Poker Mom of the Year?

When the police walked into Woody’s Press Box at one in the morning in Wyoming, they were looking for the mother of three kids. The children, found waiting in a car in the parking lot, were without parental supervision but the police were not sure for how long. Ranging in age from five to fifteen, the kids were alone because their mother was inside, where the police found her in the midst of playing a Texas Holdem poker tournament. The woman was cited for child neglect and will now be persecuted by the state prosecutor’s office.

WPT stock closed at $1.26

The news simply doesn’t get any better on the financial side for the World Poker Tour.

WPT stock closed at $1.26 on Thursday, giving the company a value of $25.82 million. The WPT has assets and cash in hand totaling $31 million.

According to poker-king.com, WPT stock hit an all-time high of $29.50 in 2005, the high-water mark before a serious downturn:

They are getting much less per episode in their new deal with the Game Show Network compared to their previous deal with the Travel Network. They received 477k per episode in Season 5 - this year they are receiving $300k per episode. They posted revenues for their online gaming business of $1.2 million dollars for all of 2007, down from $3.2 million dollars in 2006. They posted a net loss of $9.6 million dollars in 2007. Revenues decreased $7.5 million dollars from 2006 to 2007.

Company executives are still painting a rosy picture with the future of worldpokertour.com and clubwpt.com as future cash revenue streams, although immediate relief from economic woes does not seem to be on the horizon.

Omaha at the 2008 WSOP

Are you an Omaha guru waiting for a shot at a coveted WSOP bracelet? Do you cringe when you only get two cards dealt to you instead of four? Are you a total action junkie and love getting your money in with a flush draw and a gutshot? Are you sick of Texas Hold'em?

If you answered yes to any of those four questions, then you need to check out the list of Omaha themed events at the 2008 WSOP. There are ten bracelet events in total and include two $10,000 buy-in World Championship events.

6 Tuesday, June 3, 2008 5:00 PM
$1,500 Omaha High-Low 8/b

10 Thursday, June 5, 2008 5:00 PM
$2,500 Omaha 8/b and Stud 8/b

16 Sunday, June 8, 2008 5:00 PM
$2,000 Omaha 8/b

19 Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12 Noon
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha

24 Thursday, June 12, 2008 5:00 PM
$2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha

28 Saturday, June 14, 2008 5:00 PM
$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha (Rebuys)

34 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12 Noon
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha (Rebuys)

37 Thursday, June 19, 2008 5:00 PM
$10,000 World Championship Omaha 8/b

43 Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12 Noon
$1,500 Pot Limit Omaha 8/b

50 Sunday, June 29, 2008 12 Noon
$10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha

Most of these events start at 5pm and unlike last year, they will not be held inside the poker tent.

TI offers weekly Head Hunters bounty tournaments

TI (Treasure Island) in Las Vegas has a Head Hunters bounty tournament that runs every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and every Sunday at 7 p.m.

The tournament attracts about 30-40 players and 1st place averages $600.

Buy-in is $125 with a $50 bounty on each player (so technically a $75 tourney). If you bust someone out, you not only get their chips, you also get $50. If you win the tournament, you get your own $50 bounty.

Starting chipstack is 5,000 and levels are 30 minutes.

For more information, call (702) 894-7291.

Bellagio Pays Tribute to WPT Champs

In less than two weeks, the Bellagio will play host to the Ceremony of Champions, the World Poker Tour event will pay tribute to 96 champions from the tour's previous six seasons.
The World Poker Tour has even had infamous jewelers Tiffany & Co. design titanium and diamond bracelets, personalized for every champion.
"There are so many incredible stories to celebrate from the six World Poker Tour seasons and we are thrilled to pay tribute to each of our WPT Champions," said WPT founder, president and CEO, Steve Lipscomb. "The championship bracelet has become synonymous with poker as a symbol of achievement and respect, and we are honored to continue the tradition that Benny Binion began over 30 years ago."
All future World Poker Tour champions will receive a bracelet along with their cash winnings. Could you be the next World Poker Tour winner? Try your luck at a WPT online poker. That next bracelet could very well be yours.

No more hot food at Diamond Lounges?

With the closing of the 7 Star Lounge at Caesars Palace, there's been some talk about the downgrading of the Diamond lounges at Harrah's properties.

Diamond lounges are open to Diamond players, who are players earning 11,000 in base points in a calendar year (each point is equivalent to $5 in playthrough on slots).

The rumor is that hot food has been removed from all Diamond lounges in Las Vegas to match other like lounges in the midwest.

We wanted to check to be sure and stopped by Harrah's last Saturday.

We were there in the evening, and while we saw no traces of hot food, there were chips, salsa, cookies, and other snacks that seemed to corroborate what people in the message boards have been saying.

