CP The Inside Straight

PHIL IVEY VERSUS ANDY BEAL

Ivey Proves His Heads-Up Mastery, Wins $16.6 million

BY LISA WHEELER

Phil Ivey

On Feb. 1, Andy Beal returned to Las Vegas to face off against members of "The Corporation" in another heads-up high-stakes hold'em match. He initially challenged the pros to play on his turf in Texas, but on their insistence, Beal found himself flying back-and-forth from Dallas to Las Vegas. The Corporation was looking to erase the net $7 million loss suffered in previous February matches.



This time, it would be Phil Ivey against Andy Beal. When Ivey and Beal sat face to face, the limits were set at $30,000-$60,000, lower than the previous $50,000-$100,000 of weeks past. Ivey held the lead throughout the day's match, and spectators witnessed him taking an aggressive approach. In typical fashion, Ivey sat blank-faced, focused, and with his mouth agape. It was the same expression that won Ivey the ESPN "Flushies" award, for best poker face, during the 2005 World Series of Poker. Ivey has an intense and intimidating nature at any table, and the one-on-one competition with Beal only seemed to magnify that trait.



Play ended at around 7 p.m. PST and Ivey was up $2 million.



First thing next morning, Ivey and Beal were again heads up at the felt on table No. 3 at Wynn Las Vegas. The limits remained at $30,000-$60,000 and Ivey appeared to have Beal on the defensive. In less than eight hours of heightened competition, Ivey ended the day with another monetary gain of $4.6 million, putting The Corporation up $6.6 million for the two days of play.



Ivey and Beal left the poker room together while conversing amongst themselves. Who knows what Ivey was able to learn about Beal during dinner that evening, but he turned an amazing feat into one of mythical proportions the following morning.



At 9 a.m., the two met for their third and final session. Ivey was in seat No. 2, at the long end of the table, with his back against the wall. Beal sat in seat No. 6, at an angle facing Ivey. To Beal's left (in seat No. 7) sat his longtime friend and representative, Craig Singer, and next to him in seat No. 9 was Michael Craig (author of the book The Professor, The Banker and the Suicide King). The two players discussed the possibility of raising the stakes, and it took only moments for them to come to an agreement that the limits would indeed be raised to the original level of $50,000-$100,000.

At one point, Beal was up about $2 million, but after a short lunch break, Beal took a turn for the worst. After lunch, it seemed that someone had sprinkled poker pixie dust on Ivey. From the rail, one could see Beal reaching repeatedly into his rack for chips, and within a few hands it appeared that Ivey had reversed his deficit and was back to even. The dealer, who was tapped out of the down (a dealer's half-hour round), shook his head in disbelief while walking away from the table. The already intense face-off had become an action-packed, raise-to-the-river spectacle.



Members of The Corporation began to arrive and were seen along the rail talking discreetly amongst themselves. They were careful to maintain a respectful distance from the table, so as not to distract the players. It was just after 1 p.m. when Ivey and Beal rose to shake hands. Most believed that play would continue until after dinner, but after four short hours, the game had suddenly ended. Ivey had not only recovered The Corporation's net $7 million loss from the previous weeks in February, but he won an additional $9.6 million for his team. His personal tally was a $16.6 million score over the three days of matches.



Ivey, a resident of Las Vegas, proved that when it comes to poker, there's no place like home. And the man who recently won the Best No-Limit Player, Best Heads-Up Player, and Most Feared Player awards at the Card Player 2005 Player of the Year awards ceremony sealed his position as a true heads-up poker legend.

CARD PLAYER 2006 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Grinding Out of the Gate
BY SCOTT HUFF

Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi

The 2005 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) race came down to a literal "final table" between runner-up John Phan and champion Men "The Master" Nguyen. Their showdown at the last event of the year, the Trump Classic, was reminiscent of the photo finish between Daniel Negreanu and David "The Dragon" Pham in 2004, and proved that in the case of the fight for poker's MVP award, history really does repeat itself – and it is written by the winners.



