Poker Night Podcast

A Thriller-themed Casino in Las Vegas

2009-06-08T19:50:00.001-07:00

An odd Michael Jackson rumor goes hand in hand with Las Vegas.

While he was living here, there was talk of Jackson staging a comeback, in residency at a casino. That didn't happen, but he did announce a tour in the UK.

Another rumor had Jackson installing a giant replica of his face in the Nevada desert, big enough for landing plans to see.

Now, Jackson wants to open a Las Vegas casino themed around his hit song "Thriller." The horror-branded casino would contain zombies and songs from the multi-platinum album.

Jackson has over $100 million in debt, and along with his tour, he's looking for ways to pay it down.

If it happens, it would come at a time when Las Vegas casinos are moving away from themes.

Guy Laliberte to go into space

2009-06-08T19:41:00.001-07:00

Guy Laliberte, the founder of Cirque du Soleil (which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year), plans to go into space.

At a cost of $35 million, Laliberte will take a trip on an international space station aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-16 to raise awareness for his ONE DROP Foundation, an organization centered around environmentalism and water conservation.

The mission aboard the 3-person spacecraft is expected to last about 2 weeks beginning Sept. 30.

Laliberte will become the seventh private citizen to pay his way to fly to the orbiting station. If you have $35 million to spare, you can be the eighth. Simply write your check to Space Adventures and set up a press conference.

Online Poker Room faces Fraud Charges

2009-06-08T18:58:00.001-07:00

The development of an online poker room was the root cause of the charges leveled against a Texas father and son recently, as they face security fraud charges from the Texas State Securities Board. Martin Graham Tyson Sr. and his son, Martin were indicted by a Hidalgo County grand jury for misleading the backers of their online poker business. The claims include that the men to notify investors of an ongoing civil fraud suit against the company. Investors lost around $300,000 in the venture, according to the indictment filed in the case.

Poker Robber gets 66 Years

2009-06-08T18:54:00.001-07:00

When a high-stakes poker game at a Delaware country club was robbed six men were involved, and all six recently turned down a plea bargain during their trials. One man, 22 year old Philadelphian Akua Powell, was convicted of 11 counts of first-degree robbery and possession of a firearm during a felony plus other charges, earning him a total of 66 years in prison. A former state trooper, Hyun Jin Kim, was involved and himself sentenced to 6 years in prison. The men robbed a dozen high stakes poker players at the Wild Quail Country Club near Dover.

ECheck Gone From Online Poker Rooms

2009-06-08T18:49:00.001-07:00

Some online poker rooms offer their players the ability to use Echeck, an online money transfer system that works like drawing money from a checking account using an electronic check. Two major poker rooms, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, suddenly lost the ability for US players to use Echeck with no explanation on Thursday. The reason behind this move is unknown but a lot of speculation has been floated on the poker forums that it may the first step towards limiting US players all together. Players can still use their funds at these poker rooms, however.

Pueblo man decided not to testify

2009-06-08T18:39:00.001-07:00

The informant in a case against a Pueblo man decided not to testify, resulting in the charges of illegal poker gambling being dropped. The two misdemeanor gambling charges will not be pressed and Larry Lee Wittman, the target after raids by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, will go free. The CBI claims that Wittman was running illegal card rooms for at least five years. Not all defendants have benefit from this stroke of luck, however as William Benjamin Gradishar will still face misdemeanor gambling charges; the result of a raid conducted in 2007. His trial begins in July.

Players Alliance (PPA) declared victory…?

2009-06-08T18:24:00.001-07:00

Poker News Daily has learned that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division has sent letters to 11 of the world’s largest internet service providers (ISPs) rescinding its notice to block 200 internet gambling websites. The news comes four days after the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) declared victory in the state.

In April, John Willems, Director of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division, served notice to 11 ISPs, including Charter, Comcast, Qwest, Sprint, and Verizon, calling for the blockage of 200 sites by Minnesota residents. The list, which was initially kept under wraps, included a bevy of online poker, sports book, casino, and Bingo sites and was pulled at random from a larger sample. In addition to USA-friendly online poker rooms like Players Only, Bodog, and Full Tilt Poker, the list also included a handful that do not accept action from the United States. Headlining this group was Everest Poker, which is the official on-felt sponsor of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Also appearing was Titan Poker, one of the largest sites on the iPoker Network.

Shortly after the list of 200 sites was made public, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) filed a lawsuit against Willems. The organization charged that Minnesota did not have jurisdiction to act, that the First Amendment was trampled on, and that the State’s actions represented a breach of the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. iMEGA also authored a letter to the 11 ISPs in question urging non-compliance. The State contended that the Wire Act of 1961 applied to internet gambling, while the law has traditionally applied to online sports betting and “common carriers,” a term used to describe companies that provide home telephone service.

iMEGA and the Minnesota Attorney General’s office then began working towards a conclusion, culminating in today’s proclamation that the censorship order had been rescinded. The letter sent to ISPs, authored by Willems and obtained by Poker News Daily, reads, “I believe it may be more appropriate to resolve this problem by working to create clear and effective governmental policies concerning regulation of gambling.” In addition, iMEGA has agreed to withdraw its civil court case against Willems in his capacity as Director of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division.

The letter sent from iMEGA to the ISPs explained, “Because website operators are not subscribers of yours, have no contracts with you, and are not provided facilities by you, you should be aware that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is attempting to mislead you into believing you are bound by federal law.” The casino arm of Party Gaming, the parent company of PartyPoker, was also targeted. However, its parent company recently inked a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Government in a New York courtroom and agreed to shell out $105 million over a three and a half year period. In addition, one of its co-founders, Anurag Dikshit, admitted to violations of the Wire Act in December and faces up to two years behind bars.

Whether the Minnesota legislature elects to develop internet gambling legislation remains to be seen. iMEGA is also a central party in the case that pits the organization and the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) against the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. In October, Judge Thomas Wingate upheld an order by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear calling for the seizure and potential forfeiture of 141 domain names belonging to some of the world’s largest online poker sites and internet gambling outfits including Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, Cake Poker, and Doyle’s Room. Several sites have since blocked new Kentucky sign-ups.

In January, the Kentucky Court of Appeals in Louisville overturned Wingate’s decision by a two to one margin, causing the State to appeal to its own Supreme Court. iMEGA filed its brief to Kentucky’s highest court two weeks ago and the State’s attorneys are in the process of filing a response brief. No date has been set for a possible Supreme Court hearing. The organization is also suing to declare both the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional.

Rule Change On Heads up Cash Game At Full Tilt Poker

2009-06-08T16:32:00.001-07:00

Full Tilt Poker released a rules change today that has online poker forums buzzing - effective immediately, players are now restricted in the number of heads up tables they can sit at waiting for an opponent. This rule change should, in theory, dramatically reshape the HU Cash portion of the FTP lobby, which is currently populated by a few regulars sitting alone at dozens of tables.

Excerpt from the email sent by FTP announcing the change: “Due to increasing complaints of players occupying many tables alone, Full Tilt Poker will be introducing limitations on the number of heads-up cash games that a player can be sitting at while waiting for an opponent.

Effective immediately, a player is permitted to wait at only one table for each betting level and game type, and at most four tables in total.

For example, you may sit and wait for an opponent at $5-10 NL Hold’em, $5-10 PL Hold’em, $10-20 NL Hold’em, and $10-20 PL Hold’em, but you may not sit and wait at more than one table of any one type, and not more than four tables in total.

The limitations only apply to the practice of occupying many tables while waiting. If you are actively playing at a heads-up table, you may then begin waiting at another table of the same type. There is no restriction on the number of tables you may play (other than the normal limitations on active games).”

The rule seems to be enforced manually at this point, but we’d imagine that future software upgrades will full automate the process.

Full Tilt, perhaps recognizing the potential for this new rule to create a wave of multi-accounting, also offered a reminder of the consequences of multi-accounting and a MA amnesty for any player who would like to combine multiple accounts, no questions asked or penalties applied: “Heads-up cash game players are also reminded of the strict policy against using more than one account. The use of multiple accounts (to hide one’s identity, or circumvent restrictions) is considered to be cheating, and can result in severe penalties, including permanent loss of all playing privileges.

If you have more than one account, and wish to have them merged into a single account without penalty, please contact support@fulltiltpoker.com immediately.”

Do We Still Tip?

2009-05-31T17:02:00.001-07:00

Online poker has a new trick; live poker dealers. A new gaming deal between the Caribbean Gaming and Casino group and the Tradewinds Broadcasting Corporation will use live online dealing during poker games on the Internet. The idea is to use streaming video to broadcast a real person dealing a poker game, and the players utilizing virtual representations of their cards to play. The game would still be considered online poker, but with a twist. Online poker rooms using live dealers are counting on the novelty to draw in new players.

Poker Game And The Drug Dealer

2009-05-31T16:55:00.001-07:00

A man charged with contributing to the overdose death of a college student allegedly used a poker game he ran as a way to connect with customers. James McDaniel has been accused of selling cocaine and meth to college students who came to play at his poker game, according to the testimony of four young men who were students at Southern Methodist University, where many of McDaniel’s alleged customers came from. The woman who died of an overdose of drugs was freshman a at Southern Methodist University, Meaghan Bosch.

Something To Think About

2009-05-31T16:27:00.001-07:00

When playing poker, be it online or live, it is easy to not give it your all. Online, you could be playing multiple tables and not be able to give your full attention to any one game, or you could be distracted by any number of things, such as the world wide web, television, or even your un-potty trained toddler running around naked. Live, you get could engrossed in conversation (yeah, imagine that), get too into cocktail waiter… people watching, or be thinking about what route to take home. And even if you are concentrating on the game, very often it is all too easy to just focus on your cards and then tune out once you fold.

But as we all know, skilled poker players are concerned with much more than just their own cards and chips. The best players are able to get into the minds of their opponents. Not in a psyche-out way, but in an “I know what you’re thinking” sort of way. Of course this is easier said than done. If you are willing to make the effort, here are two techniques you can use to improve your “mind reading” skills.

Play Blind

I don’t mean that you should play the blinds, I mean that you should play without looking at your cards. While that may sound ludicrous, hear me out. By not looking at your hole cards, you naturally have to see other parts of the game in order to succeed. And what other parts of the game are out there? Why, the other players, chip stacks, the community cards, and the dealer button, to name a few.

If you don’t know what cards you have, you will be forced to work on your opponent reading skills. What did that pre-flop raise just mean from the guy in Seat 3? What is Seat 6 telling me when she checks the turn? What cards does the guy next to my left showdown after he has been betting the pot throughout the hand? If you can start figuring out the betting patterns (and when playing live, possibly physical tells) of your opponents, you can figure out when they are weak and make bets that will win you the pot, regardless of what pocket cards you have.

Position plays a large role, too. Most people play differently in early position than they do in late position, so be aware of where the button is and use position to your advantage, whether it means being aggressive yourself or just getting the heck out of a hand.

Internet poker phenom and WSOP Europe champ, Annette Obrestad, actually won a $4, 180-person sit-and-go back in 2007, while only looking at her cards once. In an interview with Card Player magazine, she said she did it to show “just how important it is to play position and to pay attention to the players at the table.”

Now, it’s not going to be easy to make money playing blind, but it can be a fun and enlightening exercise. I recommend moving down in stakes when you try it, knowing there is a good chance that you will lose.

What do you do? What do you do?

Yes, I just used a quote from the movie Speed. You’ll get it in a moment.

Over the years, I have found, just as I am sure everyone has, that there are hands that I fold, only to find out that the remaining players were weak. Had I realized it before I folded, I could have won the pot with a well-timed bet. And that started me playing a little game within the poker game.

When I am not in a hand, I try to observe the proceedings carefully, noting everything that a poker player should: board texture, player position, bet sizing, stack sizes, and the like. I then try to figure out how I could have won the hand without it going to showdown. I focus on it not going to showdown because anyone can win when they actually have the best hand. What I want to determine is whether or not I could have won without the best hand, had I not folded.

What if I would have bet three-quarters of the pot on the flop? Knowing how my opponents play and what cards they had (or I think they had), would that have accomplished my goal? Could I have checked and then popped them on the turn? Would I have needed to push? What could I have done to win that hand? Now, when playing this little game in your head, you won’t come up with an answer every time. If someone has a full house and you would have had Jack-high, you were not going to beat them, no matter what. But those hands that lack a “winning answer” can also give you insight into your opponents and can prove just as valuable as those where you actually do have a solution.

By focusing on parts of the game other than yourself when at the poker table, you can open up new doors that you never realized were there. To be sickeningly cheesy and reference another Keanu Reeves movie, it is sort of like when Neo finally sees the Matrix and truly starts to realize his power. No, you won’t be able to jump into an opponent and blow him up from the inside, but deeper aspects of the game will begin to come into focus for you. With practice, these “mind reading” skills will become more natural and you will be free to concentrate on yet more intricate aspects of the game.

Poker Stars Adds New Security Features, Not Really New You Just Did Not Know About

2009-05-31T16:14:00.001-07:00

PokerStars announced two new security features today that will drastically increase the protection players can enjoy on their online accounts: PIN numbers and RSA Security Tokens.

The PIN numbers are relatively straightforward: if you choose to have a PIN associated with your account, you will now have to enter your PIN, in addition to your user name and password. The PIN isn’t typed in; instead, you enter it on an on-screen keypad that changes positions each time you log in, a measure designed to thwart keyloggers.

You can request a PIN for your account by logging into PokerStars and editing the ‘Login Security Settings’ under the ‘Account’ menu.

RSA Security Tokens are a bit more complex - it’s an actual piece of hardware that generates a code you’ll need to access your PokerStars account. That means, functionally, that without the actual piece of hardware, no one can access your PokerStars account.

RSA Tokens have been available from Stars for awhile now and can be purchased from the Stars FPP store.

Hellmuth Announces Book Publishing Company

2009-05-31T15:54:00.001-07:00

Amid a busy day that included being selected to proclaim “Shuffle up and deal!” at the first event of the 2009 World Series of Poker, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. met the poker press on Wednesday to announce the very first publication of his new book publishing company, Phil’s House Publishing, Stephen John and Marvin Karlins’ Deal Me In.

The new book compiles the “heartbreaking and inspiring stories” of 20 of the world’s greatest poker players. Over the past year, authors John and Karlins conducted interviews with the featured pros, inviting them to talk about their poker careers and thereby chronicle the various struggles and successes they experienced on the way to joining poker’s elite.

Hellmuth described the process by which he and his colleagues at Phil’s House Publishing went about recruiting pros to participate in the project. “I knew that once I had Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Ivey, then everybody else would want to be in the book,” said Hellmuth. Aside from participating in the interviews, each player was directly involved in the revising of his or her chapter, and also signed releases for the use of their stories and the over 150 photographs that illustrate the text.

“These chapters are just so wildly diverse,” said Hellmuth. “Phil Ivey’s story, where he has so much discipline, and control, and money management -- you just don’t expect that looking at the Ivey of today.... Doyle Brunson talking about people getting shot [at his table].... [And] Layne Flack’s [emotional] story made me cry.”

However, the players’ stories share some common ground, too. “Every story talks about money management,” said Hellmuth, a subject which he believes often doesn’t get adequate attention in most poker strategy books. “To me, that’s some valuable stuff, because you’re learning how the great ones managed their money on the way up.”

Hellmuth admitted that there were some significant omissions from those selected, and mentioned several of the players (including Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen and Ted Forrest) who are listed in the prefatory disclaimer that opens the book. Some of those left out may possibly be included in a later, expanded edition of the book, Hellmuth explained, although he believes the book as it stands certainly includes the top ten living players, and perhaps 17 or 18 of the top 20.

