First Out to Last Man Standing
November 19, 2011

The 2012 Tournament Season started off with a bang, as the 21 players that were registered, ballooned to a 34 player event. There were 4 players that were brand new to the series (JB, Grill, D-Man and Hino), as well as the return of 3 players that hadn’t played in years, namely Fassman (12/13/09), Hot96Altima (4/27/08) and Toch-Dawg (1/6/07). Four tables started off the night and everyone had 3,000 chips at their fingertips. Hot96Altima, to his credit, made the final table in this event and finished in 9th.

The event lasted quite a while before it even claimed its first victim. By the first break, only 3 people were knocked out. After that however, it was almost as if a line had formed at the sign-out table. Numerous players were all in at multiple times and managed to stay alive however. Fassman, playing in his 27th event, was down to 200 chips and managed to remain alive for nearly 40 minutes before exiting in 18th place. Voglism, playing in his 26th event also was seemingly out early on, yet hung on, using all 9 lives he had to make the final table, finishing in 8th place. 

Making the Final Table Championship Tournament in any given year is an accomplishment all in itself. TC, VfrVendetta, Baldrik, Taztecc7, JayLeft, SkiMeister, The Z Man, Ben, Kjacks, Chris and Pitrelli all share in that honor from 2011. For VfrVendetta, Taztecc7, SkiMeister and The Z Man, the season started right where it left off, all meeting again at the final table of the first event of the 2012 season. 

SkiMeister left in 7th and VfrVendetta (2011 runner up at last season’s Final Table Championship and overall points leader, finishing the year in first in the standings) made the money barely hanging on as the low stack in 5th. For The Z Man, the 2012 season started off where 2011 finished, in 3rd overall.

Taztecc7 entered in 2 events in 2009 and another 5 in 2010, with his best finish being in 11th place. Last year however, he played in 7 events recording 4 top five finishes including winning the Heads-Up Championship, which left him 4th in the overall standings by years end. Taztecc7 faced off, heads up against Netninder1963. The two were fairly even in chips once The Z Man was eliminated. Their own individual battle only lasted a few hands. Taztecc7 held Jc8c, while Netninder1963 held As9c. The board was 9hJs9sKsAc and Netninder1963, who only played one event last season (and was the very first person knocked out), held on to capture his first win. What a difference a year makes as Netninder1963 goes from zero to hero.

The final table consisted of Netninder1963, Taztecc7, The Z Man, Cara, VfrVendetta, Fat Shawn, SkiMeister, Voglism, Hot96Altima and RayJ, finishing in that order. 

Other points of interest: Baldrik who finished in 15th place, competed in his 40th PTS event. VfrVendetta won $40 for fifth place and added to his lifetime winnings totaling $1,480 (good for 4th on the all-time list despite playing in only 23 events). 

Congratulations go out to Netninder1963!!!

TC Wins!!!
June 12, 2011

Another season in the books as a new champion is crowned. 11 players were at the seasonal final table to play for the top prize of the season. The dominant player early on was VfrVendetta who was consistently raising and re-raising taking down pot after pot. His chip stack grew accordingly. Perhaps this was going to be his day. After all, prior to this event, he had won an event, been heads up twice, finished in the top 5 four times and made five final tables, clinching the #1 series ranking for the year while the heads up championship was still in process. 

The one player that didn’t seem to share the same vibe was Pitrelli. The defending champion was in the event to defend his title and the poker gods were no longer shining favorably upon him. He was getting cold cards for nearly the entire tournament and exited out in 11th. Chris was soon to follow in 10th. Kjacks and Ben were new to the series in 2011 and had very strong seasons, however they exited in 9th and 8th respectively. The Z Man, after taking 2nd in last year’s Seasonal Championship and hoping to repeat his success from 2006 finished in 7th to the hands of JayLeft.

SkiMeister sat quiet for most of the event. His conservative style was keeping him out of trouble, under the radar until the blinds were big. SkiMeister managed to stay alive a couple of times risking his tournament life after moving all in, but in the end he finished in 6th. JayLeft busted out in 5th and the remainder of the table made the money. The top 4 were VfrVendetta, TC, Taztecc7 and Baldrik. What was interesting was that with the exception of TC, the other three were in the top 4 in the series standings for 2011. 

Taztecc7 had a fantastic season. He finished 4th in the league in money earned as well as being 2nd in top 5 finishes and 4th in final tables and winner of the heads up championship. He would however be forced out in 4th place. Baldrik also found himself short stacked and was forced all in and out in 3rd. Another solid year for a player that is near the top in virtually every statistical category that is tracked. The final two were VfrVendetta and TC. VfrVendetta held nearly a 3 to 1 chip lead over TC, however TC’s aggressive style, with a little luck helped neutralize that advantage. After clawing his way back into the lead the final hand would be a little ugly. TC called a moderate preflop bet with 64o. VfrVendetta held wired 5’s. When the flop came 7s6h3s, VfrVendetta was in a most difficult position. Short stacked himself, the pair and gut shot straight draw were all the reasons he would need to commit the remainder of his chips. Unfortunately for him, his only real out was a 4 (three outs) as the 5 would give TC the straight. When the turn came as an 8, VfrVendetta picked up a few more outs as the 9 would also give him a straight. The river card was a king and TC finally achieved what he had been striving for in the past three years. 

Congratulations go out to TC, PTS Champion 2011!!!

Anarchy Reigns
May 22, 2011

The 2011 Heads Up Championship featured 17 players this year as Voglism returned to defend his crown. This year's HU Championship had 3 former champions (JayLeft, The Z Man and Voglism) eyeing up their second major championship, yet the day belonged to those making their first appearance. 

Mad Dog met The Z Man in the #2 vs #15 pairing and made quick work dispatching him in two hands (call it 5 minutes, and that is being generous). Other notables included Baldrik being sent to the losers bracket in the second round, yet he managed to win 4 straight to finish in 3rd place. Voglism played in the alternative match against Fat Shawn and succeeded in getting to round one against VfrVendetta. VfrVendetta then sent Voglism to the losers bracket only to face Fat Shawn once again. VfrVendetta was sent to the losers bracket in the second round and went on a run, not dissimilar to last year winning three in a row before Baldrik rolled him.

The day belonged to Taztecc7 and Mad Dog. They met in the winners bracket final where Taztecc7 created chaos and anarchy as he won to go to the finals. Mad Dog was sent to the losers bracket and defeated Baldrik by going runner-runner to hit a flush. In the final, there were moves to be made as the two players had endured large swings in their chip stack.

The defining hand came in the final hand of the 40/80 blind level. Taztecc7 moved all in after the river on a board of 6dJsTd (9d6s). With the chip lead, Mad Dog and his two pair (Jacks and 6's) lost to Taztecc7's straight flush (8d7d). That was the second straight flush of the day as HChiarello held a Royal. The pot was 3,450 chips large and provided Taztecc7 with an almost insurmountable lead. The following hand, Mad Dog moved all in preflop and was called, losing with a pair of 9's to a pair of tens after the river. 

Bracket

The win represented Taztecc7's first. VfrVendetta locked up first place for the season with a 4th place finish. There was only one move in the standings that had any effect on the invites for the Final Table Seasonal Championship as Busted started the day in 10th and finished in 12th overall while Chris moved from 11th into the top ten. With today's victory, Taztecc7 will automatically be entered into next seasons Heads Up Championship to defend his crown.

Congratulations go out to Taztecc7!!!

Heads Up Championship Seeding Is Set
May 15, 2011

The 2011 Heads Up Championship will feature 17 players rather than the typical 16 as Voglism returns to defend his 2010 championship. 

Bracket

This year's HU Championship contains many interesting first round match ups, including a rematch of the 2009 loser bracket final between Pitrelli (finished in 2nd) and TC (finished in 3rd). Pitrelli ended up winning the match to face Shawn1915 in the finals. Voglism (first in 2010) and Fat Shawn (4th in 2009) are brother in laws and will face off in the alternate round, with the winner facing VfrVendetta (3rd in 2007 and 2010). Chris will make his heads up championship debut will face JayLeft (1st in 2007 and 3rd in 2008). Lastly, Mad Dog will make his first appearance in the HU Championship and will face The Z Man (1st in 2008). 

This will be a double elimination event. Everyone will start with 2,000 chips and blinds will increase every 5 hands played. When a player loses, they will move to the losers bracket and their chance to continue on to the finals. Once a player loses twice, they are out of the tournament. The finals will consist of one undefeated player, and one player with one loss. In order for the undefeated player to lose, they MUST be defeated twice!!!

Good luck to all participants.

7th Heaven!!!
May 7, 2011

The sixth event of the 2011 season represented the smallest of the year, not surprisingly since spring is upon us and the field is winding down as players determine that they are out of the running in potential final table possibilities. Still, 21 players provided 3 tables of players making a run at getting into the top 16 in the standings and ultimately their shot at a seat at the final table Championship in June.

This was a survival style event which is a typical standard-payout poker tournament however the payout is different. Once the tournament is down to those that place in the money, all of the chips are converted to actual money, with blinds being appropriately altered. The low stack at the table has the option of cashing out their chips at any time. If they do, their chips are removed and they are paid off. If someone gets knocked out, they don't receive any prize.

The night was a roller coaster of emotion. Once down to the final table, the initial hand started off with an all in Crocrop and a call by Fat Shawn. Fat Shawn held pocket 9's that held up and eliminated Crocrop...that is, until the table realized that one player (Busted) wasn't dealt in. This instance voided out the hand and Crocrop remained alive, while Fat Shawn was withheld from receiving some much needed chips to remain healthy. To add insult to injury, Fat Shawn was the next player eliminated from the final table.  

In one of the biggest hands of the night, Ben moved all in for 2,800 chips, Busted called with 2,000, Terminators then called for 2,800, finally The Z Man moved over the top for nearly 6,000 chips and Terminators called that. With roughly 17,000 chips up for grabs, Ben showed KQ, Busted held pocket tens, Terminators held the other pocket tens and The Z Man held pocket aces which ultimately won the hand.

Once down to the cash game portion of this Survival style event, the field appeared as below:

Sassy took advantage of the cash and exited the tournament before play resumed, taking her $60 with a 5th place finish. As play continued (blinds at $0.50/$1.00) and chips flowed around, JayLeft found himself holding A5 with a flop of A75. Two pair when four handed is a monster and JayLeft promptly moved all in. Terminators knows that two pair is a monster and called with A7 giving him $82 of JayLeft's money, narrowing the field and taking the chip lead as JayLeft took 4th. 

VfrVendetta suffered some losses and was eventually short stacked to the point where his all in was called and was eliminated in 3rd. Heads up play lasted over an hour between The Z Man and Terminators with chips flowing between them. The blinds reached $5/$10 and Terminators found himself short stacked with $80 to The Z Man's $385. Moving all in with As8s, The Z Man called with KsJd. With $60 needed to call a pot of $100, The Z Man called (40% to win) and was rewarded with a jack on the flop that held to give him the win.

The final table consisted of The Z Man, Terminators, VfrVendetta, JayLeft, Sassy, Cara, Crocrop, Ben, Busted and Fat Shawn, finishing in that order.

The win represented The Z Man's 7th, which is ranked first all time, followed by Baldrik and Fassman (both with 5 wins) as well as JayLeft and Shawn1915 (both with 3 wins). With JayLeft's 4th place finish, he moved up from 17th place into 8th in the standings. VfrVendetta is first on the leaderboard with 13 points which include an impressive 1st, 2nd, 7th and 3rd place finishes in his last four events.

Congratulations go out to The Z Man!!!

Totally Busted!!!
March 26, 2011

The fifth event of the 2011 season has only 24 players, however the knockout format proved to be exciting as players received $5 for every player they sent home.  

Kjacks controlled table #1 for most of the night with aggressive play that kept everyone at the table honest. Several players were simply doing all they could just to hold on. VfrVendetta was one such player. At one point, he was all in, down to one big blind. His luck came at the right time as he survived all in after all in. Kjacks made a standard all in move (one of many) against Baldrik who called. Kjacks masked his hand well because on that occasion, Baldrik was left facing pocket aces and bubbled out in 6th.

Kjacks continued his aggressive play and wound up on the business end of back to back calls by JC who first doubled up, becoming chip leader and then knocking Kjacks out. All the while, Busted and The Z Man simply observed. The Z Man then doubled up Busted, who then doubled up again against JC. Finally JC was eliminated by Busted and held a 2-1 chip lead against The Z Man. The end came quickly as The Z Man went all in holding K9, only to be called by KT suited. Receiving no help, The Z Man was eliminated and Busted stood alone at the top.

The final table consisted of Busted, The Z Man, JC, Kjacks, Ben, Baldrik, VfrVendetta, SkiMeister, Dknavel and JayLeft, finishing in that order.

The win represented Busted's 1st. The Z Man finally made it back to the money claiming 5 knockouts. With another solid showing, Kjacks has moved into 1st place in the standings. There is a 3 point gap between The Nuts (16th place with 34 points) and JayLeft (17th place with 37 points). Anything can happen with one remaining open event before the invitationals. 

Congratulations go out to Busted!!!

LIFE! DO YOU HEAR ME? GIVE MY CREATION... LIFE!
February 12, 2011

The fourth event of the 2011 season was the smallest turn out to date (25 players) but very nearly resulted in a back to back win for VfrVendetta. Frankindoodle stole that honor from VfrVendetta after being down in chips when heads up began. What was interesting was that the tournament lasted over an hour when it was down to only two players. VfrVendetta and Frankindoodle battled back and forth both pushing each other to the brink of elimination before Frankindoodle emerged victorious. 

The final table consisted of Frankindoodle, VfrVendetta, Z, Maximum Joy, Dknavel, Kenkuniff, Crocop, Baldrik, Pitrelli and Mad Dog, finishing in that order. 

The win represented Frankindoodle's 1st. With another solid showing, VfrVendetta has moved into 3rd place in the standings, behind both TC (1st) and Taztecc7 (2nd). The field is still wide open with two more open invitational events.  

Congratulations go out to Frankindoodle!!!

Old School Poker
January 22, 2011

The third tourney of the 2010 season was an exciting event right until the very end. While there were 29 players in attendance, the event moved at a pretty quick pace. This was a bounty event with several players cashing in. The first victim was Kjacks at the hand of Taztecc7. JC fell to HChiarello. Cara eliminated Dknavel and JayLeft exited after being bested by Chris. 

Once the players narrowed down to the final five the table was surprisingly very even. 

One by one the field became a little smaller until heads up. VfrVendetta faced off against Taztecc7 with similar chip stacks. Two hands defined the heads up play. One was for 33,000 chips when VfrVendetta flopped trip queens and the other was the final hand when VfrVendetta called with 2nd pair (Tens) while Taztecc7 was trying to steal the pot with a high card king. 

The final table consisted of VfrVendetta, Taztecc7, Baldrik, Cara, Chris, Project Mayhem, Pitrelli, JayLeft, SkiMeister and The Nuts finishing in that order.

The win represented VfrVendetta's 2nd (the first came February 25th, 2007). With the win, VfrVendetta became the 10th player out of nearly 160 that has multiple wins. It was VfrVendetta's 7th top 5 finish in 17 tournaments. Baldrik recorded his 15th top 5 finish in 34 events. The finish also represented Taztecc7's 2nd top 5 finish out of the 3 events held this season.

Congratulations go out to VfrVendetta!!!

At Long Last
November 20, 2010

The second tourney of the 2010 season had a mere 27 players in attendance but ran as long as the event one month earlier as several of the players with the first 9 players exiting the event represented 17 tournament wins over the past 5 years.  

The pivotal moment in the tourney was when CurtisFisher and TC were heads up in a hand with only 6 players remaining in the event. CurtisFisher was the chip leader with 40% of the chips in play and TC was the next largest stack at about 25% of the chips on the table. TC called all in on a bluff by CurtisFisher and became the new chip leader winning the 48,000 chip pot. It was a lead TC wouldn't surrender.

The final table consisted of TC, Kjacks, SkiMeister, Ben, SuperBlond 813, CurtisFisher, Mad Dog, Chris, HChiarello and NYY23 finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to TC!!!

2 for 2!
October 23, 2010

DT4VBall76 played in a PTS event for the very first time on December 12th of 2009. He won it in convincing fashion. Would this season opener be different? Yes, DT4VBall76 would struggle to win this 39 player event...providing he didn't pick up pocket aces 4 times. Ummm...Yeah about that...He managed to pick up pocket aces 4 times. 

What made things even more interesting was a text I received from him earlier in the day. He had asked about how late the event would go. I replied that it would go until about mid-night. He stated that he would try and wrap it up by 10:15pm. That is some stunning confidence brimming from a guy at nearly 5 hours prior to the start of the tournament.  

In the end, DT4VBall76 was well off the mark. He won the tournament at 11:30pm, not 10:15pm. That should teach him some humility. Or not. 

DT4VBall76 joined an elite group of players. There have been 155 players that have played in the Poker Tournament Series over the past 6 years. Only 9 players have won more then one tournament and DT4VBall76, winning his 2nd, is one of the very few that can make that claim.

The final table consisted of DT4VBall76, SHLONG, Kjacks, Brigid, Taztecc7, Gullo, The Z Man, TC, Maximum Joy and HChiarello finishing in that order.

A HUGE Congratulations go out to DT4VBall76!!!

Unfinished Business
June 19, 2010

Late in the 2009 PTS Championship, Pitrelli had overcome a 5-1 chip deficit to Kinnan to take the chip lead in what would have been one of the greatest comebacks in this series history. That is if the #1 player of the 2009 season could have held on to not only claim his first win ever, but to gain that elusive title that only 3 other players have claimed. For Pitrelli, he would have to settle for 2nd in the final championship tournament.

Perhaps that was the fuel he needed. The 2010 season started off with Pitrelli winning the first event. The kicker was that he would eventually bookend the season by winning the 2010 Championship over The Z Man. 

Bad beats were alive and well in the in this years final. HChiarello exited at the hands of yet another bad beat in 3rd, this one courtesy of The Z Man. TC was paralyzed when Pitrelli doubled up off him despite being well ahead in the hand. SHLONG joyfully sent JC home after a huge suck-out. 

Kinnan represented himself well as he defended his title with a 4th place finish, good enough to finish in the money. For The Z Man, his season would mirror Pitrelli's 2009 campaign, finishing second at Championships, finishing #1 in standings at seasons end and even finishing with the same point total that Pitrelli had a year earlier.

Pitrelli joined an elite group of players. There have been 143 players that have played in the Poker Tournament Series over the past 5 years. Only 8 players have won more then one tournament and Pitrelli, winning his 2nd, is one of the very few that can make that claim.

The final table consisted of Pitrelli, The Z Man, HChiarello, Kinnan, TC, SHLONG, Voglism, JC, Baldrik, Fat Shawn and Dknavel finishing in that order. 

