Loveable Rogues Poker

by Lee Garcia

First published in Poker Player

Have you ever turned your hand over at the river because no one else did? Did the last player to turn his hand over have the winning hand? This irritating practice has happened to all of us at one time or another. It’s called Slow Rolling, and is one of the most annoying moves a player can make. There are players that seem to get a kick out of doing this repeatedly.

When the hand is over and it was a bet and called hand, the correct procedure is for the BETTOR to turn his hand over first, then proceed to his left in the order that they called. If there was no bet on the river, it is proper for the player who had the last action to show his cards. That means the last one to check. Another courteous move would be for the person who made the last bet to turn over his hand first. I do this often to save time.

Poker is a numbers game; you want to play as many hands per hour as possible. When people stall, and hem and haw about exposing their hands, they are wasting time that could be used by the dealer to start a new hand. Play acting at this point is not going to make you any more money, so you should act quickly. Acting before it’s your turn gives information, to people ahead of you, about the strength of your hand.

If you checked, they know the board didn’t hit you and it could prompt them to bet and steal the pot. If you bet prematurely you’re letting them know what your intentions are. They could then set you up for a check raise. Either way, it pays to follow the betting order and pay attention to the action. Getting your chips ready to call before it’s your turn, or preparing to throw your cards, is also not fair to the other players. Along the same lines, always protect your hand and don’t let your neighbors see your cards. Why give anyone free shots?

One of the most annoying practices is the following. Let’s say we have 5 players in the hand. A player at the front holds his cards in such a fashion as to hide them from view. The players behind him all check, as they didn’t realize he was still in the hand. All of a sudden, he tells the dealer that he hasn’t acted yet and shows he still has cards. The dealer calls the Floorman and the ruling is that he has a right to act on his hand. He then makes a bet knowing everyone else is weak.

Two things could be happening here. The first is that he has the nut hand and was going to check raise. Since nobody bet, he now wants to put money in, hoping for a call. The other scenario is that he has a bad hand, and is now going to try to steal the pot knowing everyone else is weak. If I see an individual doing this more than once, I make it a point to instruct the dealer to have the player leave his cards where we all can see them, because I’m not handing him that double edged sword to use against me!

When the flop hits the board and it’s your turn to act, what are your options if there is no bet ahead of you? They are simply to check or bet; NOT to fold! You only fold after action. To do otherwise is to give people information. If there are 4 people in the hand and you throw your cards away in 2nd position, two people behind you know there is one less caller to worry about and it could affect the betting. It is not fair to the other players to fold out of turn, yet many people do this even in the higher priced games.

Besides, what if your card comes out on the next card? You are denying yourself that opportunity.

Most ladies that play poker are a pleasure to have at the table, but every now and then one comes along and shatters that image. The other day, a young lady at an Oklahoma casino was using the “F” word repeatedly.

Every time she missed the hand, it was the F’ing card or the F’ing dealer or “No F’——g way!” The dealer asked her to please stop that practice, to which she replied; “What are you, a momma’s boy or what?”

He called the Floorman over, and she was escorted out of the room. Women like her seem to think that acting tough is somehow going to improve their game.

When men get rowdy, it’s even worse. Have you ever seen some of those so-called Pros on TV that abuse everybody verbally and berate anybody that beats them? There are many players that want to emulate that image, and even when things are going well for them, they stand up and holler, “YEAH BABY”, or, “THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Don’t you just want to strangle them?

It makes everyone very uncomfortable when one of these guys is throwing menacing looks, insulting players, yelling all day and bragging about himself at the table. The truth is, that even with all his machismo, he usually leaves all his chips because he’s focused on the wrong thing: trying to make an impression.

Pocketing chips is called “Going South With Chips”, and is a no-no at any poker table. Chips in action, stay in action and you’re not allowed to hide them in your pocket, or hand them to a friend off the table. I know of a case where two such fellows were involved in a hand, and didn’t get the Bad Beat Jackpot because they had rat-holed so much money off that 2/4 table.

There was only $28 in the pot instead of the mandatory $30! Served them right. Another related issue is passing them to a friend that is also playing at your table. Many casinos forbid this, so it is best to ask the dealer what the rules are. Especially annoying is the habit of passing a bet back to a friend in the hand you just won. If you gave a bet back to ALL of the players in that hand, then there would be no appearance of collusion.

