The Year of the Youth? Not Quite Yet
Top 10 Players Average 35 Years of Age
By Bob Pajich
There is no doubt that live tournament poker is in the midst of a youth movement that was given a huge exclamation point when 18- year-old Annette Obrestad won the first
World Series of Poker main event held outside the U.S. recently. With her victory, she became the youngest of a handful of very young players who have had a good year.
Thanks to an international live poker explosion, fueled by PokerStars, the
WSOP, and the
World Poker Tour, there are now many opportunities for players younger than 21 to play in big buy-in tournaments and prove their ilk. And they are plowing through the good-sized fields.
In January, the final table of the
WPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure had only one player over the age of 25. Ryan Daut, 23, won the event, Isaac Haxton, 21, was the runner-up, Robert Ford, 22, finished third, Robert Mizrachi, 28, finished fourth, Jonathan Little, 22, finished fifth, and Frank Rusnack, 25, finished sixth.
The
WSOP Europe final table included Obrestad, John Tabatabai, 22, Oyvind Riisem, 22, and Johannes Korsar, 20. The
European Poker Tour Barcelona Open was won by a 25-year-old, and its final table featured two young American players, Greg Dyer (third) and Adam Junglen (sixth), who were 20 and 19, respectively, at the time.
And the
EPT Grand Final, which also took place earlier this year, featured a 22-year-old, as well as Soren Kongsgaard, a 19-year-old player from Denmark.
Throw in 19-year-old Jimmy Fricke's second-place finish in this year's
Aussie Millions, and the year turns historical.
There's no doubt that these young players are good. They collectively have seen millions of hands by playing on the Internet, and have established networks to help each other learn. And never before in the history of mankind has poker knowledge been so easily accessible. There are hundreds of young players who are seizing the day.
But don't count out the older guys yet, who seem to shine with consistency. The top four spots on the
Card Player Player of the Year (POY) leader board are
occupied by players who could, in the right sentence, be called grizzled.
David Pham, 40, is at the top, followed by Bill Edler, 42, J.C. Tran, 30, and Tom Schneider, 47. Jonathan Little is the youngest player in the top 10, with the average age being 35 (Ted Lawson slightly skews the curve by being 52).
Last year, Michael Mizrachi became the youngest person to win the POY prize at the age of 25. Two 21-year-olds ended 2006 in the top 10 (Jeff Madsen and Shannon Shorr), with the average age being 29.
Since 2000, the average age of the top 10 POY players peaked at 45 in 2003, when older players Jim Meehan, T.J. Cloutier, and Charlie Shoten had a good year. Cloutier won the POY prize the year before, in 2002, at the age of 62, when John Juanda, at the age of 31, was the runner-up. The average age in 2002 was 37.
The first player to crack the top 10 under the age of 30 was Phil Ivey, who did it in 2002 at the age of 26. Scott Fischman then did it at the age of 23 in 2004, and in 2005 and 2006, four players in their 20s cracked the top 10. This year, Little, Jared Hamby, 25, and Scott Clements, 26, are the only ones there, as of the end of September.
With so many good players of all ages in the game, it will be interesting to see which generation has the most successful players. Only time, and many, many more tournaments, will tell.
Ivy Hotel Hosts Charity Poker Tournament
Opening Night Featured Poker Legends for a Needy Cause
By Kristy Arnett
While many openings of hip new places are flooded with red carpets, movie stars, and endless displays of money, the opening weekend of Michael Kelly's
Ivy Hotel, located in San Diego, was somewhat different, as this premiere featured poker celebrities with money to share for a needy cause.
The charity poker tournament benefited the Make the Difference Network, which is an organization committed to providing assistance to nonprofit programs of excellence, such as the Hollywood Entertainment Museum's educational program for at-risk youth. Along with poker legends such as Phil Laak, Johnny Chan, Antonio Esfandiari, Gus Hansen, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Bobby Baldwin, and Clonie Gowen, famous superstar Jessica Biel, co-founder and spokeswoman for the charity, was in attendance.
The first-place winner was awarded a seat in the
World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Invitational, with round-trip airfare, and first pick at various prizes. Coincidently, Brunson won the seat into his own event. Although he kept the $20,000 Roger Dubuis watch that came with first place, he gave the seat to the second-place finisher.
More than a quarter of a million dollars was raised for the Make the Difference Network during this event.
Joseph Mouawad Wins European Poker Tour London Championship
Almost 400 Players Show Up to Play
By Brendan Murray
The recent PokerStars.com
European Poker Tour London championship was won by Joseph Mouawad from Lebanon. He beat 391 others to pick up the £611,520 ($1,247,000) first prize at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino.
Mouawad, who qualified online with the sponsor, defeated Florian Langmann from Germany heads up, hitting first a pair of queens, and then a third to take down the prestigious title.
The top eight finishers and their payouts were:
Four of the final-table participants qualified for the £5,400 event through PokerStars. The site also had more online qualifiers compete in this
EPT event than any other
EPT event (60 players qualified through PokerStars, and nine cashed for a total of approximately $4,156,000).
World Series of Poker Champion Chris Moneymaker finished 17th in this event. He was joined at the
EPT London event by fellow Team PokerStars members Daniel Negreanu, Noah Boeken, Hevad Khan, Dario Minieri, Katja Thater, and Luca Pagano.
Mouawad also won a seat in the €10,000
EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final next April. The next
EPT event will take place in Dublin, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
Talks Continue Between U.S. and Sanction-Seeking WTO Members
Antigua Wants $3.4 Billion; U.S. Offers $500,000
By Bob Pajich
Talks between the United States and World Trade Organization members that are demanding compensation because of the U.S. stance prohibiting its citizens from patronizing offshore online cardrooms and casinos are continuing.
