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 editor’s letter
www.bluffmagazine.com

EDITORIAL STAFF

W
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Michael Caselli ell bless my soul, if that isn’t Oscar-nominated
FEATURES EDITOR • Phillip Conneller
ASSISTANT EDITOR • Dan Gordon
actress, world champion poker player and expert

ink-slinger Jennifer Tilly beaming exquisitely from

ART
CREATIVE DIRECTOR • D’Yanna Morris McDowell
ART DIRECTOR • Franklin Bachrach
SENIOR DESIGNER • Josh Puckett
the front cover. We were lucky enough to get the
exclusive story on her WSOP triumph and, believe me, it’s a sizzler.
Who needs a lousy Oscar when you’ve got a bracelet?

BLUFF MEDIA, LLC Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett was also sweating it
PUBLISHER • Eric Morris
CO-PRESIDENTS • Eddy Kleid, Eric Morris
out at the WSOP, only with less success. And why is he in Bluff?
OFFICE MANAGER • Rebecca DeShon
Because he’s a celebrity who plays poker, of course! He’s been play-

ADVERTISING ing longer than we have and runs a regular home game. In fact, when
VP OF SALES • Dave Bard
SALES MANAGER • Todd Leasure
you talk about Hollywood stars playing poker– you’re talking

about him.
BLUFFMAGAZINE.COM Thanks to Antonio we have some international flair in this issue.
VP OF ONLINE OPERATIONS • Jeff Markley
DIRECTOR OF INTERNET SOLUTIONS • Darren Shifflett
Read about his experience with the Parisians and his attempt to get
FOCUS MEDIA & MARKETING • Ken Shoemaker
‘coffee’ in an Amsterdam coffee shop. And who was with him in
ksadvertising@yahoo.com
313.530.0674
Amsterdam? None other than the Flying Dutchman himself. Speaking
LEGAL ADVISOR • Mike Ring
of Marcel, he has an article this issue that will help you stave off tilt
PRINTING • RR Donnelley
the next time you play Hold’em. And if a little more travel is still what
US SALES & DISTRIBUTION DIVISION
you need, take a trip with us to Camp Hellmuth and find out what it’s
Bluff Media
5600 Roswell Road, Suite East 250 really all about. And since we have such itchy feet this issue, let’s top
Atlanta, GA 30342
info@bluffmedia.com it off with a traveler’s guide to LA that is as colorful as the city itself.
SUBSCRIPTIONS Please welcome Ed ‘Bolivia’ Moncada over to Bluff this issue. Bolivia
USA $25 per year
Canada $35USD per year will be helping us scour the globe in search of new poker talent. What
Europe $45 USD per year
does that mean? It means that if you see Ed at a tournament you
For Advertising Rates please call (678) 528-0379
or visit us online at www.bluffmagazine.com should buy him a beer. It also mean that we are going to give you the

Published by Bluff Media inside story on the most talented players in the world – before you see

© Bluff Media 2005. All material is strictly copyrighted, them on TV.

and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without per-
mission is forbidden. Every care has been taken in com-
piling the contents of this magazine, but we assume no Bet Smart and Be Lucky,
responsibility for the effects arising there from. The
views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the
Michael Caselli
publisher. Printed in USA.

6 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 yz{xyz{xyz{xyz{xyz{xyz{x
z y
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x
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yz{xyz{xyz{xyz{xyz{xyz{x
Starring
BLUFF MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS OCTOBER 2005

p.52 p.54 p.64 p.56

Josh Arieh Annie Duke Antonio Esfandiari Phil Gordon
and the Tilt Boys

p.100 p.98
Clonie Gowen Ed Moncada

yz{xyz{ SPECIAL GUESTS z{xyz{x

p.72 p.48 p.67 p.86 p.61

Brad Garrett Scott Fischman Rob Fulop Jennifer Tilly Phil Laak

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Bryan Bailey Rob Huxley Mike Mizrachi Scott Tharler
Amy Calistri Kenna James Shawn Rice J. Phillip Vogel
James Ernest Jack Llewellyn Mike Selinker John Vorhaus
Rich Ferguson Marcel Luske Darren Shifflett James Weaver
Steve Horton Steve McFadden Cal Spears

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 7

 THRILL OF POKER [world poker traveller]

c ntents
OCTOBER 2005 VOL 1 ISSUE 8
By Amy Calistri

www.bluffmagazine.com

[FEATURES]
40 Sports Psychology
Jack Llewellyn, Poker Shrink – Pack your mental
bags for psycho-poker

44 Camp Hellmuth
Darren Shifflett goes to “brat” camp

67 Poker Pecking Order

There is a lot more to this food chain than a chip
and a chair

72 Brad Garrett
Forget Raymond – Everybody loves poker

COVER STORY
Jennifer Tilly accessorizes with what
86 81 Bodog Salutes the Troops
she hopes to be the first of many bracelets Another excuse for a party!
at the World Series of Poker and why her
bracelet beats an Oscar
94 Stacked
The video game that will take your pay check off you

[THRILLS]
14 Poker Nicknames - All you ever wanted to know 28 Rising Stars - Edward Moncada profiles a poker
about the art of nicknaming star in the making

16 Bird on the Rail - Gossip from the Bird on the Rail
18 Poker Skinny - Whos chasing who in the
quest for poker greatness
21 Upcoming Events - Places to be in the month of
October
22 Bluff Updates - The usual promotions plus the all
new Bluff Poker Travel
26 Online Report - The big buy-in tournament that
rocked the online world
29 Movie Characters you would never want to see
at your poker table
31 Surfer Dude - Bryan looks deeper into the world
of hypnosis
32 Dealers Choice - Televised poker from the other
side of the table
34 Room Review - Turning Stone Resort & Casino
36 World Poker Traveler - Two very different views
of Los Angeles poker

8 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

c ntents www.bluffmagazine.com

48
[PRO-SPECTIVE]
48 Pro-File - Scott Fischman: Poker so
sick, it hurts
102
52 Josh Arieh - More wisdom from
Atlanta’s favorite son

54 Poker Girl - Annie’s tournament tips

56 TiltBoys - Meet Diceboy, the luckiest [WISDOM]
man in the world

59 Kenna’s Korner - Kenna acts his 100 Ask Clonie - Don’t worry – Clonie Gowen
has the Answers
way into an extra few grand on the tables.

61 Being Phil Laak - Enrollment is 102 In Their Head - The Grinder’s most
memorable moments
now open for the “School of Laak”

64 Poker Like a Rockstar- Antonio’s

European tour Part 1 – Paris and
107 Fish Food - Are you taking notes, newbies?
120
Amsterdam will never be the same
108 Fish Quiz - If you can’t spot the dufus,
leave the table

110 Texas Tips - Learn from The Flying Dutchman

112 Strange Game - More wild and crazy games to
add to your poker night

114 Omaha Tips - Limit Omaha Hi-Lo

117 Chip Tricks - Intimidate your prey into submission
119 Poke Fiction - The Nuts Part 2- Finally a story
where aces don’t lose

120 WPT Bootcamp - Tip of the month

61 120 Where’s My Overlay? Learning what the

bookmakers already know

10 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 THRILLS poker nicknames

Poker Nicknames
Guidelines for finding the right nickname
Traditionally, nicknames aren't chosen, but conferred by one's poker peers. However, those of you who are deeply unpopular will need
to resort to drastic measures. Here's a short guide to finding the right nickname:

A: Former occupations can make great poker nicknames but you have to use good judgement. Will usually only work if it is short and sweet.
Works: Antonio ‘The Magician’ Esfandiari
Try Again: Brian ‘The Associate Director of Internet Technology’ Martinez
B: Religious References can be used as long as they are kept in good taste.
Works: Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson
Try Again: David ‘Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta’ Carlisle
C: Aquatic names can make great nicknames, assuming they somehow describe your style.
Works: David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot
Try Again: Kevin ‘The Manatee’ Mitchell
D: Former criminals could be used to make a great nickname, but once again these
need to be in good taste.
Works: Phil ‘The Unabomber’ Laak
Try Again: Justin ‘Eric Rudolph’ Wykowski

REAL NAME- ANTONIO ESFANDIARI

NICKNAME- THE MAGICIAN
A former magician turned poker pro, Antonio burst into mainstream poker
after the WPT aired the Gold Rush during their first season. It seemed as if, by
some strange magic, Antonio could actually see world champion Phil Helmuths
cards. One trademark “Wave” after busting Phil out of the tournament, and
Antonio became one of the biggest fan favorites in the game.

REAL NAME- CHRIS FERGUSON

NICKNAME- JESUS
Tall and skinny with long brown hair, the Jesus nickname was an
obvious conclusion. At most tables, all attention is drawn to him, just
like his namesake in Da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper.”

14 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 THRILLS

REAL NAME- DAVID ULLIOT

NICKNAME- DEVILFISH
Don’t think a fish can be scary? You clearly have never encountered a devilfish.
At the poker tables, David “Devilfish” Ulliot can also be quite frightening. His free-
wheeling and aggressive style makes him very hard to read, and if you aren’t pre-
pared for super aggressive play, he will devour you. In fact, his nickname is fash-
ioned after a fish that if not “prepared” correctly, can be deadly when eaten.

REAL NAME- PHIL LAAK

NICKNAME- THE UNABOMBER
Aside from dressing the part of an FBI sketch of Ted Kaczynski,
who terrorized the US for nearly 30 years, Phil Laak’s Unabomber
resemblances are few and far between (Phil hasn’t sent a letter bomb
in months). He uses his highly popular hooded sweatshirt, along
with dark sunglasses, to keep from giving off any tells.

Massive Malts and Barley Sandwiches.

The poker world is riddled with nicknames. While most players earned their nicknames for one reason or another, now
you can have one given to you for free from pokernickname.com. Type in your name, answer a few stupid questions, and
you could be the next Bob “Gangly AleBoy” Stankowski or Dierdra “The Black Death” Jones. Quite possibly the best feature
is the ability to generate a new nickname if your first one doesn’t quite fit. If you don’t feel like being known as Diane
“Cash Machine” Mitchell, you could use “two ton” or “seethru sheik.” Visit pokernickname.com and within a few minutes,
you will have a brand new moniker to use on your quest to poker superstardom.

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 15

 THRILLS poker skinny

Bird on the Rail

Here’s the skinny from the world of poker courtesy of the lady
By Amy Calistri

who’s in a chattering class all of her own.

THE COURT TO
FELT TRANSITION:
Most professional athletes have a relatively short career
span. The more physical the sport, the shorter the career,
as age and injury quickly erode a player’s edge. But what
PINK SHEET
do guys and gals do with all that competitive drive when BOUND:
Lakes Entertainment, Inc., Indian casino
they hang up their professional gear? Well, if tennis play- developer and major shareholder of WPT
ers are any example, they play poker. Poker is one of the (World Poker Tour) Enterprises, Inc. was
truly competitive activities that can be played well into de-listed from NASDAQ on August 10th for
failing to file its last annual and quarterly
the golden years. Do you recall professional tennis player financial reports. Lakes had delayed filing
Yevgeny Kafelnikov exchanging his racket for poker chips? its financial statements while attempting to
I got a chance to watch him play at this year’s WSOP and resolve SEC issues with its annual report
for the fiscal year ended December 28,
I’ve got to say, the boy has game. He cashed in three 2003. The specific issues relate to Lake’s
WSOP events, just missing the final table in the $1,500 representation of development costs and
Stud event. Well, I’ve also heard that former tennis pro advances to Indian tribes for the develop-
ment of casinos as assets on its balance
Pete Sampras has also been dabbling on the felt. sheet. Lakes plans to appeal NASDAQ’s
Sampras was seen at the Wynn back in June, playing a pri- decision, but currently is unable to predict
vate no limit tournament with Matt Damon, Wayne when the requisite financial statements
will be filed. In light of the current situa-
Gretzky and Warren Buffet. But rumors peg this as more tion, there has been some speculation that
than just a one-time passing fancy for Sampras. In fact, in the ephemeral, unsolicited $700 million
an issue of Tennis Magazine last year, Sampras confessed cash bid for WPTE (publicized on July 7th
and declared expired without validation on
to playing in a regular home game with former tennis pro July 12th) may bring new scrutiny from
Alex O’Brien. regulating authorities.

The Astronomical Influence of the WSOP:

In outer space, when you take a huge amount of mass and cram it into an extremely small
volume, you get a black hole. A black hole’s gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not
even light, can escape its grasp. This year, the WSOP was poker’s black hole. Attracting
record fields for 45 days and 45 events, the WSOP sucked the life out of tournaments
placed too close to its gravitational field. In a year that still claims to be a growth year for
poker, the attendance for this year’s final event of the Orleans Open was down 42% from
last year. And the participation in the WPT event in Paris was down 22% from last year.
Lesson for next year’s tournament planners: drive your starships away from the Series.

16 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com


STAYING POWER:
Writer Jim McManus has bemoaned the
dearth of women in tournament poker in a
New York Times article entitled, The Biology
of No Limit Hold’em. Purporting theories
that testosterone-based aggression and
stamina may be underlying causes, we
wondered if Jim wanted to check his own
hormonal levels. McManus, who was
scheduled to cover the WSOP in its entirety,
lasted a total of 14 days and eight events
before bugging out. I think my mom can
hang tougher than that.
RISKY BUSINESS:
Apparently some readers were put off by me
reporting the rumors that Gus Hansen may have
been financially challenged coming into this year’s
WSOP (Aug issue), but I’m not entirely sure why
this created such a stir. If the prevalent rumors
were indeed true, I put this in the temporary set-
back category. Gus is a talented and marketable
player, and I’m sure he’s got resources to tap to see
him through this. You know, in poker, being finan-
cially challenged is not an indictment or a judg-
ment: it’s the equivalent of saying a NASCAR driv-
er had a wreck. Living with financial risk is one of
the realities poker pros face. They put their liveli-
hoods on the line every day. And they know the
consequences of a bad beat or a bad streak. It is
not an easy way to make a living, but if people have
problems with that, I suggest they watch televised
poker, where everyone’s a winner and Cinderfella
dreams come true.
www.bluffmagazine.com
THRILLS
Final Table DVD
Sets Benchmark:
A plethora of poker books and DVDs were
released during poker’s high season, the
WSOP, but you definitely don’t want to miss
Phil Gordon’s DVD, Final Table Poker. The
basis of the DVD is that you are inside
Gordon’s head while he plays a simulated
final table. It covers all the situational
aspects that a player needs to understand
to navigate their way to the bracelet. The production quality
and content are phenomenal, and the final table participants are painful-
ly realistic. Of the final table participants, Gordon and Chris Ferguson play
themselves. And it’s no stretch to figure out who the charming and
talented Harmony Jensen is supposed to be. But the one that kills me is
‘Butch Dude’, who is ‘young and unemployed’ and a member of the ‘Cool
Guy Crew’. Guess who?
Scotty Nguyen –
Cool and Classy
Scotty Nguyen and Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen (no
relation) were spotted recently at a charity poker
tournament in Atlanta, GA to raise money for the
Vietnamese Children’s Fund. During a break, one
particularly drunk and obnoxious player, who had
just busted out from Scotty’s table, repeatedly chal-
ISLE BE lenged him to play heads-up for $5,000. Visibly irri-
SEEING YOU: tated at being challenged in such a manner, Scotty
replies, “Why are you doing this? We’re just trying
Online site, PokerStars,
to have some fun and raise money for children. I tell
is moving from Costa you what, we’ll make this easy, let’s flip a coin for
Rica to the Isle of Man, the whole amount”. The guy, somewhat shocked at
a tiny British Crown having the tables turned on him, counts through an
assortment of $100s, $20s, $10s, $5s, and $1s (he
dependency in the
didn’t even have $5K…real high-roller). At this
Irish Channel. The point, Men calms Scotty down, “Somebody’s going
decision to move was to lose and not be happy about it, this isn’t a good
facilitated by the Isle’s idea”. Scotty agrees and security kindly shows the
recent change in regu- drunk guy the door.
Later in the tourney, a younger guy in a wheel-
lations that now allow chair (he must have been in his early twenties) is
companies to accept moved to the seat to Scotty’s left. You can tell the
online bets from kid is having the time of his life playing poker with
Americans. PokerStars Scotty. Now, for some reason, whoever busts Scotty
or Men, receives an auto-
is the second largest graphed Samurai sword (giving
online poker site, and out sword at a bar…go figure),
speculation is that the but they are really nice swords,
company will follow and this kid in the wheelchair
really wants the Scotty Nguyen
PartyGaming’s lead sword. Scotty went out of his
and go public via a way to make sure the kid got the
London IPO. sword. Good job Scotty!
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 17
 THRILLS bluff power rankings

As of 8/29/05

FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH FIFTH

John Juanda Phil Ivey Erik Lindgren Allen Cunningham Daniel Negreanu
POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS
751.3 671.2 573.2 568 546.8

SIXTH SEVENTH EIGHTH NINTH TENTH

Chris Ferguson Ted Forrest Chip Jett Erik Seidel Alan Goehring
POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS
542.9 485.1 446.1 440.2 432.2

RANK PLAYER POINTS RANK PLAYER POINTS

11 Scotty Nguyen 423.9 31 Casey Kastle 317.3

12 Jennifer Harman Traniello 419.4 32 ‘Miami’ John Cernuto 293.3
13 Gavin Smith 416.2 33 T.J. Cloutier 285.4
14 Howard Lederer 397.4 34 Arthur Azen 283
15 Antonio Esfandiari 392.8 35 Young Phan 279.8
16 Jeff Shulman 381.4 36 James Van Alstyne 279.3
17 Lee Watkinson 380.1 37 Mike Matusow 275.3
18 Michael Mizrachi 379.1 38 Greg Raymer 275
19 Tony Ma 377 39 Farzad Bonyadi 269.4
20 Hung La 357.7 40 Layne Flack 258.8
21 David ‘Dragon’ Pham 349.1 41 Barry Shulman 257.9
22 Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen 343.9 42 John Phan 255.5
23 V Senthil Kumar 343.6 43 Doyle Brunson 251.6
24 David Williams 340.2 44 John Gale 253.5
25 Stan Goldstein 338.4 45 Dustin Woolf 251.6
26 Hasan Habib 335.1 46 Bo Sehlstedt 250
27 Robert Williamson III 329.8 47 Prahlad Friedman 246.4
28 Justin Cuong Van 'J.C.' Tran 322.8 48 Alex Prendes 241.1
29 Andy Miller 319.3 49 Pete Giordano 237.6
30 Todd Brunson 317.3 50 Chris Bigler 234.6

18 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 upcoming events THRILLS

October Events
United States Poker Championship
ESPN Televised Event
Trump Taj Mahal
Atlantic City, NJ
Defending Champion/Winnings: John Aglialoro/$691,095
Event Dates: September 19th – October 7th
Main Event: October 3rd – October 7th
Buy-in: $9700 + 300
Beginning September 5th, Trump Taj Mahal will be running daily
$200+25 super satellites for the main event.