Another chip related issue is hiding your large chips behind stacks of small chips. Even though it is not usually a forbidden practice, common sense and Poker Etiquette indicate that you should allow the other players to know how many chips you have. The only place this is mandatory is at tournament tables, for obvious reasons.

Whether you’re the table bully or the fellow that doesn’t care if he folds his hand out of turn, you are disrupting the game by your behavior if you do any these things. It would serve you better to follow the rules of the room you play in, respect the other players, and gain their respect for your play. Help keep poker a pleasant endeavor for everyone and remember that Poker’s roots stem from its’ being a “Gentlemen’s Game”.

by Scott Aigner

First published in Poker Player

I have been playing in satellites lately trying to win a seat in a bigger tournament. I played in a few of the events too but what I have been finding has been disheartening. Tournament poker has become such a luck fest that there is minimal skill involved. Either you catch a lucky flop, catch a big hand that holds up, or you gamble with a draw. If you lose you are done. You end up playing one hand per tournament unless you win that first confrontation. There is little skill involved in a tournament when you start with 40 BBs. Even a 60 BB structure might not be big. Once there is a raise and a reraise, you are almost surely going to end up getting all in.

One skill that is lacking in tournaments is the ability to fold a big pocket pair that could be dominated. The structure is such that you cannot get away most of the time. Once it gets to the second level there is a huge drop in the average stack size vs. the blind's ratio. Chip compression changes every ones strategy to the point that the skill is no longer a part of one's strategy. No one will be limping in with a pocket pair, no one will be playing suited connectors, and everyone will be holding out to either get a chance to steal the blinds from late position, or better yet, find a big hand in late position that dominates another strong hand in one of the blinds.

There have been a few improvements made in tournaments. The Bellagio increased the starting stack of their $1,060 from t3000 to t5000. With 40 minute levels the structure allows players to actually play more poker and less "Let's wait until I have the goods or get short stacked before I move all in play!" By giving us some chips it increases the action post flop. The bottom line is that the players end up playing more hands and the tournament still ends at about the same time frame it did before. There might be an additional level of play when the number of players is big but otherwise the tournaments are ending around the same as they did before.

Some day the people in charge are going to wake up and start giving us better structures. Now they are starting to increase the entrance fees that we pay to play in the tournaments. The $1,060 structure is dead. They are charging $1,075 or even $1,080 now. Enough is enough people. A final table rarely last more than several hours. Doing the math I think we should all see that they are already taking in enough profits for the length of time we play.

If I am going to receive the same 40 or 60 BB starting stack then I am not going to be playing too many tournaments in the future. They are pricing out too many players. The pros who are already struggling without a sponsor will no longer be able to play in as many tournaments. There will be less recreational players willing to travel with the additional cost involved as a result of the rising gas prices, plane fare going sky high (pardon the pun), and now an increase in the cost to play in a tournament where 1/2 of the players are already eliminated by the end of the 3rd level of play or even less. My next article will suggest ways to improve tournament structures.

by John Caldwell

First published in Poker News

Jeffrey Pollack has had an interesting path to where he is today. The Commissioner of the WSOP has seen the sports industry develop from the infancy of the digital information age, into the 800 lb gorilla of digital media it currently is.

Originally from the political world, Pollack founded a newspaper called the Sports Business Daily in 1994, which was the first daily trade publication for the sports business at a time when the industry was just coming into its own. Stints at the NBA, and NASCAR have led Pollack to an interesting, if logical place – the World Series of Poker.

Hired last year as Harrah's VP of Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Pollack was named to the newly created title of Commissioner of the World Series of Poker in January of this year. I sat down with Jeffrey recently to talk about what he's learned about the poker business, and what we can all expect at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

John: As Commissioner of the WSOP, it seems that you have a challenge in front of you that is fairly similar to your last challenge, which was to bring NASCAR, kind of a sequestered 'good ol' boy' sport into the mainstream. Talk about the process of bringing poker, and the World Series of Poker into the mainstream, and what you have seen, and done so far.

Jeffrey Pollack: I think that poker is already part of the cultural mainstream. It is not part of the commercial mainstream. NASCAR, for 50 some odd years built a very strong/passionate/loyal following in much of the country. But NASCAR did not break through until it consolidated its media rights, and started approaching Madison Avenue in a different way.

