Jonathan Little Builds on Lucrative Poker Career with Successful Coaching Business Get Free Training Course at /Cp25

www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 34/No. 6 March 10, 2021

Q&A: Mark Newhouse Reflects On The Highs And Lows Of His Career

Online Poker Officially Launches In Michigan

Stud Eight-Or-Better: Adjusting To Exposed Cards

JONATHAN LITTLE BUILDS ON LUCRATIVE POKER CAREER WITH SUCCESSFUL COACHING BUSINESS GET FREE TRAINING COURSE AT /CP25

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004_MastheadB.indd 4 2/18/21 10:23 AM PLAYER_05_AmericasCardroom_FP.indd 3 2/2/21 10:23 AM Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 6 24 16

Features Strategies, Analysis Also In this Issue 24 & Commentary 4 Jonathan Little Builds On Lucrative 28 About Us Poker Career With Successful Coaching How To Feel Good About Losing 36 Business With Top Set Tournament Schedules By Steve Schult By Jonathan Little 38 29 Poker Leaderboards The Inside Straight Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better: 8 Adjusting To Exposed Cards By Kevin Haney Poker News Recap Tournament 12 31 Hand Matchups The Kid In The Home Game Player Of The Year Update 31 By Nathan Gamble By Erik Fast Andrei Kriazhev vs. Charles Chattha 16 32 33 Behavior At The Table: Personal Hygiene Mark Newhouse Sounds Off On The By Greg Raymer Rayan Chamas vs. Dan Shak Back-To-Back Scores He’d Rather Not 34 Think About 34 By Julio Rodriguez Cory Nordstrand’s Passion For Poker Rayan Chamas vs. Charles Chattha By Linda Johnson vs. Dan Shak 20 35 Head Games: Cash Game Preflop Hand Ranges And Post-Flop Decisions Rayan Chamas vs. Jack Hardcastle By Craig Tapscott

6 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

006_TOC.indd 6 2/18/21 10:15 AM PLAYER_06_bestbet_FP.indd 3 2/16/21 1:48 PM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

the INSIDE STRAIGHT News, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World

2003 WSOP CHAMPION CHRIS MONEYMAKER SIGNS DEAL WITH AMERICAS CARDROOM

By Steve Schult

to Moneymaker’s previous sponsor, which is only operational in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. is gives Moneymaker the fl exibility to play online poker from the comfort of his Mississippi home. Aside from his main event victory, which put him on the map, Moneymaker has earned an additional $1.4 million on the felt, bringing his total career tournament earnings to $3.9 million. Moneymaker scored a sponsorship deal with PokerStars after he qualifi ed for the 2003 WSOP main event on the site in an $86 satellite. He parlayed hris Moneymaker and Poker Hall of Famer said that he was that into a main event victory, a $2.5 PokerStars parted ways likely going to “play a little less poker million score, and a lucrative sponsor- at the end of 2020, end- in the immediate future and explore ship with the site. ing a 17-year relationship other endeavors.” After a fl urry of other signings, betweenC the 2003 World Series of e search for another gig didn’t PokerStars has since steadily dropped Poker main event champion and one of last long, as he signed with the second most of their sponsored pros, includ- the world’s largest poker sites. poker site of his career just over a ing fellow Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Moneymaker wasn’t a free agent month after parting with the fi rst. In Negreanu in 2019. for long, however. Less than fi ve a press release, Moneymaker said that With Moneymaker’s signing, weeks after splitting with PokerStars, he wasn’t qualifi ed to do much else both Negreanu and Moneymaker Moneymaker found a new sponsor. besides play poker. have found new sponsorship homes Americas Cardroom announced in “I’m 45 years old. I’ve got three kids. as Negreanu signed a deal with early February that they had signed I can’t not work,” said Moneymaker in GGPoker just fi ve months after his the former Tennessee accountant to be a statement. “But I’m not qualifi ed for departure from PokerStars. a team pro for the site. e American- anything anymore. I couldn’t do your Moneymaker joins a roster that is facing online site called it the “big- taxes as good as H&R Block could do full of poker’s newer faces, including gest online poker news of 2021” in a them. My only qualifi cation in life is, vloggers Jeff “Boski” Sluzinski and Twitter post announcing the signing. ‘Do you want fries with that?’” Ryan DePaulo, as well as streamers In a video response to his split with Americas Cardroom is available to Jon Pardy, Drew Gonzalez, and Ebony PokerStars at the end of 2020, the poker players in 43 states, compared Kenney. m

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8 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

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Online Poker Launches In Michigan By Steve Schult

Online poker launched in Michigan on Friday, Jan. 29 after state regulators approved a gaming license for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. e tribe, which runs Odawa Casino in Petoskey, partnered with PokerStars to operate online poker in the state. With the Michigan Gaming Control Board officially granting an online license, PokerStars opened its Michigan platform at 11 a.m., according to a report from e Detroit News. Along with the tribe, the board awarded licenses to Detroit’s Greektown Casino, which partnered with Penn Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook & Casino to offer online for online operators to join shared player pools, it opens gambling, as well as Fox Bet, PokerStars’ sports betting a very real possibility for Stars to combine its player pools platform, which also launched with the license given to the in all three states. at law has not gone into effect yet, Odawa Indians. however, and would also need an agreement from the other Michigan’s online gambling market had launched a states involved before it is launched. week earlier, but the operators who received licenses did Pennsylvania regulators were reportedly awaiting a not have an online poker platform or a partner with one, ruling on the Wire Act before allowing operators from its reserving the initial launch for other online casino games state to join shared player pools. Some media outlets have and sports betting. reported that Michigan regulators are already in talks with PokerStars is the only operator in Michigan so far. the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and could BetMGM Poker, which has an obvious partnership with see a compact between the states by the end of 2021. the MGM Detroit, could be the second to launch. Just an hour after its rollout, there were no-limit hold’em PokerStars now has operations in New Jersey, Michigan, cash games running at the 1₡-2₡, 25₡-50₡, and 50₡-$1 and Pennsylvania. With the recent ruling on the Wire Act, stakes. Tables were available all the way up to $25-$50. which allowed for most forms of interstate online gam- ere were also several tournaments scheduled for the first bling, and Gov. Whitmer signing a bill that would allow day of operation, with buy-ins ranging from $3 to $30. m Slew Of States File Sports Betting Legislation By Steve Schult

n the first few weeks of the tery to oversee the industry. legislation was such a bare bones pro- 2021 legislative session, five By making it part of the state’s posal that there are literally no rules states have introduced or lottery offerings, it bypasses a consti- set in stone for the new market. A advanced legislation that tutional amendment and ultimately lawmaker filed the first of many bills wouldI either legalize sports betting a ballot referendum in November. It that will lay out those regulations, or expand it in the states where it is passed through an initial commit- which dealt with the licensing of non- already legal. tee hearing and will now go to the profit sportsbooks. Mississippi, Massachusetts, House Rules Committee. If It passes Massachusetts and Minnesota Minnesota, and Maryland all filed through the second hurdle, it will go both had lawmakers file legislation bills, while a proposal in Georgia to to the House floor for a vote. that would legalize sports betting in legalize online sports betting passed a Both Mississippi and Maryland their states. is is Massachusetts’ committee vote. already have legalized sports betting second shot at it after a similar bill Georgia has been one of the more in prior legislative sessions and elec- died in the legislature last year. Both aggressive states in pursuing expand- tions. Mississippi is trying to expand states share borders with other states ed gambling this session as Rep. its market to allow online betting and that already offer sports wagering. Ron Stephens has introduced mul- Maryland is simply looking to estab- New Hampshire and Rhode Island tiple bills. He introduced the Georgia lish some ground rules. are the only New England states to Lottery Mobile Sports Wagering Maryland passed sports betting allow it, while South Dakota and Integrity Act at the start of the new last November through the ballot Iowa border Minnesota and allow year, which would allow the state lot- box. But due to the pandemic, the sports betting. m

008_News.indd 9 2/18/21 10:16 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - News, reviews, and interviews from around the poker world

“MATTRESS MACK” WINS HIS $3.46 MILLION BET ON THE SUPER BOWL By Steve Schult

Sports betting enthusiast and Houston-area furniture mogul Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale made another massive wager on a high-profile sporting event. But this time, he won. McIngvale made waves in the sports betting world when it was revealed that he wagered $3.46 million on the NFL Super Bowl. A few days before the big game, he flew to year, offering the same refund and price point if the Bucs Colorado, a state that recently legalized sports betting, and defeated the Chiefs. placed the seven-figure bet on the DraftKings mobile app. Given the spread, if the Chiefs had won by less than four He took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the spread. points, he would’ve been able to scoop both the promotion e NFC representative in the Super Bowl was getting 3.5 and the bet since he wouldn’t have had to refund his cus- points against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. tomers, and also pocket the additional $2.72 million from ey easily covered, winning the game in somewhat of a the Boston-based online sportsbook. blowout by a final score of 31-9. While many of his high-profile bets are hedges against McIngvale famously lost $13 million betting on the store promotions, McIngvale clearly likes to gamble. Last Houston Astros to win the 2019 MLB World Series. He year, he lost $2 million betting against the Chiefs in made the bet as a hedge against a promotion he was run- the playoffs. He bet $1 million on them to lose in both ning at his furniture store. During the 2019 Major League the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl. Baseball season, McIngvale said that if the hometown e two largest recorded bets on the big game were both team won the World Series, he would give customers a full placed on the Bucs. According to e Action Network’s refund on any mattress purchase of $3,000 or more. He Darren Rovell, another unknown bettor put $2.3 million was running a nearly identical promotion at his store this on Tampa Bay on BetMGM. m MACAU CASINOS SEE 63 PERCENT REVENUE DROP IN JANUARY By Steve Schult

Macau casinos experienced a 63.7 per- cern. According to a Reuters report, cent year-over-year drop in brick-and-mortar there was a rise in COVID-19 cases gambling revenue, according to numbers in January, which hurt the tourism released by the Gaming Inspection and industry. Analysts at Sanford C. Coordination Bureau. Bernstein also added that the casinos Operators in the region reported winning travel visa processing was delayed due the equivalent of $1 billion from gamblers to the increase in cases and the neces- in January. It was the 12th straight month sity of testing, which also caused high of a year-over-year decline of more than 60 rollers to stay away from casinos. percent and the 16th consecutive month with Chinese New Year occurs dur- a year-over-year decline of any size. ing the second week of February It is likely, however, that operators will and is generally a catalyst for tour- report an increase in year-over-year revenue ism and increased gaming revenue for February as it was about a year ago that for the casinos. Analysts had been the coronavirus ﬁrst took hold in the country pointing towards improvement in the and the government forced the casinos in market since October, but with an Macau to close for 15 days. increased number of cases and a lack Revenue is up slightly from December’s $979 mil- of VIP gamblers, they are starting to tone down their opti- lion and November’s $845 million in revenue, showing that mism. the area is slowly rebuilding after the COVID-19 pandemic “e travel impediments will lead certainly to reduced severely hurt the casino market in the former Portuguese visitation (versus earlier forecasts) into Macau for the next colony. weeks at least, with Chinese New Year visitation being Amid the slight optimism, there is still some con- impacted,” wrote analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. m

