Foxwoods, and One of the Best Poker Articles Ever Written

A total of 89 players gathered at Foxwoods to compete in the $10,000 no-limit hold'em championship event. First place was $320,400 and a $25,000 buy-in to the World Poker Tour championship hosted by Bellagio in the spring. Foxwoods has always pleased tournament players with structures that provide a lot of play. This means that one can sit back and wait during the first few rounds. This is a strategy that, in my opinion, is very important in the big events. And it is the advice that I gave tournament rookie Howard Lederer prior to the tournament. Howard has enjoyed tremendous success in live play, and even more success in the last few no-limit hold'em tournaments that he has entered.

Playing in only a few events this summer, he made final tables in the championship events at Hustler Casino and the Hall of Fame tournament before knocking off the championship at Foxwoods. Howard has lost more than 100 pounds since the World Series of Poker, and therefore lost his ability to intimidate people by his size at the table. Thus, he was terrified to play a final table with Layne Flack, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Peter Giordano, and Ron Rose, whose average age is in the mid-30s and average weight is more than his. After all, Phil and Layne have been winning tournaments on a regular basis this year, and both had plenty of chips and far more tournament experience. When Howard pleaded for help with his final-table play, I reminded him of the importance of playing good hands, and having them hold up. Howard ended up winning the event after a long heads-up duel with Layne Flack. Howard said that it was the most beautiful final-table structure he had ever played. I am sure I would have said the same if I had won.

In the Dec 6, 2002, issue of Card Player, Roy Cooke wrote what I consider to be one of the best single articles on poker that I have ever read. The article, "Some of My Best Advice," will be on the home page of cardplayer.com for at least a week or two. Roy's goal was to have every poker player cut the article out of the magazine and hang it on the wall. He wants players to look at his picture every time they think of poker - or when looking to buy a house in Las Vegas. I personally am not willing to hang an article by Mr. Mustache on my wall, but I am going to talk about some of the concepts in his article in issues to come. In two pages, Roy discussed the importance of game selection, position, calling vs. folding, bluffing, implied pot odds, slow-playing, reading hands, and long-run expectation. Read "Some of My Best Advice" online if you are seeking some great winning advice.