The Inside Straight

Billions to be Generated in U.S. Gambling Taxes
Price Waterhouse Coopers Completes Study for Payment Processor
By Bob Pajich

A Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) study revealed that the United States would have the potential to collect at least $8.7 billion and up to $17.6 billion in the next 10 years if it taxed and regulated online gambling, including poker. And those figures don't include potential sports wagers.

The study was commissioned by the UC Group, an online payment service provider that currently doesn't do business with U.S. customers. The UC Group specifically asked Price Waterhouse to determine how much tax would be generated if two separate bills addressing online gambling in the U.S. were passed: Barney Frank's H.R. 2046, "Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007" (which would regulate and license online gambling in the U.S.), and Jim McDermott's H.R. 2607, which would impose a 2 percent licensing fee on online gambling companies that want to operate here.

PWC used U.S. online gambling revenue estimates generated by Global Betting and Gambling Consultants, but it subtracted the amount that GBGC estimates would be generated by sports betting. Price Waterhouse did this because if Frank's bill was passed, all of the major U.S. sports leagues would most likely refuse to allow their games to be listed by online sportsbooks located here. Frank's bill allows for the leagues to choose whether they want to be listed or not.

PWC gave the UC Group two estimates, and considered only the states that allow land-based gambling. If all of the states that now allow land-based gambling decided to allow online gambling (under Frank's bill, states will get to decide if they want to be included), $17.6 billion in taxes would be generated.

The $8.7 billion figure does not take into account the 10 states that currently have laws on their books that specifically prohibit online gambling even though they allow some forms of gambling (Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington).

In each scenario, most of the tax dollars (56 percent) would be generated through individual income tax. The rest would come from a wagering tax (22 percent), licensing (18 percent), and corporate income tax (4 percent).

Barney Frank's H.R. 2046 was introduced last April. It was referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection on April 30, where it remains. Since being introduced, it picked up 45 co-sponsors.

McDermott's H.R. 2607 was introduced in June and has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. It has one co-sponsor.

World Poker Tour TV Schedule on GSN Released
New Episodes Start March 24
By Bob Pajich

GSN will start airing new episodes of the World Poker Tour on Monday, March 24. The new season, the first to be aired on a network other than the Travel Channel, will feature 23 two-hour episodes. The show will air every Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Check local listings to confirm the time.

The following is the complete broadcast schedule for season six of the WPT:

UltimateBet Poker Introduces New Loyalty Program
RAI$E Offers Different Levels and Auctions for Players
By Bob Pajich

UltimateBet recently launched its new player-loyalty program, called RAI$E, which includes a new auction site where players can bid on unique life experiences and memorabilia from the sports, poker, and entertainment worlds, using their UltimateBet points.

The RAI$E program has five levels: Member, Player, Contender, Legend, and Icon. All depositing players automatically enter the RAI$E program at Member status. Players earn RAI$E points by playing cash games and entering tournaments. The more points players earn each month, the higher they climb through the levels.

And the higher the level a player is at, the faster he is able to accumulate points. Player status is reached at 50 points, and players earn double the number of points. Contender status is reached at 500 points, and players earn three times the number of points. Legend status is reached at 2,500 points, and players earn four times the number of points, and Icon status is reached at 10,000 points, where players earn five times the number of points. The benefits of each level vary, but Icon-level players receive 9 percent interest on the money held in their accounts.

Players are able to exchange their points for cash, starting at the Contender level. Players must reach Player status before using their points to shop (Members can take part in the auctions).

Several auctions are running now, including a $250 certificate for lap dances at Scores, a golf outing with Phil Hellmuth, and NCAA Final Four tickets for two. There are also electronics, sports memorabilia, clothing, and tournament packages up for bid, and new items are added often.

The categories at the UltimateBet store include electronics, gaming, jewelry, and home and garden, among others. Visit UltimateBet for more information.

Inaugural India Poker Tour Announced
Four-Tournament Tour Set for This Autumn
By Brendan Murray

This autumn will see the launch of the first India Poker Tour (IPT), which will feature four tournaments taking place in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and Goa, and a total prize pool of $1 million.

The tour is expected to attract India's top players, as well as some of the world's biggest names, in the wake of the successful $1 million Asian Poker Classic last year.

Imran Hassan, the tour's director of operations, said, "Our goal is to add poker to the pastimes of the card and sport-crazed fans of India, [which] traditionally has had a long history of being a card-loving nation. So, we hope the launch of the IPT will now help to satisfy India's craving for skill-based card games."

Qualification for the events will be through both live and online satellites, with the latter starting in June 2008.