"The Master" was number one, so his accomplishments are most fresh in poker fans' minds as we enter the 2006 tournament season. However, it was Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi – although it now may seem like a distant memory – who jumped out to a fast start in 2005 and led the POY charge with a fifth-place finish at the Gold Strike World Poker Open and a victory in his very next start at the L.A. Poker Classic.



Ultimately, Mizrachi fell short, ending the season with 3,801 points – good for fifth place overall. But now, only a month and a half into the 2006 race, he has surpassed that mark, and his season total stands at a commanding 3,954 points.



It's not that anyone has given up. The rest of the top five and beyond certainly hope to catch him. Early in the season, the names atop the list are generally those of the major tournament winners. Alan Goehring (second place) and Scotty Nguyen (third place) both have captured World Poker Tour titles this year and are hovering around the 2,000-point mark. Perennial tournament grinder An Tran (fourth place) and high-stakes California cash-game player Michael Woo (fifth place) round out the top five. But the Player of the Year race is a marathon, not a sprint, a fact of which Mizrachi is well aware.



History repeating borders on eerie in the case of Mizrachi's start this year. Once again, he fell short in Tunica, finishing second to Scotty Nguyen at the Gold Strike World Poker Open, only to rebound and claim victory at the very next tournament, the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Along with his 3,954 POY points, Grinder also has banked almost $2 million.



So now the question is: Can "The Grinder" hang on? Or, will he fall victim to a fate that seems almost preordained, given the mirror images of past Player of the Year results? The 2006 Player of the Year race is just under way. Ten months still remain. But, at least he has distanced himself from the thousands of players who will try to surpass him throughout another exciting season of tournament poker.







FULL TILT POKER DESCENDS ON THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
BY RICH BELSKY

Once a year in January, the small, exclusive resort town of Park City, Utah, goes through a monstrous transformation. The population balloons from the 7,000-person permanent residency to a 50,000-person orgy of lights, cameras, and action. The city's bars and hotels fill up with famous actors, directors, musicians, and onlookers. And this year, thanks to FullTiltPoker, the Sundance scene had more than just 200 films to get excited about.



From Jan. 20 to Jan. 23, online poker giant FullTiltPoker partnered with Premiere magazine to host the celebrity-studded FullTiltPoker room. The poker room was a revolving door of the who's who of the film and music worlds, all there to take their shot at each other and pros Jennifer Harman and Phil Gordon. Over the four-day FullTilt extravaganza, more than 1,000 people passed through the poker room, including celebrities Dennis Quaid, Dave Navarro, Eve, Chazz Palminteri, and Tommy Lee.



The only online poker site at the festival, FullTilt represented the poker world like the pros they are. The FullTiltPoker Celebrity/Charity Poker Tournament took place on Jan. 23, and Samantha Daniels took home first prize and a sweet FullTiltPoker table. Daniels is the producer of and inspiration for the NBC show Miss Match, starring Alicia Silverstone, and is a regular commentator for Access Hollywood.


The FullTiltPoker room experienced its hottest night when it moved the operation to O'Harry's Nightclub for the premiere party of The Darwin Awards, starring Winona Ryder, Joseph Fiennes, Wilmer Valderrama, and Julianna Margulies. The poker room was packed, and the night was highlighted by a live performance from the legendary Metallica. The FullTiltPoker room was perfectly positioned with a view right over the stage, and the venerable rockers had the entire room energized all night.

The Sundance Film Festival has come and gone, but FullTiltPoker took another huge step to advance the game of poker further into the mainstream. Future events have not been unveiled as of yet, but after the success of this year's extravaganza, one thing is almost certain: FullTilt will see you at Sundance again next year.

LAWMAKERS REINTRODUCE HOUSE BILL ATTEMPTING TO STOP ONLINE GAMING

Same Bill Failed in 2000

By ALLYN JAFFREY SHULMAN

Since 1995, when the first online gambling site opened its virtual doors, our legislators have introduced a myriad of bills attempting to ban Internet gambling. The legislators cannot seem to get their arms around a proper methodology. The reason online gambling cannot be proscribed is because gambling sites are housed outside the boundaries of the United States, where our government has no jurisdiction.