The U.S. met its Sept. 22 deadline with the WTO to make an offer to the countries that claimed America's anti-gambling stance has hurt businesses located within them - but the difference between what the U.S. is offering and what the other countries think is fair is great.
A deadline extension has been granted by the WTO so that the parties can continue to talk about the case. The new deadline for when the sanctions should be decided is Oct. 22. Ultimately, it's up to a WTO panel to determine the proper penalties, but this negotiation period is an early step.
Antigua and Barbuda - the tiny island nation that, by going after the U.S. through the WTO in 2003, opened the door for countries to demand compensation - claims that $3.4 billion is lost annually because the online casinos located there can't do business with U.S. customers. In a WTO filing, the U.S. stated that $500,000 was more accurate.
It's not known if the $500,000 would be paid in cash, through services, through copyrights, or by other means. Lawyers for Antigua and Barbuda have said that the WTO ruling potentially could allow it to make up for the lost business by ignoring intellectual rights laws. This means that Antigua and Barbuda would be allowed to legally produce copyrighted material that is made by American companies, something that organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America have protested.
The U.S. still won't admit that its anti-online gambling stance violates WTO agreements. WTO panels have ruled that the U.S. violates agreements because it permits certain companies to host online gambling sites there - particularly horse racing sites - yet works to prohibit offshore countries from accessing the world's largest consumer base of gamblers. The WTO contests that this clearly violates the General Agreement in Trades in Services (GATS) that the U.S. signed in the mid-'90s.
The main U.S. argument is that it didn't know that online gambling could be considered a commodity when it signed the GATS in 1995. Instead of complying with the WTO panel's ruling and allowing its citizens to access offshore gambling sites, the U.S. Trade Office decided instead to amend the agreement.
But WTO rules state that if a country post-edits agreements like this, countries that are affected by the editing change can seek compensation from the country. This is what Antigua and Barbuda and a handful of other countries are doing. Potentially, the U.S. and U.S. companies may lose billions of dollars because of this situation.
More will be learned about this case at the end of October.
LIPS and the Future of Ladies-Only Poker Tournaments
Jose Canseco Incident Brings the Issue to the Forefront Once Again
By Kristy Arnett
Poker has always been a game dominated by men, but the percentage of women entering poker tournaments is growing faster than any other gaming demographic. The biggest organization continually assisting this growth is the
Ladies International Poker Series (
LIPS), whose main goal is to provide women with the opportunity and support needed to enter the poker realm. The controversy that occurred recently at the
California State Poker Championship - where six men, including former baseball player Jose Canseco, demanded entry into the ladies-only event - rekindled the issue concerning women-only events (WOE).
According to
Card Player archives, the first major ladies tournament was introduced at the 1977
World Series of Poker. It was a $100 buy-in seven-card stud tournament. In 2007, the event was a $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament that attracted 1,286 entrants.
The growth of ladies tournaments has not come without controversy or resistance. A few top female poker professionals oppose WOEs because they believe women can compete on a level playing field in poker. However true this may be, a large percentage of women say that they feel more comfortable playing with other ladies, according to
LIPS CEO and founder Lupe Soto.
"We are here to provide venues for women to get into the sport. They can come to our events and gain experience in tournaments that they either are less intimidated by or just prefer," said Soto. "This is about preference, learning, and choice."
LIPS is one of the biggest preponents for providing such choice for women. The growing organization has partnered with about 35 casinos across the country to host events that feature a midlevel buy-in to provide women poker players with a friendly, comfortable, and competitive environment. The Canseco incident was a reminder that if men want to enter, they must be allowed to do so.
According to
Card Player General Counsel Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, California law states that all business establishments must provide all services and advantages to customers without discriminating against age, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, or gender. Therefore, Commerce Casino was unable to deny access to the tournament because of gender.
"I think these guys are hindering something that is very serious for some women," said poker professional Chad Brown. "On the heels of Annette Obrestad's win, many more women will be encouraged to get into poker, and we all should be supportive of ways that make that possible."
Men entering ladies events dangers the very existence of WOEs, but
LIPS is determined to continue to provide a place for women to play.
LIPS also provides the opportunity for women to create their own
Ladies Night Poker League in their hometowns, in which the winner or winners earn entry into the
LIPS Tour Grand Championship at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. At the last
Grand Championship, 289 women from all over the country competed. An even bigger turnout is expected for 2008.
"The future is bright," said Linda Johnson. "Women know how much fun poker can be and how profitable, as well. Women definitely have the temperament to be great players and will continue to enter the poker world in huge numbers."
Local Man Wins World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic
Rhynie Campbell recently won the
World Poker Tour Turks and Caicos Poker Classic. A resident of Turks and Caicos, he won $436,675 for outlasting 136 other players. This was the first
WPT event to be held there.
Check out the next issue of
Card Player for a full report and photos from the event.
Eric Crisp Wins California State Poker Championship
Championship Event Generates an $877,000 Prize Pool
By Kristy Arnett
The
California State Poker Championship tournament series ended with a $2,500 buy-in main event that attracted 362
entrants and left the winner, Eric Crisp, standing alone with first-place prize money of nearly $325,000. Notable poker pro Can Kim Hua was the runner-up in the event, earning almost $167,000.
Leading up to the main event, there were 17 preliminary tournaments. All prelims combined attracted more than 5,000 competitors and generated total prize money that exceeded $2.3 million.