A HUGE Congratulations go out to Pitrelli!!!

Voglism Wins the Heads Up Championship
April 25, 2010

The 2009-2010 Heads Up Championship featured 16 players vying for a chance to win the event and become one of 5 that have held the title, and at the same time solidify their spot in the Seasonal Championship in an attempt to win it all.  

There were some surprises along the way. The 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th seeds were all upset. Once a player loses in the first round of this double elimination event, it takes 8 consecutive wins to become the champion. VfrVendetta came close. After losing in the first round to JC, he managed to win his next 5 matches against JayLeft (former HU champion), JC, The Z Man (former HU champion), Shlong and Ray J. He was finally stopped by Dknavel which set up a rematch of the winners bracket finals. Except to win the championship, Dknavel would need to beat Voglism twice. It didn't happen. Voglism remained undefeated on a night that he would not be denied. The bracket is listed on the link below:

2010 HU Championship Bracket

Voglism joined an elite group of players. There have been 143 players that have played in the Poker Tournament Series over the past 5 years. Only 7 players have won more then one tournament and Voglism, winning his 2nd, is one of the very few that can claim that.

The final table consisted of Voglism, Dknavel, VfrVendetta, Ray J, Shawn1915 and SHLONG finishing in that order. 

Congratulations go out to Voglism!!!

Its Been A SHLONG, SHLONG, SHLONG Time
April 10, 2010

The seasons annual "Survivor" tournament made history. This is a typical standard-payout poker tournament however the payout is different. 25% of the prize is set aside for the winner of the event. Once the tournament is down to those that place in the money, all of the chips are converted to actual money, with blinds being appropriately altered. The low stack at the table has the option of cashing out their chips at any time. If they do, their chips are removed and they are paid off. If someone gets knocked out, they don't receive any prize. 

At the end of the day, one person walked away with the entire pot. SHLONG owned this event early on after knocking out Crocop. He then proceeded in knocking out many of his opponents, including everyone that finished 2nd through 6th. He faced pocket aces 6 times, dodging at least 3 of them, and then going 2-1 when all in. Everything was rolling for him on the night.

Once the top 5 finished at the cash level, the chip break down was as follows:

The blinds were reset at $0.50/$1.00. The Z Man was the first out after he moved all in preflop with AJs against SHLONG holding JTo. After SHLONG turned a straight, The Z Man added his $42+ to SHLONG's monster chip stack. TC and JayLeft followed shortly after leaving HChiarello and SHLONG heads up. 

With the blinds now up to $1/$2, HChiarello started off rather well building her chip stack up to $115. Then the end that embodied the night. Holding pocket aces and facing a raise from SHLONG, HChiarello places a monster raise to $52. SHLONG calls. One the flop, HChiarello places a $20 bet. SHLONG calls. After the turn, HChiarello places the remainder of her stack in the middle calling SHLONG. He had hit two pair with K8 and completed what was a perfect tournament winning the entire tournament prize, the largest in PTS history.

The final table consisted of SHLONG, HChiarello, JayLeft, TC, The Z Man, Pitrelli, Shawn1915, Ray J, Maximum Joy and Terminators finishing in that order. 

Congratulations go out to SHLONG for his first PTS Win!!!

Baldrik's 5th Solidifies His Dominance
March 13, 2010

Another event is in the books, and with it goes another opportunity to move up in the standings that will allow players to qualify for the heads up Championship as well as the Seasonal Championship that closes out the 2010 season. There are 16 spots up for grabs in the Heads Up Championship and while the top 6 players have guaranteed their place (Baldrik, Fat Shawn, The Z Man, JC, Voglism and Dknavel) there are still 29 other players that have a chance to slip into the top 16 with a good showing in the series final open invitational on April 10th. 

Baldrik was in first place prior to the start of the 5th event of the 2010 season and did nothing at all to change that, winning the event in dramatic fashion, claiming 6 knockouts and eliminating 8 players in this 22 player event. Its was Baldrik's fourth final table in five events this year, and his third cash out. His tournament drops are a 37th (2nd event) and a 7th. You know you are having a good year when you need to drop a final table finish. This win is Baldrik's 5th lifetime, placing him in a second place tie with Fassman, in the total number of tournament wins. 

Fat Shawn and Voglism also picked up 3 knockouts and helped themselves move up in the standings. Fat Shawn moved up two places, while Voglism moved up one. The players that made the most drastic rise in standings were Jay Left and Z moving up 9 and 8 places respectively. 

The final table consisted of Baldrik, JayLeft, Dknavel, Fat Shawn, Mad Dog, Maximum Joy, Z, JC, HChiarello and The Z Man finishing in that order. 

Congratulations go out to Baldrik!!!

Its not over until Fat Shawn Sings
January 23, 2010

After four intense events, we are starting to see the standings really take shape. Each player dropped their worst event and the standings continued to see changes as some players rose in the rankings, while others dropped. With only two more events that are open invites for all players, the last scramble to make it into the top 16 for the heads up championship is underway.

Thirty one players attended event #4. Some old faces returned and made an immediate impact, while a new player also stepped up and out lasted most of the field. In the end, one player that is always close but was never able to take it down, managed to dominate the final table and control the action.

The final table was another barn burner brimming with action. Shawn1915 picked up another final table, his second this season in two events played. D-Train played his first event in nearly a year making the final table. His last finish was 22nd out of 36 back on February 8th, 2009. Mr Bully recorded his best finish of the year, exiting in 8th place. Baldrik continued his strong play in 7th. He has 3 finishes this season at the final table, good enough for 1st place overall in the standings.

JC has had back to back final table appearances, finishing 2nd and 6th respectively. In Donkey's PTS debut, he stayed alive long enough to cash out in 5th place. Like D-Train, Sean F was also back after a year long hiatus, getting right back into his old ways, making the final table and departing in 4th. The Z Man also finally put together a string of solid finishes, exiting in 6th twice, and 3rd in his last three events this season.

That brings this recap to heads up: The Donator versus Fat Shawn. This heads up match lasted longer then your typical final. Both players observed their fortunes soar and crumble, seemingly several times over with a mixture of aggressive attacks and bad beats. In the end, The Donator conceded to Fat Shawn after being severely out chipped.

This past event marks a tie for highest finish for The Donator's, his last outing this deep was finishing 2nd in the heads up championship back in 2006. For Fat Shawn, this marks his first win ever, despite making 7 final tables in the 10 events he has participated in since last year.

The final table consisted of Fat Shawn, The Donator, The Z Man, Sean F, Donkey, JC, Baldrik, Mr Bully, D-Train and Shawn1915 finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to Fat Shawn!!!

Beginners Luck? Not So Much
December 12, 2009

This season has been firing on all cylinders with consistently large fields. This event was no different. We added yet another 30+ player event and yet another first time winner. To say it was due to beginners luck would misleading at best. No, this is a strong poker player that was immediately considered a threat to win it. 

Last tourney's champ, Bradynutz, didn't enjoy the same success he did the first go around, due to his pocket aces getting cracked by two pair. This was also a bounty event where players had the opportunity to claim an additional $10 if they knocked out the bounty at each table, which was determined at random. Storey eliminated Kodiak and collected a bounty, the first of the night. Other bounty winners were Baldrik for eliminating Sally, Moose for beating Mr Bully and DT4VBall76 for knocking out SHLONG. 

DT4VBall76 ruled the day however, taking out a player here, then a player there. Finally at the final table, Pitrelli places a large raise (6,000 chips). DT4VBall76 calls. Short stack at the table, The Z Man, also calls all in. As the board played out, Pitrelli made his straight and pushed. DT4VBall76 however made his flush and got the rest of his chips in play, eliminating The Z Man in the process and left Pitrelli as the short stack. With more then half the chips in play in front of him, DT4VBall76 never lost the chip lead. 

The final table consisted of DT4VBall76, JC, White, Pitrelli, Baldrik, The Z Man, Dknavel, Ray J, I Hate Cheese and Shawn1915 finishing in that order.

Pitrelli had another top 5 finish and currently sits in 2nd place in the standings. Frankindoodle had his worst finish (15th) but remains atop the leader board. Another strong finish from JC allows her to crack the top 5 in standings as well.   

Congratulations go out to DT4VBall76!!!  

This game is Nutz
November 14, 2009

Another big turnout led to another exciting final table. We enjoyed 39 players in the second event of the year with several new players. We also started seeing some trends as this years leaders begin to emerge. Seasoned veterans like TC, Pitrelli, VfrVendetta and Frankindoodle have been making their moves, while new comers such as Lou and Sabres23 enter into contention. Voglism has taken over the top spot this season after recording two strong finishes (6th and 3rd). This day however was about Bradynutz. This was Bradynutz's 4th event all time finishing as the 24th, 24th and 26th. This day was obviously different. 

Bradynutz played aggressive, rarely allowing people to see free pots and attacking weakness with a large chip stack. Even during his all-in's, Bradynutz seldom trailed by much. His aggressive play earned him a victory over TC who also played some impressive poker. TC was hurt by a few bad beats but continually built his stack back up. The largest hand of the night was the final one where 86,000 chips were at stake. TC moved all in with Ac 7c and was called by Bradynutz who held As Th. The flop was 8d 5s Kd. The turn brought the Qc leaving TC with 3 outs to win, and 9 outs to stay alive as he needed at least a 7, 8 or 5 (the 8 and 5 would chop the pot). The Td hit on the river sealing the event for Bradynutz.

The final table consisted of Bradynutz, TC, Voglism, Fat Shawn, Lou, The Z Man, Crocop, Frankindoodle, I Hate Cheese and Bill finishing in that order.
Congratulations go out to Bradynutz!!!  

Joe Cada Wins the World Series of Poker Main Event
November 10, 2009
Matthew Parvis, Eric Ramsey 

What many thought would be a relative cake walk for the young PokerStars sponsored Joe Cada, turned out to be quite a ride that ended with Cada being crowned the 2009 World Series of Poker Champion.

After a ceremony congratulating the other seven "November Nine" combatants, and a "Shuffle up and Deal" by Motley Crue front man Vince Neil, play got underway at around 10:30 p.m. PST. It only took one hand for the fireworks to start as a raising war broke out on a 3sKs2d flop. When the Ad fell on the turn, Cada checked over to Darvin Moon, who fired 10 million to the "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd. Cada called rather quickly and the Kc fell on the river prompting both players to check. Moon showed down pocket queens which were good against Cada's nines giving Moon a huge boost in chips.

Moon used the first hand of play as a catalyst, and began his march towards the chip lead. Cada seemed to be overmatched and slightly out of sorts playing against the hyper aggressive Darvin Moon. Each time Cada tried to play back at Moon, the logger from Maryland would fire right back, many times three-betting and four-betting his younger foe who many thought would be able to pick apart the less experienced Moon. At one point after a twenty minute break, Moon took control winning 14 of 21 hands dealt.

Cada knew he couldn't let Moon walk over him all night and finally made a stand. Cada, from the button, made it 3 million to go and Moon made the call. The flop came down Tc5d9h and both players checked. The Td on the turn brought about another check from Moon, and Cada decided to test the waters with a bet of 3 million. Moon quickly announced he was all in, leaving Cada to make a decision for his World Series of Poker Main Event life. Cada took a sip of water as he patiently pondered the action. Finally, and quietly, Cada said, "I call," revealing Jh9d. Moon flipped over 7s8s and would need a six or a jack to claim the title. After a painful delay for television, the 3h river was dealt and Cada regained the chip lead, with about 108 million in chips.

Cada extended that lead just a few hands later when his 9cTc rivered two pair on a TdKs7h8h9d board. Moon mucked his hand upon seeing Cada had the winner, and was left with 74.7 million chips to Cada's 120.1 million.

Cada had clearly grabbed the momentum and was pushing forward looking for the knock out blow. On the 364th hand of the final table, only eight hands after he doubled up, Cada seized the title.

Cada, from the button, made it 3 million to go, and Moon decided to stack together some chips and three-bet to 8 million. Cada patiently re-checked his cards before deciding to move all-in. Moon, now facing a decision for his tournament life double-checked his own cards before making the call. When the cards were on their backs, ironically Cada flipped over the 9c9d, showing pocket nines for the second time, the first being the first hand of the heads-up play. Moon, however only had the Qd this time, not two queens, with his other card being the Jd.

It was absolute pandemonium inside the theater. The crowd began jumping up and down in the balcony, everyone screaming cards they hoped to see on the flop. With the eyes of the poker world staring directly at the table, the dealer burned a card and ran the flop:

8c2c7s 

A clean and safe flop for Cada, now two cards away from poker glory. Moon stood up behind his chair with a blank stare. Cada could not bare to watch, he was over in the stands, clutched in the arms of friend and backer Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy. The Kh was scary in appearance to Cada and supporters, but safe nonetheless.

Moon would need to catch a queen or a jack to prevent Joe Cada from wining every last chip in play. The drama was too great for words. With one card to come, and the drama coming to an absolute climax, the dealer slowly peeled off the river card:

7c

A deafening roar echoed through the rafters as Joe Cada was swarmed by his friends and family in the crowd. Darvin Moon shook his head and paced slowly away from the table. Cada quickly came over to shake his hand, and the two men exchanged pleasantries before Moon's exit. After a truly legendary run for Moon, his Main Event was over.

World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack came to the stage and first congratulated Darvin Moon on his spectacular accomplishment before awarding the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet to the twenty-one year old Cada. With tears in his eyes, the newest PokerStars sponsored World Series of Poker champion, Cada proudly held the bracelet above his head thanking his supporters and paying tribute to his competitor Darvin Moon.

We have a new champion ladies and gentleman and his name is Joe Cada.

Article

The more things change...the more they stay the same!
October 17, 2009

To say that Pitrelli had a good season last year would be an understatement. Finishing first overall in 2009 is an accomplishment to be sure. Despite making 6 final tables in 8 events played and making it heads up 3 times, Pitrelli never recorded a tournament win. He saved that for the season opener this year. Pitrelli outlasted a field of 34 players to win his very first event in the series and retain his first overall standing.

The final table consisted of Pitrelli, Frankindoodle, Baldrik, Z, VfrVendetta, Voglism, Mark, Terminators, Mad Dog and Dknavel finishing in that order.

Another notable finish was the return of VfrVendetta. VfrVendetta last played in a PTS event back early in 2008. He returned to make the money in 5th place.

Congratulations go out to Pitrelli!!!  

The PokerNews Top 10: Celebrity Performances in Poker
July 1, 2009
Martin Harris

This is the week when celebrities descend upon the World Series of Poker, with the Ante Up for Africa Celebrity-Charity Tournament on Thursday, and the Main Event which kicks off on Friday. This marks the third year for the Ante Up for Africa event, which over its first two years has attracted many figures from the film and entertainment industries, as well as professional athletes and other well-known figures. The WSOP Main Event has also drawn its share of participants from the world of music, movies, and sports, and will no doubt do so again this time around. The participation of such high-profile non-professionals playing alongside the game’s greats often brings added attention to poker, and on occasion, these celebrity entrants have performed exceptionally well in such circumstances. Here are ten especially notable instances of celebrities making good.

10. Orel Hershiser, Quarterfinals ($75,000), 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship 

Perhaps something in Orel Hershiser’s experience as a major league pitcher who won 204 games, a Cy Young Award, and a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers prepared him for the mental challenge of heads-up poker. Whatever the cause, in his first try at the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Hershiser won his first three matches, defeating Ted Forrest, Allen Cunningham, and Freddy Deeb before finally succumbing to Andy Bloch in the quarterfinals. Hershiser expressed humility afterwards, comparing himself to a 64th seed competing against the likes of North Carolina and Duke in the NCAA tournament. (A near-miss on the list was Ante Up for Africa co-organizer Don Cheadle for his victories over Phil Ivey in the first round of the 2007 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship and over David “the Dragon” Pham in the first round in 2009.)

Orel Hershiser in action at Caesars Palace

9. Sam Simon, 329th place ($39,445), Tobey Maguire, 292nd place ($39,445) and Sully Erna, 237th place ($45,422), 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event (three-way tie)

Sam Simon, the television producer/writer (“Taxi,” “Cheers,” “The Simpsons”), Tobey Maguire, star of Pleasantville (1998), Seabiscuit (2003), and the Spider-Man films, and Salvatore “Sully” Erna, lead singer and songwriter for the heavy metal band Godsmack, all made relatively deep runs at the 2007 WSOP Main Event, outlasting over 6,000 competitors and surviving into the fourth day of play. Erna would follow up his performance five months later with a runner-up finish to J.C. Tran at the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio, earning a cool $307,325.

8. Telly Savalas, 21st place ($8,080), 1992 World Series of Poker Main Event

Actor Telly Savalas was best known for his roles in WWII films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Kelly’s Heroes (1970), although it would be the ‘70s TV detective drama “Kojak” that would turn Salavas into a cultural icon. A longtime poker player, Savalas was part of the scene at Binion’s Horseshoe and the WSOP from the early years, and frequently played in both preliminary events as well as the Main Event. Savalas would make a final table in 1987 in the $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo event, but his greatest triumph would come in 1992 when he finished 21st out of 201 entrants. At that year’s Main Event, won by Hamid Dastmalchi, Savalas finished just ahead of Barry Greenstein (22nd), Mike Sexton (23rd), and Mel Judah (24th).

7. Gabe Kaplan, 6th place (no cash prize), 1980 World Series of Poker Main Event

By 1980, comedian and actor Gabe Kaplan was a pop culture icon thanks to his hit sitcom “Welcome, Back Kotter.” A year before, Kaplan had left the show midway through its fourth season, but was still better known as the wise-cracking high school teacher he portrayed than as a serious poker player. Indeed, Kaplan was still a relative novice when he played in his first ever WSOP Main Event in 1978. Not surprisingly, he was one of the first players eliminated that year. But by the time he took his third shot in 1980, he’d begun to hold his own in high-stakes cash games, and had even won Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker Main Event earlier that year (see item #1). In 1980, there were 73 entrants in the Main Event, and from that field Kaplan managed to make the six-handed final table where he competed against established pros such as Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Jay Heimowitz, and the soon-to-be-legend and eventual champion, Stuey “the Kid” Ungar. Despite making the final table, Kaplan earned no cash prize as only the top five spots paid that year.

6. Shannon Elizabeth, semifinalist ($125,000), 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship

When actress Shannon Elizabeth, best known for her roles in American Pie (1999) and Scary Movie (2000), made her deep run in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, she was already known as one of the better celebrity poker players thanks in part to her victory in a celebrity-only event at Caesars Palace in early 2006. Elizabeth won heads-up matches against Rene Angelil, Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes before finally losing to eventual winner Paul Wasicka in the semifinals.