Therefore, any proposed law can control activities only within the boundaries of the United States.



Recently, U.S. Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) reintroduced proposed legislation titled the "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act." In 16 pages of complicated legal meandering, the bill prohibits the use of a credit card, electronic fund transfer, or bank instrument to pay for Internet gambling. Of course, offshore sites already offer ways around this to get money into their sites.



The bill also provides a vehicle requiring U.S. Internet service providers to block hyperlinks in certain situations. That will be awkward to enforce. The bill also amends the 1961 Wire Act to include the Internet and to prohibit games of "chance." This will raise the issue of whether poker is a game of skill or chance. The bill also allows states to pass their own rules with regard to online gaming in their own state.



Even though online gambling revenues have reached $12 billion, congressmen such as Goodlatte are still attempting to ban it rather than regulate it. Goodlatte claims the economy is suffering by draining billions of dollars from the United States.



On the other side of the fence sits Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), first elected in 1964, who says that trying to prohibit online gambling is "ill-conceived":



"You might remember a failed experiment the U.S. government tried in the 1920s called Prohibition. Today, Congress is rushing to pass a similar ill-conceived prohibition of Internet gambling. Gaming prohibitionists believe they can stop the millions of Americans who gamble online by prohibiting the use of credit cards to gamble on the Internet. Just as outlawing alcohol did not work in the 1920s, current attempts to prohibit online gaming will not work, either.

Instead of a prohibition that will drive gambling underground, into the hands of unscrupulous merchants, Congress should examine the feasibility of strictly licensing and regulating the online gaming industry. State regulation will ensure that gaming companies play fair and drive out dishonest operators. It also provides potential tax revenue for financially strapped states."

FIGHT TO PROTECT POKER

Card Player encourages readers to get involved with this issue, either by contacting their local representatives or by exploring and supporting organizations, leagues, and websites that promise to fight for poker players' rights. The following is a list of several of those organizations:



Poker Players Alliance can be found at pokerplayersalliance.org. It's a nonprofit organization that is committed to defending the right to play poker legally in this country by lobbying politicians. Players are encouraged to become members in order to show politicians that they are serious about the hobby.



Poker Players of America can be found at keeppokerlegal.net. It's another organization that vows to fight for poker players' rights. Players can sign a petition at the site to encourage lawmakers to keep poker legal. The site also outlines laws and players' rights, and will soon have a message board dedicated to this subject.



GamblingLicenses.com is a website made for entrepreneurs, suppliers, regulators, and consultants who are interested in the online gaming industry. The site contains industry articles and documents that online players might find interesting.

ATLANTIC CITY'S BORGATA HOTEL CASINO AND SPA IS GETTING BETTER

The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa recently announced plans to build a $325 million hotel tower that will be called The Water Club at Borgata. It is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2007, with construction set to begin this summer.



The tower will contain 750 regular guest rooms, 20 one-bedroom suites, 15 two-bedroom suites, and three residences that will be modeled after New York City-style lofts.



A two-story, 36,000-square-foot spa, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, and six retail shops will also be included in the addition. The spa will feature 15 treatment rooms, a 25-yard lap pool, and a fitness center. Also, two indoor and two outdoor heated pools – which will remain open year-round – will be added to the property during this expansion.



The tower is the second and last phase of a $525 million expansion project that began last year. The first phase, which is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2007, will expand the casino by more than 32,000 square feet. This will result in the addition of 36 table games and 500 slot machines, an increase in the number of poker tables from 34 to 85, and the addition of three restaurants that were designed by celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, and Bobby Flay.



A food mall called The Cafeteria will also open. It will include such chain restaurants as Tony Luke's Old Philly Style Sandwiches, Fatburger, Panda Express, Hibachi San, Villa Pizza, and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.



