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I’m #1,454! In most poker tournaments, that wouldn’t be much of an accomplishment. But when the field exceeds 22,000, I’d say I did okay. The 2015 World Series of Poker Colossus event was a great experience. I had a good time, although I’m disappointed with how my tournament ended. I entered Day 2 with a big stack and busted 4 hours later after what seemed to be 50 bad beats. It was one of those days where you swear you’re done with poker only to hop into a game an hour later after calming down.
I made $2,125 for my efforts but, if not for a series of those aforementioned bad beats, I would have made a much deeper run. With that said, I’m glad I played in this event and it’s cool to be able to say I cashed in the largest live poker tournament in history.
As well-run as the Colossus was, and as admirably as the WSOP staff handled the mindboggling logistics, the general consensus is that there was room for improvement. The top brass at the WSOP, namely Seth Palansky, Ty Stewart, and Jack Effel, are widely respected for listening to the players and continuously working to improve their events, even calling the World Series of Poker itself “a public trust”.
The positives of the Colossus far outweighed the negatives and I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping to see it return to the WSOP schedule next year. If this were to happen, I would like to humbly suggest that a handful of tweaks and small changes be made to perfect this unique event.
After I bust out of a tournament, I want my money right away. Wouldn’t you? Unless I win the tournament outright, I’m usually upset following the final hand. So if I have to wait long to get paid, let’s just say I’m not going to be a happy camper. After I busted yesterday on Day 2, I noticed a massive line of players waiting to get paid. I decided to go home (I’m a Las Vegas local) and come back the next day (today) instead of waiting for hours. Thanks to WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla for the reminder:
Reminder to those fortunate enough to cash in Colossus….not necessary to wait in payout line if you’re in system, can cash out later
— Nolan Dalla (@nolandalla) June 1, 2015
As it turns out, the computer systems crashed and only a few players ended up getting paid last night. I came back at 9:00 AM this morning, and still ended up having to wait 3 hours in line before finally getting paid. I can only imagine how frustrating this process was for the many, many players who needed to drive back out of town or fly home to get back to their regular lives. Surely, additional cashout points at the Rio (or even at other Caesars properties) would do a lot to solve this problem.
Caesars Entertainment does a phenomenal job of putting together the WSOP each year. It’s a tough job and they deserve their fair share. Of course there are tons of expenses involved in running an enterprise that big. But I was a bit disappointed when I found out the payouts (I wasn’t the only one). It just felt to me that the house simply took more than they ought to have taken. And that brings me to my next point…
Contrary to popular perception, the WSOP did, in fact, release the payout structure for the Colossus prior to the event, but they made it a bit difficult to discover.
@Mike_McP @ianohara2 We disclosed it, as standard payout structure. We always disclose when deviating, like Milly Maker.
— WSOP (@WSOP) June 1, 2015
None of the players at any of my tables had any idea how much we were playing for until the payouts were announced on Day 2, right before we made it to the bubble. The prize pool exceeded $11 million, but “only” $638,000 is given to the winner (less than 6%). If the event returns next year, I would like to see the WSOP make a better effort to communicate and disseminate the payout structure to the players in advance.
The Colossus was an enjoyable experience but I was disappointed that very few big-name pros played. I got the impression that some pros avoided the event because they thought a $565 buy-in was beneath them (or perhaps just too much of a crapshoot?). I feel that the Colossus could be improved if there were more “household name” players such as Ivey, Negreanu, etc. competing.
How could the WSOP entice the heavy hitters to play the Colossus? Simple: Put a $100 bounty on a few dozen or so big-name players and put their faces on all Colossus marketing materials. Getting the big names into this event would do wonders for the long-term success of this event.
To me, it seems like a no-brainer that a few thousand dollars less in rake for the WSOP would end up providing huge ROI. Bring on the bounties!
Those of you who played in the Colossus must surely understand my frustration with the bathroom setup on breaks. I didn’t even bother standing in line on breaks. I just held it in until the end of the day. I’m sure my bladder hates me right about now. I really don’t know how to improve this situation because there are only so many toilets in the Rio to service thousands of players all at once. However, I would like to see the WSOP staff figure something out and improve the situation by next year. If not, I’m bringing my own portable toilet to the table.
I want to reiterate what I said at the outset: I had a great time playing the Colossus. It was a great experience and I’m glad I entered. Thanks again to the WSOP for making it happen. Just as we poker players are constantly challenged to up our game for peak performance, the WSOP can also work to up their game in time for (hopefully) running Colossus II next year.
I’d love to hear what other Colossus entrants thought of the event and what you think of my suggestions. Do you agree? Disagree?
Do you have any other ideas as for how to improve this event? Go ahead and comment below or on the Cardplayer Lifestyle Facebook page.
In November 2013, Carl Dunn hiked to the top of Camelback Peak, a prominent landmark outside Phoenix, Arizona, and did some thinking. Life had been rough lately. Only a few years earlier, as a teenager growing up in the Bay Area, he had struggled with depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. He’d been to jail for selling weed. And his most recent goal, to play poker professionally in Las Vegas, had failed. On the mountain that day, peering down at the city, Carl rededicated himself to a mindset of positivity, goal-setting, and hard work. He had $20 to his name.
When we met last November at Lemongrass, a Thai restaurant in the Aria Casino, Carl was wrapping up a successful 2014. He had earned $24 an hour over 1,593 hours at the poker tables; just under $40,000 for the year. More importantly, Carl felt that he had found direction in life as an artist, musician, and poker player. He had committed to new challenges: Run a marathon. Start a band. Make art. Travel to Europe. Go on more dates. Help the homeless. “I am not perfect by any means,” Carl said, “but I feel good if I make a little progress every day towards becoming a better person.”
How did you get into poker?
I found poker in 2008, after I got kicked out of the Army for a DUI. I drove cross-country from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, back to the Bay Area. A few of my friends invited me to their home game, which was just a bunch of drug dealers hanging out. I was a pot dealer for about ten months. I tried getting a real job, but it’s kind of hard when you’ve been kicked out of the army. All of my friends were potheads, so I was basically a mailman. One day I got pulled over, the police searched my car, I had baggies and maybe an ounce of weed and a pair of brass knuckles I’d won playing poker. So they busted me and I took a plea deal of four months in county jail.
How was that experience?
Jail sucks. It’s a lot like the Army except that you don’t have to do anything. You’re sitting in a barracks with 50 dudes all day. We played a lot of cards. When I was in jail I was thinking about poker a lot, I was reading a lot of books, and I started to get better.
When you got out, you wrote, ‘I spent 2010 living virtually busto. I filled out 400 job apps but only got five interviews, which led to nothing.’ Was the big hurdle the felony on your record?
I guess. Maybe a lack of job experience or the bad economy. I’m just glad that I found poker. I deposited $50 on Full Tilt, started with one-cent/two-cent, and got to about ten-cent/twenty-five cent. And so when Black Friday hit in 2011 I was like, Damn.
Was it hard for you to transition from online to live poker?
It wasn’t really hard at all. I felt like what I learned online gave me a big step ahead when I played live. I had played hundreds of thousands of hands, so I had experience in five months what most people don’t play in a lifetime, so I felt that gave me a big edge.
You had the option to stay in the Bay Area. You could’ve gone anywhere, if you were feeling adventurous. Why Vegas?
Games 24/7. There’s like 50 poker rooms in Vegas. I like the hot climate and wanted to get out of the Bay Area for a while.
I played my guitar on the pedestrian bridges for tips for six hours a day and took $100 shots at $1/2 whenever I had money to spare after rent and food.
