PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB: DEALING AROUND COVID Card Player Poker Tour Returns for January Series

www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 33/No. 26 December 16, 2020

PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB: DEALING AROUND COVID Card Player Poker Tour Returns For January Series

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006_MastheadB.indd 6 11/23/20 1:35 PM PLAYER_26_bestbet_FP.indd 3 11/23/20 1:56 PM Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 33/No. 26 18 14

Features Strategies, Analysis Also In this Issue 16 & Commentary 6 Gambling Ballot Initiatives Earn 26 About Us Clean Sweep On Election Day Where Does Your Profit Come From? 36 By Steve Schult By Jonathan Little Tournament Schedules 18 27 38 Palm Beach Kennel Club Kicks Off Deuce-To-Seven Triple Draw Lowball: Poker Leaderboards 2021 With Card Player Poker Tour Multi-Way Flop Situations Tournament Series By Kevin Haney By Card Player News Team Tournament 22 29 Even Celebrities Take Shots At The Poker How Chris Brewer Went From Hand Matchups Table $5 Home Games To $500,000 Pots 28 By Houston Curtis In Just Eight Years Andrei Boghean vs. Artur Martirosian By Erik Fast 32 vs. David Laka Ten Reminders For Poker Players In The 31 New Year The Inside Straight By Linda Johnson Benjamin Rolle vs. Eelis Pärssinen 10 33 32 Poker News Recap Gamble 105: When The Rubber Meets Andrei Boghean vs. Benjamin Rolle 14 The Road 33 By Nathan Gamble Player Of The Year Update João Vieira vs. Benjamin Rolle By Erik Fast

8 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

008_TOC.indd 8 11/25/20 9:02 AM PLAYER_22_ACR_FP.indd 3 9/29/20 9:49 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

the INSIDE STRAIGHT News, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World HYBRID LIVE AND ONLINE $10,000 WSOP ‘MAIN EVENT’ TO BE HELD IN DECEMBER By Erik Fast

Just 49 days before the new event. press release from the WSOP. “Each year, the World Series of Poker “ ere must be a World Champion ‘bracket’ will pay out prize money to announced that there will indeed be in 2020,” said WSOP Executive tournament entrants independently. a $10,000 WSOP main event world Director Ty Stewart. “Poker’s history e fi nal table will be a world’s fi rst, champion decided in 2020. is too important. It’s a unique format as an ultimate heads-up duel for the Despite the doubt created by a for the main event, but this is a unique World Championship, where $1 mil- global pandemic, the WSOP sent out year. We want to keep players’ health lion in prize money will be on the line a press release on Friday, Nov. 13, and safety top of mind and still deliver courtesy of Caesars Entertainment, revealing that the biggest and richest a great televised showcase for the game Inc. and GGPoker. e Main Event poker tournament in the world would we love.” will be held consistent to the tradi- take place for the 51st consecutive “Due to travel restrictions, and tional ‘freeze-out’ standards of the year, albeit with some major adjust- out of an abundance of caution for Main Event, off ering only single entry, ments. player safety, this year’s format will be as well as the longest levels and deep- e event will once again feature a unique, where early round play will est stacks ever off ered on the online $10,000 buy-in, with no-limit hold’em begin online with one entry on WSOP. platform.” as the game. While those basic facts com or GGPoker.com, before shift- ere will essentially be both a remain the same, quite a lot will be ing to a live setting for fi nal table US-facing and international main diff erent for this edition of the main action on two continents,” said the event which will be run online and

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010_News.indd 10 11/25/20 9:03 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

play down to a final table. e two Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15. high-profile poker tournaments in final tables will then play out live at “All in-person tournaments, hosting an online version of their the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino domestic and international, will be events during the spring and summer in Las Vegas and the King’s Casino subject to special COVID rules and months. e WSOP Online awarded Rozvadov, with the two champions of procedures, the details of which will 85 gold bracelets from the start of those events meeting in a final heads- be published at a later date and will July through early September, with up showdown for the ultimate title require players to undergo a required events spread across two separate and an added $1 million prize. health screening prior to live participa- online poker platforms. A total of e ‘Domestic Tournament’ kicks tion,” the WSOP noted in their release. 283,983 entries were made throughout off on Sunday, Dec. 13, and will be e final heads-up showdown the series, with $174.5 million in prize available to all players within the bor- between the domestic and interna- money awarded along the way. ders or Nevada and New Jersey. e tional winners will take place at the e last-minute announcement final table is expected to be set the Rio on Dec. 30, with the champion- of the new hybrid main event drew following day. e last nine players ship gold bracelet and the $1 million the criticism of many in the poker standing will reconvene on Monday, in added prize money on the line. community, including Bulgarian pro Dec. 28 to play to a winner. ESPN is e WSOP was set to award a Stoyan Madanzhiev, who won the set to air coverage of the event, featur- record number of gold bracelets $5,000 buy-in WSOP Online main ing commentary from Lon McEachern this year, with 101 events originally event for $3.9 million. Madanzhiev and Norman Chad. planned to run from late May through feels he is the rightful 2020 title holder e ‘International Tournament’ the middle of July, but was indefinitely and stated that had he known he will feature three starting flights on put on hold along with the rest of wasn’t playing in the “actual” main Nov. 29, and Dec. 5 and 6. e final the live poker scene during the early event, he probably wouldn’t have both- table is scheduled to be set on Dec. months of the pandemic. ered re-entering after busting his first 7, with the live final table at King’s e series joined a number of other bullet. m Online Sportsbooks Yet To Pay Out Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Election Bets

By Card Player News Team

ree weeks after Election Day, President Donald Trump still has yet to concede to former Vice President Joe Biden. And neither have the sportsbooks. According to a New York Post report, online sportsbooks around the world had yet to grade betting slips as of late-November, and pay out hundreds of millions of dollars to those who wagered on this year’s presidential election. Since it is illegal for an American sportsbook to accept wagers on a U.S. election, these wagers are confined to unregulated online sites and foreign- based operations. Betfair, a large gambling company based made several claims of voter fraud and a rigged election, in London, owes $600 million to its bettors assuming Biden while his legal team has made moves to fight the results in takes the office in January. court. Adam Burns, the sportsbook manager for BetOnline With the lack of a concession and a possible legal battle told the Post that the election was one of the most heavily in the making, the sportsbooks are hesitant to pay out the bet-on events of the year. funds until there is a clear-cut winner. “ e presidential election was bigger than the Super e books are possibly learning from past mistakes. Bowl,” said Burns. “We kept taking action, with fluctuating In 2016, the Dublin-based sportsbook Paddy Power paid odds for a few days after the election. But now the bet is [no those who bet on Hillary Clinton nearly a month before longer available] and we’re hoping for an official decision.” the election results after polls were overwhelmingly in the After several days of counting votes in a tighter-than- Democrat’s favor. The book paid out $1 million but was anticipated race, the majority of major media outlets have forced to fork over another $3.5 million to those who bet declared Biden the winner. However, Trump has since the other side after Trump won the election. m

010_News.indd 11 11/25/20 9:03 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - News, reviews, and interviews from around the poker world Michigan Online Poker Likely Delayed Until 2021 By Steve Schult

Despite reports in the fall claiming that Michigan online poker could be launched in November, one of the more recent meetings of the Michigan Gaming Control Board now point to 2021 as a more likely target date. Gaming regulators submitted rules for the launch of online gambling on Oct. 6, but the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules have yet to return and approve them, according to a report from Legal Sports Report. Executive Director Richard Kalm said during the meeting that there likely isn’t enough time left in the current legislative session to ensure a launch this year. “We’re counting session days and it doesn’t look like It seems like the worst-case scenario for the launch we’re going to get 15 session days in if we just let this run would be sometime around the 2021 Super Bowl. out to the end of the year,” said Kalm. “So conceivably, it Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill into law at the end would have to roll over to the next session in January and of 2019 that legalized online sports betting and other forms we would start another 15-day clock.” of online gambling, including poker. The original timeline e 15-day period referred to by Kalm is in reference had its rollout coming sometime in 2021, but the COVID- to the rule that states the JCAR has 15 legislative sessions 19 pandemic caused the state’s brick-and-mortar gambling to act on the rules or send them back to the regulator. The industry to shut down and wreaked havoc on the state’s committee has only had the rules for three days and there budget. are just 10 sessions left on the 2020 legislative calendar. Eventually those casinos and sports books reopened at a ere is still hope for passage this year as the JCAR could reduced capacity, but the budget shortfalls caused lawmak- waive the remaining time and send the rules back early. ers to look into expediting the launch of online gaming, The process was already requested by the committee, but which is expected to bring $650 million in annual tax nothing has happened yet. revenue to the state. m NEW JERSEY SPORTSBOOKS SET HANDLE RECORD FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE MONTH

By Steve Schult

New Jersey sportsbooks set a likely that October will be the peak it’s the second straight month with national record in monthly sports for a while. a year-over-year increase in total betting handle for the third con- e overwhelming majority of revenue. In September, when casi- secutive month after Garden State the bets were made through online nos posted an increase for the first gamblers wagered more than $803 sportsbooks with $743.9 million time since the virus made its way to million on sports in October. wagered virtually. rough the first America, it was thanks to internet In August, gaming operators set 10 months of 2020, $4.089 billion gambling. a record by accepting $668 million has been bet on sports with $3.729 In October, that sector of the worth of sports bets. at number billion bet online. gambling economy continued to pick only increased when bettors placed Sportsbooks profited $58.5 mil- up the slack with casinos reporting $748.58 million on September’s slate lion on the record-setting October $93.5 million from online gambling. of events before peaking again in handle. Compared to October 2019, that is October. Overall, New Jersey gaming oper- good for a 106.7 percent increase in With football in full swing, an ators won $338.1 million in October, online revenue. elongated baseball playoff series, and according to numbers released by Brick-and-mortar casinos, which the end of both the professional bas- the New Jersey Division of Gaming are now restricted from serving food ketball and hockey playoffs, sports Enforcement. ose figures represent and beverages overnight, reported bettors had plenty to wager on in a 15 percent year-over-year increase. $186.1 million in gross gaming rev- October. With three of those sports Despite the COVID-19 pandemic enue, which represented an eight per- taking a hiatus in November, it’s still wreaking havoc on New Jersey, cent year-over-year decline. m

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010_News.indd 12 11/25/20 9:03 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

