Dan Smith Talks About His Early Start, Building a Bankroll at Age Seven High Roller Crusher Details His Rise to No

www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 34/No. 1 December 30, 2020

Bellagio's Bobby's Room Gets A New Name

'Rounders' Star Ed Norton Calls Out President Trump With Poker-Themed Rant

Strategy: How To Deal With Cold Four Bets

Dan Smith Talks About His Early Start, Building A Bankroll At Age Seven High Roller Crusher Details His Rise To No. Five On Poker’s All-Time Money List

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CP_PokerSchool_1_DT.indd 5 10/13/20 9:33 AM Masthead - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 1

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006_MastheadB.indd 6 12/9/20 11:33 AM PLAYER_22_ACR_FP.indd 3 9/29/20 9:49 AM Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 1 18 16

Features Strategies, Analysis Also In this Issue 18 & Commentary 6 Dan Smith Details His Rise To No. Five On 26 About Us Poker’s All-Time Money List How To Deal With Cold Four-Bets 37 By Julio Rodriguez By Jonathan Little Tournament Schedules 22 27 38 Shifts In Poker Strategy: Dylan Linde Badugi: Playing The Probable Best Hand Poker Leaderboards By Steve Schult In The Middle Rounds By Kevin Haney The Inside Straight 28 Tournament 10 This Is Not The Main Event You Are Hand Matchups Poker News Recap Looking For 29 By Gavin Griffin Viacheslav Buldygin vs. Timothy Adams 14 30 Player Of The Year Update 31 Can A Poker Site Exclude You For Winning By Erik Fast Too Much? Viacheslav Buldygin vs. ‘WhatIfGod’ 16 By Scott J. Burnham 33 Head Games: Avoiding Mistakes With 32 ‘WhatIfGod’ vs. David Yan Aces And Kings Preflop In Pot-Limit Omaha Gamble 106: Down By The Train Tracks 28 By Nathan Gamble By Craig Tapscott David Yan vs. ‘WhatIfGod’ 35 The Hipster Holiday Home Game Where Nobody Knew How To Shuffle The Cards By Houston Curtis

8 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

008_TOC.indd 8 12/9/20 11:21 AM PLAYER_01_bestbet_FP.indd 3 12/8/20 12:32 PM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

the INSIDE STRAIGHT News, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World BELLAGIO’S WORLD-FAMOUS BOBBY’S ROOM IS NO MORE, HIGH-STAKES AREA RENAMED LEGENDS ROOM By Steve Schult

One of the most famous poker rooms in the world recently underwent a name change. e high-stakes area of the Bellagio poker room on the Las Vegas Strip, known to poker fans as “Bobby’s Room,” has been renamed “Legends Room.” Since its inception, Bobby’s Room has been home to some of the biggest poker games on the planet. e usual game featured a mix with limits of at least $400-$800, but during the World Series of Poker, games are generally much larger, with limits of $1,000-$2,000 and up. At the time of this article’s publishing, there was a $2,500- $5,000 big bet mix game running in the room. e room was named after 1978 WSOP main event champion Bobby Baldwin. e Oklahoma- native and four-time bracelet winner stayed in Las Vegas after munity took to social media to vent their frustrations with winning the main event at 28 years old and forged a success- the decision. Some were adamant that they would continue ful career in the casino industry. to call it Bobby’s Room despite its new name, while others In 1982, Baldwin was hired as a consultant for the felt that the room should have been renamed for someone Golden Nugget, rising to president of the property just two else, perhaps Doyle Brunson. years later. Steve Wynn hired him to be the president of e As successful as he was in the boardroom, Baldwin was Mirage in 1987 and he was also the Chief Financial Offi cer nearly as successful on the felt. He won two WSOP bracelets of Mirage Resorts, which eventually became MGM Resorts in no-limit 2-7 single draw and a seven-card stud title, along following a merger. He became president of the Bellagio with his main event bracelet. His last cash came in 2012 with when it opened in 1998. a seventh-place fi nish in the $1 million buy-in Big One For Towards the end of 2018, Baldwin announced he was One Drop. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in leaving his position with MGM Resorts as Chief Customer 2003. Development Offi cer of MGM and CEO and President of In 2010, as Aria’s poker room gained popularity among CityCenter. en about a year ago, it was announced that the high-stakes community, the fellow MGM-owned proper- Baldwin will be the CEO of the competing Drew Las Vegas, ty debuted its own high-stakes area named after poker legend which is scheduled to open in 2022. Phil Ivey. “Ivey’s Room” tended to attract the highest-stakes Bellagio originally said that the room would remain in his no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha games, while limit name, despite his departure from MGM, but that changed in mixed games stayed at Bellagio. October with the renaming. e move went under the radar Ivey’s Room was later changed to “Table 1” in February as the COVID-19 pandemic, the passing of Mike Sexton, 2019. Aria’s decision came shortly after a federal judge gave the Doug Polk-Daniel Negreanu heads-up match, and the Borgata Hotel and Casino approval to go after Ivey’s assets in announcement of a hybrid WSOP in December took most of Nevada to collect the $10.16 million he owed the casino from the poker community’s focus. his infamous baccarat session. Ivey eventually settled with As news of the renaming broke, many in the poker com- the MGM-owned Atlantic City casino last July. m

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010_News.indd 10 12/9/20 11:23 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT MONSTER SESSION GIVES DOUG POLK NEARLY $600,000 LEAD OVER DANIEL NEGREANU IN HEADS-UP MATCH By Steve Schult

With 20 percent of their sched- An ace-high call against a river “Should I be winning? Yeah, I uled 25,000-hand, heads-up grudge shove in a four-bet pot was the think so,” Polk admitted. “Probably match in the books as of press time, epitome of how locked in the three- like 5-10 buy-ins. But I’m up 18 buy- Doug Polk has opened up a big lead time World Series of Poker bracelet ins since we moved to online. I’m over Daniel Negreanu. One particu- winner was on Saturday. obviously in god mode at the moment lar session to close out the month of Polk raised to $910 on the button and that isn’t going to last forever. November saw Polk net more than and Negreanu three-bet to $4,103.60 Also, he did make some improve- $332,000 over the course of 684 out of the big blind. Polk four-bet to ments in the last session. Don’t com- hands. e heater puts him up a total $10,702.19 and Negreanu called. pletely write him off because he went of $596,197 through 5,751 hands, Negreanu checked a flop of on a big downswing.” which represents nearly 15 buy-ins at 6o 5m 5p and Polk bet $4,280 ere is a ton of side action on the $200-$400 limits. and Negreanu called. Both play- the match, with most of the bets “Monster session today,” tweeted ers checked the 7m turn and the booked with Polk as a 4:1 or even Polk after the pair had wrapped for the 2n came on the river. Negreanu 5:1 favorite. day. “Hit everything. Every hero call moved all in for $25,617.43 and Polk “We aren’t even halfway yet, so it’s went right. Every big bluff got through. tanked for a little bit before calling. not that big of a deal, but the disaster Every runout gave me the nuts. Every Negreanu showed Kp Qp and nightmare scenario is if there are a all in went my way. is was the kind Polk scooped the 200-big blind pot few [thousand] hands left and we are of session you dream about.” with An Jn. Polk was up $170,000 dead even,” said Polk. “Now, not only In a post-match interview with after the key pot and things only do you have to worry about winning, poker pros Nick Schulman and Jamie went up from there. but you have to worry about side bets Kerstetter, Polk said that he felt like Despite losing, Negreanu felt and not f***ing that up. And how he was locked in and playing well. good about his play. Even Polk does that change decisions?” After reviewing the hands a day later, acknowledged that he was running Before the huge session, the his analysis confirmed his suspicions above expectation and that Negreanu match had been fairly even with that he was playing above the rim. is only getting better as the match both players trading smaller blows. “I ran the big pots from yesterday,” goes on. Polk said he was winning at Negreanu won $117,000 over the he wrote. “I’m plugged straight into a clip of 31 big blinds per 100 hands, first 200 hands, which was played the f***ing matrix. Almost zero errors which isn’t sustainable over a large live at the Aria before Polk went on in big pots. You love to [see] it.” sample size. his run online. m

010_News.indd 11 12/9/20 11:23 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - News, reviews, and interviews from around the poker world

BILLIONAIRE SHELDON ADELSON PUSHES FOR CASINO GAMBLING IN TEXAS By Steve Schult

Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson is reportedly pushing for the legalization of casino gambling in Texas. Adelson, who is the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns the Venetian and Palazzo casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as several properties in the Asian markets, hired eight Austin lobbyists to sway lawmakers in that direction for the upcoming legislative session. Gambling in the Lone Star State currently operates in a legal grey area. Card rooms have sprung up all over the state but charge either a member- ship fee or seat rental, as opposed to dropping a rake, which is expressly forbidden under the law. In May 2019, however, two Houston-area poker rooms were raid- “Despite losing potential tax revenue ed by local law enforcement. At the to other states, every attempt at time, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who recently won another legalizing casino gambling in Texas term, told media “poker rooms are illegal in Texas.” by lawmakers has ultimately failed.” No customers were charged with a crime, but owners of the clubs were charged with money laundering and engaging in organized crime. e attempt at legalizing casino gambling Adelson’s backing might further charges were ultimately dismissed a in Texas by lawmakers has ultimately sway lawmakers, as he donated $4.5 few months later. Despite these card- failed. million to Republican candidates in rooms, Las Vegas-style casinos and Rep. Joe Deshotel, a Democrat Texas during the last election cycle. In traditional casino gambling is clearly from Port Arthur, proposed a constitu- fact, Adelson is the Republican party’s prohibited under the law. tional amendment to allow for casino biggest donor, having contributed a Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. gambling along the coastal area of the total of $480 million over the last recently announced that it was active- state during the last legislative session. decade to conservative causes, includ- ly shopping its two Las Vegas Strip It was unsuccessful. ing a record $172.7 million in 2020. properties. It was rumored that the “ e issue is trying to cut the e 87-year-old is pushing for company would use that capital to money leaving Texas in such large brick-and-mortar expansion, but has focus on a possible New York casino amounts that could be going into been outspoken in his distaste for market, or perhaps concentrate efforts the coffers here and helping Texans online gambling expansion over the in Asia. Now, it seems like those funds who need help,” Deshotel told the last decade. In 2014, he funded the could be funneled into a first-mover local NBC affiliate. Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, advantage in a burgeoning Texas mar- e majority of lawmakers in the a lobbying group that works to main- ket. state have been Republicans for quite tain the current ban on internet gam- Texas is one of the most anti- some time, which have been stead- bling in most states throughout the gambling states in the country despite fast against gambling expansion. But country. In 2019, he successfully pres- the fact that every neighboring state other Republican strongholds, such as sured the Department of Justice into has casinos, many of which are located Tennessee and Arkansas, have changed reconsidering its Obama-era opinion near the border to lure Texans over their tune on the issue as state govern- on the Wire Act, a federal law banning state lines. But despite losing poten- ments run low on funds and revenue bettors from transmitting gambling tial tax revenue to other states, every streams to tax. data across state lines. m

12 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

010_News.indd 12 12/9/20 11:23 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

Rounders Star Ed Norton To President Donald Trump: ‘You’re The Worm!’ By Card Player News Team © Rounders

e man who played “Worm” in the movie Rounders is bluff could be really ugly. But they have to be called. We calling President Donald Trump a terrible poker player. cannot let this mobster bully the USA into a deal to save Weeks after Trump’s defeat to president-elect Joe his ass by threatening our democracy. at is his play. But Biden, award-winning actor Edward Norton took to he’s got junk in his hand. So call him.” Twitter and unleashed a rant about how Trump’s unveri- “I will allow that he’s also a whiny, sulky, petulant, fied claims of election fraud are just a terrible bluff to try Grinchy, vindictive, little, 10-ply, super soft bitch who to destroy America’s democracy and faith in institutions. no doubt is just throwing a wicked pout fest and trying Norton credited his father, who was a federal prosecu- to give a tiny-handed middle finger to the whole country tor, along with his experience playing with several “seri- for pure spite without a single thought for the dead and ous” poker players to make the comparison, making use dying. But his contemptable, treasonous, seditious assault of numerous poker analogies to get his point across. on the stability of our political compact isn’t about 2024, His message is posted in its entirety below. personal enrichment, or anything else other than trying “I’m no political pundit, but I grew up with a dad who to use chaos to threaten the foundation of the system as was a federal prosecutor and he taught me a lot. I’ve also leverage to trade for a safe exit. Call. His. Bluff.” sat [for] a fair amount of poker with serious players and “Faith in the strength of our sacred institutions and I’ll say this… I do not think Trump is trying to ‘make founding principles is severely stretched, but they will his base happy’ or is ‘laying the groundwork for his own hold. ey will. He’s leaving, gracelessly and in infamy. network,’ or that ‘chaos is what he loves.’ e core of it But if we trade for it, give him some brokered settlement, is that he knows he’s in deep, multi-dimensional, legal we’ll be vulnerable to his return. We can’t flinch.” jeopardy, and this defines his every action.” Norton has been a favorite of the poker community for “We’re seeing a tactical delay of the transition to buy some time thanks to his role in Rounders as a gifted, yet time for a cover up and evidence suppression, [as well as] sloppy card mechanic. In 2016, someone paid €110,000 a desperate endgame to create enough chaos and anxiety at a charity auction to play poker with the actor and listen about the peaceful transition of power, and fear of irrepa- to him tell stories about the movie. rable damage to the system, that he can cut a Nixon-style Norton won a Golden Globe Award for “Best deal in exchange for finally conceding.” Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” for his role “His bluff after ‘the flop’ has been called in court. His in Primal Fear. He has also been nominated three times ‘turn card’ bluff will be an escalation, and his ‘river card’ for an Academy Award. m

