 Jay Darish of East Windsor, NJ is the winner of event #16, the $300 + (40) buy-in no-limit hold'em event at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City. The event's modest field of 296 players was due in large part to a severe snow storm the night before.
Darish attributes his math background combined with his reads for seeing him through the nearly 300-player field to make it to the final table.
Shortly before 4 pm, the final nine players of event #16 joined two other final tables taking place simultaneously in the ballroom at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City. About 25 minutes into play, Jeffery Greenstein, a 29-year old math teacher was escorted to the payout table to collect his $2,153 ninth place prize.
22-year old NFL assistant player benefits administrator, Patrick Reynolds was eliminated in eighth place a short while later. Eighth place paid $3,015.
Rohan Singh, a 36-year old real estate agent was eliminated after moving all in with J-Q suited against Kenneth Owens' A-10. The board completed the straight for Owens and Singh was forced to settle for seventh place and $4,307.
Owens was eliminated by Jay Darish after re-raising Darish's 47,000 bet pre-flop all-in. Darish hit a flush on the board, trumping the pocket nines of Owens. The 62-year old retiree from Bordentown, NJ took home $5,168 for sixth.
The fifth place finisher was 33-year old union electrician, Paul Molinari. Molinari cashed for $6,030.
Patrick O'Sullivan finished in fourth place and collected $6,891.
Darish soon eliminated Sachin Ramrakhani, and with well more than a 10-1 chip lead over Matthew Chin heads-up, made his opponent an offer he couldn't refuse.
"An extra thousand and I take the ring," said Darish.
At first, Chin was hesitant, but eventually decided to take the thousand along with his other $11,284 for second. Darish earned $19,811 (minus a grand)
"I feel great," said Darish after winning taking the last ring event of the Harrah's Resort Atlantic City Circuit. "This was my second major tournament since 2006."
___________________
by Alan Fowler - WSOP Assistant Media Director
 Mukul's brother, Vineet joins him along with event #8 winner, Josh Smith and Brock Parker at the final table.
Mukul Pahuja of Hicksville, NY is the owner of a new Circuit Event gold ring after winning event #15 of the World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City.
The second of two deep stack events offered at the WSOP Circuit at Harrah's Resort AC, the $2000 + (150) buy-in tournament attracted 112 entrants, including notable players such as Michael Binger, Liv Boeree and Brock Parker, who shipped two bracelets during the 2009 World Series of Poker.
Pahjua's win was especially impressive given that the 23-year old financial analyst finished fourth in the Harrah's AC Main Event the week prior.
Even more impressive is that Mukul's brother Vineet, also made it to the final table, giving a new meaning to the term "family pot."
Ninth Place- $6,518
The final table began at 2:10 pm with blinds and antes at 500/2,000/4,000. With the short stack holding 40 times the big blinds, action was slow in the early going. It wasn't until over an hour into play that the first elimination took place. Alan Colon, a 62-year old CPA from Oceanside, CA, moved his remaining chips all-in from the small blind and got a call from Manny Minaya in the big. Colon was behind with A-K vs. Minaya's pocket queens. Three jacks, a nine and a three on the board were no help to Colon and he was out.
Eighth Place- $8,691
Robert Kalteux was the next to be eliminated after getting it all in post-flop against Mukul Pahuja. M. Pahuja's top two pair was good to take the pot and Kalteux's run was over. Kalteux is a 21-year old online pro with over 500,000 in online tournament cashes. Eighth place added a live cash of $8,691 to his total.
Seventh Place- $10,864
Eugene Castro raised UTG to 16,500 and Mukul Pahuja re-raised from the button to 50,000. Brock Parker made it 115,000 to go from the big blind and Castro folded. M. Pahuja moved all-in and Parker called with his remaining 73,000. Parker showed Jh-Jd, but M. Pahuja was ahead with Ah-Ac. An ace on the flop and no help on the turn ended Parker's chance to accessorize his dual bracelets with a ring.
Sixth Place- $13,037 & Fifth Place-$15,210
Action slowed when it came down to six players, but a major hand developed when Minaya fired out 20,000 and Vinny Pahuja moved all-in as did with event #8 winner, Josh Smith. Minaya made the call and turned over pocket aces. V. Pahuja showed kings while Smith flipped over 8's. The board missed all three players. V. Pahuja was eliminated in 6th place while Smith took 5th.