The World Series of Poker has this wonderful, rich 37 year tradition & heritage which I completely respect, and think we should celebrate. But, for all that heritage and tradition, it's the new kid on the block on Madison Avenue. We have never had a sponsor until this year, and we're about to make an announcement about our first ever sponsor, and some other similar arrangements that will be in place before this tournament.

We are presenting ourselves to consumer product companies, and global media companies in the way that you would expect the NBA, or the NFL, or NASCAR to be presented. So, there are a lot of similarities. I think we are where NASCAR was about six years ago, and we are positioned for some very explosive growth. Having said that, we're not going to have the popularity of NASCAR, or the NFL. It's a very different beast. Poker is not athletic competition. There is a very passionate following. It's what sports fans like to watch, in addition to more traditional sports.

So, we have a great landscape in front of us. But, I am very aware that we are different. Because it's Las Vegas, because its part of the gaming industry, it's non athletic competition. But, there are going to be plenty of companies that want to appreciate, and embrace that difference. It's my job to find those companies, and create meaningful opportunities for them to step into the sport. Then you ask, why is it important that they step into the sport? Because it's about exposure, and growth. The playbook that I'm using in growing the World Series of Poker is the exact playbook used by NBA, NASCAR, the NHL, and the NFL. Sports management is a very specialized business and profession. I know it pretty well. My team knows it very well, and we are applying principles that have been proven and tested for the past 30 years. Some foundations of those principles include recognizing that you have to get what happens on the competitive playing field right above and beyond all else.

So, for me that means making sure we have outstanding player relations, and customer service, and making sure we have the best possible tournament structure. Introducing the new H.O.R.S.E. event was really an opening statement on our part, to say that we will not be afraid to adjust the structure of the tournament. My sense is that there has never been a truly critical eye placed on the tournament structure. Or, at least not as frequently as it should have been over the past 37 years. That's not a judgment, just a fact. We're coming at this a little differently.

So, the H.O.R.S.E. event is our first attempt at making the World Series of Poker a little more exciting, and more interesting. Over the course of the next five years, you'll see other adjustments.

If you get what happens on the playing field right, then you are in a position to go attract media partners. We just announced a multi year television deal, we have a deal with AOL that's well underway, and we have a deal with Glu Mobile, one of the world's largest mobile content providers.

So, we're setting up the same lines of broadcasting, and new media business that any other sport has. You do that, because you always want to attract the biggest possible audience, both in terms of registrants at the venue, and viewing. And, the viewing takes many forms. We live in a 24/7 digital world, where sports consumption habits are just very different. But, you get the media exposure, and the business grows. That includes sponsorship, licensing, international growth and new business opportunities for the players themselves.

John: I wonder if you might talk a little about your background, and how that has led you to this job?

Jeffrey: I come from a completely non traditional business background. I started my career as a political consultant. So, my view on the world is grounded in strategic thinking. Being able to have a vision that is nothing more than an abstraction, and then breathing life into it. A political campaign is nothing more than an abstraction when it starts. My specialty is doing what's never been done before.

When I started the Sports Business Daily, I knew nothing about sports, I knew nothing about publishing, I'd never run a business, but I had run political campaigns. That was taking an abstraction, this concept for a business, and breathing life into it. When I went to the NBA, I knew nothing about collective bargaining, and they had never had a communications consultant during collective bargaining, so that was completely uncharted territory. When I went to NASCAR, their broadcasting and new media group was brand new. They had just consolidated their media rights – completely uncharted territory.

The World Series of Poker was, frankly, the logical next step for me. Because it's this brilliant 37 year old start up. It is an abstraction from a business standpoint. It is, to a degree still an abstraction from a global branding standpoint. We have a tremendous running start – 37 year history – most prestigious – biggest – richest – world renowned. But, that all happened without any deliberate effort or strategy from a business, or branding standpoint. So, it is still, to a degree, a touch of an abstraction, and that is my sweet spot. Give me what has never been done before – give me a blank slate – and I will get it going, and that's what we're doing here.

John: So, is it the simply the product that has carried this thing forward for 36 years in your opinion?

Jeffrey: I think it's the product, and the mystique and the history. I don't believe that there has been enough celebration of what led the World Series of Poker to this point, and that pre dates the Harrah's acquisition. It goes from the first tournament forward. It is colorful, it is rich with personalities, it is Las Vegas at its best, and its worst.