COUSHATTA IS LOUISIANA’S LARGEST CASINO RESORT AND BEST BET By Barbara Rogers

Not a casino to let mother nature get in the way, Coushatta Casino Resort came back in full force operat- ing mode just days after Hurricane Delta struck. is, of course, would be expected of the resilient Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana who have overcome many hardships over the years. “We’re very pleased to reopen this quickly after the storm and allow our associates to return to work,” said General Manager Scott Sirois. Coushatta is once again offering their guests the recre- ation and entertainment they’ve come to expect after years of operation, and the players have shown their appreciation the game with six big-screen TVs. by keeping the most popular casino in Louisiana busy. e Of course, the poker room has taken extra precautions card room is no exception. to ensure players have a healthy, safe playing experience Coushatta’s poker room keeps the action going with a for everyone. Players and dealers are required to wear a bad beat jackpot, along with a High Hand promotion. e face covering, hand sanitizer is provided for all guests and games offered are limit hold’em, no-limit hold’em, Omaha associates, there is a seven-player max at each table, and the (limit and pot-limit) and Omaha eight-or-better with a half cards are changed and sanitized every 24 hours. kill. Coushatta Casino Resort is owned by the Coushatta e beautiful 10-table card room, now located near Tribe of Louisiana and is located in Kinder, Louisiana. Lenny B’s Cocktail bar, is known for its Southern charm With a beautifully appointed room, you can stay where and friendly staff. Players are offered food comps, have the you play. For more information visit www.ccrla.com or call convenience of USB chargers at each table, and can enjoy 1-800-584-7263. m HIGH STAKES POKER RETURNS WITH NEW EPISODES IN DECEMBER

By Card Player News Team

High Stakes Poker, one of the game’s most popular television shows, is making its return this December on PokerGO. Rumors about the show began circulating in September, and in October, legendary high-stakes online pro Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan got poker fans excited by tweeting video footage of himself at the poker table during a filming session at the Aria in Las Vegas. “High Stakes Poker coming back guys,” said Dwan. “Hope I run as good as last time.” PokerGO has since confirmed that High Stakes Poker playing with these guys… some of them more than others. will indeed begin airing episodes before the New Year, You know it’s nice to be back on High Stakes Poker. It’s been starting Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. ET. a long time, and I’m looking forward to the next season.” Season 8 will feature many players from the origi- ere were 98 episodes aired on GSN between 2006 nal run of the show, as well as 17 new players making and 2011 during the previous seven seasons of the show. It their debut. e first episode will include a lineup of was hosted by Gabe Kaplan and A.J. Benza for the majority Dwan, Brandon Steven, Rick Salomon, Bryn Kenney, Jean- of the run before Norm Macdonald took over in the final Robert Bellande, Nick Petrangelo, and former MLB pitcher season. Michael Schwimer playing stakes of $400-$800. e show centered around airing nosebleed-stakes cash Other players who have been confirmed include Phil games with some of the best players in the world. It ended Hellmuth, Doug Polk, Brandon Adams, Jason Koon, Ben up as the backdrop for some of poker’s most memorable Lamb, John Andress, and Phil Ivey. hands, as some of the biggest pots ever seen were played on “Excited? Nervous? Neither,” answered Ivey. “I enjoy the show. m

010_News.indd 13 11/25/20 9:03 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Player of the year As of 11-18-2020

Place Player Points Final Tables POY Earnings 1 Vincent Wan 2,280 1 $909,420 2 Farid Jattin 2,177 6 $1,205,493 3 Anton Suarez 2,100 1 $1,000,000 4 Cary Katz 2,095 8 $2,420,543 5 Kahle Burns 1,956 6 $2,923,988 6 Tai Hoang 1,900 1 $909,420 7 Aaron Van Blarcum 1,896 8 $1,854,522 8 Sam Greenwood 1,881 6 $1,357,807 9 Tim Adams 1,857 6 $5,904,777 10 Brian Altman 1,848 3 $542,866 11 Michael Addamo 1,806 5 $2,143,310 12 Pablo Silva 1,800 1 $1,000,000 13 Christian Rudolph 1,750 1 $620,000 14 James Romero 1,736 2 $745,000 15 Erik Seidel 1,686 5 $669,649 16 Eric Afriat 1,680 1 $394,120 17 Benjamin Winsor 1,636 4 $295,054 18 Lei Xu 1,620 2 $337,183 19 Alex Foxen 1,597 6 $1,603,559 20 Nino Ullmann 1,540 2 $370,609 LEI XU JOINS POY LEADERBOARD WITH RUNNER-UP SHOWING IN TIGER POKER CUP FINALE

Lei Xu has made two top-three finishes in big events in 2020, cashing for $337,183 across the two scores. The Chinese player finished third in a ¥22,000 ($3,238 USD) buy-in event during the January running of the Tiger Poker Cup Grand Finale to earn $124,878 USD and 720 Card Player Player of the Year points. The event drew 494 entries. In late October, Xu placed second from a field of 1,522 entries in a ¥8,800 ($1,322 USD) buy-in event at the Tiger Poker Cup Finale series, adding another $212,305 and 900 points. As a result of these two deep runs, Xu has climbed into 18th place in the overall POY race stand - ings for 2020 with 1,620 total points earned. MIKITA BADZIAKOUSKI WINS EPT ONLINE $10,300 SUPER HIGH ROLLER EVENT

Mikita ‘fish2013’ Badziakouski took down the 2020 European Poker Tour Online $1,000,000 guaranteed $10,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller event. The Belarusian poker star out - lasted a field of 109 total entries, striking a heads-up deal with Matthias ‘iambest2’ Eibinger to secure the title and a top payout of $222,453. This was Badziakouski’s 15th recorded tournament title. It brings his career earnings to more than $30.4 million, which places him just outside the top ten on poker’s all-time money list. Steve O’Dwyer, who occupies the 10th-place spot, has $31,268,703 in lifetime cashes, which is just $843,080 ahead of Badziakouski. Badziakouski overcame a stacked final table on the road to the title, including Eibinger (2nd - $221,564), Christian ‘WATnlos’ Rudolph (3rd - $148,058), Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson (6th - $67,006) and Timothy ‘Tim0thee’ Adams (8th - $39,498)

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014_POY.indd 14 11/25/20 9:06 AM . EELIS PÄRSSINEN WINS EPT ONLINE $25,000 SUPER HIGH ROLLER EVENT

The EPT Online $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em super high roller event attracted a total of 81 entrants. In the end, the lion’s share of the $2 million in guaranteed prize money was ultimately awarded to Eelis ‘EEE27’ Pärssinen. The poker pro from Finland outlasted a stacked final table to walk away with the title and the top prize of $539,819. Christian ‘WATnlos’ Rudolph finished as the runner-up in this event just two days removed from his third-place showing in the $10,300 high roller. He earned $404,324 after Pärssinen came out on top of their heads-up match for the title. Other big names that made the money in this event included Benjamin ‘bencb789’ Rolle (3rd - $302,837), two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Joao ‘Naza114’ Vieira (6th - $127,249), and Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosian (9th - $62,353).

LANDON TICE TOPS MID-STATES POKER TOUR VENETIAN $1,100 MAIN EVENT

The 2020 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian $1,100 no-limit hold’em main event attracted a total of 1,123 entries, blowing away the $200,000 guarantee to create a final prize pool of $1,089,166. The top 128 finishers cashed in this event, but the title and the lion’s share of the prize money was ultimately awarded to 21-year-old Landon Tice. The Boca Raton, Florida native earned $201,529 and his first live tournament title for the win. Tice also took home 960 POY points as the champion of this event. As a result, he now sits in a seven-way tie for 73rd place in the 2020 POY race standings. Brandon Lombardo was the runner- up in this event. He was awarded $135,074 and 800 POY points for his strong showing. 2018 World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder main event winner David Larson finished seventh in this event for $22,876 and 240 points.

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014_POY.indd 15 11/25/20 9:06 AM GAMBLING BALLOT INITIATIVES EARN CLEAN SWEEP ON ELECTION DAY By Steve Schult

During this past election cycle, most of the attention was spend their money. By bringing brick-and-mortar casinos to understandably focused on the presidential race. But gamblers the Cornhusker State, the local and state governments would in six states have something to celebrate as every gaming- reap the benefit of tax revenue, while gamblers no longer have related ballot initiative was passed easily. to cross state lines. Colorado, Nebraska, Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, and e group collected signatures for three petitions. One that South Dakota all passed resolutions that expanded gambling would amend the state constitution to allow casino gambling, in their state. Nebraska and Virginia will now begin to break another to change state laws to allow the government to regu- ground on brick-and-mortar casinos. Colorado will be able to late the market, and a third that allocated tax revenue to the raise the $100 max bet, while Louisiana, Maryland, and South government. Dakota legalized sports betting. e nearly half million signatures was more than enough to “With their affirmative votes, Americans welcomed gam- get the issue on the ballot, but in August, Nebraska Secretary ing’s world-class entertainment to their communities along of State Robert B. Evnen said that those issues would not be with our new jobs and vital state and local tax revenue,” said placed on the ballot in November. He argued that the three American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller initiatives “fail to comply with the single subject rule in the in a press release. “Some form of legal gaming is currently Nebraska Constitution and are confusing.” authorized in 44 states, and 45 percent of American adults Keep the Money in Nebraska reached out to Lincoln-based live in states that provide safeguards of a legal, regulated sports attorney Andre Barry, who filed a request with the Nebraska betting market.” Supreme Court to review the decision and possibly force Evnen Nebraska to put the issues on the ballot. Of all the states, Nebraska had the bumpiest road to victory, In September, just a few days before the deadline to file despite voters saying “Yes” to casinos by a comfortable 2-to-1 ballot initiatives, the court heard the case and ruled against margin. Evnen’s unilateral decision. e initiatives were put on the bal- Last summer, a pro-gambling group collected 475,000 lot and eventually passed by residents of the state. signatures to get the issue on the ballot. e group, Keep the Casinos will be permitted at existing Nebraska horse rac- Money in Nebraska, argued that Nebraskans were simply ing tracks. ey are expected to be built at tracks in Lincoln, heading across the border to casinos in neighboring states to Omaha, Grand Island, Columbus, Sioux City, and Hastings. If

