Navigating a Mine Field

Whether you are playing poker on-line, or in a large tournament full of players you're not familiar with, it is crucial to pay very close attention to every player at your table to try and figure out what type of player they are. The general rule is that you try and play the opposite style from the rest of the table, so if the table is playing very tight and conservative, it's time to bluff and steal some pots. Conversely, if it's a very loose table, full of bluffers and overly aggressive players, just sit back, wait to make a good hand, and let them throw their money at you.

But what do you do, when you sit down at your table and think to yourself "Hey, I'm the only one who knows what the hell is going on... oh crap!"

Some players might look forward to this opportunity, believing that this table would be easy to run over, but from my experience, I would much rather play at a table full of players who know what they are doing. I call it Navigating a Mine Field, because in poker terms that's how it feels. Like every hand could be your last.

Here's a few common indicators that you are surrounded by landmines.

The most common version of these weak players will quote a few lines from Rounders, may even reference some poker they saw on tv, and may briefly have you convinced that he knows what he's doing. Then you see him play. He will call pre-flop bets with garbage, and in fact will probably play almost every hand dealt to him early on. When you actually see the cards they play (and they'll generally show every hand, win or lose, because they don't know they don't have to show and they're honestly not sure if they won or not until someone says something) you'll realize that they were just hoping to make a hand, it wasn't based on any sound principles or statistical logic.

If they are questioned on a hand that they won where they obviously got lucky after making bad plays, they will say things like "we're gambling, you can't win if you don't play" or "There always seems to be 2 kings on the flop, so I couldn't fold a king preflop".

Point out how badly they played on a hand they lost, and you'll likely hear the reply "I thought for sure he was bluffing" or "I had a pocket pair, you can't fold those". Win or lose, they will always try to justify their poor play, but to anyone who knows how to play poker, they will be as transparent as the glass of Vodka usually sitting beside them as they play.

The most annoying guy to play with is the guy who is truely clueless. Not only has he no idea what he's doing at the table, but he doesn't even give the courtesy of paying attention. You have to keep nudging him on the arm to get his attention, then explain to him what has happened so far in the hand, then tell him what his options are. They are the most frustrating, especially in a tournament format when the blinds are raising rapidly and you're on a short stack. They don't realize how inconsiderate they are, so any attempt you make to hurry them up is seen as being rude, and probably will only encourage them to play slower and stupider.

The commonality for all weak players is that they don't understand the odds, nor do they understand the etiquette. They will act out of turn, not realizing that this could be important information to other players. They will make illegal bets, they will talk about the cards they folded during the hand and they will likely need instruction on how to deal when it's their turn.

The most dangerous player of this ilk is the player who knows they're being fishy. They actually have more poker knowledge than their play would indicate, but for whatever reason, they just don't care about playing an intelligent game. They will chase every straight and flush draw, no matter what the bet or the odds, and just hope to get lucky. Maybe at one point they even tried playing poker smartly, but probably took a series of bad beats, and just decided to play for fun, winning would happen if it were "in the cards". These players have another advantage, because they know what type of player you are, and can take advantage of that. More than anyone else else, these players can make or break a tournament, because their insane play will either lead to their early elimination, or for someone else.

The common theme amongst these various types of players is that they really don't know or care about how badly they are playing, so you can rarely be certain about what hole cards they have. They could have limped in with 5 other players holding AA, or they could call a massive preflop raise with Q2.

Personally, I haven't figured out how navigate such a situation. 1 or 2 players can be avoided, but when it's clear you're up against a large group of fishy players, I think it's best just to stick to the most simple of strategies. Play a tight, aggressive game, and hope like hell that if they decide to chase, you don't get hurt too badly.

Online Poker Games

The following article is brought to you by the good people at Pokerstop.com

Know the sort of adds different poker variants and game structures offer you. Build you bankroll by playing in tournaments, generate loyalty points by playing in cash games.

When you decide that online poker may be a fun and entertaining way to generate some extra income, that is the object of your playing becomes the making of money, you need to know the exact expected value in all the different games, variants and structures available out there.

Take Texas Holdem for instance. It is a game much better suited for beginners than Omaha. It features a much more temperamental short-term variance, but in this case that is in your favor, because you’ll be able to confront experienced players from relatively equal footings for the short-run. In Omaha, rookies never get any benefit out of schooling and the structure of the game provides an insurmountable advantage to those who are skilled. That’s right, in Omaha the luck factor is much less relevant than in Texas Holdem. The same goes for 7-Card Stud.

In conclusion: if you’re a skilled player, you’ll definitely want to take unskilled opposition on at the Omaha tables, if you’re an unskilled player however, you should avoid Omaha and Stud. If you’re skilled and you have to do battle with another skilled player – again, you’re better off moving the hostilities onto a Texas Holdem table.

