“Show One Show All” Rule Gone

Earlier this week I decided to go with a friend to check out the poker room at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. I had heard that they had a fairly loose aggressive game on the weekends, so it seemed like a logical place to check out. My first impression of the room, if you could call it a room, was not very positive. They basically had a roped off area in the middle of the casino with about ten tables, and it was located right next to a bar with blazing music making it hard to think or listen to my IPod.
After a bit of playing, a couple sat down at the table in the seven and eight seat. The woman started getting into the habit of taking down a pot and then showing her husband what she had without showing anyone else. A hand went down where it was a six way pot, and by the river it was heads up between the woman and a guy in seat nine. She made a big bet, and seat nine folded. The woman then showed her husband the hand, threw her hand in, and scooped the pot. The guy in seat one, who was in the hand until the turn, asked to see the hand. The dealer mucked her hand and said that he couldn’t show the hand to him. Seat one responded, “Well she showed him, and I want to see what she had.” The dealer stated that wasn’t a rule in their room. I protested, and the dealer said he would have the supervisor explain the rule to me.
The floor supervisor came over and said that they do not have a ruling in their books that states a player must show the whole table if they show one person. He said that their rule states that a player “may not show someone else who is in the hand.” So I asked, “Well how do you protect your players against collusion?” Obviously, if one person at the table is showing their hand to just one other player at the table, whether they are in the hand or not, they are getting more information on how that player plays. This is information that the other players at the table do not get, and thus the player with more information can decide what to do based on previous betting patterns.
This was explained to the floor supervisor to which he simply stated, “well that is what our rule book says.” If his rule book says that a player cannot show anyone else involved in the hand, the question becomes when does the hand start and end? Every player was given a hand preflop, so that would mean that those players were in the hand. Aside from this, their rules doesn’t address the what should be done if a player does show their hand to someone else. This is a pretty common occurrence in the poker room, and most rooms have a policy of “show one show all,” but Planet Hollywood seems content with just ignoring the situation if it does come up.
After some back and forth discussion on the topic, the floor supervisor said he would bring up my points at the next meeting. After over four years of their poker room being open, I’m baffled that they would just now consider the most basic rule in poker.

Russia Declassifies Poker as Sport

In a rather alarming move, Russia has approved legislation that practically overnight has resulted in the closure of all casinos and poker rooms operating within the country. A new law, instituted by former president and current prime minister Vladimir Putin, has restricted all gambling in Russia to four specific regions of the country, however no casinos or card rooms have been built in these areas due to poor economic times. It is estimated that over 400,000 people have lost their jobs as a result of the closings.

Many of the casinos have tried to transform into poker rooms since poker was recently classified as a sport and therefore exempt from the new law, however, Russian officials have declassified poker’s sport status, forcing all the transformed poker rooms to shut down.

Of the gambling situation in Russia, Putin had previously released a statement saying: “Unfortunately, it is not only young people but also retirees that lose their last penny and pensions through gambling. Experts say that dependence on games and gambling is far stronger than an addiction to alcohol. This is a serious problem and comparable to what would happen if the whole country were to become alcoholics. And, of course, the government should have already paid attention to this sphere of activity and this business a long time ago. I believe that this is a civilized solution. We are going to give a certain period of time to allow all those who participate in this business to react in due time, make the corresponding decisions, and then direct their efforts and the considerable capital they already have to developing these four special zones.”

News of the closures has lead to many international poker leagues and tournaments announcing that they will be canceling any tour stops in Russia. Thousands upon thousands of poker players are now left with little options to turn to, something that Russian poker representatives are not pleased with.

“It’s hard to understand the logic and decisions of dilettantes,” Samuil Binder, the deputy executive director of the Russian Association for Gaming Business Development, told the New York Times this week. “We have a really silly situation in Russia — it is total chaos.”

I would like to say that hopefully this all works itself out in the near future, but to be honest it doesn’t appear that this ruling will be overturned any time soon. Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more Russian players in the online rooms.