Crisp made his first major-tournament cash in event No. 6, a $300 buy-in no-limit hold'em (with rebuys) tournament that churned out the biggest prize pool of the preliminary tournaments at more than $422,000. He finished in 11th place, but fared much better in the main event. Also making his first cash in this event was former baseball player Jose Canseco. He finished in 16th place. Loi Phan defeated a field of 581 players to win almost $142,000. Phan then went on to place ninth in the championship event at the
Borgata Poker Open.
Following the ladies event, which was won by Gabriela Wagner, another $300 buy-in no-limit hold'em (with rebuys) event was held. The total prize pool was more than $385,000, generated by 512 entrants. Paul Lui captured the title and more than $131,000 in prize money
Poker Academy Prospector a Powerful Must-Have
Software Gives Players a Full View of Their Game
By Bob Pajich
Poker Academy Prospector is a fantastic piece of software that is a must-have for any online player. The many features packed into this easy-to-use suite help give a player a better understanding of his game by taking the player's actual hand histories from online sites to generate reports about the player's game.
To play poker at the highest levels, players need to understand the way they're playing as clearly as possible. Extreme self-honesty is required, but hubris often gets in the way and clouds the ability of people to
completely remove ego and face the facts. Poker is truly a psychological battle, and it can be hard to pinpoint weaknesses. It's also easy to fool ourselves into thinking that bad luck is the only reason our game is suffering.
The Prospector doesn't allow players to do this. By all of the player's hand histories, it's able to instantly create a portrait of that player's game. It takes all of those abstract poker concepts that players apply to the game and provides visual evidence to show if those concepts are working or not. A player can take a hard look at just about any facet of his game to find out exactly where the leaks are.
The software is easy to use and extremely intuitive, which means that the features players are looking for while using it are usually where they think they should be. The software generates a cornucopia of charts, reports, spreadsheets, comparisons, and statistics, and the designers made it fun, easy to use, and, most importantly, extremely helpful.
When players first fire up Poker Academy Prospector, the software automatically scans the computer for all recorded hand histories. It takes seconds to import the information, and continues to automatically do so every five minutes (a factory setting, which is completely adjustable) for as long as the software is open.
Reports are available in 11 different categories, such as positional awareness, stealing, defending the blinds, pocket pairs, and connectors. These reports generate nice summaries about position and the action used when playing certain hands, but with one click, the software generates a chart showing exactly how much profit or loss resulted from playing, say, unsuited connectors in a sixhanded no-limit hold'em game.
Through these charts and reports, players will rediscover their game. It's sobering to see just how much money is lost in certain preventable situations, but it's also exciting to recognize a leak. Once spotted, measures can be taken to repair it.
Poker Academy Prospector is simply a powerful tool that any online poker player would find useful. The information that will be gained from it by discerning players will quickly erase the $59 price tag.
Judge Needs Time in iMEGA/UIGEA Case
iMEGA Looks to Have UIGEA Voided
By Bob Pajich
The first oral arguments were heard recently in the case between the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA) and the federal government, which potentially could decide the fate of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
A lawyer representing the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Reserve, the three entities that iMEGA is suing, asked Judge Mary Cooper in Trenton, New Jersey, federal court to dismiss the case on Sept. 26. This is standard procedure.
iMEGA is seeking a temporary restraining order against the UIGEA. This is the first step that it needs to take in order to have the UIGEA declared unconstitutional, which is the organization's ultimate goal.
The judge listened to the attorneys from both sides, then declared that she needed time to weigh all of the evidence. A ruling is expected within 30 days.
The UIGEA is the 2006 law that makes it illegal for financial institutions to complete transactions between offshore online poker rooms and casinos and Americans. The Treasury Department has yet to come up with the regulations required to enforce the law, even though July's deadline is long gone.
Founded earlier this year, iMEGA is an organization made up of people and companies that run and support the online gambling industry. Although the UIGEA has yet to go live, its members already have surely felt the sting of losing the largest proven online gambling customer base in the world.
This isn't the only challenge to the UIGEA. Congressman Barney Franks has introduced legislation to repeal it. Despite support from many of his House colleagues, his bill has been bogged down in committees and its future is unclear.
Israeli Wins Asian Pacific Poker Tour Championship in Seoul
Ziv Bachar Wins the $2,500 Event
By Bob Pajich
Israeli Ziv Bachar won the PokerStars
Asian Pacific Poker Tour (
APPT) championship held in Seoul, South Korea, recently.
He outlasted 185 other players and won $139,872 in the $2,500 buy-in main event, which was the first of its kind to be held in Korea. The event took place at the Sheraton Walkerhill.
The final nine players and their winnings were: Bachar, $139,872; Jozef Berec, $87,420; Shinhan Sid Kim, $48,081; Michel St-Pierre, $34,968; James Honeybone, $28,412; Seval Hægeland, $21,855; Roger Spets, $17,484; Dan Schreiber, $13,113; and Paul Adams $8,740.
Schreiber won a
World Series of Poker bracelet in the $5,000 heads-up world championship this summer. He lives in Korea.
Bachar also won a seat in the $5,500
APPT Grand Final, which will be held in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 13-16.
Bachar, 25, qualified for this
APPT event through PokerStars, and has been building his live tournament poker reputation recently. He finished ninth in the 2006
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure ($95,000), and he won the €500 no-limit hold'em event at last year's PokerStars
European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo (€54,400).
Players from 33 countries played in this event, including Australian and
WSOP Champion Joe Hachem.
The next
APPT event will be held at the Star City Casino in Sydney. Qualifiers are now taking place on PokerStars.