10 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

008_News.indd 10 2/18/21 10:16 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT BESTBET JACKSONVILLE TO HOST 2021 SPRING SERIES POKER FESTIVAL FROM MARCH 18-28 By Erik Fast

starting flights, each beginning at noon on March 26 and 27. e survivors of those two days will reconvene on March 28 to play down to a winner, with the action streamed on bestbetLIVE. e kickoff event and the $360 buy-in ladies no-limit hold’em event will also be live-streamed. e main event of the recent Winter Open featured a $2,000 buy-in, and with a strong turnout of 510 entries, the prize pool swelled to $918,000. Eventual champion Scott Stewart earned $177,817 for the win in the end, while Matt Mauldin secured $118,422 as the runner-up finisher. “ e main event also drew a bigger turnout than we expected in the Winter Open. is time around we actually raised the buy-in a little bit to $2,500, and we A total of 2,330 entries were made across the 11 events might get similar numbers at a slightly higher price point,” of bestbet Jacksonville’s recent Winter Open, resulting in commented Hollander. “ $1,621,555 in prize money being awarded throughout the is main event will see players start with 25,000 in January poker festival. Hot on the heels of that resounding chips, with 40-minute levels and initial blinds of 100-100. success, bestbet Jacksonville has announced another tour- ere will be unlimited re-entries allowed during the reg- nament series that is coming soon: the 2021 Spring Series. istration period, which will remain open until the start of “Before the Winter Open, the last tournament series we level 10. had hosted was in January of 2020, so we hadn’t run one in Other highlights during the ten-day festival include a about a year. We did do a couple of one-day tournaments $460 buy-in pot-limit Omaha event on March 20, a $1,200 at the end of last year that had really big turnouts, and buy-in six-max event on March 25, and the series-ending everybody seemed excited and ready to play. So, we put on bestbet 500 on March 28. the Winter Open, and we didn’t really know exactly what Make sure to head to bestbet Jacksonville in March to expect as far as the numbers,” said bestbet Executive to get in on all the action. More information and struc- Director of Poker Operations Jesse Hollander. “ ere is ture sheets can be found at the venue’s official website, definitely a lot of pent-up demand for tournament poker www.bestbetjax.com. because there were tons of people that I’d never seen before, people from all over the country. And the turnout for every Here is a look at the complete schedule of events for the series: event was way more than usual during this time of the year. Event Start Date No. of So, I do think that our Spring Series is going to be very big.” Days e upcoming series is set to run from March 18-28, with another 11 action-packed events on the schedule. $560 No-Limit Hold’em Mar 18 4 ings will get underway with a $560 buy-in no-limit $360 Pot-Limit Omaha Mar 20 1 hold’em kickoff event that will run from March 18-21, with $460 No-Limit Hold’em $100 Bounties Mar 21 1 three starting flights available to choose from. e kickoff event for the Winter Open, which featured the same buy-in $260 No-Limit Hold’em Mar 22 1 and structure, drew a total of 592 entries to create a prize $360 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Mar 23 1 pool of $296,000. e event concluded with a five-way Stack chop that saw the remaining players all earn $30,460 for a payday of roughly 55 times their buy-in. $260 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo $50 Mar 24 1 “We got a huge turnout, 592 players with three start- Bounties ing days, it was really amazing. So, we put that exact same $360 No-Limit Hold’em Ladies Mar 24 1 opening event in the Spring Series and hope for the same $1,200 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max Mar 25 1 sort of outcome,” said Hollander. While the entire schedule is full of exciting events with a $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em Mar 26 3 variety of games, formats, and price points, the centerpiece $360 H.O.R.S.E. Mar 27 1 of the whole affair will be the $2,500 buy-in Spring Series $500 No-Limit Hold’em Mar 28 1 no-limit hold’em main event. e tournament offers two

008_News.indd 11 2/18/21 10:16 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Player of the year As of 2-10-2021

Place Player Points Final Tables POY Earnings 1 Ilyas Muradi 1,620 1 $620,000 2 Robel Andemichael 1,350 1 $545,500 3 Fernando Rodriguez-Vazquez 1,248 4 $270,361 4 Scott Stewart 1,120 2 $199,167 5 Ronnie Bardah 1,080 1 $566,135 6 James Carroll 960 1 $180,850 7 Sung Joo Hyun 912 1 $208,335 8 Chad Eveslage 840 1 $101,572 9 Nicholas Pupillo 833 3 $85,734 10 Francis Margaglione 810 1 $293,510 11 William Chao 800 1 $135,277 12 Roman Shainiuk 760 1 $144,480 13 Chad Bjorkman 720 1 $101,450 14 Matt Mauldin 700 1 $118,422 15 Daniel Swartz 684 2 $71,324 16 Jesse Lonis 675 1 $223,895 17 Daniel Jones 640 1 $84,171 18 Wayne Harmon 608 1 $93,280 19 Cory Nordstrand 600 1 $62,339 20 Richard Munro 572 4 $68,996

ILYAS MURADI SURGES INTO THE LEAD IN THE POY RACE Ilyas Muradi won a seat into the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open no-limit hold’em main event via a Ilyas Muradi $400 buy-in satellite, and then navigated his way through the fi eld of 1,573 total entries to earn the $620,000 top prize and his fi rst major tournament title. e fi nal three players agreed to chop up the majority of the prize money, while leaving a small amount left over to play for. Muradi was also awarded 1,620 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. is win alone was enough to catapult him into fi rst place in the 2021 POY race standings. is event featured a $1 million guarantee, which was more than quintupled. As a result of the massive amount of players this event attracted, several of the top fi nishers in the tournament earned enough POY points to fi nd themselves among the top 20 in the overall rankings for the time being. Runner-up Robel Andemichael currently sits in second place on the leaderboard with 1,350 POY points and $545,500 in year-to-date earnings, while third-place fi nisher Ronnie Bardah climbed to fi fth place in the race with 1,080 points and $566,135 won so far in 2021. Francis Margaglione now sits in 10th place in the POY race as a result of his fourth-place fi nish in this event, while Jesse Lonis moved into 16th place after fi nishing fi fth.

12 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

012_POY.indd 12 2/18/21 10:16 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ-VAZQUEZ WINS THIRD TITLE OF 2021

Fernando Rodriguez-Vazquez Prior to Muradi’s victory in the WPT main event, Newark, Delaware resident Fernando Rodriguez-Vazquez had sat atop the POY standings thanks to a trio of fi nal-table fi nishes he earned in the opening weeks of the year. He took fi fth in a $1,100 buy-in event on New Year’s Day, chopped a $500 buy-in tournament a week later, and then outlasted a fi eld of 3,004 entries in a $600 buy-in event at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open series. ose three scores earned him $242,950 and 960 POY points, but Rodriguez-Vazquez was not yet done with his January rampage at the tables. Just two days after Muradi took down the WPT main event title, Rodriguez- Vasquez secured his third title of the year by coming out on top in a $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em six-max event at bestbet Jacksonville’s 2021 Winter Open series, earning another $27,411 and 288 points for defeating a fi eld of 141 entries. With 1,248 total points and $270,361 in total earnings thus far, Rodriguez- Vazquez now occupies the third-place spot on the POY leaderboard.

SUNG JOO HYUN JOINS THE TOP TEN WITH WPTDEEPSTACKS VENETIAN WIN Sung Joo Hyun Sung Joo Hyun came out on top in the 2021 WPTDeepStacks $1,600 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event held at e Venetian® Resort Las Vegas. e South Korean defeated a fi eld of 812 total entries to earn the title and the top prize of $208,335, the largest score of his career. Hyun had earned his fi rst WSOP gold bracelet about six months earlier, defeating a fi eld of 2,307 entries in a $500 buy-in WSOP Online event to earn $161,898. He now has career tournament earnings of $699,320. Hyun was awarded 912 POY points as the champion of this event. is win alone was enough to catapult him into seventh place on the POY leaderboard. Runner-up fi nisher Roman Shainiuk now sits in 12th place with 760 points earned, while third-place fi nisher Wayne Harmon’s 608 points was enough to move him into 18th place in the overall rankings.

DANIEL SWARTZ CLIMBS TO 15TH PLACE IN THE RANKINGS

Daniel Swartz Parma, Ohio’s Daniel Swartz secured a pair of podium fi nishes in sizable events at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood’s Lucky Hearts Poker Open series. He started off by fi nishing as the runner-up from a fi eld of 434 entries in a $600 buy-in six-max no-limit hold’em event, earning $29,105 and 300 points after WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Depaulo defeated him during heads-up play. Five days after falling just short of a title, Swartz once again found himself among the last players standing in a LHPO event. e $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em bounty tournament drew 229 entries to create a total prize pool of $343,500 with $114,500 paid out in bounties. Swarz ultimately cut a deal when the fi eld had been narrowed to just three players, receiving the title and the top payout of $42,219. He also earned 384 points as the champion. His two fi nal- table fi nishes in Florida were enough to see him take over the 15th-place spot on the POY leaderboard, with 684 points and $71,324 in year-to-date earnings.

012_POY.indd 13 2/18/21 10:16 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Player of the year

RICHARD MUNRO SECURES FOUR FINAL-TABLE FINISHES IN A

FORTNIGHT Richard Munro Bell Canyon, California resident Richard Munro made four fi nal-table fi nishes from Jan. 17-31, cashing for $68,996 and 572 POY points along the way. Munro kicked off his spree by outlasting a fi eld of 692 total entries in a $600 buy-in no-limit hold’em event at the 2021 Wynn Winter Signature Series, locking up $42,387 and 420 points as the champion of that event. Five days later, Munro fi nished fi fth in a $400 buy-in event at the same series to add another $1,693 and 28 points. Munro then made his way down the strip to the DeepStack Showdown festival being held at e Venetian® Resort Las Vegas, fi nishing seventh in a $600 buy-in no-limit hold’em event for $21,572 and 105 more points just two days after his previous deep run. Munro rounded out his run in Las Vegas with a ninth-place fi nish in another $600 buy-in event at the DeepStack Showdown, adding another $3,344 and 19 points. He now sits just inside the top 20 in the POY race as a result of his hot start. JIM COLLOPY TAKES DOWN $5,000 BUY-IN EVENT AT LHPO WSOP bracelet winner Jim Collopy outlasted a fi eld of 134 total entries in the $5,000 Jim Collopy buy-in no-limit hold’em event at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open. Collopy earned $141,714 and 528 points as the champion after overcoming a tough fi nal table that included the likes of WPT champion Lee Markholt (8th - $21,760), 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,000 high roller winner Martin Zamani (7th - $21,760), and WSOP bracelet winner Byron Kaverman (2nd - $129,596) to secure the title. e win was enough to see Collopy surpass the $3 million mark in career tournament earnings. As a result of his performance, Collopy has also moved into 25th place in the POY race standings, while Kaverman ended up in 33rd place with 440 points. m

14 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

012_POY.indd 14 2/18/21 10:16 AM Vol. 33/No. 23 November 4, 2020 www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 33/No. 15 July 15, 2020

www.CardPlayer.com New Jersey Sets Record For Online Gaming Revenue

Life Variance And What To Do During A Pandemic

Making The Best Deal Michael Addamo Wins$100K WPT World Online Championships High Roller

Jonathan Little: Stop Raising With Top Pair

Kevin Haney: Having A Scoop -Better Advantage -InOr FARID JATTIN’S BREAKOUT Stud Eight YEAR ON PAUSE HIGH-STAKES POKER PRO KAHLE BURNSCOLOMBIAN TRAVELS PRO, NOW WITH MORE THAN $5.6 MILLION IN LIFETIME THE WORLD LOOKING FOR ACTIONWINNINGS, HAD RACKED UP MORE THAN $1.2 MILLION IN 2020 31-Year-Old High Roller Nears The Top Of Australia’s All-Time Money List

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Mark Newhouse Sounds O On The Back-To-Back Scores He’d Rather Not Think About 35-Year-Old WPT Winner Talks About The Ups And Downs Of His Poker Career

By Julio Rodriguez

Mark Newhouse grew up in Chapel Hill, North $730,725. It was an outstanding accomplishment, but one Carolina, and discovered the game of poker during a couple that the now 35-year-old admits was disappointing and the of unsuccessful stints in college. After a few $50 deposits source of some pain. online, he was able to run up a six-figure bankroll, winning Card Player caught up with Newhouse for an episode $100,000 in consecutive months. He turned pro immedi- of the Poker Stories podcast recently to discuss high-stakes ately after turning 21 and was quickly playing limit hold’em limit hold’em games, brutal online poker sessions, and how cash games against some of the top players in the world for he has dealt with adversity at the tables. stakes as high as $1,500-$3,000. e highlights of the interview are below. You can listen Despite having a preference for cash games, even spend- to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or ing years living out of a suitcase at the Commerce Casino, any podcast app. Newhouse has dabbled in tournaments during his career. Julio Rodriguez: You found poker in between two of your Most notably, he won a World Poker Tour title in 2006 at stints in college with some low-stakes home games, and the Borgata Poker Open for $1.52 million. then eventually found online poker. e story is that you In 2013, he made the final table of the World Series of deposited $50 and within a month you turned that into Poker main event, ultimately finishing in ninth place for $100,000. Is that true? $733,224. e next year, he infamously tweeted, “Just Mark Newhouse: at’s not completely true. I went back bought into the main event. Not f***ing finishing ninth to school to study at Appalachian State [the second time again!” around], but this time I was not drinking or partying or Incredibly, even with a field of more than 6,600 players, any of that. I was just reading a bunch of [strategy] books Newhouse did go on to finish ninth again, earning another and playing partypoker. So, I deposited $50... several times.

