DAVID PETERS EARNS BACK to BACK U.S. POKER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS High-Stakes Pro Returns to the Felt with Three Titles in Five Days

www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 34/No. 15 July 14, 2021

World Series Of Poker Finalizes Schedule

The 3 Most Common Exploits In Live Poker

2-7 Triple Draw: The Art Of Snowing

DAVID PETERS EARNS BACK TO BACK U.S. POKER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS High-Stakes Pro Returns To The Felt With Three Titles In Five Days

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004_MastheadB.indd 4 6/24/21 11:05 AM PLAYER_13_HarrahsCherokee_FP.indd 3 5/25/21 9:41 AM Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 15 20 26

Feature Tournaments Also In this Issue 20 16 4 David Peters Earns Back To Back U.S. Player Of The Year Update About Us Poker Open Championships By Erik Fast 36 By Erik Fast 18 Tournament Schedules Tournament Results 38 26 By Card Player News Team Poker Leaderboards Shifts In Poker Strategy With Bernard Lee By Steve Schult Strategies, Analysis Tournament & Commentary Hand Matchups 30 The Inside Straight 28 8 Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Lowball: The Art of Snowing Cary Katz vs. Andrew Lichtenberger Poker News Recap By Kevin Haney 31 11 32 Andrew Lichtenberger vs. Ali Imsirovic 2021 World Series Of Poker The 3 Most Common Exploits In Live Schedule Finalized 33 Tournament Poker By Card Player News Team Andrew Lichtenberger vs. Ali Imsirovic By Matt Affleck 35 12 33 Head Games With Fedor Holz, Ali Imsirovic vs. Andrew Lichtenberger Improving Your Patience Andy Stacks, and Matt Stout: By Greg Raymer Position And Having The Lead By Craig Tapscott 34 A Wild Introduction To Vegas By Nathan Gamble Cover image © Antonio Abrego / PokerGO

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006_TOC.indd 6 6/24/21 11:06 AM PLAYER_15_ACR_FP.indd 3 6/22/21 10:22 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

the INSIDE STRAIGHT News, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World DOYLE BRUNSON TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT FOR “SELECT FEW” EVENTS AT 2021 WSOP By Steve Schult

e World Series of Poker returns ment was because his son, high-stakes this fall, and with it comes the return pro and WSOP bracelet winner Todd, of one of the most legendary poker told him he could still buy-in at the players in the history of the game. start of day 2. Todd also went on to In mid-June, 10-time bracelet win- make the money in the event. ner Doyle Brunson excited poker fans But alas, the thrill of winning a by tweeting that he would be back at WSOP bracelet has proven to be too the Rio this fall to play “a select few much to keep Brunson away, giving his tournaments in the WSOP this year.” peers at least one last chance to battle it e Poker Hall of Famer last played on the afternoon of June 11. “Probably out with him in a tournament setting. a tournament at the 2018 WSOP when the last one I’ll ever play.” e WSOP is scheduled to run from he entered the $10,000 no-limit 2-7 Although Brunson has remained Sept. 30 through Nov. 23. single draw championship. e man active as a cash game player, telling Brunson’s announcement came known aff ectionately as “Texas Dolly” Card Player’s Poker Stories podcast in on the morning the WSOP released fi nal tabled the tournament, fi nishing 2018 that he would play “as long as he the schedule for the 2021 festival. sixth for $43,963. could get to the table,” the long com- e $10,000 2-7 no-limit single draw At the time, Brunson said it was mitment required of tournaments has championship is scheduled to be a likely the last time the poker world proven to be too much for the 87-year- three-day event that kicks off on would see him in a WSOP event. old to endure in recent years. Monday, Oct. 25. For more informa- “Going to the Rio to play in the 2-7 Brunson said that one of the main tion about this year’s WSOP schedule, lowball tournament,” tweeted Brunson reasons that he entered his last tourna- check out pg. 11. m

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008_News.indd 8 6/24/21 11:08 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT MACAU CASINOS TOP $1 BILLION FOR THIRD STRAIGHT MONTH By Steve Schult

e world’s largest gambling market government continued to relax travel saw another sign of a strong recovery restrictions to Macau and tourists from the COVID-induced dip in gam- flooded to the area over the Golden ing revenue as casinos won more than Week holiday. $1 billion from gamblers for the third e daily visitor arrival rate in straight month. Macau continued its uptrend in May. According to numbers released by According to numbers from the the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Macau Government Tourism Office, Bureau, gaming operators in the former there were approximately 167,000 Portuguese colony won $1.3 billion from tourists that came to the area during gamblers in May. ose numbers rep- the five-day holiday with 93% of them resent a 492.2% year-over-year increase coming from the mainland. and the fourth consecutive month of Rates of visitor arrival are up 158% year-over-year growth. from February and 25% from April. It’s also a 24% increase from the $1.1 e current numbers, however, are billion casinos won in April. e April still down 21% from May 2019, before numbers were slightly below what Bloomberg analysts were the pandemic. predicting, but May’s numbers overshot those same predic- Unfortunately, the number of new COVID-19 cases tions. It’s the first time in four months that actual numbers in China is climbing, which adds a little uncertainty in outperformed projections. Macau’s path to a full recovery. If there is a large spike in According to a report from the Hong Kong Standard, a cases, the government could reimpose certain travel restric- key to the success in May stemmed from increased tour- tions that would hurt the tourism industry and ultimately, ism to the area, specifically from mainland China. e Macau’s gross gaming revenue. m Several Sportsbooks Pay Out Despite Golfer Being Forced To Withdraw With COVID By Steve Schult

Sports bettors that placed a wager on Jon Rahm to win the PGA’s Memorial Tournament may have been paid out, despite the Spaniard being forced to withdraw from the event at the end of the third round after testing positive for COVID-19. Rahm finished the third round with a whopping six-shot lead, but when he walked off the 18th green, PGA officials approached him and gave him the news that he would not be allowed to compete on the tournament’s final day. According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, Rahm was in close contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus, but he tested negative early in the tournament. After he made the cut, however, he was tested again and received a positive diagnosis while he was in the middle of the third round. as winners. BetMGM also announced that they would be pay- Although nothing is guaranteed, it would have been very ing out those who bet on him to be the outright winner, finish difficult for Rahm to have lost the tournament. e five- in the top 5, top 10, and top 20. time PGA tour winner was 18 under par at the conclusion of According to a tweet from sportswriter Darren Rovell, the third round, with his two nearest competitors sitting at 12 FanDuel, PointsBet, and William Hill also paid out Rahm under. The two players, Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa, tickets as winners. both shot just one under par on the final day, with Cantlay Cantlay was listed at +2200 odds when the tournament winning a playoff to secure the official victory. A title that some started. Rahm was listed anywhere between +800 and +1300. are saying is tainted. Rahm was due to earn just shy of $1.7 million had he been Several sportsbooks agreed and decided to reward gamblers allowed to finish the event. e Spaniard sat out just one tour- who placed bets on Rahm. DraftKings Sportsbook was one of nament, and after testing negative for the virus, he returned for the first to announce they would be grading all Rahm tickets the U.S. Open the next week, winning it for $2.25 million. m

008_News.indd 9 6/24/21 11:08 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - News, reviews, and interviews from around the poker world WPT CHAMPION DENNIS BLIEDEN SENTENCED TO 6.5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON By Steve Schult

A World Poker Tour champion will purchased had appreciated in value, spend more than six years behind bars but not enough to pay off his debts to for embezzling $22 million from his the company. former employer. An internal investigation by the Dennis Blieden, who won the company in March of 2019 led to 2018 WPT LA Poker Classic main the uncovering of Blieden’s actions. event for $1 million, was sentenced He was indicted in Las Vegas later to 79 months in federal prison by a that year and extradited to Southern U.S. District Court judge in Central California. Blieden stole the money California. He will also be forced to over several years before ultimately pay $22.7 million in restitution. leaving the company in 2018. e 31-year-old pled guilty in November 2019 to one Even though he earned a seven-figure score with count of wire fraud and identity theft as part of a plea deal. his WPT victory in 2018, he was already buried in debt from He was originally facing 11 counts of wire fraud, one count prior gambling endeavors and wasn’t even close to paying of identity theft, and two counts of forfeiture. ose charges back the debts he owed to the company. He embezzled $15 could have landed him up to 200 years in prison, but after million in 2017 alone, according to an internal StyleHaul the plea deal, he was facing a maximum of 22 years behind memo. bars. e feds said that on one of his gambling trips to Las e Cincinnati native served as the controller and vice Vegas, he lost $3 million on slot machines. It was his gam- president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul, a Los bling problem coupled with his desire to become a successful Angeles-based digital marketing company that represented poker pro that drove him deeper into the hole, which he ref- “influencers” on YouTube and Instagram. He had control of erenced in a 15-page pre-sentencing letter that Blieden wrote the company’s checkbook and used $22 million to finance to Judge Andre Birotte Jr. his high-stakes gambling. “I was chasing my debt, but also attempting to keep up During his tenure, Blieden falsified wire transfers from with a lifestyle that was a lie,” wrote Blieden. Western Union to make it look like the money was being He went on to say that following his WPT victory, he was used to pay clients, but instead, he was keeping the money “outwardly validated within the poker community” and that for himself. he “did everything [he] could to keep that reputation alive.” e DOJ said that Blieden wrote $1.2 million in personal In fact, in a 2018 interview with Card Player, Blieden said checks to other poker players, used $1.1 million to pay off that he wanted to prove to himself that his “win was not a credit cards, and spent another $8.4 million buying cryp- fluke.” Later that year, he entered the $300,000 buy-in Super tocurrency. e rest of it was used for his personal expendi- High Roller Bowl which included some of the best players in tures, including high-stakes poker. e cryptocurrency he the world. He was eliminated on the first day of play. m ESPN LOOKS INTO BRANDING ITS OWN SPORTSBOOK

By Steve Schult

e world’s largest sports media has made several strides to incorpo- The apps would use geo-location company is looking to brand its own rate gambling content into its pro- software to send those devices located sportsbook. grams, as well as making partnerships in regulated sports betting markets According to a report from Front with other gambling entities. In May directly to the sportsbooks. Oﬃce Sports, ESPN is eying the 2019, ESPN partnered with Caesars ESPN is not the ﬁrst sports media process with one source telling the Entertainment to build a TV studio on company to make the jump into the outlet that the company is going “all- the Las Vegas Strip at the LINQ Hotel world of bookmaking. Fox Sports in” on sports betting. & Casino. The studio is where the partnered with e Stars Group to e move comes shortly after company produces its sports betting launch Fox Bet in the fall of 2019, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed show the Daily Wager. Barstool Sports launched its sports- a bill that legalized sports betting and Last September, ESPN agreed book last September. all other forms of online gambling, to a deal with William Hill, Caesars Those two media companies including poker. ESPN’s headquarters Sports Betting partner, and also with weren’t owned by the Walt Disney is located in Bristol, Connecticut. DraftKings. e agreement would Co., however, which has historically It would be one of the next logi- allow the sportsbooks to adver- been opposed to gambling of any kind cal steps for the media giant as it tise within the ESPN Fantasy apps. being associated with its brand. m

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008_News.indd 10 6/24/21 11:08 AM 2021 WORLD SERIES OF POKER SCHEDULE FINALIZED A Total Of 88 Bracelets To Be Awarded In Las Vegas From Sept. 30 - Nov. 23 By Card Player News Team