Featured Products
Poker Faces
Poker Faces Inc., the company that introduced the Shark Poker Face Card Protector used by Humberto Brenes, is
introducing its newest product, the "Screaming Eagle Poker Face." The product is inspired by the Screaming Eagle Poker logo, which represents the group that has started free weekly hold'em tournaments in Iraq and Afghanistan for the troops. The new Poker Face will be given to winners of each tournament over the next year. Besides donating the winner's prize, Poker Faces Inc. will donate $2 from each of the new card guard sales to Screaming Eagle Poker, and its chosen charity, The Wounded Warrior Project, which assists in the rehabilitation of soldiers returning home with major disabilities.
Also, just in time for the holidays, Poker Faces Inc. is announcing its Party Pack for home games. You now can purchase eight of the original 14 assorted Poker Faces for $59.95 plus shipping from its website. When you invite your friends to your home game, you can put Monopoly into hold'em. Simply ask, "Which piece do you want to be tonight?" Chances are that you'll already know whom you will be giving the Donkey!
The suggested retail price for Poker Faces Card Protectors is between $9.95 and $12.95, online at www.pokerfaces.tv. You also can go to the website to find more information about the company and its charities, or to find a retailer near you. Do you have your Poker Face?
Entertainment Tables
The poker table has evolved! Entertainment Tables proudly presents its patent-pending "Next Generation" design that
introduces two unique and innovative features to the market that sets Entertainment Tables apart from other table manufacturers in the market. The first feature enables you to easily move and store your table. Unlike other tables with standard folding legs, the Next Generation design allows the top to fold 180 degrees, allowing the legs to bear the weight of the table, keeping the rail and playing surface safe from tears, premature wear, and other damage that occurs when storing a table with traditional folding legs. Legs come standard with high-quality casters, to make moving the table easy and convenient. The second feature is Chair Cradles, which will allow you to store up to 10 Entertainment Tables high-quality folding chairs directly with the table. This storage ability not only helps protect your investment and makes set up and tear down easy and efficient, but saves valuable storage space, as well, making this table great for home, tournaments, or commercial use.
These innovative features are available exclusively from Entertainment Tables.
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Poker Frames
Poker Frames are holographic poker sunglasses that have been featured and worn by several different poker players. Greg "Fossilman" Raymer wore the lizard eyes sunglasses when he won the 2004
World Series of Poker main event. J.J. Liu wears the Freaky Eyes style for her tournaments. Mike Matusow made a big splash when he put on the middle-finger sunglasses while he was exchanging gifts at the 2004
Tournament of Champions, which he ended up winning. More than 50 different styles of sunglasses are featured for poker players and anyone else. For more information visit www.pokerframes.com.
Hardcore Watches
Hardcore Watches and Artistry in Time, designed by Steve Soffa, is recognized as the
official watchmaker of the biker industry. Since designing his first custom chopper, Soffa has sought to create timepieces with the same craftsmanship and unique and beautiful artistic detailing. He is the only craftsman who uses his own original artwork on the face of each of his timepieces. Each dial utilizes three-dimensional sculpting, and casting methods finished with brilliant lacquers. The highest grade of surgical steel, unique skins, and innovative structural design ensure that these are cutting-edge handcrafted timepieces. Owning one or more of the 63 different styles, retailing from $195 to $1,800, will set you apart from the crowd. For retailer inquires, call (213) 342-3199 or visit www.hardcorewatches.com.
Binion's Poker Open Playing Now
$1,000 Buy-In Championship Event Begins Oct. 30
By Kristy Arnett
Because of the success of the
Binion's Poker Classic this summer, the place that made poker famous is holding another tournament series called the
Binion's Poker Open.
"Players can expect the same great things from the
Binion's Poker Classic at the
Binion's Poker Open," said Binion's Poker Room Manager Gary DeWitt. "The events have low buy-ins, but we are expecting great turnouts, which will make for very nice prize pools."
The preliminary events leading up to the main event have already started, but there are plenty left. The remaining event buy-ins range from $150 to $200 and include a variety of tournaments.
The following is the rest of the
Binion's Poker Open schedule:
The championship event begins at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 30, and is a no-limit hold'em tournament with a $1,000 buy-in. A supersatellite will take place on Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. The buy-in is $150 and, based on number of entrants, as many seats as possible will be awarded.
The tournament series culminates with a
Tournament of Champions. This invitation-only event begins on Halloween (Wednesday, Oct. 31) at 2 p.m. Only the winners of the
Binion's Poker Open events preceding this one will get to compete in this freeroll; 2 percent of each event's prize pool makes up the purse for the
Tournament of Champions.
Station Casinos Giving Money Away
Play 10 Minutes and Get an Entry Into a Weekly Drawing for Cash Prizes
By Kristy Arnett
When casinos give away money in poker rooms, players often have to play long hours, wait for weeks or months, and place high enough in a freeroll tournament to receive any of it. However, at participating Station Casinos in Las Vegas, only 10 minutes of play is required and the money is given away every week.
At Palace Station, Boulder Station, Texas Station, Santa Fe Station, Green Valley Ranch, and Red Rock Casino, players who have a Boarding Pass players card automatically earn one entry into a weekly drawing for free money for every 10 minutes of cash-game play.
Entries earned at each specific property count toward only that casino's drawing, but players can still earn entries at multiple casinos and be eligible to win at all of them. Each casino draws winners every Tuesday at 6 p.m., and players do not have to be present to win. They must claim their prize within 48 hours,. But those who claim their winnings within 10 minutes of the drawing receive a bonus prize. Winners' names are chosen automatically by a computer.
Prize money payouts are as follows:
The top five bonuses are progressive and depend on the rollover amount of each spot. The list of payouts shows the minimum bonus a player will receive. Prize money is handled individually by each casino.