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016_GamblingBalletFeature.indd 16 11/23/20 1:41 PM a new track is built in the future, that site may build a casino favor the expansion of commercial gaming in the State of as well. Maryland to authorize sports and event betting for the pri- Virginia mary purpose of raising revenue for education?” Of the six states that passed gambling expansion, Virginia’s Despite his vocal support, Hogan never actually signed initiatives were the only ones that weren’t statewide. Last his name on the bill when it hit his desk. Instead, he passed April, legislation was passed that gave five cities permission the bill through inaction. to vote on whether to bring casinos to their locales. e bill e timeline for Maryland is reported to be similar to granted residents of Danville, Bristol, Norfolk, Portsmouth, that of South Dakota. Lawmakers will carve out regulatory and Richmond the right to decide whether casinos should be details during the 2021 session and sportsbooks can expect in their city. to launch later in the year. Unlike South Dakota, Maryland Danville, Bristol, Norfolk, and Portsmouth all voted over- will roll out an online and mobile market within its state. whelmingly in favor of the casinos, while Richmond decided If Maryland ends up taxing its sportsbooks at the same to hold the vote until the 2021 election cycle. 20 percent it taxes its casinos, then estimates have the state Caesars Entertainment will construct the Danville-based reaping $18.2 million in annual tax revenue from sports casino and Hard Rock International will break ground on betting alone. a property in Bristol. e Pamunkey Tribe has the rights to Louisiana build the casino in Norfolk, while Rush Street Gaming will Louisiana also voted to legalize sports betting, but that build its fifth casino in Portsmouth. was done in a parish-by-parish fashion. When the dust If Richmond passes the resolution in 2021, the Pamunkey settled, an overwhelming majority decided to pass the initia- Tribe will have the ability to erect a casino in the state’s capital. tive, with 55 of the state’s 64 parishes ultimately voting in e April legislation also legalized sports betting in favor of it. Virginia, but that issue did not require a vote, meaning that Following election day, the official number was only 52, as all four, and potentially five, Virginia casinos will have sports- there were still seven parishes counting votes and the results books. were just too close to call. Of the “too close to call parishes,” South Dakota Beauregard, Grant and Richland ended up in favor of the In South Dakota, voters statewide decided that sports resolution, while Caldwell, Jackson, Sabine and Union went betting should be legal. About 58 percent of South Dakotan against it. Catahoula, Franklin, LaSalle, and West Carroll voters approved the measure. were definitively against the measure on election night. e initiative passing means that the state’s constitution It’s not surprising that most parishes were in favor of it, as will be amended to allow the activity only at the state’s brick- the state had a similar vote two years ago over whether daily and-mortar casino in Deadwood. e amendment does not fantasy sports should be legal. In 2018, 47 parishes decided to allow for mobile or online betting, so it’s highly unlikely that permit daily fantasy sports contests. online sportsbooks will pop up in South Dakota anytime According to a report from the Baton Rouge Advocate, esti- soon. mates on the potential tax revenue derived from sports betting Lawmakers will draft a bill in 2021 that will begin setting are still unclear. up the regulatory framework for the industry. ey will pass With the three sports betting victories, more than half the a bill which will set tax rates and other regulatory guidelines country has authorized sports betting as now 26 states have for sports betting. According to multiple reports, the bill will legalized the activity. Not all of those states have rolled out likely pass in the first half of the year and retail sportsbooks markets yet, however. will be up-and-running in Deadwood later that same year. Colorado Maryland Colorado became a part of that group when it legalized Maryland’s sports betting initiative was similar to South sports betting last year. But in 2020, voters decided to also Dakota’s in the sense that there was no regulatory framework allow residents of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, and Central outlined by the legislators, but it did not need to alter the City to choose whether to raise the current $100 max bet, a constitution. About two-thirds of Maryland residents voted in rule that could provide a boom to the poker games in the state. favor of the issue. ose three cities are home to the state’s 33 commercial Since the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 leg- casinos, some of which have poker rooms. While it doesn’t islative session, Maryland lawmakers passed a bill that simply affect traditional table games much, outside of the occasional stated the voters would have the final say on whether to legal- high roller, it massively hinders poker games. ize sports betting. It unanimously passed the senate and by a e rule effectively makes traditional no-limit hold’em 129-3 landslide margin in the house. cash games illegal. Since you can’t ever bet more than $100, It also had support from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, the games are technically spread limit games with a max bet. who urged voters to vote “Yes” on the measure just a few days But if the voters decide to raise it, some of the small-stakes before the election. games could functionally turn into a traditional no-limit “Question 2 provides a critical revenue source for game. public education without raising taxes on families and If the voters decide to get rid of the cap altogether, no-limit businesses,” said Hogan in a statement. “is initiative games of all stakes could be spread without another thought. builds on the very successful ‘Hogan Lockbox,’ which puts A similar rule change was made in Florida in 2010, when the casino revenues in a lockbox dedicated to education. We are Sunshine State lifted a $100 max bet rule of its own. already funding our K-12 schools at record levels, and this e result was a mini poker boom, as games sprung up all is another way to ensure this is the case for years to come.” over the state and poker players flocked to Florida from all over e question on the ballot was very direct and let voters to get a piece of the action. Depending on what voters decide know that revenue stemming from this type of gambling in those cities, a similar result could happen in the Centennial would go to the state’s education system, reading, “Do you State. m

016_GamblingBalletFeature.indd 17 11/23/20 1:41 PM Palm Beach Kennel Club Kicks Off 2021 With Card Player Poker Tour Tournament Series By Card Player News Team

e Poker Room at Palm Beach Kennel Club is partner- West Palm Beach poker hotspot since the venue reopened ing with the Card Player Poker Tour this January to ring in May following nearly two months of closure due to in the New Year with an action-packed tournament series. the COVID-19 outbreak. It has now been more than six “ ings are bouncing back here with players returning, months since PBKC resumed operations with new protocols and we expect even more to return soon,” said Palm Beach in place to help ensure the health and safety of guests and Kennel Club Card Room Director Noah Carbone. “We are employees. alive and well and things are thriving here. If someone is “We’re very excited to have everybody back and return looking for a safe and friendly place to play poker, where to some form of normalcy; the new normal, as one might better to spend some of the winter than here in South call it,” Carbone said. “With all of the safety procedures we Florida?” have put into place, we have full confi dence that when you e eight-event festival is scheduled to run from Jan. come into the Kennel Club, you are in as safe of an area as 1-10, 2020, with $45,000 in guaranteed prize money you could be in.” including a $25,000 guarantee on the $350 buy-in no-limit PBKC utilized the downtime to deep clean the entire hold’em event that runs from Jan. 8-10. e fi rst seven tour- facility, establishing the ‘PBKC Clean Team’ while also naments on the schedule are all single-day events. All events developing new procedures to off er the best and safest poker will start at 12:15 p.m. local time, with unlimited re-entry product to their customers. available through the fi rst break. “ e period in which the facility was closed, every min- is will mark the third time that PBKC and the CPPT ute of that time was spent coming up with a comprehensive have joined forces. e fi rst CPPT series took place in plan to provide a safe product for our customers. What 2013. e $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event for we’ve seen over time is that our plan has not only been very that series drew 287 entries, with eventual champion John eff ective, but also well received by the players.” McNulty earning $68,191 as the eventual champion. Cardroom patrons are required to pass through a e fi ve-event CPPT PBKC series held in December of mandatory visitor screening zone where guests have their 2019 was highlighted by a $60,000 guaranteed $230 buy- temperature checked and are required to sign a waiver. e in tournament. From a fi eld of 548 entries, the fi nal eight PBKC is following CDC guidelines and local government players agreed to a chop in that event with Diego Lezcano recommendations, and has a number of precautions and emerging with the title and a payday of $11,225. procedures in place. Safety First At PBKC Signage reminding visitors to social distance is found is will be the fi rst major poker series held at the iconic throughout the facility, with hand sanitizer available at

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018_CoverStory.indd 18 11/25/20 9:09 AM entrances and throughout the building. At the table, hand found on the PBKC’s offi cial website, pbkennelclub.com. sanitizer is used in lieu of a dealer button. When a player has About Palm Beach Kennel Club the sanitizer, they are encouraged to use it. All dealers and e Palm Beach Kennel Club fi rst opened in 1932, and players are required to wear masks, and sanitize their hands will celebrate its 89th anniversary this coming Feb. 17. e upon arriving at the table. For the CPPT series, tables will Poker Room opened in 1997, and since that time has grown play nine-handed except for the six-max event. into one of the biggest and best poker rooms in Florida. e e PBKC has found great success so far utilizing what elegant, non-smoking venue includes 64 tables spread across they refer to as ‘game containment’ for cash games. a spacious room. “We asked players to pick their game for the day, and “We have a large facility, so you won’t see tables on top of that would be where they played for the duration of their each other,” said Carbone. “We have one of the largest card session,” said Carbone. “We followed that up by having the room in the state of Florida, so that gives us the ability to dealer’s rotation being restricted as well.” space the tables out more so than some rooms which might Cards are sanitized prior to being introduced to any have to pack them in a little bit tighter.” game, and are changed frequently. Chips are also not recir- e current hours for e Poker Room are 9 a.m. - 3 culated until they have been fully sanitized. a.m. Sunday through ursday, with extended hours of 9 “We have had no issues within the room,” Carbone a.m. - 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. e room off ers a continued. “We haven’t backed off any of those procedures. number of promotions for players, as well. Us being steadfast in what we are doing, essentially creating “Our bad beat jackpot is traditionally one of the largest a new norm for the poker room, has shown huge dividends in the state. As we speak it is currently over $150,000 and is in player safety, player retention, and the longevity of the still growing. We have high hand promotions that run most game.” days from noon to midnight, every 20 minutes, with double A full listing of COVID-19 safety measures can be high hands running on most weekends,” Carbone shared.

BEFORE YOU VISIT

• All customers and employees will have their temperature checked upon arrival. • Masks will be required by all customers and employees. • Games will be played with a designated number of players to be determined by management. • The waiting area will not be utilized. Players will be seated upon arrival and games will commence when the designated number of players is achieved. • Chips will be isolated to a specific table. Once chips have been introduced to a game, they can only come off the table in drop boxes, dealer tips, or by cashing out. Once chips are removed from play, they will not be recirculated until after they are sanitized. • Eating food at the tables will be prohibited. Drinks will be served with tabletop cup holders, which will be sanitized prior to being issued to a new customer. • Hand sanitizer will be used in lieu of a dealer button. When a player has the sanitizer, they are encouraged to use it. Dealers will also sanitize their hands after arriving at the table.