010_News.indd 13 12/9/20 11:23 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Player of the year As of 12-2-2020

Place Player Points Final Tables POY Earnings 1 Vincent Wan 2,280 1 $909,420 2 Farid Jattin 2,177 6 $1,205,493 3 Anton Suarez 2,100 1 $1,000,000 4 Cary Katz 2,095 8 $2,420,543 5 Kahle Burns 1,956 6 $2,923,988 6 Tai Hoang 1,900 1 $909,420 7 Aaron Van Blarcum 1,896 8 $1,854,522 8 Sam Greenwood 1,881 6 $1,357,807 9 Tim Adams 1,857 6 $5,904,777 10 Brian Altman 1,848 3 $542,866 11 Michael Addamo 1,806 5 $2,143,310 12 Pablo Silva 1,800 1 $1,000,000 13 Trung Pham 1,794 6 $276,058 14 Ricardo Eyzaguirre 1,785 6 $415,575 15 Christian Rudolph 1,750 1 $620,000 16 James Romero 1,736 2 $745,000 17 Erik Seidel 1,686 5 $669,649 18 Eric Afriat 1,680 1 $394,120 19 Benjamin Winsor 1,636 4 $295,054 20 Lei Xu 1,620 2 $337,183

‘WHATIFGOD’ WINS 2020 EUROPEAN POKER TOUR ONLINE $5,200 BUY-IN MAIN EVENT

e first-ever European Poker Tour Online $5,200 buy-in no-limit hold’em main Timothy event attracted a field of 1,304 total entries, crushing the $5 million guarantee to create Adams a final prize pool of $6,520,000. In the end, the largest share of that money was awarded to Swedish player ‘WhatIfGod,’ whose real name is not currently public knowledge. ‘WhatIfGod’ earned $1,019,082 after outlasting the sizeable field and a tough final table that included many accomplished live and online tournament poker professionals. Jon ‘apestyles’ Van Fleet finished eighth in the event for $97,344, while frequent high-stakes tournament player Viacheslav ‘VbV1990’ Buldygin placed fifth for $266,323. David ‘MissOracle’ Yan earned $520,966 for his third-place showing. e biggest name at the final table was Timothy ‘Tim0thee’ Adams. e Canadian tournament star has more than $25 million in career tournament earnings, including a WSOP bracelet in the 2012 $2,500 buy-in four-max no-limit hold’em event. Adams finished as the runner-up for $728,633, the sixth-largest score on his record. While this event did not award any POY points, Adams is one of the top contenders in the race with 1,857 points and more than $5.9 million in POY-qualified earnings on the year. He made six POY-qualified final tables in the early months of the year, including winning the $250,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl Russia for $3.6 million and 600 points. He currently sits in ninth place in the overall rankings. m

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014_POY.indd 14 12/9/20 11:24 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

TRUNG PHAM CLIMBS INTO 13TH PLACE WITH SIXTH FINAL-TABLE FINISH OF 2020 Trung Pham Trung Pham started 2020 off with a flurry of final-table finishes, making five within the first two months of the year to put himself within striking distance of the top 20 in the Card Player Player of the Year race. ose five scores earned him 1,490 POY points and more than $240,000 in year-to-date earnings. Pham’s largest score of the year came when he finished second in the World Series of Poker Circuit Rio Las Vegas $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, securing $129,305 and 760 POY points for outlasting all but one of the 746 other players in the field. In November, Pham made his sixth final-table of the year with a runner-up showing in a $400 buy-in event at the Venetian’s DeepStack Extravaganza IV series. Pham navigated his way through a field of 794 total entries in that event to make it down to heads-up play against Carl Carodenuto. Pham ultimately finished second, adding $35,430 and 304 points to his yearly totals. As a result, he surged into 13th place in the overall standings, with 1,794 points and $276,058 in total cashes. RICARDO EYZAGUIRRE EARNS HIS SECOND TITLE OF THE YEAR, MOVES INTO 14TH PLACE

Ricardo Eyzaguirre Ricardo Eyzaguirre placed sixth in the event that Pham finished second in, earning $7,932 and 122 points for his fifth final-table showing of 2020. e Orlando resident then made his way back to Florida in time to play in the monthly $1,100 no-limit hold’em special event held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Eyzaguirre had won the October running of this event for $46,000 and 408 points, top- ping a field of 259 total entries. e November edition drew 253 entries, and incredibly it was Eyzaguirre who again came out on top, this time for $47,000 and another 408 points. With these back-to-back victories, Eyzaguirre has now climbed into 14th place in the POY race, with 1,785 total points and $415,575 in earnings so far in 2020. He has now made a total of six POY-qualified final tables, including a sixth-place showing in the Mid- States Poker Tour South Dakota $1,100 buy-in event for $20,539 and 280 points, as well as a runner-up finish in the $2 million guaranteed $600 buy-in event at the Borgata Winter Poker Open that earned him $290,000 and 550 points. Zachary Mullennix earned $37,000 and 340 points as the runner-up in the November event. is was his fifth final-table finish of the year, with two titles won along the way. He took down a $1,100 buy-in preliminary event during the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January for $48,640 and 360 points. In March he earned his third WSOP Circuit gold ring by winning the WSOPC Ameristar St. Charles $1,700 buy-in main event for $92,886 and 456 points. Mullinex now sits in 29th place in the overall standings, with 1,323 points and $189,250 in year-to-date earnings for 2020.

KOREY PAYNE WINS MID-STATES POKER TOUR VENETIAN $1,600 MAIN EVENT e Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian $1,600 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event drew a massive field of 1,239 total entries, blowing away the $400,000 guarantee to create a final prize pool of $1,771,770. e top 128 finishers made the money in the event, with the largest share going to eventual champion Korey Payne. e Portland, Oregon resident was awarded $327,773 and his first live tournament title for the win. Payne also earned 960 POY points as the champion of this event. is win alone was enough to move Payne into a seven-way tie for Korey Payne 76th place on the POY leaderboard. Payne was not the only player to make moves in the POY race standings as a result of this event, though. Martin Zamani earned $148,829 and 640 points as the third-place finisher. is was Zamani’s third POY-qualified final table of 2020, and with 1,008 total points, he currently sits in 68th place in the POY rankings. He won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring by taking down the $2,200 buy-in high roller event at the Rio Las Vegas stop for $89,143 and 312 points. He followed that up with a sixth-place finish in a $1,950 buy-in event at the Bay 101 Shooting Star series for $10,710 and 56 additional points. He now has just shy of a quarter of a million dollars in POY-qualified scores on the year.

014_POY.indd 15 12/9/20 11:24 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Head Games HEAD GAMES Avoiding Mistakes With Aces And Kings Preflop In Pot-Limit Omaha By Craig Tapscott

The Pros: Chance Kornuth, John Beauprez, and is to focus on the situations that occur most frequently, Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger such as button vs. big blind ranges in single-raised pots, Craig Tapscott: If someone could only study pot-limit nailing down your three-bet range facing a late-position Omaha for 20 to 30 minutes a day, which area or situ- opener, and a variety of the other most commonly- ation would you recommend they devote their time to? played scenarios. I advise players to first make an honest What worked best for you when you first made the tran- assessment about their game, then after identifying your sition from no-limit hold’em to PLO? biggest weakness, focus on turning that into a strength. Chance Kornuth: I encourage students to simply play Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger: You need to focus on as much as possible, particularly when they’re feeling preflop strategy first. When you’re new to PLO, it’s so confident or winning. Most players don’t play enough easy to make massive mistakes based on preflop hand when winning and play too long when losing. Nowadays selection. It’s understandable, because you’re suddenly there is so much training material available, which can getting dealt four cards instead of two. All these hands feel overwhelming as a player because subconsciously look so playable and nice, and you want to get involved. it may feel that if you haven’t digested every piece of What most players don’t realize is that the majority of content, you may have a blind spot providing an edge these hands aren’t actually as great as they might look. to your opponent. But realistically, I’ve always learned So, you’re going to end up in a lot of problem spots pre- more from simply putting in volume at a stake where flop that can also compound post-flop if you don’t know the swings don’t bother me mentally, and following the right ranges. You will end up getting dominated. up with a session review with a coach or player whose Preflop hand selection by far is the most important game I respect. element of PLO when you’re new to the game. You want John Beauprez: I spent too much time focusing on to create a plan and an outline of the game and then board textures, that from a frequency standpoint, occur jump into each one of these study areas one by one. rarely. For example, strategic adjustments for a flop Spend a few days on raising first in, then a few days on of A-2-2 rainbow in a three-bet pot. In this situation, three-betting, cold calling, defending the big blinds, altering your approach doesn’t equate to a large profit facing a three-bet, etc. And all these choices play quite increase over thousands of hands. The better approach differently than no-limit hold’em. Different concepts are

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016_HeadGames.indd 16 12/9/20 11:25 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

Chance John Kornuth Beauprez

Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger

applied because of the pot-limit sizing, different ranges, opponent). With 100 big blinds against more advanced and frequencies that are being used. Again, it’s very easy players, you can begin to mix in some flat calls facing a to make massive mistakes. So what you should do is seek three-bet, especially with stronger A-A-x-x combinations out some hands-on tools that allow you to understand like A-A-10-9 double suited. these ranges, and start getting an idea of how you should Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger: Let’s start off by approach PLO preflop decisions. making clear that aces are still by far the very best and Craig Tapscott: A-A and K-K are the holy grail of start- strongest hands in PLO, and they are much stronger ing hands in hold’em, yet they can be much trickier to than kings. In a sense, that is very similar to no-limit play in PLO. What’s the biggest mistake new PLO play- hold’em. ers make with these starting hands? Bonus question… is In PLO, however, kings will have more equity than there a situation where you would ever fold aces preflop aces compared to the same hand matchup in hold’em. in PLO? Single-suited disconnected Kings like K-K-9-4 will do Chance Kornuth: I’ve seen many new players both far worse versus aces than a hand like K-K-10-9 double underplay or overplay their aces combinations pre- suited. With aces, you can’t go too wrong preflop, as flop. Of course, I’ve mostly been playing the Galfond long as you make sure that you just three-bet your Challenge and since ranges are wider and more aggres- opponent if you can. And you can four-bet whenever sive dynamics exist, you want to three-bet almost all you want as well, aces are doing fine in most situations. of your A-A-x-x combos since lighter four-bets are the On rare occasions, you do sometimes fold aces preflop norm. And getting all in preflop with A-A-x-x always in PLO. For example, if you face a tight, open raise from yields a nice profit. early position and you have trip rainbow aces like A-A- In terms of situations where folding aces preflop is A-7, then you are supposed to fold. m best, I can think of only one, rare occurrence. In PLO tournaments on the bubble as a medium stack when Chance Kornuth is the founder and lead instructor for Chip Leader other short stacks are likely to bust soon, you could Coaching. He has two WSOP bracelets, including the 2010 $5,000 consider folding aces. Our bust out frequency is too pot-limit Omaha event and the 2018 $3,000 no-limit hold’em online high with just A-A preflop (even the strongest combos event. He also won the 2016 AUD$25,000 Aussie Millions High are only 65+ percent against most ranges), so it’s better Roller, and the 2014 Bellagio Cup. In total, he has amassed $8 to just avoid the high variance spot and fold into the million in live tournament earnings. Kornuth is currently battling money. In cash games I would never fold A-A at any Phil Galfond in a series of high-stakes online PLO matches as part stack depth. Beyond the immediate equity A-A-x-x has, of the Galfond Challenge. even at deeper stacks when it becomes obvious due to the action that at least one other player has aces, you John Beauprez is a WSOP bracelet winner, having won the 2013 can still disguise your hand by calling, and utilize the $1,500 six-max no-limit hold’em event for $324,764. He has been blocker effects of aces on many different textures. playing PLO professionally since 2008, and has personally coached John Beauprez: The classic mistake is ignoring stack more than 400 players ranging from small-stakes grinders to sizes and lacking positional awareness when deciding high-stakes crushers. He is also the author of the best-selling whether to inflate the pot. As a rule of thumb, you can PLO QuickPro Manual, and is the founder and lead instructor at three-bet or four-bet preflop with any combo of aces PLOQuickPro.com. as long as you can get the stack-to-pot-ratio (SPR) to ~1 on the flop; so, you can unexploitably go all-in on Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger is a long-time established PLO any board. As SPR’s become deeper, becoming more poker specialist and coach, having started in 2005. In 2018, selective with which A-A combos to inflate the pot with Habegger launched PLOMastermind.com, a pot-limit Omaha gains importance. Generally, single-suited A-A combos training platform. He is the author of Mastering Small Stakes Pot that can make a straight are okay to three-bet (espe- Limit Omaha for D&B Poker Publishing. Habegger also livestreams cially when in position and even more so against a weak PLO cash games on his Twitch channel JNandez Poker.