I want to do more to celebrate our past champions, the people that hold bracelets from previous tournaments. As we rush into a digital future, I want to bring our past, our history, and our DNA along for the ride. Because, I think it is our competitive advantage, and I think it is what makes us so special.

by Earl Burton

First published in Poker News

On June 9th, the highly respected American newspaper the Los Angeles Times issued perhaps the most high profile endorsement of the regulation and acceptance of online gaming and poker, rather than the course of action that state legislators and Congressmen in Washington, DC are currently undertaking.

In an editorial entitled "Don't Bet The House", the staff of the Times analyzes the current legislation on Capitol Hill and simply asks the question, "Doesn't the federal government have better things to do than try to block people from going online to make a wager on the Super Bowl or the Final Four?" The editorial continues on with a well thought out course of action that perhaps our representation in Washington would do well to consider.

The Times editorial staff points out that the legislators are looking to curb underage gaming, problem gamblers and attack the offshore sites that are unregulated by U. S. law. While they do give credit in a small manner to the elected officials on these counts, they also emphasize that they aren't doing anything regarding regulation of the horse racing industry online. Online racing wagering is something that Congress legislated to the states in 2000, which the Times points out is a "less than sincere" effort when it comes to the outlawing of online gaming and poker. The Times also states, "Isn't it a hallmark of a free society that we don't outlaw otherwise inoffensive vices simply because some people harm themselves?"

The Times editorial staff comes out especially strongly on the factor that regulation and taxation of the $12 billion industry is the way to go. Through this course of action, the Times states, the federal government can receive a significant amount of funding and end their hypocrisy regarding allowing some forms of online gaming but not others. They also accurately point out that if American based casino operations were able to offer similar fare online, the protections for the players would be significant rather than their current gray area in the offshore world. As they end the editorial statement, the Times perhaps makes the most stinging statement when they say, "Moralistic members of Congress should not be allowed to thwart online freedoms."

Kudos must be extended to the Los Angeles Times for their forward thinking and well reasoned editorial. If other significant publications such as the Times expressed their sentiments regarding the online gaming and poker question in this manner, perhaps the federal government would see that they are missing the boat on the continuing worldwide growth of not only online poker but the gaming industry overall. As Congress is ending its sessions for the current year, it will be a situation that will be closely watched as this year and 2007 roll around. To read the full editorial from the Los Angeles Times, visit latimes.com/news/opinion.

by Ashley Adams

First published in Poker Player

Being a smart shopper applies to your poker room. It's up to you, the consumer to shop around and learn what you need to know to determine whether you're getting your money's worth. First, learn how the house gets its money. Some places have a rake – an amount that the house takes out of every pot. Other places charge time – an amount taken every half hour from each player. Find out, before you sit down, exactly which method is used and how they use it.

If the house takes a rake, what is the percentage of the pot they take? Most rooms take either 5% or 10% of the pot with some cap on the maximum they take. This rake can be a huge drain on your game as we've seen.

In a tight game, if the house takes 10% of every pot, they are taking almost 20% of your winnings when you win – since half of the pot tends to be your money in a game that generally turns heads up after the initial betting round. This is an almost insurmountable cut, making poker one of the worst bets in the casino. Even the slot machines don't take more than 10% of your winnings when you win. And the best bets on the crap table have only a 1% house take. Fortunately, most rakes (though not all as I found out in Denmark and in some private clubs) are also limited by a fixed dollar amount. They may be a 10% rake with a $4.00 or $5.00 maximum – or a 5% rake with a $3.00 or $4.00 maximum. In all but the smallest game it is the maximum that determines how large the rake really is – since most contested pots will have a pot where 10% or even 5% is larger than the maximum dollar amount. Take a 10%, $4 max rake game. If you're playing $5/10 stud, the pot will hit the max, usually, by Fourth Street. A typical pot, in a moderately loose game, probably reaches $100 much of the time. This means that the rake is actually only 4% ($4 out of $100 pot).

Make sure you know when the rake is taken out of the pot as well. All 10% $4 max raked games aren't alike. Some places rake the entire $4.00 out of the antes. Other places take $1 at $10, another at $20 but then they don't take the third until the pot is $120 and the fourth at $240. As you can see, that often ends up with a rake of considerably less than 2%. All other factors being equal, the latter game is much more beatable than the former game.