The Borgata opened in 2003 and quickly became one of the most popular casinos in Atlantic City. It has been the highest-grossing casino in Atlantic City for 41 out of the last 42 months. A joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage, it was the first new resort casino to open in Atlantic City in 13 years.

The $525 million that is being invested in the $1.1 billion property accounts for one-third of Atlantic City's planned capital improvements, which total $1.5 billion during the next three years.

HARRAH'S NEW ORLEANS BACK IN BUSINESS

With Repairs Complete, Casino is Ready for Mardi Gras

By BOB PAJICH



Harrah's New Orleans, closed by Hurricane Katrina, reopened Feb. 17 with a ceremony at the Canal Street entrance. More than 1,250 employees are back to work.



The first 2,500 people entering the casino after the ceremony received a commemorative T-shirt. The first of the metro area's Mardi Gras parades rolled later that day, beginning a parade schedule that continued through Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, Feb. 28.



The land-based casino located at the edge of the French Quarter closed shortly before Hurricane Katrina made landfall near the city on Aug. 29, 2005.



The building sustained storm damage, and was used by first responders as a base of operations in the days following the storm. Repairs to the facility have been completed and the casino's electronic systems, gaming devices, and other infrastructure has been restored.



The casino features a 115,000-square-foot gaming floor, more than 2,000 slot machines, more than 90 table games, and a large poker room. Work also is continuing on a 450-room, 26-story hotel that's located across Poydras Street from the casino. The $150 million project is expected to open in September 2006.

CARD PLAYER PROVIDES CONTENT TO MOBILE PHONE SERVICE

WAAT Media Reaches More Than 750 Million Phones
By BOB PAJICH



Card Player has joined with WAAT Media to provide poker content to users of the company's late-night mobile phone service.



Content will include Card Player's live tournament locator and results, play-for-fun poker rooms, and exclusive editorial coverage from leading poker stars in the industry. The partnership with WAAT will enable Card Player to port its exclusive content and applications to the mobile phones of poker fans worldwide.



WAAT Media is available on 14 cellphone providers, including T-Mobile, Eurotel, Vodafone, Mobilkom Austria, and Swiss Com. Its media partners include Playboy, Vivid, and Marc Dorcel Films.



WAAT Media distributes images, games, video, and mobile TV to more than 750 million handsets in 60 countries.

HARRAH'S ATLANTIC CITY SECOND-ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF POKER CIRCUIT TOURNAMENT

BY BRETT DOBIN

The World Series of Poker Circuit started its journey last January at Harrah's in Atlantic City. It came back this year as part of three events that would be held there. The event kicked off with some smaller buy-in tournaments. Winners included Atlantic City pro Nick Frangos, and the winner of the WSOP Atlantic City Showboat main event, Chris Reslock. The main event coincided with the L.A. Poker Classic being held at Commerce Casino in California. This meant that most of the pros would be heading out West for the huge World Poker Tour event. The Circuit event still managed to attract 124 players and provide a healthy prize pool close to $1.5 million. There would be nine spots paid, with the winner receiving $433,000. The pros who did make it to Atlantic City included FullTilt team member and two-time WSOP Circuit event winner Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, "Dangerous" Don Mullis, and Mike "Little Man" Sica, who finished in 11th place. Ferguson was out early on day one when his set of kings went down in a blaze of glory.



At the time of the main event, Atlantic City was just recovering from one of the biggest blizzards the East Coast had ever seen. More than 20 inches of snow had hit the city just days before the main event started. Harrah's Poker Room Manager John Arthur was happy with the turnout despite the inclement weather, stating, "We are very happy with the turnout of all of the events over the past two weeks. Each event had well over one hundred players, and everything ran smoothly".



WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel was on hand to call all of the action, and it took more than 13 hours to get down to the final table. I caught up with Jack on the night before the final table. The 10th-place finisher, and bubble boy, was Sam Grizzle. Sam kept the entire room laughing with his jokes and stories. He was in town to promote his association with the Hilton's new poker room, and his partnership with A.C. poker legend Paul "HiLow" Horn. The two have joined forces and are working on a poker website and other poker-related ventures.

