Good Spots, Lucky Flops, and Winning Pots at WPT Bellagio (Part III)

After some horrid downswings at the WPT Bellagio I had found some breathing room after getting lucky and winning an all in for a huge pot. My table was getting tougher with four pros now seated on my table. I had just accumulated chips when I looked down at pocket jacks. The guy on my right moved all-in in front of me. It should have been an immediate call from me because, despite his healthy chip stack, his only move for the last two hours had been all-in. I was sure it was a race, but after hours of fighting for a chip stack I didn’t want to throw it all away on a race. I had some chips to play with, and I wanted to play. I folded and he showed AQ. There is no telling if I would have won or not, but I felt good about the lay down.

My cards weren’t improving, but I was determined not to let that hinder my success. I tried to steal a few pots, but was forced to fold when someone came over the top of me. I was back down to being the short stack, so I was relieved when our table broke. I was elated when I saw towering chip stacks at the new table. This meant that if I came back I had a chance to really accumulate a bunch of chips. My first hand at the new table I shipped my chips in with 66 and busted the BB’s JJ. A few hands later I doubled up when I pushed a raised pot with five callers holding 99. In a matter of four hands, I was back in the game!

For the next few levels I went on a sick rush. When someone called me I always had a hand. When I was bluffing no one would call. When I called an all in behind, I would catch up to bust the player. I was sitting at about 70k, which was above average at the time, when I looked down at AhKh. The player to my right raised in front, I reraised, and he pushed all in. It was about 30k more for me to call. He had been showing aggression with mediocre hands, so it didn’t take me long to call when I found I would still have average stack if I lost. Since he was the most aggressive at the table besides me, I wanted to take the opportunity to knock him out. My opponent actually woke up with a hand and flipped over KK. Luckily, one of my three outs fell on the turn to knock out the young hopeful. I had taken control of my table, and I continued to dominate through calculated aggressiveness. At dinner break I found myself as one of the tournament chip leaders.

Good Spots, Lucky Flops, and Winning Pots at WPT Bellagio (Part II)

The Bellagio WPT event had started off well for me. I was playing strong, being aggressive, and dominating the table early. However, some players started to grow tired of a girl pushing them around and proceeded to put me in my place. By the third break the theme of the day was to double up the short stacks, so I was left with two moves: Ship it or fold.

I sat for a few levels not being able to pick up a good spot. Tables were starting to break down, and the two new guys to my right were raising a lot in front of me. Since I wasn’t picking anything up I was forced to fold. A young pro sat down to my left, and I could tell my the smell of tequila that it was going to be a long night if I had any plans on staying in the tournament. I was right, he was a nonstop talker and just loved the ring of his own voice. It didn’t matter if I was in a hand or not, he was talking and asking me questions about some kind of nonsense. At this point, coffee wasn’t helping my lack of sleep and this guy was swiftly wearing out his welcome.

Instead of letting him put me on tilt I muscled up a cordial face and pretended to be interested in what he was talking about. In actuality, I was so tired that it was taking all of my energy to stay focused on the table that everything he said went in one ear and out the other. It was time to start ordering the Bailey’s and coffee. Both myself and my chatty partner were in dire need of a double up. Everyone had folded to us in the blinds and I looked down at J 3 offsuit. “I’m all in.” He checked his cards and rambled something about him having a good hand to call with. “I don’t think you’d bluff me. I fold,” he said showing the ace of spades. My decision to deal with his incessant talking paid off. The blinds and antes were a significant addition to my chip stack.

With the blinds and antes going up to 400/800 I was left with eight bets. I wasn’t picking up any cards, so I was just looking for good spots to push in. There weren’t any good opportunities to push, but when I was in the small blind I picked up a good spot. The UTG+1 player raised to 2,600 with five callers behind. I looked down at K 4 off, and decided that with only 5,600 left it was time to get lucky. I went all in. The original raiser was the only caller with A J. The board came out A K 6 7 4. The pot was substantial and gave me enough to start playing again. This was the momentum I needed to stay in the game.