After a long wait and numerous teases, the World Series of Poker schedule is finally here! Poker players from around the world have been waiting for months to make their plans for the upcoming series, and more than a year since the global pandemic saw the 2020 summer series moved online. e WSOP will return to the Rio All- Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, with 88 gold bracelets to be awarded from Sept. 30 – Nov. 23. e WSOP released the full schedule of events on Tuesday, June 15, revealing plenty of returning favorites along with several new and exciting tournaments. “Make no mistake, the 2021 WSOP will be the real deal and we’re preparing for a full house. Throughout the storied history of the WSOP, this year will be particularly memorable and we’re preparing for a poker reunion all buy-in mainstay of the series is expanding to a nine-game players can celebrate,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty mix by bringing another big-bet game back into the fold. Stewart. “We’re beyond thrilled to offer a complete schedule • Nov. 17: Poker Hall of Fame Bounty Event – All living of can’t-miss events, including all our flagships and the vari- Poker Hall of Fame members are invited to freeroll into the ety players deserve.” $1,979 no-limit hold’em tournament, with the buy-in priced e press release covering the schedule announcement in honor of the Hall of Fame’s founding year. is event will highlighted nine ‘new and noteworthy’ aspects of the sched- be open to all players. Each participating Hall of Famer will ule: have a bounty corresponding to the year they were inducted • Oct. 1-3: $500 ‘e Reunion’ – $5 million GTD prize into poker’s most exclusive club. e 2021 inductee will be pool – An affordable buy-in and multi-million dollar guar- announced during the event. antee headline this opening-weekend no-limit hold’em event • Nov. 19: High Roller events – e WSOP will host with three starting flights. its highest buy-in pot-limit Omaha event ever with a new • Oct. 8 – Nov. 19: Each Friday and Saturday of the $50,000 PLO high roller, which will be part of a suite of series will play host to one of the returning flagship no- high-stakes tournaments taking place after the WSOP main limit hold’em events that have proven massively popular at event that will also include $50,000, $100,000, and past WSOP series, including the Millionaire Maker, Monster $250,000 no-limit hold’em events. Stack, Double Stack, Colossus, and e Closer. “We could not be more excited to welcome everyone back • Oct. 5: e stakes get raised for the heads-up event to Las Vegas and the Rio,” said WSOP Vice President and - e WSOP has announced a buy-in increase to $25,000 Tournament Director, Jack Effel. “e entire WSOP team with a cap of 64 players for this year’s running of the heads- is hard at work to ensure players have the absolute best up no-limit hold’em championship. experience possible.” • Oct. 10: $1,000 ‘Flip and Go’ – An online game for- e WSOP main event will have four starting flights to mat will make its live debut at the WSOP. The tournament choose from between Nov. 4-7. The final table is currently kicks off with each player being all-in on the first hand, slated for Tuesday, Nov.16 and Wednesday, Nov. 17. having been dealt three cards with the option to choose e WSOP Europe is also set to return in 2021, with 15 which two to play. A flip will be played out with the whole bracelet events expected between Nov. 19 and Dec. 8 at the table, resulting in just one player moving on to being in the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. money, with the tournament continuing to play out in a In the meantime, there will be 66 WSOP bracelets awarded more traditional manner from there on out. on the virtual felt this year during the 2021 WSOP Online. • Oct. 27–28: Seniors event changes – e seniors event Half of the events will run from July 1 - Aug. 1 on WSOP. this year will feature two starting days, and one optional com, which is accessible for those in Nevada and New Jersey. re-entry per flight. For those outside the U.S., the international segment of • Oct. 6, 13, 18, 21, 24: More ‘freezeout’ events on the the WSOP Online will take place on GGPoker from Aug. schedule - e WSOP highlighted that, in 2021, “every 1 – Sept. 12. popular buy-in level from $500 to $5,000 will offer a true e inaugural WSOP Online in 2020 attracted 283,983 freezeout.” entries, with more than $174.5 million in prize money paid • Oct. 31: Poker Players Championship adds deuce-to- across the domestic and international segments, and 85 seven no-limit single draw back into the mix – is $50,000 bracelets awarded along the way. m

011_WSOP.indd 11 6/24/21 11:10 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Head Games HEAD GAMES Position And Having The Lead By Craig Tapscott

The Pros: Fedor Holz, Andy Stacks, in uncapped cash games where we are Also, when calling with these weak- and Matt Stout both sitting deep, due to the ability to er made hands that have good cards Craig Tapscott: Can you define how reload at any time. to improve on, I believe it’s far more you take advantage of position in tour- Overall, I’ll be continuing with far difficult for your opponent to continue naments or cash games? weaker made hands and all kinds of firing as a bluff when you have position Fedor Holz: Position plays an impor- backdoor draws and overcards, espe- on them. Without the information of tant role in poker. Being last to act is a cially on boards where there are more how you will react to cards to come, big advantage that gives you more flex- potential scare cards that can hit. I’ll they’ll be forced to give up both their ibility than your opponents. It forces also probably be more inclined to play bluffs and their made hands when the your opponents to play more passive more aggressively on those types of board gets ugly for their actual holding. when there is someone behind them cards if they do come. I’ll be more con- Particularly in a tournament set- that is still to act, because you will still fident in betting to apply more pressure ting, I’ll be reraising preflop as a steal have position on them throughout the to my opponent’s range on turns and a ton more versus preflop raisers. Since entire hand. at’s something to be rivers. the chips in a tournament are so much aware of and to make sure you take into For example, if the board was 7-5-4 more valuable to players, they’re less consideration playing each hand. rainbow and I’m holding K-8 offsuit likely to call passively out of position As for specific situations, especially out of position, I might not continue without a decent holding. when open raising and being flatted as often, depending on what kind of Matt Stout: Position is easily one of (called) in position, even though you player is in the hand with me doing the the biggest factors in no-limit hold’em, have the stronger range, you need to betting. I might just choose to give up so much so that a weaker player can check on a lot of flops and on occasion early on, even if I think it’s 50/50 that often negate a stronger player’s edge to the player in position. Being aware you have me beat. But with that same simply by having it. It dictates what of this dynamic is vital if you want to hand in position, I’ll be much more hands you can play profitably, and in become a better player. inclined to stick around. I may call to terms of game theory, you can play Andy Stacks: With position, depend- get more information later in the hand about twice as many hands profitably ing on the opponent of course, I’ll be or choose to raise as a bluff at some from the button as you can from under calling with a much wider and ques- point, but I would be doing very little the gun in a nine-handed game. Top tionable range of hands in both tour- folding if my opponent is a reasonably players will not only talk about how naments and cash games, especially active player. good or bad their table draw is, but

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012_HeadGames.indd 12 6/24/21 11:11 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

Fedor Holz Andy Stacks Matt Stout

how good their seat at that table is ceed than if you act first. defensive. Essentially, they’re forced to based on who they have position on Craig Tapscott: How important is try to hang on and make a hand strong and who has position on them. having the lead in the hand? Can you enough to continue. Poker is a game of information, please share how this can be utilized vs. Otherwise, they’re going to have to and often incomplete information. e certain types of opponents and why? play back at you at some point to try player who is in position will always Fedor Holz: I’m not really think- to win. But it’s tough for players to do have more information than the out- ing in terms of “having the lead.” I’m that if we both know how to read the of-position player. at is why you’ll mostly thinking about what range each situation. If they try to take the lead often see players seat-hopping in cash player has, who has position, which away and their story makes no sense, games to try to get position on “the live board we see, and then what the opti- it’s going to be really awkward. From one” even though it’s frowned upon in mal strategy is based on these inputs. my experience, most players that I’ve terms of poker etiquette. Whether your What happened on earlier streets dic- encountered that started the hand as hand is a monster, nothing, somewhere tates the ranges, but doesn’t matter the caller aren’t accustomed to just in between, or a draw, it will always be much for me beyond that. start check-raise bluffing without either easier and more profitable to play it in ere are lots of situations, though, improving or having some really reli- position than out. where exploitatively I will make adjust- able information about your strategy. When you have a big hand out of ments based on which actions my So again, they’re really at the mercy position, you either need to lead out opponent chose. ere are scenarios of either trying to make a big hand, with it, or run the risk of letting it go where the majority of players will devi- completing their draw, or just calling check-check and giving your opponent ate from optimal play, because they you down with something marginal. a free card. Obviously, you’re going aren’t aware of it and mostly act out Especially in deep-stacked cash to want to check and let them stab of their intuition. So, I’m often think- games, it’s a losing proposition to be or bet an inferior hand for value in a ing about what their “intuitive play” holding a marginal hand, up against lot of cases, but you can miss a lot of would be. multiple large bets and just guessing. value by doing so when they don’t bet. When in a situation when most If that player is being put in that type When you’re in position, you’ll always strong hands would go for a large bet, of situation repeatedly throughout the have the option to bet if your oppo- and my opponent starts checking or course of an eight-hour session, he/ nent checks to you, so it’s a lot easier betting small, then I will start attack- she is just certainly almost always to control when and if you give your ing him on later streets. If in a tough going to get destroyed when facing opponent any free cards for the sake of river situation, I’m being put all-in, the an opponent who knows how to time deception. You’ll also gain more value. first thing I’m thinking about is which their aggression. When two strong When you have nothing and decide value hands and which intuitive bluffs players are in the hand, the one with to take a stab, you’ll generally be bluff- he will get there with. If I believe he has both position and the betting lead is ing into a much weaker range after the enough natural bluffs, I will call. going to simultaneously make a ton out-of-position player checks to you As you can see, I look at actions to more when ahead and lose a ton less than if you do so when acting first. define the composition of our ranges when behind in a cooler. at player is is leads to much more profitable and to play optimal with that informa- going to be able to decide every time, bluffs. tion rather than at who had the betting how large of a pot they want to play in When you have draws and medi- lead. each spot. um-strength hands, you’re often going Andy Stacks: Having the betting Against tricky opponents who like to have some close decisions as to lead in the hand is huge. Between to apply a lot of aggression on dan- how you want to proceed and how two opponents with similar skill, the gerous boards, they’re greatly handi- big you’re willing to let the pot get. one doing the betting is automatically capped when out of position without Needless to say, being in position will playing with a massive advantage. For the betting lead. If my opponent’s make all of these decisions easier and every street that you maintain the lead, strategy was to check-raise a specific give you more control over how to pro- betting puts your opponent on the range of turn or river cards, obvi-

012_HeadGames.indd 13 6/24/21 11:11 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Head Games

ously he/she is only able to do that if I a somewhat tight player. Not only are pro has shifted his focus to entrepreneurship, decide to bet when checked to. And if you not in great shape against their founding and investing in multiple projects. I can anticipate which likely cards they range, but you’re also inviting multi- His most active venture is called Pokercode, a would do that with, their chances of way action by calling. e problem poker community where he and other world winning the hand go way down when with that is off suit high-card hands class minds coach aspiring players to thrive not having the lead. don’t play well multi-way. You’ll often and improve. Matt Stout: It’s extremely important be dominated and get kickered when to try to have the lead in the hand you fl op a pair, or worse, be up against Andy “Stacks” is one of the most familiar as frequently as possible, often to the two pair or better hands. faces in the high-stakes poker scene in Los extent of folding some very playable When you combine positional play Angeles and Las Vegas, and has become hands. is is simply because the situ- with a good, but reasonable, level of known for his regular appearances on the ation dictates that you don’t think it’s controlled aggression, you can pick up popular live streamed cash game, Live at the a good spot for you to be the aggressor a lot of small pots, especially against Bike! at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, and that you don’t want to play the weak and passive opponents. ose California. In 2020, he started to help promote hand without being the aggressor. It small pots may seem somewhat irrel- the growth of poker in Asia and became comes down to a really simple piece evant but will often pad your stack to a brand ambassador for GGPoker China. of advice that Mike Sexton used to help make a couple more big blinds You can check out his YouTube channel by give on WPT broadcasts. When you’re per hour in cash games, or leave you searching for Andy Stacks Poker. betting, you give yourself two ways with a medium stack instead of a short to win the pot, either you get your stack or out when you lose a big pot Matt Stout has amassed more than $8 million opponent(s) to fold, or you can show in tournament play. at, in turn, can in cashes across online and live play during his down the best hand. When you’re not make the diff erence between losing career. In 2014 he founded the Charity Series the aggressor, you can only win the pot and break-even, break-even and win- of Poker, which has helped raised more than by showing down the best hand. ning, and winning and crushing. m $2 million for St. Jude Children’s Research One of the most common situations Hospital, the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, that comes to my mind where you Fedor Holz is one of the most accomplished the Raiders Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, want to play your hand but are often poker players of the modern era, having been local food banks, and more. If you’re interested better off fi nding a fold is when you’re ranked no. 1 worldwide both live and online. in NLH or PLO coaching, or know of a non- in middle position with hands like A-J His $34 million in live tournament cashes is profit that would like help running an online or off suit, A-10 off suit, or K-Q off suit and good for no. 7 all time, with an additional $11 live charity poker event, you can reach out to are facing an under-the-gun raise from million won online. The 27-year-old German [email protected].

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012_HeadGames.indd 14 6/24/21 11:11 AM PLAYER_14_bestbet_FP.indd 3 6/7/21 8:19 PM Tournaments As of 6-16-2021

Place Player Points Final Tables POY Earnings 1 Ali Imsirovic 3,858 15 $2,370,960 2 Qing Liu 3,674 10 $1,092,042 3 Matas Cimbolas 2,810 4 $1,064,605 4 Joe McKeehen 2,740 4 $1,018,260 5 Sean Perry 2,712 10 $1,799,218 6 Tuan Mai 2,396 13 $300,008 7 James Anderson 2,392 5 $568,560 8 Sung Joo Hyun 2,198 3 $533,608 9 James Carroll 2,160 2 $612,435 10 Viet Vo 2,050 3 $822,480 11 Sean Winter 1,886 8 $1,588,090 12 Daniel Sepiol 1,870 4 $297,140 13 Chad Eveslage 1,848 2 $869,148 14 Balakrishna Patur 1,840 2 $1,020,200 15 Fernando Rodriguez-Vazquez 1,800 6 $309,937 16 Christopher Brewer 1,757 9 $1,006,250 17 Ilyas Muradi 1,748 2 $701,480 18 Alex Foxen 1,690 9 $526,057 19 Steven Snyder 1,646 3 $926,584 20 Jesse Lonis 1,644 4 $361,500

U.S. POKER OPEN SHAKES UP THE POY STANDINGS e 2 0 2 1 U.S. Poker Open in early June made a huge impact on the Card Player Player of the Year race standings, resulting in a new player atop the leaderboard, and several others making moves inside the top 20. To read how Ali Imsirovic moved into ﬁ rst place in the POY race, Joe McKeehen returned to the top ﬁ ve, Sean Winter moved into 11th, and other big stories from that series, make sure to check out the featured story of this issue on page 20.