He said, "The Harrah's staff, including Poker Room Manager John Arthur, has done an amazing job with this tournament. It is great to be back in Atlantic City. So far, the two vents that we have done here have been great, and we are looking forward to coming back in March for the tournament at Caesars."



The 13th-place finisher was Chris Bell, who won the Trump Classic main event last year. Chris took a couple of tough beats, one when his pocket aces were cracked by a weaker ace making a flush. This didn't stop Chris from staying to cheer for his buddy Jody Garaventa, from Chris' hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. Jody made the final table, finishing in fourth place.



I spoke with Chris about not only his talent for poker, but his talent for spotting great players. Chris staked Mike Gracz last year in the Trump Classic main event that Gracz went on to win. He then went on a tear, winning the PartyPoker Million and a WSOP bracelet.



Chris said, "Mike is one of my best friends. We met while playing poker back home. He has great poker instincts, and is a great person to be around. Jody and I started playing back home together, also. He has a lot of natural talent, just like Mike does. He is just starting to play tournaments. It's great that he got the opportunity to display what he can do at this event."



The chip leader going to the final table was Brian Jensen from Denmark. He is part of the "Fearsome Foursome" on Betholdem.com. Jianhua Zhou came to the final table representing the Atlantic City contingent. He is a regular player in the high-limit cash games around town. He took home more than $36,000 for his ninth-place finish. He was eliminated when his pocket aces were cracked by two pair on the turn.



The final table lasted close to 10 hours, with Abraham Korotki from Bethany Beach, Delaware, emerging victorious. He went heads up with Brian Jensen in a back-and-forth battle. He has been playing hold'em for only a short time, and is self-taught. During the player introductions, he wanted everybody in the capacity crowd to know that he has the best wife in the world. He then went over to kiss her in front of the audience. ESPN was on hand to capture most of the final-table action. I asked Abe how it felt to win such a major event. He replied, "It feels great. I learned the game such a short time ago, and am self-taught.



There were so many great players in this event. I consider myself very lucky, and am thrilled to have this opportunity." The next WSOP Circuit tournament in Atlantic City will take place at Caesars, March 21-31. The event will feature 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and poker legend Johnny Chan.

If you have any questions about what's going on in the Atlantic City poker scene, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

PARTYGAMING BUYS EMPIREPOKER.COM FOR $250 MILLION

Deal Litigation Brought by Empire
BY BOB PAJICH

PartyGaming, the parent company of PartyPoker.com, agreed to pay EmpirePoker.com $250 million as part of a settlement that started when PartyGaming announced in September that it will stop its players from patronizing other sites, including EmpirePoker.com.



The $250 million gives PartyGaming the business, assets, player databases, and intellectual property relating to EmpirePoker.com and AceClub.com. With the deal, Empire Online Limited, which owned EmpirePoker.com, withdrew all legal claims against PartyGaming.



EmpirePoker.com sued PartyGaming, claiming that a breach of contract occurred when PartyGaming decided to stop allowing its players to play at other poker "skins," which are smaller gaming sites that depend on traffic generated by the larger companies.



Traffic to EmpirePoker.com dropped substantially after PartyGaming stopped its registered players from being able to easily play at the site.

WPT PINBALL: A FUTURISTIC BLAST FROM THE PAST

Stern Pinball Inc. Releases New Card-Themed Game

BY BOB PAJICH

It's been years since a poker-themed pinball machine was introduced. But with the immense popularity of poker, thanks in particular to the success of the World Poker Tour, now was the logical time for a reintroduction.



The game has players traveling from city to city, hoping to make it to a WPT final table. A dot-matrix display is located in the center of the playing field, showing players their holecards, as well as the flop, turn, and river cards.



"There was no denying that Texas hold'em is a wave that swept the country, and maybe the world," said Steve Ritchie, the designer of the WPT Pinball machine.