016_HeadGames.indd 17 12/9/20 11:25 AM Dan Smith Talks About His Early Start, Building A Bankroll At Age Seven High Roller Crusher Details His Rise To No. Five On Poker’s All-Time Money List

By Julio Rodriguez

“If you were to look at some of my old [forum] posts, you would see me talking shit about tournament players.” That quote, ironically, comes from someone who holds one of the greatest tournament poker résumés ever, with $37 million in cashes during his time on the felt. Although he is only 31 years old, Dan Smith has been playing cards for half of his life, having discovered poker while traveling the country playing chess tournaments in his youth. The Manalapan, New Jersey native was already winning big online as a teenager, and by his junior year of high school he had a bankroll that would make many professionals jealous. He had a bit of a slow start to his live tournament career, but Smith began to rack up huge scores as he climbed his way to the top of the high roller circuit. He now has 22 tournament titles, along with nine seven-figure cashes. He even cashed in two $1 million buy-in events, finishing third in both the 2018 Big One For One Drop and the 2019 Triton Super High Roller London. He also has a World Poker Tour title, winning the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2013. Smith currently sits in fifth place on poker’s all-time money list behind just Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel.

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018_CoverStory.indd 18 12/9/20 11:26 AM ese days, however, he is more concerned with his role as some of them. a philanthropist than his results on the felt. In 2014, Smith CP: What was the highlight of your chess career? founded e Double Up Drive, an organization that matches DS: I have knocked off a few grandmasters. I had a match public contributions dollar for dollar to more effectively help with the black pieces (which has a disadvantage because various charities. In the years since, he has brought on more white moves first) in an official tournament game, and I drew members of the poker and daily fantasy sports community (tied) Leonid Yudasin, who was at one point ranked number and helped to raise more than $16 million. four in the world. Card Player caught up with Smith for an episode of the However, this was not as impressive as it sounds. I did Poker Stories podcast recently to discuss how he built his first play him 10 to 15 years past his peak, and he did let me know ever bankroll, his biggest chess win, climbing the money list, that I got lucky. (laughing) and even why he decided to write his own eulogy. CP: So, you’re traveling around playing in chess tourna- e highlights of the interview are below. You can listen ments, and someone breaks out a deck of cards? to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or DS: It was the Moneymaker effect; everyone was playing any podcast app. online. At night or in between games, people started taking Card Player: Can you talk about how you found poker? out the cards. I was playing largely with adults, but there Dan Smith: My first love was chess. My uncle Paul got were some kids as well. By contrast to chess, it just seemed me a dino-checkers set for Christmas when I was six, and I like such an easy game. remember grabbing the wrong box, picking up chess instead. At chess, not even at the highest levels, everyone is trying I didn’t know how to read, and both started with a ‘ch’ and their hardest to win all the time. en you see poker on TV had a checkered board. e first day I beat my sister, and on and you see these knuckleheads who are clearly not trying the third day I beat my dad. For the next decade, I would go their best, and are doing silly things. It felt like the right to tournaments all over the U.S. to compete. As far as junior game to be in. players go, I was quite good and excelled. I think my highest As a 15-year-old, playing these big [chess] tournaments, I ranking was ninth in the country for my age. would see the no. 15 player in the country struggling to pay CP: What made you so good compared to your peers? his bills. But with poker, these people were winning a ton of Was it a lot of memorization of the plays, or was it more of a money, and I thought, why not me? natural instinct for the game? At a certain point, I had plateaued. If you get to a 2,200 DS: It’s not memorization, because the game tree is just rating, that’s technically a master, and I was at 2,150. But too large. I know this sounds crazy, but I think it’s true. ey that’s still a sizeable hurdle to get over and I kind of got say there are more possible chess positions than there are stuck. But when I switched to [poker], every time I played, atoms in the universe. So the game tree is ridiculous. I was learning something new, while also still crushing. I CP: Kind of like GTO (Game eory Optimal) poker? really loved it. DS: Poker is very forgiving. If you use the wrong bet size, e fact that I was making a boatload of money as a for example, it’s not necessarily a disaster. But in chess, an teenager didn’t hurt, either. e summer of my junior year inaccuracy might just mean immediate game over. So, chess in high school, I won $30,000 playing $3-$6 no-limit in is more about precision. In poker, you can fold your hand consecutive months. and mentally check out until the next one. at doesn’t exist CP: And the gambling came naturally to you? in chess. DS: Gambling has always been in my blood. My dad used ere are a lot of factors, such as good study habits, to love the horses, and I spent many a Saturday afternoon at presence at the board, maintaining composure and not the race track. I have a distinct memory of winning $96 as panicking. Some people collapse whenever they have a bad a seven-year-old. He let me make one bet every day, and I position. ere are just so many variables, and I only had made a $2 exacta bet and won. So, for the next several weeks,

Dan’s Lucky Shirt And Hat DOES DAN SMITH STILL GET NERVOUS AT THE POKER TABLE, AND IS HE SUPERSTITIOUS? “I still get nervous to various degrees. If I’m in a situation where I don’t have con- fidence in my ability to make the right decision... I have memories of being nervous on the bubble of super high rollers. Not because I’m concerned about not making the money, but more because ICM (Independent Chip Model) is just so hard to approximate and there’s so much guess work. Let’s say somebody puts you all-in with any two cards without even looking. There can be situations where you are supposed to fold A-K, and other situations where you are supposed to call with a marginal hand. The situation of having a complicated spot where I can make a large error, those are times I can recall feeling nerves. For the most part, in these really big moments, however, I [relish] the opportunity to broadcast my skills for everyone to watch.” “If I’m running good... like in 2012, I had this ‘Dan Smith Nubs’ shirt that was blue and pink that I would wear to every tournament. There was also a red Yankees hat. The first time I wore that, I won the Aussie Millions $100k. One time, I swapped 4.4 percent with Ike (Haxton) and one of us won, so I made it a point to have exactly 4.4 percent in the next one as well. I think it’s fun to be a little bit superstitious, and it doesn’t cost you anything as long as you aren’t adjusting your play. So, I like to have fun with it. I think if you are entirely rational about gambling, it’s going to be a little less fun.”

018_CoverStory.indd 19 12/9/20 11:26 AM I would take my $96 to the track and study the programs CP: When you look at your top tournament scores, it’s and make my bets. I just assumed I was going to be printing hard not to notice the third-place finishes, or runner-up fin- money at it. ishes. Do you ever think about the money you left up top, or CP: You had a brief stint at the University of Maryland, are you good about celebrating the close calls? but ultimately decided to continue with poker, spending DS: In the immediate aftermath, there’s usually a little most of your time playing internationally. ings started off bit of pain. I had the biggest score of my career, third place well with a win at the Heartland Poker Tour main event, but for £7.2 million in the Triton [Super High Roller London] last then… summer. For an hour or so, I was pretty cranky and upset. I DS: I spent 2009 playing in Europe, and I went literally was chip leader four handed, and I thought I was in a really zero for the entire year. I just decided to play all of these live good position to win, which would have put me number one tournaments. I did not have any success in the live arena for all time. But then just nothing went my way. the next several years. I probably wasn’t as good as I thought But in terms of after the fact, I don’t [look back with I was, but I was also running quite bad. But the nature of live regrets]. I think I’ve had great fortune over the course of my tournaments is that the variance is sick and the sample size is career, and honestly, winning another tournament… the never large enough. money doesn’t really change my life at this point. When I’m CP: Was there ever a point in time when you considered particularly flush with cash, I gamble bigger. When I’m los- quitting and finding something else? ing or illiquid, I gamble smaller. Money doesn’t change my DS: At that point, all of my eggs were so into the poker decisions, and in terms of hoping for more accolades, that basket. I’ve always had a deep-rooted trust in my abilities doesn’t concern me. that I would make it. I’m not sure where it came from, but CP: Is getting to the top of the all-time money list one of I imagine my chess background helped. I also don’t think I your goals? had an alternative so I could quit. I had no degree and no DS: Whatever comes, comes. I think stats that don’t other skills. I don’t know what else I could have possibly account for buy-ins are pretty silly. Having just a few million done [instead]. dollar buy-in tournaments really skew the results, so I don’t CP: Eventually things turned around for you, and then think it means all that much. I would obviously prefer to be came the high rollers. When did you start to feel established number one over number five just because it means I have as a tournament player? won a ton of money in the interim, but I don’t especially DS: I won the Aussie Millions High Roller $100,000 buy- care about it. in event [for $1.06 million]. It was a big result and a lot of CP: You are clearly one of the best players of all time, but money. I kind of feel like that was really my first claim that I if you asked the average poker fan, your name might not was a high-stakes player and that I was here to stay. I played come up as quickly as some of the others. Do you ever feel the $250,000 event a few days later, which is completely overlooked or underrated given your accomplishments? outrageous stakes, and was especially so back in 2012. en DS: I’m just not really that fussed with what people think I had those back-to-back-to-back wins in the €5,000 buy-in of me. I would say when I was on my way up, the respect of events in Monte Carlo [at the EPT Grand Final]. at was a my peers was hugely important for me. In my early twenties, really special run and I think that’s when I started to make I had some issues with mental health, not having particularly a lot of noise. high self-esteem. And I thought I could get there by pursuing Super high rollers started becoming a more regular thing poker accolades, getting rich, and becoming the no. one GPI in 2012, and I am on a short list of people who started play- player. I did all those things, and then I realized my life was ing all of them, and I have never been out of action. I would still exactly the same. say there is less than ten guys who can say that, and I have If you ask some random person on the street what they been among the top players [during that stretch.] In any think of my poker game... who gives a shit? People are free given tournament, the results are mostly irrelevant. Variance to think whatever they like, and that’s not going to have any is a real thing, and luck is involved. But over the course of a impact on my life at all. decade, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. My therapist had me do an exercise where I’m supposed to

The All-Time Tournament Earnings List Rank Player Earnings 1. Bryn Kenney $56,649,561 2. Justin Bonomo $51,107,461 3. Daniel Negreanu $41,086,897 4. Erik Seidel $37,861,201 5. Dan Smith $36,893,609 6. David Peters $35,199,248 7. Stephen Chidwick $34,687,561 8. Fedor Holz $34,202,365 9. Jason Koon $32,126,634 10. Steve O’Dwyer $31,268,703