Carl grinding at Aria
So many people have preconceptions of poker in Vegas. Now that you’ve been grinding the low-stakes games here for almost three years, what’s your impression of the poker scene?
People get wrapped up in debating the location of the best games, but I really think it’s more about table selection than about being in a certain city. Vegas affords the ability, if you’re at a bad table, to choose from 10 others. If you can’t find weak players, you move on.
What are you looking for when you table select?
Mostly, watch a few hands. Sometimes it only takes one hand to see who’s most likely going to go broke. If the blinds are getting chopped, it’s not a good table.
At the table, if people ask what do you do for a living, what do you tell them?
I usually say a musician or an artist. Some people know I’m a grinder, but there’s no reason to advertise it. Plus, I don’t really feel that it’s my identity. I just happen to play poker. And it’s probably bad for business if I say, ‘I’m trying to get every last one of your chips!
Here in the Aria, how many locals do you recognize?
About 20-30%. There’s a lot of grinders and a lot of tourists. And ‘tourist’ isn’t synonymous with a bad player. A lot of tourists are solid players and there are lots of locals who are terrible. So the challenge is figuring out each individual’s story.
What’s the end game? Are you trying to build to play $2/5 or $5/10 or $10/20?
I’m comfortable playing $2/5, occasionally $5/10. I don’t see myself playing higher than that because I don’t need much money.
So you don’t play poker for the money? Is the money the means to an end?
I just view it like a job. But I also sell my paintings, I play my guitar on the Strip. I have something to fall back on now, so I’m not too worried if I go broke. I was broke a year ago and I figured it out on my own.
That can be one good thing about going busto, or being in a downswing, is that you’ll have experienced it and will be stronger in the future.
Yeah. You should expect it. Even before you jump in, you should know that you’re not always going to win.
Why do you think your first shot in Vegas didn’t work out?
I just wasn’t prepared. I went on a $5K downswing and I didn’t have enough money to keep going. And I had some leaks in my game that I needed to work on.
When you were busto, how did you grind once you got back in Vegas? Were you staked?
I had less than $20 cash and a $500 credit line with my bank already tapped out. This time I really wanted to be self-sufficient and grind back up without being staked like earlier in the year. So I played my guitar on the pedestrian bridges for tips for six hours a day and took $100 shots at $1/2 whenever I had money to spare after rent and food. Poker didn’t really start working out again until mid-December, but after that things have been alright.
What impacted your success this second time around?
You’ve got to put in the hours. It can be kind of hard being your own boss because no one really cares if you succeed or not. I also set goals. I don’t live up to them as much as I’d like to, but it’s good to push yourself to put in hours, play well, receive feedback on hand histories, and help others out.
Your poker goals thread used to be pretty results-oriented. Recently, though, you decided not to include winrate stats because, in your words, ‘it’s not something that I really care about. I play poker for the freedom; any money I make I’m happy with. I’m just going to focus on the quality and quantity of volume.’ Has this shift in emphasis helped you?
Definitely. I’ve never had a lot of money, and I don’t know what I’d do with it if I did. But the freedom—that’s more important than the money. I used to post how much I won every session. Now I ask, ‘what am I trying to accomplish through poker?’ I’d like to get into coaching. I was thinking about putting together some lessons on the fundamentals of poker. I have four years experience, so I feel like I have something that I can offer other people.
What else are you trying to accomplish through poker?
Since I’ve moved to Vegas I’ve been playing guitar on the Strip, which is nice, but one of my goals is to start a band. My last band was hardcore punk — like three-chord progressions, really fast — but I want to be in something a bit more technical, like metal.
Carl on guitar
You seem proficient as a lead guitarist.
Yeah, I play rhythm but I can rip out and improvise pretty well.
You also started a charity group for poker players, with an emphasis on helping the homeless.
Yeah, I’ve talked to some players in Las Vegas to see if anyone wants to roll with me down the Strip and hand out sandwiches. I don’t really believe in monetary contribution because they’d buy drugs or alcohol, which perpetuates the situation, but I was thinking about offering some life advice, like inspirational quotes, to help people get back on their feet. Because a lot of people, once you get down that low, you’re kind of stuck in a lower consciousness.
How has your painting been going? Have you always been painting?
I don’t really have any formal art training besides a handful of classes in high school. Lately I’ve been experimenting with the interplay of colors and motifs. I’ve done a few landscapes too. I really enjoy abstract painting because it comes from an inner imaginary and sometimes subconscious world of the mind and each piece is different and conveys a distinct message. I know I have plenty of room to improve and grow as an artist.
It sounds like this has been a good year.
I’m content in life at the moment. Everything is going pretty smoothly and I’m making gradual progress on all my goals. I’m stoked to continue my journey wherever it may take me. I feel I still have a lot of untapped potential.
With the World Series of Poker quickly approaching, a lot of poker fans are feeling the excitement for the biggest event of the year and are looking forward to seeing their favorites chasing coveted gold bracelets. Not unlike in other sports, people love to cheer on their fellow countrymen, and the Irish often figure as some of the most boisterous fans out there. To get the poker juices flowing for all the Ireland supporters out there, here’s a list of 7 top Irish poker pros to keep an eye on during the upcoming 2015 WSOP.
Hailing from Belfast and currently living in Dublin, Andy Black is the name that deserves to be mentioned first. Topping the earners list for Ireland and with 24 WSOP cashes, Black always represents a force to be reckoned with at the tables. Although still looking for his first bracelet, he has amassed just shy of $2.3 million in WSOP earnings. The lion’s share of that money came from Black’s fifth place finish in the Main Event back in 2005. That finish, combined with several more deep runs in the Series, makes the Irishman a very serious threat to win a bracelet in 2015.
Although he is ranked “just” 15th on the Ireland All-Time Money List, O’Leary already has a WSOP bracelet to his name, which he won back in 2007. Apart from earning him upwards of $727,000, this victory also landed him a sponsorship deal with biggest Irish online poker site Paddy Power Poker (which lasted until 2009). O’Leary hasn’t notched too many results since according to his Hendon Mob page [Ed. Note: As he quit poker back in 2009], but 2015 is as good year as any to stage a big comeback 🙂
One of the legends of the Irish poker scene, Padraig Parkinson will certainly be closely watched and rooted for by many fellow countrymen. Fifth on the Ireland’s All-Time Money List and with close to $1.8 million in live tournament earnings, Padraig still has yet to taste the sweet flavor of a gold bracelet win, though he came agonizingly close twice. The first such time was in 1999, when he finished third in the Main Event. Then, in 2006, he final tabled a $1,500 Hold’em event, eventually finishing third once again. A colorful character at and away from the tables, Parkinson will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on if he makes an appearance at this year’s WSOP.
Padraig Parkinson | Image credit: Hendon Mob
Another Belfast-born WSOP bracelet winner, Marty Smyth trails only Andy Black on Ireland’s All-Time Money List. His victory in the $10K PLO Championship event in 2008 earned him $860,000 and poker’s most coveted trinket. Smyth hasn’t had any deep WSOP runs since ’08 so he’s “due” to shine again. Interestingly enough, his WSOP victory is only his third-largest cash, overshadowed by his wins at the Paddy Power Irish Open in 2007 and the 2008 Sky Sports Poker Million Final.
O’Kearney may not be from a poker playing background, but nobody would be surprised to see him at this year’s World Series. A former professional athlete, ‘Doke’ has that natural competitiveness found in most top sportsmen and the poker arena is a great place for such spirits. Despite only playing poker “on the side” during his sports career, he has lifetime earnings of $420,000. A WSOP bracelet would certainly be a welcome addition to his collection of trophies. Now that he has more time to devote to poker, he just might grab one.