16 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

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poker before that. And I also remember that the week before the win, I was on a huge downswing playing $300- $600 on UltimateBet. I probably lost $180,000 the week before that tournament. JR: Now do you splurge at all after a big score like that? MN: At the time, no. I did not. I moved straight into the Commerce Casino and was playing $1,000-$2,000 every day, getting around in rental cars. I’m not proud of it, but that’s what I did. JR: You’ve been honest about going broke on more than a handful of occasions during your career. Was it staking other players, was it pit games? MN: No, that was never really a big issue of mine. My issue was playing big. Playing big heads-up online against... you know, all the best players in the world. JR: Do you remember a particularly brutal session? MN: I mean, there were several. ere was a 24-hour session I played against Joe Cassidy, and I played a lot against HossTBF (Matt Hawrilenko). But there was a guy on PokerStars named ‘IWantUrMoney.’ I started the day with a little more than $60,000 in my account, and we started playing $500-$1,000, and I was beating him pretty good. We kicked it up to $1,000-$2,000, and I was winning about $260,000 from him. He was down to about $13,000, some small amount compared to the rest. At the stakes that we were playing, it wasn’t much. At the time I was chatting with NeverWin (Dustin Woolf) who had a small sweat piece, and he was telling me I should just quit [the guy] and leave him with the $13,000. I didn’t want to do that. I mean, it’s just bad etiquette to have a guy that buried and, [not let him play it out.] I would still never do that today. If I’m playing a guy and I got him down to his last little bit, I’m going to let him continue to play until he goes broke. But the guy ended up making a Probably quite a few times, I’m not sure exactly how many. big comeback about 45 minutes later, and busted me for my And, you know, busted it a few times. One of those times whole account. So, I lost $280,000 straight, and that kind I ran it up, and started playing limit hold’em and moving of set me off for a while. up through the stakes. Right before I turned 21, I had two JR: Like prolonged tilt? consecutive $100,000 months in a row. MN: I was just at Commerce, playing a minimum of JR: at year you turned 21, 2006, was a big year for $400-$800 every day. I had friends pull me to the side and Mr. Newhouse. But even though you had some big results tell me I needed to slow down, that I wasn’t playing well, in tournaments, it doesn’t look like you were playing a lot that I wasn’t making good decisions, but I didn’t want to of them either. listen to anybody. I was kind of just on a mission to light MN: I was a limit player for the most part at that time. it on fire. And I was playing a guy, a guy named Paul Horn who is JR: Any advice for readers looking to avoid making some now dead, having been shot and killed in recent years. But of the same mistakes? I was playing him heads up $400-$800 to $600-$1,200 MN: One piece of advice that I give to people is how over at the Venetian. I was playing big cash games. At the they manage themselves. I think it’s best to play long poker time, I didn’t take tournaments seriously. I didn’t have any sessions when you’re winning, and play short when you’re respect for them in that sense. I was a cash game guy, you losing. I don’t care who you are, everyone plays better when know, so I was just kind of messing around at any time that they’re winning and worse when they’re losing. I played one. I feel very differently now, but that was my If you want to lie to yourself or think that’s not true, mindset at that time. then let’s forget that aspect of it. Maybe you’re exactly the JR: All right, so fast forward later that year, and you same, win or lose. Everyone else while you’re winning is decide, maybe tournaments aren’t so bad after all. losing, and while you’re losing is winning. When you’re MN: I went to Borgata to play cash games. We were play- losing, they’re playing better against you. When you’re ing in a $200-$400 limit game that broke early morning at winning, they’re playing worse against you. A lot of people like 7 a.m. Me and two other guys from that game, the last will say they are neutral, but they’re not. Phil Ivey is known three remaining, decided to go play a satellite and swap a for playing short sessions when he’s losing. It’s a skill that little bit of action. I won it, and went straight to play day he has. one [of the event] with no sleep. JR: You dropped down in stakes and had to rebuild your JR: Obviously, it went well for you. You made it down to bankroll. Did you struggle with your mindset in those the winner’s circle and won $1.5 million. games that were only a fraction of what you had played for MN: I had probably run up about a half a million in before?

016_Q&A_MarkNewhouse.indd 17 2/18/21 10:17 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - table talk

Newhouse In 2014 WSOP Main Event Newhouse Wins 2006 WPT At Borgata

MN: It was very difficult. One of the first times I played I’ve ever eaten anything on a dinner break of a tournament, $30-$60 on PokerStars, there was instantly a thread online I come back and I do something stupid. e digestion pro- saying that, ‘Newhizzle was broke.’ Eventually, I just had to cess slows you down. I think it’s better to be fasted. learn to ignore that kind of stuff. JR: On July 6, 2014, you made a now-infamous tweet. But from my peers and the people around me, it was MN: Yeah, ‘Not f***ing finishing ninth again!’ And then actually the opposite. I would get a lot of support and I finished ninth again. I remember Martin Jacobson [jok- people telling me that they were proud of me, that I was ingly] tweeted in 2015, ‘Not f***ing finishing first again!’ doing the right thing. I got put into a situation where I JR: You make the November Nine again, and people was forced to play $20-$40 to survive and just pay the bills start bringing up that tweet right away. at’s got to be with no chance of building a bankroll for about a year. And weighing on you for a while. that’s where I was. And during that time, I was kind of MN: You know, you don’t know whether you’re going able to change my mindset and learn to take smaller poker to win $700,000 or $10 million. It’s hard to make big life seriously and really change a lot of my values. It took me a decisions, if that makes sense. while to play $100-$200 [again]. I was sponsored by Commerce both years. For some JR: Let’s talk about the back-to-back ninths. How did reason, they decided to wait until after the final table... not you approach the main event? during the four-month layoff, but after I [got ninth again], MN: Every day I kind of just went in with the mentality... to put up a big banner that said, ‘Congratulations, Mark that my goal is to get through the day. A smaller buy-in tour- Newhouse!’ nament with a faster structure, you really have pressure to JR: at’s basically like putting up a sign in your house, accumulate chips. In the main event, you have a lot of time so in your living room. In another interview you were quoted you can kind of just relax and play poker. Try not to gamble as saying, ‘I still get random people coming up to me and too much and try not to get involved in big pots, and just let trying to congratulate me for the worst thing that has ever the chips come to you. Because the opposition is generally... happened in my life.’ until you get to the end, pretty easy compared to most other MN: I couldn’t go anywhere without people telling me tournaments. And it has a very slow structure, so it’s not like how great of an accomplishment it was, and congrats, and you’re worried about the blinds creeping up on you. blah, blah, blah. Day to day, it’s not something that I par- e first piece of advice I like to give people when they ticularly like to hear or talk about. And people don’t get it ask me is, don’t eat on the dinner break. Because every time sometimes. m

MARK NEWHOUSE’S TOP TOURNAMENT SCORES Date Event Buy-In Finish Payout Sept. 2006 WPT Borgata Poker Open $10,000 1st Place $1,519,020 July 2013 WSOP Main Event $10,000 9th Place $733,224 July 2014 WSOP Main Event $10,000 9th Place $730,725 April 2008 WPT Five-Star World Poker Classic $25,000 19th Place $105,525 July 2015 Deepstack Extravaganza $5,000 8th Place $61,373 March 2010 WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 13th Place $60,077 July 2006 WSOP Limit Hold’em $3,000 5th Place $56,470 Oct. 2006 WPT North American Poker Championship $10,000 17th Place $55,756 Nov. 2011 WSOP Main Event $10,000 182nd Place $47,107 Oct. 2010 WPT Festa Al Lago $10,000 15th Place $32,240

18 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

016_Q&A_MarkNewhouse.indd 18 2/18/21 10:17 AM Poker Stories Podcast

Poker Stories is a long-form audio podcast series that features casual interviews with some of the game’s best players and personalities. Each episode highlights a well-known member of the poker world and dives deep into their favorite tales both on and off the felt.

Download it directly to your device from any number of mobile apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify. Catch up on past episodes featuring notables such as Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Justin Bonomo, Nick Schulman, Barry Greenstein, Michael Mizrachi, Bryn Kenney, Mike Sexton, Maria Ho, and many more.

www.CardPlayer.com/poker-podcasts

CP_Brand_40_Podcast.indd 3 2/2/21 10:32 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Head Games HEAD GAMES

Cash Game Preﬂop Hand Ranges And Post-Flop Decisions By Craig Tapscott

The Pros: Andrew Brokos, James ties before the flop are mostly not ranges are going to be depolarized. Sweeney, and Andrew Neeme polarized. is is why it is so rarely e polarization primarily comes Craig Tapscott: How do you best correct to slowplay strong hands into play with three-betting, four-bet- determine an opponent’s hand range before the flop, because except for ting, five-betting, etc. ranges. Take preflop in terms of your decision to exactly A-A, most strong preflop a spot where middle-position open fold, flat call, three-bet, etc.? Do you hands still benefit a lot from fold raises and the cutoff (CO) three- think the concept of polarization equity. bets. If the CO were a nit that only comes into play? Many players are Likewise, even if you think an three-bets Q-Q+/A-K, their three- confused by this concept in general. opponent is “bluffing” when she rais- betting range is strictly depolarized. Andrew Brokos: I actually think es preflop, she probably isn’t all that All of their three-betting combos polarization is not a terribly useful far behind a good hand. Whereas a are mashed into the upper-left-hand concept on early streets, especially river bluff usually has no chance of corner of the hand matrix. But if the before the flop. Very few hands fall winning if called, a preflop “bluff” CO were three-betting 9-9+/A-J+/A-9 into the “very strong” or “very weak” may well have 33 percent equity. suited+/K-10 suited+/K-Q and also categories. Pocket aces are an 8:1 James Sweeney: It is important to A-3 suited to A-5 suited/8-6 suited favorite against a very bad hand like note that almost all preflop two-bets to 10-8 suited, their three-betting Q-2 offsuit, but that kind of edge (open raises, isolation raises, and range would be correctly classified drops off quickly. And A-K offsuit is steals) are going to be fairly depolar- as polarized. ere are nuttish hands only about a 2:1 favorite, while J-J is ized. is means the preferred two- and non-nuttish hands accounted for a 3:1 favorite. bet hands start in the top-left-hand within the range. When you raise with these hands, corner of the hand matrix and then Nitty players, by the very nature a significant amount of the value of expand into the next-strongest hold- that they have few, if any bluff com- that raise comes from causing your ings as the ranges widen. ere are bos in their re-raising ranges, tend to opponents to fold weaker hands. some exceptions to this, like open be depolarized. e same is true for at doesn’t mean you are not rais- raising A-5 suited from under-the- passive players who simply refuse to ing for value, it just means that equi- gun (UTG), but largely, two-bet bluff. Aggressive players see the value