018_CoverStory.indd 19 11/25/20 9:09 AM Palm Beach Kennel Club was founded as a greyhound and Saturday. In accordance with safety protocols, eating racing venue in 1932, but in 2018 Florida voters decided food at the tables is currently prohibited. Drinks will be that greyhound racing should come to an end in the state. served with tabletop cup holders, which will be sanitized “ e last day of live dog racing will be Dec. 31, the prior to each use. day before this tournament series begins,” said Carbone. e Paddock Restaurant offers fine dining in a sophis- “Visitors who are interested will be able to catch what will ticated, expansive dining room featuring a commanding officially be the last race ever run in Florida, which will run view of the fast-paced action. All meals are cooked to order on New Year’s Eve. ough greyhound racing is coming with the freshest ingredients. ere are several daily chef’s to an end, the poker offerings are going to be even better specials and an outstanding wine list to complement any than before.” meal. e Terrace Restaurant, located on the track’s second In addition to poker, Palm Beach Kennel Club also floor, offers lighter, faster fare, with something for everyone provides the best in simulcast wagering from the nation’s to enjoy. top facilities. ere are more than 500 TV monitors around The PBKC and CPPT Look Forward To Seeing You Soon! the room for fans to watch, wager, and win. Players can also With extensive safety protocols in place, the Palm Beach catch all their favorite college and NFL games, along with Kennel Club is set to welcome the CPPT as their first poker other popular sports broadcasts. tour since reopening in late May. e eight-event series is PBKC also offers a wide range of delicious dining sure to be an action-packed way to kick off 2021 in style. choices, with both the Paddock Restaurant and e Terrace For more information on the CPPT, visit the tour Restaurant open for lunch daily and for dinners on Friday homepage at www.cardplayerpokertour.com. m

Here is a look at the schedule of events for the 2021 CPPT Palm Beach Kennel Club:

EVENT NO. DATE BUY-IN EVENT/ FORMAT GUARANTEE 1 1/1/2021 $125 No-Limit Hold’em $5k Guarantee 2 1/2/2021 $230 No-Limit Hold’em $5k Guarantee 3 1/3/2021 $125 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em $2k Guarantee 4 1/4/2021 $125 H.O.R.S.E $2k Guarantee 5 1/5/2021 $125 Turbo No-Limit Hold’em $2k Guarantee 6 1/6/2021 $230 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-Or-Better $3k Guarantee 7 1/7/2021 $125 No-Limit Hold’em $3k Guarantee 8 1/8/2021 $350 No-Limit Hold’em / Day 1A $25k Guarantee 1/9/2021 $350 No-Limit Hold’em / Day 1B $25k Guarantee 1/10/2021 $350 No-Limit Hold’em / Day 2 $25k Guarantee

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018_CoverStory.indd 20 11/25/20 9:09 AM Poker Stories Podcast

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

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

www.CardPlayer.com/poker-podcasts

CP_Brand_40_Podcast.indd 3 10/13/20 9:35 AM HOW CHRIS BREWER WENT FROM $5 HOME GAMES TO $500,000 POTS IN JUST EIGHT YEARS 27-Year-Old Former Collegiate Runner Discusses His Rapid Rise Up The Ranks

By Erik Fast

In poker, you have to run good, just a few clicks of a button. cashing for $55,880. win your races, and keep in mind In the past year, Brewer has begun Card Player recently spoke to that a tournament is a marathon, not to play in more tournaments in addi- Brewer to talk about his collegiate a sprint. ere are many running- tion to grinding cash games. He running career, his unlikely start in related phrases that are key parts of strung together a few deep runs in big poker, and climbing the ladder to the the poker vernacular. events during this year’s World Series biggest games spread online. High-stakes cash game player of Poker Online, making the quarterfi- Erik Fast: Can you tell me about Chris Brewer has surely heard all nals of the $10,000 heads-up champi- your background as a collegiate run- the jokes as a former distance runner onship, cashing in the $25,000 buy-in ner at the University of Oregon? for the 31-time national champion high roller event, and navigating his Christopher Brewer: I ran the mile University of Oregon Ducks track way to the final day of the $25 million in college. at was the main factor and field team. In fact, the 27-year- guaranteed $5,000 buy-in no-limit for me. Oregon was the number one old from San Diego, California played hold’em main event. track program in the nation, and I his very first hand of poker while e massive field of 5,802 entries just wanted to be around all the best attending the 2012 Olympic Trials. in the WSOP Online main event cre- guys. I did graduate with a business Just eight years after taking a seat ated the largest prize pool in online major and math minor, though. in that $5 buy-in home game, Brewer poker history with $27,559,500, a EF: What were your aspirations as now finds himself playing in the high- record that was officially certified a runner? est stakes cash games in the world by Guinness World Records in late CB: ey changed over time. When with $1,000-$2,000 blinds and six- October. Brewer ultimately finished I was first in high school, I just figure pots flying back and forth with in 32nd place in the historic event, wanted to do as well as I could. en

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022_ChrisBrewerFeature.indd 22 11/25/20 9:10 AM I wanted to try to win a state title and that worked anywhere near as hard remember correctly, we] dealt all 12 get a college scholarship. And then as when I was on the Oregon track people in at one table. I think I lost when I went into college, like most team. And I’d say that the poker com- that one, but then started doing a few kids who end up going to Oregon for munity is trying significantly less hard home games from there, and I thought running, I had the Olympic dream. at poker than the track community is it was fun. And then it was $1-$2 at Probably about two or three years in, trying at running. So, when I tran- a nice poker room that had no rake I realized I didn’t really want to run sitioned into poker, I always felt like called Full House Poker. I just started after college. From then on, I just that was a benefit. I was just so used playing and ran really hot before [los- wanted to do the best I could and get to being in this culture where, if you ing it back.] After I lost decided I’d try a few things checked off the list for my weren’t trying every day to actively to get good at the game. running career, but knew I was going do something to get better, you were EF: What started the transition to be done after college. essentially considered to be wasting from playing in home games and low- EF: How do you think being a your time. No one wanted you to be stakes cash games to playing profes- high-level competitive runner might there. I feel like that definitely helped sionally? have impacted you later on as a poker me with poker, because I just have CB: It started off with me just want- pro? that ingrained in me. ing to get better. I thought, ‘I can CB: I think more than most sports, EF: When did you first play poker? figure out a way to win in this game.’ distance running is probably up CB: I was 19. It was after my fresh- And I did. I started playing when I there with swimming and weightlift- man year of college and we played a was like 20, because it was 18 and over ing, where the training is extremely, home game during the 2012 Olympic at that card room, and I played in that extremely intense. It’s just the culture trial. We played a $5 buy-in poker $1-$2 game until I graduated when I of it. I have never been around people tournament with 12 people, and [if I was 23. I’d probably play like 25 hours

022_ChrisBrewerFeature.indd 23 11/25/20 9:10 AM that you took a big shot that enabled you to move up in stakes? CB: ere was a funny one, that was super degen of me at the time. I probably had around $70,000 in my bankroll at the time and I was playing what started as a $5-$10 game. It had grown into a $10-$25 game, because a player had run $5,000 into $105,000 in the game, probably one of the crazi- est things I’ve ever seen. I told the guy that every single time he was all in, for 20 times, I would give him $100, and he took it as a challenge. He went all in 44 times that day, and he won 41 of them. It was like the most absurd game ever. I was in for about $40,000 total and had gotten stacked. I took all the money I had in my box at Ocean’s Eleven, which I think was like anoth- a week or so, and I just beat that game been winning for three years at $1-$2, er $30,000 or so and I just put it all on to the point where I joked that I prob- and while the money was nothing the table. I probably had only another ably have the world’s largest sample of crazy, it was enough that I was paying $5,000 or so left in my bank account, winning at $1-$2. my own rent and [other expenses] in but I told myself, ‘If I’m going broke, When I moved back to San Diego, college. My parents were pretty on it’s going to be against this guy. I don’t I started playing $5-$5 and I took board with it. I think their take was care.’ some shots at $10-$25, which was kind of like, ‘Well, if it doesn’t work, And then a big hand came up. I the big game at Ocean’s Eleven. I had you have a college degree, and you opened A-J and a bunch of people some swings, going up and down a can go get a job. So go ahead and do called. e flop came A-J-3 with two bunch in that game, but I ended up this, but come back to us when you go spades, and the dude just open shoved getting staked for games $5-$10 or broke.’ I think that was kind of what into roughly a $2,000 pot for around higher. en I moved to Los Angeles they were expecting, and then I just $40,000. I called with aces and jacks for a year, and won a bunch at $10- managed not to go broke. and I held up against 7-5 of spades for $20 and $20-$40. I had a really big EF: Was your entire focus on live a seven-high flush draw. Had I lost session playing $100-$200 heads up, poker? there, that would have been brutal. which helped. It all just kind of start- CB: Pretty much my entire come up I would have been back to $1-$2 I ed accelerating. I was very aggressive was almost all live poker. Before the guess. I don’t know. in taking shots, and I ran good in a lot quarantine this year, I hadn’t played EF: How long did it take for you of spots where I was aggressive. a ton online, maybe 50,000 hands to get to the point where you are now EF: Did you come out of college lifetime. playing in some of the very biggest choosing poker, or did you ever look EF: Were you able to find games cash games in the world? into another career? bigger than $10-$20 often enough to CB: e bigger progression from CB: I had decided on poker. I knew get established at the higher stakes? $25-$50 up probably happened from from the moment I started playing CB: When you live in LA, you can the end of 2018 until now. I’ve basi- for real. I thought the highest stakes definitely play a lot of $10-$20 and cally been on a year-and-a-half long were like $10-$20 at that point, but $20-$40. I played a ton of $20-$40 at heater. I would read something [on a forum] Commerce, but the next step up from EF: What does being a pro consist about someone beating those stakes that was always [much bigger.] You of in terms of the types of games and I told myself, ‘I’m going to do could play $50-$100, but usually that you’re playing in? that. I’m going to play whatever the game has a straddle so usually you CB: I was out of the country for a biggest game is, and I’m going to beat were playing $100-$200. I feel like while. So when I was there, a lot of that.’ at’s always been what I’ve that’s what ends up happening live, times I was just waking up and find- wanted to do since I’ve started playing is like once you go above $20-$40, ing whatever was going on online dur- poker. Get to the highest stakes, and whatever stake they’re playing, you’re ing the WSOP Online. I was playing beat them. From the moment I started going to play two times that stake. So just whatever they had, which would playing, that was always the goal. $100-$200 really ends up being $100- usually end up being like two to three EF: So, you were essentially playing $200-$400, for example. So that was $5,000 buy-in tournaments in a day, for a living as soon as you finished where there was a big jump for sure. followed by a $10,000, and then I’d school. How did your family and You just have to get lucky at that point wait to see if one of the cash games friends react to that decision? in order to be able to move up. You’ve would go. I played as high as $500- CB: I talked to my parents about got to run good when you take your $1,000-$2,000 blinds, but that was a year before I graduated, and I told shots at the bigger games. an extreme, obviously. them my intentions. At that point, I’d EF: Do you remember the first time EF: Is there any stress that comes