Card Player Player of the Year
A Reshuffling of the Top 10 Sets the Tone for the Homestretch
The
World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open and inaugural
World Series of Poker Europe (
WSOPE) did little to reshuffle the alignment of the top 10 in the 2007 Player of the Year race. However, it is important to note the overall changes that have taken place among the top contenders in the past few months.
The players in the top 10 have remained the same, but their places have changed. Ted Lawson (ninth) finished in 12th
place in the pot-limit Omaha event at the
WSOPE, and in doing so traded places with Robert Mizrachi (10th). Bill Edler (second) and Jonathan Little (fifth) used strong finishes in the
WPT Gulf Coast Poker Championship to leapfrog into the top five, knocking down both Jared Hamby (sixth) and James Van Alstyne (seventh) two spots in the process.
Edler also jumped past J.C. Tran (third) and Tom Schneider (fourth). While the real race in focusing on the top three - David "The Dragon" Pham (first), Edler, and Tran (who are also the most likely to play every event leading into 2008) - there are still thousands of points up for grabs in the closing months of 2007, and the trading-places effect could continue.
It's that close. And there are many events remaining for those looking toward the top to gather a slew of points, not to mention money.
The Sleeper With a Loud Mouth
One player who did use the
WPT Borgata Poker Open to climb the leader board was none other than Mike "The Mouth" Matusow. Matusow jumped
from 37th to 15th place in the POY standings, thanks to a sixth-place finish. A title at the Borgata would have vaulted him into fourth place in the race, so he is just one more final table away from becoming a major factor.
His sixth-place
Borgata Poker Open finish was preceded by a second-place finish in the
WPT Bellagio Cup III in July. It looks like Matusow is peaking at just the right time of year, and could make a run down the homestretch. He looks focused and is playing smart tournament poker. He is undoubtedly one of the most dreaded competitors the POY leaders can see in their rearview mirrors. Caution, objects in the mirror may be louder than they appear.
It Isn't Over Yet
If you look back at the 2004 POY race, not only do you see one of the most
impressive competitions in the title's history, but you also see that Daniel Negreanu won two major events coming down the homestretch to win the award over close competitors David Pham and John Juanda. Negreanu won both the
Borgata Poker Open and the Bellagio
Five-Diamond World Poker Classic to cap off an exciting year-end title run. Pham still remembers this, and acknowledges that anyone even as far down as the top 30-50 can go on that type of run to take the prize in 2007. (Read more from Pham regarding the 2007 POY race in this issue's cover story). This includes Negreanu (41st) and a crew of other worthy competitors who could catch fire, such as Nam Le (38th), J.C. Alvarado (20th), Kirk Morrison (18th), Mike "The Mouth" Matusow (15th), and Danny Wong (11th) - not to mention every player in the top 10. It isn't over yet, not by a long shot.
Online Hand-to-Hand Combat: GB2005 Entices a River Bluff and Reads the Speed of a Bet as Weakness
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.
Event: PokerStars no-limit hold'em $50 tournament
Players: 1,360
First Place: $15,640
Stacks: GB2005 - $79,581; Villain - $225,159
Blinds: $2,000-$4,000
Antes: $400
Villain calls $4,000 from under the gun. The action is folded to GB2005 in the big blind with the J
6
.
Craig Tapscott: What do you make of this limp? Could it be a huge hand?
Gary "GB2005" Bogdanski: We're down to about 50 players left. Anytime someone is limping at this stage in a tourney,
there always has to be the fear of A-A, K-K, or another big hand. But this guy has limped in many times preflop, so I immediately dismiss this as a possibility. He's probably limping with two Broadway cards or a suited ace. That's the range I've seen him show down after previous limps.
CT: With this knowledge, did you consider raising in this spot?
GB: I did consider raising preflop and trying to take him off the hand, but he'd shown a willingness to defend his limps. Since I have a garbage hand, I really don't want to have to put most of my chips at risk here with a preflop raise and the automatic continuation bet.
Flop: 7
6
4
($12,800 pot)
CT: What's the plan now that you've hit middle pair?
GB: I'm 90 percent to 95 percent positive I have the best hand. I decide to check-raise, because he will fire every flop and I can use the extra chips.
GB2005 checks, Villain bets $4,000, GB2005 check-raises to $12,000, and Villain calls.
CT: He must have a hand, right?
GB: I'm shocked when he calls. This player really isn't that good, and I dismiss the possibility that he's flat-calling with a big hand like a set. It is possible that he has 3-3, 5-5, or a heart draw.
Turn: 4
($36,800 pot)
CT: Is this a good card for your hand?
GB: I'm very happy to see the 4, because for all of the hands I put him on, this does not help him.
GB2005 bets $20,000. Villain calls.
CT: Why that size bet?
GB: Looking back on the hand, this was a mistake. I knew that I had the best hand here, and needed to bet around $34,000, which is almost the size of the pot. However, the bet worked out in my favor, because the Villain thought I had enough chips left not to feel committed to the hand.
River: Q
($76,800 pot)
CT: Do you fire a third bullet here?
GB: I decide to check, because there's absolutely no reason for me to bet here. If I bet and am ahead, he's not going to call with his missed flush draw, 3-3, or 5-5. If he's behind, I need to give him an opportunity to bluff.
GB2005 checks. Villain bets $43,181 to put GB2005 all in.
CT: Can you stick with your read?
GB: Well, the chip stacks almost make it an automatic call. His flush possibilities are A
9
(A
10
and higher would be included if he had raised preflop, but he didn't) K
Q
, Q
J
, Q
10
, K
10
, and maybe even 10
9
. There's definitely more combos without the queen, and I'm getting more than 3-1 odds on my money. In addition, there are not many "tells" in online poker, but bet speed sometimes plays a part. He shoved so quickly, and with amateur players, this usually tends to be weakness.