Bodog Awards Player With One Of The First Seats To The 2010 WSOP

photo courtesy bodog.com
Bodog-Mini-Series


With the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event on hold until the return of the "November Nine," Bodog.com already has its sights set on next year's Main Event in Las Vegas. One of the first events to qualify online poker players for the 2010 Poker World Series, the Bodog Mini Poker Series, awarded a $12,000 prize package this past Sunday to winner John "Getn_Outa_MI" Ormsby.

"The possibility of winning a seat in next year's Main Event was the main reason I was interested in playing in the Bodog Mini Poker Series," explains Ormsby, who has earned the distinction of becoming the first member of Team Bodog at the 2010 Poker World Series. "I've always wanted to go to Vegas to play in the World Series but have never had the chance. The Mini Series provided me with a great opportunity to do so."

Wrapping up the 13-event online poker tournament series that ran alongside the 2009 Poker World Series Main Event, the Bodog Mini Series Final included 82 players, all who had either won their way in by placing in the top ten of the series' Tournament Leader Board, placing in the top 18 of the Semifinal Tournament held on July 21, or playing in all 13 of the Bodog Mini Poker Series events.

While it was the $12,000 Poker World Series package the players were ultimately battling for, it was not the only prize up for grabs in the Bodog Mini Poker Series Final. "Dannenman" and "turningstone," who finished second and third respectively, each won buy-ins to every event in the upcoming Bodog Poker Open IV (T$2,000). "ManHound" and "prophet" each received seats to any Bodog Flight Club Semifinal (T$270) of their choosing for finishing in fourth and fifth. For placing sixth through ninth, "Mattaru," "Jeffrado," "PrinceSheba," and "757Gam" each won entry to one of Bodog's weekly $100,000 Guaranteed Poker Tournaments (T$162), held every Sunday at 4:00 pm EST.

With the Bodog Mini Poker Series now in the books, attention in the Bodog.com Poker room turns to Bodog Flight Club, which awards online poker players prize packages to major poker tournaments all over the world, including the EPT, WPT and LAPT. Right now, qualifiers are running for the WPT Legends of Poker event at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Bodog.com players can get started on their way for as little as $1 or 100 Bodog Poker Points.

WSOP Episodes Air This Tuesday

I’ve been pretty vocal with my own personal satisfaction that Phil Ivey has made it to the November Nine for the 2009 WSOP main event, and as expected the producers behind the ESPN coverage of the World Series are beginning to voice their excitement as they announce that the first episodes of the ’09 series will begin to run on Tuesday. They’re not shying away from admitting just how important it is to have Ivey associated with the final table and they have every intention on cashing in on the opportunity.

“This is the most excited I’ve ever been for a season of the World Series of Poker,” said Jamie Horowitz, the coordinating producer for ESPN. “It’s long been discussed in poker — could a pro ever win the main event [again]? Having Phil Ivey as part of our November Nine has just added a new level of interest in poker, not just on the blogs but even within ESPN … There is just an elevated sense of excitement for this season.”

Coverage begins this Tuesday at 8pm with the brand new $40,000 no-limit hold’em event, which was a resounding success with the players that participated and was even considered by many to be the most difficult tournament of the series in terms of overall skill level. Throughout their 2009 coverage, ESPN will feature four events from the ’09 WSOP – the main event, the $40k no-limit, a special charity tournament and a special invitational event that features many previous main event champions.

“We get to kick [coverage] off with new events that we’ve never televised before like the $40,000 championship, the champions invitational, and Ante Up for Africa,” said Horowitz, who also highlighted the network’s increased coverage of the biggest tournament of the year. “We’re doing a record number of hours this year [for the main event] — 24 hours — followed by the two-hour final table on Nov. 10.”

2009 WSOP on ESPN Sports TV Every Tuesday 8 PM

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary Event$1,891,012 in cash waits for the winner of event #2, the $40,000 Anniversary Event


Tuesday night is WSOP poker night on ESPN Sports TV. Beginning at 8 PM ET July 28th get set for two hours of 2009 WSOP Poker every week until the November final table. Shows 1 & 2 kick off the action with the final table of the 2009 WSOP 40th Anniversary $40,000 NLHE Championship. The winner, Vitaly Lunkin, received almost $1.9 million in cash and a WSOP Championship Bracelet. Second place went to Isaac Haxton along with $1,168,655 in prize money.