20 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

020_HeadGames.indd 20 2/18/21 10:18 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

Andrew holdings, they are now folding 61 distributed across his or her range. Brokos percent of the time. On the river, most bets are polarized. e more often they are going You either have the best hand or you to fold against my reraise, the more don’t. Your bluffs have no chance bluffs I should add. So, hands that of winning if called, nor will your may have otherwise been marginal strong hands get drawn out on. calls against villain’s three-bet (such On earlier streets, ranges may or as 7-7 and K-Q offsuit) could be may not be polarized, and that deter- more profitable as reraises to capital- mines how inclined you should be to ize on the available fold equity. On call versus raise with your own good the other hand, if that same villain hands. A good rule of thumb is that would continue with almost all of the bigger a bet is, the more likely it their strong hands and even five-bet is to be polarized. some of their better weak hands (like Suppose you make a continua- A-5 suited and A-4 suited), a bluff tion bet of $10 into a $30 pot on a four-bet is less viable. eir increased 9o 3n 3o flop. e big blind check continuance, especially with chunks raises to $25. Both your bet and of their weak-medium combos, elim- your opponent’s raise are small and inates any auto-profitable four-bets. probably not polarized. You should in taking weak-medium holdings and Just note that a spot where bluff- bet many good-but-vulnerable hands adding them to their reraising ranges ing isn’t profitable typically means like A-J and 4-4 here. ese hands to ensure their reraising ranges aren’t there is an opportunity for getting will have decent equity when called exclusively strong hands. Players who thinner value. So, if they will rarely but also benefit from folds. e big only reraise strong hands are super fold against your four-bet, heavily blind needs a slightly better hand to easy to read and easy to beat. Just consider four-betting with hands you raise, but she can check-raise hands don’t pay them off when they show would have otherwise put at the top like 10p 9p or Qo 5o. Both have interest in creating a big pot and of your call versus three-bet range. decent equity when called, but gain make math-based decisions if they Andrew Neeme: I don’t think a lot from folds. make sizing errors or offer massive polarization comes into play. Here If she instead check-raises to $100, implied odds along the way. are the factors that I consider when she should have a much more polar- When I identify that a player is facing a raise. ized range consisting of mostly very polarizing their range, the first ques- What position did they open strong hands (trips or better) and tion I ask myself is, “What is the from? If they are UTG or UTG+1, low-equity hands like 5m 4m rath- strong part of their range here, and I rarely three-bet them, and will er than higher equity semi-bluffs. what density of their overall range is even flat my entire range from the Hands like 10p 9p or Qo 5o would likely weak?” big blind (BB) without any callers in be largely wasted with this bet size. By doing this, I’m essentially between. If they opened from middle If you fold, it won’t matter that she breaking their range into a pie chart or late position, then I will three-bet had a good hand. And if you don’t that contains two pieces. One side is more liberally, because their range is fold, you’ll mostly have very strong their strong hands that will almost weaker. hands like trips and big pocket pairs certainly continue if I reraise. e What is my hand? I will three-bet yourself, in which case her pair outs other side contains their weaker strong hands like A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and maybe even some of her flush hands. If the weak side of the pie J-J, and A-K for value; hands with outs will not be live. makes up a large chunk of their blockers to strong hands like A-5 You have more incentive to raise overall range, and those hands are suited, K-J suited as bluffs; mix in against a less polarized raise. So, if also likely going to fold often against the occasional suited connector like you held K-K facing that small check- a reraise, I’m looking to add tons of 8-7 suited for board coverage; and raise, you might do best to reraise. extra bluff combos to my own range. flat middle and small pocket pairs, or is gives the big blind a tough So, if a player three-bets me and I suited connectors. decision with those medium-strength suspect they are doing so with J-J+/ Who are they and what are their hands like 10p 9p or Qo 5o. Against A-Q+/A-2 suited to A-5 suited/6-4 tendencies? Are they opening too the larger raise, reraising K-K would suited to 9-7 suited and without many/few hands? Who is behind be a waste. e big blind would factoring in my specific hole cards, me, yet to act? If I have good play- fold 5-4, which was drawing nearly this means that 64 percent of their ers behind me, I’ll three-bet more dead anyway, and continue with the range is J-J+/A-Q+ and the other 36 frequently so as to push them out trips, against which you are drawing percent is the weak-medium stuff. of the pot and disincentive them nearly dead. Even if you had 9-9, you Now my question is, “What to squeeze. If I have weak players wouldn’t want to raise. With a full would they continue against my behind me, I’ll flat to entice them house, you’d want to keep the bluffs four-bet with?” It is key to remember into the pot more often. in, and you could count on the trips that not all players will continue with Craig Tapscott: How does polariza- continuing to build the pot for you. the weakest of their strong hands. If tion comes into play in terms of post- James Sweeney: How polarized a that’s the case here and I believe vil- flop situations? player is post-flop is a key consid- lain will fold J-J and A-Q against my Andrew Brokos: Polarization is eration for me when crafting lines. four-bet, plus fold all of the weaker about how an opponent’s equity is is is largely due to the fact that

020_HeadGames.indd 21 2/18/21 10:18 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Final Table Takedown

Andrew Neeme James dynamic the board is. We also have Sweeney to consider equity denial on both the flop and turn. Say for example that we raise in late position, the big blind calls. We consider two very different flop textures of A-7-2 rainbow, and 8n 7n 6m. On the ace-high board, we will be much less likely to use a polarized c-bet sizing because our opponent can only continue with very strong hands versus a large sizing. We can make cheap bluffs on this board since there are no natural draws, and therefore should look to balance those bluffs with small c-bet sizings for value as well. We don’t have to worry about equity denial since the board is so dry, and a hand like K-Q is disincentivized to float an ace- there aren’t that many nuttish com- is where your reads and other info high board. bos available post-flop. If a player is comes into play. ink about their On the second, connected board, going to polarize their aggression size, and if the size of their barrel all of the opposite descriptors are ranges post-flop, they end up doing indicates a greater density of strong true. Our opponent can call with a two things. ey give information hands in their range. ink about wider variety of hands that have hit about their aggressive range and they their timing and if that indicates this flop, as well as hands that are also give information about their anything. ink about your history drawing strongly to eight or more passive range. For what it’s worth, and if that skews their density at all. outs. So, we should size up here this is also true preflop. Like before, the larger the density accordingly with our c-bets for our But thinking about post-flop spe- of weak holdings in their range, the hands that have connected as well cifically, say a player continuation more inclined I am to bluff relent- as with our semi-bluffs. And we can bets (c-bets) the flop and barrels the lessly. Especially if a player barrels apply these same thought processes turn on Kn 9m 8o 2p. You assume polarized here but is also likely to to both boards on the turn when this player c-bet the flop with their check with some top pair and two deciding to fire a second barrel. monster hands (sets and two pair) pair+ combos, the density of weak Keep in mind that you’ll likely want and also a large number of bluffs and hands can increase sharply. It is to have at least a pot-sized bet left semi-bluffs. important to remember that you going into the river so that you can On the turn, you assume they are can’t manufacture more strong com- leverage a good amount of fold equi- barreling a polarized range. You can bos. e number of strong combos ty for your bluffs on that street. m actually use the same question from is finite, and if those strong combos earlier and ask, “What is the strong get fully or partially removed from a James “SplitSuit” Sweeney has been part of their barreling range here, player’s aggression range, it can skew playing and coaching poker for well and what density of their overall the density of weak hands in their over a decade. He has written multiple range is likely weak?” If they are aggression range quickly. best-selling poker books, coached more polarized, maybe you assume they Andrew Neeme: Let’s think about than 500 students one-on-one, and has bet all of their strong combos (sets when we might want to use a polar- released hundreds of free training videos. and two pair) plus strong top pairs ized sizing. Essential poker theory He is also the co-founder of the training (A-K and K-Q). You might assume is such that we want to get maxi- site Red Chip Poker. their weak-medium holdings include mum value from our strong hands gut shots (Q-J and Q-10), open and want to achieve maximum fold Andrew Brokos has been a professional ended draws (J-10 suited and 7-6 equity from our bluffs. ese two poker player for more than 15 years. He suited), and some whiffed backdoor general scenarios will be obvious to is the author of Play Optimal Poker and draws (Ao 6o and 5n 4n). a thoughtful player, and if we are Play Optimal Poker 2. Brokos hosts the e real question is what the den- able to reach these goals, then we long-running Thinking Poker Podcast and sity of strong versus weak hands is. will be pushing our profit to new has published hundreds of articles in Card If the villain barrels every gutshot, heights. But while it’s always fun to Player Magazine, Two Plus Two Magazine, every open-ended straight draw, tons put your opponent “in a spot,” this and PokerNews. of whiffed backdoor draws, and some doesn’t mean that we should polar- other weaker hands too, then it’s far ize at every betting opportunity, and Andrew Neeme is a successful poker easier to continue when you hold a it will largely be dependent upon player and vlogger with an educational hand like K-10 or 10-9 here. ranges and board texture. and popular YouTube channel with more Being polarized doesn’t mean On the flop, our c-bet sizing than 150,000 subscribers. He lives in Las they have a perfect 50/50 breakdown revolves around where our hand falls Vegas and loves traveling and celebrating of strong and weak hands. So, this in our range, and how static or life each day.

