The Inside Straight
Third Season of High Stakes Poker Filmed
It’s Currently the Hottest Poker Show on TV
By Lisa Wheeler
The Game Show Network filmed another season of the smash-hit series High Stakes Poker recently, and although the show has been running for less than a year, its success is phenomenal.
A reflection of the High Stakes Poker phenomenon can be witnessed through the popular video website YouTube, which currently hosts 69 versions of the program’s short video uploads, with more than a million viewer hits.
This show has proven to be a breakout hit with poker fans, said President and CEO of GSN Rich Cronin. “We couldn’t be more pleased by the response that we have gotten from viewers and television critics.”
High Stakes Poker gives its audience a look into the biggest no-limit hold’em cash game on television. Players buy in for a minimum of $100,000, with stakes starting at $300-$600 with a $100 ante.
This season’s roster of professional poker players include Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Laak, Mike Matusow, Chris Ferguson, David Williams, David Benyamine, John D’Agostino, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, William Chen, Daniel Alaei, Doyle Brunson, Victor Ramdin, Sean Sheikhan, Erick Lindgren, Jennifer Harman, Sam Farha, Eli Elezra, Barry Greenstein, and Todd Brunson.
High Stakes Poker commentator Gabe Kaplan also took his turn at the felt this season, along with a few other faces the audience will easily recognize, including 2006 World Series of Poker Champion Jamie Gold and runner-up Paul Wasicka. Amateurs Dan Harmetz, Dan Shak, Illya Trincher, and Brian Townsend were also added to the cast.
“It was a nice experience,” said Shak about his time at the High Stakes Poker table. “I just wish I would have played a couple of hands differently.”
High Stakes Poker is enjoying its third venue change in Las Vegas. Premiere episodes that aired in January were taped at the Golden Nugget in 2005, while season two was recorded at the Palms. The cast and crew of season three have moved the set even further down the Strip to Las Vegas’ newest hotel casino, the South Point (formerly South Coast).
Now is a good time to catch up on season one and two High Stakes Poker episodes, as they’re currently airing on GSN on Monday nights at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the coasts, and 8 p.m. Central time. Encore showings air Fridays at 10 p.m. spade
Professional Players Speak Out About Online Gambling Act
From Brunson to Vahedi, Players are Dismayed
By Michael Friedman and Lisa Wheeler
While the online poker world continues to hold its breath after the recent industry shakeup, many of today’s top professional poker players expressed their opinion on the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Amir Vahedi: It would have happened sooner or later, but I wish the multimillion-dollar websites that made all the money would have spent more money for lobbying in Washington. It takes money to make money. It’s wrong that they took money, made a profit, and then forgot about the rest of us. I really wish that the companies would have been a little more thoughtful and taken steps ahead of time to avoid this situation.
Sean Sheikhan: My thoughts are that if companies started paying money out to lobbyists and the politicians, there would be no problems.
Gavin Smith: I think the legislation sucks. I think it’s kind of a backhanded way to get things done, but I think in the end, people will speak up. In the short term, I think tournament fields are going to get smaller and some sites will be less successful on the Internet, but in the long term, I think poker will come back.
Men “The Master” Nguyen: It has happened, so there is nothing that can be done now. I don’t think it’s good for poker or bad for poker. In the end, I think more people are going to go and play live action in casinos.
Thor Hansen: It was a bad day for poker, I believe. That’s my feeling. It’s going to be a problem for everybody, and I can’t believe they let them do it. The casinos will do well in the short term, but there is no doubt that the Internet did a lot of good things for poker. Poker became so big because of the Internet, so it’s kind of sad for those of us who love the game.
Daniel Negreanu: For the most part, I think they [Bill Frist and his supporters] can take their bill and shove it where the sun don’t shine.
Tom McEvoy: I think that any poker player who votes for even one Republican congressman or senator who voted for this bill - which is practically all of them - should have his head examined. Sen. Frist is a hypocrite of the first order. He has well-known presidential ambitions and once compared playing poker with the use of crack cocaine.
I think that we need to fight this legislation every step of the way, and think of ways to circumvent it wherever possible.