VIET VO WINS PRIME SOCIAL CLUB SUMMER SERIES TO MOVE

INTO 10TH PLACE Viet Vo

Viet Vo fi nished third in the 2021 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 main event, earning $593,140 and 1,080 POY points for outlasting almost all of the 2,482 entries in that event. e Pearland, Texas native backed up that huge score by winning his fi rst title of 2021 just a few weeks later. Vo emerged victorious from a 1,459-entry fi eld to take down the Prime Social Club Summer Series $1,100 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed main event. Vo earned $229,200 and 960 points as the champion, surging into 10th place on the POY leaderboard thanks to his pair of huge results in large-fi eld no-limit hold’em events. © Seminole Hard Rock

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016_POY.indd 16 6/24/21 11:11 AM Tournaments

DANIEL SEPIOL JOINS TOP 20 WITH FOURTH FINAL-TABLE FINISH

Daniel e $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em ‘UltimateStack’ $300,000 buy-in at the Venetian DeepStack Sepiol Championship Poker Series drew 676 entries to more than double the guarantee. e winner of the event was Michael Newman, who banked $120,000 and 840 points. Daniel Sepiol fi nished as the runner-up, earning $105,450 and 700 points for his fourth POY- qualifi ed fi nal table of 2021. His largest previous score came when he took down the Mid-States Poker Tour Riverside $1,100 no-limit hold’em main event in Iowa, topping a fi eld of 862 entries to capture the title, $162,781, and 912 points. With his latest podium fi nish, Sepiol has climbed into 12th place in the overall rankings. © Venetian © CHANCE KORNUTH KNOCKING ON THE DOOR AFTER MSPT VENETIAN VICTORY Chance Kornuth Chance Kornuth came out on top in the 2021 MSPT Venetian $1,600 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, defeating a massive fi eld of 2,011 entries to secure his fi rst MSPT title, the fi rst-place prize of $412,086, and 1,080 points. is was the two-time WSOP bracelet winner’s second POY-qualifi ed score of the year, having also fi nished fourth at the WPT Gardens Poker Championship for $195,085 and 510 points. With 1,590 total points and $607,171 in year-to- date earnings, Kornuth now sits in 23rd place on the leaderboard, within striking distance of the top 20. Kornuth was joined at the fi nal table by former Card Player POY winner Eric Baldwin, who pocketed $209,194 as the third-place fi nisher. Other notables making a deep run included Ryan Torgersen, Brock Wilson, Kathy Liebert, Andrew Moreno, and fellow POY winner Anthony Zinno. Venetian MSPT ©

JONATHAN TAMAYO NOTCHES TWO HUGE SCORES TO CLIMB TO 24TH PLACE Jonathan Tamayo has had quite the start to his summer. e Houston, Texas native was Jonathan Tamayo crowned the champion of the Wynn Summer Classic $1,100 no-limit hold’em event after besting a fi eld of 1,720 entries. Tamayo earned $237,935 and 1,080 points for that victory. Less than a week later he managed his second major score of the year, placing fi fth in another MSPT Venetian event that was held a week prior to the tournament won by Kornuth. Like the Wynn championship, this event sported a $1,100 buy-in and a massive fi eld. e turnout of 2,790 entries created a prize pool of nearly $2.7 million. Tamayo earned $107,694 and 500 points for his deep run. With 1,580 points and $345,629 in year-to-date earnings, Tamayo now occupies the 24th-place spot in the rankings. Eventual champion of that event Harlen Miller took home $367,801 and 1,200 points as the

MAURICE HAWKINS WINS PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB

SUMMER CLASSIC Maurice Hawkins e 2021 Palm Beach Summer Classic $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship event attracted a fi eld of 233 entries to the Palm Beach Kennel Club in South Florida. e solid turnout saw the $200,000 guarantee easily surpassed, with the top 27 fi nishers making the money. In the end, the title and the largest share of that prize money was awarded to Maurice Hawkins. e 14-time World Series of Poker Circuit gold ring winner earned $55,287 and 384 points for the win, increasing his lifetime live tournament earnings to more than $4.1 million. Top tournament pro Scott Baumstein fi nished third, adding $24,658 to his $3.7 million in career earnings. WSOP main event fi nal tablist Zhen Cai took tenth, while his wife Jessica one- upped him with a ninth-place fi nish. © Palm Beach Kennel Club

016_POY.indd 17 6/24/21 11:11 AM Tournaments TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Event Player Payout Event Player Payout (POY points) (POY points) Wynn Summer Classic 1. Jonathan Tamayo $237,935 (1,080) Summer Series 1. Viet Vo $229,200 (960) 2. Jorge Arriola $158,644 (900) 2. William Leffingwell $152,720 (800) Wynn Prime Social Club Las Vegas, NV 3. Czeslaw Szerszen $109,139 (720) Houston, TX 3. Benito Marichal $112,750 (640) 4. Kelly Kielbasa $77,721 (540) 4. Upeshka De Silva $84,130 (480) $1,100 NLHE $1,100 NLHE 5. Peter Johnson $57,556 (450) 5. Lawrence Lazar $63,450 (400) May 28-31 June 2-6 $1,000,000 GTD 6. Michael Azzaro $44,860 (360) $1,000,000 GTD 6. Kyle Arora $48,370 (320) Entries: 1,720 7. Ray Tucke $36,139 (270) Entries: 1,459 7. Antonio Garza $37,290 (240) Prizepool: $1,677,00 Prizepool: $1,459,000 8. Frank Stepuchin $29,985 (180) 8. Lucas Hillman $29,060 (160) 9. Harold Silva $25,306 (90) Harlen Miller Event Player Payout (POY points) Wynn Summer Classic 1. Spencer Champlin $70,641 (456) 2. Dave Alfa $46,325 (380) Wynn Las Vegas, NV 3. Nick Blackburn $31,488 (304) 4. Darin Utley $22,293 (228) $600 NLHE 5. Eugenio Soto $16,459 (190) June 1-3 $150,000 GTD 6. Toko Luu $12,750 (152) Entries: 743 7. Kevin Wang $10,239 (114) Prizepool: $386,360 8. David Larson $8,500 (76) 9. Stephen Sweat $7,168 (38) Event Player Payout (POY points) Camille Brown DeepStack 1. Harlen Miller $367,801 (1,200) Championship 2. Ryan Dodd $236,927 (1,000) Poker Series 3. Albert Knafo $177,695 (800) Venetian 4. Matthew Elsby $140,002 (600) Las Vegas, NV 5. Jonathan Tamayo $107,694 (500) $1,100 NLHE 6. Jimmy Tran $86,155 (400) June 2-7 7. Robert Noel $67,309 (300) $1,500,000 GTD 8. Jimmy Lujan $50,885 (200) Entries: 2,790 Prizepool: $2,692,350 9. Aaron Massey $40,385 (100)

Event Player Payout Event Player Payout (POY points) (POY points) Wynn Summer Classic 1. Camille Brown $49,901 (480) DeepStack 1. Michael Newman $120,000 (840) Championship 2. Tae Song $48,902 (400) 2. Daniel Sepiol $105,450 (700) Wynn Poker Series Las Vegas, NV 3. Bobby Poe $47,731 (320) 3. Michael Wang $63,079 (560) 4. William Weller $44,618 (240) Venetian 4. Minh Phan $46,076 (420) $600 NLHE Las Vegas, NV 5. Hannes Jeschka $44,340 (200) 5. Ramin Kaikhah $34,135 (350) June 7-10 $250,000 GTD 6. Yin Wu $42,896 (160) $1,100 NLHE 6. Ryan Thorson $25,504 (280) Entries: 1,350 7. Joshua Prager $41,141 (120) June 7-9 7. Philippe Dauteuil $19,339 (210) Prizepool: $702,000 $300,000 GTD 8. Anthony Danna $14,731 (140) 8. Tony Hoang $13,127 (80) Entries: 676 9. Jorge Confesor $11,092 (40) Prizepool: $648,960 9. Jason Obinger $11,357 (70)

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018_TournamentResults.indd 18 6/24/21 11:21 AM TournamentsTournaments

Event Player Payout Ian Steinman (POY points) DeepStack 1. Chance Kornuth $412,086 (1,080) Championship 2. Peter Braglia $282,269 (900) Poker Series 3. Eric Baldwin $209,194 (720) Venetian 4. Nick Phoenix $157,612 (540) Las Vegas, NV 5. Michael Zulker $120,358 (450) $1,100 NLHE 6. Ryan Torgersen $93,134 (360) June 10-14 7. Brock Wilson $71,642 (270) $2,000,000 GTD 8. Bobby Po $55,881 (180) Entries: 2,011 Prizepool: $2,865,675 9. Raman Afanasenka $44,991 (90) Event Player Payout Shawn Mohamed (POY points) Benny Binion 1. Ian Steinman $65,000 (216) Summer Shootout 2. Patrick Gunraj $55,000 (180)

South Point 3. Kyle Grosshanten $55,000 (144) Las Vegas, NV 4. Zachary Andrews $18,000 (108) 5. Ryan Laplante $14,000 (90) $2,200 NLHE June 10-12 6. Joseph Baranowski $11,000 (72) Entries: 94 7. Nellie Park $8,000 (54) Prizepool: $232,000 8. Dustin Dirksen $6,000 (36)

Event Player Payout (POY points) Palm Beach Summer 1. Maurice Hawkins $55,287 (384) Classic 2. Steven McKoy $34,151 (320)

Palm Beach Kennel Club 3. Scott Baumstein $24,658 (256) Event Player Payout West Palm Beach, FL 4. Mark Rakoff $18,109 (192) (POY points) 5. William Scheer $13,529 (160) $1,100 NLHE WPT Seminole 1. Shawn Mohamed $198,287 (660) June 11-13 6. Joseph Thomas $10,280 (128) Hard Rock Tampa 2. David Smith $173,553 (550) $200,000 GTD 7. Johnathan Grant $7,941 (96) Entries: 233 3. Alejandro Olaechea $170,544 (440) 8. Judson Bennett $6,236 (64) Seminole Hard Rock Prizepool: $226,010 Tampa, FL 4. Jameel Harris $139,121 (330) 5. Hassan El Hakim $76,080 (275) Event Player Payout $500 NLHE (POY points) June 9-13 6. Luiz Duarte $60,380 (220) RunGood 1. Armando Mesina $25,175 (420) $1,000,000 GTD 7. Phillip Hernz $48,015 (165) Poker Series Entries: 4,852 2. Farid Karimi $18,808 (350) 8. Valeriya Vasilieva $33,870 (110) Prizepool: $2,086,360 Jamul Casino 3. Kyle Miholich $20,290 (280) 9. James Maita $24,680 (55) Jamul, CA 4. Matthew Bradford $26,250 (210) Event Player Payout 5. Allen Zoura $14,921 (175) (POY points) $575 NLHE June 11-13 6. Stephen O’Dwyer $21,864 (140) California State Poker 1. Boris Akopov $29,475 (432) $100,000 GTD 7. Chris Stallkamp $21,332 (105) Championship 2. Daniel Song $39,605 (360) Entries: 559 8. Jason Tang $14,709 (70) 3. Sung Yun $35,560 (388) Prizepool: $279,500 Commerce Casino 9. Aaron Knapp $14,331 (35) Commerce, CA 4. David Curtis $20,920 (216) 5. Robert Gill $15,730 (180) Visit CardPlayer.com for the world’s most accurate $1,100 NLHE tournament database, including upcoming daily and June 11-12 6. Chris Convery $11,990 (144) series schedules, more than 400,000 player profiles, and Entries: 263 7. Daniel Geyser $9,270 (108) over 1.6 million results and counting. Contact Prizepool: $263,000 [email protected] for more information. 8. Phillip Gomes $7,270 (72)

018_TournamentResults.indd 19 6/24/21 11:21 AM DAVID PETERS EARNS BACK TO BACK U.S. POKER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS High-Stakes Pro Returns To The Felt With Three Titles In Five Days

By Erik Fast

David Peters just narrowly pulled out his 2019 U.S. Poker instead opting to skip the mixed games and one of the two pot- Open Championship victory with a last second, come-from- limit Omaha offerings. While he didn’t cash in any of the first behind win in the final tournament of the series to unseat six events of the series, he emerged victorious from a field of 99 then-points leader Sean Winter with a buzzer-beating title run. entries to win event no. 7, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em is time around, it was Winter with the final event win, tournament. e two-time WSOP bracelet winner earned and Peters was the one hoping to hold onto the series lead. $217,800 and 218 USPO points for his victory in that event, Sam Soverel had a chance, needing a win to overcome Peters which was the largest ever field in a USPO tournament. e in the standings, but ultimately fell in fifth place to see the day after, he finished eighth in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha former Card Player Player of the Year champion lock up the event for another $25,200 and 25 more USPO points. back-to-back USPO championship victories. For besting a He got back in the winner’s circle by emerging atop a field shark-infested player pool, he was awarded $50,000 in added of 27 entries in the $10,000 short deck tournament. He added prize money and the Golden Eagle Trophy. $124,200 and 124 USPO points for his second title of the “It feels great… especially going back-to-back after win- series and hopped straight into late registration for the lone ning last time. It feels great to do well versus so many great $25,000 buy-in tournament of the series. Even though he got players and it was a very exciting week,” said Peters not long a late start, Peters went on to defeat the field of 69 entries to after securing the win. “It’s something that’ll be really cool to earn $465,750 and 279 USPO points. is win catapulted him look back on someday, to remember that I had back-to-back ahead of then-leader Ali Imsirovic, who had five final-table trophies like this. It’s pretty exciting.” finishes and one title during the series and at one point looked e USPO wasn’t held during the live poker shutdown of uncatchable. 2020, which made Peters the defending champion when the “It’s been a crazy week. I actually ran pretty well,” Peters tournament series returned to the PokerGO studio at Aria admitted. “I haven’t played live poker in over a year and a half, with a 12-event high roller festival in early June. e 34-year- but it feels good to be back. It was good to jump back in there, old Las Vegas-based poker pro went on a tear during the playing against all these great players that I’ve battled with all second half of the series, winning three titles and making four these years. It was a very fun week and obviously things went final tables in a five-day span to give himself the lead with one well, and I’m happy to win.” event remaining. After an extended break from live poker, Peters was eager e quiet and reserved Peters racked up a total of $832,950 to get back to the high-stakes live events that have helped him in his four cashes, somehow managing to win a quarter of the establish himself as one of the most consistent players in the events that were played despite record-breaking fields. game.