Dara ‘Doke’ O’Kearney | Image credit: Hendon Mob
Any article about top Irish poker players would pretty much lose it’s credibility if it failed to mention the proud father-son duo of Donnacha and Eoghan O’Dea. In terms of their World Series of Poker records, these two have achieved something that has never been achieved before nor repeated since: they have both made it to the WSOP Main Event final table, but unfortunately neither of them was able to translate that success into the most coveted bracelet of them all.
With all of his achievements at the felt, Donnacha has (unfortunately) become more well-known for being “epically slowrolled” at the most recent Irish Open. At least karma won out.
In any event, O’Dea Sr. had his shot at the title back in 1983 but couldn’t make it further than sixth place. Twenty-eight years later, in 2011, his son Eoghan found himself in much the same spot, although he had to navigate through a much bigger starting field to get there. Not one to “overshadow” his father, he finished in the exactly same spot, getting knocked out in sixth place as well.
If both of the O’Deas turn out to play in Las Vegas this summer, they will certainly seize the attention of all Irish poker fans as their unique poker story makes it almost impossible not to root for them.
There are a few things that happen when a new acquaintance or even a long-term friend learns that I write about the poker world for a living. After the initial “wow, that must be exciting” (it really isn’t, to be honest, but it does have its moments), the talk will normally circle around to the online game, which in the United States is in, at best, a state of disarray. If someone is particularly interested in playing poker online, they will eventually ask the question, “At what online site do you suggest I play?”
Since that dark day in April 2011 – Black Friday – this has been the question du jour as online players seek out that site that would replace the “Big Three.” Without PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and the CEREUS Network rooms (Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker), American players were hoping that there would be some rooms that, like the “Big Three” following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, would thumb their noses at the U.S. government and continue to offer online poker to a ravenous audience. Some such online poker operators exist, which keep illegally accepting deposits from Americans. However, when someone asks me that question nowadays – “Where do I play?” – I firmly and succinctly just tell them not to play.
I have never had a problem with online poker. In fact, I became a poker journalist over 10 years ago. Without the online game, that might have lasted 10 months. For the last 10-plus years, I’ve enjoyed the online game immeasurably alongside playing live. If you want to talk about the “Wild West” during the Internet’s lifespan, however, online poker and gaming was truly that in its infancy. In addition to the online sites that provided the games, there was also an explosion of poker news and information sites that came about almost simultaneously. Prior to the birth of the online game, virtually the only poker publication in existence was Card Player Magazine and you actually had to go to a casino’s poker room to get it. Within months, those print publications and online poker news and information sites exploded.
There were some problems with poker journalism that existed then and, even to this day, have their tentacles in the field. When it all began, the online poker news sites didn’t go the traditional routes when it came to raising revenues. Instead of having a sales and advertising department that “beat the street” to garner the normal advertising for the site (in gaming, it would have been casinos, gaming paraphernalia manufacturers, etc.), online poker news sites went the route of becoming affiliates for pretty much any online poker room that was in existence. By giving the readers of their sites an opportunity to sign up with these online poker operators through a convenient outlet (and offering very nice bonuses for doing so), the online poker news sites earned at the minimum tens of thousands of dollars from the rake that was generated by those players who signed up through their affiliate accounts. That money found its way into owners’ pockets and, to a lesser extent, those journalists who wrote for the sites.
Image captured from a related thread on the 2+2 forums
Therein was the main problem. Poker news sites and their journalists, given access to certain top players who were promoting online poker operators and other juicy segments of the poker community, became too close to what they were covering. In many cases, the “negative” stories about players would be quashed because they didn’t paint the players or the online poker operators that sponsored them in a positive light. In the most extreme cases, the policing of the online poker industry was nonexistent because the owners of online poker news sites weren’t going to bite the hands that fed them by even hinting that there could be issues with an online poker operator. This paved the way for online poker journalism suffering through the embarrassment of the Russ Hamilton/Ultimate Bet “Superuser” Scandal, the actions of Scott Tom et al. at Absolute Poker and various other significant occurrences over the past decade.
It wasn’t until “Black Friday” though, that there was a seismic change in poker journalism. After the crash of Full Tilt Poker – and the accusations from those in the poker community that the poker journalism field “should have done more” (this was a familiar refrain after the “Superuser” scandals as well) – some poker news sites actually were berthed that seemingly concentrated on just the “bad side” of the poker world. These sites concentrated on what might be considered the “dark side” of the game – the missteps of many of the professionals who make up the game today, the seedy side of the political controversy of the game, the deplorable way that certain online poker operators treat their customers (we’re looking at you, Lock Poker) and even the way that some of the most powerful sites in the game conduct their business. Regarding the latter subject, there’s been a tremendous change of heart with PokerStars, for example, which has shed sponsored players and key bonus programs for players as well as, most recently, making drastic changes to the way it works with affiliate partners. There are sites that try to cover the entirety of the game – both the good and the bad news – but it seems that those that “stir the pot” get the most attention. What was true then is still true now though; affiliate revenue still drives the online poker news sites and, thus, poker journalism today, for the most part.
A Seismograph (for those of you not from Southern California)
This all brings us back to the original question: what online poker room do I play at from within the United States? As a poker journalist, I’ve seen the entirety of the poker world over the past decade-plus. I’ve seen the good that it can bring to people and organizations and I’ve seen the bad in the lives that it has decimated. It has all given me the clear answer to that vexing question.
Unless you live in one of the regulated states (Nevada, New Jersey, or Delaware), there is NO ONLINE POKER SITE THAT I CAN SUGGEST FOR YOU IF YOU LIVE IN THE U.S.
Taking part in the festivities at an international online poker site not only exposes you to the form of gambling that is poker but also exposes you to playing roulette on a wheel you aren’t spinning. These rooms, while legally able to operate, are held to no level of regulation other than “we said it so you should believe it.” If everyone remembers, Full Tilt Poker once said that “all players’ funds are safe”. Roughly six months after Black Friday, their operations were shut down after evidence showed that the players’ funds were far from safe.
The same thing is now occurring with Lock Poker. After having not paid out any withdrawals for more than two years, Lock Poker finally shut its doors in April owing the players an estimated $10-$15 million to its international customers. Until the day it shut its doors, however, PLAYERS WERE STILL DEPOSITING ON THE SITE! The next online poker operation that the industry is looking at is the Merge Gaming Network, which seems to have some delays (anywhere from 4–5 months; the site says they cash out in 3–5 weeks) that they say are caused by “heavy action following the Super Bowl.” America’s Cardroom has been leveled with accusations that they have encouraged customers to lie to their banks regarding transactions. Even Bovada has had reports that checks sent from the operator have been rejected by banks once players try to deposit them.
Any knowledgeable poker journalist (or any other person who has been involved with the industry for more than a New York minute) who would suggest a non-regulated online poker room to an American player should immediately be stripped of their job. It is irresponsible to suggest to people that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, everything is fine and dandy (I am reminded of the scene from the classic film “Animal House” where Kevin Bacon is standing in the middle of a full-out riot screaming “ALL IS WELL!” before being trampled by a mob). It is irresponsible to continue to send people to online poker rooms that may be poorly run, at the minimum, or engaged in criminal activity (like Lock Poker; to knowingly continue to take deposits when you know you’re going belly-up is fraud at the very least). While I am all for caveat emptor, it is irresponsible to try to draw people to yet another operator that may abscond with players’ money. Besides, if you are a true poker player, you ought not be worried about how to get your money deposited with a site, but rather with how to ensure timely and proper withdrawals!