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018_CoverStory.indd 20 12/9/20 11:26 AM write a eulogy about myself, in order to get a sense of what’s Sometimes I have to take a step back and think about important to me. Granted, I’m not a eulogy writer, but I that. ere was one year where my favorite charity, Strong ended up not including anything about poker in it. Minds, sent me an email saying that thanks to our annual CP: Speaking of off-the-felt accomplishments, what you’ve drive, 5,000 women in Uganda were able to undergo 12 done with your charity organization over the years has been weeks of therapy. en I realized that Strong Minds was incredible. just one of 10 charities we had selected. When I think of DS: I run a non-profit called Double Up Drive where the the magnitude of difference we are making in the world, it’s idea is that we run matching challenges. If you donate $100, I profound and wonderful. find someone who matches it so the impact is doubled. Over To learn more about Dan’s charity and the 2020 campaign, the last six years, we’ve raised more than $16 million. visit www.DoubleUpDrive.com. m DAN SMITH’S TOP TOURNAMENT SCORES e no. 5 player on the all-time money list obviously has a supersized tournament résumé. In fact, the cashes and wins that we couldn’t fit on this chart would make most poker pros envious. Smith’s first ever recorded cash came in June of 2008 at the Heartland Poker Tour main event at Turning Stone Casino in New York. It was one of the few venues that allowed him to play before turning 21. After that, he endured a few dry years playing in Europe, before turning things around in October of 2011 at the EPT London festival. A few months later, he won the Aussie Millions AUD$100,000 high roller, for the first of his whopping nine, seven-figure scores. ( at’s tied with Daniel Negreanu for second. Only David Peters has more, with 10.) Smith has 184 total recorded cashes, including 22 wins. Of those wins, 10 have come in events with buy-ins of $25,000 or more. Over the course of his career, he’s also managed to cash in 13 different countries. His smallest tournament cash? at would be a 16th place finish for $1,533 at the 2010 Wynn Classic. Date Event Buy-In Finish Payout Aug. 2019 Triton Super High Roller London £1,050,000 3rd Place $8,784,000 July 2018 WSOP One Drop High Roller $1,000,000 3rd Place $4,000,000 July 2016 WSOP Big One For One Drop $111,111 2nd Place $3,078,974 June 2014 Bellagio High Roller $100,000 1st Place $2,044,766 March 2019 Triton Super High Roller Jeju HKD2,000,000 3rd Place $1,768,000 Nov. 2017 Bellagio High Roller $100,000 1st Place $1,404,000 Aug. 2012 EPT Barcelona Super High Roller €50,000 1st Place $1,186,420 Dec. 2013 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,000 1st Place $1,161,135 Jan. 2012 Aussie Millions Super High Roller AUD$100,000 1st Place $1,060,981 Sept. 2018 Poker Masters $100,000 2nd Place $700,000 March 2018 Super High Roller Bowl China HKD2,000,000 11th Place $556,407 June 2018 WSOP Poker Players Championship $50,000 3rd Place $521,782 July 2016 WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha Championship $25,000 3rd Place $487,361 June 2017 Aria High Roller $25,000 1st Place $413,280 June 2015 WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha $10,000 3rd Place $369,564 June 2012 WSOP No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 3rd Place $368,943 Feb. 2017 Aria High Roller $25,000 1st Place $337,608 April 2012 EPT Grand Final No-Limit Hold’em €5,000 1st Place $330,724 Nov. 2016 Aria High Roller $25,000 1st Place $312,000 May 2018 Aria High Roller $25,000 1st Place $305,000 Feb. 2017 Aria High Roller $25,000 2nd Place $295,120 July 2014 WSOP Main Event $10,000 20th Place $286,900 June 2016 Aria High Roller Bounty $30,000 1st Place $285,200 July 2016 Aria High Roller $25,000 2nd Place $264,900 Dec. 2016 Five Diamond No-Limit Hold’em $5,000 1st Place $257,097

018_CoverStory.indd 21 12/9/20 11:26 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - poker Strategy

Shi s In Poker Strategy With Dylan Linde Poker Pros Revisit Hands From The Past To Show How The Game Has Changed By Steve Schult

In the nearly two decades since poker experienced a boom thanks to Chris Moneymaker’s historic World Series of Poker main event victory in 2003, the strategy surrounding the game has evolved at a pace never seen before. With online poker, the game’s best players were able to see more hands quickly and develop more complex strategies to win. Bet sizing, aggression levels, and even something as basic as preflop hand selection has changed drastically since the game went mainstream. Dylan Linde has been around for most of that evolution. The longtime high-stakes tournament pro racked up more than $4.2 million in live earnings over the course of his career and millions more online. Most notably, the Idaho native won the 2018 $10,000 World Poker Tour Five Diamond main event for more than $1.6 million. He also authored the instructional book Mastering Mixed Games, which was released in 2018. Linde sat down with Card Player to break down a hand from the 2010 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star final table, which featured Matt Keikoan, Hasan Habib, Dan O’Brien, and Andy Seth, as well as Mclean Karr and Phil Hellmuth.

The Hand body was under-defending And then you would size Q J against it. You could really down as you get shallower, go small and people would because you still don’t want

still just fold anyway, even to give people an extremely

J Q getting a good price. good price. e other reason is that In general, with a small- Phil Hellmuth Mclean Karr some people started ramp- er ante, you are going to 1,150,000) 900,000 ing up three-bet aggression. want to open smaller, but

Q Q 2 9 K If you open smaller, you at the ﬁ nal table you kind are going to be able to peel of get this eﬀ ect with ICM

[more often], especially if [Independent Chip Model]

Q 2 9 K

Q you’re calling in position. where you can put some And you’ll have deeper additional pressure on the eff ective stacks post-fl op, shorter stacks by making it Blinds – 8,000 – 16,000 with a 2,000 ante as far as stack-to-pot ratio larger prefl op. Players Remaining: 6 goes. He is going to basically SS: Is there any merit force them to put most, if The Action: Phil Hellmuth Steve Schult: Phil’s pre- to raising larger if you’re not all, of their chips in raised to 46,000 from the fl op raise was a full three maybe playing a tad bit too prefl op, if they choose to cutoff , Andy Seth called times the blind. is fi nal tight? In this example, Phil three-bet. Also, they won’t on the button, and Mclean table was in 2010. If I’m makes a much larger open be able to defend as wide. Karr called out of the big remembering the evolu- and he gets two callers. I guess Phil might not be blind. On the fl op, Karr tion of poker strategy cor- Why not get the extra value taking advantage of this, checked, and Hellmuth bet rectly, this was about when if you’re generally going to but my experience playing 50,000. Seth folded and players started trending be raising only premium with Phil is that he opens Karr called. On the turn, towards smaller sizes. Why hands? pretty wide prefl op, but he Karr checked and Hellmuth was strategy shifting in that DL: I think at those plays kind of tight post- bet 90,000. Karr called. direction? eff ective stack sizes, you’re fl op. On the river, Karr checked Dylan Linde: People going to want to go a little SS: On the fl op, Phil and Hellmuth bet 190,000. started trending towards larger anyway. I think 2.5x bets about a third of the pot Karr called. smaller sizes because every- would be the standard now. when it’s checked to him.

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022_PokerStrategy.indd 22 12/9/20 11:27 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

Phil Hellmuth Mclean Karr

“People started trending towards smaller sizes because everybody was under-defending against it. You could really go small and people would still just fold anyway, even getting a good price. The other reason is that some people started ramping up three-bet aggression. If you open smaller, you are going to be able to peel [more often], especially if you’re calling in position. And you’ll have deeper effective stacks post-flop, as far as stack-to-pot ratio goes.”

I thought down-betting do it from a place of posi- and we are at the final table, you’re just firing off ques- became popular many years tion. Here, three-ways, it’s Mclean is incentivized to tions at a blank nothing. later. Was Phil ahead of the a little odd because Andy keep pots small in general. You’re just going to stop. curve here? is in position and covering, If Mclean didn’t three-bet Someone like me, I DL: It’s definitely what and can put some pressure with a middle pair of some enjoy talking at the table he should be doing. If he’s on Phil if he chooses to. But sort, he is going to want to a lot, but I understand that going to bet there, it should it’s still a tough flop for him just be calling on the flop I’m probably giving some- be small. In my experience, to do it with. He’s got to and he’ll want to balance thing up. I have a really people weren’t doing the have the right hand. that out with his Q-X hold- difficult time doing those small continuation-bets as SS: Mclean flopped trips ings. two things at once. much at this time. Half-pot and opted to check-call. I SS: Mclean checks SS: In that sense, if or larger was kind of the remember a lot of players the turn and Phil bets. you’re worried about giving standard back then. taking the check-raise, bar- According to the updates something off, there defi- SS: What are the merits rel off line with big hands from the event, there was nitely are tells. But the way to betting smaller? What in this spot. Like Phil’s some banter between the that poker has evolved, it’s prompted this shift? small continuation bet, was two while Mclean was mak- just become a game where DL: You can bet smaller Mclean ahead of the curve ing his decision. I wanted players have become good because it widens your value by just calling? to get your take on the at masking them. range in that spot. If Phil DL: Mclean is defi- absence of table talk in DL: Exactly. Hence the bets half-pot or larger, he nitely ahead of the curve modern tournaments. I Christoph Vogelsangs of can’t really be betting with by just calling. Because don’t want to turn this into the world. Wearing scarves 7-7 or 8-8. Because when at this point in the poker a debate about live tells, but and glasses, you know? It’s your opponent continues, metagame, people aren’t why aren’t there more little the extreme on the other you’re almost always beat. finding all the bluffs. If quips between players while side. And at this size, he can bet people are bluffing enough, they are in the hand? SS: Again, I wanted to small and make a bunch of that really weights the DL: I think it’s because ask about the turn sizing. hands continue, especially check-raise towards value. people just stopped I would’ve thought, from a from the big blind, that he So it will be much harder responding. So many play- modern theoretical stand- can get value from with the for him to extract value, ers play in a robotic fashion, point, that Phil’s bet would weaker portion of his flop- especially from a player at least at the higher stakes. be larger. Is this a unique bet value range. like Phil, who is definitely ey are much less com- hand for him to bet one- Mclean is going to have capable of making some big fortable with table talk and third on the flop and one- to continue with some K-J folds. But he’ll also make more worried about giv- third on the turn? suited type of stuff against some thin value bets if you ing things away. I think it DL: Yes. He is the cover- a small bet and Phil will be give him a chance. kind of dampened that in- ing player, so he wants to able to extract some addi- e other thing is that game talking. Because once put Mclean in a spot where tional value. And he can since Phil covers Mclean someone stops responding, he is forced to leverage his

022_PokerStrategy.indd 23 12/9/20 11:27 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Final Table Takedown

trend was that mostly peo- thing like $1.6 million for ple are betting with equity. first and it was the largest But in ICM situations espe- field of all-time. But the cially, there are a lot of year before it was $2.1 mil- spots where guys will blast lion for first with a smaller off with hands that have field. no equity, but that will use ey did a giant shift blockers in a certain way. in the payouts and that is A hand like A-8 would the kind of thing that ben- be an okay bluff there efits operators, especially in because it isn’t going to online tournaments where showdown and win enough. they want people to keep And if Mclean found some liquidity online, and it also floats that turned a flush benefits satellite tourna- draw, then Phil can bet and ments. So I think that’s get auto-folds from those, why we are seeing that shift which he does have some in the payout. ey are say- showdown value against. ing that it is worth more for But the eight acts as some- them to pay more people what of a blocker against than it is to have this super the nine. You get some of sexy first-place prize. these weird no-equity spots SS: Overall, has there that come up, but they are been an appropriate shift in just kind of hard to find the way players attack late- and it’s really only the best game ICM spots with the players that use them cor- shift in the payouts? rectly. DL: I think that Phil We’ll still see these would still be less incen- spots in the World Series tivized to [apply pressure]. of Poker main event where For him, it’s not like he is there are random people looking at the difference stack all in on the river. king here. It’s kind of weird blasting off for no reason. between moving up one And with a small bet, it’s because at this point, I If you’re watching a World spot. He’s looking at the just not as easy to do that. don’t expect Mclean to have Poker Tour final table with difference between sixth Unless he’s going to just gotten through two barrels a bunch of mid- and high- and first. It’s still a signifi- overbet all in on the river. with some of his floats like stakes regs, you probably cant amount of buy-ins. It’s not like he needs to bet K-J suited or K-10 suited, won’t see that play much, A good way to look at huge, but I think it should unless he turned a flush but if you’re watching a ICM isn’t necessarily the be something around half- draw. $100,000 final table with dollar amount, but the pot or something like that. But Phil could have a some of the best players in number of buy-ins it is. If SS: Does the smaller bet king, aces, J-10, and obvi- the world playing against fifth place is something like size get anything to fold? ously all of the super strong each other, you’ll definitely $200,000, that’s still about Or is he basically going to hands like trip queens, see some of that. ten buy-ins which is pretty the river against the same deuces full, and the rest of Strategy kind of goes in significant. at’s kind of range that continued on those. With that size, he’s circles. the way you have to think the flop? got a few hands that can SS: e last thing I about it, especially for peo- DL: He might get Mclean really put some pressure on wanted to ask you about ple who are playing tourna- to fold a deuce. I’m not say- Mclean. was the ICM situation ments where the money up ing Mclean should fold a SS: Mclean calls and that these players were in top isn’t as mind blowing deuce. Maybe some ace- Phil just announces he has at the time. e payouts and life changing. You still highs that would continue nothing and ends up muck- were $878,000 for first and need to think about how might fold. But otherwise ing his hand when Mclean $117,000 for sixth, while many buy-ins it is. no. ere shouldn’t be a lot shows trips. I don’t see the runner-up would take of things that fold. many natural bluffs on this home $521,000. How have The Result: Hellmuth was SS: Mclean check-calls board, except maybe An the payouts changed over eliminated in sixth place, the turn and checks the Xn. So I’m going to make the years? earning $117,000 after his river. Phil bets again. At an assumption that Phil DL: I actually think it’s pocket queens were cracked this point, to raise preflop triple barreled with a no- better the old way, but for by Andy Seth’s A-J with and triple barrel on this equity hand, a la Vanessa sure it has shifted. It has an ace on the river. Karr board, what value hands Selbst circa 2008. Why shifted so that there is less used this early pot to build is he credibly representing? don’t we see more of that up top for the most part. his stack, ultimately beat- DL: ere’s a bunch of anymore? e year that I won the ing Seth heads-up to win hands. Phil could value DL: We don’t really see Five Diamond was a really the title and the $878,500 bet a hand as weak as a it as much now because the good example. It was some- first-place prize. m