All things are rarely equal between games, however. For one thing, though the rake tends to be a much lower percentage of the pot as you move up in stakes, the games tend to be tougher because you're against tougher players. But that's not a function of how much the house is taking – it's just something else that you need to be aware of.

Paying time tends to be more straightforward than paying a rake. For one thing, it's much easier to figure out how much you're paying to play. The amount you pay doesn't depend on the type of game you're in, how tight or how loose you or your opponents are, or how many hands you're playing an hour. On the other hand, it does raise another consideration for you the educated consumer. How quick are the dealers.

Dealer speed determines hands/per hour. What you want in a timed game are many hands per hour – so you're per hand costs are relatively low. Imagine a game with a time charge of $5 for every half hour. If you had a poor, novice dealer who couldn't keep the action moving, made mistakes, and dealt very slowly you might only get 10 hands an hour in. That would mean you would be paying $1 per hand to the house. On the other hand, an experienced dealer who kept the action moving might get out 35 hands in an hour – lowering your cost to under $.29 per hand.

First published by PrWeb

Online poker players need never be cheated again. PokerBodyguard, a new freeware product from Advanced Interactive Marketing, Inc. (AIM), works to ensure that other online poker players do not rip anyone off.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) June 10, 2006 — Online poker players need never be cheated again. PokerBodyguard, a new freeware product from Advanced Interactive Marketing, Inc. (AIM), works to ensure that other online poker players do not rip anyone off.

"Although many people don't know it, cheating in online poker rooms is rampant, and first-timers in particular get cheated all the time," says Larry Brunken, Founder of AIM. "PokerBodyguard makes poker playing in online gaming forums even safer than real-world casinos and poker rooms."

PokerBodyguard (available for download at http://www.StopPokerCheaters.com) works with most online poker rooms. Players using the software can determine, at a glance, the history of fellow players – how often they play together, how many tournaments they have won, whether they have been reported as rude and abusive, etc. The program also blocks poker Trojans and poker viruses from hacking into your computer by erecting a robust firewall.

Apart from instant poker protection, PokerBodyguard also allows users to watch instant replays of all online games, with a feature to fast-forward and rewind as with DVDs. Players can take notes on other gamers and share poker games with friends using a built-in file-share system.

The PokerBodyguard download also includes other free programs such as CustomXML, a powerful XML and RSS aggregator, MySearchBot, a tool to tap multiple search engines and share search results, and SystemBodyguard, which protects personal computers from online threats.

"With one download, this freeware product gives you online protection and efficiency as never before," says Brunken. "Poker players in particular can play their favorite game online with an enhanced sense of freedom and
enjoyment."

About Advanced Interactive Marketing, Inc.

Advanced Interactive Marketing, Inc. was formed in 2005 by Larry Brunken to produce a group of new free software applications. With nine years experience in the online marketing business, Brunken and AIM will release groundbreaking free products for both end users and online marketers.

Released by Software Submit.NET
Software Promotion Services
http://www.softwaresubmit.net

by Paul McGuire

First published in Poker Player

Who do you think is going to be the 2006 World Series of Poker Champion… a big time name like Phil Ivey or an unknown like Joe Hachem? Will a bona fide Vegas pro or former WSOP Champion win? Will it be an American or European? Will 2006 be the first year that a female wins the WSOP? Or how about an unknown 21 year old internet player? Or maybe it's going to be a guy who plays in your home game?

The 2006 WSOP is going to be the biggest gambling event the world has seen as the Rio Casino in Las Vegas becomes the center of the poker universe. Players from all over the world are going to show up at the Rio with $10,000 and a dream of winning the most prestigious poker tournament of all time.

The main event of the 2006 WSOP starts at the Rio on July 28th at Noon. Harrah's has capped the field at 8,000 and have already stated that first place will win $10 million as compared to the $7.5M that was won by 2005 champion Joe Hachem. As you read this, there are hundreds and thousands of players currently trying to win their seats via satellites both online and in live games. As of June 1, 2006, PokerStars will be sending 817 players to the main event and that number is expected to almost double by the time the WSOP begins.

"I have never seen so much dead money in all my life."

- Phil Gordon at the 2005 WSOP

With the fields being tremendously large, the best players in the world are going to have a tough task ahead of them in August. They have to survive against 8,000 other sharks, fish, donkeys, and luckboxes. And if that wasn't hard enough, they will have to be mentally prepared to play the best poker of their lives for almost two straight weeks.

