Players Set to Bump Heads in March
NBC Invited 62 Players to Compete in the Third National Heads-Up Poker Championship
By Bob Pajich
The final list of 62 players invited to compete in the third
NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship has been set.
The
NHPC will take place March 1-4 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Last year's defending champ Ted Forrest will be there, as will Phil Hellmuth, who won the first edition of the NHPC in 2005. Chris Ferguson, who made it to the finals both years, will also play.
Several celebrities received and accepted invites this year. They include Don Cheadle, Shannon Elizabeth, Cheryl Hines, and Jennifer Tilly.
Card Player will be represented by President and COO Jeff Shulman.
The tournament will be shown on NBC starting in April. The broadcast schedule is as follows:
April 8 - noon to 1 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-4 p.m. PT)
April 15 - noon to 1 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-4 p.m. PT)
April 22 - noon to 1 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-4 p.m. PT)
April 29 - noon to 2 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-5 p.m. PT)
May 6 - noon to 2 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-5 p.m. PT)
May 13 - noon to 2 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-5 p.m. PT)
May 20 - noon to 3 p.m. ET (3 p.m.-6 p.m. PT).
And here's the complete list of players: Rene Angelil, Patrik Antonius, Bobby Baldwin, David Benyamine, Andy Bloch, Brad Booth, Humberto Brenes, Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Chad Brown, Johnny Chan, Don Cheadle, T.J. Cloutier, Allen Cunningham, John D'Agostino, Annie Duke, Eli Elezra, Shannon Elizabeth, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Chris Ferguson, Scott Fischman, Ted Forrest, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Phil Gordon, Clonie Gowen, Antanas Guoga, Joe Hachem, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Hellmuth, Cheryl Hines, Phil Ivey, Kenna James, John Juanda, Gabe Kaplan, Phil Laak, Howard Lederer, Nam Le, Tuan Le, Erick Lindgren, Jeff Madsen, Mike Matusow, Isabelle Mercier, John Michael, Michael Mizrachi, Chris Moneymaker, Yosh Nakano, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, Greg Raymer, Chip Reese, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, Mike Sexton, Sean Sheikhan, Jeff Shulman, Gavin Smith, Jennifer Tilly, J.C. Tran, and David Williams.
The final two players were to come from a satellite held at Caesars Palace and an online poker promotion offered through
NBC. Both events took place after press deadline.
Online Sites Offer Many Roads to World Series of Poker
Qualifiers Now Running Everywhere
By Bob Pajich
It's time to make plans for the
World Series of Poker.
Last year, about half of the record-breaking field of 8,773 players who competed in the $10,000 buy-in
WSOP main event qualified through online poker sites. It's hard to predict just how many people will play in this year's main event, but one thing's certain: There again will be thousands of players who will win their seats into the main event through online qualifiers.
WSOP qualifiers are now going strong at most of the sites that are still accepting U.S. players, and there are still plenty of paths players can follow that may lead to a seat in the biggest tournament of the year. Players might want to consider the following cash options:
AbsolutePoker.com
Absolute Poker has one of the cheapest
WSOP qualifiers around. Its $108 qualifiers award as many $11,000
WSOP packages as possible. Feeders into the $108 event run around-the-clock, and start for as little as $1. Also, players can get into it by playing Absolute's $10 satellites.
Absolute also offers a variety of sit-and-go options into the main event, with buy-ins of $2.75, $8.25, $13, and $39.
Bodog.com
Last year, Bodog sent more than 500 qualifiers to the
WSOP main event. This year, it wants to send even more players.
Players can qualify for the
WSOP main event for as little as $1, which is the starting tier for the site's feeder tournaments. One player for every $29 in the prize pool in these tournaments is awarded a seat into the $29 quarterfinal. Place high enough in the quarterfinal, and move on to the $270
WSOP semifinal, where as many $12,000 prize packages to the 2007
WSOP main event are awarded as possible.
Feeders into the $270 tourney, which takes place every Sunday, feature buy-ins of $1.50, $5.50, and $7.50. Qualifiers are now running around-the-clock at Bodog.
DoylesRoom.com
Doyle's Room is now holding $1 satellites into an $18.90 rebuy qualifier that will be held on Feb. 24. Players can buy in directly to the rebuy tournament, or win their way in by playing in the $1 feeders or the $2.31 single-table sit-and-gos. Right now, this is the only qualifier to the
WSOP that's taking place there, but more will surely be added.
FullTiltPoker.com
Full Tilt Poker has a variety of ways for players to get to the WSOP, as well as to any event with a $10,000 buy-in. Its "Player's Choice" feeders give players the option of taking their qualifying ticket and entering any major event they choose. Many of the players will cash their ticket at the
WSOP main event.
Players can begin their tiered journey for $6.60. People who play in these events are trying to win a $26 "token" into the $26 multitable tourneys. In these $26 events, as many $216 entries into the qualifiers as possible are awarded. This is where the $12,000 prize packages are won.
Players also can play $4.40 and $8.70 satellites into the $26 events. Full Tilt also offers $75 satellites into the $216 tourney, which takes place each Tuesday and Sunday.
PokerStars.com
As of press time, PokerStars had yet to launch its
WSOP qualifiers, but was scheduled to do so sometime in mid-February. Please check its website for details.
PokerStars qualifiers have done extremely well in the
WSOP. Three of the last four main-event champions qualified for the main event at PokerStars, and the site is responsible for launching many poker players into the stratosphere of poker fame. Last year, more than 1,600 players qualified for the main event through PokerStars, and there will be plenty this year, as well.
