A little while back I talked about how eBay had an auction going for what many figured had to be a hoax; an official WSOP bracelet owned by the legendary T.J. Cloutier. The item was put up for sale by a pawn shop that claimed it had acquired the bracelet directly from T.J., a statement that has recently been confirmed by the poker pro himself. Well, that auction has ended and Cake Poker has scooped up the bracelet for a total of $4,006.

The bracelet was awarded to T.J. for winning the WSOP $5,000 no-limit hold’em championship, a feat that also netted himself $657,100. It is made of 14 karat gold and is diamond-encrusted, just one of the reasons why many players would never be able to part with it if they managed to win one. Cloutier hasn’t released an official reason why he pawned the bracelet in the first place, although it has been reported that he talked about it briefly with the producer of the Hardcore Poker Show.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “Yeah, it’s mine. I was short. I pawned it. I tried to get it back with my ticket but I was too late.”

Those following the journey of the bracelet wondered what exactly Cake Poker would do with the coveted prize, though the online site has already confirmed that they will be returning the bracelet to Cloutier after working it into some promotions.

“Since winning the bid and celebrating wildly, we have taken some time to reflect on our glorious new prize. As much as we would love to have a WSOP bracelet, or even award it to one of our cherished poker players, we can’t, in good conscience keep it from the man who rightfully won it, which is why we’ve decided to return it to T.J. Cloutier…just as soon as we have some fun with it.”

PokerStars is known for their Sunday Million Guarantee, but this past Sunday Million was a “Special Edition” with a $2 million guarantee. This turned out to be a record breaking tournament bringing 19,377 players to take part in the tournament. The previous Sunday Million record breaker was back in November which drew 18,283 players. With 19,377 players, the tournament had a very healthy prize pool of $3,875,400.

Going in to the final table celofyz33 was the chip leader with 37,219,555 chips, and hunter10999 was the short stack with 2,504,305. However, after all the action played out it was OX45AL who claimed the first place prize of $550,011.29.

After checking the stats of this mystery player who took down one of online’s most infamous events, it appears he is not the regular online grinder. According to Official Poker Rankings, OX45AL has logged very periodic play on PokerStars. In fact, he has less than 100 tournament entries from 2006-2010. Most of the tournaments he has played on PokerStars were between under $20. According to his online stats, it appears he has only played in one Sunday Million tournament, and was lucky enough to win it the first time.

Maybe OX45AL is a live pro. Maybe he plays on another site. Or maybe he is just that good. One thing is certain. He will probably be playing a whole lot more tournaments on PokerStars in the future.

The LAPC had a very successful Day 1 start for their $1 million guarantee event with almost 1,300 players. At the end of Day 1A, there were 117 players that got paid, and 18 players advanced to Day 2. This was turning out to be an interesting tournament being that a player could play all four start days and make the money every day.

The beginning of Day 1B was fairly successful for me. I went from 3,000 in starting chips to 8,000 in just the first level. The first hand I played, I had called a raise after limping in middle position with 10 9 off suit. I check called the initial raiser all the way down with just a pair of tens with over’s, a flush, and a straight possibility on the board. After putting in 2/3 of his stack in, the initial raiser announced he had king high. Coupled with good cards and great reads I continued to take down some decent size pots. My play throughout the day was consistent and determined. However, I managed to make two mistakes that really put a dent in my upward momentum.

One mistake was early in the tournament. I noticed that there was a gentleman to my right who was very tight. If he called on the flop, it generally meant that he had a good hand and he would see it until the river. I raised preflop with two suited face cards and he called my raised after everyone else folded. I flopped a flush draw and a gut shot, and since there was an ace on the flop I fired a bet after he checked to me. I was hoping to use the ace as a scare card and take it down there, but he made the call. The turn saw similar action, and I pretty much put him all in on the river. He called showing a pair of aces with a nine kicker.

Although this might have been a good play against another player, I should have known that he was the one person on the table who wouldn’t be able to lay down top pair marginal kicker. I definitely should have slowed down after he called me on the flop knowing what kind of player he was. The point is: It can’t be a good play if you don’t take the type of player into account.

In the middle stages of the tournament, I ran into another sticky situation. I had just been moved to a new table and raised in middle position with Ah Kh. The big blind called. The flop came K 6 3 rainbow. The big blind checked, I bet, he min-raised me. Since I had just sat down at the table, I didn’t have much information on this guy. I called the raise. The turn brought a 9 to which the big blind immediately over pushed all in. It seemed like he was representing a set here. I had him covered, but if I made the call and was wrong it would cripple me. I decided to lay my hand down in hopes of finding a better spot against him. Sure enough, he showed me A Q for no pair.