Shannon Shorr: The new gambling laws are both frustrating and devastating. We can now only sit back and see what kind of effects the laws will have on our respective ways of life.
Todd Brunson: When will the government learn that they can’t push their morality onto the general public? It didn’t work with Prohibition in the last century and it won’t work with banning Internet poker today. The government is supposed to be protecting our rights, not taking them away! Legalize it, regulate it, tax it. spade
One a Week’s Not Enough at the University of Arizona
For those of you craving more than a once-a-week poker night with your buds, organizers at the University of Arizona have you covered. Students at the U of A have set up organized poker tournaments three nights a week, and players who do well have a chance to win expensive prizes. Whether you like mixed games or good ol’ no-limit hold’em, the U of A poker club gives you a good reason to put off those pesky final projects you have piling up.
Pay to Play
The weekly events include a mixed-game tournament on Tuesday and no-limit hold’em tournaments on Wednesday and Thursday. The mixed-game tournament is $3 to attend, and usually attracts around 15 players, while the no-limit events are $5 each and lure 40 or so players each week. The entry fees predominantly go into a fund for prizes, but are also spent on improving tables and accommodations.
The Leader Board
While players don’t win prizes at the weekly tournaments, they do earn points (relative to their finishing place) that accumulate toward admission to an end-of-semester invitational freeroll tournament. Organizers have not yet decided whether the mixed game tournament’s points would be accumulated on a separate point ladder. The top 10 to 20 point-earners over each semester are invited to the free final tournament, in which prizes are given to every player.
Cha-Ching!
There is usually around $4,000 worth of prizes for the final event, either purchased with entry fees or donated by sponsors. Last year, an Xbox 360 and a home entertainment center were among the top prizes. Even the first player eliminated could expect a prize valued at least $60.This semester’s final tournament is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 9.
How it all Started
One of the club’s organizers, Costin Bulisache, said the poker nights started in 2004 with just two tabletops and enough space for 16 players. They had to expand their operation on the very first night, when 24 players showed up. spade
SIG Poker Player Wanted: Apply Within
It’s not often you have to submit a resume to play a poker tournament.
The Susquehanna International Group (SIG), a leading financial institution, held an invitational freeroll poker tournament late this October for college seniors looking to get jobs with the company. The 83 students who attended the event, all candidates for SIG’s development programs in trading and technology, were vying for $74,000 in prizes.
According to company representative Meirav Abramovitz, SIG plans to hold the tournament annually, based on the success of this year’s event.
The Deal
The tournament was held at SIG’s headquarters in Bala Cynwyn, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event started at 10:30 a.m. and had accommodating 45-minute rounds with blinds starting at $10-$20, ensuring that the eventual winners would likely be more skilled than lucky. SIG even provided entertainment for players who were eliminated early, setting up video game systems with sports packages and transportation into Philadelphia for those interested in exploring.
The Winners
Ayres Fan, an electrical engineering doctorate student from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, came out on top after more than eight hours of play. Fan took home a whopping $25,000 for his win in the tournament. Finance major Eric Eisenberg, of Washington University, was the runner-up, earning $15,000. Nine players cashed in the event, winning at least $2,000 for their efforts. spade
College Professor Preps Pokerbot for Battle
Perfecting artificial intelligence (AI) has been quite a hot area of research ever since computers were first introduced. From chess-playing computers like IBM’s Deep Blue to online chatbots that attempt to push the Turing test to the limits, programmers are continuously striving to blur the line separating sentient thought from artificial intelligence.
Why Poker?
One such programmer, professor Tuomas Sandholm of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, decided to code a program to play what he considers one of the best stress tests for AI technology, our beloved game of poker. Sandholm says that poker is optimal for honing the abilities of evolving AI programs because of the wealth of knowledge required (like odds, stats, and observations) and the unknown variables involved (opponents’ holdings).
