The Inside Straight

International Players Make Their Mark on the WSOP
Players From the U.S. Still Lead the Bracelet and Money Count
By Bob Pajich

In the year of the Olympics, the World Series of Poker did a fair job of representing its version of worldwide unity through the number of international players who cashed, made final tables, and won WSOP bracelets. Not counting the main event, players from 57 different countries made splashes in this year's events, including players from Peru, Monaco, Guatemala, and Bolivia, just to name a few of the more obscure ones.

Players from 118 countries played in WSOP events, up from 87 last year, 54 in 2006, 41 in 2005, and 24 in 2004.

But Americans still are the big brothers of the poker world. Through 53 events, American players have won 38 bracelets, and every state -- plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. -- has at least one player who cashed. Nevada leads all states with 12 bracelets, with California a close second with nine. A good portion of professional players live in Las Vegas or Southern California, so this should remain the norm for years to come.

New York is a distant third with four bracelets, and Missouri is the only other state with more than one bracelet (two). Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Louisiana, and Wisconsin all have one bracelet.

Players from the United States have cashed well over 3,500 times through 53 events, which is by far the most out of all the countries represented at this year's WSOP. This means that U.S. players scooped more than $83 million of the more than $123 million that was to be won in the first 53 events. Canada is a distant second, with around 220 cashes totaling about $6 million.

Countries represented by bracelet winners this year are: Belgium (1), Brazil (1), Canada (3), Denmark (1), France (1), Germany (3), Ireland (1), Italy (2), Netherlands (1), and Russia (1), for 15 total bracelets that will have to pass through customs at the airport.

Last year, players from the United States took home 44 out of 55 bracelets, so no matter what happens in the last two events (the main event and the casino employees event), international players -- despite being outnumbered in a major way -- will know that they have the ability to take on America.

Poker has grown hugely around the globe in the last several years, and Harrah's has taken notice. Last year, the WSOP set up an International Players Advisory Council to give those players a voice and to help make their stays go as smoothly as possible. It also launched the WSOP Europe.

Norman Chad, who often laments about the seepage of bracelets to countries not named America during his ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP, must be furious. The late Terry Rogers, who was one of the first people to bring Texas hold'em tournaments to Europe (he started the Irish Open in 1981), would probably be amazed.

World Series of Poker Europe Schedule

The World Series of Poker Europe schedule has been released. The events will take place at London's London Club International properties of the Fifty, the Empire, and the Sportsman. The dates are:

Sept. 19: Three-day £1,500 no-limit hold'em
Sept. 22 : Three-day £2,500 H.O.R.S.E.
Sept. 24 : Three-day £5,000 pot-limit Omaha
Sept. 27 : Five-day £10,000 World Championship No-Limit Hold'em

ESPN also announced that it will broadcast eight hours of the championship event globally.

Commerce Casino Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Boosted Jackpots Featured in August and 28 Original Employees Receive Recognition
By Kristy Arnett

In August of 1983, Commerce Casino in Southern California opened its doors. Back then, the venue covered 80,000 square feet and contained 100 table games run by 500 employees. Fast-forward 25 years, and Commerce Casino is almost four times its original size, and has 2,800 employees and the world's largest poker room with more than 200 tables.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Commerce Casino wants to give back not only to its patrons, but especially to 28 loyal employees who have been working for the property since the very first day it opened. The milestone will be commemorated with special 25th-anniversary $5 chips, and during the month of August, the casino's Saturday night guaranteed jackpots will be increased to $25,000. Also, on Aug. 13, Commerce Casino will host an invitation-only gala for the 25-year employees, at which they will receive special recognition.

Known as the "Casino to the Stars," Commerce Casino is home to the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational as well as the $10,000 buy-in WPT L.A. Poker Classic, which has been drawing more than 600 players each of the last several years.

"We look forward to inviting the community to share in our celebration throughout August, as a way of showing our gratitude for 25 great years," said Debbie Payne, director of community relations.

Phil Ivey Charity Event Raises $260,000 for Underprivileged Kids
Poker Pros and Fans Show Support for the Budding Ivey Foundation
By Kristy Arnett

Phil Ivey, arguably one of the most talented and recognizable poker players in the world, and the annual World Series of Barbecue joined forces to throw one big event that included a huge party and poker tournament, all to benefit charity to the tune of $260,000.

The Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas hosted the event. The festivities kicked off outside at the Tank, the Golden Nugget's famous pool with an actual shark tank.

"This is unbelievable. I never expected so many people to come in support," said Ivey. "I've never done anything like this before."

The charity benefiting the most from the event is the Budding Ivey Foundation, an organization initiated by Ivey's mother, Pamela Simmons-Ivey, in the name of his grandfather, Leonard "Bud" Simmons. "The main purpose is to provide scholarships for underprivileged kids and give them an educational opportunity that they wouldn't otherwise receive," said Ivey. "My grandfather passed away about a year ago, and he was the most influential man in my life. My mother decided to keep his memory alive."

More than 80 players competed in the $1,000 buy-in tournament, and from the very first shuffle, the $500 rebuys were being passed out like candy. After defeating recent World Series of Poker bracelet winner Nenad Medic heads up, Beth Shak was named the champion.

Card Player TV covered the event, and video can be found at CardPlayerTV.com.