As it turned out, I never got another shot to take his chips. It was also the best situation I had to gain a big chip stack, and I had let it slip through my fingers.
The tournament fizzled out from there. My cards went dry, and I wasn’t able to steal any pots. I ended up pushing all in over the top of a raise with QQ and got called by KQ off. He hit a gut shot straight on the turn to knock me out 40 places from the money.

When it comes to players willing to give back to the global community, poker has always played host to some of the most generous professional in the world of sports. Some poker pros donate money outright, while others like Jamie Gold host a number of charity-driven tournaments/events. Jennifer Harman has always been one of the frontrunners when it comes to giving back, even more so now that she has agreed to donate 1% of her future poker earnings to the NephCure foundation, an organization that researches cures for kidney diseases.

“Kidney disease is extremely difficult,” said Harman, who has undergone two kidney transplants herself. “It is invisible, and it affects kids and adults alike. NephCure is trying to find an answer, and I’m here to help by joining ‘All-in for a Cure.’”

The charity program ‘All-in for Cure’ has been in existence for some time now, having been founded by Poker Players International. The foundation asks poker players to donate 1% of their winnings to NephCure, with dozens of other pros including Lee Childs, Matt Glantz and Frank Vizza also a part of the cause.

“It is great to have someone with the pedigree and reputation of Jennifer joining PPI’s pledge program,” said PPI’s market head Eric Siegel, who has a son with kidney disease. “Having her involved in this program is a tremendous benefit to everyone, and I expect it to lead to more players coming on board. She understands the responsibility to give back. By doing so, hopefully we can find a cure for this horrible disease that affects thousands of people.”

In addition to her new commitment with NephCure, Harman will continue to host a special charity tournament that benefits the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Model and poker player, Lacy Jones, has just become the new fact of the CPT. She will be featured prominently on the tour’s new online video network Canadian Poker Player Television.

In recent years the CPT has seen a decline in female participation, and they are hoping that their new host will help bring women back to the felt.

Jones seems to be very excited about her new career with the CPT. “I truly love Canadians and am so happy to be a part of the Canadian Poker Tour,” said Jones.

To cement Jones’ place as host of the CPT, she will be featured on an upcoming issues of Canadian Poker Player Magazine, and will be the fact of the upcoming Winter Freeze out to be held at Cash Casino from Feb. 24-28.

“Here is a girl that loves hockey, loves Canadian beer and is an amazing poker player to top it off,” said CPT President Kelly Kellner.

Lacy Jones was originally hired by a poker company to do modeling work. She then moved on to hosting for the WSOP and doing various poker spokes modeling. Over the years she has proven that she is not just a pretty face in the poker room, but can be a contender on the tables as well. She has had multiple cashes in the Borgata Open and has a WSOP cash as well. She even picked up a sponsorship deal from Bodog.

I can definitely appreciate the concept of the poker home game, as that is the way that innumerable players are introduced to poker for the first time. Personally however, I can barely tolerate them unless the conditions are absolutely perfect. The reason I play more online poker than I do live poker is because live poker moves too slow for my tastes. Players often take too long to make decisions and human dealers just can’t calculate things like side pots with the speed and accuracy of a computer. Now look at a home game, where dealing is normally handled in a community format where everyone takes a turn, including the people that don’t know to burn a card in-between each street. Ugh.

The next headache is the quality of players at these home games. I played in a few where some participants have needed to keep a hand ranking cheat sheet with them so that they can remember that a flush beats a straight. As a byproduct of their lack of information, you can count on them never making a smart call or betting the right amount depending on the situation. Sure it can be looked at as easy money as long as your patient, but I’m not patient, I need a certain amount of hands per hour and to have everyone at my table filled with at least a general understanding of how games like Texas Hold’em work.

So if you’re reading this and considering yourself a fairly informed poker player and are considering throwing a home game or helping a buddy throw one, take my advice. If you’re looking to keep the game competition and moving along, don’t invite beginners, you’ll be sitting there for 5min per hand while they’re deciding to make a call with third pair. Next, when it comes to dealing, always have two decks in play, unless everyone at the table is really adapt at shuffling quickly. The reason for two decks is that way you always have a deck shuffled and ready to go for the next hand, with one player shuffling the deck that’s not in use for that particular hand so that it’s prepared for the next round. Employ a card-shuffling machine if you like, just make sure there’s always a freshly shuffled deck ready to go.