Enter RoboRounder
Sandholm’s pokerbot, named GS2, recently played in a poker tournament held by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. Tournaments like this help the robot learn from its mistakes and find holes in its play. GS2 uses an algorithm to efficiently analyze the millions of possibilities in any given hand of poker, drawing on a smaller, more manageable subset of data. The pokerbot groups similar holdings and scenarios to simplify its computations. However, human poker players don’t have to worry as of yet. The robot is still very much in its learning stages as Sandholm tweaks its ever-evolving algorithm. spade
Penny Arcade Plays Poker for the Kids
The creators of Penny Arcade, an insanely popular Web comic among college-aged men, recently held a charity poker tournament. They invited any readers willing to travel to Seattle to join in the fun and win some prizes. Scott Kurtz, author of PVP, another Web comic frequented by college students, was also at the event and participated in a PVP/Penny Arcade pretournament signing session.
Child’s Play
The tournament benefited Child’s Play, a Seattle-based charity founded by the Penny Arcade creators themselves to provide video games and other entertainment to children’s hospitals around the world. Last year, the guys at Penny Arcade, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins (or Gabe and Tycho, the aliases they are better known by), raised $605,000 for sick children through the organization.
Give and Ye Shall Receive
The tournament was held at Comic Stop in Lynnwood, near Seattle. The 64 entrants gave over $1,500 for the charity and received prizes ranging from mousepads and video games to original Penny Arcade cels (which have been known to sell for thousands of dollars at online auction sites).
For more information on the charity, please visit www.ChildsPlayCharity.org. spade
UC Hastings Law Students Deal Kids a Good Hand
Students from the University of California, Hastings Asian/Pacific American Law Students Association (A/PALSA) in San Francisco hold an annual charity poker tournament every October, and this year’s event was bigger than ever. With 150 participants each donating between $10 and $400, the tournament wrangled up more than $4,000 for the local Tenderloin After-School Program for underprivileged kids.
Fun Over Finesse
The focus of the event was fun, not skill. The staff dressed up for the Halloween-themed poker bash and two emcees and a DJ were there to liven the place up. The first 10 players knocked out were paraded onstage, roasted, and given Barry Shulman’s 52 Tips for No-Limit Texas Hold’em Poker.
The Returning Champ Goes Heads Up
The tournament lasted only a little more than three hours before Michael Gillman took it down to win an iPod Nano. Gillman effectively prevented last year’s winner, David Tulthough, from snagging a second iPod by knocking him out heads up. spade
Bright Skies in the Aftermath of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
By Shawn Patrick Green
It has been almost two months since the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), just enough time for the waters to settle down a bit and let onlookers assess the damage. Some see PartyPoker’s pullout as the beginning of the end for online poker, while those playing on sites still accepting U.S. players are more apt to ask, “Damage? What damage? Things are better than ever!”
Judging from the major weekly tournaments recently, it seems the latter group of observers might be on to something. Attendance at four major poker sites still accepting U.S. customers - PokerStars, FullTilt, UltimateBet, and Bodog - is setting records and continuously increasing. In fact, PartyPoker’s absence from the playing field, in addition to U.S. players’ still-burning desires to play poker online, has caused both PokerStars’ and FullTilt’s weekly guaranteed tournaments to produce their highest prize pools ever.
It would be naïve to say that the landscape of online poker remains unchanged since the institution of the UIGEA, but whether the change is for better or worse is certainly a debatable and constantly evolving issue. At this point, online poker in the U.S. is safe and continuing to expand. PokerStars has become the new worldwide leader in poker and FullTilt is redoubling its efforts to scoop up the abandoned U.S. players and become an even greater force in the industry. spade
A Broken Record About PokerStars’ Broken Records
During the past month, one couldn’t help but feel like a broken record talking about all of the records being broken over at PokerStars. The normally scheduled weekly $1 million-guaranteed tournaments resumed this month, hot on the heels of last month’s record-setting World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). While the initial tournament was business as usual in terms of entrants, news of PartyPoker’s pullout spread and, by the second week of the month, entry in the Sunday Million spiked by more than 650. This equated to 6,157 players - more than the tournament has ever had before - and generated a record prize pool of $1,231,400. Håcken, a Swede, took down the tournament to make $176,000.