There's a huge difference in skill level between the amateur players who satellited their way in versus world class pros. But in gigantic fields where anybody can win, pros are at a disadvantage. So which pro has the best chance of stepping up to win?

Former WSOP Champions

No player has won back-to-back Championships since Johnny Chan did it in 1988. Greg Raymer made an impressive run last year finishing in 25th place. And if "Fossilman" didn't run into a bad beat, he could have easily made the final table. Even Raymer doubts that he could replicate another rush like he found himself in during the last two WSOPs.

2004 champion Greg Raymer is certainly capable of winning it all.

Can Joe Hachem repeat this year? Since he won the 2005 WSOP, he's only played in a handful of big tournaments. He made the final table of a WSOP Circuit event at Paris/Bally's and also made the final TV table on the European Poker Tour. Hachem earned less than $100,000 in tournament winnings since he became World Champion and has a lot of work ahead of him if he expects to repeat.

You can't count out Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson in any tournament. They both won their 10th WSOP bracelets last year in different events, and proved that they are still at the top of the tournament game.

2005 WSOP champion Joseph Hachem minutes after winning $7.5 million and the Championship.

Former champions like Dan Harrington, Carlos Mortensen, Tom McEvoy, and Huck Seed are dangerous in any tournament that they enter. I wouldn't want to find any of those guys at my starting table. Scotty Nguyen won his first WPT event in Tunica earlier this year. He's looking to add another bracelet to his gaudy collection of jewelry.

Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson seen here playing in the 2005 WSOP is on the short list of favorites.

According to the oddsmakers at BetUSA.com, former champions Phil Hellmuth and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson are at the top of the favorites list. Last month, Ferguson took second place at the 2006 Heads-Up Championship for a second year in a row. He also won a WSOP Circuit event last September at Harrah's in Las Vegas. Out of all the former champions, Ferguson probably has the best chance of winning this year's event.

Other Notable Professionals

T.J. Cloutier is considered the best tournament player never to win the WSOP championship. He's taken second place twice. Can he break that jinx this year? At the 2005 WSOP, he won his sixth bracelet. He's always a favorite.

Phil Ivey went deep in last year's WSOP main event a few weeks after he won his fifth bracelet in the Pot-Limit Omaha event. BetUSA.com has Ivey as the clear cut favorite at 150 to 1.

Daniel Negreanu had a dismal showing at the 2005 WSOP.

Daniel Negreanu had a horrible 2005 WSOP. He's hoping for a better performance this year. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi has been on fire. He won the WPT Borgata Winter Open this year. The Grinder almost won another WPT event in Tunica when Scotty Nguyen busted him with a bad beat. Last year The Grinder tied for most number of cashes at the WSOP with seven.

Howard Lederer and Layne Flack are listed at the top of the oddsmakers list. Both can do some serious damage if they get a big stack early. Other pros you should keep an eye on include: Gavin Smith, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Mike Matusow, 2006 Heads-Up Champion Ted Forrest, and David Singer.

Online Players

Joe Bartholdi plays both online and in Las Vegas. The former member of Dutch Boyd's "Crew" is a twenty-something pro that won the 2006 WPT Championship at the Bellagio last month and took home a record first place prize of $3.7 million.

Peter "Nordberg" Feldman recently won the WSOP Circuit event in New Orleans. He also bubbled out of the final table of the WPT Borgata Winter Open.

Dutch Boyd of 'crew' fame playing in the 2005 WSOP.

Cliff "Johnny Bax" Josephy became one of my favorite stories at last year's WSOP. He had never played Seven-card Stud before he entered the $1,500 WSOP event. He got a quick tutorial five minute before and went onto to win his first bracelet. Also known to the world as Johnny Bax (his online screen name), Josephy is considered one of the best internet players to find recent success in live tournaments. He finished in 12th place at the WPT Championships.

Eric "Rizen" Lynch quit his job as a software engineer to focus on poker full time. He recently won the $1 Million Guaranteed Sunday tournament on Poker Stars for a cool $156K. He might be one of the best NL tournament players you never heard of.