If you are located anywhere outside of the United States where online poker is regulated, I think it’s great that you can still play the game and I would encourage you to do so, as such regulation has made it a safe activity. Online poker has proven to be the great melting pot for our next generation of players (for better or worse, but that’s a question for another time) and it will continue to be as well. In the United States, however, we’re just going to have to wait for our state governments – or maybe (GASP!) the federal government – to regulate and license the games because, frankly, as it is right now, there isn’t an international online poker site that can be trusted. Thus, that will be my answer the next time someone asks the question of where to play poker online from the U.S.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this op-ed are solely attributed to the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
A brand new poker hand-matching mobile puzzle game just debuted today and it got me all excited. It’s called Vegas Aces – High Stakes, and you can download it on Google Play. Before I get into reviewing and explaining this game, I need to give you a little background about yours truly.
Everyone has that person in a group of friends that’s always on his phone – always texting or playing games while the rest of the group converses. I’m that guy. It drives my girlfriend insane, as I’m totally addicted to many different games such as Bejeweled Blitz, 1010, and Words With Friends. So when I was approached with the opportunity to review the app, my initial sarcastic thought was, “oh, joy, another game that’s going to consume my time!”
Vegas Aces is sort of a Tetris-meets-poker game. If you didn’t play Tetris growing up, you had a deprived childhood. The object of the game is to conquer more than 150 puzzles. The game starts off with easy puzzles. In fact, the first 15 levels are a piece of cake. The Vegas Aces tutorial basically walks you through the first few levels. You can’t advance to the next level until you’ve successfully conquered the current level.
Early on, my impression of this game was that it is a kid’s game. But, like many puzzle games, levels become increasingly difficult as you progress. By the time you achieve Level 18, you have to start using your brain. So how do you beat each level? By eliminating the required cards. Each level’s object is different. Sometimes you have to move drink glasses from top to bottom by making poker hands to remove cards that free up space for the glasses to fall. In some levels, the object is to eliminate a certain amount of a specific suit of cards.
Let me illustrate with some examples, below.
In this level shown on the image to the right, the object is to eliminate all 12 cards that are highlighted in gold. To eliminate cards, they must be a part of any poker hand, minimum of one pair. As you can see, I can’t make a qualifying poker hand that would eliminate any of the gold highlighted cards. So, my first move would be to make a hand from the group of cards below. What this does is remove cards from below and then drop the gold highlighted cards down a notch. What you hope for now is to have a playable hand on the gold rows. The 12 gold cards must be removed within 20 moves or you have to redo the level.
Let’s take a look at another example.
The object of the level shown on the image to the left is different. To win the level, I must drop 5 glasses (2 green, 3 orange) from top to bottom. To eliminate cards, you simply connect 2, 3, 4, or 5 connecting cards together depending on the type of poker hand you are playing (pair, two pair, straight, etc.). The cards you play are removed from the board, which then drops the cards or glasses from above down a notch. I started this level off by playing the 6-6-2-2-2 (full house) cards from the upper left corner. This brought the orange glass on the left down a row. Make sense? This level must be completed within 25 moves.
I consider myself to be an expert on mobile games. I enjoy puzzle games and poker, especially mastering the statistics. So, needless to say, a poker puzzle game is quite intriguing to me. Vegas Aces starts off with easy levels, but I like a challenge. Fortunately, within a half hour or so of play, the levels become quite challenging, even for a puzzle and poker master.
To succeed in this game, you must make as many monster hands as possible (i.e., flush, full house, quads, etc.). By frequently playing just one pair, you will often struggle to achieve the goal within the allotted moves. The game moves fast and becomes addictive quickly. I eased through 20 levels in about 30–40 minutes.
The game is enjoyable not only because I love puzzles, but also because the graphics are quite shiny and the software appears to be flawless. There’s a lot more to this game than I’ve shared. I don’t want to give it all away. So I’m just going to suggest that you download Vegas Aces for free at Google Play. You can also find more info about the game on the Vegas Aces Facebook page. I apologize in advance if you end up getting addicted to this game!
Security is all about risk management. People take risks all day long. They drive their cars, fly, and partake in many other activities that could be considered “unsecured”.
Image credit: Calvinayre.com
Nonetheless, we still opt to participate in activities that are not 100% secure because we are so used to managing the risks in our minds. We drive cars because we assume that, statistically speaking, we will not get into an accident if we drive well. Furthermore, we assume that if we do get into an accident we will most likely survive. There are, by contrast, very few people who don’t drive because they simply don’t trust themselves behind the wheel.
Playing poker online entails risks, which I have written about here in the past. These risks mainly emanate from not playing poker in a physical environment, as well as the fact that we do not have any control over who is viewing our hole cards. Is it possible for online poker room employees to view players’ cards as we play? The answer is a resounding “YES”! Anyone who makes claims to the contrary is simply lying or not well versed enough in the basics about computer software.
When we play poker online, we trust the poker room operator to do its job right and not let employees like administrators, programmers, and managers cheat players via the use of some kind of a back-door channel or “debug mode” to view our cards and wipe out our bankrolls.
The scenario I have just described is not as far-fetched as you might think; in fact, it has happened more than once in the online gambling industry. Nonetheless, some online poker room operators have proven themselves to be consistently reliable and most people trust them to provide a fair playing environment. We trust those companies to monitor their own workers’ activities and to block any attempt from insiders to view our private data (hole cards, deposits, withdrawals, etc…).
In a previous article, I mentioned that if you want to play online poker securely, one of the best protective measures you could take would be to have a dedicated, separate computer for this sole purpose. The reasoning is very simple: the more software you have installed on your computer, the more potential avenues you open up to a hacker with malicious intent. Of course, if you are playing for low stakes, there’s not much risk. However, if you routinely play online poker for higher stakes and deposit and withdraw large sums of money regularly, you certainly ought to be as confident as possible that the online poker environment and setup you’ve created is as secure as possible.
Whether you prefer to ignore the reality or not, streaming an online poker session on Twitch by definition introduces the potential for additional security risks. These include:
When you stream an online poker session on Twitch, you utilize a third-party “encoder” to send the data (including your hole cards) from your screen to an outside server. This server is not secured by your online poker provider, but rather by Twitch. Furthermore, you must place your trust in the employees, managers, hosting providers, and other server support personnel working for Twitch.
Many who choose to stream their online poker sessions on Twitch understandably utilize a time delay mechanism. If, however, there’s an error in the setup, you expose yourself to the potential for accidentally live broadcasting your game. Naturally, your opponents would capitalize on this error.
When you stream a live poker session on Twitch, you allow anyone “in the middle” (i.e., between your encoder and the Twitch server) to have the possibility to view your transmission live, even if you’ve programmed a time delay into the broadcast that viewers see when watching your Twitch channel (on the front end). In other words, the “Man in the Middle” wouldn’t be relying on Twitch to view your stream, but would instead be taking the feed right from the back end network.
I’ve already written in previous articles about how hard online poker rooms have had to work to earn our trust as players. With Twitch clearly owning the designation as “poker’s next big thing”, we players cannot forget the inherent security risks associated with using the Twitch live streaming platform.
Based on my almost three decades of experience in the field of cyber security, I am of the opinion that it’s impossible to ever secure anything 100%. With that said, here are three questions you must ask yourself before entrusting Twitch or other live streaming platforms to broadcast your online poker sessions:
In closing, I’d like to remind readers that I am not only a cyber security expert, but I’m also an avid online poker player. I know that when I play $8 180-man MTTs, if I were to live stream my session on Twitch there would be no real risk. On the other hand, if I were live streaming a $400-$800 mixed game session on Twitch using a hotel Internet connection, that’s something that may turn out to be a very bad idea.
