An Aussie Millionaire:
Erick Lindgren Wins $100,000 Event
By Alex Henriquez
Erick Lindgren did his best Men "The Master" Nguyen imitation and ordered 31 beers with three players left in the $100,000 buy-in pot-limit/no-limit hold'em event at the
Aussie Millions, but unlike Nguyen, they weren't all for him.
Lindgren ordered one beer for himself and 30 for the onlookers, whom Lindgren called some of the best he has ever played in front of. Not long after he ordered those beers, the crowd ended up toasting Lindgren with applause after he took down the tournament to win $1 million for the second time in his career.
The 18 players who bought in for the $100,000 were: Daniel Negreanu, Masaaki Kagawa, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Erik Seidel, Roland De Wolfe, Michael Sampoerna, Jason Gray, Kevin O'Donnell, Jeff Lisandro, Lindgren, John D'Agostino, Joe Reina, David Benyamine, Lee Nelson, John Juanda, Tony G, and Tony Bloom.
The prize pool generated by these gentlemen hit $1.8 million, and the top three players were paid $250,000, $550,000, and $1 million.
All of the players started with $100,000 in chips, and with such deep stacks, it took more than three hours to lose the first player, when Sampoerna hit a double-gutshot-straight draw, cracking O'Donnell's set of deuces.
In fact, Sampoerna eliminated the first three players (O'Donnell, De Wolfe, and Negreanu), but with the pay scale so thin, hours later he ended up being knocked out in sixth place, joining the other 15 players who lost $100,000 on the day.
Ivey became the bubble boy after his A
7
failed to improve against Kagawa's A
Q
. It was after this hand that Lindgren turned to Tournament Director Jones and said, "I'd like 31 beers; one for me and 30 for the rail."
Kagawa became the first player to earn a paycheck. Short-stacked, Kagawa reraised all in with the A
7
, but exited in third place ($250,000) when Seidel's pocket sixes held up.
Already having made a strong showing at the final table, Team Full Tilt now guaranteed itself a second consecutive Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in event winner.
With the play switched exclusively to no-limit, Lindgren moved all in preflop and Seidel called. As fans leaned over the rails for a closer look, Lindgren flipped over the K
K
, giving him a commanding lead over Seidel's J
J
. The A
3
2
A
10
board brought no miracle cards, and Lindgren took the chip lead.
Twenty minutes later, Seidel called an all-in preflop raise, and his K
J
put him in a hole against Lindgren's A
7
. The A
9
8
flop gave Lindgren top pair and Seidel a flush draw, but the event ended with a 6♦ turn and 5♣ river.
Seidel earned $550,000 for his runner-up finish.
"It feels great, but I'm pretty worn out. This is the first time I've given 100 percent the whole way through the tournament in a long time," Lindgren said. "Other times, I've been phasing out, or whatever. I don't know, it just really feels like I tried hard and the cards went my way."
Bob Pajich contributed to this article.
Gus Hansen Wins Aussie Millions Main Event
His Fourth Major Victory Nets the Dane $1.2 Million
By Bob Pajich
It's been almost two years since Gus Hansen came out on top of a major poker tournament, but he again found his way to the big pile of cash in Australia, winning the $10,000 buy-in
Aussie Millions and the $1.5 million in Australian greenbacks ($1.2 million) that came with the title.
He made it through a field of 747 players to capture his fourth major poker title, bringing his lifetime tournament winnings up to $2.2 million. The final table, like most big-time events nowadays, was packed with tough opponents, including Kristy Gazes, Andy Black, and eventual runner-up, online tournament specialist Jimmy Fricke.
Hansen came to the final table only about $300,000 in chips behind chip leader Fricke, who had $5.1 million, but by the time the final table was whittled down to two, the 19-year-old Fricke had managed to accumulate $11.1 million in chips to Hansen's $3.7 million.
When heads-up play began, Hansen quickly found himself all in with the A
2
against Fricke's K
Q
. The weak ace held up, and on the very next hand, Hansen took the chip lead by winning a $700,000 pot with a power raise, forcing the young Internet pro to fold. But the chip lead wouldn't last, after Hansen made an incredible all-in call while holding the A
K
with a board of J
10
10
. It turned out that Hansen was right: Fricke was semibluffing with the K
Q
, but the 9
on the river kept Fricke alive, only to die a few hands later.
In the last hand, Fricke again pushed with a straight draw while holding the 9
7
and the board reading Q
8
6
. Hansen held the A
A
, and when Fricke missed on the turn and river, Hansen became the
Aussie Millions champion.
Check out next month's
Card Player for a feature story on Gus Hansen and his Aussie Millions victory.
Absolute Making Poker Dreams Come True
Absolute Dream Package Poker Promotion Now Taking Place
By Bob Pajich
An absolute dream for many poker players would be to play in a handful of
World Poker Tour and
World Series of Poker events for free. AbsolutePoker.com is providing that oppotunity.
The online poker site is now running The Absolute Dream Package, a series of tournaments in which the winner receives entry into 10 tournaments, including five
WPT events and the
WSOP main event.
The prize package is worth $125,000, and, aside from the
WPT and
WSOP events, includes entry into the $10,000
Ultimate Poker Challenge and Absolute Poker's $100,000-guaranteed weekly tournament for a year (worth $11,232), plus almost $18,000 to use for travel expenses. The winner also will receive about $26,000 to play in an undisclosed televised high-stakes poker game.
