The Inside Straight

Blogging With the Best: Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen Join Card Player Blogger Roster
Daily Blogs Available at CardPlayer.com
By Bob Pajich

Gus Hansen and Doyle Brunson have spent countless hours beating each other up in the "big game," but leave it to Card Player to get them on the same team. Hansen and Brunson are two of the most recent poker pros to join the Card Player roster of regular poker bloggers.

They join Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Roy Winston, Shannon Shorr, and the Card Player Pro team of pros - Dani "Ansky" Stern, Chris "tribefan9" Rhodes, Justin "WPTHero" Rollo, Evan "_Fisherman" Roberts, and Issac Haxton.

Sometimes educational and always telling, the blogs touch on everything from the lifestyle that comes with being a professional poker player to what it feels like to make it deep into the final days of a major tournament, or to get knocked out of one.

The blogs can be found under the blog tab CardPlayer.com.

Doyle Brunson, of course, is perhaps the world's most recognized player, and he brings decades of poker experience to CardPlayer.com. The 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner provides insight into his life and the tournament poker circuit, and his opinions. Brunson already has many blogs available for viewing, and of course has plenty of stories from his days in the poker world. His entries are long and compelling, as he has the natural gift of a storyteller.

Each entry also includes a "Doylism." A taste of them include: "People think a rabbit's foot is lucky. It wasn't lucky for the rabbit." "The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth." "Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it's called the present."

Hansen is extremely successful in both cash-game and tournament poker. He has won four World Poker Tour events (including an invitational), and has cashed for almost $4 million on the tournament trail. His latest victory came in the 2007 Aussie Millions, where he won $1.2 million. His blog entries take readers deep into the mind of a poker champion, using situations that actually happened to him. He can often be found pacing the poker tournament floor whispering notes into a tape recorder. Hansen's also keeping track of certain hands and how they played out, and many of these hands are going to end up in his blog as teaching examples.

Both Hansen and Brunson are champions, as are all of the bloggers who share their thoughts on CardPlayer.com. There's no other team like it on the Internet, and Card Player is thrilled to be able to offer such great insights, straight from the players themselves. The blogs are updated daily, so be sure to check the site often, and good luck!

Reduced Schedule for World Poker Tour Season Seven
Number of Tournaments Cut From 20 to 14 as Competiton Heats Up
By Bob Pajich

World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE) has released the tournament event and production schedule for its seventh season, and it contains about one-third fewer tourneys than in its previous season.

In season six, WPTE filmed 20 tournaments for broadcast, including several specials and all of its open events. Season seven's schedule features 14 events that, except for Niagara Falls in Canada, won't see players leave the United States to play.

The tournaments that were cut were the Mirage Poker Showdown, the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, the Ladies Night invitational, the Turks and Caicos Poker Classic, the WPT Spanish Championship, and the World Poker Challenge.

The WPT, once the only player in tournament poker television production, now shares the calendar with PokerStars, which sponsors the European Poker Tour, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, and the soon-to-be-launched Latin American Poker Tour. That, along with the proliferation of major tournaments around the globe, forced WPTE to cut back its schedule in order to remain competitive and to keep its major tournaments filled with as many players as possible, which helps to ensure that they are truly big-time events, said Steve Lipscomb, founder, president, and CEO of WPTE.

"Well, I can say that mostly what went into that decision has lots to do with the market. Players let us know [where they prefer to play] verbally, and they also vote with their tournament dollars," Lipscomb said. "I think we're trying to be mindful of places that people really want to go, where they want to play, and the properties that really have the resources and the dedication to be able to grow substantial events over time."

The WPT season seven schedule is as follows:

Antonio Esfandiari Hired by World Poker Tour
Now the Face of the World Poker Tour Poker-Made Millionaire
By Bob Pajich

Antonio Esfandiari has been hired by World Poker Tour Enterprises to be the face of the World Poker Tour Poker-Made Millionaire, which represents the 84 players who have won a million dollars or more by playing in WPT events.

According to WPTE, Esfandiari will leverage his experience to provide poker tips, tools, and tricks for fans and players, while delivering updates and information from tournament stops via WPT live updates, web videos, and online blogs. He also will represent the WPT in tournaments and events around the world, including the upcoming WPT tournament at Casino Barcelona in May, which is the first of many regional events that the WPT will implement in various markets worldwide.

Esfandiari, who many times has said he can't believe what poker has given to him (not only millions of dollars, but also a TV show with Phil Laak, cameos in at least two movies, a gorgeous Las Vegas condo, and countless phone numbers from all kinds of beautiful women from all around the world), is perfect for this new role because of his attitude.

"If I can do it," he said, "anyone can."

Duplicate Poker Announces World Championship
Fall Championship Will Award $120,000 in Prizes
By Bob Pajich

DuplicatePoker.com is getting ready for its first Duplicate Poker World Championship, which will be held this fall.

In duplicate poker, every table is dealt the same set of holecards and boardcards, and the object is to maximize profits and minimize losses better than your same-seat opponents at the other tables. So, strictly speaking, players aren't so much playing the players at their own table as they are playing their same-seat opponents in a game of "who can win more with the same cards." This variation of poker, the site claims, removes much of the "luck factor" involved in the game.