The book is currently available only at Hellmuth’s website, PokerBrat.com, where it will be exclusively sold until September when it may then be distributed via other outlets. Most of the 20,000 copies that make up the book’s initial printing will begin shipping on June 22.

Deal Me In represents the culmination of an arduous, two-and-a-half year process which began with the founding of Phil’s House Publishing, of which Hellmuth is the primary owner and Phil Ivey an investor. The company’s initial plan was to publish a Sudoku strategy text, but that project ultimately fell through. Next was the idea to publish Hellmuth’s autobiography, Poker Brat, although that has been postponed until May 2010 in order to time that book’s publication more closely with a planned feature film about Hellmuth of the same title.

Hellmuth credited Bob Soderstrom, Chief Operating Officer of Phil’s House Publishing, for having initially conceived the idea for a book that would tell the story of poker’s 20 greatest players. The idea was a good one, but presented significant challenges when it came to organizing the interviews, writing the chapters, and incorporating the players’ suggested revisions. “It was almost like doing twenty different books,” explained Shannon Reiter, President of Phil’s House Publishing. However, the group was able to meet those challenges and thus succeed in achieving their goal of publishing Deal Me In in time to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hellmuth’s WSOP Main Event victory in 1989. (Photo shows the ceremony featuring Hellmuth with Jack Binion, following Hellmuth's historic win.)

Ever the entrepreneur, Hellmuth appears to relish the challenge of learning about and hopefully succeeding in the publishing world. “It was very interesting for me as a businessman to look at all of these different revenue models -- that’s the fun stuff, for me,” said Hellmuth. He acknowledged that there exist few options for publishers today, particularly with regard to methods of distribution. “Look, we’re gambling,” he said, referring to the decision to forgo at present other distribution models and sell the book via his own website.

However, while profiting from the sale of Deal Me In is certainly a goal of Hellmuth’s, he has other purposes in mind, too. “Will I make money from it? I hope so,” said Hellmuth. “But we’ve really contributed something beautiful to poker history here. We’ve written an amazing book and it really is inspirational.”

Penthouse to turn into Crazy Horse III

2009-05-19T17:57:00.001-07:00

The Penthouse Gentlemen's Club (which used to be called Sin) off south Strip is no more (the licensing agreement ran out), but will now soon change to The Playground.

Or will it?

If Vegas Alliance (who will run The Playground) has any say, they would like to rename the strip club to Crazy Horse III, after Crazy Horse Too, the lawsuit-embroiled club up a few miles north that's been closed for about 3 years thanks to racketeer Rick Rizzolo.

But with the name comes responsibility, or rather hefty legal cases that their lawyers would prefer first be settled before being associated (if by name only) with the notorious gentlemen's club.

The Playground (or whatever new name is picked) will comprise a strip joint, a nightclub, a music venue, and even a place for a poker tournament.

Think of it like CityCenter for adult nightlife.

M Resort lays off 100 people

2009-05-19T17:52:00.001-07:00

With the constant streaming crowd we've seen at the new M Resort (a few miles south of Las Vegas Blvd., off St. Rose), we're a bit puzzled that they made news recently about laying off 100 people.

Any layoffs from Las Vegas casinos is newsworthy in this economy, but with M -- and any new property -- additional people are always hired to facilitate the large crowds around a grand opening.

The $1 billion M just opened in March.

With other casino conglomerates such as Harrah's or MGM Mirage or Station Casinos, workers are borrowed from sister properties, along with many temps, with the expectation of being moved or laid off after crowds settled down.

We don't know the entire story with M, but we suspect the layoffs are independent of the economy and are natural after 2 1/2 months of being in business.

The 100 people amounts to 5 percent of the 2,000 employees it takes to run the 92,000-sq.-ft. property.

New WSOP rule

2009-05-19T17:29:00.001-07:00

Among the new things coming along with the 40th anniversary of the World Series of Poker comes a new rule about good behavior that some are calling the Poker Brat Rule. The nickname comes from the nickname of a famous poker player, Phil Hellmuth, who earned his name though temper tantrums and bad behavior, despite being the top ranked poker player in the world. Last year he called a player an idiot and worse after the player got lucky in a hand against Hellmuth, who was only given a warning. This year the rules about conduct are more clearly defined.

Poker Game Leads to Shooting

2009-05-19T17:26:00.001-07:00

Saturday night two men engaged in an argument during a poker game took things too far and one of them was fatally shot in the process. The men were playing poker at a home in north Harris County when the argument began. One of the men pulled out a gun and fired a number of shots at the other, who was later found lying on the sidewalk outside the home. The man was pronounced dead upon arrival when take to the hospital. The shooter has been taken into custody and will face murder charges.

Jack Link Sponsor Of World Series of Poker

2009-05-19T17:20:00.001-07:00

World Series of Poker viewers will have a tasty temptation as the presenting sponsor of the series turns out to be Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. Jack Links is the market share leader, topping the world of the $3 billion dried meat snack industry, like the World Series of Poker tops the poker world. The WSOP, owned by Harrah’s Entertainment, will begin play on May 27, and will air on ESPN and ESPN2 later in the summer. The announcement that Jack Link’s Beef Jerky is to be the presenting sponsor was made on Sunday, May 17.

Poker reality Show: 2 months, $2 million

2009-05-19T16:45:00.001-07:00

In news that certainly would have seemed a little odd to anyone playing online poker even a few years ago, cable network G4 released details today of their upcoming series ‘2 months, $2 million’, a reality show featuring familiar online high stakes poker names such as Krantz, Whitelime, flawless_victory, and ansky.

The show, which is slated for 10 half hour episode, will launch on G4 in August. The basic gist: cameras record the day-to-day lives of the four as they go about their high stakes online poker business. Or, as the press release somewhat awkwardly puts it:

“These guys are not pursuing the usual goal of landing a 9-5 job, instead they are seeking the thrill of “the flop” and trading in the daily grind for the online grind. When they do step away from the web, it’s about experiencing all that Vegas has to offer from exclusive parties to beautiful women. ”

Ahh, the thrill of “the flop.”

Whitelime had this to say about the show in a thread on 2+2: “The thing to understand about the title is the goal isn’t necessarily to be super accurate or factual or even super cool when it comes to approval from the poker community. It’s pretty much assumed that a high % of 2p2 will watch the show. They are trying to appeal to random people who have never played poker in their lives. I had similar thoughts about the title when I first heard it but I’ve come around to like it. Some marketing geniuses who are a lot smarter than all of us when it comes to making titles came up with it so let’s have some faith.”

All in all, it could make for some interesting viewing (although likely no footage shot while Krantz & co are under the influence of, um, brownies) and light poker entertaining post-WSOP.

New Show Soon

2009-02-03T08:56:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone the new show is this week 2/5/2009 at 9pm (PST USA), 6am (2/6/2009 London) and 7am (2/6/2009 Madrid). Just call in at (724) 444-7444 and type in the show ID: 48551. Hope to see you donkeys there if not just check out itunes the next day. Later Poker Degenerates.

What would you do?

2009-01-19T22:16:00.001-08:00

I was playing on PokerStars playing a .25 cent 45 player No Limit Hold'em sit and go. I was in the big blind with an Ace Ten off suite, faced a raise from the small blind that has been over betting his hands. Just watch the video and tell what you would have done. Listen to the greatest podcast on Earth... Poker Donkeys! Podcast

Devilfish DVD out in time for holidays

2008-12-06T18:31:00.001-08:00

Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott hosted a television show this year called How to Become a Poker Millionaire, which featured him training four losing poker players for more than a month to try to turn them into winning players.

The players went through testing and coaching by Ulliott, and they practiced what they learned by playing online poker. The participants then had to play against each other and were eliminated one per episode of the show.

The winner of the show received a seat in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

The Devilfish's teachings have now been captured on DVD and were released this week for poker fans.

The DVD includes all the episodes of the TV show plus an extra hour of footage. That footage includes tips from top pros such as Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth.

Also included in the DVD are Ulliott's poker rules, including:

Playing the right starting cards

Calculating odds

Playing the right online opponents

Dealing with tilt

When to be aggressive

When to fold

Bankroll management

Ulliott certainly has the credentials to dish out poker advice. In the course of his poker career he's accumulated more than $5 million in tournament winnings. He also has one WSOP bracelet win as well as a World Poker Tour win on his poker resume.

The DVD went up for sale Dec. 1 and can be found at Zavvi, HMV, Amazon and Woolworths.

"With Christmas just around the corner, this is the perfect stocking filler for players of all levels," Ulliott said. "Pop it on when your 'nan and crazy uncle have been at the sherry and prepare to have fun. But remember ... a Devilfish DVD is not just for Christmas!"

Open bar through all of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Dec. 17

2008-12-06T18:22:00.001-08:00

There are free drinks, and then there are free drinks. Las Vegas is known as the free drink capitol of the world, but usually you need to be gambling or at least be good at flirting to get the free drinks. Then there are happy hours, where a bar offers free drinks between certain hours. Now on Dec. 17 between 7 and 9 p.m., there's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which will go completely open bar. Yep, all the bars within the casino will be handing out free drinks to celebrate the holiday season. This includes the Center Bar, AGO, Wasted Space, the bar in Pink Taco, and even the bar in the Poker Lounge. And no gambling necessary.

Star Trek: The Experience moves to Neonopolis

2008-12-04T20:59:00.001-08:00

If you're a fan of Star Trek, you'll be boldly going to downtown Las Vegas.

Coming early next year is the popular Star Trek attraction that was bumped from its Las Vegas Hilton digs after 11 years and has found a new home at Neonopolis.

Star Trek: The Experience will surely bring in a new stream of revenue to the aging Fremont mall, and already a list of high-profile establishments have taken an interest... which will be announced Dec. 12.

One place that won't be along for the ride is Jillian's. The restaurant/arcade/concert venue was popular among teens, with long lines outside making it seem Neonopolis was the place to be. Neonopolis developer Rahit Joshi said it was closed (pushed out?) in favor of a new restaurant... which will also be announced Dec. 12.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquaio for half-price

2008-12-04T20:38:00.001-08:00

We thought it strange that the presumably sold-out fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquaio could not only still have tickets available, but those tickets are half-price.

Maybe the economy is curtailing boxing fans from shelling out $1,500 per ticket (the coveted blue tickets, which are also still available).

The fight takes place Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3:30 p.m. (with main event at 6 p.m.) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Tickets can be purchased at Goldstar:

Blue section: $750 + $50 fee (regularly $1,500)
Pink section: $500 + $50 fee (regularly $1,000)
Green section: $375 + $35 fee (regularly $750)
Orange section: $250 + $25 fee (regularly $500)

Note that tickets will not be available at the box office but through Nevada Tickets, 5030 Paradise Road #B108. So you'd make your purchase, then head to Nevada Tickets on Saturday beginning at noon.

Incidentally, tickets are still available ringside for $20,000. Those aren't discounted.

Nevada Tickets is also selling tickets to a closed-circuit live telecast of the fight, with prices ranging from $95 to $149.

Tropicana Las Vegas close poker room

2008-12-04T20:29:00.001-08:00

The Tropicana poker room will close in a week. A quick decision that not even the 19 poker employees were aware of, staff was informed late last week about the Nov. 30 closure. Unlike Excalibur or Paris Las Vegas who had the corporate backings of MGM Mirage and Harrah's respectively, the Tropicana poker employees will be laid off and not transferred elsewhere.

New Silverton Poker Room

2008-12-04T20:26:00.001-08:00

The new poker room, however, is operational and located in the new section of the casino next to the 1500-car garage a la Wynn Las Vegas. Nice not to have to trek through the casino to get to the poker room. It's right around the corner from the old poker room, which in turn was next to the buffet. The old poker room has been turned into a high-limit salon. We headed over when we heard an announcement for seats available in the 6 p.m. tournament (at 6:10), yet when we stopped by there was no floor manager to be seen. The desk was left empty for 5 minutes before we headed out... and then we heard another announcement that there were seats available in the tournament. We won't go into too much detail because kinks are still being worked out, but at first glance it's bigger than its first incarnation with about the same number of tables. Let's hope they fixed the problem of the AC blowing full-blast. Their current promotion has buy-ins of $100 receiving $20 between noon and 2 p.m. until Dec. 31. We suspect you have to play at least two hours to qualify, but as there was no one to speak to, we couldn't get the lowdown.

All In Signs On as WSOP Sponsor

2008-12-04T20:18:00.001-08:00

All In Energy drink has inked a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the World Series of Poker®. For those that don't know, the principals of the drink company are WSOP 10 bracelet winner Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Clonie Gowen, Scotty Nguyen, and Layne Flack plus dozens of other poker pros. All In energy drinkers can get an invite to the ALL IN Invitational Tournament held at the Rio® All Suites & Hotel during the WSOP. Your on-line purchases of All In energy drink and purified water will be tabulated and the top 1,000 plus players will be seated in the $100,000 guaranteed freeroll. For more information go to www.allinenergy.com

Post-Flop Betting Introduction

2008-12-04T20:05:00.001-08:00

Post-flop betting is all about controlling the tempo, keeping yourself in the position of power - that is, having your opponents deferring to you to make their decisions for them. Via your bets you can do several things.
You can use bets and raises to gather information about your opponents. One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is to check/call. I see player after player doing it and it is a fundamental error. Why is it wrong? Well because it is your bet or raise that defines your opponents hand. If you just check and call, then you really have no idea what your foe has. He could be on a draw. She could have middle pair. He could have the nuts. She could be on a stone cold bluff. Unless you bet, you just don't know. Betting and raising also has the additional benefit of letting you win the pot by causing your opponent to fold.
When you check and call, you not only eliminate that, but you also build up the size of the pot and make it correct for him/her to bet you out of the pot by applying pressure to you on the next street. There is also one additional benefit to betting/raising (especially when you have position) - if you are called, you will generally be checked to on the next street and if you yourself are drawing, you will be able to take a free card (or if you have a strong but not great hand, you can check and call a bet on the river, while you would not have been able to call a check raise on the turn).
Try it sometime. Say you flop middle pair out of the Big Blind against one player who limped in Middle Position. Bet it out. If you check, you know he's going to bet. What do you do then? Fold, call or raise? If you bet out, he'll either fold because the flop missed him (more times than not), call because he is drawing (either to two overcards he holds in his hand or a flush/straight draw) or raise because she believes she has the best hand. If you just check and call then you have no idea whether she has top pair or not. She could be holding nothing better than a pair of 2's but because you are checking and calling, you're eventually going to fold to her bets because of the uncertainty you have created (and generally speaking it would be correct for your foe to continue betting unless she knew you were the type of player who was a calling station).
You can put your opponent on a hand based upon their action/reaction to your bets and raises. Have you ever wondered how the pros can put someone on a hand? It certainly isn't because they are psychic. It's because they've seen something in the way a person is playing and/or betting or have seen the situation come up a hundred times before. That is where the experience you garner playing at Pokerstars or Full Tilt Poker in those low buy in tournaments is invaluable. The thousands of hands you play give you valuable information as to what type of hands a person might have or be playing.
To figure this out, you need to pay careful attention to how each player at the table plays. Do they bet strong with only strong hands, or mix it up? Do they bet weak when strong and strong when weak? What hands do they just call with? What hands do they raise with?
Watch and in time, you'll pick up on what they are doing. Are they just checking and calling when there is two of one suit on the flop? Probably a flush draw - make them pay for it.
Are they just checking and calling when there is two connected cards on the flop? Probably a straight draw - make them pay for it.
Did they bet small and call your raise with no potential draws on the board? Probably top pair bad kicker - make them pay for it.
Did they call your raise pre-flop and then check on the flop after you checked and then raise you on the turn? Probably slow playing something hoping to get more money from you.
Did they make an oversized bet into the pot? Probably a hand that doesn't want to get called and is trying to buy the pot.
Or how about that small but not oversized raise of your raise pre-flop? Probably wants a call because they have a big hand.
What about that oversized raise of your raise pre-flop? Well depending on the person, it's usually a hand like JJ/AK that feels like they have the best hand but doesn't really want to see a flop.
Betting will also allow you to build favorable pots for yourself that allow you to get paid off for your strong hands and can assist you in setting up future plays and moves. In the next part, I'll give you all an assignment to help you understand some post-flop betting concepts.