There are three ways to earn an entry into the championship tourney that takes place on March 4. The easy way is to buy into the event for $216. But plenty of players will get in through one of the many freeroll tournaments that are running from now until championship day.
The freerolls cost 50 player points, and every player at AbsolutePoker.com already received an entry into either this qualifier or the weekend's $100,000-guaranteed tourneys. Points can be earned by playing real-money games at AbsolutePoker.com.
Real-money qualifiers are also taking place at the site. Absolute Poker is holding two tiers of qualifiers, $3.30 and $27. Play in the $3.30 qualifier to get into the $27 qualifier, where seats to the championship are won.
Please visit AbsolutePoker.com for more details.
Deposit and Withdrawal Options at Online Poker Sitese
Passporte and Click2Pay Look to Fill NETELLER'S Gap
By Bob Pajich
The end of NETELLER's participation with customers in the U.S. may be a blow to the convenience of online poker, but there are other ways to get money in and out of online sites.
Players who depended on NETELLER, and who use sites that also offer ePassporte, can get their money into their bank accounts by first setting up an account with ePassporte, making a deposit at their preferred site to activate it, and then withdraw it.
Here's a list of five of the most popular sites and the way they still accept deposits and withdrawals from players in America:
PokerStars
PokerStars accepts ePassporte, Visa, MasterCard, and Western Union, and players can send checks to the site.
ePassporte is a company that issues virtual Visa cards that can be used at sites everywhere, but its processing fees are a little obnoxious. Each deposit of $100 costs $5, and it costs at least $2 to make an EFT (electronic funds transfer). But to make the service more convenient, players may want to order an actual Visa card from ePassporte for an additional $35, which gives them direct access to their funds at retail locations everywhere, and can be used to withdraw money from ATM machines.
As of the middle of January, ePassporte is the only option that American players have at PokerStars to electronically withdraw their winnings.
Players can use Visa and MasterCard to deposit at PokerStars, but can't withdraw to them.
Many players will be making friends with the mailman this year, because PokerStars will mail checks to players. This takes 10 to 14 business days.
Full Tilt
Full Tilt also accepts ePassporte, but it offers another alternative in Click2Pay. But, Click2Pay is no longer accepting new customers. Existing customers can still use the service.
Click2Pay charges a 3 percent processing fee if players deposit with their credit card, but if players set up a direct deposit with their bank accounts, it's free of charge. The same goes for withdrawals, and the site claims that a bank transfer takes up to three business days. Click2Pay's customer service may be lacking, though. We tried to get ahold of them over the phone for one entire day, but the calls never went through.
Doyle's Room
ePassporte is the only service that players can use to both deposit and withdraw money at the site. Players can deposit using Visa and MasterCard, but can't withdraw. Doyle's Room will be happy to cut and mail a check.
Ultimate Bet
Ultimate Bet accepts ePassporte, Visa, MasterCard, and ATMOnline. ATMOnline is another "eWallet" that players can connect to their bank accounts to make withdrawals and deposits. While still servicing U.S. customers, it warns that it will probably change its policy after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act goes into effect later this year.
Setup is free at ATMOnline. A deposit is free if using a bank account, and it charges 7 percent if a credit card is used. Withdrawals from sites to an ATMOnline account costs $15, but withdrawals to bank accounts is free. The company charges $10 to mail checks.
Robert Williamson III Wins Ultimate Blackjack Tour With a Hold'em Twist
Battle of the Superstars Celebrates Highest Ratings on CBS
By Lisa Wheeler
Professional poker player Robert Williamson III, who's also a member of the
Ultiimate Blackjack Tour, won the
Battle of the Superstars recently. Twenty-seven top blackjack and poker players competed for $100,000 in prize money, with the final-table competition lasting more than 10 hours.
The
Battle of the Superstars, taped in Los Angeles, will air on
CBS during season two of the
UBT. The show made history last Christmas with the highest ratings ever for a televised card-game show.
The all-star lineup included Anthony Curtis, Kenny Einiger, James Grosjean, Johnny Chan, Blair Rodman, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, and Williamson.
After a grueling one-day session, only six players advanced to the final table. The format began with elimination blackjack, then switched to no-limit hold'em poker during final-table action.
Elimination blackjack is an intense version of the popular "21" casino game, and includes forced eliminations and allows players a one-time opportunity to conceal their bet from other players. The twist is that competitors play against each other as well as the dealer.
Poker's Creeping Into Every Corner of the World
Tournaments in Asia and Europe Are Attracting Hundreds of Players
By Bob Pajich
Like basketball, rock 'n' roll, and muscle cars, poker has been one of those undeniably American babies that has found its way to countless corners of globe. The poker explosion that started at Binion's Horseshoe in Downtown Las Vegas has landed in hotel ballrooms in Warsaw and resorts in India. It's truly a world of poker.
Recently, 747 players participated in the
Aussie Millions championship, and popular players were separated from their families at Melbourne's airport by the push of fans. Betfair's
Asian Poker Tour event in November had 313 players put up $5,000 (Tony G won it and gave half of his winnings to charity).
The
Irish Open, which is Europe's oldest major poker tournament (it's been around since 1981), has a €2 million-guaranteed main event. Last year, the final table of the tournament that attracted 339 players was broadcast live across Europe. In 2005, the tournament had 172 entrants.
The
Asian Poker Classic, which will be held in Goa, India, includes a guaranteed $1 million prize pool, thanks to India-centric online poker site MaharajahClub.com.