Four Democrats Helped Kill Challenge to UIGEA
H.R. 5767 Dies in Committee
By Bob Pajich

A bill that would have forced federal officials to decide if online poker should be considered gambling failed to make it past the House Financial Services Committee in June. Instead, Barney Frank and Ron Paul's "Payment Systems Protection Act," which would have stopped the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act until the federal government defined exactly what constitutes online gambling, was met with a 32-32 vote that broke along party lines, with a few notable exceptions.

All but four Democrats voted to move this bill forward, and all but three Republicans voted against the bill. Bill co-sponsors Rep. Paul and Rep. Peter King, who wrote an amendment to the bill that would require even more clarity to the UIGEA, are Republicans. There were also several members of Congress absent from both sides of the 70-strong House Financial Services Committee.

The Democrats who voted against the bill are Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.), Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Rep. Brad Miller (N.C.), and Rep. David Scott (Ga.). The Republicans who voted for the bill are Rep. Paul, Rep. King, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

A list of the members of Congress who make up the House Financial Services Committee can be found at financialservices.house.gov/who.html. This page contains links to the members' home pages and contact information.

The UIGEA calls for banks to stop illegal online gambling transactions, but neither the proposed rules as jointly written by the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board nor the actual UIGEA define exactly what transactions the banks must stop.

Conservative organizations warned their allies against this bill. For example, Focus on the Family warned its members that if H.R. 5767 was passed, it would mean America would experience the largest expansion of gambling in its history.

Representatives of the banks who spoke at all of the hearings concerning the UIGEA, as well as representatives from the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board, repeatedly asked members of Congress to clarify the UIGEA's reference to "illegal online gambling." Speaking through this vote, the members declined.

Ask Jack

Dale: I was playing in a cash game when I was dealt A-8 and the flop came A-5-2. The turn was an 8, giving me top two pair. I bet and was raised all in. I called, and he showed 4-3 for a flopped wheel. My cards had a chip on them and were behind the betting line, but I got up from the table in frustration. I turned back to the table and saw my hand flipped over by another player as the dealer dealt the river, which was an ace, giving me a full house. The dealer awarded me the pot, and the player who had flopped a straight became very angry. He called for the floorman, and the supervisor said that when I got up, I left only one player in the hand, and therefore I was not eligible to win the pot. Was he correct?

Jack: If both hands are turned up when a player is all in, this situation will never happen. The player should not have turned over your hand, but you should have a reasonable amount of time (30 seconds in my tournaments) to return to the table and show your hand. The aim should be for the best hand to win the pot, not to reward someone because he is the loudest and angriest. With all of your money in the pot, were you forfeiting the pot before the last card? Of course not! Terrible ruling by the floorman, correct ruling by the dealer.

Two Champs Finally Get Their WSOP Hardware
By Bob Pajich

Just as predicted back in May, the World Series of Poker has put the Card Player Player of the Year (POY) leader board through the wash. It's like several players decided to make their way to a party that has been going on since New Year's Eve, and it's easy to picture Erick Lindgren and John Phan clicking their TVs off, looking at their watches, and thinking, "Well, I'd better get over there."

Welcome to the party, boys. We've been expecting you.

Lindgren put together a masterful WSOP that started with taking the WSOP bracelet monkey that's been clinging to his back and curbing it.

With more than $5 million in tournament poker winnings before this year's WSOP started, Lindgren was one of several players who have had marvelous careers but never won WSOP hardware. That changed with the fourth event of the 2008 Series, a $5,000 mixed-hold'em event that attracted 332 players and awarded a top prize of $374,505.

"Yeah, what a relief. It finally sunk in, and I feel like I have a big Series ahead of me," he told Card Player TV a day or two after he won. He was spot on.

Going into the main event, Lindgren had won one bracelet, made two additional final tables, and also bagged 10th- and 18th-place finishes to win more than $1.3 million and the top spot in the WSOP POY race. He sits in second place on the Card Player WSOP POY list behind Jacobo Fernandez, who cashed in seven events during the Series, including three final tables. Fernandez is currently seventh in the Card Player POY standings with 3,096 points.

Lindgren also added another highlight to his career, because one of those final tables was in the $50,000 world championship H.O.R.S.E. event won by Scotty Nguyen. Lindgren finished third in the event, which is arguably the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. It was good for $781,440. His other final table was in the $5,000 no-limit deuce-to-seven draw (with rebuys) event, in which he finished fourth. This event attracted only 85 players, but the field was one of the toughest of all WSOP events in terms of pro saturation.

All of the work Lindgren did this summer earned him 2,330 Card Player POY points, which puts him second in the standings with 3,459 points. Erik Seidel leads all players so far with 4,580 points, 880 of which came by making two WSOP final tables this summer.

John Phan is this year's only multi-bracelet winner. He won both the $2,500 deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball event and event No. 29, $3,000 no-limit hold'em. He also cashed three more times to give himself 1,526 Card Player POY points from this year's WSOP. He now sits fourth in the standings with 3,181 points.

Phan's deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball win gave him $151,911 for being the last person standing in a field of 238. He had to beat Gioi Luong, Robert Mizrachi, and David Sklansky, among others, at the final table. His no-limit hold'em bracelet came by besting a field of 716 players; he earned $434,789 to boost his WSOP haul to $608,464 -- not bad for a few weeks of work.

His two WSOP bracelet wins were his first.