The other question is: should you play in poker tournaments or cash games at the beginning of your poker career, when you’re attempting to build up a bankroll?

The answer to that is easy: tournaments. Both MTTs (Multi Table Tournaments) and STTs (Single Table Tournaments) provide much better expected value for the average player than cash tables.

Cash play – especially if it’s NL Holdem we’re talking about – requires a great deal of discipline. One wrong move and you can kiss the fruits of months of hard labor goodbye. You’ll also pay rake on every single hand that you play, and you won’t be allowed to settle for anything less than victory there.

Tournaments do not charge you rake on every hand. You’ll pay a one-time and you’re done. Also, in a tournament, you will not necessarily be required to win in order to turn a profit.

Another Hand for Debate.

I was recently playing in a 6 player tournament to mix it up from our usual weekly cash games. This was actually the 4th (and final) tournament of the night, in what we call the "Superstars" format where all players compete in 3 round-robin tournaments and are then given bonus chips based on their performance to use in the 4th tournament.

Exactly half of the cash is paid out to the top 2 in each of the first 3 tournaments, and the other half is reserve for the top 2 in the final tournament. The blinds are raised quite quickly, taking some of the skill out of the game, but to accommodate 4 tournaments in one night, it is necessary.

Having now explained the logic behind the tournament style (not that it's at all relevant to the story, just thought others could make use of it in their home games) I'll now try to explain how I played one very pivotal hand that led to my victory in the 4th tournament. As always, your feed back would be appreciated. (all chip counts are approximate)

Final 3 (Top 2 Pay)

$25000 on the table

blinds are $300/$600

Dealer has $8500

Small Blind $5000

Big Blind $11500

For the record, I'm the small blind, so I'm playing with the short stack, but I'd just tripled up a few hands before when my all-in with 66 was called by both players, and I was very lucky and made a 6-high straight after the 2 big stacks smartly checked it down the entire way to try and get the elimination.

Despite the blinds being very high in relation to my stack, at least I have something to work with, and then I'm dealt A-9 in the small blind. The dealer folds, and as I'm considering my action, I see the Big Blind appear to fold his cards, and they're now sitting between him and the dealer.

I ask him "Did you just fold?".

This player is a very calm, collected individual and simply replies "No."

I stare at him for a few seconds to see if he gives me a little smile like I caught him folding his cards when he's in the Big Blind and I haven't raised. I've played hundreds of games of poker with him, he's been easily the most successful poker player in our group, and is known as being a very solid, probably tight, and always aggressive player when he's involved in a hand.

I think about it for a few seconds, and decide that despite any facial expressions giving it away, he probably was planning on folding, and therefore must have a very weak hand. I have a very good hand with my A-9 in a 3 handed game, and decide this is as good a time as any to steal his blind and continue my momentum.

I raise it $1200 on top of his $600 blind, expecting him to admit I caught him acting out of turn, and then he would fold. To my surprise, he does call, and my read here is that he's trying to defend his accidental fold, and plans to steal the pot from me later in the hand.

The flop brings 3-6-Q rainbow, and I decide to check it here to see what my opponent does. He checks as well, and at this point I'm pretty sure he has nothing. If he'd hit anything, after I had checked the flop, he would have bet and try to win the pot right there.

The turn is another K, not a card I'm really afraid of, but at this point I really don't have much money left. I'm hoping my opponent will check it down to the river and that Ace high will hold up as the winning hand. He checks and the river brings a 6, pairing the board.

I stick with the plan, although at this point I'm wishing I had bet on the turn. I check, and my opponent quickly grabs 20000 in chips and puts them in the pot. I still only have Ace high, and with only 32000 left, it really forces me to a very tough decision. I start to think about how the hand has played out so far, trying to imagine what he could have.

I'm pretty sure that, having played with him before many times, he would have bet when he had a pair, either on the flop or turn, so his bet on the river when the board has paired reinforces what I had thought all a long. He has nothing, he knows he can't win the hand by checking, so he fires off a large bet hoping to make me fold even if I think I have him beat. Being wrong would leave me with 12000, and the blinds are shortly going to raise to 4000/8000.

I call, knowing that if I'm right and he has absolutely nothing, he won't call my re raise, no matter how small it is, and if he has any kind of a pair, my re raise would be so small he would have to call, and I'd be done.

His head drops, a painful expression on his face shows me I was right. He flips over 2-5, expecting to see at least a pair when I show him my cards. I show Ace high and rake in the chips, my hands actually shaking a bit as this was a very difficult call to make. Normally quite vocal when he feels his opponent has made a brutal play, (I've been the recipient of several tirades before) he was strangely quiet here. 

