* Rmerican «* : OKE ie Vato aaa er Mee ey iA PSEC I SSS REP Ts Pa Eat INSIDE! Y 7 Arch BELIEVE ee > TOURNAMENT. STRATEGY! IM tea a3CONTENTS ‘tdcam Amin rawr RAertererinrgtes ipmpreninrte e purevnecsteetepapenen renee oka eure eerie meget eee Mecewinretirerr Reet or et ce Relais pe peter ih pee es Se Loi a eliaaaanet ei Ri a ao pepe | eagle ember Pag ip ltletaaaed tei Pret tae reise ert cere Rieti aietotiemeantanseantiet POU OT oy Pear oat PEC ELC BEE ECT F MATT MOORE Q wersowsorvcaes with over 40 lve ceshes Mat Moore made the move nearly Séminlve cashes andaimost $25min to Vegas and chronicled andareputationtorkiing tne | tourament winnings Jason | everstepalong the way. He biggest cash games inthe word, | Koon knows about ig scores. | “wrtes forthe grinders. fo the Bran Resthasn'tjoinedus or | He lsoknows thatt's not the | passionate, andor anybody themoney! Hs passion forthe | resus but the process that's | who's everhad a dream: He game's apparent everysecond important. Hesays. Says of Vagos, "Whe | may Youspeak oti you din think eave broke. i He'salsoa yousuched ix be | Know igave to very contented tronths 250, Shot AT'S. family guy and you're not { Eliot said, “Only talks about the MEM) Sorina nord QUEEN) | those wn is importance of crough: Hes ong too far balance inhis pre tohp you an possibly fd frst column eachthe cuthow far they torus. top. ccango. PUBLISHER'S NOTE PAN POERPLTER EDITOR David Tuchman contact @pckerplayeramericacom EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dave Woods dave woods @plyp.co.uk EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Ross Jarvis ART DIRECTOR Mare Southey PRODUCTION EDITOR Scott Skinner ONLINE EDITOR Nick Pry Brian Rast, CardRunners.com, Conlan Ma, David Docherty Howard Swains, Jason Koon, Julian Rogers, Marco Valero, Matt Moore, Simon Hemsworth Tim Farthing 3176 6982 44.7939 10621 timfarthingpiyp.co.k AMERICAN POKERPLAYER i published ‘month by Pepe Lie You Publishing (Girt Lt, 33 waterprt Paee2 teport Avenue, rai. ne contents © People Lite You Pbsing Gata Li yy People Like You PUBLISHINGWWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM Y nla ‘Add these to your tournament arsenal POKER NEWS. Phil Ivey is back to winning ways at the Aussie Millions AKID WITH A DREAM Matt Moore asks the pros to stop tapping the glass THE JOY OF SETS Make the most of poker’s most wanted threesome POKERPLAYER QUIZ Do you have what it takes to prosper in the early stages of MTTS? LIVIN' IT UP ‘A resurgent Liv Boeree on her return to form in 2014 POKER IS BOOM! The state of poker and the return of the online game ‘THE PERFECT START The ultimate way to play suited connectors BEST OF THE WEB ‘The top videos, blogs and forum posts this month ‘THE LIFE OF A POKER PLAYER Haseeb Qureshi on what RAISING THE BAR ittakes tobe a pro America's biggest and best bar poker league POKERSNOWIE Introducing the world's ‘SNAPCHAT ‘most powerful coaching too! We talk to Kristy Arnett JASON KOON ANTONIO ESFANDIARI Focus on the process The Magician on doing a historic double at this year's Big One for One Drop YOUR CALL Top pro Kar! Mahrenholz with a tricky real-life hand RANK AND FILE Alexandre Dreyfus and the Global Poker Index ‘CARDRUNNERS, Experiment if you want to bbe one of the best ‘THE SWINGS OF LIFE Greg Merson on his BRIAN RAST greatest ups and downs How you can balance a family fe and poker career POKER LEGENDS Barry Greensteinooks oat GPI RANKINGS back at High Stakes Poker Ecetni The world's top players Follow us @PokerPlayerUS : www.PokerPlayerAmerica.com for updates from the poker world Like us at facebook.com/ pokerplayeramerica March 2014 AMERICAN! eRSUR Ae A sete fe s$<1 | od Rey cg Led ou ee ae people talking. One exception to Cees en a Casino in sunny Melbourne. Instead two Ce eed ‘spotlight ~ and started a debate, eek kan Creer ee ees Cee error oc ed Cees rss PCr arene end eee tas Dene eee Gor Taal aes LOT (3 MCDONALD AR AMONG THE HIGH ROLLING WINNERS AT THE AUSSIE MILLIONS Oe teas Seay ree ere ry ee reer ers the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. eee aioe ade ere aes PRC ray ernment Pe ee ee ce cd Jordan Belfort-wannabe Dan Bilzerian, ‘who said Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey Caen Core ney ioerrnerats Coonan’ Isaac Cree) Fieger eTL Meee acai finish, Predictably, the with the chip were highly premature. pier SS ere Negreanu (sixth, ground him Ce auees MIC OL 2. eter Emery Bs reed icccLolen foeereet ue: Poe Ceri Gas Co eLGre Peon Cee in typical style, before taking over Reena Pea err the river and forcing the fol. nthe ee ect with 4-6 and induced a shove from Haxton’s 8:7. Ivey called and an Ace ees Paid pees LK BOUTIQUE $250,000 CHALLENGE Entries: 46 (including re-entries) Buy-in: A$250,000 Prizepool: A$11,270,000 1. PHILIVEY 2. SAAC HAXTON 5. MIKE MCDONALD 4. DANIEL NEGREANU 5. FABIAN QUOSS ‘$800,000, TOM DWAN 75$500,000 ‘A$4,000,000 'A$2.820,000 Ceres a a out of his Australian hole, while the AS4m Ivey won is the biggest single score in his ienoceee While the A$250k event captured the ceed popular with everybody. Dan Shak took oe ooo buying in early on Day 2, when a stack equated to just 12.5 big blinds. Shak ene eee Daniel Negreanu, of glorifying’ gambling Pree enna tery ak) ‘American public, provoking a spirited ae ee ets et rs aera rns Oro) Pe eae Ey ee going on elsewhere though, the main Serene reg year's Aussie Millions. aWWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM 2014 WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPION GUARANTEED TO WIN AT LEAST $10M! ‘The WSOP has finaly released the schedule for this. summer's poker spectacular and the headline news is thatthe Main Event champion willbe guaranteed to win at least $10m, the largest fist prize since Jamie Gold shipped $$12m in 2008. I's an ambitious move by the WSOP that should Pare pay off with more mainstream coverage than ever before. AS ‘expected, the $1m buyin Big One for One Drop also makes a welcome return. You can check out the full schedule at R ae ser ‘sop.com/tournaments and we'llhave more news next Issue. _ oe Ca EUGENE’S CROWN SLIPS EUGENE KATCHALOV JUST FALLS SHORTT EPT DEAUVILLE LOSING la TE @ ringers hesithpayer ache pers, CTU aCe OS aha hed piecemeal er MPT aspire ses Keto ) ile, Katchaow was consoled Koutoupaswon 8614k Thee Bris ~O and¥atry Law aso made the egh-handed tinal table Dominik Parka contrwedhis incredible year, wig FULL TREATS! Peace) erent s Ce Let eet ty re et coe era Sere Geta etal etek: Leetonia cd eer rr eter oes ) eee Paine POKER PARTNERS NEVADA AND DELAWARE TEAM UP AT THE TABLE Oo her. Reveruesin both tates, bt especial h Pen low so tearing upisseen as essertialfr growth And WW hie tmightnothave ahugermpactinstanty, lt tt = artnerships canon help the spread online poker across ——| strat March 2014 ANERICA NERSDON'T MISS THE *"Sayouts Poker Party Be POKER ($68-$125 buy ins) meets Cry Ct) art) Puss TCM OL Ceri PAE eB gall TURN YOUR PASSION BAe ORULIR, 3 U LSS j iY SSS eeeperia an ea Be GCs er eee OWN A WORLD TAVERN POKER FRANCHISE Sey Nee ETE (866) POKER 22 WORLD TAVERN ey CreoSHUFFLE ITH THE 2014 WSOP F approaching, Id like to takea look back at last year’s final table and how itresonated with my life. Backin November on a slow Tuesday in Vegas Tmade a wager on that nights action. I wasn’t familiar with the games of the players, instead choosing my horse based ‘on preliminary interviews. ‘Amongst the sea of rehearsed responses my attention was tickled by the curly haired kid from Michigan, AChristian degenerate his attitude balanced unique blend of chaos and focus,‘ be most nervous because I want to win so badly? he said, ‘Other people aren't going to make me nervouts, is jst living up to my own, ‘expectations’ And then he said it, T'do think 'm the best player atthe table 'vebeen blutfed enough times ona downswing and hero called enough on ‘an uptick to understand the value ‘of confidence in poker- If they were passing out Kool-Aid, Iwas taking my cup from the guy with the preitiest promises. Two days later, to my bookies dismay, 23-year-old Ryan Reiss ‘was crowned the 2013 Main Event Champion. He rode that young, swaggerand an unmatched cun ‘of cars all the way to the top of the poker world, But not ‘everybody was impressed. The confident Reiss was publicly punished by tournament professionals for folding too many buttons and not peeling ‘enouigh raises from the big blind, Professional player Scott Seiver, one of Reiss’ biggest detractors, compared his heads-up match with Farber to ‘Jags and Bues Super Bow! Superstar Vanessa Selbst took it step further by comparing the match toa'peewee championship’ while Ryan Julius tweeted itwas the worst poker ‘he'd ever sen’. By the fend of the week you couldn't mention the champion’s name Pee ey Posse nes co erie RSet Ree without hearing about his strategic flaws. Have we reached the point where players ‘who don't mimic Lord Galfond’s ranges are subject to tar and feathering? Or was the ‘overly confident Reiss just an easy target for those not blessed as a variance outlier? Ina day and age where the strength of ‘opinion is directly correlated to the followers on your twitter account, pros like Seiver, Selbst, and Jullus are the face ofthe poker community, whether they like itor hot, And for better or worse, their ‘emotional responses can have a rippling effect on the poker community. Do ‘we really want an environment where players fear a backlash over their mbling decisions? hip Reese would've rolled over in his grave ithe checked his, twitterfeed on November Selver continued his football analogy by comparing hisertique to those of an NFL ‘game, stil failing to grasp the point. Joe Shmoe and Jack Black can't watch a game fon Sunday and try out for the Cowboys on Monday. The poker player field is endless and our biggest recruitment stage of the yearis ESPN's main event coverage. That T'm not worried about Reissfeetings. The kid looked tough, and no knocks atis 0 Aare goingto erase the $8.3m in his bank account. 'm worried about the guys who play for fun and forthe love ‘of competition. The guys who pay Scott Seiver’s bill. Ina post Black Friday world weas professionals have aunique opportunity tomold the shape of poker's future. We can either pave the path toa competitive exper wars through ego until there's nothing leftin the water but sharks. Maybe we were spoiled by Greg Merson, the rue people's champ. Maybe now weexpect ‘our World Series Main Event ‘champions to make four betting look smooth and crying even smoother The truth is we may never have a winner like that again, Thisis poker afterall the best player doesn't always win. And While most of us will never become ‘ambassador fora year’ we're all given an opportunity, every time we sit down ata table ortype out a tweet, to affect the game we love. Let's tank before wwe hit end, a Matt Moore has been paying his rent, on time, since 2010. Last summer he bluffed off his first chance at a bracelet, heads-up in Event 30 at the 2013 World Series of Poker. Follow his quest at www. AnotherKidAnotherDream.com. ronEeun 7SHUFFLE L!\ BOER ei eT a enn After a disappointing 2013, Liv Boeree bounced back with a runner-up finish at the UKIPT Edinburgh. We caught up with the PokerStars Pro to find out how she did it Liv Boeree: Thank you! I'm happy but it's disappointing to come second, At the Pee ene) Pere ctr) [eventual winner Dean Hutchison] down eee ee ces against my Kings and made a wheel. just couldn't win a hand after that. It's ee) two tournaments in 2014 and gone deep In both [Liv finished 50th in the PCA ‘main event] so I'm just so excited to play ee Perera) rete PC ag ee eeu anetcet) ee eta etry eee eet ad et eee Cae cL) Ce eee Cees een ert td out there. It got to the point where I had ‘moments of feeling utterly worthless. See cy tied disproportionate amount of criticism. cence os ‘something you've got to take on the chin Pee ed ae carers! eens conversations with some UKIPT EDINBURGH Buy-in: £1,000+£100 Entries: 427 GIT LDEANHUTCHISON £93,900 2.LIVBOEREE "£59,180 3. JASON BEAZLEY @-ELDONORR £33,700 5. TOMASZ RANISZEWSKI £26,430 ‘6, JACOBUS VISSER £20170 7. MICHAEL KANE £15570 .CIARAN HEANEY ‘£11060 eee) ec an Lg Parcs It's amazing, they are the best and much Pace anand ey ee ca emotc eee cg aes some reflection! eee am good! I thought Cr Se ee ert etd ee eed ee cas Ue eee oat Per eh) incorporate it into my game then it's going to increase my game play so much. eer cee amr Peay ere peer] rts errant PORE POETS ET TT ae ety PT pests CT Rag ees et atte ere einer als a fantastic lifestyle but | rarely ore rent) rane feel guilty if wasn't playing. So it ere end Poe eet hacer! if 'm playing | know that 'm playing Corio a ie es ee cred"only play poker recreationally tim te last person to credibly weigh | 2) The most recent gamingrvenue ino things like how difficult the -eports out of New Jersey, which ‘games are today. Many people tell | recently introduced real money online ime that the games have gotten ‘gaming, show that, out of all the New ‘tougher. | believe them. Hel, | Jersey sites that currently offerit sucked too when I first started xr makes up over 40% of playing a few years ago and I've certainly improved. But I still ke to play poker because it's fun {also spend allot of time analyzing ‘the gaming industry and reporting ‘on important trends and developments. And I have Casinos unde ‘g00d reason to believe that having a ‘the game isnt just alive DS reaithy and wel, but getting timore stronger. Here are based casino Maryland five reasons why. Live! added alarge ker room to The state of Caiforiais geting closer and closer to legalizing online poker, and that willbe big ~ see right. property last year ant hasan a ournament series witha Simtotal guarantee set io take place in March, oe iret sino expansion son the rise both inthe US and abroad. New York and Massachusetts are in the process of suing licenses for almost a dozen Vegas-style casinos between the t them, Think of all the new poker space To conclude by returning to Joe Hachem’s doomsday prophecy. | don't believe it can be proven that x number peopl, young or wise, are taking a negative toll on anything, the surge of