2007 WSOP (Question)

Has there been a rules change regarding use of profanity at WSOP tables?

I am watching the final table of a PL Omaha event on ESPN and Dave Elliott just let the explicatives fly. Of course, the network bleeped them all but I am pretty sure he used the "F" word ten or so times in less than a minute. He has said F&$* several more times in the few minutes I've been typing this post. I remember Mike-the-Mouth being penalized time last year for saying it twice.

Have the rules been relaxed? Is it something that only applies to the Main Event due to the wide exposure? Just curious.

Anyone know anything about this?

Scott R

Monday with The Juice

Since one of our dealers was going to be out of town, our usual $5/10 NLO8 Tuesday game got moved to Monday. Absent were many of the action players like Eli, Elvie and Bill. Like a good host, however, Dave almost single-handedly provided the evening’s entertainment. And, as I have trained him so well to do, my scout went out into the field, gathered chips from most of the others, then brought them back home to me. Good boy, Davey – remind me to give you a biscuit!

I did a decent job of not committing too many chips while drawing, trying to keep the pots as small as possible. This is not always an easy task in a game featuring His Juiciness. I don’t believe I was involved in any make-or-break hands throughout the session, and in those inevitable hands where I got corn-holed on the river, I was able to escape with only flesh wounds.

Most of the hands I was involved in were relatively uneventful, and I just steadily built my stack throughout the night. The one hand that sticks out wasn’t a monster by any means, but I found it interesting in how it played out. I believe we had the usual pre-flop straddle, with most of the table calling. I look down to find Ax-4x-5d-8d, and we see a flop of 6d-7d-Qx. I like the flop, as I have a lot of different draws (wrap, decent low, open-end straight flush, etc). Dave must like it also, because he leads out with a fairly large bet. I forget the exact amount (all the hands run together after a while…) but $140 somehow rings a bell. I make the call, as does John S.

While Dave can have anything from top set to some goofy runner-runner crap, I know John must have a very good draw to call a large bet. Having a relatively shorter stack, he would most likely push in or fold with a smaller set, and definitely push in with top set. My initial read is that he has a good low draw, and possibly a flush draw along with it. It’s funny all the different scenarios that can go through your mind in just a couple seconds. Usually I’m thinking of the card I want to see, but in this case I was thinking of cards I don’t want to see, such as a 2 or 3. These cards give me a good low, but not the nuts. I wouldn’t mind it if I was in position, but I don’t want to end up being the “sucker in the middle” facing a large turn bet from Dave, with John yet to act behind.

As I’ve said before: Easy decisions - gooood. Tough decisions - baaaad.

At any rate, my decision gets a lot easier when a beautiful little 9x comes on the turn. Almost a perfect card, as I now have a straight and there’s no low out there. Sure, it’s only second-nut, but it’s hard to put either opponent on a big wrap or gutshot, and if so, I’ve still got plenty of outs. Dave leads out with a $300 bet, and now the decision is whether to raise or smooth-call. This decision turns out to be a fairly easy one (gooood). If John has a good low draw, I definitely want to bet him out an isolate Dave. Then if a low card comes, I have a good chance of winning the entire pot. If he wants to risk his entire stack on just a draw, then I’ll leave him his own tough decision (baaaad) to make. Also, I want to get more of Dave’s chips into the pot, but since I have redraws, I don’t want to bet him out.

I decide that a min-raise should accomplish both goals, and I raise to $600. John grumbles a bit before folding, and Dave makes the call. There are a lot of cards I don’t mind seeing, but the board-pairing 6x is not one of them. Luckily, Dave checks to me, and I’m not forced to make a tough decision (baaaad). I’m more than happy to check behind with my straight, which by now is like the 23rd nut... He turns over Q-7 for a flopped top two-pair, and (I believe) a busted queen-high flush draw. I think John said he folded something like A-2-4-5, and I scoop a nice little pot of over $1,700.

The night ended a little earlier than usual. This was bad for everyone, as Dave still had chips left. Anytime Dave cashes out, two words come to mind – missed opportunity! Dave had amassed a lot of chips earlier, but as usual, his stack disappeared faster than the fried chicken at a Compton Golden Corral. Most of that chicken found its way onto my plate, and I ended up cashing out for a $3,500 profit. Not bad, but not near what I’m going to take from The Juice this Saturday night! That’s right, Dave. Break out your K-Y Jelly™ - it’s going to be painful!!

See ya at the tables…
Rick

Poker Players Getting Money Back from Neteller

Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal

Poker Players Getting Money Back from Neteller

Online money handler and payment processor Neteller ran afoul of the US government last year, and as a result millions of dollars of poker players' funds were frozen in their accounts. Thanks to a new agreement reached with the US prosecutors, Neteller will begin distributing those funds back to their rightful owners on Monday. The company will be retuning "$94 million to hundreds of thousands of U.S. customers" according to a recent statement. Those US customers that can expect their funds should be on the lookout for an email from Neteller.

Thanks again to the "advanced" heads up from a couple of our regular bloggers!

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Neteller

Tomorrow could be the beginning of Christmas in July at least for some of us. Neteller is supposed to be implementing their distribution plan for the return of funds to US players. US players should be able to login and request withdrawals beginning tomorrow. According to this interview

http://www.roundersradio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=762

from a few days ago with a Neteller VP the money is in one of their bank accounts in the US now and ready to be transferred back to US players. The process by EFT is supposed to only take a few days. This is probably overly optimistic as their may very well be problems with a massive number of players making withdrawals. Anyway this appears to potentially be a very good thing for those of us owed a significant amount of money by Neteller as well as a good thing for the poker economy in general. Quite a bit of the $94 million owed to US players should find it's way back into the online games some of which are in need of an influx of fresh cash. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for no more bad beats from Neteller.

Poker After Dark Season 2, Episode 2

We Want You to BLOG!

We Want YOU to Blog!

We have a core group of repeat bloggers, but we want YOU to blog.... Why should you blog? There's a lot of great reasons.... entertainment, bragging rights, ridiculing your own play and those.... I-can't-believe-you-called-me-with-that-donkey-plays that not only hit, but when they hit, they raise you..... whoever heard of such a thing! Probably the best reason is that when you listen to the winners of bracelets and major tournaments, most of them speak of being a part of a "think-tank" ... a place or a group of like-minded friends who play poker together and then dissect and analyze the hands. Of course, you would never do this at the poker table.... that would be poor etiquette! But to dissect and analyze for learning purposes is exactly what we are striving to create with this blog. Of course, you will be able to ridicule each other for the obvious "TILT" plays that we all make from time to time. And.... HORNS BLARING.... it's all FREE! Blogging on this site is by invitation only and you are cordially invited to join, blog, poke-fun, ridicule and learn with the group! Some of the best players in the area frequent our site and we want you to be part of it! Just email me at ncpokerblog@gmail.com and I'll forward you the invitation to join us.

Thanks!

I wanted to say a huge THANKS to all those who have continued to visit, read and especially those of you who have posted over the past couple of weeks. You have probably noticed a decline in the quantity of posts and it was unfortunately unavoidable as I have been dealing with a health issue that prevented me from aggressively posting. Good news! (At least for me!) I'm back! Although the content has been waining, many of you have continued to visit the site daily and for that I am very grateful.