Not to be outdone (by itself), PokerStars bested its own numbers the very next week with 6,413 entrants vying for $1,282,600. A three-way chip chop in this tournament meant that first-place finisher osten87’s prize of $103,318 was less than both Halkeye’s second-place prize at $124,397 and Iteopepe88’s third-place cash of $104,735. However, all this was chump change compared to the PokerStars final tournament of the month.
On the last Sunday of October, the PokerStars Sunday Million had both an increased buy-in ($530 compared to the normal $215) and its biggest prize pool yet at $1,392,500. The ultimate winner, dizney1984, managed to pull in the largest-ever first-place prize in a PokerStars weekly tournament, earning $183,116, despite a three-way chip chop. Had the tournament ended without a chop, the top prize would have been a staggering $250,000. spade
FullTilt Follows PokerStars’ Lead
PokerStars wasn’t the only site to have record-breaking turnout. FullTilt broke its own records, as well, with the last two $250,000-guaranteed tournaments of the month luring 1,726 and 1,780 players, respectively. Of course, as FullTilt’s tournaments continue to grow, so do the prize pools associated with them. The last tournament in October paid out $356,000 to players who cashed in the event.
Bob Wolf, an independent marketing consultant for FullTilt, said the site fully expects the growth to continue in the wake of the UIGEA. Wolf hinted that FullTilt is already planning to increase the $250,000 guarantee in the near future to reflect the growth. spade
UltimateBet and Bodog’s Tournament Entries Spike
The upward swing also affected UltimateBet and Bodog, both of which traditionally have to fork up overlays for their tournaments, by making their overlays relatively insignificant compared to previous months. Following in the footsteps of PokerStars and FullTilt, both UltimateBet and Bodog saw spikes in tournament entries in the last week of October. The tournaments both saw their fields increased by more than 10 percent compared to the previous week.
Bodog was only shy a negligible 10 players from the 1,000 needed to meet its guarantee in its last tournament of October. UltimateBet was a little bit further behind at 966 entrants but, compared to 863 from the week before, this amounted to a huge increase. UltimateBet and Bodog have seen steady or increasing numbers for their tournaments to the point that it wouldn’t be surprising to see both break the shackles of their overlays by next month and start exceeding their guarantees on a consistent basis. spade
Repeat Offenders: Final Table Seats Are Just So Comfortable
Something about the final table of major online tournaments is just so addictive to certain players. Three players liked the final tables so much the first time, they decided to come the next week as well. They probably had to reserve their seats well in advance.
The first repeat offender of the month was GBecks who, after landing a third-place finish ($53,130) at the PartyPoker Sunday Million guaranteed tournament, came out in second place at the FullTilt $250,000 guarantee for $37,408. GBecks made more than $90,000 from those two finishes alone.
Later in the month, cardno took second at FullTilt’s $250,000 guarantee for $48,328 and then came back for more the next week for a ninth-place finish ($5,294) in the same tournament. Cardno’s total cash for October was over $53,000. In the same two weeks, MiracleGro gained an affinity for third place in UltimateBet’s $200,000-guaranteed tournament. He nabbed third two weeks in a row for $18,500 each time, to put his earnings at $37,000. MiracleGro’s first final table was also graced by Kyle “kwob20″ Bowker, the Internet superstar and double-bracelet winner from the PokerStars WCOOP. Bowker finished fifth ($11,000) in the tournament. spade
October’s Winners:
PartyPoker Sunday Million Guaranteed
(Note: Oct. 8 was the last tournament before PartyPoker cancelled the event)
October 1 : TipTripTrap - $156,860October 8 : ringel - * $97,349.74
PokerStars Sunday Million
(Note: Oct. 1 was the WCOOP Main Event which was covered in last issue)
October 8 : Fenster - $162,280
October 15 : Håcken - $176,090
October 22 : osten87 - * $103,318
October 29 : dizney1984 - * $182,116
FullTilt Monthly $500,000 Guaranteed
October 15 : copi - $126,789
FullTilt $250,000 Guaranteed
October 1 : SleimanM - $56,276
October 8 : tajikrose - $58,784
October 22 : Jennez - $74,218
October 29 : Dangerous Plyr - $76,540
Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed
October 1 : Pwnasaurus - $45,000
October 8 : MSUsFinest - $45,000
October 15 : Farkouh - $45,000
October 22 : gobboboy - $45,000
October 29 : horseshoe 6 - $45,000
Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed
(Note: Bodog’s results were picked up by Card Player after PartyPoker’s pullout)
October 15 : UND_Dominate - $25,000
October 22 : wacamaster - $25,000
October 29 : BriR99 - $25,000
* Payout reflects a deal made at the final table.
