls when you have
them beat.
I always strive to create
an image that is friendly but
confusing. I know from tens
of thousands of hours of
actual play that this provides
me with extra profit.
Question 60: What specifically do you do to create
this image and to get attention?
Well, you might have
read about some of the
more bizarre things I’ve
done. In bigger games I’ve
often burned $100 bills at
the table. You can spend
thousands of dollars in those
games “advertising” when
doing so has questionable
value. You might try dangerous big-money bluffs and
show your hand whenever
they fail. That will arguably lead to more calls from
opponents with weaker
hands in the future. But the
cost can be excessive. Or
you might play some extraweak hands just so your
opponents see that you’re
gambling recklessly, just like
they are, but more so. But
that can also be too expensive.
In old Gardena days, I’d
call with a hideous draw
poker hand, stand pat, and
let the opener draw cards
and check to me. Then,
rather than betting, I’d just
spread that hand face-up on
the table. All eyes would
be focused on it. Players
would gasp. They’d ask,
“Why didn’t you bet?” And
I’d say, “Because I thought
he had me beat.” Snickers.
Confusion. Attention.
And here’s the truth:
Burning $100 bills when that
only accounts for a fraction
of a small blind or playing
a hopeless pat hand for a
single bet constitutes cheap
advertisement. And it’s powerful advertisement that gets
monumental results in making opponents more likely to
call me in the future when I
do have the winning hands.
Now, not everything I do
is that blatant. Mostly, I just
“talk a good game,” always
making sure I make myself
seem harmless, but confusing. Getting attention in this
way has lead to many big
paydays.
Question 61: Will such
attention-getting methods
work for everyone?
No. If you’re uncomfort-
able being onstage, don’t
force it. There are other
images and other playing
styles that are successful. I
teach those, too. And if you
appear as if you’re forcing
it too much, opponents will
refuse to be conned. Your
attention-getting techniques
must be in tune with the
table image you’re projecting. They must seem natural.
And being able to pull this
off requires an understanding
of human nature and a lot of
practice.
Question 62: Do attention-getting techniques
ever backfire?
Quite often, actually.
Sometimes the chemistry
isn’t there. Occasionally,
you can be onstage and
something else will happen
around you that steals the
attention. And often you’ll
establish your dominating
image and then the cards
will run dry, leaving you no
way to capitalize.
Question 63: Can you
overuse attention-getting
techniques?
Yes, and I’ve done that
myself. You need to make
sure that you don’t get
caught up in your own showmanship. If you’re getting
too much psychological satisfaction from being onstage,
you’re in danger of seeking
attention too often. Then
the advertising becomes
unprofitable. It’s like a busi-
May 30, 1983 issue: The 1983 WSOP
of a century… 108 players
in the World Series of Poker
back then is like a park playground’s sand box compared
to the stadium crowd that
enlists the WSOP’s main event
25 Years Ago in Poker Player
Newspaper
“As expected, this year’s
World Series of Poker
Championship was played
with the largest field ever,
with over 108 players representing more than a dozen
foreign countries and virtually
every state in the union putting up the necessary $10,000
buy-in.” That was a piece
from the headlining article
“McEvoy Wins World Series.”
Wow! The largest field ever
was only 108 players 25 years
ago! That’s nothing compared
to today.
Flash forward a quarter
(Volume 1, Number 15)
today. Go to www.pokerplayernewspaper.com to read this
archive issue. Read expert
advice from some of the best
poker players and authors
ever! Including: Texas Dolly
who writes about the Vegas
sharks, The Railbird speaks
of “Pan,” Michael Wiesenberg
speaks of “Odds” (everyone
must read that one), The Mad
Genius speaks of women who
flirt vs. women who do not at
the table (interesting to say
the least), and much more.
You must read this rich issue
of Poker Player Newspaper.
Go to the website and check
it out, it will increase your
poker I.Q.