Shannon Elizabeth at the 2009 WSOP

5. Ben Affleck, 1st place ($356,400), 2004 California State Poker Championship

Better known at the time for having been the co-star and Oscar-winning co-writer of Good Will Hunting (1997) -- or perhaps for his relationship with Jennifer Lopez (to whom he was then engaged) -- Ben Affleck’s victory in the 2004 California State Poker Championship likely marks the first major tournament victory by a celebrity since Gabe Kaplan’s triumph in 1980 in Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker (again, see item #1). Affleck outlasted a tough field, including a final table that included pros Raymond Davis and Amir Vahedi. After his victory, Affleck expressed humility regarding the good fortune he experienced during the tournament, but also credited his success to having been tutored by poker pros Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari, Allen Cunningham, and Gabe Kaplan.

4. Jennifer Tilly, 1st place ($158,335), 2005 WSOP Ladies’ Event, No-Limit Hold’em

Jennifer Tilly began appearing in films during the 1980s, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway (1994). Now most poker fans know her both as poker pro Phil Laak’s significant other as well as a constant presence at major poker tournaments where she has earned nearly half a million dollars over the last five years. However, Tilly’s victory at the 2004 WSOP in the Ladies’ Event in which she bested a field of 601 entrants was her first major success at the poker tables, making her the only celebrity on this list to own a WSOP bracelet.

Jennifer Tilly at the 2008 WSOP

3. Gabe Kaplan, 3rd place ($256,519), 2004 World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown 

Many of those who first came to poker following Chris Moneymaker’s surprising victory in the 2003 WSOP Main Event were probably unaware of Gabe Kaplan’s long poker career when he turned up on the Travel Channel’s telecast of the 2004 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown final table. The $10,000 buy-in event attracted 281 entrants, including nearly all of poker’s elite, and Kaplan’s near-victory certainly sealed his place as a top-notch tournament player. Indeed, a glance at the other five participants at the final table of that event gives a good indication of the caliber of competition Kaplan faced: Jim Meehan (finished 6th), Scotty Nguyen (5th), John Juanda (4th), Lee Watkinson (2nd), and Eli Elezra (1st).

2. Guy Laliberte, 4th place ($696,220), 2007 World Poker Tour Championship, Five Star World Poker Classic

Guy Laliberte is the founder and CEO of Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian entertainment company responsible for numerous productions that uniquely combine ballet, gymnastics, acrobatics, music, and comedy. He had only been playing poker for a couple of years when he won a satellite into the WPT World Championship in the spring of 2007, then proceeded to finish fourth out of 639 entrants in the $25,000 buy-in event. Since that victory, Laliberte has appeared on High Stakes Poker, in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio playing in the Big Game, and at high-stakes online poker tables as well.

1. Gabe Kaplan, 1st place ($190,000), 1980 Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker

After just a couple of years of serious attention to poker, Kaplan won the $10,000 buy-in main event at Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker, an event that at the time rivaled the WSOP in terms of its prestige and the quality of players it attracted. In order to win, Kaplan had to outlast a field that included such legendary figures as Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Bobby Hoff, Johnny Moss, Sailor Roberts, Bobby Baldwin, David Sklansky, Puggy Pearson, and Dewey Tomko. Kaplan would go on to achieve further success at Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl, winning two ace-to-five lowball events in 1983 and 1984.

Gabe Kaplan

Article

2009 PTS Championships 
June 21, 2009

The PTS Championship is a culmination of all of the work that the attending players have put in throughout the season. In past seasons, making the final table was relatively easy. All a player had to do was finish in the top 20 in player rankings and the invite was sent. Often, the championship would start with empty chairs as we struggled to fill the event. 2009 was an exception. With a larger field to draw from, combined with only offering 10 seats (2008 champion was exempted in), making this event was an accomplishment in itself.

SkiMeister was the first to exit the table. Shortly after Dknavel despite making one amazing lay down over another. As the blinds increased, players became more aggressive. 2008 Champion I Hate Cheese had a strong showing in defending her title finishing 3rd. 

The show down was between Kinnan and # 1 ranked player Pitrelli. With 6,300 chips, Pitrelli was at the mercy of Kinnan who held a 5-1 chip lead. Pitrelli did double up, but Kinnan's aggressive style once again pushed Pitrelli below 10,000 chips.

After doubling up again when Pitrelli's 44 beat Kinnan's K3, Pitrelli found himself with the chip lead. Kinnan regained the chip lead back in a match that was like two fighters trading power punches. In the end, Kinnan made a straight and won the championship.  

The final table consisted of Kinnan, Pitrelli, I Hate Cheese, Crocop, Terminators, Shawn1915, JayLeft, The Z Man, Fat Shawn, Dknavel and SkiMeister finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to Kinnan!!!

New Heads Up Champion Crowned 
June 7, 2009

In 2009 we managed to see a very large expansion of the overall PTS field of active players. Sixteen players qualified for the 2009 Heads Up Championship and all of them were in attendance for the event. 

Some of the big guns through out the season would test themselves in this unique format and would go very deep. First place Terminators would make an early exit at the hands of both TC in the first match and Kinnan in the second. Kinnan would also exact revenge against the 2008 HU Champion, The Z Man by knocking him out after losing to him in the first round. 2007 HU Champion, JayLeft would fare better, making it to 5th before falling to Pitrelli. Fat Shawn impressed by going quite deep (4th) and securing a seat at the final table seasonal championship. 

All in all, the finals of the Heads Up Championship would be between Shawn1915 (seeded 3rd) via the winners bracket and Pitrelli (seeded 2nd) via the losers bracket. Pitrelli would need to beat Shawn1915 twice in order to secure the victory. The championship was decided in one game with Shawn1915 outlasting all other players in this shoot out formatted tournament. 

2009 Heads Up Championship Bracket

Congratulations go out to Shawn1915!!!

Poker & Pop Culture: 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'
May 19, 2009
Martin Harris

Sitting atop the box office charts this week is the latest entry into the Star Trek franchise, a new feature film that stands as a prequel to the original 1966-1969 television series. The new film is the eleventh one, building further on the complicated storyline presented in multiple television series over the last four-plus decades.

While references to poker turn up here and there amid the franchise’s many incarnations, it was the second major television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), that saw poker become an especially meaningful part of the show. ST:TNG featured a new crew aboard a new Enterprise, boldly going on new adventures in the 24th century. Punctuating the new crew’s adventures was the senior staff’s weekly poker game, which over the course of TNG’s run provided a kind of motif upon which various character traits and thematic messages were frequently sounded.

The link between poker and ST:TNG would be furthered when one cast member, Wil Wheaton (who played Wesley Crusher), would subsequently become a formidable poker player in his own right, and for a time was a member of Team PokerStars.

Here are ten episodes from TNG in which poker was featured:

The Measure of a Man

Poker is introduced on an early episode of the series, one titled “The Measure of a Man” that appeared during the second season. The episode focuses on the character of Data (played by Brent Spiner), the so-called “sentient” android who serves as the Enterprise’s second officer. The question at issue in “Measure of a Man” is whether or not Data, on some level a “machine,” is nevertheless to be regarded as human. As a way of introducing the theme, the episode cleverly opens up on a poker game involving Data and some other officers.

“There’s more to this than just the cards, Data.” So responds Lt. Geordi La Forge (Levar Burton) to Data’s pregame pronouncement that poker is “exceedingly simple.” The game is five-card stud, and soon Data finds himself involved in a hand with Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Data, having made three queens, fires a bet on the end, only to be raised by Riker who is showing . Data folds, then Riker turns over his hole card -- the .

“You have nothing!” says Data. “It makes very little sense to bet when you cannot win!” The android is incredulous.

“But I did win,” explains Riker. “I was betting that you wouldn’t call.”

The main plot of the episode is then introduced. A visiting Commander named Bruce Maddox, a cyberneticist, wishes to disassemble Data in order to explore the possibility of building more androids like him. When it is determined that the procedure may in fact destroy Data, objections are raised. At one point, Data tries to explain to Maddox that even if he can physically download all of Data’s data in order to analyze it, he still won’t be able to capture the “essence” of who Data is.

“Take games of chance,” says Data, still trying to explain. “I had read and absorbed every treatise and textbook on the subject and found myself well-prepared for the experience [of playing poker]. Yet when I finally played poker, I discovered the reality bore little resemblance to the rules.” Riker’s bluff has taught Data something about the difference between theory and practice, a difference which Data is convinced Maddox fails to appreciate.

Data decides to resign his post rather than be subject to the procedure. However, Maddox explains that since Data is not human, but rather “property,” he hasn’t the right to resign. A hearing is held to determine whether or not Data is in fact human or a machine, and ultimately Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is able to establish enough doubt regarding Data to encourage a favorable ruling and Maddox to withdraw his order.

The Price

Riker’s poker-playing prowess is evoked again in an episode from the third season titled “The Price.” In that one, Riker finds himself representing the Federation in negotiations with others for the proprietorship of a stable wormhole, a kind of passageway that would provide a valuable short cut across space.

In a private discussion, Riker reveals that in his opinion, the most worrisome foe in the negotiations is Devinoni Ral, representing the Chrysalians. “You must play poker, Commander,” a colleague responds.

“Commander Riker conducts master classes in poker,” explains Picard.

Interestingly, it is later revealed in the episode that Ral is part “betazoid,” meaning he has “empathic powers” to sense others’ emotions. Another character, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), is prominently featured in this episode; she, too, is part “betazoid” and so also has empathic powers. The implication here is that Riker’s poker skills helped him peg Ral as an especially suave negotiator.

Ethics

By the fifth season of TNG, poker began appearing more and more frequently on the series. A fifth season episode titled “Ethics” opens with Klingon Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) and La Forge discussing a recently completed poker game, in particular a hand in which Counselor Troi had successfully bluffed Worf out of a pot. Whereas Worf wasn’t sure he had been bluffed, La Forge is able to confirm he was thanks to the fact that with his VISOR (a Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement) he could see through the backs of the cards. La Forge insists, however, that he doesn’t take advantage of his visual edge during their games.

Makes one wonder, a little, how fair it would be to play poker against such an opponent! Not to mention against another (Troi) with “empathic powers.”

The Outcast

In “The Outcast” (another episode from the fifth season), the crew encounter an androgynous species called the J’naii. The J’naii once did exist as male and female, though have evolved into a species that no longer recognizes the distinction, viewing the idea of gender difference as “primitive” and any sort of expression of such difference -- especially sexual activity -- as a perversion. Problems then arise when one of the J’naii and Riker commence a relationship.

Midway through the episode, Data, Worf, Troi, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) play some poker. Again, they appear to playing dealer’s choice, and Troi announces the game she is about to deal is called “Federation Day.” When asked to explain, she says that since the Federation was founded in 2161, deuces, sixes, and aces are all wild.

“That is a woman’s game,” says Worf. “All of those wild cards -- they support a weak hand. A man’s game has no wild cards.” His comment leads Dr. Crusher to note how she had just been explaining to a J’naii -- mistakenly, it appears -- that such prejudices no longer existed in the 24th century. Thus does the poker game, though not part of the main storyline, serve to comment further on the episode’s interesting interrogation of traditional gender roles.

Cause and Effect

The poker game returns in another fifth season episode, “Cause and Effect.” In this one, the crew of the Enterprise is charting an unexplored part of the universe when they encounter a “highly-localized distortion of the space-time continuum.” As it happens, they become caught in a “temporal causality loop” that culminates each time with a collision with another ship, destroying both.

Each time through the loop, the crew becomes increasingly affected by feelings of déjà vu, and eventually these feelings help them determine that they are, in fact, caught in a time loop, stuck there indefinitely thanks to the crashing of the ship. One of the repeated scenes comes from the poker game, specifically a hand of five-card stud dealt by Data to Riker, Worf, and Crusher. The first time through, Crusher successfully calls Riker’s bluff after he misses his straight draw. However, the second time, Riker senses that Crusher will call his bluff, and so abandons the hand. By the third time, the players are calling out the cards before they are dealt, one of several clues leading them to figure out they are stuck in the time loop.

The crew decides to try to send a message to themselves, a warning of the impending disaster, as a means to try to escape the loop. They run through the same scenes once more, only this time the number three keeps appearing in unlikely ways, including in the card game, where everyone’s initial up cards are treys, then each player is improbably dealt trips on the next three streets. As it happens, these clues have been planted, including Data’s having stacked the deck. They reach the final chaotic moments before the crash once again, when alternate plans for averting disaster are again being proposed by crew members. Data recognizes Riker has three rank insignia on his uniform, goes with his plan, and the crew is able to avoid the crash and escape the time loop.

Time’s Arrow

Data’s successful tutelage in poker is later proven in “Time’s Arrow,” a two-part episode that closed the fifth season and opened season six. In that one, the Enterprise goes back to Earth in order to investigate evidence that aliens had been there during the late 19th century -- evidence that includes, oddly enough, Data’s severed head.

During the investigation, Data slips through a time portal and ends up alone in San Francisco in 1893. Stuck without money, he is able to start his progress back to the Enterprise and the 24th century in a poker game. Before he returns, however, Data interacts with another famous poker player, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain).

The Quality of Life

The poker games continued through the sixth season, including in “The Quality of Life,” another episode that explored the question of the difference between human and machine. Again, the episode begins with the poker game, with Dr. Crusher announcing the game as seven-card stud with one-eyed jacks wild.

As the game proceeds, the players are discussing La Forge’s new beard, leading Crusher to say she has always been suspicious of men in beards. “It’s as though they are trying to hide something,” she says.

Riker and Worf quickly defend their decisions to grow beards, with Worf saying a beard is a “symbol of courage” and Riker a “sign of strength” -- comments Crusher immediately reads as slighting women, who cannot grow beards.

They decide to change the stakes of the game: if Crusher wins, the men will shave their beards; if she loses, she must dye her hair and become a brunette. They begin the hand, but the game gets interrupted, much to Crusher’s dismay, who apparently had a nice start to her stud hand.

Descent

One of the more memorable poker scenes from TNG comes at the beginning of the two-part episode “Descent” that closed the sixth season and opened season seven. In the scene, Data plays a poker game with Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and Stephen Hawking (played by himself) on the holodeck -- a kind of virtual reality room in which individuals can interact with holographic simulations. The trio share some humorous banter until Newton gets impatient with Einstein, who is having trouble adding up what is needed to stay in the hand.

“What is the point of this ridiculous game?” asks an exasperated Newton. Data explains: “When I play poker with my shipmates, it often appears to be a useful forum for exploring the different facets of humanity. I was curious to see how three of history’s greatest minds would interact in this setting. So far it has proven quite... illuminating.” Data’s tone suggests a certain sarcasm, as if the experiment has actually been less illuminating than he had hoped.

The group appears to be playing five-card draw, and when Hawking raises both Newton and Data out of a pot, Einstein responds confidently. “The uncertainty principle will not help you now, Stephen,” says Einstein. “All the quantum fluctuations in the universe will not change the cards in your hand. You are bluffing, I call.” At which point Hawking shows his quad sevens.

Lower Decks

In another episode from the sixth season, “Lower Decks,” we learn that not only does the senior staff play poker, but so do the junior officers. In this episode, the junior officers are being evaluated for promotions. They gather for their game at the same time the senior staff is playing theirs, and cross-cutting between the games shows that each group is sharing speculations about members of the other. The cross-cutting between the games also highlights parallels between Riker and a junior officer named Lavelle. Both make big bets at the end, and in both cases their opponents suspect them of bluffing and are called. Riker, it turns out, was not bluffing, while Lavelle was.

All Good Things...

As if to confirm the significance of poker on TNG, the final episode of the series -- titled “All Good Things...” -- concludes with one last poker game. In this two-parter, Capt. Picard suffers through a neurological difficulty called Irumodic syndrome, causing him to move wildly back and forth through time. After much drama and strife, it is discovered near the end of the episode that the entire ordeal has been caused by the recurring character named “Q” (played by John de Lancie) as a kind of test of Picard.

In the closing minutes of the episode, the senior staff is shown gathering around the poker table one last time. Riker is once more dominating the game. “Four hands in a row, how does he do it?” asks Worf (who never seems to win).

“I cheat,” says Riker. Data looks up in alarm. “Only kidding,” Riker explains.

Picard then arrives and surprises the crew by asking if he might join the game. They offer him a chair and invite him to deal. As he shuffles the cards, he stops and gazes around the table. “I should have done this a long time ago,” says Picard.

“You were always welcome,” says Counselor Troi.

It’s a genuinely moving moment, coming after an episode in which Picard’s sense of self has been challenged considerably. Much as the poker game functioned in earlier episodes to help clarify certain ideas about what constitutes life and humanity, gender roles, relationships, and other matters, here the game is clearly connected to the idea of friendship, helping to confirm a final message of the episode and of the series.

“Five-card stud, nothing wild,” says Picard, announcing the game. “And the sky’s the limit.”

Article

PTS Final Open Event finally gives SkiMeister his win 
May 16, 2009

All this really was, was the conclusion of open events in a long season of poker. Right? Not of you asked Tim, aka SkiMeister. Many players were looking to qualify for the heads up championship and possibly a seat at the final table later in June. SkiMeister was looking for a win that seemed somewhat elusive. Always a player that found himself deep into some of the larger tournaments, one thing or another would happen that would force him out earlier then desired. This day was different and SkiMeister held on until the end.

SkiMeister made it to heads up holding a decisive chip lead over Crocop. Holding 3h2h in the big blind, SkiMeister was content to see a flop. Crocop holding 9s5s also chose to see the flop cheaply. In the end, Crocop had a straight, and needed to decide whether to call all his chips in despite three hearts on the board. With a hand that strong heads up and being low on chips, the decision was relatively automatic and SkiMeister's flush gave him his first win over Crocop.

The final table consisted of SkiMeister, Crocop, Terminators, Longhorns, TC, Dknavel, MX Dad, Bill, JayLeft and The Z Man finishing in that order.

The top 16 players that have qualified for the Heads Up Championships are: Terminators, Pitrelli, Shawn1915, SkiMeister, Crocop, JayLeft, Dknavel, The Z Man, Kinnan, JC, Baldrik, Kiser, Fat Shawn, HChiarello, Maximum Joy and TC.

Congratulations go out to SkiMeister!!!

Poker Book Review: ‘Check-Raising the Devil’ by Mike Matusow, with Amy Calistri and Tim Lavalli
May 12, 2009
Martin Harris

“I suppose if things had happened in a slightly different way, I wouldn’t be writing this book.” So explains one of poker’s most compelling figures over the last decade, Mike Matusow. The line appears amid the opening pages of Matusow’s new autobiography, Check-Raising the Devil, written in collaboration with Amy Calistri and Tim Lavalli, and helps set an appropriately sober tone for the unflinchingly candid self-portrait that follows.