youthful iterestin poker that followed he Moneymaker boom brought the ameto unprecedented heights. Who's ay it wasn't ‘ying’ before then? WWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM MARCO’S ss Or nase eR LATEST ON THE FIGHT TO GET ONLINE Pere Carats TO neat side. The Coalition for Consumer and Cesc ieee formed as a counterweight to Sheldon Penne cee eet eco} At the heart ofthe political debate is whether or not individual US states should ee ees peered {federal ban on online gaming, which would take away states’ authority. CACOP is pledging to fight that. California is expected to give online szaming legislation another go this year. While the numerous gaming powers in that ea er cenrer racetracks) continue to differ on specific eee en ner ere rt ee rors oe ee Par ee eyo eet eter) Meanubile, in New Jersey, the leading online poker site, PartyPoker has awarded See ed tt Next Poker Millionaire promotion. Players eats that led to alive final table, Myrosiaw Woroch, a local 40-year-old took it down. WSOP.com has begun running online satellites into the 2014 World Series of eee red sites. WSOP.com is the only online poker room where people can offically satellite earns March 2014 AETHE MONTH ONLINE est of the web coda i Se a 2013, UK pro Alex Kanu7’ Millar is ee eee rin’ Cor ema Haxton and Saucel234 sounds glamorous eee eens ‘surreal at times: “My favorite poker moment ‘of 2013 came when my girlfriend asked me ieee aa nr aerate lead Perea nere tensa ited re Pere acer $120k at each table, and we were in the iste caus See ee eat er en er eee) ee eens Both pots shipped my way. "Nice. | just won en eae) hhe quit, so, yeah, dinner sounds great!” However, It's not always plain sailing when you're playing such high stakes. Millar was. already down $600k in January 2013 when prec tet Tet ee UR UR Perot fests early in the morning. | was about to go to Pere er noe SO me aud eee eg Sree ee eaters PR artes) ere ete) Eres een reared Cee ey an unlikely target: Isildur. The two played Pre nett Cet ee rreem rr erty te ea necro the year. | undoubtedly got extremely lucky eects Ce ee ent sed ete a one ee jn 2014..just joking! Instead he's been back Pere ets epee eee ae CE re ee positive about the year ahead.’ That's good eee oro ard Pere ONLINE LEGENDS PN DENS NNT Port Batista eon) as Se oy Friday. winning over $2 million in tourneys er Cece ents ety ety ets eee VANESSA SELBST ‘Amew year brings some interesting, resolutions or the most successful {female toumament player of all time Vanessa Sebst Of course, there's the ‘usual boring poker one," realy keto win an EPT Main Event’ (really Vanessa? ‘Sowould wel) and more abstract goals ‘uch as aiming t livea more balanced fe and helping out with nonprofit work. ‘Yet the resolution that rally caught ‘our eye was ths: "ve been tod Foften look angry or perturbed. m usually not, ‘but sometimes 'm off in my own world, 50 |don' notice people saying hello to me. ‘ally want to make a conscious effort to smile ore that my outside matches my inside. Sof you se Vanessa around ‘ty alving era smile to help her out on ‘his audacious 2014 mission. rw tinyur.com/Selbstsmile Vanessa os coWWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM pees CHECK IT OUT! ‘Asneak peek atnew PokerStars TV show The ‘Shark Cageis now online. Hope whoever stole my crutch enjoysit. | j’shardto tell how good Didn'tknow theives hung out at Albertsons. it wit be but the inclusion Fortunately, 've got plenty for back up. ee Tees ‘01990 throwacks ‘etexDolly’ “ily, Laak and Nguyen doesn't bode well. Completely missed the debate, sois there ‘God or not? Are we all in agreement now?” ‘Berik_seldel™ Enns ee Yasoatthe time ofthis bogus macau Story dohes ago twas losing owmy macau Seeasions ty naant won 25milionin eas “aTombwan’ Guy at this casino, in the bathroom stall, doing what you do there. cheering himself ‘on loudly.Pricelesst” ‘eng’ high score on flappy ‘THE CRAZIEST PICS AND VIDEOS TWEETED BY THE POKER WORLD “@healKidPoker’ “ephitvey’ ce workit ety CO Cn uc un RUC os cau ce March 2014 AVERAN?OSHUFFLE Crime and punishment ‘The poker world was dealt a black eye in January when the Borgata Winter Poker Open $2 Million Guarantee was suspended, and later canceled, after staff discovered. counterfeit chips in play. At the time, 27 players remained in the tournament. Payouts had already been made to everyone who cashed before the tournament was suspended but the rest of the payouts are in limbo. Christian Lusardi, 42, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with rigging a publicly exhibited contest, criminal attempt, and theft by deception. He was essentially caught because he flushed $2.7 million worth of counterfeit ppoker chips down the toilet ina room at Harrah's Resort and Casino in Atlantic City. The discovery in clogged sewer pipes prompted Harrah's to notify Borgata officials, who made the call to suspend the tournament. And thus, the quest to convince the general public that poker players are smart takes another hi Meanwhile, The Press of Atlantic City reported that a class-action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the 4,000 people who entered the tournament. It cites that the Borgata Hotel Casino & ‘Spa failed in its duty of supervision. ed Cierra VOICE OF REASON Maa CRO eee hae esa Roe TN aoe ener tos eae Pee rey ee At egos Ce ea ‘gaming authority and law enforcement officials got involved as soon as the inne meric Potties oe ens Peed Sd Ene ire honey pee eee CU penetra rei) Pere rs oe ee oe Bec Nea eee erat Ts Petes Sots Le Aud scamectigud Cece et ec Deane eee ee rs took place at the Borgata, That re ees Ses a ee Se a eer hed focus on our Peertear ere peeeronenry pono eS Ceo etre our rules and enforcement techniques. We feel all these things are the best in the business. We ban people from the WSOP every year for various offenses. ed and we have the right to refuse service Ur eres pe et rend eee) game or the integrity of the game. Paneer eee eet ee know we would successfully catch any perpetrator(s). It would just be a Poor tne) er red Cr ars ieee pemrccre eee) oer tng would face criminal prosecution to the Pree ty Pe an eek eee ees ‘Tho intogrity of our events is of eee Pieri eoeererer net Seren FTteer snares atin eon eed Reena riWWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM CARD ROOMS | NORTHERN CALIFORNIA | me asec Rae Ea Peer eisue east cu hoy es) PMG caine) YOUCAN PLAY POKER ANO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP~ IF YOU LISTENTO ERIN GO BRAGH-LESS. wor Juckychances.com ww gratonresorteasino.com The flaormen are professional.but | This is anew casino that's opened wecan't say the samefor the dealers | northof San Francisco. As such, they “unless you're looking for ammisdeal.__ | aren't quite ready for primetime yet Games at the $1/$2/82 level are the dealers and floormen are ridiculously soft ut giving youll nexperienced and make mistakes $1white chips to play with is LOL tut they'll get there. On the upside i's $3/$5.NLHE is typically nitty and | anice room with great food and big shortstacked (the average stackis | games. The easine is great for those between $200-300). If yeu can, _| who want to play PLO. Once ina play $5/$10. the stacks are deeper | while they get a big game of NLHE {andthe fish give action. fyou'reon a | going, upto $50/$100, clot this is agreat place to-go you won't want to eat the food Several years ago after more than afew margaritas, awoke to find ‘myself hungover and ina relationship with a prominent cash game player. now ‘know afew more things about poker than | id back then. So, for those of you who hhave marred (or are dating) someone lke myself, 'm here to help you tackle some ‘ofthe challenges of jugeling poker and a relationship with an actual human being. RULES OF THE GAME win. aakscardeub.com You would think with so much We gett! If the game is really good, worn baylO.com experience (it's one of the oldest we won't expect you home ata Thisisa great place toplayityou lke | eard elubs in the Bay Area) between reasonable hour. Logically, this makes players and sense. Emotionally however, this can be a bit of challenge. So, make sure that the ‘games worth and in terms that we can understand" had a good night last right” means nothing tous." won a new coffe table for the living room and a ‘weekend in wine country’ makes everyone a winner! action and/or games other than the casino, floormen and no-limit hola’em. Bay has higher that you would get bette stakes limit games that are fairly | food, Unfortunetely not. soft. and it’s also great for low-to- mid stakes NLHE ($1/$2 up to 2/83/95 Deep Stack). You'ltind | wwartichokejoes.com almost no pros but plenty of Not good. Let's just say this ‘wealthy Silicon Valley types. ‘cazino’s name (and the The floormen and dealers image ereated in your mind) are great and there's @ doesn’ ce bonus: they also serve lustice, I's worse, food you can eat. Do not try to sneak into bed inthe hour before we're scheduled to wake ‘up. Sleep on the couch, Sleep in your ca. Get a massage before you leave the casino you have to We wil nly accept your night-ow! status unit robs us of ‘our sleep. Once that happens, wewillhate you. Ityousy,twor'tbe nericiactcune, Mile rae sre you citer arent tome to late or dont come tome until normal people wakeup. Bring home avert Inte anda sone, nla wil be forgiven. A sausage, eg and cheese etre works too, but don forget the hash brown! — EdSHUFFLE What started out as a small poker game at a bar in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is now a national phenomenon. Since 2005, World Tavern Poker has grown from its humble origins into a huge organization with over 400 venues and 175,000 registered players. Though the poker is free, the competition can be formidable and there's over $100,000 up for grabs Inprizes each year, including 40 World Series of Poker packages. ‘When we started this business |n2008, people said “Poker isa fad~ you'llbe out of business in 2 years, says World Tavern Poker's owner, Mike Matsinger. "But last year, we filed over a million tournament seats around the country. That's more than either Las Vegas or Atlantic While bar poker is stronger than ever and expanding to all corners ofthe country it stil faces a stigma: is tree! Such criticism seems misplaced though. \With World Tavern Poker popular in states allover the country, it provides lve poker for players that don't have access to a casine or card oom. Plus, ourenew tothe game youcan earn to rie games re If you want to play live in a fun, social environment, sign up for a game with World Tavern Poker play na safe ond comfortable environment = and enjoy the socal aspect. ‘Greg Bender isa Marketing Executive who ives 45 minutes from Atlantic Cty but prefers the games atthe World Tavern Poker:'t'shardto tell the wife."Sorry honey. ibe at The Borgata allright” t's alot easier to say. "Hey honey..'m going {around the corner to play some cards with my fiends. Be back ina few hours, ‘Sowhy has World Tavern Poker become the biggest poker league in America? ‘I's more than just having a great poker ‘game’. says Matsinger. who asserts that WTP's prizes, technology and wilingness togotheextra mile for their players are allpart of their winning formula, ‘Beyond our prizes ‘and technology. our franchises have really helped our league to ‘row’ says Matsinger. Wie now have ton franchises, spanning from New York to New Mexico - each of them helping bars turn some of their slowest nights into some of their busiest, week alter week, ‘So, business's Booming, but don't jpect World Tavern Poker to rest on its laurels. Each year the league holds two major events, the World Tavern Poker OPEN, onein Las Vegas and one in Atlantic City, bringing together over 1,000 players toccompete in tournaments and cash games. In their most recent Las Vegas event in November 2013, more than $175,000 was paidin prizes. Matsinger is ooking to even bigger and better things in the future: In June, we wil be hosting our largest championship freeroll ever. where the winner wil be taking home a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat. It's an exciting time to be a part of orld Tavern Poker Q Pro area It couldn't be easier to play with ‘World Tavern Poker. Just visit ‘wow WorldTavernPoker.com, ‘where you can create a profile and ‘search fora local game with your Zipor on the interactive map. You ‘can also find the latest leaderboards ‘and a full schedule, along with information on everything from the prizes to the official WTP rules. fn m= ’ POKERHow's it going? We last saw you at the PCA. el PCA was so much Toe poker word eer te me te taking ftness more S serous aan anpart which poker player is SD is the best shape? fun. twas my 6thtime Jason Koon. He does there! Imiike the backlps off everything, college kid who won't and 'd sayat any given Braduate and keeps F timehehasproteinin pases coming tthe parties, LRSM pocket somenhere on him Hal Are you happy being on MaMa u're hugely into yora ~it ‘your side of the fence rather than) you could convert one poker player playing? o.yoga who would it be? Tove my jab, however, do alwayshave | |surewoukin't mind seeing Liv Boeree anitehto play, ina downward dog, 0 Illpick her! You're hugely into fitness and health | So you've interviewed. now. How do you hang around the | everyone. Who are your Poker world ¬ just screamat | top 3faves to chubby players all the time?! interview? | wouldnever! When comes toheatth/ | 3) Daniel Negreanu fitness, people have to wantit for 2) Jason Mercier themselves. ll can do is lead by 3) Maria Ho ‘example and help when asked They always say yes, are socutgoing and everyone wants Xs atch cee ‘And which 3 players re the most difficult? No sitting on the fence.. 1) Phil vey ~ He doesnt do them. 2) Phil Laak ~ He's so smart, his brain moves fastar than his words. 