TOP STORIES: McEvoy Wins
World Series, Jackpot Grows
in Gardena, American Cup
Announced, How to Handle
Complex Joker Situations,
The Biggest Game in Town— A
Book Review, An Interview
With McEvoy, Amateurs
Professionals and Poker Life,
John Styer Scores Double Win
At Caesars. Read these stories and others in this issue.
PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS
ISSUE: Tom McEvoy, Bobby
Baldwin, Jack Binion, Buster
Jackson, David Sklansky,
Perry Green, Ed Anderson,
Bud Wold, Dick Loynd, Bill
Brestal, Paul Minnick, Bob
Hite, Eli Katz, Francella
Wilcox, Beverly Klausner, Nick
Franovic, Abe Lasher and
Maryana W
ness that buys too many billboards or puts repetitive ads
on television. There’s a point
of diminishing returns and,
eventually, a point where
you’ll be getting no returns
at all.
Rationally, you should
strive to control the game
through attention-getting
techniques, always remaining on the lookout for those
that will bring the most
gain for the least cost. But
you have to draw the line
regarding how much you’ll
budget for this. In a poker
game, getting attention correctly and convincingly is an
art form. It’s not something
everyone should try. But it’s
worth considering.
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.
David Pham
JM: How do you do that?
DP: I have to just let it go.
I just push it from my mind.
JM: Do you know what
percentage of tournaments
that you win?
DP: I don’t know percentages, but if I play tournaments, I know I can get to
final table in at least one
out of five.
JM: When you are losing,
do you find that you treat
your family differently?
DP: No. When I am losing
my family knows and they
give me a little more space.
JM: What’s next for you?
DP: I have one tournament
coming up then I am taking
some time to be with my
family.
JM: Anything you want to
share with your fans?
DP: I really enjoy them
cheering for me. I don’t
ever want to disappoint
them.
Next issue: Jennifer interviews the one and only Men
“The Master” Nguyen.
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31
Entertainment
Listings
Entertainment RePORT
By LEN BUTCHER
When you‘re the son of one of the most popular and loved singers in the world, it can be
a tough road if you
decide to follow in his footsteps. But
according to Ricci Martin, “It is more
difficult because people compare you
and you’re never going to overshadow
your father—let’s face it, there’s
only one Dean Martin. So it would
be absurd to try and compare me to
my dad. He was an impossible act
to follow, not only for his talent, but
Dean Martin
because dad was so revered and so
loved by so many, it has always made it easier for me. I truly
fashioned myself after my dad because I really admired him.
Here’s a guy who was truly a superstar, but he never played
the big-shot card. I figured that if he could be a gentleman
and treat people with respect, I felt that I could as well.”
And it showed when Martin took the stage with his
tribute—Dino, His Son Remembers—to his famous father, as
he did at the Suncoast last week. I caught up to the likeable
Martin at his home just outside Park City, Utah recently.
He’s a regular guy who likes to laugh and doesn’t take
himself too seriously, maybe because he never had, as he
says, “... any visions of grandeur. When I was coming of age,
the Beatles came on the scene and I had a band when I was
14, as everybody did in those days. That was also the time
my brother Dino, who was 22 months older than me, had his
group, Dino, Desi (Arnaz, Jr.) and Billy (Hinsche) and they
were doing really well.”
Martin says his famous father didn’t get involved with their
careers. “My dad felt it was a good thing to keep a distance
because of the cries from critics of nepotism and that kind of
thing.”
Martin began to seriously think about becoming a singer
when Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys heard some of his songs.
“Billy’s sister Annie had married Carl, so consequently I hung
with Billy, which meant I hung with Annie and spent a lot of
time with Carl. I would go over to Carl’s house and play on
his piano.
“I was also singing and songwriting because it was something I just enjoyed doing. One day Carl overheard me and
said, ‘Hey, what’s that song?’ I told him it was one of mine.
He said lets go over to the studio and record it, so we ended
up doing a whole album of my songs. We started in 1975 and
finished in ‘77. That’s when I started singing seriously.”