We spoke with a Harrah's host and were told that hot food is still being served, but just between 4 to 6 p.m. We were also shown a menu that listed the different hot food that would be set out over the next week.

Of course, the bar was as full as ever, and mudslides were still freely flowing.

So the rumors of the death of hot food has been exaggerated. As long as you're there between 4 and 6 p.m.

Daniel Negreanu: "I'm In That Killer Mindset, Like I Literally Want to Eat People's Brains"

Wow! In his latest blog posting on his site, entitled "Eating Brain", Daniel Negreanu begins by talking about how prepared he is for both the EPT Grand Final (currently taking place as we speak) and the upcoming Five-Star World Poker Classic event at the Bellagio. Negreanu goes on to say that he is eating extremely healthy, exercising and getting proper bed rest.
After getting some of the more boring details out of the way, Negreanu sends out a warning shot to all of the other players who may be unfortunate enough to sit at his table.
The 140 pound vegan says that he is in "that killer mindset", "like I literally want to eat people's brains."
If that isn't enough to send a cold chill down your spine, Negreanu continues:
"Just literally rip their brains to shreds after an appetizer of ripping their hearts out of their chests, taking a big bite out of them, and then spitting the blood back in their faces."
Negreanu finishes by stating that he is going to "pwn" the EPT Grand Final, if the cards co-operate.

ePassporte pulling the plug on U.S.?

While it seems likely that ePassporte is pulling out of the U.S. market, there is still a glimmer of hope for American online poker players.

Yesterday, rumors began swirling that the money transfer service ePassporte would no longer be able to serve U.S. customers, which seemed to be confirmed by Cake Poker. That site was telling players through their cashier screens that ePassporte could not be used in the U.S.
Here is what the message says, according to poker-king.com:

To all Cake Poker Customers:

We have received notice from ePassporte today that they are unable to continue to provide CakePoker with merchant e-wallet services. We have since confirmed that this situation is not unique to CakePoker and is, in fact, industry wide.

While we are disappointed with this decision, we want to reassure all players that there will be no impact to either your account balances or your account status at Cake. We are pleased to have launched earlier this week with a new payment processor and have already secured alternative processors/eWallets that we will be launching in the weeks to come. We are also in discussions with other providers that will be making their services available in the CakePoker cashier soon. Players are welcome to inquire with Customer Support for more details.

As always, we value your business and will continue to make every effort possible to make your poker experience a great one.

Regards,
The CakePoker Team

However, wickedchopspoker.com has a slightly more optimistic take on the situation:

PokerStars, Full Tilt, and other major sites all list ePassporte as “temporarily unavailable.” Calls to ePassporte customer service note that the issue is due to “technical difficulty.”

If ePassporte is pulling out of the U.S. market, it comes just a few days after the U.S. Congress introduced a bill that would lift the ban on online gambling and poker in America.

There still has been no official statement from ePassporte.

Poker Channel Launches in Holland

Dutch poker enthusiasts are in for a treat, as the Poker Channel has launched in the Netherlands on the UPC Digital Platform and the KPN Network.
The channel will provide coverage of a number of major poker tournaments including the World Heads-Up Championship in Barcelona, the European Poker Masters, the Million Dollar Cash Game, the Invitational from Monte Grand Casino, classic World Series of Poker coverage and the new 'All In' series from locations including Tallinn, Estonia, Bucharest and Romania.

Prosecutor Picked Up in Poker Raid

Nearly thirty poker players were arrested in South Carolina recently as part of a poker raid on a house in Hanahan, and among them was an assistant prosecutor for Orangeburg, Dorchester, and Calhoun Counties. Unlawful games and betting are the charges against Don Sorenson, who then tendered his resignation to his chief, David Pascoe. The chief prosecutor, however, decided instead to suspend him without pay, taking into consideration Sorenson’s 13 year history with the office. The raid was the culmination of a ten month long investigation. More than $40,000 was seized in the raid.

001 - Opponents Making Mistakes

Low Limit Poker: Opponents Making Mistakes - How to make money on bad plays for the donkey at low limit poker. How to reach me: lowlimitpodcast@gmail.com The Dick Line: 206-202-5608 http://lowlimitpodcast.blogspot.com Skype Me: lowlimitpoker

001 - Opponents Making Mistakes

Poker game leads to stabbing death in Atlantic City

A disagreement at a poker table led to a stabbing death Saturday at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City.

According to a story at majorwager.com:

Vicente Perez, 57, of Georgia, began arguing with another man at a Taj poker table, Vitale said. They stepped out of the casino and into the valet parking area of the garage near the Virginia Avenue entrance, where the argument descended into violence.

The victim, whose identity was not released pending the notification of his family, was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m. at AtlantiCare Medical Center in Atlantic City.

Perez is in custody and faces charges of aggravated manslaughter and two weapons charges.