I’ve always said I don’t know how I would act in a situation I’ve never been in, and sometimes I get annoyed at those who criticize others for handling a situation they’ve never been in. For example, many sports fans love criticizing athletes who use steroids. So I went in with an open mind prior to reading Molly’s Game despite already knowing the basic story of how a so-called “Poker Princess” – Molly Bloom – went from cocktail waitress to running some of the biggest poker games in the world; illegally, of course.
But I wanted to hear her story, straight from her mouth, because the stories the media tells aren’t always the entire truth. Molly Bloom is a very attractive woman from Colorado who helped organize and then eventually operate a high stakes poker game at Los Angeles’ famous Viper Room nightclub (later moving it to Manhattan). This wasn’t an ordinary high stakes game. Tobey Maguire, Leonardo Dicaprio, and many others celebrities were regulars, along with wealthy businessmen.
What makes her story so intriguing is she seemed – at least to me – to have gotten caught up in the lifestyle and was faced with a tough dilemma: go for the money illegally (sort of) or get out with her morals intact. Easy choice, it would seem, for you and I. But, like I said at the outset, it’s probably a lot more difficult to make the right decision when actually faced with such a predicament.
BONUS: Read our EXCLUSIVE interview with Josh Leichner, the official poker consultant for the blockbuster Molly’s Game Hollywood film, based on the book.
Early on in the book, Molly – intentionally or unintentionally – portrays herself as an innocent, 20-something cocktail waitress who moved to Hollywood with the same hopes and dreams as thousands of other people. She then began working for a wealthy bar owner/poker player named Reardon Green who, for lack of a better description, corrupted her.
Reardon convinced her to help him run the game and then, months later, turned the game over to her. Molly didn’t speak highly of Reardon at first because he was rude and arrogant, but she clearly learned a lot about operating a successful business from him. After Molly took over the game, it went from a popular high-stakes poker game to the biggest and best game around.
She made the game great because she kept the pros out, worked hard to recruit new players, and kept the regulars happy. Anyone with a hefty bankroll who enjoyed poker and wasn’t a pro flocked to the Viper Room in LA and then The Plaza Hotel when the game shifted to Manhattan, New York. But there was only one problem. What Molly was doing was illegal. Hosting a poker game isn’t illegal. Organizing a poker game for profit is. Bloom was taking a rake – thousands of dollars – and that made the game illegal.
I don’t want to give away too much of the book, so, to make a long story short, Molly’s game was eventually busted. Although she faced six months in the slammer, she was given probation and 200 hours of community service. What I took away from the book most was that it portrayed a small-town woman who was given an opportunity to make more money than she could ever dream of, but had to, in a sense, become a different person. Would you rather be wealthy and famous or middle class and just a Random Joe (or Jane)? Morals versus greed. That was Molly’s dilemma.
As mentioned, I don’t like judging people through stories I read on Huffington Post or CNN. Truths are often fabricated and nearly every writer has an agenda. After reading her book, my opinion of Molly Bloom has changed in some ways and remained the same in others.
If you’ve only read news stories about Molly, your opinion of her wouldn’t be favorable. You would probably see her as the stereotypical greedy woman who only cares about herself and money. But if you read the book, you’ll see a completely different side of the so-called ‘Poker Princess’.
In my opinion, the money wasn’t really what mattered to her. Sure, she seemed to brag a bit in the book about the fancy clothes, cars, etc. she could afford to buy, and how she rolled around town with fat stacks of cash, but I got the impression that the need for money had more to do with impressing her family than anything else.
Her poker game was her release. She felt on top of the world. When the game was going, she didn’t care about her judgmental family or the many people who she felt had taken advantage of her. She was the HBIC. It was her game. She was proud of that. Here is an excerpt from the book that I found to be quite telling:
“The game was my entry into any world I wanted to be a part of. The hedge-fund world. The art world. I could do a game with politicians, artists, royalty. Every subset of every society had gamblers within it, and unearthing them was my specialty.”
– Molly Bloom
Molly’s previous life as “nothing more than a pretty face” seemed so lame. Her new life as a wealthy, high-stakes poker game operator with a pretty face made her feel alive. But with that newfound exciting lifestyle came risk. Not only did she have to keep the game on the down low to avoid the feds, but she was also dealing with powerful people who could harm her if she did something to upset them. She was robbed in her own place at gunpoint because she angered the wrong people.
This was the lifestyle she chose. To her, the reward outweighed the risk. Does that make her a bad person because she sacrificed her morals to make millions and try to impress her family? Not in my opinion. All she did was put together a poker game for wealthy people and take a rake. She didn’t kill or steal. I think Molly Bloom would be an interesting person to meet.
When it comes to books, I’m tough to please. I read. A lot. But I don’t read a lot of books anymore because I’m always too busy. I must say though that I’m glad I was given a copy of this book. The book gave me Molly’s side of the story. I got to learn about her struggles, her background, and the true Molly instead of the Molly Bloom portrayed by the media.
Molly is an excellent writer. This is a well-written book that answers all the questions about who she is, where she came from, how she became the “Poker Princess”, and why her poker game meant so much to her. I’m not much of a book salesman, but if you love poker (and obviously you do since you’re here at Cardplayer Lifestyle) and stories about determined individuals who defy odds to achieve greatness and then have their empire come crumbling down, go out and purchase a copy of Molly’s Game. You won’t be disappointed.
You can purchase Molly’s Game on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and other editions and formats.
I believe that the American Poker Awards (APA) will have a revolutionary effect on the poker industry in the United States.
The event is the brainchild of Global Poker Index (GPI) founder Alex Dreyfus, whose stated goal of “Sportifying Poker” is one that has been met with a healthy dose of skepticism. However, those who see little to no value in the project — arguing that it will do nothing to increase poker’s popularity — are taking a very narrow view of what Dreyfus is trying to achieve.
The APA is the culmination of a 12-year-long process (which began by accident with Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP Main Event win in 2003) of transitioning poker away from the fringes of American gambling culture and into the mainstream of the global popular consciousness.
It should be taken as no more, or less, than what it is — a long-term investment in modernizing the game, in an attempt to ensure its future growth.
Critics of the APA claim that poker’s inherently adversarial nature dooms it to perpetually exist in a “tragedy of the commons” ecosystem. They argue that in an increasingly interconnected world — where things are “shared”, “liked”, and “go viral” — people will simply not want to celebrate a “predatory” game where the goal is for a player to take money from someone else.
I have always found this a shallow, naive, way to characterize poker. It has echoes of the obnoxious trend in some circles to give out trophies for last place so no one gets their feelings hurt. The reality is that competition is about beating your opponent. Period. The form really doesn’t matter; the function is the same.
What makes sport different — what makes grown men cry when they even watch sport — is that it’s romanticized and elevated until it reaches near divine status. Part of that effect absolutely comes from the creation of spectacle.
I don’t expect poker to ever be on par with the Olympics for spectacle, but we can definitely do much more as a community to make it an activity that has a larger-than-life feel beyond just the World Series of Poker Main Event broadcasts on ESPN. I believe that this is what the APA is seeking to accomplish by bringing the biggest names in the game under one roof for a once-a-year, black-tie only, celebration of excellence.
Furthermore, I feel that the APA will absolutely serve to cultivate a perception that playing poker goes beyond the results an individual tournament or pivotal hand, but instead exists in the context of a larger, meaningful, competitive world.