From here, I go on to win the tournament, despite losing a potential elimination all-in when my JJ loses to the short-stacks 99.

OK, that's about it, please feel free to ad your comments by the link below. I'd love to hear different opinions, it's the best way to learn, and I am just a student.

You decide

I played in a poker tournament late last week, and have been struggling with one hand in particular that caused my entire table to criticize me for a perceived bad decision. I will explain the entire situation, giving my reasoning for how I played this hand, then I would appreciate it if you could let me know if I played it like a donkey or not.

Vital Stats

Starting Chips: $3000          Blinds: $25/$50

My Stack: $5000      Opponent's Stack: $1100

Still in the first blind level, I have had a lot of success, and find myself in the Big Blind. Everyone folds around to the dealer, who limps in and the small blind calls as well. I look at my cards, and have A-5 of Diamonds, which I figure is the best hand, but decide to check, hoping that if an Ace is flopped, no one would give me credit for having one in my hand.

The flop comes down Ah-Kd-Ks, and I figure to be miles ahead of the other 2 players in the hand. The Small Blind checks, so I decide to try and play the hand as planned. No one expects me to have an Ace, so I bet $250. I hear the SB make a noise as if to say "BULLSHIT!" as I make the bet. It's subtle, but I've known him for a long time, and played many, many hands of poker with him.

The dealer thinks about it for a minute, but folds, and the SB pushes all in with supreme confidence and absolutely no hesitation. Like I said, I've played a lot of poker with this guy, he's renown for making huge bluffs, and is generally not very successful with them. His raise is $800 over top of my $250, and I now have a lot to consider.

If he has a King, he's got me slaughtered, but with no "acting" before pushing all-in, I really don't think he's got a King. He could have a better Ace than I do, in which case there's still a decent chance we could chop, but the fact that he limped in preflop leaves me skeptical that could have an Ace when he was getting so short-stacked.

So I conclude that with no obvious flush draw, my opponent likely has a small pocket pair or a complete bluff, and I'm leaning towards the bluff again based on his lack of preflop action. There's also the possibility that he's makiing a play against me, playing the player, not the cards. In this case, I look like a genious, because he assumes I am bluffing at this pot, because I did't raise preflop, so he doesn't suspect an Ace, and I wouldn't likely bet if I had a King. Therefore, maybe he's just trying to push me off my bluff, regardless of what he has.

The cards get flipped over, and he's got K-3, and I'm in terrible shape. I've only got about a 12% chance of winning at this point, and another player at the table blurts out "let's see runner-runner diamond for the flush!".

Well, as you might have guessed, that's exactly what happened. I still had only a 22% chance when the 2nd diamond hit on the turn, but caught my miracle, and caused the first elimination of the tournament as a result. I actually did feel sort of bad for the guy, it was a terrible "beat" and I've been there many times before.

Then came the onslaught of criticism from every other player at that table for the next 30 minutes. To them, it was painfully obvious what the other player had, and they couldn't understand my call with just an A-5. Shocked by my unusual luck in winning the hand, I was flustered to explain my decision adequately, which only added to their disapproval.

My decision was based on the reputation of my opponent and the amount of chips he had. If I were playing someone else, or if he had more chips in front of him, I probably don't make that call in that situation. Now that I've said my peace, I'd love to hear back from anyone, good or bad.

The Slumpbuster

In all forms of competition there seems to be a time when even the best competitors appear to be performing at a level less than they are capable. There seems to be no logical reason for it, and no explanation on how to fix it. This is commonly known as a slump.

On an average week, I play in three to five No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournaments, and although it’s not for big money like the pros play, the level of play is generally pretty good, and each tournament is taken very seriously. As every poker player should do, I keep track of statistics and make notes about each tournament I play in. 2006 was my best year in four years of playing Hold’em, but I endured a two month period that had me leaving the table shaking my head in disbelief.

I’m sure every poker player has suffered the notorious “Bad Beat’. This is when, for example, you’re holding Ace-Jack, the flop brings AJ- 4, and you push the remainder of your chips into the pot, knowing you almost certainly have the best hand. One player, usually with a lot more chips than you, calls your all-in, and flips over Ace-4. You both have 2 pair and you pair of Jacks beats his pair of fours, but when another 4 shows up on the river, giving your opponent a full-house and the winning hand, all you can do is stand up from the table, shake your head and walk away.

In the example used here, you pushed all-in and were a huge favorite to win the pot, but poker is a game of statistics, which means if there’s an 80% chance for you to win the hand, then there’s also a 20% you will lose. When the improbable 20% chance actually comes through, we curse the Poker Gods for their cruelty. The two month slump I most recently went through featured a string of 15 consecutive tournaments where I never finished in the top 50%. I’m sure this is something every poker player feels he has dealt with. Almost every hand I was eliminated with, I was a statistical favorite.