Qualifying rounds will run from now until Sept. 14, when the first round of regional online tournaments will take place. A total of 180 entrants will qualify and will be divided into regional rounds.

The players will then play down to regional teams of seven players, and these players will win travel packages to a live venue where the semifinal and championship rounds will be played (the site is unknown at this time). The championship round will be scored both individually and as a team, and players will compete for $120,000 in prizes.

To become one of the 180 qualifiers, players must crack the top six on the site's weekly tournament leader board.

SpadeClub Spotlight
Pete "PeteNice22" Ghalam, of Florida, learned to play poker just five years ago when a power outage forced him and his friends to find something to do. He fell in love with the game and recently took down SpadeClub's $3,000 end-of-beta tournament. Ghalam knew he was destined to win when he was able to get all of his chips in the pot with three callers and pocket queens. His queens held up and he became one of the chips leaders, a position that he was able to hold on to throughout the tournament. Ghalam plans to spend the $850 first-place prize on his classic '69 Chevelle, as well as to keep playing on SpadeClub. Ghalam enjoys playing on SpadeClub because it is a competitive website with little risk and lots of potential. His next goal on SpadeClub is to find himself at the top of the leader boards.

To view more SpadeClub winners please visit http://www.spadeclub.com/community.

Tips From the Table
User Mike "Lanarian" Collins says:

I'm addicted to SpadeClub.

Why? Well, besides the friendly people and fantastic competition, it has something that nobody else has: Express Fold!
Express Fold is a tool that allows you to preselect your starting hands and automatically fold anything else. Used correctly, it can become a powerful tool.

Here's how I use it: I open the Express Fold window under options in the game app. I decide what hands I'm going to play (A-A, K-K, and so on), and then hands that I will probably play (K-Q, Q-J, and so on), and then the hands that I might play (J-9, 8-6, A-X suited, and so on). I then select the hands in the Express Fold menu that didn't make the cut, and these hands will be folded. The software will remember your settings, and you can modify them at any time.

In a tournament, the hands you are dealt will still be visible, and if one is a hand you have selected, it will fold when it's your turn - that is, unless you tell it not to. You can turn Express Fold on and off with the click of a button if you see something coming that requires you to play out of the box, but for the early and middle stages of a tourney, this tool can really keep you out of trouble!

So, give SpadeClub a try. Test the Express Fold and see what you think. I know you'll find it to be the best thing to happen to online poker in a long time.

Submit your own tips from the table along with your SpadeClub screen name to: [email protected]. If we publish your tip, you'll receive a free SpadeClub T-shirt along with the pride of being published.

Benefits of the Club
Leader Boards
SpadeClub's Exclusive members have been working hard to climb to the top of SpadeClub's competitive leader boards. Exclusive members are featured for their wins and milestones on daily, weekly, and monthly leader boards. Leader boards can be viewed directly from the tables, giving each leader a sense of pride and accomplishment. Exclusive members can earn leader-board status through money won, first-place finishes, final tables reached, bounties, and hands played.

To view the current SpadeClub leader boards, please visit http://www.spadeclub.com/community.

Promotions
Bust-a-Shulman
If you bust a Shulman, owners of Card Player Media, and the Shulman you bust is in the money, you will receive his or her winnings. The screen names to go after are: Barry, Happy, and Allyn.

Free Two-Week Trial
SpadeClub currently offers all new sign-ups a free two-week trial of Exclusive membership. Try it out while it's free and learn what the club has to offer.

To view more SpadeClub promotions, visit http://www.spadeclub.com/promotions.

Tournament Schedule


To view all SpadeClub tournaments offered, please visit http://www.spadeclub.com/how-to-play/tournament-schedule.

California Lawmaker Introduces Online Poker Bill
To Study the Legality of Online Poker in California
By Bob Pajich

California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has introduced a bill that calls for the California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC) to investigate if online poker could be played by people in California through systems set up by Californians.

The bill calls for the CGCC to perform a study that would determine if current federal laws designed to curb online gambling would apply to online poker in California. The study shall include, but not be limited to, "regulatory oversight and licensing, technological issues, underage and problem gambling matters, methods of play and types of games that may be legally offered, economic benefits to state and local governments, and the means by which those games and forms of gambling may be conducted and operated."

The CGCC would have a deadline of June 30, 2009, to complete the study, which calls for the CGCC to also work with the Department of Justice to determine if the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act applies to transactions within a state.
Levine told Capitol Weekly, a newspaper that focuses on politics in California, that his understanding of current laws is that as long as the player and the server are located in the same state, federal laws can't be used to stop online poker. His bill is designed to give California lawmakers and residents an absolute answer to that question.

The bill, AB 2026, does not say how online poker would be run in the state, nor who would be able to open online poker rooms. It's the first step to determine if federal laws would be broken if California lawmakers decided to allow their citizens access to online poker rooms located there. The bill may be heard in committee as early as March 20.

Ask Jack
Have a question about a specific tournament poker rule or past ruling you've encountered? E-mail Bellagio Tournament Director Jack McClelland: [email protected].