Kevin Federline partying in Las Vegas What's the Cost?

In the Britney Spears / Kevin Federline custody battle, court papers made public Federline's spending habits... including how much he tips and spends in Las Vegas.

Federline's average tab for nightclubs is $2,500-$3,000.

At the Scores gentlemen's club, he left a $2,000 tip on a $365 bill.

In fact, in an 8-month period of trips to Las Vegas, Federline spent over $43,000.

Money was generated from his music as well as personal appearances, such as $15,000 for celebrating his birthday at Pure (Caesars Palace).

'Course, he could always use more. And that's where Britney comes in.

But that's another chapter for a later court date.

How Would You Play This Hand

Full Tilt runs a daily $150+13 buy-in tournament at 3:00pm EST. You receive 3000 starting chips with the blind levels increasing every 12 minutes. This tournament gives you an extra 2 minutes more at each blind level over their standard tournament structure.
Today’s tournament began with 334 players. The top 45 finishers got paid with 1st place paying out $12,525, 2nd place paid $8,016 and 3rd place paid $6012.
This is one of my favorite daily tournaments on Full Tilt because of the structure and the size of the field. It’s not such a huge field, as many guaranteed tournaments, giving you a better chance to go deep. A 3000 chip starting stack and 12 minute blind levels allow you more opportunities to see flops and try to get lucky.
That’s my general philosophy in the early rounds of a tournament with a good structure,. I try to see a lot of flops cheap with drawing hands in multi-way pots from late position. If I hit the flop hard, I put myself in a position to take down a big pot.
After almost forty minutes into this tournament, I saw a lot of flops but didn’t hit much. I bled away about T$1000 chips from my T$3000 starting stack up to this point. But, I wasn’t discouraged. I knew if I could catch a couple of hands I’d get right back in it. This next hand came up.
Here are the chip counts going into the hand.
MP2: 3,460
CO: 2,095
BTN: 4,705

SB: 6,680
BB: 2,200
UTG: 3,660
UTG+1: 2,255
UTG+2: 2,895
Hero (MP1): 1,950
How would you play this hand? With the blinds at 25/50, I pick up J♠-10♠ and limp from middle position. The reason I limped here is I didn’t want to come out with a standard 3x raise and get re-raised from a couple of players with bigger stacks who were sitting on the Button and in the Small Blind. It’s very important to pay attention to player’s stacks that are left to act in the hand. I am willing to call a standard raise to see a flop especially from a player raising out of the blinds. I’d have position on them the rest of the way giving me an edge.
A player to my immediate left makes it 160 to go and everyone else folds to me. This player has been playing pretty straight forward without getting out of line. If I miss the flop completely, I can get away cheap.
The flop comes A♥–A♠–9♠
I flop a J-high flush draw and decide to check. Since, I’m playing this hand out of position I’d rather try to see a free card. If I bet out and get raised, I will probably have to let it go. I check and the player to my left checks. This made me a little suspicious but, he could’ve easily whiffed the flop. He may even think I’m slow playing with an Ace in the hole.
The turn brought Ks. The board now looks like this: A♥–A♠–9♠–K♠
I hit the second nut flush and bet out 250 into a 395 pot. The reason for this sized bet is I don’t want to scare my opponent out of the pot. If he has an Ace which is well within his pre-flop raising range, he’ll definitely come along. He may even re-raise me. If he has a King, he may just call due to my weak looking bet. He decides to call my 250 bet and the river brings a harmless 2c. I feel like I’m way ahead here due to the action up to this point and I size up a value bet I think will get paid off. With the pot at 895 I bet a little more than half on the river, 450. He instantly called.
What do you think he had? With two Aces on board, I couldn’t believe he’d call me all the way down with an Ace. At least a solid player would’ve re-raised me on the turn to see where he was at in the hand. The hand he flipped over was one of the two hands I figured he might have.
Results: 1,795 Pot
MP2 mucked K♦-Q♦ (two pair, Aces and Kings) and LOST (-860 NET)
Hero showed 10♠-J♠ (a flush, Ace high) and WON 1,795 (+935 NET)
Winning this pot brought my stack back up to T$2885 which is almost what I started with. Shortly after this hand I picked up Q-Q and doubled up before the 1st break. I took that stack deep into this tournament and finished 3rd overall for $6017.

PokerXFactor acquires PokerFox

PokerXFactor.com, the online poker training center, announced the acquisition of competitor PokerFox.net. The move means that Chris “pokerfox” Wallace and Adam “hatfield13″ Stemple will be joining PokerXFactor as instructors.

According to a press release from PokerXFactor:

The acquisition of PokerFox.net will add over 200 videos of advanced poker instruction to the PokerXFactor (PXF) Training Center library, plus numerous articles and blogs aimed at helping poker players win. In addition, Chris Wallace, who is recognized as a top poker coach today, will focus on teaching PXF subscribers bankroll building, cash games, poker software and tools, and general poker best practices. Adam Stemple will become PokerXFactor’s lead instructor on mixed games. Both instructors will play active roles in the PokerXFactor community.