Mickey Pickett Wins World Series of Poker Circuit Rincon
His First Major Poker Victory Nets $229,002
By Bob Pajich

Mickey Pickett, a 23-year-old player from Little Canada, Minnesota, won the $5,000 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Harrah's Rincon recently. For outlasting the 147 other players, he won $229,002. It was his first major victory, although he came close last summer when he finished ninth in the $5,000 WSOP heads-up event.

With 121,000 in chips, Pickett started the final table in seventh place (the leader had 854,000 in chips to start the day), and he had to face both Gavin Smith and Lee Watkinson at the final table.

Pickett has been playing poker in Minnesota cardrooms since he turned 18.

"From the start, I took this very seriously. I am really fortunate because I have a lot of close friends who help me to stay in line and be accountable," Pickett said. "We talk a lot about poker hands and situations. The support network really helps me, because instead of going on tilt, I think about what I have done and try to improve. If you take a beat, you have to forget about it and move on. I have learned that is the toughest thing for many players to do."

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SpadeClub Spotlight

Duane Dempsey, a 51-year-old from Massachusetts, is SpadeClub's first $5,000 weekly tournament winner. Duane has been playing poker for most of his life and enjoys the level of competition he experiences on SpadeClub. Card Player met with him recently to talk about his historic win.

Card Player: How long have you played poker and what got you interested in SpadeClub?

Duane Dempsey: I've played poker for about 31 years, in various forms. I was at Foxwoods and picked up one of your magazines while I was waiting for a table to open up, and happened to see the ad … so, I thought I would give it a spin and see what it's like. I was a little apprehensive at first, because anytime you deal with freerolls, there is not much competition at the beginning. Yet, I was surprised at the level of play. I tried a couple more games and then joined up!

CP: What advice can you give to other SpadeClub members who are looking to go deep in these tournaments?

DD: I just like to play tight in the beginning, open it up when the blinds start to get larger, then go from there. I think that's the best way to play.

CP: Have you participated in any of the community features of SpadeClub? If so, what do you think?

DD: I just discovered the profile, and since then I have had e-mail from people who want to be friends. I'm still discovering things like this, yet I do check out the pointers.

CP: What's the most amount of money you've ever won in a poker tournament?

DD: I've won $8,300 in a private tournament in Massachusetts. I've played in a few World Poker Tour main events. I didn't do very well, yet the experience was fun.

CP: Do you have any plans for this money?

DD: I'm headed to Las Vegas, so I think I can find something to do with it! I'm going to try to qualify for the Wynn Classic.

CP: Do you have any general advice to share with our readers about succeeding at SpadeClub?

DD: It's like golf. It takes you a couple of minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master. My advice is to just keep reading the books, keep practicing, and keep playing.

CP: Do you have any other goals on SpadeClub?

DD: I'm trying for the $40,000! I'm also trying to qualify for more $5,000 tournaments. Got to get those points back up!

Win a New Car in Planet Hollywood Poker Promotion
2008 Saturn SKY Up for Grabs
By Kristy Arnett

As players enter the Planet Hollywood poker room, they are greeted by a shiny, silver, 2008 Saturn SKY convertible roadster. The recently renovated poker room is giving cash-game players a chance to win a new car.

In addition to bonuses that range from $50 to $599, cash-game players receive drawing tickets for high hands of quads or better. Any player who uses both holecards to make a qualifying hand in a limit or no-limit hold'em cash game receives 10 tickets. All players who are sitting at that table receive five tickets, and players sitting at all other cash-game tables get one ticket. The drawing tickets are then put into a drum.

Every Saturday at 6 p.m., one name is drawn for a $2,500 prize. Players do not have to be present to win, but if they are, the prize doubles to $5,000. All drawing tickets will remain in the drum until the drawing on Saturday, May 3. The person whose name is drawn on that day will receive a new car.

For more information on this promotion, call Planet Hollywood at (702) 785-5555 and ask for the poker room.

Women in Poker Hall of Fame Debuts at Binion's
Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson, and Marsha Waggoner Inducted
By Kristy Arnett

Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, Linda Johnson, and Marsha Waggoner were inducted into the new Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHOF) at Binion's Casino in Downtown Las Vegas on Feb. 2, 2008.

"Everyone in the poker industry throughout the world owes a debt of gratitude to these women for the efforts that they've always made to raise the bar for the poker industry," said World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton, who served as master of ceremonies during the official induction and luncheon. More than 200 members of the WiPHOF were in attendance, including keynote speaker Jan Fisher, as well as Tom McEvoy, Russ Hamilton, J.J. Liu, Matt Savage, Kathy Liebert, and Freddy Deeb.