Peters didn’t even play every single event on the schedule, “I deﬁnitely missed it. I hadn’t gone that long without play- All winner photos courtey of © PokerGO

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020_CoverStory.indd 20 6/24/21 2:21 PM ing live poker since I was 18,” said Peters. “It was definitely 10 big blinds with K-7 and ran into A-3 suited for Daniels. fun and exciting to get back in there and see all these familiar Both players flopped a pair, but Daniels’ aces were best by the faces.” end and Shak settled for $152,000 as the runner-up finisher. Peters now has more than $35.4 million in career tourna- Daniels earned $218,500 as the champion, along with ment earnings, good for sixth place on poker’s all-time money 219 USPO and PokerGo Tour rankings points. list. He has finished inside the top 50 in the Card Player Player Place Player Payout POY PokerGO of the Year race seven times from 2010 to 2020, with a win in Points Tour 2016 and four other finishes of 13th or better. 1 Jake Daniels $218,500 540 219 On the subject of awards and titles, Peters admitted they were “probably not nearly as important as [that kind of thing] 2 Dan Shak $152,000 450 152 is to someone like [Phil] Hellmuth. But it’s nice having those 3 Barry Hutter $114,000 360 114 accolades, securing your legacy, or just having those memories to look back on when I’m 70. I can look back and think about 4 Stephen Chidwick $95,000 270 95 how cool that was [to achieve]. It means something to me, for 5 Steve Zolotow $76,000 225 76 sure.” When asked how he has been able to remain a top tourna- 6 Sergi Reixach $57,000 180 57 ment player, year-in and year-out for the last decade, Peters 7 Tim McDermott $47,500 135 48 noted his hunger for greatness. “I think it’s my work ethic, my passion for the game. Never Omaha Bracelet Winner Sam Soverel Tops Event No. 2 losing that drive to get better and better and better and just e second event compete at the highest level,” he offered. “I think that has of the series saw the never really faded away. at’s kept me very fresh and moti- game shift to pot-limit vated to keep battling and grinding.” Omaha. e $10,000 Peters’ success at the USPO has put him in contention in buy-in event drew 65 the PokerGO Tour standings, with his 646 rankings points players to grow the good for sixth place at the time of publishing. He got a later prize pool to $650,000. start than some of the competition, but is planning on trying High-stakes poker to make up for lost time. pro and WSOP pot- “I think I’m going to play a lot. I missed a good chunk of limit Omaha bracelet the PokerGO Tour the last couple of months, but I’m ready to winner Sam Soverel get back in there and grind a lot of these and hopefully I can came away with the accumulate some points and catch Ali [Imsirovic]. He has a victory, his second title, huge lead right now in that, but we’ll see what happens.” and seventh final table Here is a closer look at how the series played out and how of 2021. e 2019 Poker Peters came to secure the second of his back-to-back USPO Masters champion earned $175,500 for the win. championships. Soverel soared during the money bubble, ramping up the Jake Daniels Captures First Title of 2021 USPO aggression to build a big stack. He entered the final table e first ten events with nearly 45 percent of the chips in play, and added to his of the 2021 USPO all lead by busting Maxx Coleman in fifth place and Dylan featured $10,000 buy- Weisman in fourth place. Jordan Cristos eliminated Marc ins, with a selection of Brody in third place, setting up a heads-up match for the no-limit hold’em, pot- title with Soverel holding roughly a 2:1 lead. limit Omaha, and a few Cristos was looking to earn his second title in a USPO mixed game-tourna- PLO event, having won a 2019 running for $179,200. He ments on the agenda. was unable to overcome his chip deficit, though, and was e series kicked off sent to the rail in second place for $130,000. Cristos was with no-limit hold’em, awarded 300 Card Player Player of the Year points for his with a 95-entry field fourth final-table finish of the year. By the time the series building a prize pool ended, Cristos sat in 21st place in the overall POY race. of $950,000. is was Soverel was awarded 360 POY points and 176 PokerGO the first of a few record- Tour points, but was far from done for the series. breaking turnouts for Place Player Payout POY PokerGO the USPO, which first Points Tour debuted in 2018. 1 Sam Soverel $175,500 360 176 In the end it came down to a heads-up battle between 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 buy-in high 2 Jordan Cristos $130,000 300 130 roller winner Dan Shak and Jake Daniels, a poker pro from 3 Marc Brody $84,500 240 85 Katy, Texas with more than $1.3 million in prior tournament winnings to his name. 4 Dylan Weisman $65,000 180 65 Shak had busted Barry Hutter in third place to take 5 Maxx Coleman $52,000 150 52 roughly a 3:2 chip lead into heads-up play, but the two saw their roles reversed due to a cooler, with Daniels making a 6 Matthew Ploof $39,000 120 39 queen-high straight over the jack-high straight of Shak to 7 Alex Foxen $32,500 90 33 double up into the lead. Not long after, Shak shoved his last

020_CoverStory.indd 21 6/24/21 2:21 PM Joe McKeehen Continues 2021 Hot Streak With Title- the money, with the first day of action ending when high- Run In Event No. 3 roller regular Sean Perry eliminated Jeremy Ausmus in 2015 WSOP main seventh place. event champion Joe Perry took the chip lead into the final six, and knocked McKeehen has been one recent event no. 2 finalist Maxx Coleman out in fourth of the most successful place to set up a three-handed showdown with Alex Foxen winners of the big dance and Florida-based poker pro John Riordan, whose largest in the modern era, hav- prior cash came in a 2011 WSOP Circuit main event win ing cashed for more at Palm Beach Kennel Club. than $10 million outside Riordan busted Foxen to take a lead into heads-up play of his victory in the larg- with Perry. e son of WSOP bracelet winner Ralph Perry est poker tournament has won two titles and made ten final tables since early in the world. e three- March, cashing for more than $1.8 million along the way. time bracelet winner has Riordan was able to convert his chip lead into a win, had a particularly strong winning the final hand in deuce-to-seven. e chips went start to 2021, finishing in pre-draw and Riordan took one card to end up with a runner-up in the $5,000 pair of sixes. Perry drew two and picked up a pair of jacks buy-in WPT Venetian to hit the rail in second place. He earned $105,600, 250 main event for $491,960 and winning at the $10,000 high Card Player POY points, and 106 PokerGo Tour points roller event at the Wynn Spring Classic for another $224,100. to help him close the gap somewhat on Imsirovic. Perry McKeehen’s strong form continued at the USPO. He now sits in second on that leaderboard and fifth in the kicked off his run during the series by taking down event POY race. no. 3, defeating a field of 77 players in the $10,000 no-limit hold’em event to earn $200,200 and 420 POY points. Place Player Payout POY PokerGO Barry Hutter and Steve Zolotow made their second final Points Tour tables of the series, but bowed out to leave a three-handed 1 John Riordan $163,200 300 163 showdown between McKeehen, Ray Qartomy, and the red-hot Ali Imsirovic, who had already won five titles and 2 Sean Perry $105,600 250 106 made 13 final tables in 2021 prior to this deep run. On the 3 Alex Foxen $72,000 200 72 final hand, both Imsirovic and Qartomy were all in against McKeehen’s pocket jacks, and the board brought the remain- 4 Maxx Coleman $52,800 150 53 ing two jacks to give McKeehen quads to secure the double 5 Brian Okin $38,400 125 38 knockout for the title. 6 Jim Collopy $28,800 100 29 Place Player Payout POY PokerGO Points Tour 7 Jeremy Ausmus $19,200 75 19 1 Joe McKeehen $200,200 420 200 Joey Weissman Wins Event No. 5 For First USPO Title 2 Ray Qartomy $146,300 350 146 Event no. 5 drew 3 Ali Imsirovic $100,100 280 100 85 entries, building a prize pool of $850,000 4 Steve Zolotow $77,000 210 77 in the $10,000 buy- 5 Jake Schindler $61,600 175 62 in no-limit hold’em tournament. e top 6 Justin Saliba $46,200 140 46 13 finishers made 7 Barry Hutter $38,500 105 39 the money in this event, with the larg- 8 Andrew $30,800 70 31 est cut going to even- Lichtenberger tual champion Joey John Riordan Takes Down Big Bet Mix Tournament Weissman. e Las e first of two Vegas resident earned mixed-game events $204,000 and his first on the schedule was live poker tournament the $10,000 buy-in title of the year as the champion of this event. big bet mix, which is was the fourth-largest score of Weissman’s career, featured a trio of and it increased his lifetime live tournament earnings games in no-limit to more than $3.7 million. His top cash came when he hold’em, pot-limit defeated a field of 1,607 entrants in a 2012 WSOP $2,500 Omaha, and no-lim- no-limit hold’em event to earn $694,609 and his first gold it 2-7 lowball. e bracelet. tournament attracted In addition to the title and the money, Weissman was 48 players to create also awarded 480 Card Player POY points for what was a total prize pool of his fourth POY-qualified final table finish of the year. His $480,000. e top most noteworthy cash of the year came in a runner-up seven finishers made showing in the Wynn Spring Classic $1,600 buy-in main

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020_CoverStory.indd 22 6/24/21 2:21 PM event for $230,090 and 800 points. With 1,500 points Place Player Payout POY PokerGO and $501,990 in year-to-date earnings, Weissman now Points Tour sits inside the top 30 in the POY standings. 1 Eli Elezra $183,600 360 184 is victory was Weissman’s first cash of the USPO, 2 Steve Zolotow $136,000 300 136 and his second high roller score of 2021 that saw him earn PokerGo Tour rankings points. e inaugural 3 Daniel Negreanu $88,400 240 88 running of this high-stakes tour is tracking results in 4 Richard Sklar $68,000 180 68 hundreds of events with buy-ins of $10,000 or higher. He earned 204 rankings points for this win after defeat- 5 Erik Sagstrom $54,400 150 54 ing a tough final table that included Cary Katz and Joe 6 Nick Guagenti $40,800 120 41 McKeehen, who were both at their second final tables of the series. Peters Begins His Championship Defense With Victory In Place Player Payout POY PokerGO Event No. 7 Points Tour Event seven saw 99 entries made in the latest $10,000 1 Joey Weissman $204,000 480 204 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, surpassing the high- water mark set by the kickoff event for a new record as 2 Adam Hendrix $144,500 400 145 the largest field in the USPO’s young history. e strong 3 Joseph McKeehen $102,000 320 102 turnout built a prize pool of $990,000, the largest chunk of which was ultimately awarded to David Peters when he 4 Cary Katz $85,000 240 85 came away with the title at his first final table of the series. 5 Frank Funaro $68,000 200 68 In fact, this was Peters’ first final-table finish in any live poker tournament this year, having waited longer than 6 Brock Wilson $51,000 160 51 some of his fellow high-stakes tournament players to return 7 Vicent Bosca $42,500 120 43 to in-person play. He was awarded 540 Card Player POY points and 218 USPO rankings points for the win. 8 Nick Schulman $34,000 80 34 Alex Foxen earned $79,200 as the fourth-place finisher. is was his third cash of the series, and it helped him Four-Time Bracelet Winner Eli Elezra Takes Down maintain his spot inside the top 20 of both the Card Player Eight-Game Mix Event POY and PokerGo Tour leaderboards. Eli Elezra defeated WSOP bracelet winner Andrew Lichtenberger was at his a field of 68 entries second final table of the series, and joined Peters and Jared to win the $10,000 Jaffee in the final three. Jaffee, a bracelet winner and WPT buy-in eight-game main event champion, was able to survive to heads-up play, mix event at the but could not overcome the 2:1 chip deficit. midway point of Place Player Payout POY PokerGO the series. e four- Points Tour time WSOP brace- 1 David Peters $217,800 540 218 let winner earned $183,600 after over- 2 Jared Jaffee $158,400 450 158 coming a final table 3 Andrew Lichtenberger $118,800 360 119 that included several other bracelet 4 Brock Wilson $89,100 270 89 winners like Steve Zolotow and Daniel 5 Alex Foxen $79,200 225 79 Negreanu. 6 Ivan Zufic $59,400 180 59 e 60-year-old poker pro and businessman, who was born in Israel but now resides in Las Vegas, now 7 Dan Shak $49,500 135 50 has more than $3.9 million in lifetime live tournament 8 Kristina Holst $39,600 90 40 earnings to his name. is was Elezra’s first live score since the summer of 2019. In addition to the title and Jared Bleznick Wins The Second PLO Event Of The Series the money, he was also awarded 360 Card Player POY Jared Bleznick has points and 184 rankings points for both the USPO and focused largely on high- PokerGO Tour standings. stakes cash games through- Elezra was joined by his fellow multi-bracelet win- out his professional poker ners in the final three. Negreanu earned $88,400 for his career. e vast majority third-place showing, which was his second cash of the of the New York-native’s series. Zolotow took home $136,000 and 136 USPO 34 tournament cashes have rankings points for his third cash of the series, having come in either pot-limit placed fifth in the kickoff event for $76,000 and fourth Omaha or mixed-game in event no. 3 for another $77,000. With $289,000 in variants, with both of his earnings and 289 total points, Zolotow climbed into two live tournament titles second place in the USPO series standings at the time, taking place in those dis- behind only Joe McKeehen. ciplines.

