World Poker Players Conference By Howard Burroughs

Note from Linda Johnson: Howard Burroughs resides in Las Vegas, and is a student of the game and a founding member of the Wednesday afternoon poker discussion group. I saw a post Howard made to RGP about the WPPC, and E-mailed him privately to see if he would expand his comments into an article for Card Player. Howard, thank you for writing this guest column.

The second annual World Poker Players Conference recently concluded at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. What follows are some general observations from one paid attendee (me).

This year, the WPPC had a later starting time. That was good news for people like me, who like to stay up late the night before playing poker.

At 11 a.m., the exhibition booths opened. I don't recall all of them, but I believe PartyPoker.com, Card Player, UB-2.com, UltimateBet.com, The Poker MBA, Card Player Cruises, Casinos Europa, Cardsmith Publishing, as well as a gaming tax specialist all had representatives in the exhibit center. There were lots of free hats, mouse pads, and shirts.

At noon, the conference started. Mark Tenner, master of ceremonies, was tremendous in this role, keeping the day on schedule. In the lead-off spot was Roy Cooke. While many of the speakers who appeared gave tournament advice, Cooke is a cash game specialist who has excelled in the Vegas middle-limit games for many years.

He started off with his guidelines to winning hold'em play: hand selection, avoid kicker trouble, protect hands in large pots, play your best at all times, make plays and adjustments to your game based on your opponents.

He then went on to elaborate on each point. One of his comments that really stuck with me was, "Remember plays that can take a pot away from someone." Another was, "If the pot is large and your hand may be good, make the play that protects the pot." Roy was an effective speaker, injecting some humor in his speech, which helped balance his presentation.

Next up was Daniel Negreanu. For those who have never heard him address a crowd, he is a dynamic speaker, as well as a crowd favorite.

Negreanu spoke about the "office," the positions closest to the button in hold'em, where he does most of his work. His main theme was the difference between live hold'em and tournament hold'em, and he discussed the gap concept covered in Sklansky's new book, Tournament Poker for Advanced Players. Daniel stressed the importance of getting (and studying) a copy of this book if you are serious about excelling in the tournament arena.

Here's one gem from Daniel: "In early position beyond the middle stages of a tournament, limping should almost never be a consideration."

Barry Shulman followed Negreanu. The only thing I knew about Barry Shulman going in was that he owns Card Player, and he does well in tournaments.

Well, you can add to that list that he is a terrific speaker. Barry spoke about tournament play. He suggested key adjustments to make if you are close to the money, and discussed how play changes when players are "just in the money." He gave advice on what to do with a growing stack, as well as how to handle a shrinking stack. My favorite tournament gem from Barry was this: "The best kind of luck to have is being there to have another make a mistake."

There was a break for snacks, then an Omaha eight-or-better seminar was conducted by Mark Tenner and Mark Gregorich. Gregorich reminded me of Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (but without the mental disorder.) These guys were awesome. They talked about the importance of stopping to think instead of automatically making a play. They explained how some hands are worth three bets preflop, but not two bets. My favorite eye-opener of the day came from Gregorich, when he informed the crowd that a 6 can be a very good card to have in your hand. When you make a wheel, the 6 will give you a 6-high straight as well. When that happens, how sweet it is! Another Gregorich eye-opener was that Omaha eight-or-better is a game of flushes.

Next up was 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth. While other speakers may stand idly behind a podium, he grabs the microphone and paces the room like a modern-day Phil Donahue. He mesmerized the audience with his deep reflections of his many trips to the winner's circle. He summed up the game of no-limit like this: "Reading weakness is the most important thing in no-limit." He went on to say, "If you can read people well in no-limit, you cannot lose."

Joining Phil was the very talented and successful high-stakes poker player Annie Duke. She was the opening speaker at last year's WPPC, and after listening to her talk for 10 minutes, I knew the conference was a worthwhile investment. That's how good she is. I especially liked it when she ribbed Phil about starting off his presentation with a bad-beat story. Annie emphasized the need to play flops well in no-limit. She believes that live pot-limit is a great training ground for flop play, because you can't "stack off." One of her key points was: "Encourage limping at your table."

Next, "Poker Tips From the Pros" was presented by Kathy Liebert, Greg Dinkin, Warren Karp, and Jack Fox.

Warren Karp on tournaments: "Never let a blind hand get you into trouble."

Kathy Liebert, who not long ago became the first person to win a limit hold'em tournament with a guaranteed first prize of $1 million, drove home the theme of the day: "Reads, reads, and more reads."

Greg Dinkin is the author of The Poker MBA, a book that recently got a coveted thumbs up from poker authority Mason Malmuth. Greg entertained the crowd with humor and candor, and made us take a S.W.O.T. test (I think I failed).

Jack Fox commented that one of the most important things for the serious poker player to do is to start building a poker library. Of all the speakers, Fox had the most passion. He has an absolute burning love for the game that resonates when he speaks like the fire and brimstone of a Southern preacher at a roadside revival meeting.

The conference concluded with a question-and-answer session led by 1983 World Champion Tom McEvoy, the First Lady of Poker Linda Johnson, Poker 101 columnist and globe-trotter extraordinaire Jan Fisher, and tournament visionary Mike Sexton. They answered questions ranging from satellite play to triple-draw lowball.

There were drawings for valuable prizes, including several entries to Orleans Open events (I won one!) and a cruise. Many thanks to all of the talented speakers, as a good time was had by all. I intend to go back next year. Hope to see you there.