WPT Confirms Removal of January Borgata Stop

2008-12-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

The World Poker Tour has confirmed that the Borgata Poker Open, originally scheduled for late January of 2009, is no longer part of the WPT's Season Seven schedule. Reports of the Borgata event being removed from the WPT schedule began to surface more than two weeks ago, but the Borgata stop remained on the WPT schedule of events until being recently being removed and confirmed by the WPT.
Also confirmed is that the Borgata will run a replacement event during the 2009 Borgata Winter Poker Open, with that series' schedule still being finalized. While guarantees and dates are still being finalized, the latest schedule calls for a $3,000+200, four-day event beginning on Jan. 25, 2009, with a probable $500,000 guarantee.

Clonie Gowen Suing Full Tilt Poker For $40M.

2008-12-04T19:46:00.001-08:00

Clonie Gowen, the now-defunct and former member of Team Full Tilt Poker, announced this past week that she is bringing forth a $40,00,000 lawsuit against FTP for breach of a contract. The lawsuit states the Gowen is owed her fair share of a 1% ownership stake that was apparently promised to her over a phone conversation with Full Tilt executives. However, this not-so-apparent “oral” agreement was never signed into a legal contract, which unfortunately for her might prove troublesome when it comes to actually proving a contract breach (note the keyword: contract). The supposed oral contract took place in 2004 with several FTP executives, however, despite not having any legal backing put on paper Clonie still went on and promoted the Full Tilt brand on tournament circuit around the world. The promotional ads she did for the company definitely increased fanfare not just among online poker players, but also women poker players. She was 1 of only 2 faces on Team Full Tilt Poker who were women - the other of course being cash game legend Jennifer Harman - and she did an excellent job of making people aware of the online mega site, even though she was doing it for zero compensation. In 2007, Howard Lederer supposedly offered Clonie Gowen a distribution check of $250,000. For what ever reason or another, Gowen denied the check! Other poker media outlets who have been covering the story still don’t have an explanation behind that, nor has Clonie herself commented on it as well. In either case, she still went on and continued to wear FTP gear around every event she played - despite denying a supposed payment from the company and still not being paid a single cent since 2004! After Full Tilt let go of Clonie Gowen on November 11th, 2008, she went and filed the suit just a few days later in a Las Vegas courtroom. The suit itself will most likely be settled out of court, mainly because Full Tilt Poker most likely doesn’t want the financial information of their company to be a matter of public record, nor do they need any more reason to be under the close microscope of the U.S. government.

High Stakes Poker back for Season Five

2008-12-04T19:42:00.001-08:00

GSN announced today that High Stakes Poker will, in fact, be returning for a fifth season. The popular cash-game format live poker show has been a mainstay of poker player’s schedules for several years now, with some classic moments and characters that have become part of the cultural fabric of the game.

Production for the series will start in late December and will once again be filmed at the Golden Nugget. The format of the game is likely to stay pretty close to past seasons, according to Kevin Belinkoff, Vice President of Programming for GSN: “It’s still High Stakes Poker, it will still be no-limit hold’em. We always look to change the game up, look for different things we can do with the game, different players, but at the end of the day, it will still be the same cash game that everyone knows. We kind of let the players do their own thing, so if they come up with other things, then we just let them have their way with it.”

No word yet on the cast for season five. The minimum buyin for the game is reported to be $200,000.

Phil Hellmuth opens “Poker Brat” clothing line

2008-12-04T19:40:00.001-08:00

Poker pro Phill Hellmuth is attempting to diversify yet again, this time starting up a line of clothing bearing his nickname, “Poker Brat.”

The clothing line, which right now consists of just T-shirts and hats, is available online at pokerbrat.com. There, you can get a lot of the standard Phil Hellmuth gear with the “PH” logo. But Hellmuth is also trying to cash in on the artistic T-shirt trend, with designs like “Poker Tree” and “Poker Outline” motifs.

Here’s what Hellmuth had to say about his newest endeavor:

“I love the people who designed these shirts,” commented Hellmuth. “We’ve worked with artists in Las Vegas, Missouri, and West Hollywood, and I told them to design whatever their hearts desired and, man, did they create some great poker designs!”

Most of the shirts retail for about $30.

Left out of the apparel descriptions: Whether Hellmuth will berate you if you play poker with him while wearing his clothes.

60 Minutes airs story on online poker scandal

2008-12-04T19:35:00.001-08:00

Many in the world of poker fretted about the “60 Minutes” story on online poker and the Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet scandal before it aired this Sunday.

While the story put together by the CBS television news program did not paint a rosy picture of online poker, it was largely a factual investigation into the superuser scandal. It was not the “hatchet job” that many feared would air that could have been a damaging blow for online poker.

Mostly, the story portrays online poker as an unregulated industry where cheating is possible and has occurred — namely in the AP/UB scandal — but stops short of saying online poker as a whole is entirely crooked and filled with cheaters.

You can watch the whole “60 Minutes” piece here.

There is also a piece written by a Washington Post reporter who helped with the investigation here.

The story gives a primer and brief history of online poker — from Chris Moneymaker’s World Series of Poker main event victory, the industry boom, and how easy it is, in general, to play poke online. From there, interviewer Steve Kroft talks to some of the people involved in the uncovering of the superuser scandal, and details many of the sordid details.

The story never goes much into the world of online poker beyond AP/UB and the one scandal.

Russian Poker Tour

2008-12-04T19:26:00.001-08:00

PokerStars is branching out in its worldwide live poker tournaments yet again, this time launching the Russian Poker Tour. Poker in Russia has grown quickly in recent years on the heels of the success of Alex Kravchenko — the first Russian to ever win a World Series of Poker bracelet, in 2007 — and 2008 main event runner-up Ivan Demidov. The Russian Poker begins on January 25 in St. Petersburg before traveling to Moscow in February.

Devilfish Poker And Devilfish Travel

2008-10-28T20:23:00.001-07:00

Online poker room Devilfish Poker recently launched a new service called Devilfish Travel. This feature is a way for poker players to arrange for poker playing trips around the world to select locations and select tournaments. Poker players can log on to Devilfish Travel and spend their VIP points, select an event such as the Aussie Millions or the Irish Open, and Devilfish Poker will take care of the arrangements...

World Poker Tour Say Bye, To CryptoLogic Inc

2008-10-28T20:18:00.001-07:00

The partnership of the World Poker Tour and online poker platform software provider CryptoLogic Inc is drawing to a close according to a notice filed Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Both WagerLogic and its parent company CryptoLogic were notified by the WPTE that the agreement would be terminated as of November 14th. This leaves the WPT branded online poker room without support, and would indicate that it is being shut down as well. There has been no word on how much the WPT will have to pay CryptoLogic for the early termination of their agreement, initially a three year agreement that was extended to seven.

Bluff Poker Tour

2008-10-28T20:14:00.001-07:00

A new series of online poker tournaments is on the way as recently announced by poker magazine Bluff Magazine. Bluff, along with Players Investment Company, are putting together the Bluff Poker Tour, which is said to be modeled after the World Poker Tour, but online. The series of online poker tournaments will win cash but also choices from a selection of prizes worth $10k. The Bluff Poker Tour will run across various poker rooms online, as opposed to various live brick and mortar casinos like the WPT. DoylesRoom and TruePoker are two that have been named.

Phelps Makes Final Table

2008-10-28T20:11:00.001-07:00

The world’s greatest Olympian, US swimmer Michael Phelps, is making good on his threat to bring his skills to the sharks of Las Vegas and the online poker world. Phelps, who had before been linked to online poker room Doyles Room, played in a $1,570 buy-in event at the Caesars Poker Classic and made it to the final table, a respectable finish for the poker novice. He cashed for $5,213. He’s been seen around Vegas with some heavy duty poker company as well, such as the Brunsons and recently showing up at the WPT Festa al Lago following Phil Hellmuth around.

McFadden's at Rio hosts party with porn stars Sunny Leone, Hanna Hilton

2008-10-18T21:12:00.001-07:00

The newish Irish bar McFadden's at Rio (which took over for oldish Irish bar Tilted Kilt) is hosting a Lingerie Party on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10 p.m.
And not just any lingerie party, mind you: a lingerie party with porn stars.
Adult film stars Sunny Leone and Hanna Hilton hostess the night and keep the festivities going, including a sex trivia contest, sex toy giveaways, and $3 sex shots.
Come in your best, "most scintillating," sexiest lingerie and you could win $500 cash.
Entry is $10 for women and $20 for men, which is good for bottomless drinks between 10 p.m. and midnight. Then drinks are $3 until close.
Women drink free champagne all night.

The Real Deal! Poker Show Opens at The Venetian Las Vegas

2008-10-18T20:58:00.001-07:00

The Venetian Showroom will be filled with poker's elite next Tuesday evening, October 21, at 7 PM for the premier of the The Real Deal! interactive poker-themed stage show. Hosts for the event are funnyman Paul Rodriquez and insult-style comedian Vinny Favorito. They will be joined by The Real Deal! poker pros -- Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harmon, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Gavin Smith, Eli Elezra, Scotty Nguyen, and Todd Brunson.

According to the press release, "...a completely original live show format combines fast-paced action and humor with the latest in wireless technology and abundant prizes, including a chance to win $1,000,000."

That's right, $1 million in cash. The entire audience can interact with the players on stage through the magic of wireless technology so you may be one of the lucky winners just by being in the audience. The show was created Merv Adelson and Emmy™ Award-Winning producer Gary Smith.

Times for the show are 5 PM Tuesday through Sunday with 8 PM primetime shows added on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ticket prices for the shows at 5 PM are $75 and $85 for the 8 PM primetime performance. VIP packages are available and include an opportunity to meet the poker stars afterwards. Of course, you must be 21 years of age for stage participation. A special section without wireless interaction is available at $45 for underage guest. Call The Venetian Box Office at 1.866.641.SHOW or 702.414.9000 for ticket purchase information. You can also visit the website for tickets.

Paris Las Vegas closes poker room

2008-10-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

Paris Las Vegas quietly closed their poker room last week.

This time for good.

Bouncing around from gambling pit in the open to its own room next to the sportsbook, Paris' poker room was battered about after having its hours significantly cut and reduced to just tournaments. If you went looking for the poker room, you often couldn't find it, and some employees even thought it was already shuttered.

We could never quite get a fix on Paris and sister casino Bally's operating under the same management (which itself operates under Harrah's). Chips are interchangeable between both casinos, slot tickets can be read and cashed at both, and both properties even shared some of the same managers.

When Bally's Diamond Lounge closed in favor of consolidating into Paris' lounge, we figured more consolidation would be going on. Moving the poker room into its own room from the casino floor just ended up being in a part of the sportsbook.

It was only a matter of time before the room died a slow death. What dealers were left were offered shifts at the Bally's poker room.

R.I.P., Paris poker room. At least you went out without going electronic.

Full Tilt's FTOPS X Scheduled for November

2008-10-18T20:15:00.001-07:00

Online poker site Full Tilt has just released the schedule for the tenth installment of its tri-annual event. The Full Tilt of Poker Series (FTOPS) is scheduled to get underway November 5th, with 25 events taking place over 11 days. FTOPS X will be upping the prize money yet again, this time guaranteeing roughly $16 million spread throughout the series.

The complete FTOPS IX schedule (all starting times ET):
# Date Time Buy-in/Event Guarantee
#1 11-5 21:00 $200+16 NL Hold'em 6-max $1,000,000
#2 11-6 14:00 $240+16 PL Omaha/8 Knockout $200,000
#3 11-6 21:00 $500 + $35 NL Hold'em 3x Shootout $300,000
#4 11-7 14:00 $300+22 NL Hold'em (1R / 1A) $600,000
#5 11-7 21:00 $200+16 Limit Hold'em 6-max $150,000
#6 11-8 14:00 $500+35 PL Omaha 6-Max $350,000
#7 11-8 16:00 $100+9 NL Hold'em $600,000
#8 11-9 14:00 $240+16 NL Hold'em 6-Max Knockout $600,000
#9 11-9 18:00 $300+22 NL Hold'em $1,500,000
#10 11-10 14:00 $300+22 Mixed Hold'em $250,000
#11 11-10 21:00 $1000+60 NL Hold'em $1,500,000
#12 11-11 14:00 $ 200+16 HA (half PL Hold'em, half PL Omaha) $150,000
#13 11-11 21:00 $ 500+35 HORSE $300,000
#14 11-11 21:00 $ 200+16 NL Hold'em Turbo $500,000
#15 11-12 14:00 $ 200+16 Omaha 8-or-better $150,000
#16 11-12 21:00 $ 300+22 NL Hold'em 6-Max Rebuy $1,000,000
#17 11-13 14:00 $200+16 NL Hold'em 4x Shootout 6-max $250,000
#18 11-13 21:00 $300+22 Razz $150,000
#19 11-14 14:00 $200+16 NL Hold'em $400,000
#20 11-14 21:00 $200+16 Stud 8-or-better $100,000
#21 11-15 14:00 $500+35 NL Hold'em Heads-up $500,000
#22 11-15 14:00 $5000+200 NL Hold'em 6-max $2,000,000
#23 11-15 16:00 $100+9 PL Omaha Rebuy $400,000
#24 11-16 14:00 $120+9 NL Hold'em Knockout $500,000
Main Event (#25) 11-16 18:00 $500 + $35 NL Hold'em $2,500,000

Dream Team Poker Debuts

2008-10-18T20:08:00.001-07:00

A new form of tournament poker is on the schedule at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, "Dream Team Poker." This tournament poker game is, as the name suggests, team based and it starts with a private invitational tournament on November 7-9. The new team poker tournament model uses a scoring system (patent pending) that helps to determine the winner. Team strategy comes into play in a game that is traditionally an individual competition. One of the benefits of this form of poker is that it allows inexperienced players to benefit from their teammates’ greater skills to learn the game while still participating on a winning team.

New Poker Channel Europe

2008-10-18T20:03:00.001-07:00

The Poker Channel in Europe has announced they have relaunched their online version, Poker Channel Europe.com, along with online video company Brightcove. Brightcove will help facilitate video content from the Poker Channel to viewers for free. They will achieve this online by supporting the video with advertising. Flash based video browsers and the delivery of content are some of what Brightcove is bringing to the table. Short and long form video clips will be available for viewing, streamed from the Poker Channel Europe.com website. The site will have local language and local poker promotions in the future, according to a recent press release.

WSOP Spots for Sale on eBay

2008-10-18T19:56:00.001-07:00

Yet another poker pro is offering up some advertising space on his clothing for the upcoming World Series of Poker final table for 2008, but this time its for charity. Unlike the pro putting up an eBay ad for multiple spots, chip leader Dennis Phillips is hosting an eBay auction for one spot and one spot only, and he will donate the proceeds from the auction to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The auction will run from October 16-26, 2008. The final table will run in early November.