Matusow’s story is a sometimes jubilant, sometimes harrowing tale, punctuated throughout by remarkable successes and equally remarkable failures. Indeed, the swings of professional poker -- the highs and lows of which, in and of themselves, can make even the most balanced individual’s head spin -- serve as a mere baseline upon which the even greater climaxes and depressions of Matusow’s life have been built.

Many who come to Check-Raising the Devil will likely be familiar with at least some of the details of Matusow’s distinguished poker career, the highlights of which include three WSOP bracelets and over $7 million in tournament winnings. Most will read with memories of some or all of the more high-profile moments, particularly those that were televised, such as Matusow’s two WSOP Main Event final tables (2001, 2005), his run-ins with certain opponents during the peak years of the poker boom (e.g., Greg Raymer at the 2004 WSOP, Shawn Sheikhan at the 2005 WSOP, Phil Hellmuth at the 2005 Tournament of Champions), or his deep run at last summer’s WSOP Main Event.

Such exposure may have led some to think they already know all there is to know of the often contentious, brash-talking, controversy-seeking personality most commonly referred to on TV as “the Mouth.” However, those possessed with such assumptions will be surprised by the highly vulnerable figure the book presents, one full of self-doubt, shyness, low self-esteem, and a sometimes extreme need for others’ acceptance. Like other great poker players, it takes little to trigger Matusow’s hubris (“I think I can spot weakness in a live game better than any human alive”). But there’s a consistent humility and acceptance of limitations underscoring every passage in Check-Raising the Devil that humanizes Matusow, makes it easier to identify with him, and perhaps causes his story to become much more compelling than it would be otherwise.

That line speculating about “things happening in a slightly different way” leads Matusow to evoke the late Stu Ungar, the three-time WSOP Main Event champion whose life of drug addiction and excess contributed to his premature demise at the age of 45. Indeed, the potential parallels between Ungar’s story and that of Matusow are unmistakable, right down to the biography Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson authored about Ungar, One of a Kind (2005) -- among recent poker books probably the one that bears the most similarity to Check-Raising the Devil. Dalla and Alson’s book also began as a collaborative autobiography, but became something slightly different -- and was given a tragic finale -- with Ungar’s death in 1998. Indeed, much of the suspense of Matusow’s story involves hearing “the Mouth” tell how he managed to avoid Ungar’s fate.

The book begins in the early 1990s, with a 23-year-old Matusow pursuing a self-described “dead end” existence living in a trailer, working in his parents’ furniture store, and regularly blowing his paycheck on video poker. That’s when a friend introduces Matusow to live poker, and soon he discovers in himself a talent for reading players and understanding how to bet opponents off of their hands. Focusing primarily on limit hold’em, Matusow soon begins to earn enough to encourage him to leave his job and play poker full time, though not before a significant stint as a dealer at various Vegas card rooms, most particularly Sam’s Town.

The building of a bankroll is hampered, however, by one of Matusow’s many self-destructive behaviors -- sports betting. Finally Matusow finds a backer who insists he stop betting sports, and Matusow’s professional poker career begins in earnest. Matusow discovers early success at the WSOP, just missing a bracelet with a runner-up finish in an Omaha Hi-Lo event in 1997, then earning a huge payday in 1998 after backing Scotty Nguyen in the WSOP Main Event (which Nguyen won). That windfall enables Matusow to buy a house and move out of the trailer. The following year Matusow would win a bracelet of his own in a no-limit hold’em event.

The remaining narrative can roughly be divided into three periods: what might be called the “party years” (2000-2003), a time highlighted by more tournament successes but marred by drug abuse; a transitional period during which Matusow rid himself of (street) drugs and was properly diagnosed as suffering from both bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which culminated with his arrest for drug trafficking and six-month prison term (2003-2005); then the triumphant return of “a new Mike, a better Mike, a changing Mike” who found himself mostly victorious in his battles both at the poker tables and with his personal demons (2005-2008).

The first period sees Matusow making the 2001 WSOP Main Event final table, earning his second WSOP bracelet in 2002, and enjoying some of his greatest successes at the cash tables. The poker stories are interwoven with the relation of his introduction to drugs (first ecstasy, then primarily crystal meth), and the reckless, short-sighted lifestyle they helped inspire. While there is certainly a sensational aspect to the stories of sex, drugs, and high-stakes living, the book by no means celebrates drug use, with Matusow repeatedly criticizing his poor decision-making, his susceptibility to bad advice, and his prior unwillingness to practice such needed self-reflection.

When Matusow finally does manage to divert himself from Ungar’s road to ultimate ruin, the story becomes somewhat heart-wrenching as he tells of his diagnosis and treatment, the reader learning along with Matusow the extent of his disorders and how his drug-taking had further exacerbated them. Sparing no details, Matusow also recounts his arrest for drug trafficking, the negotiations that resulted in a six-month jail term, and the experience of living behind bars. While Matusow offers some rationalization for the decisions that led to his incarceration, readers are largely left to decide for themselves the extent of Matusow’s guilt.

Matusow’s release in the spring of 2005 leads into accounts of his final table at that year’s Main Event as well as his victory at the Tournament of Champions. Even if one is already familiar with the details of these tournaments, the narration of them here is especially compelling given the added knowledge of Matusow’s many trials (literal and otherwise). As Matusow carries the story to the present, he describes himself having found a new, profitable balance in his life.

Check-Raising the Devil is a remarkable book that, much like its subject, can be regarded in multiple ways. It is a significant contribution to poker history, providing a detailed chronicle of the last decade of professional poker, a period of dramatic growth documented here from the perspective of one of its central figures. It is an object lesson that warns against the dangers of both drug abuse and other temptations lurking in the shadows of the high-stakes poker world. It is the author’s confession, in a way completing the process of “coming clean” described within. But the book also stands as Matusow’s apologia or self-defense, an attempt to set the record straight and perhaps, as he famously pronounced following his 2005 Tournament of Champions victory, provide for himself some “vindication”.

The check-raise is perhaps one of the more defiant moves a player can make in poker, often representing an aggressive attempt to take control of a hand in which one hadn’t previously had the lead. It is hard not to view Check-Raising the Devil as a similarly bold gesture by Matusow, a manner of taking charge of the hand he’s been dealt.

Article

Rivers Defeats Duke in 'Celebrity Apprentice' Finale
May 11, 2009
Martin Harris

After eleven weeks of contentious reality television, comedian Joan Rivers was chosen on Sunday night by Donald Trump as his “Celebrity Apprentice,” meaning poker pro Annie Duke came up just short in her quest. Duke outlasted 14 other contestants, but despite raising three times the money Rivers and her team did in the show’s final task, Duke became the last of the season to hear from Trump those fateful words: “You’re fired.”

The show has been of particular interest to poker players this spring thanks to Duke’s participation and successful run. When asked about the significance of Duke’s presence on the show, World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said it represented “a quantum leap forward for the mainstreaming of poker into our pop culture,” adding that in his opinion Duke “was representing poker players beautifully” and that “the net effect was going to be very good for poker and the World Series of Poker.” Duke’s frequent sparring with Rivers also helped make it especially popular among all viewers, and it was announced during Sunday’s finale that Trump’s show would be back for a ninth season.

The show’s format requires contestants to collaborate on various fund-raising tasks, thus placing a premium on communication and the ability to work productively with others. Duke and Rivers began the season as teammates on the women’s “Athena” team (named after the Greek goddess), which dominated the men’s team, named “KOTU” (Kings of the Universe) in the early going. It didn’t take long, however, for the two women’s personalities to clash, and by the eighth episode their feud had risen to the point where Duke’s “business is business” approach to the various tasks had inspired Rivers to lash out repeatedly at the poker pro.

In one of the several quarrelsome board room meetings that punctuate the show, Trump mentioned that in his view Duke seemed “nice,” prompting Rivers to retort “so was Hitler at Buchenwald” (the concentration camp that operated from 1937 to 1945 at which 250,000 Jews were gassed by the Nazi regime). In the next episode, Rivers also would refer to Duke as a “Nazi,” as well as offer a more general criticism of poker players, some of whom had contributed to Duke’s charity fund-raising efforts. According to Rivers, such donations represented “money with blood on it,” concluding that “poker players are trash, darling.”

Such strife added extra hype to Sunday night’s finale, to which NBC devoted three hours of prime time. The show began with Trump entering the theatre at the Museum of Natural History in New York City to a standing ovation. “First, Happy Mother’s Day,” Trump began. “And boy, do we have two mothers for you.” He went on to describe Rivers and Duke as “tough,” “smart,” and “vicious,” before introducing the last fund-raising task of the season.

The assignment was to host a VIP party that would include a silent auction. There would be five criteria by which each player’s success would be judged: (1) the amount of money raised, part of which would come from the selling of tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show; (2) the integration of sponsor Kodak’s brand; (3) the integration of each player’s chosen charity into the party/auction; (4) the star power of the celebrities each could solicit to attend; and (5) the guests’ overall satisfaction. Six former contestants, previously “fired” by Trump, were brought back and from that group Rivers and Duke each selected their three-person teams for the final task. Duke chose Playboy Playmate Brande Roderick, former NBA player Dennis Rodman, and comedian Tom Green. Rivers chose former football star Herschel Walker, country music performer Clint Black, and her daughter, Melissa.

The majority of the episode was taken up with prerecorded segments chronicling the teams’ frantic preparations and the parties themselves. Both teams encountered various forms of drama along the way, exacerbated somewhat by the mid-preparation quitting of the event planners assigned to both parties. At one juncture, “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer offered a point-by-point comparison of the two finalists, concluding that while Duke was “all business,” Joan was “all heart,” highlighting a primary storyline that had been contrived by the “reality” show.

As happened in previous episodes, some familiar faces to the poker world turned up in support of Duke’s cause, including her brother, Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth, Jr., Andy Bloch, and Perry Friedman (among others). In the end, Duke managed to raise $465,725 with her auction, a great deal more than the $150,830 raised by Rivers. Duke was also judged to have better integrated her chosen charity, Refugees International, into her party than Rivers. However, Rivers was judged to have bested Duke with regard to the other three criteria, the Kodak branding, the celebrities, and the guests’ experience.

The show concluded with a live board room meeting, during which Trump asked various questions of both the contestants and others in attendance. Rivers again evoked cultural prejudices against poker players, belittling the money raised by Duke as “mafia money” and reiterating her wish to “win with honor.” When asked by Trump whether or not “degenerate gamblers” had contributed to her cause, Duke responded that poker was a “skill game” and should not be regarded as gambling.

“But it is gambling,” responded Trump.

“Less than the stock market is,” was Duke’s reply, a point which Trump conceded.

As always on the show, Trump had the last word. “Annie, do you know what I’m going to say?” he asked. Then came the bad news: “Annie, you’re fired.” Rivers’ victory meant an additional $250,000 would go to her chosen charity, God’s Love We Deliver. All told, Rivers raised over a half a million dollars for the organization whose mission is to deliver meals to patients suffering from AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. Duke, meanwhile, was able to raise over $730,000 over the course of the show for Refugees International, a group that works to improve living conditions for displaced peoples around the world.

Article

Shawn1915 Finds the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow
May 2, 2009

With 22 players attending the survival event, everyone was looking to make it to the final five where the cash game would begin. This event is unique in several ways. It has a slightly larger buy in, and players make the final five have the right to stand up and walk away with the chips they have on the table. That is because once the final five are determined, the tournament chips are removed from the table and are replaced wit real money chips. Only the short stack can pick up their money and leave. Everyone else needs to continue playing until a winner is determined. The winner receives 25% of the total prize pool for winning the event.

The outcome of events like this typically end up with only a couple of players receiving the entire pot. This year, three players voluntarily took their winnings and conceded defeat.

Once only five remained, the chip stacks were as follows:

Maximum Joy needed no time to decide what to do. Happy with her 5th place showing, she immediately cashed out before a hand was dealt. Hchiarello decided to test the waters and play continued with blinds starting at $1/$2. Most of the action occurred between Shawn1915 and Mr Bully, each making large bets forcing the other to fold while JC and Hchiarello's chip stacks suffered. Finally, Mr Bully was eliminated as he attempted to double up.

With three remaining, play continued until JC doubled up off of Shawn1915. After 45 minutes of cash game play, blinds at $2/$4, Hchiarello cashed in for $25. JC then immediately cashed in for $149, leaving Shawn1915 with an uncontested win, and $362 in prize money.

The final table consisted of Shawn1915, JC, Hchiarello, Mr Bully, Maximum Joy, GenoCasinoMan, Pitrelli, Kiser, Crocrop and Fat Shawn finishing in that order.

With his win, Shawn1915 also joins the elite club of multiple winners along side Z and four others. There are now only six players to have ever won more then one event. Shawn1915 also becomes the first and only player of the 2009 season to win multiple events. 

Congratulations go out to Shawn1915!!!

Z Joins Elite Company
April 4, 2009

The knock out tournament was the smallest event of the 2009 season was certainly not short on dramatic moments. Twenty six players would battle it out on three tables to solidify their position as they enter the final stretch of the year. This event also added five new people to this years series, four of which (Patch, Longhorns, Thunder and GenoCasinoMan) never played in a PTS event before. The newbies represented half of the final table in spectacular fashion. In the end, an old veteran would be the one with all of the chips.

There were some big hands in the event. A full house was beaten by a straight flush on one. On another, three people would be all in and two would be eliminated. Thunder moved all in with 8,300 chips pre-flop. I Hate Cheese then move all in with 8,400 chips. The action moved then to JC who also had exactly 8,400 chips. Thunder turned over A9. I Hate Cheese had JJ and JC held KK. The kings held on and JC became the new chip leader. 

Once the tournament went to heads up, Z and The Z Man would enjoy a sequel to the 2006 Seasonal Championship, albeit with very different results. Z held a 5 to 3 chip lead at the start of play. The two would go heads up for twenty minutes before Z finally came out on top. 

With the win, Z also joined some very exclusive company. With a total of 125 players that have played in the series over the past 4 years, only four people have won more then one tournament. This win made Z the fifth player to win multiple events. 

The final table consisted of Z, The Z Man, Patch, JC, MX Dad, I Hate Cheese, Thunder, Bill, Longhorns and GenoCasinoMan finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to Z!!!

Poker & Pop Culture: Wild Bill Hickok and the Dead Man's Hand
March 17, 2009
Martin Harris

When Harrah's Entertainment acquired the World Series of Poker from Binion's Horseshoe in 2004, it also took over the business of managing the Poker Hall of Fame, first created by Benny Binion in 1979. The Poker Hall of Fame remains an exclusive club, with only 37 members having been enshrined to date. 

Scanning the list of those elected, nearly all readily satisfy the four criteria originally set forth for becoming a Hall of Famer: (1) the "player must have played high stakes"; (2) the "player must have played against acknowledged top competition"; (3) the "player must have played well consistently and gained the respect of his peers"; and (4) the "player must have stood the test of time." 

Some members are perhaps better known not as players but for other contributions to poker, although even those tend to have been successful players, too. Sid Wyman (a charter member in 1979) was best known for his ownership of several casinos, but was also a highly regarded high-stakes player. Henry Orenstein (elected in 2008) owns the patent for the hole card camera, that device that has proven so important for the exploding popularity of poker over recent years, and while his induction is primarily connected to that achievement, he, too, is a respected poker player whose many successes at the tables include winning a WSOP bracelet in seven card stud in 1996. 

Only a couple of names on the list of 37 appear to provide serious challenges to the criteria that the honored individual be a consistent winner at high-stakes poker. Edmund Hoyle, also elected with the initial class of '79, died in 1769 and thus never played poker as such, since the game (as we know it) was invented subsequent to his death. Hoyle is nevertheless recognized by the Poker Hall of Fame for his having authored several early, influential rulebooks for card games. 

There is one Hall of Famer, however, whose poker playing ability was not only suspect, but openly questioned by his peers and later historians. Yet his is likely the most immediately recognizable name of all 37, especially to the non-poker playing public. And it is safe to say he was involved in what was probably the single most famous, most written about hand of poker ever -- at least at the time of his induction in 1979. 

Wild Bill Hickok, Lawman 

James Butler Hickok was born in 1837 in Illinois. At the age of 19, Hickok left home and spent some time driving a stagecoach on the Sante Fe Trail, then became a scout for the Union during the Civil War. Afterward, he also served with ill-fated General George Custer in the Indian Wars before becoming a sheriff (in Hays, Kansas) and later a marshal (in Abilene, Kansas). 

As a lawman, Hickok's reputation as violent and quick-tempered was well established, thanks largely to his involvement in some highly publicized duels that were somewhat typical of the Old West. An article 
country. In the article, George Ward Nichols interviewed Hickok and recounted his successes in several gunfights, likely embellishing his credentials considerably in an effort to create a more interesting, "mythic" figure with which to rouse readers' imaginations. 

One such duel, in which Hickok killed a former Confederate soldier named Davis Tutt, apparently resulted from a dispute over a gambling debt. This was in Missouri in 1865, some time before Hickok began his career as a lawman in Kansas. Although many of the details of the event are unclear, the debt undoubtedly arose from a poker game. Thus when the story of Hickok's killing Tutt and later being acquitted as acting in self-defense was retold in Harper's, Hickok's predilection for poker became part of the article's characterization of the much-feared lawman with a quick trigger. 

Wild Bill Hickok, Poker Player 

Following another gunfight in 1871 in which Hickok accidentally killed a deputy, he lost his position as marshal. It was around that time that Hickok met Agnes Thatcher Lake, the woman with whom he would eventually fall in love and marry in March 1876. In need of money -- a situation possibly exacerbated by Hickok's card-playing -- a tip from a friend would lead Hickok to leave his new bride behind in Missouri to travel to the Black Hills of South Dakota either to mine for gold or to get involved with law enforcement, then bring Agnes out afterward. 

It should be noted as an aside that somewhere along the way a woman named Martha Jane Cannary, a.k.a. "Calamity Jane," met Hickok and would later make claims about their relationship that many historians have since proven to have been mostly invented. Such stories about a possible romance between Hickok and Calamity Jane have nevertheless become part of American lore thanks to various cinematic adaptations of Hickok's life story as well as the fact that Cannary managed to have herself buried next to Hickok at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood. 

Hickok arrived in Deadwood, South Dakota in the summer of 1876, and while he never did find gold or a job, he did find an ongoing poker game in Deadwood's Saloon No. 10. In Ghosts at the Table, Des Wilson attempts to uncover various details of Hickok's story, including trying to estimate his abilities as a poker player. "The balance of opinion suggests that, if not exactly a 'fish,' he was not an outstanding player," writes Wilson, adding that, in fact, some historians have surmised Hickok may have even been guilty of cheating at cards now and again. 

Regarding the latter charge, Wilson shares the famous, likely apocryphal story about the feisty Hickok. A big pot had developed, and at the showdown his opponent, named McDonald, called out his hand as "jacks full." "I've got aces full of sixes," Hickok responded. However, when he turned over his hand there was only one six to go with his three aces. When McDonald pointed out the discrepancy, Hickok drew his pistol. 