Grand Casino Biloxi Poker Tournament

An ESPN World Series of Poker Circuit Event
Grand Casino Biloxi
Biloxi, MS
Event Dates: Sep. 29th – October 13th.
Main Event: October 10th – 13th
Buy-in: $10,000
New Event
This is a new tournament, and the first World Series event to visit Biloxi.
They will be running two $1000+60 Mega Satellites and a $500+50 Mega
Satellite on the 8th and 9th at the Grand Biloxi and will also be running
satellite events at the Grand Casino Gulfport throughout the event.

Doyle Brunson’s North American Poker Championship

World Poker Tour- Season 4
Bellagio
Las Vegas, NV
Main Event: October 23rd – 27th
Buy-in: $10,000 + 200
Defending Champion/Winnings: Carlos Mortenson/$1,000,000
This event takes place directly after the Festa Al Lago. The Festa is a
No-Limit tournament event with entry fees ranging from $1500 + 70 to
$3000 + 100. It starts Saturday October 8th and runs until October 16th.
Beginning October 7th, the Bellagio will be running a $1000 + 60 Super
Satellite at 7:15 each night. There is also a $1000 + 60 super satellite
event on Monday October 17th (One day before the main event begins).

Caesars Indiana Poker Tournament

An ESPN World Series of Poker Circuit Event
Caesars Indiana
Elizabeth, IN
New Event
Event Dates: October 20th – November 2nd
Main Event: October 30th – November 2nd
Buy-in: $10000
Caesars Indiana has a Mega-Satellite scheduled for October 29th at 1pm.
The buy-in is $1000 + 60. They are also running a $200 + 20 that same
night at 8m.

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 21

 THRILLS bluff updates

Players have been competing in the

Bluff Poker Tour’s weekly events since the beginning
of June. No player has established complete
Bluff Poker Radio now 2 hours!
dominance at this point. The field is wide open. Join Bluff Magazine’s Nick and Wally for the
What are you waiting for? nation's ONLY syndicated Poker radio show!
Tune in every Wednesday evening (8PM EST /
WIN A SEAT AT FOUR WORLD 5PM PDT). The Bluff Magazine Poker Hour can be
POKER TOUR MAIN EVENTS heard on Sports Byline USA affiliates, Sirius
Satellite Radio (channel 122), the American Forces
Radio Network, and via the web at:
Upcoming Schedule:
www.bluffmagazine.com/radio
Full Tilt Poker
Wednesday, October 5
9PM

The Gaming Club

Thursday, October 13 On the big game
9PM “To give you an idea of about how
big that game is, I won and lost $6
Poker Rewards million in 20 minutes.”
Wednesday, October 19 Jennifer Harman-Traniello
9PM — $3K added

Poker Share
Thursday, October 27
9PM
On no-limit
To sign up or view the leader board, go to hold-em specialists
www.bluffpokertour.com for details.
The Bluff Poker Tour runs until “To be a great player you
December 2005. have to play all games.”
Sam Farha

SEASON 2: Win seat to the 2006 World Series of Poker and other great
prizes by playing Bluff Magazine’s Fantasy Poker Challenge.
It’s easy and it’s FREE. Sign up today at www.fantasypokerchallenge.com.

22 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 THRILLS

Dirty Wally says:

Everyone always asks us, “Who is
Bluff Radio’s Co-presenter Dirty
Wally?” Who better to tell you than the
man himself…
I was born in 1919. I have been in a
cave for 75 years of playing poker. Here
I am, a depression baby, and I can't even
spell pussiekat, OK? I was born in an
open air laundry truck in Cicero,
Illinois. It was six below zero. My moth-
er had a midwife - I was so big that the
midwife slapped and beat the crap out
of me.
Now that’s a bad beat! My Dad was
making eight bucks a week as a cab
driver but offered my services as a 9
year old for some local Robin Hood
named Al Capone.
That’s when I started dealing cards
and running errands that paid 20 dol-
lars a night — a fortune back then! Later
on I served in the Marines and the
Army and hit the beaches at
Guadalcanal. Seven months as a sniper,
I gave out my share of bad beats.
Permanent bad beats! I was
destined to be a loser at poker,
but a winner in life. 85
years on this plan-
et has taught me
to forget your bad
beats at cards; that
was yesterday — life is
short. Play Poker...
Dirty Wally
Editor’s note: Dirty Wally is 85
years old and has gone through 5
wives. He’s looking for #6 to spend
his money. Be a winner! You must
play poker and you must be clean.
Interested parties email
radio@bluffmagazine.com. One
warning though. He may be the
dirtiest, grimiest, and oldest man
around (Even Doyle Brunson
has been quoted as saying
“That guy is older than dirt”).
So don’t think you drew to a
gut-shot, when in fact you’re
stuck with a sucker straight.

INTRODUCING BLUFF POKER TRAVEL

Find out where to play, where to stay, and how to
get there. Then book your travel at the only travel
site designed specifically for the poker enthusiast.
Quit dreaming, and come out to play. You may the
next poker superstar on the World Poker Tour.
www.bluffpokertravel.com
www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 23
 THRILLS
Ain’t online
poker grand?
T
he Grand Tournament III recent-
ly went down on
PokerRoom.com, and this
incredible two-day event created
quite a bit of excitement in the
online poker world. Five hun-
dred players showed up to pony
up the $1000 buy-in. The Grand Tournament
features the best blind structure of any tourna-
ment on the net, as blinds only go up every
thirty minutes. Each player starts with a whop-
ping $10,000 in chips, and the first blind level
is 25-25! With each player starting with four
hundred big blinds, there is endless opportuni-
ty for the most skillful players to rise to the top,
and that’s exactly what happened.
“DoubleLucky”, PocketFives.com’s 12th
ranked player, took down the tournament and
walked away with the $120,000 first prize!
“DoubleLucky” is possibly the most outspo-
ken advocate of skillful blind structures, so this
tournament was tailor made for him. That’s why
we were shocked when we first logged on to
PokerRoom for updates and saw that he was
down to 3,000 chips during the first blind level!
Turns out he got involved in a tragic hand where
his K-K got rivered by A-2. The good news was
that he still had over 100 big blinds, giving him
plenty of time to pull through. After six and a
half hours, day one was over and Lucky had
26 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
online report
grinded his way up to $41,000 chips! He contin-
ued his solid play through day two and pulled
off the impressive win against a stellar final
table. Brett Jungblut, better known as “Gank” in
the online world, also finished impressively, tak-
ing 18th place and $3800. Congrats to
“DoubleLucky” and “Gank”, and congrats to
PokerRoom for hosting this incredible tourna-
ment!
In other tournaments, a new breed of online
stars continues to dominate. None have been
as impressive lately as twenty-one year old
Jordan Morgan, AKA “iMsoLucky0.” Log on to
any site to witness his dominance. On a single
Sunday, Jordan took down the $50,000
Guaranteed on Empire Poker, the $50,000
Guaranteed on Paradise Poker, a $100 tourna-
ment on Party, and a Party Poker Million satel-
lite tournament. That’s four huge wins in one
day, netting him close to $40,000. In the fol-
lowing month he reached twenty final tables in
big buy-in events, including two wins each
over $10,000 in the $100 re-buy tournament
on Stars. Keep your eyes peeled for him as he
is most definitely a rising star who should con-
tinue to ascend the PocketFives.com Online
Player Rankings.
Cal Spears is the President/Co-Founder of
Pocketfives.com, which has fast become the
authority in online poker.
www.bluffmagazine.com
 THRILLS rising star

Check:
Darrell Dicken by Ed Moncada
une during the WSOP. I’m at the Ghost Bar in the Palms Casino, blow-

J ing off steam with a few poker players – amongst others Amir Vahedi,
Mike ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, Robbie Mizrachi, and John Phan – when
Scott Fischman joins us with a friend of his I’ve never met before. A
few of our group turn to each other and whisper. One of them makes
his way over towards me and says, “That guy over there with Scotty –
you know who that is, right? That’s gigabet!”
Gigabet’s real name is Darrell Dicken; it’s in the cyber-poker world that
he’s known by gigabet, and anyone with a clue what’s happening online
realizes this guy has been just dominating, destroying, crushing… pulveriz-
ing the online games. You don’t believe me? Check your pokertracker stats.
Maybe you’ve been unfortunate enough to log in some serious hours with
this guy.
Darrell has recently brought his poker game into the real world and his
results speak for themselves. He first appeared on the radar in April 2005,
when he made three final tables at the Mirage series.
Darrell has a loose-aggressive style that commands a presence at almost
any table. But don’t be quick to think maniac, his game is lethal, highly flex-
ible and he’s capable of some of the most cerebral and creative plays around.
If there’s any guy to hit the tournament scene recently that you should
keep an eye out for, it’s this guy! While the rest of you had time in the last
two years for a girlfriend, families, or luxuries such as sleep, Darrell was
logging 18-hour days, polishing his game to the sickest degree. If you don’t
know him yet, don’t worry. I think it’s just a matter of time before he
becomes a familiar face in big buy-in final tables.
With so many new players coming into poker, I figured I’d write a column
highlighting some of the most impressive but unknown talent I’ve come

Why am I reading this column,

and who is Ed Moncada?
across while playing the tournament circuit and side games. These are the
players to look out for. Each issue, we’ll showcase a couple of these up-and-
coming pros, give you the inside scoop on who they are and how they’ve
come about. Whether a great cash game player, incredible tournament play-
er, or both, you can expect us to bring you the next generation first.
Who is Ed Moncada? My nickname is ‘Bolivia’ due to my Bolivian decent.
I’ve been playing poker for about four and a half years, traveling the tourna-
ment circuit for the last three, and I’m a 2005 World Series of Poker bracelet
winner in the $2k Pot Limit Hold’em event. At a glance, it might seem like
I’m just a lucky neophyte bracelet winner, but I hope my track record shows
that I’ve been brewing just beneath the surface for while, much like the
players we hope to profile in this column. When given the opportunity to
write this column, I chose the subject I found most interesting: the best
poker players you’ve never heard of. Everyone knows the Phil Iveys, Doyle
Brunsons, and Allen Cunninghams, but there’s a new breed out there, and
we’ll bring you the low down on these new and fresh faces to check for your-
selves.

28 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 movie characters
Movie Characters you wouldn’t want
at your poker table...
Yoda (Star Wars):
A simple wave of his hand and you
will be re-raising him when he has
the nuts and folding when he bluffs.
Those Jedi mind tricks would give
him a huge edge.
Raymond Babbitt (Rain Man)
Would be able to calculate odds
before you even know what you
have. Especially in 7-Card Stud
where keeping track of the cards
comes into play. Plus, it would
definitely get annoying when his only
bet was “about a hundred dollars.”
...and one you would. Any character played by Colin Quinn
Colin Quinn has been causing a stir in the nor-
mally serene world of celebrity poker tourna-
ments, by limping and calling his opponents into
complete submission. Using The Technique – a
revolutionary style of his own making that com-
pletely rewrites the rulebook – Quinn has
become an implacable force on the celebrity
poker scene. Bluff caught up with him just before
his latest tournament to find out more. Sklansky,
Brunson, Harrington – YOU’RE ALL WRONG!
Here’s why…
“I played on Celebrity Poker Showdown and won
my first game using my strategy. My strategy is…
(looks around to make sure no one’s in earshot) I
play the crummy cards. You see, it’s all about the
friggin’ flop. If I had a 10-3 and I’m up against A-K
– big deal! What if a 10-10-3 comes out? So I
always stay in until at least the flop and I just
play the bad cards. You gotta have some kind of
strategy; you might as well go against the grain.”
www.bluffmagazine.com
THRILLS
Tommy Devito (Goodfellas)
Go ahead and win a pot against him,
I dare you. If you were to outdraw
this guy, he might just laugh it off…
then waste you. If you see him sit
down, you might be best suited just
to excuse yourself to the bathroom,
and not come back.
Fifteen minutes later, Colin busts out of his
tournament.
“I don’t know what happened. I’m stunned. The
Technique failed me. I had the perfect hand to try
The Technique: 2x 6x. This guy goes all in before
the flop, so I’m thinking, “Ah ha. You’ve got aces.
So what? Big deal! I’ve got 2-6. I could get a
straight flush here.” That’s The Technique in a
nutshell. So I called immediately, and I was pret-
ty much dead, even though I’d played the hand
correctly according to The Technique. I hate
those internet players. They spend too much
time by themselves – they don’t know how to
interact with other people. They don’t understand
poker is a gentleman’s game. I was winning
before that hand and he booted me right out.”
(Storms off)
Colin on Picking up Tells
“I stink at picking up tells. I wouldn’t even notice
if a guy took a crap at the table.”
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 29
 surfer dude THRILLS

ing, and they have a money back guarantee. Sounds worthwhile to

try – my mind could sponge up as much as it can handle.

Sex in an Instead of looking for sex in ice-cubes, or other inferred ideas,

you can go for some cold, hard facts. I was checking out
bet365poker.com the other day, and I noticed that they have down-
loadable ‘Poker School’ video clips that you can check out for free.

Ice Cube What joy! The animation is sharp and there is information that any
player can find useful.
My mind sponged off of ‘Top Tips’ for a bit. One tip I’d like to
share with you is ‘Look for a reason to fold’. They state that a good