UltimateBet.com
UltimateBet is awarding its $12,000
WSOP packages in $215 qualifiers that take place weekly, and, of course, there are many different ways to get into this tournament. Players can qualify by playing tourneys with buy-ins of $5.50, $11, and $44, which run around-the-clock. Rebuy versions with these buy-ins also are available.
UltimateBet also holds the $12,000 Ultimate Satellite, which features a $1,050 buy-in and awards as many $12,000 prize packages as possible. Players can use the packages to play in any major event, including the
WSOP. Satellites for this tournament also run around-the-clock, with buy-ins the same as the
WSOP satellites.
Negreanu Comes Close Again
Made the Final Table of Two Out of Three World Poker Tour Events
By Bob Pajich
"Kid Poker" is having a great couple of months.
In January, Daniel Negreanu again came close to winning a
World Poker Tour event for the second time in two months, when he was the runner-up at the
World Poker Open at the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. Bryan Sumner won that tournament. In December, he finished third at the F
ive-Diamond World Poker Classic, winning $592,000. His second-place finish in Tunica earned Negreanu another $502,691.
With his finish in Mississippi, Negreanu is now right in the thick of the
Card Player Player of the Year race with 1,160 points, 760 points away from being in a tie for first. Negreanu won the Player of the Year award in 2004.
The
World Poker Open attracted 294 players, and Sumner took home $913,986 for his victory. This was the first time that the top prize at a
WPT event has dipped below $1 million since last year's World Poker Open event.
The final table of the
World Poker Open was made up of J.C. Tran, Kido Pham, Young Cho, Gary Kainer, Negreanu, and Sumner, who was the only one who had never cashed in a major poker tournament.
Department of Justice Continues Bad-Guy Role
British Politicians Say U.S. Overstepping Boundaries
By Bob Pajich
The U.S. Department of Justice continued its assault on online poker in January with several maneuvers that seem to be designed to shake up the confidence in and convenience of playing online.
After the arrests of two NETELLER founders - and the subsequent service pullout for those who used the company to transfer their poker bankrolls - it was revealed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) tried to subpoena several banks based in Britain that had helped some online companies go public.
Neither the banks involved nor the government is talking about the DOJ's attempts at getting the float information into their hands, but British politicians are, and they don't like it one bit. Those who spoke publicly about the investigation, including the country's Shadow Trade and Industry secretary and several parliament members, said the move by the U.S. oversteps basic judicial boundaries.
Also in January, a U.S. government official leaked some information pertaining to the World Trade Organization case brought against the U.S. by Antigua. Antigua claims that the U.S. is violating certain WTO rules by working to ban offshore gambling sites, and, as in the past, the WTO is agreeing with the smallest member of the powerful trade organization.
The full report won't be released until March, and both sides were given orders not to talk about the case until then. The WTO is becoming a key player in the battle over online poker, and some people think that it might have the final say as to whether the U.S. is justified in banning online gambling, as far as global commerce is concerned.
Later this year, the UK will have rules in place to allow online companies to set up and service the world from its shores, putting it in the same category as Antigua as far as online gambling is concerned. As one of the largest members of the WTO, there's a good chance that the UK will ask the WTO to step in and challenge the recent U.S. attempts at stopping its citizens from playing at online sites.
The Circuit
CardPlayer.com's hit radio show
The Circuit brings you updates, interviews, and strategy from the biggest names in poker.
The Circuit broadcasts from all
World Poker Tour events.
Event - Borgata Winter Poker Open
Show - Special guest Padraig Parkinson
Date - Jan. 29, 2007
Padraig Parkinson explains the background of a hand leading to the "squeeze play":
John Gale raised from first position, which means absolutely nothing except that he knew it was up to him. And then the next guy called, which means he knew John Gale probably didn't have very much, and then Joe called, which means he was probably going to try to outplay them, and then this kid moved all in for his half a million. I was sitting there with a pair of queens and was feeling pretty good about it, because I played with the kid in two and a half thousand (in reference to a prelim event) …
I was playing with Barry Greenstein at Foxwoods, and he was saying that he was delighted that Dan Harrington wrote that book (
Harrington on Hold'em), because 18 months ago, he didn't know what all these kids were doing, and now he knows what the move is. So, when the kid moved all in, I was thinking, "Well, ya know this is just a squeeze play," and thought the queens would be in a pretty good spot. that he can call another big raise.
Many New Faces at 2007 L.A. Poker Classic
Many Internet Players Trying Live Poker for First Time Here
By Bob Pajich
The
L.A. Poker Classic, held at Commerce Casino annually for the last 14 years, has become one of the most popular tournaments in America, attracting thousands of poker players and highlighting just how much good poker is being played in Southern California.
The 2007 version is no different. The fields for the preliminary events have been huge again this year, with the prize pools of even the events with buy-ins of less than $1,000 generating life-changing top prizes. Take the fourth event of the tournament as an example. The $300 rebuy event attracted 1,035 entrants, generated 1,296 rebuys and 483 add-ons, and resulted in a prize pool of a whopping $818,874. The winner, Michael Woo, took home $262,038.
Cheri Dokken, Commerce Casino tournament director, stated that this year, she's seeing a lot more new faces, and thinks the unsteady climate surrounding Internet poker has helped.
"I got a lot of new players, and a lot of them are from online games. This is their first time in a brick-and-mortar casino," Dokken said. "We try our best to get them educated before they sit down."
She makes sure that the players know such things as, cellphones are prohibited while playing, players must be in their seats to have a live hand, and other things that Internet players may find archaic the first time they sit down and play live.
Californians always seem to do well at the
LAPC. For example, in the $300 rebuy event mentioned above, only 10 out of the 54 players who made the money hailed from outside of California. And Dokken said that she's seeing more and more people from California entering the events.