The WiPHOF board of directors, which includes Ocean's Eleven Casino Director of Marketing Suzanne Carter, poker professionals Karina Jett and Maureen Feduniak, Card Player's own Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, and Lupe Soto, Ladies International Poker Series (LIPS) founder, developed the criteria for inductees.

All four inductees have been active as players or industry leaders at some time during a period beginning at least 15 years prior to induction, have contributed to the world of poker in some significant way, either by wins and cashes in major tournaments or other significant efforts within the poker industry, and are proponents of women's poker and support the existence of ladies-only events.

The ceremony was followed by an open $500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament, and it was fitting that Enright won the event. "This is just a testament to the professional poker player Barbara truly is, and why she was selected for the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in the first place," said Soto.

Player of the Year

Men Nguyen, the 'Small Ball' Expert
Men "The Master" Nguyen, four-time Card Player Player of the Year (POY), is again paving a route to the top of the mountain by blasting through smaller buy-in events at the L.A. Poker Classic.

By winning a $300, a $1,500, and a $2,500 event at the LAPC since Feb. 3, he has pocketed $139,869. He also won an additional $7,208 for cashing in two other events. So far in 2008, he's made six final tables, won four events (the three at the LAPC and a $500 event at the World Poker Open, which was good for $51,330), and cashed a total of nine times for $506,128.

With 2,432 POY points, he sits just behind POY leader Michael McDonald, who has 2,920 points (2,400 of those came from winning the European Poker Tour German Open).

In fact, pros are busting up the LAPC's preliminary events. Max Pescatori won a $1,000 buy-in limit hold'em event, which was good for $42,320 and 360 points. Paul Darden won a $1,000 Omaha eight-or-better tourney for $41,580, and Vivek Rajkumar won $113,425 by beating a field of 167 in a $2,500 no-limit hold'em event.

Even though Nguyen is in second place by dominating the LAPC (he also earned 1,040 points and $241,093 for finishing third in the $10,000 WPT World Poker Open main event), most of the players in the logjam that is the top 10 got there by making it to a final table of a major event. David Pham and POY leader McDonald are the only others to have made more than one final table, and with six, Nguyen has double the number of each of those players.

Nguyen has won more than $8.2 million playing tournament poker, mostly by playing events that many of the biggest players would consider "small ball." He has shown that the path to poker success is playing in hundreds of events and chipping away at the prize pools. Do it enough in one calendar year, and the Card Player Player of the Year award is very likely. Nguyen just may be on his way to a fifth POY title; only time will tell.

POY Criteria Change
Inasmuch as the poker landscape has changed, Card Player has revised its scoring criteria for the Player of the Year race. The most recent changes were made to include more tournaments.

Now, all preliminary events for the European Poker Tour, the Aussie Millions, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, and the World Series of Poker Circuit will count in the race, as long as the buy-in is $300 or more and 60 or more players enter the event.
Readers can view all of the upcoming tournaments that count in the Player of the Year race on the tournament listings page at CardPlayer.com. Just look for the black box with POY inside it. Place high in a few of these tournaments and your name could be listed in the Card Player POY standings.

Upcoming on the Tournament Trail
World Poker Tour World Poker Challenge main event, March 25-28, Grand Sierra Resort
European Poker Tour Polish Open, March 11-15, Hyatt Regency Warsaw
Irish Poker Open, March 19-24, Citywest Hotel, Dublin
Spring Break Poker Classic, March 19-30, Beau Rivage

Calculating Fold Equity
Will He or Won't He Fold?
By Dani 'Ansky' Stern

I provide exclusive coaching videos for Card Player Pro, powered by PokerSavvy Plus. My columns will center on hands taken from my videos and will explore key concepts for success in six-max, shorthanded, and heads-up play. As a Card Player reader, you'll have access to clips of these hands and many others. In addition to the columns, you can watch videos on CardPlayer.com for a richer learning experience.

In this column, I will focus on a preflop decision. Generally, preflop decisions will be less complicated and delicate than flop, turn, and river decisions. If poker analysis were a jigsaw puzzle, preflop decisions would be like finding the corner pieces, and river decisions would be like placing 40 pieces of the sky correctly. There are certain preflop decisions, however, in which the corners are not so sharp.



I recently played a heads-up $25-$50 no-limit hold'em session against a player on PokerStars named "Poopers." He is an incredibly talented and ultra-aggressive opponent who thinks about poker at an extremely high level. We were playing on two tables, about 30 minutes into the match, when I five-bet shoved K-Q on him. A five-bet means he raised (a two-bet), I reraised, he reraised, and I went all in. Generally, this is not the type of action that would be profitable with K-Q, but given the right circumstance, there can be justification for going all in with almost any hand.