European Pros

Marcel Luske (Holland) is one of the best European players of all time. He's on the list of European favorites to win this year. Andy Black (Ireland) made the final table last year after an impressive run. Patrik Antonius (Finland) is considered one of the best young players from Europe. The former model is the reigning Scandinavian Poker Champion. He also won an event on the EPT and took second in a WPT event.

Marcel Luske had a booth at the 2005 WSOP trade show.

Other notable European pros to watch out for at the 2006 WSOP include Carlos Mortensen (Spain), Gus Hansen (Denmark), Martin de Knijff (Sweden), Devilfish Ulliot (England), Ram Vaswani (England), Gentleman John Gale (England), and Daniel Larrson (Sweden).

Female Pros

Kathy Leibert is my pick to be the first female to win the WSOP. She's been playing almost every major NL tournament this past year, unlike Annie Duke. Liebert took third in a WSOP Circuit event in San Diego earlier this year. You always have to consider Jen Harman, who currently ranks third on the all time Female Money List.

Cyndy Violette had a great 2005 WSOP and can have an even better 2006 WSOP.

At the 2005 WSOP, American-born, yet London-based attorney Tiffany Williamson lasted the longest out of any other female in the main event. I doubt that Williamson can make another run like she did last year. Cyndy Violette had an impressive 2005 WSOP with a couple of final table appearances. She nearly won her second bracelet but lost heads-up to Erik Seidel. Liz Lieu, Joanne Liu, and Carmel Petresco have all gained a lot of experience over the past year and have an outside chance of winning, along with Isabelle Mercier, Barbara Enright, and Mimi Tran.

Celebrity Poker Players

Pros love playing against celebrities because for the most part, they are dead money. On the first hand of the 2005 WSOP Day 1B, actor Oliver Hudson (son to Goldie Hawn and brother to Kate Hudson) busted out when his boat lost to Sammy Farha's bigger boat. However, there are instances when your favorite celebrity hits a rush at the poker tables.

Wil Wheaton seen playing in the 2005 WSOP main event.

Two years ago, actor Ben Affleck won the California State Championships after some excellent coaching from Annie Duke. Last year, actor and poker announcer Gabe Kaplan made a final table at the World Poker Tour Mirage Showdown. "Mr. Kotter" also made a final table at the 2005 WSOP. The media-unfriendly Tobey Maguire cashed in one WSOP event last year. Then after the WSOP ended, "Spiderman" had an impressive run at the Bellagio Cup Challenge where he made the final table. Actor and writer Wil Wheaton won the celebrity last longer at the WPT Invitational at Commerce and won $10,000 for his charity City of Hope when he finished in 23rd place.

Jennifer Tilly is on my short list of favorites to repeat for a bracelet.

Then who could forget about Jen Tilly's captivating performance at last year's WSOP Ladies NL event? The Unabomber must have given his girlfriend some amazing tips. After she won her bracelet against the largest field of women ever to play in that event, Tilly admitted, "This is better than winning an Oscar!"

The odds that a pro will win are extremely slim, so celebrities pretty much have no chance. That won't stop them from playing in this year's 2006 WSOP. However, if I had to pick one celebrity that had a shot of winning, it would be James Woods. The actor almost cashed at the 2006 WPT Championship and demonstrated a gutsy and impressive performance when he finished in 24th place in the L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce Casino.

* * * * *

Max Pescatori's game has improved since the 2005 WSOP and it was "A" level then.

There are dozens of other professionals whom I didn't mention who could hit a hot streak and go all the way, such as Barry Greenstein, Chip Reese, Humberto Brenes, Erick Lindgren, Kenna James, Victor Ramdin, Max Pescatori, and John D'Agostino.

So, will a pro or an unknown win?

My guess will be that someone we never heard of before will win. The odds are stacked against the pros. The majority of the 8,000 players in this year's event are going to be unknown amateurs. There might be a couple of thousand legit semi-pros and grinders out there, but the majority of the field is going to be dead money. Buying into this year's WSOP is like stepping onto Omaha Beach on D-Day. Probability and statistics say that you won't survive the initial onslaught. And that's why the WSOP is so popular… because anyone can win. Just ask Robert Varknoyi.

An extremely lucky poker player is going to walk away from the Rio $10,000,000 richer. You are going to have tune in here to find out.

What's the odds of Elmo making it to the Championship final table?