Dokken, who dealt in the first
LAPC years ago, said Commerce Casino has seen about a 15 percent increase in field numbers every year, and she's never surprised at the number of people who enter. The casino even set up a heated tent to handle all of the people, and the stage inside the casino is often used to hold more tables.
Dokken said that people love the large number of events - there are 30 this year - and the huge prize pools that the large number of entrants generate. Where else, other than the Internet, can someone conceivably play to win $260,000 for $300?
The $10,000 main event, which in the last few years has awarded more than $2 million to the winner, ends March 1. By the time it's over, if the first few events are any indication, more than $20 million will have been won - and much of that by players who make California their home.
Amarillo Slim Tied Up and Robbed
Slim's Second Brush With Criminals Within a Year
By Bob Pajich
Amarillo Slim is not going into the twilight of his life quietly.
The poker player and gambler with the God-given name of Thomas Austin Preston found his way back in the headlines in January after he returned to his Amarillo home one Sunday to find two armed men robbing it.
According to a local television station, Preston returned home to find the two men armed with two of his shotguns. They tied him up, robbed him of an undisclosed amount of money, and fled with the weapons. No arrests have been made.
This is the 78-year-old Slim's second brush with the Texas criminal element within a year. In October, a man tried to rob Preston while he was in his car in Amarillo. Slim sped away, but the robber fired several shots into his vehicle. Preston wasn't hurt in the crime.
Preston, who arguably became the first real poker superstar after winning the 1972
World Series of Poker championship, has had his name connected to criminal acts more than feats at the poker table in recent years. In 2003, Preston was indicted on indecency charges in connection with his 12-year-old granddaughter. The charges were eventually reduced to misdemeanor assault, and Slim pled guilty to the reduced charges in 2004, receiving a $4,000 fine and two-year deferred sentence. Slim still denies that he did anything wrong in this case.
After his
WSOP win in 1972, Slim became more famous than perhaps any poker player who preceded him. He appeared on
The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, and
60 Minutes, among many other TV shows. He even made a cameo appearance in Robert Altman's movie
California Split.
A movie based on Preston's life is in preproduction.
Heartland Poker Tour's Success Story
Two Friends and a Dream Bringing Poker to 50 Million
By Bob Pajich
The
Heartland Poker Tour kicked off its 2007 season in Las Vegas recently with a $2,650 event that was filled with players who qualified through feeders that turned one of Hooters Casino's conference rooms into one of the biggest poker rooms in the city.
After the dust settled, Steve McLaughlin, a professional sports bettor from Philadelphia, had won the tournament, the $46,011 payoff, and a $3,000 seat in the
HPT Championship at the end of the year.
Vegas pro Chris Bonita finished second, winning $23,006; Bruce Knee finished third for $14,789; Tim Singleton, who got into the main event through a $125 satellite, finished fourth for $11,503; former
HPT winner and
Card Player columnist Matt Lessinger finished fifth for $9,860; and Las Vegas local David Gorman finished sixth for $8,216.
Many of the players who participated in the main event won their way into it by playing satellites that started at $65. The winners of these satellites - along with the top-two finishers of the $125 single-table satellites - played in one of four $550 supersatellites that were spread. It's the
HPT's mission to provide ways for amateur players to get a taste of what it's like to play in events that they otherwise would not be able to afford.
Two Guys From Fargo
The
HPT holds tournaments all across the country, in casinos not usually associated with big-time poker. The events usually attract hundreds of poker players who consider the game a fun hobby, and the
HPT sets its payout scale accordingly. At Hooters, for example, 67 players played and the top 30 received a prize.
Todd Anderson and Gary Lang, the two guys from Fargo, North Dakota, who founded the
HPT only three years ago, said they do this to keep the players coming back. It also gives players the ammunition to get permission from their wives to play in the semi-major poker events that the
HPT holds across the Midwest, they said with a smile.
Anderson and Lang came up with the
HPT after playing poker one night. They thought a poker show featuring normal people with real jobs would be watched and appreciated by the folks they know in the Midwest. Both of the men had spot TV production experience under their belts, so they set out to produce a pilot and hit the road to sell their show to local networks.
The show looks so good that viewers would never be able to tell that the first season's set was made of plywood and vinyl sheets, or that many times, when they arrive at a casino, they sometimes have to account for such small things as tables and chairs, and that sometimes cables need to be strung over bodies of water, which happens when the tournaments take place on a riverboat.
50 Million
The way the
HPT has taken off is beyond both men's imaginations. Each week, the show is broadcast on more than 50 stations and reaches more than 50 million viewers. Its events turn eight-table cardrooms in places like Deadwood, South Dakota, Onamia, Minnesota, and Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, into poker arenas.
The entire production staff and talent involved in the show are from Fargo, and a map of the broadcast area covers large swaths of land from the Canadian border to Arizona and Texas. By coming up with something different that appeals to poker fans, the
HPT has found success and giant viewer numbers.
The players featured on the show, for the most part, are middle-class people who could use an extra $40,000 more than, say, Phil Ivey. There's real emotion involved because these players are inexperienced. It's interesting to see how they play in front of the cameras, and how they fare in front of an audience. It's good poker TV, and that's verified by the number of people who watch.
Rest of 2007
The 2007 schedule is still being hammered out, but the next several dates are as follows: Lucky Nugget Card Club, Deadwood, South Dakota, Feb. 28-March 4, $1,650; Meskwaki Bingo Hall and Casino, Tama, Iowa, March 14-18, $1,650; Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen, Minnesota, April 11-15 (buy-in to be determined); and Leelanau Sands Casino, Peshawbestown, Minnesota, May 16-20, $1,650.
A championship event will be held in Las Vegas in December, and an event is being scheduled for the Chicago area in March. The
HPT expects to hold about 14 tournaments this year. Visit heartlandpokertour.com for more information.