Allen Bari moved into the top 10 thanks to a victory almost 3,000 miles away from the WSOP in the Borgata Summer Open $5,000 no-limit hold'em championship. This event attracted 345 players, and Bari won more than $500,000 for taking it down. He's already cashed 13 times for $679,879 on the year, and his Borgata victory put him in the sixth spot on the POY list with 3,110 points.

Also, both J.C. Tran and Justin Bonomo moved into the top 10 with their performances at the WSOP. Tran cashed seven times and won the bracelet in event No. 49, $1,500 no-limit hold'em, which attracted 2,718 players; he won $631,170 for it. He also finished fifth in the $10,000 world championship limit hold'em event that attracted 218 players. He's now ninth on the POY list with 3,067 points.

Bonomo is tied for 10th place with Vinny Pahuja with 2,930 points. Most of those points came from finishing second to Lindgren in the $5,000 mixed-hold'em event.

SpadeClub News

Tournament Schedule

$5,000 Weekly
Aug. 3 -- 4 p.m. ET
Aug. 10 -- 4 p.m. ET

WPT Boot Camp Giveaway
July 26 -- 3 p.m. ET
Aug. 9 -- 3 p.m. ET

$40,000 Mega Monthly
Aug. 3 -- 4 p.m. ET

To view a complete list of SpadeClub tournaments offered, please visit www.spadeclub.com/how-to-play/tournament-schedule.

SpadeClub Spotlight
By Lisa Anderson

SpadeClub awarded the last two of its four World Series of Poker main-event seats to David "dkhunky" Kim and Michael "fugetaboutit" Pontorno. On June 29, Kim and Pontorno participated in eight hours of exciting tournament play to take home the $12,000 prize packages, including a $10,000 buy-in to the main event and $2,000 for travel expenses. Both Exclusive members were enthusiastic about playing in the 2008 World Series and were thrilled to represent the entire SpadeClub community.

Kim, from California, thinks SpadeClub is a great place for both beginners and experts to try out new hands and situations, and learn from them, without the risk of losing money.

Pontorno, from Florida, has two wonderful kids and an amazing wife. When asked which was more important to him, winning the money or the bracelet, he replied, "I am not going to lie, winning the money."

Both Kim and Pontorno joined Charles "labotomy" Goodwin and Ken "Handbone" Meyer in the 2008 World Series of Poker main event to represent the entire SpadeClub community.

To see results of the four SpadeClub members' play in the 2008 World Series, please visit www.spadeclub.com/community and click on SCKenny's blog.

Promotions

Bellagio $25K Seat Giveaway
SpadeClub is giving away a $25,000 seat in the 2009 Five-Star World Poker Classic at Bellagio. Starting July 24, there will be daily qualifiers to advance through a series of qualifiers to the Bellagio $25K Seat Giveaway finals on SpadeClub. Monthly qualifiers, starting Aug. 24, advance the top nine players to the finals, and the winner also receives a $1,500 tournament buy-in at Bellagio. Become an Exclusive member to play to earn your spot in the finals, which awards the winner a $25,000 Five-Star World Poker Classic championship-event seat. With the Bellagio $25K Seat Giveaway, SpadeClub members have the opportunity to turn their Exclusive membership into millions.

For more details, please visit www.spadeclub.com/promotions.

Tips From the Table

User John "BallsASteel" Helander says:

Having played on every poker site on the Internet, I have found some features that I love and some that are not so useful. One of the most useful, though, has to be the "Express Fold" feature. As is the case with most online poker players, I play three or four tournaments at a time. On a few occasions, I've even found myself in up to six! With the ability to predetermine those junker hands that I know I will never consider playing (for example, 9-3 offsuit or J-2), I can select in the "Options" section the opening range I will consider playing. It helps cut down the distractions by preventing tables from popping up with these clunker hands, so I can focus on winning with the solid hands that I really should be playing.

Now, once I am short-stacked, on the bubble, or at a final table, I will turn off Express Fold so that I can focus on each and every hand. No one says that you have to use it all of the time, but I sure enjoy the flexibility of having it there at my beck and call.

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

Highlights

SpadeClub is excited to announce that pot-limit Omaha has been added to the list of poker games offered on the site. SpadeClub members started playing sit-and-goes, point builders, and play-money games on July 1, and have enjoyed the new type of poker play that SpadeClub has offered. By adding pot-limit Omaha games, SpadeClub continues to create opportunities for members to win big.

Hand 2 Hand Combat
Scott Seiver Makes a Great River Call to Shut Down an Opponent's Momentum
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: 2008 World Series of Poker event No. 21, $5,000 no-limit hold'em
Grand Prize: $755,891
Players: 731
Blinds: 20,000-40,000
Antes: 5,000
Stacks: Scott Seiver -- 5,100,000; Dave Seidman -- 2,300,000

Craig Tapscott: You're a very experienced cash-game player. How have those skills translated to your tournament game?

Scott Seiver: They have helped a tremendous amount. I think I understand the more general, yet intricate, concepts of the game a lot better, thanks to my cash-game play. Those concepts and situations really have helped me get a better handle on how to play the game.

CT: How far into the heads-up match are we at this point?

SS: I believe around 20 hands in.

CT: What's the flow between the two of you?

SS: He had been very aggressive and three-betting quite a bit. It definitely seemed like he was trying to play long ball, meaning he didn't want to give me the opportunity to grind him down over a long series of hands.