24 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

022_ChrisBrewerFeature.indd 24 11/25/20 9:10 AM with playing $1,000-$2,000? is not common generally online. some time on Sundays at first. en CB: I would only play with the Also, it was like we knew why the when quarantine happened, and all online poker client showing stacks and game was running whenever it went, the live stuff got shut down. I started bets in big blinds. I would not look at and it seemed like everyone was kind to play more, and as that went on, I the real dollar numbers, which is defi- of pretty open about it. When you’re found tournaments significantly more nitely a nice option the software had. playing $200-$400 or $100-$200, it fun and interesting. I’m at the point Somehow $200-$400 felt small after feels much more like you’re just out that now I find tournament poker to playing those games, so it definitely there. It’s very predatory and no one be a more fun game to play than cash, altered my perception a little. In one knows each other at all. Somehow and I would not have thought I’d ever of the first sessions I played, we didn’t the biggest game felt less predatory, say that a year ago. even straddle, and it still just felt so which is kind of interesting. It was EF: Considering that tournament big. I was pretty stressed then. I start- a friendlier atmosphere, where it’d play wasn’t a big focus of yours for ed off just losing straight away too. I be much more ruthless in the games most of your career, it must have been had one where I ran a big bluff, and I just below those stakes. Like if a spot a pleasant surprise to find yourself got called, and that felt really bad. But left the game in a $200-$400 game, still in on the final day of the $5,000 once I got used to it, it buy-in WSOP Online main wasn’t as stressful. event. What was the experi- EF: What was one ence of playing that tourna- of the most exciting or ment like? intense pots you played “I was in for about $40,000 CB: at was awesome. this summer? I’m sure it’s not as cool as CB: I think the most total and had gotten making a deep run in the notable hand has to be live main event probably when Limitless (Polish stacked. I took all the money would be, but it was still high-stakes player just so exciting just being Wiktor Malinowski), I had in my box at Ocean’s in. As you get closer and called me with 7n 2n closer, you allow yourself to in a four-bet pot, and Eleven, which I think was think, ‘I have a shot at this. then I lost with Am It could happen.’ Because 10n after an Ao 10p like another $30,000 or so, the entire time you’re play- 3p flop. He floated the ing something like that, you flop with 7-2, and it and I just put it all on the don’t actually think you’re ran out 5n on the turn, going to win. ‘I’m just reg- 4n on the river for like table. I probably had only istering because I know a $500,000 pot. So, I it’s good value, but I don’t think that had to be another $5,000 or so left in expect anything to come the most notable one. from it.’ All of a sudden it But it was so absurd I my bank account, but I told was day three and there’s 40 wasn’t even that mad. left and I was still in. ‘Oh, I just started laughing, myself, ‘If I’m going broke, I can actually have hope because I was just like, now!’ It was really exciting. ‘What just happened?’ it’s going to be against this EF: In the end you fin- EF: In a high-stakes ished 32nd for $55,880. live game there’s a guy. I don’t care.’” What are your plans as a big social aspect. Was poker pro moving forward, it weird to make the and how does tournament jump up to playing play factor into them? these really huge games with players it was just over, the game would be CB: I want to play all the live you might not have interacted with in instantly done and you’re going to get tournaments when they come back, person before? buttoned. But that never happened in any of the super high roller stuff. I CB: It’s super different. It feels the $1,000-$2,000. don’t know when those will be back, extremely fake. It feels like you’re EF: You mentioned that you played but I’m excited to try to do that. It playing a video game. You just have a decent number of tournaments seems really fun. I’ve thought about a score card that you’re trying to run this summer. Was it something you moving out of the country to go up. It’s so weird to conceptualize it enjoyed and plan on doing more of? play more online. I haven’t decided as real money when you’re playing. CB: It was interesting. For a long whether or not I’m going to do that. After, you’ll be like, ‘Wow, that was time, I said I was never going to play It’s kind of tough in the United a lot.’ But I will say that the highest tournaments. en I just started play- States, when there’s not as much stakes games, the $1,000-$2,000, felt ing them around last October or some- live poker, and certainly not a ton a bit more like some mix of an online thing. I watched Nick Petrangelo’s of high-stakes options available. So, and a live game, because there was training course on Upswing, as well I’m going to be trying to figure that friendly stuff we did in those games. as some of bencb789’s training course out, but I definitely want to play all We would always flip to see who got and found it all kind of interesting. I the big live tournaments when those the last button and everything, which was just playing tournaments to waste are back. m

022_ChrisBrewerFeature.indd 25 11/25/20 9:10 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

WHERE DOES YOUR PROFIT COME FROM? By Jonathan Little

It is important to realize that in poker, as in life, things are not always as they appear. In poker, one way this concept manifests itself is in the form of bluffi ng. e vast majority of poker players, especially those who frequent small-stakes cash games and tournaments, think the optimal winning strategy is rigid, tight, and aggressive. While winning most of the pots that belong to you, plus a few more when your opponents play poorly, is a nice way to keep variance low and to have an edge, that edge will consis- tently be small. When playing against players who are not world-class (which will almost always be the case), you will win signifi cantly more money by playing in a manner that exploits their sub-optimal ose who win at the middle- and high-stakes games tendencies. is usually means getting maximum value often have a similar, but inverse, graph, with a positive red from your premium hands (as many recreational players line and a negative or break-even blue line. ese players already do) while also stealing pots that do not belong to win by making their opponents fold incorrectly, meaning you (which many recreational players do not do). they successfully bluff way more often. When they happen I do not want you to get the idea that playing in a gen- to play large pots, they will frequently be an underdog, erally tight, aggressive style is bad. e problem is that this but they steal enough small pots to more than make up straightforward strategy does not maximally exploit other for their losses. tight, aggressive players. At this point in time, almost In general, you will fi nd that each specifi c player has every poker player has studied one of the now-outdated a point in the hand where they act in an honest manner, books that advocate playing mostly premium hands. ese betting with strong hands and checking with marginal players are excellent at being patient and getting paid off and weak hands. Some players act honestly as soon as they when they are fortunate enough to make the nuts against put a chip in the pot. ey raise their strong hands, limp their oblivious opponents. ese sporadic large wins are their marginal hands, and fold their junk. Others raise enough to beat the worst players in the small-stakes games prefl op with all hands they deem respectable but then for a small amount. only continuation bet the fl op when they have what they As you move up, however, you will face fewer and fewer believe to be a strong holding. Many players in today’s bad players to the point that when you reach the medium game continuation bet the fl op with a wide range but then and high stakes, there will rarely be an obvious, terrible play the turn in an honest manner, only betting when they player at your table. Most middle- and high-stakes players are confi dent that they have the best hand, opting to check strive to ensure they do not make the blunders that the with their trash and marginal hands. More maniacal play- worst players make. But this tendency to avoid appearing ers are willing to play in an aggressive manner all the way dumb opens the door for you to steal pots when these to the river. tight, aggressive players do not have a strong hand, and All you have to do against these players is fi gure out occasionally when they have a strong hand but become when their checks indicate weakness, and then apply an convinced that you have the eff ective nuts. amount of pressure that will result in them folding the When looking at graphs of winning online poker vast majority of their range, which will result in your red players, tracking programs display a green line (the total line (non-showdown winnings) going through the roof. m profi t), a red line (the non-showdown winnings), and a blue line (the showdown winnings). Most winning small- Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion stakes cash game players have a highly positive blue line with more than $6 million in tournament win- (when they go to showdown) and a breakeven or nega- nings. Each week, he posts an educational blog tive red line (when they win by making their opponents and podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com, where fold). is implies that to beat the worst players, they play you can get a FREE poker training video that tightly (giving up small pots and letting your red line go details five things you must master if you want negative) and get paid off with premium hands (making to win at tournament poker. You can also sign up for his FREE Excel- for a largely positive blue line). ling at No Limit Hold’em webinars at HoldemBook.com/signup

26 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

026_S&A.indd 26 11/24/20 10:14 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

WHERE DOES YOUR PROFIT COME FROM? DEUCE-TO-SEVEN TRIPLE DRAW LOWBALL: By Jonathan Little MULTI-WAY FLOP SITUATIONS By Kevin Haney

Last issue we discussed the fundamentals of play- 2-3-6-8 we decide to put in two bets. While we have a ing after the first draw in Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw fairly strong D1 our raise isn’t specifically for value as the Lowball (27TD) with a focus on heads-up confronta- cutoff could easily have a stronger D1 or a pat hand and tions. When pots are contested by three or more play- it also reopens us up to a potential three-bet. ers, however, there are other considerations to take into We are raising and thus risking “value-owning” our- account. selves slightly in order to deny the equity of the third Similar to a heads-up situation, if one player was draw- player in the pot. e original opener usually has a strong ing fewer cards on the first draw than all the other play- but unimproved D2 with which he would be correct to ers, they typically have an call one bet. automatic flop bet regard- However, since we made less if they improved or it two bets he is now forced not. e lone exception The main difference into a decision between may be when it’s a two- relinquishing his equity or card draw (D2) versus a between heads-up pots incorrectly calling two bets couple of players drawing cold, and we are fine with three. and those contested either result. While we may The main differ- multi-way is that it is be taking slightly the worst ence between heads-up of it against the cutoff’s D1 pots and those contested often correct to get more or pat range we do have multi-way is that it is position on him and deny- often correct to get more aggressive and raise in ing the equity of the third aggressive and raise in player or giving him the certain situations where certain situations where opportunity to make an if the pot was contested incorrect call is the most against a single opponent if the pot was contested important consideration. we would have simply Another (More Precarious) called. We should con- against a single Equity Denial Situation sider raising whenever we An early position player have the chance to knock opponent we would opens, we smooth-call in out another player or to the hijack with 2-5-7 and “squeeze” a player in the have simply called. We the button overcalls. On the middle who probably did first draw the early position not improve for value. should consider raising player draws one and both A few examples will we and the button take two. help demonstrate these whenever we have the On the flop the early posi- concepts. chance to knock out tion player leads out which Common Equity Denial he will almost always do Situation another player or to regardless if he improved Suppose an early posi- or not and we raise after tion player opens, the squeeze a player in the improving to 2-4-5-7. cutoff calls, and we over- Even though we have call on the button with middle who probably did a stronger draw than the 2-3-8. Our hand is good, previous example this raise but not great, and even if not improve for value. is a little more dangerous we held a premium D2 for a few reasons, the first such as 2-3-5 and 2-3-7 being that the early posi- a smooth call before the tion opener was originally first draw is still probably drawing one and may now the best play. Even though the cutoff is often drawing have a pat hand. e second is that we have absolutely two we aren’t pushing much (if any value) because of the no information regarding the button’s holding. In the possibility that the early position opener has a one-card first example we are attempting to deny the equity of the draw (D1) or pat holding. first player who had checked highly indicating he had not However, in this particular example all players drew improved. In this example, the button has not yet acted two on the first draw. On the flop, the early position on his hand thus we have no information on his holding. player checks, the cutoff bets, and having improved to at said, this is a risk well worth taking and we