The other “tragedy of the commons” comparison made by critics is that no individual poker entity can be expected to spend its time or money promoting the game. Nevertheless, even if we don’t expect anyone to do anything altruistic, the beauty of the APA is that it’s carefully structured to remove this problem by getting all the sectors of the poker industry under one roof.
If you head over to americanpokerawards.com you’ll also find a schedule that shows the day preceding the night of the event is anything but idle. It’s full of seminars, presentations, and networking opportunities that allow it to add up to more than the sum of its parts — something that provides unique value for everyone in attendance.
This means that in addition to whatever buzz the awards themselves generate, the day-long event creates an unprecedented forum that poker media companies, high-level land-based casino representatives, and even professional poker players know they need to attend.
In sum, the GPI’s conference and awards ceremony will act to bring divergent interests together in an atmosphere conducive to discussing mutually beneficial action that can grow the pie for everyone involved.
Read: 3 Things the GPI’s American Poker Awards Has Already Accomplished
All initial ventures have their issues. No one is expecting to see poker’s popularity explode overnight all over again solely due to the work being done by the GPI.
However, as talk heats up about the possibility of online poker legalization in California and PokerStars re-entering the broader United States market, now is definitely the time to get creative about how to bridge that final gap between “acceptable” and “celebrated” in popular culture.
An awards show adds gravitas, places poker in the context of a proven vehicle for spreading popular culture, and simultaneously increases the collaboration between the industry’s essential components.
For those reasons, the American Poker Awards is an idea whose time has come.
November 26, 2013 was a big day. It was my birthday and the day New Jersey online poker went live. I was set to celebrate both of these occasions but was sadly disappointed by one.
As a resident of New Jersey and a professional poker player, I have a vested interest in seeing online poker succeed. As a college graduate with degrees in marketing and management, I also have a few thoughts on why the business of online poker in NJ is failing. Maybe these credentials qualify me as an adequate voice of criticism and maybe they don’t, but I do know that the current state of online poker in NJ is dismal at best, and will surely fail unless drastic changes are made soon.
First off, a recent survey was done by one of the major sites on all NJ residents and the results were shocking. The percentage of people who didn’t even know that New Jersey online poker existed was staggeringly high.
Here’s your first problem, visibility. Never mind the choice of which site to play on because if people don’t even know it exists, how can they play?
Each site is linked with a brick and mortar casino in Atlantic City. Let’s start here. Here is your very first FREE point of visibility. You have all the wall space you can dream of and in most cases a poker room where existing customers already play. Unless I’m mistaken, casinos did not just link up with these sites out of the kindness of their hearts. They are obviously sharing in the profit and revenue generated by the site they have chosen to back.
Why not help them? Why not pool the resources of all parties involved and incentivize every customer to patronize business?
Here’s a very simple four-step example of what I talking about:
Do you see where I’m going with this? Let’s call this a loop of profitability. Quite simply, it’s a win/win situation for all parties involved. Casinos have this incredibly lucrative FREE marketing resource at their disposal and they are passing on it. Land-based and online gambling have an opportunity to help each other thrive and it seems as though all anyone wants to do is throw their hands up and say “this isn’t working.”
All I know is that if I had a vested interest in an online poker site and I had the brick and mortar casino to advertise it, I’d be mass printing wall paper with my site’s name in big bold letters.
Representatives of every site I’ve spoken with all have the same gripe, namely that they “don’t have the money.” Well, the cold hard fact of marketing is that you have to spend money to make money. HOW you spend your marketing dollars can vary though, and ultimately the marketing tools used will decide which company survives and which fails.
Every NJ online poker site has the opportunity to try and become the next PokerStars, but which of them have the moxie and marketing savvy to actually succeed on a grand scale?
Here’s another example:
This year, at the Aria500, Partypoker had a bowl of a few hundred patches. They gave them out to whoever wanted them. This to me was genius, but on a small scale.
From what I can see, amateurs imitate the professionals. Ultimately, everyone wants to be on TV wearing a patch and winning the money. Why not give Mr. and Mrs. Poker that experience on a smaller level? I’d be handing out that patch to who ever wanted to wear it.
Another company gave players their patch at this event, and the person who lasted the longest while wearing that patch won their entry fee back. For just $500 they got hundreds(!)of people advertising their company. If you were to quantify each marketing attempt and award exposure points in relation to dollars spent, this idea would certainly rank high. The moral of this story is that if you want to get more people playing online poker in New Jersey, be sure to spend those dollars wisely. They can go far with the right ideas.
Last, but certainly not least, I’ll address the professional poker players. If you thought I was going to simply write this article and JUST place blame on the companies, you are wrong. Whether we as players choose to accept it or not, part of the burden of responsibility for promoting online poker in New Jersey (and the rest of the United States) also lies on us.
The landscape of poker is changing and lately it’s requiring the efforts of all who are involved. Poker isn’t just about showing up, putting on your headphones, and collecting money. If you want your profession to survive you’re going to have to play your part.
If you want to see online poker make a comeback throughout the U.S., or especially if you’re a resident of states – like NJ – that have already legalized it, when you’re playing live be sure to talk positively about online poker. We all know it has its problems, and we have all experienced technical difficulties at one time or another. However, there is a time and a place to share these experiences. When you’re sitting at a $2/5 table with Mr. and Mrs. Poker is NOT that time.
Poker has afforded us professional players many opportunities, including the ability to sleep whenever we want, work whenever we want, and never have to answer to anyone. However, if we keep the mentality of “take, take, take” and never flip the switch to “give, give, give”, we may wind up having to dust off those resumes.
While it may not seem like a big deal to you, I assure you that if you’re kind to amateurs and make efforts to positively promote online poker to them, this small contribution will help. Hopefully if enough professional players pitch in like this, these small actions will someday combine to become something larger. It is incumbent upon as us players to help promote this game if we want to keep playing it.
Please know that I also hold myself accountable to all of these standards. Those of you who know me personally know that I recently moved to Mexico to further pursue my career in poker.
While this may seem a bit hypocritical in nature, you should also know that I spoke to many of the NJ online poker sites before making my decision. Unfortunately, my ideas and advice fell on deaf ears. My hope is that this article does not.
I believe that we can all find ways to work together toward a solution instead of just complaining about the current state of affairs. Let’s do it!
In my first Cardplayer Lifestyle article, So You Want to Be a Poker Pro?, I wrote about the fact that you need to choose your opponents wisely in order to have an edge. I remember seeing an ad for an online poker site that said: “Come play poker with the best players in the world.” I thought it ought to have said: “Play poker with the worst players in the world.”
The old black and white Full Tilt ads that used to feature world-class players walking down Fremont Street in Las Vegas were meant to convey the message to come and play for fun. It had the opposite effect on me; I never wanted to play with them. I mean, how were those guys going to give me money?
If you want to play poker professionally, you must treat it like a business and look for weaker opponents you can beat. Traveling around the world hustling poker, gin rummy, and pool in my early days taught me a lot about people and how to make money from gambling.
You can profile gamblers into several groups and determine which group you want to play with to earn money and not only survive, but thrive, in the gambling world.
At the bottom of the poker food chain are the Limit Hold’em players, who have the least amount of money and are really struggling to pay their bills. You also find more recreational players in this group. The problem is not so much the income or standard of living of the players but the fact that the rake takes such a heavy toll on the amount of money you can earn.
The major plus is you can manage your bankroll better in limit games. You should play these games more as a hobby or for entertainment purposes and not as a way to pay your bills. I estimate that only about one percent can make a living playing at the bottom of the poker food chain.