More Flipchip photos featuring former WSOP Main Event Champion playing in the $40K event after the jump.


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventThe Championship Bracelet overlooks the heads-up final table


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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventEventual winner Vitaly Lunkin goes into the tank


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventIsaac Haxton waits for the flop that sends him home


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventWinner Vitaly Lunkin shows us the money


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventWinner Vitaly Lunkin


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventDoyle Brunson, 1976 & 1977 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventJohnny Chan, 1987 & 1988 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventPhil Hellmuth, 1989 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventHuck Seed, 1996 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventScotty Nguyen, 1998 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventChris Ferguson, 2000 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventChris Moneymaker, 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventGreg Raymer, 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
40th WSOP $40,000 Anniversary EventJoseph Hachem, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion

Darvin Moon favourite player for World Series Title

It seems like Darvin Moon is the current bookies favourite to win the WSOP title, which is due to reconvene on the 7th November from Las Vegas.

Self-employed logger Moon, from Oakland in Maryland US, is currently in the lead of the other eight finalist with a 30% of total chips, giving Moon the chance to win a total prize of $8.546 million – certainly nothing to sniff at!

"Everyone at this table is way better than I am," Moon was quoted as saying. We’re sure he’s just being modest.

Two finalists will be battling it out on November 10th. But just who will the finalists be? The bookies second favourite is Eric Buchman, who made it to 1st place at the Main Event, No Limit Hold-em of 2006, with a Prize Total of $275,000.

Third on the list of bookies favourites is Californian-born Ivey (currently labelled as one of the best poker players in the world), who managed to finish 10th in the 2003 series. Ivey has currently won a staggering $3.46 million at the series (not including this year’s main event).

One thing is for sure, we can guarantee that this year’s November 9 will be giving it all they have for the prize money. They have been sent home, in the spotlight, to prepare for the next 4 months

Howard Stern Supports the PPA

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) gained an unusual ally this week when shock jock Howard Stern threw his support behind the organization, with the PPA saying that Stern firmly believes in the US legalization of online poker. The goals of the PPA were first brought to Stern’s attention by former senator and current PPA chairman Alfonse D’Amato, who appeared on the Howard Stern Show earlier this week.

D’Amato used the appearance opportunity to spread the word of the PPA’s cause as well as promote National Poker Week, a week of poker activities aimed at increasing awareness of online poker legislation.

“I can’t think of a more fitting way to kick off National Poker Week than having my friend Howard Stern become a member of the PPA,” said D’Amato. “I thank him for having me on his show this morning and for supporting the PPA’s efforts to protect the freedom of American citizens to play the great game of poker at the time and place of their choosing — a freedom Congress voted to take away.”

During National Poker Week, representatives from the PPA will meet with nearly 100 members of Congress and their aides. Additionally, the organization will present a petition entitled “Poker is not a crime” to President Obama. As of this writing the petition contained over 365,000 signatures.

On top of the petition the PPA has also been very active recently with payment processor Account Services to help contest the recent judgment by the Southern District of New York that has left an estimated $30 million in online poker players’ money inaccessible.
In a statement, the PPA said “On behalf of the players whose money was seized by the government, the PPA is pleased that Account Services took this step of filing its motion and contesting the seizure. We fully endorse the arguments that Account Services has included in their filing that online poker is a game of skill and not the type of illegal gambling activity that is prohibited by Federal Law. The PPA will likely seek to get involved in this action to ensure that the voice of U.S. poker players are heard and their freedom to play the skill game of online poker is preserved — without the threat of the government seizing their money.”

Volunteers of America Charity Poker Tournament Today

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Lacey JonesLacey Jones is scheduled to play


Here's another opportunity to rub shoulders with some of poker's elite while doing a great service for our senior citizens in need of special care. The M Resort Las Vegas is hosting a charity poker tournament today, Thursday, July 23rd at Noon, to benefit Homestead of Boulder City, a Volunteers of America assisted living and memory care facility serving Southern Nevada.