3) Tom wan ~ I's hard for me because ge nervous. | get eritiqued by a milion poker forum people everytime. pretty drunk andran into him nthe poker ‘20m, lasked him for an interview haha, We're sure he was amused. He smiled and said, "Sure." Itdidn't happen. Then went to Spearmint Rhino nee friends, Oh man, funny night ote perme Parry WWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM Deere a 4 aL POKER PLAVERS iin the Devi ind eer reer pirnt 4 cera sir Ba inet ima © frerset ne two WSOP bracelets, Presi anreneeernerey eoeretee ti sean eee enpemirreanictieed Eapreerepeepnmerey pata ean pesitictraserepen chit fromm © tc sesso tow vintage Peterman ttn booreereest sent an Ls eet Pear errr raaet prot specter trrein) ernie earrenet) biihesitin © ie i tots misty tn, the Pretipbenintbertnreaiienn Pacer ieee Henrie Tennis ‘Carton Dane’ than watever he Reena peat eas a Sao March 2014 A/ERICANFORERLAER 15THE aaa md Uae PRESIDENT ¢ In 2012 Antonio Esfandiari won poker’s biggest prize at the Big One for One Drop. As the second $1 million tournament approaches, Howard ‘Swains speaks to Esfandiari about how that $18m win changed his life NTONIO ESEANDIARI PADS ACROSS A CONVENTION CENTER CORRIDOR AND COMES TO ‘est inan ostentatious, oversized chair, the kind of ridiculous furniture that i sattered across the Alantis Resort on Paradise sland in the Bahamas, home ofthe annual PokerStars Caribbean enue, He hoists hs legs up on toa wals-high table, revealing par of whit, ‘oom slippers. He then rocks back to settle the rest of his frame into the kindof comfort he has All ofasulden, Esfandiari checks himset. ‘Are you okay if put my feet there?” he asks, ge having transgressed. In a vignete lasting ll often seconds, Esfandiar exhibits the kind of deWWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM PAD at PERC TE Cg Pray ever going to compete PRE eeANTONIO ESFANDIARI confidence that made him one of the poker booms frst clown princes, and then the newfound self-awareness that has, he goes ‘on explain, transformed him into 8 ‘mature, content adult—anel one ofthe best poker players in the world Esfandiari is 35-years-ld ands, on paper atleast the highest money earner ofall ime fn tournament poker. Although he readily admits the obvious ~ tat the seven-figure buy-in to the 2012 Big One for One Drop was not all his own investment~ he did the crushing ofthe evencall by himself. means ‘that Esfandiari wil be forever listed asthe winner of pokers first milion dollar tourney and itwas in his name alone that the $18.3 zillion winner's check was made out Party over Such a spectacular success would be the fining moment in any player's career, butt ses double for someone whose previous ‘major scores had tended tobe overshadowed by time spent goofingaround on television poker sets, or drowned in champagne in Las Vegasnightclubs. Esfandiari has enjoyed his recent vindication. He worked frit. ‘Pre One Drop, if you sad, “Nan ‘most notable poker players” it would not be me, Esfandiar says now his slipper-clad fet given permission to remain. i's not that | ‘was even mentioned, been lurking around for along time and I won a couple of ‘tournaments early onin my eater, and I got Alot fair time because I'm kind of talkative But far along time, people kind of wrote me of, and rightfully so, because alll did was partyand hang out and I didnt care about poker atall. never focused and fjust kindof lost my confidence a ite bit "When you dontt put yourselfin the ight ‘mind frame and physical condition t play poker and give yoursefa chance to win, you're not going to win as out partying every nightand thats not going to bea success story waiting happen. So got ‘motivated about two years ago to star playing good again and to reallyfocus And as soom as did that, Thad some incredible results. I didnt like being writen off Chief among those resulis, of course, was amboree in egasin the for which he wll always be remembered, Esfandiari was the lat man standing from a dof 48 top pros and extravagant businessmen who flicked a collective middle ng tothe post-Llack Friday blues by stumping up a milion bucks each to play cards. The tournament had the biggest ‘buy-in ofall time and the biggest first prize, but although it played out in an atmosphere of careftee, philanthropic friendliness (it he five 8 AERCANPNERPLNER eee | It'slikea presidential election. It’s just you versus the other person, for super glory —<—— —_—_— made more than Som forthe One Drop charity.) Esfandiari was focused onthe win Watching the television broadcast back, it is never more obvious than when Esindiar and Guy Laliberté the billonaie founder ‘ofthe Cirque ds Solel empize and the toumament’ organiser, goal hee chips in on acoin-ip during the final table, Laliber ‘Queens against EsfandiarisAce-King The players may have donned clown’ noses and ‘embraced with genuine oodwil, but Esfandiari," need it more than you, Guy; has adlstinedy besceching tone Henow admis that ha he fost heads-up to the British player Sam Ticket, thecourse otis life wouldhave changed dramatically Tve thought about that aot Esfandia says ove Trickett, but think that ifyou get so close to something 0 glorious and come in second, its going to hurt for the rest of your lie. dont know fT would have truly ever gotten overt. i soglad I won that Tournament because had I not, L would hhave been tly heartbroken, ‘like a presidential election, he adds ‘W's justyou versus the other person, for super glory. You're either the guy that almost did it, did it Thats. once ina ifetime ‘opportunity In presidential elections, the winneristhe man, And the guy that almost won, was almost president, nobody cares! Abold prediction This summer, Esfandiari wil have the chance tostand fora second term as poker’ president when the One Drop returns tothe ‘World Series schedule. (He came fourth in the sealed down renewal in 2013, won by Tony Gregg which required ‘ony’ $111,111 to play) Esfandiari wil, of course, bein a field he predicts wil have swelled to about 56 players and be hyped even more intensely ‘than before. However only he has the chance fora unique double "This will be the true back-to-back; he says.When Twin this toumament, how isanyone ever going to ‘compete with that dont mean to sound egotistical, but that would be my legay. For sure. Nothing wll ever come close to that, and 'm the only person that can do it. 'm about as motivated asit gets”7) /BEST|/BUDDIES i 1 BARRY GREENSTEIN AND PHIL IVEY ; 2 ELKY AND EUGENE KATCHALOV ae » E ; % 1g, THEO JORGENSEN AND GUS HANSEN Esfandiari insistence that he will’ win the tournament isnot uttered accidentally. In his ESPN interview ahead ofthe One Drop final table, Esfandiari responded to Kara Scot's ‘question of what he would do ithe won the ‘event with, ‘First ofall [have to corect you, there's no if”, theres “when”, I's ale heard amid our attempts to schedule a meeting during the whirlwind that isthe PCA. Esfandiari could guarantee his availabilty for American PokerPlayer only in Principal, with this habit of winning poker Tournaments usually geting in the way.'AS soon as [win this tournament Lam ll yours he weotein an email atthe end of the fist day of the $100,000 Super High Roller event. IF they HAPPEN to bust me.(not happening) then I'm all yours He ended up finishing fourth in the Super High Roller, his first event of 2014, playing Jong into the night for two days before losing flip Vanessa Selbst and banking close to ‘$600,000. He then immediately stated the ‘$10,000 main event, lasting again until Day 3 and ensuring he kicked off the nev year with ‘a two-for-two cashing average. We finally got together after the $25,000 ‘regular’ High Roller event didnt pan out as expected, freeing Esfandiatl fora day, to watch the ‘San Franeisco 49ers in the NEL play-offs land record another round of interviews for the PCA shows tobe aired sometime this year. "Thaven' been outside, by the pool > March 2014 AMERICAN FO«ERPAYER 19ANTONIO ESFANDIARI (iV/MAGICIAN, Peruse Coe Roe cer eet er ged Oe re ets te ce are (2) Cad eee an Esfandiari gives a startlingly earnest tutorial ee cone eres ee eect r (3 eee ry Cee ey per ee eer td heerlen Renan aS eer or in the ocean one time, which is super tilting” hesays of his trip."Twant to go ‘check out the ocean” Leading the pack Positive thinking. and checking ou the ‘ocean, isa significant par of Esfandiari’ recent reinvention. although he does not reference any organization by name during ‘our conversation, Esfandiari is well known sone of a number of high-profile poker professionals to enrolinaso-called leadership university in Las Vegas that offers intensive, and sometimes controversial personal development programs. Daniel Negreanuis another voeal advocate) sfandiar said he resisted signing up at ut now describes an incredibly rewarding and refreshing’ experience that helped him address some personal issues that had lin unresolved since his, childhood. He says he leamed to confront ‘emotions, he leamed to ery and he learned amwho tam. It moved him into ‘a more responsible phase of hs if.‘ think ow no matter who you ae, he says.'Ithit me ike a massive force. All ‘of a sudden got to deal with so many different things Iidnt even know were nissue for me’ sfandiar’ young ife cultivated both sides of his character: the showman and the focused individual witha pointo prove. Born in Iran in 1978, his family relocated to San Jose, California when he was 9-years- ‘old, However his mother returned to Tehran soon after, apparently abandoning her two sons, and leaving Esfandiari with some deep scars that took more than 15 years to hheal.'T thought that my mom had left me, hes alo built up. [hated being alr Insecute, Even though L was avery confident person, deep, deep do \were certain things that Iwas very insecure bout’ Esfandiari and his mother, who now lives in Paris, have since been reunited and are very close, Originally, twas magic that offered the young Esfandiari the opportunity not only tobecome the center of attention, but also ay his card skills, Poker followed \when he was 19, and he soon found himself perfectly positioned to make the most of the boom of the mid-2000s, when the producers of television poker shows #2 Even though! was confident, deep down there were things! was insecure about #were seeking young, good-looking folk ‘with a natural table-manner to become the superstars of the new era of the game, Ithelped, ofcourse, if they eould playa bit and Esfandiari ticked all he boxes. He ‘won the WPT LA Poker Classic in February 2004, a matter of months after Chris Moneymaker won the World Series, and ‘then his first bracelet back in Vegas that summer. Esfandiari wasa regular booking ‘onall of the most prominent shows on both sides ofthe Atlantic, and he rolled along with the momentum. He wrote ‘magazine columns describing a hedonistic lifestyle, jetted across the world in search of ‘party and was romantically inked to ‘The Ultimate choice His obvious marketability also ensured steady stream of sponsorship ‘opportunities and he has previously worn the patches of Paradise Poker, Ultimatelet, WPT, Victory Poker and Doyle's Room. However, his newfound financial freedom hhasrecentl afforded him the luxury of picking and choosing endorsement deals ‘based on factors other than the bottom line. In April last year Esfandiari signed a deal withthe Nevada-based Ultimate Poker to be its first global ambassador. ould have gone with different sites 10 make probably more money on a regular ‘basis, but 'mnot about that, he says, ‘Ttold them I want co be part of the process and I ‘want to watch the company grow: And ‘some day when the company is worth a tonof money, then 'l rally cash out {fm going forthe long-term ply: Esfandiari says that his friendship with Tom Breitling the A4-year-old| 4. ERIK SEIDEL 5. SAM TRICKETT 6. PHIL HELLMUTH THE MONEY MEN AFTER THE BIG ONE FOR ONE DROP ESFANDIARI COMFORTABLY SITS ATOP THE ALL-TIME MONEY LIST. BUT WHICH PLAYERS ARE IN PURSUIT? ANTONIO ESFANDIARI :26.2M 2. PHIL IVEY. 21.2M . DANIEL NEGREANU $21.2M ee Se s2Vmjust hanging out, enjoying my life, traveling, you know. Wine tasting. —————— —SsSee founder ofthe site, was decisive. “Took up to him in an entrepreneurial sense. Hes a very very sharp guy. When he says, “Look, 'm starting up a poker site with the Fertitta brothers, who also own UFC, its kind of hard to say no. Esfandiari is a UFC fan, likening its showpiece bouts to heads-up dues in poker, with everything on the line." ‘mano-a-mano and just love that.’ he says However, his deal with Ultimate is mutually beneficial, allowing him to play when he is athome (Ultimate s one of the fist sites 10 launch post-Black Friday in the United tates) and to fulfil his own modest entrepreneurial ideals, They bring me up to speed with alo of things and if there’ a big :marketing decision -a'should we do this, for should we do that - they run it by me, he says. "They take my opinion into account. But I dontt know the st thing about inning a company. Tma one-man’ ‘operation, These guys are great atwhat they do and 10.3M $19.8M 517.9 7. JOHN JUANDA $15.4M . _ MICHAEL MIZRACHI $14.5M 9. JAMIE GOLD $12.2M 10. JONATHAN DUHAMEL $12.1M ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM trust them, obviously, to do whatever they need todo Living the dream Despite the success poker has brought Esfandiari, and the impression he can often emit of being one the game's secret Scholasty nerds (perhaps itis the glasses), his work-lifebalance these days s still deliberately skewed towards'ieIfyou knew how much poker! played or studied orspent time on in the last ten years, ‘you would be absolutely shocked! he says ‘almost never play poker. goto these big, tournaments, butall the downtime in the midale I don't even play poker. just hanging out, enjoying my life, traveling, you know. Wine tasting. He says he plays perhaps one or wo hours day at the Iow-stakes tables on Utimate Poker when he is home in Las Vegas, buts only aningrequent visitor tothe Aria card room, whose name he also wears on his chest really dont ply liv that much,’ he says "The Ava game sa game with more businessmen than pros. and! respect that, Fm notthe kind of uy who just going‘o show up and sit down iim not invited ‘Anybody ean playin those games and alot of pros goand pur their name onthe lst and jump in. But sometimes they wantto play Justthebusiness guys and when that’ the case I think is rade forthe professional to go lnwhen they're not really