CT: What's your antidote to this?

SS: I had started countering this by limping from all of my buttons, which forced us to see flops with me in position. He had been raising about 85 percent of his buttons up to this point in the match, and I had been relatively tight in defending.
Seidman raises to 120,000 from the button. Seiver calls with the K 10.

CT: Why not reraise with this hand, since he has been overly aggressive from his button?

SS: I don't want to three-bet, as the hand has too much immediate value and I don't want to bloat pots when I can keep them small and hope to outplay him post-flop.

Flop: 5 5 3 (250,000 pot)

Seiver checks. Seidman bets 120,000.

CT: What's the plan with just king high here?

SS: There seemed to be no reason to lead, as he might raise with a range that would make it hard to decide if he was bluffing or not, and, again, given the nature of this heads-up match and the structure, I didn't want to force myself into high-variance and marginal spots.

Seiver calls.

CT: By calling, are you just floating to take it away on the turn?

SS: Well, I believe he had continuation-bet almost every single time that I had called when out of position up to this point. I call because, first of all, king high should be the best hand at this point, and, again, I don't want to be semibluffed off my hand or forced to make a tough decision for lots of chips. The flop misses most hands, and given that he's opening around 85 percent of hands, I should be comfortably ahead here.

Turn: J (490,000 pot)

Seiver checks.

CT: Is this ever a good spot to bet into an aggressive opponent?

SS: Betting here is certainly an option, but Dave definitely seemed to be of the mindset that he would want to semibluff-shove any hand that had decent enough equity in his mind, given how he had been playing preflop. I definitely can't bet and call that here.

Seidman checks.

CT: What would he be checking here?

SS: My read was that he would basically never check trips, would certainly never check a flush or full house, and would rarely check a jack. I also expect him to bet again with all of his semibluffs, given his seeming penchant for trying to get all of the chips in the middle. Thus, his check here lessened the probability of him having A-2, A-4, 4-2, 6-4 or 7-6, in my mind. I also strongly doubt that he has the A or K, as he probably would have bet those, as well. This means that the only hands we lose to are 3-X, 6-6 to 10-10, and the occasional J-X that was afraid of the flush draw being completed.

River: 4 (490,000 pot)

CT: Is this a good card for your hand?

SS: Although it completes a lot of the draws that may have been there, to me it feels like a very good card. That's mainly because I have already discounted fairly heavily the hands that have fours in them that were part of stronger draws.

Seiver checks.

CT: He's probably going to bet, since you've seemed weak all along. Would you call any bet that he pushes out with king high?

SS: I certainly would call any bet size up to full pot. The only reason I would be a little more hesitant if he overbet the pot is because it would seem to be very out of character for him. Then, it probably would lean more to the side of him having a monster and just wanting to take a chance to see if I'll call.

Seidman bets 200,000.

CT: How do you read this bet size?

SS: This bet further polarizes his range, as I believe he wouldn't be value-betting A-3 or A-4 in this spot; if he is, it's strongly discounted. All in all, though, his bet size on the river wasn't the main reason why I called, although his small bet certainly helped, as it seemed unlikely that he was going for thin value.

CT: What could he possibly have, then?

SS: The hands I'm really most worried to see are 6-6 to 10-10, and the occasional weak jack played passively on the turn. Also, I expect him not to bet ace high, given that he would expect it to have enough showdown value. And I had the second-nut king high, so it seemed that I was easily getting good enough odds to call the river bet.

Seiver calls.

Seidman turns over the 8 7. Seiver wins the pot of 890,000.

CT: This is clearly a case of basic strategy that is hard for most players to consistently apply in each and every hand; don't play your hand, play your opponent's hand. How did this great call affect the rest of the match?

SS: This hand clearly demoralized Dave and put him on a decent amount of tilt; at least that's what it felt like. I called the river almost instantly, as I knew the 4 was a good card for me and that I was calling if he bet. The momentum shift that this hand gave me was clearly the turning point in the heads-up action and propelled me to the bracelet.

Scott Seiver graduated in 2007 from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics. He plays high-stakes cash games online, but also has made the final table of major Sunday events. Scott captured his first World Series of Poker bracelet in this event.

FInal-Table Takedown
Vanessa Selbst, Very Conscious of Image While Taking Down a World Series of Poker Bracelet
By Craig Tapscott With Vanessa Selbst

In this series, Card Player offers an in-depth analysis of the key hands that catapulted a player to a top finish, online or live. We also will reveal key concepts and strategies from the world's best tournament players, as we venture inside their sometimes devious and always razor-sharp poker minds.

Vanessa Selbst, 23, is a graduate of Yale University. Apart from playing poker for a living, she works as an executive producer at DeucesCracked, giving private poker lessons and making instructional videos. Prior to this year, she spent most of her time playing cash games, but despite her relative inexperience in tournaments, she has managed to make five final tables at the World Series of Poker in three years. Selbst will be taking a break in the fall of 2008 to return to Yale to study law for three years.

Event: 2008 WSOP event No. 19, $1,500 pot-limit Omaha
Players: 759
First Prize: $227,905
Finish: First
Key Concepts: Image, aggression, scare cards, position



Craig Tapscott: You're 10-handed now. Set this up for us.

Vanessa Selbst: This is on the final-table bubble, and the table is playing extremely tight. We've basically been folding around, and the three of us were stealing the blinds for the past half-hour.