24 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

022_PokerStrategy.indd 24 12/9/20 11:27 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 10/13/20 9:35 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary HOW TO DEAL WITH COLD FOUR-BETS By Jonathan Little

I recently had to deal with multiple cold four-bets in a tough $10,000 buy-in tournament. My table was fairly There is a lot of guesswork in- aggressive, so I was doing a decent amount of three-betting volved in poker. In this spot, I need (re-raising) when I was in position while playing a some- to guess what his four-betting what tight strategy from out of position. When you are playing a large buy-in event, you need to range is and then guess how often make a point to take advantage of your position as much as he will have each potential range. possible while making sure you don’t get too abused when you are out of position. This is why it is so important to A hand came up where a strong, loose aggressive oppo- know your opponent’s strategy. If nent raised from the hijack seat to 4,000 out of his 100,000 stack at 800-1,600. I three-bet to 11,000 with 9m 7m from you think he will only four-bet with the button and then another strong loose aggressive player the nuts, you have an easy fold. If four-bet to 28,000 from the big blind. I didn’t think much you think he will bluff often, you of this hand and quickly folded. An orbit later, the same initial raiser raised from the but- have an easy all-in. ton to 4,000 and I made it 12,800 out of my 90,000 stack from the small blind with Ap Jp. Calling in this situation is also a viable play because if you get four-bet, you will be is means I will win 16,980 every time I fi ve-bet all-in, in a tricky spot. at said, because I was three-betting so assuming all the assumptions I made are correct. is is a often, I was fairly confi dent I could profi tably get all-in for huge amount of profi t, especially since I am only playing 90,000 against this opponent if he decided to four-bet. I 800-1,600. know that may seem loose to some readers, but that was the If the four-bettor is playing with a tighter range, the dynamic we had. equation would look much diff erent, as I will no longer To my surprise, a strong, fairly tight aggressive player have much fold equity: in the big blind four-bet to 26,000. Given the four-bettor .2(46,800) + .71(60,160 – 90,000) – .08(68,480 – plays at a world-class level, I thought he could easily real- 90,000) = 9,360 – 21,186 – 1,721 = -13,547 ize the initial raiser was raising the button a ton and that I is means when he is rarely four-bet bluffi ng, I am in would combat this with a ton of three-bets. bad shape. All I have to do now is guess how often he is I was getting around 2.5:1 pot odds, so calling should four-betting with a wide range and how often he is four- always be considered. e problem is that I would be betting with a tight range. If I think he will have a wide out of position and would face a lot of diffi cult post-fl op range around 25 percent of the time and a tight range 75 situations, especially when I fail to connect with the board. percent of the time, I end up with: Folding would certainly be fi ne if I assume he is never or .25(16,980) + .75(-13,547) = 4,245 – 10,160 = -5,915 rarely bluffi ng, as Ap Jp has around 32 percent equity If instead I thought he had a wide range more often, against a range of 10-10+ and A-Q+. the four-bet would be profi table. ere is a lot of guesswork I imagine his calling range if I decided to go all-in would involved in poker. In this spot, I need to guess what his be 10-10 or better and A-Q or better. If I thought he was four-betting range is and then guess how often he will have four-betting with something like 7-7+, A-9+, K-Q, K-J suit- each potential range. is is why it is so important to know ed+, and various suited connectors, he will fold to my all-in your opponent’s strategy. If you think he will only four-bet with around 66 percent of the hands he is four-betting. with the nuts, you have an easy fold. If you think he will It should be noted that all players will four-bet bluff bluff often, you have an easy all-in. with diff erent ranges. For simplicity though, this range will All of this being said, I decided to go all-in. He called suffi ce. Knowing that, I can use the following equation to with A-Q and I was out. After looking at the math, I think fi gure out my equity. I should have folded and waited for a better spot. Analyzing Profi t = (percent both players fold)(pot I win) + (percent your play away from the table is something everyone should four-bettor calls)(equity in pot – amount put in pot) + do. If you would like an extensive lesson on this topic and (percent four-better folds and initial raiser calls)(equity in many others, pick up my book Mastering Small Stakes pot – amount in pot) No-Limit Hold’em. m For simplicity, let’s assume the initial raiser will only call around 8 percent of the time. Let’s also ignore the rare Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion times they both call. I know my equity in the pot because with more than $7 million in live tournament I roughly know his calling range and how well Ap Jp does earnings, best-selling author of 15 educational against it. poker books, and 2019 GPI Poker Personality So, I have… of the Year. If you want to increase your poker .61(46,800) + (.33)(60,160-90,000) – .08(68,480 – skills and learn to crush the games, check out 90,000) = 28,548 – 9,847 – 1,721 = 16,980 his training site at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.

26 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

026_S&A.indd 26 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary BADUGI: PLAYING THE PROBABLE BEST HAND IN THE MIDDLE ROUNDS By Kevin Haney

In badugi, as is the case in most draw games, whenever cussed, assuming villain has the badugi he is representing we are a card ahead of our opponent heading into a draw, we are in bad shape with 10 percent equity, give or take. we mostly have an automatic bet on the next street, even However, the pot is quite sizeable and we are getting when we have not improved. 7.75 to 1 odds to call the raise, meaning we only require If we are pat and our opponent is drawing, betting is around 11 percent equity to continue. We can usually clear, and if we have a one-card draw (i.e. three-card badu- make up the slim equity shortfall on the river because gi) we should also tend to bet against an opponent draw- with a strong draw and position we hold the betting ing two. While there is some possible merit to checking advantage on the last street. an unimproved, rough, one-card draw versus a two-card When we hit gin, we can possibly get in a raise, and if draw, this situation is close, and all things considered we our opponent checks, his range is usually capped to weak- can’t go that wrong betting whenever we are a card ahead. er badugis, thus we can value bet somewhat aggressively Betting The Superior Three-Card Badugi and get called due to the bloated pot. In addition, folding In a battle of one-card draws if it’s highly probable we on the turn for one bet is dangerous as it may entice play- held the best hand going into the draw, we should also ers to take shots at us in the future. tend to bet the next street regardless if we improved or If we call the check-raise and fail to improve, should not. On any particular draw there is only around a 20-per- we consider calling on the end? If you are up against a cent chance an opponent drawing one has made a badugi, thus we are still a sizeable equity favorite even when we brick. In a battle of one-card draws, if For example, suppose we hold Ap 2n 3o and drew one on the first it’s highly probable we held the draw, as did our opponent. If our best hand going into the draw, we opponent fails to improve, we are an approximate 70-percent favor- should also tend to bet the next ite with two draws to go. Getting raised when our opponent has made street regardless if we improved or a badugi isn’t a big fear as we have not. On any particular draw there is an easy call with implied odds on our side. only around a 20-percent chance an On the turn our advantage is greater because when our opponent opponent drawing one has made a fails to improve, we are around an 80-percent favorite with one draw to badugi, thus we are still a sizeable go. If the villain has made a badugi, equity favorite even when we brick. his median holding will be an eight or nine, and against this range we have approximately 10 percent equity. So we are betting tight, ABC player you can definitely find a fold, however, the turn holding around 66 percent equity (80%*80% + against a loose-aggressive player we need to consider the 20%*10%) which is clearly enough even after factoring in play of the hand and the mathematics involved from his potential check-raises that we may face. viewpoint. Overall, our situation is better when our opponent does Suppose the villain had opened from the cutoff with not check-raise weak badugis, and of course he may fold a 5o 6n 8m; not a powerhouse but still a standard open unimproved which would be a good result. Occasionally, from that position. Our three-bet from the button indi- an aggressive player may elect to check-raise and pat as a cates that we have a good three-card badugi; however bluff, a play we will examine below. it could be a five, a six, or even a smooth seven and not Getting Check-Raised With A Strong Draw necessarily a premium holding. Suppose a loose-aggressive player opens from the cutoff When the villain has not improved, calling on the turn and we three-bet from the button with An 2m 5p. e vil- isn’t a great option as his equity situation is quite bad and lain calls and draws one, as do we. Given the range that an he also has reverse implied odds. Remember, after the sec- aggressive player will open from the cutoff, our three-card ond draw he doesn’t yet know whether or not we are pat, badugi is a big favorite to be the best hand so we should and if we have made a badugi he could easily be drawing remain aggressive. dead. And even when we are not pat, he has to think there We fail to improve on the first two draws and unfor- is little chance to win by reducing his incomplete. tunately get check-raised on the turn. As previously dis- However, he has another option other than folding,

026_S&A.indd 27 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

and that is to make a move at the pot by check-raising and Playing Pat Badugis patting as a bluff . If he has the play in his arsenal it would With a badugi, we are always going to bet against an be a good time to do it especially if he has paired along the opponent that is still drawing. When we are dealt a badugi way. He’s at the bottom of his range and we don’t neces- from the onset our overall range isn’t that strong, however, sarily have a premium three-card badugi that we may feel if we are playing correctly before the fi rst draw our range obligated to showdown regardless. will be stronger than the average player. So how often does our opponent need us to fold on the So what happens when we get raised along the way river in order for the play to be profi table? Most often when with a mediocre or weak badugi? is is a very diffi cult taking this line he is risking three big bets in an attempt situation to deal with and impossible to answer without to win 6.75. Two big bets go in with the turn check-raise the context of the session, the play of the hand, and the followed up with a river bet and the potential reward is the aggression level of your opponents taken into account. 6.75 big bets in the middle after we call the turn. When you are out-of-position and your opponent Under this risk-reward proposition, the play only needs raises, sometimes it is a test to see if you will break. We to work around 31 percent of the time to be profi table, can only consider folding immediately to this raise against indicating we need to call down with at least 69 percent only the most passive and straightforward of players. of our holdings to defend against it. It actually needs to Correspondingly, if we are in-position and get check- work less often than that as sometimes he will run into a raised, our opponent’s hand has a much greater chance of very strong badugi and get three-bet on the turn. In this being legit. event, the villain will often waive the white fl ag and fold We should also consider the strength of our badugi rel- to only lose two big bets. ative to the position from which we opened. For example, is success rate isn’t that high of a hurdle to clear con- if we had opened a ten badugi from early position in a full sidering we will only make a badugi around 38 percent of game this hand is towards the bottom of our range, how- the time over the course of the last two draws. erefore, ever, if we had opened this identical hand from the button against a very loose aggressive player we would be correct this same holding would be quite high in our range. In the to show down the A-2-5 as it quite far up in our range. absence of more relevant information, we should tend to ere are only a few combinations of three card badu- fold when we are at or near the bottom of our range and gis better than A-2-5 (A-2-3, A-2-4, A-3-4, and 2-3-4) and tend to showdown when we are much higher up. many other worse fi ves, sixes, and sevens that we likely In the next issue we will examine situations where we would have played in the same manner. Once again, this know, or at least think it’s highly probable that we hold call would be incorrect against a tight, ABC player and we the second-best hand and need to chase. can exploit his straight-forward play by folding. However, not every situation is the same and we Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but should be less apt to call the river if both of our ranges left the corporate job to focus on his passions were stronger. For example, if villain had instead opened for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of Elite from under-the-gun and we originally reraised from the Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certi- hijack, the range of both our three-card badugis would be fied personal trainer. With regards to poker he much stronger. is means he is much less likely to have a got his start way back in 2003 and particularly three-card badugi that he would turn into a snow, and he enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing should also realize we are more likely to hold a premium and quickly making them proficient in all variants. If interested in draw that most players will showdown no matter what learning more, playing mixed games online, or just saying hello he can happens in the hand. be reached at [email protected]. This Is Not The Main Event You Are Looking For By Gavin Griffi n

December, the month when we The gambling calendar was was moved online. escape the harsh winters of the mid- also thrown into upheaval. March It’s that WSOP online thing that west and Northern Europe to fl ock to Madness was outright cancelled, e I’m interested in talking about right the relative warmth of the desert of Masters was delayed half a year to now. Las Vegas, Nevada to play the World November. e NBA had to play As far as I knew, we had already Series of Poker main event. Wait, do I in a bubble. e MLB season was crowned a WSOP main event cham- have that wrong? marred by a mess of positive tests and pion in 2020. His name is Stoyan e pandemic of 2020 has postponements, and the NFL season Madanzhiev, and he won $3.9 million wreaked absolute havoc on our calen- has been more of the same. And, of for beating a massive fi eld of 5,802 dar. Spring Break was cancelled, the course, the annual Las Vegas summer players. e tournament, which had Fourth of July was an in-home aff air, series known to poker fans all around a $5,000 buy-in and re-entry for- and anksgiving was a mess. the globe as the World Series of Poker, mat, generated a record-breaking

28 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

026_S&A.indd 28 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

WHY THEN, DO I FEEL SO NEGATIVE ABOUT THIS SECOND MAIN EVENT? I GUESS BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THE RIGHTFUL MAIN EVENT CHAMPION IS HAVING HIS TITLE TAKEN FROM HIM. OR PERHAPS IT’S BECAUSE THE TOURNAMENT IS CLEARLY A LAST-MINUTE CASH GRAB BY THE WSOP, NOT THAT THAT IS ANYTHING NEW. MAYBE THE WEIRD FORMAT JUST BOTHERS THE POKER TRADITIONALIST IN ME?

