OK, so maybe my November Nine prediction didn’t quite come out the way I would’ve liked. At least I got 2nd place right! On the PokerBRB forum, I asked some of the Danish players there why Eastgate didn’t crack a smile after he won. After all, if I’d won $9.1 million, I’d be doing cartwheels! When they explained the Danish tax situation to me, and how he’d fork over about 70% of his winnings to SKAT (the Danish IRS — a fitting acronym for a tax agency), I can see how his elation can turn to disappointment. That tax money will buy a lot of cheese- and cherry-filled pastries! (Get it?)

Anyway, now that the ‘08 WSOP is (FINALLY!) in the books, it’s time to look forward to the coming holidays and the promise of a new year as well as a (hopefully) more poker-friendly new administration. On a personal note, I’ll be starting the new year (or at least mid-January) trying to hit as many Vegas poker rooms as I can.

I’ve already played at the poker palaces like Bellagio and Venetian, but there are still a few of the high-end rooms I’d like to try.

Some of the poker areas on the Strip don’t qualify as rooms (the fenced-off area at the Flamingo immedately springs to mind), but I’d still like to check out the play at some of the smaller Strip casinos — maybe the action will make up for the lack of atmosphere.

Even a few of the Downtown rooms, despite their seedy exteriors, have great play on the inside. On my first visit to Binion’s, I made the final three at a small daily tournament. I can say, with absolute truth, that I made a final table at Binion’s!

Here are the top five poker rooms in Vegas I want to visit!

5. Mirage. The Mirage and its sister properties, TI and Bellagio, have been attracting poker players since they opened. While Bellagio hosts the WPT Championship, the Mirage typically hosts the season opener. Also, if I take a bad beat, I can just throw myself into the volcano!

4. Golden Nugget. Calling the Golden Nugget the nicest place to play downtown may be like calling a junked-out ‘57 Chevy the nicest car on the scrap heap.  While their poker room has only ten tables, the atmosphere in the room carries both a rich history as well as 21st century amenities. In photos, the room comes across as a “mini-Venetian” — comfortable, but scaled down.

3. Wynn. I’m not sure I have enough money to breathe the same air as most of the people that stay at the Wynn. I only hope that they don’t laugh at me too much for only playing $4/$8. Even their street sign says, “I’m richer than God!”

2. Hard Rock. For a room with only eighteen tables, the Hard Rock is going all out to make its “Poker Lounge” seem like the coolest place to play. Of course, an out-of-shape math nerd like me will stand out there like John McCain at an ACORN meeting.

1. Caesars Palace. Not only does Caesars have one of the best rooms in town, it has two! It’s the only place on the Strip that has separate rooms for tourneys and cash games. If you don’t want the loud rookie at the $3/$6 table to bother you during the money bubble of a tourney, no problem!

Of course, if you have any other rooms you’d like to recommend, either for the action or the atmosphere, then drop a comment here. Also, if you’d like to learn more about some of my strategic writing on no-limit hold’em, you can check my posts at www.pokerbankrollblog.com.

The sudden, startling downturn in the US economy has affected almost every business arena. Poker, specifically live casino poker, is no exception. This deep recession will impact your live poker experience in several ways:

Travel Expenses: With rising prices for both gasoline and jet fuel, along with a tighter money supply, traveling to the major poker rooms in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere around the country will become prohibitively expensive. Instead of a fun weekend excursion or a summer-long tour of your favorite casinos, your poker trips will take a back seat to paying your rising household bills with your shrinking (or non-existent) paycheck.

Closing Poker Rooms: Last year, the Las Vegas Hilton closed their poker room. This year, Planet Hollywood shut down their popular poker room and replaced it with a high-limit gaming area. In this economy, casinos are seeking to improve their profit margins wherever they can. Until the recent boom, poker barely rated as an afterthought in the minds of casino executives. Loss-leading areas like poker will be among the first amenities to feel the budget axe.

No more ‘aquariums’: Another consequence of this widespread belt-tightening is that fewer and fewer new players will put their hard-earned money down on the table. With a thinner supply of ‘fish’ in the sea, the ‘sharks’ will have no choice but to turn on each other. For those professional players on the margins of the game (i.e. those not on the tournament trail or without web site endorsement deals), their primary source of income will quickly dry up. Even top-level touring pros will feel the impact in smaller tournament fields and diminished prize pools.

As we’re seeing now, any artificially inflated economic bubble cannot be sustained. Whether the fuel for that bubble comes from buying stocks on credit, investing in junk bonds, overvaluing dot-com public offerings or bundling sub-prime mortgages, that bubble inevitably bursts with catastrophic and far-reaching consequences.

Does such a catastrophe truly sound the death-knell for the poker boom? As with any boom, this one will eventually go bust. However, such events should not be interpreted as the funeral march for poker itself. The game has survived bad times and bad people, depressions and recessions, a civil war and two world wars. As long as people have cards, chips and cash, poker will survive in one form or another.

In fact, this recession may present some wonderful opportunities to open up this great game to new arenas. In Part II, we will explore some of the silver linings available in these dark financial clouds.