National Poker League Releases 2007 Schedule
Season Kicks Off in Paris in May
By Bob Pajich
The
National Poker League (
NPL) released its 2007
Global Circuit Tour recently. All four of the
NPL's World Cup tournaments will be filmed for broadcast on the
INHD Network.
The World Cup tournaments kick off with
The Paris Open, which starts on May 13 and takes place at the Cercle Gaillon Casino in Paris. The buy-in is $4,000 and the
NPL will add $100,000 to the prize pool.
The
UK Open, the
Asia Open, and the
Vegas Open will take place in August, October, and November, respectively. Exact dates for these events have not yet been established. Six one-hour episodes of the
NPL will be produced from each tour stop.
NPL shows will be produced entirely in high-definition. Shows will be aired on the
INHD Network and in standard-definition through syndication.
Shows will be broadcast in Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.
Poker Players Alliance Hires Al D'Amato as Washington Representative
Former New York Senator has Reputation as a Loud and Tough Character
By Bob Pajich
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has a new look, and the relaunch of its website is only part of it.
The largest member-based poker organization devoted to bringing the poker fight right to the steps of Capitol Hill added a Washington insider to its staff when Alphonse D'Amato, a former Republican New York senator and presidential candidate, became a PPA board member.
D'Amato has taken his role of negotiator and advocate, which he sharpened while spending 18 years as a senator, and moved into the private sector, where he now consults for businesses. He had this to say about the attitude that he took to Washington, where he will do most of his work for the PPA: "I loved the battles. I loved winning things that everyone thought were impossible to win. Now I do the same thing for clients. I'm the best. I am. If you want an advocate, and you're being wronged, you want me, because I'll find where to go, how to go, and what to do."
The PPA will use D'Amato as a lobbyist to speak with lawmakers about the game of poker, that it's a game of skill, and try to get poker exempted from current federal legislation that is being used to charge and arrest proprietors of businesses that enable online poker.
Michael Bolcerek, PPA president, said that having D'Amato join the PPA is like instantly doubling the strength of the PPA on Capitol Hill. With Bolcerek, he soon will be walking the halls of Congress, talking to his former colleagues about the game he has played for decades and trying to convince them to leave it and its players alone.
Bodog Cuts Jamie Gold From its Poker Team
2006 World Series of Poker Champion's Rocky Reign Continues
By Bob Pajich
Memo to Jamie Gold: Calvin Ayre wants his hat back. Gold, the 2006
World Series of Poker champion, is off Bodog's team of poker pros.
Bodog released a statement, which read: "In light of our decision to cease all offline marketing initiatives in the U.S., and instead refocus our efforts on growing our entertainment brand in Europe and Asia, Bodog has ended our business relationship with Jamie Gold. Bodog has enjoyed our association with Mr. Gold and wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors."
Despite the reason given for Gold's release, Bodog is still retaining David Williams, Josh Arieh, and Evelyn Ng as Team Bodog members.
Out of the last five
WSOP main-event champions, only Gold doesn't have a deal to represent an online site.
Bodog and Gold's business relationship began before the
WSOP. Gold agreed to secure celebrities to play in the main event under the Bodog banner in exchange for a ticket into the main event.
Gold then partnered with Crispin Leyser to help him with this task in exchange for half of Gold's winnings, according to Leyser. But after Gold won, Leyser says that Gold reneged on the deal and decided to keep the entire $12 million in prize money.
Leyser then sued Gold for his half of the money, and soon after Gold raised his arms in triumph, a judge froze half of the prize money while the case moved forward. The outcome of the case is still pending.
Player of the Year
All-World All the Time
The first few months of the new year always provide a ton of excitement for those who follow the
Card Player Player of the Year (POY) race. The tournament schedule is packed with events, and unless a player pulls off the improbable and makes final tables of a few majors in a row, the leader board changes from week to week.
John "World" Hennigan wasn't even ranked before he won the
Winter Poker Open at the Borgata last month, a $10,000
World Poker Tour event that attracted 571 players and generated a prize pool of more than $5.5 million. Hennigan, who is a very well-respected all-around poker professional, won $1.6 million and racked up 1,920 POY points, which as of Feb. 1 was good for the top spot in the POY race. Hennigan is also a master at the game of pool.
The
Winter Poker Open was so big that runner-up Chuck Kelley jumped into second place on the POY leader board with 1,600 points. He won $849,082. John Gale's third-place finish at the Winter Poker Open netted him 1,280 points, $443,096, and ninth place on the leader board.
Leonard Cortellino used his performance at the
Winter Poker Open to maneuver himself into seventh place in the POY standings (see his "Look Out!" feature).
With his victory, Hennigan now has won more than anyone else on the tournament trail this year, but like the seasons, that will change. The winner of the
L.A. Poker Classic will receive more than $2 million, and soon after that, the $25,000
WPT Championship will make someone even richer.
With the race so tight, a look past the top 10 players in the standings is necessary to try to predict who will be in the thick of the race all year long. After all, current leader-board captain John Hennigan wasn't even ranked until his victory at the
Winter Poker Open. The race is truly wide open, as there are some well-known players who are off to a good start: Daniel Negreanu (1,160), David "Devil Fish" Ulliott (1,140), Andrew Black (960), and Robert Mizrachi (755) all sit in the top 30. There are four players tied for 17th place with Black, and 100 points separate each spot except for the top three. The players in the race hail from all over the world.
Look Out!