Poopers raised to $150 from the button, as he does a very high percentage of the time. I reraised to $550 with K-Q. This is a good hand to reraise in a very aggressive heads-up match, even though conventional wisdom would suggest playing K-Q passively to avoid building a big pot versus dominating hands (A-Q, A-K). In a very loose and aggressive match, however, K-Q offsuit is quite often the dominating hand, with people playing almost any hand with a king, and most hands with a queen.

Poopers knows that I am capable of reraising with almost any reasonable hand, so he is going to combat that strategy with loose and aggressive play of his own - sometimes four-betting me, sometimes taking a flop in position. In this hand, he reraised to $1,300, leaving behind about $3,700 in his stack (I had him covered). At a glance, this is a standard fold. Given the right numbers, however, it can easily be a shove.

Poker is a game that can be played with both instinct and math. I consider myself much more of an instinctual player; I never did make it to calculus in math class. However, there is no replacement for having a strong understanding of the math involved in poker, even if it isn't used often. Let us say in this hand that he can have a calling range of the following: A-K, and J-J or better. With these five hands, he will always call my shove, and very often four-bet them. Sometimes he can have 10-10 and A-Q, too, so we will count those, but weigh them only halfway. Using a program called PokerStove, we can calculate the equity of K-Q offsuit versus his range. Against the tighter range, we are 25 percent. Against the looser, we are 27 percent, averaging out to 26 percent equity when called. This means, on average, that we will lose $1,950 when we are called (I put in $4,450 more on the five-bet, but my overall equity in the $10,000 pot would be 25 percent; thus, subtract the overall $2,500 lost from the last raise size, $4,450 - $2,500 = $1,950). Well, that is quite the price to pay when we are wrong.

How, then, can we turn a profit when making this play? Folding equity. Folding equity is the magical element of a semibluff that makes it profitable - the money you win when opponents fold. There is a very good chance that Poopers was merely pulling a move with a garbage hand and will fold, and this is where our profit comes from. If we go all in and he folds, we earn the $1,850 that is in the pot, and that is with no percentage attached; the money is in our pocket. In order for this to be a break-even play, we need Poopers to fold a little more than half the time, which means that if he folds any reasonable amount more than 50 percent, we are making a profit right away.

To watch Dani Stern comment on and play this hand, point your browser to Card Player Pro, the complete online poker training site, at www.CardPlayer.com/link/ansky2.

'The Omaholic' Does Everything Right, But …
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: $200 PokerStars pot-limit Omaha tournament
Players: 35
First Place: $2,800
Stacks: The Omaholic - 39,150; Villain1 - 12,665; Villain2 - 10,650
Blinds: 200-400

Villain1 calls 400, Villain2 calls from the small blind, and The Omaholic checks his option from the big blind, holding the A 10 10 8.

Craig Tapscott: Set this up for us.

Mark "The Omaholic" Roland: This is a limped pot preflop, so there's no way to put anybody on any specific preflop holdings. There are seven players left and it pays only five spots, and this hand is near the bubble.

Flop: J 10 7 (1,200 pot)

CT: Obviously, a great but dangerous flop for your hand.

MR: I've flopped middle set, and also have the naked A on a three-spade flop. When Villain2 checks, I want to immediately take control of the hand and bet two-thirds of the pot to try to establish where I am in the hand. While some people might consider checking to be the "safest" play in this spot (because you could end up betting yourself out of the pot with middle set if somebody responds to your bet with a pot-sized raise), it will usually not be an issue, because you also have the A in hand, which will usually ensure that your opponents will play defensively.

Villain2 checks. The Omaholic bets 800. Villain1 calls. Villain2 folds.

CT: What are you putting Villain1 on at this point?

MR: I put him on a small flush here, although 9-8 for the flopped straight is certainly possible.

Turn: 2 (2,800 pot)

CT: A blank. You easily could be behind after his flat-call on the flop. What are your best options?

MR: On my list of priorities here, making the best hand is a distant second. I'm more concerned with finding the best way to win the pot uncontested. I quickly decided that the best option in this spot would be to check with the intent of check-raising if my opponent bet. A large majority of the time in this spot, your opponent will not bet, because he won't really know where he's at, and he'll be happy to take the free card in position to keep the pot small. A free card here is OK. It's an obvious cheap opportunity to improve to a full house on the river. Of course, if our opponent does decide to bet, we are check-raising the size of the pot, representing the nut flush. This play will look extremely strong, and will make it extremely tough for our opponent to make a crying call.

