The Yearn to Learn to Earn was Heard!

And just like that, it was over. A year in the planning and preparation, and in merely one day it was completed, the room cleared, and the enthusiastic players disbanded. That's right, this year's World Poker Players Conference convened on July 11, and by 6:40 p.m. that day (yes, we ran late because there was so much to cover), it was all finished and the players were eagerly awaiting news of the next such event. There were about 300 attendees packed into the Orleans ballroom, and very few missed a session or left early. We will definitely book a larger room next year. But who knew there would be so many walk-up registrants? Perhaps we should have figured that poker players would be true to form and not preregister, even with the $26 savings for doing so. Oh well, pokers players, go figure!

The Mad Genius himself, Mike Caro, was the emcee for this third-year event, and he gave the audience what they wanted, real vintage Caro. Intermingled throughout the seminars, Mike gave the audience many of his best poker tips and plenty of laughs. He opened by stressing the point that in poker, your decisions have a huge effect on your results, unlike most gaming pursuits, in which they really don't matter. In poker, you are rewarded for making correct decisions.

The first speaker up was hugely successful middle- and high-limit hold'em specialist Barry Tanenbaum. If his name rings a bell, it should, because he is one of the recent additions to the great columnists in Card Player magazine. He is one of my poker heroes, and his pearls of wisdom should not be missed. He is also available for lessons, and you can contact him via his e-mail address in Card Player, or you can find him at the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group meetings in Las Vegas. Sorry, I got carried away. Anyway, one of Barry's best thoughts of the day was to "take the free card." That's right. You play a hand perfectly, raising from late position on the cheap street to get that freebee if you don't make your hand. Then, when you miss and everyone checks to you, you get alien-hand syndrome and bet! Don't do it, just say no!

Next up were two of the most outstanding tournament directors anywhere, Matt Savage and Dave Lamb. They guided the audience through some of the situations that can arise when you get to a final table of a tourney and a deal is presented. It was great hearing some of the things they have heard offered at the table, and they provided some easy ways to figure what is fair. Also discussed were bubble saves and what they are. In my opinion, their best tidbit was that you never have to accept a deal. Not making a deal does not make you a bad person, and deal-making is always optional.

Moving on, the next speaker was the highly successful all-games player Annie Duke. She oftentimes is referred to as Howard Lederer's sister, but I think he has gotten used to being thought of as Annie's brother! They are the most successful brother/sister act in poker, to my knowledge. Annie is not only a high-limit live-action and tournament player, she also plays a lot of online poker. She gave attendees some great tips on playing online, how to make needed adjustments, and how and why the games are so very different online. She stated that players feel no shame when behind a computer monitor, and likely bluff far too much. How do you counter that? Bluff less and call more. Players tilt more, and since online games are so much faster, you should pay enough attention to know when you can take advantage of such a situation. She told of the time she "owned" a player, beating him in four successive pots: once with ace high, once with king high, once with bottom pair, and once with merely a queen high. He was on tilt and bluffing off his money, and Annie was going to continue to call him until he stopped doing so.

After the lunch break, the conference reconvened with a highly regarded panel of players that included World Series of Poker bracelet winners Robert Varkonyi, Russ Hamilton, and Robert Williamson III. Expert player Wendeen Eolis moderated the panel. They gave their thoughts primarily on no-limit play, both tournaments and live action. Varkonyi mentioned that seven-card stud eight-or-better used to be his favorite game, but now no-limit hold'em is. Perhaps winning the WSOP championship in 2002 had something to do with his change of heart. Hamilton, who won the WSOP championship in '94, and also earned his weight in silver that year, explained how no-limit and limit are so very different, and that he never really traps in limit games, but that trapping is a key part of his no-limit game. Williamson, who won the pot-limit Omaha event at the 2002 WSOP, stated that he prefers to make his no-limit bluffs in medium-sized pots. The reasoning? Small pots are usually not worth the risk, and in the big pots, someone will "look you up."

Well, I have reached the halfway point of the conference. Next time I'll talk about how the rest of the day went. In the meantime, hopefully those who attended the conference have used what they learned and have made some money. Class dismissed.

Please feel free to contact me. I will personally answer any letters I get, and will be happy to discuss poker cruises, my tournament on Oct. 24 in Mesquite, Nevada, or any other poker topics.