Up until recently, the poker media have portrayed veteran pro Thuan “Scotty” Nguyen as a pleasant, fun-loving character. Famous for his boisterous laugh, gold medallions and referring to everyone he meets as “Baby”, Nguyen often came across as one of the most enjoyable players to watch. Even when playing against him, opponents often found themselves caught up in his ability to turn the tense atmosphere of a major tournament into a home-game-style party.

That image has suffered since the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. With the final two tables in play, Nguyen was the chip leader. By all accounts, he should have made the final table and stood a very good chance of joining Moss, Brunson, Ungar and Chan as the only multiple Main Event champions. Instead, he attempted to force his will on European pro Philip Hilm, who refused to be intimidated by the former champion. Nguyen’s ego and recklessness cost him his final table berth and earned him an eleventh-place finish.

At this year’s World Series of Poker, Nguyen won the prestigious $50,000 buy-in HORSE event. Most poker experts consider this to be the toughest tournament in the history of the Series: the field is almost exclusively made up of experienced pros, the buy-in keeps out all but the most elite players and the mixture of games requires the highest skill levels of the participants. Nguyen’s victory under such circumstances, especially after his flameout in last year’s Main Event, should have cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

Instead of displaying the class and dignity befitting his stature as the “Prince of Poker”, Nguyen chose to behave so disgracefully that his fellow pros have questioned both his state of mind and his sobriety. Some examples of his outlandish behavior:

• During a seven-card stud hand, Nguyen showed his hole cards to the crowd.
• In another hand, he left the table to high-five audience members before the action had finished.
• He hectored young pro Michael DeMichele on his behavior while acting worse by the moment.
• His repeated use of foul language at the table while calling for more cocktails did not draw a penalty from tournament officials, unlike in previous years with players such as Mike Matusow and Sean Sheikhan.

Many players have speculated that Nguyen’s behavior at the HORSE tournament reflects a “hangover” from last year’s Main Event failure. Nguyen also issued an online apology to his fans, though that statement did not mention Lindgren, DeMichele or World Series staff.

Nguyen’s talent for the game is undeniable. He will go down in history as the first man to win both the World Championship and the David “Chip” Reese Memorial Trophy. The question remains: will the Prince of Poker become an admired leader like Henry at Agincourt, or will he still be the loutish Prince Hal throwing back beers with Falstaff?

My Poker Hero

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson is one of the most accomplished tournament poker players over the last ten years. He is also one of the most boring to watch on TV. He won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2000, the National Heads-up Poker Championship in 2008, three WSOP Circuit titles and over thirty WSOP cash finishes in the last five years, more than any other player. He has never belittled an opponent, trumpeted his manhood or wrecked a racecar. He doesn’t dress up like a general or a jester, favoring his basic black hat, jacket, shirt and sunglasses. He doesn’t curse, jump, scream or yell. All he does is win.

I had the pleasure of meeting Chris at last year’s WSOP (see photo). I told him that I was the Houston affiliate for FullTiltPoker.net, the site he endorses, plays and helped to develop. He gave a warm smile, a firm handshake and said, “Oh, cool!”

(Start Goofy Fanboy Moment)
Heh, heh. My poker hero said I was “cool”. Heh, heh.
(End Goofy Fanboy Moment)

Chris has been playing poker online since the days of Internet Relay Chat. In those days, today’s young online poker “superstars” were still playing on jungle gyms at recess. Chris also has made his own internet legend by starting from literally nothing and growing his bankroll to over ten thousand dollars. His perserverance and force of will have inspired me to start a similar challenge.

Many poker TV commentators have noted on how Chris maintains such a calm, serene manner at the table, even in the most pressure-packed tournament situations. He never gives off a tell, never shows his emotions and never makes a silly mistake. He’s stiff, he’s unexciting, he’s not prone to dramatics and, physical appearance aside, he makes for boring TV. So why is Chris Ferguson my poker hero?

All he does is win.

With bar league tournaments under intense scrutiny, home games becoming victims of robberies, and private games raided by police , many Texas players are taking a trip across the Sabine River to the numerous riverboat casinos in Louisiana. If you were to visit any casino poker room in Louisiana, you’re likely to hear as many Texas twangs at the tables as you’ll hear Cajun accents.

Of course, many players are familiar with Harrah’s New Orleans from their World Series of Poker Circuit televised tournaments of the last few years. While Harrah’s holds their tournaments in their spacious theater, cash games are another story. The poker area (only a low rail separates the poker tables from the casino floor) holds twenty-five tables crowded closely together. For no-limit cash games, the house takes a six-dollar rake from each player every half-hour instead of raking the pot for each hand. Just to add to the adverse conditions, a genuine (and genuinely loud) New Orleans brass band parades through the casino every hour. Just try reading your opponent after hearing “When The Saints Go Marchin’ In” for the sixth time!

One of the better casinos in Louisiana is Coushatta Casino Resort near Kinder, LA. Their recently renovated poker room features twenty-three tables, numerous cash games and a variety of weekly and monthly tournaments. At noon on the last Saturday of every month, they have a “Half-and-Half” tournament: alternating rounds of no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha. Coushatta is one of the few casinos in the country to offer this type of tournament. Also, on the last Sunday of the month, Coushatta holds U.S. Poker Tour tournaments. Winners can earn points toward their National Points Championship.