"Here is the other six," Hickok explained. McDonald relinquished the pot. 

Hickok was 39 years old when he went to South Dakota, suffering from poor eyesight as a result of glaucoma. Indeed, some have noted that his failing vision reduced his prospects for ever finding another job as a lawman, and that perhaps he was relying on poker to support himself -- whether by his playing ability, or, as some have speculated, his ability to intimidate opponents with the threat of violence. 

In any event, it was in Deadwood's Saloon No. 10 that Hickok would play his last hand of poker, perhaps the most famous in American popular culture. 

Dead Man's Hand: Aces and Eights 

Hickok biographer Thadd Turner tells how on August 1, 1876, Hickok had been involved in a game of draw poker with a player who had introduced himself as Bill Sutherland. A hand developed wherein Hickok had made a substantial bet on the end, and Sutherland called with all he had left -- a pouch of gold dust. Hickok won the hand, but when the dust was weighed it was discovered Sutherland was $16-$18 short. Sutherland left the saloon and returned with enough gold dust to make up the difference. Hickok asked if the young man was now tapped out, and when he said he was Hickok offered to give him a dollar, which the prideful Sutherland refused. 

The next day, August 2, Hickok was back again at Saloon No. 10 playing draw poker with three others. Normally Hickok was said to have made it a habit of taking a seat with his back to the wall, but in this instance another player, Charlie Rich, was unwilling to move when Hickok arrived. So Hickok was not facing the saloon entrance when Sutherland, whose actual name (it was later discovered) was Jack McCall, entered the saloon. 

It was about three in the afternoon, and Rich had just dealt a new hand. Another player, Captain William Massey, and Hickok engaged in the betting, and were about to show their cards. Massey's hand is unknown, but upon seeing it Hickok threw his hand down in disgust, reportedly uttering "The old duffer, he broke me on that hand!" as he did. At that moment, McCall stepped behind Hickok, drew a pistol out from under his jacket, and shot Hickok in the back of the head, killing him instantly. 

In the ensuing melee, McCall escaped but was soon captured and hastily tried for the killing, though was found innocent thanks in part to his story that Hickok had formerly killed his brother. (It was later determined that McCall had no brother.) It is unclear what exactly McCall's motive might have been, other than retaliation for having been embarrassed by Hickok's generous gesture the day before. McCall was eventually retried, however, and executed by hanging in March 1877. 

In Ghosts at the Table, Wilson shares some interesting investigative work aiming to determine precisely what cards Hickok had held during his last poker hand. Most accounts suggest Hickok held AsAc8s8c, with the fifth card unknown. One story involves a delivery man named Richard Stephens, who happened to be at Saloon No. 10 at the time of the shooting, scooping up the famous gunfighter's cards and his descendants later donating them to a museum. That hand was AdAc8h8sQh, although there appears to have been no attempt to authenticate the cards as Hickok's. Wilson concludes that while much doubt remains regarding "the fifth card," all accounts generally agree upon the fact that Hickok held two pair, aces and eights, a hand which has therefore since been dubbed the "Dead Man's Hand." 

Hickok may not have played for the highest stakes, against the best competition, or even well enough to be acknowledged a great player by his peers. But the story of his final hand has certainly "stood the test of time," thereby earning him a permanent place in poker history, as well as the Poker Hall of Fame. 

Article

Poker Book Review: Alan Schoonmaker's 'Poker Winners Are Different'
March 10, 2009
Martin Harris

"Many experts estimate that -- because of the rake, tips, and other expenses -- 85-90 percent of all cardroom and online players are long-term losers." So one reads on the first page of Poker Winners Are Different, the latest from Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, author of four books on industrial psychology (in which he holds a Ph.D.) as well as numerous poker articles and three other books that focus on psychological issues in poker. 

What distinguishes that relatively small percentage of poker players who are not losing, particularly those who manage to do better than just eke out a small profit, but win consistently? That's the question Schoonmaker spends the remainder of his book answering, with the result being an insightful catalogue of qualities characterizing both poker winners and losers. Poker Winners Are Different additionally offers a great deal of practical advice for identifying and addressing those areas in one's own psychological makeup in need of attention before one can become part of the small percentage of players who profit over the long term. 

It should be noted that Schoonmaker dutifully adds to the above-quoted statement the disclaimer that "no solid data" exists to do more than estimate percentages of winners and losers in poker, although he does cite a source reporting that two online poker sites' managers once revealed only seven and eight percent of their players, respectively, finish the year with a profit. Of course, most poker players know intuitively that assertions about the relative paucity of winners are most likely true. Indeed, anyone who has played poker for even a short amount of time understands that even if players' claims sometimes suggest otherwise, there are many more losers than winners, and among the winners very few who win consistently over the long term. 

Schoonmaker sets out with the premise that while players' relative skill levels certainly differ, "in most games the skill differences between players are much smaller than the differences in their motives, discipline, thoughts, reactions to feelings, and decisiveness." One can only improve one's poker skills so much, says Schoonmaker, with one's "natural ability" often determining just how skillful a player one can become. However, one can improve significantly in those other areas of one's behavior and personality that have such a profound effect on one's bottom line at the tables. Thus those are the areas to which Schoonmaker gives the most attention in Poker Winners Are Different. 

As is true of Schoonmaker's other books, one finds the author well-versed in ongoing conversations about the many psychological issues he has chosen to tackle. Such an approach most certainly stems from Schoonmaker's academic background, distinguishing his writings from many other poker books with regard to the author's awareness of what others have written. Schoonmaker frequently quotes others' books, articles, or observations (offered in online forums, discussion groups, private emails, and elsewhere) to help support or clarify his many observations. A clear benefit from such a methodology is the way the reader comes away from Poker Winners Are Different not just having learned Schoonmaker's current thoughts regarding these issues, but also with a good idea of what the poker community at large has had to say about them, circa early 2009. 

Following an introductory part, Parts 2-5 of the book concentrate on various ways winners successfully "get the best of it" by controlling their focus, their thought processes, the information they transmit, and their reactions to feelings. Part 6, the last, then shifts to consider how winners subsequently "make the most of it" by acting decisively. 

The book's chapters separately highlight various qualities possessed by winning players, with chapter titles identifying the distinct qualities discussed within each, e.g., "Winners Focus on Other People," "Winners Are Brutally Realistic," "Winners Prepare Thoroughly," "Winners Depersonalize Conflicts," "Winners Pay Their Dues," and the like. While each chapter helpfully outlines the particular trait exhibited by the winning player (and methods by which one can learn to exhibit the trait more effectively oneself), there also come contrasting sketches of the losing player who lacks the trait being discussed. For example, in the chapter explaining how "Winners Concentrate Intensely," Schoonmaker explains how winning players "rarely think about anything that won't help them win," but also identifies ways losing players often "tune out" or otherwise find it difficult to keep their attention directed toward gathering information needed to play more successfully. 

The ongoing contrast between winners and losers recalls other, non-poker texts which similarly function as guidebooks for psychological training or "self-help," especially those books that particularly examine how psychological issues tend to affect one's financial well being. T. Harv Eker's Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, a nationwide bestseller published in 2005, springs to mind. Eker's book includes a list of distinctions between "rich people" and "poor people" -- e.g., "Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles" -- a list that Schoonmaker's dichotomy of winning and losing poker players in some cases uncannily echoes. 

As Schoonmaker has done in his previous books, he again here incorporates activities for the reader designed to help one apply the advice he shares. To that end, nearly every chapter (save the last) concludes with questions asking the reader to decide "How Do You Rate?" with regard to the issue just discussed. The reader is invited to record answers to these questions in the final chapter, then to review those answers in order to identify potential problems preventing one from winning. Schoonmaker then offers a multi-step program for addressing those problems one at a time. 

Some readers will likely resist doing the exercises and the work of self-assessment. As Schoonmaker himself admits near the end of the book, a friend of his cautioned him as much, telling him "'Most people won't do all the work you recommend.'" To this warning, Schoonmaker has a ready reply: "He is right, but most poker players are losers. And the biggest reason they lose is that they won't pay their dues. If you really want to be one of the few winners, you have to work." 

To be honest, I found myself resisting the self-ratings at first, though eventually I realized Schoonmaker was helping me consciously acknowledge certain areas where my motives and discipline did not resemble that of winners. Anyone who reads Poker Winners Are Different and takes its advice seriously -- that is, who reads attentively, performs the recommended exercises, and does the work -- will surely gain at least some practical benefit or self-insight that can be applied toward the improving of one's game. And, as a result, become "different" from that large percentage of non-winners who don't. 

Article

Politics and Poker: Are You Feeling Stimulated?
February 22, 2009
Denis Campbell

Good, you should be. In a remarkable move, the President got the newly elected Congress moving and together they passed a massive $787.5 billion piece of legislation in just 26 days. This stimulus package is but the first step in the overturning of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) and the regulated opening of the vast US market to online poker. While the constellations are beginning to move into alignment four weeks into the administration of President Barack Obama, don't put the champagne on ice just yet, as there are still a few asteroid belts to safely navigate. 

Reverend Richard McGowan, economics professor from my alma mater Boston College, said in an interview with Gambling Compliance, "There is an infinitely better shot. You have Barney Frank who is all raring to go." 

And you have desperate state governors who know they will need more than the stimulus bill to get them to where they need to be in tax receipts, so any income source will be quickly embraced. 

Three keys to recent happenings in Washington: 

1) The bad (really good) news of Judd Gregg's "go away, no wait a minute, no go away," flameout at Commerce means Obama can ditch the bipartisan Cabinet talk and appoint a non-political business person. That would be very good news for the bill's passage and sale. The ultra-conservative New Hampshire Senator would not have helped Barney Frank (House Banking Committee Chair) move the bill forward in any way. Indeed he had already earned a card in the anti-gambling deck for previous positions against gaming laws. 

Also, The Department of Commerce was elevated almost to first-tier Cabinet level, alongside State, Defense, Treasury and Justice, because of Bill Richardson's failed effort to secure the coveted Secretary of State slot, losing out to Hillary. Given Richarson's past as a former Clinton Cabinet member and huge campaign supporter/surrogate, they had to make it a bigger deal. However, when they realized an ultra-conservative Republican would control the 2010 census and, ultimately, Congressional redistricting, they pulled that from Commerce (which is partly why Gregg withdrew). 

2) Obama ridiculed banking bonuses, jets and junkets last week saying bank executives, "just don't get it." When news also hit that Wells Fargo (a bank receiving TARP funds) was planning a "recognition event" at an exclusive five-star Las Vegas resort, the pressure built steadily for them to get a clue and cancel it. When the CEO of Goldman Sachs was later caught on a global conference call calling performance bonuses "retention rewards," banking (and by extension automotive) industry executives nervously headed for the hills. 

There is a virtual tribe of bloggers and citizen journalists looking for and calling out banks and other hurting companies laying off thousands of employees or otherwise asking for government assistance, then taking rich junkets. 

It's had the unintended consequence of gutting an already hurting Las Vegas convention and gaming business. Most of the serious players in the online gaming business are controlled or funded (at least in part) by the big players, so the entire gaming industry is holding its collective breath as the economy could be the real straw man here. 

3) California, New York and Pennsylvania, three big politically important and delegate rich states, are now very likely to bring their own online gaming bills to the front burner. If California were a nation state, it would have the seventh-largest economy in the world. Pennsylvania would weigh in at number 12; New York would be number 10. 

One of the more outlandish scenarios mentioned by a gaming lobbyist in Washington who asked not to be named is: "THEY take the lead, legalize and create their own online gaming authorities and then piggy-back everything on their existing multi-state lottery platforms/systems." These states would pass local state laws overruling the federal statute and open their games and banking systems to people and computers operating from IP addresses in their states. It would all be heavily taxed and regulated. 

Frank Fahrenkopf, head of the American Gaming Association and über gaming lawyer and lobbyist, was also interviewed by Gambling Compliance. He said he "believed such a poker bill would have a better shot than overall legalization of internet gambling." Fahrenkopf, though, stressed his comments were just personal observations of a long-time veteran of the Washington political scene rather than the official view of the AGA, since his board adopted a strict policy of neutrality in December. 

But there is growing movement and Alfonse (Al) D'Amato, a former senator from New York and the chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, looks at it all slightly differently. Rather than overturn Fed rules or become involved in study commissions that would delay the measure for a year or longer, why not just legalise online poker? Don't touch the broader gaming/games of chance debate. 

Such a move would also help cement the argument that poker is indeed a game of skill vs. Chance, as professional players have long maintained as an undue restriction on their right to earn a living. So these players could also have their day. It's unlikely, though, that this would happen, as there are Senators from states where there is a strong aversion to any gaming, and Indian gaming is also an issue. As the lobbyists grease up this pig for its run down the chute into the rodeo ring, it's anybody's guess what will happen, but the states can probably move more quickly than the federal government. 

Most administrations have very few 26-day bill cycles and this one was bruising enough. Look for President Obama to keep his powder dry until really needed. Stay tuned, sports fans, we're in the top of the second of what will be a full nine-inning game.

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From the Poker Vaults: The Mayfair Club, Part 2
February 19, 2009
Storms Reback

By the late 1980s, the Mayfair Club had firmly established itself as the finest poker club in all of New York City. What differentiated it from the many other underground establishments in the "Five Boroughs" was the unique camaraderie exhibited by those who played there on a regular basis. As cutthroat as they could be at the tables, they were equally congenial away from them. 

After the game had broken up for the night, it wasn't uncommon for the players to exit the building en masse and walk down the street to Chelsea Billiards, where they played pool, drank beer, and discussed poker hands into the wee hours. Not unlike the way Doyle Brunson, "Amarillo Slim" Preston, and "Sailor" Roberts helped each other during the time they spent as Texas road gamblers, this sort of collaboration eventually helped the players from the Mayfair achieve an inordinate amount of success in the poker world at large. 

In 1985, Paul Magriel and Steve Zolotow, the two players who had first started playing heads-up matches using backgammon chips, made triumphant debuts at the World Series of Poker when each made a final table. Magriel finished seventh in the $1,000 Limit Hold'em event while Zolotow came in ninth in the $1,000 Limit Omaha event. The following year, Zolotow improved upon that performance by finishing fifth in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. Two other Mayfair regulars also enjoyed some success during the 1986 World Series. Jay Heimowitz, formerly a beer distributor from Bethel, New York, won the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event, while Dan Harrington, making his World Series debut, finished 24th in the $1,500 Limit Hold'em tourney. 

It wasn't until the 1987 World Series of Poker, however, that the players from the Mayfair made it clear just how dominating a force they were to become on the professional poker tour. Of the 152 players who entered the Main Event, Heimowitz finished 11th while Harrington, Mickey Appleman, and Howard Lederer all made the final table, finishing eighth, sixth, and fifth respectively. All the time these players had spent discussing poker strategy over the din of pool balls at Chelsea Billiards was starting to pay off. 

In 1988, Erik Seidel nearly won the world championship, finishing second to Johnny Chan in the main event of the World Series, while the Mayfair crew as a whole made five final tables. Howard Lederer alone made two finals, coming in seventh in both the $1,000 Limit Omaha event and the $1,500 Limit Hold'em event. His impressive performance was a testament to his perseverance, for just a few years earlier he had struggled just to make ends meet. 

After graduating from high school, Lederer had moved to New York City in order to attend Columbia University, but he ended up spending far more time in the Bar Point Chess Club than he did in the classroom. He harbored dreams of becoming a professional chess player until he discovered the poker game going on in the back room of the club. He became obsessed with the game, occasionally playing as many as 70 hours straight in a single session, but his results didn't match his desire — he went broke nearly every single night. He was so down on his luck at one point he started sleeping on park benches or the floor of the chess club. To earn enough money to buy into the nightly game, he ran errands for the better bankrolled players, earning tips for picking up sandwiches at the deli around the corner. As soon as he'd earned $20, he would jump into the game. 

One night Zolotow joined the game at the Bar Point, and, after watching Lederer play, offered to bankroll him in the game at the Mayfair sometime. Lederer took him up on the offer, and in return he began to help Zolotow with his sports betting business, placing bets for him in various places around town. Lederer effectively became one of Zolotow's employees, a relationship that has since reversed itself, with Lederer's importance with Full Tilt Poker and Zolotow being one of the company's many sponsored pros. 

"Howard basically started as my employee and ended up as my partner," Zolotow said recently, "and now he's the king." 

Lederer wasn't the only Mayfair player who went on to achieve such extraordinary success. After winning his first gold bracelet in 1992, Seidel has since won seven more, putting him just three behind Phil Hellmuth on the all-time list. In 1995, Harrington won the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, making him the club's first (and to this point only) world champion. He also accomplished what many consider to be an even greater feat when he made the final table of the Main Event in 2003 and 2004, when the fields had ballooned to 839 and 2,576 respectively. All told, the Mayfair players have won 25 bracelets at the World Series of Poker, plus five World Poker Tour events. 

The club itself reached the apex of its notoriety in 1998 when the movie Rounders was released. Most of the poker scenes from the film take place in the Chesterfield, a fictitious poker club modeled after the Mayfair. However, the club's time in the spotlight would be brief. Just two years later, Mayor Rudy Giuliani instituted a "Quality of Life" campaign that effectively closed every underground poker club in New York City, including the Mayfair. 

In 2008, the legend surrounding the revered establishment momentarily returned to the national consciousness when the television show "Poker After Dark" featured "Mayfair Week," pitting six players who formerly played at the club against each other. But the spectacle only confirmed what so many already knew: in a time when poker is played mostly in large casinos and on internet gaming sites, underground clubs such at the Mayfair simply can't survive. To its credit, long before it faded into oblivion, the Mayfair Club managed to make an indelible impression on the game and those who play it.

Article

From the Poker Vaults: The Mayfair Club, Part 1
February 12, 2009
Storms Reback

In the early 1980s, very few people outside of a small community of bridge and backgammon players in New York City had ever heard of the Mayfair Club. Founded in the 1940s by Harry "Fishy" Fishbein, winner of twelve national bridge championships during his Hall of Fame career, the Mayfair was housed in the basement of a nondescript East Side high-rise not far from Manhattan's Gramercy Park and initially catered only to bridge players. 

In 1953, Fishbein sold the club for $50,000 to Al Roth, another legendary bridge player best known for having created the famed "Roth-Stone" bidding convention. Fueled by his love of bridge, Roth proved to be a diligent club manager until the late 1970s when he began spending more and more time in Boca Raton, Florida. In his absence, bridge began to take a back seat to backgammon as the most popular game in the house, and just a decade later another game of calculated risk and expected value — poker — would work its way into the lineup of games played at the Mayfair in the same, slow, organic fashion backgammon had previously grown. 