The next level in the poker food chain contains the No Limit Hold’em players. These players tend to be younger, and many grew up as gamers. They spent a lot of time watching poker on television, and play for the adrenaline rush and glory they see hoping to become TV’s next rags-to-riches story.
If you look deeper, however, you will find these players often have very little financial responsibility or families to support and are living in the fast lane. This phase lasts from around the age of 21 to 30. We have all been there. It seems like those times will never end.
I would put Omaha and mixed games at the top of the poker food chain. More professional people who have money and limited hours to play sit in these games. They can lose and not be bored or go broke, and they keep on playing day after day. These players are the producers of the money that feeds the games. You have more doctors, lawyers and executives playing – and losing – at Omaha.
Don’t get me wrong: They are smart and understand the game. They are successful in life, but because they are busy working at their professions most of the time, when they play poker, it’s primarily for entertainment purposes.
This creates the perfect poker situation for the top of the poker economy, and this is the level you want to play at if you want to play poker for a living. I noticed that the more complicated the game, the more it attracted people who had high earning power, which resulted in more money for them to lose and more money for me to earn.
The bottom line is you meet amazing people in poker wherever you play, and the most money to be earned is at the top of the poker food chain. You need to be able to play whatever poker game presents the best opportunity to earn, and a great way to expand your poker skill set is by learning and mastering Omaha poker.
If you are ready to learn Omaha, I would recommend reading articles by Steve Badger, who I consider the authority on writing about the game. Steve has a World Series of Poker bracelet in Omaha Hi/Lo.He also used to own playwinningpoker.com, which he sold to PokerStars in 2010. I once asked Steve what made him like Omaha so much, and he responded, “I heard you were in the game.”
If you’re traveling to the western part of the United States and are ready to practice playing the game of Omaha in a live setting, here is a rundown of the action and where to play:
Many consider Los Angeles to be the center of the poker universe, and Commerce Casino, located about 30 minutes from Los Angeles International Airport, features the largest card room in the world and the best range of Omaha games and limits from which to choose.
Beginning with $4/$8 Omaha Hi/Lo (O8) games and Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) with a $100–$300 buy-in all the way up to a $2,500 buy-in PLO game that is spread every day in the high limit section, the non-stop action at Commerce Casino makes it one of the top spots to play in the world.
Other Los Angeles-area casinos also spread Omaha daily. The Bicycle Casino, located in Bell Gardens, also features a $4/$8 Omaha Hi/Lo game and a mix game of stud poker Hi/Lo and Omaha with a $20/$40 limit. A Pot Limit Omaha game is also offered on certain days. They also have a weekly Omaha tournament on Mondays.
The Garden Casino in Hawaiian Gardens offers a variety of games including $4/$8, $6/$12 Limit Omaha and also a Pot Limit Omaha game with a $100–$300 buy-in.
My favorite place to play Omaha in Southern California is the Hollywood Park Casino, located just minutes from LAX. Their offerings include $4/$8 Omaha Hi/Lo, $40/$80 Omaha Hi/Lo, and a $20/$40 mix Omaha and Stud Hi/Lo. Hollywood Park Casino also has a $50 buy-in Omaha Hi/Lo tournament every Saturday.
There are Native American casinos in Southern California that offer limit Omaha, such as Pechanga Resort & Casino, the largest casino in California, which spreads 5-Card Omaha (a.k.a., Big O). Agua Caliente Casino near Palm Springs spreads a $6/$12 Omaha Hi/Lo game daily.
Just outside Los Angeles, The Players Club in Ventura, California, offers small limit and pot limit Omaha games full of great action. Omaha on the West Coast is growing, and I predict the amount of games will double in the near future.
Las Vegas is a great place to play Omaha and has some legendary spots like the Orleans Hotel & Casino, which is famous for its small-limit Omaha games and large jackpots. If you need to build a bankroll, one of the best places to play is Boulder Station, which features a $4/$8 limit Omaha high only with some the best action in Las Vegas. It seems like there are always six people going to the river.
For bigger action, the most consistent place to find it is at the Venetian Las Vegas, which features $4/$8 Omaha and $8/$16 Omaha along with $15/$30 and Pot Limit Omaha. Aria spreads Pot Limit Omaha daily, and Bellagio has some middle limit Omaha if requested.
Shirley Rosario, a world-class Omaha player, said: “I find Omaha the most challenging out of all the games and I put in a lot of work improving my game because I enjoy a challenge. Since I’ve put the work in learning Omaha, it is the most profitable for me, which makes me like it even more.”
The main lesson about playing poker is that you want to play where the action is. The more games you can master, the more opportunities there are to win. If you have ever seriously considered playing poker professionally, adding Omaha to your poker repertoire will help you get a step closer to that dream.
Last March, the new TV poker show Poker Night in America ran a $25/50 cash game at Maryland Live! in Baltimore. They held an open casting call to include a couple of amateurs who wanted to mix it up with the top pros. A poker fanatic, I applied for the “role” and was lucky enough to be selected. As Nolan Dalla put it in a blog post he wrote, it was like poker fantasy camp for me.
Me and the cast of Poker Night in America
The game was played in a TV studio-like setting, with lights and cameras all around. Walking into that game to play against a former World Series of Poker Main Event world champ (Greg Merson), a WSOP Main Event runner up (Steve Dannenmann), and poker heroes of mine like Matt Glantz, Jason Somerville, and Gavin Smith, was surreal.
I notified my home game buddies about being selected to play in the big game and about 15 of them showed up to cheer me on. Even my wife, who is not very receptive to my obsession with poker, showed up, along with a couple of our neighbors.
Gavin Smith, me, and the infamous bacon jacket
The support was unbelievable and, although outgunned by the poker pros, I felt like I had home field advantage. The rail was crowded with my friends who were chanting a home-grown cheer: “Avi Avi Avi — Oy Vey Oy Vey Oy Vey”, and it really brought the house down. The other players teased me about my cheering section. When I folded a hand after Merson re-raised me, Gavin Smith said, “Avi, where are you friends now?!? Not cheering so much for that!” It was a riot. Matt Glantz told me that he wished all the players had cheering sections like I did.
From his vantage point behind me on the rail, one of my friends somehow saw all my hole cards and gave me advice between hands. Dannenmann yelled “no coaching from the rail”. He also trash talked me that my wife was hitting on him because he came in second in the Main Event. During the course of the evening, Dannenmann pronounced my name about seven different ways, none of them correct.
I don’t know if it was because I had so many friends there, along with my wife, or for some other reason, but I felt strangely calm and confident when play started. I bought in for $7,500, with another $7,500 in my pocket if I needed to re-buy. Holy crap! The most I’d ever bought in to a poker game for in the past was $800. Jumping from $2/5 to $25/50 is nuts, and the straddle was $100. A one hundred dollar straddle! I still can’t believe I played in that game.
Jason Somerville had a similar stack to mine, as did Greg Merson. Matt Glantz had a huge stack. An Internet pro named Scott, who works at PartyPoker, was shorter than me, and Dannenman was pretty deep. The other amateur, Robert, bought in for $10k. Gavin Smith had plenty of chips. He was drunk and outrageous. With Dannenmann on my right and Gavin two seats to my left, the chatter was non-stop and hilarious.
I expected a lot of straddling and 3-betting, but only Merson straddled every time and there was only slightly more 3-betting than in a regular $2/5 game. I was mostly card dead. I knew my image was super tight and I played very few hands. A couple of times I had suited connectors UTG and I folded them. One time I would have flopped trips and rivered a boat, but I never would have gotten there as there were two raises pre-flop and I was glad to have folded.