$27,559,500 prize pool. ner of the main event is permanently States and one on GGPoker.com in All that being said, I’m not sure inscribed in the annals of poker his- Europe, will play down to separate that many people are going to be tory. final tables. ose final tables will thinking about him next year. His Unfortunately for Stoyan, this play out live, one at e Rio in Las win is destined to be another casualty year, we’re going to have a second Vegas, and the other at King’s Casino of this bizarro year. main event. Even though the tourna- Rozvadov. Finally, the winners of You might ask yourself how a ment’s single-entry format and steep- each event will play heads up at the WSOP main event winner could be er $10,000 buy-in will likely result Rio for an added $1 million prize and forgotten? We remember winners like in a much smaller prize pool, given the official title of WSOP main event Pius Heinz, who has been mostly its small live component, it may be champion. absent from poker since his triumph, regarded as the one to remember in ere are a lot of firsts here. You and guys like Russ Hamilton, who future years. have the first hybrid main event has been disgraced as a cheater and e format, in true 2020 fashion, champion, and the first champion pariah in the poker community. is odd. Two separate online events, to have money added to his prize Good or bad, skilled or not, the win- one on WSOP.com in the United (Hamilton won his weight in silver).

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP e ﬁ nal table of the 2020 European Poker Tour Online $5,200 no-limit hold’em main event featured a number 2020 European Poker Tour Online of players with prior success on tournament poker’s big- $5,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event gest stages. is hand features a clash between World Series of Poker bracelet winner and Super High Roller Bowl Russia champion Timothy Adams and Viacheslav Viacheslav Buldygin Timothy Adams Buldygin, an accomplished Russian player who ﬁ nished 77,762,536 Chips 58,200,580 Chips second in the €100,000 buy-in super high roller at the 2017 PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo for more than K 2 9 7 $1.4 million. Buldygin began the hand as the chip leader Winning Percentage Winning Percentage and opened the action with a min-raise with K-2 suited.

Before Flop: 46.0% Only Adams called, defending a suited one-gapper from

Before Flop: 54.0% the big blind. Adams ﬂ opped a nine-high ﬂ ush draw and

K 2 7 9 After Flop: 55.0% After Flop: 45.0% checked. Buldygin made a continuation bet of around After Turn: 66.0% After Turn: 34.0% half of the size of the pot and Adams just called. One reason Adams might have decided against check-raising in this spot is that the fl op should often connect with the PREFLOP under-the-gun raising range of his opponent. Another might be that Adams began the hand in third chip With six players remaining and blinds of 350,000-700,000 and an ante position among the fi nal six, with over 80 big blinds, while Enio Bozzano sat as the clear short stack with just of 87,500, Viacheslav Buldygin raised to 1,400,000 from under the gun. under 30 big blinds. Given that stack dynamic, playing Timothy Adams called from the big blind. a big pot from out of position against the chip leader is far from ideal. e turn put a second possible fl ush draw on the board and Adams checked again. Buldygin checked behind and the 6o completed the board. Adams A Q 10 5 6 had taken a cautious approach in the early goings of the hand, but in the end he’d arrived at the river with just FLOP

TURN

RIVER nine high, which was extremely unlikely to win at show-

5 6 A 10 Q down. Buldygin had also checked back the turn despite a perceived range advantage and a draw-heavy board. Adams ﬁ red out a healthy bet of 4,251,000 into the pot of Adams checked, and Adams checked, Adams bet 7,350,000 and drew a quick fold from his opponent. He Buldygin bet 1,837,500. and Buldygin 4,251,000, and chipped up to second place on the leaderboard, narrow- Adams called. checked. Buldygin folded. ing the gap between himself and Buldygin.

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

026_S&A.indd 29 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

And of course, you’ll also see the fi rst guess. However, in the United States, this subject, and that’s okay. I can’t ever second main event champion. you must be in either Nevada or control what you do with your body (huh?) New Jersey to play this tournament. and your life. I would urge you, Perhaps I’m not being fair here. e US is currently experiencing the however, to think of the people you Caesars and the WSOP are certainly worst surge of coronavirus cases since would interact with if you decided to allowed to be creative with their February, setting new records every play in this event. I’m talking about brand, especially in this craziest of day in total case numbers and num- the fl ight attendant on your plane, years, and there are a lot of positives ber of people hospitalized while the the front desk person at the hotel, the to be excited about. e single-entry death toll keeps rising. housekeeper that has to clean your is standard for the main event, and Many poker players are going room, the cashier when you buy-in to who can complain about an added $1 to be tempted to travel from all the tournament, or the person who million prize? over the country to Nevada and serves you your food. We’re all still Why then, do I feel so negative New Jersey to play this tournament, in this together and, with a vaccine in about it? I guess because I feel like COVID be damned. It’s the nature the near future, it’s the perfect time the rightful main event champion is of a poker player to search for value to make sure we’re staying safe and having his title taken from him. Or and take it. healthy. m perhaps it’s because the tournament is Off ering a tournament like this clearly a last-minute cash grab by the where players will have to travel to Gavin Griffin was the WSOP, not that that is anything new. play in it, during the worst days of the first poker player to Maybe the weird format just bothers pandemic, is a cynical and irrespon- capture a World Series the poker traditionalist in me? sible move by those in charge at the of Poker, European And that’s not even getting into WSOP and, even though I live only Poker Tour and World the COVID of it all, which seems a four-hour drive from Las Vegas and Poker Tour title and like it wasn’t even taken into account. have a safe place to play, I will not be has amassed nearly $5 million in lifetime Sure, the 18 people who make the participating in this event. I just don’t tournament winnings. Griffin is sponsored two fi nal tables are subject to test- feel comfortable supporting it. by HeroPoker.com. You can follow him on ing protocols, and that’s good, I Readers may feel diff erently about Twitter @NHGG CAN A POKER SITE EXCLUDE YOU FOR WINNING TOO MUCH? By Scott J. Burnham

is summer, online poker site Curacao GGPoker.com faced some negative publicity after being accused by members of the poker community of banning “winning” players. Can an online poker site or a casino exclude players because they win too much? When I taught ﬁ rst-year law students, they often asked me what they should do when they went home during a break and people would ask them for legal advice. I told them, “Look thoughtful, stroke your chin a couple of times, and pronounce, the poker site and the customer are I must admit I was not familiar ‘Hmm. Good question. It depends on pretty much dictated by the contract with the latter expression, which the the jurisdiction.’” between the parties. site deﬁ nes as “deliberately targeting at’s how I would answer this Part of the contract is the “Security one subset of (usually weaker) users question – it depends on what laws are and Ecology Agreement” (SEA) that while avoiding giving action to anoth- governing the transaction. enumerates a number of rules to carry er subset of (usually stronger) users.” It turns out that GGPoker is out “GGPoker’s ethos … that a healthy In response to the outcry in the licensed in Curacao. (How many of and safe user ecology is paramount to poker community against its actions, you could identify that country on a providing enjoyable poker games.” e GGPoker claimed that it was not ban- blank map?) Apparently it is easy to prohibited activities include use of ning players for winning per se, but obtain a gaming license in Curacao, bots, account sharing, ghosting, col- banning them for violating these rules. and there is little regulatory over- lusion, predatory behavior, and bum- As my mother used to say, “It’s sight of the licensee. So the rights of hunting. not what you say; it’s how you say it.”

30 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

026_S&A.indd 30 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

Though it would have little reason to do so, I’m sure [an online poker site] could find that a good pro or regular pro is harmful to the poker ecology, like the predator at the top of the food chain who does not contribute much to the circle of life.

Certainly, as a matter of contract law, player whom the site calls the “good player raising the dispute. the site would be free to take action pro” or “regular pro” rather than a How would such a player fare in against players who violate the rules. “bad pro.” a different jurisdiction, where there Players unhappy with its enforcement ough it would have little reason are regulatory agencies that regulate of the rules would have to do what to do so, I’m sure GGPoker could online sites and casinos, presumably players have always done – vote with find that a good pro or regular pro is for the benefit of players, and ulti- their feet by moving to a different site. harmful to the poker ecology, like the mately courts that can address the So, let’s ask the more difficult hypo- predator at the top of the food chain rights of players? An analogy comes thetical question. Can an online site or who does not contribute much to the to mind with the situation of the a casino ban a player just for winning? circle of life. blackjack card-counter, who brings no Of course, it could be argued that Would a player banned for this rea- device other than this particular skill where there is smoke there is fire, son have any recourse? e site’s Terms to the table. Can a casino ban him? It and the fact that a player consistently and Conditions describe a dispute depends on the jurisdiction! Let’s look wins could be circumstantial evidence resolution mechanism, but since there at what happened in Nevada and what that they are using some device other is no regulatory agency, it involves happened in New Jersey. than ordinary skill to win. (A certain complaining within the company, Nevada recognizes the common- situation that you are all familiar with with the dispute ultimately resolved law right that a property owner may springs to mind.) So let’s rule out that by the Company’s Support Manager. exclude anyone from its property for possibility as well, and focus on a at does not sound promising for the any reason or for no reason. (It is a bit

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP In this hand Viacheslav Buldygin managed to correctly lay down a set on the river on a board that had grown 2020 European Poker Tour Online increasingly dangerous. e hand began with Buldygin min-raising from the cutoff . Swedish online tourna- $5,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event ment regular ‘WhatIfGod,’ whose real name is not publicly known, three-bet to 7,200,000 from the button ‘WhatIfGod’ with Ao Ko. Buldygin called and fl opped bottom set on Viacheslav Buldygin a 10-9-6 board with two diamonds. Buldygin checked 58,742,847 Chips 94,152,036 Chips and ‘WhatIfGod’ elected to check behind with the nut fl ush draw and two overcards, perhaps not want- 6 6 A K ing to risk getting check-raised by Buldygin when his Winning Percentage Winning Percentage range should include a lot of medium pocket pairs that

Before Flop: 53.0% Before Flop: 47.0% would have hit this ﬂ op hard. e Jn on the turn gave

‘WhatIfGod’ a gutshot straight draw to go along with 6 6 K After Flop: 74.0% A After Flop: 26.0% After Turn: 23.0% his fl ush outs. Buldygin now made a bet, likely hoping After Turn: 77.0% to extract some value from his opponent’s better one- pair holdings. ‘WhatIfGod’ made the call and the river brought the Qn, completing a backdoor heart draw PREFLOP and also giving a straight to any hand including a king or an eight. In this instance, ‘WhatIfGod’ had A-K to With fi ve players remaining and blinds of 600,000-1,200,000 and an ante of make the Broadway straight. Buldygin elected to check, facing one of the ultimate scare cards on the river. 150,000, Viacheslav Buldygin raised to 2,400,000 from the cutoff . ‘‘WhatIfGod’ ‘WhatIfGod’ made a sizeable value bet of 22,800,000 three-bet to 7,200,000 from the button, and Buldygin called. into the pot of 29,493,000, a bet which represented just more than half of Buldygin’s remaining stack. Given the prior action and the runout, Buldygin’s set of sixes had been downgraded to a bluff catcher. ‘WhatIfGod’ 10 9 6 J Q is unlikely to bet an inferior holding, such as a one-pair

FLOP hand like A-Q, for value in this situation, and would TURN

RIVER have a hard time getting called by worse or making

J Q 9 6 10 enough better hands fold. As a prefl op three-better, ‘WhatIfGod’ will have a range that includes all of the strongest holdings possible on this board, such as Buldygin checked, and Buldygin bet Buldygin checked, A-K, An Xn for the nut fl ush, and high pocket pairs ‘WhatIfGod’ checked. 6,271,500. and ‘WhatIfGod’ that would have either made a straight or a bigger set. ‘WhatIfGod’ called. bet 22,800,000. Buldygin ultimately made the correct fold, preserving Buldygin folded. his remaining 45.1 million chips. He went on to fi nish fi fth in the event for $266,323.