020_CoverStory.indd 23 6/24/21 2:21 PM e sports cards aficionado earned the most recent of Place Player Payout POY PokerGO those titles by taking down the second $10,000 buy-in Points Tour pot-limit Omaha event of this USPO series. He topped 1 Ali Imsirovic $217,800 540 218 a field of 63 entries to secure a $189,000 payday, increas- 2 Andrew $158,400 450 158 ing his lifetime tournament earnings to more than $1.8 Lichtenberger million in the process. Bleznick’s lone prior tournament 3 Cary Katz $118,800 360 119 victory also came in a PokerGO event at the 2019 Poker Masters $10,000 eight-game mix event. 4 Vanessa Kade $94,050 270 89 David Peters notched his second final-table finish of 5 Erik Seidel $74,250 225 79 the series by finishing eighth in this event. Ali Imsirovic was at his third final table of the series. He finished fourth 6 Thomas Winters $59,400 180 59 for $63,000, along with 180 POY points and 63 points 7 Jake Schindler $49,500 135 50 towards both the USPO standings and the PokerGO Tour. Maxx Coleman finished runner-up, earning $126,000 8 Mazen Abdallah $39,600 90 40 for his third and largest score of the series.

Place Player Payout POY PokerGO Peters Defeats Imsirovic Heads Up For Second Title Of Points Tour The Series 1 Jared Bleznick $189,000 360 189 e final $10,000 buy-in event of the series was a short deck tournament. It attracted 27 entries, with only the top 2 Maxx Coleman $126,000 300 126 four finishers cashing, and Daniel Negreanu bubbling. 3 Christopher Usude $88,200 240 88 e first player eliminated inside the money was omas Kysar, who notched his first recorded five-figure score by 4 Ali Imsirovic $63,000 180 63 taking home $27,000 as the fourth-place finisher. Cary 5 Joseph Sanders $50,400 150 50 Katz was ultimately the next to fall, placing third for $43,200. is was his seventh final-table finish of 2021 6 Frank Crivello $37,800 120 38 and his third at the USPO, having finished third in back- 7 Dylan Weisman $31,500 90 32 to-back events. His $270,100 in earnings and 270 points for the series saw him finish in 11th place. 8 David Peters $25,200 60 25 Katz’s exit left a showdown between Ali Imsirovic and David Peters for the title. Imsirovic was at his third final Ali Imsirovic Wins Event No. 9 For His Sixth Title of 2021 table in as many days, while Peters was at his third final Event no. 9 was table in four days. e two streaking players ended up the final $10,000 buy- clashing heads-up for the title, with Peters ultimately com- in no-limit hold’em ing out on top for $124,200 and 124 USPO points. tournament of the Peters moved into second place in the USPO standings series, and it tied the as a result, just 116 points behind Imsirovic with the two field-size record set largest-buy-in events remaining. by event no. 7, with Place Player Payout POY PokerGO 99 entries creating a Points Tour prize pool just shy of 1 David Peters $124,200 180 124 seven figures. In the end it was 2 Ali Imsirovic $75,600 150 76 Ali Imsirovic who 3 Cary Katz $43,200 120 43 emerged victorious, earning $217,800 for 4 Thomas Kysar $27,000 90 27 his sixth title run of 2021. e score saw him take the lead for the year in Peters Completes The Trilogy To Overtake The Lead the three major categories for measuring tournament Just one day removed from his win in the short deck success: money earned ($2.3 million), titles won (6) and event, Peters managed to defeat a field of 69 entries to final-tables made (14). complete a series hat trick as the champion of the $25,000 e victory saw Imsirovic earn another 540 Card buy-in no-limit hold’em event. He earned $465,750 for his Player POY points, which was enough to catapult him latest title run, the 36th victory of his tournament career. into the top spot in the 2021 POY race with 3,708 total Peters picked 279 USPO rankings points for the win. points accrued through the first half of the year, sur- He became the only player with more than one victory at passing Qing Liu, who had led since the early weeks of the series, and his 646 points gave him a 163-point lead March. over Imsirovic with just one tournament remaining. Imsirovic also extended his lead in the PokerGO Tour e final table featured a number of players who had standings, and temporarily moved into first place in the previous deep runs during the series, including 15th USPO points race, with 218 rankings points earned. Anniversary Sunday Million winner Vanessa Kade, who Andrew Lichtenberger finished second for $158,400 backed up her $1.5 million score in that online event this and 158 USPO points. is was his third and final cash spring by finishing fourth in event no. 9 for $94,050 and of the series. With $308,000 in total earnings and 308 fifth in this tournament for another $138,000. points, he finished the series race in eighth place overall. Like Kade, Jake Daniels was also at his second final

24 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

020_CoverStory.indd 24 6/24/21 2:21 PM table of the series. He earned $172,500 for his fourth- Sam Soverel came place showing, finishing sixth in the USPO points race into the final day as by the time it concluded with $391,000 in total scores the only person with made. Dan Shak was at his fourth final table of the series, a chance to surpass including a runner-up finish in the kickoff tournament. Peters for the series Shak finished third for $224,250 and 135 points, enough title. He was the to see him finish fifth in the points race. shortest stack, but could take the lead Place Player Payout POY PokerGO if he were to finish Points Tour in first place in this 1 David Peters $465,750 504 279 event. His run ultimately came to an 2 Ivan Zufic $345,000 420 207 end in fifth place, and 3 Dan Shak $224,250 336 135 with that, Peters offi- cially locked up the 4 Jake Daniels $172,500 252 104 USPO championship, securing $50,000 in added prize 5 Vanessa Kade $138,000 210 83 money and the Golden Eagle Trophy. Card Player columnist and two-time WPT main event 6 Frank Funaro $103,500 168 62 winner Jonathan Little finished fourth for $231,000. 7 Christopher Brewer $86,250 126 52 is was his first cash in a tournament with a buy-in of $50,000 or higher. Little’s elimination set up a three- 8 Randy Kaas $69,000 84 41 handed showdown between Winter and two of the highest-earning tournament poker players ever in Jason Sean Winter Wins The Final Event, Peters Survives Final- Koon ($32.4 million) and Stephen Chidwick ($35.7 mil- Table Sweat lion). Koon finished third for $336,000 while Chidwick e USPO came to a conclusion with its 12th and earned $504,000 as the runner-up finisher. final event, a $50,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller. A turnout of 42 entries saw a $2,100,000 prize Place Player Payout POY PokerGO pool created, with $756,000 going to the eventual cham- Points Tour pion. In the end, Sean Winter overcame a stacked final 1 Sean Winter $756,000 510 454 table that included several of the top tournament players in the world. 2 Stephen Chidwick $504,000 425 302 is was Winter’s second USPO title, having won 3 Jason Koon $336,000 340 202 the $10,000 short deck event in 2019. He earned 454 rankings points for his victory in this event, which 4 Jonathan Little $231,000 255 139 when combined with his one prior cash of the series, was 5 Sam Soverel $168,000 213 101 enough to see Winter finish in second place in the USPO points race. 6 Bill Klein $105,000 170 63

FINAL USPO SERIES LEADERBOARD: Place Player Points Wins Cashes Earnings 1 David Peters 646 3 4 $832,950 2 Sean Winter 484 1 2 $785,700 3 Ali Imsirovic 483 1 5 $482,000 4 Stephen Chidwick 427 0 3 $628,700 5 Dan Shak 371 0 4 $459,750 6 Jake Daniels 323 1 2 $391,000 7 Sam Soverel 316 1 4 $382,300 8 Andrew Lichtenberger 308 0 3 $308,000 9 Joe McKeehen 302 1 2 $302,200 10 Steve Zolotow 289 0 3 $289,000

If you’d like to check out the ﬁnal table action from each and every event of the 2021 U.S. Poker Open, you can do so and more at PokerGO.com.

020_CoverStory.indd 25 6/24/21 2:21 PM SHIFTS IN POKER STRATEGY WITH BERNARD LEE Longtime Pro Breaks Down A Hand To Illustrate How The Game Has Changed

By Steve Schult

WSOP Circuit rings, a victory in the inaugural RunGood Poker Series main event, and a runner-up fi nish in the $1,500 no-limit 2-7 single draw event at the 2017 WSOP. Aside from his accomplishments on the felt, the 51-year-old has grinded just as hard in the media side of poker. He has been a columnist for Card Player and had his bylines in the Boston Herald, Metrowest Daily News, and on ESPN. He also hosts e Bernard Lee Poker Show, which recently celebrated its 14th anniversary. D&B Publishing recently released Lee’s newest book, which is titled Poker Satellite Success! Turn Aff ordable Buy-Ins Into Shots At Winning Millions. e book out- lines the strategies needed to win seats into larger tournaments through smaller buy-in qualifi er events. e foreword was written by Chris Moneymaker himself, who famously turned his $86 satellite win into a $2.5 million score, and ultimately, a boom of the entire poker market. To help illustrate the changes poker strategy has seen over the years, Lee sat down with Card Player, recalling a hand he played during a $600 no-limit hold’em prelimi- nary event at Foxwoods back in 2010.

6 6 K K

Bernard Lee Villain 20,000 18,225

Q 7 6 3 5

Q 6 3 5

In the nearly two decades since poker experienced 7 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 Blinds: 25-50 before. With online poker jumping into the mainstream, the game’s best players were able to see more hands and develop more complex strategies to win. Bet sizing, The Hand aggression levels, and even something as basic as prefl op The Action: In the fi rst level of the tournament, a player hand selection have changed drastically since poker’s in middle position limped in for 50 and Lee limped popularity exploded. behind from the hijack. e player on the button then Only a handful of players have survived long enough raised to 300 and was called by the small blind, big in the game to witness these changes fi rst-hand. One blind, the fi rst limper, and Lee. such player is long-time poker pro and media personal- On the fl op, action checked to the player on the but- ity, Bernard Lee. Lee became a household name in the ton, who made a continuation bet of 850. Both blinds industry thanks to his deep run in the 2005 WSOP main and the fi rst limper folded, and Lee called. On the event, fi nishing 13th for $400,000. After that score, he turn, Lee checked again. e button bet 1,200, and Lee decided to leave his marketing career to take up poker check-raised to 2,625. e button moved all in for an on a full-time basis, and has continued to put up results additional 14,600, and Lee called. e river was a brick over the last 16 years. and Lee scored the knockout with his set of sixes. Jumpstarted by his deep run in 2005, the Wayland, Steve Schult: Let’s start with the prefl op limping. ere Massachusetts native has racked up nearly $2.4 million is a player who open limps, and you overlimp behind. in career tournament earnings, including three wins Limping was very prevalent during this era of poker.

at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, as well as two Would you still limp behind if you could play this hand © WPT