There are a lot of reasons why this happens. I was playing too many hands early in the tournament, and taking too many chance, resulting in being shortstacked after a few blind raises, forcing me to play hands more aggressively than I would otherwise like to do. But what about the other times?

To answer this, I look to the slump. I feel I was playing well, but for no logical reason, the Poker Gods seemed to be conspiring against me. Now, I don’t honestly believe that there is some supernatural force watching me play poker and making bad things happen to me, but this form of superstition can be found in all forms of competition, especially during a slump.

So how do you break out of a slump? In professional sports, I have heard many stories of players doing a variety of things to stop a slump. Anything from altering a superstitious pre-game ritual to altering their style of play or even shaving their heads. Then you have the Slump-Buster.

"Slump-Buster" is a term I first heard about from an interview on the Jim Rome Show with baseball star Mark Grace (pictured here while playing for the Cubs). Now retired. Mark Grace describes the type of woman who he believes helped him overcome on-field struggles.

When Grace (who’s name now appears to bring new meaning to the term “irony”) would find himself in a hitting slump he would seek out "the gnarliest, ugliest chick" he could find and attempt to "lay the wood to her". If he was successful, the next day he was sure to break out of his slump, hence the phrase.

Now, I’m not recommending that you do anything of this sort, but instead I’m offering a fresh idea. An offering so great, that the Poker Gods will most assuredly look down upon you, and grant you favour and good fortune at the poker table. The next time you find yourself in this type of a slump, and you peek at your hole cards to find pockets Aces, fold them. If possible, show everyone at the table what you’re doing. You’ve just made poker’s ultimate sacrifice.

Does it sounds crazy and superstitious? Of course it does, there’s no such thing as Poker Gods, and it’s idiotic to lay down the best hand possible. On the other hand, it’s worked for me...twice, and I won’t hesitate to do it again if I feel I need to.

Poker Hottie - Clonie Gowen

As suggested by the banner above, every week I will be featuring a female poker player or hostess to present a softer side of the poker world. Women rarely get the credit or attention that they deserve in the world of poker, here's my tribute to them.

This Weeks HOTTIE - Clonie Gowen

As a former Miss Teen Oklahoma, Clonie is recognized as one of the best female poker players in the world. She is a mother of 2, and enjoys scuba diving when she's not playing poker.

Clonie started playing poker while living in Dallas where she had to drive to Shreveport, Louisiana on weekends to find a game. She soon earned national recognition when she followed up her Top 10 finish at the World Poker Tour Costa Rica Classic with a win at the WPT Ladies' Night event in 2003, then the highest rated WPT show ever broadcast.

She made two more television appearances in 2005, placing seventh in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'em Ultimate Poker Challenge tournament and third in the FullTiltPoker Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. Since then, Clonie placed third in the FullTiltPoker Pro Showdown at the Red Rock Casino and is a two-time winner on Poker After Dark, collecting $120,000 for each individual performance.

In 2008, Clonie cashed in four separate events at the WSOP and took down the single largest win of her career, banking nearly $438K for her victory at the Bellagio Cup’s $5K No-Limit Hold ‘em event. Her career earnings exceed $700,000.

Away from the tournament table, Clonie has served as a guest commentator for the Ultimate Poker Challenge and the European World Poker Championship in Dublin and is a regular columnist for All In Magazine. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the United States Poker Association and frequently hosts tournaments and charity events as part of her mission to help beginning players learn the basics of tournament play so that they too can become successful tournament players.

Poker Hottie - Liz Lieu

As suggested by the banner above, every week I will be featuring a female poker player or hostess to present a softer side of the poker world. Women rarely get the credit or attention that they deserve in the world of poker, here's my tribute to them.

This Weeks HOTTIE - Liz Lieu



Liz Lieu (born August 2, 1974 in Vietnam) was primarily a limit Texas hold 'em cash games player for a number of years, before embracing tournament play at the 2005 World Series of Poker. Close friend and fellow poker player John Phan encouraged her to enter the $1500 no-limit hold'em event, she ended up in fifth place with over $168,000 in prize money. She went on to place 12th in the $5000 no-limit hold'em event the same year and cashed in the $3000 tournament as well.

The next stop was the Bellagio's 2005 Festa Al Lago tournament, where she placed fourth in the $2500 no limit hold'em event and 16th in two other top tournaments in the series, taking home more than $80,000 for less than a week's worth of work. She went on to finish in the top ten spots at the World Poker Finals, Five Diamond World Poker Classic, and the Gold Strike World Poker Open.