Generation Next: Jason Strasser
By Craig Tapscott
Throughout time, sages have clearly stated that the key to our own personal empowerment is in the mastery of our minds. Unlock that powerful resource, surpass limitations, and all perceived obstacles will fall by the wayside. From the beginning of his poker education, Jason Strasser challenged his mind to do just that: absorb everything, be quick, and be decisive. The results will take care of themselves.
Packing razor-sharp thinking, no fear, and a little luck, Strasser knocked out 2,457 obstacles that were standing in his way to a title and $442,000 during the 2006 World Championship of Online Poker $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event at PokerStars. The Duke senior also credits his trained poker mind to opening doors on Wall Street. “I have a job offer in the financial industry, trading options and other commodities for an investment bank,” stated Strasser. “The people in that industry love the mindset of a poker player. When trading stocks, you’re in a stressful environment, making decisions on unknown information, guessing what other people have. The intellectual ceiling for poker is only so high, but when you get to a place like Wall Street, it’s a bigger poker game.”
Craig Tapscott: What initiated your thought processes during a hand early on?
Jason Strasser: I read all of the Sklansky stuff, and it got me thinking the right way. From there, I basically used the 2+2 forums to really improve. I did it through looking at hands on the forum or posting my own. My networking with better players and poker hand-reading game, I owe all to that website.
CT: You recently won a WCOOP title and went deep in the World Series of Poker main event. Can you share how you navigate these large fields?
JS: Don’t pass up any edge. You will see people trying to avoid coin flips. You have to accumulate so many chips to do well in these events that you can’t really be passing these up. The WCOOP win was a combination of playing pretty well and running well. I won every key coin flip and confrontation. I’m also good at picking up the pots in which no one has anything. I didn’t get drawn out on in any big pots, either. When that’s happening, I’m pretty hard to beat, because everything is going my way. Poker is about being creative. The allowance for creativity increases as stacks get deeper. Find good spots to create fold equity, which is key in tournaments.
CT: I understand that some friends had a percentage of you during the WCOOP tournaments.
JS: I bought a new desk and drawer. I’m pretty lazy, so I traded two roommates of mine each 1 percent of my WCOOP winnings to assemble it. It turned out to be a pretty expensive desk.
CT: What advice do you have for players who are struggling to develop and discipline their poker minds?
JS: Get feedback on your thought processes by getting involved in a forum. That’s the key. Also, don’t be so results-oriented, which is so easy to do early on. Play a lot of heads up and shorthanded, because you have to make a lot of decisions - and fast. It’s all about making good decisions. In heads-up and shorthanded play, the decisions are a lot more complex, and many times are based on past actions. That’s an interesting part of the game, how past actions determine things that happen in the future. Assuming a certain amount of confidence in your opponent, he is going to see something you’ve done in the past, whether it’s a move, a fold, or a call. He sees you drinking, and so on, whatever those external factors might be. Those other factors will determine what decisions he makes in the future. It’s very important to understand how you’re being perceived.
CT: What would you recommend to train a poker player’s mind?
JS: In the end, it comes down to being fair with yourself, accessing your play. You need to look at some hands and ask questions: Did I play that as well as I could have? What was I thinking when I did that? Why exactly did I do that? You have to force yourself to understand why you’re doing certain things. It’s very simple. You should have a thought process that you can go through at the table that’s very concise and clear. It helps to find a better player for feedback and to develop very good ideas of what you should be thinking during a hand.
CT: Any parting wisdom?