CT: Why is checking the best choice?

MR: The reason the check on the turn is better than a pot-sized lead-out bet is that your opponent may just get stubborn with the flush. He might move in over the top of your turn bet, realizing that it's going to cost him his whole stack to continue through the river anyway. The check allows you to put yourself in a situation in which you'll be able to create fold equity, which is the most important part of this naked A bluff having a chance to work.

The Omaholic checks, Villain1 bets 1,600, The Omaholic raises to 7,600, Villain1 reraises 3,865 and is all in, and The Omaholic calls.

River: 3 (25,730 pot)

Villain1 shows the K 6 5 4 and wins the pot with a king-high flush.

MR: The rest of the hand is self-explanatory. Obviously, being pot-committed, I had to call.

Mark Roland is one of the most underrated tournament professionals online. He recently won the PokerStars $1,000 Super Tuesday no-limit hold'em event for $78,000 and a Full Tilt Poker $150 no-limit hold'em event for $22,000.

Vivek 'Psyduck' Rajkumar Takes One Down Live
By Shawn Patrick Green

Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar, like so many of today's top young pros, got his start by playing with friends. Playing in those $1 buy-in cash games and watching Gus Hansen take down tournament after tournament on TV got him hooked. He then jumped into online poker. He turned his initial deposit of $50 on PartyPoker (using his father's credit card; his dad said it was "on him") into hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings. It looks like his dad's investment was sound.

The 21-year-old Seattle, Washington, resident has since taken his game live and has done very well for himself. He tore it up in the 2007 World Series of Poker, cashing five times, including one final table. Most recently, however, he took down a $2,500 no-limit hold'em event at this year's L.A. Poker Classic, netting himself $113,000, his biggest cash to date.

Before taking up poker, Rajkumar graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in computer science. In fact, he was working as a software developer for Microsoft - a job that would sound cushy and stable to most - before deciding to take the plunge into the poker world. Rajkumar now lives in Las Vegas and is doing everything that he can to become the world's best poker player. Card Player caught up with him after his LAPC win to talk about how he won that tournament, as well as how to avoid mistakes, and how to recover when you do make them.

Shawn Patrick Green: What did it take to take down that tournament?

Vivek "Psyduck" Rajkumar: It was well-timed aggression, I think. I think I played all of my hands very standardly; I didn't pick any spots except for one squeeze play that I made with Q-7 suited when I beat Brandon Cantu's jacks. Besides that, I think that I played the hands in a standard fashion. There weren't any sick spots where I used very good reads to make bets or anything. I think I played very technically solid poker, and I think I had well-timed aggression.

And I didn't make any mistakes, that's for sure. In other tournaments, I think I've made big mistakes that I shouldn't have made. In this tournament, I think I made no mistakes whatsoever. So, I just think I played well and it was my day.

SPG: But when you do make a mistake, how do you identify it and how do you set yourself back on the right track?

VR: Well, an example of a mistake might be an ill-timed bluff or an ill-timed squeeze play. So, for example, if I make a multi-street bluff, I have to think about what range I'm representing, what my perceived range is, what his range should be in that spot, and what portion of his range can call that bet. If I make a 100,000 bet into a 100,000 pot on the river, it has to work only one in two times to show a profit. So, if he just happens to have that portion of his range that could call me, it's fine. But if I think that the bet size is such that I'm always getting called by a huge portion of his range for the hand, as played, I should not be making that bet.

There are mistakes that are obvious, like paying off A-K preflop to a very tight guy. And then there are mistakes like bluffs that get called or call-downs that you make that are wrong. I don't think I made any mistakes of that variety in this tournament.

SPG: But how do you bounce back from the mistake?

VR: Honestly, in the past, I'd be extremely hard on myself when I made a mistake. I'd be like, "This was awful. What are you doing? You just gave off a third of your chips in that stupid play." Sometimes you just have to say, "OK, so I made this play; think about this hand afterward. But from this point on, just continue with the new situation. Think about my new stack, his new stack, the new table situation, and my new table image." If I made a bluff and got called, and had to show the bluff, my image has changed. So, just continue on from this new situational standpoint and think about the hand afterward. Send off the hand history to somebody else and talk about it afterward to see how big a mistake it was or wasn't. But for now, just put it out of your mind. I couldn't get past that viewpoint before, but now I've gotten to the point that I can just put mistakes aside and worry about the tournament from this point onward.