GB2005 calls $43,181. Villain shows the A
8
. GB2005 wins the pot of $163,162.
Gary Bogdanski is a part-time player with a day job. He has cashed for more than $1 million online in multitable tournaments. He also has won Full Tilt's Sunday major and Paradise Poker's Sunday event, and placed third in the PokerStars Sunday Million. The past two years, he has organized a charity poker tournament, raising $5,000 each year, for an inner-city basketball program in his area.
PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Makes a Millionaire
By Shawn Patrick Green
This year's World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) at PokerStars has come and gone, but not without leaving an indelible mark on the world of Internet poker - and not without putting seven figures into one player's PokerStars account.
TheV0id managed to accomplish in this year's WCOOP main event what was missed out on last year, when J.C. "area23JC" Tran won the main event, which is collect a first-place payday of more than $1 million. Tran's final table struck a deal that disappointingly left it impossible for first place to break out of a six-figure payout.
TheV0id outlasted 2,997 other entrants, and a final table that included Team PokerStars member Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso (who earned $463,940 for third place), to take down that historic prize in a tournament with a prize pool of almost $7.5 million. The tournament lasted nearly 22 hours in what was easily one of the longest tournaments in PokerStars history. Still, $1.2 million for a day's work can't be complained about with too much sincerity.
The WCOOP by the Numbers
This year's WCOOP sported some big numbers. The biggest number, of course, was the combined prize pools of the tournaments. The tournaments guaranteed a combined $15 million in prize money, but actually generated $24.2 million. Out of those prize pools, $4.1 million was won by the first-place finishers. That means that out of 40,280 total entrants across the span of the WCOOP, 23 collected a combined 17 percent of the prize money.
A Bracelet for Each Arm
The WCOOP awards a gold bracelet to the winner of each event in the series, and for two players this season, that new bracelet may present a dilemma - which bracelet to wear?
Both World Series of Poker main-event champ Greg "FossilMan" Raymer (2004) and WSOP bracelet winner James "mig.com" Mackey (winner of a $5,000 no-limit hold'em event in 2007) now have new jewelry to sport. Raymer outlasted 771 entrants in the $300 pot-limit Omaha (with rebuys) event of the WCOOP, earning more than $168,000, and Mackey took down the $1,000 no-limit hold'em event, besting a field of 3,324 to make more than $580,000.
Chatbox Cunning
Strategy from top online pros
Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet
On balancing life and poker:
"I think that having some sort of hobby - something outside of poker, something that gets you outside or something that makes you feel productive other than poker - is important, because sitting at your computer every day just to play poker is not a very rewarding lifestyle. Having balance is important."
On online tells:
"There are quite a few online tells. The speed at which people make bets is huge. Quick usually means weak, online. Also, if you're using your timebank when thinking about calling somebody and he says something in the chat box, he's almost always strong. He's trying to convince you to call him."
Tournament Schedule
The PokerStars tournament lineup is one of the most robust of any online poker site, and is getting even more jam-packed every day. Here are some tournaments to look out for:
Those interested in signing up for these tournaments can follow this link to see a complete schedule: http://www.CardPlayer.com/link/ot.
Peter Neff: Practice Makes Perfect
By Craig Tapscott
Tournament professional Peter Neff deposited $20 online four years ago, plopped down in a few $5 sit-and-gos, and never looked back. That initial deposit of $20 grew to $1,000, and then to a staggering $50,000 after switching over to cash games and crushing the higher-stakes limit tables. But be warned - these results are not typical or as easily achievable as they may sound. Neff's secret: hours and hours of practice, practice, and, you guessed it … more practice.
"I've always believed in building and growing my game with endless practicing," said Neff. "Sure, you can get advice from other players, watch videos, or read books, but it's best to figure out your own way, your own strategy. I found it to be the most valuable way to learn."
Unlike some top Internet pros, Neff - aka #1PEN online - doesn't believe in playing 14 tournaments simultaneously. He
never abandons any chip stack, no matter how short, using laserlike focus to take advantage of every edge that comes along. He will enter about seven tournaments daily, usually making the final table of one every other day. Online, Neff has close to a million dollars in earnings, and recently finished 13th in the
World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup III for $51,000, and 29th in the
World Poker Tour Legends of Poker for $21,000.
Card Player caught up with Neff at his oceanside residence in beautiful Newport Beach, California, to watch, learn, and cross-examine the mind of a winning player.
Craig Tapscott: What's your style of play?
Peter Neff: I'm pretty tight-aggressive. I play mostly ABC poker 95 percent of the time, both online and live. I will play outside the box when there's a player who's really bad or reckless, or overbetting and playing too many pots. I'll do my best to enter pots with that player, raise his big blind, reraise, and so on. I just want him to make a mistake against me down the line.
CT: Many of the top online pros like Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi and Chad "lilholdem" Batista have a very loose-aggressive style. How do you play against this type of player when it's so tough to put him on a hand?
PN: You have to know each player's tendencies and exploit them accordingly. Obviously, if a player like Sorel raises you, he might have any two cards. But a player like jcamby (a very tight-aggressive player) will primarily have a premium hand in a reraise situation.
CT: That has to make it harder to play against the loose-aggressive style.
PN: If you're playing preflop versus Sorel deep in a tournament when you have 20 big blinds, and you raise and he reraises, it's easier to go over the top of that. You can't be going over the top with a hand like A-J versus tight players, but with Sorel, I might be doing that.
CT: You're very outspoken on the forums. You recently expressed your displeasure with all of the poker training sites and videos from top online pros like lilholdem954, JohnnyBax, and BeL0WaB0Ve.