wanted, Esfandiae current tournament diet consists almost entirely ofthe high buy-in events, the High Rollersand Super High Rollers that have created a kind of poker premier league fr the elit. I took Esfandiari ten anda hal years to accumulate his $4im lifetime eashes before the One Drop but only 1 months since then to record another S3m, the clear result of playing much bigger. But the sharpness and motivation remain both on andoff the tables and he eels off a never-ending ist of titles that still elude him, summarised with: just want to win more stuf Yet forall the magazine covers, appearances on Howard Stem, multi-million dollar pay-days and potential re-election as poker’ unofficial president, there also now exists a more profound, more grounded version of Antonio Esfandiari snot that | dont want tobe a superstar he says. "But ‘would I want Danie role as fara being an bassador, the face of poker, someone that's so involved with the way things are, tournament rules and allthis other stu” No [would not want that. just want to getin, do ‘my thing, play poker and golive my fe. play poker to live my life, I dont ive my life toplay poker’ March 2014 KMERICANFOKERPLAER 21DEAL GLOBAL POKER INDEX Alexandre Dreyfus has bold plans for the Global Poker Index in 2014 as he bids to take his tournament ranking system mainstream. Julian Rogers finds out more bates asto the world's be ‘tournament player have been ‘cropping up aslong as Doyle Brunson has been donning tengallon cowboy hats, Indeed, most poker aficionados have probably mulled over a ental game of poker Top rummps atone time or another. Yet the vast fields at major live tournaments, combined with that omnipresent femme fatale, Lacy Luck, means that determining the Great White card sharks isn'ta precise science However, the Glebal Poker Index (GPI) has fast become a widey accepted barometer to ‘gauge the current zenith of tournament poker, much akin tothe rankings associated with sports lke gotfor tenis. Owned by internet entrepreneur Alexandre Dreyfus's Zokay Entertarnment, the goalhas been to Create the definitive ranking authorty and plug the leaderboard to ardent poker fans and manstream audiences ake. ‘Poker has been suffering and struggiing inthe past few years buti we want to have growth back then we need to expose poker. says Dreyfus, The best way tode thatisto promote tas a sport. topromote the best poker players and havea -anking. Right now. they [non-poker players] might know Daniel Negreanu or Phil vey but \weneed to make 20 or 30 players known, From Zokay's mission controlon the sumny island of Malta, a handful of busy number Crunchers assimilate iv resuts fern 22 AMERICAN POKERDUNER tournaments taking place allover the worl. To qualify fora ranking. any event player enters needs to attract 21 or more players. ‘and to have taken place during the past 36 months. Itpreviously had tohavea buy-in of atleast $k, but recent changes means that ‘any result recorded inthe Hendon Mab database is eligible for GP points, A formula based on a players finishing postion relative tofield size, the size ofthe buy-in and te elapsed since the score isthen used to aggregate points fora ranking The GPI previously ranked 40,000 players worldwide but by lowering the buy-in requirements this was expanded to a whopping 160,000. As we went to press, German wunderkind Ole Schemion toppec thelist with 3.883 points and ve career ‘earings of $4.3 milion. He also won the GP's Player ofthe Year (POY) race for 2013, But, of course, the GPlis in aconstant state flux and the hotly contested leaderboard can ater pretty quickly. especially with ‘tournaments taking place allover the globe during mastof te year. For Dreyfus, though. t's as much about ranking the game's gitteat, or the ‘GP1 300" asitis the casual players. Theres the 300 at the topot the tree, and then there is you and me — random players, recreational players Who want to know where they stand globally and locally. They can then tell ther mothers ‘they ar in the top 10,000 inthe world. which ispretty oot’ Dreyfus leans across to his desktop PC and promptly punches his. > pct ane ee hasbeen suffering. If we want to have owth back we need to expose pokerMarch 2014 AMERICAN POKERUAER 23DEAL GLOBAL POKER INDEX > name inta the GPI website, only to discover he's sipped out of the GPI becausehis last cash falls outside the three-year window (a €1.180 score in Marrakech in November, 2010), ‘Sha, ve lost my GPI ranking, he ‘Shrugs insoucianty. Then again, the 36 year-old isnt a regular face onthe tournament orcut. "love poker but!'mrat an ‘expert ora poker specialist and 'm nota alla .gocd player. For me. poker isa commodity. Although he's the owner ofthe GP), it was in fact the brainchid of Federated Sports + Gaming, owners ofthe il-ated Epic Poker League, before the business went belly up ‘wo years ago. Dreyfus, the ex CEO of CChiliGaming com. sifted through the remains ofthe bankruptey and eventually acquired the fledgling GP ater Pinnacle Entertanment ‘snaggedit in an auction. And the charismatic Frenchman, who launched his fst we business in 1995, says he has shoved his chips allin withthe patent-pending GPI,''ve pput 100% of my cash and resources into this projet, so 'mpretty much committed Mob handed Last summer, atter12 months of negotiations. Dreyfus also got his mitts on the aforementioned Hendon Mob website ~ the worlds largest lve tournament results database. twas alogical purchase ‘considering the GPIis soreliant upon results, ‘and because the TheHendonMob.com stores ‘tournament cashes on 286,000 players, hen you spenda lat of energy and money ‘to.develop GPI and yourelyon data that you don't own, twill aways be an issue, Sowe decided to avoid being dependent on atid party and ovm the source ofthe information: He describes the acquisition as.a good deal fer both himself and the website's owners (Ross and Barry Boatman, Joe Beevers and Ram Vaswani. itmade sense for everybody. Tam younger than them and probatly have more energy, so seling it to us was a great ‘opportunity tohave their baby grow more than they ever expected Indeed, Beevers reveais that it ‘was the right time for the quartet to sellup ‘and concentrate again fonplaying cards. We were four poker payers who became businessmen and we wanted to get back topoker. The deal made good ‘sense for Alex andit was good for the Hendon Mob webste — i's insafe hands and I could’ think of anybody better totakeit forward. Dreyfus has given te site lick of paint {and integrated the GPIranking. The Hendon Mob and GP! websites attract around four millon unique wstors a year and are dat goldmines for stats flends and journalists However, the Hercion Mob's strong visitor ee eS Se ees ea ane a eo Dire gate ee ag Thee td tenet ear et eras otter eee Terenure Sections ofthe poker community had questioned the wisdom of the EPL, which included $2.6m in ee ue ad Pees 24. AMERICAN PORERPLER eee ee eta aaa ae rans eo ee top payer. Annie Duke defeated Phil Hellmuth Peter era ee te ee ert Perr ee eee es Ss Rese en toy rumbers, active forum anda sponsorship ‘deal wth Full Tit Poker and PokerStars doesn’t meanit's.a cash cow, Dreyfus admits itis not a business that is very profitable: in fact, | would say isnot profitable at all Hardon the heels ofthis acquisition, Dreytus forged a relationship with online poker community site PocketFives to share ‘online andlve results. Founded in 2005, PPocketFives.com has also become a respected resource for racking ‘memibers'results on the cyber-fet andereating its ‘own rankings. By combining both ve and ‘online results, poker followers are provided with a holistic view of player's prowess, and shortcomings. ‘We want to aggregate ‘more information to become the most accurate and biggest poker database, Dreyfus explains. ‘When you go te Chris Moorman ar Sam Grafton you can see their online and lve results on the same page soit provides a good profile of the payer. It makes sense for the players and the audience, For PocketFives co-founder ‘Adam Small lve and oniine rankings help validate player achievernents "think the rankings and other forms of recognition of the most successful players play a major role in legtimising poker competition — bath online and ive Read all about: ‘The GP! leaderboards published alongside NFL and NBA standings inthe weekly edition cof USA Today Sports, and one of Droyfus’ ‘main objectives isto persuade other ‘mainstream media outlets and sports publications torun the ranking. Ths, he hopes. wilfurther enhance the game and the profiles of the ete players. helping put poker ‘nan equal footing with pro spats inthe eyes ofthe pubs. Dreyfus says:'Are our rankings kgoing tobe considered ike the PGA [gol] and ATP [tennis]? One hundred percent yes I's already the case in the poker community and the next step isto gomainstream "He also hopes toenlst retired sports stars to promote the GPI on and off the felt and {demonstrate tonon-poker players that the game can be classed a true mind sport Television, too, will continue to play a key role in marketing poker asa skl game. Although Dreyfus acknowledges that poker vill never be as popular as sports that have been broadcast on TV for 30 or 40 years he's afirmbeliever that coverage should be ‘more 'player-orientated instead of ‘cards:KID POKER RULES THE DECAD) BN ee ee a ua helped spark the poker boom, the GPI decided to use its point scoring system Se ee ee em 2 per year were used to reach the overall score. The star-studded ‘final ‘able’ of nine included legends of the game but it was Daniel Negreanu, third on the all-time money list with 21.2 million in winnings, who scooped the coveted award, Lr kro ee et Se eee hie er tare Sue costs cnet orientated. By that he means promoting Doker's protagonists. We should have aitle bit more statistics cn the players, such as "he isrumber eight onthe GPI ranking ore was ‘onthe final table ofthis tournament with this player, We should show the audience this players not just siting here by uck or (being) able to spend $10k, but because they area ‘good player and we can give you reasons why. (ne po that he would put inthis category is Negreanu. Infact. Kid Poker was recertly bestowed the accolade of GP's ‘Payer af the Decade’. Despite some inthe poker fraternity {questioning why the award was suddenly decided in 2013, Negreanu describes the GPL a ‘awesome’. However, he doesn't think the CGPlis quite perfect, highlighting how he thinks the scoring system tobe somewhat ‘opaque. it would be good forthe players there was some transparency intowhat tournaments are worth in terms of points. Tough decisions Dreyfus is aways open tosuggestions when i ‘comes to making ‘wreaks tothe point: scoring criteria and formula, And the GPI's ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM ‘boss also isnt afraid to make difficult decisions, such as axing players from the GPI. Jean-Paul Pasquali and Cedric Rossi will soon be removed after a video ‘emerged last year that allegedly showed the pair signaling their hole ‘cards to each other on the final table ‘of the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in 2009, ‘They frished fist and second, although no suspicions were raised at thetime. After the vdeo surfaced Dreyfus sent his views and the footage tothe GP's top 50 players anda few tournament directors. I would say {99.8% of those who replied said they supported me, We cannot have players who were caught on camera cheating represented inthe ranking, I makes no sense, Itwasaboldand scary move according to Dreyfus, butilustrates how he ‘doesn’t want anyone or anything besmirching the legitimacy of his ranking system He's passionate about this project. as well asthe other poker-related businesses in his swelling portfolio, including Fantasy Poker Manager (similar to Fantasy Football). As well as the hugely successful EPT now using the PI to decide its Player ofthe Year, there seers to be overwhelming supportin the Poker community for what he's building. The kudos of being ranked number one tournament player inthe world creates a buzz and target for the game's elite to chase. Pius, circut grinders and amateurs ae able tosee where they stand inthe tournament food chain, There's something for everyone, ‘When Oreylus first acquired the GPI he considered staging atournament solely for the ranking’s top 100 players, which would determine the best tournament player. But he soon conceded that this concept was intrinsically lawed, so canned te idea ‘it would just be the best poker player who won ‘tournament fll ofthe best players, The reality is that only a ranking based on several tnteria gives the best picture of who are the best poker players inthe world right now. Forte time being that's Schemion, However his lead could soon evaporate with the chock-a-block schedule of tournaments onthe horizon ‘and Negreanuand a group ‘ofSchemion's compatriots ‘chasing him down. One thing's for sure, t's not going tobe dull watching this struggle for supremacy unfold, ‘© Turn to p61 for the latest Global Poker a Index rankings. March 2014 AMERICAN POKERPANER 25DEAL GREG MERSON ¢ 2012 Main Event talks us through th moments of his poker career and life Main Event, but had already won $1.1 million for taking down the $10,000 NLHE six-handed title, emery eestrastie AM got clean because Ihad almost no hope fe anymore. Iwasso depressed #7 CeO iz rete THE SWINGS OF LIFE Re uD ea id Cee eC ences oe tt ae ‘over 25 months ago, and was the lowest point of my CO ose han heen) ‘me atthe hotel don’t really remember it that much but | don't think | left the room for three days. | was sleeping, Id have cold Peet err tree enero ne oreo Prune ere ee se again for eight or nine days after | stopped. | had 15 pls left and Dee eee Lacy going to be. Iwas throwing up al this shat and then I flushed them. | was, ke, Ihave to just get the fack over this shat. Peau seat anes freer here eer Seren ney about. And then | was just experimenting with Cr oer ag Pn ete St eee Sens had gotten clean at 18-years-old and had ete a ern epee CSE ne ead ee mere tt ee ee ed eee Dee rns Poker has saved me. It was definitely my main ere nt eects Poteet eed ae ee eed Soe oe Caen sate ek ee) toe Cohen) eet ee een Life isso much better being clean, but it took a while. Iwas ne ee et eee eee aL re tr eee td PR ee tne ts ‘through the adjustment stage of thinking differently, [instead See rer et) and it started clicking again in February of 2012.‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM —: al rere Ue ‘my girlfriend, who will probably be my wife one OL sea oan! starting recovery all in the same year, so it was the sickest year ever. It's hard to top the Main Event win, but if Ihad to pick one thing, | remember winning, pees Se oe eel ‘championship format of the game I've dedicated five straight y years of my life te. That's something that | always wanted to Win at the WSOP. never got to let that soak in realy, because just played the Main Event right after and won. lot of people ce ere en at eee ey eet ee eee es Pee eee you're going to win something with seven thousand players. init. But the $10k six-max only got around 200 Pree ey Lore ‘expect maybe to win it one time. It's reasonable forme to have that goal. But the Main Event is such a crapshoot that no matter how good Pope erer cai girlfriend and eee ort had my best ener nett erg i is repeat acts year in poker peor eer eter erty ee eet ee egret) er eat ad tournament that | got back al the money that | ‘made a mistake losing, playing fécked up. It was really ‘emotional for me. It was like a reset button It put me back to Where | should have been, which would have taken me normally eres nets Peretti eet) the next level. Allthe tournament success I've had is credited towards him for sure. He actually hada piece of me in both ee ee ‘best feeling ever, because how could ever repay someone that ee er ee oe eet rt Pe er eet Te) years after Black Friday, and had two per cent. So writing them ce ete re ere td Pn eee eee hea pane ere March 2014 AMER?ead ear Puy een as Stakes Poker history, Barry Greenstein talks about the Cereus eee en ia) (ETE UT BW aur Lord Ivey so specialHigh Stakes Poker igh Stakes Poker is the best TV poker show of alltime. It revolutionised the way that poker is shown on TV, created superstars out of some of poker's greatest players and even now, eight years after its first season, nobody has been able to replicate the magic. ‘One man that was always at the centre of the action is Barry Greenstein. ‘The American is one of only four players ~ alongside Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari and Doyle Brunson = to ever compete in all seven seasons. Greenstein has been involved in many of High Stakes Poker's most memorable moments too, from having. his Aces cracked by Sam Farha to playing what was then the biggest pot in TV poker history against Tom jurrrr’ Dwan. We spoke with "The Be: to get his side of the story on those legendary battle PokerPlayer: When the first season of High Stakes Poker was filmed in 2005 ‘were you onboard with the concept ‘from the start? Barry Greenstein: In those days | was a cash game player and really dit play many tournaments, For me twas a great thing because I'd get to play in cash games with people who had made their names in tournaments ~ that's juicy. The truth is that | didnt really pay in itfor the TV ‘exposure, itjust Sounded lke a goad high-stakes cash game to me. How closely did the show resemble tthe high-stakes scene in Vegas at ‘that time? Itdidn't resemble the high-stakes cash games at all because at that time those were all mixed games. We'd sometimes throwin PLO but never no-timit hola’em, Even though | wasn’t playing much NUHE atthe time | knew I'd be in good shape against tournament players asit's a pretty different game. It proved tobe true c v ) Aa Vd gettoplayin cash games with people who had made their names in tournaments - that’s juicy 7 C = > WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM and iid well most times. I dont thik | ever had a show where | lost more than one buy-in, and if you look at alln EV Iran the worst of anyone. Iran $1 milion below EV. Even with that | ended up breaking even. In the final season | lost a $600k pot to Antonio Where had a set and he had a gutshot and flush draw. Itwas the biggest pot of his life and probably helped catapult him tos success after that. Those are big money pots and they do make a difference going forward to how each of us di. In season one the game started out with $300/$600 blinds and a $100 ante. Was that a big game for you at the time: It wasn't that bg nitally for me. In those days | would have had a couple milion in iy safe deposit box so even losing $500,000 wouldn't have been that big a deal However, as the years went onthe Vegas cash games actually went down in stakes wile the stakes on the show went up, soit got pretty big. Black Friday and the faiing economy took money out of the poker economy and things like endorsements also stopped. [It meant that] when lost that $600k pet to Antonio, and the $900k pot to Tom [wan] it was abi hit financially, > March 2014 AiERCANFORERLAER 29,DEAL HIGH STAKES POKER > Unlike most players, you became famous ‘on the show for only ever running it ‘once. Why did you do this? thought it gave me an edge. Alotof people jould say that running it once, twice or whatever is actualy the same mathematical thing, But what | know, and especially 2s | ‘could affords that there are a few easons to runit once. In Vegas we were ing cap PLO with players like Gus Hansen] and Sammy [Farha] and they ould just shoot the money in. When firs played with them I felt like could afford the ‘game more than them. Running ittwice was really what they looked for ~it meant they ‘could play free and easier. they gottallin they'd have 2 good shot to win their money 1k at leat. It also meant they could try to ck players out of ‘aggressively [because they knew they'd get two runout) The secor forme torun reason why itwas important is that after a player 5 big loss ina hand they often can't handle it and then go off for a big number. | have very high confidence ‘and think anyone that has watched me play will agree with me that | handle my losses better than anyone, So what Ney KILLER ACES BARRY GREENSTEIN SS Ue Reel ag SEASON ONE POT SIZE: $361,800 ee eed High Stakes Poker Barry Greenstein raises to $2,500 with Aces on the final hand Cr ae Cote Sora reer think Fatha moves all-in. The pat s $361,800 Serene Cee een ed pete neces Inthe Aces versus Kings hand with Sam Farha do you think that Farka should have folded in poe ees ee tas Pon re ad Beata id ‘The Bear wasimveled in baer eee 4a handle losses better than anyone. If you don’tsteam and you can afford it you should always runit once #f eee reid ‘that even onthe last hand | was capable of ee Ty eT) See Lo it Was that one ofthe biggest pots you had pore) Ser eet y eee et pene et ener) ene ene ee etn ‘ven that It was the last hand ofthe session Pere ee ee Se Les Bee eet happens is that when Iwin a big pot! normally bust the guy that I win it omiater. By running it once I get a lot more equity than ust that pot. whereas my opponent doesn't get that ‘much out of me steaming. Ifyou don't steam and you can afforait you should always run it once. Phi Ivey used to run those ps it twice like allo aple but once | explaine looked at me and said, ''m never going to runit don't think he ever has forthe resto his life a Ee rl ere et rent eet ny aati) Just lost a huge pot with A-A versus K-K! They Ce aed carespee ey ah toy ie Bu thy PAT PROUT AN Rs aS POT SIZE: $919,600 See ey Doin eas et eee Cee St es ee er ees coterie oii clon aitcd Fe areal '$100k and Dwan comes back over the top to eee) Se eee eer es ers ce eter tay petra. ad you played wth Tom Dwan much before Pt eer Unfortunately I had onl played with him once Peper er en pee yee ee eee ere el ee eae renee asta’ Peer enna Were you happy with your play inthis hand? ee THE Aen OF INEY [BARRY GREENSTEIN AND PHIL IVEY HAVE BEEN FRIENDS FOR MANY 'S WORDS HERE IS WHY THERE'S NO ONE LIKE IVEY AND WHY EVERYONE ELSE 1S JUST PLAYING CATCH-UP... ‘YEARS. IN GREENSTEII [BARRY GREENSTEIN: lot of people think Philis an idiot savant bu He really worked on his game and fe seemed to be the {what is opponents were doing and coming up have watched Philplay online against players would be losing $500k to them before tunis ‘tome and saying, ‘This guy is dead, Its just aquestion of how long, Philwas right almost every time. He gets rs what the guy's responses are rent hands in different situations he's not, he's a deep thinke would do a lot of thinking about situations. at figuring with a counter toi. tentimes where hi takes until he quits m tothe: going int where he really ote with dil chess player. The guys usualy didn'tlast a week before they had toquithim It's scary I say people by always a step ah meme the day | said to Phi that he was now a top player. that he was a step ahead of his opponents. He us then he matured his game and stopped butting, He was "have played withthe greatest rave ever played with wh at knowing what the other players are doing as Phil Ivey. ‘thought he might have Ae-Q¢ where he Serer) bea favourite andit tured out we were dead ee not etd Peete tent et ao eee em) ea era ey Percent os Pee eee ee ed es are) ee ens Poorer ieee ett i Seen era cen et) oe ened ‘ame down. There are alt of ards on the turm ee et el penne er err er tad least even it was clear the money was gong in ert cerry eer ted pot | would have been winning $2 milion, the eet eid ne'slike a i torun over layers of al sas good ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM Dee erate er eer ed ee er ‘Atthat time | was a bigger player than Tom and oreo tent ee eaentaneeeeteeet on Rotel iets tee) Pe eer eee Pee ee cs saying, This sa really big pot, the biggest | have ever played flit was probably ike that ee ee een ee eet ts ree oer es Peretti Pre ted Ce ne ee Leer eer eer eee eer) eat Se ee tad eT ens corer eee Parr eres Pe eee took advantage of him. People totally See — ri March 2014 A/ERCAN POKER?Enjoying PokerPlayer on your phone or tablet? ee LD Seal eT iets aL) aR Ta ueda ) STRATEGY WANT TO BEA PRO? > Neda teaches stow tobe poker players. Poker culture teaches us how to slowplay, how to set mine, how to manage ‘ur bankroll. It teaches how t think, how to talk, what is cool and what is not. We absorb these teachings eagerly. But when wasit going to teach us how to be poker players? you know the lives of many professional poker players, you know this a question that sorely needs answering. Professional poker isa strange andisolating Ife. Nothing you have ever done before wll prepare you for it. This is my attempt torectity that. and recount everything that | think every poker player ought to lve by ~and what | wish | had heard when | began playing po Haseeb Qureshi on how to be a poker player, p46 rend creer Sy et 38 THE JOY OF SETS Tree ete nog Pr id Panera Dera How toplay suited connectors Pa asaaN rainy etnies ern ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM Bea eee cd ft Ceo ery eteentrt cet Corey nets aree rir Putas LITTLE EXPERIMENT sreererigerret Log Find your balance March 2014 NYEACANPEK ven 33STRATEGY |OURNAMENTS Wa 2 UES Al MUSTIKNOWAS There are certain moves every Attacking weak players winning tournament player must i know. Ross Jarvis is on hand to in the early levels Youve ever watched the WSOP Main any turn eeshuymehih CSTE IETS EventonTV you willknow that Pr lead money nthe fe Hellmuth usually shows up afewhours sure you're ready and focused, ‘Tournament poker is constantly after the cards have been dealt, often in. Stacks wll e deep eary on o you ‘evolving. Players are more aggressive, lame fancy dressattrewithscantiy-_canatford to see a ton of flops agai ‘new variants seem to crop up every clad women on his arm fyoudecide tothe weaker players at your table. Look to month and prize pools are bigger than imitate the Poker Brat in your next ive play hands that can make the ruts ke ‘ever. Despite allthis, the most basic strategy moves tournament you will small pairs, sulted arestil vory effective. From stealing the Binds to achiovetwo things: abusing the bubble these are the foundations every locking ake top tourney probuliés from W's only ence you” complete ot and Pete become a master of these concepts that you should missing auton tons At the start of j2)):30\s ve ‘try and add in the fancy highlightreel plays that get ofvaiue!However.do a tourney all the plevinetner vi allthe attention on TVand online Joinusaswelltfeclirestobingtne |g Fands postop and thetive mostimportant skils any beginnerneedsto worenaiow ts fWSMareready pene unbietotou suited Aces. 8 be a tournament poker champion. batirtnancainga and waiting to fine arcasinycs <> eerste «Rand their chips (7.2cs.uinine poker payers cary levelsbecase The early levels of toyou they can't fold an_ => poker tournaments, overpair when itis, eee) rt abe <= inperiatandcan Keep the pots sma fabcetnatowfeyouprogsasinthe _whenyoudorthavelt an aka vole ing Are starofatourrey rasesandbets when you co havea tveyange ayertathaspadter monster spl poke, buyinis ve antl sacha ‘ou should ove tit against sh Crucially, this means that allofthe ish that call too much, tts an obvious ‘are ready and waiting tohand ther chips statement yet ‘good’ players continually toyoul l's one of the easiest points in tryit, only tool their eyes and mutterinsults when the fish inevitably call down with third pair. you're one ofthese players trying to bluff the ish then you are playing lke one yourself. Inthe early level's crucial to put yourself into a position to possibly stack the weak players ~ by value betting trong and attempting tot icky flops on the ‘’cheap ~ but do not force the issue you are card dead or frustrated, A good spot willeventualy come if you ae patient. Inevitably, the later stages ofa tournament wil be predominant filed by good players, makingit much harder toccumulate chips and highighting Just how important those early levels really are ‘SEE IT IN ACTION! ‘Cash game legend Sam Farha take advantage of actor Oliver Hudson's inexperience by knocking him out ‘of the 2005 WSOP Main Event in the very first hand. It may look like a cooler at first bbut a better player would hhave avoided going broke in this