There is no question that the nine players that will be fighting at the final table of this year’s World Series of Poker main event in November are in an enviable position. On top of this one player has decided to capitalize early by offering space on his clothing for sponsors to put their names and logos. Ylon Schwartz has an ad up on Ebay offering companies the chance to bid for space on his hat, chest and sleeves, and at least one bid is in the tank for more than $35,000.

John Juanda Wins World Series of Poker Europe

2008-10-11T21:02:00.001-07:00

The second annual World Series of Poker Europe has come to a close, and the winner of the coveted main event is an American poker pro, John Juanda. The buy in was £10,000 and 362 players took part, creating a prize pool of £3,620,000. Juanda, the first American to win a WSOP main event outside of the United States, took home £868,800 ($1,598,587) as his first place prize. Juanda outlasted the rest of his final table comrades - including many top poker pros, such as Daniel Negreanu, in a final table battle of 19 hours and 10 minutes.

North Carolina Police Raid Poker Game

2008-10-11T20:57:00.001-07:00

The Southern state of North Carolina in the United States has had yet another poker raid, with police closing in on a tournament in Fayetteville, shutting down a game that had forty or more people involved. In addition to the poker chips and cash police found - when searching the vehicles of the players - crack cocaine, marijuana, handguns and Oxcyontin pills. Chris Lusardi of Fayetteville, the alleged game operator, was taken into custody and charged with running a gaming operation; his home was also raided and $3k in cash seized.

US State Seizes Doyle’s Room

2008-10-11T20:43:00.001-07:00

It is business as usual at online poker room Doyle’s Room, except for one thing: they technically don’t own their domain name anymore. That might be a temporary situation, but Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate voted in favor of the state of Kentucky to seize control over the Doyle’s Room’s URL, as well as the domain names of three other sites. The judge says, however, that Kentucky can’t interfere with the domains until after his final ruling on October 15.

Pam Brunson Wins Hard Rock Poker Event

2008-10-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

The new poker room at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Casino and Hotel started things off with a VIP poker tournament with a lot of big name pros, such as Evelyn Ng, Chip Jett and Hoyt Corkins. Doyle Brunson was there as well as his son Todd Brunson. But it was the lady Brunson, Todd’s sister Pamela, that won the day, taking down the eighteen table tournament and winning a Hard Rock custom motorcycle as her prize.

Duplicate Poker Goes Bye Bye

2008-10-11T20:12:00.001-07:00

One of the more unique takes on the online poker format came to a halt today with the closing of Duplicate Poker. Duplicate, which operated openly in several US states as a result of it’s original approach to poker, announced the closing in a brief statement on the room’s website:

Duplicate is sadly bidding farewell to its players. Caught in the middle of the global financial situation the company is not able to continue to provide service. We are a small victim of the global financial crisis.

Regretfully as of the today, October 5th, 2008 we are closing our service. We thank our players for being with us. Hopefully at later time and in a better economic climate Duplicate Poker will re-appear.

Sincerely,
The Duplicate Poker Team

At Duplicate, players were pitted against opponents not only at the same table, but also against an opponent at another table that received the exact same cards. Whichever player won the most (or lost the least) with the shared hand won money. The formula never really seemed to catch on with the serious or casual player base.

Las Vegas Hilton robbery suspects still at large

2008-10-03T22:17:00.001-07:00

Since the robbery, not much more has come out about the two suspects who robbed the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Both are about 5'6" and 150 pounds each and were wearing dark clothing and motorcycle helmets (pictured above is one of the suspects leaving the scene after the robbery took place). Their getaway car was a stolen Durango, possibly driven by a third unknown suspect.

Both were armed.

The heist reportedly took up to half a million dollars from the casino.

There's a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest. Call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.

p.s. O.J. was heading to court at the time.

Shooting, attempted robbery at The Orleans

2008-10-03T22:12:00.001-07:00

The bad economy is bringing out the worst in criminals.

Or maybe everyone is just getting inspired by OJ.

This morning at The Orleans, four people (two men and two women) gathered together at a bar before heading to one of The Orleans' hotel rooms.

A few minutes later, one of the women (possibly a prostitute) left the room, then returned with another man who attempted to rob the people in the hotel room.

A gun was fired and shot one of the men in the stomach, then the gunman and the woman who led him to the hotel fled.

The man who was shot was rushed to the hospital and is expected to recover.

If you were at The Orleans and can possibly identify the suspects or have any information, call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.

Harrah's 10 percent bonus for poker players

2008-10-03T21:36:00.001-07:00

Harrah's is offering an interesting bonus for morning poker players that amounts to much more than rakeback or $1/hour comps. Daily beginning Monday, Sept. 15, play in the Harrah's poker room for at least an hour between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. You'll then receive a 10 percent buy-in bonus for your next visit to the poker room. A voucher will be given for 10 percent of your buy-in, up to $30, which you can cash in on your next trip. There's seemingly no limit on the amount of times you can do this, but presumably your next visit needs to be the following day.

CardRunners offers free 24-hour pass

2008-10-03T21:31:00.001-07:00

Online poker training site CardRunners is celebrating their merger with StoxPoker by offering free limited passes.

We enjoy CardRunners videos (particularly GreenPlastic's) and have picked up a few tricks here and there that we still use today at the no-limit table.

To pick up your pass which gives you full access to the site for 24 hours, text "cardrunners" on your cell phone to 32075. You'll then receive a text back telling you to go to this link to register as a guest and a special code.

Offer expires Sept. 30.

I Ask For More Poker On TV This Is What I Get

2008-10-03T20:46:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing this poker show does not suffer from it is shyness; with a name like The Best Damn Poker Show, it is no wonder. The second season of this show will begin on FSN October 27, with filming currently taking place in California at the San Manuel Resort and Casino. The show represents a challenge between Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke to see who can train online poker players into champions. There are 18 poker players all competing for the first place position, and all are likely to get plenty of attention once the show airs.

Full Tilt Poker Signs Blind Poker Player

2008-10-03T20:40:00.001-07:00

When poker player Hal Lubarsky sat down to play in the World Series of Poker he had an unusual challenge - he could not see the cards. Hal is blind, and through special consideration was allowed to have a caller, an assistant who would tell him the cards he held, what the board cards showed, and the actions of his opponents. Recently the rumor was floated, and then substantiated, that Hal was signed on as a pro with online poker room Full Tilt Poker. Some concern has been broached on various poker sites about how a blind person could manage online games.

Is Poker Popularity Dying

2008-10-03T20:18:00.001-07:00

Over the last two years the popularity of poker has dropped among the young, according to the research of a social trends organization. With its origins in the UIGEA in the United States, online poker has taken a number of hits in recent years, including a drop in TV ratings, tournament sponsorship and fewer overall online poker rooms to play at. While none think online poker is going away in a permanent fashion, it is apparent that the heyday of online poker from 2005 has come and gone. The study also said that poker popularity has not dipped among long term players.

New WPT Poker Show Called ClubWPT

2008-10-03T20:10:00.001-07:00

The FNS network has joined forces with the WPT to launch a new poker show, a series based on a subscription poker site. The ClubWPT will be the show and is the name of the site, a US positive effort by the World Poker Tour that does not require gambling to play and win cash and prizes but rather a monthly subscription. The show will feature six amateur poker players from the US and Canada. The players are chosen from the winners of special TV Tournaments on ClubWPT.com. Qualified players will get roundtrip airfare to Los Angeles.

Chris Moneymaker And WCOOP 2008

2008-09-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

Chris Moneymaker, primarily known these days as the spark that ignited the online poker boom after his 2003 Main Event win, had a little personal redemption this evening after making the final table of the 2008 WCOOP Event #5!

The Team PokerStars member played some of the best poker of his life this evening, running over an impressive field of online pros and live poker counterparts like Daniel Alaei and Ted Forrest, who would actually finish 13th and 20th in this tournament. After the dust was settled, and the final table bubble was finally broken, it would be Moneymaker and eight other players making up a pretty sick final 9. Although it would be two players in particular that would end up giving the one-time world champ a run for his money.

Top-ranked online players ‘gbmantis‘ and ‘#1PEN!‘ would prove to be a tough test for Moneymaker at the finale. These 2 showcased to the world why they’ve been such big forces to be reckon with on the MTT felt, consistently making moves on Chris and eventually bleeding him a lot of chips towards the latter stages of the final table. With blinds at $12.5k/$25k, Moneymaker would be forced to make a desperate all-in push with the rest of his $300k stack with a weak Ace. Unfortunately for him, the small blind ‘Choron‘ would wake up with pocket Kings and was a dominating favorite to knock ‘Money800′ out for good. The board would ultimately bring no miracle Ace for for him, and Moneymaker would find himself on the rail in very solid 6th place!

His finish would net him nearly $180k and of course allow him to snub his critics - albeit temporarily I’m sure - who have bashed him in the past for his lack of tournament cashes and final tables. For now though, I can only hope he’ll enjoy his moment in the sun and start working on his game even more to prep for the future. Who knows how many more final tables he’s got in him?

Why Sign These People PokerStars

2008-09-03T18:54:00.001-07:00

While the future of hockey player Mats Sundin is still up in the air, today he announced he'll become a professional poker player on PokerStars.

That's PokerStars.net, not PokerStars.com.

Stars has recently been signing sports stars not generally known for poker, such as Boris Becker and Orel Hershiser.

The former Toronto Maple Leafs captain will play online and live under the username MatsSundin and will travel Stars' global poker tour circuit, beginning with next week's European Poker Tour in Barcelona.

Any winnings he may earn from poker will be donated entirely to charity.

Mayweather offers $100,000 reward

2008-09-03T14:54:00.001-07:00

A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery of former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s burgled Las Vegas mansion last month.

Mayweather's home was robbed of jewelry amounting to as much as $7 million. Among the jewelry were glove pendants and a necklace.

No one was hurt during the robbery, which occurred Aug. 17 or 18 in the empty house.

Four males were spotted on surveillance cameras. One of the four is pictured above and goes by the alias Johnny Brassballs.

Callers with information on the crime can be anonymous and collect a $100,000 reward. Call Sherbrook, Jelan and Associates at (678) 457-5858.

Mayweather's father will be training Ricky Hatton for Hatton's upcoming fight against Paulie Malignaggi on Nov. 22. Mayweather Jr. defeated Hatton in his final fight in December 2007 at MGM Grand.

Eastside Cannery Poker Room Now Open

2008-09-03T14:49:00.001-07:00

A new poker room on the Boulder strip is open and spreading your favorite games. Eastside Cannery is first new property to open on the Boulder Strip in more than a decade and the first new poker room on Boulder in 14 years.

Eastside CanneryPoker Room early Sunday morning

The spacious 8 table poker room is filled with modern poker tables equipped with Shufflemasters and the popular Genesis tracking systems. Genesis tracks play through player's cards so stop by the C.A.N. Players Club and sign up for your free player's card before you play or click here to sign up online. Poker players earn comps at the rate of $1/hour with no daily limit. Comps are good at any of the casino's food outlets.

The room is currently spreading $2-$4 and $4-$8 limit Hold'em plus a $1-$2 No-Limit Hold'em with a $100 min - $300 max buy-in. For the stud players there is a $2-$7 Limit Seven Card Stud game with a $1 low card bring-in. A $2-4 LHE, $4-8 LHE and the stud game were up and running along with $1-2 NLHE during our early Sunday morning visit. Stop by the Eastside Cannery to play in the newest poker room in Las Vegas. If some of the room personnel look familiar you probably saw them dealing at the 2008 WSOP.

Tip: Park near the eastside doors at the Eastside Cannery, walk-in, look left ... the Poker Room. Couldn't be easier.

"How to Become a Poker Millionaire" With Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott

2008-09-03T14:29:00.001-07:00

UK legendary poker pro Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott will star in a new TV series where he takes losers at the game and trains them up to become poker pros like himself. Titled "How to Become a Poker Millionaire" the show will air in Wales for five segments of 30 minutes each. Ulliott, a poker pro who has been on the circuit for years and been a popular figure in other programs such as Late Night Poker, will star in the show premiering Thursday September 4 on ITV Wales. Ulliott himself is a poker millionaire, having won millions at the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour

Full Tilt Poker pro is a multi accounting

2008-08-28T14:50:00.001-07:00

Team Cardrunners member and Full Tilt Poker pro Brian Townsend wrote in his blog last night that he has multiple accounts on both FTP and PokerStars.

On FTP, he says he has used the second name “Stellarnebula” for the last six months, while on PokerStars he has used the account “makersmark66″ instead of his original “aba22″ over the same time period.

Townsend wrote that he never used the two accounts at the same time. FTP has revoked his pro status for six months, while he said he does not know what will happen to him on PokerStars. He has also said he will be donating $25,000 to charity as penance.

According to his blog:

My first reaction when this occurred was to go hide under a rock. I am not going to do that and I will answer any questions that are asked of me. I feel that I have nothing to hide. If you wish to interview me on this subject please email ezra@cardrunners.com and we can set something up. I will also be answering questions in not only the CardRunners forum, but the 2+2 forum as well. I will not be hiding from anyone or any questions.

Those are the pertinent facts. The reason why I created these accounts was because I enjoy anonymity when playing smaller and am very prideful in what I do. The past two years I have made a lot of money playing poker. This year I have been breakeven. For me it’s correct to play smaller when things aren’t going well. I have never played poker for the money; it has always been a byproduct of my play. Whatever I do I want to be the best at it. For me playing the 200/400 PLO games was not the right thing to do because my results haven’t been good. I think I am a winner in those games and I intend to prove to myself that I am one of the best poker players in the world. I believe what it takes is an incredible amount of focus and work to accomplish this goal. I intend to work harder than anyone to prove this, because I have not been playing my best for the past year. I have something to prove to myself.

Suge' Knight arrest in Las Vegas

2008-08-27T21:00:00.001-07:00

Marion "Suge" Knight was jailed Wednesday on assault and drug charges after he was accused of beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife near the Las Vegas Strip, police said.

Knight, 43, posted $19,000 bail and was scheduled to be released late Wednesday with a promise to appear Sept. 26 in Las Vegas Justice Court, a court spokeswoman said.

Police said the founder of bankrupt Death Row Records was arrested about 6:40 a.m. after officers arrived at the scene of a minor traffic accident and found Knight hitting a woman in a parking lot off a busy thoroughfare.

"A citizen sees the beating in a parking lot, police get there fast, they see him beating her. It's a good solid case," said Las Vegas police Lt. Chris Carroll.

The woman was not stabbed but she was treated at a hospital for injuries that Carroll said were not life-threatening.

Police did not release the woman's name or age, but said she identified herself as Knight's girlfriend of three years.

"This is a very large man," Carroll said, estimating his weight at more than twice the woman's. "He was on top of her, actually in the act of violently beating her when the officers arrived, with the knife in his hand."

At least one officer drew a Taser stun gun as they approached Knight, said Officer Jacinto Rivera, a police spokesman. He said he did not know if the officers drew their handguns.

Knight dropped the folding knife and was taken into custody without incident, Carroll said.

He was booked into the Clark County jail on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of possession of dangerous drugs without a prescription and domestic violence.

Knight had the drugs Ecstasy and hydrocodone when he was arrested, Carroll said, but it was not clear if he or the woman had used drugs or alcohol before the arrest.

Lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, who are representing Knight, said they wanted to gather information about the arrest and talk with Knight before commenting.