22 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

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CP_PokerSchool_1_FP.indd 1 2/16/21 1:51 PM Jonathan Little Builds On Lucrative Poker Career With Successful Coaching Business Claim Your 25 Biggest Leaks Course FREE At PokerCoaching.com/CP25

By Steve Schult

During the height of the poker Moneymaker won the World Series the money, and then try to accumulate boom, Jonathan Little was one of the of Poker main event in 2003, moving chips. at doesn’t work when you most successful poker pros traveling poker into the mainstream. have to maneuver your way through the live poker circuit. e Pensacola, Like most products of said boom, a field of several thousand players, as Florida native crisscrossed the globe Little got his start online and built opposed to just eight other opponents. playing high-stakes tournaments, up a six-figure bankroll playing single “When I first started playing live going on to rack up more than $7 table sit-n-go’s before he eventually tournaments, I lost a large chunk of million in live cashes, including a pair transitioned to tournaments. But as it my bankroll, about $200,000,” Little of World Poker Tour titles in 2007 and turned out, the skills he learned from admitted. “I realized that I was clearly 2008. mastering the sit-n-go format did not bad at them and needed to study.” But for Little, life is different now. necessarily translate to large field, live After bouncing ideas off some of He has a family, a home in New York tournaments. his colleagues, Little learned where his City, and a thriving business to run. “Sit-n-go’s didn’t actually help leaks were and how to plug them. Like most successful businessmen, much at all,” said Little. “Because “I recognized that you have to get Little stuck with what he knew. And they’re very different than multi-table in there and you have to gamble a what he knew was how to win at no- tournaments. In sit-n-go’s, the goal is little bit harder,” he said. “If you are limit hold’em. Now, the 36-year-old to get into the top 30-ish percent of the not willing to gamble in the early and travels much less, plays more online, field, whereas in multi-table tourna- middle stages, you’re never going to and spends his days constantly churn- ments, the goal is to get in the top one build a big chip stack. If you never ing out cutting edge content on his percent of the field. And that requires build a big chip stack, then all it takes training site PokerCoaching.com. a very different strategy.” is one hand to bust you. You don’t want e seeds for what eventually blos- What he learned was that he was that to happen. You want to be able to somed into his coaching empire began simply playing too tight to win money lose lots of hands and still be in the at the beginning of his poker career, in large field tournaments. In sit-n- tournament.” which started shortly after Chris go’s, it was right to play tight, get in Aside from switching his aggression

24 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

024_CoverStory.indd 24 2/18/21 10:19 AM levels, he also needed to learn how lion, topping a final table that featured do those three things, you will win at to play deep-stacked poker. e late poker legend Phil Ivey. In October, he poker. But most people do not do those stages of sit-n-go’s are where the money finished runner-up to Scott Clements three things. Most people will play is made, but it’s also where the stacks at the CAD$10,000 WPT North games they cannot beat. Most people are the shallowest. Little had to adjust American Poker Championship in do not want to play a lot, they just want from playing with fewer than 10 big Niagara Falls for another $714,905, to play on the weekend for a few hours blinds to play as deep as 100 big blinds. which basically put a bow on a year with their friends. And most people do is was the adjustment that gave that saw Little earn more than $2.5 not play with a proper bankroll.” him his first taste of what poker train- million. He followed that up with a Little says that what is considered ing was becoming in the age of the 2008 campaign that included another a proper bankroll is different for each internet. At 21 years old, after losing seven-figure score when he took down player. In order to come up with a a large amount of his bankroll, Little the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals number that works for you, you need joined the now-defunct CardRunners for $1.12 million. to think about what games you are and PokerXFactor, the two leading But despite becoming one of the playing, what kind of return you’ll training sites available at the time. most successful players in the tourna- have in those games, and how much Before these sites were created, the ment world, those days are a bit of a variance comes along with it. only training resources that were wide- blur for him. “If you’re playing a 45-person ly available were the handful of strat- “I don’t actually remember those tournament with a decent return on egy books that were quickly becoming times all that well. I don’t even remem- investment, then a 100-buy-in bank- outdated. Armed with a new arsenal of ber yesterday all that well,” he said with roll is perfectly fine,” said Little. “But poker strategies, Little went on a tear a laugh. “I think that’s actually a skill if you’re playing gigantic tournaments that most couldn’t even dream of. that makes me a decent poker player, with 1,000 people or more with a small He started 2007 with a fifth-place because I can have a bad day at the return on investment, then you need finish at the PokerStars Caribbean table, or a bad month, and wake up a huge amount of buy-ins. Like 300. Adventure main event for $317,873, perfectly fine the next day.” Many players have not sat down and which gave him his first TV appear- ose monster years shored up any done the work to realize how big of a ance as he battled it out with the likes bankroll liabilities he may have had bankroll they actually need.” of Isaac Haxton and eventual winner in the early portion of his career and Over the course of his career, Little Ryan Daut on the windy, outdoor, turned him into a mainstay at high- has seen the entire evolution of the final table set. He then earned a run- stakes live tournaments. roughout modern game, from both a strategic ner-up finish to JC Tran in a $3,000 his career as a player and now as an standpoint and a logistical one. He’s buy-in side event just a couple months instructor, he has seen countless stu- watched the buy-ins drop while re- later for $146,760 at the Five-Star dents and pros alike go broke because entries increase, all while the game got World Poker Classic. of poor management of their funds. tougher to succeed at. en he really started to cash in. “All you really have to do to win at “ ere aren’t nearly as many In May of that year, Little topped poker is find a game you can beat, play $10,000 buy-in tournaments that have a 309-entry field in the $10,000 WPT it a lot, and play properly bankrolled very soft fields anymore,” said Little. Mirage Poker Showdown for $1.06 mil- for that game,” said Little. “And if you “Also, back then, the tournaments

Jonathan Little’s Top Tournament Scores Date Event Buy-In Finish Payout Nov. 2008 WPT Foxwood World Poker Finals $10,000 1st Place $1,120,310 May 2007 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown $10,000 1st Place $1,091,295 Nov. 2007 WPT North American Poker Championship $10,000 2nd Place $714,905 Jan. 2007 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $8,000 5th Place $317,873 June 2013 WSOP Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 3rd Place $238,833 Nov. 2017 Caribbean Poker Party $10,000 2nd Place $175,000 Oct. 2010 Festa Al Lago No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 1st Place $152,048 April 2007 Five-Star World Poker Classic $3,000 2nd Place $146,760 Jan. 2015 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $5,000 2nd Place $105,247 June 2014 Bellagio Summer High Roller Series $10,000 1st Place $101,920 Aug. 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $2,000 1st Place $97,160 Sept. 2007 WPT Gulf Coast Poker Championship $10,000 7th Place $93,451 June 2015 WSOP No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 6th Place $85,616 Nov. 2018 WPT Montreal $4,000 8th Place $80,623 May 2018 WPT Tournament Of Champions $10,000 6th Place $74,520

024_CoverStory.indd 25 2/18/21 10:19 AM were all freezeouts, which is a different ere is still plenty of money to be So, he founded PokerCoaching. game. As people can re-enter over and made, and he has witnessed it first- com in 2016, and quickly began help- over again, everyone’s return on invest- hand. ing others beat the game that gave him ment gets lower because the good play- “e small- and medium-stakes so much. ers are usually willing to re-enter more games are still wildly profitable,” said “I don’t know if anything ever made often than the weaker players, which Little. “I have plenty of students who me want to become a poker coach other results in the fields proportionally hav- are crushing them, and I still succeed than people asking for my advice,” said ing more good players in them.” at the highest stakes.” Little. “I used to participate on various He has also seen the online version After several years of globetrotting poker forums back in the day, when of the game become insanely tough, as a live poker player, Little met his they were full of good poker players even at what would be considered mid- wife Amie. ey ended up tying the who were actively trying to improve stakes live. knot in 2015 and Little moved to New their skills and help others. And even- “e $1,000 buy-in tournaments York to be with her and start a family. tually, people came to me for private online are tougher than any major live “She’s from New York… and she coaching, and I was happy to do that.” tournament you will find,” said Little. was not moving from New York,” said Little’s advice became a highly But this is a natural progression. Little about why he chose to continue sought-after commodity. And before In any sport, any game, any compe- his career from a place that’s lacking a he knew it, he was spending all of his tition, the ability to succeed at the lot of live poker action. “Her parents time either playing poker or coaching highest level will naturally shrink. It live here, she works here and she loves it. will always take more to excel as more it. If I would like to be with her, I have Little was one of the first poker people study it. to live here.” coaches to move beyond in-game vid- “Look at athletes. ey run faster With plans to start a family, Little’s eos. During the first wave of poker today than they did 50 years ago,” said old lifestyle of being on the road for training sites, most of the content was Little. “Why? Because they have better three or four weeks out of the month comprised of a professional giving the tools, and better training techniques, just wasn’t going to work out long play-by-play of their session, opening and better studying materials. at term. up their thought process for paying results in them performing better, and “I knew about five or six years ago members. poker is no different. People are going that I wanted to be able to stay at After spending a lot of time learn- to continue to get better and better home a little more often,” said Little. ing how people learn, Little devel- over time.” “I wanted to start a family and do my oped a model of training that moved Despite how good the rest of the best to be a good dad. I knew that past this approach and offered other field has gotten, Little doesn’t feel that would require me to stay at home some avenues for players to understand these the steeper learning curve should scare portion of the time. I needed to figure new concepts. Since everyone retains people away from the game. Nor does out a way to make reasonable money information differently, Little decided he feel that the action has dried up. from home.” to give his students options. It wasn’t

26 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

024_CoverStory.indd 26 2/18/21 10:19 AM FREE OFFER! Card Player readers get a $97 poker training course for FREE when they visit PokerCoaching.com/CP25. In this course, Little teaches you how to identify and plug the 25 biggest poker leaks.

enough to stay on top of his YouTube matter, is the only way to stay on top ner Tristan Wade, tournament grinder channel, or his numerous podcasts, or of the strategy trends that are always Matt Affleck, and online legend Bert even the now 15 poker books he has changing in the poker world. He is ‘girafganger7’ Stevens all actively pro- authored! just forced to be more scheduled with duce high level training content at “At PokerCoaching.com, we teach his time. PokerCoaching.com. students using many different meth- “It’s really important that I stay up “I look for people who have a long, ods. ere are interactive live webinars to date on what is happening in the successful track record,” said Little where you can ask the coach your poker strategy space because consoli- about how he chooses other coaches questions in real-time, similar to a dating and sharing that information for his site. “I essentially hire coaches one-on-one coaching session. We also with my students is my job,” said who I wish I had to teach me when I have interactive quizzes, and private Little. first started playing, or coaches who I live streams where you can ask us But just in case he misses anything, want to learn from today. at’s why I questions as we play in real time,” Little isn’t leaving anything to chance. hired James Romero and Bert Stevens, said Little. “e result is the students He employs a team of coaches for his who are among the absolute best tour- get substantially better at a fast rate, site, many of which have had success nament players in the world.” which is my goal.” at the game’s highest levels. WPT If you want to learn from the best Little can’t give up playing alto- Champions Jonathan Jaffe and James and take your game to the next level, gether, however. As an instructor, Romero, former WPT Player of the check out PokerCoaching.com/CP25 playing, and playing well for that Year Faraz Jaka, WSOP bracelet win- and get started today. m

024_CoverStory.indd 27 2/18/21 10:19 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

HOW TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT LOSING WITH TOP SET By Jonathan Little