Lieu's first tournament win came at the 2006 L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce Casino, where she won the $1000 limit hold'em event. Her second tournament win came when she won the same event in 2007.

In 2006, Lieu was honored by the WSOP and ESPN as a "Final Table Grand Marshall" along with Johnny Chan. Back in September 2007 Lieu signed an exclusive partnership with Chilipoker and acts as an Ambassador for the poker room. As of 2008, Lieu has earned over $690,000 in live tournament play.

Poker Hottie - Isabelle Mercier

As suggested by the banner above, every week I will be featuring a female poker player or hostess to present a softer side of the poker world. Women rarely get the credit or attention that they deserve in the world of poker, here's my tribute to them.

This Weeks HOTTIE - Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier

Born in Victoriaville, Quebec, Isabelle did not always have her sights set on a career in poker. She earned a Law degree from the University of Montreal and practiced law for 6 months before moving to Paris, France to earn her Masters Degree. It was there that she worked as the Poker Room Manager of the famed Aviation Club de France, where she was twice nominated as Staff Person of the Year at the European Poker Awards.

In 2002, at the Masters Classic of Poker in Amsterdam, Isabelle finished 2nd in a large tournament and made more than 50 times her initial investment as a result. 2 years later, she won her first televised event in the 2004 WPT Ladies Night tournament, where Mike Sexton gave her the nickname "No Mercy".

Since then, Isabelle has cashed in at dozens of tournaments around the world. Her biggest prize total came in 2006, when she finished 5th in the $5,000 buy-in the World Series of Poker No Limit Hold'em event, taking home over $175,000.

More recently, Isabelle has released her own instructional DVD, and a biography entitled Profession : bluffeuse: Pokerstars has put together a very nice website for Isabelle, check it out at http://www.isabellemercier.com/

Poker Hottie - Shannon Elizabeth

As suggested by the banner above, every week I will be featuring a female poker player or hostess to present a softer side of the poker world. Women rarely get the credit or attention that they deserve in the world of poker, here's my tribute to them.

This Weeks HOTTIE - Shannon Elizabeth



I'm sure most people know who Shannon Elizabeth is. She is a very beautiful, very famous actress who has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. Most notably, in my opinion, is her appearance in the first American Pie film, where she attempts to seduce Jason Biggs' character in his bedroom. What many people don't know is that she has a tremendous passion for poker, and has had some success playing against the best in the world.

Elizabeth, who describes poker as her second career is one of the leading celebrity poker players around. She visits Las Vegas up to three times each month to participate in poker games with the top players to play in private games and televised events alike. Shannon played in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker and won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at Caesars Palace hotel in January 2006, beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000.

She has also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007, but again busted out of the Main Event early. In 2007, she advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in a field consisting of the top poker professionals before losing to eventual champion Paul Wasicka. Among the four opponents she defeated were three World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners: Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes.

Her success and popularity amongst the poker world had become so great that she was at one point sponsored by Full Tilt Poker.

Poker Hottie - Evelyn Ng

As suggested by the banner above, every week I will be featuring a female poker player or hostess to present a softer side of the poker world. Women rarely get the credit or attention that they deserve in the world of poker, here's my tribute to them.

This Weeks HOTTIE - Evelyn Ng

Born September 14, 1975 in Toronto, Evelyn is now one of the most recognizable faces in poker. By the age of 14, Evelyn was an accomplished pool player, similar to her the future boyfriend Daniel Negreanu. By age 17, she had expanded into dealing blackjack and poker games. It was artound this time that she met Daniel. He helped her develop a style of play designed to combat aggressive players. She achieved fame on the WPT circuit in 2003 after placing second in the Ladies' Night I tournament, beating out several top-ranked feamle poker players along the way.

Ng was included as one of the characters in the video game Stacked with Daniel Negreanu, and not just as eye-candy. Formerly associated with PokerStars, she is now part of Team Bodog along with fellow pros David Williams and Justin Bonomo.

She also appeared on Criss Angel Mindfreak as a professional poker player. Criss, having little experience in poker, attempted to psychologically persuade Ng to repeatedly pick a losing hand from a set of covered/open cards. As of 2008, her total live tournament winnings exceed $330,000.

On top of her skills on the poker table, she may be even more skilled at Guitar hero. Check out the video in the Youtube bar on the right. She rocks!

WSOP Update #19

Money money money money... MONEY!

Day Three has come to a close, and 473 players remain. With the top 666 collecting from the prize pool, a huge sigh of relief was felt within the room when bubble boy Steve Chung was eliminated in 667th position. A break was called for all remaining players to celebrate, and not surprisingly, after playing Hand-for-Hand for the hours leading up to this, the play quickened, and almost 200 more players fell in the remaining hours of the day. Don't feel too bad for Mr.Chung, thanks to Milwakee's Best Light, Steve's entrance into next years Main Event is already paid for making 668th place the worst spot to finish.