And I'm still very excited about the blog site and the newly acquired Triangle Poker Journal. I realize that it is all about content and keeping the information real-time enough to make you want to visit regularly so I'm committed to bringing fresh information and activities that will entertain and inform!

Well, again thanks for your patience over the past couple of weeks. Now to the task at hand... making the TPJ a useful and informative site!

Back to the felt!

Another downswing

I had a great start to this week, turning $0.50 into over $1500 but have been on an incredible spiral downwards since last night. I should have quit but I didn't and lost just about all of it back. Still in decent shape but just frustrating to see alot of it go away by hit & run donks sitting down and getting lucky and leaving the table. I know I can win against them over a long session but there is nothing I can do about that. I need to move on and not let it effect me after it happens, which is does most of the time.

However.....I guess that I can feel better after reading about sbrugby's past week....ouch

downswing
I am currently on my largest downswing of my life. It very depressing and today the total hit 3 million dollars. It began the last two days of live play when I lost 1.8 million dollars and has continued online by losing another 1.2 million. I have been getting destroyed by pretty much everyone I play. I think overall I have played pretty well in this downswing besides one night where I was very tired. I have almost completely busted my FTP account and may have to wire more money which would be very depressing. If this happens I will probably take a few weeks off poker to cool off. This downswing is made easier by the fact that I had a big upswing before but still its not fun to lose 3 million dollars. Often when I am in a downswing I need to rework my game but I think I have been playing well. I know things will turn around as this has happened to me a million times before just not on the same scale. As a side note I have been doing very well in the Omaha 8 games. When I first began playing them I thought I wouldn't have a lot of success but I have really hit the ground running. I hope that I am not just running hot and that this success continues. I do feel that I have a good idea of my equity in hands. I will have to see how I do in the next few months. But now I feel comfortable playing NLH, PLO, limit holdem, razz, and O8. Edited: 07/24/2007 at 09:46 PM by Brian

Check it down?

Quite a bit of "heated" discussion at PKR last night after I went all-in on the flop and my 2 callers agreed to "Check it down". As it turned out, I was beaten all the way... so, no-harm, no-foul, right? Actually, I'd say more than half the players saw nothing wrong with the agreement, regardless of how it affected my action already in play. Regardless, I disagree and feel that such an agreement violates common poker regulations and rules of etiquette.

--------------------------------------

Thoughts?

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

PUBLIC CARDROOM RULES (Poker):

While specific rules vary from casino to casino, most public poker cardrooms have similar rules and regulations.

- Players must act in turn

- Players should not telegraph or otherwise indicate intentions to act prior to their turn to act. Players may not advise other players how to play a hand.

From Robert's Rules of Poker, by Bob Ciaffone, a widely referenced set of poker rules:

POKER ETIQUETTE:

The following actions are improper, and grounds for warning, suspending, or barring a violator:

- Deliberately acting out of turn.

- Agreeing to check a hand out when another player is all-in.

- Making statements or taking action that could unfairly influence the course of play

On an amazing run...

After some of the worst luck ever online, busting out on Full Tilt to a miracle runner runner as always, I figured it was time to make one last stand playing poker, live or online. I've have been loosing at poker since the day I started and this was it. I figured that I would try my luck at Ultimate Bet since all of the guys I know who play online seriously play and win there. That's actually the reason I never played there before, that and the fact I hated their interface and table layout. Why play were the pros play (the real online pros all started on UB and still play there)? I'd rather play where the donks play which is FullTilt. But there are too many donks at FT that just suckout so it's not worth trying anymore. So my experiment at UB would begin with a $50 deposit. Within a few hours, busto! ReBUY!! Another $50 gets loaded up there and almost busto. I was not playing very good poker and was still trying to get used to the interface and was playing alot of draws that never hit, unlike FT where every draw hit, only someone else would have a bigger suckout then mine.

So I'm down to $0.50 come Sunday afternoon. My experiment is not going so well but it's my fault for playing some of the draws I had. So at noon Sunday, I say a prayer and vow that this is it. No More Poker!! Not live nor online if I go broke (No Pressure). So with that 50 cent, I sit down to play $0.01/$0.02 NL HE and my game plan is to play solid poker, not to get worried or try and force it or put it all in on a draw, just sit back and let things comes to me. So I tripled up after a while and moved up to the .05/.10 tables. I sat back, won some nice pots and just kept moving up as soon as I had enough to buy into the next level. After 5 hour I was at $233.68!!!!!! Talk about a rush. I did not want to quit but I promised a guy I would play at his house and so I had to. Thinking that I would somehow realize that I need bankroll management, I should never go bust again. Guess again!! I'm proud to say that I did not lose it all again...but I tried too! My ego got involved in a few head's up matches tonight and I was up to over $300, down to $50 and up and then down. I worked my way back to $200 and thought that would teach me my lesson. Wrong again! I know only play head's up matches. Lots of action and I can get a better feel of the person I am playing against. Long story short, I was playing $0.25/$0.50 PL HE and was doing great until I sat down to a $0.50/$1.00 match as just ran cold and unlucky to a jerk (as you can tell my ego was involved in that match hence the loosing effort). So I went back down to the .25/.50 and buy in for the standard $25, the max is $50. Thanks to a few bad players and one guys who claimed to be high with $47k bankroll, I rushed my way up to over $400 at this table. With a max buy-in of $50, that's not a bad night's work. However, I do my best to lose it all right back and then some. My last opponent of the night was just playing horribly. He kept buying in with $15 vs my $400 so I just waited and crushed him ever time. After winning $100 off him and having a stack over $500 I asked the guy to leave b/c he really was no match. Now I'm not too sure of what happens, but he sits out for a few minutes talking about how much money he has to play with and blah blah blah and finally comes back with a max stack of 50. MAybe it was the same guy or maybe it was his buddy, you never know online. So I figured I would play for a few minutes, not losing much and hopefully shut this guy up. After losing $250 of my stack to this guy and going on some swings over $300 and down to $200 I was just frustrated with this guy and myself. Finally this hand came up and I knew as soon as he called the flop, every last dollar he had was coming back to me unless some miracle runner runner came. Understand that we both were playing hyper-aggressive and were raising and reraising every pot so me calling with my hand was not out of the ordinary.

www.pokerhand.org/?1294419

After this match, I'm sitting at just under $600. Not bad with starting at $0.50 just a day ago! Hopefully I can play smart, stick to a plan and become successful on UB. The key is to play head's up only, short sessions with breaks every hour of so, patience, and do not tilt. All easier said then done!

TM

What Was I Thinking?!

Many hands are easy to lay down in Omaha 8. The nuts on the flop, and the nuts on the turn are two examples of hands which you’d usually be better off simply tossing directly into the muck, as 99.6% of the time (hey, I just report the stats, I don’t make ‘em up…) they’ll just cost you a large portion of your stack.