Rivera said Knight and the woman left a Las Vegas strip club, Spearmint Rhino, shortly before the arrest. They were alone in a champagne-colored Cadillac Escalade.

Police said Knight and the woman argued in the vehicle while Knight was driving before he allegedly punched her in the head.

"The victim purposely grabbed the steering wheel and caused the vehicle to hit the curb," police said in a statement. Police said the woman tried to run away, but Knight caught her.

Knight has a history of legal problems and was with Tupac Shakur when the rapper was gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996.

Knight was convicted of assault in 1992 and placed on probation, then jailed for five years in 1996 for violating that probation.

He was returned to jail in 2003 for again violating parole for punching a parking attendant at a Hollywood nightclub. He was released the next year.

Knight was wounded during a shooting at a party in a Miami nightclub in August 2005.

His former record company was auctioned in June for $24 million to New York-based Global Music Group Inc.

Daniel McCarthy, a lawyer handling a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing for Knight and the record company, said Wednesday that the sale is pending.

Death Row Records was known for releasing seminal gangster rap albums by Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and sold tens of millions of albums in the heyday of early 1990s rap.

In 2006, a federal judge ordered a bankruptcy trustee takeover of Death Row Records, saying the label had undergone gross mismanagement. Knight's decision to file for bankruptcy protection staved off a move by the court to appoint someone to take control of the record label and his assets.

I Know Better, But I Had Too.

2008-08-27T19:55:00.001-07:00

This is a the hand that put me out of the PokerStars .50 tournament. A little background, before I go into the hand. I was up to 2,950 chips, I had been getting great starting cards like Ak suited and off suite a few pocket pairs in late position Queens, Jacks, Tens. I raised about three to four times the blind, I would still have the small and big blind call and sometimes the button. With the AK I never hit and I would do a continuation bet, would have callers or a re-raise so I would give up hand after that. With my pocket pairs I would do the same three to four times the blind, with the same result with the blinds or anyone how limped in. The flop would all ways have over cards I would do a continuation bet two or three would call, after that I figured they hit the over card I would check it down or fold to a bet. Now to get to the hand that I lost with and how bad I played that hand. You can watch the video below to see how I played the hand. Now I'm going to tell you how I should have played the had. I was first to act I had AQ suited (not that, that matters) what I should have done was push all-in or raised like I did. After the flop I checked when the guy bet 500 I knew he had a ten with a weak kicker. I should have folded or I should have typed in the chat I think I have you out kicked and than pushed all-in. But know I just called and than went all-in after the turn knowing that I was beat, played the hand like a poker donkey.

Harrah's Las Vegas cashier robbed

2008-08-26T19:53:00.001-07:00

Above is from the police-released surveillance video of a man robbing the Harrah's cashier cage.

Yes, that's right -- in broad daylight yesterday morning at 11:34 a.m., the guy brazenly came in to the main casino cage, took an undisclosed amount of money, then walked right out and hailed a cab southbound on the Strip. All without anyone being the wiser.

Reports say that he handed a note to the cashier demanding a large amount of money.

He was not armed but is believed to be dangerous.

If you have any information, call Metro or Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.

Can you hear me now?

2008-08-26T19:48:00.001-07:00

For one year as of yesterday, cell phones will now be allowed in Nevada race and sports books.

Cell phone ban regulation 22-135 (which includes any two-way electronic communication) was put into place in 1999 by the Nevada Gaming Commission to prevent people from betting for other people, as well as talking to bookies when the lines changed.

But that was 10 years ago, when cell phones weren't as ubiquitous as they are now, making it much more difficult to enforce.

But enforcing was still a requirement, and often when taking a call (or even texting someone) in the sportsbook, security would approach us and ask us to turn off our phone. We were even told to stop using the phone, when we were using the calculator part to determine odds.

And what of mobile gaming devices, which were approved by the gaming commission for use in sports books?

Cell phone use will now be allowed but "monitored" for one year to see how it goes and then decided whether the ban will be permanent.

Now we can play online poker on our mobile device in the sports book in peace!

Poker Anyone At Hard Rock

2008-08-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's long-awaited poker room is now open.

Dubbed a "poker lounge," the room has 18 tables and will be a hybrid of 7,000-square-foot poker room and nightclub with bottle service

Though we suspect it will become like any other poker room in town, you may want to leave the t-shirt and cutoffs at home, at least for the first couple weeks.

Separate tables will be cordoned off and available for rental for private home games.

Regular tournament information can be found at this link, which include prizes such as a $5,000 bar tab with cabana rental by the pool and VIP backstage passes to the current concert.

Hoyt Corkins' Las Vegas Home Robbed

2008-08-26T19:39:00.001-07:00

Well known professional poker player Hoyt Corkins was the victim of a burglary at his Spanish Trails home in Las Vegas. The easy going Corkins had been away from his Vegas residence in the upscale gated Spanish Trails neighborhood for about a month when friends discovered the break-in and called him back to Las Vegas.

The crooks not only ransacked the residence but gathered up his trophies and poker memorabilia before leaving the scene. The poker goodies taken included a WPT bracelet and his two WSOP bracelets - 1992 $5K Pot Limit Omaha, 2007 $2.5K No-Limit Hold'em 6 Handed. The thief (s) also absconded with two cars, a motorcycle, electronics and more than $10K in cash. Corkins told Las Vegas Channel 8 News his losses were more than $100,000 and counting.

They also stole his identity by using his office phone to get a credit card in his name. Corkins indicated he believed the break-in occurred a few weeks earlier at the beginning of the month. This is an opportunity for poker player everywhere to keep their ears and eyes open for any clues that might help capture the bad guys and return the cherished items to Hoyt. It's also an opportunity for players to evaluate their personal security and plug up any chinks in the armor to avoid becoming a crime victim.

Anyone with information that may help in solving this crime can contact the Las Vegas Metro Police Crime Stoppers at 702.385.5555, you do not have to identify yourself and you may be eligible for a reward.

Poker After Dark And The Golden Nugget

2008-08-25T19:37:00.001-07:00

The 2009 season of NBC's top poker show will change its filming location from the South Point Casino to the illustrious Golden Nugget.

The Golden Nugget, the longest running Vegas Hotel to maintain its AAA's Four Diamond status, has signed a deal to have the first 60 episodes of Poker After Dark filmed inside its newest events center "The Grand". This is not the first serious poker production to use this location, as Brett Kellerman, The Golden Nuggets chief operating officer, pointed out in his statement:

"The Golden Nugget is thrilled to host the fifth season of NBC's exciting, late-night poker program, Poker After Dark. The Golden Nugget has been home to several big poker productions, as well as hosted many poker tournaments and events, so bringing a top-rated program like Poker After Dark to the property just seemed like a natural fit."

Season four of PAD had some of the most entertaining matches ever caught on tape, a selection of games and formats each with the seats filled by some of the most prestigious and talented, online and live, poker players of all time.

In Season 5, PAD plans to bring more of the creative matches, along with multiple sessions of their classic six-handed, winner takes all sit-n-go format.

Season 4 of the program is airing now on NBC.

WPTE Is In Trouble With NASDAQ Stock Exchange

2008-08-20T22:25:00.001-07:00

On July 8, 2005, over ten million shares of World Poker Tour Enterprise, Inc. (WPTE) stock traded at a high of $29.50 as news circulated that Doyle Brunson had made a $700 million unsolicited bid for the company. Exactly three years later, the stock opened the trading day at $1.00, with only 22,000 shares trading by the day's close. And since July 1st, the stock has not closed above $1.00, which has run afoul with the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, where WPTE is listed for trading.
To meet NASDAQ's listing rule, a stock cannot close below $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days, as WPTE now has done. Tuesday, WPTE acknowledged that they had received a NASDAQ Staff Determination Letter on August 14, 2008, notifying the company that it was not in compliance with the minimum stock listing price requirements. WPTE has 180 days to demonstrate compliance, which requires that the stock trade above $1.00 for ten consecutive business days. If WPTE fails to do so, it will be delisted from the stock exchange.
A number of things could happen at this point. The company could eventually be delisted, but still trade Over-the-Counter (OTC), also known as the Pink Sheets. The Pink Sheets is a quotation service, not a stock exchange, and has no listing requirements of any kind. Because of the lack of requirements, including no requirement for filing financial statements or meeting any standard accounting practices, Pink Sheet stocks are viewed as risky. As such, far fewer investors are willing to trade in Pink Sheet stocks.
WPTE could also execute a reverse stock split, effectively reducing the number of shares while increasing the value of each share. For instance if WPTE executed a 1-for-2 split, shareholders would be issued 50% less shares, but each share would be worth twice as much. At its current price of $0.84, each new share would be worth $1.68, thus meeting the threshold for NASDAQ listing.
Or WPTE could hope that their new strategy, as outlined in their second-quarter earnings report, brings them profitability, or at least enough investor confidence to boost the stock price back over $1.00. And it appears this might be the path that WPTE is taking. In their press release WPTE stated, "The Company will continue to execute its business plan to provide an opportunity to demonstrate value to the investment community and regain NASDAQ compliance."

ChanPoker Say Good Bye

2008-08-20T22:15:00.001-07:00

Chan Poker (chanpoker.com), the splashly online poker site fronted by 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Johnny Chan, has announced its closure effective August 21st. Chan Poker was most recently a member of the Ongame Network, anchored by well-known sites such as PokerRoom.com, but as with other sites on that network was closed to American play following the passage of the UIGEA in late 2006.
Chan Poker was one of the flashier, newer sites perhaps most affected by the UIGEA-caused changes in the online poker market. The site launched amid much fanfare in 2006 with a high profile at the 2006 World Series of Poker, including a popular booth at that year's poker Lifestyle Expo.

However, Chan Poker faced an uncertain future only months later, and was never able to overcome the change in market conditions precipitated by that fall's legislative events.
Chan Poker continues to seek an online site to acquire its player database and honor its customers' non-monetary accumulated player points. The complete notice as published by Chan Poker follows:
We are sad to inform you that Chan Poker will be ceasing operation effective this Thursday, August 21, 2008. Effective immediately we will no longer be accepting deposits. On August 21 our poker clients will be disabled.
If you have a cash balance with us rest assured that all withdrawal requests will be honored and promptly processed. To facilitate timely withdrawals, limits for certain withdrawal methods have been increased. We will make every effort to accept withdrawal requests through our website for as long as necessary however we strongly advise submitting your request as soon as possible. To initiate a withdrawal now please follow this link to go to your account. Please note that once final withdrawals are processed your account will be automatically closed, no further action is necessary.
The final $50 daily freeroll will be held Tuesday, August 19, 2008. We will not be holding any additional weekly Red Orange Freerolls.
We are actively seeking a partner to provide poker software and honor all Chan Poker player point balances for those that wish to continue playing online poker. We will keep you informed of developments on this front.
As always, if you have questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact us at support@chanpoker.com.

Check-Raising on Draws

2008-08-20T21:44:00.001-07:00

In No-Limit Hold 'em, drawing hands can be very difficult to play out of position. Most beginners take a straightforward approach when they flop something like a straight or a flush draw; they check, then call a bet and hope the turn brings something helpful. But, simply check-calling can present difficulties later in a hand. If you miss on the turn, you'll probably have to check and, oftentimes, end up facing a turn bet that is too large to call. Any bet of normal size in relation to the pot will be too large because the odds against hitting your hand are typically more than 4-to-1.

The problems don't end there. What happens if you check-call the flop, then hit your draw on the turn? If you check the turn, your opponent might very well check behind you, fearing that you hit. If you lead at the pot, you're pretty much announcing that you made your hand and your opponent might fold. So, even if you hit, you may not get paid in proportion to the risk you took by calling on a draw.

Rather than check-call, I often like to check-raise when I flop a draw out of position. This sort of situation comes up most frequently when playing from the blinds. For example, say that I'm in the big blind with Ad-6d and I call a raise from a late position player who popped it to three times the big blind. The flop, Td-5d-3s, gives me the nut flush draw.

After calling from the blind, I'd expect to check the flop almost every time. It's the natural progression of the hand: my opponent took the lead pre-flop and I'm going to allow him to keep it. I'd expect him to make a continuation bet most of the time, even when he misses the flop completely. Most aggressive players will stab at small pots in these situations.

If he does bet, this is the perfect kind of flop for a check-raise. It's likely that my opponent raised with two big cards - something like A-K or A-Q - and, if that's the case, he's missed this flop completely and will almost certainly fold to the check-raise. Or, if he's got something like A-T or K-T, he may be worried that he's run into a bigger hand and he'll likely just call the raise.

If he does call the check-raise, I can then make a decision on the turn. Sometimes I'll check and sometimes I'll lead out, regardless of whether I hit my draw. If I missed, I may continue the semi-bluff or I may check with the hope that my check-raise on the flop was sufficient to make my opponent nervous and get me a free river card. If I hit, I may choose to continue my aggressive play and put my opponent to a decision or, I may check, deceptively representing fear of my opponent's having the draw.

Of course, things won't always work out. If the initial raiser has something like pocket Aces or a set, I'm likely to be re-raised and shut out of the hand. But nothing works out every time in poker.

Try varying your play when you flop draws. Look for opportunities to check-raise. It may be the best way to proceed with a draw when playing out of position.

Jennicide’s naked breasts and and airbrushed vagina, Oh She Finds A Sponsor

2008-08-15T20:25:00.001-07:00

The online poker pro known as Jennicide has finally found an online poker room willing to sponsor her, and in fact she is the first sponsored player at IronDuke.com. Leigh hasn’t been exclusively an online poker pro, although that is how she cut her teeth. She was a popular figure on Poker Royale, on GSN. She has also found some popularity by appearing in FHM and in the April edition of Playboy magazine. Leigh has been quoted as saying that IronDuke.com has a lot of games to play, including Baduci.

Choosing the right table is the most underrated skill in hold’em

2008-08-15T13:16:00.001-07:00

Table selection is one of the most important factors in successful poker strategy, yet among many players it’s also one of the most neglected. If you are interested in plugging leaks in your game, this is a great place to start.

The key is often simply to have a little humility. Only the very best players can claim to have an edge over nearly every table they sit down at, and the majority of us have to be honest about our poker abilities. Unless your name is Phil Ivey or Patrik Antonius, you almost certainly need to be selective about who you play.
The online game is also getting tougher, which means good table selection is even more important. The fish of five years ago have been replaced with an altogether stronger breed who have read Harrington, joined CardRunners and subscribed to InsidePoker. No longer can you just sit down at a table and expect to find a few soft targets.
With that in mind we need to make sure we tackle the problem of finding an edge in a systematic manner. To do that we have to go back to basics a little and remind ourselves how we make money in poker. One of the real differences between winners and losers is that winners make more from their winning hands (for example making more thin value bets when marginally ahead) and lose less from their losing hands (folding in marginally losing spots more often).
When you apply this logic to table selection it means you need to look for the most exploitable players you can find. Although you might be able to comfortably beat a table of solid regulars for a small amount by stealing more and picking up more orphan pots than they do, you are not maximizing your profitability if there are softer games available.
Remember, poker is not like the lottery – there is always a skill edge that some players will have over others. We win more by hunting down tables where we can maximize our edge.