Feds Admit They Have No Clue How To Enforce Anti-Online Gambling Legislation

In the fall of 2006, Congress (for reasons that have never been explained) put a clause banning online gambling into a bill supposedly about protecting our ports (so no one would vote against it). Since then there's been an ongoing legal effort to get that part of the law overturned. It's particularly upset financial institutions who are told they need to stop gambling operations from accepting money -- though, they're not quite sure how to do that. To top it all off, even the federal officials who are charged with enforcing this law are now admitting that they have absolutely no clue how to enforce it, noting that the legislation itself is incredibly broad and unclear. In other words, we have a law that almost no one wants and which those in charge of enforcing have no idea how to enforce or even why they should enforce it. So why did it get passed in the first place? Well, at least our ports are safe.

Devilfish Poker a Loser

The online home of British poker professional David "Devilfish" Ulliott post a six-month loss recently. PLUS-listed Devilfish Gaming Plc announced that Devilfish Poker Ltd saw a pretax loss of nearly 280,000 pounds. This is compared to 180,000 pounds lost last year when faced with higher administrative costs. The news continues to look grim as the report indicates that the room doesn’t expect revenues to increase during the next six months. This is when Devilfish Poker will be integrated into a new gaming platform by Entraction. The report does indicate that the room’s directors expect the six months past that to be a period of regrowth.

Knight Rider in Las Vegas

Fans of the recently cancelled "Las Vegas" television series may have noticed the casino set of the fictitious being used in the NBC movie-of-the-week (if they still had movies-of-the-week) "Knight Rider," based on the series with David Hasselhoff (above is a picture from the preview poster, though we don't remember the revamped car looking this good).

Ratings were high enough that NBC greenlit the show into a series, and who to run it other than Gary Scott Thompson, the creator of "Las Vegas."

While we thought the "Knight Rider" movie stunk on ice, we have hopes for Thompson and his penchant for action and soap opera.

Perhaps we'll see more of The Montecito. Maybe we'll at last have a pseudo-ending that the "Las Vegas" fans have been craving.

Hulu.com and NBC.com both offer the "Knight Rider" movie on their site, streaming for free (along with episodes of "Las Vegas," R.I.P.).

Playboy issue featuring Jennicide is on newsstands

  The poker community has known for some time now about Jennifer “Jennicide” Leigh’s appearance in the May issue of Playboy, and the wait is now officially over.

Cherry Club Las Vegas opens as only strip club with water park Archives

The new 116,000-square-foot Cherry Club Las Vegas opens tonight, hosted by Scott Baio and joined by various porn stars from around the country.

Baio (Chachi from "Happy Days") will serve as a judge for 21 amateur Cherry model finalists competing for the title of Miss Cherry Pie and $1,000 in cash. And they won't have to worry about Baio, since he married his longtime girlfriend last year (Baio was a frequent guest of the Playboy mansion before being banned from dating too many Playboy Playmates).

The first gentlemen's club to be located on the Las Vegas Strip, Cherry also boasts a waterfall and wave pool with cherry-shaped inner tubes big enough for two. Positioned on various water stages are Cherry dancers wearing white clothing designed to quickly turn dry to wet to dry again from water that's encouraged to be splashed.

In another first, Cherry is also the only club in the nation to be completely account-based: patrons can receive cards in the mail and add money to them via credit card or cash at the cashier. All transactions are cashless, including dances, where dancers will scan your card in advance. This conveniently addresses the problem of getting bills wet in the pool.

The "Breaking the Cherry" ribbon-cutting ceremony begins tonight at 8 p.m. Complimentary food will be available from area eateries, with an open bar of Three Olives cherry vodka the first two hours of opening.

Each night, Cherry will feature an anonymous dancer who's never danced before. The patron who correctly identifies her at the end of the evening will be randomly drawn and refunded of all his night's dances. Guesses can be made via card swipe at kiosks throughout the club.

Tonight only, locals with photo I.D. receive the first dance and first drink for free. After the grand opening, locals will always receive 2-for-1 cocktails, bottle specials, and a special whirlpool lounge.

Appropriately, the club is located south of Sahara Hotel & Casino in the old Wet 'n' Wild location.