Drawing hands are another story altogether, as (using some of my amazing math abilities), they will get there 99.6% of the time. Some examples of good draws in O8 are open-end straight draws (8 outs), flush draws (9 outs), sets (10 outs) and low draws (up to 21 outs!). Great draws would include two-pair (4 outs), or a gutshot straight draw (4 outs). The only real sure-fire lock draw is the gutshot straight flush draw (1 out, which I’ve had hit twice against me in the past six months or so…).

This is why the laydown I made last night was so horrible. Not only did I have a lock one-outer, but there was a bet and a raise in front of me, meaning that as the “sucker in the middle” I probably would’ve had to risk a good portion of my stack to try and suck out. With all that going against me, I don’t know how I folded – I was golden! I haven’t experienced this much of a sure thing since Dave’s wife after half a Zima™…

$5/10 NLO8. I’m on the button, and look down at As-5h-6h-10s. Five of us limp and see a flop of 2h-3h-Kc. Not a bad flop for my hand – I’ve got some possibilities, but nothing’s there yet. Tom is UTG, and leads out with a $40 bet. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I read him as strong. Still, it’s an easy call once it gets to me. Bill is next to act, however, and min-raises to $80. Crap. I want to see a cheap turn card, and Bill just eliminated this possibility. If I were last to act, the implied odds would still make it an easy call, since Bill would most-assuredly bet the turn and river even after getting drawn out on. It folds to me, and I mull it over for a few seconds. Bill obviously has a set, and with Tom (and his fairly big stack) left to act behind me, it’s not hard to envision him with a big hand like a small wrap and the nut flush draw. Nope, I can’t do it – I toss my cards into the muck.

Tom doesn’t take much time to push all-in, and Bill makes the call. Bill turns up his hand to show 2-2 for bottom set, and not much else. Tom, on the other hand, has a monster, A-4-K-K. He has no flush draw, but has top set and nut low draw. About two seconds after I begin patting myself on the back for making a good read on Tom and laying down my hand, the dealer flips over the turn card, the 4h. Aaack!! I would’ve made the wheel and a straight flush, and scooped up both their stacks!

It’s hands like this that make me wish I was a worse player. :-) I was on mini-tilt for the next ten minutes, but luckily didn’t give any chips away. I ended up the night almost $2k to the good, but oh, what could have been! One thing’s for certain – if I ever find myself in that situation again…yep, I’ll probably still fold…

See ya at the tables…
Rick

A juicy Tuesday evening

Another Tuesday evening and another crazy night of Omaha at the Casa De Juice. It was a strange night as things just seemed to be a half click off for everyone. The juice was gone after about an hour, Charles looked like he was ready for the morgue, and Mikey looked like he just went 3 rounds with Mike Tyson. We had on a live feed of the final table at the WSOP instead of the normal hi caliber academy award winning performers we usually see.
As for the poker; here was a fun hand that pretty much played itself although it could have been very painful for yours truley had just about anyone else had Ricks hand. We have the standard straddle with everyone calling and about $125 in the pot pre flop. I look down and find KKA4. Nice but nothing to get married to...that is until the flop comes 23K...the only thing I did not like about that flop was there was a heart flush draw and yours truly had no hearts. I fire out $40 figuring just about everyone will call. Much to my dismay Bill T doubles my bet to $80 and it folds to Rick who ponders a call. He puts me on a big hand and figures I am going to reraise and does he really want to put all of his chips at risk on a gutshot straight flush/wheel draw? Being the superior player Rick is he knows he is behind...way behind and lays it down. It gets back to me and I figure Senior T is steaming a bit from a previous suck out and I may be able to get him to call my all in....so I move all in. Bill thinks and thinks and finally says what the heck and calls. Bill has some kind of low draw and not much else. The turn comes Ricks gutshot straight flush 4 of hearts card and he lets out a moan knowing he gets all my chips. The river does nothing and I scoop the pot with my Set of Kings. As I drag the pot I smack Mikey in his good eye and tell him nice job.

Triangle Poker Journal in the N&O

http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/business/story/639581.html

Poker Web site sold to top editor

From Staff Reports
RALEIGH - The online Triangle Poker Journal has been sold to its top editor. Founder George Smart, who started the poker Web site in 2005, announced the deal to sell the site to senior blog editor Charles Richards on Monday.

Terms were not disclosed, though Smart did say it was a six-figure deal. The Web site, www.trianglepokerjournal.com, features a top 10 list of area poker players ranked by earnings and resources for area poker players.

http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/business/story/639581.html

WSOP Main Event - Final Table Set!

1. 22,070,000 Philip Hilm
2. 21,315,000 Tuan Lam
3. 20,320,000 Jon Kalmar
4. 16,320,000 Raymond Rahme
5. 13,240,000 Lee Childs
6. 9,925,000 Lee Watkinson
7. 9,205,000 Hevad "Rain" Khan
8. 8,450,000 Jerry Yang
9. 6,570,000 Alex Kravchenko

Small Tournament Structure

I really don't think that everyone will ever agree on the structure of any tournament. Either the blinds are driving the action or the game is moving to slow and you can't get the cash game going. Online the games move extremely fast but even at 10 or 15 minute blinds, you're still seeing alot of hands per level and there's always a clock. Around town, there's not always a clock and the dealer could be slow or if you have a side pot late in the tourney where 2 or 3 people are all in and you're trying to figure out the pot if it splits. Those few minutes mean everything to a short stack getting close to the money.

The other night, I experimented with 4,000 in chips with blinds every 15 minutes starting at 5/10, doubling up to 40/80 then it went to 50/100 and doubled after that. I think it worked great b/c even though I had the monster chip stack until a horrible call and lucky river (I raised preflop w/ K J, 2 callers, flop comes K 10 8 , I push all in to take the pot down then and there since I have everyone covered, Coach insta-calls with J 9 and gets lucky on the river as always). Still, after that miracle catch (I'm still pissed about it) we still had enough chips to play with. You didn't fee that you had to go all in every hand. We ended up at 800/1600 and when I got head's up (top 2 pay out) I just went all in to end the game and get the side game going. So it ended with a little over 2 hours of play which was nice b/c everyone knocked out didn't have to wait forever to play some cash.

Anyway, I wanted to find out what everyone else did. I like keeping the blinds cheap to start with, allowing more play at the beginning and let the guys have a good time. I also think that the switch from 40/80 to 50/100 makes a big difference in allowing more play since it was more like an extended level with an ante almost. That's another thing, I never put in an ante that way the shorter stacks didn't feel pressure to go all in every road. When you start forcing the action, the more bad beats occur and it just becomes a luckbox fest on who's hand doesn't get unlucky.

Let me know what you guys do for single and multi tables.

Thanks.

High Stakes Poker Season 3 Episode 6

Exciting finish at High On the Hog

So far both I've hosted two tournaments at High On the Hog and so far the heads up hands have been ESPN quality hands for certain. Last week I was heads up with a guy named Adam. I held Ac 4d And the flop was 2d 3d 5d giving me the straight. After raising his bet on the flop he pushed all-in with Ad 8h. The queen of diamonds came on the turn and suddenly I found myself with 1,600 in chips....... to his 58,400. I was eliminated three hands later.