SPG: For the big-field tournaments, then, what kind of strategy do you use to start out?

VR: When it's ninehanded, there's not much that you can do. You just play a normal, full-ring, standard game, but when the antes kick in and you have a medium stack, that's when you can start putting the pressure on. When you start off, you have no reads on the table, since usually you won't recognize anyone, so you just play standard poker until you can identify the weak spots. People may be limping too much, people might be weak and you can take pots from them, or people raise from the button, cutoff, or hijack position no matter what their hand is. So, you spend the earlier rounds, when the blinds are small, to accumulate these reads, and you take advantage of them later on when the blinds and antes are bigger and actually matter.

Chatbox Cunning
Jeff "yellowsub86" Williams

On playing small pocket pairs preflop:
"People late in tournaments play small pocket pairs really ineffectively in different spots, and sometimes I'm guilty of this, too. They're either playing them too fast or calling and trying to flop a set or something without proper odds. People think that every time they flop a set with a small pocket pair, they're going to immediately take their opponent's stack, and they factor that into their calculations when doing pot odds and such. What they don't realize is that their opponent has two cards that they might not want to get all in with on any flop, so you're not always going to stack somebody when you flop a set. You need to factor into your calculations the times that you flop a set and don't take their stack, along with the times that you don't flop a set and have to just fold the flop."

On the most undervalued type of hand in poker:
"I think that while we were talking about small pocket pairs being so deadly late in tournaments, early on, they are a really good way [to accumulate chips]. In cash games, obviously, people know to call with their pocket pairs, trying to flop a set and bust a big hand, but I think that even in tournaments, calling a raise with a low pocket pair to catch an early double-up is a great way to prepare yourself for a deep finish."

On the most overvalued type of hand in poker:
"I have to say that probably the most misplayed hand is going to be an A-J kind of hand. You see people with an M [the number of rounds you can last by making only the compulsory bets of big blind, small blind, and antes] of six, under the gun at a ninehanded table, just shoving it in because they're really desperate for chips, when they're going to get called only by hands that they're flipping against or that have them crushed. People also make a raise there and call all in with A-J and stuff. Off the top of my head, I think that's a hand that is misplayed pretty commonly."

And They're Off!
The 2008 Card Player Online Player of the Year race is now in full swing, and there are certainly some notable players who have already made it into the top 10 spots in the standings. One of those 10 is last year's winner, Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron, who is in second place in the standings.

Greg Hobson: Chilled
By Craig Tapscott

Greg "DuckU" Hobson loves a challenge. When the fields are tough, the buy-ins large, and the pressure is on, his blood dips well below freezing. One by one, he ices every opponent who dares to bring any heat with methodical aggression. Tread carefully. It's a slippery slope when most opponents choose to play back at Hobson.

"Many players think I'm overaggressive … and a little bit crazy," said Hobson. "I definitely play off that image and use it to my advantage. I'll push back at people when I have big hands and get paid off. Knowing how to use your image is a must to win."

Hobson parlayed that maniacal persona into unprecedented back-to-back Sunday major wins on Full Tilt Poker last April. First, he won the $750,000 guarantee, and a week later he took down the $400,000-guaranteed event, for a total of $238,000. Then in July he took down a $1,000 Monday event for $82,000, freezing out online star Sorel "Imper1um" Mizzi in a final-table heads-up duel.

At 28, the ex-teacher, ex-football coach is enjoying the sweet life of a professional poker player. When he's not in the mood for the long hours of tournament play, he pulls up a seat in a high-stakes cash game, just chillin' with a smile on his face and a cold one within reach.

Craig Tapscott: You dabble in some pretty big cash games. How's that working out for you?

Greg Hobson: It's hard to get excited about some of the small multitable tournament events sometimes. I might play cash games some mornings, $25-$50 or $10-$20 no-limit. I do pretty well (laughing).

CT: When did you notice your tournament game jumping to another level?

GH: I started winning when I began to gamble a little bit more. I learned not to be afraid to lose my buy-in, especially early on when I know I'm in a coin flip. You have to put yourself in a situation to accumulate chips early on, so that you can withstand some of the beats that you're bound to run into.

CT: You've very aggressive in the blinds. Have you always played that way?

GH: No. I don't think I used to be aggressive enough, especially in the small blind. My blinds play has evolved into being more aggressive lately. I think most of the time that people are going to have to fold when raised. If they have shown weakness, you have to keep pounding them. If they call, you can still win the hand by outplaying them on the flop. I'll usually decide what to do depending on the flop texture, but I'll fire 50 percent of the time no matter what my two cards are. I think that just being aggressive alone, you're taking down so many more pots than you're giving up.