Review of "21"

'21" is a movie out of its time. The public craze of gambling-poker, five card stud and the like-which started (and arguably stopped) in the earlier part of this decade is the central theme. More specifically, how to cheat at the card games in a casino. Had the film, based on a true story, been released before the last star crossed gambling film (2007´s oft-delayed and much criticized "Lucky You"), it may have stood a chance. But even with household names like Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne to anchor the cast of relative newcomers, it is a story trying to recapture a fad. Almost like the net effect of a movie based on the 1990´s collectible dolls called Trolls. It preys on our (presumably good) memories about "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "Rounders" while reinforcing a negative message about cheating.
Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) has a problem. While he´s a veritable genius, he wants to get into Harvard Medical School. The problem? The estimated $300,000 for admittance. So he falls into a card counting "club" headed by Professor Micky Rosa (Spacey). When the group initially scores big in Vegas, a security officer (Laurence Fishburne) starts to notice Ben in particular. Then, the game is afoot.
There is an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" which handles this basic premise with more flair, fun and stakes than "21" can ever hope to. In that installment, the senior staff of the space station play along in a holographic simulation of Las Vegas in order to "steal" money and prevent a holographic friend from being "killed." It sets up the science fiction plot and runs the audience through the entire scheme using video montage with a voiceover. In essence, we see the way the "theft" is supposed to go down before the crew attempts it, thereby allowing us to see where it goes wrong. "21" attempts a similar filmmaking construct using salt and pepper shakers, not to mention a mustard container, in a restaurant. The issue? This explanation relies on the audience to remember which of our newly introduced (and poorly drawn) characters corresponds to each of the jars on the table. Without that basic knowledge-to be fair, after the second successful Vegas trip, we pretty much know the drill-the movie becomes stagnant, maybe just a little bit boring.
About those poorly drawn characters: we know why Ben and, to a certain extent, his love interest Jill (Kate Bosworth) are involved in the gang. But the other three members? No idea. Presumably it´s to cover tuition and living expense, not to mention keep them all from working menial jobs. But there´s no "there" to them. Choi (Aaron Yoo), Kianna (Liza Lapira) and Fisher (Jacob Pitts) serve no function in the story other than to be glorified background extras for the blackjack scenes. Why have any of them signed on for this endeavor? The pull of a large pay day not withstanding, what is their individual motivation?
The story doesn´t seem to care about them, instead content to give them all single lines designed to flesh out the character. Choi gets drunk after their first win with Ben; Fisher meets up with a stripper or two. Then they recede into the background again. It´s a curious thing, to boot. A rather large development occurs with Fisher halfway through the film, suggesting a course of action for him. We expect to see it, based on all the conventions of the genre and films in general. Yet the adapted screenplay (from the book by Ben Mezrich) doesn´t go there, to its credit. Where it does go, as the final "twist," is quite obvious based on other information within the movie.
In Sturgess´ very first scene, I found myself cringing over the acting-or, rather, non-acting. As he talks to the dean of admissions, there is a scene the actor is doing nothing more than reciting lines with no emotion behind them. His face barely changes expression while the words coming out of his mouth fall harmlessly onto the floor. Perhaps that was the direction for the scene to show his progress from "nerd" to "cool guy." Thankfully, he gets much better quickly and the acting generally isn´t a problem.
Fishburne´s character Cole Williams is a problem, though. We´re given small drops of a subplot indicating his company is down to one client in Vegas since every security outfit is upgrading to facial recognition software. A worthwhile idea to explore, yet it falls completely by the wayside. The premise can´t sustain a film by itself, so it would need to be included in an existing concept, but the idea of man being pushed out by computers can be compelling. Williams as a character never is. He´s the obligatory bad guy, cigarette chomping and doing whatever needs to be done, no matter how illegal it may be.
Card counting is not illegal. That point is made several times, quite pointedly. So when Ben eventually gets found out (please, it´s not a spoiler…anyone who´s seen a movie knows it´s going to happen) and subsequently gets beaten up, a thought ran through my head: how is this legal? It can´t be, quite simply. A law suit would boil down to "he said, she said" most likely and bring undue media attention to the participants; as the movie tells us, though, it´s not illegal to count cards. Holding someone against their will, not to mention beating them up, has to be. It´s really the one false note in the film.
Side plots preaching the power of friendship and not letting friends down are ham-handed at best, clichéd at worst. Of course a guy who looks like Sturgess hangs around with a Jonah Hill-wannabe, lamenting his lack of luck with women. Cue rolling the eyes. If a film wants us to believe a character has a problem-say, blindness-don´t put said character in the drivers seat of a car. If you want to convey a virgin college student, then cast an actor we can buy in the role. Not Jim Sturgess.
(One comment on the ending: Ben is told he needs to dazzle Harvard Med to get the scholarship he needs. Specifically, the dean has to understand how far he´ll go to acquire the money. Now, in the final scene, we see Ben retelling his story in an attempt to "dazzle." If, for the sake of argument, Ben gets in, what does that say? Cheating is rewarded in the long run? It´s a message I don´t like, considering the way the movie is left. Sure, he gets beat up and loses a lot of money…but he gets a free ride to Harvard Med and gets the girl? Not the moral anyone wants to be projecting, I think.)
Despite all my misgivings (particularly thanks to unending advertising during "Big Brother"), "21" doesn´t fail nearly as much as it could have. Aside from being a couple years too late and a few character issues, it engages and never lets go, even when we think we´re one step ahead of the story. Is it great? Not even close. But it provides entertainment between the dog days of winter and the summer blockbusters. A 6 out of 10.