In 1977, he was the opening act for the Beach Boys during
their tour. When the tour finished, “I started playing clubs,
but wasn’t doing my dad’s music. Then fade out, fade, in,
years went by, I got married, separated, had three beautiful
children. Then Carl died of cancer and Billy was doing a tribute to Carl at the Roxy in LA to raise money to fight cancer.
He asked me to come in and perform and while there, I said
to Billy and Desi, ‘Why don’t we get together and do something?’
“They liked the idea so we did a few shows, but the guys
were always asking me to sing dad’s songs. I finally agreed
to sing That’s Amore and Volare. When I did the songs, the
place went nuts. We were trying to make the show work, but
Desi didn’t really want to tour, so I said to Billy ‘I have all of
these stills of dad’s variety show’ and I had digitized all these
incredible photos going back to the days of the Rat Pack.
“So we picked a bunch of my dad’s hit songs and we storyboarded the show.” A few months later, they started to tour
and the act caught on. Since then, Martin has toured across
the country and Canada. When he comes to a casino in your
area this year, make sure you catch his show.
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 lennylv@netzero.net
32
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
Poker Player Advertisers are shown in RED along with their ad’s page number
To list your event, contact Len Butcher, Entertainment Editor at lennylv@netzero.net
ARIZONA
Asleep at the Wheel
Casino Arizona (11)
CALIFORNIA
Chumash Casino Resort (16) Brooks & Dunn
Finish Line Lounge
Hollywood Park Casino (35)
Pechanga Resort & Casino (33) The Beach Boys
NEVADA-LAS VEGAS
Boulder Station Hotel & Casino (4) Patty Smyth & Scandal
Elton John
Caesars Palace
Louie Anderson
Excalibur
Larry G. Jones
Fitzgerald’s Hotel & Casino
Country Superstars
Tribute
Marc Cohn
Green Valley Ranch (31)
Sarah Silverman
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Rita Rudner
Harrah’s Hotel & Casino
Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino Legends In Concert
Joker’s Wild
Las Vegas Hilton
Luxor Resort & Casino
Troubador Lounge-Live
Entertainment
Johnny Mathis
Menopause, the
Musical
The Scintas
Carrot Top
Ted Nugent
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
Mamma Mia
George Michael
KA.
Impressionist Danny
Gans
Kevin James
June 9, 7 & 9 p.m.
June 6, 8 p.m.
Live Jazz, Tues. 8 p.m.
June 8, 8 p.m.
June 14, 7 p.m.
June 11-14, 7:30 p.m.
Nightly (dark Fridays)
Thurs thru Mon, 9 p.m.
Ongoing, 8 p.m.
June 13, 7 p.m.
Feb 22-23, 8 & 11 p.m.
Ongoing (dark sundays), 8 p.m.
Mondays through Saturdays, 7 &
10 p.m.
Fri & Sat, 9 p.m.
June 13-14, 7 p.m.
8 p.m. nightly Sat thru Thu
9:30 p.m. nightly Fri thru Wed
Sun thru Fri, 8 p.m. & Sat, 7 & 9
p.m.
June 14, 8 p.m.
7 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays,
Sundays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 7 & 10:30
p.m. Saturdays, Mondays.
June 21, 8 p.m
Fri thru Tue, 8 p.m.
8 p.m. (Monday thru Friday)
June 20-21, 10 p.m
Thursdays thru Mondays, 7:30 &
The Beatles LOVE
10:30 p.m.
Magician Lance Burton Tuesdays thru Saturdays, 7pm;
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino
Tuesdays & Saturdays. 7 & 10 p.m.
Michael Bolton
The Orleans
June 21, 8 p.m.
Palace Station Hotel & Casino (4) L.A. Comedy Club
Nightly, 7 & 9 p.m.
Crosby, Stills & Nash June 20, 8 p.m.
Red Rock Hotel & Casino
Crazy Girls
Wed thru Mon, 9:30 p.m.
La Cage
Riviera Hotel & Casino (25)
Wed thru Mon, 7:30 p.m.