The next suggestion is pretty hardcore and should only be used by those running a really strict home game, maybe even a home game tournament, and that’s to turn off any extrasensory devices like a television while the game is going. If you put a major boxing/UFC fight on the tube during your home game, the entire match is going to be slowed down due to everyone paying attention to the TV, which is fine as long as you don’t care about having a tightly run game.

Lastly, if you don’t already own some of the standard poker accessories like a dealer button, chip racks or nice cards, you may want to invest $50 to pick all that stuff up. It adds another level of professionalism to your games and will assist in speeding up things. Again, only take these tips to heart if want a home game to closely emulate the type of experience provided at a live card room. If you’re looking to just have a get together with friends, then play it as loosely as you want, just don’t invite me.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We’ve been seeing some fairly positive strides forward in terms of poker expansion across the US the past six months, with the latest moves coming out of Pennsylvania. The state has just passed a law that legalizes poker, blackjack and a handful of other table games at slots casinos, allowing the businesses to offer a much more complete gambling environment for their customers.

Residents within the state lines shouldn’t expect to be able to play Texas Hold ‘Em this weekend however, as the process to incorporate card rooms and tables in existing establishments could take up to half a year to implement. However, the Pennsylvanian treasury will be able to reap the benefits immediately since millions of dollars in license fees are expected to start rolling in right away.

The larger casinos in Pennsylvania will qualify for up to 250 tables, while the two smaller resorts casinos in the state will be limited to 50. A third resort can be added to the list of qualified casinos in 2017.

Other states have already been pushing poker expansion through other means, including Indiana where representatives are currently considering allowing riverboat casinos on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan. In Ohio, voters have passed a ballot to put casinos in four cities, while Kentucky’s governor is trying to put slots and table games at racetracks across the state.

“I see it as a border war more than a national picture,” said University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor Bill Thompson, an expert on the gambling industry. “It is the gambling war of today — three years from now it might be something else.”

Although Texas Hold’em is one of the most publicized games in the poker community, games like Pot Limit Omaha are beginning to gain popularity in the casinos and on the tournament trail. Great players learn that in order to be profitable they have to stay ahead of the curve by exploiting games with less savvy players. For this reason, it is beneficial to become proficient in as many games as possible to have full reign to exploit the weaker games. Following are the general guidelines and basics to the game Pot Limit Omaha.

Pot Limit Omaha is a variation of Texas Hold’em, but each player is dealt four cards in their hand instead of two. The same structure is maintained in which there is a big and small blind with a rotating dealer button. In pot limit players are allowed to bet up to the size of the pot. The same five community cards are dealt just like in Hold’em, but the difference lies in the way the hole cards are played. Players must use two cards out of the four hole cards in their hand. These two hole cards will be used with three of the community cards on the board to make the best five card hand.

One common mistake made by new players is forgetting that two cards must be played in your hand. For example, you are holding AcAsKcQc and the board reads Ks10h3s5s2s. It is easy to mistake that you have a flush since there are four spades on the board and you are holding one in your hand. In Omaha you must have two spades in your hand even if there are four spades on the board.

I’m not one of those people who sees the glass as half empty (or the chips half spent, as it were), but according to a new study involving some 27 million online poker players, Kyle Siler, a student of Cornell University, has deduced that the more hands of poker you win, the more money you’ll end up losing in the long run.

The research was inspired by Siler’s interest in risk handling – how people cope with uncertainty and the looming prospect of fruitful rewards. Naturally the world of online poker caught Siler’s attention, and before long he was scrutinising millions of online Texas Hold’Em games to retrieve the data he sought. And the results of his findings? Winning more hands means losing more money!

Perhaps Siler is onto something interesting, delving into the midst of a paradoxical fact of nature. He concludes his findings with the following statement: “People overweigh their frequent small gains vis-à-vis occasional large losses”

Perhaps the study merely shows that no matter how great a poker player you think you are, over-confidence can be a burden (something to bear in mind next time you experience a lucky winning streak.)

But that’s not the only helpful tip that may have come from Siler’s study. According to data from his findings, small-stakes online poker players seem to earn a greater amount from low pairs - sevens or less, when compared to medium pairs ranging from eights to jacks.