PN: Yes. They enable people to get inside the mind of a winning player. This helps other players create the same thought process. For great players to do this, they're giving away so much that most players never think about during a tournament.
CT: And, obviously, it cuts into your bottom-line profits.
PN: Of course. And it's getting harder and harder to win tournaments compared to a few years ago. Players are getting better. You have to capitalize on players making small mistakes, and just hope that your hand holds up.
CT: You just turned 21. Do you find this also to be true in the live events you've competed in?
PN: It's actually easier to play live, because the players are much worse, from my experience. Slowly but surely, the online players are starting to take over the live arena. Just look at Jared Hamby, Kevin Saul, Steve Billirakis, and Annette Obrestad. One by one, we're just winning more and more live tournaments.
CT: But can you consistently beat the huge variance in tournament poker?
PN: Variance is hard to beat, but the better players will come out on top in the long run. I've been making a living for three years now. I know four online players who made more than $100,000 in the month of August. Sure, cash-game players can make this kind of money, also, but tournament pros do it at less risk of losing money. I haven't had a losing month in more than one-and-a-half years. I'm most proud of my bankroll management, and the fact that I've never gone broke since I deposited that first $20 for sit-and-gos.
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. You can send your questions to
[email protected], and McClelland will share his 25-plus years of industry experience with you.
Sid: I was playing in a cash game, and there were two of us left in the hand on the river. I called a bet from Player A, and as he flipped over his cards, he said, "Full house."
The dealer echoed, "Full house."
I said, "It's good," and mucked my hand.
At this point, the dealer grabbed my cards and shuffled them into the deck. I then looked at the other player's cards and saw that he did not have a full house. The floorman ruled that Player A got to keep the pot and that I should have protected my hand. I never would have mucked if the dealer hadn't called Player A's hand. Was I wrong?
Jack: If you had exposed your hand and indeed had a better one, you would have had a legitimate claim to the pot, because the dealer misread the hand and the player miscalled his hand. But since you just mucked your hand, nobody knows what you really had, so you can't claim the pot. It is the player's responsibility to make sure that the other player has what he says he has before he throws his hand away.
Jordan: I was playing in a tournament at a bar, and I had pocket aces. There was one other person in the hand and the flop came A-10-4. He asked me if I had an ace, and I said, "It's better than that. I have pocket aces." He obviously didn't believe me, because he moved all in. I called, and he said that my hand was dead because I was not allowed to tell him what I had. I argued that I could say what I wanted, and he had made the choice to move all in. Who was right? Can you say what you have out loud, or is your hand then dead?
Jack: In one of my tournaments, both of you could have received a penalty for discussing your hands. Your opponent was trying to obtain information, which is not allowed to begin with. You foolishly gave him the correct information, and he foolishly did not believe you and moved all in.
My ruling would be that both hands would be live and the three aces would win the pot if they held up, because both players were wrong but they both accepted the action.
Aggressive Play Pays Off for Sumner
By Mike Sexton, the 'Ambassador of Poker' and Commentator for the World Poker Tour
Players from all over the world enjoy going to Tunica, Mississippi, for the
World Poker Open. That's primarily because of the appreciation and Southern hospitality shown to them by the Gold Strike Resort and Casino. With terrific fields and large payouts, invariably, the final table of the
WPO features a strong lineup, and entertaining, exciting, and excellent poker. And with two
WPT players of year at this table (Daniel Negreanu and J.C. Tran), this event was no exception.
This hand took place early on at the final table. With antes of $2,000 and blinds of $10,000-$20,000, Brian Sumner (with $786,000) raised it to $60,000 from the cutoff position with the 7
5
. The button and small blind folded, and Negreanu (with $1.46 million) called from the big blind with the Q
9
. In case you've been living in a cave and don't know it, Daniel likes to see a lot of flops - as he should - because you can't count on one hand the number of players in the world who play post-flop better than Daniel Negreanu.
The flop was K-6-4 with two spades. Negreanu checked and Sumner bet $90,000 with an open-end straight-flush draw. Daniel, a guy who likes to fight for every pot, raised it to $230,000! Knowing that he had a lot of outs to win the pot regardless of what Daniel held, Sumner reraised all in and won the pot.
I really like the way both of these guys played this hand. First, Sumner didn't limp in; he raised the pot coming in (thus camouflaging his hand). Negreanu, with plenty of chips and being a great post-flop player, made the call from the big blind. After the flop, Daniel check-raised, hoping that Sumner was making a continuation bet and that he didn't have a king in his hand. If, for example, Sumner had A-J or two nines, chances are good that Negreanu would have picked up the pot by check-raising on the flop. Unfortunately for Daniel, Sumner flopped a big duke, went all in, and took down the pot.
Hats off to both players for the way they played this hand. Both were bold and aggressive and did their best to win the pot. It was a great tournament and another well-played hand at the
World Poker Open.
Card Player Digital
In another exclusive "Lifestyle" video,
Card Player TV goes behind the scenes to check out the home of philanthropist and high-stakes poker professional Barry Greenstein.
The video gives viewers a rarely seen lighter side to the man known as "The Robin Hood of Poker." Known for his generosity, Greenstein kindly gave us a tour of his breathtaking pad in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Find the video at www.CardPlayer.com/TV by clicking on the Lifestyle channel.
Card Player Mobile
Are you on the run? You can catch up on all of the latest articles and interviews from
Card Player absolutely free. Just put http://CardPlayerMobile.com into your phone's browser and get instant access to pretty much anything you want to know about poker.
While you are there, make sure that you check out all of the ways that
Card Player offers to customize your cellphone. Everything from wallpaper to ringtones to an odds calculator is available, so visit now and don't miss out.