Fourth Place-$17,382
The next elimination was dealt to Dean Schultz of Akron, OH. A flop of 3s-2h-7s had Shultz all-in with Ad-5d against Minaya's As-7c, an Ah and 10h on the turn and river were of no help to Schultz and his tournament day was over.
Third Place- $23,901
All-in preflop with 9-10 vs. the pocket 6's of Minaya, Eugene Castro saw a six hit the flop and was eliminated after no help on the turn or river. Castro, co-founder of Poker Players International, an agency representing players such as Matt Glantz and Robert Mizrachi, perhaps will look into representing himself after a strong third place showing.
Second Place- $30,419
Play came down to two at about 10:42 pm with blinds and antes at 1,000/5,000/10,000 and Minaya holding a marginal chip lead over M. Pahuja. Heads-up play lasted over four hours. After the first hour of play and with little ground having been made between M. Pahuja and Minaya, the two decided to make a deal. While the terms were not disclosed, it was decided that they would play on for the WSOP Circuit Event gold ring. The next three hours was a colossal battle as Minaya was unable to build on his marginal chip lead.
The stalemate finally began to break with blinds and antes at 3,000/10,000/20,000. Having already narrowed Minaya's chip lead, M. Pahuja raised pre-flop to 80,000 and got a call from Minaya. After a flop of 6c-2d-10d, Minaya check-called M. Pahuja 119,000.
The turn came 4s and Minaya check-folded after M. Pahuja fired out 470,000. A few hands later, Minaya raised pre-flop to 120,000 and was re-raised all-in by M. Pahuja. Minaya folded, and was down 2-1 against M. Pahuja with less than a million in chips.
Minaya managed to double up on M. Pahuja to come back, but M. Pahuja squeezed his opponent to regain his dominant chip lead. Finally, after 3:00 am, the final hand saw both players all-in with M. Pahuja turning over Ad-9h and Minaya showing Qs-Kd.
The flop was 7c-8d-Qh, giving Minaya the lead. A harmless 5c hit the turn, but an Ac on the river ended the grueling duel with M. Pahuja the victor. First place officially paid $51,169 and a WSOP Circuit Event ring. Second paid $30,419.
"I'm exhausted," said M. Pahuja after the win. "And unfortunately, I have to go to work in four and a half hours, but that's what the sugar-free Redbulls are for."
"Minaya was way way tougher than I though," said M. Pahuja of his opponent.
"Coming into this final table, I thought isolating pots with Manny would be a good idea, but he was owning me, absolutely owning me the whole beginning of the final table, so he was the last guy I wanted to go heads-up with."
Mukul credits his brother, Vinny for helping him improve his game. "Whether it's a brother or close friends, it's good to be in circle of good players to bounce ideas off each other and help improve each other's game."
___________________
by Alan Fowler - WSOP Assistant Media Director
 Winning one poker tournament is tough enough. But winning back-to-back championships during consecutive years is even more of a rarity. Trish Marks, from Covington, LA, just won the 2009 Bayou Ladies Poker Championship, held at Harrah's New Orleans. She collected $4,772 in first-place prize money, plus a gold and diamond pendant, which is traditionally presented each year to the lady champion. Marks also received a custom-designed trophy, donated by the High Heels Poker Tour, an organization which promotes women in poker.
With her victory, Marks became the first player ever to win two Bayou Poker Challenge events. This is the fourth year of the Bayou poker series, which is played each December in New Orleans. Last year, she topped a field of 113 players. This year, Marks was the last woman sitting among a starting field size of 41 players.
The runner up in this year's ladies championship was Daphne Taylor, from Richmond, TX. Last year, she became the first woman in the six-year history of the World Series of Poker Circuit at Harrah's New Orleans to win an open event.
___________________
by Nolan Dalla
 Chris Klodnicki, whose pedigree includes 2nd and 3rd place finishes at WSOP events in 2008 and 2009 and a deep run in the 2008 Main Event, added a major accomplishment to his resume when he took down the 2009/2010 Harrah's Atlantic City Circuit Main Event Champion Tuesday, December 15th.
The 24-year old poker professional from nearby Voorhees, NJ made it to his second Harrah's Resort AC Circuit Main Event final table in as many years, but faced a tough group of competitors, including WSOP bracelet winner, Farzad Rouhani, Kyle Bowker who finished 37th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event and Grayson Ramage, who finished 35th in the 2009 WSOP Main.