Poker Staking Site Snatched Up by Part Time Poker

Online poker website Part Time Poker announced recently the acquisition of a poker staking site called NeverBeg. The acquisition was staged in order to provide an additional service to the users of the Part Time Poker site. The additional traffic boost from Never Beg’s regular customers was also a factor: those users will now find the same services under a new name, Part Time Poker Staking, which boasts 15,000 members. Members post needs and offers for staking deals for poker tournaments, where one party offers to pay the buy in for another party in return for a share of any winnings.

Job fair at Texas Station April 4

Up to 80 companies will be at the next lasvegasjobs.com job fair taking place April 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Texas Station.

Dress for a first impression and bring lots of resumes, as you'll be able to interview for dozens of positions in one day. You'll also be able to network with other people.

Some of the companies attending include:

• Advanced Training Institute
• Consolidated Resorts
• Country Financial Services
• Cox Communications
• Credit One Bank
• Crescent School of Gaming & Bartending
• Cumming Corporation
• Dunkin' Donuts
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Excalibur
• Fairway Henderson Chevrolet
• Georgia Pacific
• Harrington & Reed, Inc.
• Hilton Grand Vacations
• Holiday Systems International
• KFC
• KVBC-TV Channel 3
• La-Z-Boy
• Luxor
• Mandalay Bay Resort
• Metro PCS
• MGM Grand Resorts
• Neiman Marcus
• Nevada Army National Guard
• North Las Vegas Police Dept.
• Pioneer Services
• Priority Staffing
• Ritz Camera
• Station Casinos
• The Nuance Group
• The Signature at MGM Grand
• Transportation Security Admin.
• U.S. Airways
• U.S. Border Patrol
• University of Phoenix
• Wells Fargo Financial
• Westgate Resorts
• Winder Farms
• Wyndham Vacation Resorts
• Yum! Brands

Poker Tables Sent To The Troops

A Tempe, Ariz., business owner did his part this week to support the troops in Iraq - he sent them some poker tables.

According to the Arizona Republic, Randy Ying donated three custom-built poker tables to a Marine Corps unit in Iraq this week.

The tables have already been constructed and packaged and will soon be on their way to Iraq, complete with the image of the Marine Corps group's VMM-162 logo on the felt surface.

Ying said in the Republic article that donating tables was just something he could do to make the Marines' time a little more enjoyable since they're risking their lives each day.

Ying, who owns Rye Park LLC, a gaming supply company, has used his goods to help support organizations in the past as well. He recently donated a poker table to a group of helicopter pilots in Odessa, Texas for a fundraiser.

Ying found out the Marine squadron was looking for poker tables when he was contacted by Capt. Zachary Webb, the squadron's family readiness officer.

Webb had seen Ying's Web site and inquired about obtaining tables for the troops.

"It's just a good way for me to do my part and support the troops," Ying said about his donation in the Arizona Republic.

The tables have already been sent to North Carolina, where the squadron is headquartered. From there they will be sent to Iraq.

Bluffing

Bluffing is one of the main elements in poker and that what makes it a unique & interesting game.

Imagine yourself for a moment that if in every poker game, every single player could have seen his opponent's cards. The best hand would always win… sounds great but boring. The truth is that poker is not absolute and segments of information does make it possible to win the big pot just by convince that you have the best cards in your hand -- and to make the other poker players believe in it. That's the essence of bluffing in a poker game.

In simple words to bluff means to bet or raise with an inferior or weak hand. Bluffing is a crucial skill under headline of "must" for an advanced poker player and it’s only a matter of the best timing & how to plan your move to bluff if you want to be a w-i-n-n-e-r.

Of course, It's easier to win when you're improving or when you're already a good poker player, but the odds are against you. In order to be a money maker, you’ll need to be able to win even with lower cards.
Then again, if you bluff too much and in the wrong positions, you’ll become a "donkey" or a "fish". It's only a question of right balance.

After we have review the theoretical part now we'll get to the practical side of bluffing.

There are two basic types of bluffs:

Pure bluff -- When a player makes a pure bluff, he bets or raises with a bad hand that has barley room for improving. For instance, if in a player has 2 7 off suit and raises, hoping everyone will fold.

Semi-bluff -- When a player bets on a hand that is probably not the best hand at that second, but has an option of improving later in the hand, it is called a semi-bluff. For example, if a player has 4 cards to a straight or flush in Texas Hold’em on the flop and bets, that’s a semi-bluff.