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

026_S&A.indd 31 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

diffi cult to envision how you exclude is not a prohibited basis of discrimina- disorderly, the intoxicated, and the someone for no reason. An example tion, I think an online site or casino repetitive petty off ender.” Since those might be found in the episode of e regulated by Nevada law could ban a are not characteristics of the winning Simpsons in which Mr. Burns deter- player for that reason as well. player any more than they are charac- mined whom he would fi re by looking New Jersey reached a contrary con- teristics of the card counter, I doubt at the security monitors and fi ring clusion in the case of the famous card that the online site or casino could ban whoever happened to be seen at the counter Ken Uston. e New Jersey a player for that reason in New Jersey. time. Homer got a pass because he was Supreme Court ruled that when prop- So when someone asks you a legal wearing Henry Kissinger’s glasses and erty owners open their premises to the question, look thoughtful and say, “It looked too smart to fi re.) general public in the pursuit of their depends on the jurisdiction.” It turns In recent years, this right has been own property interests, they have no out you will often be right. m limited by anti-discrimination laws, right to exclude people unreasonably. so you can’t exclude the person where So, unlike the online site or casino Scott J. Burnham is there is a prohibited basis of dis- in Nevada, the online site or casino Professor Emeritus crimination, such as race or gender. in New Jersey would have to have at Gonzaga University But card-counting is not a prohibited some reasonable grounds for banning School of Law in basis of discrimination, so a casino in a player. Spokane, Washington. Nevada is free to exclude a card coun- e court suggested that it might He can be reached at ter. Similarly, since winning at poker be reasonable for a casino to ban “the [email protected].

Gamble 106: Down By The Train Tracks By Nathan Gamble

(Editor’s Note: is is part four of a series of articles that address and knew where I lived… where my parents lived! can be found on CardPlayer.com under Nathan Gamble’s I didn’t want to risk drawing anyone else into my debacle. author page.) As I made up my mind to stay put, he came running back to the car and jerked the door open, and we were off With the constant reminder of how lucky I was sitting again. in my passenger seat holding a gun, I drove deeper into is pattern repeated itself four more times, each time his world and well outside my comfort zone. With every causing an internal battle as I had to temper my desire passing wave, every nod of the head, and every rambling for freedom with the knowledge of what it could cost. At word I was reminded of the danger that lay ahead of me the time I didn’t know why we were stopping but later it and the precipice which I straddled with every passing became clear that he had been in search of drugs and was moment. On either side of the chasm was a quick and going from dealer to dealer. Only when we reached house perilous death, only by walking the fi ne line did I have number six did things kick into full gear as it instantly hope of staying safe. became clear that this could be where everything ended. After what seemed like hours of driving, in reality no We turned left down a street which led into an unfi n- more than 30 minutes, the monotony was broken up by ished cul-de-sac with train tracks peeking out behind a a harsh, “Stop. Now!” ings were changing. I looked wood line. ey were slightly elevated on an overgrown around and it was no diff erent than the neighborhood we hill and unprotected by the dead and drooping trees that had been in for the last 10 minutes, just another house in surrounded them. It was the perfect place to dump a body, a ramshackle part of town. But this was it, this was our I thought to myself. row it on the other side of the train destination. He made me pass over my wallet, my keys, tracks and I doubt anybody would have noticed until the and my phone while telling me to stay put while he went stench drew questions. As we drove closer and closer to inside. He looked me up and down and reminded me that them, he had me pull a U-turn and stop at one of the they knew where I lived before jumping out of the car. houses towards the front of the street, no more than three You would think it’s a relief to be free after all this time doors down from the edge of the foreboding forest. being held against your will, but the reality is it was even He pulled the normal line, they knew my name, where more nerve wracking. Every ounce of me wanted to toss I went to school, where my family lived, and said he’d be the door open and fl ee, to run as fast as I could in any right back. I had fallen into a false sense of security with direction and just bang on any door and scream for help. every stop before but now with the woods in my rearview e adrenaline was kicking in and I had to calm my mirror, I felt the uncertainty of the moment looming. nerves and try to think rationally. I was alone, 10 minutes My adrenaline level doubled when my kidnapper came by car into a neighborhood that I clearly didn’t belong in, out of the house with two linebacker-sized men following and from what I had seen on the drive in, I wasn’t going behind him. to fi nd much help from the locals. If I ran then I’d have a I instantly drew a mental line on the concrete about less-than-optimal chance at fi nding help. Even if I did fi nd 20 feet from the car, mid-point between me and them. If help and manage to escape, then he was right. ey had my they crossed it, I was going to run, fl ee as fast as possible

32 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

026_S&A.indd 32 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary I DREW A MENTAL LINE ON THE CONCRETE ABOUT 20 FEET FROM THE CAR, MID-POINT BETWEEN ME AND THEM. IF THEY CROSSED IT, I WAS GOING TO RUN, FLEE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE TO THE TREE LINE THAT WAS MOST LIKELY INTENDED AS MY COFFIN AND TRY TO USE IT AS MY ESCAPE. to the tree line that was most likely intended as my cof- the radio softly playing in the background. I tried to fin and try to use it as my escape. Beads of sweat dripped pay attention to the street names as they passed but they from my forehead as they drew closer to the crack on the replayed in mind as a blur later, nothing stuck that was sidewalk until one of the men stepped directly on it. en useful. Eventually we got to a major street in downtown they stopped. It’s almost like they knew what I had in my Dallas and he had me pull over into a metered stall. He mind as they just stood there and chatted. I waited, hand casually withdrew my wallet and phone and threw them on the door handle, ready to run. But then they went to me, while reminding me that if I went to the cops it’d their separate ways, my good luck charm getting in the be the last decision I ever made. He slowly got out of passenger seat, his football team getting in a separate car. the car and wandered away into the sunlight, leaving me He chuckled when he saw my nervousness and told behind to wonder what had just happened. I felt lucky to me they wanted to beat me and leave my body but he be alive as the adrenaline slowly left my body, leaving me had reformed and didn’t want that life anymore. is was tired and shaken to my core. relayed to me as we started driving off and he took drags Over the duration of a poker tournament you will off a crack pipe he had pulled from his hoodie pocket. He find yourself feeling a roller coaster ride of emotions, was a gentleman about it at least, and rolled down the win- sometimes at the pinnacle of the tournament with a chip- dow with every exhale so as not to get me high as I drove. leading stack to end any challengers. Other times, you are I asked him where next and he looked at me and said that at the bottom and trying to just slowly limp along and since I had cooperated, he was going to let me go, and he’d stay the course. No matter where you find yourself, it is take me out of the neighborhood himself. imperative that you keep your wits about you as your situ- We drove in silence punctuated by puffs of the pipe, ation can change in the blink of an eye.

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP Sometimes in poker a player simply decides that they are going to do whatever it takes to win a given pot. In this 2020 European Poker Tour Online hand, Sweden’s ‘WhatIfGod’ fl oated both a fl op raise $5,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event and a turn bet with queen high and no draw to speak of, all in service of setting up a bluff shove on the river. ‘WhatIfGod’ David Yan His timing turned out to be perfect, as opponent David 112,354,739 Chips 30,312,446 Chips Yan was also making moves with just queen high. e hand takes place with fi ve players remaining, and Yan Q 6 Q 8 as the shortest stack in the big blind. ‘WhatIfGod’ held Winning Percentage Winning Percentage the chip lead at the time, and made a raise to 4,200,000

Before Flop: 22.0% Before Flop: 59.0% with Q-6 oﬀ suit from the small blind. Yan defended his

Q 6 8 After Flop: 12.0% Q After Flop: 57.0% big blind with Q-8 suited and the ﬂ op brought a pair of After Turn: 7.0% After Turn: 43.0% tens and a four with two diamonds. ‘WhatIfGod’ made a continuation bet of 2,782,500 into the pot of 9,275,000, PREFLOP and Yan decided to click it back, making the minimum raise possible by doubling the bet. Given that this was a With ﬁ ve players remaining and blinds of 700,000-1,400,000 and an battle of the blinds, both players can credibly hold a hand ante of 175,000, ‘WhatIfGod’ raised to 4,200,000 from the small blind. that involves a 10 for trips, as the chip leader’s opening range from the small blind and the short stack’s big blind David Yan called from the big blind. defending range will both be quite wide. ‘WhatIfGod’ made the call despite having no draws to speak of and just queen high for showdown value. e decision clearly 10 10 4 K J implies an intention to buy the pot on later streets if the opportunity arises. e Kn on the turn drew a check FLOP

TURN

RIVER from ‘WhatIfGod.’ Yan was left with just less than the

K J 10 4 10 size of the pot, and bet 5,101,250. ‘WhatIfGod’ called again, ﬂ oating a second street in order to set up a big o ‘WhatIfGod’ bet 2,782,500, ‘WhatIfGod’ checked. ‘WhatIfGod’ moved move on the ﬁ nal street. e J completed the board and Yan raised to 5,565,000. Yan bet 5,101,250, and all-in for 97,313,489. and ‘WhatIfGod’ moved all-in. Yan quickly folded and ‘WhatIfGod’ called. ‘WhatIfGod’ called. Yan folded. ‘WhatIfGod’ took down the big pot more or less with sheer will and creative aggression.

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

026_S&A.indd 33 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

is series of articles has been about adapting to the Nathan Gamble is a native of Texas where he ever-changing landscape which we can fi nd ourselves in learned to play Texas hold’em from his father. and the importance of always staying aware of new infor- He is a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet mation as it fi lters into your life. winner, the first coming in the 2017 WSOP Stay aware even when it feels like all hope has left you $1,500 pot limit Omaha eight or better Event, the on the felt. You may have only a single chip in front of you second in the 2020 Online WSOP $600 PLO8/b and you feel like you’re about to fi nd yourself in the wood event. A fixture of the mid-stakes mix game community, he can often line, but you can still have a plan and avoid the inevitable be found playing $80-$160 mix games at the Wynn since moving long enough to put yourself back in the hunt. A little luck to Las Vegas in 2019. He is active on twitter under the username is extremely useful in those spots, but fi rst you have to give Surfbum4life and streams mixed game content regularly on twitch yourself the chance to get lucky. m under his username Surfbum4lyfe. THE HIPSTER HOLIDAY HOME GAME WHERE NOBODY KNEW HOW TO SHUFFLE THE CARDS By Houston Curtis

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another fun, fact- Christmas in 2003. I found myself at a no-limit hold’em ﬁ lled poker story pulled from the archive of my misspent game in Silverlake, California. For those that don’t know, youth. Before we dive in, be sure to head to my website Silverlake is kind of like a hipster haven that is located kardsharp.com to check out a helpful video tutorial and somewhere between Hollywood and Glendale. sign up for my FREE live streaming Kardsharp Academy A buddy of mine had set up the game and he was pretty poker protection seminar that’s taking place Wednesday, excited because he had a couple actors coming to it. One Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. PT. of actors attending the game was this up-and-coming, e holiday season is now behind us, and what I ﬂ avor-of-the-month kid who had been on one of those missed this year more than anything was the home Disney-style shows as a child, and now had a new action games. One game I remember fondly came a week before movie out. Now, I can’t remember his name (he didn’t last

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP David Yan was left with just over 10 big blinds after losing a battle of the blinds against ‘WhatIfGod’ 2020 European Poker Tour Online during fi ve-handed play, but managed to spin his $5,200 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event short stack all the way back up. He even overtook the chip lead during three-handed action, and sat with ‘WhatIfGod’ the biggest stack when this hand began. He raised David Yan to 4,320,000 from the button with Qp 2p and 115,013,422 Chips 85,527,809 Chips ‘WhatIfGod’ called from the big blind with 7p 6p. Both players picked up a fl ush draw on the 10-9-6 fl op Q 2 7 6 with two clubs. While Yan had the highest fl ush draw, Winning Percentage Winning Percentage ‘WhatIfGod’ had the best hand for the time being

Before Flop: 56.0% Before Flop: 44.0% with bottom pair. ‘WhatIfGod’ checked and Yan

Q 2 6 After Flop: 37.0% 7 After Flop: 63.0% made a continuation bet of around a third of the size After Turn: 20.0% After Turn: 73.0% of the pot. ‘WhatIfGod’ called and the turn brought the 8n to give him a straight. After another check, Yan fi red a second barrel. ‘WhatIfGod’ came along and the PREFLOP river brought the Ko. Both players missed their fl ush draw and Yan was left with just queen high and a pot With three players remaining and blinds of 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 and of nearly 28 million chips up for grabs. Yan elected an ante of 250,000, David Yan raised to 4,320,000 from the button. to move all-in, eff ectively betting the 72,180,337 that ‘WhatIfGod’ called from the big blind. ‘WhatIfGod’ had remaining. Accomplished poker pro Sam Grafton noted in the commentary that the overbet shove on the river, representing Q-J and J-7 10 9 6 8 K for the higher straights, puts even strong holdings in a tough position. Grafton said that the move turns the FLOP TURN 7p 6p of ‘WhatIfGod’ into essentially a slow-played RIVER

bluﬀ catcher. “ is is power poker from David Yan.” 8 K 9 6

10 In the end, ‘WhatIfGod’ made the call for his tournament life, doubling into the chip lead and leaving Yan ‘WhatIfGod’ checked, and Yan bet ‘WhatIfGod’ ‘WhatIfGod’ checked. with only 15 big blinds. Yan went on to ﬁ nish third 3,324,800. ‘WhatIfGod’ called. checked, and Yan Yan moved all-in for for $520,966, while ‘WhatIfGod’ defeated Timothy bet 5,452,672. 101,665,950. ‘WhatIfGod’ Adams heads-up to secure the title and the top prize ‘WhatIfGod’ called. called all-in for 72,180,337. of $1,019,082.