I was playing in a $10-$20 no-limit hold’em cash e big blind and the initial raiser checked. e game at the Bellagio when an interesting hand came up. player in second position bet $300 into the $400 pot and I had just got to the table, so my reads were based purely the middle position called. I was already counting the on generic assumptions. When that happens, I will gen- money that was about to be in my stack! erally not make any significant decisions based on those Sticking with my plan, I check-raised to $1,300. I assumptions. thought this bet size would make my opponents think I A tight, aggressive player with $2,000 raised to $80 wanted to get some fold equity, which may induce them from first position. A good tight, aggressive player with to make a huge blunder with an overpair or a marginal $10,000 called in second position. ere was a player draw. in middle position who also had $10,000, who was e big blind thought for forever and then folded, unknown to me, and he also called. I had $10,000 as and to my surprise, the initial raiser went all-in for $620 well, and looked down to find the nice 8o 8p in the small blind. I decided to call. Both three- betting and folding do not have much merit. Folding would be way IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF IN A too tight, and three-betting against a first-position raiser who should have a tight range with a hand that SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE AFRAID has large implied odds from out of position is almost always a mistake. TO GET ALL-IN WITH WHAT IS I cannot conceive a deep stacked situation where I would three-bet a first position raiser with pocket ALMOST CERTAINLY THE BEST HAND, eights. It is simply not a good play. When you can see a relatively cheap YOU SHOULD PICK UP YOUR CHIPS flop with a hand that has large implied odds, you should tend to AND LEAVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. call, especially if you do not expect to get three-bet too often. e player in the big blind, also with $10,000, announced that he was calling in the dark because he didn’t think he could on top of my $1,300 bet. e other players folded and I fold anything due to his amazing pot odds. e big blind happily called. e board ran out Am Ko, which I was was clearly a recreational player, but I was unsure if he not happy about because I assumed my opponent had was goofing around or not. A-A, K-K, or a draw. Sure enough, he showed Kp Kn Some players actually think they have to call with and won the pot. Bad beat! any two cards when getting reasonable pot odds. ey As a brief aside, it should be clear that the K-K had are not concerned with the number of players in the pot a super easy fold when facing a bet, a call, and a check- or the fact that junky hands like K-5 offsuit will realize raise. Even if there was a $300 bet and two callers, K-K their equity poorly against multiple players. Other play- should probably fold. You must realize that an overpair ers like to say asinine things at the table that should be is a fairly weak holding when there is a lot of post-flop ignored. To be clear though, you should not call with any action on a coordinated board. Of course, I was happy he two cards in this spot. called. When your opponents make errors, you should be e flop came 8n 7n 5p, giving me top set. I happy, whether or not you win the pot. checked. After the hand, the big blind claimed he folded 6o While I could lead into my opponents, I thought that 4o, the bottom end of the straight (which he apparently one of my three opponents would bet on this flop a high showed one of the other players). e big blind started percentage of the time, allowing me to check-raise to a defending his play, saying that he thought I either had large amount, as I would do with my best made hands, a set, a strong draw, or the nut straight, which is likely some premium draws, and some junky draws. I do not a correct assumption. He said that he did not want to like leading in this spot because most players will play gamble because $10,000 was a lot of money to him. fairly well, calling with overpairs and draws while fold- I later found out that he had bought in for $1,000 and ing everything else. If a bet will induce your opponents ran it all the way up to $10,000. While I didn’t know it to play well, you should choose a different action. at the time because I was new to the table, this player was

28 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

028_S&A.indd 28 2/18/21 10:21 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

an extreme example of someone who was playing scared. around because I certainly would have lost $8,000 more. He fl opped the eff ective nuts and still did not want to When you can make the best hand fold and the worst put his stack in where his main opponent (me) almost hand call, you simply must view that as a success. m certainly does not have the nuts (because I would fold 9-6 suited prefl op). Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion with If you ever fi nd yourself in a situation where you are more than $7 million in live tournament earnings, afraid to get all-in with what is almost certainly the best best-selling author of 15 educational poker books, hand, you should pick up your chips and leave as soon and 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you as possible. want to increase your poker skills and learn to Even though I got unlucky to lose to the pocket crush the games, check out his training site at kings, it could have been a lot worse if the big blind stuck PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer. SEVEN CARD STUD EIGHT-OR-BETTER: ADJUSTING TO EXPOSED CARDS

By Kevin Haney

Recognizing the cards that are out and assessing how Three Flush 5.2% they impact the value of our holding is a fundamental Three Low (Not Three Flush) 24.8% skill in seven card stud eight-or-better (stud 8), as it is in 47.1% any stud variant. As the cards are dealt, we should take immediate notice of everyone’s up cards, assess how they Against this range, a pair of kings only has around relate to our hand, and determine whether or not we have 43% equity and is at a distinct playing disadvantage. a playable situation. While our opponent may have slightly the worst of it when Assessing Playable Situations he holds something other than aces, it is not by a great When you are dealt (4n 6m) 7n the value of your hold- amount, and he will enjoy a greater playing edge over the ing, and ultimately your decision to play will often hinge totality of his entire range if we tend to get too sticky with on how many fi ves are out and to a slightly lesser extent, a pair of kings. other useful cards such as the aces, deuces, threes, eights, If we are in early position with (Kn Jp) Km and and the remaining hearts. behind us left to act are a fi ve, a seven, a jack, an ace, and If the cards you need are mostly live, you can usually a deuce, our best play may be to simply open fold, espe- play, especially if no one has yet entered the pot or if cially if we are playing in a low- or medium-ante structure. there is just a single complete ahead of you. In contrast, While a pair of kings is a relatively strong stud 8 holding, if there are many low cards out including at least one fi ve it does not perform tremendously in a multi-way pot with we should be folding if the action before us is heavy. For many low cards even when you are not initially up against example, if a 5m completes the bet and an An re-raises, it a pair of aces. would be a mistake to fade this action and enter the pot. Our situation is not better if there are two aces left to We are a long way from making a straight or a fl ush and act behind us. With two aces out, each of them individu- the (4n 6m) 7n is the beginning of a rough “payoff ” low. ally are less likely to hold aces, however, collectively the In stud 8, what we are really keeping an eye out for are odds are more likely that you are up against a pair of aces the aces, because as both the highest and lowest card they from at least one of the players. It would be diff erent if hold immense power. An ace is also very diffi cult to play instead of having so many low cards out along with the ace against because we can never be sure which way a player is the board is littered with nines, tens, jacks, and queens. going until later on in the hand when it may be too late. In this scenario, it would be more correct to complete the Just the presence of an ace left to act behind you can turn kings as the chances of getting involved in a multi-way pot an otherwise playable holding into a fold. with low hands has gone way down. For example, if you hold (Kn Jp) Km your hand is When the situation is close, we should consider the stronger if there are no kings or jacks in sight, but what is ante structure, our opposition, and our kicker. When the most crucial to the value of your holding is whether or not player with the ace up plays in a very straight-forward there are any aces on board. An ace can present problems fashion and only re-raises with aces (or other premium as it can play its entire playable range strongly and will holding), we can play, however, opponents such as this are have at least a pair, a three fl ush, or three to a low around somewhat rare. 47% of the time: e calculus also changes when your kicker in the Trip Aces 0.2% hole is an ace. With the ace blocker, the probability your opponent holds a pair of aces is signifi cantly reduced, and Pair Aces 11.3% instead of 43% equity we now have 46% when the ace Other Pair 5.7% contests the pot with the range indicated above. With this added knowledge, it can be worth the risk especially if a

028_S&A.indd 29 2/18/21 10:21 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

IN STUD 8, WHAT WE ARE REALLY KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR ARE THE ACES, BECAUSE AS BOTH THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST CARD THEY HOLD IMMENSE POWER. AN ACE IS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO PLAY AGAINST BECAUSE WE CAN NEVER BE SURE WHICH WAY A PLAYER IS GOING UNTIL LATER ON IN THE HAND WHEN IT MAY BE TOO LATE. JUST THE PRESENCE OF AN ACE LEFT TO ACT BEHIND YOU CAN TURN AN OTHERWISE PLAYABLE HOLDING INTO A FOLD.

super aggressive opponent will often take off and try to Are exposed cards important to profi table stud 8 play? represent aces the entire way. Absolutely, they are. Do we need to have precise account- Remembering The Exposed Cards ing of all exposed cards? I’m not convinced, especially if In order to be successful in stud 8 is it a requirement to we are talking about the ranks nine and higher. at said, memorize all of the exposed cards? Some successful play- the initial exposed cards and your relative position play a ers may disagree, but I believe the answer is no. paramount role in the most important decision you will As we discussed above, initially taking stock of the make in stud 8, whether or not you play your holding on exposed cards on third street and using that informa- third street. m tion to ascertain the value of our starting hand is most crucial. In stud 8, the aces are key cards that we should Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but track, as are the fi ves because any low straight requires left the corporate job to focus on his passions one. Otherwise, it’s only really necessary to make general for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of Elite observations such as three or more of a rank exposed or Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certified possibly having a board cluttered with one particular suit. personal trainer. With regards to poker he got Keep in mind that in order for memorizing cards to his start way back in 2003 and particularly have value, this extra eff ort must ultimately alter the play enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing of our hand. After our initial decision to play on third and quickly making them proficient in all variants. If interested in street, we usually get quite good odds to continue on in learning more, playing mixed games online, or just saying hello he can the hand (and so is our opponent) thus an exact inventory be reached at [email protected]. of the exposed cards won’t change our play often enough to be worth it. For example, knowing that our opponent is less likely to make two pair on the river has zero value if the correct THE KID IN THE HOME play would be the same regardless. It’s somewhat rare that our hand can turn into a lock because all cards of a particular rank are dead but even when that is the case that GAME information can be gleaned through general observation. We are not machines. Memorizing or writing down By Nathan Gamble cards comes at the cost of increasing general fatigue, and possibly takes time away that could be better spent focus- My father and I continued to frequent the underground ing completely on strategic considerations. Stud variants poker scene around town, but he, and subsequently I, are more tiring than fl op or draw games, especially when became more involved in running home-game style tour- playing live as you must ante every hand and constantly naments of our own for some of his co-workers. look around the table at all of the exposed cards, and we ey began as friendly aff airs, $20 buy-in tournaments, should not unduly add to the burden. sometimes with a rebuy, sometimes with an add-on, and If stud is your regular game and you go over to a never more than a couple tables of participants. Poker hold’em table it feels as if you are on vacation as there are night was slow enough until the win of an unassuming no antes to post and no exposed cards to process and take accountant in 2003, at which point every Tom, Dick, and in. If I felt it was absolutely necessary to memorize all of Jane wanted to play hold’em. the cards in order to achieve a good win rate I probably e game blossomed into a four-year aff air, growing wouldn’t play much stud. It’s also worth mentioning that from cheap Bicycle cards pulled out of a back drawer the notion that one has to memorize cards may actually into special-ordered Copags and Kems. Poker tables with deter new players from taking up any of the stud variants green felt and black leather railings were dragged into the and/or mixed games which would be completely antitheti- house, and even custom chips were purchased to prevent cal to our goal of growing the games. counterfeits from being introduced. We grew the tourna-

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ment from two tables of nine players into an upstairs-and- that didn’t stop them from taking a peek once or twice. downstairs affair which at peak capacity saw 11 full tables One time we answered the door expecting pizza and were with alternates on standby; a total of 100 unique entrants greeted by an officer asking for the owner of the house. and at least 50 re-entries. We naturally put the tournament on hold before finding We never took a rake, we never charged a dollar. We the owner and letting everyone know that there was an even pooled money for the pizza and to upgrade the chips unexpected break. and cards. It was all for the love of the game and the cama- After an extended conversation outside, we were raderie of the sport. is was my introduction to tourna- informed that the neighbors had complained about the ment poker at 15 years old. excessive number of cars on the street, which makes sense While everyone else went on breaks and enjoyed their given this was a residential neighborhood and we had over time shooting the breeze outside before the tournament 100 players in the house. As it turns out, everyone needed started, I was always moving about table to table, setting to make sure their cars were facing the proper way. It took out chip stacks, ensuring there were dealer buttons and cut 30 minutes of bumper cars, but the tournament was back cards, and overseeing the seating for all of our players. on and we started including parking instructions in future It was crucial to ensure that we had at least one player event announcements. at every table whom we could trust with re-entry chips and Most people that see me nowadays first notice my the money which they would receive in exchange. We had giant red beard, but underneath that fiery facial hair is an several of the old-school players which we would delegate absolute baby face. At 31, I look like I’m barely old enough with this responsibility to help lighten the burden and to crack a beer when I’m clean-shaven. When I was 15, I thankfully never had any problems when it came down to looked like I was 10. It was only because my father was the the prize pool. is allowed my father and I to continue to ‘Tournament Director’ that I was allowed to play, and even play tournament director while breaking tables, reseating that didn’t stop the questioning looks at almost every table players, handling money, taking food orders, keeping track which I sat. of blind levels, resolving disputes, and so on while actually After a while, I became a fixture of the events and went finding the time necessary to play a hand or two along the from being the kid who helped set things up to the kid way. It was a fast-paced environment, which now allows they looked at across the table who was consistently beat- me to show appreciation when I sit down in well-managed ing them out of their hard-earned cash. We had upped the tournament these days. entry for the tournaments to $50 a person with subsequent Because we never took a rake, there was never any ille- rebuys and knockout bonuses, all of which added up to a gal activity taking place and no reason to fear the police player being in for around $150-$200 on the day if they showing up and putting an end to our poker party. But took advantage of the liberal play that was allowed in such

