World Poker Players Conference to Make Coast Debut

Of all the poker special events in which I have the pleasure of participating each year, the World Poker Players Conference (WPPC) is my favorite educational event because it offers poker players the best chance to really improve their play and provides them with the tools they need to beat the games and increase their poker bankrolls significantly. For the first time, the WPPC will be held on the East Coast rather than in Las Vegas. Foxwoods Resort Casino has been slated to host the sixth-annual World Poker Players Conference on Nov. 12, 2005. Whether you are a novice player or a seasoned poker professional, you will benefit by attending this remarkable day full of poker seminars presented by an all-star lineup of world-class poker celebrities and authorities.



Card Player Cruises is co-sponsoring the Conference, along with "America's Mad Genius" Mike Caro, who will be the emcee and also will present poker tips again this year. Already confirmed to speak are T.J. Cloutier, Nolan Dalla, Paul Darden, Jan Fisher, Barry Greenstein, Mark Gregorich, Linda Johnson, Lee Jones, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, Mike Sexton, Barry Tanenbaum, and Mark Tenner. Other speakers are still being confirmed, and since the Conference is scheduled for the day before the World Poker Tour championship event at the World Poker Finals, you can count on additional poker celebrities making appearances throughout the day. The speakers will be covering such topics as no-limit hold'em winning secrets, sit-and-go tournaments, game selection, money management, general poker tips, specific play of hands, playing at the final table, and how to maximize your poker profits. There also will be time for questions and answers with each speaker, as well as autograph and photo opportunities during the breaks.



The itinerary for the day will begin with registration from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Seminars will be ongoing from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a lunch break in the middle of the day.



Early-bird pricing of $169 is available for participants who register before Nov. 4. After Nov. 4 and at the door, the price will be $199. A continental breakfast will be included for all participants, but only those registered by Nov. 4 will be able to attend the complimentary banquet luncheon. A limited number of rooms at the discounted rate of $200 on Friday, Nov. 11 and $250 on Nov. 12 are available to attendees who call the Foxwoods reservations department at (800) FOXWOODS by Friday, Oct. 21. In order to receive the WPPC contracted group rate, telephone requests must identify affiliation with the World Poker Players Conference. Reservation requests received after Oct. 21 will be accepted on a room and rate availability basis.



Nov. 12 will be a life-changing day for many poker players. Register now to be one of them at http://www.cardplayercruises.com/, or by calling (888) 999-4880.



Change of subject: In a recent column, I posed the question of whether a player who requests a table change from a game with a maximum buy-in ($1-$2 no-limit hold'em with a $100 maximum buy-in, for example) to another table with the identical blind structure and maximum buy-in should be required to take all of the chips with him if he has a stack of more than $100, or be allowed to transfer only the maximum buy-in ($100 in this example) to the new game. I received a lot of e-mail arguing both sides of the issue if the player requests the move, but all agreed that if the player is forced to move due to a "must-move situation," he must transfer all of the chips he has in front of him. Here are portions of some of the e-mail I received:



Ryan wrote: "My experience is based largely on online play. When I switch tables, I am not allowed to transfer my winnings to the new table. This makes sense to me, since the players at my new table would be at a disadvantage if I could show up with more than the allowed buy-in."



Brett Korven agreed: "My view is that the maximum buy-in is set by the table, not the players. Thus, the player who requests a table change should not be allowed to bring any more chips to the table than the allowed buy-in. I also believe there would be cause for an argument if the table change requested was to a table that had just been started. If the player requesting the change was able to bring $1,000 to a $100 maximum buy-in table when the rest of the players each had $100, all of the other players would be at an immediate disadvantage."



Scott S. concurred: "As a paying customer, I don't want to sit down with a player who has a huge stack unless I have information on how he got the stack. In a voluntary move, the player would probably be happy to take his profit out, the other players would be happy not to have to defend against a big stack, and the casino could probably rest assured that if the player busted out, he would reload with some of that cash."



Patrick wrote that he thinks a player should have to take all of his chips to the new table if he requests a table change: "While I understand that someone might not want to let a new player come to the table with more than the maximum buy-in, I believe that is outweighed by the potential abuse. Imagine someone getting lucky and building a big stack.



You wouldn't let that person take everything over the maximum buy-in off the table and stuff it in his pocket, would you? Well, that is exactly what you are doing if you let him move to a new table and bring over only the maximum buy-in. I can see someone bouncing back and forth several times during a really juicy session to protect a tidy profit while risking very little. 'Table stakes' means leaving your winnings on the table until you leave. Creating a loophole around this important rule seems like a bad idea, in my opinion."



Thanks to everyone who wrote with their opinions. Now, let's play poker.

Linda is available to host poker seminars and special events. You can contact her through her websites, www.cardplayercruises.com and www.lindapoker.com.