Ritchie runs Steve Ritchie Productions, his own pinball machine design firm, and he designed the WPT game for Stern Pinball Inc. The machine was released in early February.



Once upon a time, all pinball companies manufactured machines with card themes. That changed as the popularity of card games wavered. Now that the popularity is back, the WPT was the natural brand for a poker-themed machine.



"It lost its sizzle for a while, and it clearly got its sizzle back now," Gary Stern, the president of Stern Pinball, stated. "The World Poker Tour is obviously the king of TV with it."



Keith Johnson designed the software used in this machine. A regular Card Player magazine reader and poker buff, he helped Ritchie, who wasn't a great fan of poker before designing this game, with the texture of the game.



"Basically, I did all the rules of the game as well as the terminology and what the goals of the game should be, and how to incorporate the rules of the show," Johnson said. "We can't do a poker simulation because it's a pinball game, but touching on all the elements of poker can be loosely formed into a fun set of rules to play."



The design was challenging for Ritchie because of the obvious contrasts between a good pinball game and a good poker game. A good poker game is usually quiet and intense, with sporadic outbursts of emotion. Nonpoker fans can't believe people can sit and watch a game of poker for hours.



A good pinball machine is bright, noisy, and flashy, with nonstop action that can mesmerize people who have never played the game.



The machine also features the most drop-down targets of any game released in recent years. This was traditionally a feature used in the old card-themed pinball machines. Players make hands by hitting the drop targets, which look like cards. The better the hands players make, the higher they score.



The game also features a second playing field that Ritchie loves.



"It's very exciting to play up there," he said.



Ritchie said he has learned to appreciate the game of poker, thanks mostly to Johnson's love of the game.



"I became a fan of hold'em while I was making the game. Keith definitely influenced me," Ritchie commented.



Although he's talking about his latest pinball machine, Ritchie seems to have come out of the project understanding at least one fact about poker: "It's going to take somebody a hell of a long time to beat this game," he said.

FIRST WORLD POKER TOUR-BRANDED POKER ROOM TO OPEN AT FOXWOODS
New Poker Room to Bear WPT Name
BY BOB PAJICH

There are key chains, T-shirts, bottle openers, hats, boxer shorts, and, of course, poker chips, cards, and tables bearing the World Poker Tour name, so it was really only a matter of time that an entire poker room would be added to that list.



That poker room is at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. Foxwoods has expanded its poker room from 76 tables to 114, and it now bears the WPT name. Foxwoods is a charter member of the WPT.

The new poker room also features state-of-the-art features, such as a computerized seating system and tables with automatic shufflers. The room is designed so that it "evokes the cool, classy, charismatic character of our show," said Steve Lipscomb, World Poker Tour Enterprises founder and CEO.



Foxwoods already had the largest poker room in New England. The expansion should attract more players to its tournaments, which would increase the already large prize pools.



The WPT has already attached its name to such casino products as slot machines and table games, but never an entire poker room. Lipscomb called the announcement a "landmark" for his company.

COMMERCE CASINO POKER ROOM REVIEW
BY JAY NEWNUM



Action, action, action is the motto of Commerce Casino in Commerce, California, and do they ever live up to it.



Commerce Casino has the largest poker room in the world. With 273 poker tables, Commerce is able to spread literally any type of poker game at any limit. In addition, Casino Manager Tim Gustin and Commerce play host to both the annual L.A. Poker Classic and the California State Poker Championship.


Players have unlimited choices of games, and are even able to set up private tables upon request. Commerce Casino is allowed to spread literally any limit with no maximum. With so many tables and types of games, Commerce is always busy, and it is not unusual for 45 no-limit games alone to be running on the weekends.



Commerce Casino opened in 1983 and expanded to add more tables in 1992 and 2001. Even though it already has the largest poker room in the world, it is planning to break ground next April to add room for another 100 poker tables.



