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Poker roundup: one crazy owner, two new breasts, and eight good reads
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And I thought maybe I liked poker a little too much. Lets say you own a basketball team. And that team just wins a world championship. The entire city is celebrating your team. A quarter million fans line the streets and more than 90,000 people cram into the city's downtown stadium to cheer your squad's triumph. So where do you go? Do you ride the victory bus with MVP? Do you hoist the trophy along with the players on stage? Do you sit nearby and quietly admire your franchise in one of its finest moments? Naw, screw it, you skip the parade go to the Bicycle Casino and play poker. Jerry Buss: I can't decide if this is the lamest or coolest thing I've seen all year.
Former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, a Republican I don't hate. When D'Amato was in the United States Senate, I couldn't stand the guy. The New York Senator was corrupt, slimy, and ruthlessly partisan. But hey, that was the '90s. Now he's the chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, fighting to overturn anti-poker legislation, and I like the guy. See? Poker can build bridges! Last week, he made his case on the Fox Business Channel:
Planey Ivey Update. Two weeks ago, after he won his sixth World Series of Poker bracelet, I argued that when it comes to poker, there was Phil Ivey, and then there's the rest of us. Well, just to hammer home the point, he went ahead and won another WSOP bracelet, this time in Omaha/Seven Card Stud, Eight-or-better. So now I was even more convinced that Ivey could do no wrong... until I watched a repeat of a Poker After Dark tournament where Ivey lost to a stone-drunk Gavin Smith. Smith was shortstacked when they got heads up, not to mention hammered, and yet somehow managed to win it all. Ivey looked baffled and stunned. I felt the same way. Looks like even the best in the world can have a rough night.
More breaking news from the WSOP: Clonie Gowen has new breasts (SFW)... The music is a classy touch...
PPA Freerolls on Poker Stars. Take about one minute and sign a petition to President Obama supporting your right to play poker online, and you can enter two $3500 freerolls. Not bad: participate in democracy and get the chance to win money for free. What's not to like? If you're not a Stars player, but still want to sign the petition, you can do that here.
Nam Le is multi-tabling live. But unlike you, he's multi-tabling in two WSOP events, the $10k Pot-Limit Omaha championship and a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. He's literally running back and forth between two live tournaments. Somehow, he's doing well in both. This is either genius or idiocy. Either way, someone should be getting this on film.
Eight Good Poker Reads
- Ed Miller breaks down three no-limit realities
- Ric Wild has a good short article on the surprising strength of Jack-Ten, a.k.a. The Cloutier
- Ronnie Schwartz suggest that the key to winning poker may be channeling your inner goldfish.
- The Wichita Poker Examiner delivers a poker dealer's wishlist
- Gambling 911 breaking news: poker players have bad hygiene
- The Online Poker Examiner cranks the numbers and suggests that the government's latest efforts to crush online poker have backfired: online poker playing is up.
- Interesting discussion on the Home Games forum at 2+2 about what's OK and not OK to say during a hand at a poker table (starts more specific about a particular situation, but then gets into a broader discussion on the matter)... Might be an interesting topic for an upcoming column...
- Discovered a funny, odd poker blog this week by Rufus "The Dufus" Swanson. His post on creating an ideal online poker environment cracked me up, especially his mathematical justification for using a "pee jar." And yes, he includes a photo of said jar. I'll say this for the guy, I admire his dedication, if not his methods! Keep up the good fight, Rufus!
D.C. Poker Examiner's Donkey-Play-of-the-Week
New feature this week. Check out how badly I can mangle a poker hand. Feel free to mock me in the comments below...
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com
CO ($20.75)
Button ($5)
SB ($25)
BB ($25)
UTG ($27.90)
UTG+1 ($25.35)
MP1 ($12.45)
DC Poker Examiner (MP2) ($27.15)
MP3 ($9.10)
Preflop: DC Poker Examiner is MP2 with 6
, 8
3 folds, DC Poker Examiner calls $0.25, 1 fold, CO bets $0.75, 3 folds, DC Poker Examiner raises to $1.50, CO calls $0.75
Oooh, look how clever I am! I'm three-betting out of position with six-eight suited. If I hit my hand, the bad guy won't know what hit him! If I don't hit my hand, I'll go get a Diet Coke and pretend I paid $150 for it...
, 8
, 8 (2 players)DC Poker Examiner bets $2, CO calls $2
YAHTZEE!!! I hit three-of-akind, and he can't put me on an eight here, can he? I'm some kind of genius. I really should be writing a book of clever poker plays like this and how they will let you quit your day job. I'll bet a modest $2 and hope the sucker tags along for the ride with his over pair.
Turn: ($7.35) Q
(2 players)DC Poker Examiner bets $4, CO calls $4
Poker is easy! Seriously. I really should just sit back and play online poker all day for a living. People are just handing over money for no reason whatsoever.
River: ($15.35) J
(2 players)Hmmm.... not so good. If he had a flush draw, he hit it. If he has a nine, he hit his straight. If he has JJ, maybe he just filled up. Still, I've got three eights. I'll make a small "blocking bet" and hope he doesn't have any of those horrible things.
DC Poker Examiner bets $6, CO raises to $13.25 (All-In), DC Poker Examiner calls $7.25
He re-raises me on the river! Where does he get off? Now the pot is pretty big and I don't think my hand is good, but it's only $7.25 more to know for sure. I could buy a lot with that $7.25. Seven tacos. 14 McDonald Apple pies. About 20 cookies at Subway. Would he bluff here? I can't see how with such a big pot.... Screw it, I call anyway.
Total pot: $41.85 | Rake: $2.05
Results:
DC Poker Examiner mucked 6
, 8 (three of a kind, eights).CO had J
, J (full house, Jacks over eights).Outcome: CO won $39.80
Let's review: I got cute preflop, three-betting with 6-8 suit; flop a big hand; then bet just enough each street to entice the villain to stick around; when the worst possible card in the galaxy hits the river (could make a straight, a flush, or a set)... I still bet out (meekly), then call the river reraise. Anyone know where I can get the sad soundtrack music from the Portland Poker Examiner's bad beat video?
Did I miss anything? Let me know... Email me or add a comment below...
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