CT: What about from the big blind?

GH: A lot of times, unless I have a halfway decent hand, I'm going to fold; that is, unless I know my opponent well and he's been raising me a lot. Then, I'm ready to play back at him with air.

CT: What do you do to slow down overaggressive late-position opponents?

GH: In different spots, if you have a big stack, you can really put the pressure on people. Three-betting from the blinds is such a huge advantage. Because raising from the cutoff and the button used to be pretty standard, now many players are three-betting with air online, just nonstop. That's a lot of pressure.

CT: Well, the raiser has to fold most hands there, unless he has a full-fledged monster.

GH: Exactly. They're going to lay down anything but A-Q up and 8-8 up. There aren't that many hands they can play against you. A lot of this is obviously dictated by chip stacks. You can really bully opponents with a huge stack. Many of the weaker players are passive and afraid to mix it up; they're not playing to win. By knowing your opponent, you get a feel for what you can get away with.

CT: What's the cardinal sin most players struggle with?

GH: Overextending their bankroll in tournaments. Many go broke. And unless you enjoy borrowing money from people, it's not a good thing. Play within your bankroll. I think it comes back to people not playing to win, and worrying about cashing. They don't think they can start really playing their game till the burden of cashing is off their backs - as opposed to playing to win and accumulating chips so that they can go deep.

Poker is Sometimes a Crapshoot
By Mike Sexton, the "Ambassador of Poker" and Commentator for the World Poker Tour

The L.A. Poker Classic is always one of the premier events on the World Poker Tour. It draws a huge field, which translates to a large prize pool. We usually create not one, but two WPT-made millionaires at the L.A. Poker Classic.

In this hand, after a long final table up to this point, three players were left. The blinds (200,000-400,000) and ante (50,000) had reached the highest level that we've ever had for a regular-season WPT event. It cost the players 750,000 every three hands. That means that if you've got 2 million in chips, you'll be out in fewer than 10 hands if you don't mix it up.

Jacob Fernandez, the short stack with almost 2.5 million in chips, opted to move all in from the button with J-2 offsuit. He was simply hoping to pick up the blinds and antes. J.C. Tran folded K-7 in the small blind, but lady luck was not shining on Fernandez, as Eric Hershler (with nearly 6 million in chips) looked down and found two aces in the big blind. He obviously called, the aces stood up, and Fernandez was sent to the rail in third place.

Hershler and Tran then battled heads up for the title. Hershler's luck continued. On the first hand of heads-up play, he limped in from the button with the J 6 and then called Tran's preflop raise of 1 million. (Tran had A-7.) The flop came A-J-6, the money went in, Hershler's two pair stood up, and he captured the title. Congratulations to Eric Hershler (who, incredibly, was playing in his first-ever WPT event) for winning and to J.C. Tran for going on to become the WPT Player of the Year.

In many tournaments, when final tables last a long time, the ante and blinds will be very high in proportion to the chip stacks. When this happens, recognize that the skill factor and patience are not necessarily on your side. (If you sit back to wait for a hand, you could be blinded off pretty quickly.) Players tend to call this "crapshoot time," meaning it's time to roll the dice: get your chips in and hope for the best.

Taking the Best Shot
By David Apostolico

One of the basic examples used in classic game theory is that of a duel. The rules of a duel are as simple as the consequences are dramatic. The two combatants each have a gun and only one bullet. They walk off 10 paces, turn around, and can shoot their one bullet at any time. You can shoot right away, hoping to inflict bodily harm on your opponent before he shoots you. Or, you can wait, hoping that your opponent fires and misses, thereby giving you the opportunity to move closer and fire your one shot at point-blank range. Every dueler must decide for himself whether to take the first shot or wait for a better shot, weighing such factors as the distance, accuracy of both shooters, and what his opponent is likely to do.

As with most game-theory examples, there are a lot of similarities to poker - particularly no-limit hold'em tournaments. While our tournament lives can't compare to our actual ones, in the heat of battle, our goal is to survive and thrive. No matter what level you play, I'm sure you've witnessed your share of fast starters. These are players who play fast and loose and manage to grab a quick chip lead, due either to some real lucky cards or the reluctance of the rest of the table to engage them in battle. These fast starters are taking the first shot, while others are waiting for the best, or at least a better, shot.

Inevitably, the fast starters will come down as quickly as they went up, and will surrender those ill-gotten chips to an opponent biding his time. There are numerous differences between a duel and a poker tournament. First, depending on the structure, players are afforded multiple bullets. Next, as the tournament progresses, the stakes are raised, rewarding those who wait for a better shot with bigger pots. Finally, in a duel, one must size up his opponent immediately and make a decision as to how that opponent will act. In a poker tournament, a player can take his time not only observing his opponents, but shaping how they act.