Schultz raises from under the gun to 20,000. Selbst reraises to 70,000, holding the K J 9 8, from the hijack position, one before the cutoff.

VS: I do this because everyone is folding basically everything that isn't A-A. If he decides to play some sort of run-down type of hand (or if he has A-A), I have a hand that is in pretty good shape. But I expect Thom to fold everything other than A-A.

Tony Phillips reraises to 240,000 from the small blind.

VS: Well, out of the blue, Tony Phillips reraises. At this point, I'm absolutely sure that he has A-A. My hand, hot and cold versus aces, runs at about 42 percent-45 percent equity, and I'm getting 2-1 to make the call at this point, as he raised the pot. In a cash game, this is an immediate call. (He has another 190,000 behind, so I'd be getting 3-1 to call.) But in a tournament, I have a big decision to make.

CT: Using all of this information, how do you proceed?

VS: I had to determine if I wanted to risk my tournament life on a marginal play and subject it to luck. I decided that Tony was the second-best player at the table and quite aggressive, and if I folded, he would have me outchipped with position on me going to the final table. This was not something I wanted to happen. Additionally, if I called and lost, I'd still have 160,000 and be a small stack, but not completely short. I'd still have a shot at real money. But if I called and won, I'd eliminate a dangerous player with position, have half the chips in play at a nine-handed final table, and have a very good shot at the bracelet.

Schultz folds. Selbst calls.

Flop: 8 5 4 (512,000 pot)

Phillips moves all in for approximately 190,000 with the A A Q 9. Selbst calls.

CT: I don't think you can really fold here.

VS: No. It's not exactly how I wanted to hit the flop, but at that point, I had to call the all in, getting 3-1 with about 40 percent equity versus A-A. I called and spiked two pair on the river to take down the gigantic pot.

Turn: 10

River: 9

Selbst wins the pot of approximately 890,000.



CT: You're on a bit of a downhill spiral at this point, having lost the chip lead.

VS: I'd been the chip leader throughout this entire tournament, until this moment. I had just doubled up both players. I'm down to about 600,000 in chips and my opponents both have around 800,000.

CT: What's your table image?

VS: It's terrible. I've been bluffing like a madwoman (which is usually the correct strategy with the initiative in a pot-limit Omaha tournament, in which people generally play way too tight post-flop with so few big blinds).

James Pickering raises to 60,000 from the small blind. Selbst calls, holding the J 10 7 3, from the big blind.

CT: What's his range here?

VS: At this point, I really put him on big cards, based on the way he'd been playing preflop.

Flop: Q 9 2 (120,000 pot)

Pickering bets 120,000. Selbst calls.

CT: What's the plan with the open-ender?

VS: I was intending to bluff if a diamond hit and hopefully double up if I hit a straight, as those outs are more disguised. I was committing a lot of my stack to call, but I knew I had a lot of favorable cards. Sure enough, the turn was the …

Turn: 3 (360,000 pot)

VS: Against some players, I'd have to be wary of them having a flush, but just observing the way he bet his made hands and his draws, I strongly felt it was a made hand.

Pickering checks. Selbst bets 170,000.

CT: Explain the bet size?

VS: By betting that amount, I put him to a push/fold decision out of position, which he can't do much to combat with only one pair. Also, I'm committing only half of my stack if he happens to have diamonds. Finally, it also looks like I'm milking him. In retrospect, I probably could have bet even less. Also, he later told me that if any non-diamond came, he was potting, which means I had six cards to double through him, as well. It was a pretty sweet situation and demonstrates the power of position in pot-limit Omaha. He later told me he had A-A.

Pickering folds. Selbst wins the pot of 360,000.



Selbst raises to 60,000 from the button with the A 6 5 4. Statkiewicz calls from the small blind.

Flop: J 10 8 (144,000 pot)

VS: I have only a 6-high flush. Many players would be scared that another player has a higher flush, so they would try to control the size of the pot. But I recognized that with 20 big blinds, I'm destined to go broke in a flush-over-flush situation. Since Stan knows that I like to continuation-bet, I figured that my best chance of making money against a straight or a set was to bet and have him commit his chips right there. If I checked, I think it would actually look fishier and I wouldn't get paid off -- not to mention the scare cards that could fall against a set (or two pair!). So, with that in mind …

Selbst bets 96,000. Statkiewicz pot-raises all in, holding the A Q 10 8.

CT: Looks like you played off your image well here.

VS: I think he was playing against my aggressive image and probably didn't give me enough credit to realize how crazy a board that would be for me to bluff on. He was drawing to only four outs, which is one of the best situations I can get into in pot-limit Omaha.

Turn: K

River: 2 (924,000 pot)

Selbst eliminates Statkiewicz with the flush.

CT: Your overly aggressive image worked again for you shortly thereafter in the final hand of the event.

VS: Yes. Luckily, being very aware of my perceived image came through for me. I was able to hold up in those hands and take down the bracelet.

Online Zone
2008 WCOOP Announced $10 Million Guaranteed for Main Event
By Shawn Patrick Green

The most anticipated online poker event of the year is almost upon us, and the 2008 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) gives players plenty to be excited about.