Neil Diamond Tribute Sun thru Thu, 7 p.m.
Roseanne Barr
Sat-Wed, 9:30 p.m.
Sahara Hotel & Casino
The Platters, Coasters
8 p.m. nightly
and Drifters
The Rippingtons
Santa Fe Station (4)
June 7, 7 p.m.
Suncoast Hotel & Casino (6) Lorna Luft
June 20-22, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Guns
Sunset Station (4)
June 7, 7 p.m.
Ongoing, Wednesdays thru
Mystere
Treasure Island
Saturdays 7:30 p.m.
Phantom of the Opera Nightly, 7 & 10 p.m.
Venetian Hotel & Casino (20) Blue Man Group
Nightly, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.
Wayne Brady
Ongoing, 9 p.m.
Spamalot
Ongoing (dark Thursdays), 8 p.m.
Wynn Las Vegas
Le Reve
Nightly, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
OREGON
Wildhorse Resort & Casino (9) Dana Osborn Band
June 13-14, 8 p.m.
The Mirage Hotel & Casino
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More Hold’em
Strategy Tips
THE EIKS’ VIEW
BY Mike Eikenberry
1. Be conservative in early tournament play. In the latter stages of
a tourney, be very aggressive.
2. Control the game as much as possible by being the lead bettor.
If you raise pre-flop, you should usually make a continuation bet
the flop even if you got no help.
3. Large chip stacks need to play more aggressively than normal,
attacking the small stacks whenever possible. Small stacks need
to be more conservative than normal overall, but aggressive
when they do play—avoiding big-stack confrontations when possible.
4. Make a bet on the river only if A) you think you have the best
hand and expect a profit (on the river) when called or raised, and
B) you think it will be less profitable than checking and inducing a
bluff from your opponent, and finally C) there is little chance your
opponent can bluff you out or win extra money with a re-raise.
5 Raising just the size of the big blind is very profitable in the following situations:
• You have a tight image and above-average chips. You’re
betting up front with a marginal hand (which you would usually fold, such as a baby pair or medium suited connectors)
that you want to see the flop with and may turn into a big
hand. If you miss your hand, you discard it at the first bet.
• You have a big hand upfront and it’s early in a tournament,
or you have a fairly loose image. You are hoping for someone to re-raise and then you can re-pop it, or just call if you
think you will have no more than one additional player who
will overcall. This is an excellent chance to trap one or two
players for all their chips.
• You are in late position and have a strong calling hand and
don’t want to let the blinds see the flop cheaply.
• A player as in the first example above may be slow-playing
a very big hand and you want to find out where you stand.
If he makes a big re-raise, you can fold your hand and avoid
getting trapped.
6. Johnny Chan was asked how he easily won a WSOP preliminary
NL tourney. His insightful answer was that he had won a big hand
early with the nuts, and then avoided multi-way pots and calling
raises; he stuck to playing selected hands strongly and usually
picking up pots on the flop or before (commonly known as “small
ball” poker). He said his whole stack was never in jeopardy the
entire tourney.
7. Replay each hand to see if your opponents’ play makes sense. If
not, strongly consider calling or raising.
8. Going all in is an equalizer for someone playing against significantly superior opponents.
9. Table position is very important in hold’em. You want to have
aggressive, loose players on your right and passive, tight players
on your left. Keep a watch for opportunities to move to betterpositioned seats when players leave the game.
10. Position relative to the button is also very important. The closer
you are to the button, the more aggressively you can play. You
can also play more suited connectors nearer to the button. You
may play more marginal hands, in general, when you are near or
on the button, in an unraised pot.
11. You need a much stronger hand to call a raise than to raise yourself. At times you will even fold a hand with which you were planning to raise.
12. In no-limit you often are justified in calling if the implied odds are
high enough. If you hit the flop against an aggressive player, you
can bust him.
13. Hold’em is generally a game of hitting flops. If you miss the flop,
generally, you are better off to fold to any bet and be patient.