Poll
Do you play online poker at the office?
Yes: 29%
No: 71%
Know Your Sucker
By David Apostolico
There's nothing like a juicy game filled with live ones. However, just showing up to play won't get the job done. Not all live ones are created equal, so if you're going to maximize your profit, you'll need to be able to identify the different types of live ones and how to play against each type the most effectively. We tend to spend a lot of time analyzing the good players and not as much on the weak players. This is a mistake. Don't ignore the good players, but remember that most of your profit will come from the weak ones. Study the suckers, as you stand to win a lot more chips from them. Every poker player, whether expert or sucker, is unique. To get you started, we'll take a look at a few specific types.
First, let's look at Mr. Ego, who doesn't like to lose hands. Mr. Ego isn't concerned about winning money as much as winning hands. He wants to win pots regardless of size. He stays to the river with any part of the flop, any overcard, or any draw regardless of pot odds. Mr. Ego doesn't think in terms of making money overall. He's looking for the short-term gratification that comes from winning a hand. In short, Mr. Ego is a classic calling station. Play conventional poker against him. With a medium-strength hand or better, you should isolate him and bet all the way. However, even if you don't have cards, if you have an opportunity to isolate him preflop, do it. That's because you still have a very good chance to outplay him. Mr. Ego doesn't like to turn over a losing hand (it hurts his ego too much), so if he misses a draw, he'll bail on the river to any bet. Where is the opportunity to bluff Mr. Ego? You can bluff him on the flop if he misses completely, and you can bluff him on the river if his draw never materializes, regardless of what you are holding.
Next up is Mr. Solitaire. Mr. Solitaire plays poker in a vacuum. While he has a basic understanding of the relative strength of hands, he has a difficult time comprehending how the board may help his opponent. For instance, let's say Mr. Solitaire starts with pocket eights. The flop comes 10-10-2. Now, this may be a good flop for Mr. Solitaire if he is up against a hand like A-K. Of course, if an opponent has A-10, he is in trouble. Where Mr. Solitaire gets into trouble is that he doesn't try to determine whether or not his opponent has a 10. Instead, he thinks this flop helped him, in that he now has two pair instead of one, and how can he fold two pair?
Or, Mr. Solitaire starts with pocket queens and the flop comes A-K-3, which is about as bad a flop as imaginable for Mr. Solitaire. Yet, he will play those queens to the end, because they are just too pretty to fold. As you can imagine, Mr. Solitaire is extremely hard to bluff. He is probably the epitome of the old "you can't bluff a sucker" adage, and you probably shouldn't attempt to do so. Instead, play more hands against him and bet away when you have a decent hand.
Finally, let's look at Mr. Big Shot. Mr. Big Shot loves action and the empowering feeling he gets from splashing chips. He will win a lot of pots, including some big ones that will only fuel his foolish ways. Mr. Big Shot plays almost any two cards, and plays them hard. He's loose-aggressive, but without a purpose. He will experience wild fluctuations in his bankroll and, if he's getting cards, will go on some impressive rolls. In the end, though, he will lose a lot of money. The key is to be the player on the receiving end of his generosity.
It's all about timing when it comes to bluffing Mr. Big Shot. If you don't have a hand, stay out of his way. It rarely makes sense to try to bluff him preflop, as hope springs eternal no matter what cards he holds. It does make sense, however, to raise in hope of isolating him. Once isolated, you will have plenty of opportunities. If you hit any part of the flop, you may have the best hand. If you don't hit, you now have your bluffing opportunity. Unlike Mr. Solitaire, Mr. Big Shot is well aware of his opponents and his table image. He likes being the intimidator and doesn't want to lose that tag. Yet, he knows that if he takes too big of a beating, his self-perceived aura will be diminished. Thus, while he'll continue to bet and raise, if he is reraised - especially after losing a couple of hands - he's likely to fold. Try a check-raise bluff in this situation to both maximize your profit and sell the bluff. I think you'll be surprised at how often this tactic works.
David Apostolico is the author of numerous books on poker, including Lessons from the Felt, Tournament Poker and The Art of War, and the recently released Poker Strategies for a Winning Edge in Business. You can contact him at [email protected].
Two Different Flop Games; Two (Wildly) Different Strategies
By Tim Peters
Mastering Hold'em & Omaha Poker by Mike Cappelletti, with exclusive contributions from Mike Caro (Cardoza Publishing; $19.95)
In this new* book, longtime
Card Player columnist Mike Cappelletti provides his insights into hold'em and Omaha. It's rare, and welcome, to find a poker book since Brunson's
Super/System volumes that covers more than a single game, but readers will discover that
Mastering Hold'em & Omaha Poker is unusual in other ways. First, Cappelletti frequently strays
from "conventional wisdom" about both games (as does his contributor, Mike "The Mad Genius" Caro; his "Notes From Caro" sidebars are pithy and substantive). Second, the book focuses less on example hands and more on general concepts, which is better for readers who are good at extruding specific tactics from larger strategic ideas.
Cappelletti is particularly good at articulating the differences between the two games: "In hold'em, it is better to be feared than loved … In Omaha, however, it is better to be loved than feared."
But that's just a shorthand way of describing the underlying strategic differences of the respective games. You'll need to know a lot more to succeed at both, and the Cappelletti/Caro tag team will help.
Cappelletti covers the basics of limit hold'em, but he prefaces his discussion of strategy with a point that few books stress enough: "If you're trying to win money, seek out weak opponents!" If luck is truly evenly distributed (as it must be, at least in the long run!), your only hope of profiting in poker is to outplay other people. Clearly, it's easier to outplay weak opponents than strong ones (in fact, "outplay" m