spot. tinyurl.com/nomoreoliver ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM 0 Stealing the blinds ‘You must constantly accumulate chips intournaments tocombat the sing blinds and antes. ifyoudon't you'll go bust. One othe easiest ways todo this is bysteaing the blinds. I's very simple to do when action i folded to you inate position uststickin arise witha weak hand ard hope that everyone folds. Of course. ike most ideas in poker stealing the blinds can be more complicated than that, 's important to target the right type of player frst. fyou hhave very active or ‘aggressive players in the binds they wil likely look for any excuse to call orraise rather than fod, so ‘void stealing in The perfect targets are tight »v‘trgwils: players that ther stack size which forces them to play quite tight. I's alicense to steal Back in the old days, when raises were respected, nobody would play back at you without a monster hand, In 2013 everyone at the table knows what you are upto when you steal the blinds ~ and some of them vl tr to shoot you down accordingly. Be aware of your table image andrecognise those spots where itlooks exactly ike what you are doing (stealing the blinds wth a weak hand ‘onthe button for example). you get three-bet in these spots the chances that your opponent is. significantly. Make iene sureyoudscourees perfecttargets are won'ttry any —themfomcoingthis fet plyersthat hninetauredy vertyeymoes MOvESHKe HH’ fying ie such as light three-betting MM °<2s0rs!iourvet three-betting, Poker becomes very easy toplay against these guys as you canjust fold all but your strong hands whenever they show aggression Your chances of success increase when youattack the right stack size t's ‘bad idea totry and steal froma player with less than 15BBs because they wll beshoving alin on you fairly widely Similarly. a player with age stack may beless ncined to fold because they have enough chips to gamble. Aim for payers with 225-40 big bind stack - these players are somewhat handcuffedby but yourself As long as you've ead the situation correctly you wil be surprised how ‘frequently this works. Finally. i'skey that you adjust your opening raise sizes throughout the tournament. Early onit's fine to opento three bi binds when you want to steal bt once the blinds get realy biga min-raise willdothe same ob. This is because the average stack size ofthe field will have shrunk due tothe binds, meaning they cannot afford to loosely call preflop It also becomes ales risky bluff for you, whichisabonus. >STRATEGY [OURNAMENTS 9 Searching for information There arelats of poker websites around that offer you important information on your opponents in ether a ve or online tournament. TheHendonMob.com’s famous poker player database ists every significant Ive tournament cash a player has had in their career. Once you ave at a tourney look forthe names ‘of your tablemates onthe TV displaying the table draw and then type their name into the Hendon Mab's database on your smartphone. There's plenty of free reads that you can get from doing this. you see that player only has one or two smal ceashes -or isn't onthe database at al = you can assume they are either inexperienced or plain bad ative poker. By contrast, some players wil hve frequent live resuits that date back years in ow to mid-stakes tournaments. These wil typically be very strong lve players that are wellknown an the circuit and very experienced. A third player group to look out for is those that have one ‘major score in their back catalogue, but have then gone on to have very few results. You'd be surprised how many of these players exist andi’s often a sign that they simply ran amazingly in that one event before their lack of sil became apparent. Don't let these player's reputations intimidate you as they are rarely going to be that great (Online poker now has even more sophisticated database tools at your fingertips. Perhaps the mest useful is Look for the names of your table mates and type their name into the Hendon Mob database Ff! ‘www OfficialPoker Rankings com. Search for any player on this site and youwill receive an instant breakdown of their total onine poker profits, average buy-in and ROI (Return On Investment), Not ony wl this immediately alert you 2s to whether a player is good or not. but you.canalso manipulate ths information toyour advantage. For example if player's average buy-ins ust $5 but they are deep with you ina $200 online tournament you can rightly assume they willbe feelingnervous and abit out of their depth. Now that you know this it ‘makes sense to push ther around more than usual and expect them to play back coniy with premium hands They say poker is a game of information and i's important that you gain as much as you can on your ‘opponents before you play them ~ luckily enough there are tons of websites out there waiting to help you. Making gooduse of this information will help you gain an edge, no matter how smallo Lose the fear of busting You will not win any money from the vvast majority of poker tournaments you tenter. The sooner you realise ~ and ‘expect this - the better. Even excellent r0s willonly cashin around 1596 of the tournaments they enter. Appreciating the huge variance in tournament poker should help you get over the irrational {ear of busting that many players have. ‘There isno shame in getting knocked ‘utot a poker tournament! Far too many players value their ‘tournament ie’ more than they value making the correct decisionsin every ‘spot possible. saw a perfect example recently ina $200 live sic-max freezeout. An older gentleman raised only fora very aggressive young kid to move alin for 22 big blinds (the iitial raiser had a similar stack siz). After muttering about how he'd travelled 'a long way’ for this tournament the older guy eventually folded pocket Tens face-up. Given the situation i's a terrible fold heavily influenced by the fact that he didn't want to be eliminated from the tourney inits early stages. You must be wiling to take risks in tournaments by playing aggressively with draws or making the odd hero call when you sense you are winning. If you play to tightly good players are going to exploit you over and over again as they willbe aware that yourmust have a ‘monster if you ever decide to risk your tournament. More importanty. taking on this strategy means that you wil never win lots of money! You will get ‘quite afew min-cashes on your record, and maybe even a final table or two if you run well Butyou won't win tournaments outright. Allof the most successful tourney players are aggressive and willing to ‘gamble it up when they have to, That's because the vast majority of the money is tobe found inthe top three spots. Who cares i you blow an opportunity to finish 28th by losing a huge coinflip for the tournament chip lead? In the long run a solitary victory will often pay fora 2th pace finish mary times over. SEE IT IN ACTION! German EPT winner Benny Spindler i known as one of the craziest players on the circuit. Watch as he {and fellow sicko Martins ‘Adeniya play a huge pot early on the 2012 EPT London final table. ‘tinyurl.com/eptspindler ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM ‘he money bubbie ofers agreat opportunity to win eps by paying aggressively. Too many players ~ especialy those that vale her tournament if too much wile ranging on desperate for mincash. andony paying ith monters Song a you nave adecent stackyou shoul vie ths stage a one ofthe most ertial inthe tournament Raise aton of hands tosteal th blinds and win ts of smal pats. Abusing the bubbe's especialy etectiveintve poker tournament for the reasons we have Isted previously There's no worse feeingina tournament than being the rt bubbieboy ~ some slayers wl sinkto the tightest levels fo tvoldthisberng them It simportant that you dot et carried avay though Tagetngthe correct payers to abuse serve If youre playing agains sorreonethat you noms good aris short on chip, do not ty andstealfromhim he won't Core'the in cashes or net You wart to tergt payers you suspect the moneys important to, ot those tat ae paying purely forthe win AMERICAN PXERPLAYER 37STRATEGY SETS IAN col EPTS Flopping a set puts you in one of the best situations you can be in at a poker table. Now all you've got to. worrry about is how you're getting paid. Aset sa three of a kind when you hold a pair in your hand. esa very trong, disguised hhand that has the ability to erush players holding big overpars to the Foard. tt doesnt rank az high asa flush ora straight, but i's very infrequent that anyone flops either of those big hands and, unless you're unlucky enough to run up against a better set, you'l always have plenty of outs to hit 2 full house. Its often a good ides to fastplay this hand if someone shows strength (i's ensir to get their chips in) orit's a drawcheavy board (you don't want to give someone the right price to draw to a straight or flush). Th only time you might think about slow-playing init perhaps you're heads-up on a non Scary board and are extremely unikely to be outcrawn by a fish ora straight. Slow-playing here gives someone a chance t catch up and pay you of. MAGIC NUMBERS Le doe Seti oma But how do youget the set in the frst Poetry place? First you need tobe dealt a pocket i Pair, which will happen about once every 17 br ale ade ands, Second, you have to Rp your thrd ard which willanly happen about 12% o etme by the lp (although youl make afte ime you eal munity ards). The man pint to keep inminds that f your pocket needs tmprove to win the hand you need jomnake sure playing the hand isn't goIng nly smaller chance ctyour hard cost you too many of your chips. not being able to stand up to action without of stuations you dort need your pocket improving For ths reason, make sure that Paes lg pCR CR Ce Gy UR bie rts ‘Aces, Kings. Queens or Jacks to hit three-ot-2-king for you to have the best han, but with smaller pairs there is an ityou're calling a raise to make a set you're not putting more than 10% of your Chips in at any ane point (seeing as youll only hitit 1296 ofthe time), POSTFLOP PLAY There are alot of questions to ask yoursel when you flop a set but the fr important one, should always be: How can quickly get allof my opponent's chips intothe m ithe blinds are small compared to the chip stacks (for example, you're playing a cash game or it's the early stages of a tournament) and you're first to act, it's often a good idea to check-raise on the lo11.69% How often you | will flop a set witha pocket pair 0.69% The chance of being dealt a pair and flopping a set in any hand 33.4% The chance of making a full house or quads by the river when you have a set (or turn. rapping money in th they take a stab atthe pot with nathing. Check to the raiser withthe expectation that they will continuation bet ane then raise them toaround 2:5 times their bet. they have absolutely nothing they will foi, pot when but don't think of this as an opportunity wasted, You're making the play fr the times they de have a hand and alotof chips AGGRESSION LESSONS You should try to judge how aggressive your opponent is. The more aggressively they play the faster you should play your hand, as snap-calls and rash all-ins them are more likey. I the board looks dangerous with high cards and a flash draw you're best betting fon the flap wil not only bul the pot, allowing for increasingly bigger bets on the turn and river, but wil elbow ak draws out ofthe way and almost Certainly stil get action from a player with top pairor two-pair, who will be in huge trouble against your hand, ut straight away, If the pot is already fat compared to your ent’s chip stack, and youre acting efore ther, a check will give them the chance to bluff-shove al their chip into ‘your monster. In this case. trapping isthe best option because if you bet first your ‘opponent musth (on, as they'llknow that they're committed for the rest oftheir chips. Give them the pe to hang themselves. MULTI-WAY POTS Playing set slowly against one opponent can be worthwhile, but doing so against multiple opponents can be a recipe for disaster. Only the very driest of boards, uch as Ké-8@-34, willbringa turn card that isn't going to have you worrying abou straight orflsh, so don't ge away any free cards, Bot anywhere between halt toll pot and hope to get action from ‘drawing hands, flopped two-pairs and, if you're really lucky fish that can’t get away from top par: he worst possible scenario isbeing on ong e jer set to a bigger set. It is one of the worst possible Situations inno-imit hold'em, But the tit happening are slight, and toa much into ita it's ust fone ofthese things that happens in poker When ‘and you call wth Sixes and are gited’ a5-6-Jflop you're very and, al on, which is very likely given ion, you'll be drawing to just one 1d. But don't leit put you off ~if you can get your chips inevery time you flop a set you will bea ig winner inthe fo the sit out to win the hand, Not g ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM 2. WHEN SETS Cee Co) Cel nae eanr Coen eta ca Fe wad ESD Daniel Negreanu thre-bets to $5,000 with 66, Hansen calls and they see a flop. an ete flopped a sot. Negreanu bets and Hanson eon ets The turn is Five giving Hansen quads See prrraeutsrrsnions Peirce You can watch pet Negreanu explain Dene the hand here and loses a $410k pot aX MARCH 2014 je MERPUNER 39STRATEGY 0U'Z PPAR EN NT QUIZ MTT EARLY STAGES In order to win any multi-table tournament you're going to have to get a good start out of the blocks. Find out if you can hit the gun in style with Ross Jarvis’s testing quiz B38 Players © Blinds 25/50 Your stack Pua (To) 10000 000 Yourhand a nm row You're playing in the $200 PokerPlayer Tour Grand Final and i's the frst hand of the tournament. & player opens t0150 UTG, another i ‘mig-position calls and you have A-K sulted in the small blind. What should you do? nom a) Fold b) call ©) Three-bet to 600 4) Three-bet t0 1.500 Pay te dae iic ig 0 Your stack nm Your hand 4 oa W’sone hourinto the same | a) Cal ivetourney and things are |) Raise to 2,000 going well Youcallaraise to | e) Raise to 3,000 300fromaweaker player | d)Movealhin