Today we almost had a full table (Thank you Raleigh Poker Meet-up!!!!) after only three people showing the first week (my brother, who only dealt today, and I made it five.) I joined six others in a 2 and a half hour journey. It took 50 minutes to knock out the first player and then one player fell about every twenty minutes before I ended up heads up with a young man named Matt. Matt won an early pot to put us about even with chips. Then came the big hand. With blinds of 1500/3000, I raised on the button with KdQs. He then called the 9000 bet and we saw an AsJsrag flop. He coyly checked and I checked my 4 out straight draw. Another rag graced the turn and we both checked again. The came a 10c on the river. He then bets 12K and I immediately announce the all-in. He calls and as I say "nuts" he (justifiably) shows his disgust as he turns over pocket aces.

At the pace we're growing I hope that we can get at least a full table next week. Maybe we'll have full drama just as well. I will be adding a $5 bounty to the buy-in thus making it a $40+5+5 tournament. For those not familiar, "Bounty tournaments" are tournaments in which you can win money by eliminating a player. Plus my cash game will start at 1PM on July 22nd, instead of the previously announced 5PM. It still will be a $1/$3 NLHE.

Running bad (stupid) again

After playing great for two weeks in a row, I'm bad to playing like an idiot again. I finished 2nd last night in a small 10 man tourney (which I should have won if not for a horrible call and suckout on the river by Coach) only to not catch a single flop in the NLO8 cash game that followed and lose everything I won and much more. Today I figured that I would play some micro-stakes online to pass some time only to realize how much I hate online. Here are 2 interesting hands for today.

I'm not a big fan of AK. I have always called it the most overrated hand in poker. Just b/c you see someone at the final table of a tournament go all in with it doesn't mean it's as good as As in a cash game. On this one, I figured him for AK with the raise and once again, I'm a 90% favorite after the flop and turn. Such a sick runner runner.

www.pokerhand.org/?1263509

Now this was a fun hand. I really stopped caring and wanted to play suckout poker. I mean, that's what online poker is really all about anyway. Notice the talent level in this game after seeing the hands that called me. Makes me wonder how in the world do I lose playing online?

www.pokerhand.org/?1263522

I hope that I have all of the stupidity out of me know after playing like a moron today. Tomorrow's a new day and a new chance to start over and win a sweet tourney.

Triangle Poker Journal is Sold

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Triangle Poker Journal is Sold
http://www.trianglepokerjournal.com/

Founder and Editor George Smart announced today the sale of Triangle Poker Journal (TPJ), a poker publication he created in 2005. Charles Richards, currently the Journal’s Senior Blog Editor, has purchased TPJ and will take control over the next few weeks. Smart, an executive coach and national speaker on leadership development, will still contribute articles periodically. Terms were not disclosed, but Smart smilingly confirmed today “It was a six-figure deal. I just won’t comment on where the decimal point was.”

Charles Richards is a poker player who by day is regional sales manager with a computer company. He created the blog Bad Beats and Great Hands in 2005 which was merged with TPJ in 2007. Richards said, “I am very excited about the TPJ! I am looking forward to expanding its already impressive list of support tools to area players and developing fun and interesting enhancements that will keep them coming back.”

George Smart is Managing Partner of Strategic Development, Inc and is formerly Vice Chair of Leadership Triangle, a nonprofit providing training for regional leaders.

About Triangle Poker Journal: In a state without poker rooms, the people in the Triangle love to play poker! We have thousands of players in bar leagues, home games, and online games. Triangle Poker Journal serves the needs of these players and keep them current. TPJ is unique -- the only publication in the Triangle to exclusively cover poker. TPJ sponsors a Top Ten list of nationally ranked, Triangle players like Mike Gracz, Greg Raymer, Denis Ethier, and Chris Bell. There are video interviews with all these players plus more articles on local poker companies. TPJ provides extensive travel information and poker learning resources for the local player. Poker magazines, poker camps, DVD's, software -- you name it -- is listed with minimum advertising on its uncluttered, easy to navigate site. For questions or information about this press release please contact Charles Richards at (919) 796-5082 or charles@richards-web.com. Contact George Smart at (919) 740-8407 or gsmart@strategicdevelopment.com.

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Tennessee Poker Raid Arrests

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NEWPORT, TN - Five people were arrested today in Cocke County TN on gambling charges following an undercover investigation and raid in May on an illegal gaming hall.

A Cocke County grand jury returned indictments against the five Tuesday. More indictments are expected.

Lee Emory Almany, William Glen Almany, Penny Louise Gates and Rhonda Crum, all of Newport, were each charged with multiple counts of gambling promotion. Jason Powell Grooms of Hartford was charged with one count.

State troopers, Newport police and TBI agents on May 21st raided the Sportman's Cafe in Newport. Authorities said they found about 50 people engaged in an illegal poker tournament. Cash, guns and assorted gambling paraphernalia were seized.

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Famous Poker Quotes...

"It's unlucky to be superstitious."

-------------Roland Waters

Todd Brunson Quotes

Insightful:
"The path to do the right thing is in front of everyone, and each knows how to walk it. The path is clear, yet some choose not to take it. This applies to life as well as poker. Not every path I've taken has been glamorous, but I did the right thing and it got me where I am today."

- Todd Brunson

Egotistical:
Todd has occasionally criticized his dad’s plays in public. Doyle maintains his composure and sarcastically responds, “I know Todd. I’m the idiot who sired a genius.”
Doyle calls Todd after big games and especially after big tournaments. Doyle will ask, “How did you do?” If Todd won, the answer is always, “I played, didn’t I.”

-From Berry Greenstein's website

Hilarious:
Scheduling an interview with players from the Big Game is tougher than a 50-cent steak. I've got Phil Ivey on deck, but we're like Gavin Smith in a singles bar - unable to hook up. (Take that, Tippy-Toe Canadian!)
-From the opening paragraph of Todd's article in Card Player Magazine

Omaha 8 5/10 No Limit

I know, it gets crazier sounding every time I say it.... No one plays, no rational person plays 5/10 No Limit Omaha 8.... well, I know a small group of lunatics that do.... regularly. And it got off to a great start with Tom tripling up only to scoop a $1400+ pot with the high, a pair of Kings! Yep, you heard it, Omaha 8 scooped pot with a pair of Kings. Whee!

I did catch a couple of nice ones as well... there was a pre-flop straddle of $30 and the Juice raises it to $100 straight and I do believe that everyone called. I'm holding Ah, 2h, 5c, 6c and the flop was 3x, 4x, 8x. I have read how Rick got a flop like that several times but I never dreamed that it could happen to me. I quickly check and the Juice leads out with $100 bet and there are several callers. The turn was the 7. The juice bets and I push all-in and get a couple of callers and I end up scooping a very nice pot.

Although the hand of the night belonged to the Juice. It didn't actually happen that night, but it was a story from the side cash games at this years WSOP. I won't spoil it only to say that the King of the one-outer had Mr. Parkinson hit a one outer on him.... Come on Dave, tell the story!

Back to the felt!