Jonathan: I run a weekly no-limit hold'em tournament in my home, but I am interested in turning it into a H.O.R.S.E. tournament. We tried it once, but ended up playing way too late. What is a good structure for a H.O.R.S.E. tournament with 10 people if I want it to last about four or five hours?

Jack: Here is a possible structure. Start players with 5,000 in chips and use 15-minute levels for the blinds.



Drew: I think the floorman made a bad decision on a hand I was involved in, even though it benefited me. The player under the gun raised, another player reraised, and I went all in with pocket queens. After I said, "All in," the dealer grabbed my cards and mucked them. When he realized his error, he took the top two cards off the muck and gave them to me, but they were not my cards. At this point, the other two players in the hand said my hand was dead. The floorman came over and told me to whisper my cards in his ear so that he could retrieve them from the muck. He did, and the hand was played out. Isn't this wrong?

Jack: This is a very bad decision. The hand should be dead. Either your chips are forfeited or the floorman could give them back to you because of dealer error. You need to protect your hand.

Online Qualifier Wins European Poker Tour Copenhagen
U.S. Construction Company Boss Wins More Than $1.2 Million at Scandinavian Open
By Brendan Murray

Tim Vance, from St. Louis, Missouri, is the new Scandinavian Open champion after winning the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour event in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 46-year-old Vance, who runs a construction company, won his seat for free in an online satellite for frequent players on PokerStars. He won more than $1.2 million.

Vance beat local Soren Jensen heads up after four hours of play, and afterward said, "Winning the title was at least as important to me as the money, but I knew I was going to win today; I was the best player and I wanted it the most. It was a tough competition, though - as tough as anywhere I've ever played - and now I just can't wait to call my daughter, Nanzi. She's been watching it back home with her grandmother."

The sellout 460-player tournament had a prize pool of almost $4.4 million, with around one-fifth of the players winning their seats online at PokerStars.

The EPT's next stop is Warsaw, Poland, March 11-15, and players can qualify online at PokerStars.com.

A Glimpse Inside the World of High-Stakes Poker
Players Push the Limits to New Heights in Cash Games in Las Vegas
By Kristy Arnett

A few years ago, Todd Brunson watched one of the most recognized pros in the industry come close to the depths of poker despair by nearly wiping out his entire bankroll in one session. Down nearly $1.4 million in a high-stakes mixed game, he put in his last $50,000 when way behind. He needed a 7. Fate was kind, and a 7 hit the board, which started a rush that took his stack back up to close to $2 million.

"Afterward, he was laughing, and said, 'You guys have no idea how lucky that was. That was all the money I had in the world,'" said Brunson with a chuckle. "If that 7 hadn't come, who knows, we may never have heard from him again."

In any given high-stakes poker game are a few seasoned pros like Brunson, seemingly at ease despite the enormous stakes, and looking to pick on some equitable prey. Others are amateurs, playing with money earned from a day job. Then, there are the risk-takers, the players who live and die in the moment, willing to put it all on the line for the next card.

Games such as this can be found at Bellagio in the legendary Bobby's Room. Poker fans can walk into the poker room and peer through the stained-glass windows of the exclusive enclosed room. They may be able to catch a glimpse of Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest, Minh Ly, or any of the many world-renowned pros who are always eager to put up a six- or even seven-digit buy-in.

For Brunson, poker is about the money, and if there is a high-stakes cash game going on in Vegas, he's in it. The most common cash game he plays is a $2,000-$4,000 mixed game in which all of the games are played.

"You see a lot of people come and go because they just don't have what it takes," said Brunson. "A lot of people in the 'big game' have talent, and they are all really good players, but some of them will sit there and just lose $2 million or $3 million in one day."

During high-profile tournaments when numerous big-name pros are in town, high-stakes games become extra juicy. With the upcoming World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio in April, there could be some unprecedented cash-game action.

Although Bellagio has dominated the high-stakes poker scene for the past few years, it isn't the only big boy on the block anymore. Since The Venetian opened its poker room, with a private high-stakes salon, the big game has been splitting time between the two world-class venues.

"The Salon was built to accommodate high-limit players and offer them a degree of privacy and the ability to relax," said Venetian Director of Poker Operations Kathy Raymond. "Anything they want within our ability to accommodate, we definitely do."

Everything from $50-$100 no-limit hold'em to $4,000-$8,000 limit mixed games are played in this room, and if Larry Flynt, most well-known for producing Hustler, is in town, seven-card stud is played for the highest stakes available. Should passersby peek through the hardwood sliding doors on a night when Flynt is playing, they will see players like Phil Ivey and John Hennigan, with piles of green $5,000 chips in front of them, at the table with him.

As poker becomes an even stronger global phenomenon, these high-stakes cash games are going to be appearing wherever there are poker players who desire to sit in the biggest games in the world. As for the rising stakes, well - there's no limit.

Phil Ivey Puts Himself in POY Race
In less than a week, Phil Ivey went from zero to 2,610 points, and just like that, put himself only 311 points away from taking over the Card Player 2008 Player of the Year lead from Michael McDonald. It started on Thursday, Feb. 28, when Ivey wrapped up his first World Poker Tour victory at the L.A. Poker Classic. That win gave Ivey 2,400 POY points, and just shy of $1.6 million in prize money.