Y
poker player is looking to play only one in ten hands. In other
ears ago, back in my college days, I remember read- words, for every ten hands dealt - nine of these hands should be
ing a book about subliminal suggestions. The author folded. You are limited on betting on premium hands, which will
claimed to see the word SEX formed in ice cubes in significantly limit your losses.
liquor ads in magazines. I was only nineteen, and it Wow.
was easy for me to see sex everywhere as well. I’m Well, that ain’t me by a long shot. It makes me wonder if that’s
not sure how much of an impact those ice cubes had the reason I get my ass kicked a bit too often (for my liking). I’m
on me, since I don’t drink hard liquor all that much. too easy to please I guess, and I sometimes hold cards just to see
And I don’t meditate on ice cubes. I do have a lot of the outcome of the river. Pretty stupid eh?
kids though – so maybe there is something to this. Bet365poker.com’s Poker School also notes that good players
The power of suggestion intrigues me. Just take a look at any are always seeking information on how to become a better player.
magazine – this one, for example – and browse through some of the Feeling like a dummy, I picked up a copy of Richard D. Harroch
ads. Note the colors used, the wording, the images and how they are and Lou Krieger’s Poker for Dummies and began to dig through the
positioned. Your mind will invent a story about what has happened pages.
before the photo was taken, and what will happen after you turn the I didn’t find the ‘Fold nine out of ten hands’ tip, but there are
page. All these ads are suggesting something – nothing is placed or many others that make the book well worth the modest price.
positioned by chance. Everything is there for a reason, and your Besides the basics, there are chapters that
mind is a sponge. cover money management, setting up
This is one reason why I think there might home games, reading opponents, and
be something to Catchtheriver.com’s real life poker lessons – how what we
poker relaxation tapes. The No Tilt learn in poker transfers to our per-
audio series consists of four 45 minute sonal relations and careers. As the
CDs designed to help you relax and authors point out, poker is a
improve your game ‘subconsciously’. metaphor for life. And this is
Now, they claim that there are no sub- probably why the game is so
liminal messages being used, but they popular.
include suggestions targeting the sub- I feel poker is a mind-
conscious. From the website: game with explicit and
“How does it Work? It’s really pretty implied meanings. Is your
simple. As you relax and let your mind opponent giving off subtle
wander, positive suggestions are made tells, or is she that ice
to the subconscious part of your brain. cube? You may be reading
Because you aren’t really paying atten- into something that isn’t
tion to the words, your brain accepts there.
these new positive suggestions
as the correct way to The Dude is Bryan Bailey,
behave, and allows your a professional lurker and
body to respond accord- casual observer, who is
ingly. Since the brain probably checking out your
controls the body, website or contemplating
you now have more ice cubes as you are
control over how you reading this. Visit www.casi-
act and respond to dif- nomeister poker.com to learn
ferent situations.” more.
The No Tilt series includes Visit these sites
CDs entitled How to Eliminate Your Tells, Catchtheriver.com
How To Recover From a Bad Beat, How to Survive
the Short Stack, and Remain Focused to The Final Bet365poker.com
Table. You’re warned not to listen to these while driv- Poker for Dummies
www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 31
 THRILLS
Lights, camera,
shuffle up and deal!
“O
k, now bring in
the other
cards! No not
there… a little
lower… yep ok,
now… no a lit-
tle higher… yep
that’s it! OK, now wait a second… Right!
Now go with the turn card!”
This is what the poker dealer might be
hearing as he is dealing a televised final
table. I myself have dealt numerous final
tables for television, including the 2004
WSOP main event. Along with six other
highly skilled dealers, I was chosen
because of my skill and integrity as a
dealer. Obviously, this exceeded all of
my expectations from life, tenfold.
Many people ask me (and most of
them dealers): what is it like to
deal these big spectacle tables?
Well, it’s not unlike it is for the
players, I guess: you’re thrown
into an environment where
everything is different. The
table is nothing like a regular
table – there are hole card
cameras which each player
must show their cards to;
the dealer must place
each flop in the same
place and must bring
cards for any all in play-
ers to the same spot every
time. Apart from these obvious differ-
ences, the dealer will sometimes have an
earpiece connected to the director of the
show. The director sees all the angles and
is giving you direction on where to place
players’ cards when they are all in, and
exactly when to deal the flop, turn and
river.
This is a huge adjustment for most
dealers, as they usually just go ahead and
deal when they are ready. On a televised
table, the director is trying to get shots of
the players reacting to certain things,
shots of the crowd reacting to the flop,
and so on. In general, these tables move at
a much slower pace than regular tourna-
ment tables.
32 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
dealer’s choice
A WORD FROM THE HUX
Television has certainly changed our
great game in many ways, yet there is a
disturbing trend I see developing. The
problem is simple really. Television exec-
utives are concerned with one thing: rat-
ings. This is fine, we all have our own
agendas and, after all, television
is the
reason we have so
many new players, so how
can we complain? Well, we’re poker play-
ers; that’s what we do: we complain!
Take, for example, players who are
selected to play on highlight or feature
tables. These players get considerably
less hands than those other players play-
ing on regular tournament tables. Now,
this is something that is just accepted I
guess, but when we are talking about the
million dollar prize pools, this becomes
more of a problem. Some people would
say that this is a good problem to have –
try getting the World Series of Bridge on
ESPN. I’m certain that the bridge players
would do whatever it took to get the expo-
sure that poker is enjoying at the
moment.
So I guess we are at a crossroads.
Television has influence over many of
today’s major sporting events. For exam-
ple, here in Las Vegas, if you want to go
and watch a college basketball game, then
you can expect it to start at around 9pm.
You certainly can’t take the kids to
watch a game if it finishes at
around midnight, but guess
what? The network dictates
what time they start, not the
fans, hence the stands are
empty most of the time.
Television dictates sports on
more levels than most of us real-
ize. Why should poker be any dif-
ferent? Well, the biggest difference
I see is that, in most poker events,
players are putting up their own
money. The players are the talent of
their productions, so how can televi-
sion dictate to a poker player what to
do? Especially since the players are not
getting paid by any of these networks.
Thankfully for poker players, times are
changing. More and more TV shows you
see today are, in fact, freerolls. These are
events that players are invited to partici-
pate in for a chance at free money. The
amounts are getting bigger and bigger, so
more and more is at stake, but in more
ways than ever television plays a big fac-
tor in these shows. So what are we to do
as poker players? Well nothing – we are at
the mercy of these shows. The networks
are the ones putting out the shows, they
know what they want and, as players, we
are simply coming along for the ride. So, I
say we enjoy the ride as long as we can,
but sooner or later, there will be another
bus coming along that we all will want a
ticket for. The question is, do you have a
reservation? I know I do!
Until next time… May the Flop be with
You,
THE HUX
www.bluffmagazine.com
 THRILLS room review

Turning Stone
Casino & Resort
estled in upstate New York and far removed from

N
the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, there exists a
growing culture of poker players. However, you
won’t see these players on ESPN for a few years
yet, and you certainly won’t catch them drowning
their losses at the bar.
On break from college or their part time jobs,
these neophyte card sharks flock to the poker
room of the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona, NY.
Unable to partake in the phenomenon that is Las Vegas or even
the sordid fun of Atlantic City, these players get a taste of the big
time before they’re even old enough to take a (legal) shot of alco-
hol. By not serving booze on the floor, Turning Stone has ushered
in a new breed of poker room inhabitants. Now an 18 year old
journalism student can butt heads with a grizzled casino
regular. What else besides poker could bring two separate gener-
ations together?
Since its construction in 1993, the Turning Stone has wrangled
in a plethora of teens and twenty-somethings from such neighbor-
ing towns as Rome, Utica and Vernon as well as the near-by
Syracuse University. It seems odd that so many college-aged folk
would venture to a casino as a break from hitting the books. After
all, poker is just as stressful, if not more so, than your average
Chem final. Yet the draw is undeniable.
“Everyone is looking for the atmosphere that you don’t get from
basement games,” says Tom Knudsen, a resident of Rome who
attends college in Pennsylvania. Knudsen has been to the casino
between 30-40 times. “I think it’s a place where (teens) can feel
like they’re classy. It brings a high-stakes feeling, even if you
aren’t playing for a lot of money.”
While the casino does attract a sizeable portion of locals, it also
brings in its share of roving gamblers. With their wallets and ATM
cards ready, these players make the pilgrimage to get a premature dollars in winnings and endorsements. But all money aside,
sense of the casino atmosphere. One such individual is Bobby the biggest perk of being a pro may be the ability make your own
Lovelace, or “Bob Love” as his friends have affectionately hours. It’s this perk that makes the lifestyle seem all the more
dubbed him. glamorous and enticing to a college student facing 40 years of
Always hilariously aloof, Bob makes for interesting company. nine-to-five drudgery in a cubicle.
Spend a day with him and you’ll come to realize that he’s the very With a highly competitive job market, and the burden of the
idea of addiction made flesh. When he isn’t playing cards he’s future looming over their heads, it’s no wonder this generation
busy making phone calls in order to get a game together. In fact, a looks for escape. While poker may be stressful and potentially
call from Bob can usually mean only one thing: poker. expensive, it provides said escape. In poker there’s always that
While his hometown of Catasaqua, PA, usually provides enough moment when nothing else is going through your mind except
action to quench his thirst, Bob still frequently makes the nearly what the next card will be. For that moment, a moment all players
four-hour trip to Turning Stone, sometimes on nothing but a live for, it’s like the world stands still. And when your card comes...
whim. To Bob, and many other inhabitants of this small town, the well, any player can tell you that there are few things better than
casino holds an almost mythical quality. catching the card you need.
As poker players are increasingly turning into celebrities, the Yet even with the expected hits that come with the territory, it’s
lifestyle of a professional player is becoming all the more roman- easy to see that if you have what it takes, the poker lifestyle beats
ticized. When legends like Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier first the hell out of Chem finals and cubicles any day of the week. For
started playing, poker was a much more harsh and unforgiving that reason, among others, the poker room at the Turning Stone
way of life. It wasn’t enough to make money, you also had to pro- will be filled with eager teenagers long after the poker craze has
tect it. Nowadays, players are treated like royalty, with millions of run it’s course.

34 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 THRILLS world poker traveler
Visiting LA
By Hammer Steve McFadden
A Visitor’s Guide to the Staying Out of the
Smog the Next Time You Find Yourself in LA
I
f you think Los Angles is just a place to come out of the clos-
et or develop a smack habit, then your missing a whole vice
that’s even better. LA is poker paradise, and if your girl-
friend/wife/kids are bugging you to go on vacation some-
where besides Las Vegas or Atlantic City, LA can save your
relationship.
Out of principle, I don’t like LA. I’m a New Yorker, which
means I hate LA naturally. So I realize I may not be an impartial
judge, but this is LA how I see it. I didn’t go to LA to see Mickey
Mouse, I don’t want to shop on Rodeo Drive, and I’m not here for
the beach blondes — I probably couldn’t even pick up a girl in a
Thai massage parlor – I went to LA to play poker and have fun.
Here’s how I spent my five days in LA…
DAY 1
The first thing to know about LA is that the poker is awesome.
Everybody plays, whether they play the largest card room in the
world or at one of the high-stakes home games; their play is solid
and generally better than you get at a home game on Long Island.
The Commerce Casino is the daddy in LA. It’s the biggest card
room in the world and it looks like a half-sized Las Vegas resort.
It’s got a hotel, restaurants, bars, a spa, entertainment, etc. Think
of Vegas before Steve Wynn and that’s the Commerce.
Now forget about all that; the poker is why
you’re here. There are tourna-
ments every
day of the
36 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
year. If you’ve got
the balls, they run a
couple televised mil-
lion dollar events you can
buy into, but for the average player, a $600 bankroll should cover
the buy ins and rebuys for the daily tournaments. If you want cash
games, there are 20 different types of poker games going on at any
moment on the 200 plus poker tables. You can get No Limit action
for bankrolls as puny as $100 on the $2/$3 games. If you want to
play high stakes, don’t look at me, because the stakes go way high-
er than I am willing to play – the sky’s the limit. Limit Hold’em
starts at $1/$2 and goes up to $500/$1,000.
After leaving the Commerce $40 in the red, thanks mostly to my
fish hooks getting cracked by a set a fours, I went to Sunset
Boulevard to see LA’s famous Viper Room. I had expectations. I
expected a New York-style club with pain-in-the-ass bouncers and
a hottie with a clipboard whose job is to not let me in.
Bam! When I got there, I told the guy at the door that I was
doing a guide to LA for Bluff Magazine and, me more surprised
than anybody, was inside in 11 seconds flat. Then the chick with
the clipboard took me straight to a VIP table.
There was a live band in the far corner of the club – that’s some-
thing you don’t get in New York clubs – and hot girls at every table
but mine – something I always get in New York. Every kind of
trendy asshole was in this club, from guys who looked like they
should be collecting quarters outside 7-11 to guys in designer suits
who wore sunglasses in the dark – assholes. I was somewhere in
the middle. I liked the club enough to stay for exactly two hours.
DAY 2
The next day I went down to the Bicycle Casino (the locals call
it the Bike). The Bike is Yale if the Commerce is Harvard. Which
one is better? Who cares? The only thing you need to know is that
the Bike is more card room, less resort. The Bike has daily tour-
naments Monday through Friday and nightly tournaments
each day of the week, except Saturday. The tournament that
the Bike is most famous for is the Legends of Poker, where
there are four events with a guaranteed prize pool of over
$100,000.
After playing for about eight hours and earning over $600 at
the Bike, I went down to the Whisky a Go Go. If you ever owned
an electric guitar, you can’t go to LA without going into the
Whisky. The Whisky is a dive bar. I like that about it. The band
this night was heavy duty rock and roll and they gave it Hollywood
like they were on an MTV video. I walked right in to the Whisky
without having to use the “I’m doing a review for Bluff” trick
www.bluffmagazine.com
 world poker traveler
because there wasn’t any lineup outside and it was still pretty
early. You have to pay a ticket charge for the music, but it was only,
like, $15. My only complaint about the Whisky is that everybody
is really friendly – I hate that about LA.
DAY 3
There are some places that you feel like you should visit before
you die. Most people will tell you they want to see the Pyramids,
The Great Wall, Alaska – crap like that. The Hustler Casino was
one of those places for me: beautiful centerfolds, the grotto, play-
ing poker in silk pajamas – paradise. Let me first say how disap-
pointed I was that there are no centerfolds anywhere in this place.
The waitresses aren’t even extra hot. Guess what? No grotto nei-
ther. I’m not really that upset that people weren’t playing poker in
their pajamas, but… strike three.
Other than that, the place is cool, really cool. Atmosphere =
Cozy, (only about 90 tables) and they have a sports bar. I know
that, because I had to wait 30 minutes in the sports bar for a seat
at a table.
When I finally got a seat, it was for the $2/$5 No Limit game. I
bought in for $300, and it was give and take for the first few hours.
After that, things got California (that means they got weird). I
wound up losing about half my stack to some ginger douche-bag,
and as soon as I made the cowboy douche-bag to my right my
mark, the cards started running cold. I must have been dealt 2-7
offsuit at least four times. I called it quits before I lost the rest of
my stack to the blinds. My play was like…fold, fold, fold, fold, bluff
called and lost, fold, fold, fold, fold, etc. It was ridiculous. Don’t get
the wrong idea, I recommend this place highly, and I wish I didn’t
get a run of cold cards, because I would have screwed my ass into
the seat for the whole night. I’ll be back Larry Flint – oh yeah baby,
with both guns blazin’.
After I left the Hustler, I met up with a few of my boys from back
East. Since I was still up $500 from the night before, I asked the
concierge at my hotel what the best club in town was. He said the
White Lotus.
Unbelievably, my “I’m reviewing for Bluff” line didn’t help us
get into White Lotus; so we stood around outside for a while,
watching girls and cooler people walk in ahead of us. No problem,
I know the score. Once we got inside, I decided I liked that people
in LA were friendly. I decided that when some friendly girls start-
ed talking to us.
The $500 I was up from poker didn’t last long. Besides buying
my cheap-ass friends drinks, I was buying drinks for the girls. It
was like, $70 a round. I had to get away from the bar, so I grabbed
my drink and my boys and we headed for the patio. As usual, after
we cut bait with those first girls, we couldn’t talk to another girl
for the rest of the night – so we kept drinking.
The next morning, I was surprised that I was in my own bed.
Can’t really remember how I got there. I checked my wallet and,
as usual, it had nothing in it. I’m always amazed that, when I’m
drunk, I can perfectly budget the exact amount I to need drink as
much as possible and still have enough cash to get
back home; when I’m sober I cant even budget a quarter
for a parking meter.
www.bluffmagazine.com
THRILLS
DAY 4
Out of all the card rooms in LA, Hollywood Park Casino is my
favorite. I haven’t been there for a few years, but it was renovated
last year and now it’s just as nice as the Commerce inside. They
have a $1/$2 No Limit game, which I sat at until my hangover
went away (usually 4pm, after two beers). I stayed out of the daily
tournaments this trip because I was still a little hungover,
but there is action all over this place, even though its only got
about 70 tables.
My cold streak was over and I was getting pretty average cards
that produced big for me. I was getting everybody to lay their cards
down with my $10 bluffs and getting everyone to call with my $4
raises. I can’t call it a run because I wasn’t getting cards; I call it
fishing. After an hour and a half of fishing, I’d picked up 50% more
chips, and it was time to go fishing at the $5/$10 game.
Apparently my fishing permit wasn’t any good there, and I wound
up almost even for the most of the night and only got involved in
one big pot, which we split. When I finished I was only up $30.
I went over to the sports bar for dinner, I couldn’t believe how
much Hollywood Park had changed in the last three years: they
made it really comfortable – you know what I mean? It feels good
to be there, and not many places feel good when you’re nursing a
hangover. Another thing I like about Hollywood Park Casino is
that it’s part of Hollywood Park Racetrack. You can bet on horses
while you play poker; awesome! They also have the best nightlife
of any card room. You don’t want to go there for a night out if
you’re not already in the casino, but if you’re there already…
So that’s what I did; I went to Hollywood Park’s Club Kamaleon
for one las drink before I left LA.
DAY 5
The alarm was set to ring at 9:00 so I could catch my flight. That
means I woke up at 7:30 worrying that the alarm wouldn’t go off.
Off to LAX and onto the plane. I’m in my coach-class seat writing
this review, and I’m thinking about my trip. Okay, so I didn’t see
Venice beach, I missed Disney Land, the Universal Studio tour and
I only saw the Hollywood sign from my taxi window. You know
what? I don’t care. I didn’t come to LA for all that crap; I came to
play, and in five days I played at four of the best card rooms in
California and won a wad of cash. If you think that going and eat-
ing hotdogs on Venice beach is better than that you should get
your head examined.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 37
 THRILLS world poker traveler
Los Angeles teaches you the nature of tradeoffs.
Yes, you can roll down the Imperial Highway with, as
Randy Newman so poetically put it, “a big nasty red-
head by your side.” But this assumes that cars are
moving on Imperial Highway and not stopped dead
by the trademark “LA Traffic Jam for No Apparent
Reason.” True, you can be grabbing a tan by a swim-
ming pool on Christmas Day while the rest of the
northern hemisphere hunkers down in a deep
freeze. Then again, you can be bounced into said
pool without a moment’s warning any time Ma
Nature decides to get frisky with the San Andreas
Fault. And granted, Los Angeles features some of the
swankiest hillside neighborhoods known to man. Of
course, no one but the obscenely rich can afford to
live there, and those who do find their dwellings at
risk through all four of LA’s so-called “seasons,” fire,
flood, mudslide, and drought.
Still, it’s a pretty enough place, and having lived
here for 20 years, I have achieved a rough accommo-
dation with the city, largely through discovering its
many hidden treasures. It’s these treasures that I’d
LA
A Los Angelino’s
guide to the City of
Angels – what you
should do in LA if you
aren’t Hammer Steve
CONFIDENTIAL
by John Vorhaus
like to share with you now, for I’m assuming you’re
savvy enough to find your own way to Disneyland,
Venice Beach, Hollywood Boulevard, Universal
Studios, and other known destinations favored by the
Wichita and Wabash crowd. If your taste runs to
tourist traps, star maps and endless iterations of the
Gap, I can’t help you out. But if you’d like to pick up
the rock that is LA and poke at crawling around
underneath, then grab a stick, ‘cause here come
some of LA’s best kept secrets. LA Confidential, if
you will, confidential no more...
TRAGICAL HISTORY TOUR: For a truly macabre
look at “Hell A,” roll with Dearly Departed, a guided
tour of all things dead and depraved. Hop aboard the
(air conditioned, natch) Dearly Departed Tomb
Buggy for a three hour dive deep into LA’s entrails:
the site of the Manson murders; the place where
River Phoenix cacked; and a certain street corner
where Hugh Grant learned that what you see is not
always exactly what you get. Plus much more that is
lurid, lewd or otherwise totally LA. According to the
website, “Not recommended for children who haven’t
learned of outdoor sex.”
38 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
SMELLS LIKE GARDENA SPIRIT: If you come to
LA to play poker, you’ll naturally find your way to the
Bicycle Club or the Commerce Casino, but for a taste
of old growth California cardroom poker, head on
down the highway to the Normandie Casino in
Gardena, California. Once upon a time, Gardena was
the place for poker in the southland, with card clubs
like the Horseshoe, Rainbow and Monterey all litter-
ing the cityscape. They’re all gone now except the
Normandie, and who knows how much longer it’ll
last (because, frankly, it’s kind of a hole). So for a bit
of living poker history — including some players who
seem not to have left their chairs since the Kennedy
administration — check it out while you still can.
CUBA LIBRE: You’ll want to eat while you’re here
of course, and though your guidebook or cab driver
might point you to the likes of Kate Mantilini or
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ridiculous Schatzi on
Main, do yourself a favor and take a drive to a dive,
Versailles Restaurant in beautiful and scenic Culver
City. Taking the best of Cuban cooking and plunking
it down in the heart of LA, Versailles features such
Cuban specialties as oxtails, fried plantains, and a
roasted garlic chicken in lemon marinade that will
make you think you’ve died and gone to Havana.
Plus it’s cheap: You’ll pay less for a full meal here
than you’ll pay for valet parking at Spago. Come
early, though, for the locals all know about
Versailles, and the line can get insane during peak
dining hours.
SHOUTIN’ THE BLUES: If you want real blues
music, not the prefab version they serve up in such
overpriced artificialities as the House of Blues, point
your wagon west, all the way to Santa Monica, and
plant your ass for the evening at Harvelle’s Blues
Club. A west side institution since 1931, Harvelle’s
features the best in name and no-name blues bands,
plus an eclectic crowd of blues freaks, college kids
and retro swingers. It’s a dark, sexy, smoky (okay
not smoky — no place in California is smoky) terrific
place to lose all sense of time.
CINEMA RETROVISO: If you want a multiplex
showing the latest Hollywood blockbusters on twenty
screens at once, sadly, you won’t have any trouble
finding such monstrosities around here. But if you’re
interested in old school cinema, there’s only one
revival house for you: The New Beverly Cinema on
Beverly Boulevard in LA. Screening such classic dou-
ble features as Dr. Strangelove and Lolita (the original;
the good one), the New Beverly also serves up gener-
ous helpings of the Marx Brothers, James Dean, and
Humphrey Bogart. Trust me, you may own
Casablanca on DVD, but you haven’t really seen the
picture till you’ve gawked up in the dark with your
shoes sticky from jujubes and your nostrils filled with
the redolence of real buttered popcorn. When you’ve
had all the California sunshine you can stand,
go beat the heat for an hour or six at the New
Beverly Cinema.
www.bluffmagazine.com
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 BY NICK WRIGHT