1/3 NL Hold'em Tuesdays

As usual, the 8PM game at T.V.'s place was rolling when I arrived at 7:30 - but at least I don't have to sit in the cramped corner tonight!

The action got started in just about the same fashion as it does every night of poker at this game. Early on, everyone plays a nice tight conservative game, a $13 dollar raise is usually enough to steal the blinds, then as the night continues you're likely to get 3-4 callers on such raises minimum.
An unusual amount of coolers plagued (and blessed) the feature table. From the small blind, I looked down at Jh Js and raised it to 13 and got 3 callers. The flop came Jc, 6s, 9s, giving me the nuts but clearly a vulnerable hand. I make it $50 to go on the flop, it folds around to a mid position player who adds another $100 on top. I try to remain even and not to give away my excitement at seeing his chips go into the middle, but I think my eyes were so big and full of joy the blind couple down the street knew I had a monster. He had only another hundred or so behind, so I go ahead and put him all in when it folds back to me and he insta-calls. I suspect this unfortunate player is on the losing side of set-over set, but much to my fear he turns over 7s 8s for the open ended strait-flush draw. Yikes! I have the nuts and I'm not even 60% to win the hand! Luckily, the turn comes 9h and the river a useless Qs and my boat holds up. What a way to double up!

Several hands later, J.R. catches me in a big bluff and takes down a $125 dollar pot with a full house he contemplated for a few minutes on the river before calling. Holding 8c5c, I call and with about 4 players, the flop comes Qh7c4c. It checks around to J.R. who fires $11 into the pot and I call. The turn brings Qd, and thinking I can take the pot right now fire $30 into the pot, J.R. smooth calls the $30 after checking. I put him on perhaps a weaker Q like a Q10 or Q9, a hand he'd definately call with but would most likely get away from if faced with a big decision on the river. If I didn't hit my flush, strait, or the 6c for the ultimate nutty, I felt good that I could take the pot away from him. The river comes the Kh and he checks. I felt almost sure he wouldn't check a full house or A-Q on the river, so I fired a $75 dollar bet into the pot. Thinking he would think and eventually much his mediocre Q, I feel great about my chances. He eventually makes a reluctant call, I show my 8 high and he turns over 77, he turned a full house! I say, "you thought about it that long?" and he thought I'd play the KQ the same way - which I would. I would probably spill a red bull all over Eddie trying to shove my chips into the pot at the end there, but being thorough in thinking about all the possibilities is why J.R. is a consistent winner.

After playing small ball for a while, I call from the SB with KQo, the flop bring 10d 9x 4d. I check with every intention of folding to someone's bet, and sure enough Sup makes it $13 to go from mid position. As he bet, I thought to myself "Yep, no way I'm calling with a gutshot here" then there's a call, "hmmm...still not calling" and another call, so i'm getting 5-1 and I'm up a good bit so...let's gamble. The turn - you guessed it - the Jh giving me the nuts. First to act, I think about what to do and what to bet....with the diamond draw out there I'm perfectly happy to take the pot with my suckout now, so I announce all-in. That obviously would put everyone else all in. Sup contemplated a call, showed his cards to the players there and eventually mucked, I suspect he had atleast two-pair, maybe even snuck in there with QQ. The next player to act thinks a good bit, and makes the call. I pray for hte board not to pair but he hit his draw as well with that J - having made his hand with teh bastard end of the strait with 7-8. THe river is irrelevant and I scoop a nice pot to put me near $1000 up for the session.

I left not too long after that, thanking the poker Gods for being on the better end of some nasty hands but at the same time feeling empathy for those couple of players who were on the other side of hands they can't control. Such is the game of poker!

See you around the felt!

-CA

Saturday tournament in Cary

I would like to invite you to participate in a freeze out tournament to be held Saturday, July 14th, 2007 at my apartment in Cary. This tournament is a $40+5 freezeout in which players recieve 12,000 in tournament chips with 20 minute blinds. We will be starting at 1PM and food and sodas will be provided. For more information please call 270-9948 or e-mail "Pig". This will be a weekly event.

Famous Poker Quotes...

"If I'm grinnin', I'm winnin'."

-------------Phil Quayle

WSOP Stories - One Loose Player

Taoism teaches us that all changes in nature are manifestations of dynamic interplay between the polar opposites yin and yang (I’m no Chinese philosopher, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night). Clearly the world is full of polar opposites. Salt and sugar, Heaven and Hell, rich and poor, Jessica Alba and Rosie O’Donnell…

There are many opposites in the poker world as well. Winners and losers, passive and aggresive, and of course, tight and loose. Earlier I had written about the tightest player I have ever met, the guy who played one hand (and it was a royal flush!) in 90 minutes of Omaha 8. Now I’ll tell you about the yin to his yang, the loosest player I’ve ever met (and I know Dave!).

I was playing $5/10 NLHE, when an older gentleman sat down to my immediate right. We instantly struck up a conversation. I learned that his name was J.R., and that he’s a businessman from Atlanta who also runs a couple poker games on the side. The guy was pretty funny, and knew every corny joke in the book (and a few that never made the book). He was dressed all in black, with a cowboy hat, bolo tie, and a big silver belt buckle.

Within about 10 seconds of sitting down he was shouting for drinks at the top of his surprising healthy lungs. He spent the next three hours with a glass of white zinfandel in his left hand and a glass of red zinfandel in his right, all the while trying to play cards without spilling anything. While he was pretty loose to begin with, once the alcohol kicked in he was out of control. He bet or raised every pot (“How ya like that!?”), and when his opponent folded he would invariably turn over his hand to show a big bluff, berating his “tight-ass Jew” opponent.

Yep, it turns out that this guy was also about as racist as they come. He regaled in telling stories about his childhood, when he “banged every black slave girl” his father owned. I didn’t bother telling him that slavery was abolished before his grandfather was born, but let’s just say it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to find that it took the news, oh, a few extra decades to find its way to his family’s farm. It dawned on me that this guy was Dave in 50 years!

At any rate, as the night wore on his insults became louder and more descriptive. “Tight-ass Jew” became “You tight-ass Kike bastard! A gnat couldn’t find his way into your ass with a flashlight and pick axe!” Most of the players at the table just kind of took it in stride and laughed along with him. It could be that some agreed with his viewpoint, but I think it’s mainly because he was paying them. The guy easily dropped $10k during the 3+ hours I sat next to him. Of course, I was card dead for much of that time, and (just my luck) when I finally pick up Q-Q and get all my chips in the middle, he turns over K-K and takes most of my stack. Oh well, even with that hit I still ended up well ahead during the time he was there.

It’s funny the effect that one player can have on a table. Once he got up and left, the table became quite tight (and yes, quite boring) almost immediately, and I got up and left soon afterward. Before he left, however, I told him about a friend (Nate) who just moved to Atlanta and had yet to find a good game. J.R. gave me his number to give to Nate, and I passed it along. I don’t know if the other players in his game are anything like him. If so, I suspect a move may be in order for me! I anticipate hearing from Nate about J.R.’s game. I imagine that Nate will be called every name in the book, but fully expect he will be well paid for the abuse!