Leonard Cortellino had three days of success in January at the poker tables for which many of us would trade a month of our lives. During those three days at the
Winter Poker Open, he added $288,748 to his bankroll. First, he took second place in a $750 buy-in event for $71,272 on Jan. 18, and then, two days later, he added another $200,860 by winning a $1,500 buy-in event that attracted 455 players. Ten days after that, he cashed again, finishing in 30th place in the $10,000 main event for another $16,616.
Cortellino has won events before, and is just a hair shy of breaking the $1 million lifetime tournament winnings mark. His wins come in streaks; in October of 2005, he won $653,175 in nine days by winning a $5,000 event at the
World Poker Finals and then finishing sixth in the main event.
Online Hand-to-Hand Combat: Shawn Rice Plays Position Poker on the Final-Table Bubble
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. You can check out live video commentary provided by the pros and PokerXfactor.com at www.CardPlayer.com/h2hc.
Event: $200 no-limit hold'em tournament
Players: 283
First place: $16,980
Stacks: westtexasman - $120,358, Villain - $110,232
Blinds: $600-$1,200
Ante: $125
This hand takes place on the final-table bubble.
Preflop: Villain (under the gun) raises to $3,600 with the A
K
. The player next to him calls, the cutoff calls, and westtexasman (Shawn Rice), on the button, reraises to $12,000 with the 8
7
. Villain calls, and the other players fold.
Craig Tapscott: Why the reraise here instead of a smooth-call to try to hit your suited connectors?
Shawn Rice: I reraised hoping for everyone to fold. I'm playing my image of showing only premium hands. I figured this is a great situation for me to gather some chips while we are playing shorthanded, before it gets back to a 10-handed game at the final table.
CT: What do you put him on when he just calls your button reraise?
SR: I know he does not have aces, kings, or a weak pocket pair. With aces or kings, he would raise me back a very high percentage of the time, since I reraised from the button. Also, from experience, I know that he's a solid player and was more afraid of the big stack behind him smooth-calling his raise than me reraising from the button. That's why he didn't reraise preflop.
Flop: J
6
4
($34,250 pot); Villain checks, westtexasman bets $18,000, Villain calls.
CT: He calls again. Could he be slow-playing a monster?
SR: Doubt it. I didn't think he had the pocket jacks, because he's a good player and would lead out with that hand, trying to play for a big pot. He knows that if he check-raises me, I will not call and pay off his big hand. When he calls the flop, I now know he has queens, tens, nines, or A-K. He also knows that if I raise preflop, I'm going to bet the flop most every time when heads up. So, his call with A-K suited on the flop was not a really bad call.
Turn: 5
($70,250 pot); both players check.
CT: Why did you slow down here?
SR: The reason I checked on fourth street is that I didn't put him on a set or a flush draw.
CT: Do you fire again if you had missed your draw?
SR: It will put me to a tough decision if a blank comes off, because the Villain has passed many tests here. He raised preflop. He calls my reraise preflop. He check-calls my flop bet. Those are three good signs that he likes his hand, so it's going to be hard to pull the trigger on fourth street if I miss.
River: A
($70,250 pot); Villain checks, westtexasman bets $65,000, Villain calls.
CT: That's a pretty big river bet.
SR: The reason I bet so much was that I didn't think queens, tens, or nines would be able to call the river, and A-K would have a very hard time laying it down to a bet that looks like I do not want a call.
Results: westtexasman wins the pot of $200,250 with a straight.
To see this hand animated and narrated with additional analysis by westtexasman, visit www.CardPlayer.com/h2hc.
Shawn Rice has been seen deep in many televised poker tournaments over the last few years. At UltimateBet.com, he plays under his own name and is an UltimateBet team member. He was runner-up in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 no-limit hold'em event, for $213,000, and is a member of the Professional Poker Tour.
The Ball Keeps Rolling
By Shawn Patrick Green
Bodog Takes a Risk Worth $200,000
Bodog decided to take a huge risk on Jan. 28 by holding a $200,000-guaranteed tournament with a $100 buy-in. The tournament was particularly risky given the fact that the regularly scheduled $100,000-guaranteed tournament that it replaced, which had the same buy-in, had made its guarantee only once on the merits of entrants alone, other times requiring overlays.
The tournament ended up luring 1,909 entrants, meaning Bodog had to put up a rather small $9,100 overlay. The eventual winner of the tournament was Adanthar, who pocketed $39,240 for first place.
Annette_15 Tops PokerStars Leader Board
Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad, the young (too young for live poker in the U.S.) Norwegian poker phenom, won the weekly tournament leader board on PokerStars. Sitting at the top of the list on PokerStars, the largest online poker site, is no small feat, and she had to beat out thousands of other players to claim the honors. There was speculation in the poker forums that she may be the first woman ever to win the tournament leader board, but this fact could not be confirmed.
For her win, she had the chance to play poker pro and Team PokerStars member Vanessa Rousso in a heads-up match for $1,000. Rousso won the match, but the loss did little to tarnish Obrestad's accomplishment. In fact, the tournament leader board win is just one of many things on Obrestad's list of accomplishments in her short poker career.
A Ton of Pros
A large number of Internet poker pros made final tables in late January/early February, including:
• Gary "GB2005" Bogdanski (PokerStars Sunday Million, Jan. 28, third, $85,670)
• Faraz "The-Toilet" Jaka (UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed, Jan. 28, first, $45,000)
• Maria Nuccia (aka T Soprano) (UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed, Jan. 28, second, $26,500)
• Shawn "phat_cat1" Luman (Full Tilt $300,000-guaranteed, Jan. 28, ninth, $5,922)
• Adam "Roothlus" Levy (Bodog $200,000-guaranteed, Jan. 28, seventh, $4,740)
• Cory "UGOTPZD" Carroll (UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed, Jan. 28, 10th, $2,000)
Roothlus Makes Second Final Table in Two Weeks
Bodog appears to be the site of choice for Adam "Roothlus" Levy - at least as far as his recent cashes are concerned. Levy got to the final table of the Bodog weekly $100,000-guaranteed tournament on Jan. 14 and finished eighth ($2,378), and then went on to make the final table of the same tournament two weeks later. This time, however, Bodog had upped the guaranteed prize pool to $200,000. Levy finished in seventh place ($4,740), bringing his total winnings to $7,118 and his total opponents defeated in those two tournaments alone to 2,928.