Name Hometown Seat Chip Count
Grayson Ramage Red Hook, NY 1 1,552,000
Chris Klodnicki Voorhees, NJ 2 927,000
Farzad Rouhani Germantown, MD 3 1,776,000
Eugene Fouksman Brooklyn, NY 4 327,000
Mukul Pahuja Hicksville, NY 5 652,000
Kyle Bowker Walton, NY 6 240,000
Charles Furey Bridgewater, NJ 7 570,000
Ryan Karp West Chester, PA 8 770,000
Wayne Lewis Galloway, NJ 9 260,000
The final table of the Harrah's Resort Atlantic City Circuit Main Event began play at precisely 3:00 pm with blinds and antes at 4,000/15,000/30,000.
Ninth Place- $27,505
Eugene Fouksman was the first elimination of the day after moving all-in preflop with Jd-Jh. Ryan Karp made the call, turning over pocket queens. A board of Kh-6h-9d-A5-9h was of no help to Fouksman who was escorted to the payout table.
Eighth Place- $36,673
2008 WSOP mixed 7-card stud/Omaha Hi-low bracelet winner Farzad Rouhani found himself in a quarter million pot on a board of 6c-Kd-5c-2s against 21-year old Grayson Ramage. Rouhani moved all-in and after tanking a bit, Ramage made the call. Rouhani turned over 6h-3h for flopped middle pair and a gut shot straight while Ramage showed Kd-9h for top pair. Rouhani missed his six remaining outs and was eliminated.
Seventh Place- $45,842
Kyle Bowker saw a flop from the big blind of 10d-6h-9c along with Wayne Lewis, who limped from early position. Both players moved all-in with Bowker showing 7h-7d and Lewis turning over 10h-Jc for top pair. Lewis' lead increased after a 2h, but a stunning 7c on the river gave Bowker the over million chip pot and sent Lewis to the rail.
Sixth Place- $55,010
The next player to be eliminated was Charles Furey. Furey, who final tabled the no-limit hold'em six handed event at the 2009 WSOP, ran his pocket nines into Chris Klodnicki's rockets. There was no help on the board for Furey and his Main Event run was through.
Fifth Place- $64,178
Ryan Kopp was the fifth place finisher. Short stacked, Kopp moved his remaining chips all-in with Ks-Jh against Klodnicki's A-7 off. An ace on the turn sent Kopp to the rail. The former medical sales rep turned online pro, added a live cash of $64,178 to his over million in lifetime online tournament earnings.
The remaining players went to dinner break and returned with the following chip counts:
Grayson Ramage - 2.7 million
Chris Klodnicki - 1.5 million
Mukul Pahuja- 550,000
Kyle Bowker- 1.2 million
Fourth Place- $73,347
Mukul Pahuja was eliminated not long after the players returned from dinner break. Short-stacked, Pahuja had it in with Ac-2d against Kyle Bowker's pocket 7's. Pahuja bricked board and the 23-year old financial analyst was out.
Third Place- $100,852
Grayson Ramage was the third place finisher. Having come into the final table the chip leader, Ramage saw his stack down to just over a million in chips. All-in with Ad-10h, Klodnicki made the call with pocket 8's and the race was on. The flop came Jh-9c-Ks. A 5h on the turn and 9s on the river both missed Ramage and he was eliminated
Second Place- $128,357
Heads up saw Klodnicki with over an 8-1 chip lead over Kyle Bowker. The one-on-one match-up did not last very long. The final hand had Bowker all-in with 5-7 off, dominating Klodnicki's 4-7, however a four on the flop and another on the river sealed Bowker's fate as the runner-up and Klodnicki was crowned Harrah's Resort Atlantic City's WSOP Circuit Main Event champion.
Klodnicki earned $215,915 for first, a $10,000 buy-in into the 2010 WSOP Main Event as well as the diamond-encrusted WSOP Circuit Main Event championship ring.
Klodnicki, who finished 12th in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, commented on the lessons he took with him from that experience going into the Main Event at Harrah's AC.
"You gotta forget about what happened before, any bad beats, because you're gonna get them in a big tournament like that," he said. "Be patient, be ready to make the big lay downs and get information on your opponents, it's not like internet poker."