Every time we got a new dealer, the players decided to do a run out. We each put in $300 and checked it down. Whoever had the best hand won. I wasn’t thrilled to do this, but I realized that an EV of 0 is actually better for me than most hands against this field. I showed my hands to the rail before I even looked at them. One time, I showed the hand and my friend Lori called out “You have a Lonnie” (otherwise known as 47, after my opponent of choice, Lonnie, whose favorite hand is 47). When the flop came 356, I almost jumped out of my chair. The pot had $2,400 in it. Of course, when I finally looked at my cards, I actually had 27, not 47, so I didn’t win that hand. I did, however, chop a run out one time with 83 when I hit the top end of a straight with my 8, as did Scott. So, I think I just about broke even on the run outs. Maybe lost one or two extra.
Holding my own(?) against the poker pros
It was such a thrill when, after winning a pot, my crowd went wild. On the other hand, I realized that I was definitely playing too tight in general and was thus not going to get much action.
Then again, this happened:
I raised pre-flop with KJo and Merson called me. I missed the flop and made a continuation bet, which he called. The turn gave me a gutshot. Merson checked. I fired another bullet, and he then check-raised me pretty big. I folded. When I thought about it later, I decided that I should have checked behind to see if I’d hit my gutshot, Q, or even a K. Why was I double barreling into a world champ?!
I didn’t really play in any big pots, but they all seemed huge to me. My biggest was this one: I was in the cutoff with AKs in spades. Merson had straddled for $100. It folds to me, and I make it $325. Jason Somerville in the BB calls and we go heads up to the flop. Flop comes with the J of spades and two low cards. Jason bets $700. I decided to float him, creating the biggest pot I’ve ever been in ($2,150), but it was smallish considering the blinds and the game I was in. The turn was the Qs, giving me a gutshot royal flush draw and two over cards. I was prepared to shove if Jason bet. He checked. I bet $2,000 (I said to myself, “did I just make a two thousand dollar bet?!?”). He folded right away. This hand put me well into the black.
Me, Matt Glantz, and Greg Merson
After the game broke up, I was interviewed on camera and also had some very nice chats with Nolan Dalla, the show’s Creative Director. Unfortunately, when the Maryland Live! episodes aired my session was not included, so I did not make it on TV. Yet, that does not diminish the experience one bit. Nolan told me that I’ll be invited back, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
One thrilling outcome of my experience was that, when I played at the World Series a couple of months later, I ran into all of the pros I had played with in Maryland. They remembered me and I got to chat with them again. I even got to pitch my idea for securing online poker to them and to some other pros that they introduced me to.
What an experience. I remain starstruck!
I’ve spent more time watching ESPN than Tom Dwan has spent fulfilling his obligation in the durrrr challenge. But, I’ll be perfectly honest with you – ESPN is a joke. They’ve destroyed sports journalism over the past decade by morphing into the sports world’s version of TMZ. Most stories on ESPN have to do with uninteresting Tweets by LeBron James or Jameis Winston allegedly doing naughty things. And now they’re doing harm to poker’s most glorious event.
I spent a few hours in at the Rio in person watching what I hoped would be an exciting World Series of Poker Main Event final table. I should have known better. Like everyone who isn’t a (gravy-training) friend or family member of the three no-names who were lucky and went on a sick weeklong heater skillfully made it to the last day of the Main Event, I was subjected to sitting in the nosebleeds at the Penn & Teller Theater.
After a few hours of watching on a big screen TV due to obstructed view seating, I went home. On the drive home, I wondered why I even bothered wasting my time. What did I expect to witness? Some unforgettable poker moments that people will be talking about for the next decade? Why would I have expected that from a table with three players whose names I will not even remember in a year?
Some guy named Martin Jacobson won the event. Or was it Steve Jacobson? Does it matter? I tried really hard to get excited about the November Nine back in July. I read up on the players. After a few hours of research, I was bored. They are boring. The only story line that was intriguing to me was the return of Mark Newhouse to the final table. And that was an amazing accomplishment.
The rest of the players? Not even the slightest bit interesting. I don’t think I could possibly make up stories about these guys that would be an interesting read. They’re that boring. Congrats to them on their accomplishments and they have my respect as poker players. I’m just not intrigued by them. I would rather watch a Lifetime movie marathon than watch Martin Jacobson, Jorryt van Hoof, and Felix Stephensen battle it out on the felt.
ESPN has long televised the World Series of Poker. Overall, I’d say they’ve done good things for the game of poker. However, they’re only in it for the money and have forced adjustments to poker’s biggest event in recent years that haven’t been good for the game itself.
Taking in the poker action in person… yawn
Back in July, I had a good time watching the WSOP live at the Rio in Las Vegas. I got to see some of my favorite poker stars and even an NBA superstar (Paul Pierce). However, my excitement for the 2014 WSOP ended four months ago. There’s no good reason for the game of poker to hold off on the Main Event Final Table until November anymore.
Sure, in the rare event that a couple of big name poker pros such as Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu become November Nine participants, there would be some awesome build up. Unfortunately, since the Main Event is now essentially a lottery, the odds are against that happening in most years.
There was absolutely no build up the last few years. Many poker sites and blogs, including ESPN Poker, did everything they could to build interest in the final table. But, like I said, there was only one interesting story line.
There’s nothing that irritates me more than people who complain about something but fail to offer up a solution. Therefore, I’m going to offer up a solution to what I think is currently harming the growth of the game of poker in America: Summertime is the perfect time to put poker in primetime.
My VERY OBSTRUCTED view for most of the night
During the summer, the sports world in America is focused on baseball – a sport with declining popularity – and preseason football predictions. So why not put the World Series of Poker on primetime television on ESPN in July instead of November? And, yes, I know poker is NOT considered a sport by most people and poker players are certainly not traditionally thought of as athletes.
The argument against this suggestion is that ESPN wouldn’t have time to air Main Event episodes leading up to the final table. As it stands, ESPN televises an episode each Tuesday starting in July, leading up to the live taping of the final table in November.
I would rather they televise the final table, in primetime, in July. After the final table concludes, they could begin airing the WSOP on Tuesday’s just like they do right now, and then rebroadcast the final table in November.
I know what you’re thinking: “it would be ridiculous to start the television coverage at the final table”. Why would it be ridiculous? Because then we would know the winner before watching the Day 1/2/3/etc. episodes? True. But hard anyone with an Internet connection could know what happens on Day 1/2/3/etc. before those episodes air on ESPN if they wanted to.
From a fan’s perspective, I find the current structure annoying. The atmosphere at the Rio during three-handed play was lame. The final table atmosphere at the Rio would have been livelier back in July because the WSOP was the talk of the poker community at that time. More people would watch the final table in July on TV as well because the WSOP is fresh in our minds at that time. We’re excited to see someone win millions in July, but our interest lessens after a few months of weak build up. Plus, it’s football season now.
Sure, have a one-week final table delay to allow players’ families and friends to fly in and create the one-of-a-kind stadium atmosphere. But four months? Ridiculous.
I hoped last night would be fun, but sitting in the nosebleeds to watch boring poker players compete four months after reaching the final table made me realize how silly it is to wait until November to conclude the WSOP Main Event.
Is the excitement in the Penn & Teller Theater jumping out at you too or is it just me?
In order for the final table to draw excitement after a four-month wait you’d need big name players. ESPN can’t rig the deck to ensure that the Hellmuths, Negreanus, and Iveys get there.
After a few hours of sitting in a theater with a lame atmosphere and boring poker action, I went home and probably won’t go back to attend again until I’m competing… or until ESPN finds a way to get me excited again.
*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of Cardplayer Lifestyle.