Good Spots, Lucky Flops, and Winning Pots at WPT Bellagio (Part I)

In December I was fortunate enough to have a final table finish at the $550 WPT Bellagio event, but the road to get there was full of ups and downs. There were moments in the tournament where I felt unstoppable, and then that was quickly washed away by a defeating blow to my chip stack where I would have to rebuild. When I got to the money I was chip leader for the tournament, and I was feeling pretty good about my chances of taking it down. Overall, I made some great plays, some bad plays, and got lucky when I needed to. In the end, the only thing standing in my way was nine other players including Allen Cunningham.

The day began with six hours of sleep, McDonalds breakfast, and lots of coffee. Two of my other poker buddies had convinced me to skip the review for my final exam and play the tournament instead. I’m sure they knew it wouldn’t be hard for me to turn down school for poker. When the tournament began, the room was filled and pros were scattered everywhere. I hit an early rush of cards and was playing really aggressively in the first few rounds. One of the young guys at my table was convinced that I was bluffing every time which allowed me to eventually trap him when I got pocket aces. I continued my aggressive style until other players started to play back at me. At this point it was time for me to switch gears.

In the first few levels of the antes I slowed down my play significantly. This was probably a mistake since this is a crucial time to pick up extra chips with the antes while still having a fair amount of fish on the table. However, I wasn’t getting cards and a few of the players were determined not to let me run them over anymore. Little by little I dwindled down until I started catching cards again.

When I started getting some breathing room with tightening my play and getting decent starting hands, this was about the time where the short stacks were making moves every chance they got. I lost a huge portion of my chip stack when I put a short stack in with my AK vs. AQ. Same guy doubled off of me again when he cracked my KK with his QQ. Then I tried to put pressure on the blinds (both short stacks) from the button by putting them both all in. The small blind called and the big blind folded. I turned over Js 7d thinking I was completely dominated. He showed 7c 3c. The runner runner clubs gave him the win he needed to double up.

Tony G Joins Party Poker Team

Known as one of the most aggressive and controversial players on the circuit today, Tony G can now add being a part of major online poker site to his resume. The Australian has recently inked a deal with Party Poker to become a representative for the card room as well as hand over his assets for TonyGpoker.com, which includes a considerable database of players.

"I cannot wait to start playing for Team Party on the circuit. I’ve always loved Party and what better way to kick off than at the Aussie Millions. I am also really excited about the Premier League in February -- it is the best event in poker in my eyes. After finishing runner-up and third in the last two years the title has to be mine! I just hope my rivals have the heart and commitment to the game to stop me!”

The main points of the deal include Party Poker picking up the entry-fee tab for Tony at numerous live tournaments around the world, plus he’ll join other famous pros including Mike Sexton and Kara Scott at the online tables under the screen name “TonyG.” All existing players at TonyGPoker.com will have their accounts transferred over to NoblePoker.com, a subsidiary of PartyGaming.

“It’s business as usual for TonyGPoker.com. The exciting acquisition of its assets by the PartyGaming will create a larger more flexible and productive playing environment,” said Tony.

WSOP Bracelet Up on eBay

Wow, either times are even tougher than we think or one collector has just managed to get his hands on some premium poker collectables. I heard that some official WSOP bracelets had found their way to the auction site recently, but I figured they had to be replicas, because who in their right mind is going to sell the most sought-after item in all of poker if they have one? Well, looks like the rumor is true as there is not one but two different bracelets (though only one from the WSOP) available at the moment, both of which were won by legendary pro T.J. Cloutier.

The first bracelet up for sale is for the WSOP $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship that Cloutier won back in 2005. The current owner of the bracelet, a pawn shop, claims that the item is 100% authentic and is 14 karat gold complete with diamonds, supposedly obtained directly from T.J. himself. The starting bid for the bracelet is $2,999 with free shipping to the US, and the auction ends on Jan. 24th.

The second bracelet appears to be Cloutier’s from back in 2007 when he won the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV Championship. This item is listed with a starting price of $2,499 and ends on the same day as the WSOP bracelet.

Now I can understand why someone might not want to hold on to a bracelet from a non-WSOP event (though I would have to be REALLY hard up for cash to want to get rid of it), but was T.J. in deep with loan sharks when he gave his WSOP bracelet to the pawn shop? You have to figure that the shop wouldn’t pay more than say $2,000 for the bracelet, an amount that should be very small in comparison of what you would think the bankroll of Cloutier would be.