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP e 2021 WPT Montreal Online $3,200 buy-in main event attracted a sizable fi eld of 888 total entries, easi- 2021 World Poker Tour Montreal Online ly surpassing the $2 million guarantee to create a fi nal prize pool of $2,664,000. With just eight players left, $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event the competitors at the fi nal table had all locked up at least $46,685, but were just four eliminations away Andrei Kriazhev Charles Chattha from earning a six-fi gure payday as one of the top four fi nishers. ere was more than a $400,000 diff erence 32,941,210 Chips 19,981,403 Chips between fi nishing eighth and fi rst, with a pay structure that three-time WSOP bracelet winner Kristen 6 6 A Q Bicknell characterized as ‘pretty top heavy’ while Winning Percentage Winning Percentage commentating on the action for the WPT’s live stream

Before Flop: 54.0% Before Flop: 45.0% of the action. When this hand arose there were three

6 6 players essentially tied for the lead, including Andrei Q After Flop: 10.0% A After Flop: 90.0% After Turn: 100.0% After Turn: 0% Kriazhev who raised with pocket sixes from the lojack to open the action. Charles Chattha sat in fi fth chip position with 57 big blinds, and he was likely aware that Marcel Kunze and Jakob Miegel were both sitting PREFLOP with less than 25. Given the payout structure and the chip distribution, Chattha was incentivized to avoid With eight players remaining and blinds of 175,000-350,000 with an playing a big pot against the chip leaders. is likely impacted Chattha’s approach in this hand, informing ante of 43,750, Andrei Kriazhev raised to 735,000 from the lojack. decisions like fl at-calling prefl op and check-calling on Charles Chattha called from the big blind. the fl op after facing a continuation bet from Kriazhev. Unfortunately for Chattha, in this particular instance, his more passive approach did allow his opponent Q 3 2 6 8 to make it to the turn with his underpair, at which point he hit a two outer to leave Chattha drawing

FLOP dead going into the river. Chattha check-called again TURN

RIVER on the turn, building the pot to over 6.3 million.

6 8 2 3 Q Kriazhev went for the home run on the river, betting nearly the size of the pot when he was checked to for a third time. Chattha made a disciplined laydown Chattha checked, and Kriazhev Chattha checked, Chattha checked, and with top pair, top kicker, and preserved over a third bet 598,500. Chattha called. and Kriazhev Kriazhev bet 6,342,000. of his stack as a result. Less than half an hour later, bet 1,575,000. Chattha folded. Kunze hit the rail in eighth place to see Chattha and Chattha called. the other remaining players all lock up an additional $11,965.

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

028_S&A.indd 31 2/18/21 10:21 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

One time we answered the door expecting pizza and were greeted by an officer asking for the owner of the house. After an extended conversation outside, we were informed that the neighbors had complained about the excessive number of cars on the street, which makes sense given this was a residential neighborhood and we had over 100 players in the house.

a setting. It was pocket change for the majority as they most players aren’t going to win long term anyway. A large were computer engineers and managers for Fortune 500 number of poker professionals tend to forget that people companies, but for me it was big money and I played to can simply play the game for fun and not for a living. Find win every time. To this day I still have several trophies sit- the enjoyment that brought you into this great game we ting in my parents’ house from my victories, two of them love and share it with the newbie at the table. I guarantee even coming in back-to-back tournaments. And while they you’ll have a more pleasant evening and, as a bonus, will aren’t the same as a WPT trophy or a WSOP bracelet, they be more likely to see them around the table the next time meant more to me back then than the amount of money they come to town. m which they accompanied. e thrill of the home game experience is a thrill which Nathan Gamble is a native of Texas where he I want to pass on to everyone that reads these articles, and learned to play Texas hold’em from his father. with anyone I interact with in the poker world. We were He is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, the all learning the game together, no one knew what a range first coming in the 2017 WSOP $1,500 pot limit was and there was no talk of GTO. It was simply looking Omaha Eight-Or-Better Event, the second in the a player in the eye and saying, “Nah, you ain’t got it this 2020 Online WSOP $600 PLO8/b event. A fixture time.” of the mid-stakes, mix game community, he can often be found play- While poker has evolved to a level that was unimagina- ing $80-$160 mix games at the Wynn since moving to Las Vegas in ble 20 years ago, I still encourage everyone to start with the 2019. He is active on Twitter under the username Surfbum4life and basics. Get a group of friends, share some beers, share some streams mixed game content regularly on Twitch under his user- laughs. It shouldn’t be about money at ﬁ rst. Let’s face it, name Surfbum4lyfe. BEHAVIOR AT THE TABLE: PERSONAL HYGIENE By Greg Raymer

In the fi rst part of this series, I discussed how it was wasn’t coming from there. We were looking everywhere crucial to not be critical of other players at the table. In near the table, trying to fi nd the source of this miasma. part two, I discussed (with help from Daiva Byrne) chang- Eventually Chris came back over to me and said, “It’s old ing behaviors to help make women feel more accepted, and Jim there. It’s his BO!” increase their participation in our great game. Now I want You see, not long after we sat down, Jim had sat down in to talk about something more personal, which is hygiene. seat 8, also waiting for the game to start. He smelled so bad, About 20 years ago I was at Foxwoods, waiting for a we thought it was vomit. Jim at least had an excuse of sorts. cash game to start. We were told the game would go on He was about 90 years old, so it was probably physically table 25 as soon as a dealer was available, in about 15 min- diffi cult for him to bathe or shower. Also, he probably had utes. Longtime poker pro Chris Tryba and I went over to a poor sense of smell, and just didn’t realize how bad it was. lock up our seats, no. 1 and no. 3, and were sitting there However, even with those excuses, it still isn’t fair to come chatting. After a bit, I noticed an odor, a very foul odor. It to the poker room, and force your neighbors at the table to smelled like vomit. He noticed it also. put up with your nasty odor. We looked under the table, thinking maybe some drunk And the vast majority of us do not have advanced age had puked under there. Nothing. ere was a trash can or physical infi rmity as an excuse. Whether it is poker, or nearby, maybe somebody puked in it? Nope, the smell anything else, if you are going to be around other people,

32 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

028_S&A.indd 32 2/18/21 10:21 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

one is handling the same chips and cards. If the behavior would be unacceptable at the dinner table with your boss, or with your grandmother, it is unacceptable at the poker table. If you have something stuck in your teeth, take a break, go to the restroom, and fl oss there. Same for scratching your crotch. Clip your nails at home, or at least in your car. We do not want to see any of that stuff . Here’s a big one. Before you come back from the restroom, WASH YOUR HANDS! Even before COVID, that was a common courtesy that all of us should follow. Now, it is even more critical. If you must cough, make sure you’re pointing away from others, and try to cough into your elbow, or a tissue, not into your hands. And certainly don’t pull down your mask to cough either. at defeats the purpose of even wearing a mask. Again, this is not rocket you should clean yourself up enough to, at a minimum, not science. We are trying to prevent the spread of disease here. be off ensive. e same is true for your breath. I’ve sat next Let’s engage in our necessary hygiene at home, or at least to people whose breath smelled like they hadn’t brushed in not at the poker table. And then practice hygienic safety weeks. Also, do not try to cover up bad odors with lots of while at the table as needed. If we all do this, we will all have cologne or perfume either. at can be just as bad, maybe a more pleasant experience while playing the game we love. even worse for those with allergies. Just make sure you’re not Have fun, and play smart! m going to be off ensive to the rest of us please. Please do not work on your hygiene at the table. I have, Greg Raymer is the 2004 WSOP world on several occasions, seen somebody clip their nails between champion, winner of numerous major titles, hands. Once I even saw a guy take off his shoes and clip his and has more than $7 million in earnings. toenails. Really?!? I have also seen people fl oss their teeth, He recently authored “FossilMan’s Winning stick their hand in their pants to scratch their crotch, and Tournament Strategies,” available from D&B more. Scratching your crotch from outside your pants is Publishing, Amazon, and other retailers. He bad enough. is sponsored by Blue Shark Optics, YouStake, and ShareMyPair. None of this is acceptable behavior in any public setting, To contact Greg please tweet at him using @FossilMan or go to and should be even more so at the poker table where every- www.FossilManPoker.com. TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP ANALYSISAnalysis Live stream commentator Kristen Bicknell noted 2021 World Poker Tour Montreal Online that, in her experience, Rayan Chamas was tough to play against, and indicated that he was skilled $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event at putting opponents in tough positions. While his more aggressive tendencies were defi nitely on display Dan Shak throughout the fi nal table, this hand is evidence that Rayan Chamas he also possesses a good sense of when to ease off the 28,535,655 Chips 37,120,626 Chips gas. e hand began with Chamas min-raising with A-10 suited from early position as the third-largest A 10 K Q stack at the table. Chip leader and high-stakes tour- Winning Percentage Winning Percentage nament regular Dan Shak made the call from the

Before Flop: 58.0% Before Flop: 41.0% big blind with Ko Qo and ﬂ opped a ﬂ ush draw and

two overcards on a J-5-4 board. Shak checked, and A 10 Q After Flop: 47.0% K After Flop: 53.0% After Turn: 34.0% Chamas made a continuation bet of about one-third After Turn: 66.0% of the size of the pot. Shak called and the turn put a pair of jacks on the board. Shak checked a second time and Chamas checked behind. e Kn on the PREFLOP river gave Shak kings and jacks with a queen kicker and he opted to check a third time. Chamas made With eight players remaining and blinds of 200,000-400,000 with an it to the river with just ace high and had to decide if his hand was good enough to just take to showdown, ante of 50,000, Rayan Chamas raised to 800,000 from early position. or if it would be better to turn his holding into a Dan Shak called from the big blind. bluﬀ . When debating making a bet in this situation, Chamas must assess how likely he is to fold out better hands with a bet, and also if any inferior hands might call. While there is a small chance that Shak could J 5 4 J K make a hero call with an inferior ace-high holding, that likely makes up the entirety of his bluﬀ -catching FLOP

TURN hands that Chamas could beat. When it comes to

RIVER better hands that might fold to a bluﬀ , there are lim-

J K 5 4 J ited possibilities there as well. Chamas might be able to draw folds from Shak’s 5-X and 4-X holdings, and Shak checked, and Chamas Shak checked, Shak checked, and perhaps some of his smaller pocket pairs. In the end, Chamas checked Chamas elected to just take his ace high to showdown bet 730,400. Shak called. and Chamas and minimized his losses in this showdown against a checked. behind. fellow big stack at the table.