Less than a half-hour from the Texas line in Lake Charles, LA, is the local franchise of the Isle of Capri chain. This room holds twenty-five tables and takes up the entire third deck of one of the two docked riverboats. While the scenery and accommodations may leave something to be desired (unless you happen to like staying next to a chemical plant), the poker action is fast and furious. From $3/$6/$12 limit hold’em to $25/$50 pot-limit Omaha, the cash games at Capri Lake Charles are loud, loose and lots of fun!

So put away the chicken fried steak and pick up some jambalaya, we’re going to play some Louisiana Hold’em!

Earlier this week, I played for two nights at Artichoke Joe’s in San Bruno, California. A decent, but a little run down, card room in northern California. The only table open when I got there the first night was a 1-2-2 No Limit Hold ‘em. I had been on a plane all day, so I only wanted to play for a couple hours.

I bought in for $200 and took the #7 seat at the full table. The table was fairly aggressive, but I was able to catch a few decent hands and rake in about $75 over a few pots. About an hour in, I looked down at the hole cards and saw the delight of aces. (I will tell you that my first impression for aces is to play them aggressively, but I hoped to use the aggression of the table against itself so I smooth called $5 with 6 players left.) The flop came, rainbow and all low. I was second to act so I bet $15 on a pot of about $30. Everyone folded except a guy that bet $100. I looked at him and read a small pocket pair trying to steal the pot. He had about $100 left in his stack, so I pushed all in, and he called. He turned over pocket 5’s and groaned when I rolled over aces. He was a big dog at this point and had little chance of winning (about 15%). Well, low and behold, he caught the miracle 5 on the river, and I was tapped out by a miracle. Being fairly exhausted, I decided that it was time to pack up for the evening and write the evening off as a loss.

On the second night, I grabbed another seat at a 1-2-2 No Limit table. I bought in $300 tonight and fell right into my saga. My second hand, I looked down and found American Airlines. I was in the small blind, so after all of the action there were 5 people left in the hand when it came back around to me. I decided to try and make a big splash, so I went the slow play route and just smooth called the $5 minimum bet. The flop offered a pair of nines and a 5 of hearts. I bet $40, and everyone folded except the button who came over the top with a bet of $100. I decided to make the big splash, so I went all in and in two seconds he called. I knew I was screwed as soon as he called and flipped over his deuce-nine. I missed on the turn and river and $300 disappeared in two hands.

Not deterred, I bought in another $200 and had some luck, winning $3,000 throughout the evening. But my saga with pocket rockets was not over. The very last hand I was going to play, I looked down and found my friends in the hole again. I was first to act so I decided no slow playing. I raised to $25. Everyone folded in turn, and I wound up taking down the blinds of $5 total!

For those keeping score, I had pocket rockets three times in about four hours of playing: 2 huge losses (one an ugly bad beat, one stupid playing by me), and I won a whopping $5 on the third!

The other day I had just a half hour to kill and conveniently drove by Sharky’s Card Room in Nashua, NH. I had not been in Sharky’s for about a year so I figured I would stop by and see if maybe I could find someone to play a quick heads-up game for $100. Unfortunately, there was no one there to play a heads-up match, and the only table with an open seat was a 2-4 Omaha High Only table. I generally like Omaha and think the opportunity to make a few dollars is greater because most people play it poorly. So I grabbed the #2 seat and bought in $40 worth of chips.

But 2-4 Omaha is not really poker at all. It is however a reformatted form of a lottery! Because the stakes are so low people will call with almost any opening hand. They will call with any flush draw, gut shot straight, or low two pairs. 2-4 Omaha is a game where people see a dream in every hand!

I played for my half hour, which saw me get a set snapped off once on the river with a guy who had a two card out.  I made two flushes that were winners, and I made a full house on the river that beat a guy that had me until that point. You win some, you lose some, but in low stakes Omaha you just keep hoping!

After a half hour I walked away with $55 ($15 profit), but the key is that it was fun. The table was chatty and friendly and that is all you can hope for in low stakes Omaha.

Last week, I was playing at Artichoke Joe’s in San Bruno, California. I had my name on the list for 3 different games and finally was able to squeeze into a 1-2-2 No Limit Game ($100 minimum Buy-in, $300 Max). I bought in $200 and grabbed the number four seat.

About 20 minutes into the table, I had been able to steal a few small pots and I was up $20 or so. With the button two in front of me, I looked down at my hole cards and found:

Feeling pretty good about that, I made a pre-flop bet of $15.

I got one caller and we were left with a pot of about $30.

The flop comes:

Nothing on that flop scares me so I bet the pot, $30.

My counterpart has about $75 left and says, “All in.” I smell a bluff, so I call.

He turns over:

I feel like a champ!

The turn and river change all of that when I see:

As the nutjob rakes in the chips, I am left in amazement why anyone still plays this game!!