“This is because small pairs have a less ambiguous value, and medium pairs are better hands but have more ambiguous values that small-stakes players apparently have trouble understanding.”

An excellent Pro Tip if ever there was one and an interesting statistic to bear in mind when you’re next in the poker room.

While most other poker shows will happily grab whatever well-known professional players that are available at the moment to appear on the program, Poker After Dark (PAD) has tried to make a habit of coming up with themed events in order to give viewers more of a reason to tune in. In the past, PAD has used gimmicks like a table of all poker commentators or all former WSOP bracelet winners to draw attention, and this week is no different, as the cast of six is comprised of players with famous nicknames.

All of this week’s poker pros have made numerous PAD appearances with the exception of Annette Obrestad, who needed to turn 21 before she could come on the show. Mike Matusow, Antonio Esfandiari, Erick Lindgren, Phil Laak and Phil Hellmuth take up the remaining spots. The program will continue to run all week long and airs on NBC starting at 2:05am.

PAD was also kind enough to send out some fact sheets about each player so that fans could get better acquainted with the participants.

Annette Obrestad: (Seat 1)

- Nicknamed “The Huntress,” she is a 21-year-old professional poker player who resides in Sandnes, Norway
- Known as Annette_15 online, she began playing poker when she was 15 years old and amassed in excess of $1.75 million in online tournament winnings before winning the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe.
- In July 2007, defeated 179 players in an online tournament while only looking at her holecards once, which she says she did to show the importance of focusing on the other players on the table and playing position.

Mike Matusow: (Seat 2)
- Known as “The Mouth”. One of poker’s most recognizable players, named “The Mouth” for trash talking at the tables.
- Winner of three WSOP bracelets.
- Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $7.29 million.
- Released his autobiography entitled Check-Raising the Devil in May 2009.

Antonio Esfandiari: (Seat 3)
- Nicknamed “The Magician” for having been a professional magician before becoming a poker player
- Winner of one WSOP bracelet and one WPT event
- Career live tournament winnings in excess of $3.56 million

Erick Lindgren: (Seat 4)
- Nicknamed “E-Dog” and a very popular player among fans
- Won his first WSOP bracelet in 2008, and also made two other final tables
- Lifetime live tournament winnings in excess of $7.39 million.
- Author of the book Making the Final Table

Phil Laak: (Seat 5)
- Nicknamed “The Unabomber” for the trademark hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses he usually wears
- Holder of one WPT invitational title, and won the PartyPoker.com World Open V in London in October 2009.
- Career live tournament winnings in excess of $1.68 million
- Known for his humorous antics and mannerisms at the table

Phil Hellmuth: (Seat 6)
- Known as the “Poker Brat,” and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in July 2007
- Won his 11th WSOP bracelet in 2007, making him the only person in history to own so many
- Career live tournament winnings in excess of $10.99 million.
- Has made more WSOP final tables (41) than any other player in history

After some initial disbelief, it has now been confirmed that famed Los Angeles/Las Vegas poker pro Amir Vahedi has passed away due to complications with diabetes. Vahedi died in Las Vegas on January 8th, with first news of his death having been delivered through the personal blog of friend Mark Seif.

"Have spoken to two more of Amir’s close friends who have been in contact with Amir’s family. Sadly, they each confirmed the terrible news. Amir was a gentle and kind man who always made me laugh. I will miss him terribly."

Following the release of Vahedi’s passing, numerous poker pros posted their condolences on their Twitter pages.

"Amir Vahedi was one of the good guys. I'm very sad. RIP," Howard Lederer wrote.

"Rest In Peace my old friend...Amir was one of the nicest, gentlest guys on tour, and everyone loved him," Phil Hellmuth said.

"Wow. This is real? Few people showed me as many smiles and as much love as Amir Vahedi, in my poker infancy. Truly heartbroken," offered Joe Sebok.

Vahedi rose to poker fame when he made the final table at the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event, the same tournament where Chris Moneymaker helped launch all of poker into international celebrity. Amir also won his first and only WSOP bracelet that year, winning the $1,500 no-limit hold’em event. He was also known as one of the best poker coaches around, having a stable of students that included Ben Affleck.

One thing you hear the pros talk about in their poker columns/articles is how often they try and use their reputation and table image to bully a table and steal a lot of blinds uncontested. The only problem I have with the pros giving out this information to the standard poker player is that the typical player may not be able to identify when the conditions are right to try and steal blinds, nor possess the correct table image needed to successfully push the players in the blinds off marginal hands.