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 theeiks@comcast.net
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
33
eChecks Provide Options
to Online Players
Online Poker Perspective
BY Jennifer Newell
After the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
(UIGEA) was signed into law, several of the biggest names
in offshore financial institutions withdrew their services
from US customers. Neteller was the most famous of them,
and most recently, ePassporte has been added to that list.
In April of 2008, ePassporte, with no official notice to
customers, abandoned US customers in the wake of an
investigation into internet gambling by the US Attorney’s
Office for the District of Southern New York. The virtual
debit card company reportedly told poker sites catering to
US customers—like Full Tilt Poker and Cake Poker—that it no
longer wished to be, “associated with anything that might
be considered illegal by the United States governnment.”
Unlike the Neteller case, ePassporte customers were
luckily able to withdraw their funds immediately using the
service. But the exit of another company from the US market left players with even fewer choices to assist in financial transactions with online poker sites.
Some sites had the foresight to anticipate the problem and explore other options for customers. Currently,
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker offer a new and much easier
way to deposit and withdraw funds from their sites with
Poker eChecks.
The eChecks are surprisingly simple to use. By accessing that payment option on either of the two participating
sites, a deposit can be made into an online poker account
and is available instantly. The program verifies the customer’s bank account and routing numbers, and within
moments, funds are transferred and ready for use. Though
the program may take up to 10 days to verify the banking
information of the customer, it does not delay the availability of funds. Not only is the process fast, but it costs
the customer nothing … nada … zero. The poker room pays
a fee, reportedly $2 per check, but the service is available
to customers for free.
Some players may experience a delay upon requesting
a withdrawal of funds, but this is only if the initial deposit
transaction is still in the verification process. If enough
time has passed since the deposit was made, the withdrawal should be quick, and the money should show up in
the customer’s bank account immediately.
The process by which eChecks operates is as secure as
any wire transfer or other funding option, as the company
complies with strict processing rules, including ID verification, 128-bit SSL encrypted communications, and industry
standard data encryption of the personal information
involved. Poker eChecks is based outside of the United
States and is not subject to UIGEA restrictions on financial
institutions.
PokerStars was the first site to experiment with
eChecks, and it has been a resounding success with players. As a result, Full Tilt Poker has also implemented the
process after serious consideration, and other online poker
sites are said to be exploring the option as well.
As the US government puts the pressure on financial
institutions to comply with the UIGEA, a law that those
institutions have called ambiguous and unrealistic in
Congressional hearings, it is up to poker players to tell
Congress that this law is unacceptable. Until the poker
community can rally around the cause and influence our
representatives in Congress, options remain limited. Visit
www.PokerPlayersAlliance.org to do your part in making a
positive change in our industry.
Jennifer Newell is a compulsive writer. In addition to
Poker Player Newspaper, she writes for numerous publications and blogs at Pokerati.com as California Jen. In her
little bit of spare time, she plays poker, too. |
Contact her at jen3351@msn.com.
34
J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
2008 WORLDWIDE
POKER TOURNAMENTS
NOW! Get Tournament Listings at our website: www.pokerplayernewspaper.com
>Denotes Advertiser; Poker Association Events also denoted: t=World Poker Tour,
s=World Series of Poker and e=European Poker Tour.
