www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 34/No. 17 August 11, 2021 Russell Thomas Bernard Lee Talks Jonathan Little Breaks Down Optimal With Poker Hall Of Explains When Not Preflop Play Famer Jack Binion To Slow Play PLAYER_34_17B_Cover.indd 1 7/22/21 9:39 AM PLAYER_17_GlobalPoker_DT.indd 2 7/19/21 3:58 PM PLAYER_17_GlobalPoker_DT.indd 3 7/19/21 3:58 PM Masthead - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 17 PUBLISHERS Barry Shulman | Jeff Shulman Editorial Corporate Office EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Julio Rodriguez 6940 O’Bannon Drive TOURNAMENT CONTENT MANAGER Erik Fast Las Vegas, Nevada 89117 ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER Steve Schult (702) 871-1720 Art [email protected] ART DIRECTOR Wendy McIntosh Subscriptions/Renewals 1-866-LVPOKER Website And Internet Services (1-866-587-6537) CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Jaran Hardman PO Box 434 DATA COORDINATOR Morgan Young Congers, NY 10920-0434 Sales [email protected] ADVERTISING MANAGER Mary Hurbi Advertising Information NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Barbara Rogers [email protected] LAS VEGAS AND COLORADO SALES REPRESENTATIVE (702) 856-2206 Rich Korbin Distribution Information cardplayer Media LLC [email protected] CHAIRMAN AND CEO Barry Shulman PRESIDENT AND COO Jeff Shulman Results GENERAL COUNSEL Allyn Jaffrey Shulman [email protected] VP INTL. 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Published and printed in the United States. 4 CARDPLAYER.COM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER CardPlayerMedia 004_MastheadB.indd 4 7/22/21 9:10 AM PLAYER_17_AmericasCardroom_FP.indd 3 7/19/21 3:57 PM Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 17 28 32 16 © UNLV Special Collection Features Tournament Circuit Also In This Issue 28 20 4 Leading Online Site Global Poker To Host Player Of The Year Update About Us U.S. Poker Open By Erik Fast 41 By Card Player News Team 24 Tournament Schedules 32 Tournament Results 42 A Conversation With By Morgan Young Poker Leaderboards Poker Hall Of Famer Jack Binion By Bernard Lee Strategies, Analysis, Tournament & Commentary The Inside Straight Hand Matchups 34 8 14 When Not To Slow Play Poker News Recap By Jonathan Little John Riordan vs. Jason Koon 12 35 18 Head Games: Spotting Leaks, Both In Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better: Often John Riordan vs. Steve Zolotow Your Own Game And Others Playable Hands By Craig Tapscott 35 By Kevin Haney John Riordan vs. Jason Koon 16 37 Poker Strategy With Russell Thomas: 39 Returning To Live Poker After The Optimal Preflop Play Anuj Agarwal vs. Jason Koon Pandemic: Part 2 By Steve Schult vs. John Riordan By Steve Zolotow 38 Talking Shop By Nathan Gamble 40 Contracts and Poker: WSOP Rules By Scott J. Burnham 6 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 17 006_TOC.indd 6 7/22/21 9:09 AM PLAYER_16_HarrahsCherokee_FP.indd 3 7/7/21 8:26 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT the INSIDE STRAIGHT News, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World NEVADA CASINOS SET REVENUE RECORD IN MAY WITH WINNINGS OF $1.2 BILLION By Steve Schult Nevada casinos won more money from gamblers in May numbers. In May, Strip casinos accounted for $655.5 million than in any other month in the state’s gambling history. of the state’s total gambling revenue. According to numbers released by the Nevada Gaming e year-over-year number comparisons are worthless, Control Board, gamblers lost $1.23 billion in Silver State considering that the state’s entire market was forced to close casinos in May. e massive fi gure surpasses the previous for the duration of 2020. Outside of online gambling, which record, which was set in October 2017 when casinos won is mostly just poker, there was nothing for Nevada bettors to $1.17 billion. gamble on. It’s the third straight month that the state’s gambling Regardless, the record-setting fi gures represent an insane operators have combined to surpass the $1 billion mark 20,970% increase. Even when compared to May 2019, before in gross gaming revenue, further cementing the market’s the pandemic, every district in the state experienced a bump rebound in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In in revenue. e Strip was up 26.7% compared to May 2019. April, casinos reported winning $1.039 billion. e massive increase in demand comes as vaccination “We’re surprised. If you would’ve asked me last month, rates are increasing and COVID-induced restrictions are I wouldn’t have said we’d hit $1 billion three months in declining. In mid-May, most Las Vegas casinos began getting a row,” senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming rid of the plexiglass dividers that were installed to separate Control Board Michael Lawton told Forbes. “ ere’s strong players and increase social distancing. Less than a week demand, consumers are healthy, and visitation to the Strip later, regulators dropped the mask mandate for vaccinated is rebounding.” gamblers, shifting their rules to align with new CDC guide- e Las Vegas Strip generally drives the state’s overall lines. m Sign Up For Card Player’s Free Poker School. Review Hundreds of Articles and Videos On Winning Poker Strategy. www.CardPlayerPokerSchool.com 8 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 17 008_News.indd 8 7/22/21 9:13 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT 1999 WORLD SERIES OF POKER MAIN EVENT CHAMPION NOEL FURLONG PASSES AWAY By Card Player News Team J.J. ‘Noel’ Furlong, the 1999 World Series of Poker main event champion, died in June at the age of 83 from natural causes. Nicknamed ‘Noel’ because he was born on Christmas Day, Furlong was a part-time poker player, splitting his time between the tables and a suc- cessful carpet manufacturing business based out of his hometown of Dublin, © WSOP flipchip© Ireland. Furlong started playing poker in once again found himself at the final was a “worthy champion to be remem- 1984, and won the Irish Poker Open in table, this time topping the likes of bered, a businessman and gentleman 1987, and again in 1989. Huck Seed, Padraig Parkinson, Alan who was also a world-class player.” e avid horse trainer first made the Goehring, and Erik Seidel for the e victory made Furlong the sec- trip to Las Vegas for the WSOP that bracelet and the $1 million first-place ond oldest main event winner ever, same year and made an immediate prize. behind just Johnny Moss. Moss won impression, finishing sixth in the main e WSOP released a statement fol- the inaugural main event in 1970 (by event eventually won by a young Phil lowing his passing, stating that Furlong vote) at the age of 63, repeated as cham- Hellmuth. “helped put the ‘world’ in the history of pion the next year at age 64, and again Ten years later, the then 61-year-old the World Series of Poker,” and that he a few years later at 67. m PokerStars Imposes Harsh Restrictions On German Players In Response To New Tax By Steve Schult e German government added to its new online able tax laws on gambling winnings. gambling legislation implemented last October, which has German players will be allowed to stay on the main caused one of the world’s largest online poker sites to drasti- network and play against the “Rest of World” player pool, cally change its offering to players in the country. but will be treated much differently than other players in it. In October, the government forced sites to limit its For cash games, the highest stakes offered to Germans citizens to a four-table max, a €1,000 monthly deposit will be no-limit and pot-limit games with blinds of $1-$2 limit, and additional Know-Your-Customer requirements. and limit games with $3-$6 limits. e rake for limit games In response, several sites stopped operating in the country, has been increased by 35%, while big bet games saw a rake but PokerStars stayed. While the initial set of regulations bump of 25%. required some more work on the operators’ end, the recent is leads to a segregated rake structure. If there is a addition will cost the company money. split pot between a German and a non-German player, the e government created a new 5.3% turnover tax, which German player will pay more in rake than the other player is in addition to the already restrictive regulations that were to compensate for the government’s new tax.