Ivey then had to quickly get back home to Las Vegas to play in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, an event that was won by Chris Ferguson. Ivey was eliminated in the semifinals and tied for third with Huck Seed, earning 210 more POY points. This was enough to vault him past Men "The Master" Nguyen into second place in the standings.

California player David Pham put himself in the top 10 by making three final tables at the LAPC. He finished second in a $1,000 event, fourth in a $1,500 event, and eighth in a $2,500 event. All of these events were no-limit hold'em. He also finished fourth in the $10,000 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure that Bertrand Grospellier won. He's in sixth place with 2,070 points.

McDonald leads all players with 2,920 points. He has made three final tables and earned most of his points by winning the European Poker Tour German Open in February.

So far in 2008, seven players have won $1 million or more in tournaments (Bertrand Grospellier's $2 million payday at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is the most to date).

Look Out!
Theo Tran loves the LAPC. Last year started wonderfully for Tran in L.A. when he won a $500 buy-in event for $113,000. He would then go on to cash another 11 times in 2007, including a runner-up finish in a $1,000 no-limit hold'em event at the World Series of Poker (good for $387,193). His first three cashes of 2008 came at the LAPC, where he finished two spots away from making the championship event's final table. He ended up busting out in eighth place, which was good for about $127,000. Tran is a good young player who has shown that he can compete with the best in the world. He has more than $1.1 million in tournament winnings.

Maximizing Profit With the Nuts
By Mike Matusow

I now provide exclusive coaching videos for Card Player Pro, powered by PokerSavvy Plus. My columns will center on hands taken from my videos and will cover strategy concepts for success in Omaha and no-limit hold'em. As a Card Player reader, you'll have access to clips of these hands and many others.

In one of my recent pot-limit Omaha videos, I was able to extract maximum value with the nuts by making sure that I did not represent the nuts. Although I was making the video in a small-stakes game, the lesson in this hand is applicable at all levels.



The under-the-gun player limped in and everyone folded to me on the button. I decided to limp, as well, with four straight cards in position. This was a medium-strength hand that would not have been playable from early position. Had either of the blinds raised the pot, I would have folded. The small blind called, as well.

The flop came A K 8, giving me the nut-flush draw, a pair of eights, and a gutshot-straight draw. With 14 outs with two cards to come, my hand had roughly a 51 percent chance to improve to the winning hand.

After the small blind checked, the big blind made a pot-sized bet of $8 and the limper folded. I decided to raise the pot here, knowing that if I did get called or raised, I'd be willing get all the money in. The small blind folded and the big blind just called, bringing the pot to $69.

The turn was the 2, giving me the nut flush. The big blind immediately led out with a pot-sized bet. Based on his strong bet into me, I was certain that he had made a smaller flush. Also, there was a good chance that he thought I had raised the flop with top two pair or a set.

Now, I had to decide how I was going to stack him. If I raised, I essentially would be telling him that I had the nuts, and I risked him folding a weaker flush. Even at these low stakes, some pIayers are good enough to fold a low flush to such a sign of strength.

I let my time bank run down a bit, as if I was facing a difficult decision. I wanted him to think I had a set or perhaps a small flush myself, and was pondering whether to call this big turn bet. I decided to just call and hope that the board did not pair, primarily because I was representing a set and a paired board could prevent me from stacking him on the river.

The river card was perfect, the 4. I expected my opponent to move all in for his remaining $106, and was shocked when he checked it to me. Nevertheless, I moved in, and he called after a few seconds with a jack-high flush.

One of the keys to pot-limit Omaha is getting second- and third-nut hands to pay you off when you have the goods. These situations arise much more frequently than in hold'em. Had I moved in on the turn, I do not think he would have paid me off. By going into the tank and just flat-calling, it gave him hope that I had a hand he could beat.

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

Cole 'cts' South Makes a Great River Call
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.

Cash Game: Heads-up no-limit hold'em online
Stacks: cts - $4,925; Villain - $6,271
Blinds: $25-$50

Craig Tapscott: Why choose such a strong opponent to battle?

Cole "cts" South: It's important to remember how key game selection is in heads-up poker, and that playing long matches against strong players is a recipe for huge swings. However, stepping down a level or two to play a tough opponent can be a lot of fun and a good way to improve your game. The Villain is a tough player who is capable of making big bluffs and thin value-bets.

Preflop: Cts raises to $175 from the button with the Q 9. The Villain calls.

Flop: K 7 6 (Pot: $350)

CS: I've been continuation-betting most flops, and although my queen high has some showdown value here, the Villain is going to fire the turn if I try to check it down. So, I like to make my standard pot-sized bet on the flop. If he calls, I will be firing a second barrel on any 10, jack, queen, or ace, because those cards are so bad for his check-calling range. Otherwise, I will probably give up on the pot.

The Villain checks, cts bets $333, and the Villain calls.

Turn: 4 (Pot: $1,016)

CS: The turn card is very non-threatening to most of the hands with which he check-called the flop. I've been caught running some big bluffs, so at this point, I'm done with the pot. Both players check.

River: 9 (Pot: $1,016)

The Villain checks, and cts bets $1,001.