Examining a list of the club's most dedicated backgammon players from the early 1980s, one would recognize a disproportionately large number of names — Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel, Jason Lester, Steve Zolotow, and Paul Magriel, just to name a few — from the fame these players would go on to acquire in the world of high-stakes poker. Some sources designate Seidel as the man who introduced Texas hold'em to the club after he discovered the game during a trip to Las Vegas in 1985. Others credit Zolotow and Magriel, pointing to a specific proposition once created by the man known as "X-22." 

As the story goes, Magriel challenged Zolotow to a backgammon match and offered to handicap himself by setting up the initial board in a way that gave his opponent a slight advantage. 

"Because I'm taking the side that's a 3-2 [under]dog," said Magriel, "we're only going to do this once." 

"Fine," said Zolotow. "We'll only do it once." 

But after Magriel failed to overcome the handicap he had imposed on himself he quickly changed his tune. 

"Let's play it one more time. Same set up." 

"No way," responded Zolotow. "You said we were only going to play it once." 

"Fine. Then how about a game of klaviash [klaberjass]?" 

Zolotow happily agreed before rising from the table to go to the bathroom. While he was gone, someone tipped off Magriel about Zolotow's prowess at klaviash, prompting Magriel to scramble to come up with a game that would make for a better match. 

"How about we play a poker freezeout instead?" he suggested to Zolotow upon his return to the table. "Texas hold'em." 

The switch to poker hardly bothered Zolotow for he believed he had an equally large advantage in that game. The two players started with 15 chips apiece with blinds of one and two, and Zolotow went on to win both of the heads-up matches they played. 

This proposition, challenging an opponent to a game of backgammon with no cube or to a three-point match, and then going double-or-nothing playing a hold'em freezeout, soon became a common practice at the Mayfair. Typically, the players bet with backgammon chips when they were playing poker because the club didn't have any poker chips at the time. The players also dealt the cards themselves, a practice that would continue even after the Mayfair became an established card room. 

The latter arrangement occasionally led to some problems. On one such occasion two players who were fairly new to the club and who had previously played only in small stakes games there suddenly decided to jump into the biggest poker game the Mayfair offered. The two men sat next to each other at the table and quickly won several large pots. A couple players at the table suspected foul play and chose to quit the game, but the rest played on, hoping to teach the suspected cheats a lesson. 

An opportunity to do so finally arrived when the following hand arose. One of the suspected cheaters was dealing, and he dealt Jason Lester A-K and Billy Horan pocket aces. The flop came A-K-2, and Lester got all his money into the pot. Both Horan and the dealer called, creating a pot worth more than $50,000 and leaving them with less than $1,000 apiece. 

As the dealer started to deal the turn card, Horan stopped him, insisting that the deck be cut first. The dealer protested, but he had no recourse — it was a house rule that any player involved in a hand could ask for a cut at any point in time. 

After grudgingly cutting the cards, the dealer dealt a blank on the turn. Knowing his set of aces was still good, Horan shoved his last $800 into the pot. Even though he was getting over 50:1 odds to call, the dealer mucked his hand because he knew the miracle card he needed wasn't going to come. His fold confirmed everyone's suspicions. The two players were told to leave and never to return. 

This sort of shady behavior would grow increasingly rare as the Mayfair worked to establish a higher level of security. In the future, players new to the club had to be vouched for by a regular and not one but two security doors were installed. 

By the end of the 1980s the Mayfair would become known as the finest underground poker club in all of New York City. It would also gain a reputation as a breeding ground for poker greats when a handful of its regular players started winning some of the biggest poker tournaments in the world, including countless events at the World Series of Poker. 

Storms Reback co-wrote All In: The (Almost) Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker, and collaborated with Sam Farha on Farha on Omaha: Expert Strategy for Beating Cash Games and Tournaments.

Article

Who is "Kiser" Soze?
February 8, 2009

Another large tournament in the books, and yet another brand new winner. Playing in his very first PTS event during the last tournament on January 10th, Kiser survived where 35 other players came up short. In only two events played, Kiser moved into 12th place in the standings. In addition to Kiser's success, other players have begun to emerge in the standings after we dropped the first of what will be three dropped events. Most notably, Pitrelli finished in 2nd place. This finish joins a 7th and 9th place finish. Pitrelli's worst finish to date, which has been dropped (for now), was a 17th place outing in the first event of the year. Kinnan, Dknavel and JayLeft are all within 8 points or less of first place and may be well on their way to a final table tournament berth. Both Pitrelli and Kinnan have the distinction as being the only players with three final tables this year. Baldrik joins The Knight as the only two players with multiple cashes. 

The final table consisted of Kiser, Pitrelli, JayLeft, Napper, Baldrik, Kinnan, HChiarello, Fat Shawn and Terminators finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to Kiser!!!

US Judge: Poker Game of Skill
Jan 21, 2009
By Nadav S

Pennsylvania judge rules Texas Hold 'em legal in case that could prove to be a breakthrough for poker players across the U.S.

In somewhat of a breakthrough for online poker players all over the United States, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled that Texas Hold 'em is a game of skill and is therefore not considered gambling under state law. 

In handing down his verdict, Judge Thomas A. James, Jr. said the basic question in determining whether Texas Hold 'em is gambling is to determine whether chance or skill predominates. Judge James cited poker literature, including Mike Caro's "Secrets of Winning Poker", to sow that there are strategies that allow a player to win the game. 

Judge James explained the dominant factor test that is applied to games of skill can also be applied to poker. He even cited a study which shows that poker beginners receive big hands and lucky draws. The study shows that expert poker players use their skills to minimize their losses on bad hands and to maximize their profits on big hands. 

"Clearly, the judge had an understanding of how poker is played...the decision sets an excellent bar for us in the future," Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas told Poker News Daily. 

The defendant in this particular case was Walter Watkins, who ran a $1-$2 No Limit Hold 'em game out of his garage. He and dealer Diane Dent have both been cleared of 20 charges. 

"It's unfortunate we had to go through all this," Watkins said. "We were arrested, taken out of our home, shackled and spent a night in prison. All for playing poker." 

Article

Kentucky Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Online Poker
January 20, 2009
By Dan

The case involving the seizure and forfeiture of 141 internet gambling domain names reached a pinnacle on Tuesday afternoon. The Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned the actions by the State and its Governor, Steve Beshear, sparing the domain names in question for the time being. However, the case may be appealed to the State Supreme Court, although an official announcement by the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet has not been given. In total, Tuesday marked a groundbreaking day for the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC), and all parties involved.

The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the internet gambling industry by a 2-1 vote, with Judge Michael Caperton providing the sole dissenting opinion. On the outcome of the case, iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan told PocketFives.com, “We're really glad to finally put up a win for Internet gaming in the U.S. courts. We're really proud of the work our legal team did because it made up the entire case that the Kentucky Appeals Court based their decision on.” It has been an uphill battle for iMEGA, IGC, and the entire industry, which saw 141 of the world’s largest internet gambling domain names threatened.

The Commonwealth seized the sites in question on the grounds that they were “gambling devices,” similar to slot machines, roulette wheels, and other paraphernalia found in an underground casino. The Court ruled, “It stretches credulity to conclude that a series of numbers, or internet addresses, can constitute a ‘machine or any mechanical or other device… designed and manufactured primarily for use in connection with gambling.’” Therefore, the lack of jurisdiction by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to seize domain names took center stage in the Court’s eyes.

The Poker Players Alliance, which submitted an amicus brief in the case outlining that online poker is a legal game of skill in Kentucky, also weighed in after the Court of Appeals’ ruling. John Pappas, its Executive Director, commented in a press release, “This is a tremendous victory for Internet freedom and the rights of Kentucky residents who enjoy playing online poker.” The organization has 13,000 members in the Bluegrass State. They, along with other concerned citizens, flooded the offices of Governor Steve Beshear with letters expressing their outrage. The case saw such groups as the American Civil Liberties Union and Bluegrass Institute become involved. Both were concerned that the seizure represented government trampling on First Amendment rights.

Rich TheEngineer Muny has been at the epicenter of the firestorm for the rights of online poker players in Kentucky. Muny is the PPA’s State Director there and has served as a local representative of the organization in one of its biggest fights to date. He commented in a press release distributed by the PPA on Tuesday, “On behalf of the thousands of PPA members who live in Kentucky, we hope that Governor Beshear and Secretary Brown will abandon this misguided effort and focus new energies into regulation and taxation of internet poker. This common-sense approach would benefit Kentucky's poker enthusiasts and the revenue will benefit the state as a whole. Rather than spending hard to find dollars on this case, the Governor could actually turn this into a much needed new revenue stream for the Commonwealth.”

In his dissenting opinion, Judge Caperton commented, “I believe it to be a computer system that is, for the period of time linked together for the purpose of internet gambling, unified into one device.” He concluded his argument by stating, “Just as a wire placed into a computer becomes part of the computer, so do the internet domain names that link remote computers for the purposes of gambling become part of the gambling device.” Judges Michelle Keller and Jeff Taylor sided in favor of the internet gambling industry.

In October, Judge Thomas Wingate, a Circuit Court official, upheld the actions by Governor Beshear. He ordered the websites in question to block Kentucky customers, else risk losing their domain names worldwide. The CEREUS Poker Network, Cake Poker Network, and Merge Gaming Network promptly followed Wingate’s orders. Judge Wingate also scheduled a final forfeiture hearing for November, which was later postponed until the following month. In November, the IGC and iMEGA appealed to the Court of Appeals, claiming that websites losing their domain names would suffer considerable harm and that the State did not have jurisdiction to act in the first place.

Other sites named in the case include PokerStars.com, FullTiltPoker.com, and BodogLife.com. Check out the Poker Legislation forum right here on PocketFives.com for the latest on the Kentucky internet gambling ruling.

Article

What does Barack Obama mean for the future of poker? 
January 20, 2009
by Steven Ruddock, Boston Poker Examiner

Today being inauguration day I thought I would steer the conversation into the political arena; well as close to political as a poker player can get!

In 2006, the Untied States government passes the Safe Port Act, attached to the act was a provision (UIGEA) which attempts to make internet poker, and gambling, illegal. Don't worry your not breaking the law by playing internet poker, you are operating in a gray area, since the bill focuses on financial institutions and not the individual player.

Fortunately, this was not a slam dunk win in congress, and was hurried through President Bush in order to get it signed.

The good news for poker players, President, Barack Obama is an admitted poker player, and against internet regulation in general. There are currently 2 bills in the House of Representatives seeking to bring an end to UIGEA: Rep. Shelley Berkley's bill, approving a study of online gambling by the National Academy of Sciences in order to determine whether regulation of the industry is feasible, and Rep. Barney Frank's bill preventing the Treasury Department from enforcing UIGEA regulations.

Rep. Berkley's bill is designed to show that online gambling can be regulated (bringing in millions of dollars to the government), and should be legalized.

Rep. Frank's bill would bring an end to UIGEA regulation.

Article

Tiltware, LLC Files Motion to Dismiss Clonie Gowen Lawsuit
January 12, 2009
Haley Hintze

Attorneys representing several of the entities associated with Full Tilt Poker have filed their first formal response to a lawsuit filed by Cycalona "Clonie" Gowen in November, 2008, that alleged several forms of wrongdoing, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and fraud. Gowen's original suit named several high-profile pro players connected with Team Full Tilt, in addition with Full Tilt-related corporate entities. 

The motion to dismiss on behalf of Tiltware, L.L.C. asserts that the originally named players are erroneously included and asks for them to be removed from the action, while also alleging that the lawsuit itself is wrongfully constructed, and even if it had merit, would be a "relatively simple breach of oral contract" with Tiltware and only one of the defendants, Raymond Bitar. Seeking removal from the action through the motion to dismiss are Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Mike Matusow, Allen Cunningham, Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius. 

Bitar, Tiltware's CEO, is alleged by Gowen to have entered into an oral agreement with her in 2004 to join Team Full Tilt in exchange for 1% of the company. Gowen's valuation of the various entities comprising Full Tilt was listed as $4 billion – a figure as yet unsupported by documentation – and that figure was itself disputed by Full Tilt in its response. Gowen's claim for 1% was then translated as $40,000,000, the figure filed for in her original suit. 

The response on behalf of Tiltware asks for the dismissal of five separate allegations, including the claims of fraud, "minority oppression" and unjust enrichment. The motion asks the court to order a reworking of Gowen's suit – if not dismissed in its entirety – to prevent its "shotgun approach" The response noted that "Full Tilt Poker" is a brand name and not a corporate entity, and asserted that "Ms. Gowen's claim that all of the other individual defendants are allegedly shareholders of Tiltware is erroneous."

Asta la vista baby
January 10th, 2009

Three tournaments into the 2009 season and we have recorded the three largest tournament fields in four years of this series. This past event, 38 players were hopeful that they would be the one that stood alone at the end of the night. One player was sent on a mission to eliminate all remaining threats in this bounty tournament. 

In this bounty formatted event, one random player at each table is listed as the bounty which rotates every time the blinds increase. Anyone that eliminates the bounty from play receives a $10 bounty prize. Nick R took advantage of the format and eliminated JayLeft. Maximum Joy returned the favor and avenged JayLeft by eliminating Nick R. Meanwhile, Terminators would collect two bounties by knocking out Shawn1915 (Tournament #1 Champion) and Chris Shivers.  

Late at the final table, play was on between Terminators, SuperBlond 813 and Sean F. The three battled back and forth as their relative chip stack would rise and fall. After Sean F was eliminated, Terminators and SuperBlond 813 guaranteed that there would be yet another first time tournament champion in the series. In the end, Terminators hit two pair and won the event.

The final table consisted of Terminators, SuperBlond 813, Sean F, Dknavel, SkiMeister, Maximum Joy, Pitrelli, The Donator, Nick R and Fat Shawn finishing in that order.

Other notes: Of the ten players that made the final table, six never played in a PTS event prior to this season. 

Respectable Finishes: Dknavel has been on a terror this season, leaving him as the number one ranked player so far in 2009. Shawn1915, Kinnan, Pitrelli and The Knight have also separated from the pack with respectable finishes.

Two players finished back to back weeks with identical finishes: The Z Man finished 29th in the past two events while Baldrik finished 36th in his last two tournaments. 

Congratulations go out to Terminators!!!
 

Game On! Phil Ivey Accepts Tom 'durrrr' Dwan's Million Dollar Challenge; Dwan Explains Motivation
January 08, 2009
Haley Hintze and Gloria Balding

The high-stakes poker world buzzed earlier this week when online star Tom "durrrr" Dwan, in conjunction with a feature in the February issue of BLUFF Magazine, announced a challenge to all other poker players. Dwan's open challenge included a minimum of 50,000 online hands to be played simultaneously at four or more tables of no-limit hold'em or pot-limit Omaha, as follows: 

"I'm making this heads-up challenge to the world. Anyone can accept. Four tables, minimum of $200/$400, and I'll put up $1.5 million to their $500,000. We play 50,000 hands minimum and if they end up a dollar after rake they keep the side money or whatever. So basically, if you and I played and you won a dollar, you would get my $1.5 million and if I won a dollar I would win your $500,000.... So I'm giving a million dollars free if anyone thinks they can do it." 

"Anyone," though, had one exception as noted by Dwan. In a later post on a prominent online poker forum, he noted that the challenge was not open to his close friend Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, though Galfond's deliberate style of play, radically different from that of Dwan, was also cited by third parties as a possible reason why. In addition, Dwan shared with PokerNews his motivation for issuing the challenge. 

"In my probably biased opinion," according to Dwan, "the two most interesting, commonly played poker games are heads-up no-limit holdem, and heads-up pot-limit Omaha. I've played a lot of people in them; however, it's very rare that someone will play me at more than two tables. In my again-biased opinion, it's also more interesting to play at least four tables at once. I say this because while playing four tables, there is less likelihood that a winner or loser will be based on one or two pots, and the better player will make roughly twice as much money per hour compared to two tables. Additionally, when your opponents are doing something wrong for 90 minutes straight, you can notice it earlier, and take more advantage of it on four tables, netting at least four times the profit -- although one would assume most opponents would also adjust in less time on four tables. 

"For all these reasons, I wanted to do something to get people to play me four tables of PLO and NLHE. Maybe it'll cost me a lot of money, or maybe it will be profitable... but either way I'm laying $1.5 million to $500,000 on a side bet, for 50,000 hands of whichever game someone chooses. If one of us is up dollars after those 50,000 hands, they get the side-bet money, and for the first time in a while I'll have four tables heads-up for more than an hour or two. I plan on playing everyone who accepts this 'challenge' except for Phil Galfond (because he is a very good player and friend); however, I obviously reserve the right to cancel future bets until the money is in escrow (in case I lose many current ones in a row). That said i think its very unlikely that anyone who wants to play doesn't get their shot at some point in the next year or so (i'm not really sure how long these will take). Anyway, hopefully these matches will be fun for all participants, and observers, even if it is costly for some people -- hopefully not me! Only time will tell...." 

While such challenges aren't new in the poker world – Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu created a different flavor of high-stakes challenge rotating through several poker variants a couple of years back -- it remained to be seen if any of today's deepest-pocketed pros would accept the odds laid by Dwan. In short order, Phil Ivey announced his acceptance on Barry Greenstein's "Tuesdays with Ivey" show on PokerRoad Radio, while also suggesting that David Benyamine and Patrik Antonius are considering it as well. 

Ivey, who was cited in several recent online summaries as having netted over $6 million in 2008 in his online cash-game play, is well positioned to meet Dwan's challenge and has a long history of accepting poker prop bets where he believes he has an edge. Benyamine, likewise, is similarly well-bankrolled, is one of the most feared Omaha players on the planet, and enjoyed a breakout 2008 across several poker disciplines that included the winning of his first WSOP bracelet last summer. Antonius is also widely noted as a fearless player and has been a participant in the highest live and online games for years. 

Said Ivey, in discussing his acceptance of the challenge, "I've never posted a challenge like this... I'm just assuming that everyone knows I'm going to play them – I'm going to play every game.... I'll play anybody, at every game there is. Most of the time I start off as the underdog, I feel like. Eventually I'll figure them out, figure out what they're doing – making good enough adjustments to where I'm a favorite against them." 

The Fab 50
December 13th, 2008

Two players on totally different tournament journeys make it to a heads up final in the largest field ever in a Poker Tournament Series event. With the blind structure slightly altered to accommodate such a large field of players, the event actually wrapped up in only a little over five hours. Fifty players squeezed into six different tables and battled it out to see who could amass the most chips and outlast their opponents. 

bcpoker121's path to heads up play was one of typical ups and downs, however he appeared comfortable for a majority of the tournament and certainly once he made it to the final table, he was well on his way to holding the status of chip leader. 