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

34 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

026_S&A.indd 34 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

e next guy with the deck was some dude from Silverlake who dressed like it was still 1993. is cat looked like a cross between Eddie Vedder and a Venice street bum. And he reeked of that weird incense people used to burn in their car or apartment to try and hide the smell of weed. It was like smelling a skunk cov- ered in pine needles. With about as much confi- dence as a one-legged man in an ass kicking competition, this dude picked up the deck back- wards and started overhand shuf- fling it with all the cards facing outward in plain sight. I was loving it because all the cards were staring me right in the face, but Ash was sitting on the other side of the table and knew I had a sharp eye, and he wasn’t going to let that fly. He told “Eddie” that long) or the name of the film (it wasn’t worth remember- he had to keep the cards on the table. ing) but I do recall what happened at the game that night. e guy looked at Ash like he had asked him to solve e first guy to show up was my buddy Mike. Like the riddle of the sphinx and said, “is is the only way myself, Mike was a television producer and he and I had I know how to shuffle man. is guy here (pointing to worked together on many different projects. However, this the actor) didn’t even have to shuffle, why do I have to would be my first time playing cards with him. shuffle?” In fact, as I looked around the room, I began to realize en, almost as if on cue from a Quentin Tarantino that aside from my friend Ash, who set up the game, I had film, every guy around the table began to pipe in one by never played with any of these cats before. But there they one with their own opinion on how the game should be were, cash in hand and excited to get the cards in the air. ran. To Ash and my surprise, not a single one of these One dude even came wearing a Santa hat which I thought dudes had expected they would have to deal. In a home was a nice touch. game! Like most games in the early days of the poker boom, ey were all belly aching at once when Ash yelled, it was Texas hold’em only. Ash dealt the first hand of the “Guys…it’s a f***ing card game! Why would you come to night and I was pleased to see two of the newbs wasted play if you didn’t want to get your pansy ass hands near a no time by immediately getting it all in preflop. e first deck of cards?” hand! I had already figured out the answer to this question, My buddy Mike was one of the all-ins. I’ll never forget but the actor saved me the trouble by standing up and say- seeing him and his opponent turn their cards over to watch ing, “I’m out bro. I watched Chris Moneymaker win the a showdown between J-9 offsuit and Q-3 suited before the World Series of Poker and he never had to shuffle the deck deck was even warm! Mike hit a nine on the flop but the one f***ing time!” other guy went runner, runner to backdoor a flush. At that point, you would think there would be an I looked up, excited about these newcomers who were uncomfortable silence around the room followed by an in the giving spirit, and caught eyes with Ash, who just eruption of laughter. Nope! All of these yahoos were nod- quietly mouthed back, “Christmas come early.” At least ding in agreement with him! that’s what we thought. I signaled to Ash to concede, asked the actor dude to When Ash was done dealing, he passed the deck to the stay, and politely offered to be the sole dealer for the night. guy on his left. Now it was the child actor-turned-action at only to caused Ash to do a spit take with his beer. star’s turn to deal. When handed the deck, the actor dude After throwing out a few different solutions, including a looked at Ash like he was crazy and said, “Oh, I didn’t crash course in how to deal poker, we all ended up cancel- think I would have to be dealing tonight. I just came to ing the home game entirely and heading to the Hollywood play.” Park Casino. At least there, these guys would only have And then, as if it were a totally normal procedure, the to hold on to two cards at a time and got to feel like they kid just handed the deck back to Ash. He didn’t even were on TV. know enough to pass it to his left. Of course, nobody said We all got separated at the casino and I took my place anything because the actor was the “draw” for the evening at my old familiar stomping ground in the top section so to speak, and I for one, don’t like to clear out the cob- playing pot-limit hold’em. To my delight, about an hour webs when there’s a lot of flies swarming around. into the game, the actor sat down with three racks of $10 Ash politely handed the deck to the next person and chips he had earned playing in the $10-$20 limit game. said, “Looks like you’re up pal.” Apparently, he had been playing at the casino quite a bit

026_S&A.indd 35 12/9/20 11:30 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

and even seemed to know a few of the regulars at the table. that promises to provide you with some keen insight into It took about 45 minutes before he went broke and protecting your poker game, spotting card cheats, some had to head to ATM and reload for the minimum buy fun prop bets, and much more. All you have to do to get in. I got a piece of him, but he basically got chopped up in is sign up to my mailing list at Kardsharp.com for more between myself and seven other grinders at the table. It information. m looked like a bunch of vultures feasting on the remains of fresh road kill. Houston Curtis, founder of KardSharp.com and So, what is the point to my little story? Don’t be afraid author of Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist has to learn how to handle a deck of cards! lived a successful double life as both a Some of today’s best players grew up playing online producer and high stakes poker player for poker, and have never dealt a hand of cards in their life. nearly 30 years. His credits include executive I feel like learning how to handle a deck is kind of like, producing gambling-related TV shows such shaving or driving a car. It’s a rite of passage, especially if as The Ultimate Blackjack Tour on CBS, The Aruba Poker Classic you love the game of poker. Plus, it just can’t hurt to learn on GSN and pioneering the poker instructional DVD genre with titles the basic mechanics that go along with shuffl ing and deal- featuring poker legend Phil Hellmuth. Barred for life from Las Vegas ing a square game of hold’em. Golden Nugget for “excessive winning” at blackjack, Houston is one While I’m quite certain the actor kid would have still of the world’s most successful card mechanics and sleight-of-hand lost at our home game, had he known how to shuffl e, he artists of the modern era. Curtis, who rarely plays in tournaments, would have at least had a shot. Hell, he might have won a won a 2004 Legends of Poker no-limit hold’em championship event few pots off the other newbs, and he defi nitely would have besting Scotty Nguyen heads-up at the final table before going had a better time. Learning the dealing procedure is not on to co-found the elite Hollywood poker ring that inspired Aaron diffi cult and it teaches you a lot about the game while giv- Sorkin’s Academy Award-nominated film Molly’s Game. Curtis now ing you a diff erent vantage point that can prove valuable resides in Columbia, Missouri while maintaining offices in Los to you in the long run. Angeles, and Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to running a production So, in the spirit of the Christmas home game that never company and independent record label, Curtis also consults as a was, I wanted to give Card Player readers a free tutorial on poker protection expert to clients across the globe seeking insight how to handle a deck of cards. Simply head to Kardsharp. into master level card cheating tactics via advanced sleight-of-hand com or check it out on my Kardsharp YouTube page. technique. In addition, Houston is now available for in-person and For those of you interested in learning more, I’m online speaking engagements, private sleight-of-hand instruction, going to be hosting a free live “Ask Me Anything” card and a variety of media creation/production services. Houston can handling seminar on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. PT be contacted directly at [email protected].

36 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

026_S&A.indd 36 12/9/20 11:30 AM Schedules FOR COMPLETE TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND LISTINGS, VISIT CARDPLAYER.COM

DECEMBER Dec. 10-Jan. 4 WSOP Circuit - Las Vegas Bally’s Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

Dec. 10-Jan. 10 DeepStack Etravaganza V Venetian Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

JANUARY Jan. 1-10 Card Player Poker Tour Palm Beach Kennel Club • West Palm Beach, FL

Jan. 21-31 bestbet Winter Open bestbet Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FL

AO-Add On B-Bonus CP-Crazy Pineapple H.O.R.S.E.-Hold’em, Omaha Eight-or-Better, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Eight- or-Better R.O.S.E.-Razz, Omaha Eight-or-Better, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better KO- Knock Out or Bounty LH-Limit Hold’em MP-Mexican Poker NLH-No-Limit Hold’em O H/L-Omaha Eight-or-Better PLO-Pot-Limit Omaha RB-Rebuy SH/L-Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better SLH-Spread-Limit Hold’em

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BESTBET - JACKSONVILLE NEVADA WEDNESDAY 12:00 p.m. NLH, $60 FRIDAY SAHARA - LAS VEGAS 12:00 p.m. NLH, $160 SATURDAY SUNDAY 1:00 p.m. NLH, $125 ($3K Guarantee) 12:00 p.m. NLH, $160 SUNDAY 7:00 p.m. PLO H/L, $140 1:00 p.m. H.O.R.S.E., $125 ($2K Guarantee) PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB - W. PALM BEACH FRIDAY - SATURDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $120 VENETIAN HOTEL & CASINO - LAS VEGAS MONDAY 12:10 p.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee) ILLINOIS 6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 KO $25 ($2K Guarantee) TUESDAY RCG POKER (for locations see RCGPoker.com) 12:10 p.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee) EVENTS, NEWS, AND UPDATES CAN BE VIEWED AT RCGPOKER.COM 6:10 p.m. NLH, $200 KO $50 ($4K Guarantee) WEDNESDAY 12:10 p.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee) MARYLAND 6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($2K Guarantee) THURSDAY 12:10 p.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee) LIVE! CASINO & HOTEL - HANOVER 6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 KO $25 ($3K Guarantee) MONDAY FRIDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $120 KO $25 12:10 p.m. NLH, $200 AO $100 ($10K Guarantee) 7:15 p.m. NLH, $150 SATURDAY TUESDAY 12:10 p.m. NLH, $340 ($12K Guarantee) 12:15 p.m. NLH, $100 6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($2K Guarantee) 7:15 p.m. NLH, $220 SUNDAY WEDNESDAY 12:10 p.m. NLH, $250 ($7K Guarantee) 12:15 p.m. NLH, $140 6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($2K Guarantee) 7:15 p.m. NLH, $130 THURSDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $150 7:15p.m. NLH, $160 KO $50 NEW YORK FRIDAY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $220 7:15 p.m. NLH, $320 KO $75 EASTERN POKER TOUR SATURDAY PUB POKER EVENTS, NEWS, RANKINGS AND UPDATES CAN BE 7:15 p.m. NLH, $150 VIEWED AT EASTERNPOKERTOUR.COM

036_Schedules.indd 37 12/9/20 11:31 AM Poker Leaderboards

WORLD POKER TOUR MAIN TOUR TITLES

Player(s) WPT Main Tour Titles Won Darren Elias 4 Carlos Mortensen, Gus Hansen, Chino Rheem, Eric Afriat, Anthony Zinno 3

James Carroll, Brian Altman, Daniel Negreanu, Marvin Rettenmaier, Michael Mizrachi, Tuan Le, Jonathan Little, Alan Goehring, J.C. Tran, Hoyt Corkins, Erick 2 Lindgren, Antonio Esfandiari, Mohsin Charania, Cornel Cimpan, Kevin Eyster, Barry Greenstein, Sam Panzica, Tommy Vedes

The World Poker Tour has three main event final tables that are currently on indefinite delay with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing the televised final tables from being played out. The three tournaments were paused in early 2020 and meant to be completed in the spring, but were ultimately put on hold due to safety concerns. The WPT was set to resume two of the final tables in December, but the temporary closure of the planned venue pushed the final tables back to 2021, with no official date of play yet announced. Two players at these delayed final tables have already had to wait the better part of a year to find out if they might win their third WPT main event titles, joining an elite list currently comprised of just six players with three or more titles on the tour. James Carroll, the champion of the 2014 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star and the 2019 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, is among the final six players remaining in the 2020 WPT L.A. Poker Classic. Brian Altman won the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open main event in both 2015 and 2020, and is in third-chip position at the final table of this year’s WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open. If either Carroll or Altman win when those final tables are eventually played out, they would join Carlos Mortensen, Gus Hansen, Chino Rheem, Eric Afriat, and Anthony Zinno with three titles. The tour’s all-time title leader is Darren Elias, who has earned four main tour victories taking down the 2014 Borgata Poker Open, the 2014 Caribbean Main Event, the 2017 Fallsview Poker Classic, and the 2018 Bobby Baldwin Classic. He also holds the tour record for most final tables, with 12, and most cashes, with 41. In total, Elias has banked nearly $3.9 million in WPT events.

38 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 1

038_Leaderboard.indd 38 12/9/20 11:32 AM PLAYER_01_OceansEleven_FP.indd 3 12/8/20 12:35 PM PLAYER_01_Bike_BC.indd 3 12/8/20 12:32 PM