The
European Poker Tour has averaged 372 players during the last three events, and these players come from all over the world. The
EPT keeps track of nationalities playing in its events. For example, the
EPT event in Dublin, which took place in October, attracted 389 players from 28 countries, including at least one player from the following: Iran, Guatemala, Turkey, Macedonia, and Scotland.
The 2005
World Series of Poker champion, Joe Hachem, is from Australia. In 2006, Roland De Wolfe became the first player to win both a
World Poker Tour and
EPT event. Three-time
Card Player Player of the Year Men Nguyen is from Vietnam. In fact, there are 193 players with the last name of Nguyen in CardPlayer.com's player database (but only one "Master").
Here in America, live tournaments are booming, and online tournaments haven't seen much of a drop-off in player numbers even though the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed in September.
The poker monster may have been born and raised in America, but it's on its way to dominating the world.
Happenings in Europe
By Thor Henrykson
Unlike in America, where for the most part poker has (thus far) been left alone by the government, the situation in Europe seems to be escalating. Several European governments, which pride themselves on their liberal social policies, have begun oppressing and annoying our Euro-colleagues.
In the Netherlands (home of legalized prostitution, lax drug laws, same-sex marriages, abortion, and euthanasia), the police have been quite persistent in raiding small home-poker tournaments and arresting their organizers. In Scandinavia, police in Norway, Finland, and Sweden are forcing poker clubs to cease and desist, forcing players to take poker cruises, where organizers and players seek the safety of international waters.
In France, where poker night is now an acceptable form of social pastime, the government is quite persistent in protecting its gambling monopoly. Although the French government officially voted in favor of allowing the introduction of poker games to the 196 land-based casinos, the
Deauville EPT event was cancelled, apparently due to the involvement of an online poker site in the organization of the tournament. Since December, the advertising of gambling websites and financial transfers between banks and these sites has become illegal in France.
Elsewhere, in Germany, where poker is growing rapidly, we saw the addition of a new
EPT event in Dortmund. However, German casinos seem to be making the same mistake American casinos made in the 1990s: mainly, placing slot machines in place of poker rooms. And finally, unfortunately, the Gutshot Poker Club's owner, Derek Kelly, was found guilty of violating the 1968 Gaming Act, as a British jury has found poker to be a game of luck (not skill). Kelly has vowed to continue his "campaign to have poker played among normal people and not casinos." Good luck, mate.
For more information on European poker, visit CardPlayerEurope.com.
South Carolina Lawmaker Pushing to Legalize Home Poker
Bill Would Make it Legal to Play Socially
By Bob Pajich
In South Carolina, it's illegal to buy a deck of cards on Sunday. It's also illegal to wear pants with back pockets, and to bathe a horse in a bathtub, but Republican Rep. William Scarborough isn't tackling these outdated and ridiculous laws. He's trying to get another one changed.
In January, Scarborough introduced a bill that would allow people to play poker in their own homes.
"I'm just trying to allow people to play a friendly game of cards in their house," Scarborough said. "That's the one thing I want to get across. Playing cards is not evil. Playing cards is not the root of all evil. Playing cards can be a nice, social event."
Playing many games in South Carolina, including Monopoly and any game that has an element of chance to it, is illegal. Many states still have these sorts of laws on the books, many of them addressing moral concerns that, for many people, seem completely outdated.
Poker is nearly always included in these hodgepodge collections of dusty "blue" laws. Who knows the last time someone got busted for wearing a back pocket, but the poker laws are often enforced.
The bill that Scarborough introduced would amend the state's code of laws to allow people to play "certain poker card games engaged in for the sole purpose of recreational activity."
This may sound more than reasonable for poker buffs, but Scarborough thinks it will be a tough sell to his colleagues, who represent some of the most religious and conservative people in the country.
Scarborough is working hard to let everyone know that he is against spreading gambling in his state. He doesn't want to see cardrooms or casinos. He doesn't want the games to spread to bars or anywhere else in the public environment.
He just wants people to be able to play cards in their homes. From what he heard from the people he represents, this seems fair to them. But this may not be the case with his fellow state Assembly members.
In a state that is in the heart of the "Bible Belt," all of Scarborough's colleagues are conscious of the power of the Christian conservatives in South Carolina. For these politicians, some fights just aren't worth risking alienating this core group of supporters.
But his colleagues may be overthinking the role of morality concerning this issue.
"I don't see a big backlash from the public, but I am seeing a backlash from the General Assembly," Scarborough stated.
Even if Scarborough succeeds, Monopoly lovers should be warned: The law won't change the fact that it's still illegal to play the Parker Brothers game there. The reason: It's against the law to use fake money while playing games in South Carolina.
Small Town Poker Tour to Hold Summer Championship
Winners of Local Events Will Also Receive $1,000 Entry to Main Event
By Bob Pajich
This year is jam-packed with poker tournaments in casinos and cardrooms across the country, with buy-ins that are enough to purchase brand-new motorcycles, but there are also plenty of tourneys for the "Joe Lunchboxes" of the poker world, and the
Small Town Poker Tour (STPT) is responsible for many of them.
The
Small Town Poker Tour is the world's largest amateur poker tour, with emphasis on raising money for charity. Working with local and national charities, it has held tournaments in firehouses and convention centers in the U.S. and Europe for a little more than a year. Buy-ins rarely exceed $60 and the events are filmed for future release.
The winners of this year's tournaments will move on to the
STPT World Pro-Am Championships, which will be held somewhere in Las Vegas during the 2007
World Series of Poker (the date and place are still pending). Already, two events have qualified players. The winners of these events also received a $5,000 Visa gift card and a championship ring.