26 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

026_Feature.indd 26 6/24/21 11:48 AM SS: You end up going five ways to a flop, and you flop a set. Action checks to the button, who bets 850, and you’re the only caller. Do you have any thoughts on the flop action? BL: is is relatively standard and very close to what would’ve potentially happened even today. I don’t think 850 is an unusual bet. Maybe it would’ve been a little bit less, but it’s not like he made it pot-sized. Back then, a pot-sized, post-flop bet was common and would begin increasing the pot size quickly. It’s also a function of what hand he had, too. I feel he believed he was value betting and thought, “I don’t want everyone to fold by making it a pot-sized bet.” at was the rationale going on here. Everyone folded to me, and I called. It seemed straightforward and not outrageous. SS: Would you ever check-raise here? BL: I guess some people would do this with K-Q or Q-J and maybe that is okay. So, would I ever check-raise? Yeah, I guess I could. But in this spot, I often do not. SS: You end up going for the check-call, check-raise line on the flop and turn. I always thought that was a line today? that was value heavy. Is that a true statement? Bernard Lee: It was quite common back then to BL: Possibly, but there’s a possibility when that second do that. Would I raise with sixes in today’s world? diamond hits on the turn now you could have picked up Depending on the table, I think there is a good chance. a flush draw. So a hand like Qo Jo or Ko Qo could put It would help eliminate some of the players and not allow in the check-raise. the blinds to just come in. SS: Would a hand like those be check-raising as a bluff In that spot, with pocket sixes and five or six people trying to force the button off better hands? in the pot, you have to hit a set or it’s worthless. At that BL: I wouldn’t say that the button would be folding time, six or seven people limping into the pot wasn’t that better hands. But I would potentially be saying, “I have crazy. It really wasn’t. a really good hand, but I also have this added equity with SS: What made people stop limping? a flush redraw.” BL: People got very fond of playing any two cards Whether or not I would do it is another story, but because they loved that bad beat story kind of thing. it’s certainly something that happens. Ao 6o would be And I think people are slowly starting to play from more a similar hand that you could do this with. He’s got the of a game theory optimal strategy. You’re not going to flush draw and bottom pair, that’s a lot of outs. play 9-4 offsuit anymore. And you used to see that get SS: You decide to check-raise his 1,200 to 2,625. How flipped over in early levels all the time. does that sizing compare with today’s standards? I’m sure I fell victim to some of those things as well. BL: I make it about 2.5x, which is actually pretty nor- Any two suited cards, even if they weren’t even close to mal today. I think back then maybe it wasn’t as normal. being connected, stuff like that. You just don’t see that Many players would make a 3-4x raise. as much anymore, and you see more raising. en, he just rips it in for 14,600. He had just lost a I will say that when you have that large of a stack, like hand, so that’s why he didn’t have the full 20,000 start- a 20,000-chip starting stack, and in some tournaments ing stack. even more, your raises aren’t going to be big enough to And I will tell you, it made me go “What?” Since get someone off of a hand if they are determined to play the turn was a three, 5-4 made the nuts. But I didn’t that hand. If someone is determined to play 7-6 suited, put him on 5-4 since he raised preflop. e other pos- it doesn’t really matter how much you are going to bet, sibilities were pocket queens or sevens, but back then they are going to shrug and call. But it does stop people you usually saw people slow down at some point with from playing 9-4 offsuit. top set. Whether it be a flop check or a turn check, you SS: e button raises to six times the big blind. What just didn’t see people take that line with such a strong do you make of this sizing? hand. Back in those days, leading with a set was so rare, BL: I don’t think the sizing is that bad, to be honest. forget top set. You have a middle position player that limps and then I I took a second. I didn’t just snap-call, but I wasn’t limp. A normal raise here, especially back then, would going to fold. have been about 3x, and that is 150. And typically what SS: Do you think that there are many players in I do is add in the players that limped, and then maybe a today’s game that would go all in over your turn check- little extra. I actually may have raised even a little more. raise with pocket kings? In this case, three times the blind is 150 and then the BL: For him to rip it there is a little crazy. I don’t think two limpers makes it 250, and then you add in a little bit many players rip it there today. Mind you, I don’t think extra. So, 300 is not crazy, but you don’t want to make they would fold, either. I think they would just call the a bet that gets easily called by the first player. Because 2,625 and then see what happens on the river. if one player calls, then everyone calls. And that is what I would probably bet between 6,500 and 7,000 on the

026_Feature.indd 27 6/24/21 11:25 AM where he jams over a river bet. at would make sense, but that’s only one hand. I’m still calling. I find it very interesting that when people analyze hands, even the best players in the world will say, “ere is no way that he could’ve had this.” You can’t say there is no way. It could just be a 2% chance, but it’s there. SS: Do you think people should be more precise in their language to improve their game and their thought process behind it? BL: For the players that I do coaching with, I definitely make sure that they are very precise with their language for two reasons. One, I want to make sure that they give me an accurate and clear depiction of the hand so that I can give a good assessment of their actions. If they don’t give me a good description of the hand, then I can’t really tell them what I think they should’ve done. And two, if they can’t describe the hand properly, then they can’t give a good assessment. And they won’t and I could see him making the call. He would still have understand how to proceed. 6,000-7,000 left as opposed to being knocked out. A lot of times when I’m coaching with my private stu- SS: Would you still have bet the river even though the dents, I will make sure that they go through very specific river brought a one-liner and any four made a straight? details about the hand and their opponent. What was BL: Yes. Because that would’ve meant that he would’ve their stack size, where were they sitting, how they view had to have something like pocket fours, which is their opponent, what actions did their opponent take extremely unlikely given the way he played his hand. prior to the hand in question. He would’ve had to bet the flop and bet the turn is one that we’re talking about happened very early unimproved. He’s betting the turn with a gutshot, and in the tournament, so it could be harder to assess, but the if he did that, then congrats to him. If he ripped it after guy with K-K didn’t have the full 20,000-chip starting I bet 6,500, I wouldn’t have folded. If he has a set of stack because he overvalued top pair in a previous hand. queens or sevens, then I’m just walking out the door. All of those things are pretty important when analyzing I guess he could’ve had Ao 4o in that hypothetical a hand. m

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP Cary Katz is a wildly successful businessman as the founder of the College Loan Corporation, and now 2021 U.S. Poker Open PokerGO. But while he may not technically be con- $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event sidered a professional poker player, he has become one of the most successful live tournament poker players in history with more than $31.2 million in lifetime Cary Katz Andrew Lichtenberger earnings. In this hand he demonstrates some of the 2,765,000 Chips 2,755,000 Chips skills that have helped him secure those tens of millions of dollars in cashes playing against the toughest A Q K Q competition in the world. Katz picked up A-Q suited Winning Percentage Winning Percentage and limped in from the button. WSOP bracelet win-

Before Flop: 71.0% Before Flop: 28.0% ner Andrew Lichtenberger looked down at K-Q suited

A Q in the big blind and opted to raise to just shy of 4.5 Q After Flop: 84.0% K After Flop: 11.0% After Turn: 93.0% After Turn: 7.0% big blinds. Katz made the call and the pair saw three clubs hit the fl op, with neither player improving to a pair or any immediate draw. Lichtenberger sized down PREFLOP considerably with his fl op bet, fi ring 90,000 into a pot of 830,000. Katz called with his ace high, perhaps fi g- uring that Lichtenberger could make a small stab like With four players remaining and blinds of 40,000-80,000 and a big this with a lot of unimproved hands. e turn brought blind ante of 80,000, Cary Katz limped in from the button. Andrew a non-club low card and Lichtenberger checked. Katz Lichtenberger raised to 355,000 from the big blind, and Katz called. checked behind and the river was the Jn. Lichtenberger was not satisfi ed with just showing down his K-Q high given the prior action, and opted to turn his unimproved high cards into a bluff . He bet 445,000, 8 4 2 6 J likely targeting hands like ace high as potential holdings that Katz might fold. Katz announced that he felt FLOP TURN that the jack on the end was a particularly bad card RIVER

for him, saying, “Anything but that.” Lichtenberger

6 J 4 2 8 could have taken this line with holdings like A-J, K-J or a variety of suited and connected J-X. After some Lichtenberger bet 90,000, Lichtenberger checked, Lichtenberger bet time in the tank, Katz did make the hero call, picking and Katz called. and Katz checked 445,000. Katz oﬀ Lichtenberger’s bluﬀ to take down the healthy pot behind. called. and move into second place on the leaderboard as four- handed play continued.

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

28 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

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CP_Sub_25_FT.indd 2 6/22/21 10:24 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

DEUCE TO SEVEN TRIPLE DRAW LOWBALL: THE ART OF SNOWING By Kevin Haney

Snowing is the act of betting or raising, and staying pat eight, we should highly considering snowing, especially when with a busted hand with one or more draws to go, in an we have paired along the way. is can also be done from out attempt to get your opponent to fold before showdown. e of position, however, since we don’t have any information on opportunity cost is a unique feature of draw games, as there’s whether or not our opponent is pat, the odds of success is no equivalent to the play in flop or stud variants of poker. considerably lower. erefore, from out of position we should For example, if you decide to semi-bluff with a flush draw probably only snow the very worst of our draws (e.g. 3-7-8-9- in hold’em, you can win the pot if either your opponent X), that may not even be profitable as check-calls. folds or you end up making your hand. Whereas in Deuce D2/D1 Turn Snow to Seven Triple Draw (27TD), your decision to snow will When one player is drawing two cards on the second eliminate any chance of making a legitimate hand. draw and the other player only one, the player who is ahead is means that whenever we choose to snow, we should going into the draw has an automatic bet on the turn. Since feel that turning our hand into a bluff has a higher expecta- this player is betting 100% of the time, the bet does not tion than either continuing to draw to our hand or folding to indicate a pat hand and the D1 is most often still drawing. a bet. Some factors to consider when making this assessment e D2/D1 Turn Snow is when the D2 either raises or include the quality of the draw we would be foregoing, the check-raises with a busted hand and stands pat. is is a high cards we have seen, and our opponent. variance maneuver and having seen multiple blockers is very Let’s walk through some examples of various different types of snows that can be implemented. “It’s important to realize that in many of the Gentleman’s Snow situations where we think we may have a A Gentleman’s Snow is probably the most frequent snow line taken, and it profitable snowing opportunity, we might also entails taking a single card on the first have a positive expectation by playing the hand draw then often patting on the second if we miss. Typically, we are target- out in a straight-forward manner. Therefore, we ing a late position open with a rough should only choose to snow if it is probable that one-card draw that can be turned into the bluffing line has a higher expected value than a bluff when we fail to improve right away. any other course of action that we could take.” For example, suppose the button raises, we three-bet from the small blind with 4-6-7-8-X, and important in both increasing your odds of success and ensur- then stand pat on the second draw with 4-6-7-7-8. ing that the play is not run too frequently. So why is it called a gentleman’s snow? I’ve heard the Snowing From The Beginning description many times, but never the origin of the term. Since a hand that is pat from the start usually isn’t that My guess is that it is the most common and believable way strong, this is not a play that should be run very often. is to make a strong pat hand as opposed to some more exotic would especially be the case if we opened from later position bluffing line that may be considered “un-gentlemanly.” where rough nines would be in our range. D2/D2 Flop Snow Snowing a perceived weaker pat range is more danger- is snowing opportunity occurs when we hold a below ous because in addition to the times our opponent makes a average two-card draw (D2), hit two pair or trips on the first real hand and calls us down, we will also lose whenever he draw, and our opponent who was also a D2 indicates through chooses to test our possible weak pat holding with a raise at their play that they probably did not improve. some juncture in the hand. For example, suppose we defend the big blind with 4-6-8- However, if we are somewhat worried about balancing X-X against a button raise and both players draw two. If the our real, initially-dealt pat hands, we should sometimes snow flop checks through and we hit trip fours, we can consider right from the start, and the best hand with which to do this implementing a snow. Our opponent’s check after the first are the times we are dealt trip or quad deuces. Unless we draw most often means he did not improve, and when we started with a hand such as 2-2-2-4-7 or 2-2-2-2-3, we have pat it looks like a check-raise that whiffed. If our opponent a very small chance of making a real hand, making the deci- fails to improve on the second draw, the pot will often be sion to bluff complete trash such as 2-2-2-9-J from the get-go ours on the turn. a viable option. D1/D1 Turn Snow Important Snowing Principles When two players were both drawing one (D1) on the As we alluded to above, it’s important to realize that in second draw, a check from the first player to act most often many of the situations where we think we may have a prof- means they are still drawing. is allows the in-position itable snowing opportunity, we might also have a positive player to bet and pat weaker hands, while also providing an expectation by playing the hand out in a straight-forward opportunity to snow his weakest draws. manner. erefore, we should only choose to snow if it is When holding a one-card draw to a nine or a very rough probable that the bluffing line has a higher expected value

30 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

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than any other course of action that we could take. our bluff will virtually never get him off a better hand at If we have a weak hand where calling and drawing showdown. is probably a losing play, then we only need to consider Having seen pairs increases the odds of success and also whether or not a potential snow has a positive expectation. In serves as an eff ective randomizer to prevent us from snow- this case, we only need to consider how likely our opponent ing at too great of a frequency. Whenever we start out with will make a hand with which he will call, compared with a good two-card draw with pairs such as 2-3-3-8-8 we are the bets that we are risking. Blockers always play a role in initially going to try and make a hand, however, that plan how often your opponent will make a hand, but the most can change as the hand progresses. For example, if we never important factor to consider is always your opponent and improve but continue to pair, we can possibly turn our hand with what range of holdings they will probably look you up into a snow if our opponent is not already pat. with on the end. On a fi nal note, it is very important to not overuse these If we have the proper odds to call and draw, it is often a plays as it’s not that hard to defend against an opponent who mistake to snow any draw that has the ability to build strong has fallen in love with snowing. Someone can simply draw hands. For example, we shouldn’t consider turning a hand to their hand and when missing is getting very good odds such as 2-2-2-3-7 into a bluff simply because we have seen on the end to just throw one more bet into the pot and see many deuces. If there are two or three draws left to go, this what you have. However, if we only snow our worst draws, hand has too much potential to make a premium holding. eff ectively use blockers as randomizers, and overall choose A much better candidate to snow would be a holding such our spots wisely all of this will tend to take care of itself as 3-7-8-X-X, where we may have seen two pair or trips of a and we will select the proper situations in which to turn our particular rank. holding into a bluff . m With rough one-card draws we can target late position raisers where the usual plan is to see if we make a hand on Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife the fi rst draw, and failing that, initiate a Gentlemen’s Snow. but left the corporate job to focus on his pas- However, we should never get into a mindset where we sions for poker and fitness. He is co-owner would draw once and then automatically stay pat no matter of Elite Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is what card we catch. a certified personal trainer. With regards to For example, suppose we begin with 4-6-7-8-X and catch poker he got his start way back in 2003 and a queen on the fi rst draw. Snowing a queen low is awkward particularly enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games and sub optimal, especially if our opponent has a somewhat under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. common snow catching strategy of keeping us honest when- If interested in learning more, playing mixed games online, or just ever he makes a jack or better low. If that is indeed the case, saying hello he can be reached at [email protected].