The tournament is a $200+20 Buy-In NLHE event with unlimited $30 Rebuys the first three levels plus one $30 Add-On for double the starting chip stack. Fifty percent of all proceeds will go to the charity while the remaining fifty percent will be paid out to the final table players. The winner will also receive a very nice Rockwell Time sports watch. Complete details are available at greasywheels.com.


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Bertrand 'ElkY' GrospellierBertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier, poker's fashion trend setter scheduled to play

Hard Rock Hotel Mega Stack Series

The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas is hosting a Mega Stack Poker Showdown. They have fashioned their tournaments to closely mimic the Venetian and Caesars deep stack poker tournaments. This means that each person will have more chips and more time in each level to prove their skills. The tournament starts August 7th, 2009 and runs through August 24th, 2009. There are 16 events with buy ins ranging from $340-$1,070. There is also a championship event that will run for four days and has a buy in of $2,650. Below is the schedule of events:
8/07 $340 No Limit Hold’em
8/08 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/09 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/10 $340 No Limit Hold’em
8/11 $340 No Limit Hold’em
8/12 $340 No Limit Hold’em
8/13 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/14 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/15 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/16 $1,070 No Limit Hold’em
8/17 $340 No Limit Hold’em
8/18 $340 No Limit Hold’em
8/19 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/20 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/20 $1,070 PLO
8/21 $290 Super Satellites 12pm, 4pm, 8pm
8/22 $2,650 WPS/CPT Championship Day 1
8/23 WPS/CPT Championship Day 2
8/23 $550 No Limit Hold’em
8/24 WPS/CPT Championship Day 3

2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8 Photos

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8November Nine pose with the elusive World Championship bracelet and a couple of dollars in cash


Day 8 of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event welcomed 27 players to do battle commencing at High Noon across the felt for the nine seats of the November Final Table. Those 9 lucky players would leave the Amazon Room at the Rio Resort as members of the nouveau riche, all millionaires after each received $1,263,602 for 9th place.


Considering the amount of money at stake it was again assumed the players would show caution and restraint, playing far into the wee hours of the next day. Some thought we could still be there twenty four hours later recording a slow grind toward poker immortality. No one believed it would be over in time to catch the 11 o'clock news. There was no fear among this crowd of poker warriors. Aggression ruled on the day and "All-in and a Call" was the oft-heard battle cry.


More Flipchip photos from Day 8 after the jump.

photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Jordan Smith bubbled out of the WSOP Main Event in 10th place - $896,730


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photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8WSOP Main Event Day 8 ten handed final table


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Introductions of the final ten


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Mike Matusow was in the crowd for the final table


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8$13,340,000 chip stack


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel oversees the final table


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Final table close-up


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Final hour of the 2009 WSOP Summer event


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8More final table close-up


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Jordan Smith pushes his last all-in


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8Moments after the final elimination of the summer WSOP


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack visits with the November Nine following the completion of the final table


photo by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
2009 WSOP Main Event Day 8All that's left of the 2009 WSOP summer meet


That's it from the 2009 WSOP summer event at the Rio Resort in Las Vegas. The Main Event final table will be played November 7-10 right back here at the Rio and promises to be a great one. Many believe this is the most poker talent at a Main Event final table in recent years so expect to see some great poker with the likes of Phil Ivey, Jeff Shulman, chip leader Darvin Moon, and a slew of young talent.


With over twenty thousand images from the 2009 WSOP we will be selecting and publishing them regularly here on the Poker Prof's Blog. We will also publish bio's along with more photos of each of the final nine players so stop by daily. 2009 WSOP photos will also be added to our permanent photo galleries and as always will be offered for use free through our Creative Commons License.


ESPN Sports TV will broadcast their coverage of the 2009 WSOP beginning on Tuesday night, July 28th, and continuing every Tuesday evening through the November final table.

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