I’ll post the results of the auction later next week after it’s over.

WSOP Bracelet Up on eBay

Wow, either times are even tougher than we think or one collector has just managed to get his hands on some premium poker collectables. I heard that some official WSOP bracelets had found their way to the auction site recently, but I figured they had to be replicas, because who in their right mind is going to sell the most sought-after item in all of poker if they have one? Well, looks like the rumor is true as there is not one but two different bracelets (though only one from the WSOP) available at the moment, both of which were won by legendary pro T.J. Cloutier.

The first bracelet up for sale is for the WSOP $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship that Cloutier won back in 2005. The current owner of the bracelet, a pawn shop, claims that the item is 100% authentic and is 14 karat gold complete with diamonds, supposedly obtained directly from T.J. himself. The starting bid for the bracelet is $2,999 with free shipping to the US, and the auction ends on Jan. 24th.

The second bracelet appears to be Cloutier’s from back in 2007 when he won the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV Championship. This item is listed with a starting price of $2,499 and ends on the same day as the WSOP bracelet.

Now I can understand why someone might not want to hold on to a bracelet from a non-WSOP event (though I would have to be REALLY hard up for cash to want to get rid of it), but was T.J. in deep with loan sharks when he gave his WSOP bracelet to the pawn shop? You have to figure that the shop wouldn’t pay more than say $2,000 for the bracelet, an amount that should be very small in comparison of what you would think the bankroll of Cloutier would be.

I’ll post the results of the auction later next week after it’s over.

LAPC $1 Million Guarantee Day 1A

It is raining cats and dogs here in Los Angeles, but that hasn’t dissuaded players from heading over to the Commerce Casino to play the first event of the Los Angeles Poker Tour. The tour kicks off with a $1 million guarantee for $335 buy in. The event is expected to be very successful with four starting days and no cap on the amount of players to enter each starting day.
I arrived at the Commerce Casino with three other Vegas pros at 6:30 am of Day 1A. There were already over 600 players registered, and alternates started after 800 players. We decided to buy our seats before getting a few hours of rest before the tournament. It was a good thing we did because the line was out the door when we woke up. The venue was filled, and after the alternate cutoff was over there were 1,282 players that entered Day 1A.

Play at my first table was pretty slow at start out. The first level was 25/25, and the players seemed determined to feel each other out. I started raising more to take down some pots which proved to be successful. Another guy started playing aggressively as well, and I knew that he was going to put pressure on me if he got a chance. He raised in mid position to 150 and I re-raised in the big blind with AhKh to 450. He re-poped for 1,400. I put him on a medium pocket pair and made the call. The flop came K63 rainbow. He twitched when the flop came down, so I knew I was good. I checked, and he pushed me all in. I immediately made the call and he turned over 99. The turn and river blanked giving me the double up.

In the next two rounds I lost half my chips when I flopped middle pair and a flush draw against another lady on the table. I bet out and she called. She turned two pair which left me drowning when I bet and she raised. I called but wasn’t able to make my flush. A similar hand played out leaving me back at the starting stack.

I was relieved when I was moved to another table that had some big stacks. Surprisingly, they were letting me bet them off small pots which allowed me to maintain my stack. However, I was crippled at the 75/150 level when I called a short stack’s all in on the turn. I had second pair and he had ace high. Unfortunately, he hit his ace on the river taking 1/3 of my stack. The final blow came when an aggressive player raised to 500, and I shoved 2,500 with pocket jacks. He had about 8,000 behind, so I thought there was a good chance he would lay down a marginal hand. He called with Ad7d and hit the ace on the river to knock me out.

The tournament turn out for this event has been impressive and it is only Day 1A. Tomorrow is another day and a new start, so I will be sending more updates from the felt.

PPA Excited About Upcoming Committee Vote

A new video has been posted on the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) website featuring executive director John Pappas’ thoughts on the upcoming poker bill that may be close to receiving a confirmed vote date.

“We expect within a few short weeks, most likely in the month of February, there will be a committee vote on this legislation,” said Pappas. “This is a very critical and important for vote for the Poker Players Alliance, as well as the poker community, and we need everyone to step up and make sure that their voices are heard.”