Bluffing- it's a question of timing!

Many players adopt a misconception that bluffing means that every X number of hands, you must pretend you have a big hand, no matter what he or she has or what other players appear to have. That theoretically perhaps is bluffing, because that player is trying to represent a bigger hand than they have -- but if you don’t take notice to the other players and select your spots, bluffing can "cost" you dearly.
Keep in mind: While bluffing is an important skill to learn, it is not a firm rule of poker game. Poker does not mind how much or how often you bet. You will not be measured by how often you bluff, but by how often it works for you.

The most perfect timing to bluff is when you encounter with one of the text cases:

• When you are in late position and no one before you is representing a strong hand.
• The board cards or cards you have showing make it potential for you to represent a strong hand.
• You have a table image of a rock
• When you have an understanding of the player's nature and thoughts or their Futuristic moves & sense they are weak and will fold to a bet or raise
• You are facing only one opponent

The Worst Time to bluff is when you encounter with one of the text cases:

• When you recognize the kind of player who will never folds.
• When you play against a player, who has a respected mount of money in his pocket that your raise or bet wouldn't considered as an actual threat to the point of forcing him to fold.
• There are still many players in the hand

Making Your Mark

What are your goals in poker? As players, our goals are as individual as we are.
Many up and comers are striving to be the next big “Brand Name” - the likes of Ivey, Helmuth, Brunson and others. They seek to make their mark with fame, fortune and instant recognition on the world poker stage, dreaming of being on TV, the newest poker celebrity. The art of poker and achievement may be secondary to their ultimate goal of just being famous for something, and poker may be the way in for them.
A large majority of players have dreams of winning the big one. Even though there are now many huge tournaments held around the world, most players agree the grandfather and ultimate BIG one, is still and always will be, the WSOP. Win this baby and you can flaunt it to the world by wearing the gold bracelet… which is always recognizable, even if your face is not. And, this is the time of year the wannabees gather, online and in Vegas, to take their shot at the moon with a BB gun. Their goal is to win a seat, to get in cheap by scoring in a satellite, of which there are thousands to choose from, both online and in poker rooms around the country. And so they play, dreams of besting Chris Moneymaker’s feat dancing in their heads.
Although there are thousands of players who have the “Name Brand” dreams, there are those few who have no aspirations of such grandeur. I know they must exist, as I am one of them. Never once in my 27 years of playing poker have I ever had a desire to play in the WSOP. I have been there, back in the last decade, before the poker boom hit and the cameras rolled. It was still a madhouse, so I can only imagine how insane it is today. Tournaments have never been my favorite way to play poker, and the thought of playing in them for hours or days, well, it sounds like purgatory to me. Maybe it is poker claustrophobia, but I prefer to play when I want and leave when I want. In a tournament, you are trapped there until someone tells you to take a break. Sure you can sit out, but wouldn’t you wonder, if the hand you are dealt when you are gone is that big one, the pocket Aces that would win a huge pot?

From meeting thousands of poker players over the years, I do know that my lack of enthusiasm for ever wanting to play the Big One puts me in the minority. But does this make me less of a poker player? Not to me it doesn’t. I am happy playing tournaments online, not fading the people, traffic, noise and being chained in a chair at a live poker table. Putting myself through all of that, to take a one in a gazillion shot at coming in the big money, well, it is just not on my agenda. Plus, there are plenty of opportunities, thousands in fact, to come into some serious money in tournaments online. I do take shots at these, and who knows, maybe one day I will get lucky and have a big payday. If so, it will be from the comfort of my own chair, in my own home, not a noisy chaos filled live venue.
No matter what your poker goals, they are right, for you, and that is all that counts. Whether you dream of being a Brand Name or just like to play for fun, no way is the wrong way. After all, it is your money and your time, so spend them both how you want and make your mark your way.
As for me, my goals are simple although not so easy. I want to build a bankroll from nothing. No monetary investment at all, not even one dollar, zip, zero, zilch. The size of my bankroll is of secondary importance, the main goal is building one, no matter how small. I have managed to do this, but holding on and building it has been a struggle. It takes hours of grinding, but in the end the sense of accomplishment is well worth it, no matter if I have $100 or $10,000 it is the fact of doing it, not the money amassed.
The people I admire in poker are not the Name Brands, nor the amounts of money they win. Players who get my respect are the ones who have made their mark by sitting at the table and playing their best game, day after day. The ones that have a good attitude, make the game enjoyable for all and take their beats like a wo/man, not a cry baby.
I have had a friend for years named Walt that I have always had the utmost respect for. Not only for his poker ability, but for the way he handles himself in a game. He is never out of line, has a great sense of humor and is a great winning player to boot. Walt is not famous, nowhere besides whatever local game he is currently playing in at least. But to me he will always be famous, one of my poker heroes. He was my mentor without even knowing it and I can never repay him for all he taught me. Not that I will ever be half the player he is, but I still aspire to be like him. Walt is also a professional; he has made a good living at poker for somewhere around 30 years, never holding a day job.
When I say a “good living” I mean he has paid for a custom built house, drives a nice car, lives well and put his daughter through college. These are things most people struggle to do in two income households, to do it playing poker is quite an achievement. And, his winnings don’t come from big scores in tournaments; they come from daily NLH ring games. Walt made his money in NLH when it was hard to find NL games, I can only imagine what his poker income is now, since NLH games are everywhere. I haven’t seen Walt in awhile, the last time was in Reno where he was a staple in the NLH game at the El Dorado three times a week. I picture him still there, and all the rookie hot shots trying to beat him and leaving without their shirts.