CT: You've hit second pair. How do you choose your bet size here and how does your history with this opponent come into play?

CS: Against a bad player, I may bet something like half of the pot here to try to induce "pot odds" calls from weaker pairs, but against someone tough like the Villain, I try not to vary my river bet size in this spot. In general, I like to make large bets in spots like this, both for value and as bluffs, because it increases variance for my opponents. So, I bet for value on the river, close to the size of the pot.

The Villain check-raises all in for $5,763.

CT: He seems to have pounced on your thin value-bet. What now?

CS: I have to decide what my hand looks like to him, and what his range of hands is based on the previous action. How light is he capable of value-shoving in this spot? And, is he tough enough to turn weak made hands into bluffs? When I check the turn on this board, all possibilities of me having a monster go out the window, and the board didn't run off with great cards for me to bluff at. So, in his spot with a strong hand, I would probably lead the river, because it gets checked through too often. I'm unlikely to have a monster in this spot, and since I'm probably not bluffing too often, he may realize that I'm going for a thin value-bet, and turn a lousy pair into a bluff, rather than make a crying call or fold. After weighing these factors, I decided to make the call. However, I think the Villain's play was pretty good, and against most players, it would've been a profitable bluff.

Cts calls $3,416 and wins the $9,850 pot with a pair of nines. The Villain shows the 6 5.

Cole South, 20, is currently taking a year off from William and Mary College to play poker and travel the world. Cole is a high-stakes cash-game specialist online; he plays and beats the biggest games (up through $300-$600 no-limit) on Full Tilt Poker, and has recently diversified his game by learning pot-limit Omaha. He is also one of the most popular cash-game coaches at cardrunners.com.

Allen 'Reverse' Goldstein Surges Forward
By Shawn Patrick Green

Playing heads up versus a widely recognized poker pro in one of the biggest online tournaments of the year would be daunting for most people. Well, Allen "Reverse" Goldstein isn't your average casual online poker player. Goldstein has been playing online poker since the early 2000s, and had already won hundreds of thousands of dollars in online poker tournaments before now, including taking down the PokerStars Sunday Million in August of 2006. He is also a successful cash-game player at stakes as high as $200-$400 limit hold'em, and he is a heads-up sit-and-go specialist.

With that kind of background, it didn't come as much of a surprise when he wound up, with Thomas Wahlroos, as one of the last two players in a 5,291-entrant field in the recent Full Tilt Online Poker Series VII (FTOPS) main event. With nearly a half-million dollars on the line for first place, Goldstein proceeded to take down the event and best the live-poker pro.
Goldstein started playing poker at much more humble stakes. He began as a self-professed horrible $3-$6 limit hold'em player and decided that he wanted to buckle down and improve. Ten to 12 poker books later, he had worked his way up to $6-$12 and then up to $20-$40. He played at that level for two months without having a single losing session. He then bumped it up to $60-$120 in 2002, and it was at that time that he made his first major tournament cash; he finished in fourth place in a $640 buy-in event on PartyPoker, earning $78,000. "And since then," he said, "I haven't really looked back."

Card Player caught up with the 25-year-old poker player, who hasn't had a "real" job since he was a waiter in high school, to talk about his recent big score.

Shawn Patrick Green: How hard was it to get through that field in the FTOPS main event?

Allen "Reverse" Goldstein: In August of '06, I won the [PokerStars] Sunday Million, and it was funny because both tournaments took a similar route. Early on in the FTOPS, I had a big lead and was in first place. And then, when there were 150 people left, I was in last place. I think the blinds were 10,000-20,000 and I had 60,000; I was among the last five people. I lost a coin flip with A-K versus tens, and that knocked me down to 60,000, and I just tightened up and picked my spots and was able to double up. I stole some blinds and antes, and doubled up once when I flopped a set of sixes against A-K, and I got back up to about the average stack, which was 170,000.

It was mainly, especially toward the end, about picking spots and being patient. For as much money as was at stake and how late it was in a tournament like that, players tended to get it in pretty bad. I think, for a lot of people, the nerves and the hours got to them toward the end. I think the key was picking spots and tightening up a little.

SPG: You said that you were down to about three times the big blind. Is there even a strategy at that point, or are you just waiting for a hand?

AG: I was just waiting for any pair or any ace, pretty much, or a king. I had to get lucky a couple of times, and then I doubled up twice and got it up to 170,000. I got back to the average stack after doubling up twice, and from there on out, I had some breathing room.

SPG: And you said that in both of those tournaments, you had accumulated a lot of chips early on. How did you do that?

AG: I tend to play a lot of hands early on, when the blinds are low, and I think I'm pretty good at getting chips early by playing a lot of hands. I play a lot of suited connectors and one-gappers and stuff. And I'm not going to lose a lot of money with suited connectors, but when I hit one, if somebody flops top pair, top kicker, for instance, he's going to be in trouble. I'm pretty good at getting away from hands that I play with middle cards, which is why I do well early on. And then, as the blinds get high, it's more about picking my spots.

SPG: You say that you play a lot more hands preflop; does that mean only in limped pots, or does that mean you're going to loosen up your standards for calling a raise preflop considerably?