See ya at the tables…
Rick

Poker Dengeneracy

Here's a news flash for everyone - Sometimes poker is tough. However when it seems that I'm getting bloodbathed this year in every poker way possible I realize that there are those far worse off. More on that shortly. First let me moan for awhile. Bloodbathed has to be my new favorite poker term. If it wasn't coined by Chapel Hill's own Mark Newhouse then he is the first I have heard use it and it certainly describes his poker and life results lately.

I haven't played any live in a long while or blogged any for that matter. Just grinding online. Some of 2007's non-highlights:

1. Mid-six figure bankroll stuck in Neteller resulting in the current grinding of 5/10-15/30 instead of the 100/200 I would like to still be playing. I think the whole neteller debacle is by far the worst thing that has happened in 2007. It's been dragging on now since mid-January and is an ongoing source of depression every time I think about it. Hopefully this situation is nearing a conclusion though and I'll have some neteller news to be happy about in a week or so. Valuable lesson learned though. I had way to much of my roll there. Despite thinking it was safe being in a company that was publicly traded and regulated by the United Kingdom's banking industry regulators it was still a way stupid thing to do. If this doesn't have a happy ending it will be the ENRON of the poker world for a lot of US players.

2. June was my first losing month in over two and a half years. Not a terrible amount all things considered but still shitty especially since July hasn't gotten off to a much better start.

3. No decent tournament cashes to boost the bankroll since before Party left the US market. Jesus, it has really been that long. Bright side to this though is I really don't play many tournaments.

4. The waning popularity of poker in the US has led to a steady decline in profits from my rakeback site. I think traffic to most poker related sites like 2+2 is down a lot across the board. Alas, the recurring monthly income was nice while it lasted, is still fairly significant, and I was able to help a lot of online players with some really sweet rakeback deals.

5. This time last year I was in Vegas for a month for most of the WSOP including the main event courtesy of Martin's Poker. So many people think Vegas is the center of the poker universe but really it isn't. LA blows Vegas away poker wise but the series brings so much money to Vegas that it was sweet raping the cash games even though I had a lackluster performance in the main event getting knocked out on day 2 just shy of the money. Fast forward to '07 and I'm completely lethargic about the WSOP in general and tournament poker in particular. I just want my money from neteller to get back to the cash games.

One of the first things would be poker players should learn is if they want to be successful and profitable in their poker play they should stick to cash games and only play tournaments for fun with money that isn't significant to their bankroll. The variance in tournament poker due to the escalating blind structures and top heavy payouts is sick. So many big name tournament pros are constantly broke or staked when they could otherwise be profitable sticking to the cash games.

Case in point about tournament poker. I got no sleep last night so I decided to take a day off today and not really play much poker. However, I decided to mess around a little and play in a new tournament that PokserStars is offering on Sundays starting yesterday because I had a few PokerStars $T on the site that I have been meaning to use. It was $100k guaranteed $11 buyin freeze out. The first day it blew away the guarantee completely filling up with 15,000 players. Not only did it completely fill up but it didn't do so a few minutes before the start. It was full on Saturday. So I'm kicking it at the house this afternoon playing decent poker despite a drought of any big hands. I wade through 13,700 players for two and a half hours to end up cashing a whopping $19 profit. Imagine how emotionally and financially bankrupt one would feel spending $500K+ to travel the tournament circuit playing all the large buyin events and not having any significant cashes for a year or so. Forget it. Stick with the cash games.

Ok enough of my moaning. I don't bet sports or play pit games. I play well within my bankroll and if everything works out with Neteller everything else will be fine and my poker world should fall back into place.

On to the meat of my post and a situation that I'm glad I'm not in and one that should be a warning to anyone that enjoys success in poker. Many Triangle players are familiar with Mark Newhouse also known online as Newhizzle. Mark is from Chapel Hill and was a very successful online limit specialist before winning the 06' WPT Borgata Open for a little over $1.5 million.

Unfortunately Mark has had a lot of ups and downs since then. He recently lost a prop bet to Gary Wise that had to do with whether Gary could lose a certain amount of weight in a specified time. Mark lost and as a result has to blog for Gary's poker site http://www.wisehandpoker.com/ for thirty days as well as owing Gary $1500 upfront and $500 for every day he misses blogging. Mark has missed several days. No problem right for a guy who just won $1.5 million last year in one tournament plus winning a considerable amount from his cash game play? Well unfortunately Mark has gone from robusto to nearly busto losing a large amount of his winnings through a combination of degenerate gambling, bad staking arrangements, and playing in games in which he doesn't have enough of an edge.

Mark isn't much of a blogger, not that I am, but reading through his postings at http://www.wisehandpoker.com/blog/index.php/mnewhouse is really disturbing. There are also threads at the 2+2 forum detailing Mark's dealings with the infamous Brandi whom Mark so eloquently refers to as that crazy psycho bitch that make for a good read if you can wade through them. Here's a young man who had everything going for him but has let the gambooling lifestyle get to him. Mark seems like a genuinely nice guy even though I do not know him personally and hopefully he can get his life and poker career turned around and not end up continuing to spiral down hill until he ends up like Stu Ungar did.

Some things to take from Mark' situation would definitely include:
1. Investing your winnings outside of poker while you're robusto. Most of the true greats in the game like Doyle, Chip, and Ivey had done this and not only tremendously increased their net worth but also insured that they will never be truly broke.

2. Be neither a lender or borrower. Mark needs to shed the nice guy image. Most staking arrangements even though so common in poker are truly bad deals. Staking degenerate gamblers or losing players is an awful way to manage your bankroll. Case in point - Ted Forrest would be a great deal wealthier if not for poor choices staking other players. Players like Erik Lindgren who have had a lot of success staking other players are definitely rare exceptions and not the rule.

3. Stick to poker. Degenerate gambooling including playing pit games, high stakes bowling or shuffleboard, flipping for rolls, etc. may seem cool but are definitely -EV all day long. Case in point - The poker legend TJ Cloutier has gambled away most of his poker winning at the craps table. He has to be staked in pretty much all the tournaments he plays and lives modestly mostly off of appearance fees and book signings. Any time he cashes in a tournament his backers are there waiting to collect their share before he goes on a spree at the craps table which he usually does with his winnings.

4. Don't be ashamed to drop down in limits until your bankroll recovers. This is just common practical bankroll advice. Many of the best players including Ivey have been broke numerous times and had to rebuild. A lot of them could have avoided being truly broke though if they had put aside there gigantic sized egos and moved down to games their bankroll would allow them to play in comfortably.

5. Utilize better game selection. I would rather be a winning player at 100/200 than a loser at 1000/2000. Playing at the highest stakes against the best players in the world where your advantage is slim or nonexistent is not smart when there are juicy games at lower stakes that you could have a considerable edge at.