Full Tilt Plays Poker After Dark
Until April 30, Full Tilt Poker is giving players the chance to compete in
NBC's Poker After Dark, an exclusive televised tournament for a winner-take-all prize of $120,000.
Those who are interested can play in one of the daily Poker After Dark sit-and-go tournaments to win a $25,000 Poker After Dark prize package, which includes the following:
• $20,000 tournament entry
• $5,000 in spending money
• The potential to walk away with an additional $120,000
The top finishers are automatically entered into one of the two weekly round-two tournaments at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesdays or at 3 p.m. ET on Saturdays. Players also can buy in directly to the round-two tournaments with 100 Full Tilt Points.
MyWebATM Comes to Full Tilt
Full Tilt recently announced the introduction of the MyWebATM payment processor to its list of deposit options. MyWebATM looks to fill the void left by NETELLER when NETELLER decided to cease doing business with U.S. customers. MyWebATM also can be used as an eWallet for online stores and can be used with ATMs worldwide.
Get a Piece of the Action
Those who are wishing to take advantage of the promotions, overlays, and guaranteed prize pools can do so by going to the following 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. 28 - Feb. 4
PokerStars Sunday Million
Jan. 28
Winner: westmenloAA
Winnings: $254,518
Prize pool: $1,384,400
Entrants: 2,768
Feb. 4
Winner: MortalNutzz
Winnings: $165,258*
Prize pool: $1,141,800
Entrants: 5,709
* Payout reflects a deal made at the final table.
Full Tilt Poker $300,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 28
Winner: Klovnen
Winnings: $77,832
Prize pool: $423,000
Entrants: 2,115
Feb. 4
Note: The Full Tilt site crashed during this tournament, and thus the event was not resolved.
Winner: See note
Winnings: See note
Prize pool: $325,200
Entrants: 1,626
UltimateBet $200,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 28
Winner: Faraz "The-Toilet" Jaka
Winnings: $45,000
Prize pool: $200,000
Entrants: 977
Feb. 4
Winner: RandALLin
Winnings: $46,000
Prize pool: $200,000
Entrants: 729
Bodog $200,000 Guaranteed
Jan. 28
Winner: Adanthar
Winnings: $39,240
Prize pool: $200,000
Entrants: 1,909
Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed
Feb. 4
Winner: Roshambro
Winnings: $25,000
Prize pool: $100,000
Entrants: 747
Chad Batista
Game On
By Craig Tapscott
Tournament star Chad Batista has never read a poker book. Books babble on about starting hands, when to fold or raise, and tournament strategy. What they don't teach is the game within the game, or the metagame, of which Batista is a master.
"It's all instincts," said Batista, "putting people on hands, knowing what they can and can't call. My whole game is based on knowing where I'm at according to my reads."
Last November, Batista took his game to the $5,000
World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit championship event at Caesars Indiana. Raise and reraise were his mantras. He eventually found himself heads up, but at an 8-to-1 chip disadvantage.
Early on at the final table, he'd played aggressive poker and shown some daring bluffs, all based on sharp reads, all calculated to set up the endgame. Changing gears, Batista patiently baited his last opponent with limps and shoves, doubling up immediately. Within 15 minutes, it was all over. The title and $262,000 was his after competing in only his second live event.
Online has been home base for Batista. He has won or chopped the PartyPoker Sunday event twice for more than $200,000, and once made four final tables in one day at PokerStars for a total of $35,000. Batista shows no signs of slowing down. In January, he won two events at PokerStars for $32,000. The 26-year-old phenom's mind and game are set on a long poker career.
Craig Tapscott: I understand that you never graduated from high school.
Chad Batista: I didn't go past the seventh grade. From there, I started playing pool, bowling, any kind of hustle. I ended up getting messed up and going to prison. I was locked up on and off for about three and a half years, from about 18 to 22.
CT: What happened?
CB: When I was 16, I lost my mom and grandma, and it took a toll on me. I started doing dumb things. It messed up my head. When I started playing poker after getting out of jail, I had nothing, maybe $50. I had learned the game in pool halls. My friend Adam Levy (online tournament star Roothlus) let me play freerolls on his account. Then, I transferred some money into my own account and got second in a $10 rebuy tournament on PokerStars. After that starting bankroll, I never busted myself.
CT: How would you describe your style of play?
CB: I'm aggressive at times, and I'm tight at times. I'll raise with a suited connector from middle position, but it all depends on my stack. I'd rather raise with something like 9-8 a couple spots before the button, because it's way more believable than raising from the button. A lot of times when you're raising from the button, someone knows you're full of it and will shove on you. Another thing I like to do is reraise with suited connectors. When a player raises a couple spots from the button, I'll reraise from the button with connectors, to make him think I have aces or kings. The key is to make people think you have what you don't have.
CT: Talk about picking your spots.
CB: When you get deep in tournaments and have a good stack, you have to get into the other players' heads. Let's say they have $130,000 and I have $150,000, and it's the final-table bubble. When they raise, I will reraise every time. Sure, I'm gambling that they don't have A-A or K-K, but otherwise they pretty much are going to fold anything. When it gets deep in tournaments, I play everything according to stack, what the other person is thinking, and what his range of hands is. Everything is situational. I will keep raising every single hand, with any two cards, until somebody stops it or I get chunked down.