IS THAT COCKTAIL WAITRESS

WHAT AM I GONNA HAVE SMILING AT ME?
TO EAT WHEN WE BREAK?
GIVE ME THE NUTS, GOD!
PLEASE GIVE ME THE NUTS!

I WONDER WHAT
POKER WOULD
BE LIKE IF CHIPS
WERE SQUARE-
SHAPED?

DOES THAT GUY KNOW HE

LOOKS RIDICULOUS IN THOSE
SUNGLASSES?

40 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 icture the scene. You’ve been playing for hours
P
and now you’re heads up at the final table of a big
WPT event. You’re tired, you’re short stacked and
your opponent is sporting one, two, no three
WSOP bracelets. You’re basically f****d!
You think to yourself, ah well, second ain’t bad.
Right? Wrong! All you gotta do is take a deep
breath, a mental break, and bang, your back in the game. And
that’s according to Jack Llewellyn, founder of the Center for
Winning Performance.
You’re probably thinking one of two things at this point.
Either: a) That Jack is mental and so is Bluff for printing a feature
on breathing. Or b) Great! Now I can blame all my bad beats on
the fact that I wasn’t breathing right, quick get me to that Lamaze
class! Either way you should keep reading! After all, you’ve
invested plenty of time and money in books and DVDs to improve
your strategy in poker, but have you ever really thought about the
mental side of poker?
Jack’s day job is the small matter of being sports psychologist
to the Atlanta Braves, but on the side he has worked with all man-
ner of sportsmen including golfers, NASCAR drivers and football
players. Now he is turning his attention to poker.
Llewellyn has hooked up with professional poker player Roger
Ledford in an attempt to improve the mental side of Roger’s game
and, ultimately, his bankroll, because both Roger and Jack believe
that the biggest obstacle between swimming with the little
fishies and becoming a top player is your mental preparedness.
www.bluffmagazine.com
“There’s so much material on the market, books and videos and
whatever that can teach you how to be a good poker player,” says
Jack. “So the big difference now between winning and losing is
getting your head ready to play.”
Wicked, I hear you say; all I got to do is get my head right and
I can give up my day job and become a poker pro! So come on
Jack what’s the secret? “It’s about putting things in your mental
bag ($9.99 from all good stores!), things like when to take a little
break, concentration issues and how to control your emotions.”
Ah, I’m starting to feel a little mentally fatigued already Jack,
and my mental bag is starting to leak – my ‘little break’! Run that
by me again. “The bottom line of the program is learning how to
recover from adversity and not carrying baggage from hand to
hand,” says Jack. “And it’s about learning how to play every hand
at as high an emotional level as you can control. You can’t be too
relaxed, as you need to be attentive, but if you’re too emotional,
then you’re nuts, and that’s not very good either. You need to find
out what your highest level of emotion is that you can control.
Because you make better, quicker decisions if your emotions are
under control.”
OK, so I’ll try never to sit at the same table as Shannon
Elizabeth or Evelyn Ng! But what if Mike the Mouth is winding
me up? How am I gonna stop myself going nuts at him? “You need
to learn how to have a better selective concentration,” says Jack.
“We get distracted by what people wear, by their glasses and their
body language. You need to be able to eliminate some of those
peripheral areas that are just meant to be distractions and learn
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 41
 what we call ‘selective attention’.” Like when we pretend we’re
listening to our girlfriend but we’re really watching ESPN.
But just like a relationship, Jack says the bad times should
make you stronger. “I think because adversity is part of poker,
no matter how well you play, if you are good at what you do,
you’ll recover from adversity over time and you’ll get back to the
level you were at,” he says. “The problem is that, in a game like
poker, how long is that time? You may well be eliminated in the
process before you ever recover, so you need to learn to recover
mentally between hands or even quicker than that if you can.
Certain things in your mental bag (not the damn bag again, it’s
like Not Another Teen Movie) can help you do that. You need to
learn how to you get back under control when you go over the
edge emotionally.”
OK, I’m under control, but I want the edge in my home game
this weekend. If I catch a bad beat what can I do to get myself
back in the game quicker than you can say, all in? “There’s one
technique that’s real simple and easy,” says Jack. “You take a
deep breath and pull up a previous hand that was successful for
you. The deep breath isn’t to relax you; it’s to get you back
under control.”
There’s got to be more to it than breathing though; how come
we never see Daniel or Scotty taking deep breaths? “You need to
keep your focus too. One reason you lose focus, is that you con-
centrate much longer than you need to at one time. Anyone who
tells you that they go into a zone and they stay there over three
or four hours is lying; you’re going to have mental lapses. To stay
stronger in the later stages you need to prepare early on,” he
adds. “In the first 20 or 30 minutes, between hands or bets, take
www.bluffmagazine.com
a deep breath and give yourself a little break, then lock back in.”
So how does this work in a real game situation then? I mean,
it’s a lot to remember. “I won two tournaments last year,” says
Roger Ledford. “And by the end of it I was so exhausted I could
hardly get out of the chair. That’s usually what happens. So what
Jack is teaching me is how to take the energy you are using
early in the tournament and keep it for the end of the tourna-
ment. So basically, what he’s teaching me is not only how to
recover from a bad play or a bad hand, but also to give my mind
a break; it gives me a physical break when I take a mental break.
You get mentally fatigued much quicker than you get
physically fatigued.
“A prime example is this: you make a play, an all in, or a big
bet, or call a bet, and when the play is over you say: ‘Well that
was stupid, why the hell did I do that?’ What happened was your
mind just took a break on you that you weren’t planning for,”
says Roger. “You can only go for so long at a top level and, if you
don’t give yourself a mental break, your brain’s going to take a
break without your permission. And when it takes a break at the
wrong time, you go straight down the hill and you don’t know
why, but that’s the reason, your brain took a surprise break
on you.”
You get all that? Bluff feels it’s about time our brain had a
break, so we’re off to find one of those mental bags. If you like
what you hear from Jack and Roger, then they are planning to
release CDs and DVDs to help the mental aspect of your poker
game. And Roger, with Jack’s help, will be playing in at least one
major tournament a month for the next year. We’ll let you know
how he does.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 43
 Bluff goes
to
Camp
Hellmuth by Darren Shifflett
photos Greg Dean

S
o it’s been a month since we returned from Sin City,
covering the poker marathon you all know as the
World Series of Poker. Now that I have finally
adjusted to being back in reality, the powers that be
have shipped me back to Vegas for a taste of Camp
Hellmuth.
Upon my arrival, I steal my first set of blinds by
grabbing a free room upgrade by accepting a room that has not
been dedicated to nonsmoking. After shaking off the roughest
landing of my flying career with a soak in the Jacuzzi tub, I am off
to Club Pure for the Camp Hellmuth private party. Did I say Pure?
They should call it Purrr, as it’s home to the sultry and seductive
Las Vegas Pussycat Dolls. But before I can wag my tongue at the
eye candy, I have to navigate the man-gauntlet of Hellmuth’s poker
campers. I mean, I love poker as much as the next guy, but come
on! Imagine being trapped in a small bar with 75 poker nuts, 98%
of which are men. I was hammered with an onslaught of bad beat
stories and “I’m actually good enough to be a pro” stories. It was
like being back at Bluff HQ listening to Dan
Gordon from Dan’s Diary. I’ve never been so
happy for an open bar to dull the pain.
In all seriousness though, I was very
impressed with Phil, TJ Cloutier and our res-
ident rock star Antonio Esfandiari for hang-
ing and engaging with the poker com-
mon folk. Antonio brought some
early fireworks with card tricks to
rival Gandalf himself. For those of
you that haven’t witnessed any of
Antonio’s craftsmanship, he is
something special. Soon the Dolls
Phil Hellmuth went on and the rest of the night is
Darren Shifflett but a memory…
44 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com
 All right, enough partying’ it’s
time for some poker. My first
seminar was on picking up tells
with Joe Navarro. Some of you
may remember him as the for-
mer FBI interrogator from a pre-
vious article with Poker Girl
Annie Duke. I’ll tell you what:
Navarro alone may have been
worth the price of admission. He
went into great detail of not only
what minute actions to look for,
but explained the underlying
reasons behind their occurrence.
According to Joe, the best place to
look for tells is at a player’s feet.
It goes back to the primal ‘fight
or flight’ decision. When some-
one is nervous, their feet will nat-
urally get ready for confronta-
tion, so they will be on their toes and ready to run away. Another
great place to look is at their pupils. They naturally contract when
they miss the flop, because they are preparing to focus to defend
themselves (or their stacks). I feel so sorry for Joe’s daughter’s
boyfriends – there would be no getting away with anything in
that house. His lecture was so impressive that Cloutier and
Hellmuth were taking notes.
Next came seminars from TJ Cloutier and the man in black
himself, Phil Hellmuth, with comic relief provided by John
Bonetti. Both Phil and TJ went over typical hands they like to play
and how to play them. They also went over a lot of the famous
hands poker fans have seen on TV and explained their decision-
making process for those hands. Then there was Bonetti. Bonetti
was there to play off Phil. Think Jerry Seinfeld and George
Costanza.
After three hours of seminars, it was time to put our game to
the test. This was where some of the best teaching went on.
Anyone fortunate enough to play at the table with a pro got to see
their cards, along with an explanation of how they had played
them.
So there I am, Phil is in the big blind and I am two off the but-
ton. The table folds around to me and I raise two units with A-9
of hearts. Phil calls, and we are heads up. The flop comes 8-J-Q
rainbow. Phil checks and I check. The turn is a king and Phil
throws in a minimum probe bet. Without hesitation, I throw in a
decent raise, small enough to look like I want him to call. Phil
folds and then shows the table his open ended 10-7 offsuit to tell
the table why he played it that way. I respond by showing Phil my
nine, which gave me a gut shot with him holding one of my outs.
The table erupts…. Priceless! Unfortunately, that is about as good
as it got. I e money in the tournament and then bubbled a sit n
go after getting sucked out.
Day two left no room for disappointment. Antonio struggled
through the morning after a night of being Antonio, and still pro-

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 45

 “If you are ever unsure
of what you should do in a
situation, just bet. So what
if they know what you are
doing, if they don’t have a
hand they can’t call you!”

vided possibly the best strategy seminar of the

camp. The Magician described the mystifying
power of how to be the most feared player at the
table with well-placed aggression. The second
day of class included Thomas ‘Thunder’ Keller
going over key online strategies, as well as more
strategies and stories from the Hellmuth-Bonetti
show.
The second day of tournament play seemed
to be greatly expedited by Antonio’s lesson on
aggression. “If you are ever unsure of what you
should do in a situation, just bet. So what if
they know what you are doing, if they don’t
have a hand they can’t call you!” No doubt
some campers got caught with their hand in
the cookie jar. I know I did when my large posi-
tion raise with A8 hearts ran into pocket kings.
At least I had a few outs …
The evening ended with a final table ban-
quet, equipped with an open bar and steak din-
ner. The crowd was also treated with addition-
al guest appearances by David Williams and
Johnny Chan. Oakley thumps
were passed out to those that
had knocked out the pros
during the main tournament,
and top tournament perform-
ers were honored in front of
the campers and the pros.
The camp was a great
experience and a hell of a lot
of fun. I was very impressed
to see how far the reach of
poker has gone into the
world’s population. The
camp helped everyone from
a 55-year-old naturopathic
physician from Oregon to a
21-year-old student from
England who used his stu-
dent loan money to get
there. The only thing miss-
ing was a lecture on how to
throw a tantrum from Phil. I
guess I’ll have to suck him
out on a televised table for
that one.