On how he felt to win the Harrah's AC main event. "I feel great, I was having a pretty off year and this ended the year on a great note. I was starting to lose my confidence and this picked it up a lot."
"I'm definitely open to it," said Klodnicki regarding any possible future sponsorships.
"Maybe this win would help with that."
Still to come are 7 more events and 12 nightly (single-day) satellites which begin at 3 pm and 7pm.
The WSOP Circuit at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City continues through December 20th.
___________________
by Alan Fowler - WSOP Assistant Media Director
 Many question the use of the term "professional" when describing a poker player's occupational status. While names like Patrik Antonius and Scotty Nguyen come to mind when describing a poker pro, the term professional quite simply, refers to someone who earns a living from a particular activity.
The players at the final table of event #8 at the World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah's Atlantic City certainly fit that bill. One of the nine, Alex "Argentinaboy" Queen amassed over $100,000 in online earnings in 2009 alone, having just come off of a major online tournament victory in November. Another player at the final table, Josh Smith, shipped a major tournament back in March and has cashes in a numerous more.
Many of the players among the 352-player field of the $1,000 WSOP Circuit Event at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City shared similar backgrounds. With the largest buy-in of the WSOPC at Harrah's AC so far, the event drew a much more competitive field than the Circuit's earlier events.
The 54 day-two starters dwindled down to a final table of nine at 6:40 pm which pitted restaurant owner, Jeremy Maher against a table packed with players who earn their livings on the live and virtual felt. Although Maher had cashed in this year's WSOP main event and was near the top of the leader board, the lone non-pro was up for a challenge.
The final nine quickly became the final six, with the first three eliminations taking place within 20- minutes of play. After short-stacks Eric Cohen and Jesse Klein claimed 9th and 8th, Paul Richardson was next to be escorted to the payout table after suffering a monstrosity of a bad beat.
After a flop of Qc-9c-8h, Richardson called Maher's all-in. Maher revealed top pair with Jh-Qd, but Richardson turned over the flopped set of 8's. The table got roused a bit after a Qs hit the turn but went into an uproar after a Jd hit the river, giving Maher runner runner boat. The British-born Maher got the luck he needed, but not without taking a bit of flack from his opponents.
"Ship the Queen's chips did you now Gov'na?!" mocked Andrew Malott as most of the table and audience erupted in laughter. Maher took it in good fun however, and play resumed.
Sixth place went to Alexander Deutsch. Deutsch re-raised Maher all-in preflop with K-10 suited against Maher's pocket 6's. A six on the turn ended Deutsch's run. Deutsch earned $20,603 for sixth.
Andrew Malott busted in fifth, shipping his chips to Alex Queen in the process after moving all-in with pocket 3's vs. Queen's 6h-6d. The board was insignificant, busting Maher in fifth which paid $24,037.
Next out was Fatmir Cukovic. Cukovic, a 31-year old pro from Staten Island, lost a race to Josh Smith with 9's vs. A-Q suited after an ace hit the turn. A disappointed Cukovic walked away with $27,470.
The three remaining players were Maher, Smith and Queen. Maher busted after being dominated all-in with K-Q suited vs. Queen's A-Q. Maher did not improve on the turn and river and settled for $34,338.
Heads up had Queen with a massive chip lead over Smith but Smith got a little lucky after catching a king on the turn all-in with K-10 off vs. Queen's pocket 8's.
Down in chips, the final hand saw Queen all-in vs. Smith after the turn on a board of Ah-8s-Kd-8c-7h. Smith showed Qd-8d for trips, Queen mucked and it was over. Queen earned $41,892 for second while Smith banked $75,544 and the WSOPC ring.
Having come back from a huge deficit, and after getting a bit of luck after catching the king on the turn to cripple Queen, Smith's victory was a bit humbling for him.
"I feel a bad that I got a little lucky in that hand, Alex is my friend and he deserved to win."
But not too humbling.
"It still feels good to win the ring," he said.
Still to come are 9 more events and 17 nightly (single-day) satellites which begin at 3 pm and 7pm.
The WSOP Circuit at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City continues through December 20th.
___________________
by Alan Fowler - WSOP Assistant Media Director
 The fifth event of the World Series of Poker Circuit Events at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City came to an end shortly before midnight Wednesday, December 9th when Peter Campos, a 30-year old former military man turned online cash game pro defeated Poker Pro Magazine writer, Cris Belkewitch heads up for the win.