This year's championship event will have a buy-in of $1,000 and is open to the public. The championship will also benefit a charity, but the details have not been finalized yet.
Over the last year or so, the
STPT has raised thousands and thousands of dollars for charities. The United Way and the Lions Club have been two of the biggest beneficiaries, but even though these are national charities, all of the money stays within the community in which the tourney is held.
The
STPT has also worked with celebs and corporate entities to put on charity tournaments. One of the biggest is the Vince Neil tournament that ran for the second time in November at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.
The
STPT has many events planned for 2007. The following is a list of dates provided by the
STPT, but some of the details are incomplete. Please check its website to register, or for more information (www.smalltownpokertour.com): March 23-25, John A. Alario Sr. Event Center, Westwego, Louisiana; April 27, cruise leaves for Amsterdam, Netherlands; June 7, Nashville, Tennessee (pending state approval); June 21-23, Saskatchewan, Canada (locations being finalized); July,
STPT World Pro-Am Championships (date pending).
The Palms Hosts World's First Live $1 Million Freeroll
Qualify for River King Freeroll Tournament Through June 30
By Lisa Wheeler
The Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is hosting the
River King Freeroll Poker Tournament, the world's first $1 million freeroll poker event. That's right - $1 million! The
River King Freeroll Poker Tournament will be televised (date pending), and all a poker player needs to do is apply for a Palms Club Card and start playing poker.
The qualifying period began on Jan. 1 and will continue until June 30. The number of hours a player needs to enter depends on the amount of chips with which he wishes to start. A minimum of 300 live-play hours are necessary to qualify.
The
River King Freeroll Poker Tournament preliminary rounds will be conducted as one-table shootouts, with the top two finishers advancing to the semifinals. Each table starts with 10 players.
River King Freeroll Poker Tournament players who accumulate at least 300 hours of live play from now until June 30 will automatically be entered into the preliminary round. The number of live-play hours determines the amount of chips a player gets to start: 300-349 hours - $2,500 in tournament chips, 350-399 hours - $3,000 in tournament chips, 400-449 hours - $3,500 in tournament chips, 450-499 hours - $4,000 in tournament chips, 500 hours or more - $5,000 in tournament chips.
Even if a player loses a preliminary round, a second chance is given to anyone who accumulates 800 or more hours within the qualifying period. That's a free second chance for an opportunity to win a share of the $1 million in prize money.
There will be other prizes, as well, and plenty of payouts just for qualifying.
For more details on this freeroll and other Palms Las Vegas events, visit the Palms poker room, or call (702) 942-7777.
Doyle's Sundance Tourney Benefits Smiles
By Bob Pajich
For two weeks every year, Park City, Utah, becomes the center of the universe for independent filmmakers, stargazers, and people who simply like to party.
This year at the Sundance Film Festival, DoylesRoom.com held a tournament to benefit Operation Smile, a charitable organization that provides reconstructive surgery to deformed children and adults in need around the world. The invitation-only event was held at a private home in the middle of Park City in January.
Doyle couldn't make the event, so Todd took his place. He joined Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg, Sundance featured writer and director Adam Rifkin,
That '70s Show alum Danny Masterson, actors Nick Cannon, Jeremy Sisto, and David Moscow, rapper/actress Eve, actress Bijou Philips, and
World Series of Poker Champion Jamie Gold.
The event was won by Rosenberg, who joined Gold and Mike Torres in the final group of three. He won a grand prize gift bag that included a two-hour private poker session with Doyle Brunson, a $5,000 wardrobe from Rocawear, $3,000 bottle service at PM Lounge NYC, Boost Mobile one-year service and phone, and wardrobe from Ed Hardy.
Please visit operationsmile.org to learn more about the charity.
Chip & Karina
Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part series that Chip Jett wrote about tournament concerns.
Here's another disturbing point that recently occurred in a major tournament with multiple starting flights/days. Players were allowed to sign up as late as level two on the final starting day. While this sounds harmless, it potentially opens up multiple cans of worms. Here are the negative possibilities as I see them:
• If after day one/flight one the leader board was a who's who of poker, or if an exceptionally strong player had an exceptionally strong day and had acquired a massive amount of chips, this information could deter any players who were on the fence with their decision of whether to play or not. Conversely, if the leader board was stacked with unknown players or notoriously weak players, this knowledge could entice someone to play who wouldn't have played otherwise. This might sound harmless, but to enable players to opt to play against weaker fields and to pass against tougher fields could create a group of people all trying to exploit the same edge, and this would actually hurt the number of entrants in the long run.
• In casinos where IDs are not checked, this system would enable someone who was not well-known to get knocked out on day one/flight one, and then register again and play on day one/flight two under a different name. Imagine knocking someone out of a $25,000 buy-in tournament on day one, and then having him eliminate you on day three. This situation would affect everyone in the tournament, and would be virtually impossible to reverse once discovered.
• There is a "checks and balances" system in effect with tournament poker in which the number of entrants is known soon after the event starts, and can be compared to the actual amount of chips in play. This allows players to feel comfortable that 100 percent of the prize pool is being paid back to the players, and not to corrupt employees. What would players think if going into day three, the actual amount being played for was a mystery? It would undermine the confidence that is already in place for most tournaments.
The fact is, the problems were addressed originally when multiple starting-day tournaments began. If you were not registered by the end of level two on the first starting day, you got shut out. I believe this was changed by tournament directors who are judged on how many starting players they get for their events, and want to leave registration open for as long as possible to get the maximum number of players. The correct procedure is not broke and does not need fixing. Changing this rule is a big step backward, and hopefully it will be recognized as an error and corrected quickly.