Think about that last point. Imagine the advantage that you would have in a duel if you could manipulate your opponent's actions. That's exactly what you can do in poker by using position, table image, your insights, bets, raises, and bluffs. Of course, these things take time to implement. Fortunately, you don't have to take the first shot. Unlike a duel, taking the first shot or taking a better shot are not equally competing maxims. The advantages of waiting for a better shot greatly outweigh the advantages of taking that first shot.

Poker is a game of imperfect information. The more information you can gather, the better equipped you will be to take action. An informed shot is always better than a misinformed shot. Even though you have multiple bullets in a poker tournament, you still want to use them wisely and not squander them. This doesn't mean that opportunities can't come in the early stages of a tournament. Stay engaged from the beginning and be prepared to fire at any time, so that you can maximize the effectiveness of those precious bullets. The next time you're ready to shoot, think about the duel and ask yourself if this is a good time to be taking a shot.

David Apostolico is the author of numerous poker strategy books, including Tournament Poker and The Art of War, and Poker Strategies for a Winning Edge in Business. He is available for coaching and you can contact him at [email protected].

Good Advice for 'Big Plays'
By Tim Peters

Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy by Jeff Hwang (Lyle Stuart/Kensington; $14.95)

The last book I reviewed on Omaha - Farha on Omaha by Sam Farha (duh!) - offered the perspective of a true gambler on this volatile, challenging game. This new one, by Jeff Hwang, takes an entirely different tack. He approaches pot-limit Omaha (PLO) as an investor (not surprisingly, as he's a writer for the popular investing website "The Motley Fool," where he focuses on gaming stocks) - looking for ways to uncover the most value in PLO situations.

As entertaining as Farha is to read, his playing style is not replicated by mere mortals, and therein lies the real beauty - I might even go so far as to say the genius - of this powerful new book on PLO. As Hwang writes in his conclusion: "I am not blessed with rare poker talent. I have yet to make many unbelievable calls, or unthinkable bluffs. And yet, over several hundred thousand hands of Omaha both live and online, I've beaten the crap out of the games described in this book." He then adds: "… that's really the point: The things I do are things that can be taught."

That's a crucial element of the literature of poker, at least when we're looking for value in strategy books. You can read about Brunson's recommendation to go with your gut instincts - but most of us must remember that his instincts are much, much better than our own. (We cannot replicate his "feel" for the game no matter how hard we try.) But the strategies Hwang explicates, in this clear and confident book, are easy to learn (though to be useful, they must be executed - which is not always so simple).

At the core of his book is the "big play strategy," in which you are striving to win an opponent's entire stack. "There are a variety of common big pot situations where not only does one player usually have the other one smashed, but in some cases will be on a total freeroll."

Here's an example from the book: Player one holds the A K 8 7 for the nut straight on a flop of 9 6 5; player two holds the 10 9 8 7 for the nut straight - plus a spade flush draw, backdoor club draw, and straight redraws. Player two has the same hand on the flop as player one - the nuts at that time - but has multiple redraws. Hwang notes that he "will scoop the entire pot roughly 56 percent of the time at no risk."

This makes perfect sense, of course, but it counters the conventional wisdom about PLO: that the edges are small, that it's a gambler's game. Hwang asserts that "it is pure fallacy that you have to be in a gambling situation when the money goes in."
What follows is an exhaustive analysis of the kinds of hands that lend themselves to the big play strategy. It's a good mix of general concepts (like "the drawing hand has all of the power") and very hand-specific, tactical moves, including a long and detailed section on straight draws, playing other hands on the flop, and bluffing. Though the book is geared toward PLO, Hwang also discusses Omaha eight-or-better in both its limit and pot-limit versions.

Like many good books these days, Hwang offers quizzes so that you can test your knowledge (complete with his analysis and scores for your own answers). And he covers bankroll management, how to deal with straddles, and the effect of stack sizes.

In one of the more interesting sections of the book, Hwang borrows insights from some of the world's great investors - Peter Lynch, Warren Buffett, and Benjamin Graham, to cite a few - and articulates how their ideas apply to poker in general. For a player like Hwang, poker is less about "gambling" in the classic sense than it is about uncovering and exploiting value. This is Hwang's first book, but it will become a classic strategy text for PLO.

What's next on your book-reading list? Let me know - especially if I haven't reviewed it - at [email protected].