The two-day event attracted a field of 385 players, each looking to win a coveted WSOP Circuit Event ring and the $41,080 first place prize.
The final table began just before 6 pm with blinds and antes of 3,000/10,000/20,000 and action picking up right out of the gate with Stanley Kivel in the middle of much of it. A few hands after hitting his gutshot straight to double up his chip stack, he saw nice portion of it go to Peter Campo after calling him down to the river for a total of about 200k.
Minutes later, he moved all-in after a flop of 9c-7s-Jh with Ah-10h suited. Mike Beasley made the call with top pair, Jc-Kc. The turn and river missed Kivel sending the cigar-wielding 64-year old retiree from Long Island, NY out in ninth. Kivel earned $5,602.
Next to go was Ilya Soyfer. The 31-year old software integrator from Old Bridge, NJ suffered a major glitch when his aces all-in got cracked by the pocket fours of Peter Campo when a four hit the flop. No help on the turn and river sent Soyfer to rail in seventh along with $9,336.
A short while later, Peter Campo called the all-in raise of Charles Beck. Campo's jacks gave him a huge lead over the pocket fours of Beck. The 22-year old was unable to improve on the board and settled for sixth place.
With play down to five and antes and blinds at 4,000/15,000/30,000, the short stack, 83-year old David Ebedenbaugh decided to make some moves.
Ebedenbaugh, who had once proudly served in the US Army and saw through both the great depression and a world war, survived three all-ins. After his second all-in showdown, Ebedenbaugh got up to shake his opponent's hand before the table pointed out to him that he had actually won the hand.
"I won the hand?" he said, surprised.
The handful of spectators cheered Ebedenbaugh on. "Let's go pops!" yelled one railbird. Ebedenbaugh was finally eliminated however after his 6h-6s failed to hold up against the 8s-5h of Peter Campo.
Ebedenbaugh earned $13,071 for his fifth place finish; an amazing accomplishment for the octarian, not just because of his age, but also because he only began playing poker one year ago.
"Just a lucky dog, that's all," Ebedenbaugh quipped as he went to collect his earnings.
The fourth place finisher was Greg Fishberg, a 33-year old who formerly owned a business in the golf industry. His 10d-Qh failed to improve over Campo's 7's all-in. Fishberg took home $14,938.
With comparable chip stacks, the three remaining players starting talking deal, but Chris Quan, as astute a poker dealer you will find, held fast to New Jersey gaming commission regulations and wanted none of it.
"Guys you're going to have to step away from the table", he declared. "I don't want to see nothing, I don't want to hear nothing."
Gaming regulations are stringent in New Jersey compared to other places like Las Vegas. While deals and chops are a staple of tournament poker, state gaming operators cannot be involved in such arrangements in any way shape or form.
The three stepped away and returned a short while later. While the details were not disclosed, Mike Beasley said, "We just softened it up a little bit, that's all. We're playing for the money and the ring."
Play resumed with blinds at 5,000/25,000/50,000. After shipping a sizable portion of his stack over to Campo, Chris Belkavich, a 28-year old professional player and writer for Poker Pro Magazine, mixed it up with Beasley. Belkavich put Beasly in the tank for a while after moving all-in for 800,000. Beasley decided to make the call and showed As-10c with Belkavich turning over Ac-Jd. Belkavich held his lead through the river.
Beasley was crippled to under 200,000 which went to Belkavich after Belkavich caught a river straight with A-3 off vs. Beasley's A-10 suited. The strip club owner from Hollywod, FL officially collected an $18,673 house fee for the night.
Heads up was between Peter Campo and Chris Belkavich. The final hand came around 11:40 pm after the flop came 3c-Jd-Kd. Campo lead out for 150k and Belkavich made the call. The turn was a Qc and Campo moved all-in. After much though, Belkavich called with the rest of his chips and showed flopped middle pair, Jc-5c.Campo turned over Kh-4d for top pair.
The river missed Belkavich, earning Campo victory and the ring. First and second officially paid $41,080 and $22,780.
The Waterford, CT resident was indifferent about winning a WSOP Circuit Event ring, but had a change of heart after donning the beautiful piece of jewelry.
"You know, it wasn't a big deal to me at first, but it's kinda exciting to actually win one." he said.