JS: Many players would improve if they stopped check-raising when they were in spots where their opponents were not pot-committed. Lead lots of flops with different hands, check-call or lead the turn, and so on. Too many people check-raise, and most of the time there are better, stronger alternatives. spade
Online Hand-to-Hand Combat: Apestyles Wields the Big Stack
By Craig Tapscott
Want to study real poker hands with the Internet’s most successful players? In this new series, Card Player offers hand analysis with online poker’s leading talent. And, as an added bonus, you can check out additional live video commentary provided by the pros at www.CardPlayer.com/h2hc
Event: $100 plus $9 no-limit hold’em rebuy tournament on PokerStars
Players: 135
First place: $15,450
Stacks: Apestyles - $64,481; Villain1 - $20,457; Villain2 - $22,745
Blinds: $300-$600
Preflop: (eight players) Apestyles is in the cutoff seat with the 4club 2heart and raises to $1,800.
Craig Tapscott: Is this a typical big-stack bully play?
Jon Van Fleet (Apestyles): 99 percent of the time, in any position, I throw a hand like 4-2 offsuit in the muck without a second thought. However, at this point in the tournament, I thought that it would be reasonable to raise with nearly any two cards from this position.
Preflop: Villain1 calls from the button and Villain2 calls from the big blind.
CT: You can’t be too happy with two callers, especially the button.
JVF: Yes, but I wasn’t planning on going very far with 4 high unimproved, and I had a pretty good idea of where both of my opponents stood. Villain1 had the tightest preflop range of anyone at the table. Villain2 was more of a wild card to me. From what I’d seen in the past, he was aggressive and prone to reraising. I was almost positive that he would’ve reraised with A-J or better and 9-9 or better.
Flop: Aheart Qclub 5club ($6,100 pot, three players) Villain2 checks, Apestyles bets $5,200, Villain1 folds, Villain2 calls.
CT: There’s not much here for you.
JVF: Well, at least I had a wheel draw (laughing). A lot of the time on this kind of a flop, I just check-fold, assuming someone has an ace. However, that standard check-fold is based on assuming people have more aces in their calling range preflop. So I figured, why not bet?
Turn: Aheart Qclub 5club 9club ($16,500 pot, two players) Villain2 checks, Apestyles checks.
JVF: OK, now I’ve decided to give up. I figured that Villain2 probably had a weak ace, a flush draw, or maybe a queen. I was positive he did not have the ace-high flush draw, as he would’ve raised or shoved. Regardless, I’m clearly not putting any more money into this pot.
River: Aheart Qclub 5club 9club Jclub ($16,500 pot, two players) Villain2 bets $4,500.
JVF: Or am I? The only hand that anyone is betting for value here is the Aclub or Kclub. Wouldn’t he bet a little bigger for value if holding the nut or second-nut flush?
CT: But it’s hard to call with the 4club, right?
JVF: Well, I strongly considered raising this bet for a while, since I could make him fold hands like the 8club or less. He had around 12K behind, so I had some fold equity. I ended up thinking there was a very high probability that he was on some kind of post oak bluff. The oddness of the bet, combined with the 4.6-1 odds I was getting, made me decide to opt for a call.
River: Apestyles calls.
Results: Final pot - $25,500. Villain2 shows the Kspade Qdiamond, Apestyles shows the 4club 2heart, and Apestyles wins the pot with a queen-high flush.
JVF: As a disclaimer, I don’t think it’s a wise idea to be raising with 4-2 offsuit and then betting into ace-high flops. I chose this hand because I played it in a very atypical way and it, luckily, ended well. As far as general advice goes, I’d recommend always folding 4-2 offsuit and being very careful on ace-high flops without a strong ace or better. spade
To see this hand animated and narrated with additional analysis, visit www.CardPlayer.com/h2hcJon (Apestyles) Van Fleet has won many multitable tournaments over multiple sites. He consistently challenges and cashes in the highest buy-in events. He is never satisfied and is always looking to learn and expand his game.
In the Tank
By Scott Fischman
KB: In no-limit hold’em, how do you approach betting against a board pair when you have the nut flush? I’ve run into three full houses in this situation lately and it’s killing me.