46 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 PRO-SPECTIVE pro-file

48 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com


Scott Fischman
Beneath Scott Fischman’s relaxed bonhomie lurks an obsessive drive for
poker perfection that so consumes his being, Bluff is worried that he’s let his
golf game lapse. Here’s the low-down on the internet poker king who, at 25,
may have played more hands of poker than anyone else on earth.
Scott, when we interview players,
we like to find out about their non
poker-related interests, but you
basically play all day, everyday…
That’s very true.
But you must have some hobbies
apart from poker?
None that I can pay any attention to any-
more. I used to play pool and golf, but I
had to put them on the back burner. I don’t
make time; poker has consumed me so
much. I think it’s because there’s still so
much to learn everyday. That’s what gets
me about this game: every single day
when I wake up, I’m playing better than I
was yesterday. That feeling alone is what
drives me to play so much, so often. It’s a
sickness (laughs).
When we last met up you had a
pure white internet-poker tan…
In Vegas you can’t walk outside, or
you’ll melt. So I decided when I moved
here, that I wasn’t going to spend much
time sunbathing. I’m allergic to the sun.
You can’t get me out there.
OK, so what’s your favorite movie?
…And don’t you dare say Rounders.
(Laughs) Actually it’s a movie that just
came out recently called Hostage. I’m a big
fan of My Cousin Vinnie, too.
Right. Now we’re getting some-
where. Where do you like to go in
Vegas when you actually leave the
house?
I go to the Cheesecake Factory. They
have a chicken dish that I love, and the
desserts are great. It’s in The Forum at
Caesars Palace and you can sit there and
watch people – a really nice atmosphere.
www.bluffmagazine.com
Is it true you have, like, ten giant
plasma screens in your living room
so you can play multiple poker
games simultaneously? …And
they’re all, like, wired up to a
special helmet, controlled by
electrical impulses from your
brain…?
(Laughs) No. I have three: two that I play
poker on and one that I watch TV on.
How many tables do you play at
once?
I play a minimum of five or six, and a
maximum of nine or ten. I generally just
play whatever tournaments and sit n gos
are available. Cash games are great, but
they’re so different, so I try and keep those
separate and focus mainly on tournaments.
How do you stay sharp on nine
tables at once?
You don’t start off playing nine. When I
first started playing online, I was playing
one, then two, then three – and it takes a
while, but you eventually get this kind of
robot mentality. When I’m playing nine,
I’m really not ‘thinking’ – the decisions
are all pre-made. That’s another reason
why I play tournaments, because
it’s a kind of pre-determined decision
making process.
How many hours do you play
online per day?
As many as I can stay awake for – that
is, as long as I’m winning. A lot of players
get ‘stuck’ and they never get up; they
have to play until they get even. I’m differ-
ent in that when I’m losing I’m just dis-
gusted and I hate it, so I stop. When I’m
winning, wild horses couldn’t drag me
away. I’ve had a session where I was play-
PRO-SPECTIVE
ing so good I didn’t stop for two days in a
row. I just couldn’t lose. The sheer adrena-
lin keeps you awake.
What’s a good tip for winning
online?
Learn to control yourself mentally.
That’s the biggest part about being suc-
cessful in poker. If you’re able to handle
the ups and downs emotionally, then
you’ll be fine, no matter if you’re winning
or losing. Remember that losing is a huge,
huge part of poker. I played something like
250 live tournaments last year and made
fifteen final tables – which was awesome –
but it means that 235 times last year, I
lost. And that’s okay.
What’s the most you’ve won
online in one sitting?
I think my best tournament score was
$38,000 in a day.
Do you ever treat yourself after a
big win?
No I don’t – I’m so sick. I don’t even cel-
ebrate. After my second place finish this
year at the World Series – which was my
biggest payday ever – I just walked
upstairs to my hotel room and went to bed.
I’m kinda annoyed at myself that I don’t
allow myself to splurge, but at the same
time, I like that I have control.
How long do you think you can
keep up this level of intensity?
I don’t know. That’s partly the reason
why I’m so intense now. I figure that if I’m
going to get burned out, then I may as well
build my empire while I’ve got this inten-
sity. If I want to calm down a bit in a few
years, then hopefully I can do that because
I will be able to afford to.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 49
 pro-file
VITAL STATS
Name: Scott Fischman
Birthday: May 30, 1980
Nickname: Empty Seat
WSOP Bracelets: 2
Favorite Starting Hand: Pocket 8s
Where to find him: You can play
poker against Scott online at
www.thefishtank.com.
You’ve launched your own online
site…
Yeh, it launched about six months ago.
It’s called TheFishtank.com and it’s part of
Doyle’s Network. I’m very proud of it. It’s
great to have my own little poker room – my
own little niche in the online poker world.
We’re going to be doing a lot of promotions
and a lot of fun stuff that I’ve always want-
ed to do. I just love it. I play on there all the
time, the games are good – it’s just fun.
Do you prefer online or live play?
I like them both, but with online play,
there’s just so much action – 24 hours a
day, everyday, you can get any kind of game
you want.
What’s your greatest achievement
in poker to date?
Winning the two bracelets back-to-back
at the 2004 WSOP.
How would you describe your play-
ing style?
Adaptable. I have an ability to learn all
the different styles and to use whichever
one is best for the situation I’m in. That’s
how I play and that’s how I feel that poker
should be played.
What’s the greatest bluff you’ve
ever made?
It’s the first day of the Main Event of the
World Series 2004, the cameras are rolling
50 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
because they’re covering the Crew and me
(even though we aren’t winning anything
at this point). I’m all in on the turn with
absolutely nothing. I know my opponent
has me beat, but I also know he can’t call. It
was the first time I’d ever played a Main
Event and the first time I’d ever made a
huge bluff in a live tournament – I’ll never
forget that hand.
Has it been easy to adapt to fame?
I think I’ve done an OK job, but no – it’s
not easy. I like it – it’s not a bad thing.
Having said that, I’ve been in London over
the past few weeks and I’m not as heavily
televised over there on the regular chan-
nels. So I do get recognized there, but not a
lot. I felt a little bit more relaxed, which was
really nice. In the old days, I just used to
walk out of the house, not caring what I
look like, but now I have to uphold this kind
of ‘image’, which is a bit weird.
Do poker players get obsessive
fans yet?
(Laughs) Not yet. They’re all great – no
one scary yet.
Let’s backtrack. How did you first
get into the game?
A high school buddy of mine came from
a poker background and taught me how to
play. We used to sneak into the cardrooms.
I began to get better and better playing with
him and other friends. When I turned 21, I
started dealing poker in Las Vegas.
And that’s when you really learned
how to play?
Right. I was playing a lot on the internet,
where I was learning a lot about the techni-
cal part of the game, but by being a dealer I
got to learn a lot about the people. I’d just
watch them all day long.
How did the Crew get together?
Dutch [Boyd] formed the Crew after his
score in the World Series in 2003 and I
became friendly with them after that. We
just became friends and shared our poker
knowledge, and that’s how it got going.
Were you viewed as young
upstarts when you turned up on
the scene?
I think people liked us. We were young
and brash, but it was fun.
Any plans to write a book?
Yes, I’m writing one, and hopefully I can
get moving on it if I can manage to stop
playing poker for a couple of minutes. It’ll
be about how to be successful online. I feel
that online poker is the way to teach your-
self the game. That’s why you see so many
young players. I got ten years of experience
playing poker in one year. By the time I got
to the World Series, I was 23 and had been
playing 20 years. And yes, I was young and
emotional and egotistical, but I was really,
really good.
www.bluffmagazine.com
 PRO-SPECTIVE be a chameleon

Be a Chameleon
BY JOSH ARIEH

52 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 PRO-SPECTIVE

f there was only one winning style of poker, there than not. Let’s face it, we all don’t have the incredible abili-

I
would only be one type of winner. That’s the great ty of guys like Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson; we aren’t able to
thing about this game of ours: the human element take their kind of game to every table (man, wouldn’t it be
is such a large contributing factor that we have nice if we could?). This is why we have to be great planners
countless kinds of people playing completely differ- and be as prepared as we possibly can. I’m sure Phil and
ent styles, all in search of the same goal. All the Doyle don’t really care what style of table they sit at, they’re
top players, however, have learned to play all styles going to dominate it regardless. It’s very important that us
and can adapt to each individual table. If you’re able to make pigeons prepare as much as possible. I call it the Craig
adjustments every time you sit at the table, you’ll find it Counsel theory: he’s a guy with half-decent athletic ability,
much easier to make money. but he comes to the game with his game-face on; he has pre-
I’m a big fan of analogies, so let me throw one your way. pared better than everyone out there, and is able to compete
Let’s compare poker to Major League Baseball. There are with the guys in the major leagues day-in, day-out.
plenty of guys who made good money throughout their I want to give you guys one more example before I stop
careers hitting fastballs, and there are guys that made their rambling. I play in a little $3/$6 no limit game online at
money hitting curveballs. But wouldn’t you rather be the bodog.com, and if you were to watch, you would think that I
guy that can hit both and make all the money? In poker, you was the biggest sucker in the world. I raise virtually every
don’t want to be the guy that can only beat a certain kind of hand. Do you think that the top players would let me get
game. You want to be able to switch gears and have a differ- away with play like that? Hell No! They would punish me for
ent gameplan for anything your opponents throw at you. playing the amount of hands that I do; I would get reraised on
Example one: Say you start off a tournament and the a regular basis. But online, I get a bunch of guys just calling,
table is full of faces you’ve never seen before. You are pretty trying to sneak up on me – and that’s an OK philosophy to
sure that the competition isn’t too experienced, so it’s a per- take – but I promise it’s light-years away from what the top
fect opportunity to step on the gas and put some pressure on players would be doing. Great players never let you control
your opponents. You will want to get in there and mix it up a the pace of play, so when you find yourself sitting across from
little to try to accumulate some chips. them, be that thorn in their side; be a speed-bump – slow
Example two: The Table of Death. You sit down and you them down, don’t let them control the pace
look across at John Juanda, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and of the game.
Howard Lederer. The same gameplan isn’t going to work at
this table. These guys will pick you apart and spit out our
bones. You will have to dig deep in a situation like this.
These players aren’t going to let you take flops and they cer-
tainly aren’t going to let you control the pace of play. You
have to do your best to make the great players gamble. If you
find yourself at a death-table, find a spot where you think you
have a 50/50 proposition and go with it. This kind of table is
no place to inch up. Yes, you are extremely unfortunate to
have found yourself here, but do you really want to butt
heads with these guys all day and watch their chip
stacks pile up? I know I don’t!
We’ve heard it a million times, but no two
situations in poker are exactly alike, and
the player who’s able to recognize
that, and adjust accordingly, is
the player who’ll over-
come each situation
and find himself
on top more
o f te n

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 53

 PRO-SPECTIVE poker girl

Do the Math by Annie Duke

W
ith the explosion of tournament poker in your chips have a reduced value because of the size of your
the past few years, many players are mak- stack, and therefore you are actually getting better pot odds
ing the transition from cash games to tour- every time you play.
nament play. The prize pools in many cases Let’s say there is 10K in the pot and you are thinking about
have increased tenfold, so this influx of calling 5K of your stack on a 2:1 shot. In a cash game in this
new tournament players is not surprising. situation, you would likely fold rather than take a pure gamble.
The allure of huge money and TV exposure has But in a
drawn in so many players (including me) who tournament,
used to concentrate on cash games only. But it when you
is vital that these new players understand have a big
that the big prize pools and TV exposure stack, you
are not the only differences between tour- need to realize
nament play and cash games. The math that, since each
and psychology of the games are also of your chips is
extremely different. Having a deep worth less than
understanding of where the two each of the chips
types of poker diverge can spell the in the pot, you are
difference between success and actually getting bet-
failure in the tournament arena. ter than 2:1 odds on
The most significant mathe- the call and it no
matical difference is that the longer becomes a
chips in a tournament have gamble. Of course, this
no cash value. This may assumes you won’t
seem like an obvious point have to call any more
(well, duh!), but the con- chips on the turn. That
sequences of this fact gets more complicated
are often missed by and I don’t want to get too
players. When you complicated here.
play in a cash game On the flip side, when
and you have, say, you have a short stack it is
$50K in chips, important to understand that
your chips are the pot is not always offering
actually worth you the odds you think it is.
$50,000. If an Each of your chips is worth
opponent has, say, more than the chips in the pot,
$10K in chips, their chips are so you are getting worse pot odds
worth $10,000. than it appears. This means, of
Let’s take the same case in a tournament. In order course, that you need to play your
to understand what your chips are worth in a tournament, you hands tighter than you would in a
have to know what the prize pool is. Let’s say the prize pool of cash game. Now obviously, this isn’t
a tournament is $1 million. You have 50K in tournament chips the only mathematical difference
comprised of a stack of 50 1K chips. Your opponent has 10K in between tournaments and cash game play, but it is one of the
tournament chips comprised of 10 1K chips. In the simplest most important ones. It is a difference that too few players real-
terms, each of your chips is worth less than each of your oppo- ly understand. Many players do happen upon this strategy –
nent’s chips because your opponent’s 10 chips are playing for playing looser when you’re big stacked and tighter when
the same prize pool as your 50 chips. you’re short stacked on your drawing hands – but don’t under-
Since each of your chips is worth less than each of your stand the mathematical underpinnings that make it a success-
opponent’s chips, you need to make mathematical adjust- ful gameplan. Having a deep understanding of the conceptual
ments in your play. For example, it makes more sense to play and mathematical reasons behind a successful strategy can
faster and looser when you have a big stack, not because you only improve your game.
have so many chips you can afford to lose some, but because You can play poker against Annie at Ultimatebet.com

54 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 PRO-SPECTIVE tiltboys

Six Sigmas Out:

The Testimony of Diceboy, the World’s Luckiest Man
Whether it’s an uncanny ability to find a parking spot, or to be saved from
stampeding wildebeest by Masai warriors, or simply rampaging through the
Tiltboy’s home games, Dave Lambert, a.k.a Diceboy, has always led a charmed
life. This has led the other Tiltboys to conclude that he was born ‘six sigmas
out’ from the rest of the world. A sigma, as far as our non-Stanford educated
minds can grasp, is a kind of unit for measuring statistical probability (but
don’t write us smug letters if we’re wrong). Anyway, here’s the Diceboy…
remember my first time playing is that I’m just this wild player – exactly protection procedure so that, when it got

I
Hold’em. I was a junior in college
back at Stanford and there was a
little tiny hole-in-the-wall club
called The Petunia Club. All they
had was a $1/$2 Hold’em game. I
went down with a friend and we
just saw this game that we’d never
heard of. We sat down and were afraid to
play a hand. I think we played for an hour
and my friend won $30 and I lost $20 or
so. I went back a week or so later with a
hundred bucks and basically played every
single hand. I went on the biggest rush
I’ve ever known, and in an hour I’d won
$300 in a $1/$2 game. If I needed a dou-
ble-gutshot runner-runner straight to
make a hand, it would just happen. But of
course, I had no idea that I was getting
lucky. I just thought to myself, “This has
got to be the easiest game in the world.”
I was standing in line with this moun-
tain of chips, waiting to cash-out, and the
dealer came up to me and said, “I’ve been
dealing this game for fifteen years and I’ve
never seen a streak like that.”
“Oh,” I thought.
Of course, I got better over the years
and my style changed, but the luck stayed
with me. Even if I rile peo-
ple up and put them on
tilt, they’re still happy to
play with me. The
general
view
the kind of guy they want at the table – too far behind, it would revert to random.
and they just happen to have caught me on “This isn’t possible,” he screamed. “You’re
this night when I keep getting real lucky. beating random!”
But it’s not just poker. Phil Gordon and My nickname, incidentally, didn’t come
I were roommates for while, and we had from my luck at the craps tables. It came
this running tally as to how much money from one of our home games at which
we owed each other. I was so good at Perry announced, quite out of the blue,
Roshambo (Rock-Paper-Scissors) that the that he could speak backwards. Phil had a
other Tiltboys would stop playing with me. keyboard that could reverse speech, so he
Phil Gordon was basically subsidizing my got Perry to speak into it. I had been par-
rent. I remember we were at a McDonalds ticularly lucky that night playing poker,
and we Roshamboed, best of five, to figure and when Phil played back Perry’s non-
out who would pay for the meal. I won 5-0, sensical statement, it said: “Dave is
which meant he owed me double. Just for Diceboy.” Everyone thought it kind of apt.
fun, we decided to carry on to see how You can read all about the Tiltboys adven-
long it would take for him to win. I beat tures in Tales From the Tiltboys, out now! Buy
him 17 times straight (without tying it at www.tiltboys.com, only $19.99
once). I think if you had to the time to fig-
ure out those odds, they’re something like
over 100,000:1.
But contrary to popular belief, there is
skill and game theory involved in
Roshambo. Back in the mid-nineties,
Tiltboy Perry Friedman, who’s a genius
computer programmer, created a
‘Roshambot’, which was an A.I. Roshambo
player. You would log in on and it would
track all your history – every time you’d
played it before – and it would remember
and learn your tendencies. This machine
would absolutely dominate most people
over the long term. Even if you thought
you were playing completely randomly –
you wouldn’t be – and it would beat you. I
was winning significantly against the
machine within a few months, and Perry
was calling up going crazy, because he’d
implemented some kind of emergency

56 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com


Acting the part
T
he Legends of
Poker series at
the Bike has just
started, and I
have found
myself playing a
lot of the cash
games here. I find it refreshing,
having played almost exclusively
in tournaments for quite some
time now. An interesting hand
came up in a $5-$10 no limit
game that will surely spark
some controversy. This was the
scenario:
Pretty much everyone on the
table had about two grand in
front of them; I have six. The pre-
vious hand, I had called in the
small blind with 6-3, flopped
two small pair and busted the
guy in seat #4 for $600. He was
a little disgruntled, as you might
imagine, because I had only
been on the table for 15 minutes
and was already putting a lot of
heat on the pots. He pulled a
wad of bills out of his pocket and
handed it to the chip runner ask-
ing for $3,500. The chip runner
had a rack of yellow in his hand
($500), which he put it down in
front of #4, telling him he would
return shortly with the rest. So
the runner disappeared with the
dough and the next hand was
dealt. I was one off the button
and, as usual, I raised, making it
$50 to go. I was called by #4 and
#7. Now, one of the other players
accidentally flipped over a king
in the process of mucking his
hand. Someone jokingly said:
“Watch the flop come king,
king…”
Well not exactly, but it did
come Kx 5x 5y. The two
callers checked to me and I
knuckled the felt as well. The
turn brought the Ax, making a
possible flush, and #4 led at the
www.bluffmagazine.com
kenna’s corner
pot for $120. #7 mucked, and
the dealer glanced over at me,
signaling that it was my turn to
act. I peeked over at the $330 in
front of #4 and stared at him.
“I’ll put you all in,” I said, and I
motioned with my hand as if I
was moving my $6,000 stack to
the middle. His eyes shot open.
“You know I am playing $3,000
behind, right?” I took the head-
phones out of my ears and said,
“What? I don’t know nothing. I
know you got $330 in front of
you is what I know.” He contin-
ued to argue that he’d
announced he had another
$3,000 before the hand had
PRO-SPECTIVE
started. So I called for a floor
man who, after listening to my
explanation that I’d had my
headphones on and hadn’t hear
anything, decided (correctly)
that since the money was given
to the runner, and it was
announced at the table that he
was behind, I would have to
make the $3,500 bet all in.
“Whatever!” I mutter disgusted-
ly.
Now, at this point the other
player could have said, “ Kenna,
since you didn’t hear me say I
was playing $3000 behind, I’ll
let you just call the $500 in front
of me.” However, he wanted to
by Kenna James
take advantage of my ignorance:
“I call,” he said triumphantly,
before turning over an eight
high flush – a hand that under
normal circumstances he would
not have been able to call that
much with. Now, I am a profes-
sional and, if I don’t know how
much money a player is actually
playing with, I deserve to lose.
So of course, I knew all along
that this player was $3,000
behind. I used my acting abili-
ties to make him believe I didn’t
know anything about it. I turned
over K-5 for a full house, and if
you thought he was steaming
after my 6-3 busted him, you
should have seen him now. "Oh,
great Acting Kenna,” he said sar-
castically, “Great acting!"
The other people at the table
looked in bewilderment, trying
to figure out what had just hap-
pened. It was like a scene out of
The Sting, where, even after the
con had been performed, they
weren’t sure that they had even
been conned.
One guy even exclaimed, "Do
you think he actually knew you
had $3,000 behind?"
"Of course he knew! He just ...
he... oh, great acting Kenna…oh,
just great!" At this point I was
trying to be polite and not say
anything but, inside, it was
killing me to not burst out laugh-
ing. I was biting my cheeks
when the floor man said he’d
have to count me down to make
sure I cover the $3,500 (my
chips were uneven and stacked
all over the place). I left my seat
and said, "Here you count it,"
and scurried away from the
table. As I was leaving, I see #4
dig deep into the pocket and pull
out another $5,000.
“CHIPSSSS!"
I love my job.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 59
 school of laak

Being
Phil Laak
Recently a friend asked if I would be up for teaching some
No Limit Hold’em poker (thinking that it would be a weekend
job at most) and I replied (via email) with the following story
about a student wanting to learn.
IT GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
Student: “Phil, will you teach me No Limit Hold’em poker?”
Phil: “Sure, here... read this book.” (Theory of Poker)
Student: “OK, now what...? Can we play...?”
Phil: “No, not yet, here...read this other book.” (Harrington’s first book)
Student: “OK, now what...?”
Phil: “Read the first book again... It’s important stuff.”
Student: “Phil, this is frustrating... I want the fun lessons... and I want
to play.”