The series features 33 events spanning 17 days from Sept. 5 to Sept. 21 and will offer guaranteed combined prize pools of $30 million (more than twice the combined guarantees of last year's WCOOP). The main event alone has a $10 million guarantee, and the addition of a $25,000 buy-in heads-up event and $10,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event guarantees that there will be some amazing poker tournaments for entrants and railbirds alike.

The schedule includes seven events with guarantees of at least $1 million, including the main event, all of which are no-limit hold'em variations. There are two $3 million-guaranteed tournaments, both on Sundays, and one "high-roller" event with a hefty $10,000 buy-in and $2 million guarantee. The aforementioned $25,000 heads-up tournament sports a $1.6 million guarantee. The final two are a six-handed event with a $1 million guarantee, and a $1 million event to be held on a Thursday (which explains the "low" guarantee for a no-limit hold'em event).

A healthy complement of games other than no-limit hold'em round out the 33-event schedule. Among them are, of course, Omaha and limit hold'em, and also seven-card stud (high and eight-or-better), H.O.R.S.E., razz, pot-limit five-card draw, deuce-to-seven triple-draw, razz, and even an eight-game mixed event.

In the Meantime … FTOPS IX Set for August

Can't wait until September? Well, you don't have to; the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) IX is basically here. Full Tilt Poker's quarterly online tournament series starts Aug. 6 with the first of 25 events. The Series once again features a $2,500 two-day no-limit hold'em event, and the guarantee for the main event has been bumped from $2 million to $2.5 million. All said, the FTOPS IX boasts $15 million in combined guarantees.

The main event, which will be held on Sunday, Aug. 17, has a buy-in of $500+$35, which is substantially smaller than the $5,000+$300 buy-in of the WCOOP main event. Qualifiers are running right now.

The 'Thug' Barely Misses Out on WSOP Bling

It wasn't too long ago that Cody "thugmoneymkr" Slaubaugh was delivering Chinese food to starving college students. Nowadays, he's more about chips and tables than chopsticks and takeout, and he's got nearly $1 million in recorded winnings to show for it, including five cashes -- one of which was a runner-up finish -- in the 2008 World Series of Poker.

After a $10,000 win early in his online poker career, the 23-year-old poker player thought, "Wow, I'm rich!" and dropped out of college while he was still taking gen-ed classes. His parents were nervous about his decision to become a professional poker player, but after he had recorded some consistent results, they were more at ease.

Slaubaugh, of Rugby, North Dakota, chatted with Card Player just an hour before he was to play his day 1 of the main event. He talked about how he was able to be consistent in the prelim events, what his strategy was going into the main event, and what the best tools and advice he could give to amateur players would be.

Shawn Patrick Green: You've cashed in an amazing five WSOP events so far, with only the main event left to go. That really is quite incredible. How have you remained so consistent?

Cody "thugmoneymkr" Slaubaugh: I have played a lot of events; I played 18 events, and I've been running pretty well; I cashed in five of them. Basically, I was able to get chipped up in a few of those and not have to get most of my stack in there and gamble. I was able to play smaller pots throughout most of the tournaments, and therefore had to get my stack in the middle only two or three times, and I avoided risking elimination.

SPG: Well, that's really saying something, considering that many of the events you cashed in were $1,500 events with starting stacks of only 3,000 in chips. It's hard to avoid getting your stack in the middle in short-stack events like that.

CS: Four of the five cashes were in $1,500 events, so, yeah, you get only 3,000 in starting chips. By level 3, basically, if you still have a starting stack, you're short-stacked, because that's 15 big blinds.

SPG: What is your strategy in those kinds of tournaments, then? What do you do so that you don't have to put your tournament life on the line very often?

CS: Well, early on in the smaller events, once the blinds get to that point, if I haven't chipped up, it's really crucial to get going and start mixing it up, because I'm getting kind of short. In those events, you basically double your stack within the first few levels or you don't have chips to play with. So, early on, I'll try to find a spot to double up.

SPG: You're playing in the main event today [July 3]. What's your plan of attack, going in?

CS: The main event is a really long tournament with a big field, and we do get plenty of chips right away, so there won't be much pressure on day 1, basically. So, I'm looking forward to having a lot of chips and being able to mix it up in some pots and not have to worry about losing a few pots and being crippled.

SPG: What is the easiest way to exploit the most common kind of player in a tournament like that?

CS: After a while, try to get a feel for the table to see how people are playing. Try to get a good feel for their range of hands and act accordingly. If people are playing too tight, I'll probably reraise them a lot to put pressure on them.

SPG: But, in general, is there more of a certain type of player represented in an event like the main event that you can kind of take almost a standard line of action against, or is that not really the case?

CS: Well, a lot of them, you'll realize that they're satellite players who are not used to playing this kind of event. Most of them play too tight, and once the blinds get higher later on, it can be more profitable to go after those kinds of players.

SPG: So, how do you go after them? How, specifically, do you attack them?

CS: Well, raising their blinds a lot works. Also, lots of people limp a lot because they don't want to put a lot of money in the pot, so they'll limp, and if I'm behind them, I'll raise to isolate them and get the pot down to the two of us. And then I can hopefully take it down on the flop or go from there if I actually make a hand. I put the pressure on them and make them fold if I don't think they have a very strong holding.



Chatbox Cunning

Emil "whilelime" Patel, who finished as the runner-up in the Full Tilt $25,000 heads-up championship and 16th in the WSOP $10,000 heads-up world championship, gives some winning poker advice.