The Commerce staff includes more than 800 tournament and ring-game dealers who specialize in almost every variation of poker. The floorpersons and shift supervisors are second to none, with quick rulings and a vast depth of knowledge.



Food service is available at the tables 24 hours a day. In addition, there are several restaurants and snack shops in the casino, and in the early mornings, all-night action junkies can pluck a bit of nutrition off the coffee and donut carts weaving between the poker tables.



Attached to the casino is the Crown Plaza Hotel. Its 200 rooms provide easy access to the casino, and its staff is very detail-oriented.



In all, Commerce Casino provides all the action that any poker player could ask for.

WIL: Please let me know what you would have done here, as I obviously misplayed this hand.



I was playing a no-limit hold'em sit-and-go tourney with $25-$50 blinds. I was in the big blind with black deuces; three players and the small blind limped in. There were five players and $250 in the pot. The flop was 9-2-2. I checked, and so did everyone else.



The turn was an ace, and again I checked, thinking someone would definitely bet here. Again, everyone checked. The river was a jack.



I bet $150, and to my horror, everyone folded to the small blind, who thought and then mucked. (I've since put him on a 9 and think he would have called a flop bet.)



The question is, I know I misplayed the hand, but what's your advice when flopping a monster to get paid off?



SCOTT: When they say there is a lot of luck in poker, sometimes they are referring to situations like this. Obviously, when you flop quads, there aren't a whole lot of combinations of cards for your opponent to be holding that would make him want to pay you off. After a huge flop like this, I would consider it luck for you to make a lot of money. One of the most common ways for you to do this is to induce a big bluff by someone in the pot with you. Since you have pretty much everything out there, the only way to make a ton of money is by inducing the bluff. Personally, I usually just bet right out. If the pot was $250, I would probably bet out $175. Since you were in the blind, you want to represent that you have a deuce. It is very common for a player in the blinds to lead out on a rag flop like this. If you lead out big, it narrows the chances of your having a deuce in an opponent's mind, and he might try to bluff you!!



ORVILLE: Hey, Scott, I just want to start out by saying I think you are a great poker player, and that is why I am taking the time to ask you this question. Would you ever bet into a preflop raiser after the flop if you have action before the raiser? I have never done this, and when I see people do so, it really baffles me. I just wanted to know if you do this or think it's a good idea. Please tell me what hands you would bet if you do this, so that when I see it happen again, I might have a clue what someone might hold. Keep doing what you're doing, it's great.



SCOTT: Leading out into a raiser is one tool in a box full of many. Yes, I do it, as do others, but the question is how often and with what type of hand. Quite often, when I bet into a raiser, my hand is very strong. Let's say I call a raise with 8-8 and the flop comes 10-8-2; if I put my opponent on a strong hand like A-A, K-K, or Q-Q, I will bet into him, hoping to induce a raise. In other instances, I might lead into him with a bluff and take the pot away from him. Let's say I am pretty sure he has a middle pair and the flop comes ace high. I often like to lead out in a spot like this to take the pot away. If I get raised after this bet, but I still trust my read that he has a middle pair, I will reraise him. Oftentimes, when a preflop raiser gets bet into on an ace-high board, he will raise to represent A-K or A-Q. To summarize, betting is a tool used to gather information. In poker, you must gather as much info as possible and determine the holdings of the other players. Once you do that, you must trust yourself and follow up with any action necessary to win the pot!

'I'M ALL IN': HOW DEAD MONEY CAN MAKE IT TO THE FINAL TABLE

BY TIM PETERS

KILL PHIL: THE FAST TRACK TO SUCCESS IN NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM POKER TOURNAMENTS, by Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson (Huntington Press, $24.95 in paperback).



If you've played online, you've seen it happen: In the very first hand of a sit-and-go or even a multitable tournament, with the blinds at $10-$20, someone moves in for his entire starting stack of $1,500. Inevitably, you'll read some derisive chat ("Is that how it's going to be?" or, "Idiot"), but generally the bettor gets no callers and takes down the $30 pot. (Occasionally, of course, someone will call him – and then one of them doubles up.)