Scott: There are a lot of things to consider if you have the nut flush when the board is paired. For example, when did the board pair? What were your opponent’s actions during the hand? How deep are the stacks? If I have a lot of chips and the other player does, as well, most of the time I will just check-call and try to keep the pot small. If the board was paired on the flop and the other players are giving a lot of action, you should not even draw to the flush. If you are drawing to the flush and get there at the same time as the board pairs, you should bet out, but if you get raised, you must wonder how the other player can raise you if you have the nut flush. Most likely, he has the full house and you can fold. My general advice to you would be to bet your flush when the board is paired, but then back off if you get called.
Mitchell Feinman: I was the long-haired dude at the table with you with 11 people left recently at a Venetian tournament. I was curious about your opinion of my play. The cutoff called, as did I with pocket eights. You raised all in, the cutoff folded, and I called. You won with A-J, as you hit a jack on the flop. You seemed to have about 10K-15K in chips more than me (after the call, I had about 45K). I thought you had two overs, but I went in with what I believed was the best of it. My friends said I should have waited for another opportunity when I was in the money.
What was your thought process at that time? Did you win the tournament?
Scott: Hey, Mitch. I do vaguely remember that hand. First of all, the blinds were pretty big and we both had a below-average stack. I am pretty sure that the blinds were in the neighborhood of $1,500-$3,000 with a $500 ante, and once you and the other player limped in, the pot looked ripe for stealing, not to mention that I did have A-J, just in case I got called by a hand like yours. In my opinion, you didn’t do anything too terribly wrong; however, you could have played it a bit differently. Your best option would have been raising after the player on your right limped in. If you had raised, I would not have been able to play my A-J, because I would have realized that you weren’t going to fold to my all-in bet, and it wasn’t a good time for me to take a coin toss at that point. If you do limp in, you must make up your mind beforehand as to whether or not you want to play it for all of your chips, because it is very likely that somebody will push all in from the blinds to pick up what looks like a lot of dead money. What I mean is, if you are going to play to win the tournament, limping in with a predetermined idea to call an all-in bet from the blind is an OK play; otherwise, you should fold to the all-in bet. I hope that makes sense - and, by the way, I got third place.
Justin: I played in a tournament recently and can’t decide if I made the right decision in a tough spot. Here’s the situation: The blinds are at $100-$200 and about to increase to $200-$400. There are eight players at my table. I have $3,600 in chips and raise from early position to $600 with A-K offsuit. Everyone folds around to the big blind, who thinks for a second and says, “All in,” and he has me covered. This player had been playing fairly passively, not betting, raising or otherwise risking many chips. I know that players in this situation don’t generally push unless they want to get called, but do I have enough chips left to fold? I ended up making the call, mostly because if I folded, I would have had only seven-eight times the big blind with the impending level change. He had aces and I got bounced from the tourney. Thanks. With the help of your column as well as The Circuit radio show, my tournament bankroll is at an all-time high.
Scott: The hand you describe is a pretty common situation. I like the fact that you were paying attention to the level increase forthcoming, and for that very reason, I don’t think you can fold the hand. I have been in that very situation a thousand times, and would not fold the A-K there; however, in an attempt to mix up my game a bit, I have been limping with A-K from that spot. If you had limped with the A-K and then the player in the big blind raised (a player you determined to be passive), you easily could have assumed he had a monster and folded. spade
Gadgets
DB2 Dealer Button
The DB2 Dealer button is an upgrade from its predecessor, but retains all the simplicity of the original. The upgrade comes in the form of an added feature, the bet timer. Now, along with timing the rounds for blinds, the button also lets players call “time” on slow-poker opponents. A separate timer pops up on the LCD and gives them 30 seconds before their hand is dead. DB Dealer has also released a limited-edition chrome-finish DB2 button that looks friggin’ sweet.