On the most common mistake that people make when playing heads up:

"I think it is when stacks get short that people don't adjust their bet-sizing well enough when playing against shorter stacks. They'll make a certain raise or reraise without taking into account how much they have in their stack and how much their opponent has in his stack, and what sort of price they'll be giving themselves if their opponent puts in a reraise. For example, let's say someone is in for only 20 big blinds and it's late in a tournament. I think a lot of people who haven't played a lot of poker might just keep raising their button to three times the big blind, which may be the same raise they were making when they were 100 big blinds deep. But now that someone's only 20 big blinds deep, the effective stacks are much shallower, so I think it's better to either be min-raising or limping from the button much more often."

Generation Next
Craig Gray: To Thine Own Self Be True
By Craig Tapscott

Do poker players tell the truth? Rarely. You have to keep your opponents guessing, unaware of your true strengths or weaknesses. But are players truthful with themselves? Tournament phenom Craig "MrCasino" Gray believes that most players are living in an illusion, in which they actually think they're good players. Most of the time they're deluding themselves, but there's a remedy.

"You have to be 100 percent honest with yourself," said Gray. "A lot of people think they're great players, and usually it's not true. Back when I first started, I thought I was good. Every six months, I would look back and realize that I really wasn't, so I kept studying. I went through this realization 10-15 times before I evolved into a top-notch player. I still can always improve."

What Gray calls the "honesty factor" has paid huge dividends to his bankroll. He has consistently finished deep in one of the toughest fields online, the PokerStars daily $100 rebuy event. Online, he has cashed for more than $500,000 during the first half of 2008. At the World Series of Poker, he cashed five times during the month of June, as well as chopped a $1,000 Venetian Deep-Stack Extravaganza III no-limit hold'em event for $54,000. There just might be something to this whole honesty-is-the-best-policy thing.

Craig Tapscott: Share your self-examination process with us.

Craig Gray: I started playing games with myself to improve. Just because I won a $5,000 pot doesn't mean I'm happy with that result. I try to figure out how I could have won a $6,000 or $7,000 pot. What could I have done differently? I'm always challenging myself, each and every hand. I began to look at people's hands and tried to guess them every time, and sooner or later my guesses would be more correct. I was never lazy at the table.

CT: You started with sit-and-goes, correct?

CG: Yes. When I first became successful at poker, I would play two at a time, and then after two years, I was playing four. I was playing $30 sit-and-goes, trying to make $150 a day. It was better than a minimum-wage job. I worked my way up to $200 sit-and-goes, which were the biggest ones online at the time. Some days I would play two hours, and sometimes as long as 14 hours. I was ranked in the top 10 on PartyPoker for a couple of years straight.

CT: You told me that Doyle Brunson's book Super/System had a big impact on you.

CG: That book was the only one at the time to talk about table image. At the table, I sometimes see myself in a blimp above the table, looking down. I'm trying to see everything from the outside and not just from the inside. Most people take into effect what everyone else is doing, and not the true facts of what they're doing and how people are going to adjust their game accordingly.

CT: What things are you becoming more aware of by using this technique?

CG: Now, I've really learned to use my aggression, when I should and shouldn't be aggressive, and when to change things up. I'm getting a lot more value out of hands by toning it down than if I was always betting and getting a worse hand to fold. I've learned how to use people's aggression against them, and how to check-call hands instead of thinking I have to bet.

CT: What's this I hear about you feeling old?

CG: [Laughing] I do feel old, because I feel like it's time for me to win a big one. I almost feel like a failure, since I haven't won a big event. I know I'm young, but almost 25 years old seems so ancient in the poker world now.

CT: OK, old-timer. You were around before the Moneymaker boom. How has the online game changed?

CG: Online, it's become very, very aggressive, with a lot of raises and reraises, because players now know not to just call. I think it's starting to peak, though. Many players are creating counterstrategies to it. Even in live play, I've seen it begin to get very aggressive. Live, people may be afraid to reraise with deeper stacks, but they are improving on how to raise in general and change their bet sizes around.

Attacking the Blinds
By Chris Rhodes

As the limit hold'em instructor for Card Player Pro, powered by PokerSavvyPlus.com, I recently completed a video series titled "Blind Sided," which focused on attacking and defending the blinds. Being able to find value in mediocre hands around the blinds is vital to creating a winning limit hold'em strategy.

In this column, I will focus on being the attacker in blinds battles. For simplicity, I will define a blinds battle as situations in which everyone folds around to you on the button. I see the benefits of being the attacker come down to three key components:

1. Choice: Simply put, you get to choose when to put money in the pot, and your opponents do not. Having the ability to fold your weaker holdings and choose the types of hands with which to attack based on your opponents is a large advantage.

2. Position Post-Flop: You are forced to act before the blinds preflop, but when most of the money goes in, you will be last. Getting to see your opponents make choices before you act has many benefits and will help you earn and save bets on later streets.

3. Initiative: Raising and putting pressure on your opponents will help you take down pots in which neither player flops a strong hand. Stealing these small pots is important to keeping you in the game while you wait for monster hands.

Now that I have outlined the benefits of attacking, you may be feeling the urge to raise every time it is folded to you on the button, but there are some things to think about when deciding to attempt a steal. First, you need to consider the types of players in the blinds. If they are very loose and likely to defend with all but the worst of holdings and continue to chase in nearly hopeless situations, you should tighten your range a bit so that you are more likely to go in with the best hand.