"I've come so close in a few other tournaments so this is really nice"
Still to come are 12 more events and 23 nightly (single-day) satellites which begin at 3 pm and 7pm. The WSOP Circuit at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City continues through December 20th.
___________________
by Alan Fowler - WSOP Assistant Media Director
 This marks the fourth year of the Bayou Poker Challenge, which is held annually each December, at Harrah's New Orleans. It is one of the South's largest and most successful poker tournaments, and has awarded in excess of $8 million in prize money since its creation.
The first major poker tournament held at Harrah's New Orleans was called the "Cajun Poker Classic," which took place in early 2004. The three-day tournament attracted 536 players and inspired the casino to host more poker events in the future. Later that year, the first Bayou Poker Challenge was held, which consisted of six tournaments.
Next, Harrah's New Orleans became a charter member of the World Series of Poker Circuits, which officially started play in 2005. Since then, New Orleans has hosted the final stop on the circuit each year, which takes place in mid-May just prior to the start of the WSOP at the Rio in Las Vegas. The first two WSOP Circuit championships held at Harrah's New Orleans were televised by ESPN and were among the most exciting tournaments broadcast at the time. They still occasionally appear in re-runs to this day.
WSOP Circuit events in New Orleans proved to be so successful that a second tournament series was created, starting in 2007. This became known as the "Bayou Poker Challenge" (a.k.a. the Winter Bayou Poker Challenge), which has since become a December attraction. This tournament series is categorized as a World Series of Poker Satellite, since its Main Event winner earns an entry valued at $10,000 seat (plus expense money) into the WSOP championship, held the following year. For instance, this year's Bayou Poker Challenge Event Champion will win a seat into the 2010 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
Bayou Poker Challenge results and statistics are not included in the historical records of WSOP Circuit events. Furthermore, winners do not receive gold rings, which is the customary prize awarded for a victory in most WSOP Circuit events. Nonetheless, the Bayou Poker Challenge (BPC) has proven to be a popular attraction for many poker players, who mostly come to the Crescent City from the states of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and surrounding areas. The 2007 BPC consisted of ten events. The 2008 BPC included nine events. This year's Bayou Poker Challenge offers a full schedule of 15-events, the most ever offered, including a senior's event for the very first time. In addition, this year's series from December 8-20 includes nine nightly $200 buy-in tournaments, which brings the total number of competitive events up to 22. This does not include dozens of mega, and single-table satellites, as well as live action (cash games) held inside the 23-table poker room which operates 24 hours a day.
Coming up on Friday, December 18th Harrah's New Orleans will be hosting the Poker and Pigskin Showdown. A $550 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament will be held starting at 5 pm on Friday event, just prior to a big weekend of football games. Since this will be one of the busiest weekends of the year in New Orleans, football fans are expected to fill many of the seats inside the poker arena. On Saturday night, the (now) undefeated New Orleans Saints will play the Dallas Cowboys at the Superdome. The following night, the New Orleans Bowl takes place between Mississippi State University and Middle Tennessee State University.
All of the poker tournament action takes place inside the Harrah's New Orleans amphitheatre, which regularly hosts many of the most popular performers in music and entertainment. But in December at least, the real stars at Harrah's New Orleans are poker players.
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by Nolan Dalla
 A current search for the word poker on Yahoo returns 39.5 million hits, and that number grows exponentially everyday. Another 3200 plus listings on Amazon.com, although, some of those might overlap. Not to mention at least four monthly magazines covering the topic, including this one. Clearly, poker has taken the nation by storm. Or at least, gale force winds, as a search of the TV Guide site with the same word produces an average of 100 to 115 listings on any given day. It would seem that an entire vertical market has been created, and I've even jumped on the bandwagon, with my own T-Shirt line.
So, what does this mean to the beginning poker player? Well, if you were on a schoolyard, you'd be familiar with the phrase, Too Much Information, or, TMI for those that know. Of course, at the same time, you're reading this, possibly because you found it on a search engine, or better, have purchased my book. Why'd you pick this one, out of all the others available? Or, a better question, with all the competition out there, why did I write one? I'll try to answer those questions here.
But first, a word from our sponsor. Oh, wait, I don't have one. However, other poker players out there do. You've seen the ads on tv, and in the better Poker Magazines, both on and offline. All of them touting the latest poker site, or free signup bonus available. And of course, theirs is the best. The online magazines have gotten in on this craze, too. They tout all the sites you've heard of, and even some you haven't. And they've signed up as affiliates, therefore, every time you click on their link to the hosted site, and signup, they get a fee. And a percentage of all your future earnings. Neat, huh?