AG: If I'm coming in, I usually come in raising, especially early in the tournament. I take control of the pot. It always depends on the table I'm playing at, but if I can take control of the pot early and take control of the table, I will, especially in a tournament like that, because there's a lot of satellite winners and people who are playing really tight early. Sometimes I get a table where it's crazy, and I tighten up early from the start, but usually I like to get in there and raise with suited connectors and play a lot of hands, and if I get played back at, I give up.

SPG: Now let's talk about your heads-up match with Thomas Wahlroos. What was your thought process going into heads-up play?

AG: Heads up, the blinds were at 250,000-500,000 with a 60,000 ante, and I think I started out with 16 million and he had 10 million. So, with those stakes, there really wasn't much play, but I tried to take control on the button a lot by raising him. I play a lot of heads-up sit-and-gos, and I think that's helped me out a lot. I focus on heads-up sit-and-gos, so I like my game. I like to take control on the button and play tight. I was getting some hands, though, and a couple of times he was down to like 7 million or 8 million and had to play pot-committed. But he got out of a couple of traps, and finally I got ace high on the button, and he shoved. I figured ace high was probably the best hand heads up, so it was a pretty easy call for me, and it held up.

Chatbox Cunning - Strategy From Top Online Pros
Gus Hansen

On the swings in pot-limit Omaha cash games:
It is a swingy game, and just because you win $1 million one month doesn't mean that you're a God-given talent, because the swings are incredible. In pot-limit Omaha, you have a lot of situations in which you flop the absolute stone-cold nuts, but you're actually an underdog in the hand. So, there are a lot of swings and a lot of situations in which you can't feel too comfortable, because even though you have the nuts, your opponent has plenty of options to beat you. It's a tough game, it's a challenging game, and it's a very swingy game, so therefore it's a very mental game; you've got to keep your composure.

On whether bluffing is easier or harder in pot-limit Omaha:
In hold'em, most of the time, your opponent does not connect with the flop, which kind of makes it easier to bluff by merely betting; he's not going to call with 10 high if the flop comes A-K-4. It's an impossible call, so basically, in that sense, it should be easier to bluff in hold'em. But, on the other hand, people expect to hit more in Omaha, and of course they should, because you have four cards to hit with. But the thing is, if you hit just a little bit in Omaha, it doesn't look that appealing, so now you can bluff out people when they hit absolutely nothing, and you can also maybe bluff them out when they hit only a little bit. And when the pot goes on through the turn and the river, it's easier to represent flushes and straights in Omaha, even when you don't really have anything, just because flushes and straights are very easy to make in Omaha. So, it's much easier to make your opponent believe that you actually did make [the hand]. So, I actually think that there's probably more room to bluff in Omaha.

Jeremiah Vinsant: Born Hustler
By Craig Tapscott

Jeremiah Vinsant used to smack corner shots, not button raisers, and crack balls, not aces. Marching to the beat of a different drummer, Vinsant chose home schooling over proms, and spent much of his teens hustling in Tennessee pool halls, foregoing an afternoon gig at the local Subway shop. Shortly after receiving his high school GED, poker came along to intrigue an inquisitive mind. The soft-spoken Southern boy had found his ultimate calling.

"I did OK playing pool, but it's pretty tough," confessed Vinsant. "Poker is a lot easier, believe me. I've always wanted to do something different with my life, ever since I was a kid. I never wanted to work the standard 40-hours a-week job like everyone else."

By following his heart, success has doggedly followed Vinsant. Online, he has racked up more than $700,000 in earnings within the last 14 months. Yet, his proudest moment is pocketing an even chop of $800,000 and second place at the 2007 Asia Pacific Poker Tour grand final event in Sydney, Australia.

The word is out: Vinsant's quiet table demeanor and good ol' boy ways are the real deal. He's a true gentleman on and off the felt. But when push comes to shove, your chips are at risk if you decide to challenge the baby-faced professional, because he's usually three levels ahead and odds are that you're more than one step behind.

Craig Tapscott: Your game seems to have jumped to a new level recently. Can you shed some light on what's different?

Jeremiah Vinsant: The biggest thing that has changed is that in the last eight months, I've been staked. This allows me to play all the tournaments I want.

CT: How many do you play?

JV: Around 15 multitable tournaments a day. I never could do that before. Until recently, I played around 60 hours a week for five months straight. Around the same time, I also started talking to some great players on the poker sites. If I play a hand and think I messed up, I'll send it to them to discuss. The player I've learned the most from is AJKHossier.

CT: I'm curious, what's the current hot donkey play you see online?

JV: People have been three-betting all in against late-position raisers too much. They see all the pros do it, like Annette_15 shoving with 7-4 suited, and then see the original raiser fold. Lately, a button player will raise and then one of the blinds, with around 30 big blinds, will just shove. And it's usually with some crazy hand like 9-4 offsuit. You don't need to be doing that with that hand.

CT: What else, since we're on a roll?

JV: Many people overplay A-X from the blinds. They even raise from late position with it, and it's very dangerous. It's better to raise or reraise with suited connectors. A-X is such a trouble hand if you're called.

CT: Don't stop.