POKER SOFTWARE

Before even thinking about table selection you should probably consider investing in some sort of data-mining software. There are plenty of good programs available and internet forums will give the best feedback on which to use for your chosen site. You should already be using some sort of hand analysis software such as PokerOffice or PokerTracker, but you need to use this in conjunction with good table-selection tools (such as Spadeit EyePoker on the iPoker network). Of course you can practise good table selection without these programs, but they speed up and aid the process.
On the whole, lobby stats are pretty useless as a guide to where to play. The statistics get skewed by the occasional huge pot and don’t give an accurate reflection of the play at the table. For example the table could have been playing three-handed for ages then suddenly filled up. If you have no other information available to you, use your buddy list and open up a few tables to get an idea of whether they present a good opportunity.
Often it’s best to let a program like EyePoker run for a couple of hours to give you the lowdown on what is happening on your site. It will monitor the activity on several tables at once and display the statistics on players based on the information you have in your PokerTracker database. This is a more effective way of analysing the tables at any particular moment than laboriously searching through tables one at a time, looking for the biggest fish. Bear in mind, however, that at any stage a game can suddenly become hugely profitable – some of the most profitable sessions can occur when some random donator joins after winning a tournament or getting a big bonus.

FISH RANKINGS

Your ultimate aim in selecting a table is finding full stacks of chips in the hands of incompetent players. Here are the basic opponent types ranked in terms of profitability...

1 LOOSE-PASSIVE FISH

Your primary goal in table selection is to find fish – players that play too many hands regardless of position and play them badly. These are the key to profitability and should make up the bulk of your income. Ideally you want them to be on the passive side too. For those of you with a more solid and conventional game, these players are the most exploitable out there. They are so valuable that finding a table with one (or if you are especially lucky, two) gives you a huge edge over the table.
If you use tracking software, you should be familiar with the term VPIP, a measure of an opponent’s willingness to get involved in the action (a loose acronym for ‘Voluntarily Putting money Into the Pot’). I usually identify fish as players with a VPIP of 35% or more, but 30% is also very high and fair game. Preferably you want them to be calling stations with a low aggression factor, but it’s not an enormous problem if they are aggressive as long as you have a positional advantage.

2 LOSING REGULARS

The secondary aim of analysing tables is to find losing regulars with big holes in their game that you know you can exploit. Most commonly, these are opponents who play in an especially simple, predictable style, for example only ever slow-playing and check-raising big hands post-flop. That sort of leak, once you have pinned it as 100% reliable, is pure gold. Remember, money saved is the same as money earned.
Regulars that massively multi-table and play in a very robotic manner can be juicy too, especially if they are on the weak/tight side. These TAG fish will make up 50-60% of the player pools on the big poker sites. Remember, loose players look for an excuse to call, whereas tight players are looking to find a reason to fold.
Simple adjustments to your game can turn these players into mini ATMs as you just make their life difficult by check-raising their continuation bets and floating them mercilessly in position. They are not as exploitable as fish of course, but you cannot always find a whale online any more.

3 WINNING REGULARS

Bear in mind when selecting tables that you want to consciously avoid good winning players, or those that are tricky. Poker is not an ego contest (for most of us) and the aim of the game is making money, not getting into bluff wars with a fellow winning regular. Try to avoid tables with one crazy guy and four other competent players, as the dynamic gets twisted and can often result in innocent casualties as everyone battles for the donkey’s dough.

WAITING GAME

Once you have selected a decent table, look at the waiting list and bear in mind that unless you are very close to next in line to join, you are probably too late. Add yourself anyway if the list is only four or five players long, but more often than not other players are doing exactly the same as you and the table make-up will have changed dramatically by the time you get there. The fish will have been replaced by nits who have been doing their homework and you can kiss goodbye to a nice easy session.

Six Of The Hippest Strategies That The Kids Are Going Nutz For

2008-08-15T13:02:00.001-07:00

It doesn’t matter whether it’s skinny jeans or baggy trousers in the fashion world, or a preference for the 4-5-1 formation away in the Champions League, trends come and go. And poker is no different. In fact, with no-limit Hold’em evolving so quickly as a game, it’s vital you keep up to speed with the latest strategies and playing styles, or you could find yourself relegated to the corner of your local cardroom, folding the second nuts to a min-raise like all the other grey dinosaurs. So follow our advice instead and stay one step ahead of the game...

THE RE-STEAL

What is it?
In the last few years tournament poker has become more aggressive, as players have embraced the concept of raising in late position with an increasingly wider range of hands. This means many players are raising with far from premium hands, which in turn has led to the adoption of the ‘re-steal’ move. It’s become more than a sophisticated weapon to have in your no-limit tournament arsenal – it’s now standard practice to attack many late position raises with big re-raises.
Why has it become popular?
Most tournament structures rely on a constant accumulation of chips with the majority of online MTTs ending in all-in fests. Therefore it’s vital you continually put pressure on opponents by attacking their raises and taking down pots pre-flop when you think you can force players to fold. If you suspect that someone has been raising with far too many hands you can take the educated risk of re-raising or shoving all-in (with decent and premium hands) and brushing them to one side.

It does have some risk attached to it if someone has a genuine monster, but in most situations this powerful semi-bluff will get through because your opponents’ raising range is much wider than their calling range. Punish them!
How to defend against it
There are a couple of ways to combat late position re-steals. Either stop stealing in late position with hands that can’t stand a re-raise, or be prepared to call or shove with a much wider range. Assuming that you haven’t got a genuine hand against loose-aggressive players who you suspect to be re- stealing, you’ll have to weigh up whether you have the right pot equity against their range and how it will affect you if you win or lose the pot.

MINI RAISE

What is it?
A raise of three to four times the big blind used to be the magic number when it came to opening a pot for a pre-flop raise. Now, smaller raises of around two and a half times the big blind have become de rigeur for many tournament players, especially online when the blinds get bigger and antes come in to play.
Why has it become popular?
With stealing and re-stealing being embraced by players at all stakes, a smaller pre-flop raise can save you vital chips those times that someone comes over the top and you have to throw your hand away. By making smaller raises you’re risking fewer chips to win the same amount of blinds and because you’re not risking as much you can attempt to steal more and attack a greater number of pots. The drawback is that you’re often giving players, especially the big blind, better odds to call and see a cheap flop, but even if they do you’ll still have position, and you’ll be able to make smaller continuation bets as the pot is smaller.

You’ll also be in control of the pot because you were the pre-flop aggressor. What’s more, when someone gets sick of your small raises, and you do have a genuine monster, there’s a great chance you’ll get paid as your hand strength will be well disguised.
How to defend against it
You need to take note of the size of your opponents’ pre-flop raises. The small raise can often be the sign of a player raising with a hand they may not necessarily be prepared to defend, and that means that they are susceptible to attack from the re-steal. The problem is that you have very little information to work from bar the fact that the player may have been raising frequently with less than premium hands. Whatever the case, if you see lots of small raises attacking your blinds from the cut-off and the button you should be prepared to fight back so they don’t continually feel they can get away with it.

SHOVING LIGHT POST-FLOP

What is it?
There was once a time when a raise, a re-raise and an all-in meant you were almost certain to see premium hands locking horns. But times, and more importantly raising hand ranges, have changed, meaning these days you’re just as likely to be looking at middle pair against a flush draw.
Why has it become popular?
Shoving light is a direct result of the increasing number of players entering pots with far from premium hands. Because of this, the extent to which you must connect with a board reduces, particularly when facing the now obligatory continuation bet. It’s becoming far more common for a successful aggressive player to slam their chips in with a flopped draw, a pocket pair or even overcards to the board if either they or their opponent are approaching a short stack. When the stacks are a little deeper, shoving back into a position raiser when you’ve caught a fraction of the board also has the advantage of making hands that you’re currently behind to buckle under the pressure of your all-in.

How to defend against it
Players making a quick check on the flop might be doing so to make sure that you don’t have time to change your mind about making a standard continuation bet, which they’re waiting for before they hit the all-in button. Flush draw and straight draw shoves tend to lose their attraction if you check to the turn as there’s only the one card to come. Weigh up whether a continuation bet or checking behind is the right thing to do in each given situation.

INDUCING THE SQUEEZE

What is it?
Everyone loves to see a pair of Aces pop up in their hand, but unfortunately, you’re only get them about once every 221 hands – maybe once or twice in an online tournament if you’re lucky. Understandably then, many players don’t want to ‘waste’ them when they arrive by simply raising and taking down the blinds or re-raising and scooping a small pot.

Instead a lot of players have started to flat-call an earlier raise with the hope that an aggressive player behind them will attempt a ‘squeeze’ play, either with or without a genuine hand. And, worst case scenario, if no one bites the Aces are still going to be good on a lot of flops against the original raiser. Indeed by under-representing your hand you can often force a mistake from someone overplaying an underpair or top pair on the board.

Why has it become so popular?
Two words, Dan Harrington. His Harrington on Hold’em series of books championed the squeeze play after he highlighted his famous move with 6-2o at the 2004 WSOP final table. And as with the continuation bet, everyone was suddenly squeezing at every opportunity. So poker evolved and ‘clever’ players began flat- calling with their monster hands knowing that many players would not be able to resist the squeeze play. By the way, has anyone seen the stop-and-go lately?

How to defend against it

Don’t squeeze without the goods is the simple advice, but then poker is not a simple game. The warning signs should begin flashing if a player with less than 20 big blinds flat-calls an under the gun or early position raise, and they should really go off if that player is aggressive. A flat-call of an early position raise by someone in mid to late position is much more likely to be a trap to induce the squeeze than if someone flat-calls from the blinds. Even with a monster hand most players aren’t comfortable playing out of position.

THE MIN CHECK-RAISE

What is it?
You’ve made a standard pre-flop raise with a decent starting hand such as A-J and picked up one caller. The flop comes down Jack-high, your opponent checks to you and you make a standard continuation bet for around two-thirds of the pot. They now check-raise for the minimum amount and you’re left wondering what on earth they could have.

Why has it become so popular?
The min check-raise used to convey a lot of strength but now, more often than not online, it comes from players who don’t know what to do with a marginal hand and are trying to represent a big hand. The problem is that it can be hard to judge when it is meant as strength and when it’s weak, which is perhaps why it’s becoming ever more popular.
How to defend against it

It used to be that a min-raise pre-flop always meant extreme strength, but that’s no longer the case. Players are turning up with Q-Jo and all sorts, so tread carefully with marginal hands. Post-flop, as with all decisions, board texture is vital; on a rainbow board of A-9-4 a min-raise means something entirely different than when it’s 8-9-J with two clubs. On the latter, with all the draws and made hands possible, a min-raise will almost certainly mean strength. Exploiting it can be done by min-raising with a monster and showing it, so that the next time you do it with a bluff you get away with it.

A lot can also be determined by your stack sizes. The shorter yours and your opponent’s stacks are relative to the blinds and the pot, the less likely it is that the min-raise is toothless. When you’re both deep-stacked, the raise could be made by players with flush and straight draws that are trying to slow the action on the turn, or a bet with second pair testing whether you’re making a continuation bet and have missed.

OVERBETTING WITH MONSTERS

What is it?
In the not-so-distant past, when players made a monstrous hand like full house or the nut flush, they would often put out a small ‘value’ bet in order to ensure they got paid. And usually they got called and picked up some extra chips. Then some bright spark thought, ‘Hey, maybe I should get paid more when I make a big hand?

After all, anyone who has called my bets to the river will often have a very good second best hand and be forced to call.’ And so good players, especially in cash games, started betting more with their monsters (and bluffing occasionally with a pot- sized bet so they were hard to read) in order to get more value for their bigger hands. And now it seems every Tom, Dick and Harry is catching on...

Why has it become so popular?

As poker strategy becomes ever more mature, certain concepts become more and more evident. Betting for value on the river is one of those strategies. Because a big bet used to frequently be seen as a bluff it now works in that no one knows what you have – is it a great value bet or a steal? And then there’s the maths. Betting the pot has to work a lot less frequently than a small bet to produce the same expectation.

How to defend against it

You need to have a solid read on an opponent before assuming that because there are two Aces on board and he’s betting the pot he must be bluffing. Reconstructing the hand to make sure their betting pattern makes sense is something you need to get used to doing. As for exploiting it, you need to mix up your play and not size your bets based purely on hand strength. If you’ve been seen to take an opponent to value town with the nuts, next time bet the pot when strong.

Opponents’ stack sizes and tendencies are obviously vital. Psychologically, players hate calling off more than half their remaining chips on the river, but you should charge calling stations as much as you think you can get away with.

Sit-and-go tips

2008-08-15T12:49:00.001-07:00

There can be few things in poker as annoying as busting out late in a sit-and-go

In the last two installments I’ve talked about the early and mid-game stages of a sit-and-go. Here I’ll take a look at the endgame of a sit-and-go, where you’re looking to get into the money.
Knowing how to play late-game strategy correctly is a must if you want to do well in sit-and-gos. In the late game there can be anywhere between two and nine players left, but usually there will be four to six. However, what determines when you reach the late game is the size of the big blind. A good rule of thumb is that when the big blind represents one-tenth of your starting stack you’ve reached the endgame. At this point you’ll need to change your strategy to one of all-in or fold to maximize your chances.

Pump it or dump it

Typically the average stack is around 10-15 big blinds in the late game, and once you drop below 15 big blinds your best option is to raise all-in or fold pre-flop. Broadly speaking the all- in zone can be divided into three areas.

10-15 big blinds

This stack size is a ‘no man’s land’ between the ideal amount for pushing all-in and the point at which you can comfortably afford to make a normal-sized raise. You should generally play few hands and move all- in with them when you do.

5-10 big blinds

This is the ideal-sized stack for moving all-in with as you still have enough chips to put opponents under pressure. This stack allows you to shove with a wider range and, in many spots, pick up pots uncontested.

0-5 big blinds

You must simply look for the best situation to move your remaining chips all-in based on your hand, your stack sizes, the player in the big blind, the other stacks at the table, and how many hands you have before the big blind will hit you.

Playable hands in the late game

Trying to determine exactly when a hand is worth shoving can be difficult, so here are some basic guidelines.

A-A – Q-Q

For 15 big blinds or less you “ You should almost always be prepared to move all-in or call a single all-in with A-K or A-Q in the late game” should never fold Aces and Kings to players who have already moved all-in, and the circumstances would need to be exceptional for you to consider folding Queens.

J-J – 10-10

Again, you can raise all-in with these hands for 15 big blinds or less in almost all situations and call an all-in with them most of the time.

7-7 – 9-9

Mid pairs are still strong hands for moving all-in with, and benefit from the fact that you won’t have to worry about how to play them post-flop. They are harder hands to call all-in with as you will often be flipping a coin or behind, but you should still usually play against a single player when they have moved all-in.

6-6 – 2-2

Small pairs are good hands to move all-in with in late position when you have 15 big blinds or less, in middle position with 10 big blinds or less, or when you’re short stacked with six big blinds or less in any position. You should not usually call an all-in with these hands unless you’re in the big blind and are getting better than 2/1 pot odds.

A-K – A-Q

You should almost always be prepared to move all-in or call a single all-in with A-K or A-Q in the late game, as it is a powerhouse hand and will usually be dominating a weaker Ace or in a race against a lower pair.

A-J – A-10

These are strong hands to move all-in with in most situations unless you’re in very early position at a very loose table with a stack of close to 15 big blinds; in that spot A-10 may be marginal. However, you should be more cautious about calling all-ins with them when the effective stacks are 10 big blinds or more, and your opponent is very tight or has shoved from early position.

A-9o – A-2s

When moving all-in a suited ‘rag’ Ace has only fractionally more value to it than if it is offsuit (for example, A-9s has similar value to A-10o) and so should be considered in one category. They are good hands to move all-in with for 15 big blinds or less in late position, 10 big blinds or less in mid position, or in any position when you have six big blinds or less. However, playing them in other situations is not advisable as you’ll often be called by bigger Aces or high pairs and be dominated.