But I digress, on a recent edition of Poker Superstars, Doyle Brunson came on the air with the following advice, which boiled down to, "Read as much as you can." He might as well have said, "Buy Super System 2, available at a local bookstore near you!!!" Phil Hellmuth Jr. has published not one, but two books on the subject. I guess he felt the need to write the second one so that he could contradict everything he wrote in the first.
Now, let's say you buy the above mentioned books, plus a couple of others that are on everyone's recommended reading list, read them all, and absorb all they have to offer. Is this a good idea?
Well, I've played with the guys that have read everything out there, and even some stuff that isn't, in the various tournaments I've entered. You can almost hear the gears turning inside their head. "Now, Doyle Brunson says to bet three times the big blind, but then Phil's first book says I need to know what he has, however, Daniel Negreanu's latest column tells me to simply play the cards." And this goes over and over and over again. Usually, combined with alternating looks at their hand, and the board. Another part of this analysis might go like this, "Well, he slow played his aces three hands ago, which I saw recommended online, however, he's betting big this hand, so, can I go all in with my flush draw?" Almost like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, "On the other hand, he might expect me to bet the turn, but on the other hand, if I slow play, I might make more money, however, on the other hand, I can't check raise if he doesn't bet. But on the other hand, I could go all in, unless of course, he's bluffing."
Now, I've read most of the better books out there, and some of the ones that aren't so good as well. I even have a recommended reading list, if you're interested. They all have several things in common. They give you the hands you should play, what to do and how to bet when you play them, the math involved, and how to figure out what the other guy has, or in the vernacular, how to read the other players. Now, the problem here is simple, and why most of the poker books are flawed. They assume a 'reasonable man' argument, as applied to the game. Or, to rephrase, they assume that their opponent will play the way they do, and all their hand analysis bares this out.
So, I give a resounding, "No!!!" to the question I posed above. Why? If one guy tells you one thing, and the other guy tells you the exact opposite, who do you believe? What if they're both wrong? I alluded to it above. Not everyone plays the way the pros play. I can't tell you how many times I've seen guys bet out, hoping to catch either a flush or a straight on the river, without even a drawing hand after the flop. And catching. You won't see this recommended in any book. Or on any website. And yet, I see it all the time. OK, I do believe that all probabilities are 50%. Either something will happen, or it won't. And all the math in the world won't keep you from being sucked out on the river. However, I have to ask, "Where are these people getting these habits?"
Good question. I can only speculate, and you won't see that type of play recommended by me. At the same time, I'm not about to write it off with the cliche, "That's Poker!!!" which I've seen too many times in my life, and I've only been playing in No Limit Tournaments for around eight months as I write this. My only explanation can be online freerolls, or loose home games. I've also heard the term "No Fold 'Em Hold 'Em" around the lower limit tables. Limp in, and see a flop. If you don't get a piece of it, muck and wait for the next hand. Repeat. And if you're betting with play money, you can experiment, and go all in pre flop every hand. A strategy I'm particularly fond of, and have seen on more than one occasion, is the rich housewife that doesn't know what to do with her money. Their strategy boils down to, find at least one face card, and bet it all the way to the river, no matter if you pair up or not. Although, lately, one of them has gotten a little smarter, and she figured out she could fold when I bet her on the river. It's thinking like this that gets some into trouble, and it doesn't make 2 7 offsuit any less of a gamble.
The flip side of this phenomenon is someone who believes after having read all the books, that they know everything. You can see these guys a mile away, with their Ray-Bans, and chests puffed out. Baseball cap optional, as always. Now I like seeing these players at my table in the various tournaments in which I partake. Simply because they think know everything, doesn't mean they know what I know. Or, to put it another way, the guys that think they know everything, really tick those of us off that actually do.
72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.
e You next time.
Disclaimer: Mike's views are entirely his own, and probably reflect no one else's on the planet. The aforementioned T-shirt line has yet to go live, and the aforementioned book will be published as soon as he writes enough of the above type of opinion columns to compile into one. If you'd like to express your necessarily differing opinion to him, he can be reached at: Batman@azteca.net.
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