Name Brands come and go, one day they are in the spotlight and the next they have faded from view. During my years dealing poker, I saw many of them, famous then, unheard of now. Most of them were on a “tournament rush” for months or a couple of years, then poof, they were gone. Another thing most of them had in common was they were extremely lucky in tournaments, but total fish in ring games. I read that Doyle Brunson was asked what he thought about some of the new players on the poker scene, his reply was something like “Ask me again in 20 years.” I agree with him. The test of a great player is not what they do today, but if they are still doing it years from now with the same success.
Maybe you will never sport a gold bracelet, have your name on a wall or be on TV. But success and making your mark doesn’t necessarily mean any of those things. If you have reached your personal poker goals, then you have made your mark, even if you haven’t attained worldwide fame and fortune.
Grab a Chair…see you there!

Bad Position, Decent Cards by Howard Lederer

In the middle and later stages of tournaments, there are often times when you're forced to make a pretty big commitment on a relatively weak holding. These are uncomfortable spots because you never want to risk a large percentage of your chips with a mediocre hand. Things get even more difficult when you're playing from the blinds and out of position.

For example, say you're playing late in a tournament. The blinds are $500 and $1,000, and there's a $100 ante. You're in the small blind with $18,000. It's folded around to the button, an aggressive player who raises frequently in late position. He has $30,000 in his stack and he raises to $3,500. You look at your cards and see Ad-9s.

You know that A-9 isn't a great hand, but you can't ignore it in this situation. First off, given your opponent's history, he may very well be raising with a hand that is far worse than yours. In fact, in this spot, he could very well have two rags. Another consideration is that there are a lot of chips in play. Between the blinds, antes, and your opponent's raise, you stand to pick up over $5,000 in chips if you can take down this pot, which would be a nice addition to your short stack.

So, you're probably going to want to play this hand. But what's the best action?

At first, it might seem that calling is a reasonable course, as it would keep you from getting overly committed on this marginal hand. But calling has some pretty big downsides. With a hand like A-9, you're usually not going to like the flop very much. In fact, you'll fail to make as much as a pair about two-thirds of the time. If you do flop a pair of 9s, how are you going to proceed if the flop also has an over card? Even on an Ace-high flop, you'll have a tough time knowing if your hand is good.

What's more, if you miss the flop completely, you leave yourself vulnerable to being outplayed. It's going to be very hard to bet if the flop contains three cards that don't help your hand. If you check, your opponent will likely make a continuation bet, and you'll be hard-pressed to continue, even though Ace-high might be good.

In spots like this, your best move is to press an edge while you have it - before the flop. Re-raise all-in pre-flop. Your opponent probably won't have a hand that he can call with and, if he does, you'll have plenty of outs. You still have about a 25% chance against AK, for example. Not good, but not dead.

The important thing to keep in mind is that, in the later stages of a tournament, you don't want to make many decisions after the flop when you have a medium-strength hand like Ace-middle kicker or middle pocket pair, and you're playing out of position. Put your chips in while you think you have the best of it, and hope for the best. If you let these marginal but good situations pass you by, you might regret it later when your stack has been whittled down even further.

Howard Lederer

Annie Duke surprise appearance on NBC's Deal or No Deal

Annie Duke, a woman, made a surprise appearance on NBC's Deal or No Deal, the game show featuring Howie Mandel and 26 super hot models holding briefcases with varying amounts of money in them.

Apparently the contestant last night was a female poker player, and in the middle of the show, Annie came up on stage to offer a "deal" that included $133,000 in cash and a free trip to Annie's WSOP Academy ladies poker camp, 4 private poker lessons and some other stuff that was valued at a total of $25,000. The contestant's husband encouraged her to walk away with the Annie Duke lessons and the money, but she went against his advice and said, "No Deal."

In the end, the chick wasn't stupidly greedy like every other contestant on the show. She made it down to two cases, one had $25,000 and the other $1 million, and when she was offered $340,000, she took the deal.

So what was in her case? The million bucks.