Stealing the blinds, for the most part, is a good tactic to use in deep-fielded tournaments and in games where the blinds can get relatively high in comparison to the average chip stack at the table. Your usual cash game normally isn’t the best place to aggressively try to routinely pick up the blinds, as the amount you can win normally doesn’t justify taking the risk. The same can be said for most SNG situations, especially during the early rounds.

You shouldn’t consider stealing the blinds as a strong strategy in a standard SNG tournament, as players have a tendency to defend their blinds more often in a SNG rather than in a large tournament, as they know they only have to defeat a single tables-worth of players, which gives them the extra confidence needed to want to see some flops, even if raised while holding a marginal hand.

When the blinds get high though and start becoming worth the risk in a SNG, now is the time you want to start paying close attention to how the others at the table are playing. Very tight players that are on a short stack will fold a lot of hands in the blind as they’re just looking for the one right hand to shove all-in with. Keep a mental note of what players have just 10 times the big blind, as these opponents will be very hesitant to call even min. raises unless they have a premium holding. These opportunities will give you the chance to add some health to your stack while putting yourself at minimal risk, just make sure that you have the initial chips to gamble with in the first place.

Phil Ivey and his wife Luciaetta Ivey ended their seven year marriage. They filed a joint divorce petition on December 22, 2009, and a Nevada judge granted their request on December 29, 2009. Luciaetta and Phil were high school sweethearts who tied the knot in May of 2002. Over the years Phil has credited Luciaetta with taking care of everything allowing him to focus completely on poker. The records pertaining to their divorce were sealed, and statements have not been made as to the reasoning of the split.
Phil Ivey has accumulated a great deal of wealth since the two have been married. He currently holds seven World Series of Poker bracelets, and has earned more than $12 million in tournament winnings. His online poker career is even more impressive as he has made over $15.6 million. This does not even take into account the amount he has earned in live cash games. It is not known if the Iveys had a prenuptial agreement or not.
It is yet to be seen if this will be a civil split, or if there will be angst amongst the two. Always one to put a brighter spin on things, Doyle Brunson made a statement on his twitter account, “Yep, Phil Ivey got divorced. Do you suppose he will be able to find any girl friends?” There is probably a line already forming in front of his house of beautiful girls ready to take the role of Mrs. Ivey.

If playing in live tournaments is your thing and you plan on making your way down to Vegas between the end of March and end of April, you may want to consider heading down to the Bellagio and jumping in on one of their legendary Five-Star World Poker Classic events. The schedule for the hotel/casino’s premiere poker series has just been announced and not without a hint of controversy. All 18 of the preliminary tournaments will have a $1,000 buy-in with rebuys. The move to include rebuys in all of the prelim events is quite a statement considering that only a handful of rebuy events were featured last year.

“We had some rebuy tournaments this time [2009 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, and we had a very good response to them,” said Bellagio Tournament Director Jack McClelland. “What it does is it gives the players options. The players who can’t afford to play in a $5,000 event or a $3,000 event, they can afford to play in a $1,000 event and still take a shot at the big money. Now the players who can afford to and want to reload to super-size their stacks, they can do that, too. Now the guy with the silver bullet, the one $1,000 buy-in, he might not get there as often, but when he does he might pick up a quarter of a million dollars on his thousand, as opposed to $50,000-$60,000.”

The series will kickoff on March 30th and will run throughout April until it concludes with the World Poker Tour Championship event that starts on April 18th, with the winner of that tournament being crowned on April 24th. The WPT Championship will have a buy-in of $25,000 with $1,000 super-satellites. Here’s the schedule for the entire 5-Star Poker Classic series:

Tuesday, Mar. 30: Event No. 1 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Wednesday, Mar. 31: Event No. 2 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Thursday, Apr. 1: Event No. 3 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Friday, Apr. 2: Event No. 4 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Saturday, Apr. 3: Event No. 5 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Sunday, Apr. 4: Event No. 6 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Monday, Apr. 5: Event No. 7 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Tuesday, Apr. 6: Event No. 8 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Wednesday, Apr.7: Event No. 9 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Thursday, Apr. 8: Event No. 10 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Friday, Apr. 9: Event No. 11 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Saturday, Apr. 10: Event No. 12 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Sunday, Apr. 11: Event No. 13 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha with rebuys)
Monday, Apr. 12: Event No. 14 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Tuesday, Apr. 13: Event No. 15 ($1,000 pot-limit Omaha with rebuys)
Wednesday, Apr. 14: Event No. 16 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Friday, Apr. 16: Event No. 17 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)
Thursday, Apr. 22, 2 p.m.: Event No. 19 ($1,000 no-limit hold’em with rebuys)