Broadway hands (K-10+, Q-10+, J-10+)

These are strong all-in hands (suited or not) when you’re in late position with 15 big blinds or less, in mid position with 10 big blinds or less, or in any position with six big blinds or less, as they’re less likely to be dominated when called than small pairs or weak Aces. Because they’re rarely ahead of an all-in player’s range, however, they should not be called with unless you’re in the big blind and getting excellent pot odds, or up against a very loose-aggressive small blind that you have easily covered.

Suited connectors

These hands play well against all-in calling ranges (8-7s, for example, is only a 60/40 underdog against A-K) and can be moved all-in with when you have five to 10 big blinds in late position. However, they should not usually be played when your stack is lower than five big blinds as you will have little fold equity and will often get called by high-card hands.

Trash hands

When you’re in very late position with a stack of five to 10 big blinds you may also want to move all-in with some hands that are slightly weaker, like rag Kings or unsuited connectors. If you’re in the small blind and everyone has folded around, you can push with a wide range of hands if you have this stack size and the big blind is relatively tight. This is because he will not be able to call with many hands and you’re not risking much to win the blinds, plus you will still have some equity even if called.

High blind limping

While you might be employing a push/fold strategy, that doesn’t mean everyone is. It’s quite common to find one player who is high blind limping (HBL) late in a sit-and-go. These HBLs can be divided into two categories: those who limp on the small blind when it is folded around to them, and those who will open-limp elsewhere. These two types can then be divided again between players who are habitual limpers due to inexperience and those who use the tactic more intelligently to trap with big hands.

Limping, of course, is not generally recommended, but there are some circumstances where it might be acceptable, such as in the small blind against a passive player in the big blind. Here you’ll be getting 3/1 pot odds to call and see the flop, assuming the big blind checks, which may be more profitable than risking a costly all-in with a marginal but playable hand.

Limping in the small blind is also acceptable with very strong hands like big pairs against over-aggressive players who will often try to punish you by raising from the big blind, since you will only have to catch them with a monster hand occasionally to show a profit.

Adjusting to antes

I’ve previously talked about the all-in zone, as measured by number of big blinds, but on sites where antes are introduced as the blinds increase, it’s important that you include the dead money they create in calculations you make about pushing ranges. For example, in a game where the blinds are 100/200/a25 and six players remain, there are 450 chips in the pot rather than the 300 that would be in if no antes were in place, increasing the amount in the middle by 50 percent.
For this reason, when considering an all-in shove in a game with antes, it is much more correct to think of them as increasing the size of the blinds and reducing the average stack. In the situation above, a player in late position with 1800 chips would do far better to push with a range that assumes the blinds are 150/300 with no antes, and that he has six big blinds remaining.

In the money

When talking about standard nine and 10-handed sit-and-gos with a payout structure of 50/30/20 the ‘in the money’ stage is reached when three players are left and the bubble has ‘burst’. It is important to notice that 60 percent of the prize money is now allocated since each player is already guaranteed 20 percent. In effect, therefore, a new tournament has begun among the remaining three players for the remaining 40 percent of the prize pool, with first getting an additional 30 percent, second an additional 10 percent and third nothing.

With this huge weighting towards finishing first, you should usually play more aggressively and aim for the win when three-handed, unless there is some compelling reason to try and secure second-place money first, such as being against one very large stack and one micro-stack which will soon face elimination.

The blinds will usually be very high relative to the stack sizes, which means that players must re-evaluate their all-in strategy at this stage and push with a much tighter range of hands since they will be more frequently called, not least because players now have the safety net of having locked up a profit.

Heads-up play

By the time heads-up play has been reached the average stack size will often be less than 15 big blinds and you won’t have much room to manoeuvre. For this reason it’s important to make swift decisions about how you approach the match based on your opponent and the depth of stacks.

Against a weak player and with deeper stacks you should apply a small-ball strategy that consists of limping or making small raises and playing post-flop, but with shorter stacks and against tougher opponents you should use an all-in or fold strategy with a wide range of hands.

WPT Stock is less than $1.00

2008-08-14T19:22:00.001-07:00

When the World Poker Tour first started, CEO and President Steve Lipscomb knew they would not make money right away - first they had to get the name out, get people to fall in love with their format, and then the profits would come. He was right, but now the reverse is happening. It’s a publicly traded company, and the recent announcement that the WPT has lost money this year hit the investors hard, and the value of the WPT stock dropped more than twenty percent as confidence dropped. The stock has hit its lowest point, trading at 70 cents a share.

Excalibur To Kill Its Poker Room

2008-08-14T12:43:00.001-07:00

Soon the Excalibur, the medieval themed casino on the Las Vegas strip, will take a step into the future by replacing all the human dealers in their poker room with computers. The poker room, closed as of Monday the 18th, will reopen on August 22nd with a dozen PokerPro tables in place. The tables, made by PokerTek, handle the dealing, shuffling, chip collecting and dispensing of cash duties, leaving the players at their touch screens only needing to worry about their poker game. These tables can double the number of hands dealt in an hour by eliminating the chips and cards.

Steve Wynn gets "BITCH SLAPPED" by prostitute at Wynn Las Vegas

2008-08-05T18:35:00.001-07:00

Steve Wynn was reportedly assaulted on his own casino property last Friday. Wynn was in the parking area of Wynn Las Vegas, when he was approached by an alleged prostitute. Wynn held onto her and directed her to the doorman, then called for security. That's when she began squirming. Then the woman's apparent sister (also a prostitute) appeared and slapped the casino CEO in the face.
The Review-Journal reports that the sister duo (Sarah and Maria Cournede) are "known prostitutes" and have a history with police. They had previously been banned from the casino.
Both sister prostitutes were arrested for trespassing, but Wynn did not press charges for the assault.

Poker in the Park, Why Not Here In The U.S.

2008-08-05T18:18:00.001-07:00

Poker in the Park will run from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 15, and 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 16. During that time, PKR will be sponsoring the Poker Dome, in which they will host free hourly Texas Hold'em tournaments.

The tournaments are free, No-Limit Texas Hold'em single-table sit-and-gos. They are scheduled for:

Aug. 15

Event 1: 4:30 p.m.

Event 2: 5:30 p.m.

Event 3: 6:30 p.m. The SubTV Student Poker League Cup

Event 4: 7:30 p.m. The LondonPubPoker Trophy

Aug. 16

Event 5: 11 a.m. The Royal Surrey Tournament

Event 6: noon

Event 7: 1 p.m. The Poker Project Trophy

Event 8: 2 p.m. The Nuts Poker League Challenge

Event 9: 3 p.m.

Event 10: 4 p.m. The England Poker League Cup

Event 11: 5 p.m. The Bluff Europe Championship

UltimateBet and Absolute Poker are also jointly hosting a Poker Academy tent at the poker festival, where players can partake of free poker lectures given by poker pros. There will also be autograph sessions.

On Friday, Aug. 15, participants can go to a reading by Tony Holden from his book Bigger Deal, as well as take in lectures by Ian Frazer, Marc Goodwin and Paul Jackson. On Saturday, Aug. 16, Liv Boeree will give two lectures during the day and Nik Persaud, Neil Channing, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott, Tom Sandbrook and Montel Williams will give talks on poker as well.

The lecture schedule is as follows:

Aug. 15

5 p.m.: Tony Holden, a reading from Bigger Deal

6 p.m.: Ian Frazer, How to dominate short-handed games

7 p.m.: Marc Goodwin, Insight into Omaha

8 p.m.: Paul Jackson, Tells: Reading opponents through body language and other tales

Aug. 16

11:30 a.m.: Liv Boeree, The beginner's guide to No-Limit Hold'em

12:30 p.m.: Nik Persaud, The pro's guide to online poker

1:30 p.m.: Neil Channing, Cash games vs. tournament poker

2:30 p.m.: Dave Ulliott, Table Image: Dominate the table using table talk to bully players

3:30 p.m.: Liv Boeree, Pre-flop Play: Hand selection and playing position

4:30 p.m.: Tom Sandbrook, Playing poker the professional way

5:30 p.m.: Montel Williams, The International Poker Federation and the future of poker

Steve Bellis of The Nuts Poker League said he believes the poker festival will be "definitely the biggest poker event for beginners and enthusiasts alike."

Steve Hedger, founder of London Pub Poker, also expressed that Poker in the Park is a great opportunity for people new to poker and also for the game itself.

"London is one of the most vibrant poker cities in the world, and the game is as popular as ever," Hedger said.

"Our leagues have seen waves of new players coming through our doors and learning the game, and Poker in the Park will be the perfect chance for those who haven't been bitten by the bug to finally see why we love the game so much."

For more information, visit www.pokerinthepark.com.

Boyd Gaming Halts Echelon Place Construction

2008-08-03T19:54:00.001-07:00

Boyd Gaming announced today they will cease further construction on the $5 billion Echelon Place project located at the old Stardust site on the Las Vegas strip. The project laid off more than 800 construction workers and the job is expected to remain idle for a year or more. Boyd Gaming cited the current economic condition and concern that two of the Echelon minority partners, Morgan Hotel Group and General Growth Properties, could arrange suitable financing for their portion of the project. After the announcement Boyd Gaming stock went up 20% as speculators found this news to be a positive move. Financial observers have believed the project would not prove to be profitable, especially in the current Las Vegas economic downturn. Boyd Gaming stock has seen a 72% drop since the first of the year. Boyd also announced a $100 million stock buy-back plan. The company indicated they will concentrate their interest on the existing Las Vegas resorts that mostly serve the locals market. Boyd Gaming is also a partner in the east coast Borgata Resort located in Atlantic City. They also operate successful gaming operations in Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Playing a Big Draw in Limit Hold'em by Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

2008-08-03T19:41:00.001-07:00

In Limit Hold 'em, it is not uncommon to see pots that are contested by four, five, or even six players. This happens with some frequency at lower limits, especially when playing with those who haven't learned the virtues of a tight-aggressive style of play.

In multi-way pots, draws become especially powerful, and playing big draws aggressively against multiple opponents can create very profitable situations. For example, say that you're dealt As-8s on the button. Three players limp before the action gets to you, and you decide to limp as well. Both blinds call, so a total of six players see the flop of 4s-7s-Jc. You have no hand at the moment, but you do have the nut flush draw.

On the flop, the small blind bets and three players call. What's your best action? Clearly, folding would be wrong. With two cards to come and nine outs, you'll make the nut flush roughly 35 percent of the time, making you only a 2:1 dog. With six small bets going in the pot pre-flop and four going in on the flop, you're getting pot odds of 10:1.

You might be tempted to just call and see what the turn brings but, in fact, raising in this situation gives you better value. The pot is getting large and it's likely that all your opponents are going to call. Even those who have nothing more than second pair or a gutshot straight draw may feel that their pot odds are favorable enough to justify calling the second bet. If your raise gets called by four people, you'll be getting great value. You'd be getting 4:1 on your money when you're only a 2:1 underdog – a clear win for you.

The raise might also work well for you on the turn and river. By acting after the flop, there's a chance that the other players will check to you on the turn. This gives you the option of checking and taking a free card if you don't make your flush.

The level of aggression that you show with a draw will largely depend on your position. To show how your play might change with position, imagine you're in a hand with the same hole cards (As-8s), the same number of players (six), and the same flop (4s-7s-Jc). This time, however, you're not on the button but are in the big blind instead when the small blind bets out. Here, you want to encourage the other players in the hand to put as much money in the pot as possible. If you raise, you're probably going to force players with second pair or a gutshot to fold, so your best option is to call. Give your opponents every opportunity to throw money in the pot.

Finally, let's look at how you might play the same cards when you're the first to act. If you have a nut flush draw in the small blind and there are six players in the pot, go ahead and bet. It's a favorable situation for you, so you want to make sure that some money goes in the pot. When out of position, I'll usually follow-up my flop bet with another bet on the turn no matter what card hits. Then, if I miss again on the river, I can decide whether or not I want to bluff at the pot. If I'm against only one or two players on the river, I'll usually bluff. If there are five players left in the hand, I won't bother. It's too likely that someone will call.

You can make a lot of money playing draws in low-limit Hold 'em. Just remember that you want as many people contributing to the pot as is possible, which means that in different positions, you'll need to do different things to get the most out of your draws.

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

Something To Think About In Tournament Poker

2008-08-03T19:27:00.001-07:00

If you're serious about NLHE tournament poker, chances are you've picked up more than one poker book over your poker career. The books have probably helped you in some shape or form. Perhaps they fixed a leak you had about playing hands out of position, or showed you situations where you could extract a little more profit. If you think back to reading those books, however, the truth is they probably didn't teach you much other than how to play like the author wants you to play. They might have taught you how to play A-K in early position but were they able to cover every possible situation you might encounter with A-K? No, of course not. That is the inherent problem with poker books – they can't teach you everything about the game because the game is so dynamic.
This is where my book will be different. I'm not going to teach you how to play A-K in early position. Or late position. Or from the blinds. Sure, I might mention the hands as examples, but what I am going to do is teach you to play the way you want to play in the way that best suits your playing style. It's a different style of teaching, for sure... rather than say, “If you have A-K under the gun, raise to three times the big blind,” I am going to force you to try different concepts with A-K under the gun and help you to understand why some plays work and some plays don't work. By applying the concepts rigidly, without deviation, you will start to understand the inner workings of the game.
What will I teach you? I'll teach you to think for yourself. I'll teach you to look at each individual hand as if it was a unique story. You'll find yourself asking questions such as, “Does my opponent's story make sense?” You'll put together the different chapters of the story. What did your opponent do pre-flop? What did they do on the flop? Does it flow together logically? If it doesn't, why not? If it does make sense, I'll give you some concepts that show you what to do about it. If it doesn't make sense, I'll show you how to figure out how to attack it.
What will you teach yourself? You'll learn to make good decisions. You'll still make mistakes... no poker player doesn't, but you'll learn to evaluate those mistakes and learn from them and become a better poker player as a result. You'll learn to sit down at a table and truly understand a poker player's motivations. What makes a loose, aggressive player tick? What do they hate? Why do they act the way they do? You'll teach yourself to switch gears. You'll learn that one playing style isn't the only playing style but rather than guess at when it's time to turn into a maniac, you'll understand the situation that triggers that shift.