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should raise what is most often an automatic bet from On the flop what usually occurs is that the big blind the first player. Our goal is to knock out the button and (who was drawing two) will check and so will the hijack secure position with hopefully the best draw, and if this unless he has made a pat hand. If the action checks to happens, we have gained tremendously. button he should bet regardless if he improved to make Our raise may even knock out some one card draws sure the big blind is charged. that the button could have improved to because facing a Amongst experienced regulars this is an implicit col- bet from an original D1 and a raise from us his one card lusion spot in that the hijack has what may be considered draws to an 8-6 or 8-7 low should probably hit the muck. an unspoken agreement to refrain from “sandbagging” However, even if they continue on with these draws we the button with a pat hand. If the hijack chooses to check either have around 40 percent equity in a three-way pot his entire range planning to check-raise the field when he when everyone is drawing one or if the original bettor is is pat, the button may check behind with some frequency pat and three-bets the button’s overcall helps subsidize and in the long run this would slightly lower the expecta- our draw. tion of both of the players drawing one. It certainly helps here that we have a premium draw to Squeeze Value Raise fall back on should the button cold-call two and/or the In our final scenario to consider, suppose three play- original raiser three-bets with a pat hand. If your draw ers each took two cards on the first draw. e first player is much more mediocre such as a draw to an 8-7 or 8-6 leads out on the flop, the second player calls, and the low our best play is probably to just call the flop unless third player raises with a premium one-card draw to a we have seen many blockers which makes it less likely seven. Here the raise is not intended to knock anyone out everyone else has improved. but rather it is to “squeeze” some value on the flop betting While marginal draws benefit even more from knock- round at the expense of the player in the middle who is ing out the player behind you these rougher draws simply most often still drawing two. fare too badly equity wise against the early position open- e original bettor will sometimes have a strong pat er’s range of D1s that may have improved to a pat hand. holding; however, this is frequently not the case as going D1 Versus D1 Versus D2 from a D2 to a pat hand is a relatively rare occurrence In a situation where two players drew one on the first especially with so many low cards accounted for. Even if draw and another player took two, it is important for one the first player does have a made low and three-bets, the of the original D1s involved in the pot to bet the flop and third player is still doing just fine with a premium draw, charge the D2. For example, suppose the hijack opens, position, and at least one bet contributed by the player the button re-raises, the big blind calls two cold, and the stuck in the middle. draws starting with the big blind go 2/1/1. Most of our decisions on the flop are relatively

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP Andrei Boghean appeared to be running away with 2020 European Poker Tour Online things early at the ﬁ nal table of the 2020 European Poker Tour Online $25,000 buy-in super high roller $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller event. e Romanian sat with just shy of 120 big blinds, with the next largest stack being equivalent to Andrei Boghean David Laka just 35 big blinds. 2020 Super High Roller Bowl Online 8,330,451 Chips 1,551,028 Chips series winner Artur Martirosian was the third-largest stack at the table with roughly 28 big blinds, while the J J 2 2 rest of the table sat with around 25 big blinds or fewer. Winning Percentage Winning Percentage Short stack Jamie Nixon had less than ten big blinds

Before Flop: 55.0% Before Flop: 18.0% when this hand began. Boghean picked up pocket

J J 2 After Flop: 65.0% 2 After Flop: 12.0% jacks and raised, with Martirosian and David Laka After Turn: 89.0% After Turn: FOLDED calling from the blinds. Martirosian hit top pair with a king kicker on the fl op and checked. Laka checked his underpair to the initial raiser and Boghean bet PREFLOP 149,625 into the pot of 498,750. Martirosian elected Artur Martirosian to check-raise with his top pair, perhaps looking to 1,954,000 Chips With nine players remaining and blinds of deny equity to Boghean’s weaker holdings that included overcards to the ten. Boghean certainly didn’t K 10 35,000-70,000 with an ante of 8,750, Andrei Boghean raised to 140,000 from early position. have to have a hand as strong as pocket jacks to raise Winning Percentage Artur Martirosian called from the small blind, prefl op and fi re a continuation bet in this spot. But in

Before Flop: 27.0%

and David Laka called from the big blind. this instance, he did indeed have it. He three-bet all-in

10 After Flop: 23.0% K and Martirosian made the call, only to ﬁ nd himself in After Turn: 11.0% rough shape. e turn brought the An, which would have been a scary enough card for both players that it could have possibly allowed Martirosian to preserve a 10 4 3 Martirosian checked, Laka A 8 lot of his stack had he just called Boghean’s ﬂ op bet. checked, and Boghean bet 149,625. FLOP

TURN As it played out, though, the turn and river brought

Martirosian check-raised to 412,965, RIVER

no help and Martirosian was eliminated in ninth A 8 4 3 10 and Laka folded. Boghean three-bet place, earning $62,353 for his latest deep run in a all-in for 8,181,704. Martirosian high-stakes event. called all-in for 1,805,250 total.

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

28 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

026_S&A.indd 28 11/24/20 10:14 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

straight-forward, we just should look to deny equity and/ Elite Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certi- or collect a bit of extra value wherever we can. Handling fied personal trainer. With regards to poker he pat nines or draws to them after the ﬁ rst draw is where got his start way back in 2003 and particularly many players struggle and that will be the entire focus of enjoys taking new players interested in mixed the next installment on 27TD. m games under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. If interested in learn- Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but left the corporate job ing more, playing mixed games online, or just saying hello he can be to focus on his passions for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of reached at [email protected]. EVEN CELEBRITIES TAKE SHOTS AT THE POKER TABLE

By Houston Curtis

Shot takers come in all shapes and sizes. Many of the In an act of desperation, the guy “took a shot at you” shot takers you see at the casino are doing it out of an act knowing you would trust him, and now you’ll be lucky if of desperation, and others only after spending an ample you ever see that money again. One interesting psychologi- time gaining somebody’s trust and confi dence. But the cal aspect of taking a shot at someone, and why it’s often celebrity-fi lled, high-stakes, private games that I have impossible to make an accurate read on the situation until frequented over the years have had their fair share of shot it’s too late, is the fact that often the shot taker starts out takers as well. with the best of intentions. It’s when things go south that For the uninitiated, let me set the stage. You are playing those intentions go out the window. poker at your local casino, and you see a guy who you’ve When the guy goes bust, he looks you straight in the sat across the table with for months. He sits down and sud- eye and says, “I’m going to run home to grab my wallet so denly realizes that he left his wallet at home. He asks if the I can pay you back.” You thank him for being honorable. dealer can lock his seat up while he runs home to get it, and Hell, he might have even been telling the truth about for- the dealer makes no such promise since others are wait- getting to bring his wallet. Maybe he’s truly planning on ing to play. You recall this guy buying you the occasional doing the right thing for the entire drive home. But then, beer, and decide to be a gentleman by off ering to cover his when he fi nally grabs his tattered old wallet, and only sees fi rst stake in the game. You could be handing him $500 200 bucks, and then logs into his bank account to fi nd or $5,000, but whatever the amount is, you are confi dent all he has waiting for him there is an overdraft fee… well, that by the end of the night, you’ll have your money back. guess what? He won’t be coming back with your money! Cut to three months later, and you are now chasing this And somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he knew the seemingly nice guy for the stake he owes you. But you can only way he could pay you back would be if he won using never catch up to him, and when you do, he always has a the loan you fl oated him. Or even worse, he might have story or an excuse. known from the beginning that a day would come where

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he would take a shot at you, and you would be sucker Fred lost, but I think he figured since him and Tobey enough to oblige him. were both celebrities and it was only a hundred bucks, Now imagine a similar scenario, but this time you are that Tobey would just forget about it. Of course, Tobey in a high-stakes, invite-only, private poker game. e host didn’t forget about it and even went as far as calling Fred’s of the game announces that a famous actor is stopping by publicist to shake him down for the debt… which Fred and would like to play. e brutal bitch about getting scum eventually paid. bagged by a celebrity is the fact that confidence doesn’t need But one of the ballsiest shot takers I ever came across to be established for these cats to take a shot at you. eir actually took shots for a living! He was a professional bas- fame is all the confidence they need to know that the ball is ketball player for the Detroit Pistons that I mention in my in their corner. Nobody in their life says no to them! ey book. is guy used his fame to penetrate a big game fea- live in this beautiful little fantasy land we call Hollywood turing myself, Tobey Maguire, e Joker and e Hangover and whatever they want, they get. Most of the time anyway. director Todd Phillips, and others. I’ve witnessed several Tinseltown shot takers in action e first and only time he ever played in our game, over the years who used their celebrity status to try and he lost $40,000, and then walked out the door assuring screw over a poker game. Some of them were trying to take everyone he would settle up the next day. But when the a shot at me directly, while others just wanted to freeroll on next day came, he called Molly Bloom and told her he felt their fame without worrying about who was going to take he was cheated and therefore didn’t feel he had to pay! Of it on the nose at the end of the night when it was time to course, I’m sure if he would have won, he would have had settle up. no problem collecting. Some celebrity shot takers were small time scum bags. I was owed about $25,000 from his loss, so I was One night I was playing poker at some hotel near Silverlake pretty pissed at the time. He was the only player who ever and in walks this kid who was one of the actors from stiffed our game. But I got him back over a year later at a the movie Swingers, (the cult classic that launched the completely different game in what I can only describe as a careers of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau.). “double shot” of redemption. I loved Swingers. It was close to my heart because I ere was a game in the valley that was hosted by a was coming up in Hollywood when that film came out shrewd, but greedy dude who I’ll refer to today as Gringo. and I could relate to so many things that happened in it. Gringo had been wanting me to bring big players to his I used to live in the same area Favreau’s character lived in, game in exchange for inviting me to lay with the lambs. I went to all the same bars they frequented in the movie, One night I invited El Drunko, a guy I knew who provided and I even ate breakfast at the same diner where Vaughn lots of action. embarrasses himself playing peekaboo with a woman and I got to the game and the Pistons ball player who had her baby. stiffed me a year ago was there, as was a few other celebs So when this actor (whose name I won’t reveal) sat including comedian Kevin Hart. El Drunko went off the down to play, I had no problem extending him credit. He rails that night, dumping pot after pot to Mr. Piston. I didn’t have to post like everyone else, because that would was in a business deal with El Drunko at the time and have been an insult. After all, this guy was a star of one of owed him just under $40,000 on a royalty that was due in the greatest pop culture independent films of the ‘90s! I about a week. So when he lost 38 grand I immediately got just wish I would have thought to ask him what other films up and cashed out. I instructed El Drunko to tell Gringo, he had been in lately, because the answer would have been “Houston owes me some money, so collect my $38,000 loss NONE! is guy probably hadn’t worked in ten years. from him the next time you see him.” ere’s no telling what he was doing for a living at this I had previously told Gringo that the ball player was on point, but that night, his fading fame got him a freeroll my blacklist and to never invite the two of us to the same into the game. He owed me $10,000 within the first hour, game. I swore to Gringo that this guy would eventually and minutes later he was out the kitchen door, never to be cause a major problem for his game, but he didn’t listen. So seen again. when Gringo asked for me to pay up what my El Drunko Another world class shot taker was the delightfully owed the game, of course I told him that he had broken charming Amir Vahedi, God rest his soul. At this time our pact, and that he would need to deduct El Drunko’s Amir was coming off a great run that took him deep in loss out of the ball players winnings along with a reminder the 2003 World Series of Poker main event on ESPN, mak- about the $40,000 debt he owed from the night he lost to ing him, Sammy Farha and of course Chris Moneymaker me, Tobey, and Todd. Damn, that felt good! household names. He was the guy who first brought Ben But not every table loan story ends badly. A perfect Affleck to the Hollywood Park pot-limit game which I’ve example would be when Billionaire banker Andy Beal written about previously. floated Rick Salomon a few million to play against him in I staked Amir one time in a cash game, against my bet- his own house! Rick went on to Beat Andy for what was ter judgement. He told me he busted out with a bad beat, rumored to be around $40 million! I’m not saying that but someone else told me he used the stake to enter himself Rick wouldn’t have found a way to pay him back the buy- into a tournament. So the next time Amir came to me in if he would have lost… but you just got to love the balls asking to stake him in a Legends of Poker event, I politely it takes to beat someone over the head in their own house, declined. He ended up winning it, but allegedly had sold with their own money for $40 million! 200 percent of himself prior to the tournament beginning. For all of my readers out there who have been stung So, in that case, he took a shot and it backfired on him. in the past by someone who took a shot at you, allow me One of the funniest stories of a celebrity shot taker to provide you with a fun little video tutorial of a classic came from the time Tobey Maguire played Limp Bizkit card hustle that you can use as payback. Either that, or it front man Fred Durst in a game of Backgammon for $100. will help take your mind off the fact that you donked off