6. That thing that the fairer sex has that we as men all want should be pursued elsewhere outside of the poker world if pursuing it in the poker world involves staking or coaching arrangements. Thinking with the wrong head can have disastrous bankroll results. Case in point - See 2+2 threads about Brandi and Chantel


Hopefully Mark will get things turned around but his troubles should serve as a warning to many of us both young and old. When gambling daily it is easy and sometimes necessary to become desensitized to the value of money. However to be successful in the long run as a poker player though we have to exercise a great deal of self-control both at the tables and away from them and when presented with so many choices we have to choose those that are the most +EV the vast majority of the time.

Here's to a profitable second half of 2007. Good luck at the tables all unless you should find yourself seated across the table from me.

Poker After Dark - Vanessa Rousso Outplays The Professor

Lawyer raises stakes against Washington State's Internet poker ban

Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal

Suit claims law really aims to protect gambling industry


Football buffs host holiday-grade parties for the year's Big Game. World Cup soccer zealots gather and sing anthems in nation-flagged bars. Tour de France fans camp along French highways to wait for the peloton.


So how does a poker aficionado kick off the year's biggest event, the World Series of Poker? If he's Renton-based attorney Lee Rousso, he does what comes natural: He goes all in with a lawsuit.


On Friday, as the poker championship began in Las Vegas, Rousso sued the state of Washington in an effort to overturn its 2006 ban on Internet poker. Calling it a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause, Rousso said the first legal challenge to the state law also should be the last.


"I think my chances are darn good," he said.


The ban, which took effect last spring, specifically prohibited the type of Internet-based card games such as Texas Hold 'Em that poker players in Washington -- Rousso among them -- have used to qualify for the annual multimillion-dollar tournament. Rousso said that Washington residents who qualified for the event likely did so through Internet-based tournaments even though it now is a felony to do so.


Susan Arland, spokeswoman for the Washington Gambling Commission, said commission lawyers have not seen the lawsuit and would comment only after they had read it. "We don't have anything to say just yet," she said.


Rousso said the state law is flawed. In his complaint in King County Superior Court, he argued that the state measure was passed not to put the state in compliance with the federal wire act -- something it does not do anyway, he said -- but instead to protect the in-state gambling industry, including card rooms and casinos.


This, he said, puts Washington in clear conflict with the Constitution's commerce clause, which forbids individual states from passing protectionist laws against other states' business.


Approved as Senate Bill 6613, Washington's law also banned Internet-based sport gambling. Lawmakers said it was an effort to put the state in compliance with the Interstate Wire Act. Originally approved in 1961, the act was a federal effort to limit betting on sports over the telephone.


No one has yet been prosecuted under the Washington law.


Internet card rooms boomed in 2003 when an unknown accountant and amateur card player named Chris Moneymaker won the world champion's bracelet after honing his craft solely on Internet Hold 'Em.


Moneymaker is Rousso's inspiration.


"He created the modern poker boom. He's a guy who everyone says, 'If he can do it why can't I?' "


This year's tournament is the largest in its 37-year history, with 12,000 players vying for the final table and eventually, the final seat and a first-prize worth more than $12 million. Prospective players can either qualify through satellite tournaments or by paying $10,000 up front to sit in.


Rousso, 49, qualified online for the 2005 World Series by winning an Internet tournament. He lasted 14 hours.


The Mercer Island native likes his chances better in court. If he loses there, he says, he'll push for legislation to return Internet poker to legal status. It never violated the Wire Act, he said, because the federal law refers only to sports gambling, not poker.


"Our backup plan is to get this done politically."





Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal

Juice Poker

It was a fun-filled night with the Juice Tuesday. We had much discussion about the house ra"p"e, oops, that is supposed to be a K. His goal is to pay for his kids education with money from the rake over a 2 week period. And I think we have a touch down. LOL.

Much to his sha-grin, he doubled me up twice early on and then accused me of being on CHIP PRESERVE the rest of the night. I hope always to be on CHIP PRESERVE. It was fun watching him roll over and piss on himself 2 or 10 times that night. I will say that it has been quite encouraging to see him and John M bet at each other for a change. I did get a few monster cards and they actually either hit or held up.

We played Omaha 8 all night and I limped in early position with Ac, Ad, 5c, 4c to a flop that was something like Ax, 5h, 9h and when I checked Tom J made a bet of approximately $125 leaving him with about $180 or so behind. It folded to me and I decided to isolate to get Rick out and I pushed all-in and everyone folds to Tom, he calls. He's got a set also and my set holds up, no low, scooper. The only hand that I was really worried about after the flop was if he was betting a heart draw with a low wrap. Fortunately he didn't have that one.

There was one other hand that smacked me right in the mouth! I'm SB I believe and there is a straddle of course of approximately $30 or so and I'm not certain who's it was, but either Tom or the Juice raised it another $75 or so pre-flop. I've got a great starting hand of Ad, 2d, 3h, 6h and there are 4-5 callers and I smooth call. The flop was 2s, 4h, 9h.... I really like this flop as it has given me the nut low draw and a flush draw. I believe that it is Tom who leads out with a $80 bet or so and of course everyone calls, except Dean. I'm over here screaming (inside) FIVE-OF-HEARTS, FIVE-OF-HEARTS and I can't believe it.... I get the 5 of hearts. Now I have the nut low, the wheel and a heart flush and a straight flush draw so I cannot contain myself and I bet out for about $150 hoping that someone else made the wheel and that I might bet out any full-house draws. If there is a bigger flush, we'll probably chop. Tom calls and I believe there's one or two other callers including Elvie (seated to my immediate right). The river pairs the board with a 9 and I immediately push all-in and everyone folds. Still, it was a nice pot!

Oh well... back to the felt!

WSOP Stories - One Tight Player

While playing cash games at Rio, I mostly divided my time between $5/10 NLHE and $2/5 PL Omaha 8. I tried to play at whatever game looked the juiciest. Although I was at a couple tight O8 tables, the action was mostly fast and loose (like Dean after a wine cooler).

I had been playing at one fairly loose table for a couple hours, when a new player sat down on my immediate right. It became evident pretty quickly that this guy was a tight player. Most hands we had a straddle from either UTG or from the button (a Mississippi Straddle), with mostly the entire table limping and seeing a flop, but this guy never played a hand for the first hour or so. Now, when I say he never played a hand, I mean that he folded his small blind even if it was only $3 to complete, and folded his big blind if there was a raise or straddle. On those rare occasions he got "stuck" in the hand from the big blind, he folded to any bet. The entire table was giving this guy a good-natured ribbing. He would just smile and tell us that once he did play a hand, then we should get out, because he’ll have the goods. I don’t think any of us needed convincing.

And then it finally happened. He limps into the pot - and from early position no less! The sirens are so loud that players from across the room start lining up single-file to evacuate the building. Although we had a few $1,000+ pots up to this point, my interest is piqued like never before. I have some kind of crap hand that I would normally limp in with, but I fold instead. A couple others fold, and of course everyone is teasing him, saying he must have A-A-2-3 double-suited.

The flop brings all Broadway cards, with a couple spades. His tightness makes a small bet, and gets two callers. I suspect they’re more curious than anything. Another big spade comes on the turn, and it checks around. Now there’s a possible flush and straight out there. The river pairs the board with a queen, and our hero bets $50 into a pot of about $90. After he gets one caller (a guy who apparently has no regard for money), the guys turns over his hand and states matter-of-factly “I got the royal.”