2010 $25,000 WPT Championship schedule:

Sunday, Apr. 18: Day 1
Monday, Apr. 19: Day 2
Tuesday, Apr. 20: Day 3
Wednesday, Apr. 21: Day 4
Thursday, Apr. 22: Day 5
Friday, Apr. 23: Day 6
Saturday, Apr. 24, 4 p.m.: Final table

If you haven’t been following the world of high-stakes online poker lately let me catch you up on the latest drama. Well known poker pro Brian Townsend was recently suspended from one of the online card rooms he frequents after he admitted to participating in data mining poker information on a potential opponent. Data mining is basically when someone extracts info from a database, which in poker’s case means getting a hold of hand histories.

Townsend revealed that he used software tools to gather approx 30,000 hands from a third-party source in order to prepare for an upcoming match with “Isildur1”, the online poker pro that has every high-stakes player foaming at the mouth to play him. Townsend received a 30-day suspension from the site and as a result a number of top online pros have chimed in with their two cents, with some talking to pokernews.com, as to the ethical use of data mining, considering that it is deemed illegal by practically all of the major online card rooms.

Andrew Robl

"What Brian did, although against the T&C, is a relatively small offense. He could have acquired the same information merely by opening the tables and watching the other matches Islidur1 played. He should be punished since he violated the T&C, but whether it should be in the T&C in the first place is definitely up for debate. I personally think this whole issue is being blown way out of proportion. In football, is it an unfair advantage for teams to watch tape of the games their opponents had played the previous week?"

Ryan Fisler

"I personally think it's a joke that Townsend gets a slap on the wrist, when it's far from his first offense. If anybody else had the previous offenses he had, then got caught with this, they would probably be banned. Double standards are never a good thing."

David Chicotsky

"I think this is minor compared to the previous offense that Townsend got suspended for - playing on other accounts!"

Annie Duke

"This reminds me of some of the stuff with imper1um. Just because you can do something online does not mean it is okay. I have heard arguments about account buying that since it is easy to do and relatively undetectable that it should be allowed. Of course, this is very fuzzy thinking. If (the poker site) has a clear rule against what Hastings and Townsend did then Hastings and Townsend are in the wrong, regardless of whether it is easy to do with the data or hard to detect. They signed the same ULA we did and, especially as Red Pros, they should be following the posted rules of the site."

Poker enthusiasts that play poker for the sake of trying to win money put a lot of time into finding games with inexperienced players that won’t guard their money as closely as others. This is why you’ll see a lot of individuals jumping from table to table in a card room, what they’re doing is trying to find the best table to sit at, a game full of easy money. The best time to find novice-level poker players is on the weekend as typically only the hardcore players hit the cash games during the week. However, the holiday season brings in a rush of tourism that results in card rooms filling with poker hobbyists that are just excited at the chance of playing. This is when its time to enter the waters with the rest of the local sharks.

Sometimes these poker tourists can be hard to spot, but other times not so much. Look for clothing and personalities that just don’t match with the usual demeanor of the card room. Most California natives aren’t going to wear head to toe Green Bay Packer gear, plus you can normally glean a lot of information about where someone is from if you’re the talkative type that has no problem starting a conversation at the table. Now don’t expect to find half a dozen of these players at your table, all you’re trying to do is find where the loose/unskilled money in your game is.

Now of course this isn’t to say that all out of town poker players are bad, but you will definitely notice the influx of those with inferior skills during the holiday travel season. Don’t feel bad about taking their money, they’ve already set foot in the casino. If anything you’ll be helping them lighten their pockets so that they don’t spend too much on the dumb items at the card room gift shop.

The most prestigious tournament series in the world has announced the schedule for the 2010 World Series of Poker. The 41st annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is set to run from May 27-July 17, 2010. It is the only tournament series that awards the coveted gold bracelet signifying the best poker champions in the world. The series attracts players from all over the world. In 2008 it was named the 7th most admired sports brands in North America.