Remaining Notables:

Jeremy Joseph 1,458,000 - chip leader by almost 400,000

Alexander Kostritsyn 887,000 - 6th cash in WSOP 2008

Shahram (Shawn) Sheikhan 724,000 - never won a WSOP title

Phil Hellmuth 475,000 - looking to become a 12-Star General

Victor Ramdin 471,000 - cashed 3 times in 2008 WSOP so far

Mark Vos 468,000 - one WSOP bracelet on his wrist

Hoyt Corkins 439,500 - 2 WSOP championships

Mike Matusow 438,500 - 3 bracelets, one this year

Evelyn Ng 414,500 - best finish is 24 in any WSOP tournament

Allen Cunningham 386,500 - My pick to win prior to the event

Gus Hansen 355,000 - No bracelets, finished 61st last year

Hevad Khan 338,500 - finished 6th last year

Chip Jett 318,500 - no bracelets

Thomas Keller 294,000 - "Thunder"-struck once in 2004

Johnny Chan 252,000 - 10 WSOP Champ, looking to tie Hellmuth

Kido Pham 228,500 - won $170,000 a week ago

Robert Mizrachi 138,000 - 1 title last year, 5 cashes this year

To start Day Four, the blinds are $2,500-$5,000 with a $500 ante, so all players on this list are ok for now. The next person eliminated, and there are several below the starting chip count of 20,000, will get over $27,000 for their trouble, and the minimum prize at the final table for finishing 9th is over $900,000.

The Spectacle of Poker

Poker has come a long way from the dingy, dark-alley-up-a-dark-staircase-into-a-poorly-lit-smoke-filled-room games that were played back when guys like Doyle Brunson, TJ Cloutier, Stu Unger and Johhny Moss were making a name for themselves. Finding the right game, travelling on buses, eating fast-food and worrying about getting beaten up or worse were just part of the lifestyle. You got in, made money, and got the hell out as fast as you could.

Luckily, thanks primarily to the invention of the hole-card camera and on-line play, Poker is celebrating a period of massive success. Today's top players can command appearance fees comparable to top TV & movie stars, musicians and athletes. They can be seen on TV, not just as participants in one of dozens of different televised poker games, but also in commercials for online poker sites. As the game gets bigger, so too do the egos of the top players.

Probably the best example of this is Phil Hellmuth. Possibly the best player in poker (just ask him, he'll tell you), Phil is also one of the most recognizable players. If he was successful at the table, but introverted and hiding from the spotlight, we would still know who he is for his 11 WSOP titles, but it's Phil's antics at the table and away from the table that make him the social phenomenon he is today.

Phil is known for never being shy about saying what's on his mind. In an age where most players have been trained to be aware that the media is always watching, Phil doesn't seem to care. When giving exit interviews, just after being eliminated from a tournament, Phil will say what's on his mind, even if it means calling his opponents donkeys, or worse. That's what makes Phil so great to watch, you never know what he's going to say or do, because he runs on emotion. He manages to control it while playing poker, just barely, and he loves the attention.

Last year, at the WSOP, he tried to make a dramatic entrance into the Main Event. Instead, he managed to destroy a race car, sponsored ultimatebet.net. Somehow, this actually worked in Phil's favor. All the media attention was on him, more so than if he didn't crash, and ultimatebet.net managed to use this to their advantage in TV commercials, saying unlike their cars, their website will never crash.

This year, with many people wondering what Phil would do to make his grand entrance, he did not disappoint. Phil arrive to the main event, fashionably late, of course, in a military vehicle that pulled up to the front doors. When Phil got out, he was wearing a 11-star military outfit, one star for each bracelet he's won at the WSOP. He was also accompanied by 11 ladies dressed in military fatigues, who walked him into the Main Event room, for all to see.

“I’m glad he didn’t crash this year,” said World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. “If Phil was able to make an entrance that is bigger than anyone else’s entrance and do it without injuring himself or any of his colleagues, I think that’s a good thing.”

I wonder what's in store for 2009?

WSOP Update #18

All 4 Day Ones are complete, and some interesting statistics have been released. 6844 players have entered the tournament, and over half (3663) of those player managed to survive Day One. One table was so desperate to make it to Day Two, that they managed to make one hand last 10 minutes... and they never even saw a flop. There was only 30 minutes left in the day, but one player at the table was so infuriated with the slow play, he called a tournament organizer over to make a ruling. From that point until the end of the day, the dealer was instructed to give each player at that table no more than 30 seconds to make any decision.