California Casinos Will Be Lead-free

2008-08-03T19:14:00.001-07:00

In the aftermath of a television expose concerning lead content in chips and a subsequent outcry from a health-and-safety citizen's group, 21 California casinos will soon convert to lead-free poker chips at their tables.
The story of the move to lead-free chips began with a November 2007 expose by an Arizona TV station that detailed high lead content found in chips manufactured by Paulson Gaming Supplies, recently renamed as Gaming Partners International. The expose detailed the high levels lead contained in many Paulson chips, specifically in the inner ingot at the heart of each chip that gives it its familiar heft. However, the report also implied that toxic levels of lead exposure could occur just by handling the chips, and the Arizona Department of Health Services issued a public alert, only to cancel it when its own testing could not replicate the TV station's findings.
According to a recent Las Vegas Sun story, "Independent tests showed it was physically impossible for either dealers or players to receive a harmful dose of lead by coming in contact with the chips." The television station, Channel 15 (ABC) in Phoenix, subsequently pulled the original story, though it recently touted its original expose in connection with the California chip change.
The chips, which remained in use at many major casinos nationwide, were then targeted in California by the Center for Environmental Health (CEHCA), a nonprofit group monitoring lead content among other health concerns. GPI chips are in use, according to a CEHCA release, at 28 of the 30 largest US casinos. CEHCA also alleges that the Paulson chips were made in Mexico and, in addition to within the ingot at each chip's core, lead was also used in the dyes used to make certain colors for some chips' exteriors.
After negotiations between CEHCA, GPI and the 21 California casinos using the chips, an agreement was reached where lead-free chips will be implemented no later than November 1, 2008. At that time the chips in use at the state's casinos will be required to contain no more than .005% lead, or one part in 20,000. Each of the casinos will also post a notice immediately stating that the current chips contain lead, along with specifying some of the health problems the toxic metal can cause. A list of the 21 casinos presently using the chips includes:
California Commerce Club, Inc.
Cameo Club
Capitol Casino
Casino Poker Club
Casino Real
Club One Casino, Inc.
The 500 Club
Golden West Casino
Hustler Casino
Kelly's
Lake Bowl Cardroom
Limelight Card Rooms
Lucky Derby Casino
The Nineteenth Hole General Partnership
Ocean View Card Room
Palace Card Club
Phoenix Casino and Lounge, Inc.
The Players Club
Rogelio's, Inc.
Turlock Poker Room
Village Club Card Room

You Stink, You Are Out Of Here

2008-08-03T19:07:00.001-07:00

When poker player Michael Wax, the owner of a limousine company, got up from the poker table at the Borgata Casino Atlantic City, he had been playing for 17 hours in a cash game. He didn’t plan on going home - just to the restroom - but a poker room manager followed him to the men’s room to inform him that his table mates were complaining about his body odor. Wax tried to take his seat but was refused, and asked for a free room to go freshen up, but was also refused. Wax filed a complaint and may be considering legal action.

$24 Million in Bodog Funds Seized

2008-07-31T21:45:00.001-07:00

According to an article on Forbes.com, $24 Million in funds has been seized by the US government over the past six months, funds the feds claim are in bank accounts used to fund operations and make payments to US-based customers of Bodog. Court documents obtained by Forbes cite that the seizures began in January of this year, and have continued into this month.
In January and February, the article says feds seized over $14 million in funds from four different banks - Wachovia, Regions Bank, Bank of America and Sun Trust Bank. The seized accounts were apparently in the name of two different businesses, JBL Services and Transaction Solutions. In order to keep the seized funds, authorities must file a civil suit, then wait a predetermined amount of time for an entity to come forward and challenge the seizure or make a claim on the funds. The funds seized earlier in the year have had that period of time expire, and the monies were ordered forfeited to the feds as no one came forward to challenge the seizure.
Earlier this month, just under $10 million was seized from Nevada State Bank, after authorities caught a break when a payout check drawn on the account issued to an undercover employee was honored, and the link to Bodog's business was established.
In the middle of all this is Calvin Ayre, the Canadian mogul who relinquished all control of Bodog earlier this year, and according to the Forbes piece, is said to be residing in the tiny island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where his Calvin Ayre Foundation is listed as being based. Although no longer involved in Bodog's affairs, the dashing Ayre's flamboyant flaunting of his lifestyle in the face of US authorities may still put him in hot water. The Forbes piece suggests speculation from a web outlet that Ayre is under some type of 'secret indictment', and many in the industry speculate that Ayre will be staying far away from the US and his native Canada for the foreseeable future.
Correspondence requesting comment from Bodog was returned with the following statement, which is included below in its entirety.
An article was recently released on Forbes.com that creates several misimpressions that the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group feels compelled to clarify for our customers.
As most of our customers already know, all operators outsource payment processing functions to third parties and these payment processors are subject to regulatory constraints wherever they operate, and, occasionally in the US, are subject to legal action because of the uncertain legal environment there.
However, the seizure of funds from these US payment processors was mischaracterized in this article, which refers to two specific legal cases against US processors. Rightly or wrongly, the article does not make a clear distinction between these cases, which, as a result, paints a misleading picture.
The facts are these: the first of these cases – relating to a seizure of funds from a processor known as JBL Services – happened some time ago and has absolutely nothing to do with the current payment processing challenges being experienced in the US. The constraints being experienced by payment processors in the US are universal in that region and not specific to any particular processor or site. Also, note that not one single player failed to get paid when this processor was disrupted.
The second case refers to a payment processor known as Zippayments.com and seizure of funds from this processor's bank accounts in Nevada. The article falsely implies – but notably does not go so far as to state - that $9.9M seized from Zippayment's Nevada bank accounts were funds on account for "Bodog". This is simply false.
Processing partners with whom the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group does business are sophisticated organizations that are perfectly clear as to the actual facts of these cases and their contexts. They are unfazed by such media hype and Morris Mohawk wishes to ensure that its customers are similarly informed. Customer deposits are safe and every player has and will always be paid.

Poker Donkeys! New Sponsor

2008-07-30T15:34:00.001-07:00

That is right Poker Donkeys have a new sponsor its called Clitter! check it out....

Poker room offers at Station Casinos

2008-07-30T13:37:00.001-07:00

If you're in Las Vegas and play poker, it pays to sign up to the Station Casino's player's club.

We preferred the old Boarding Pass card to the new My Card, but that's just cosmetic. Either way, we received a flier in the mail for $10 off our next buy-in of $100.

Just two hours of play is necessary before claiming the $10, so it's basically $5 an hour to play a few hands.

The offer is good through Sept. 30.

You may already know about Station's Bad Beat Jumbo Hold'em Progressive, which starts at $150,000 at quad 10s beaten, then the hand requirement reduces every week until someone gets the beat.

And when it happens, everyone playing poker in every Station casino shares in the progressive... with a minimum of $200.

(This is aside from the in-house bad beat jackpot of $10,000 for Aces full of 10s beaten.)

Another offer is $250 for every royal flush.

And, in addition to the regular $1/hour comp for playing live poker, you'll receive $3/hour if you play between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Tiffany Michelle a star on UB.com

2008-07-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

Michelle, who previously worked as video reporter in the poker industry, had a fantastic run at the 2008 WSOP Main Event and managed to make 17th place before finally bowing out of the prestigious tournament for a $334,534. To date it is the highest payout for a female playing in the Main Event.

"From Hollywood to Vegas, Tiffany Michelle is a rising star in so many extraordinary ways," said Ultimate Bet's Annie Duke. "We're thrilled to be able to bring such a recognizable force on board.

Not just a poker player Michelle is also an actress and has starred on such shows as E.R. and Nip/Tuck.

Michelle's sponsorship deal with UltimateBet was not without controversy. Michelle started the Main Event wearing PokerNews patches but in the later stages of the tournament she added UltimateBet ones. An official statement from PokerNews alleged that Michelle had signed an exclusive contract with the poker media company to play for them. Michelle has since responded with a public statement which said there was no exclusive contract in place.

The last few months have been busy for UltimateBet and their team has grown considerably. Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy and James "POKERPRO33" Campbell joined the team, which already included players like Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke.

Michelle can be found playing on the site as Tiffany M.

2-for-1 Crazy Horse Paris

2008-07-29T21:52:00.001-07:00

For all of August, locals will receive 2-for-1 tickets to Crazy Horse Paris (at MGM Grand).

Simply show your Nevada I.D. at the box office when purchasing tickets.

A celebration of the female form, the show shares the same name as the famous cabaret in France and also shares dancers -- all 12 of the dancers at the Crazy Horse at MGM Grand were from the original Crazy Horse dance troupe in Paris.

Tickets are regularly $50.50 and $60.50, which includes all fees.

Shows are Wednesdays through Mondays at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Jerry Lewis caught with firearm at Vegas airport

2008-07-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

Comedian Jerry Lewis has some 'splaining to do. Las Vegas resident Lewis had his gun taken from him at McCarran International Airport, on his way to Detroit on Friday. The unloaded gun was allegedly a prop gun used by Lewis in his show (what show is that, we don't know), but the authorities nonetheless deemed it a concealed weapon with no permit. Lewis claimed he wasn't aware it was in his carry-on bag and said family members had last used the bag.

Prostitute Cost $460.00?

2008-07-29T20:22:00.001-07:00

According to the Times of Malta, James Mercieca was leaving a casino in Gzira, up $500 for the night, and feeling good about himself when a woman called him from across the dark street Mercieca was walking down. Mercieca went across to investigate, and was led into a room where a second woman was waiting. Just as the second woman took down James' pants, and he thought he was in business, a man brandishing a big knife entered the room, the women took most (but not all) of Mercieca's winnings, and before he knew it, he was back on the street with about $40 on him.
Calling it "an unwise decision to have a look," Mercieca has since chalked the experience up to a hard lesson learned. A man, known only in the article as 'Mr Debono' is currently in police custody as the knife wielding assailant. Mr Debono awaits trial for his alleged crime, and no trial date has been set.

Play with Pussycat Dolls

2008-07-29T19:54:00.001-07:00

Online poker room bwin poker is running a promo that can get players to a weekend trip on Poker Island, and the winners will get to mix and mingle with the girl band the Pussycat Dolls. Players who come to Poker Island will have to compete to stay, enjoying the vacation like atmosphere while playing poker for a chance to play in the Poker Island grand final event in October. Each week two players will be kicked off the island, and winners of the Grand Final event will get a year membership as part of bwin’s pro poker team.

Online Poker Room Gearing Up for WSOPE

2008-07-27T19:37:00.001-07:00

The next big thing for the World Series of Poker is the WSOPE set to start on September 19th, and online poker room Full Tilt Poker is offering their players a chance to qualify. The World Series of Poker Europe will play in London like it did last year, so part of the prize package to the WSOPE will include airfare and hotel accommodations, as well as the full buy in for the WSOPE main event. Players can buy in to qualifiers for $500 or satellite in for as little as $1.

Online Poker Checks Bouncing

2008-07-27T19:30:00.001-07:00

Some players have been reporting that they are getting payouts from online poker rooms that seem to be printed on rubber checks. The checks have been bouncing that were processed from Zip Payments, an online payment processing company that handled payouts for some online poker rooms. Poker forums are buzzing with the news, some more positive than others. In many cases it appears the poker rooms are sending out checks that they guarantee will cash, and with proper proof from the rooms to refund any bounced check fees players incurred from their banking institutions.

Hellmuth versus Dwan on Poker After Dark

2008-07-24T16:14:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot of publicity over the past few weeks over this confrontation between Phil Hellmuth and Tom Dwan. The reason why I am bringing this up now is really because someone posted a hand on the forum last week from the “Poker After Dark” series which was quite illuminating and worth a mention.

Will this confrontational match happen... more than likely but only at the right time and after maximum exposure? Let’s face it, if they can sell two forty year old boxers as a worthwhile spectator event and make millions then they can sell this. There is nothing people like better than a grudge match.

But anyway that’s not the point of the article. What I want to write about this week is that hand and take a look at multi-level thinking processes. I still fancy Hellmuth in a live game setting against Dwan but that is purely my own personal opinion. In this hand we see Dwan open raising to $1500 with the Kc-2c and Hellmuth re-raising to $5500 with the Kh-5d and Dwan calling.

Many players would not play like this online but then again we are seriously bumping it up a few levels here and what might apply in a $2-$4 or $3-$6 game isn’t going to cut it here. I find this a fascinating hand just like I do all high limit hands involving top players. Nothing wrong of course with Dwans opening salvo even though his raise is a little low for many peoples tastes but it is not a mistake to make less than pot sized raises once you understand the game and can play very well post flop. In fact poker becomes a whole new ball game in high-stakes play and many of the plays that are considered weak in low-stakes play now become standard.

Hellmuth knows what Dwans likely range is give or take a few hands here and there so he isn’t going to show too much respect to his opening raise which is perfectly standard. So Phil’s re-raise with the K-5 while not being a play that 99.99% of the players in the world would make, against this opponent at this level in this game then this is a reasonably straight forward play also and hence the reason why Dwan calls.

Dwan has a mediocre hand at best but he wants to try and outplay Hellmuth in the same way that Hellmuth wants to outplay Dwan. Tom could try and come back over the top of Phil’s re-raise but then again this risks being raised again and Dwan knows full well that Hellmuth is capable of such a play even on mediocre hands. Dwan doesn’t want to risk wasting a big chunk of his stack being moved off a hand without seeing the flop.

If he folds to Hellmuth’s pre-flop raise then what type of hand is he going to make a stand with? He can’t tighten his range too much because that would be counter productive in itself and is not Dwans style. So a call is the only reasonable option given the stack sizes. Actually as an addition, I would have loved to have seen the entire run up to this hand and how they played out. So generally speaking Dwan cannot fold his K-2 to Hellmuths re-raise (well he can but he can’t do this too often).

So Dwan is going to be open raising on a wide range (Hellmuth knows this and Dwan knows that he knows it) and Hellmuth is going to be re-raising some of the time on a wider range (Dwan knows this and Phil knows that he knows it).

So now we see the flop and this is where the real psychological war begins with each player trying to out manoeuvre the other and to try everything they know to get the other play to think what they want them to think and vive versa. This is Hellmuths greatest strength coupled with his reading ability although it can be his greatest downfall too.

Quite often I have seen Hellmuth use multi-level thinking processes when they have simply not been called for. In these instances then thinking on several levels can be a disaster if you have not correctly identified the level that your opponent thinks on and then taken the next step. It is no good thinking on five different levels if your opponent is a level two thinker otherwise you are just going to end up out thinking yourself.

But on the end Hellmuth makes a $30,000 bet into a $67,000 pot which after long deliberation from Dwan, entices a fold. This is a great bet from Phil because he raises Dwan earlier in the hand on the turn with no pair to Dwans bottom pair and Dwan calls the raise. To call this raise then you must be at least thinking that you could be ahead and not necessarily having to hit your five outer.

So the only thing that I can find fault with here is Dwans river fold. Having pot odds of more than 3/1 then I think that this is a call against this player in this situation. Although I am going to contradict myself here by saying that all this could be wrong simply because I haven’t seen the build up to this hand. Phil cannily makes his river bet look like a milking bet and had he bet any more or any less then I am certain that Dwan would have called. I have seen him make many such calls online when he really knew a player well to think that he would have folded.

I don’t believe that Dwan was giving Phil the tickle here and was really genuinely thinking about calling. But then you have to consider the fact that Hellmuth is sophisticated enough to make his play on the river look like a milking bet. Dwan should know that Phil is constantly trying to direct his thoughts down certain paths so when he sees Hellmuth make what appears to be a value river bet then he has to be aware of the possibility of Hellmuth creating this thought.

Then when this possibility arises and with pot odds of more than 3/1 then a river call becomes the best play. This leads me to think that Hellmuth not only out foxed Dwan in this hand but that Dwan was also lagging a level behind Hellmuth in his thinking processes.

But then again if Dwan made the fold on the river simply because he had made a call thirty minutes earlier and Hellmuth had showed him top pair then this is what I mean by not witnessing the entire action and seeing a warped view of what is actually happening. Still, 3/1 is still 3/1 and I would have still made the call. But then again I would wouldn’t I because it isn’t my 30k that’s at stake.

Blog: Girls drive car off Stratosphere garage

2008-07-21T21:41:00.001-07:00

Earlier this afternoon, four teenaged girls aged 16 to 18 drove off the Stratosphere parking garage, three floors (25 feet) up.

Each level has concrete barriers, and the driver (who may not have a driver's license) plowed right through and fell to the ground.

Pictured above is the aftermath of their PT Cruiser, captured by News Channel 8.

Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt, in the car or on the ground.

The girls, already released from the hospital, are being questioned to find out what caused the accident.