30 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

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some dough to an angle shooting scum bag! Visit www. kardsharp.com/cardplayer to check it out. Remember, there’s always going to be somebody out Ten Reminders For there trying to take a shot at you. So stay sharp! Stay KardSharp! m Poker Players In Houston Curtis, founder of KardSharp.com and author of Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist has lived a successful double life as both a The New Year producer and high stakes poker player for nearly 30 years. His credits include executive By Linda Johnson producing gambling-related TV shows such as The Ultimate Blackjack Tour on CBS, The Aruba Poker Classic on GSN and pioneering the poker instructional DVD genre with titles This is the last issue of Card Player in the year 2020, featuring poker legend Phil Hellmuth. Barred for life from Las Vegas and what a year it has been! I am happy to see that the Golden Nugget for “excessive winning” at blackjack, Houston is one prediction I made this summer that poker would not of the world’s most successful card mechanics and sleight-of-hand make a comeback in the last half of the year proved to artists of the modern era. Curtis, who rarely plays in tournaments, be wrong. In many states around the country, players won a 2004 Legends of Poker no-limit hold’em championship event are heading back to poker rooms eager to make up for besting Scotty Nguyen heads-up at the final table before going the time lost while many of them were closed due to on to co-found the elite Hollywood poker ring that inspired Aaron COVID-19. Sorkin’s Academy Award-nominated film Molly’s Game. Curtis now Sadly, many cardrooms have fallen victim to the resides in Columbia, Missouri while maintaining offices in Los virus and have not or will not reopen. In Las Vegas, we Angeles, and Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to running a production have seen our poker opportunities shrink. In February company and independent record label, Curtis also consults as a 2020, there were 34 poker rooms in Clark County poker protection expert to clients across the globe seeking insight housing a total of 430 poker tables. As I write this col- into master level card cheating tactics via advanced sleight-of-hand umn in early November, there are currently 21 poker technique. In addition, Houston is now available for in-person and rooms now open containing a total of 285 poker tables. online speaking engagements, private sleight-of-hand instruction, Let’s hope that this downward trend reverses in 2021. and a variety of media creation/production services. Houston can be As the year comes to an end, I have some tips for contacted directly at [email protected]. poker players for 2021. Most of you have heard this

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP Benjamin Rolle may not be a household name to live poker fans, but the German pro known to many 2020 European Poker Tour Online as ‘bencb789’ is one of the top online tournament $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller players in the game, with wins in major internet series like the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). In this hand Rolle demonstrated his Benjamin Rolle Eelis Pärssinen prowess, taking an interesting line and turning a mediocre rivered pair into a bluff to make the 3,185,878 Chips 3,196,420 Chips best hand fold on the end. Rolle opened with 9-7 suited from the cutoff and Finnish poker pro Eelis 9 7 A Q Pärssinen called from the small blind with A-Q Winning Percentage Winning Percentage off suit. Neither player improved on the K-8-8 fl op,

Before Flop: 39.0% Before Flop: 61.0% and Pärssinen checked from out of position. Rolle

9 7 Q After Flop: 24.0% A After Flop: 76.0% opted not to continuation bet. 2016 World Series After Turn: 0% After Turn: 100.0% of Poker main event seventh-place fi nisher Griffi n Benger, who was doing commentary on this fi nal table for the EPT, noted, “[Pärssinen’s] range here is pretty strong, fl atting from the small blind, there PREFLOP are a lot of K-X hands… and the hands that don’t include a king, hands like pocket nines, pocket tens, With seven players remaining and blinds of 40,000-80,000 with an A-Q and A-J are still going to call on that fl op.” ante of 10,000, Benjamin Rolle raised to 160,000 from the cutoff . Pärssinen turned a pair of queens and checked again. Rolle checked behind and the 9o completed the Eelis Pärssinen called from the small blind. board. Pärssinen now went for a value bet of 235,000 into the pot of 470,000. Rolle had rivered a pair of nines, which might lead many to consider either K 8 8 Q 9 bluff catching with the rivered pair, or folding. Rolle instead decided to make a healthy raise to 1,320,000, FLOP

TURN

RIVER turning his hand into a bluﬀ . is raise is likely

Q 9 8 8 K designed to put maximum pressure on precisely the type of holding that Pärssinen had, a strong preﬂ op hand that ended up being just strong enough to try Pärssinen checked, and Rolle Pärssinen Pärssinen bet 235,000. to get a bit of value on the end. e move worked. checked. checked, and Rolle raised to 1,320,000, Pärssinen laid down the best hand and Rolle put Rolle checked. and Pärssinen folded. some distance between himself and the other medium stacks at the ﬁ nal table.

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

026_S&A.indd 31 11/24/20 10:14 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

advice before, but the new year is a good time to review, 7. Be kind at the table (don’t mistake this tip to mean reflect, and make positive changes to our habits. you should soft play or give anyone a break). You are 1. Keep records, and by that I mean keep accurate there to win money but you don’t have to be a jerk records. The start of the year is a good time to resolve about it. Besides, players don’t usually mind losing to keep track of wins and losses for the year. But alas, when they are having fun. as it is with most people who start gym memberships 8. Help the dealer. Post your blinds or antes without in January and give up by February, poker players often being asked to do so. Act in turn. Discard your cards start off the new year keeping records, but quit doing properly toward the dealer. Know the rules. so as soon as they realize they don’t want to know the 9. Play relatively fast. Obviously, there are situations truth. There is a lot of denial in poker; the only way in which you might need a bit more time than usual, you can really know if you are a winner or a loser is to but you don’t need to needlessly delay the game every look at the numbers. time it is your turn to act. 2. Don’t play when you are tired or emotionally unhap- 10. Respect the game! py. It is hard to concentrate and make good decisions On a personal note, I would like to thank you all who when you aren’t feeling 100 percent. participated in the online auction to benefit Pokergives. 3. Pay attention at the table. Most importantly, stay org, a charity co-founded by Mike Sexton. There are off your phone! I see players on their phones constantly still copies of Mike’s books Life’s A Gamble and Shuffle when they aren’t in a hand. I am also guilty of this, and Up and Deal available. These books would make a great I know that I miss out on a lot of information about holiday gift to yourself or to a friend and can be had how my opponents play because of it. with a donation of $20 or more to Pokergives.org. 4. Always continue to learn. Read poker books and I hope you have a happy holiday season and that magazines. Find players whose game you respect and 2021 will be your best year ever! m take them to lunch so you can talk poker strategy. Perhaps even get a coach or join an online coaching site. Linda Johnson is a WSOP bracelet winner 5. Don’t loan money to other players. I was very guilty and member of the Poker Hall of Fame, of this early in my poker career until I learned the hard the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, and way that the best you can do is break even. WPT Honors. She is a partner in Card 6. Don’t play too high for your bankroll. Too many Player Cruises. Please contact her at players play above their comfort level, which creates [email protected] with questions or stress and makes it harder to win. comments.

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP is hand saw two of the largest stacks at the table 2020 European Poker Tour Online clash, with a fl ush versus a full house resulting in a new chip leader. Andrei Boghean at one point had nearly $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller four times as many chips as the next-largest stack during the early fi nal table action, but had since doubled Andrei Boghean Benjamin Rolle up a few short stacks to enter this hand with just over 6.3 million while Eelis Pärssinen sat in second place 6,319,991 Chips 3,238,878 Chips with 3.7 million. Boghean raised from the button with K 2 J 10 K-2 suited and Benjamin Rolle defended his big blind holding J-10 off suit. e fl op gave Rolle top two pair Winning Percentage Winning Percentage

Before Flop: 44.0% while Boghean picked up a king-high ﬂ ush draw with

Before Flop: 56.0% some backdoor straight possibilities. Rolle check-called

K 2 10 After Flop: 34.0% J After Flop: 66.0% n After Turn: 9.0% with his top two pair and the turn brought the 6 to After Turn: 91.0% complete Boghean’s fl ush. He kept his foot on the gas, fi ring 629,800 into the pot of 940,000. Rolle still had top two pair, and also had the Jn for a fl ush draw of PREFLOP his own in case he was up against a made low fl ush. He made the call and the river brought the Jm, giving Rolle With seven players remaining and blinds of 50,000-100,000 with an ante jacks full of tens with roughly one pot-sized bet left in of 12,500, Andrei Boghean raised to 200,000 from the button. Benjamin his stack. He quickly checked and Boghean bet enough Rolle called from the big blind. to put him all-in. Rolle made the call to double up and take the chip lead. ere wasn’t much Boghean could realistically do to avoid doubling Rolle up on the river given the way the hand played out on earlier streets and J 10 7 6 J the resulting stack-to-pot ratio for Rolle. A king-high

FLOP ﬂ ush is likely just too strong of a hand to check back TURN

RIVER with on the river against a big-blind defender who

6 J 10 7 J check-called both the ﬂ op and the turn. Boghean was still in third chip position after losing this massive pot, Rolle checked, and Boghean bet Rolle checked, and Rolle checked, and Boghean and he managed to outlast two opponents before being knocked out. He took home $169,893 for his ﬁ fth- 201,250. Rolle called. Boghean bet 629,800. bet 2,749,500. Rolle called place showing. Rolle called. all-in for 2,195,328.