With a total prize pool of more than $68,000,000, the winner receives $9,119,517. To prove that you do have to go through Hell to and back to win this tournament, the top 666 players make it in the money. Due to the massive size of the tournament, a lot of information is still unavailable, but once both Day Two's are over, the tournament should be at a more manageable size. Tournament organizers expect to have under 1500 players remaining on Day Three.

WSOP Update #17

Day One B has come to an end, and this time a lot of the big names managed to survive the land mines and make it to Day two. 615 players still remain, after starting off with 1,158. Among those still alive are:

Robert Mizrachi - 142,400
Erick Lindgren - 92,325
Barny Boatman - 80,600
Tony Hachem - 76,050
Hal Lubarsky - 70,700
Hoyt Corkins - 67,525
Erik Seidel - 64,925
Patrik Antonius - 64,125 (who lost over 35K on the last hand of the night)
Vanessa Rousso - 48,450
Alex Kravchenko - 45,300
Hoyt Corkins - 67,525

The dearly departed include:

Humberto Brenes
Ross Boatman
Orel Hershiser
Ram Vaswani
Greg Raymer
Dewey Tomko
Tuan le
Daniel Negreanu
Andy Black
Ted Forest

WSOP Update #16

Day One Begins!

After much anticipation, the first day of the WSOP $10,000 Main Event has begun. 1,297 players started off on Day One A, and they now expect to have around the same number of entrants as last year (approx 6,500) compete in this years event, meaning the Top prize for winning will likely be somewhere around $8,000,000. Each player starts off with $20,000 in chips.

As the tournament is so massive, not all the details are available, but here's what I have been able to find out so far.

Notables still in the hunt:

Mark Garner - $194,900 - Leads after day 1

Ray Romano - $61,000 - Yes, the actor

Barry Greenstein - $20,000

Notable Eliminations:

Alan Smurfit

Josh Arieh

Gavin Smith

Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond

Katja Thater

David Benyamine

David "Devilfish" Ulliot

Freddy Deeb

Eli Elezra

Mark Garner, the Day One A chip leader, finished 25th in this event 2 years ago. Not many players, even the biggest names in poker have that kind of experience, it will be interesting to see if he can use that experience and the early chip lead to improve upon his performance in 2006.

WSOP Update #15

2 events closed out yesterday, and David Daneshgar has added a WSOP bracelet to his impressive list of accomplishments. David won the $1500 No-Limit Hold'em event, and is taking home his biggest prize to date with the top prize of over $625,000. He managed to out-last 2692 players and overcome a 2-to-1 chip deficit heads-up, eventually winning the tournament with pocket Tens.

Although not a household name like Hellmuth, Brunson, Negreanu or Ivey, Daneshgar has been successfully playing poker at the highest level for more than 4 years, and has cashed in at more than 20 major poker tournaments in that time. Previously, David's greatest poker accomplishment was winning the 2006 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic and the grand prize of more than $330,000.

In the other event, Matt Graham won his first WSOP title, and $278,180 in winnings after beating 822 others in the $1500 Limit Hold'em Shootout tournament. Matt has been having a fairly successful 2008 WSOP campaign, as this is his 4th time cashing in, but his at the final table, and he made it worth while.

Similar to Daneshgar, Graham has been playing top-level poker for several years, and has made various final table appearances in some pretty big tournaments, including a victory in the 2008 World Poker Challenge.

Finally, play has begun for Day One of the Main Event. No word yest exactly how many players are involved in the first day of action, but as they entered the room, and the chaos as everyone tried to find their seats, the players were greeted with a free bottle of All In energy Drink or All In water and Everest Poker seat cushion, all for just $10,000. Tournament Director Jack Effel is trying to direct traffic, getting everything ready to go, including setting up the feature table for Day 1, which will rotate as the day goes on, trying to include various celebrities and top ranked poker players.

WSOP Update #14

With the 2008 version of the World Series of Poker gearing up for the massive $10,000 Hold'em Main Event, a few other tournaments have come to a close, and a couple of notable names came close to victory.

In the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. event, Phil Hellmuth came very close to bracelet number 12, as he finished in 3rd place, losing to eventual winner James Schaaf. In a field of more than 800 players, Phil has (possibly) silenced his critics who say he is a Hold'em specialist. In a career that spans 20, this is just the 4th time Phil has finished in the top 3 of a major non-Hold'em event

Phil Hellmuth's non-Hold'em accomplishments:

2nd - 1993 WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball - $5,000 buy-in

2nd - 2001 WSOP Limit Omaha Hi/Lo - $5,000 buy-in

3rd - 2003 WSOP Limit Omaha - $1,500 buy-in

3rd - 2008 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. - $1,500 buy-in

Also, Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi finished 3rd in the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha tournament. Eventual winner Marty Smyth won the tournament and the grand prize of over $850,000 after making a flush on the river. He and heads-up opponent Peter Jetten had both flopped the straight holding K-J and two irrelevant cards with a flop of Qc-10c-9h, but Smyth's K-J both happened to be clubs giving him the open-ended straight flush draw. The turn was a blank, but the 6c fell on the river. Smyth wasn't even aware he'd made the flush and won the tournament, as he thought the split was inevitable. This is Mizrachi's 5th cash-in of the 2008 WSOP, but easily his biggest one, grabbing more than $320,000 in profit.