Please send any comments or questions to [email protected].
Logjam at the Top of Player of the Year Leader Board
A great Dane, an unknown Swede, and a doctorate student from Penn State University are the current leaders of the 2007
Card Player Player of the Year (POY) race. Three tournaments of 2007 are already history, and the winners - Gus Hansen (
Aussie Millions), Magnus Petersson (
EPT Scandinavian Open) and Ryan Daut (
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure) - locked themselves into a three-way tie that will surely dissolve as the weeks and the tournaments go by.
Between them, they won more than $3.4 million, and each earned the maximum 1,440 points for his individual victory. In the case of Daut, he appeared in articles in several small-town newspapers throughout central Pennsylvania, again showing the mainstream reach and popularity of poker.
But to reiterate how tight the race always is at the beginning of the year, Hansen, Petersson, and Daut are only 331 points away from being knocked out of the top 10. In fact, any players with points can easily take over the top spot. They only have to enter and win a major poker tournament in the next few weeks, and the lead is all theirs. It's as simple as that.
Last year at around this time, 2006 POY winner Michael Mizrachi rattled off three final tables in a row, which enabled him to lead the POY points race from February until December. He did it by consistently cashing in tournaments of all buy-in levels. If any of the three players who now share the lead rattle off another victory in the first quarter of 2007, they will be on the way to following the steps of a champion.
The
European Poker Tour will wrap up its third season with three events in March: the
EPT German Open (March 8-11),
EPT Warsaw (March 14-17), and the
EPT Grand Final (March 28-April 1).
Magnus Petersson is the latest
EPT champion. The 29-year-old financial advisor from Stockholm beat out 400 players to claim the title, which put him in a three-way tie early in the
Card Player 2007 Player of the Year race. His win was worth $705,508, which isn't a bad return on the $475 investment he made one day on PokerStars, which is what he spent qualifying for the €5,000 event.
This season is turning out to be the
EPT's biggest yet. Nearly all of the events have reached the tournament capacity of 400 players, no doubt with help from the PokerStars qualifiers, which run around-the-clock. Some of the notable winners of
EPT events include Roland De Wolfe, Mads Andersen, Patrik Antonius, and Ram Vaswani.
Look Out!
It's going to be a while until we see Jimmy Fricke playing in tournaments here in the U.S., but it sure isn't because Fricke doesn't have the ability to make it on the tournament trail. The 19-year-old Internet player (known as Goboboy) has made a splash with three cashes for a total of $846,375 since late November. The last two came in January, when he finished 22nd in the
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure ($28,255), and then only nine days later was the runner-up to Gus Hansen at the
Aussie Millions ($800,000). The young player from Mahomet, Illinois, will be a POY contender if he keeps his passport current and spends many hours flying to overseas tournaments, where the legal age is 18 and players like Fricke can dominate.
Online Hand-to-Hand Combat: Roothlus Pounds the Bubble Aggressor
By Craig Tapscott
Want to study real poker hands with the Internet's most successful players? In this series, Card Player offers hand analysis with online poker's leading talent. And, as an added bonus, you can check out live video commentary provided by the pros and PokerXfactor.com at www.CardPlayer.com/h2hc.
Event: $100 no-limit hold'em rebuy tournament
First place: $23,815
Stacks: Roothlus - $86,906, Villain - $110,844
Blinds: $1,500-$3,000
Preflop: Villain raises from the cutoff seat to $7,777.
Craig Tapscott: What was your preflop read here?
Adam Levy (Roothlus): I had been moderately reactive, but I hadn't been called once on any of these steal attempts. It also seemed like the villain was trying to abuse the money bubble. I thought his credibility for a real hand was really shot here.
Roothlus reraises from the big blind to $24,000, holding the K
5
.
CT: Was this a good spot to resteal?
AL: Normally, I'm pretty tight-solid in this tournament, but lately I've been trying to get better with my resteals and sensing weakness. Two hands prior to this, the villain had made an overbet shove on a miniraise. Here, once again, I thought his credibility for a real hand was lacking. The reason I made it $24,000 and not less was to make sure that he wasn't getting great odds to call, and I could take the pot down preflop without risking too much. Almost as soon as I reraised, he put his money into the pot.
Villain calls.
CT: What did you put him on now?
AL: Well, I know for sure that I'm behind. However, I thought that if he had a decent pair (7-7, 9-9), he would've at least pondered a call and not just instantly called my raise. Also, it's highly possible that he could've pushed on me, forcing me to fold my hand. Any pair higher (10-10, A-A), I'm 90 percent sure that he would've.
Flop: 5
3
2
($50,550 pot); Roothlus bets $21,000.
CT: You flop top pair and bet less than your initial raise. Why?
AL: Well, initially I was planning on just shoving in my stack and praying that he would fold. By doing that, it made him make a nearly impossible call if he had just overcards or ace high. But after I managed to hit the flop hard, I changed my plan and decided to extract some value.
Villain moves all in for $86,844, Roothlus calls all in. Villain shows the A
9
.
Even though he could've just called the flop and possibly hit the turn, I didn't think that was an option. Either he was folding or we were getting it in on the flop. So, then he shoved and I instantly called. I'm not really sure if he thought he had fold equity or just wanted to gamble, but, clearly, once this flop came out, there was no possibility of me folding. Also, 90 percent of the flops, I would've open-shoved.