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

028_S&A.indd 33 2/18/21 10:21 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary Cory Nordstrand’s Passion For Poker By Linda Johnson

As most of you know, my dear I hope it inspires you as much as it Clinic for more surgeries and learned friend Mike Sexton passed away last inspired me. that the paraplegia had been prevent- September. His family donated many “I was a college student just a able, as I hadn’t really needed the of his personal items to a fundrais- few semesters short of earning my bone healing fluid. e Mayo doctors ing auction to benefit Poker Gives, bachelor’s degree in Psychology,” said put me on prednisone to help relieve a charity he helped to start. Shortly Nordstrand. “Skateboarding was my pressure on my spinal canal from the after the auction closed, however, I life pre-injury. In fact, it still is a big cysts and to keep my symptoms and received a message from a man named part of my life, but I use finger boards condition as stable as possible. e side Cory Nordstrand. Cory had just heard to maneuver nowadays.” effects include a weakened immune about the auction and asked if there But it wasn’t skateboarding that system and weak bones. In fact, I’ve was still time to purchase one of put him in the hospital. At the age of broken two bones in my lower right Mike’s items. 19, Cory started experiencing severe leg and foot, and broken both of my As it turns out, Cory has a passion back pain. femurs, one of them just from crossing for poker that might even rival Mike! “An MRI revealed that a tumor my leg to tie a shoe!” Cory was dealt a bad hand in life, was pushing against my spinal cord,” Despite his horrible misfortune, and was just getting started when his he recalled. “Surgery was scheduled to Cory is determined the make the most health took a turn for the worse, and ‘fix’ the problem. During surgery, the out of his life, and has found new ways he became a paraplegic. Despite the doctor injected a substance designed to adapt to his circumstances. complete disruption of his day-to-day to stimulate bone growth. My Dura “It’s not a condition that can really routine, the 32-year-old hasn’t let that mater was accidentally severed, and get better, so it’s all about learning to affect his love for the game. the bone growth substance leaked into live,” Cory admitted. “I mostly just So in the spirit of Poker Gives, and my spinal cord causing cysts to form sit in a chair now. I have the bones of Mike’s kinship with the rest of the up and down my spine. It was too a woman in her late 80s. I’m in pain poker community, I wanted to devote much for my spine to handle and my a lot and take medication on occa- my column this issue to Cory’s story. fate was sealed. I was sent to the Mayo sion, but I prefer natural remedies like

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP is particular hand saw Rayan Chamas demonstrate how you can often use raw aggression to earn some 2021 World Poker Tour Montreal Online impactful pots without having to go to showdown. $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Chamas looked down at Q-J off suit and opted to open for a min-raise from early position. Short stack Charles Rayan Chamas Dan Shak Chattha fl at called from the hijack with pocket tens, perhaps passing up the opportunity to three-bet since 25,255,255 Chips 37,701,026 Chips Jakob Miegel sat with just shy of 17 big blinds on his direct left. Big stack Dan Shak called with pocket Q J 5 5 fi ves from the big blind and the fl op came down K-9-2 Winning Percentage Winning Percentage rainbow giving Chamas a gutshot straight draw. is

Before Flop: 37.0% Before Flop: 19.0% is a great hand for him to semi-bluﬀ with on the ﬂ op,

Q J 5 After Flop: 30.0% 5 After Flop: 9.0% given that it will have some equity against any possible After Turn: 18.0% holdings his opponents might have if his continuation bet is called, but not so much equity that it would be too great of a loss to bet and then fold if met with PREFLOP serious resistance. Chattha called with his tens despite Charles Chattha the presence of an overcard on the fl op, likely fi guring 19,094,938 Chips With seven players remaining and blinds of that an aggressive Chamas fi gures to be continuation 200,000-400,000 with an ante of 50,000, betting a lot holdings that his tens are ahead of. Shak 10 10 Rayan Chamas raised to 800,000 from early bowed out with his small pocket pair and the turn Winning Percentage brought a total blank. Chamas was not dissuaded from position. Charles Chattha called from the fi ring a second barrel, though, and this time he sized

Before Flop: 44.0% hijack, and Dan Shak called from the big blind. 10 After Flop: 61.0% 10 up to a bet of about three-fourths of the size of the After Turn: 82.0% pot. is larger bet is likely targeted at drawing folds from precisely the type of hand that Chattha held; a K 9 2 3 strong preﬂ op hand that hadn’t improved with this board. Hands like pocket pairs below jacks and good

TURN

FLOP ace-high holdings like A-Q and A-J all make plenty of

3 9 2 K sense for Chattha, who is more likely to have a tighter range preﬂ op given the other short stack. Chamas’ second barrel ultimately drew the fold from Chattha and Shak checked, and Chamas bet 1,209,400. Chamas bet 3,875,620, he took down the pot without showdown, increasing Chattha called, and Shak folded. and Chattha folded. his stack by over 13 percent in the process.

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

34 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

028_S&A.indd 34 2/18/21 10:21 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

to watch a movie or play a live game of to me to go to Vegas and bump shoul- poker. I hate feeling like I don’t have ders with the best of the best,” admit- a use to society, so I try to add value ted Nordstrand. “It would be a dream to the lives of the people around me. I to win a pot off Phil Ivey or to bust want to leave the earth a better place, Phil Hellmuth.” like Mike Sexton did.” I want to make Cory’s dream It make sense that Cory looked come true. At my urging, he set up up to Mike, who was poker’s great- a GoFundMe page to help him pur- est ambassador. Cory started playing sue some of his needs and dreams. poker with his friends in home games I hope the poker community agrees back in 2007 and fell in love with that it’s a worthy cause for one of our the game, especially no-limit hold’em. sport’s biggest supporters. I also want Fortunately, his disability still allows to thank Ryan LaPlante for taking the him to play cards. fi rst steps and donating some coach- “I’m fortunate to have full control ing time for Cory on his training site of my upper body now. ere was a LearnProPoker.com. time that I suff ered radial nerve palsy If you would like to give back to a in both hands and couldn’t shuffl e poker friend in need, visit CardPlayer. stretching and meditation. I can drive card or lift my hand up at the wrist. com/Link/Cory, or search for Cory using temporary hand controls that Poker needs to learn to be more inclu- Nordstrand on GoFundMe.com. m can be installed and removed, but I’d sive and accessible. ese days people like a set of permanent hand controls with disabilities are treated pretty well Linda Johnson is a and a few other things for my van to across the board. But every once in WSOP bracelet winner make it more accessible.” a while, I encounter someone who and member of the “I wake up, shower, and eat. is doesn’t think I should be allowed to Poker Hall of Fame, takes a while since I have to hop play.” the Women in Poker around on my bum to do everything. Cory’s bucket list consists of com- Hall of Fame, and I might binge some TV, play an online ing to the World Series of Poker one day WPT Honors. She is a partner in Card tournament, study poker, then go for and testing his skill with the game’s Player Cruises. Please contact her at a cruise around town in my power top players. [email protected] with questions chair. I might have some friends over “It would mean the absolute world or comments.

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP In this hand, Rayan Chamas empties the clip on a 2021 World Poker Tour Montreal Online bluff , raising prefl op and betting all three streets with jack high and no draw to speak of. He started the hand $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event at a 4.5:1 chip disadvantage against heads-up opponent Jack Hardcastle, with the title and a $139,156 Rayan Chamas Jack Hardcastle pay jump between second and fi rst place on the line. Chamas raised from the button with a less-than- 32,264,986 Chips 145,335,014 Chips appealing J-3 off suit. Hardcastle had an easy defend from the big blind with 9-8 suited. He fl opped middle J 3 9 8 pair on an ace-high board and went into check-call Winning Percentage Winning Percentage mode. Chamas put the pedal to the metal right away,

Before Flop: 50.0% Before Flop: 49.0% betting 3,396,600 into a pot of 5,100,000 on the

J 3 8 After Flop: 12.0% 9 After Flop: 88.0% fl op with air. Hardcastle made the call and the turn After Turn: 7.0% After Turn: 93.0% brought the Km, making a backdoor fl ush draw possible. Hardcastle again check-called, this time to the tune of 5,520,871 into a pot of 11,893,200. e 8o on PREFLOP the river gave Hardcastle two pair and he checked a third time. Chamas still had jack high for showdown With two players remaining and blinds of 600,000-1,200,000 with an value, and now found himself with less than a pot- ante of 150,000, Rayan Chamas raised to 2,400,000 from the button. sized bet remaining. Chamas might have decided that Jack Hardcastle called from the big blind. Hardcastle’s approach to the hand could be indicative of a mediocre single-pair type of hand like the one he had held before the river, one that was happy to just make it to showdown and beat out some bluff s and A 9 7 K 8 missed draws. He decided to put maximum pressure on FLOP

TURN that type of holding and moved all-in for 20,797,515

RIVER into the pot of 22,934,871. Hardcastle might have had

K 8 9 7 A a hard time making the call had he held something like 10-9 suited. As it turned out, however, his rivered two Hardcastle checked, and Hardcastle checked, Hardcastle checked, pair was more than enough for him to make the call Chamas bet 3,396,600. and Chamas bet and Chamas moved and secure the pot and the title. He earned $447,859 Hardcastle called. 5,520,871. Hardcastle all-in for 20,797,515. for the win, while Chamas took home $308,703 as the called. Hardcastle called. runner-up ﬁ nisher.

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

028_S&A.indd 35 2/18/21 10:21 AM Schedules

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36 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

036_Schedules.indd 36 2/18/21 10:28 AM www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 32/No. 19 www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 33/No. 2 September 11, 2019 January 15, 2020 www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 32/No. 12 June 5, 2019

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www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 33/No. 5 www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 33/No. 13 www.CardPlayer.com December 30, 2020 February 26, 2020 June 17, 2020

Final Table Takedown With 2004 World Series Bellagio's Of Poker Champion Bobby's Room Greg Raymer Gets A New Name

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CP_SUB_8.indd 3 2/18/21 10:05 AM Poker Leaderboards

WORLD POKER TOUR MAIN EVENT CASHES

WPT Main for his latest deep run brought his lifetime total earnings Rank Player Event Cashes on the tour to $3,922,900, which is good for ninth on the WPT main tour’s all-time money list. 1st Darren Elias 41 This latest score also gave him a 10-cash lead over a pair of players who are currently tied for second on this 2nd Anthony Zinno 31 leaderboard. One of those two players is three-time WPT champion and two-time World Series of Poker bracelet 2nd Mohsin Charania 31 winner Anthony Zinno, who has 31 in-the-money finishes in main tour WPT events. The 2015 Card Player Player of the 4th Jonathan Little 28 Year award winner recorded his first cash on the WPT in the 2013 Borgata Winter Poker Open main event, finishing 5th Erik Seidel 27 11th for $39,821. In the years that have followed he has gone on to cash for a total of $3,077,197 on the tour. 6th Curt Kohlberg 26 Joining Zinno with 31 main tour cashes is Mohsin Charania, who has earned poker’s triple crown with 7th Brian Altman 25 a WSOP bracelet, two titles on the WPT, and a main event win on the European Poker Tour. Charania has 8th Daniel Negreanu 24 accumulated $2,903,664 in cashes on this tour, with nearly half of that ($1,477,890) coming from a win in the season-ending championship event held at Bellagio in 9th David Pham 23 2014. Charania tied Zinno by scoring a pair of cashes in WPT Online main tour events in the late summer of 2020. 9th Joe Serock 23 Card Player columnist and two-time WPT main event winner Jonathan Little sits just three main tour cashes Darren Elias currently holds a number of records behind Charania and Zinno, with $4,005,439 in earnings for the World Poker Tour, including the most main tour across 28 in-the-money finishes. While the majority of titles won (4), the most final tables made (12) and the the players inside the top ten on this leaderboard have most cashes accrued (41). Elias recently added to that secured WPT main tour titles, Curt Kohlberg, David Pham, third category by finishing 10th from a field of 1,573 total and Joe Serock have yet to come out on top despite entries in the 2021 WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open $3,500 consistently putting themselves in contention. Serock, buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. The $79,455 he earned however, did win WPT Player of the Year honors in 2012.

38 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 6

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