with 3-3 and four of yousee the A¢-T¢-3¢ flop. The initial raiser bets 1,000, two players fold and the actionis on you What should you do? Players © Blinds 75/150 Your stack You'rein the early stages of a $50 six-max online MTT. You raise to 350 with Aces anda very g00d, ageressive player hree-bets you to 850 from he big blind. What should 10 Your hand Aa ©) Four-bet to 3000, 4) Move alinlabisehaaahotnerineboee suniospueit au nevosun ens {ontc-agnp eas sees oy Players 9 Blinds 100/200 Your stack /.000 Your hand __ Hyouite new to ue easou aK fed ruueg (a ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM mm &! Ebates sey a take in the early stages? _say0d sno ynoge yorLLs 003}8@N31 0} 00 bn UE “sesecoccesccertae bre, Eee seo baguaeey ipa oa san irons “sumed rokun spent uct a ‘sa Bop Ag srge Sun au apo whatstageshoulh sci oj aye ueanoh=sBu6\> you start playing more Tous o suoy a og YOO ‘aggressively? do, ugh 16 OK OME OY (PB “Inthe queveforthe | pexy0d90y01 ou syed anyo.o.ey8 nok ee “cceusenteme nai veumpncn arm soion ang raat inyomeatie 2 ioo/ocsusces en ee Eos Tao nto play ‘aney ja ROK soueY> ysaq aey SI yDeouddE blind then squeezes to 5,000. | d) Move all-in ‘what can you do to an see eer eee Theconiytimesyauve seen Drewacieet 8 9 bnroKsramedents ag et menac ae Maiiaited sa susyotnsdtcis he has shown down Kings Look up your gute tana nee eran ae ae and A-K. What do ‘opponent's past results, doyaud spung ayy jeays oy BuvEy YOM © Cleseall distractions | aysiu yas yon see ua 2009 PO, like Facebook and Skype | se0 ve 2a po" 1 vosenoaea(os eave fre: pur SuceraginDs aden _— Allof the above ‘e PY DNepeine eeccsstrmsonvosto cms fortabletalstsnentt ee ogni pond Players 9 Blinds 100/200/ante25 Your stack 500 Your hand 7 4 youandaskshowmuch noises nore ‘Poker you play. What sn ABs BuIeD , “Sy et sortoet ytontcrntaet mo be ro 2) assecmmoneto ney itera nce fc eee oe ‘ave Suakeyd juaweusnoy pood jy weg (eg od 8g €Bupeng o s>ueyp at Jossnak and oj ay sses prays nok 3ed doy | Yougetadoublesp 0,0; p10 hinuy psn ase yee inthe first handof an ay ue Ageqa 4 Zunjouossey>4 cnline tournament. yep taste ean S004 00 What should you do? sony ou uneR A way we aHeR Chillout youre almost | wr usxou oor An snus nok pur a0 Piast eae 01 pny ve spurs 3g 90 a asa Co Bieta tiearetnert heey ermal game {rosehip ex dupe qo 0 a er cree = eno youhave hipstobumnl op sj ssn dcjnocsule cays Ina$22onine MTT the ante | a) Fold instantly post the eoqunyo suey Bunge Ae aie posjustkckedinandits | B)Limpin and on Titer ho eo eases WOE folded toyouon the button, | €) Raise to00 YYounave anuly-ooking | €) Raise 01,000 STARTMEUP &:10 HEAD START 74-34. Wat should you do? re er ee ee eed ee etd io ear? March 2014 AeA ver atSTRATEGY S RTING H. PERFECT .. START PART 1: SUITED CONNECTORS Ina new series examining starting hands, cash game pro Simon Hemsworth looks at the ultimate way to play suited connectors ‘Suited connectors are great for cash games where deeper stacks. eC TT J => allow your hand to see more flops, turns and rivers and hopefully played correctly they are hands you are playing pot or win a big pot. Suited Sry put where you connectors can r fmuch more attra ‘with deeper stacks where there are more it's perfectly fine ‘nutted’ hands yc . When we talk about suited connectors we are toopen 7-6 fot exclusively 3 pa oy any different boards. Arc However hands that are suited have much more relative implied odds ‘compared to unsuited hands. inthis article we will look at how best to play suited connectors at different stages of a hand, with some common ‘examples thrown in to help. We will also consider some of the potential pitfalls of playing these sorts of hands, which could cost you money. 42 A HERPWWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM have enough g ESC bluff-catcher situations. equity to be opening connectors are Weumucue Theralyromall»—eattivesnort sacks TMM rece rtsvan isisuniketourromentewhere three oetyousra nat hehehehe orn poston Bone there ae usualy short stacked low you to call tose Petite etait deeper adds the bene o ployersthatwortletyaurealze aftaptisrota whendeepand Jexmetmunues the posttiop potential of yo pot to open a hand like ‘more turns and river none Assumingyouareplayng 7 6sutew. Another herr) wich coud potently Incast pen very liberally fr jxchanded then it’s perfecty fine Consideration ii there were improve your hand, Also if to open 7-6 suited from under the essive players to your left youare deeper youcan win gun. Generally it's good to have a ich players can make your li bigger pot ifyou do hit nutted wide opening range in cash game extremely difficult postflop when you hand against an opponent with a anc, as we will see, suited connectors it only one pair and are lft with tough weaker hank > March 2014 RERPNER ASON THE FLOP Your suited connectors can ht the flop in all manner of ways ranging froma .complete miss tohittng the absolute nuts. We are going to Concentrate ona few specific situations hich people frequently get wrong, Firstly there are the occasions when you flop a weak one pair hand. This can often, ’be the downtall of suited connectors if you commit too much money with this type of hand on this type of flop. Let's. look at an example: ‘© You calla three-bet in position with 8¥-7¥ in position 150BB deep and the flop comes 2V-64-8. The villain bets ‘wo thirds of the pot. ‘Thisis.a standard call against almost all ‘opponents. A mistake some players _makeis to raise here ~ neither fr value ‘ras alt - but rather to try to gain information on their opponent's hand. However, ithe vilain decides to three-bet this op itis conceivable they have abig hard like an overpar, acombo ‘draw with ahand like K4-Q¢ ora blu, ‘thus giving you very litle ofthe information you wanted. Calling makes ‘more sense as you might be able to get THE TURN AND These are the spots where you shouldbe looking to either extract value with bighands or find situations to blutt/semi-bluf, Also, if youhave caled the lop with a weak one pair hand and haven't improved by the turn or theriver it’s usually a good idea to fold your hand tofurther aggression. Sometimes with suited connectors we wil get aturncard that gives us more outs solet’s consider ‘a good turn semi-biutf spot © You calla three-bet with Ja-T# OBB deep and see a flop of 44-56-7. The villain makes a standard c-bet to which you call. The a8 AUERCANPOKERLATER STRATEGY STARTING HANDS By Tht E-) te Ty Eg Poe ty toshowdown with your DT LUBE tact youensure that you pairoftights andwin You Ee CeeET REED alvays got your moneyin have good equity with two is with great equity but also a youcommittoo Paieieaias Sconce much cash bluffs, with hands like AK, draws, where if you hitcould win a big pot against an overpat. Although ust caling can leave you with dificult turn an river decisions it Yyoudon't improve raising will make your lite much more difficutin the long run © Youcalla three-bet with J6-9¢ in position 10088 deep and the flop comes T+-34-84. The villain bets half the pot... In this situation its usually best to raise ‘and look to get alvin. You have excellent equity against almost every hand Unless the villain happens to have a set orahigher flush draw. These hands are not oniy unlikely but you wil stil have great equity against them anyway The disadvantage of just calling with a hand le this that ifyou miss the turn ‘completely then your equity is ‘massively reduced and youwillface a difficut turn decision. Also, f you call ‘and hit witha card like the Ae then your ‘opponent might be able to fold ahane like Q-0. Byplaying the combo draw RIVER turn is an 8 and the villain bets... Inthis stuation ashove would be avery effective play for afew reasons. isl, the only feasibiehana the vilaincan realy be bettingisahand witha Sixinit, hich cificut tohaveas the proto throe-bettor. for some reason the villains Buty itis best to call toend.up winning the hand © You raise 64-5¢ preflop from the cutoff and are called in the BE by villain 100BB deep. The flop comes ‘8e-9V-Te. The villain checks, you bet ‘two-thirds pot and the villain raises... On this occasion you have flopped quite well witha flush draw and a gutshot Some people would make the mistake of three-betting this flop and then Betting allin at this point. The better play would be to just cal and see a turn card. This s because this sa flop that smashes the range ofa typical opponent calling out ofthe BB. Flopped straights, sets, two pairs or superior combo draws are all well within the vilan’s range and you arein very poor shape with 6@-Se here. Ifyou call you could stil hit one of your draws on the turn and potentially get value from straights, two pars or trips. However, caution should be advised as cards that improve your hand could also improve the villains hang. i. does have a value hand then we have plenty ofouts wth agutshot anda flash draw. Though cling the tumisnot abad play wth such good equty, the cificulty arises when we miss our hand and have to foldto aggression. ‘Sometimes itis best to call flop ‘and turn witha combo draw and then buff the river when you ‘miss, Consider the folowing bettngagainwith hand the tum snoverpar then our shove a © You cal an UTG raise on shouldlook very credible, with acombo ‘the button with 9¢-7¢ and andwecancerany havea WI EMPEY Dp: mM see afl of Ar-O+-Ke Sxinths situation Either 4 and calla bet. The turn vwayashoveshouldgetiotsot WALLS CVS SDT UM is a7 and you call {oid wth hands that ont o another bet. The river isa ‘have a Six inthem. If the villain Vente ‘Té and the villain checks..WWW.POKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM THINKING BEYOND THE FLOP In this infamous hand from High Stakes Poker Daniel Negreanu is having a bad session and thinks his luck might be turning around when he flops the nuts with TV-9¥ on Q-8-J. However the board pairs on the turn and gives Erick fee eee eee er ent Eee etd up on how great the flop was for your hand and must re-evaluate each street as the board (and therefore the players’ ranges) change. The way the hand goes down it is very possible for a straight to no longer be the best hand on the river. ST ee eee cd Per enc ee ee ee eee thinking about how great his hand was on the flop instead of thinking rationally about how it's now clearly the second best hand on the river. Negreanu ends up ete een secrets A er UA TR 1 pretlop and flop plays are somewhat standard. although three-bettng preflop or ising the flop could be advantageous The beauty of sulted connectorsis _sulicientl to continue and not bluff in ‘against certain opponents. The tur ds more debatable. Athoush you pick us duite often your two pair or trip outs can be cl against te vais flopped set or theirablity tohit ts of itferent bad spots just because you missed. board textures and give yousituations Care should also be taken to evaluat an hita very strong ha exactly how strong your draw is on in a pot from a weaker one. The) different boards. Just because you have play greatly incash game poker where a pair anda flush draw't does not mear river this is a mandatory bluff =p Stacks are deep and youcan benefit __yourmust always want to commit lots of Theres very small chance that your pai of smhaving ts of outs tehit on turn money to the pot An evaluation of how Sevensis good but that’sunkkely Usually in ‘and river cards, The high equity yo a certain boardhits your apponent's tuations like ths the villain ischecking to can flop also allows you to play big fange as well as your own's essential ‘ry togetto showdown, I's very unlikely he hasa Jack, but we can crecibly represen ‘shouldbe taken with such ‘one. bet of somewhere around two-thirds hands when stacks are more shallow wilikely et the job done, You war suchasina tournament. Youmust be Simon Hemsworth reveals tan amount that you would typically bet ling to throw away your hand when how to play small pocket witha Jackin this spot you do not hit the flop, turn or pairs perfectly a March 2014 1:80 4sSTRATEGY BOOK EXTRACT MHELIFE OFA)POKERIn this extract from his new book How To Be A Poker Player: The Philosophy of Poker high-stakes pro Haseeb Qureshi explains the everyday steps you must take to be a serious poker player Nobody teaches us how to be poker players. Poker culture teaches us how to slowplay, how to set mine, how to manage our bankroll. It teaches how to think, how to talk, what is cool and what is not. We absorb these teachings eagerly. But when is it going to, teach us how to be poker players? I you know the lives of many professional poker players, you know this is a question that sorely needs answering. Professional poker is a strange and isolating life. Nothing you have ever done before will prepare you for It. This is my attempt to rectify that, and recount everything that | think ‘every poker player ought to live by ~ and what | wish | had heard when | began playing poker. STRUCTURING YOUR POKER LIFESTYLE Freedomisadouble-edged sharper throughout teantety of Sword Yourfreedomas | jourssss a poker ployer means you can iwealmostenyweyyouwant. Always play at the ‘This often leads us to unhealthy same time every day syoumay think you are at ry setng neyo topay Set a daly schedule Hypo Sots. ane break. jot playing any Always review sessions Studies shor BT ty session immediately that there's Pee ER TMM sic yours performance Cea uty much sharper ncaa nad Say easement plait Al deal 2 WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM HEALTH Poker drains us. It muddies out sleep, health and diet. Many poker players have trouble balancing their lives: some never do. The bedrock of your constitution comes from diet and nutrition. Learning healthy habits is perhaps the most valuable thing you can do to immediately improve your health. ‘Stop eating processed foods Try tothrow them out completely. C out as much sugar as you can, Ideally limit your det to traits. vegetables, ruts, meat and unrefined grains, Cut out fizzy drinks They are essentially iquid candy and energy drinks are especialy sugary Drink as lite alcohol as possible (and aways lock yourself out of your poker accounts wien you plan to rink). You don't have to do all of this at once your cet is in an especially badplace, hen take justa few ofthese and lement themin your fe. Remember ment willalvays be more than your sell March 2014 AE ”STRATEGY 800K EXTRACT ee ea i ‘A great player once told me that quitting is the most important skill in poker. The more I came to understand the poker life, the more | realised how right the was. Almost all poker players ‘quit too little when they're down ‘and too much when they're up. Its imperative that you treat ‘quitting as a skil, and practice it fine to qui fish sometimes S players | respect most have been known to quit fish. After bai TS Cg all, 10% ofthe time, the people who you think are fish are not fish at al. {And 196 of the time, even it ish, their strategies may be exploiting you. Only play when you're having fun itdoesn't matter if he's a fish doesn't matter if you're supposed to play asession today, ori you think you have tokeep paying this guy ~ if you're not having fun. quit. Never ‘mentally penalise yourself for a good {uit Poker should be fun! It's a game that s’played’ we enjoy playing it ‘makes us perform better Ce itis TT erg BUT ROT a ty Cd this fact? Every single day, some fish somewhere will win a tournament. This isa statistical certainty. Sitting in his mother's basement, clicking buttons and going all-in with his lucky cards, he binles more in one sitting than you make in an entire month or year. How does that make you feel? Perhaps it doesn't bother you. If you've played poker for a while, it Probably shouldn't. So imagine Instead one of the regulars at your stakes. Think of the fishiest, scummiest, trash-talkiest nitreg, you know. And then imagine him binking a tournament for $400,000. How about that? Steaming yet? there's one inevitability in poker, it's that things will be sometimes fall, and bad players will sometimes succeed. But how can we embrace this fact? Try being happy for other people Even people you don't like. It's not are inundated with stories of other people succ ker constantly you?’ But your ie asa poker player willbe better when you can genuinely be happy for others Stop telling bad beat stories The desicoto complain to others about your bad beats derives froma near artery wanting atfrmation that your fares are not your faut and that youdservermore than yo have Just by repeatedly re-vng those spots you ret tivity, and the belel that alot your losses Practice being happy for others lla friend good job on his winning month. Write someone who won a tournament a private message applauding him, Do lite things. Make re they hurt alittle, kick up your temess, or make you ait your stomach, Lean into your envy and, eventually. t won't bother you anyrrore. You willfind great elefin ing happy for otherIna lifestyle as sedentary and chaotic as poker regular ‘exercise can foal like its dificult to maintain. But getting regular ‘exercise is one of the most valuable investments you can ‘make in your life. Regular exercise triggers rushes of endorphins, which not only make us fee! ‘euphoric, but also increase our ‘mental carity and stimulate learning. Italso helps to keep energy levels stable throughout the day. It's been proven time and time again that exercise is the most effective treatment for depression and it also increases your lifespan, immune system and ‘makes you look better! If you're not exercising, start Find something easy and doable, It may be something ike power bet 5 0) F Most poker player's relationship with poker begins ‘ut of obsession. If you have never ‘spent hours tinkering with Excel sheets, PokerStove, your HEM stats alin the $25/$50 immersed in a personal fantasy then you wil probably rover be a great player. Every ‘reat player I have ever known has ‘started with this obsession. You need to be crazy Ifyou do not have this ~ifyour mind has never been taken over poker ~ then you should give up. Walk away now. You will never be a great player. The chances are that you wwllonly lose money and time. I THE POWER OF EXERCISE some mild yoga. For poker players who travel often, itis important to remember that you can do very intense body-weight workouts anywhere, When | was traveling through Europe, | would often do my workouts ina hotel room, out ina park, or ona secluded street corner. Develop skills, don’t just work out Focus on building strength, improving your flexibility, cr developing skl ike kickboxing or yoga. The mare motivating and goal-oriented you are, the easier it willbe to exercise continually Don't fear overtraining Workout as much andas often 3s you can, twill hurt at fist and be cumbersome, but eventually you will ‘start toenjay t= |promise. I takes time to get over the initial hump, but the waking abasic Exercise ered ponupsndst MCE EOCEEE TE SEEM. nvatsbic tor your ces. or I ME cy and mine [and] increases Cee) Pieris you are nota ite bit crazy, you will never reach the level of ‘excellence and dedication required tomaster poker. Tame the obsession But let’s say you are alittle bit crazy, that you wake up in the midale of the right to dream of hands you played the night before, Perhaps poker is for you. The real work begins in taming, that obsession, When you are developing 25a player. poker is constantly pumping through your veins, ike a drug, Butafter a while Yau need to retake control your liteand create more balance. it may take along time but it's essential if you want tobe happy. ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM YOU ARE MORE THAN POKER I you are tobe a professional poker player, then poker wl be the chief focus of your waking lie. But you must remember that you. ‘are more than your poker-playing self. Hailed a this when | was a poker player. After ‘enouigh time I could not sever my larger identity ‘rom my identity as a poker player. lost myself to the game. Do not lose yourself. Find balance. Integrate yourself in the world. Keep in touch with friends outside poker. Always bbe learning new skill, reading and learning about the world, making new friends and ‘challenging your sense of reality. Let poker challenge you, let it raise you up. Let it make of you a greater human being than you were when you came to it t can do all of ‘those things if you treat this game, and yourself, with dignity. ‘© For more information on Haseeb Qureshi's How To Be A Poker Player: The Philosophy of Poker and to buy a copy go to: www.haseeba.com THIS ISSUE'S TEASER... CALL | Priced renateetoe ree EVENT: £400¢540 Contig stack: 28,000 BUDS: 200/400/850 — i smuanion: snore Karl Mahrenholz tests out [0 \iiwvelo Das bolt your poker skills with this ines /woosnoss-0 tough hand from a recent Oo spa major tournament. Can you standard and playing work out the best move? Ss wymuet Sreebengattieble swim —entypostentofTeardte, reams confab. rn ver wd o der intrctansl! osteo mde giion ra dead leledtiecrawih Te rner tance | see Se ay Karl makes a flush before things get ugly on the river EVENT: £800 Genting Potor ho Series Grand Final Pry STACK: 32,000 m BLINDS: 50/100 SITUATION: this and opened eto] 900 and le, raised gan 4 ardhe caled ater quate eng nk Tre tuna a af 00 andhe ledagan Theriver thatay al h are representing astonger asthe M pargtheboard. The posse co the boas i. or bl. here aret mary 40nd we had 22 consider there sd drawshe can have tacks. Whatisyour skint potand —_withadamorel He mayhave z= ingot da seterwopar ths abu SOLUTION: Th portant tal? pair ths tory wth th Sothe decision hes gttng stubborn je. mycurtent ibe “ thathewileal — Ideededto shove, hosing tha what you'd do in the hand that Karl stac-topetratioontherver| witha worse har tr that my tee stats of ares played above and the best answer will astrongh 5) 10 hewildut/vave bet amor mneverchangngDoa win a pack of playing cards. We'll pint cok tie boardarattnk he yecheck?Idont rk wil akesense He tanked and the solution next issue. arent actualy many worsehands yale et ip Jacksina spo whee y 68, March 2014 AER 5sIT’STIME FOR ALITTLE eeOver time the greatest poker players have been the ones that ‘experiment with their game and strive to be even better, despite already reaching a high level of skill. You ‘should, like many of those stars before you, experiment with the things that you do and observe so you can figure ‘out how to become a better player. The players that have taught me the most ‘end to try things out. High-stakes legend Cole South is a great example. Iman old CardRunners video he pointed ‘out that he used to watch the high- what they would do differently to him. He would get some ideas from the patterns winning players ‘would exhibit. In seeing those things he tried them out in his own game. The interesting thing is that these were never crazy big pot 300BB bluffs that hhe was learning ~ instead he would talk about simple mechanics lke basic preflop moves and small pot stuff ~ ‘moves that would happen several time per hour and not once per month. This allowed South to think about things. that he could actually apply to his own ‘game instead of highly situation, Player-dependent spots. "Noticing basic patterns and simple ‘changes is where you will make the biggest improvements to your poker ‘game. Youare going to have some slight leaks in your continuation betting strategy, or three- and four- betting game and if you can improve ‘those you will quickly see dramatic Increases in your win rate. Here are ‘two examples that South noticed from the higher stakes that he started ‘experimenting with. CRAZY STEALING In certain high-stakes games some players will open the button every single time itis folded to them, When South saw this he realised that these players must sometimes be sitting with absolute junk like 93 offsuit! South thought he'd try to emulate them, He moved down in takes and tried stealing wth iterally any two in every single situation to see what happened. It was a new form of playing so almost anew game. Through that ‘experimentation he really improved his button play ‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM ‘24 Noticing basic patterns and simple changes is where you will make the biggest improvements to your game PREFLOP. GAMEFLOW Southis known for pioneering some moves we take for granted now, ike double barreling on scare cards. He saw that you candevelop a sense for the pretlop gameflow,ityouhave three-bet one player alot preflop youmust adjust because they will now beready to four-bet you back South would move tocall them prefiop with avery wide range and play aggressively postflop instead. The sense of timing for ‘making this adjustment was something he got from deliberately experimenting. >ea TIME TO EXPERIMENT ‘When! say you need to experiment | Ber open poker ‘Tournament GGPI score is determined For more Pe Ts ‘tournament with results from from a combination of details on the PTCA, over Zlentrants and the past 36 months finishing place relative tothe scoring system see ‘buy-in of $1k-$25k will count towards afield size, the size of the buy www.globalpoker- Iindex.com/about Da) eee) second atthe PCA main event and the $100k Challenge at pete Cs Eee Iseligible for points in player's ranking mand the amount of time the GPI passed since that result = a — a = a Ee 2 Ole Schernion 3,830.04 2 |#6 [Dan Smith 3,465.30 3 Marvin Rettenmaier 3,669.24 3 |#7 | Vanessa Selbst @ 3,415.39 4 Jason Mercier 3,516.36 4 | #10. | Shannon Shorr 3,316.72 5 Philipp Gruissem 3,478.73 5 | #11 | Erik Seidel 3,241.50 6 Dan Smith 3,465.30 6 | #14 | Ravi Raghavan 3,189.83, 7 || vanessa Selbst 3,415.39 7 | #15 | Paul Volpe 3,154.68 2 [I+ |seweoonaa — {i0p [270.04 |1mz | scat Sever 309744 9 || ¥]| Michael Watson 3,339.52 9 | #18. | steve O'Dwyer 3,056.10 ‘Shannon Shorr 3,316.72 10) #19 | Bryn Kenney 3,045.83 Pee aay Selbst had an incredible start to 2014, coming third in both the High Roller and the Super Poe te) ease See peepee rented She'll be looking for her third bracelet at this year's WSOP. ie (awl The Global Poer Index (GP ia patent pending system that ranks the top 300 lve tournament poker CA syersintne wor ; Data usedin calculating the GPIis provided inpartnershio with The Hendon Mob, March 2014 AERJALL-IN EXCLUSIVE NEWS ena CHIP DUM was fingered by th P cops after allegedly down the tot at Harrah's Resort and Casino in Atlartic Cy, The shifty pro from North Carolina had been using the at event lot the Borgata Winter Poker Open. Lusardi had won $6814 during the ‘competition But officials ciscovered imposter chips and ‘And just ike that, Lusard's plan ~ and the remaining hooky chips - went creating a blockage that even ‘would struggle to match after a night on the ‘And he might even have got away withthe whole caper had pesky guests at Harrah's not Plumbers ‘raced the blockage and he was subsequently jon charges of thet ane Andasifto prove that he doesnt just restrict his he has also been charged with copyright infrin DyDs anda Cheating atlive events extremely rare, thanks to viglent security. From this. i would seem you've got tobe to try toget away witht, LAMPOONTANG SE a ee ce to ae eer r ee Yeni ere et ta ee et) ee rd a nate ed See ota Pian el four topless honeys, a sub machine ee women, more guns, a goat and the to the poker table emert after pirated Posten oe peter en Peo ae pees See ny pe ee ane op eniaeieanr s? ee cr) Perea eee Peed Corer’ ver, OFF THE STRIP Priests got their robes in rovwacrance a twist after ‘appeared that ithad the snap Pretest cwantuiral on the Parish priests got their robes ina twist after the snap made its way around social media and Father David McConkey said,1am appalled, and | want an apology from the perpetrators. Various spurious reports emergedof con the Saturday night and ‘on Sunday ‘morning. Alas. it was a case ofthe Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. as Aspers Casino jared ‘assuredthe Church of England the picture doing the rounds had been doctored and not actualy projected on the building itself. The Valentine event had yet togo ahead as Muck Raker went topress but we'llt you know how we get on next month, a‘WWWPOKERPLAYERAMERICA.COM THE MAIN EVENT RUNNER-UP WHO RULES LAS VEGAS SMALLPACKAGE ° THECHEATSHEETS ° SOFIALOVGREN Se ek Ma teed Eu playing small pocket pairs are flogged in public gece March 20144.1 SAN san sa