JV: Many players with only 10 big blinds smooth-call preflop raises. I see it a lot in live play, also. That's a huge mistake. It's a situation where you need to shove preflop. Maybe if you have around 15 big blinds, you can call a raise and play a flop.

CT: You've made the transition to live play quite successfully. What are the differences between the two that you've observed?

JV: Live seems easier to get a feel for what your opponents are doing, and the way they react to you.

CT: Do you have an example?

JV: There was a player at the recent L.A. Poker Classic who was raising about four times an orbit. I three-bet him around 10 times and won eight of them. I see that during live play, people tend to limp so much more than online. Sometimes, five or six players will limp. I mean, if you have 7-6 suited, go ahead and limp sometimes. But I would most often choose to raise preflop or just fold.

CT: How about some parting advice?

JV: Make your raises all look the same. When the antes kick in, I start to raise a bit less, two and a half times the big blind, mostly. It makes the pot smaller, and I use it for pot control. If I have A-J and flop top pair with the jack, and my opponent calls my flop bet, I usually check the turn when he checks. And then, I check-call the river. In a lot of spots like that, people tend to get way too many chips in with a hand that might not be good.

Call and Push: A Better Play
By Mike Sexton, the "Ambassador of Poker" and Commentator for the World Poker Tour

This hand comes from season six of the World Poker Tour - the Doyle Brunson Five-Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio. This is the only $15,000 buy-in event on the WPT. Because of the beautiful facilities and tremendous prize pools at Bellagio, players from around the world love to travel to Las Vegas to play there. This event boasted a whopping prize pool, with $2.4 million going to the winner!

With four players left, Eugene Katchalov, who came to the final table as the chip leader, had a monstrous chip stack (about 70 percent of the chips). Katchalov was born in the Ukraine but raised in New York. He's been a combination of professional poker player/stock broker for four years, and is another of those bright New York gamblers. During the show, we gave him the nickname of "Katchalot," because he caught a lot of cards, but make no mistake - this guy is a player. And in the poker world, when you play good poker and catch good cards, you do well.

The antes were 15,000 with the blinds at 60,000-120,000 when Katchalov, with more than 14 million in chips (an incredible chip lead), made it 300,000 to go from the button with the 10 7. The small blind folded, and Ken Rosen, in the big blind and on the short stack with 905,000, opted to move all in with the A 2. It would cost Katchalov 605,000 to make the call, and with more than 1.3 million in the pot, Katchalov was getting more than 2-1 odds on his money. He was running well, could easily afford to make the call, and realized that even if he lost the pot, he would still have nearly four times as much in chips as the guy in second chip position. So, like most players would/should, he called.

The flop came 5-5-4, a 9 came on the turn, and then, bingo, a 10 on the river won the pot for Katchalov and dashed the dreams of Rosen. It was a tough beat on the river for Rosen, but it's worth a discussion as to whether or not his all-in bet preflop was the right play in this situation. First, if you're in Rosen's situation, you should realize that your opponent has an overwhelming chip lead, hasn't lost a pot at the final table, and is virtually pot-committed if you move all in. Thus, you have to assume that your all-in bet is going to be called. The best possible scenario was the one Rosen was in - his opponent holding medium-ranked diamonds - and even then, he wasn't that much of a favorite. And, obviously, if your opponent has an ace high or a pair, you're a substantial underdog.

I know that the blinds and antes were high and that Rosen was the shortest stack of the four players left. However, A-2 is not the hand with which I want to move all in here, knowing that my opponent is pot-committed and that I'm going to get called. (It's different if you're the first person to act with four players left and this size chip stack. Then, you should move all in.) Let me suggest an alternative play that Rosen could have made that I believe is better.

If you're short-stacked and someone raises from the button when you're in the big blind, and you know that person is pot-committed if you move all in, don't move all in preflop. Just call before the flop and move all in after the flop - whether or not the flop helps you. This will give you another chance to win the pot, as your opponent may fold after the flop. In this case, as you can see, it would be very difficult for Katchalov to call a 600,000 bet after the flop with 10-7 on a flop of 5-5-4. (Note: Use this play only if you're certain that your all-in bet before the flop is going to be called and you act first after the flop.)

After this drawout by Katchalov, there were three players left in the tournament. David "The Devil Fish" Ulliott, a quick-witted WPT champ and one of the best poker players in the world, then uttered one of the greatest lines in the history of the WPT. He turned to Vince and me in the booth and yelled, "He's Katchalot, and he's Catch Even More. What chance have I got?" It turned out that he was right, as he finished third.

Congratulations to Eugene Katchalov for going wire to wire to take home $2.4 million and his first WPT title.

Where There is Confusion, There is Opportunity
By David Apostolico

An old mentor of mine once taught me that where there is confusion, there is opportunity. I have found that statement to ring true in many disciplines, and it certainly applies to poker. In this column, I'd like to explore how that simple statement can increase your profit at the tables.

First, we've all encountered those players who simply don't understand the game that well and operate in a perpetual state of confusion. They are the easy marks, and I won't spend any time here discussing how to play against them. There are, however, occasional times during the course of a poker session or tournament when even the best of us get confused. If you are prepared to act accordingly during these times, you can profit from your exploitation of the circumstances.