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP is hand features a wild clash between two of the top poker tournament players in the game, with nei- 2021 U.S. Poker Open ther player having all that much of a hand. Andrew $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event Lichtenberger raised from the button with pocket threes and Ali Imsirovic three-bet to 750,000 from the big blind with Q-5 off suit. e fl op brought a Andrew Lichtenberger Ali Imsirovic pair of sevens and a nine. Imsirovic backed up his prefl op three-bet with a continuation bet of 400,000 4,900,000 Chips 4,225,000 Chips into the pot of 1,650,000. Lichtenberger made the m 3 3 call with his underpair, and the turn brought the A . Q 5 Imsirovic made another smaller bet, this time fi ring Winning Percentage Winning Percentage just 450,000 into the pot that had already swelled to

Before Flop: 53.0% Before Flop: 46.0% 2,450,000. Lichtenberger called yet again, and the river

3 3 5 After Flop: 59.0% Q After Flop: 37.0% brought the 10p. Imsirovic took his foot off the gas and After Turn: 73.0% After Turn: 20.0% checked. Lichtenberger thought over his options for a moment and then elected to turn his pocket threes into a bluff , betting 1,850,000 into the pot that had grown PREFLOP to more than 3.3 million. Card Player was able to catch up with Lichtenberger after the hand played out to get his thoughts on his river decision. “It is kind of hard for With three players remaining and blinds of 50,000-100,000 and a big blind me to not have anything at that point in the hand, given ante of 100,000, Andrew Lichtenberger raised to 225,000 from the button. Ali that I had called a three-bet and called two streets. It Imsirovic three-bet to 750,000 from the big blind, and Lichtenberger called. seemed like a reasonable spot to bluff if he had a hand like pocket queens or a rivered pair of tens. It would not be an easy call [for Imsirovic],” off ered Lichtenberger. “It’s hard for me to get to the river with a worse hand 9 7 7 A 10 that has better removal properties for a bluff . If I get

FLOP there with king high, maybe I’m still supposed to bluﬀ , TURN

RIVER but it probably interferes with him having the overpairs

A 10 7 7 9 that were block-betting on the turn.” While pocket threes technically have more showdown value than something like K-Q, Lichtenberger notes that in the Imsirovic bet 400,000, Imsirovic bet Imsirovic checked. context of this hand, the two threes in his hand were and Lichtenberger called. 450,000, and Lichtenberger bet essentially ‘napkins/blanks.’ With Imsirovic having just Lichtenberger called. 1,850,000, and queen high himself, Imsirovic had just queen high and Imsirovic folded. quickly folded. Lichtenberger took down the healthy pot without showdown to extend his lead.’

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

028_S&A.indd 31 6/24/21 11:28 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

The 3 Most Common Exploits In Live Tournament Poker

By Matt Afﬂ eck

ranges of our opponents. In general, players do not four-bet nearly often enough compared to what is optimal. e adjustment we make is to three- bet a more linear range instead of the polarized range that many players use. Against a 20% middle position opening range, we may simply three- bet the top 10% of hands in position as a linear range, and fl at call the rest of our playable hands. Since players under four-bet, we are not concerned about folding out the equity of our non-premium, but still good hands that we three-bet because they will be ere we are going to dis- us indiff erent between call and fold. heavily dominated. cuss three areas where us, the max exploit is to fold all For example, 9-9 or K-Q suited I feel weak live players bluff catchers and only call with hands become great hands to three-bet in are easily exploited. is that can beat value bets. Until an a linear range against a player who articleH will hopefully give you three opponent shows you that they can under four-bets. Players often over- areas to explore for leaks in your own include enough bluff s in their polar- call to these four-bets and thus we game, as well as ways to take advan- ized range, you are incentivized to get extra value from our range that tage of leaks in your opponents. overfold to these bets. we forego when we fl at-call instead Never Call With Your Bluff Catchers Check-Raise Like A Pro of three-betting. When they four-bet, For the most part, players severely e next exploit we will look at however, 9-9 and K-Q suited are often under bluff later streets, especially for involves fl op continuation betting in bad shape due to being against A-A, large sizing. e exploit to be made (c-bet). In general, your average player K-K, Q-Q, J-J or A-K. here is to never call with your bluff c-bets way too often. Your average In summary, we need to be folding catchers. player does not check-raise nearly our bluff catchers on turns and rivers, A bluff catcher is any hand that enough to optimal. ese two exploits check-raising more, and three-betting can only beat a bluff and never beat go together because one leads to the with a more linear range to exploit a value hand. Another way to phrase other. Players over c-bet because play- population tendencies. Take extra care this would be to say, “ e player is ers don’t check-raise enough. in looking for these spots in your next never value betting a worse hand, thus e problem is that most play- few sessions. Watch how opponents my hand is a bluff catcher.” ers don’t adjust their ranges correctly react and how the exploits can be In general, when a player on the when they face opponents who prop- made. m river makes a large, polarizing bet erly check-raise. (often a very strong hand or bluff ), In general, you should be look- For years, Matt Affleck they do not have enough bluff coming to increase your check-raising fre- has been a force to binations in their range to make us quency against most players. Many be reckoned with indiff erent with our bluff catchers. players would be blown away that both live and online. e goal of a polarizing bet is to optimal check-raise frequencies on The Washington state make your opponent indiff erent of certain board textures can be upwards native has more calling or folding with bluff catchers. up 20% by the out-of-position player. than $4.5 million in combined tournament If they fold too many bluff catchers, You almost never see someone check- earnings, including a chop of the SCOOP they are giving away too much and raise that often. main event for $470,000, and a 15th-place the bettor makes money. If they call Learn to punish aggressive c-bet- finish in the WSOP main event for $500,000. with too many bluff catchers, they also ters by check-raising like a mad man Nowadays, you can find him hosting live lose money. and make them uncomfortable. webinars for PokerCoaching.com/CardPlayer Almost every opponent you will Three-Bet A More Linear Range where he provides hand analysis and top- face does not include enough bluff s e fi nal exploit we will look at level poker strategy content to thousands of in their polarizing sizing to make involves the three-bet and four-bet students. Find him on Twitter @mcmatto.

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IMPROVING YOUR PATIENCE By Greg Raymer

Many of my private students have issues with patience. of the last 10, or 20, or 50 hands in a row doesn’t matter. ey even say that after being dealt a long series of junk Using my poker skill and knowledge, if I judge that my hands, they will play a hand they know they should fold. average result, if I play the current hand, will be to lose ey are either bored, or more often, feel like it must be chips, then it is correct to fold. It simply does not matter a mistake to keep folding so often. ey start to feel like how few hands I have played in the last few orbits, or even the blinds are eating them away, and they just have to play session. something, even if it is a hand they would usually fold in Of course, if you have been folding a lot of hands, and the current situation. are sure you have a super-tight image, you should take that So, how do you avoid this leak, and learn to be more into account. Maybe this is a situation where you can pull patient? off a squeeze play with that tight image. Just make sure you First, let me come clean. I definitely do not have the are judging the likely success of this play honestly. Don’t fall answer. At least, I do not have the one answer that applies into the trap of “talking yourself” into playing a hand, just to everyone. because you have lost patience. Imagine if you want to quit smoking. ere are dozens Any time we want to do something for emotional rea- of methods and tools out there to help, but the nicotine sons, it is easy to fool ourselves and pretend there is some gum that worked for one person might be of no help to sensible rationale to do it. We convince ourselves that we another. e same idea applies to learning patience in can steal this pot with our tight image, and so we reraise poker. I don’t know what will work for you, but here are with 10-7 offsuit. e problem is, we forgot to consider that some suggestions and ideas to consider. the player who raised is new to the table, and can’t know For me, the biggest aid in staying patient is the simple this is the first hand we have played in an hour. Or, we for- fact that I hate to lose. Whether it’s a cash game or a tourna- get that the player who raised is too loose and sticky, and ment, I hate to lose chips. And if I know that playing this won’t fold even if they are aware of how tight we have been. hand is likely to cost me chips, on average, I choose to fold. Another important factor is that in many cases, your e fact that I have made this decision to fold for each opponents don’t even notice how much you have been fold- TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP ANALYSISAnalysis Ali Imsirovic eliminated Cary Katz in third place 2021 U.S. Poker Open to set up a heads-up showdown with Andrew $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event Lichtenberger for the title in this event. On the very fi rst hand, the two clashed in a sizable pot that saw Imsirovic fold trips after having overbet the pot Andrew Lichtenberger Ali Imsirovic on the river. e hand began with Lichtenberger 6,675,000 Chips 5,700,000 Chips raising the less-than-exciting 10-6 off suit from the button. Imsirovic called from the big blind with 6-4 10 6 6 4 off suit and fl opped no pair, no draw. He checked, Winning Percentage Winning Percentage and Lichtenberger, who had fl opped middle pair,

Before Flop: 66.0% Before Flop: 26.0% passed up the opportunity to continuation bet. e

10 6 4 After Flop: 95.0% 6 After Flop: 0.3% turn brought a six to improve both players. Imsirovic After Turn: 100% After Turn: 0% checked and Lichtenberger checked behind with his two pair. e river brought the last six in the deck, while also making a ﬂ ush possible. Imsirovic held trips PREFLOP and Lichtenberger had a supremely under-represented full house. With the pot sitting at 775,000, Imsirovic With two players remaining and blinds of 75,000-125,000 and a big ﬁ red an overbet of 1,150,000 into the pot. As the big blind ante of 125,000, Andrew Lichtenberger raised to 325,000 from the blind defender, his range should include more sixes than Lichtenberger’s, and he might try to leverage button. Ali Imsirovic called from the big blind. that idea to use this same board as an opportunity to overbet in instances that he didn’t have a six. Imsirovic went for the homerun value, only to be met with an Q 10 9 6 6 all-in shove from Lichtenberger. Imsirovic’s trips are strong enough to go for a big value bet, but essentially

FLOP TURN

RIVER act as a bluﬀ catcher when faced with a raise in this

6 6 10 9 Q context. Lichtenberger likely won’t raise a worse hand for value given this action, meaning that he either has a made hand or is bluﬃ ng. Imsirovic went into Imsirovic checked, and Both players Imsirovic bet 1,150,000, the tank before eventually making the tough fold. Lichtenberger checked behind. checked. and Lichtenberger raised Lichtenberger took roughly a 2:1 chip lead after drag- all-in. Imsirovic folded. ging the sizable pot, with Imsirovic still sitting with more than 30 big blinds.