Phil: “The fun in poker is seeing all slowness and preciseness as fun...
and being hungry for little kernels of stuff that have not sunk in yet... and
the more you learn, the harder it is to learn more... and you are useless
overall as a poker player till you go thru many revisions of thought on the
game... and ultimately no one can teach you; they can merely guide you...
the learning will always be on you... and the learning will often be diffi-
cult... but there will be that moment... that one fateful moment where it
isn’t a struggle to learn... but just the opposite....(by the way... if you are
lucky it will start this way and never end)...you will eventually see it as all
a fun puzzle to make some sense of.... and when it morphs into the fun
puzzle... then you have snatched the stones from the palm (Kung Fu movie
reference) and will be ready for bending with the future... tasting the
truth... seeing the opponents’ hole cards without seeing them... and all the
good stuff that comes with winning.

BUT FIRST YOU MUST LOSE....

…LOSING IS IMPORTANT.
Losing is woven into the probability matrix that is poker... there is no
escape... be comfortable with loss... loss is merely a point on the curve...
no more, no less.”

Student: “OK, Phil… I see... Should I read the Harrington book again?”
Phil: “No, he has a new book... now you can read new stuff.”
Student: “Cool”
(…and after some time, the student resigns herself to not playing… but
only reading… ah... resigned to only reading and not playing... ok... good...
now we introduce student to the micro-limits on online poker…)

Student: “Cool...but I want to go to the casino and play with people for
real money...not 50 cent max buy in online games... I want the real thing!”

Phil: “This is the real thing...First make a profit there... then we will see.”

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 61

 WISDOM school of laak
>> SCHOOL OF LAAK SCHEDULE
POKER 101 • BEGINNER
The Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky
The Theory of Poker discusses in depth theo-
ries and concepts that can be applied to all
sorts of poker games (even Razz and Lowball).
Many say that this is the book that separates
the experts from the average Joes. We say
this is quite possibly the best poker book ever
written.
POKER 102 • INTERMEDIATE
Harrington on Hold ‘em: Expert Strategy for No Limit
Tournaments, by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie
Would you actually want to learn poker from
a guy who rode his super-tight image all the
way to a main event win in the World Series in
1995 and then to back-to-back final tables in
2003 and 2004? Hell yeah you would!
This book specifically deals with No Limit
Hold ’em tournaments, and targets the aver-
age-good player with its content.
POKER 201 • ADVANCED
The Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky
The Theory of Poker discusses in depth theories and concepts that
can be applied to all sorts of poker games (even Razz and lowball). Many
say that this is the book that separates the experts from the average
Joes. We say this is quite possibly the best poker book ever written.
Student: “Hey...I am a small winner online...Can I go to the casi-
no now...?”
Phil: “No…You are not ready... Let’s try $2 max. buy in online...”
Student: “No casino?”
Phil: “No, you are not ready...”(…and after a month or two of
frustration at not going to the casino... student finally gives up on
the idea and is happy playing small stakes online poker and
reading about poker. I am happy, however, with the student’s
hunger for learning.)
Interspersed with training is, of course, the very fun TV
poker... instructional but dangerous on its own... poker via TIVo
(ah... really, the only way) with quizzes, naturally: How many outs
does he have? What are his chances now? Does he have implied
odds? What is the minimum hand he could call with there?
…and after many right answers... in less and less time...(impor-
tant)...the ceremonious graduation to mid-level online sit and gos...
Student: “But Phil… I want to play the big field $200 Sunday
tourney online...”
Phil: “No, first you have to play twenty $55 sit n gos.... and you
have to show a profit...”
ONE DAY…
Student: “What do I do here?” (Student is in a pickle... she has
62 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
played Q-9 under the gun at the first level of a $55 sit ’n go.)
Phil: “I don’t know... you are never supposed to have that ques-
tion come up.... I don’t have experience there... you are on your
own... and no more poker questions for you this week...” (I never
said I was a good teacher!)
Student becomes frustrated with me and retreats into her own
poker world... perfect... even better… I notice she is reading the first
Harrington book... again... without provocation! A promising sign...
I notice that the student has played 34 sit and gos (all $55)
and has an overall profit of 300 bucks... wow...
Student: “I would ask you if it was time for the real life casino
with real life people, but I am pretty sure I have more reading to
do... how about Super System? I read that it is good for no limit...”
Phil: (To himself) Ah, how beautiful... her hunger grows unabated....
Phil: (Out loud) “Yes, that is a good book, you can start it tomor-
row... but tonight you are going to the casino...”
Student: “Wow... really.... are you sure?”
Phil: “No, I am not sure... We are never ready for the casino,
because in the casinos no one wins…”
Student: “Huh? No one wins…? What do you mean...?”
Phil: “Doublespeak... welcome to the world of doublespeak...
nestled within the infrastructure of the casino lies a deep and
cavernous world of doublespeak... and you must learn this lan-
guage... as it is the first language.
If you are hungry... you are full,
If you are winning... you are even,
If you are losing... you are losing a LOT,
If you have been there for 20 hours... you just woke up, and have
been playing for an hour.
So on the drive over... we chat in doublespeak. Things look
good when she buys in to the $10/$20 No Limit game for $2,000
and she tells me that it won’t last long... the wink is not neces-
sary... but a nice touch...
CUT TO MONTHS LATER...
Student (Jennifer Tilly): “Hey, Phil... look at what hap-
pened....somehow... even though those kids at Rutgers showed
that poker can’t be won (a doublespeak joke). I beat 600 other
players and won this bracelet...”
Two days later, Jennifer confided that even though she bested
a huge field and won this event... she was afraid that she had a
lot to learn and was unsure of how skilled she actually was...
Ah... level 4 breakthrough has arrived...
How sweet it is... my girl is onto the slipperiness of it all....
…that there is no spoon… (Matrix reference)... there is no dealer...
there are no cards... there are no chips... only probabilistic matri-
ces slipping into, and drifting out of, each other’s way... leaving
in their wake a seemingly hard to pin down, yet always ‘there’
thing called poker
WELCOME...
So...when people ask me to teach them to play poker... I say
sure...and hand them the first book, see if they finish it… and go
from there.
www.bluffmagazine.com
 PRO-SPECTIVE poker like a rock star

Poker in
Europe By Antonio Esfandiari
There is more to this world than just America, believe me.
I love it when there is an international poker tournament
because it gives me the perfect excuse to roam the earth.
I love going to new places, meeting new people and
experiencing a way of life I‘m not accustomed to.

F
IRST STOP: PARIS. The WPT has one European stop per year – at the
Aviation Club. My man Bruno runs the joint and, believe me when I tell you,
Bruno is a cool dude.
Let’s take a second to talk about the French. Where do I start? They don’t
really like Americans. Sad to say, but true. They were rather rude to us on
more than one occasion. It actually felt as if it was a part of the norm for them
to be rude. I remember walking into the store to buy a camera and it was as
if the guy was doing me a favor by selling me a 500-euro camera!
They might not have gotten their manners right when it comes to non-French people (I
am sure they are very friendly with fellow Frenchmen), but they sure did figure out the
duck liver, or ‘foie gras’ as they say. They eat it up like butter. And I don’t blame them: that
stuff is tasty. Paris was a very beautiful city.
If you want to play at the Aviation Club, you have to bring your passport, and you better
not be looking ragish because you won’t get in. You have to be wearing a collared shirt,
along with slacks (jeans are OK, as long as there are no holes in them) and dress-up shoes.
No sneakers or sandals – not my style in the least. I barely went to the casino, because
when I play I like to be comfortable – and that would entail sweats and sandals. I remem-
ber one night, after a few cocktails, we showed up and I really did not want to go back to
my hotel to change, so Vikki (the hottie from Canada mentioned in a previous article) went
in and got Robert Williamson’s jacket and Noah Boeken’s shoes for me. I stealthily threw
them on and walked in! BINGO! I love nothing more in the world than beating the system.

64 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 PRO-SPECTIVE

snuck into every banquet room; we stopped off on

every floor; we even explored the housekeeping
room where they hold all the mops and cleaning
stuff. I think maybe the ‘caffeine’ had something to
do with why this all seemed so interesting to us! For
three hours we walked around this hotel and had
such a great time. What else is there to do at two in
the morning?
The red light district. Yikes! This one I will try to
explain but, once again, I have a feeling the editors
wont let me get into it too much! Basically, anything
goes in the red light district. How do I explain it?
Where do I start? On second thoughts, I probably
shouldn’t. Just take my word for it and go there. I
promise you will have a good time.
One of my most enjoyable moments was when I walked out Oh, and if you are a woman reading this, do not
wearing my sandals and no jacket. The look on the securi- let your man go without you. Trust me on that one.
ty guy’s face was priceless! Next stop London and Barcelona. To be continued…
Second stop: Amsterdam. I had about a week before I You can play against Antonio at
had to be in London for another tournament, so I decided www.ultimatebet.com.
what better place to chill out than Amsterdam? It’s only a
four hour train ride from Paris, and it’s a ride I’ll never for-
get; it was so much fun! There was Paul (my little bro,
Bird), Vikki the Hottie (a girl I’m kind of digging), Marcel
Luske (Mr. Personality) and Noah Boeken. Noah and
Marcel have a sweet pad right in the heart of the city, so it
was perfect. I think we gambled the whole train ride there.
Amsterdam may even be a little prettier than Paris. The
people there were so incredibly nice (Maybe it only
seemed that way because I had come from Paris).
The city is built around canals and everyone rides bikes
everywhere. The people are free to do whatever they want
to do. And to top it all off, they all speak English! It was
heaven!
I won’t get into too much detail here, but if you get a
chance to go there you have to make a stop in one of the
coffee shops. Now, you either get what I’m saying or you
don’t. Let’s just say I had a lot of coffee in Amsterdam and
I don’t even drink the stuff!
One night when we were at a coffee shop it started pour-
ing outside. It was raining so hard there was nothing to do,
so we took one of those bikes you can hire to drive us back
to the hotel.
Because we weren’t tired, we decided to ‘tour’ The
Marriot Hotel. We walked everywhere in that place. We
discovered rooms I never knew they had in hotels. We

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 65

 the poker pecking order: part 2 PRO-SPECTIVE

The Poker Pecking

Order: Part 2
BY ROB FULOP THE POKER PECKING ORDER, AS DEFINED IN MY LAST PIECE
FOR BLUFF, IS MORE THAN JUST A MISS MANNERS GUIDE OF
EXCRUCIATINGLY CORRECT POKER SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. THE
PECKING ORDER OUTLINES VERY DISTINCT GUIDELINES FOR
THE PLAY OF ANY PARTICULAR HAND. TO REVIEW, THE FIVE
CATEGORIES OF PLAYERS WHICH COMPRISE THE POKER
PECKING ORDER ARE:

Top Players
Recent Winners
Solid Players
Dead Money
Internet Players

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 67

 PRO-SPECTIVE
ny Top Player at a tournament table commands a
A
certain amount of respect from the other players.
In order to maximize their impact, many Top
Players make a habit of showing up well after the
Shuffle Up and Deal. In doing so, Top Players
remind us that they are Top Players, and are thus
unconcerned that they have blinded off 5% of their
stack for no particular reason. Phil Hellmuth and
Layne Flack are known to not make their appearance until well into
the second level or even the third. Is the schedule of a Top Player that
hectic? Between television interviews, charity appearances, and a bi-
weekly massage appointment, is it just impossible to show up at the
designated 12:00pm start time of a major event?
I had just spent the previous hour wondering who would eventu-
ally occupy the conspicuously empty seat to my left. And when Amir
Vahedi finally stumbled to the table in the middle of the second level,
it would not be giving him enough credit to say that he merely ‘sat
down’, because a Top Players does not merely ‘sit down’. Amir made
a grand entrance.
Amir cordially greeted each and every player in the game. He casu-
ally waved to a few fans on the rail. He kissed the hand of the female
dealer with the charm and grace of Pepe Le Pew. And if such fanfare
wasn’t enough, if there remained anybody at the table who was still
unclear and needed to be reminded that they were now in the pres-
ence of poker royalty, Amir tossed a valuable $100 chip into the pot
with the swaggering grin of a swashbuckling Persian Pirate before
he was even sitting in his chair. Nine hands folded within five sec-
onds, conceding the blinds to Amir’s in-the-dark raise. Amir Vahedi’s
spell over the game was thus cast, his unspoken message to the table
as clear as glass ...
“Poker greatness has now arrived.
Let the slaughter begin!”
For the next 90 minutes, all attention was focused on Amir. He
was raising pre-flop three out of four pots, often without bothering to
look at his hand. He bet the flop after peeking at one card. He talked
people into calling, folding, or raising, depending on his preference
at the moment. Since Amir sat to my immediate left, he had no prob-
lem engaging in conversation with me. Even though the Poker
Pecking Order makes it clear that a Top Player does not engage in
conversation with Dead Money Players, there is one exception. A Top
Player is willing to chat with a Dead Money Player only if they are
seated at the same table and the Dead Money Player is willing to for-
sake all of his blinds to the Top Player without resistance.
Such was the case with Amir and me. He was happy to chat, as
long as it was understood that my big and small blinds belonged to
him. At one point, his constant attack on my small blind became so
persistent that I offered to share with him my bag of chocolate chip
trail mix, as a kind of peace offering. Amir quickly consumed two
handfuls, but when he asked for a third, I offered him a deal. If he
would leave my blinds alone, he could eat all the chocolate chip trail
mix he wanted. Amir paused for a moment as he considered my offer,
eventually shaking his head with a rueful smile: “As hungry as I am,
this I cannot do, my friend!”
I understood. Chocolate chip trail mix does not buy off a Top
Player’s relentless attack on the blinds of a Dead Money Player.
68 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
Amir and I did play one pot, however. It was his big blind, and as
usual, eight hands were in the muck within five seconds. I looked
down at A-10 offsuit in the small blind, and limped, awaiting the
inevitable raise from Amir. He did not disappoint; I had scarcely lift-
ed my fingers off my chips before he barked, “RAISE!” Now it was
back to me. I hemmed and hawed, counted out all of my chips silent-
ly to myself, obviously contemplating an all in re-raise. I knew what
I must do. It was time to stand up for myself. Sensing that I was about
to move all in, Amir asked me: “Do you really wish to
gamble for your whole tournament right now?”
Amir’s cocky question helped solidify my resolve. He had asked
the right question, but had addressed it to the wrong person. My
response was to shove all of my remaining $1,800 into the center,
causing him to quickly muck his hand. There would be no further
conversation with Amir.
In direct contrast to the grace with which a Top Player dominates
a poker table, a Recent Winner’s control comes from browbeating
opponents into submission. Most Recent Winners just reek of need-
ing to prove something, as nobody knows for certain if their recent
success was due to their prolific skill, or simple blind luck. If Top
Players are the Apollo Creeds of poker, Recent Winners are the
Rocky Balboas. And such was the case when one such player sat
down in our game. While Amir’s frequent pre-flop raises had seemed
kind of playful, this guy’s attack on the blinds felt far more forceful.
His oversized flop bets occurred to me as merciless; his big all-in
moves were delivered as graceless knockout punches, as if he were
on a mission to personally bust each and every player.
For whatever reason, I was selected as his personal whipping boy.
Whenever it was my big blind he glared disdainfully at my medium-
sized stack, looked me over, and came in for at least three times my
blind. Unlike Amir, there was no naughty gleam in his eyes when he
pirated my blind. Instead, his glance echoed the cold, calculating
greed of Tony Soprano, his lips pursed into a tough guy scowl worthy
of Sylvester Stallone. The guy was out for blood.
Finally I picked up pocket nines, a decent enough hand in my big
blind. I had had enough of the Recent Winner’s assault. He had
raised my $200 big blind to $600, and when it was my turn to act, I
www.bluffmagazine.com
 PRO-SPECTIVE
confidently flicked in five precious $500 chips, re-raising him $2500
more. This was the very first time I had shown any resistance what-
soever. True to form, the Recent Winner reacted to my re-raise by
instantly barking “ALL-IN!”, putting me to a decision for the remain-
ing $9,200 chips I had in front of me. I had not expected such a reac-
tion, and carefully thought through my situation. Could it be that,
this time, he actually had some sort of hand? Or was he trying to
prove a point – that he was not a player to be toyed with? I studied, I
recounted, I faked a call – anything to get some sort of reaction. But
he didn't budge, and the truth was I had no clue as to what to do.
Finally I decided that my pocket nines were no good, and sadly
tossed my hand into the muck, nodding a quick thanks when the
Recent Winner flipped up his pocket kings. Nobody was happier
than I when our table broke and I was moved to another.
My new game featured Solid Players flanking me on both sides, so
I sat in silence for the duration of the day (since Solid Players never
speak to Dead Money Players for any reason whatsoever). True to
form, a Solid Player's play is very… well, solid, yet his raises always
seem to come with a certain amount of urgency; his all-in bets seem
to be made more out of a feeling of desperation than confidence. It's
almost like the Solid Player is bracing himself for the inevitable bad
beat coming his way even before his opponents react to his bets. A
Solid Player does not play many pots, and when he does, he seems to
do so with a sense of fear; his play more defensive than aggressive.
I certainly did not hesitate to call when the Solid Player on my
right finally raised pre-flop. I was holding 9-10 and pretty much
knew that I was up against a bigger pocket pair or two big cards.
When the flop came 2-8-9, his pot-sized flop bet did not concern me
in the least. I was in position with top pair against a Solid Player - it
seemed an easy enough decision to call. And when another nine
came on the turn, and he checked and sadly called my all-in bet,
there was a certain resignation in his manner as he flipped up his
pocket jacks for all to see, as if to say:
"Look at me, is anybody unluckier than I am? See how I suffer at
the hands of a clueless Dead Money Player who is such a donkey that
he calls my pocket jacks with a ten high preflop!"
Doesn't Daniel Negreanu make that exact play nineteen times a
day? But when a Dead Money Player like me makes the same play
holding the exact same sort of hand, well ... it appears to the Solid
Player as somehow offensive. As I was stacking the Solid Player's
chips, and he was cursing my donkey-like play to himself under his
breath, I could not resist making a hee haw sound, just to give him
an even sadder bad beat story to tell to his Solid Playing poker pals.
There exists a certain unspoken creed between any two Dead
Money Players. Given that they are basically the fish food for the bet-
ter players in the wild waters of a major poker tournament, it's little
surprise that the guppies pretty much leave each other alone.
Basically, Dead Money Players don't really engage with one another,
unless they both have real hands. I only had one confrontation with
another Dead Money Player throughout the whole day. It was at the
end of day one and both of us were on lower than average chips. As
is usually the case between two Dead Money Players, any pot is typ-
ically played very straightforward, almost businesslike, and truth be
told, somewhat joylessly. He opened in Seat Two for all of his chips,
and I called 90% of my chips in the small blind holding pocket kings.
He flipped up A-K off-suit, and when no ace materialized on the
board, he solemnly shook my hand and earnestly wished me the best
of luck. It was as if the remaining Dead Money at the table had decid-
ed to join forces, realizing that it would be better for the Dead Money
70 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
Team if one of us was to sacrifice himself, so that the other can go
forward with the best chance possible for survival in the treacherous
waters that lay ahead on Day Two.
Ultimately, it was an Internet Player who busted me, in a manner
typical of Internet Players. I had a comfortable stack for the first time
in the entire tournament and so I started raising a lot of pots, some-
what recklessly, taking my lead from the aggressive play I had wit-
nessed in Amir Vahedi. The table was getting sick of it pretty darned
fast. People have a reasonable tolerance for a Top Player or Recent
Winner's bully-like tactics in the later rounds, but nobody can stand
for one moment the exact same tactics coming from a Dead Money
Player. Players cannot wait to move in over the top of a Dead Money
Player who dares raise more than they 'should' in the later rounds.
And sure enough, it would be my new reckless image that would ulti-
mately prove to be my downfall.
I picked up two queens in the cutoff, and opened the pot for my
'usual' raise: four times the big blind. To my left sat a typical Internet
Player. He was young, he was quiet, he appeared somewhat nervous,
and the only play he seemed to be capable of was "ALL IN" pre-flop.
He had quickly and quietly folded to any pre-flop raises without even
considering playing a pot for the past three rounds. This time was dif-
ferent. He hesitated for a brief moment, considering my $3,600 pre-
flop raise, and quickly announced that he was all in, shoving in over
$50,000 which put me all in for my $45,000 stack.
I knew right away that the Internet Player could not have held a
hand that beat Q-Q. Why bet so much if he held K-K or A-A? No, it
was crystal clear that the Internet Player was making a move, realiz-
ing that I could not always have a real hand. That is why he made
such a drastic over-bet. As I sat there, I knew what I had to do. This
was the situation I was hoping for; my aggressive play had caused
one of my opponents to make a big mistake. But even as I was call-
ing, even when I saw the look of terror in the Internet Player's face
when he realized that he had picked the wrong time to make his big
all In move, I felt the familiar feeling of dread, a holdover from my six
months of running bad. As I called the last of my chips, and flipped
up my two queens, I saw the action-crazed look in his eyes that I rec-
ognized immediately from all the players who had sucked out on me
so many times last year in just such situations. I was hoping that the
Internet Player held pocket nines, tens, or jacks. But no such luck. So
when he flipped up his A-J offsuit, I knew in my heart that I was dead
to two outs; that an ace would surely hit the flop, and that I needed
a miracle queen to save my skin. We both knew I was in bad shape.
The Poker Goddess did take some pity on me - she made the ace
appear in the window on the flop, thus removing any suspense what-
soever. To add insult to injury, the river brought a jack. All my clever
dodging and weaving had been for naught. I left the table busted and
disgusted at the reckless hands of an Internet Player.
Ten minutes later I was at the rail, desperately looking for some-
body to tell my bad beat story to. My pal Phil Laak appeared out of
nowhere, and before he could greet me, I was already launching into
my sad story…
"What happened to me shouldn't happen to a dog. So I'm at a
great table, with chips, raising a lot of pots. I pick up Q-Q in the
cutoff and come in for a standard raise, and this guy, some
Internet Player wearing a Party Poker Beanie moves me in for
$50,000. I know he can't have K-K, or A-A, since he raised so
much, so I crying call. Guess what this donkey turns over!
Seriously, Phil, you won't believe it... guess what the Internet
Player turns over? Phil…? Come back… Phil…?”
www.bluffmagazine.com
EVERYBODY
LOVES
POKER
B r a d G a r r e t t
At a little over 6’ 8’’, Everybody Loves Raymond star,
Brad Garrett, would cut an imposing figure at the table
if he wasn’t too busy mocking his own ‘lousy’ game. Bluff
pulled up a high chair and found out about crazy
home games, that Tonight Show incident, and which top
pro needs to take happy pills!

72 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 73
 I like Phil Hellmuth.
Phil Gordon’s great too. He was one of the first
pros to tell me to throw away my cards
and take up origami.
Brad, what got you into poker?
My dad’s an amazing poker and gin
player and he taught me how to play black-
jack and took me to Vegas when I was 13.
When I was 13 I looked 21! To be honest
I’ve had a home game for the past 20
years, but I’ve only really been playing
Hold’em about five of those years. It used
be crazy games with the same Joes. We
had our own games where you’d get nine
cards and then you’d get three more – you
know, crazy stuff. But I’ve always loved it.
I have the gambling bug. I wish I had a
method or some kind of theory, but the
truth is I just love being around over-
weight guys who smoke. I don’t know any
other way to put it.
I played Vegas for 20 years too. You
spend six or seven months a year in Vegas,
and you start picking things up, things
where you’re going to need an ointment.
You won a “Best Comedian in
Vegas” Award?
Yeah, I did win that – years ago – and I
used to open for Sinatra and Sammy
Davis, Diana Ross and the Righteous
Brothers. I was 20 years old, on the road,
doing stand up. That’s really my roots and,
now Everybody Loves Raymond is over, it’s
something I’m going back to.
Your TV career kicked off on the
Johnny Carson show didn’t it?
Actually the first thing I did was the
first Star Search back in 1984, hosted by
Ed McMahon. I won that, and then went
on to do The Tonight Show. I was still
young and it got me some opening gigs,
and that kinda got the ball rolling.
Didn’t you get in trouble on the
Johnny Carson Show?
That was blown out of proportion.
74 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
There’s quite a lot out there on the inter-
net that isn’t true. The Tonight Show thing
is kinda true. I did an ad-lib to Johnny’s
bandleader, who that night was Tommy
Newsome. He was that tiny little band-
leader who Johnny used to make fun of. I
tower over him. I’m 6’ 8” and Tommy is 5’
7’’ and, at one point in the act, I told him I
have sperm bigger than him. Carson
loved it and everybody laughed, but it’s
not the sort of thing you say on national
television. I didn’t do the show for a
long time after that. But there were other
reasons: I was out of material and I
was on the road… but the guy who booked
the show at the time was very, very
staunch on what you do and don’t do. I
don’t know if it stopped me doing the
show, but it didn’t help, and there are
people out there who still remember that
line. But you know no harm; no frown.
Do you use similar lines at the
poker table? You must be a great
trash-talker what with being good
at improv.
Well, I kinda do, but I don’t talk
trash, so much as I make fun of myself – it’s
more self-deprecating humor. Unfor-
tunately, the majority of the players have
no sense of humor. The better players do.
It’s funny, when I meet some of the heroes
– like Phil Gordon or Phil Hellmuth – they
seem to have a great sense of humor. But
some of the guys at the table are so
damned serious. But then I guess with my
game there’s nothing to be serious about.
You played in this year’s World
Series. How’d you do?
I lasted nine hours! A little longer than
my third marriage! But then I went and
played the celebrity and NBA athlete char-
ity tournament at The Mirage. I made the
final table, which was very exciting
because I’ve never made a final table and
there were about 150 guys playing. It was
fun to play with some of the celebs and my
NBA heroes. Tobey Maguire’s girlfriend
made the final table, and she beat me too.
But I took out Charles Barkley, which was
fun because no one talks more trash than
Charles. He mentioned he would like to
see my mom and my dog have a relation-
ship for $500. I told him I’d have to see
cash! I took him out twice. After the first
time, he did his re-buy right away and I got
him out straight away again. But he’s a
real nice guy.
Nine hours – that’s not too bad. A
lot of the pro’s had finished by
then! Who are your favorites?
I like Phil Hellmuth. Phil Gordon’s great
too. He was one of the first pros to tell me
to throw away my cards and take up origa-
mi. I really enjoy watching him and the
Unabomber and Layne Flack. To me
they’re kinda like my sports heroes. Even
though I’m a large guy, I was never really
into sports because I sucked at them. I’m
hooked on the WPT and the other stuff on
ESPN. I can’t think of another thing that
mixes strategy with emotion so much. It’s
amazing to watch how some of these
guys do it.
But I don’t care who you are; you still
need the cards. I was playing and Carlos
Mortensen was at my table – a really
amazing player (although he didn’t seem
to like my humor). He went out before I
did, and any table where Carlos goes out
before me is either fixed or cards have a
lot to do with it.
I think the bottom line is that these
www.bluffmagazine.com
 brad
garrett
guys are mathematical geniuses whereas
when I leave a tip I have to count on my
toes. My dad has an amazing mathemati-
cal brain, and I kinda have an idea of what
my odds on pulling a flush are on a two
suited flop, but I don’t know nearly
enough about math. You know, I work
really hard in my professional life and I
don’t want to have to work really hard and
study in this. And they’re like: “Well, you’ll
never have a great game,” and I’m fine
with that. Nine hours for me was one of
the biggest chargers I’ve had in a long
time. As an actor our job is to lie, but as a
poker player I don’t lie nearly enough. I’m
still trying to find my balls out there. You
gotta know when.
What I don’t get is how they read peo-
ple. How a guy can sit there for four min-
utes and stare at a guy and throw away big
slick suited and be right. Or throw away
two tens and the guy had two jacks.
Is poker your main hobby?
You know, it’s sad to say that it is,
although without sounding corny, my fami-
ly is my hobby. I got two little kids and we
love to fish and go to the beach and collect
lizards and things like that. I was on the
show for nine years and it’s a horrendous
schedule. They’re 14 or 15 hour days and
my kids basically grew up with me doing
the show. Now I have the opportunity to
dive into their lives. I can make them
breakfast and take them to school and stuff
like that. So I play when I can. I used to play
every week in the home game, but now I’m
lucky if I play once every two months,
because I’m involved in other stuff. But hey,
if I could I’d play every night. Believe me,
when I walk into the Commerce Casino, I
can’t tell you how excited they are to see
me, because they know someone’s gonna
take my thousand. I think I’ve left that
place winning about once!
76 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
Where do you play mostly – when
you get the chance?
I don’t do the celebrity home games.
When I’m not working I hang out with as
few celebrities as I can. Let’s be honest,
how many hours can you talk about your-
self? I hang out with the guys I came up
with in the restaurant business. My
cousin is my road manager; he was with
me at the tournament in Vegas. He won
his way into the WSOP by winning a big
tournament at Sony Studios. And he’s a
much better player than I am, but he went
out before me. When I’m in Vegas, I play at
the Mirage or the Wynn. Again, I probably
don’t have any right to be playing there,
but I just love it.
Is everyone playing on the set now
when you go to do a movie?
Yeah, the poker craze… It’s funny to me
because, as I say, I’ve been playing about
20 years, but in the old days – 15 years ago
– when I worked in Vegas opening for the
different acts, all I played was 7-Card Stud.
I got friendly with some of the dealers and
they told me my game sucked and, second-
ly, they told me if I was going to play, I
should play Hold’em. I remember this
because when the dealers got off, that’s
what the dealers would play. And they
would say, “This is going to be the new
craze.” They told me this in the 80’s and
I didn’t listen. I just kept playing my 7-
Card Stud.
So is Hold’em now your best game?
It’s my favorite game. It’s the only game
I really want to play. The problem is that
when we play our home games, our ages
are vastly different and some guys like to
play their crazy games, but my cousin and
I (who are purer) want to play Hold‘em.
But it’s a dealer’s choice evening so it goes
around. What’s funny is that one evening
we said, “It’s gonna be Hold’em only,” and
there were a couple of guys who didn’t
even really know the game, but it was the
best night we ever had. The guy who won
that night left with $1,100, which he’s
never won in the 20 years of our
home games.
Are you gonna play in the Series
again?
I’d love to. If I’m not working I’m gonna
be there.
Just the Main Event or some of the
side events too?
Whatever I can get into. I did the WPT
celebrity thing and sat next to Phil Ivey.
Speaking of which, he needs to take some
happy pills. I mean why is he miserable?
The guy’s a genius, he’s making a good
living, he’s got a beautiful wife. Take out
the toothpick and smile!
You got anything in the pipeline
work wise?
I’m gonna be working with Matthew
Broderick and Nathan Lane. We’re all star-
ring in The Odd Couple on Broadway. We
open in October and run till Jan 1st. I’ll be
playing Marie De Cop, the poker player!
Every act opens with five guys playing
poker (It ain’t Hold’em). Life’s ironic. I
have a lousy game, but I end getting a job
playing a poker player. That’s what’s great
about show business: you can fantasize
and lie and still pick up a check.
www.bluffmagazine.com
 INTRODUCING

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 BEACH, BODOG BABES AND SNOOP DOG:
BODOG.COM SALUTES THE TROOPS

THE BEST LEI

OF YOUR LIFE o you’re hanging in

S
Honolulu, Hawaii,
at the Kahala
Mandarin Oriental
Hotel, lei around
your neck, the
ocean on one side
and the Waialae Country Club
(home of the Sony Open Golf
Championship) on the other, and
you’re surrounded by celebrities
and a sea of beautiful women.
You’ve already partied at a rocking
luau (and slept off the hangover),
enjoyed cocktails from your private
cabana at the beach, and watched a
celebrity poker tournament. At the
moment, beautiful women are
bringing you drinks as you hang at
Waikiki Beach, watching a comedy
show and concert headlined by the
rap legend Snoop Dogg. No, this
isn’t a dream – the alarm isn’t
about to go off. This was you clos-
ing out a classic three days at the
‘Bodog Salutes the Troops’ charity
event.
Here’s what your weekend
looked like…
Thursday, the event kicked off

An Army Fan shows his support. Fans get wild during the concert. Colin Quinn cracks jokes in the VIP
Lounge.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BODOG

80 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 with a spectacular oceanside luau
– complete with a roast pig and an
erupting ice sculpture volcano –
compliments of the weekend’s
host, Bodog.net. These guys know
how to party, and this luau proved
it. Who doesn’t get off on celebri-
ty-watching (Colin Quinn, Estella
Warren, Peter Berg, Paul
Rodriguez, and Shannon
Elizabeth, to name a few who
made the weekend), fire-tossing
islanders (most of whom looked
like they’d just been released by
the Green Bay Packers, only with
a deep tan), and being mistaken
for the country singer Randy
Travis (though I’m actually much
better looking)? And don’t forget
the cocktails, island girls and one
of the most beautiful backdrops in
paradise. This secluded bay on
Oahu was so beautiful, in fact,
that you are actually willing to
forget that people think you’re a
weathered country singer.
Besides, maybe later in the
evening you’ll treat them to a
tune or two.
Friday morning, on the day of
the poker tournament, there was
the opportunity to soak in the
atmosphere of the Mandarin,
allow the Polynesian paralysis
(the intense urge to nap) to set in,
and even throw back a couple of
early afternoon cocktails before
the day’s events fired up. Enter
Matt Savage, world-renowned
poker tournament director, and
let the games begin. The game of
choice was No Limit Texas
Hold’em, featuring 17 celebrities
(including poker stars Josh Arieh
and David Williams), ten
Bodog.net players, and over 60
U.S. troops all playing to support
Uncle Sam.
After a stroll down the red car-
pet and a quick poker tutorial for
some of the celebrity players, the
games were under way. The tone
was quickly set by our men and
women in uniform; celebrity play-
ers started dropping like flies
after only a few minutes. Having
accurately described his level of
play earlier in the day as ‘awful’,
Carson Daly (Last Call with
Carson Daly) was the first casual-
ty, and was followed shortly there-
after by a long list of famous com-
82 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
rades. Eventually, the stars, both
experienced and novice players
alike, all fell prey to the aggres-
sive military players. Soon, the
loser’s lounge was chock full of
shell-shocked celebrities, who
were trying to explain what went Snoop Dogg
wrong out there. All signs point- hypes the
ed to the intensity of the military crowd.
players.
“I wasn’t particularly intimi-
dated by anything other than
their focus,” said Peter Berg
(director of the hit film Friday
Night Lights and the upcoming
The Kingdom) referring to the
troops he played against. “These
are guys that are very friendly,
very polite, but laser-focused.”
Berg, who normally plays in a
weekly game with cast and crew,
probably would have faired bet-
ter at a table of actors trying to
score a gig in his next
feature! Instead, he
was seated across
from a marine pilot
hell-bent on taking his
chips. Other celebri-
ties found themselves
in similar predica-
ments. However, three Peter Berg
stars managed to out- congratulates
last the rest of the Estella Warren
Hollywood pack, earn- for winning.
ing a spot at the final
table. They were Jorge
Garcia (Lost), Estella
Warren (Planet of the
Apes) and Shannon Elizabeth
(American Pie).
Of the two professional players
at the tournament, Arieh and
Williams, only Arieh made it to
the final table, but both were
stoked to be participating in the
weekend’s festivities. After the
grueling World Series of Poker,
they were glad to be relaxing in
Hawaii, and to have the opportu-
nity to show their support for our
servicemen and women. “If the
troops weren’t doing what they
are doing for us, we might not be
able to play poker at all. We might
not have that freedom to play
poker,” said Williams. Arieh was
equally excited about playing
with the troops. “It’s a chance to
play and have guys that we
look up to every day look up to
us,” he said. Tim and the Bodog Girls stop for a picture.
www.bluffmagazine.com