Is that poker? I always thought the answer must be "no" until I read this provocative new book by Blair Rodman and Lee Nelson, two solid poker professionals. (As you will readily surmise, the "Phil" of the title refers to poker brat Phil Hellmuth, whose picture adorns the cover and who contributed a foreword to the book, but the authors also use the name as shorthand for "any accomplished tournament player.")



In fact, I felt almost offended by the basic strategy the authors call "Kill Phil Rookie": You move in, preflop, regardless of what's in the pot, using three simple factors: a short list of 10 hand groupings, your stack size, and whether someone has raised the pot. Here's an example: If you have a "big stack," which they define as 10 times the cost per round, and are in either blind, you move in with hands as modest as a two-gap suited connector, from Q-9 to 6-3!



Actually, Kill Phil Basic is the second level of the strategy outlined in Kill Phil. The authors' most basic approach to tournament poker, "Kill Phil Rookie," is a slight modification of the bare-bones system devised for rank amateurs by David Sklansky plus a couple of thoughts on how to play from the blinds in unraised pots.



They also recognize, thankfully, that both of these basic Kill Phil approaches are high-risk – and that neither comes close to the sophistication of expert players. I'm nowhere near to becoming an expert player, but I can admire expert play – hence my initial negative reaction to the book. I was offended because Kill Phil Rookie and Kill Phil Basic reduce poker to a simple game of chicken: Do you dare call my all-in bet for all your chips? It essentially eliminates thought from the game. But that, of course, is exactly why they propose the Kill Phil strategy for neophytes. It eliminates the need for decision-making: If you're all in, you are going to see all five community cards no matter what happens; you cannot be pushed off the pot. You're going to steal lots of blinds. And when you do get called, you'll rarely be a huge underdog.



Obviously, if you have 6-3 suited and your opponent limped in with aces, you're in trouble. But a lot of seemingly modest hands are simply not that bad (a fact that great players know and novices need to learn). Here's one example: "A pair is a favorite against two unsuited overcards. For example, the 8 8 is about a 12.5-10 favorite over the A K. But trade in that A-K for the J 10 and you're almost exactly even money against those two red eights." Significantly, the hand groupings they outline differ from a lot of "standard" starting hands; they rank suited connectors higher than A-J, A-10, and K-Q, so that if you do get called, both cards in your hand will most likely be live.



I actually tried the Kill Phil Basic strategy in a couple of inexpensive sit-and-go tournaments; I won one (every time I got called, I had the best hand going in, like pocket eights versus pocket sevens) and lost the other (when my pocket nines got crushed by two aces). But even that very unscientific sample demonstrates that the strategy has some power; I was rarely called and stole an incredible number of pots, including several raised pots. The strategy is particularly valuable if you increase your stack early through a couple of double-ups; then your all-in moves really put opponents to the test.



At the same time, it's a deeply unsatisfying way to play poker – virtually thoughtless and rote. You aren't factoring in how others are playing, the texture of the flop, your stack versus an opponent's, or where the tournament is in relation to the money. You just move in, and hope you get no callers or survive the inevitable confrontation. And you will get called, eventually; the all-in moves frustrate other players – not a bad thing, necessarily – and people are positively eager to put you in your place.



The real value of the book is how the authors build on the core premise of Kill Phil Basic to create two more fully developed, and more effective, strategies: "Kill Phil Basic Plus" and "Kill Phil Expert." Neither has the elegant rigor of, say, Dan Harrington or David Sklansky, but they are also easier to learn and apply for tournament novices. In Basic Plus, you begin to factor your opponents' stack sizes and your assessment of their abilities into your decision-making. Kill Phil Expert adds still more nuances, including tells (reading them and supplying false ones of your own), "restealing," and making deals.



If you're an experienced player, you almost certainly won't adopt the Kill Phil strategy, though you'll learn something from reading this book. But if you're new to tournament poker, Kil