Tomorrow is Day One A of the Main Event, the first of 4 Day Ones to come. Even Day Two will be split into two different groups (meaning they're actually days 5 & 6) and Day Three (also know as Day 7) will be the first day all remaining players will gather in one room. As they anticipate cutting off the buy-ins at 12,000 this year, and setting a new record for largest live poker tournament in WSOP history, predicting a winner here seems almost impossible. This tournament has a recent history of making names out of nobodies, so good luck to the next nobody to become the somebody everybody wants to be.

WSOP Update #13

A Nguyen-win situation

While several tournaments have come to a conclusion over the weekend, it was the $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. tournament that has grabbed centre stage. Scotty Nguyen (pronounced 'Win' for those not familiar, which is what makes the headline quasi-funny) earns his 5th bracelet and almost doubles his career WSOP earnings taking down the huge $1,989,120 pot by outlasting the strongest field of any poker tournament, including a very good group at the final table.

With big names like Huck Seed, Barry Greenstein and Erick Lindgren at the final table, Scotty was typically charismatic and entertaining. Scotty has played well over the past year, and is ranked 87th on Bluff Magazin'e Player of the Year standings currently, but winning this tournament should give him a huge boost up the standings. His last big splash in the world of poker came at last years WSOP $10,000 main event, where he finished 11th in the massive 8,000+ field, almost making the final table, but still grabbing a very healthy pay day.

Chip and a Chair, anyone? - As the money and the bracelet were brought out on the table the floor made an interesting discovery under the rail where Erick Lindgren was sitting. They found a single 5,000 chip that Lindgren overlooked when he played his final hand. Now, Erick wasn't able to fully cover the last raise Scotty Nguyen made in his knockout hand, but if he'd had enough chips to match Scotty's raise...well, anyone who knows the story of former World Champion Jack Strauss and his "chip and a chair" story would get an eerie feeling. That said, Scotty DID have Erick covered, and when the extra chip was discovered it was merely added to the mass of Scotty's stack.

Other tournaments underway include the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha and the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. tournaments.

Several big names remain in the PLO tourney, including Josh Arieh, Michael 'the Grinder' Mizrachi, David Williams, David Singer and Johnny Chan. Again, I'm rooting for Johhny here. Sure he has a lot of bracelets already (10 to be exact), but he's a class act, a nice guy, and had a cameo in rounders. With 381 entrants, only 87 remain after day 1, all fighting for the top prize of more than $850,000.

Conversely, Phil Hellmuth (11 bracelets, making him the all-time leader) is the early leader in the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Amongst the the remaining 183 other players include Joe Hachem, John Juanda, Mike Matusow and Allen Cunningham.

WSOP Update #12

The $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. tournament is underway, and after day 1, only 8 players from a starting 148 have been eliminated. Most notably, Phil Hellmuth made an early departure, and in rare form, Phil exited with grace and class. Self-admittedly, he played poorly, and just prior to his elimination said "Well I didn't think it was possible to go out of this (tournament) on Day One...I like to do things that are tough to do."

David Williams was also eliminated from the tournament. With each player starting with $50,000 in chips, and the blinds being relatively small, plus the mixture of Limit and No-Limit poker, it's not surprising that so few players were eliminated on Day One. Expect the action to pick up today, as the blinds continue to increase, and there will likely be fewer than 50 players remaining by the end of Day Two

Sitting near the top are Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren and a host of other very familiar names. Interestingly, among those top names is Patrik Antonius. The reason I find this interesting is because despite the fact that many top players agree he's one of the very best in the world, he's never won a WSOP bracelet. In fact, he's never won any major tournament, despite several strong showings in WSOP, WPT and EPT events.

Elsewhere, the $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better, Erik Seidel looks for bracelet #9 as he sits in 2nd place, with only 9 remaining. Known as one of the 'nice guys of poker', Siedel will be the clear fan favorite at the final table, as he has been using break time, and even time during the hands he folds, to sign autographs for fans. Although the Phil Hellmuth's have their place, it's guys like Siedel, Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu who will be the true ambassador's of the game.