D-Train's path to heads up appeared to be the polar opposite of bcpoker121. Being the short stack for most of the latter half of the event, he patiently waited for opportunities to double up. Always facing near tournament elimination, D-Train managed to somehow survive as players around him disappeared one by one. 

Once the two found themselves at heads up, both players projected a good natured demeanor and proceeded to determine who would walk away with the title. The hand that finally decided the title was what would best be described as an emotional roller coaster. 

D-Train was still out-chipped by bcpoker121 even though he had clawed his way back to being only slightly down. Holding 4s3h, D-Train flopped his straight after the 2d 6c 5c hit the board. D-Train then found himself all in for his last $55K chips against bcpoker121's JcJh. D-Train was nearly a 4-1 favorite in the hand, however bcpoker121 still had some outs (9), and the board appeared to indicate that he was likely ahead. With the 4c hitting the river, bcpoker121's Jack high flush beat D-Train's straight. 

The final table consisted of bcpoker121, D-Train, Zero Opera, Kinnan, The Knight, Shawn1915, Kodiak, JayLeft, Pitrelli and CapItAt4 finishing in that order.

Other notes: Of the ten players that made the final table, six never played in a PTS event prior to this season. 

Respectable Finishes: Four players have certainly started the season off the right way. Kinnan has a 10th place and 4th place finish in 29 and 50 player fields respectively. Dknavel has an 8th place and 13th place finish in those events as well. However we need to  look at the two big dogs, Shawn1915 and The Knight. Both players have made the two final tables. Shawn1915 won the first event and bubbled out of the money in the second in 6th. The Knight cashed both times with a 2nd and a 5th place finish. The two are tied atop the leaderboard.

HUGE Congratulations to bcpoker121!!!
 

Highest Stakes Yet – 'High Stakes Poker' Announces Lineup, Filming Plans
December 11, 2008
Matt Wehner

"High Stakes Poker," the smash-hit poker game show on the Game Show Network, has just announced the lineup for the show's upcoming fifth season. The upcoming Season Five will be filmed at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, the same location as the original season. Among those slated to return are show veterans Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, and Daniel Negreanu, all of which have participated in every season thus far. 

The list includes a few new players to "High Stakes Poker" as well, including Nick Cassavetes (director of The Notebook), Peter Eastgate (2008 WSOP Main Event Champion), Dario Minieri, and Sam Simon ("The Simpsons" co-creator). Also new this season is the minimum buy-in for the event, $200,000, doubling last year's buy-in of $100,000. Though the minimum may be $200,000, buy-ins to the event can be much more than that, with previous seasons seeing buy-ins of up to $500,000, which brought about the occasional $1,000,000 pot. With this season's increased minimum buy-in, hefty pots are sure to be plentiful. 

High Stakes Poker is played with a few variations from the typical casino poker game. Variations from previous seasons include straddling, double straddling, a 2-7 rule (in which a player winning a hand holding 2-7 collects $500 from every player), and running the board more than once for all-in players. Along with these differences, players are allowed to make prop bets on the side as well. 

Filming takes place Friday, December 19th through Sunday, December 21st, from 12:30pm-9:30pm each day. The set is closed to the public. The players scheduled to appear include Patrik Antonius, Mike Baxter, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Nick Cassavetes, Ivan Demidov, Tom Dwan, Peter Eastgate, Eli Elezra, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Jr., Phil Ivey, Phil Laak, Howard Lederer, Giorgio Medici, Dario Minieri, Daniel Negreanu, Ilari Sahamies, Bob Safai, and Sam Simon. 

KGC, PPA Issue Statements Following '60 Minutes' and Washington Post Story
December 01, 2008
Haley Hintze

Following a widely anticipated segment from "60 Minutes" and two articles in the Washington Post covering the Absolute Poker and UltimateBet online poker cheating scandals, both the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) and the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) have issued public statements regarding the mainstream coverage. 

The Kahnawake statement focuses primarily on the 13-minute segment on Sunday evening on "60 Minutes," asserting that several key elements as aired in the segment were either incorrect or, by omission of important facts, allowed an erroneous conclusion to be reached by viewers. The complete body of the KGC's Monday release: 

The Kahnawá:ke Gaming Commission ("KGC") and its agents, having viewed the CBS News item entitled "The Cheaters", extends the following clarification and information which, although provided to the show's producers, had been left out of the storyline. 

1. The Ultimate Bet ("UB") cheating was initiated while UB was owned and operated by Excapsa (a public company whose Board of Directors included several high-profile Canadians). Pursant to a settlement agreement finalized in November, 2008, Excapsa agreed to pay Tokwiro ENRG US $15,000,000. [Author's Note: Among the 224 Excapsa shareholders, many of whom were identified during the firm's liquidation proceedings, were David Peterson and Norman Inkster. Peterson is the former Liberal Party Premier of Canada's Ontario province who at one time served as Excapsa's non-executive chairman, and Inkster was a former chairman of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Both held public roles with Excapsa and were identified with the company prior to its sale to Tokwiro ENRG in 2006.] 

2. All players that were adversely affected by cheating (both AP and UB) were fully reimbursed. In the case of UB, these refunds amounted to over US $20,000,000. The reimbursement of UB players was affected within days after the Excapsa settlement. The KGC played a key role in facilitating and monitoring reimbursements. 

3. The KGC and its agents have reviewed AP/UB operations and systems and have confirmed that all necessary steps have been implemented to prevent against cheating in future. Migration to the CEREUS software platform was approved and closely monitored by KGC. 

4. Contrary to claims made in the 60 Minutes story, in addition to significant penalties levied under its Regulations (eg. fines totaling US $2,000,000), the KGC has initiated a criminal complaint against at least one cheater (Russ Hamilton) and is cooperating with law enforcement authorities. Other such complaints may follow. 

The PPA's statement, by contrast, used the "60 Minutes" airing as an occasion to renew its call for regulation of online poker at the US federal level. The statement from PPA Chairman Alfonse D'Amato cited three separate bills (from Reps. Barney Frank and Robert Wexler and Sen. Robert Menendez) that the PPA supports and that are expected to be debated in the next Congress. The complete body of D'Amato's statement: 

The recent cheating scandals underscore the need for U.S. licensing and regulation of online poker to help protect consumers. While even the most highly regulated industries are susceptible to fraud and abuse, regulation does provide assurances that when consumers are harmed they have recourse, and that the offenders will be sanctioned. The continued pursuit of poker prohibition, on the other hand, will only drive this industry underground. As the Washington Post pointed out, prohibition represents a widening disconnect between 21st-century technology and 20th-century laws. 

Regulation of Internet poker does not equal an expansion of gambling in this country. Like it or not, the phenomenon of internet poker cannot be wished away. The American market has spoken. There is strong demand for Internet poker and no reasonable government can or should stand in the way of adults competing in games of skill on the Internet. To the contrary, the government should step up and exercise regulatory oversight on this multi-billion dollar interstate commerce, and collect the revenueâ€â€�especially during this country's economic crisis. 

The federal government cannot continue to abdicate this basic responsibility to the millions of its citizens who choose to play poker on the Internet. The attempt to enforce an outright prohibition of online poker is deeply flawed and unworkable, and it invades upon the personal freedoms of law-abiding adults who wish to engage in a game of skill. And as 60 Minutes and the Washington Post stories reported it also exposes American consumers to the rare, unscrupulous bad apple operator who will take advantage of the lack of a U.S. regulated marketplace. 

Now more than ever the U.S. Congress needs to step up and enact real public policy as it relates to Internet gaming. We look forward to working with the new Administration and the new Congress to advance sensible regulatory solutions such as those introduced in the 110th Congress by Representatives Barney Frank (H.R. 2046) and Robert Wexler (H.R. 2610) and Senator Robert Menendez (S.3616).

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2008/12/60-minutes-kgc-ppa-issue-statements.htm

Bubble Play in Nine-Handed Sit & Gos
Howard Lederer
November 26th, 2008


In a typical nine-handed, one-table Sit & Go that pays out three places, the most critical juncture of the tournament comes when four players remain. Three of those players will turn a profit, and one of them will go home empty-handed. It goes without saying that there's no more disappointing place to finish in a nine-handed Sit & Go than fourth.

It's a volatile time when your stack is getting short, the blinds are getting high and everyone's looking to cash. To get the most out of Sit & Gos, you're going to have to learn how to master the bubble.

On Full Tilt Poker, first place gets 50% of the prize pool, second place gets 30% and third place pockets 20%. But don't let that 20% fool you. It's not really 20% for third, because once you get down to three players, 60% of the prize money has been locked up and actually already paid out. Essentially, the last three players are only fighting over 40% of the prize pool as the other 60% has already been paid out. That's why it's so important to make sure you get into the money. You're going to have to make some tough decisions and tight lay-downs to make sure that you get a piece of that 60%.

Here's an example of a hand you would play very differently on the money bubble in a Sit & Go than in most other instances. You're second in chips with 3,000, the blinds are 100/200, and you're dealt Ad-7d in the big blind. The chip leader is on the button and raises to 600; the small blind folds and you call the extra 400. The flop comes Q-8-3 with two diamonds, which is a pretty attractive flop for your hand. You check, and your opponent does exactly what you didn't want him to do: put you all in for about double the size of the pot. You're getting slightly better than 3-to-2 pot odds on a call for your tournament life.

This is a situation in most tournaments where, if it was early in the Sit & Go or if the money bubble had already burst, you would call. But this is a special situation. You are on the bubble and 60% of the prize pool is about to be awarded. If you call here, you're probably about 50/50 to be the player that finishes on the bubble and gets none of that 60%. This is one situation where you need to really let the structure of the Sit & Go influence your decision.

Once the bubble bursts, your approach should change dramatically. Look again at the payout structure: the last three players are fighting over the remaining 40% of the prize pool. If you move up from third to second, you get another 10%, but if you move up from third to first, that gets you an extra 30%. That's three times more reward for winning than for just moving up a spot. So your goal now becomes to do what's necessary to finish in first place and not be too concerned about going broke and finishing in third.

You should be willing to put your chips at risk to give yourself a stack that can lead to a win. If you pick up a hand like J-9 or Ace-rag and it looks like someone might be pushing you around, take a stand. Put your chips in the middle. You don't want to be anteing off your chips, limping up into second and then not winning.

In these structures, the initial goal is always to cash. Once you've cashed, the goal is to go for the win.

60 Minutes Online Poker Segment to Air This Sunday
November 25, 2008
PokerNews Staff (www.pokernews.com)

According to the CBS News website, the long awaited "60 Minutes" segment on online poker cheating will air this Sunday, November 30th. An e-mail to the "60 Minutes" subscriber base has also confirmed this information. 

The segment is titled "The Cheaters", and will apparently be the lead segment for this Sunday's program. The story is described as a "joint investigation" between the Washington Post and "60 Minutes". Speculation has run rampant for months about when this segment would air, and exactly what the tone of the piece would be. Many in the poker business feared the segment would be an indictment of poker as a whole, and could cast a shadow over some of the gains made by the game in recent years. Segment producers insisted, and those who participated in the piece had hoped, that it would be a call for action and regulation, but until the piece airs, no one will know for sure. The segment is described on the CBSnews website as follows: 

THE CHEATERS - 60 MINUTES and The Washington Post reveal how online poker players suspecting cheating were forced to successfully ferret out the cheaters themselves. That's because managers of the mostly-unregulated $18 billion Internet gambling industry failed to respond to their complaints. Steve Kroft and The Washington Post's Gilbert Gaul report. Ira Rosen is the producer. 

Those interviewed for the segment included Mike Sexton, Greg Raymer, and Linda Johnson. In an accompanying piece on the CBSnews website, bracelet winner Todd Witteles and Michael Josem, a computer expert largely credited with helping prove the cheating were quoted in a story to help promote the airing of the segment. The show airs this Sunday night at 7pm in most markets in the US. Check your local listings.

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2008/11/60-minutes-online-poker-sunday.htm
 

Luck of the Irish!
November 15th, 2008

Shawn1915 overcame the largest field ever in a PTS event to capture the first title of the 2008-2009 season. 29 players competed to win the 2009 season opener, however there can only be one. It was Shawn1915's first tournament entry and the luck of the Irish was with him. Each player started with 3,000 chips sitting at three full tables. One after another players began to drop. There were multiple all-ins, bad beats and exciting hands where players holding monster hands were gobbled up by others that held even larger hands. 

Shawn1915 found himself at a table full of old veterans. Two of those opponents owned one third of all tournaments wins. After surviving these players, he found himself heads up against The Knight. The two engaged one another as if they were fighters in a ring trading jabs and power punches in an effort to knock one another out. Shawn1915 gave up a sizable chip lead to The Knight early. Then, holding 64,000 of the 87,000 chips in play, The Knight called Shawn1915's all in with A6. Shawn1915 held Q4 and the board favored Shawn1915. Shortly thereafter, Shawn1915 picked up pocket aces and got all his chips in against The Knight's KQ and doubled up again. At that point, Shawn1915 held a 78,000 to 9,000 chip advantage. In the end, Shawn1915 called The Knight's 4c5s with 9c2h. After flopping a 9, the tournament was set. 

The final table consisted of Shawn1915, The Knight, The Z Man, Baldric, V-Dog, Todd, D-Money, Dknavel, Crocop and Kinnan finishing in that order.

Other notes: JayLeft finished in 23rd place. In the previous three season openers, he finished 1st twice and took a 3rd last year. I Hate Cheese, the reigning PTS Champion finished in 25th place and V-Dog after a year hiatus returned to finish 5th. His last outing was a 12 place finish on December 2nd 2007. 

Size does Matter: In the five largest tournament fields over the past 4 years, Jayleft, The Knight, The Z Man and V-Dog have thrived averaging 9th or better in the events they participated in.

Congratulations to Shawn1915!!!
 

US Treasury, Federal Reserve Publish UIGEA Rules
November 12, 2008
Haley Hintze

In a highly controversial move pushed through in the waning days of the Bush administration, officials at the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve today formally published rules and procedures as called for by the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). 

The regulations, set to go into effect on Jan. 19, 2009, one day before President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office, call in general for a "due diligence" approach in blocking the flow of funds from would-be gamblers to online sites. Poker, as expected, was not granted any form of exemption under the rules, despite the urgings of a few dozen poker players as the rules were being drafted. Banks, payment processors and other affected institutions are expected to comply with the measure by December 1, 2009. 

The dense, 66-page document consists of exacting language that is open to multiple interpretations, as evidenced by the first 50 pages being explanatory definitions before the publishing of the rule itself. One example is a parsing of the difference between games "subject to chance" and "predominantly subject to chance," as part of the argument put forth by Treasury as to why poker and other skill games are, in the eyes of the government, expected to be covered by the law. Previously noted exemptions for horseracing and fantasy-sports leagues remained intact. 

While the body of the rule's publication is still being worked through by industry experts, a few points were clear at first read. Among those signature points: 

• Blocking of transactions under the UIGEA will be attempted in one direction only, that of prospective players to online sites. Payments – such as cashing out from a site – back to customers will not be blocked. The differentiation is an effort to choke off the profitability for sites who attempt to take in player funds. 

• "Unlawful Internet gambling" remains undefined under the statute as published; instead, the law defers to the existing morass of state and other laws defining gambling. Of perhaps greater importance is that by doing so, the rule attempts to transform Internet-based gambling into a "states rights" issue, in a manner similar to the ongoing attempt by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to seize Internet domains it believes competes with its signature horseracing industry. As defined in the published rules: "The Agencies believe that the Act's restrictions apply only to transactions that are unlawful under applicable U.S. Federal or State law. The Act's definition of 'unlawful Internet gambling' clearly states that it refers to a bet or wager that 'is unlawful under any applicable Federal or State law in the State or Tribal land in which the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.'" 

• The published rules significantly revised upward the financial estimates for implementing the rules, despite rewriting some portions of the rules in a way to eliminate many smaller banking and payment-processing entities. Costs for initial implementation now are estimated at a million man-hours and $88 million, with maintenance quickly jumping that total over $100 million. 

• Payment-processing services such as Western Union will receive an exemption for payments made from their physical offices; the rules as published instead vall for the blocking of payments made over the Internet through such services. 

Calls from officials such as Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to avoid formalizing the UIGEA regulations were summarily ignored with the publication. In fact, one passage in the rules openly defied the claims made by Frank and others that the rules as published place too much pressure and unfunded responsibility on an already stressed financial system, by stating, in effect, that savings to credit-card companies on gambling-related chargebacks more than offsets the expense. "This funds flow interdiction," according to the explanation, "is designed not only to inhibit the accumulation of consumer debt but also to reduce debt collection problems for insured depository institutions and the consumer credit industry. Treasury believes that the reduction of debt collection problems through the final rule's funds flow interdiction process will yield important benefits for insured depository institutions and consumers given the recent turmoil in the financial markets that is causing liquidity problems for insured depository institutions and constraining the availability of consumer credit." The Treasury also cited "other benefits," declaring that "the final rule could restrict excesses related to unlawful Internet gambling by underage or compulsive gamblers." 

Reaction to the rules' publication was widespread, with hundreds of news outlets picking up the story in the first couple of hours following the document's appearance on the US Treasury site. US Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), an outspoken critic of the UIGEA since its inception, was quoted by the Las Vegas Sun as follows: "These rules place an unfair burden on banks and other businesses that will now be forced to play the role of law enforcement. Instead of making the situation better, these regulations will only create chaos, huge headaches and high costs for all those involved. I am appalled that at a time when our nation faces the worst economic crisis we have seen in 70 years, President Bush remains obsessed with a regulation that will only harm the financial services sector." 

The Washington, DC-based Poker Player's Alliance also issued a statement condemning the rules' finalization, but gave no indication as to future plans. According to PPA Chairman Alfonse D'Amato, "The PPA remains optimistic that the new Administration and the new Congress will recognize the failures of UIGEA and will act swiftly in the New Year to overturn this flawed policy." 

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2008/11/us-treasury-federal-reserve-publish-uigea-rules.htm

I Hate Cheese is the PTS 2008 Champion
August 5th, 2008

A new champion was crowned at the seasonal championships. 17 Players competed for the top prize and in the end, it took someone that would come from behind to win it. 

All players started with 3,000 chips. The pace was slow in the beginning with most everyone showing extreme caution. Once players started to be eliminated, the field quickly thinned. Four players were eliminated within a 5 minute span at one point.

Mr Bully started beating up on the field, taking out one player after the next. His chip stack became seemingly insurmountable. Consistently Mr Bully picked up set after set. He also lived up to his moniker, showing little mercy as he pounded away with bets and raises.  

On the opposite side of the success that Mr Bully enjoyed, I Hate Cheese was on the rail. She had been beaten down to the point where she had only 250 chips remaining with blinds nearly that high. Early on, timing would be critical as she would be called with every mention of "all in".