Pappas also encourage all poker members to get in touch with their respective Congress members and show their support behind the bill, which is being spearheaded by Rep. Barney Frank. The bill, if passed, would legalize and regulate online poker for the entirety of the United States.

“This will be the first time — ever — that there will be a vote on licensing and regulation of Internet poker and Internet gaming in general,” said Pappas. “We need bi-partisan support, and we need your help in achieving that. Over the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing more from us about things you can to do to alert your members of Congress about this important committee vote and why they should vote in support of HR 2267, so get ready to advocate for poker.”

Many US players have found ways to play poker online, but returning to full legalization would likely result in another poker boom thanks to the marketing tornado that would follow, not to mention the easy deposit methods that will once again be available. Why would the Congress approve such a bill? Well, it appears that the U.S. Treasury could make receive as much as $42 billion in poker-related taxes over the next 10 years if regulation is approved.

The Basics of Pot Limit Omaha-Part II

In last weeks article The Basics of Pot Limit Omaha- Part I, we explored the very basics of Pot Limit Omaha. Part I went over the similarities and differences of Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. Part II will cover the basics of hand selection and what to look for when playing a starting hand. This is vital for new players because there are so many different hand combinations post flop, and your opponents hold a wide range of hands that can be used against you.

Some of the best Omaha hands are those that can play off of each other. It is much easier to make a big hand with four cards than it is with two. For this reason, Hold’em is a game of big pairs and Omaha is a game of straights, flushes, and full houses. Starting hands that are connected with flush possibilities or have small connected gaps are some of the best starting hands with the most possibilities after the flop. Any starting hand with a four flush or three of a kind should be immediately thrown away because it is very difficult make a hand with these starting cards.

Omaha is a drawing game, so hands are primarily played post flop. A great starting hand in Omaha rarely holds up after the flop, so it is essential to be selective in starting hands that have post flop possibilities. Hands like AAKQ look really appetizing before the flop, but even if you hit an ace on the flop your hand can be easily compromised if you don’t have a draw to go with it. The strongest hands post flop are those that implement made hands or stronger turn and river draws. If your hand doesn’t hold up after the flop, and you don’t have strong draws it is best to just dump it.

New Cell Phone Rules for WSOP 2010

Just recently, the World Series of Poker finalized and posted up their tournament rules for the upcoming 2010 WSOP. A couple of hardcore poker insiders have already poked through most of the 105 rules listed on the 8-page document and confirm that no major changes have been made since the posting of the 2009 rule book. One new item addressed in the report though is that of cell phones at the table, situations that many card rooms and tournaments have been changing their stance on.

According to Rule #55, your cell phone must now be turned off during tournament play, yet it also says that players not involved in a hand (those that have already mucked their cards), can text/email at the table while waiting for the next hand. But wait, didn’t they just tell us to have our phones “off”? Here’s the actual wording of the rule:

“All cell phones and other voice-enabled and “ringing” electronic devices must be turned off during tournament play. Players not involved in a hand (cards in muck) shall be permitted to text/email at the table, but shall not be permitted to text/email any other
player at the table. If Rio, acting in its sole and absolute discretion, believes a player is communicating with another player at the table, both parties will be immediately disqualified from the tournament and face imposition of additional penalties as described in Rule 36. All players desiring to talk on a cell phone must be at least one table length away from their assigned table during all said communication. Those individuals who talk on a cell phone not at least one table length away from their assigned table shall be subject to a penalty to be determined by Tournament Staff. No cell phones or other electronic communication device can be placed on a poker table.”

It does read a little weird, but basically what I glean off of the text is that you just can’t make any calls while at the table, yet you can still text/email just as long as you’re not involved in a hand. Plus you can’t email or text anybody else seated at your table, though that is going to be near impossible to enforce unless two goons are being really obvious.

“Poker has evolved exponentially the last decade, and with so many new players to the game, it’s important that we as tournament officials, dealers and players are all familiar with the rules. We believe that as the industry leader, it’s important for us at the WSOP to have the most comprehensive rules in the game today," said Vice President of International Poker Operations and World Series of Poker Tournament Director Jack Effel.

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