This year there have been a few changes to the tournament set up, and all changes appear to be positive ones. In the past, players have had to endure long hours which can be taxing on anyone’s play. This year tournaments that start at 12 noon are expected to play a maximum of10-one hour levels, and 5 p.m. starts will play a maximum of 8 one-hour levels. This will give players the opportunity to get adequate sleep for the next day’s start. Tournaments will have the same structure of starting chips as last year which provided triple the buy in amount in starting chips. The $25k 6-Handed No-Limit event will be a new event added. The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino has advocated its entire convention center to the WSOP this year.

For more information on events, buy-ins, starting times and structures visit www.wsop.com.

Over the years I have watched several of my friends quit school and come to Vegas with dreams of making it big as a poker player. Some end up going back home within a few months after going broke, and others are better able to withstand the test of time. I am lucky enough to have lived the dream of playing poker in Vegas while going to college, but it was near impossible to do both successfully.

I never had a doubt that I would go to college, but by the time I was a sophomore at the University of Nevada Las Vegas I wondered if it was really worth it to finish. By the end of my sophomore year I had graduated from playing the college dorm cash games, to playing 4-8 limit in the casinos, to 2/5 NL at Bellagio. By the beginning of my Junior year, I was playing 5/10 NL Hold’em at Bellagio, and traveling all over the world to places like Germany, Amsterdam, and Africa. Money wasn’t an issue at the time because the games were soft enough that a good player could consistently beat the game. However, the long sessions and inconsistent hours really started to hinder my ability to make it to class.

One by one, over the course of a year, I would drop all of my classes. Some days I wouldn’t make it to class because I had just gotten off of a 32 hour session and was just too exhausted. Other days the game was too good to leave and I’d miss my lecture. It was apparent that poker had taken priority in my life. Some of my younger poker buddies would encourage the behavior saying, “Why do you need to go to school when you’re making so much money playing?” My older, wiser, counterparts would always tell me that I should finish school because poker would always be there. It was easy to blow off the latter when I felt like the money was going to continue rolling in. As with all good things, they must come to an end.

After a year of traveling, playing poker, and spending money like it grew on trees, a hard reality set in. Playing poker wasn’t always going to be so easy. By the end of the year, the economy took a dive. The games around Vegas became harder, as fewer and fewer people were donating their money to the poker table instead of black jack. A more savvy poker crowd emerged with the tank scarce of fish. It became common to play at a table with eight local pros; each of us targeting the one tourist like sharks ready to feed. Each of us were trying to stay out of each other’s way on the felt, even though it was vertically impossible with so many of us packed on one table. Then for two straight months I started running bad, which led to playing bad, which led to brankroll strains. To make matters worse, some major investments I made were failing. It was time to reassess my play.

After a great deal of thought, I decided that the best thing I could do for my future was to finish school. Education is the one thing that no one can take away from you. Also, if I were to ever go broke, it is a lot easier to build a bankroll back with a college degree than to build a bankroll flipping burgers. I knew that poker would have to take a back seat to school if I ever wanted to get through it.

The first semester of my senior year wasn’t very hard, so I was able to play a fair amount of cash game to supplement my living. My last semester was different. I had some intense classes which hindered me from playing very much. I bit the bullet and finished my last semester without playing much poker. I was living off of my bankroll, so it was tough to keep my new priorities in order while I watched my accounts dwindle down. However, it was all worth it when I finally graduated in December 2009.

Now that it is over, I am quickly reacquainting myself with poker. I’ve already made a final table in a WPT event at the Bellagio, and I’m planning on a great poker 2010. So what was the point of going to school if I just plan on playing poker? Security. Successful people plan for the future and protect their assets. Education is an asset and if there is ever a day I need to do something besides poker I’ll have the tools to do it. For anyone wavering on the idea of quitting school to pursue a poker career I would have to tell them to finish school first. You could always play poker online or plan a vacation to play in Vegas live. The opportunity to go to school might not always be there, so take advantage of it when you are young. Thankfully my older, wiser poker pals were right. Poker will always be there and Las Vegas will always have a poker game going.

I’ll be honest, there’s really no magical secret when it comes to dominating SNG games. Normally good hand selection compiled with correct bet sizes and a basic understanding of advanced strategy will propel you into the money in the softer single table tournaments. This isn’t to say though that you can’t give yourself an edge as much as possible, especially when it comes to the little things that happen in a match that may go unnoticed by other players.

When you’re playing in a live game at a brick & mortar casino/card room, you have the ability to pick up on visual tells and cues from the other players, a tool that is sorely missed when playing online. However, there are a number of telltale signs that many of your opponents will do without knowing/caring that can tip you off to the weakness/strength of their hand.