Turn: Q
River: 5
Results: Roothlus wins the final pot of $176,362.
CT: This was a weird hand.
AL: Yep. He tried to pound the bubble and I tried to one-up him by pounding him. Then, he unexpectedly called and I was now playing a huge pot with an extremely marginal hand from out of position. So, what's the best way to play a situation like this? Shove the flop or check-fold the flop, but usually it's the former. But wait, I hit the flop. So, let's try to extract some value by betting one-third of my stack, clearly showing that I'm not folding. Then, he put his money in anyway with ace high. I called with not a single doubt in my mind. During the course of the hand, everything went a totally unexpected way, but my read was right on.
To see this hand animated and narrated with additional analysis by Roothlus, visit www.CardPlayer.com/h2hc.
Adam Levy has been a dominating tournament player for the last few years on the Net. Within a five-week period in 2006, he made the PokerStars Sunday tournament final table twice, cashing for a total of $104,000.
Weekend Tourney Killer: NETELLER or NFL?
By Shawn Patrick Green
From Strong to Weak in a Week
Jan. 14 was one of the biggest Sundays of all time for online poker tournaments. The major tournaments at PokerStars, UltimateBet, and Bodog all shattered their previous records - UltimateBet and Bodog had avoided overlays for the first time - and the Full Tilt $350,000-guaranteed tournament had a very strong showing, as well.
That was before the news of the NETELLER pullout.
The tournaments on the Sunday after the news broke partially reflected the impact of the NETELLER decision to pull out of the U.S. ("partially" because a decent amount of credit must be given to the championship NFL games that weekend). Whether the majority of the attendance decrease resulted from the NETELLER pullout or the NFL games remains to be seen.
By the Numbers
PokerStars was the lone major poker site to avoid an overlay on Sunday, Jan. 21, and even it saw an attendance downswing of almost 900 entrants. The major tournaments at UltimateBet and Bodog had bigger overlays than they'd had in recent memory. The UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament had 862 players pay the $200 buy-in, resulting in a $27,600 overlay. The Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament also declined significantly, with 801 entrants ponying up the $100 buy-in, meaning Bodog owed the prize pool $19,900. Full Tilt had to fork over a $60,000 overlay for its $750,000-guaranteed tournament when it had 1,380 entrants at $500 a piece.
Déjà Vu?
There was a similar downward trend upon the announcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October, but online poker regained its footing and sites that continued to operate in the U.S. ended up stronger than ever in the following months. Whether or not this situation will render the same result remains to be seen, but poker players have, time and again, shown their resilience and their passion to play, and these defining characteristics will likely be the ultimate deciding factor for online poker.
Final Tables Full of Fame
As if to offset the downward swing of attendance at the major tournaments, the final tables at the events were crawling with notable poker pros, providing for some interesting endgame. Among those who made final tables were:
• Chris "brsavage" Savage (PokerStars
Sunday Million, Jan. 21, third place, $67,420)
• Garrett "GfcukinBecks" Beckman (UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed, Jan. 21, sixth place, $9,000)
• Leggggggggggy (UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed, Jan. 21, eighth place, $5,000)
• Eric "basebaldy" Baldwin (Bodog $100,000-guaranteed, Jan. 14, sixth place, $4,446)
• Adam "Roothlus" Levy (Bodog $100,000-guaranteed, Jan. 14, eighth place, $2,378)
Back-to-Back Final Tables for 'TheWacoKidd'
Jared "TheWacoKidd" Hamby also took a huge chunk of money from the mid-January tournaments with back-to-back final tables in the UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament. On Jan. 14, he cut through a field of 1,004 players to finish second ($25,915) in the tournament to kasedowgy, the eventual winner.
The next weekend, TheWacoKidd showed up at the same final table. His chip stack was in line for another second-place finish with three players remaining, before his A-6 was outdrawn by 10-9 and he ultimately finished in third place ($18,500). His total winnings for the two tournament cashes was $44,415.
Eric Froehlich Hits the Full Tilt $750,000 Final Table
Eric Froehlich, a two-time
World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Full Tilt-sponsored pro, landed a spot at the final table of the big monthly tournament at Full Tilt. He came to the final table of the event, which had a $750,000-guaranteed prize pool, in fourth place. After four players were eliminated, Froehlich's tournament life came to an end when his A-J was outdrawn by K-Q when the river brought a king for his opponent. He snagged a $35,250 payday for his fifth-place finish.
Get a Piece of the Action
The guaranteed-prize-pool tournaments are likely to see more overlays in the coming months, making for some especially good prize money, considering the number of entrants and the buy-ins.Those interested in getting a piece of the dead money can follow these links:
PokerStars - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etpokerstars
Full Tilt Poker - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etfulltilt
UltimateBet - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etultimatebet
AbsolutePoker - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etabsolute
Bodog - www.CardPlayer.com/link/etbodog
Online Tournament Results, Jan. 14-21
PokerStars Sunday Million
Jan. 14
Winner: SwedisRotKuk
Winnings: $187,504*
Prize pool: $1,526,400
Entrants: 7,632
Jan. 21
Winner: Mazinho1977
Winnings: $164,009*
Prize pool: $1,348,400
Entrants: 6,742
* Payout reflects a deal made at the final table.