The guy turns over a royal flush! The entire table erupts in laughter. The guy who called him turns over kings-full (the third nut) and to his credit, says he didn’t think for more than a few seconds about raising. He got out pretty cheaply considering. The tight player’s starting hand was As-Ad-Js-10d. He flopped the Broadway straight, turned the royal flush, and probably got paid the least amount possible.

I thought maybe this might be the beginning of a nice little rush for the guy, or at the very least it might loosen him up a bit. Nope. He played for another 30 minutes or so, folding every hand until cashing out up enough to maybe buy a cup of coffee and a bagel. This guy will be one of the lasting memories from my first WSOP – the tightest player I’ve ever seen.

See ya at the tables…
Rick

A quick thought on Gambling Law...

I was bored for a few min at work, and had an argument with a friend over skill v luck in poker, so I was looking up case law.

I came across some interesting posts that compared poker to golf.

Much of the plaintiffs in such cases argue "long run" in poker of skill vs luck. But none do a decent job in proving that the court should look at "long run" to determine whether poker is luck or skill. Without this proof, the courts return to the odds of a single hand, and poker doesn't stand a chance.

My argument would first convince the courts they MUST look at long run, as any game of skill shows. No game of skill that I am aware of tests the competitors and announces a winner in such a narrow scope... why? because there is too much chance in those narrow scopes, even in games of skill. A golf championship is not decided over a single swing of the clubs with a "who's closest" decision. It is decided over 4 days, 72 holes, 200+ swings. Why? There are factors of luck in a single swing of the club. Wind. The way the blades of grass are bent. Etc. Chess champions are not crowned on the basis of a single move. Often not even a single game. Baseball games dont' end after 1 pitch. Shoot, not even a game, but a single at-bat looks at wider scope. Batters get at least 3 pitches.

Once we successfully argue that the courts must look at the longer term we might be able to argue that skill becomes the predominant factor. Until then, we're doomed to get raided.

Just my thought.

Family Guy - In Honor of the release of Sicko

WSOP Trip

Well, I’m back from my first trip to the WSOP – it was an interesting experience. Before the trip, I was much more excited about playing the tournaments then the cash games. The three tournaments I played in, however, left me feeling fairly unimpressed. Considering it’s arguably the most important and prestigious series of tournaments in the world, I didn’t feel like it was very well run, or very well organized. Perhaps it was the shear sea of people. Perhaps it was playing in a makeshift tent. Perhaps it was the PL Omaha dealers who didn’t know how to split a pot or how much a player could raise. Perhaps it was the fact I didn’t even cash, much less win a bracelet. :-)

I was expecting to get butterflies as the first hand was dealt, but instead I felt like I was in a cold, sterile environment, like the waiting room of a doctor’s office. So, with no warm, fuzzy feeling, and (sadly) a moderate degree of apathy, I set out to try and play some solid tournament poker.

My first tournament was $1,500 PL Omaha 8, and we started out with 3k in chips. With not many chips to play with, I figure the first hand I play had better be a good one. I fold the first dozen hands or so before picking up Ad-2c-3d-Kc, a very nice starting hand. A player in front of me raises the pot pre-flop, I re-raise the pot, and he calls. Since he doesn’t re-raise, I figure there’s a decent chance he doesn’t have aces. The flop comes Kd-4d-8s, giving me top pair with top kicker, and nut flush and low draws. I’m now officially excited about my hand. He pots, I re-pot, and we get all the chips in on the flop. He turns over Ax-2x-4x-7x (four-suited!), and is drawing pretty thin. The turn brings the Qc, a great card for me. Now any A-2-8-9-10-J-Q-K doubles me up, and any 3-5-6 or the 7d gives me ¾. Of course, he hits a miracle 7c on the river, giving both of us the nut low, but giving him two-pair and quartering me in the process. I guess I should be thankful it wasn’t a four…

Turns out the guy is a lunatic (as if you couldn’t tell from the way he overplayed that hand). He actually busted out before I did. Crippled, I continue folding crap hands until I can’t wait any longer. With blinds at $75/150, I’m down to $775 in chips and pick up 2s-3s-4c-5c in late position. No ace, but with two limpers I decide I need to take a chance. With no raise, there’s a decent chance I can spike an ace and maybe get lucky, or better yet, take down the pot right there. I raise the pot (which is most of my chips), and get one caller. I’m hoping to see the As on the flop, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t pop up in the window. Sadly, there are two red face cards along with it. I push (“flick” may be the more correct term) my few remaining chips into the pot, and get called. Two more big red bricks come, and I’m out the door. I don’t even remember looking at my opponent’s hand, but I presumed he could beat five-high…

I’ll write more about the trip over the next week or so as time allows. There were a few interesting hands and stories from the cash games!

See ya at the tables…
Rick

John Shirk Cashes Event 42 WSOP 2007

John Shirk of Clayton cashed $3939, 48th place, in the 2007 38th Annual World Series of PokerPot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (Event 42), $1,500 buy-in.

Embarrassing Yourself

I have thought about this for a long time and I felt it was time to actually put my thoughts on paper. I have played with just about every poker player that makes the rounds in the greater Raleigh RTP area and I am embarrassed for a number of so called poker players.

Why must someone feel the need to speak poorly or critical of another player at the table? What sense of entitlement do you feel that gives you the right to talk down to another player? If the stakes are too high that having your pocket aces cracked or having someone draw out on you brings you to such anger and grief that you lash out maybe you should step down to a lower limit game that won’t put quite so much stress on you.

The poker table is where you see the true colors of another person. Forced to make decisions that can double you up or break you will make the good and bad come out. Unfortunately I see the same people acting like 9 year old jilted girls time and time again. In what other social setting is it acceptable to speak to someone the way some players feel it is ok at the poker table? Show some class and dignity people!

Once you put that bet in the middle of the table what you are saying is I don’t mind if you call as long as you call for this much. Once they put their money in the middle and call your bet then they paid your price to see the next card. Don’t be mad at them if they hit their one outer or 9 outer or whatever it is they hit. They paid your admission fee. If you are afraid they will call your bet and draw out on you then don’t bet. The point being if they pay the cost you are charging then shut up if they hit their card. The hand is not over before the flop, after the flop or after the turn. The hand ends when the river hits the board and the betting ends thereafter. Just because you have the best hand at any point before then does not mean you get the end the hand then and there. That is the beauty of poker.

We all have our moments where the cards just don’t fall our way and from time to time we let a rude comment or two out to make us feel better and let the other player know how lucky he just got. That happens, what I am talking about is the same players over and over again berating other players and acting like they are Phil Helmuth or something. It is even funnier when they do the exact same thing to someone else (suck out) they act like they did nothing wrong and that is poker but when it happens to them they throw a tantrum and really show their ass.

I did not name names for a reason. Think about the games you go to and the people you play with. I am sure you can think of a few players who fit the bill. This is just a friendly reminder to treat everyone at the table with dignity and respect and if you can’t do that maybe you should just play online.