www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 34/No. 13 June 16, 2021 THE WORLD POKER TOUR CROWNS A TRIO OF NEW CHAMPIONS TOUR CONCLUDES EXTENDED 18TH SEASON AFTER LONG DELAYS CAUSED BY PANDEMIC Arthur Conan Talks About Head Games: Being Luck Vs. Skill: His 'Chip-And-A-Chair' Mentally And Physically How To Look At The High Roller Win Prepared To Play Variance In Your Game PLAYER_34_13B_Cover.indd 1 5/26/21 12:02 PM PLAYER_12_GlobalPoker_DT.indd 2 5/11/21 11:46 AM PLAYER_12_GlobalPoker_DT.indd 3 5/11/21 11:46 AM Masthead - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 13 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 5/25/21 9:37 AM PLAYER_13_HarrahsCherokee_FP.indd 3 5/25/21 9:41 AM Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 13 20 26 16 Feature Strategies, Analysis Also In this Issue 20 & Commentary 4 The World Poker Tour Crowns A Trio Of 30 About Us New Champions Stop Playing Junk 36 By Erik Fast By Jonathan Little Tournament Schedules 26 31 38 Arthur Conan Talks About His ‘Chip-And- Seven Card Stud Eight-Or-Better: The Ante Poker Leaderboards A-Chair’ $50,000 High Roller Win Structure And Stealing By Steve Schult By Kevin Haney 33 Tournament The Inside Straight Luck Vs. Skill: How To Look At The Hand Matchups 8 Variance In Your Game 14 By Greg Raymer Poker News Recap Bin Weng vs. Veerab Zakarian 12 34 18 Contracts and Poker: Player Of The Year Update Some Rules For Noobs James Anderson vs. Brian Altman By Erik Fast By Scott J. Burnham vs. Nathan Russler 16 31 Head Games: Bin Weng vs. James Anderson Being Mentally And Physically Prepared To Improve Your Game 33 By Craig Tapscott James Anderson vs. Veerab Zakarian Cover image and WPT trophy Giron © WPT/Joe 6 CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 13 006_TOC.indd 6 5/26/21 9:53 AM PLAYER_11_TurningStone_FP.indd 3 4/27/21 12:01 PM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT the INSIDE STRAIGHT News, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World PENT-UP DEMAND SPARKS BEST QUARTER IN HISTORY OF U.S. CASINO INDUSTRY By Steve Schult ommercial casinos in the United States had its best three-month stretch in the history of the country’s Cgaming market. According to the American Gaming Association, U.S. casinos won $11.1 billion from gamblers in the first quarter of 2021. Operators generated those numbers from the start of the year through the end of March. It ties the third quarter of 2019 for the best quarter in the market’s history. ose fi gures represent an 18% year-over-year jump in revenue, which doesn’t say much since the entire brick- and-mortar casino market shut down in mid-March 2020. But it is still a 4% increase from the fi rst quarter of 2019, well before the pandemic took hold in What makes the quarter even more try, hit the $1 billion revenue mark for the U.S. e revenue does not include remarkable is that nearly the entire the first time since February 2020. money won by tribal casinos. market was operating under capacity With online gaming as widespread According to a report from restrictions forced by the government. as it has ever been in the U.S., as the Associated Press, several casino 14 of the 25 states with commercial well as an ever-expanding number of CEOs are bullish on the industry as casinos were limited to under 50% states legalizing sports betting, the it appears that gamblers are itching capacity. A couple of those states, new avenues to gamble acted as a to get back to normal life and return including Pennsylvania, had shut- springboard to higher levels. Brick & to casinos. Terry Glebocki, CEO of downs during that timeframe as well. mortar casinos actually had a 10% Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, March was an especially good drop compared to the fi rst quarter of echoed those sentiments to the news month for casinos as 12 states report- 2019, but online gambling boosted the agency. ed record-setting revenue levels. numbers to pass prior levels. “I do think we’re seeing more and Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, e American sports betting mar- more people feeling more comfortable Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, ket also set new records with $961 coming out [to casinos],” Glebocki Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South million in the fi rst quarter of 2020. told the AP. “There’s a ton of pent-up Dakota, and Virginia all had the best It’s a 270% increase year-over-year demand out there. People want to go month in the history of their respec- and was more than all of 2019 when out and have fun, and that’s what you tive gambling markets. Nevada, the sportsbooks won a combined $909 do at a casino.” largest gambling market in the coun- million for the year. 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 13 008_News.indd 8 5/26/21 11:07 AM THE INSIDE STRAIGHT LAS VEGAS POKER ROOMS TAKE MAJOR STEPS IN RETURN TO NORMALCY AS CDC GUIDELINES CHANGE By Steve Schult With COVID-19 vaccinations recommendations, the plexiglass came widely available throughout the coun- down immediately. try, the Center for Disease Control When the property reopened last began changing its recommendations summer, management decided to open for individuals that are fully vacci- a temporary poker room in the Wynn nated against the virus. After initially and keep the property’s actual poker saying that everyone must continue to room in the Encore closed. When wear masks even after receiving the the dividers came down, however, shot, the government agency changed the temporary poker room was taken its tune and said that vaccinated indi- down and players were directed back last July. viduals no longer need to wear masks to the main room at Encore. Now, at most Las Vegas casinos, or socially distance. Poker rooms at MGM Resorts gamblers that have been vaccinated no In response, Las Vegas poker rooms properties and Caesars Entertainment longer need to wear a face covering if began making substantial changes to followed suit. On May 12, Bellagio’s they don’t want to. ose that have not their games to reflect the CDC’s new Director of Poker Operations Mike received the vaccine are instructed to guidance. In mid-May, most major Williams tweeted a photo of the staff continue wearing a mask. poker rooms began taking down the removing the dividers to alert the Other states which have had harsh- plexiglass dividers that were used to poker world that things were gradually er restrictions on their casino industry separate players. returning to normal. have also begun significantly relaxing e Wynn and Encore were one Just a few days after the plexiglass them. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf of the first to implement the change. was removed, so were the manda- announced that his state’s 14 com- After regulators saw that the company tory masks. On May 14, the Nevada mercial casinos could start operating had reportedly vaccinated more than Gaming Control Board announced at full capacity on Memorial Day. 90% of its employees, Wynn was that it would remove the mask man- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy allowed given the go-ahead to operate at full date that had been in place since the Atlantic City casinos the same cour- capacity.