Full Tilt Poker $750,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 21
Winner: vegan213
Winnings: $141,000
Prize pool: $750,000
Entrants: 1,380
Full Tilt Poker $350,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 14
Winner: imgrinding
Winnings: $90,734
Prize pool: $494,600
Entrants: 2,473
UltimateBet $200,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 14
Winner: kasedowgy
Winnings: $44,264
Prize pool: $201,200
Entrants: 1,006
Jan. 21
Winner: stevie44
Winnings: $45,000
Prize pool: $200,000
Entrants: 862
Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 14
Winner: lawdork1980
Winnings: $25,850
Prize pool: $103,400
Entrants: 1,034
Jan. 21
Winner: kingthehustler
Winnings: $25,000
Prize pool: $100,000
Entrants: 801
James Campbell
Calculated Risks
By Craig Tapscott
James Campbell graduated with a finance degree from the University of Massachusetts in the spring of 2005. A 9-to-5 existence within the financial field loomed ahead. The calculated plan was to play poker all summer, start a job in the fall, and marry the woman of his dreams.
Everything was going according to plan. The job was great. He met a great girl. Poker was a fun and profitable hobby. Then at the start of a new year, fate would force Campbell to re-evaluate his game plan.
"Playing full time had never really crossed my mind until about February 2006," said Campbell. "I had a bankroll of about $20,000 by then. That month, I chopped the UltimateBet $500,000 tournament for $20,000. At the same time, I was at the $200,000 Full Tilt Poker final table and finished second for $29,000. That was a $50,000 weekend. I haven't looked back since."
Not looking back is an understatement. During a recent two-week period, Campbell won two tournaments online and cashed deep in 12 others, for a total of $108,000. And to top it off, the girl of his dreams said yes to a marriage proposal he made at the PokerStars
WPT event in the Bahamas in January. Nice work, Campbell.
Craig Tapscott: I heard your dad taught you to play.
James Campbell: During my junior year, I came during Christmas and my father was playing poker on the Internet. I'd never played before. I watched, and he taught me the basics. After I went back to school, I deposited $50 on PokerStars and started in $5 sit-and-gos. In the beginning, I was very loose, like your typical fish, being too aggressive, and then I went the opposite way and became very tight. A few months later, I won my first tourney for around $1,000 and started to build a small bankroll.
CT: You have a tight-aggressive style. How do you thwart the loose-aggressive styles of some of the top players?
JC: Against a loose-aggressive player, I will let him do the betting for me, even when I have a huge hand. One example is a hand I was in recently with Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet. He raised from one before the cutoff and I had K-K on the button. In these types of situations, I will slow-play. I just called and flopped top set. He checked, as did another player. I led with a smallish bet and apestyles went all in over the top of me. He had A-7, no ace, no draw. If I had repopped him preflop, I never would have gotten that type of action.
CT: What part of your game do you think needs to improve the most?
JC: My position play, making sure that I pick the right spots as far as resteals from in position and restealing against another player I think is trying to resteal.
CT: Can you share an online tell you've noticed?
JC: One of the easiest tells is that players love mini-raising A-A and K-K from under the gun. You have to play very cautiously when you play against that type of player.
CT: The minimum raising fad marches on.
JC: I hate the minimum raise. I never do it myself. I also hate going up against it.
CT: Could it be used as a blocking bet?
JC: It could be a good bet if you have a drawing hand with a deep stack and you want to keep the other player confused. It would work better against an experienced player or someone you've played with a lot to throw them off. Against a beginning player, I don't think it would be as effective.
Taking a Stab: Defining the Continuation Bet
By Mike Sexton, the 'Ambassador of Poker' and Commentator for the World Poker Tour
The event at the Mirage kicks off our season each year on the
World Poker Tour. This
WPT final table featured some terrific poker players, including Ted Forrest, Chris Bell, Kido Pham, and Gavin Smith, the eventual winner of this tournament who went on to become the
WPT Player of the Year.
Poker, especially no-limit hold'em, is more about "playing the player" than playing the cards. It's about feel, recognizing certain situations, and taking advantage of them. Just as the lion does in the jungle, when good poker players sense weakness, they pounce on their prey. They "earn" pots by betting and taking them away from an opponent who may have a better hand.
Former
WPT and two-time
World Series of Poker Champion Doyle Brunson once said that he thought he could beat a no-limit hold'em game without ever looking at his cards! He could do this only by reading his opponents correctly and betting aggressively. "Putting your opponent on a hand" is perhaps the most important skill in poker, and it's what separates the best from the rest.
In hold'em, we talk about "the continuation bet." This is when someone raises preflop and then continues to bet on the flop regardless of what comes up. (Note that this play works best against one opponent.) Many times, an opponent doesn't hit the flop or may hit a small piece of it, but decides to fold after a preflop raiser bets out on the flop. The continuation bet is a powerful play that all top players use.
In this hand, notice that Eugene Todd and Ted Forrest both had A-Q. Todd raised preflop ($36,000) and was called by Forrest, who was in the small blind. When the flop came J-7-6 with two clubs, Forrest checked - as did Todd right behind him. When the 9
came on the turn, Forrest took advantage of his opponent's check on the flop, bet out ($45,000), and won the pot by doing so. I'm guessing Forrest put him on A-K, A-Q, or a small pair, and correctly thought he might win the pot by betting at it. That's exactly what happened. Forrest, a top pro, analyzed this hand very well and played it to perfection.
I believe that had Todd made a continuation bet on the flop, he would have won this pot rather than lost it. Remember, just because you don't hit the flop doesn't mean that you should check. If you fire a second shell, you might hit the target.
