These days, when you're talking to someone about the World Series, there's only a 50% chance that you're discussing the October baseball classic, and if you're a poker player, the odds that you're not talking about baseball are closer to 100%. About the only thing these two events have in common, is that they're both broadcast in October. As with all things poker that I know little or nothing about, I did a web search on the term, "World Series of Poker" and as of this writing, came up with almost sixteen million results, and Doyle Brunson winning about as many championship bracelets.

Of course, if you're like me, your first exposure to this World Series was not online, but while channel surfing and cruising by ESPN, and seeing cards up on the screen and thinking to yourself, "They can broadcast poker? Cool!!" When you stopped and watched for more than 30 seconds, you probably put yourself in one of the player's seats with a hand you liked. A few minutes later, you might've shouted at the screen, "Don't fold you idiot, he's bluffing!!!" When they signed off for the day, you were thinking, "Hey, I want to see more…." Depending on what year that was, and if you had happened upon a final poker table, you inevitably convinced yourself that if an accountant could win that kind of money, that you could, too!!!

The 37th Annual World Series of Poker is taking place as I write this, and the Main Event which culminates over a month long of pure poker excitement starts July 28th. For a mere $10,000, you too can have a chance to test your poker playing skill against what will surely be over 8,000 others, to win millions. What you do with your millions after that, is up to you. Me, I'm going to make movies.

But I'm ahead of myself. Having made the decision that you want to play in poker's most prestigious event that will draw players from literally all over the world, next you have to figure out where to come up with the entry fee. That's easy, as almost everywhere you turn, both online and off, you're being offered seats to the Main Event. I even played in a charity tournament this year, where the Grand Prize was, you guessed it, a seat at the Main Event. I placed 36th, so, I won't be there. Some sites are even offering room and board as well.
Of course, this precludes that you're good enough to play. The odds against winning the Main Event this year will be over 8,000 to 1, and the odds of even cashing will be approximately 800 to 1. And that's if you get there.

It wasn't always this hard. In 2003, a mere 839 players vied for the $2.5 Million first prize, and the 24K gold bracelet that comes along with. The reason we have ten times that number this year, is because back then, a guy named Chris Moneymaker won, and he got there by playing a $40 satellite at one of the online sites I alluded to above. I'm sure you've seen the commercials. Three years later, the first prize is four times as big.

So, how do you get there? "Practice." Some things to remember when preparing for an event like this. It's a marathon, not a sprint. The exciting twelve hours you've seen on tv is compressed from what this year will be a grueling ten day grind fest. If you try to learn from watching tv exclusively, all you'll be preparing yourself for is an early exit. Also, it's not broadcast live, so, if you're waiting 'til October to play, you'll miss it. There will probably be as many media people there, as well as actual players, so, it will be crowded. Although, I will be safe at home, following the voluminous online coverage, that will be provided by these self same media types. The difference here as opposed to other sports is, you may end up at a table going all in against them.

With the odds incredibly stacked against you in the first place, why would you want to take more than a week away from your life? There's a line in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indy says, "Fortune and glory kid. Fortune and glory."

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Next time, we’ll talk about poker. Be there. Aloha.

Mike "Matches" Malone


Editor's note: Matches Malone has been writing for us for a couple years now, and you can read his blog notes at @ PokerAllStar.com

In the packet from my editor this month, I found a copy of Annie Duke’s "Beginner’s Guide to Texas Hold’em." This video is for beginners. It is oriented toward the mechanics of play more than strategy or tactics. It has value for three groups; a novice home game, someone about to play their first live game at a public card room or to an organizer that wants to run a Hold’em tournament to raise funds. It presents the proper etiquette and mechanics of the game. She also covers; odds, pot odds, a very basic beginner strategy and home tournaments.

For the home game the examples of string bets, why you don’t splash the pot, and just the general explanation of how the game operates will be useful. These concepts are important to keeping the game running smoothly and speeding up play. If you have to spend time reconstructing a betting round to insure the pot is right, you are not playing poker. If you can make the mechanics second nature, the game won’t deteriorate after a "few" beers. The discussion of odds, pot odds and basic strategy may help some players but I’ve found in the Novice game, any two will usually do. Well for many players anyway.

For the player about to make his first foray into a live poker room, buy, rent or borrow this video first. Most online players have no idea what a string be is, since they are impossible online. The same can be said for splashing the pot. It just doesn’t happen online. I’ve often seen new live players sit down and become embarrassed by the number of etiquette or mechanic mistakes they make at the table. Give yourself and the rest of us a break. We have heard an explanation of a string bet hundreds of times. Watch the video.

If your organization intends to run a Poker Tournament to raise money, with inexperienced dealers, this video would be a great training tool. If the dealers don’t understand the mechanics of the game, the players never will and the games will become disorganized quite quickly. Remember that these tournaments tend to be oriented toward having fun, and not the game. So, I would suggest you not try to strictly enforce the rules but try to adhere to these procedures but definitely use them as guidelines.

Okay those are the reasons to buy the video. If you are not a beginner, don’t bother. If you are looking for strategy and tactics, Phil Helmuth’s "Million Dollar Power System" is better. I haven’t seen Chan’s video yet, but based on their books, his video is probably better. Additionally Duke didn’t present very well. I don’t think she rehearsed without the camera running, and she should know that; determine, calculate, and understand are all synonyms for "figure out." Finally some charts or graphics could have really helped the viewer "figure out" some of the sections, especially the two on odds and pot odds.

GL

jb

Editors Note: jbharshaw has written articles for PokerNewsWeb for over two years now, and has his own poker information site at BestPokerGuide.net

Now, as per my rules, this will NOT be a bad beat story, however, a story about taking bad beats. A fine line to tread to be sure, but at the same time, I'm the writer, I make the rules, and that also means knowing when I can break them in the poker room.

That having been said, it's always been my theory that the way to avoid bad beats, is to make sure you don't take any in the first place. And I've done pretty well in the almost two years I've been playing holding to this strategy for the most part. Yesterday, it all came to a crashing halt, as all that avoidance finally caught up with me, as I took three. In the same tournament. The last one busted me out. Coupled with the one I took three weeks ago, that's like four bad beats in a month, which is actually more than I've taken in my entire professional poker playing lifetime. Pretty incredible, huh?

You might be asking at this time, how have I avoided taking my fair share of bad beats? Without giving away too much of my playing style, which I have dubbed, Beyond Aggressively Tight™ or, BAT™ for short, it simply means that I go all in a little more than the average guy. In a poker tournament, most that would go against me with a worse hand, will simply fold, as they don't want to risk all their chips.

Of course, this playing style annoys the hell out of Phil Hellmuth Jr, so, I must be doing something right ...

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Next time, I'll talk about poker. Be there. Aloha.

"Matches Malone"

Editor's note: Matches Malone has been writing for us for a couple years now, and you can read his blog notes at PokerAllStar.com

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