CT: What advice do you offer struggling players?
CB: The biggest key in poker is to have bankroll management. I know good players who are broke. You could be the best poker player in the world and be flat busted right now. Learn to play within your limits.
Observing the Domino Theory
By Mike Sexton, the 'Ambassador of Poker' and Commentator for the World Poker Tour
This
World Poker Tour final table was another classic. It featured a prominent lady player, J.J. Liu; the "Godfather of Poker," Doyle Brunson (going for his second
WPT title); and two top international players, young poker sensation Patrik Antonius from Finland and Rehne Pedersen from Denmark (who went on to win this event).
Many times in poker, the domino theory applies. When the first player calls a raise, the next might, and the next, and the next. Obviously, the players in late position after the initial raise are getting good pot odds to make the call. In poker, as with many things in life, it's risk versus reward. Once one or two people call, it's worth the risk of calling (with the hope that no one will reraise behind you) because of the pot odds.
Here, with two kings, Liu raised to an amount ($175,000) that was slightly more than the minimum raise allowed (which would have been to $160,000). Minimum raises entice action. (Note: Playing multiple opponents with two kings is not what you should be doing. Raise to at least three times the big blind when you're the first person to enter the pot.) Brunson called with the K
10
, Antonius called with two fours, and Pedersen called with 10-7 offsuit from the big blind, because of the size of the pot and with the knowledge that he couldn't be raised. So, four out of five players at the table called the raise. (Ironically, the only player who folded, Darrell Dicken, would have made the best hand.)
When the flop came A-10-8 rainbow (all different suits), Pedersen checked his two tens, Antonius checked his fours, Liu froze with her two kings (fearing someone had an ace) and checked, and Brunson checked his tens. The 6 on the turn led to the domino theory again, as everyone checked. (I'm surprised that Liu checked here after everyone checked on the flop.)
When a 5 came on the river, they all checked to Brunson, and he fired out $500,000 as a value-bet (meaning that he thought he had the best hand and he wanted to get some value out of it). Pedersen, thinking that he might have the best hand and/or that Brunson might be making a play at the pot, called him with his pair of tens. Liu then opted to fold her two kings (a decision that may have cost her the title). It pays to have a kicker. Brunson won this $1,750,000 pot with his king kicker (and because he bet on the river).
In poker, bettors have the advantage over callers. We all hate to see an ace on the flop when we have two kings, but once you check and an opponent bets, you are guessing as to whether he has an ace or not. You're better off betting out yourself to find out where you're at. Had Liu done so, chances are that she would have won the pot and perhaps become the first woman to ever win a
WPT event.
When Luck Happens, Don't Blow It
By David Apostolico
Who is the luckiest player at the poker table? The one who gets the most out of luck when it happens. Luck, both good and bad, is a staple of poker. To complain about it is as useless as waiting for it. Luck will happen in all of its permutations to everyone who bellies up to the felt. And over the long term, it will even out. Yet, to the inexperienced, it will appear that certain players are unusually lucky. The novice will often lament the luck of a more accomplished opponent.
Part of this is simple rationalization. It is human nature to attribute someone else's success to luck lest we feel bad about ourselves. More significantly, though, is the inability to see the skill behind the luck. The cards, even good ones, don't tell the whole story. Getting pocket aces is lucky. Playing them for maximum value is not.
There's a bit of accepted wisdom in poker that goes something like this: Anyone can play well when he is getting cards, but only the good players can play well when they are not getting cards. The implication of this is that what separates a good player from a bad one is how well he performs when he is not getting cards. There's some truth to that statement, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. What separates good players from bad ones is their ability to play every situation better - especially when they are getting lucky.
Luck comes in many forms in poker, and many inexperienced players don't recognize them. Good players not only recognize them, but exploit them. Luck happens when everyone folds to you in the cutoff when you desperately need chips in a tournament. A good player raises regardless of his cards, while a bad one folds, lamenting his bad luck.
Luck happens when an opponent fails to follow through on a preflop raise and checks the flop. Good players sense weakness and take the pot down. Poor players check along. Luck happens when an opponent makes a weak bet and gives you proper odds to draw out. Good players take advantage. Bad players are the ones who are afraid to protect their hand and then groan about their horrible luck when they are outdrawn on the river.
Luck happens when four players limp in ahead of you and you are holding the 4
3
on the button. A good player limps in, as well, while a bad player folds what he perceives to be an unplayable hand. When the flop comes A-5-2 with two hearts, the good player is deemed lucky.
Luck happens when everyone at your table tightens up as you approach the bubble of a tournament. Good players get aggressive and accumulate chips. Bad players tighten up, as well, and pray they make the money.
Finally, luck happens when you make a monster hand. A good player will know his opponents and their tendencies. Additionally, a good player will know what his opponents think of him. A good player will make constant adjustments and will mix up his play to keep his opponents off balance. A good player will know what his opponents are likely to hold and how they are likely to play a hand. A poor player plays in a vacuum, with little or no thought to his opponent or situation. When he gets a strong hand, he doesn't know how to extract as much as he can out of it. He just bets and hopes for the best.
Learn to recognize all of these and many other "lucky" situations, and when they happen to you, don't blow it.
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 an e-mail to [email protected].
Orleans Poker Room a Las Vegas Favorite
By Jamie Wilhelm
If you're looking for that French Quarter flair but can't quite make it down South, look no further than the Orleans Hotel and Casino.
Far enough from the Las Vegas Strip to be unaffected by the busy crowds associated with it, the Orleans is located just west of Interstate 15 on Tropicana Avenue, and is a favorite spot for tourists as well as local poker players.