The Paradox of Risk
By David Apostolico
I'm writing this column right at the end of the college football bowl season. Without a doubt, the most exciting game was Boise State's stunning overtime victory over heavily favored Oklahoma. For those of you who missed it, Boise State tied the game in the waning moments to force overtime. In college football's version of overtime, each team gets one possession from their opponent's 25-yard line. Oklahoma got the ball first, and scored on the very first play of overtime and kicked the extra point to take a seven-point lead. It was then Boise State's turn to try to score from the Oklahoma 25-yard line. Boise State drove inside the 10-yard line, and then on fourth-and-goal, scored a touchdown. All they had to do was kick the extra point and the game would head to a second overtime.
To everyone's surprise, however, Boise State decided to go for the two-point conversion; make it and they win, miss it and they lose. Either way, the game would be decided on this play, and there would be no second overtime. Boise State ran a trick "Statue of Liberty" play and won the game. The decision to go for two was heralded as a risky and gutsy call. It certainly was a gutsy call as conventional wisdom would dictate, and the coach's decision would be open to a lot of second-guessing if the play failed.
But was it really risky? If you watched that game, there was no question that Oklahoma was wearing down Boise State. I believe experts and fans alike would agree that Oklahoma was a significant favorite to win the game if it advanced to a second overtime. On the other hand, Boise State knew it had a trick play up its sleeve that was perfect for the situation. Their chances of making the two-point conversion had to be greater than 50 percent. So, in that event, was it really a risky decision? It seems to be that it was the more prudent decision.
So, what does all of this have to do with poker? What appears on its face to be the safer decision is in fact often the riskier one. One of the paradoxes of risk in poker is that overly cautious play carries less chance of winning - especially in no-limit tournaments. I see beginning players wait forever for premium hands as their chip stacks get blinded down. By the time they get their chips in the middle, it's too late. They are guaranteed to get called by a bigger stack. If they only had made some moves when they had chips (regardless of their cards), their probability of success would have been greater.
I see timid players bet too small when they have the best hand and their opponent is on a draw. By doing so, they give their opponent the proper price to call. Their unwillingness to risk more chips has jeopardized their chances of winning the pot. When it comes to risk, think in terms of probability instead of denominations. If you are trying to chase someone out, bet enough to accomplish that. What is the probability that your opponent will fold if you bet X as opposed to Y? Let's say that you have $4,500 in chips left and the pot is around $1,200. If a $1,000 bet has a 40 percent chance of forcing your opponent to fold and a $2,000 bet has a 90 percent chance of forcing him to fold, that $2,000 bet has less risk.
Now, I know this example is an oversimplified one, and that such things are hard to quantify. So, just remember this: Playing to win is always less risky than playing not to lose.
David Apostolico is the author of numerous poker books, including Lessons from the Felt, Lessons from the Pro Poker Tour, and Tournament Poker and the Art of War. You can contact him by sending him an e-mail at [email protected].
Hooters Casino Cardroom a Hit
Room Recently Expanded Because of Demand
By Bob Pajich
Poker may not be the first thing poker players think of when they hear the name of the famous restaurant with an owl as its mascot, but many players are starting to make the connection ever since Hooters took over the old San Remo Casino, across the street from the MGM in Las Vegas, in 2005.
The casino and its cozy cardroom reflect the Hooters brand, with its floor-to-ceiling wood paneling, bright, fun table graphics, and, of course, the Hooter girls in their Hooter-orange shorts and tight shirts that leave little to the imagination. Surely there are plenty of people who check out Hooters solely for the eye candy, but the local poker players who sit among the ogling tourists play poker in the six-table room for a different reason.
The games (mostly $1-$2 no-limit hold'em) are fun, juicy with cash, and attract a cross section of players from all over the world, which can make the games a bit challenging for those who aren't used to players calling a $75 raise with a gutshot draw.
"All the kids love to do is play $1-$2 no-limit," said Ron Hirano, the poker room's manager. "They just want to drink and play poker."
During peak hours on weekends (from around 8 p.m. until after midnight), the room is usually packed. Vegas locals have found the room to be a place to go, sit tight, and eventually be paid off, unless a miracle occurs - and they often do. The room has been so successful in recent months that it took over some space once reserved for a row of slots.
The room is conveniently located right next to the parking garage elevators, and is also right next to Shorty's Bar, which means that the servers are quick with the drink orders. Food service is also available, and Hooters even serves free burgers during its weekday tournaments. Tournaments take place Sundays through Fridays at 10 a.m. with a $27 buy-in.
Perhaps the best feature of the room is the "Bad-Beat Bag" that hangs near the main entrance. All through the night, and into the morning, the sound of players punching a boxer's red speed bag rings out, thanks to both the condition of some of the players and the bad beats they took.
The Tao of Poker
Rule 182: There are four times a year that you are going to have a poker session that is simply and utterly horrendous. Some years, you may have half a dozen of these sessions. Other years, you might have only two or three. Know ahead of time that they will occur, and try to get through them as cheaply as possible.
Longtime poker players know that this is a built-in aspect of the game. It is unavoidable if you play on a regular basis. They know that a few times a year, a day is going to occur when they are going to get destroyed. These occasions will be rare, but they will occur. Plan on them occurring, and try to minimize the disaster when they do. Try to keep the bleeding to a minimum, if you can. Above all, don't respond by going on tilt, raising the stakes, throwing in ever more money out of frustration, trying to play from way down while exhausted, or any similar foolishness, all of which only deepens the nightmare.
Say to yourself: "Today is, unfortunately, one of those handful of utterly terribly days that occur eve