Late in the tournament, six remained. Mr Bully was the chip leader, followed by Radloff, Pitrelli, Sean F, The Knight and I Hate Cheese. After catching a full house with 4's full of 9's, Pitrelli moved all in and was quickly called by Mr Bully who held 9's full of 4's. With Pitrelli out, the final 5 were in the money. 

The Knight was next out being ground down to his last 3,500 chips. Then the action picked up. Radloff doubled up off of Mr Bully, Sean F tripled up when his pocket 5's filled out a straight. I Hate Cheese also dug into Mr Bully's chip stack doubling up. At that point, Radloff was the chip leader with Sean F and I hate Cheese still clinging to life. Mr Bully was finally eliminated as everyone moved one more slot up on the payout. 

Sean F exited a short time later leaving a heads up match between Radloff and I Hate Cheese who were somewhat evenly matched in chips. Early in the heads up match, I Hate Cheese moved all in with QcQs and was called with Ah2h. The flop was JsJh2d. The turn brought a 4d. The river gave I Hate Cheese the win with the Td.  

The win represented I Hate Cheese' first PTS win and solidified her at the top of the player rankings for 2008 with an amazing 90.27%, the highest ever for a season ending total. After playing in 8 events, she finished 6th or better 7 times. 

Congratulations go out to I Hate Cheese.
 

The Z Man Wins 2008 Heads-Up Championship
July 13th, 2008

The 2008 Heads Up Championship endured some changes over previous years. Every player started with 1,000 chips as opposed to 2,000 chips, and players were set up in a more traditional double elimination format rather then a single bracket where one needed to win the best two of three to advance.

Eight players filled the brackets with some very interesting match ups, most notably 4th seeded JayLeft against 5th seeded Fassman. Pocket pairs were not kind to Fassman as his pocket tens lost to JayLeft's A6 suited after the two moved all in preflop. All in preflop again in his second match against D-Money, Fassman's pocket jacks fell victim to A4 after a straight was turned on the river.

The Z Man faced Maximum Joy, Z and JayLeft to make it to the finals from the winners bracket. He then faced Z again in the finals after Z defeated JayLeft. The championship was determined on the first hand of the finals. Z with pocket tens (TdTc) raised moderately and was called by The Z Man's QdJc. The flop was Qc8c3s. Z bet strong and was called. After the 9d fell on the river, Z bet again and was raised all in by The Z Man. After thinking about it, Z finally called. Z was down to 5 outs needing one of the two remaining tens to make trips or a jack to fill out a straight. The 9h completed the hand and the match was over. 

The win represented The Z Man's 6th PTS win, placing him in 1st overall, one win ahead of Fassman.

Congratulations go out to The Z Man.
 

Baldrik Wins 8th PTS Event
June 28th, 2008

During the final open event of the 2008 season, Baldrik overcame a late start to beat the other 9 participants. Heads up, Jayleft and Baldrik placed nearly 13,000 chips in the middle preflop with Jayleft turning over 6s6d against Baldrik's TdTc. Jayleft trailed in the hand 4 to 1. The flop showed 7h,4s,9h. Jayleft's odds were getting longer. A 7s hit for the turn leaving Jayleft with only two of the remaining 6's left to keep him alive. The 8h hit on the river sealing the win for Baldrik. 

The final table consisted of Baldrik, JayLeft, Z, I Hate Cheese, Drunkencourt, The Knight, Maximum Joy, Pitrelli, D-Money and The Z Man finishing in that order.

The win represented Baldrik's 4th PTS win, placing him in 3rd overall, one win ahead of Jayleft and one behind Fassman and The Z Man.

Congratulations go out to Baldrik.
 

Maximum Joy Wins 7th PTS Event
June 14th, 2008

Twelve players competed in the 7th PTS tournament of 2007-2008 season with Maximum Joy coming from behind to win the tournament. Maximum Joy was on the verge of elimination early down to 300 chips (everyone started with 2,000). After doubling up, she went on a terror as she continued to add to her chip stack. She eliminated more then half of the entire tournament field (8 players in total), collecting a bounty along the way when she took out JayLeft. Maximum Joy faced D-Money heads up after she beat Sean F. D-Money conceded the tournament before a hand could be dealt and Maximum Joy won her first tournament.

The final table consisted of Maximum Joy, D-Money, Sean F, Pitrelli, SHLONG, JayLeft, The Z Man, Fassman, The Knight and Z finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to Maximum Joy.
 

The Z Man Wins 6th PTS Event
April 27th, 2008

The Z Man won his first PTS title of the 2007-2008 season. The event was small despite appearing as a 20+ player event the night before. The final table consisted of The Z Man, D-Train, Martin, SHLONG, Bill, Mr Bully, Sean F, Lenny and Hot96Altima finishing in that order.

The final four started the cash game portion of the event with the following chip stacks:

The blinds started at $0.25/$0.50. SHLONG was the first player to exit after debating when to cash in after he walked into a set of Jacks. Martin followed 50 minutes later with blinds $1/$2, when his pair met The Z Man's two pair. The Z Man, with $184 then faced D-Train with $84, however D-Train decided to pick up his chips and cash out, leaving the Z Man as the lone survivor.

This is The Z Man's 5th all time win, placing him tied at the top of the all time wins list. 

The Z Man's last win came on June 4th, 2006.

DrunkenCourt Wins 5th PTS Event
April 5th, 2008

After a long hiatus, we returned to the tables with the feeling of a new season, yet this season is at its midpoint. We enjoyed 17 players in this tournament, using double decks to speed up play. Table one was the doom of 15 of the 17 players in the event as they exited the tournament while sitting at that table. This was a knockout tournament where everyone had a $5 bounty on their heads. Each time someone was knocked out, they received $5. 

At heads up with 20,000 chips in front of him, DrunkenCourt called I Hate Cheese's all in (16K in Chips) and his Qs8s was up against AhJh. The flop made things worse when I hate Cheese still led with 5d,2h,9d. The turn gave a glimmer of hope when the 7c hit. The only possible outs DrunkenCourt had were any Queen, Eight or Six. The 6d hit on the river completing his straight. This is DrunkenCourt's 1st event, as well as his first win.

The final table consisted of DrunkenCourt, I Hate Cheese, Z, Long, Pitrelli, Barkley, SHLONG, The Z Man and JayLeft finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to DrunkenCourt.

Fassman Wins 4th PTS Event
December 2nd, 2007

Fassman won his second PTS title of the 2007-2008 season knocking off a newcomer in the process. The final table consisted of Fassman, D-Money, I Hate Cheese, JayLeft, Maximum Joy, Z, The Z Man, Baldric, Longer, Pitrelli and Voglism finishing in that order.

This is Fassman's 5th all time win, placing him at the top of the all time wins list. 

Congratulations go out to Fassman.
 

Hot96Altima Wins 3rd PTS Event
November 3rd, 2007

In the smallest PTS tournament of 2007-2008 season, Hot96Altima won his first PTS title overcoming a chip stack advantage in heads up. The final table consisted of Hot96Altima, The Z Girl, Drooger, The Z Man, Pitrelli, I Hate Cheese and JayLeft finishing in that order.

This is Hot96Altima first win, having placed in multiple events. 

Congratulations go out to Hot96Altima.
 

Sean F (Falfa11) Wins 2nd PTS Event
October 20th, 2007

Eleven players competed in the 2nd PTS tournament of 2007-2008 season with Sean F overcoming huge odds to capture the title. Once heads up play began, Sean F trailed Baldric 19,000 to 3,000 in chip stacks. He managed to battle back to even it out when the key hand in the tournament took place. Baldric moved all in with KT and was quickly called by Sean F with KJ. Sean F's hand held up and he doubled up giving him over 20,000 chips. The match ended shortly after that.

The final table consisted of Sean F, Baldric, D-Train, Drooger, Z, VfrVendetta, Fassman, Maximum Joy and Gold Chip finishing in that order.

This is Sean F's first win in a live setting, having won two previous events on line last year. 

Congratulations go out to Sean F.
 

Fassman Wins 1st PTS Event
October 6th, 2007

With this our 3rd season of poker, we have hosted 23 events with 23 champions. Despite the fact that the tournament had a small turnout of 10 players, those players represented 17 of those tournament titles including one series Champion and two heads up champions. At the end of the night, Fassman recorded his 4th tournament title by capturing the first PTS event of the 2007-2008 season. 

The final table consisted of Fassman, Voglism, JayLeft, I Hate Cheese, Z, Hot96Altima, Bronson, The Z Man, VfrVendetta and Baldric finishing in that order.

Jayleft had won the previous two opening night tournaments having his streak broken by Fassman. Fassman moves into an overall tie for the most number of events won with The Z Man.

Congratulations go out to Fassman.
 

Brian Wins the 2007 Seasonal Championship
June 23rd, 2007

Championships brings to a close a season that lasted nearly 9 months. Sixteen Players arrived to vie for the title as well as the $500 first place prize. Many of the top players were eliminated early in the event. Brian held on to make the heads up final with Todd which lasted nearly an hour as both players extended large chip stack leads over the other. In the end, Brian's QJ prevailed after he turned a Jack against Todd's pocket 9's. Last seasons champion, The Z Man finished in third place. 

The final table consisted of Brian, Todd, The Z Man, Drooger, Baldric, I Hate Cheese, Maximum Joy, Z, Byrnes and Sean F finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to Brian, 2007 PTS Champion.

From left to Right: Todd (Runner Up), and Brian (Champion)

JayLeft Wins the 2007 Heads Up Championship
May 12th, 2007

In clearly the most brutal marathon of the season, JayLeft overcame all obstacles including being on the brink of elimination multiple times to win the 2007 Heads Up Championship.

The event lasted over 12 hours, finally wrapping up at 6:40am. There were a few reasons why this event lasted too long, not the least of which was starting with 3,000 chips (Aligning with the $30 buy-in), as well as conservative play. In future heads up tournaments, the buy-in will be a maximum 1,500.

JayLeft first faced The Z Man after he defeated Hot96Altima in three games. The match lasted over 3 hours with JayLeft taking game one and losing game 2. Late in game three, The Z Man enjoyed a 4-1 chip lead advantage before doubling up JayLeft. In the end, The Z Man being severely short stacked moved all in against JayLeft with JT suited, but facing AA. 

In JayLeft's second match against VfrVendetta, he lost the opening game and was facing elimination late into game 2 only having 580 chips left while VfrVendetta had 5,420. JayLeft hit a straight on the river to stay alive and managed to slowly battle back to win game 2. Game three was a similar battle with each player taking leads before JayLeft won and advanced to the finals against Z.

In the finals, both players altered their starting chips since it was 5:45am when they began game one. Jayleft finally eliminated Z in two games capturing his second title of the year. The defending champion, Fassman was absent from the event. 

Z made the finals for the second straight tournament and has moved up the standings rapidly because of that. Hot96Altima also moved up quickly from 17th to 7th having only playing in four tournaments, finished 2nd once, 9th once and 4th twice. JayLeft once again sits atop the standings with less then 1.5% separating 1st and 3rd. JayLeft also ties Baldrik and Fassman for second place in number of tournaments won with his third victory. 

Congratulations go out to JayLeft.
 

Z Wins the 10th PTS Event
April 28th, 2007

Z won the final open event of the 2007 season while in the process capturing a bounty (by knocking out D-Train) and moving from 14th place overall in the standings to 10th place. This is Z's first win in the series after defeating a field of 12 players. In the end, Z's Ah6h bested Baldrik's pocket fives when a six hit the flop.

The final table consisted of Z, Baldric, Radloff, The Z Man, Fassman, D-Train, Maximum Joy, BoSoxPete, I Hate Cheese, Bronson, The Knight and JayLeft finishing in that order.

Despite the heads up loss, Baldrik advanced to first place in the standings while JayLeft fell from first to third. Approximately then 2% points separates first and third. 

Congratulations go out to Z.
 

Baldrik Wins the 9th PTS Event
March 31st, 2007

Baldrik broke the tie in the race between himself and Fassman for the most tournament wins this season. Baldrik captured his third title of the season after defeating a field of 19 players to win the 9th Poker Tournament Series event of the 2007 season. 

The final table consisted of Baldric, JayLeft, GTOverdrive, Chris Shivers, Sean F, Maximum Joy, The Z Man, henz13, Z and D-Train finishing in that order.

Despite the win, Baldrik remained in third place in the standings while the runner up in this event, JayLeft leaped VfrVendetta for first overall. Less then 2% points separates first and third. 

Congratulations go out to Baldrik.
 

Bronson Wins the 8th PTS Event
March 11th, 2007

Bronson captured his first title of the season by beating a field of 13 players to win the eigth Poker Tournament Series event of the 2007 season.

The final table consisted of Bronson, Maximum Joy, Sean B, Byrnes, Drooger, Long, Z, The Z Man and Longer finishing in that order.

With this win, Bronson has moved within the top five in player rankings with an 66.69% rating. Sunday represented the third time this season that Bronson made it to heads up. Maximum Joy has made the top five in three of the past four events played.

With two regular open events of the season remaining, the championship field is beginning to take shape. The following people are currently on the outside of the top 20 field but within striking distance to qualify for Championships: Parsons, Robertson, Radloff, Longer and Voglism. At this point in the season, with some strong finishes, everyone is still alive.

Congratulations go out to Bronson.
 

VfrVendetta Wins the 7th PTS Event
February 25th, 2007

VfrVendetta muscled the final table with a large chip stack by uttering the words "all in" on several occasions cementing his first tournament win. This event had 25 players participating, the second largest of the season. 

This is a typical standard-payout poker tournament with a twist. During each blind, one random player per table will be designated as the "Bounty". Anyone that knocks out a "bounty" will receive an additional 100.00 points to be added to their point total for this event, as well as a $10 cash bounty. Two players took advantage of the bounty payouts. The Knight knocked out Fassman to capture the first bounty, while The Z Girl brought the tournament to an end for Knowthe7.  

The final table consisted of VfrVendetta, Radloff, Byrnes, Maximum Joy, JayLeft, The Knight, Longer, Baldrik, The Z Girl and The Donator's wife finishing in that order.

With this win, VfrVendetta has made a bold move to 1st over all on the leader board with an 76.13% rating.

Congratulations go out to VfrVendetta.
 

Todd Wins the 6th PTS Event
January 27th, 2007

Todd held on to take the main prize against a 20 player field in this survival style tournament.

This is a typical standard-payout poker tournament however the payout is different. 15% of the prize was set aside for the winner of the event. Once the tournament was down to five remaining players, all of the chips were converted to actual money chips, with blinds being appropriately altered to $1/$2. The low stack at the table was the only one with the option of cashing out their chips. If they were to cash out, their chips are removed from play and they are paid off. If someone gets knocked out, they don't receive any prize.

At the start of the cash game portion of the event, the final five were: Todd (18,200 chips = $224), D-Train (7,400 chips = $91), Baldrik (7,200 chips = $89), Hot96Altima (5,050 chips = $62) and Bronson (2,800 chips = $34).

Bronson quickly doubled up while other players were getting knocked out. In the end, Bronson conceded to Todd who had $338 in front of him, choosing to cash out with $162.

The final table consisted of Todd, Bronson, D-Train, Hot96Altima, Baldrik, Sean F, Fassman, Parsons, The Z Man and I Hate Cheese finishing in that order.

Todd's $400 cash in this event was the second largest tournament payout to date with only the 2006 Championships being greater for first place.

Congratulations go out to Todd.
 

Baldrik Wins the 5th PTS Event
January 6th, 2007

The race is on between Fassman and Baldrik for tournament wins this season. Baldrik tied Fassman by capturing his second title of the season after defeating a field of 24 players to win the fifth Poker Tournament Series event of the 2007 season. 

The final table consisted of Baldrik, VfrVendetta, Parsons, Hot96Altima, Sean F, Z, I Hate Cheese, Brian and Bronson finishing in that order.

Other notes of interest: Sean F has recorded another top 5 finish, making it 4 in his last 5 events dating back to Seasonal Championships of 2006. Baldrik surpassed Fassman as the new money leader with his win which was also his second win in a row in events he has participated. VfrVendetta and Hot96Altima have also made the top 5 in their last two appearances. 

Congratulations go out to Baldrik.
 

Zombievegas Wins the 6th On-Line PTS Event
June 25th, 2006

In the largest tournament of the season, Zombievegas rose victorious against 18 other players. It was the first event of the season for Zombievegas as well as for Nekendrick who made it to heads up. In the end, Zombievegas' Kh9h head up to win the tournament.

The final table consisted of Zombievegas (Buffalo), nekendrick (Hilton), VfrVendetta (Buffalo), surlyzek (Rochester), boater5621 (syracuse), Blaizing (Fairport), Falfa11 (BUFFALO), jtatherton (Orange), Zanelotti (Williamsville).

Congratulations go out to Zombievegas.
 

boater5621 Wins 1st On-Line PTS Heads Up Event
June 16th, 2006

boater5621 defeated a 13 player field in the 1st heads up tournament of the season.

The final table consisted of boater5621 (syracuse), lowlow55 (Hamburg), hicehicebaby (NY) and jodomagoo (Hamburg).

Congratulations go out to boater5621.
 

VfrVendetta Wins 4th On-Line PTS Event
June 7th, 2006

VfrVendetta bested the smallest field of the season with only 9 entrants in the first Pot Limit Omaha event.

The final table consisted of VfrVendetta (Buffalo), surlyzek (Rochester), IhateCHEESE (West Seneca), Falfa11 (BUFFALO), JOHN7NY (Buffalo), drooger (Orchard Park), jbschwabby (Rochester), Zanelotti (Williamsville) and signguy54 (Buffalo).

Congratulations go out to VfrVendetta.
 

PTS Championship (Live) Tables Announced
May 25th, 2006

The two tables at Championships will be divided based on player standings. Seating assignments will be drawn on the day of the event. Here are the table assignments:

Surlyzek Wins 2nd On-Line PTS Event
May 24th, 2006

Last week during the first on-line event after surlyzek was the 1st player eliminated, he wrote "I play for real next week". That turned out to be a bit of foreshadowing as he held on to win the second event of the season in commanding fashion. Turnout (12 Players) was lighter than the first week (18 Players) with several players out of town and also during game 3 of the Sabres / Hurricanes Conference Final.

The final table consisted of surlyzek (Rochester), jtatherton (Orange), Zanelotti (Williamsville), henz13 (Amherst), drooger (Orchard Park), jbschwabby (Rochester), VfrVendetta (Buffalo), boater5621 (syracuse) and las6553 (rochester) finishing in that order.

Congratulations go out to surlyzek.
 

No Bluff - More Woman Playing Poker
By EMILY SEFTEL
The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic
02/13/2006

Online Poker Spotlight: Bad beats - just deal
Craig Tapscott / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: January 20th, 2006