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

32 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

026_S&A.indd 32 11/24/20 10:14 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary Gamble 105: When The Rubber Meets The Road By Nathan Gamble

(Editor’s Note: is is part three of a series of articles that into an orange cone; after all, there were hundreds of them can be found on CardPlayer.com under Nathan Gamble’s spaced out as far as the eye could see – giant, glistening, author page.) calling out my name to steer directly into them. It seemed As he twisted and turned in his seat, keeping the gun on perfect. No collateral damage, and it could get the job me, the seriousness of the situation continued to take hold. done and potentially give me the upper hand. ere was It was a serious situation I had found myself in, held at gun- only one problem. While he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, in point in my own car. As he twisted and turned in his seat, I my shock-induced state, I had forgotten to put mine on as realized this thief wasn’t a professional. He wasn’t someone well. e cones appeared innocent enough but often times that had executed this move before, this was simply a man they are filled with hundreds of gallons of water that would that had a drug habit or possibly a mental deficiency. disintegrate the front end of the car and anyone not buckled He had been backed into a corner and was lashing out in. While it would end the threat of the crazy man in my to survive. A man on a mission is one thing, but a man passenger seat, I couldn’t be sure that I would survive the simply trying to survive by any means necessary is a far impact. more dangerous beast. With that option off the table, I was left to listen as the As we drove along a stretch of highway with orange bandit blathered on with every passing exit. He was like construction cones and caution signs, new options started an annoying friend on a long road trip (albeit with a gun coming to me faster than the rambling speech that poured pointed at me). Suddenly a new opportunity arose out of from his mouth. Ramming another car so as to disable my thin air as I spotted police car lights in the distance. Never car and potentially injure my captor ran through my mind, before had I viewed the flashing red and blue lights with but that was quickly dismissed as I didn’t want to injure an such joy, but they were real and they were beautiful. innocent person just on the hope that it would improve my As we approached, I started planning my next move. I situation. planned to barely pass the police car and grab the emer- Next up on the smorgasbord of options was smashing gency brake, slamming us to a sudden stop. I would be able

ANALYSISAnalysis TOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP Two-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner João Vieira went with his read in this 2020 European Poker Tour Online hand, and made a huge call for his tournament $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller life with just ace-queen high. e hand began with the Portuguese poker pro min-raising to João Vieira Benjamin Rolle 240,000 as the ﬁ rst to act. It folded around to 7,616,256 Chips chip leader Benjamin Rolle, who defended his 2,756,539 Chips big blind with 3-2 suited. e 8-3-3 rainbow A Q 3 2 ﬂ op gave Rolle trip threes and he checked. Vieira Winning Percentage Winning Percentage checked behind with his two overcards and

Before Flop: 64.0% Before Flop: 36.0% backdoor ﬂ ush possibilities. e 9m on the turn

A Q 2 After Flop: 4.0% 3 After Flop: 96.0% saw Rolle overbet, fi ring 660,000 into the pot of After Turn: 16.0% After Turn: 84.0% 630,000 with his three of a kind. Vieira called with his nut fl ush draw and the 5p completed PREFLOP the board, missing Vieira’s spade draw. ere was now 1,950,000 in the pot, which was just shy of With six players remaining and blinds of 60,000-120,000 with an ante one big blind more than what Vieira had left in of 15,000, João Vieira raised to 240,000 from under the gun. Benjamin his stack. Rolle moved all-in as the fi rst to act, eff ectively betting 1,841,529 of his remaining Rolle called from the big blind. 6,701,256. Vieira went deep into the tank while considering making the hero call for the rest of his chips. He likely fi gured that Rolle’s range was 8 3 3 9 5 polarized to either very strong hands and bluff s. FLOP

TURN Vieira ultimately made the call and was shown

RIVER the bad news. Vieira ﬁ nished sixth for $127,249, 9 5 3 3

8 which brought his recorded tournament earnings to more than $4.4 million. Rolle extended Rolle checked. Vieira checked. Rolle bet Rolle moved all-in for his chip lead with the knockout, but ultimately 660,000. 6,701,256. Vieira called faltered during three-handed play. He cashed for Vieira called. all-in for 1,841,539 total. $302,837 as the third-place ﬁ nisher.

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

026_S&A.indd 33 11/24/20 10:14 AM Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

“In poker there is always a wealth of information to absorb. Just because you have started down one avenue at the table doesn’t mean it’s too late to adjust. Flexibility is absolutely critical to success as a poker professional.”

to brace myself while hopefully catching him off -guard long can beebop along while everything is going well, and life enough to jump out and run over to the offi cer without seems like sunshine and rainbows when your bluff s work catching a bullet in the back. I could escape the situation, every time. But you have to be able to adjust. You have to save myself, not hurt any pedestrians in the process, and all be fl exible. e nuts can change with the turn of a card, would be right in the world. and new information can present itself in a nervous laugh It was a perfect plan. A great plan. None better! Except, or comment. it was also an obvious plan. e second I looked over at ere is no room for ego at the tables, you have to him I realized he had stopped his rambling and was get- remove yourself from the equation and step out of your ting noticeably antsy, his eyes shifting between me and the own way. If you’re dead set on a path and fail to notice the distant lights, his fi nger itching in his lap. He looked and wall standing in your way, then time and time again you’ll me and knew what I was thinking, knew what was coming. leave the tables shaking your head wondering why you’re He just looked at me, and while barely breathing snarled, so unlucky. “Don’t.” Poker is a microcosm of life, replicating all of the trials Before I even realized it, the cop car was in the rearview and tribulations that we undertake throughout our day-to- mirror. I had passed up my opportunity. I didn’t have the day journey. No two tournaments are alike, no two tables, jump on him and I knew it. It wasn’t worth it to try an escape not even the same player on a diff erent day of the week. You when he was on edge and at high alert. While it was a great are always changing whether it’s through conscious thought move on paper it would have failed catastrophically in real- or based off the whims of circumstance, why would you ity. e best course of action was once again no action. I was think that your opponents aren’t doing the same? trapped and defenseless, back where I had started. I remember distinctly when I placed tenth at the World As we drove deeper into downtown Dallas, he started Series of Poker in the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha eight-or- getting more and more comfortable. I couldn’t tell you better event. On day three I raised with Am An 9p Jo with exactly where we drove. In fact, later on the cops asked me a plan of trying to steal the blinds prefl op or get it in against many times if I could direct them to the exact location, but anyone willing. en I was re-potted by the tightest player it was all a blur at that point. What was clear was how we at the table who had shown a propensity to only have ultra- seemed to be coming into an area that he had familiarity premium holdings. with. We had jumped off the highway and started taking e circumstances had changed. I thought endlessly, back roads into rundown neighborhoods. He threw up a probably around fi ve minutes. I knew that he was going to couple gang signs along the way, a nod here and there, a hol- be freerolling me the majority of the time and that I could ler out the window at a couple guys standing in their yards. fi nd a better spot for my chips. I folded and showed him I stood out like a sore thumb. the aces while mucking the rest of the hand. His eyes went Everyone we passed shot him a nod or a wave and a look wide, and while he didn’t show me his hand, he told me of confusion underpinned with disgust and hatred at me. afterward that he had Ap Ao 3p 4o and had me in very It was clear I wasn’t welcome here and the only reason that bad shape. I tended to believe him as he also asked to swap I was allowed in without any trouble was because I was 10 percent of the tournament because he felt I was playing accompanied by someone they knew. above the rim. “You’re lucky you’re wearing blue and rolling with me, e truth was I was just paying attention and willing to otherwise they probably would have already shot you,” he adjust my plan on the fl y in the face of new information. said as he looked me up and down. Never be afraid of making the diffi cult decision of acting It was nice of him to keep reminding me how lucky I through inaction. m was that day, because I sure didn’t feel it. When making decisions in life, most people are unwill- Nathan Gamble is a native of Texas where ing to adapt. eir minds are set in stone, and even if they he learned to play the game of hold’em from get information that contradicts them, they are often times his father. He is a two-time World Series of unwilling to adjust course. I had developed a plan on the Poker bracelet winner, the first coming in the highway, I was ready, and I had determined it was my best 2017 WSOP $1,500 PLO8/b Event, the second in chance at getting out alive. But then I stopped, I looked the 2020 Online WSOP $600 PLO8/b event. A around, I got new information, and I adjusted accordingly. fixture of the mid-stakes mixed game community since moving to In poker there is always a wealth of information to Las Vegas in 2019, he can often be found playing $80-$160 games at absorb. Just because you have started down one avenue at the Wynn. He is active on Twitter under the username Surfbum4life the table doesn’t mean it’s too late to adjust. Flexibility is and streams mixed game content weekly on twitch under the same absolutely critical to success as a poker professional. You moniker.

34 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

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36 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

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BEST PLAYERS WITHOUT A WSOP BRACELET BY CAREER EARNINGS

Place Player Career Tournament Earnings 1st Dan Smith $36,893,609 2nd Jason Koon $32,126,634 3rd Steve O’Dwyer $31,268,703 4th Mikita Badziakouski $30,425,623 5th Isaac Haxton $29,245,814 6th Cary Katz $28,440,064 7th Jake Schindler $25,731,797 8th Christoph Vogelsang $25,239,227 9th Sam Trickett $21,808,828 10th Rainer Kempe $21,494,337

The World Series of Poker announced in November that they will be putting on a $10,000 buy-in WSOP main event, which will feature a hybrid online and live format. As a result, an 87th gold bracelet will be awarded this year, following the 85 handed out during the WSOP Online during the summer and the one earned by WSOP Global Casino Championship winner AJ Kelsall in September. That means that there will be one more chance for a number of the world’s best players to remove themselves from the dreaded ‘best without a bracelet’ list. There are currently ten players with more than $20 million in recorded tournament earnings who have yet to win a WSOP bracelet event. Four of those players have more than $30 million in career scores, including Dan Smith, whose earnings of just shy of $37 million make him the winningest tournament player in the world without a title earned at the series. The three other players with more than $30 million in cashes are Jason Koon, Steve O’Dwyer, and Mikita Badziakouski. Several highly accomplished players got the bracelet monkey off their back in 2020, including two-time World Poker Tour main event winner Alan Goehring, 2019 Super High Roller Bowl Bahamas champion Daniel Dvoress, and Connor Drinan, who had more than $11 million in prior tournament cashes to his name before finally winning a WSOP title in the last event of the summer series. Only time will tell if one of these players will be the last one standing when the 2020 main event is decided, or if they will all have to wait for 2021 for another chance to cross their name out.

38 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 33 / ISSUE 26

038_Leaderboard.indd 38 11/23/20 1:46 PM PLAYER_26_OceansEleven_FP.indd 3 11/23/20 1:56 PM PLAYER_26_TheBike_BC.indd 3 11/24/20 7:14 AM