Photos by flipchip / Las Vegas Vegas

Read more from Dr. Pauly at Tao of Poker and the Vegas Poker Blog

by Earl Burton

First published in Poker News

While much of the attention of the fans and media will be focused on the battle for the bracelets' during the World Series of Poker, there is perhaps just as much action that will be going on away from the 'official' events. These cash games, satellite tournaments and 'second chance' events don't carry the prestige that winning a World Series bracelet may have, but their award is in a much more immediate form: either a seat in the $10,000 Championship Event or even cold, hard cash.

The history of the World Series has been that it is almost like a family reunion. In the beginning, players gathered to meet up with old friends, renew acquaintances and take part in the tournaments. The cash game action away from the tournament tables would be where the most serious work would take place, however. At these cash game tables the competitors would sometimes attack the game more vigorously than the official events that made up the World Series schedule. It was possible for thousands of dollars to flow at these tables as, at that time, the World Series was the only significant event and everyone marked their calendars for when each year's Series would take place.

As the World Series has grown to where it is today, the tournaments may have started drawing more of the attention but the side action is still huge. At the 2006 renewal of the World Series, this will be the case once again. Surprisingly, many players come to the World Series with no thought of playing in the tournaments. The side game action is at its most lucrative as at any point during the year and, as a result, the games are filled with excellent players. Definitely bring your "A" game if you plan on participating in any of those events in July and August.

In 2005, the Rio closed down the poker room and transferred all cash game offerings to the Amazon Ballroom, where the World Series was conducted. This will happen again in 2006 and there is plenty of play going on at all hours of the day or night. Action can be had across the board, from the smallest of levels to high end cash games and second chance tournaments that will perhaps allow some players to earn enough funding to take part in the official World Series events. The cash games will spread pretty much anything that the players request as well; it wasn't strange to hear of $1/$2 Limit Hold 'Em tables being filled alongside much higher stakes games during anytime last year. The games aren't limited to just Hold 'Em as Omaha, Seven Card and other rarely played games were seen in action as well.

Many players will be participating in the satellite tournaments that start on June 25th and there are several versions being offered. One, of course, will be the ever popular single table tournaments that cost $1000 and one person walks away with the seat at the Series (if no deals come to pass). The other two will be much larger events but will allow some lucky players to enter the $10,000 Championship Event on the cheap.

Two super satellite tournaments costing $225 will run at 3PM and 9PM. Rebuys (which get you another $200 in chips) are offered in the event, which should drive the potential prize pool further up the ladder. Once the rebuy and add-on period ends, a seat in the Championship Event will be awarded for each $10,000 generated by the field. This will be a difficult task as, by looking at the structure of the tournaments, it will potentially be a tournament driven by who gets the cards or the luck to side with them.

Players will start with $200 in chips and the blinds at $5/$10. The first three rounds will be open for rebuys and are thirty minutes long each. Once the first three rounds are completed and the add on period finishes (double add ons are possible), levels then drop to twenty minutes in length. As you can see, it will be a serious task for someone to win their seat through this manner and the seat is for the Championship Event only.

The mega satellites are offered for the players that will allow time for play at the tables. Each day of the World Series a mega satellite will start at 7PM with seats going for $1060 each. No rebuys are available in this event, so it is a little more complimentary for many players' styles. The players are given a $1000 starting stack with the blinds starting at $25/$25 and each level goes for forty minutes. This should allow for some play at the tables and perhaps not be as dependent on the "luck factor" in determining a winner. Once again, for each $10K generated from the field, a seat in the Championship Event (only) will be given out.

For those that have to raise some money to get into these events, there are "second chance" tournaments that will be played. These tournaments will be hotly contested as they will pay out in cash (OK, casino chips, but you know what I mean). While payouts for winning these tournaments won't be as large as for the official events (and lack the awarding of a bracelet), they will have major advantages in that they will be smaller tournaments and will be contested in several hours rather than several days.

Two second chance tournament options are available, a $540 tournament at 5PM and a $225 tournament at 11PM for the night owls. Both have comparable starting stacks ($1500 for the $540, $1000 for the $225) and blind structures are identical for both tournaments with thirty minute rounds. The payouts will be based on number of entries and will be posted for each tournament after they begin.

As you can see, poker at the World Series goes way beyond what happens in the official tournaments! With less than three weeks to the commencement of festivities at the Rio in Las Vegas, we'll continue to look at the entirety of the World Series as this series of articles continues.