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

028_S&A.indd 33 6/24/21 11:28 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

ing. On many occasions, I have folded 20-40 hands in a yourself how you think I would play it, and then do exactly row, then make a raise in late position, and the person in that. the big blind still thinks I’m just stealing. I hope this helps you become more patient. Remember, If I’m stealing with trash this time, why didn’t I try any chips not lost are just as valuable as chips you have won. of those earlier times when I had the chance? e truth is, ere have been many times I have folded 95%, even 100%, they are simply not paying attention, and you should not of my hands for half an hour, an hour, even two hours or assume they have been paying attention to you either. ey more. On one occasion, on day 2 of the $10K no-limit 2-7 might have been, but don’t count on it. single draw bracelet event, I folded every hand for three Other than taking into account your image, and that of hours and 20 minutes straight! your opponents, each hand of poker is completely indepen- Sometimes, there just isn’t anything better you can do. dent of all other hands. If you were to “tag” me, and have Win chips whenever it is smart to try, but fold and save your me play the next hand for you, I don’t need to know how chips when playing the hand isn’t the correct move. you have played prior hands. All I need to know is the size Have fun, and play smart! m of the blinds, the chip counts of the players, and most of the time, not much else. Greg Raymer is the 2004 WSOP world champion, If I fold this hand preﬂ op, it is because I thought that winner of numerous major titles, and has more was the best decision. Now, you tag another pro to play the than $7 million in earnings. He recently authored next hand, and so on. If they each would have folded every “FossilMan’s Winning Tournament Strategies,” hand for an hour or more, then you should have done the available from D&B Publishing, Amazon, and other same. retailers. He is sponsored by Blue Shark Optics, Try this thought experiment if you sense you are losing YouStake, and ShareMyPair. To contact Greg please tweet at him using patience. Imagine it is me playing this hand for you. Ask @FossilMan or go to www.FossilManPoker.com.

A Wild Introduction To Vegas

By Nathan Gamble

Most of the stories I’ve written in this column came the blackjack tables, have our eyes barraged by sensory from a period of my life before I could legally drink, before overload as we scan the sports book, and fi nally reach the I could rent a car, and, under today’s laws even smoke a tables and plop down our buy-in so we can prove ourselves cigarette! By the time my 21st birthday rolled around, on the felt against other serious players. One day you’ll play poker had already been a huge part of my life for eight or in the World Series of Poker, but just making it to Vegas is nine years, which is hard to believe thinking about it now. already a giant accomplishment. As any young poker player is eager to do when they turn It was my dream realized, and I’m sure it’s many of 21, I headed to the shiny lights of Vegas. In the words of yours too. Joey Knish when he sees Mike McDermott sit down in the My journey started by meeting my dad. I think he had big game against Teddy KGB… “You’re rolling up a stake wanted to show me the town just as long as I had dreamed and going to Vegas.” of seeing it. It was defi nitely a father-son bonding experi- Let’s be honest, it’s what we all dream about in poker ence as we stayed in the Bellagio and played poker into when we move beyond the learning stages and the home the wee hours of the morning after squeezing in a show. games with friends. We think about Vegas. e Mirage (in (If you’ve never had the opportunity to see the Blue Man olden times). Bellagio and (what used to be called) Bobby’s Group in Vegas I highly recommend it. It was originally at Room. More recently Aria or Wynn. Perhaps in the future, the Venetian but has since moved over to Luxor, but the we’ll be daydreaming about taking a seat in the private sec- quality is still unparalleled.) tion of the newly opened Resort’s World. People often ask me if my last name really is Gamble, We want to breathe in the smoke-fi lled air as we pass or if I changed it for poker. e reality is I was born with

34 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

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it. It carries back throughout my lineage, and it feels like table. ey weren’t wrong, but the real reason they wanted this life was chosen for me. It was the same for Las Vegas. her removed was because she was thrashing them and they When I entered Vegas for the fi rst time, it’s like I felt home couldn’t compete any longer. for the fi rst time. Eventually, the fl oor made the decision to pull her off at fi rst trip I met a bunch of strangers, had a lot of the table. Having befriended her, I got in touch with her Patrón, and turned the strangers into friends. e poker friends so she could fi nd her room, putting an end to my was fairly uneventful for me… nothing that stands out. wild introduction to Las Vegas poker. e most interesting thing that occurred was watching a Some people play poker for the money, some for the player get absolutely wasted at the tables and seeing the camaraderie, some for the competition. We all have a dif- scenario play out in real time. ferent reason for playing, and it’s the same in life. We aren’t Her name was Renee. She was young and cute. She all here for the same reason. Some of us will fi nd our pur- was also taking shots with half the table and with half of pose inherently through our namesake, some of us through the other tables in the room. At fi rst all the regulars were our passion projects, and sadly some of us never will. encouraging it, no doubt licking their chops, waiting for I was lucky to fi nd myself within this world through the feeling of invincibility to give way to the inevitable my passion in poker, and found my home in Vegas. Sadly, downfall of decision making. I had to leave Vegas recently and relocate, but with every She was happy, joyous, fast moving – and then it all passing day I plan my return to what feels like home. I hit her like a brick wall. She slowed down, started slurring hope wherever you are, you fi nd your passion and your her words, stopped looking at her cards, and just blindly reason. Find it and pursue it wholeheartedly. m shoved money in hoping for the best. All the regulars were overjoyed, moving in on the Nathan Gamble is a native of Texas where he wounded prey for the kill. Except, there was one small learned to play Texas hold’em from his father. problem. She just couldn’t lose! He is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, the e game was $1-$2 no-limit and she was up around first coming in the 2017 WSOP $1,500 pot limit $300 when she started drinking. By the time she was black Omaha Eight-Or-Better Event, the second in the out drunk and shoveling money in the pot, she was up over 2020 Online WSOP $600 PLO8/b event. A fixture $1,500 and building quickly. of the mid-stakes, mix game community, he can often be found play- e vultures who were circling started getting annoyed ing $80-$160 mix games at the Wynn since moving to Las Vegas in and angry. By the time she was up over $2,000 they were 2019. He is active on Twitter under the username Surfbum4life and calling for the fl oor to take her off the table because she was streams mixed game content regularly on Twitch under his username too drunk, slowing up the action, and falling asleep at the Surfbum4lyfe. TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP ANALYSISAnalysis 2021 U.S. Poker Open is hand turned the tide of the heads-up match between Ali Imsirovic and Andrew Lichtenberger. $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event Imsirovic utilized a larger prefl op raise size, making it four big blinds to go from the button with K-Q Ali Imsirovic Andrew Lichtenberger suited. Lichtenberger called from the big blind with 4,305,000 Chips 8,075,000 Chips A-5 off suit and both players fl opped a pair on an A-K-4 rainbow board. Lichtenberger checked with K Q A 5 Winning Percentage Winning Percentage top pair on the fl op and Imsirovic made a small

Before Flop: 45.0% Before Flop: 55.0% continuation bet of 20 percent with his middle

K Q 5 After Flop: 24.0% A After Flop: 76.0% pair and backdoor ﬂ ush possibilities. Lichtenberger After Turn: 95.0% After Turn: 5.0% called and the turn brought another king to give Imsirovic trips. Lichtenberger opted to make a small PREFLOP blocker bet with his aces and kings. Imsirovic raised to 1,000,000 and Lichtenberger called. e river With two players remaining and blinds of 75,000-125,000 and a big brought the last king in the deck to give Imsirovic blind ante of 125,000, Ali Imsirovic raised to 500,000 from the button. quads. Lichtenberger checked and Imsirovic moved all-in. Lichtenberger appeared rather unhappy with Lichtenberger called from the big blind. his situation despite only losing to K-X, and the one outstanding combination of pocket aces. He A K 4 K K thought it over for a bit before ultimately making the call. Imsirovic revealed his improbable hand to take FLOP TURN

RIVER down the massive pot, doubling into a lead that he

K K K 4 A eventually converted into a victory. Imsirovic earned $217,800 as the champion, while Lichtenberger took Lichtenberger checked, Lichtenberger bet Lichtenberger checked. home $158,400 for his runner-up showing. and Imsirovic bet 225,000. 225,000. Imsirovic Imsirovic moved all- Lichtenberger called. raised to 1,000,000, and in for 2,580,000, and Lichtenberger called. Lichtenberger called.

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

028_S&A.indd 35 6/24/21 11:28 AM Schedules FOR COMPLETE TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND LISTINGS, VISIT CARDPLAYER.COM MAY May 3-Aug. 1 DeepStack Championship Poker Series Venetian Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

JULY July 15-17 PokerGO Heads-Up Championship Aria Resort & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

July 15-27 World Poker Tour Choctaw Choctaw Casino Resort • Durant, OK

AUG. Aug. 2-29 DeepStack Showdown III Venetian Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

Aug. 13-31 WPT bestbet Scramble bestbet Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FL

SEPT. Sept. 3-21 Commerce Hold’em Series Commerce Casino • Commerce, CA

Sept. 7-19 Poker Masters Aria Resort & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

Sept. 15-28 WPT Maryland Live! Casino & Hotel • Hanover, MD

Sept. 27-29 Super High Roller Bowl Aria Resort & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

Sept. 30-Nov. 23 World Series of Poker Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

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

6:00 p.m. NLH, $125 KO $25 ARIZONA THURSDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $70 TALKING STICK RESORT - SCOTTSDALE FRIDAY MONDAY-THURSDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $125 10:15 a.m. NLH, $125 6:00 p.m. NLH, $40 AO $20 FRIDAY-SUNDAY SATURDAY 10:15 a.m. NLH, $200 12:15 p.m. NLH, $250 KO $50 CALIFORNIA 6:00 p.m. NLH, $100

COMMERCE CASINO - COMMERCE MARYLAND MONDAY-THURSDAY 5:00 p.m. NLH, $125 AO $100 MGM NATIONAL HARBOR - OXON HILL FRIDAY-SUNDAY MONDAY 1:00 p.m. NLH, $125 AO $100 11:15 a.m. NLH, $140 ($5K Guarantee) TUESDAY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $165 KO $25 ($5K Guarantee) OCEAN’S ELEVEN - OCEANSIDE WEDNESDAY DAILY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $140 ($5K Guarantee) 10:00 a.m. NLH, $75 AO $5 THURSDAY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $140 ($5K Guarantee) FLORIDA SUNDAY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $360 ($10K Guarantee) BESTBET - JACKSONVILLE MONDAY NEVADA 7:00 p.m. NLH, $60 WEDNESDAY SAHARA - LAS VEGAS 12:00 p.m. NLH, $60 DAILY FRIDAY 1:00 p.m. NLH, $60 RB $20 AO $20 ($500 Guarantee) 12:00 p.m. NLH, $160 7:00 p.m. NLH, $60 RB $20 AO $20 ($750 Guarantee) SUNDAY WEDNESDAY 12:00 p.m. NLH, $160 1:00 p.m. O H/L / SH/L, $60 ($500 Guarantee) SATURDAY 1:00 p.m. NLH, $100 RB $50 AO $50 ($3K Guarantee)

PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB - W. PALM BEACH MONDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $125 KO $25 NORTH CAROLINA 6:00 p.m. NLH, $70 TUESDAY HARRAH’S - CHEROKEE 12:15 p.m. NLH, $70 MONDAY-THURSDAY WEDNESDAY 7:00 p.m. NLH, $140 12:15 p.m. NLH, $100

36 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

036_Schedules.indd 36 6/24/21 11:29 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 6/22/21 10:26 AM Poker Leaderboards

POKER’S ALLTIME MONEY LIST LIVE TOURNAMENT EARNINGS

Rank Player Earnings 1 Bryn Kenney $56,649,561 2 Justin Bonomo $55,248,533 3 Daniel Negreanu $41,342,171 4 Erik Seidel $37,936,451 5 Dan Smith $37,293,067 6 David Peters $36,039,852 7 Stephen Chidwick $35,698,082 8 Fedor Holz $34,202,365 9 Jason Koon $32,462,634 10 Cary Katz $31,280,190

Six of the top ten players on poker’s all-time money list made cashes during the 2021 U.S. Poker Open. The most noteworthy change that resulted was that Cary Katz narrowly surpassed Steve O’Dwyer to move into tenth place. Katz made four cashes throughout the USPO, accumulating $270,100 in earnings to increase his career total to just shy of $31.3 million. The 51-year-old businessman and poker player currently sits just $316 dollars ahead of O’Dwyer by our count. The high roller specialist has seven separate cashes for seven-figures, with another 51 six-figure cashes to his name. While the other five players from the top ten who cashed during this series didn’t end up moving around the board too much, they did collectively add seven figures worth of earnings to their totals during the USPO. Six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu added $113,900 to his career total across two cashes, helping the Poker Hall of Famer maintain his hold on the third-place spot on this prestigious leaderboard with more than $41.3 million. Fellow Hall of Fame member and eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel made a final table for his 324th recorded tourna - ment score, adding $74,250 to his lifetime sum of nearly $40 million. USPO champion David Peters became just the sixth player in history to surpass $36 million in career earnings with the $832,950 he secured during the series, helping maintain his lead on Stephen Chidwick. Chidwick did his part, however, racking up $628,700 in earnings during the 12-event USPO, the third-most of any player behind Peters and $50,000 buy-in event winner Sean Winter. At 32, Chidwick is the second-youngest player among the top ten behind only 27-year-old Fedor Holz. Jason Koon’s lone cash of the series was a third-place finish in the finale event, adding $336,000 to increase his career total to more than $32.4 million.

38 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 15

038_Leaderboard.indd 38 6/24/21 11:29 AM PLAYER_15_OceansEleven_FP.indd 3 6/22/21 12:45 PM PLAYER12_TheBike_BC.indd 3 5/11/21 11:46 AM