To illustrate, consider the following common examples of confusion: a player acts out of turn; a player forgets who else is still in the hand; a player doesn't realize how many chips an opponent has; a player doesn't realize there is a raise in front of him, or even an all-in bet; during the course of a tournament, players will often forget the level of the blinds and bet more (or less) than they intended to. Take a minute to reflect on how often you've witnessed some of the above. Now, take a minute to think of how often you've exploited the situation.

For example, let's say that you are sitting on the big stack of $20,000 at the table in the big blind, and the blinds are $300-$600. A player in late position open-raises all in to $3,000. The small blind calls, throwing another $300 in, not realizing that the action had been raised. The dealer points out the mistake, and the small blind is forced to call the entire
$3,000 - which he clearly isn't happy about. He has about $12,000 in chips behind. You look at your cards and see two black eights. What's your move? If the small blind had willingly called the $3,000, you may be hesitant to reraise here. However, knowing his hand wasn't strong enough to call that raise, I think it's an easy reraise. The range of hands that the initial raiser could be playing makes it highly likely that you are ahead of him. If you are going to call, reraise all in and force the small blind out. Either move will cost you the same amount (the extra $2,400 from the big blind), yet the second one will get you heads up for a substantial pot.

Confusion can come in many forms. A player could be ordering food, talking to a friend, or arguing about the last hand. In any of those events, he is not likely to be giving the game his full attention. He is probably looking for a reason to fold so that he can take care of his more immediate task. If you stay involved, you can pounce on these opportunities when they present themselves.

On the flip side, you never want to be a victim of confusion. Stay completely focused at all times in regard to what is going on. Don't act until it is your turn. In tournaments, stay abreast of such factors as the current blinds level, how much time is left in the current level, the amount of the next level, and the chips stacks of yourself and all of your opponents.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, mix up your play. While plenty of players will confuse themselves, most won't. You need to create confusion to gain your edge. As we know, a confused opponent is much more likely to make a mistake.

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].

Wisdom That Stands the Test of Time
By Tim Peters

Poker Wisdom of a Champion by Doyle Brunson (Cardoza; $14.95)

Doyle Brunson revolutionized poker publishing with his groundbreaking 1979 classic Super/System: A Course in Power Poker. A few years later, he collected a series of poker columns in Poker Wisdom of a Champion (originally titled According to Doyle and recently re-released by Cardoza under that name). Published more than two decades ago, this book is so "out of date" that Brunson feels compelled to explain the mechanics of Texas hold'em. But do not let that put you off. This collection of object-lesson anecdotes and poker strategy is invaluable for today's players, as it's filled with the wisdom that characterizes one of poker's legendary figures.

Some of this wisdom may be familiar, but that doesn't mean it's not useful. "Don't just play your cards, play your people." Don't play in "a game where you feel uncomfortable." And beware of the desire to play bigger: "If there's any single fault universal to top-ranked pros, it's that they have too much heart. They tend to seek out too-tough competition and risk too much of their bankrolls as proof of their daring." Heart is Brunson's word for "gamble," and no one has more heart than Brunson (except maybe Patrik Antonius). Today's ambitious players always seem to want to play higher, even when they might make more money at lower stakes.

Poker Wisdom of a Champion also describes the genesis of Brunson's concept of "power poker." The prevailing notion back in the day was to play tight, wait for good hands, and set traps. Brunson writes, "I figured if I had to play that kind of poker to win, I'd rather stay home and throw paper wads at my wastebasket." Power poker is "dynamic, aggressive poker": It confuses your opponent, shocks him, and slows him down. "He won't raise with anything less than a super-hand because he's too afraid of your reraise … You have brought him to his knees." But Brunson also warns that you have to have command of the fundamentals to execute this strategy, another lesson many of today's hyperaggressive players fail to grasp.

In another compelling chapter, Brunson advises players of the importance of changing speeds dramatically: "Superstars shift gear … They shift suddenly from first to third and back again, seldom using anything in between." Learn to do this well, and "you'll instantly sense a new and dramatic power over the other players and your profit will be commensurate with their confusion."

This kind of style also puts you in control of the game, a critical aspect of Brunson's poker philosophy: "I've seen many smart players put themselves at the mercy of the cards," he writes. "Poker is a game where you have control over your action. You never have to call; you never have to bet; you never have to raise. You choose to call; you choose to bet; you choose to raise. You are the master."

Some of the great pleasures of this slim volume are the anecdotes from Brunson's life in poker, from backroom and private games in Texas to his eventual shift to Las Vegas. Poker has changed since Poker Wisdom of a Champion was published, but some of its lessons are timeless.

Take, for example, Brunson's point about honor in gambling: "In truth, a professional gambler is among the most honorable of men." That's probably still true among high-stakes live players, but the online game is a different story. There is no honor in ghosting, multi-accounting, collusion, or selling accounts. Brunson wouldn't do it, and neither should you.

Folksy in tone, easy to read, and filled with his unique insights, Poker Wisdom of a Champion is a valuable addition to any poker library.

What constitutes a "classic" of poker literature? Let me know - especially if I haven't reviewed it - at [email protected].