$19.95 ($24.95 for the chrome), DB Dealer Corporation, www.DBDealer.com
PokerHeads BobbleHeads
What could be more inspiring during an online poker session than having Joe Hachem watch you play while nodding silently and holding out stacks of cash? A Joe Hachem bobblehead from PokerHeads can make this a reality. They currently have 27 pros represented with hand-crafted, hand-painted, limited-edition bobbleheads, and most are spitting images of their counterparts.$29.99 (Some discounts on site), PokerHeads Inc., www.PokerHeads.netRating: Four-Leaf Clover Card ProtectorFor those that need some extra luck at the tables, Poker-wear.com offers a solution. The site sells card covers with genuine, hand-picked four-leaf clovers embedded in acrylic domes. The bad news is this thing is friggin’ huge. At 3 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches high, the card cover is almost a snow globe. On the other hand, that means it’s only a pain to get to the tables. Once there, it’s cool to see how the dome magnifies and distorts your cards.
$29.99, www.Poker-Wear.com spade
Played This?
Anaconda
Players: Seven or fewerInitial
Deal: Seven cards face-down for each player
Play:
• All choose three cards and simultaneously pass them to the player on their left.
• After receiving the cards, all choose two cards and again pass left.
• All simultaneously discard two cards to give them a five-card hand.
• All stack their five cards in any order they wish and place them face-down.
• All simultaneously expose their top card and bet, starting with the button player.
• Continue exposing and betting until four cards are face up.
• All simultaneously declare with verbal or chip declaration, make a final (post-declaration) bet, and then expose their last card for the showdown.
Winner: High and low split. spade
Books
Hot Off the Press
Phil Hellmuth Presents Read ‘em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent’s Guide to Decoding Poker Tells By Joe Navarro (with Marvin Karlins)
Phil Hellmuth and Joe Navarro, an FBI agent specializing in nonverbal communication and behavioral analysis, teamed up to write a book on poker tells. If that’s not a poker player’s dream, I don’t know what is. The book features time-proven techniques for reading people based on Navarro’s experience and actual examples of the tells in action from Hellmuth. You can finally leave the polygraph at home.
$18.95; 240 pages; Collins
Instructional
No Limit Hold’em: Theory and Practice By David Sklansky
Poker’s leading theorist finally put out a book specifically about no-limit cash games! Sklansky is regarded as the authority in poker strategy, and this book continues to prove why. The book veers away from the charts and graphs of his limit guides and focuses on concepts and theories. Sklansky also includes an interesting section on the differences between limit and no-limit play, great for transitioning players.
$29.95; 310 pages; 2 + 2 Publishing; orig. pub. May 2006
Stories/Lifestyles
One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey “The Kid” Ungar, The World’s Greatest Poker Player By Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson
It’s blasphemy to call yourself a true poker fan without knowing the tragic story of one of poker’s greatest minds, Stu Ungar. The poker prodigy had made $30 million during his lifetime, yet the funeral for his premature death had to be paid for by collections from friends. Poker legends Doyle Brunson and Mike Sexton also contribute memories of their fellow legend whose life ended too early due to a battle with drugs.
$14; 336 pages; Atria; orig. pub. July 2005 spade
Music What’s on Pros’ iPods
Danny Masterson - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Self-Titled
Actor-poker player Danny Masterson also moonlights as a DJ under the name DJ Momjeans. Being a DJ, you’d assume he knows a bit about music. Masterson puts the band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah high on his list of recommendations on MySpace. Clap Your Hands has an as-yet-untitled new album due out in January.
Jordan “iMsoLucky0″ Morgan - Jurassic 5, Feedback
Rising poker star Jordan Morgan may not like Jurassic 5, but he definitely likes Dave Matthews. What does Dave have to do with Jurassic 5? The two have hooked up for an unlikely collaboration in Jurassic 5’s single, “Work it Out.” Matthew’s emotive voice and Jurassic 5’s incredibly catchy beat make for a dream team.
David Plastik - Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti
David Plastik is a hardcore classic rock fan. Hell, before he was a poker pro, he was a professional rock ‘n’ roll photographer. He captured the likes of The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and Queen frozen in moments of rock history. Like any good classic rock fan, David’s got Led well represented on his playlist.
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