Conversely, if the players in the blinds are tight, you should be attacking more frequently, since you are more likely to take the blinds right away or win a small pot with a continuation-bet on the flop. Your image also should be considered. If your opponents have shown some respect for you and you have not been too active in the last few rounds, you can get away with a bit more thievery than you can if you have been playing like a maniac. Another small consideration is whether you are playing in a full-ring game or shorthanded. While it could be argued that it does not make a difference, I believe that it does. Players who choose to play shorthanded likely are more comfortable in steal situations and are more likely to aggressively defend. Players in full-ring games often dislike steal situations and play poorly in those spots, and can be exploited.

A general guideline for hand ranges with which to attack can be found below, but remember to make adjustments when necessary:

• Any ace (A-K to A-2)
• Any pair (A-A to 2-2)
• Medium-high kings (K-8+)
• Medium-high queens (Q-9+)
• Broadway (J-10+)
• Medium-high suited connectors (8-7 suited, 9-8 suited)

Now that you have decided to attack the blinds, there are some general guidelines on how to proceed post-flop:

If One Blind Calls: Almost always continuation-bet, as you want to take a shot at winning the pot right away, and keep your options open to possibly check the turn. I do not recommend checking the flop as a trap with a big hand, since your opponent often will find it strange that you did not fire and will fear a monster.

If Both Blinds Call: Bet if you want to continue. If the flop is pretty hopeless for you, it is reasonable to shut down, since you are likely to get action. I recommend betting any pair or reasonable draw.

If You Get Three-Bet: Play more cautiously. This is where you need to make solid poker decisions about the strength of your hand. Most likely, the hand is going to showdown, so make sure that you have the best of it.

For a more in-depth discussion of attacking the blinds, including online hand examples, check out my "Blind Sided" video series at www.CardPlayer.com/pro. Once you learn to operate in attack mode, you will see an increase in your win rate. There is money to be made around the blinds -- so make sure that you are the one who takes it!

Mind Over Poker
A Matter of Discretion
By David Apostolico

When playing a tournament, there are numerous factors to consider. At a minimum, you should know how often the blinds increase, when antes are introduced, how much time is left at the current level, what the blinds will be at the next level, how many players are left, how many positions get paid, what's the average stack at your table, what's the average stack overall, and when your table will break. Of course, you also have to study your opponents and their play.

Fortunately, if you are playing online, you usually can find all of the information above with a click of your mouse. If you're playing live, most casinos will keep a running count (on prominent monitors) of the blinds, time left, next level, and remaining players. The number of remaining players is often behind, though, so beware. In addition, the prize money typically will be announced about an hour after the registration period closes.

Why is all of this information important? Poker requires constant adjustments, and this is only magnified in tournament play. For example, if your goal is to win the entire tournament, you may get aggressive as you approach the bubble if you sense that your tablemates' goal is to limp into the money. Now's the time to get aggressive.

It is also important to recognize which of your opponents are aware of all of the changing factors and if they are making proper adjustments. This requires paying constant attention to them as well as the monitor, because you certainly don't want to point out the factors to your opponent, as all too often, many opponents just aren't aware.

Let me offer the following real-life example of a well-intentioned player with the right frame of mind but horrible discretion. It was a daily tournament, and we started with more than 200 players and the top 18 would get paid. The structure was fast, and there was an eclectic mix of good and not-so-good players. We were down to the last 15 players, when one of the players decided to ask questions. Here was the situation: The blinds were 5,000-10,000 with 1,000 antes. The average stack was about 70,000. Mr. Curious was in middle position with about 50,000. There was a call and a raise to 20,000 before the action got to Mr. Curious. Mr. Curious went into serious think mode for about five minutes. The entire table was getting annoyed, but no one was saying anything. Finally, Mr. Curious asked how much time was left until the next level. About 10 minutes. What will the blinds be then? 8,000-16,000. When's the next jump in prize money? Not until ninth place. How many players are still left? 15. All were excellent questions, and I was glad to see someone thinking in these terms. I was dumbfounded, however, that Mr. Curious didn't already know this information, as it was all available on a television screen not more than 10 feet away.

Now, I don't doubt for a second that many of the remaining players already knew this information. However, I know for certain that many did not. So, by asking these questions, Mr. Curious gained some information, but so did everyone at the table who did not already know it. Even if some of them did know, Mr. Curious' questions may have spurred their interest in why this information was so important, and it was certainly revealing as to how he intended to play. Take every edge that you can gain at the poker table. If you need information, by all means ask. However, if you can find out easily enough without sharing with the table, do so.

In every tournament I play, no matter what the level, these questions always are asked. The questioner doesn't realize two things: First, he would be better off keeping the information to himself. Next, the manner in which the questions are asked often reveals the intentions of the person asking them. For instance, if we're approaching the bubble, someone is asking questions for one of two reasons: Either he wants to survive into the money or he wants to exploit those who are trying to survive into the money. If you are paying attention, it should not be hard to figure out in which camp the questioner resides.

Tells aren't given away just during the course of play. In fact, I often find out a lot more information from casual conversation, when players let their guard down. Keep this in mind when your curiosity gets the best of you: You are absolutely in the right to gather as much information as possible; just be careful how you do it.

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