Spacious and smoke-free, the Orleans poker room is packed to the rails during its Friday night tournaments. The buy-in for its nightly poker tournaments is $60 with a $40 rebuy, which most everyone takes up front. On Friday nights, the tournament attracts 200-250 players, producing first-place prize money ranging from $5,000 to $5,500. The tournaments start at 7 p.m.
Known as one of the best tournament houses in town, the Orleans' most popular live-action game is $1-$2 no-limit hold'em. It is a great place for poker newcomers and those looking for a low-limit, fast-paced game. The room spreads any game on request, and is known for its short waiting time.
Twenty plasma TV screens for players to keep track of the casino's keno games and their favorite sports games are hung conveniently around the room.
Located across the aisle from the poker room is a Subway shop, serving up healthy sandwiches around-the-clock for the hungry and health-conscious poker player. In addition to Subway, the Orleans has 13 other food outlets for players, such as the Prime Rib Loft, Canal Street, and Big Al's Oyster Bar.
As a student of the game of poker, I am always trying to learn new things and improve my game. Recently, I have begun focusing on the geographical differences in style of play and have picked up some very interesting information. It is essential to know your opponents, and I have found that there definitely are distinct differences in how people play that relate directly to where they are from.
Recently, I attended the
Aussie Millions down in Melbourne, Australia. This was the second year that I attended, and I have to congratulate the tournament staff on running such a great event. The main event grew from around 400 players last year to more than 700 this year (due mostly to it being sponsored by Full Tilt, which brought all of its pros and a bunch of online qualifiers), and the guys at Crown Casino were prepared, expanding both the poker room space and the tournament schedule. I was very impressed by their willingness to listen to the players' feedback and requests, and actually make changes accordingly. I played just about all of the preliminary events, as well as the main event, and I quickly picked up that the Australian players like to trap and slow-play. Especially in the preliminary events, where it was mostly local players, it was extremely helpful to have figured this out. When all of the American and European players started to arrive, I thought I had a bit of an advantage, since I had a general read on most of the Aussie players. When I was playing at a table with a mix of people, I could use my knowledge of the local players' preference to slow-play against those players, as well as the other players at the table who weren't aware of this. The
Aussie Millions is one of my favorite events, and I believe I have a little bit of edge when I go next year.
After the
Aussie Millions, I headed to Atlantic City to play at the Borgata. I've played in a bunch of tournaments on the East Coast, and the thing I have noticed across the board is that the local players want to walk away from the table and have something to tell their buddies. This might not seem like something that has any major relevance to how these guys play, but it is actually extremely helpful in developing a strategy to play against them. I know they want something dramatic to happen so that they'll have a great story. This basically means that they are looking for a very bad beat or an incredible drawout, and they are going to put all of their chips in the middle in situations in which other players would try to keep the pot small or even lay down their hand.
The bottom line is that it's very important to take in all of the information that's available to you at the poker table, and recognizing "regional differences" can be a very important piece of information. Most of the time, players end up blending in with whatever is happening at the table, which is why I can pick up the differences in style when I go to new places. Generally, it is better to play a style that's the opposite of the rest of the players at the table, and not fall into the lull of what could be a bad habit just because that is the way everyone else is playing.
Send your comments and questions to Scott at [email protected].
The Tao of Poker
By Larry W. Phillips
If you find yourself in a beatable game with a number of terrible players, don't overplay. And if you find yourself in this type of game and not getting any cards, don't do anything.
One error that good players make sometimes when playing against bad players is being impatient - becoming overeager to get their hands on their chips. They start to think that they should be defeating these opponents more quickly, more frequently, and for more money than they are.
If bad players are in the game, don't fall to the temptation of being overeager to get your hands on all of that money they are throwing around. Just be glad that they're in there when you do have a hand.
This is an easy trap to fall into. Players start smacking their lips at the juicy level of competition. They become impatient, and tend to overplay. The circumstances are so favorable that they start chomping at the bit and end up beating themselves - thereby losing money in a beatable game.
One thing you don't want to do in a game like this is dig yourself into a hole. If you do, you may have to suffer the agony of watching other players cheerfully build up their chip stacks while you gradually - and painfully - try to make a comeback. (Or - worse yet - you may suffer the even greater indignity of watching the bad players suddenly decide to get up and leave, thereby leaving you holding the bag.) It is for this reason that patience is crucial in this type of game.
Here's one other point to remember: Expertise in poker - that is, one player being better than another - can be something that shows up only rarely in game situations. Long periods of time can go by in which the opportunity to take advantage of it (the discrepancy in expertise) simply doesn't arise. Therefore, if you try to force it, it will often backfire on you.
Ask Jack
Want to know how a multimillion-dollar poker tournament is run? Have a question about a specific tournament poker rule or past ruling you've encountered?
Card Player is giving you the chance to pick the mind of one of the game's finest - Bellagio Tournament Director Jack McClelland.
E-mail your questions to [email protected], and Jack McClelland will share his 25-plus years of industry experience with you.
Jeremy Forbes: I have worked for you in the past at a few events. I was wondering if you ever use a forward-moving button in any of your tournaments. If so, do you move the button forward only when a player is eliminated or every time the seat is vacant?
Jack: I do not use a forward-moving button. My rule is that the big blind always moves one seat or one position forward. A player may have the button more than once, but not the big blind.
Jack Bradshaw: Here is a situation that stopped a home tournament for more than five minutes of discussion. I would love to learn how you would have handled it.
Eight players are left. The blinds are $100-$200. The first three players fold, player No. 4 calls, player No. 5 calls, the button folds, the small blind calls, and the big blind goes all in for $2,100. The action moves to player No. 4. He is contemplating calling the raise. He and the big blind have