Remember that a lot of players will play SNG tournaments while other participating in another activity, whether it’s just surfing the internet, eating dinner, or multi-tabling numerous poker games at once. When someone isn’t completely focused on that one sole SNG table they’re going to act very robotically in their decisions. What you’ll want to look out for is players that check often and check quickly. This is a sign that they glanced up from their sandwich and had no interest in continuing to be in the hand. Players that exhibit this behavior will be of a low risk factor when it comes to trapping you, which means if you get into a heads-up situation with them you can bet regardless of whatever your hand is, as you will likely win the pot right there since they are playing with carelessness and predictability.

Another little sign of weakness is when players talk a lot about their decisions in the chat box. Experienced players often could care less about writing down their thoughts for the rest of the table to read as they want to protect that information and not give their opponents any type of edge. However, inexperienced yet bullish beginners will love to post things like “You must have AK, right?” in the chat box, which more often than not is them signaling that they don’t have a lot of confidence in their hand. Deceptive players may use the chat box to try and confuse others, but those opponents are few and far between.

Must online tells come the way of repetition and lack of focus. Spend a little extra time trying to predict your opponent’s actions and you’ll start to see a pattern emerge, giving you very valuable information to aid in your decision making.

Poker, in general, is not really the humor breadwinner of the sports world. Sure we might get the occasional chuckle out of a Daniel Negreanu-delivered Scotty Nyguen impression, but that momentary brilliance is quickly buried alive by the often failed one-liners doled out in mass quantities from dry humor specialists like Norman Chad and Gabe Kaplan, who still think its hip to serve up jokes that were popular long before the majority of poker players were even born.

Humor at the table isn’t all that stellar either. Phil Ivey often looks like he’s ten minutes into a hypnosis experiment, and Mike the Mouth continues to fail at grasping at the difference between people laughing with you versus people laughing at you. Still, there certainly exists some element of funny stories and moments from around the poker community and I’ve taken the time to compile some of the more entertaining snippets that you may enjoying browsing through while waiting for your SNG to start.

1. 10 Funny Poker Pictures

Okay, while none of these are LOL funny, it gets the same chuckle out of me as when I see Phil Hellmuth playing dress up while prepping for a WSOP Main Event entrance. The first image shows you what life as a degenerate gambler would be like (though personally I could always ask any one of my Italian uncles), and ends with a Tony G look-alike losing at strip poker, in case you ever wanted to experience a living nightmare.

2. Clonie Gown vs. Howard Lederer: Bollywood Style

This one’s good for a quick laugh. The gang over at PokerJunkie.com use some old Bollywood footage to attempt to recreate what was likely a conversation between female poker pro Clonie Gowen when she took aim at online card room Full Tilt Poker concerning contract disputes. All that’s missing now is a traditional Bollywood group dance scene with Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman and the rest of the Full Tilt crew.

3. Lose Your Life at Hold’em

Someone here took the time to act out what many would consider to be an impossible scenario, quad aces beaten by a royal flush. The hand is played out from the perspective of the player who holds pocket aces, flops a set, and continues to bet his most prized possessions on every street, all the way to where he bets his whole life once he makes quad aces on the river. He gets called and happily turns over his hand, but then devastation sets in when the other player shows a royal flush. When I watched this I figured it was a good, funny look at how we all should gamble responsibly, though such a hand could never happen in real life. Right?

4. Quad Aces loses to Royal Flush

When I first saw the title of this video pop up I thought for sure that it was going to be the same film that I had just watched. Nope. Just take a look at the face of the poor shmuck that couldn’t wait to get all his money into the middle of the pot with quad aces, only to have his opponent flip up a royal flush for the win. Yeah, that’s as real as it gets. Oh, and did I mention that this hand was played at the WSOP and ended up knocking the guy out of the tournament? We all have a bad beat stories, but that dude may be the first to have a tale to tell that involves quad aces getting cracked at the biggest poker series on the planet. Maybe I should write up an instructional piece on how to check down four aces just to be safe.

5. The Naked Poker News

The title alone is intriguing, that is as long as Gavin Smith and Barry Greenstein aren’t listed as the hosts. The Naked Poker News is a UK-based site that appears to be in the beta stages of what will eventually become a poker news program where naked girls deliver industry-related stories. Not sure how a pair of bouncing boobs is going to make a story on Jamie Gold’s latest charity tournament any more relevant, but I’m not one to get in the way of progress.