To list your 3-day events contact: A.R. Dyck, Managing Editor, at: ard@gamblingtimes.com
DATE
EVENT
LOCATION
>May 21-29 Mini Series Warm-Ups
>May 22-June 2 The Sandia Classic
>May 29-Jul 16 Deep Stack Extravaganza III
>May 30-Jul 6 The Mini Series
The Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 17), Bell Gardens, CA
Sandia Resort & Casino (Ad Pg 34), Albuquerque, NM
The Venetian (Ad Pg 20), Las Vegas, NV
May 30-Jul 15
World Series of Poker
sRio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas
June 1-8
Battle of the Bay
Lucky Chances Casino, Colma, CA
June 1-July 9
Mega Stack Series
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
>June 6-July 6 The Grand Poker Series
Golden Nugget (Ad Pg 2), Las Vegas, NV
June 9-24
Summer Open
The Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ
>June 21-29 Heartland Poker Tour Event Turning Stone Resort & Casino (Ad Pg 14), Verona, NY
July 4-6
Oceanside Open
Ocean’s Eleven Casino, San Diego, CA
July 5-21
Orleans Open
The Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Aug 7-9
Latin American Poker Tour
Mantra Resort Spa Casino, Punta del Este, Uruguay
July 11-17
Bellagio Cup IV
tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
>July 16-20 Summer Poker Rodeo
Wildhorse Resort & Casino (Ad Pg 9), Pendleton, WA
>Jul 31-Aug 29 Legends of Poker
tThe Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 17), Bell Gardens, CA
>Aug 16-18
4th Annual AZ State Poker Ch’ship Casino Arizona (Ad Pg 11), near Scottsdale, AZ
>Aug 17-23
The River
Winstar Casino (Ad Pg 5) Thackerville, OK
>Aug 23-28 Legends of Poker
tThe Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 17), Bell Gardens, CA
Aug 27-31
Edmonton Poker Classic
Casino Edmonton, Edmonton, AB, Canada
>Sep 2-21
Calif. State Poker Ch’ship
Commerce Casino (Ad Pg 36), Commerce, CA
Sep 14-18
Borgata Open
tBorgata, Atlantic City, NJ
Sep 19-21
CA State Ladies Championship Ocean’s Eleven Casino, San Diego, CA
>Sep 25-Oct 12 Big Poker Oktober
Oct 8-12
Canadian Poker Championship Casino Yellowhead, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Oct 10-16
North American Poker Ch’ship tFallsview Resort Casino, Niagara Falls, Canada
>Oct 10-23
Fall Poker Classic
Canterbury Park (Ad Pg 8), Shakopee, MN
>Oct 15-16
National Poker Championship Hollywood Park Casino (Ad Pg 35), Inglewood, CA
>Oct 15-19
Heartland Poker Tour Event
Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, NY
>Oct 15-26
National Ch’ship of Poker
Hollywood Park Casino (Ad Pg 35), Inglewood, CA
Oct 20-25
Festa al Lago
tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
Oct 30-Nov 18 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge V Cherokee Casino Resort, Catoosa, OK
>Nov 1-16
Fall Poker Round-Up
Wildhorse Resort & Casino (Ad Pg 9), Pendleton, WA
>Nov 1-16
Holiday Bonus Tournament
Commerce Casino (Ad Pg 36), Commerce, CA
Nov 5-11
World Poker Finals
tFoxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT
>Nov 20-Dec 7 Turkey Shoot/Ho-Ho Hold’em The Bicycle Casino (Ad Pg 17), Bell Gardens, CA
Dec 13-19
Doyle Brunsion 5-Diamond Classic tBellagio, Las Vegas, NV
A tournament sure to
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505.796.7744
800.526.9366
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30 Rainbow Road N.E. • Albuquerque, NM 87113
*Total prize money is based on maximum
participation. Complete rules available in
the Poker Room. Gambling problem? Call
1.800.572.1142 or 505.242.6988.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Four
of-a-Kind
Beaten by
Four-of-a-Kind (Only)
Each Player must have a
Pocket Pair to qualify
for the Jackpot.
Plus, New & Bigger
Regular Jackpots!
Monday – Thursday
24-HOURS
Hold’em
Limited time only.
No double jackpots. Management reserves the right to cancel this promotion
at its sole discretion. Must be 21 years or older to participate. Specific rules
apply. Visit our 24 hour Concierge Desk for complete rules.
“Gambling problem?” Call 1-800 GAMBLER
QUALIFICATIONS:
Four
Aces
(Using a Pocket Pair)
Beaten by a Better Hand
Monday – Thursday
24-HOURS
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Plus, New & Bigger
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No double jackpots. Management reserves the right to cancel this promotion
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J U N E 9, 2 0 0 8
35

No-Limit Hold`em - Poker Player Newspaper

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