Carson Daly after he got knocked out.
As more and more players went
out, the marines proved to be the
dominant poker strategists in the
armed forces. A sea of red marine
core shirts filled the remaining
tables as the final table drew closer.
But true to the unpredictable nature
of the sport, this would be no sign of
their future success. Though the
marines stormed the beach and had
a major show of force early in the
tournament, when it came to taking
home the hardware, they would all
fall short.
The performances of the celebri-
ty players early in the day provided
an equally poor read of how the
final table would play out. If the first
half was any indication of things to
come, a celebrity would not be the
last man standing. Then, out of
nowhere came our champion – and
it wasn’t who you might think.
Throughout the day, there was a
lot of debate and conversation over
the advantages that different peo-
ple might bring (aside from actual
poker skill) to the table. Does it
help to be the funniest cat at the
table? “No,” as Colin Quinn (for-
merly of SNL) would tell you. Does
being an actor help you tune in to
other peoples’ tells at the table? No, again,
was the obvious answer. The question we
forgot to ask about was looks. In most sports,
looking good in warm-ups doesn’t usually
help once the game starts (I know, because
otherwise I’d be playing in the NHL right
now). But looking good in this tournament
seemed to offer a tremendous advantage,
judging by the final table of celebrities. (OK,
so Jorge Garcia making the final table might
screw with that theory a bit, but he also
manages to maintain his offensive-lineman
build while stranded on a desert island on
Lost. Figure that one out…)
In the end, professional poker skills, mil-
itary training, and even being well-fed lost
out to beauty. Estella Warren, the hot
model/actress known for her role in Planet
of the Apes, quietly made her way through
all comers and at the final table, and
took down Shane Woods of the U.S.
Army to win the tournament.
Shane’s A-4 failed to hold up against
Warren’s K-Q and pair of queens
turned out to be enough to get the
job done. The model takes home the
trophy.
From the location to the people
involved, and especially the cause
behind the weekend – a charity
event for the Fisher House
Foundation, an organization that provides
homes for military families during the hos-
pitalization of a loved one – it was a home-
run competition. Whether you went out first
or made the final table, the Bodog crew
made sure that you had a rock star weekend.
But the fun didn’t end when the tourna-
ment was over. Saturday night was the big
comedy show and concert at Waikiki. There
were comedy performances from three of
the best comedians in the world – Wanda
Sykes, Paul Rodriguez and Colin Quinn –
combined with live music by Biff Naked
and the legendary (for music, movies and
run-ins with the law) Snoop Dogg – helped
us all forget our bad beats and focus on fun.
Sunday was tougher than the other days.
I sat there in my private cabana on the
beach staring out at the ocean, knowing
that soon it would all come to an end. What
would I do next weekend? Would Bodog be
throwing another party, and how could I
get looped in? If not, the celebrities would
all be gone, along with the Bodog girls and
guys twirling fire sticks. How the hell
would I get back to this place – easily the
happiest place on earth? I could either
gamble online at Bodog, become a famous
rapper (I actually had thoughts of exchang-
ing my golf clubs for a turntable), or learn
to twirl fire sticks myself (though I’m thin-
ner and paler than most of those
Polynesian lads). Since I couldn’t figure it
all out and still haven’t, I just decided to
enjoy the moment and trudge through the
day, oceanside in my cabana. At that
moment, life was as it should be. I flipped
trough the latest issue of Bluff and looked
up every so often to drink in the beautiful
setting or to grab a waiter to fetch me a
Lava Flow (the tasty Hawaiian frozen
cocktail). Little did I know that, later that
evening, I would be crammed in a redeye
flight next to some swamp donkey that
looked like she slept in a tanning bed till
she was 40, chewed on rocks every day till
she was 50, and embraced every possible
conspiracy theory on earth, which she
gladly forced on me during our flight, till
she was 60.
I miss the Bodog girls…

84 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 I Went to Vegas
~ and ~
All I got was this
LOUSY
BRACELET By Jennifer Tilly
A
re you guys playing in the WSOP this year?” asks
David Wells. “Because if you are, you really need to
go down to the Rio and buy your tickets. They’re
limiting the number of entrants to 5,000 this year,
and I hear they’re almost filled up.”
Ever since my Dad turned on the computer and
amped up the Binion’s World Series of Poker game,
I was hooked. In the beginning, I enjoyed roaming the casino,
going up to the steakhouse, and out the back door, where I would
pass a virtual pawnshop, and empty out my pockets to see if I had
something to pawn. Sometimes I would end up at the lake where
I would walk off the pier into the water, whereupon the topless
sunbathing girls would sit up and laugh at me.
But eventually I discovered the joys of pure poker. I loved sitting
at the table where players with bad Texas accents would say col-
orful things like “Not all trappers wear fur hats,” and “You’re
gonna go home with nothin’ but a story.” Sometimes I’d answer
them back. “You got that right,” I’d mutter grimly, counting my
winnings.
When I managed to parlay my 5,000 into 10,000 through super
aggressive Stud poker playing, I would run over to the World
Series of Poker desk to see if I could play. More often than not the
bored girl working the desk would say, “Sorry the tournament has
already started,” whereupon I would dejectedly slink away to lose
my money at roulette.
86 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
But once in a while she would say the magic words: “Are you
ready to begin the tournament?”
Am I ready? Hell yes! And I would be instantly transported to a
thrilling world of green felt, to the accompaniment of my favorite
words, “Shuffle Up and Deal.” It took me years before I figured out
you could bypass the bored girl and simply scroll up to the top of
the computer, tap on WSOP, and enter it that way.
Then I became a true poker degenerate. After a few weeks of
non-stop playing, a cartoon man appeared on screen. “Welcome to
the second day!” He announced. The second day? I didn’t even
know there was a second day. After that, it was short matter of
time until I’d cracked the third day, and then the final table, where
I would be greeted by a cartoon replica of either Johnny Moss or
Doyle Brunson. “Hello,” they’d say, amused that I’d made it
that far.
The first time I won, I sat there for almost an hour, admiring the
table full of money, with my two winning cards on top and the
beautiful WSOP gold bracelet on the bottom. Now seven million
dollars, and seven virtual gold bracelets later, I’m bored. I’m
ready to move onto the real thing.
Besides, Phil says my computer poker prowess proves nothing.
It just shows that I’ve neuro-netted the machine. And that is true,
kind of. I’ve discovered little tricks like if you bet big on the flop,
and the computer calls you, if you bet even bigger on the turn, it
will usually fold. Also Phil says the other players are idiots, doing
www.bluffmagazine.com
 “The first time I won, I sat there for
almost an hour, admiring the table full
of money, with my two winning cards
on top and the beautiful WSOP gold
bracelet on the bottom”
things like calling all-in bets with hands they shouldn’t even be
playing.
I don’t want to play with computer chips any more, I want to
play with real people, people who steam when you beat them, who
have read Sklansky’s The Theory of Poker, who don’t say the same
corny five phrases over and over again. I want a million dollars I
can spend; I want a gold bracelet I can wear.
“Baby,” I say, “Let’s go buy our tickets.”
Now it is July. We are landing in Las Vegas. The plane skids
and bounces on the runway just like the cartoon plane in the video
game. After the initial screams, everyone cheers. It seems like a
good omen.
As we are waiting for our luggage, Phil gets out his cell phone
to book a room at the Bellagio. He is perturbed to find out there
are no rooms available. “This has never happened before,” he
says, puzzled.
“Tell them it’s me!” I mouth.
“What?” says Phil.
”Tell them it’s me.”
“Oh, right,” says Phil. He is still not used to playing the celebri-
ty card.
The answer comes back in the negatory. Not even for Jennifer
Tilly do they have a room.
“I bet you would have a room for President Bush,” says Phil
argumentatively. “Oh come on, if President Bush called and
wanted a room you would have one. He hangs up. “They say even
if President Bush wanted a room they couldn’t accommodate him.”
“Well that’s ridiculous!” I say crankily. “They would just make
someone move. They would be like…oh I’m so sorry Mr. High
Roller, apparently the computer has lost your reservation for the
presidential suite. Can we put you up at the Mirage instead?”
We end up at the Rio where the tournament is being held. The
Rio is a jolly, family friendly, place where all the employees seem
like extras from Fame. At a moment’s notice, cocktail waitresses
leap on top of the slot machines to belt out a lively rendition of You
Can Leave Your Hat On to the accompaniment of ringing bells and
all of the bartenders juggle, a la Tom Cruise in Cocktail.
The staff is super friendly. The cheery girl behind the counter
books us in for a month, and puts us on a waiting list for the
Ipanema Tower, which is a little closer than the Masquerade
Tower, where we stay the first night.
When the call comes the next day to move us, I can’t say we are
sorry. Our non-smoking room smells like someone removed the
88 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
ashtrays five minutes before we arrived. Our new room is much
more spacious, and the layout is better. The bathroom is
sequestered from the bedroom, which means one person can sleep
undisturbed by the person putting on makeup (That would be me).
There is a dance convention going on at the same time as the
WSOP. We are constantly running into spangly overly cosmeticed
tykes in the elevator nonchalantly swinging oversize trophies.
This necessitates us saying things like, “Did you win that? Wow,
you must be talented!” Unlike WSOP bracelets, in the kiddie
dance world there are enough trophies for everyone.
In the month leading up to the Main Event, there is a tournament
almost every day. Phil has decided to play all the ones that are tel-
evised. His goal is to make a final table. Much as I like to copy Phil,
most of these games I’ve never heard of, like Razz and Omaha. I
decide to set my own goal, which is not to play like a donkey.
In the first two tournaments I don’t do too well. Let’s leave it at
that. Phil, on the other hand, makes it into the money twice. At
night we play until five in the morning. Phil is cleaning up in the
cash games, and I’ve discovered something I’m good at: satellites.
The money I’m making in the satellites is somewhat offsetting the
cost of the buy-ins.
The night before the Ladies tournament, I am up until 5:00 am,
finishing a satellite. I take first place, and this time I have so many
chips that nobody ventures to suggest a split. (This has happened
many times, and I’m usually too polite to say no) We have drawn
a little crowd of spectators. A man named Tommy keeps pointing
at me yelling, “My money is on you! You are going to win the
event tomorrow!! I want 20 percent of you!” Even though it
would make me feel like a pro to have a backer, I now have more
than enough money to cover the buy-in, so I decline the offer and
go to bed.
Phil is already asleep. I want to wake him up, and say, “Guess
what? I won thirty-one hundred dollars, and didn’t split!” but he
has a big day tomorrow, so I don’t bother him. Phil is one of the
last twenty remaining in a no limit tournament. He hadn’t been
planning to play in this one because he thought it wasn’t televised,
but then Antonio told him it was. Phil had been up all night amus-
ing himself with a fish, when Antonio showed up, fought his way
through the watching crowd, and told him the tournament was
about to start. So Phil bought a ticket, played until 3am, and now,
39 hours later, he gets to sleep. My minor victory can wait.
I wake up the next morning groggy and exhausted. I had been
planning to play in the Ladies’ No Limit but now I’m not so sure.
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Ever since I met Phil I wanted him to make a final table so I could
stand in the audience like Glenn Close in The Natural and cheer
him on. Now that it looks like it might finally happen, I would
hate to be stuck in another tournament dribbling away my chips.
But Phil tells me I have to enter the Ladies’. He thinks it would
be good for me to play with other women. I decide to do it. I have
been curious about the Ladies’ Event, which is a WSOP tradition.
It started out being a Mother’s Day affair, and sort of grew from
there. Every year there is talk of dismantling it on the basis of
discrimination. Annie Duke refuses to participate. “You’ll have an
edge,” Phil says.
Unlike the other tournaments, the Ladies’ starts at 11:00.
Because some of the women have planes to catch, it is structured
as a one-day event. There is a record attendance this year: 601;
three times the size of last year’s competition.
I find my table in a sea of perfume, brightly colored outfits, and
glittery hats. Everybody has given a great deal of thought to their
accessories. The chattering is deafening. When the tournament
director announces the start of the day, there are cheers and
applause. It’s like a baby shower without the gifts.
There is only one person at my table I recognize – CeCe
Mortensen, Carlos Mortensen’s wife. I usually know her as a
happy chirpy girl, dressed in pink, tripping around in high heels,
carrying a tiny fluffy dog, but today she is grim and wearing sun-
glasses. This Cecelia means business.
After a few hours players are dropping like flies and I have a siz-
able chip stack. One thing I’ve noticed about playing with
women: a lot of them don’t have that killer instinct. If they check
and you raise, they usually fold, like “oh I didn’t mean to get in
your way.” There is also a lot of apologizing going on. “You
should have won, you had the best hand…I just got lucky.” Or
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to raise your big blind…I had good
cards…honest!”
Just before dinner, however, I suffer a terrible beat. My pocket
aces vs. pocket jacks. Jack on the river. Wham! Phil defines
‘shortstack’ as having less than ten times the big blind. Well now
I have less than four times the big blind. I am discouraged, to say
the least. I go to dinner with Phil and Rob Fulop, and they spout
soothing clichés, like “Don’t worry, just wait for your moment and
go all in.”
And so I wait… Usually when I am low on chips I give up. I
hate being poor, so I say to myself “oh well, any two cards…” and
just toss it – but this time is different. I squeeze like I’ve never
squeezed before, and before I know it, we are approaching the
bubble. I am thrilled beyond belief. It’s always been my dream
to make it to “in the money”, just like Mimi Rogers, and now it
seems a distinct possibility.
The game slows to a crawl. There are about seven of us who are
shortstacked, and we are all determined to let someone else go out
ahead of us. When it finally happens there are cheers all around.
I order a drink. I have achieved my goal of cashing like a real
poker player.
Now all that remains is how best to dispose of my meager stack.
Oh look! A pocket pair! I take a sip of wine with one hand and
push all in with the other. Two callers. My pair miraculously
flops into a set. I triple up.
Suddenly all hell breaks loose. You know sometimes how you
fall into a time/space continuum that even you don’t understand?
I start getting these amazing cards – pocket kings, A-Q, pocket sev-
90 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
ens, pocket jacks – if people are foolhardy enough to call, I flop a
straight or a flush, and they go down like ninepins – I am felting
people left and right. My end of the table is swamped in chips. I
don’t have time to stack them; I can barely reach over them to pick
up my next phenomenal hand.
At one point, I look up to notice eight women staring at me
open-mouthed. Sometimes, on the computer, when I rake in a big
pot, my opponent drawls bitterly, “What? Are you sitting on a
horseshoe?” I realize THIS is what it feels like. I want to scream,
“Yes, yes!! I DO have a horseshoe up my ass!!” But instead I flip
over my cards to reveal pocket aces. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I just keep
getting these hands…”
And now they literally have to stop the game. I have so many
chips it is causing a problem. Two casino employees come rush-
ing over. They put my chips on little racks and carry them away to
color them down. After that things settle down slightly, but the
damage is done. I have become a chip leader. There are three
tables left.
Phil, in the meantime, has made the final table in his tourna-
ment. It’s kind of awful, because every time I hear cheers or
groans from that part of the room I think he has been eliminated.
But he hangs in there, and finally late in the evening it is just
down to him and Johnny Chan.
Now he has a bit of a break, and he comes over to see what’s
going on with me. Carlos Mortensen is there also, proudly watch-
ing Cecelia. This causes an announcement to be made: “Some of
the girls are upset because they don’t have professional poker
player boyfriends. Please gentlemen, NO COACHING!”
It is an unnecessary admonition. Phil’s remarks fall into two
categories: the totally incomprehensible: “Remember, you’re
snowboarding down the backside of a mountain…” and the use-
less: “Baby, you look hot with all those chips in front of you!”
Phil’s heads up match begins and he disappears. I lose interest
in my own game. I can hear laughing and cheering. I throw away
my hands and stand on a chair trying to get a glimpse of the action.
At one point we have a tiny break and I rush over to see what is
going on. Phil is nowhere to be found. I experience a rush of fear,
and then I locate him – he is rolling around on the floor.
Eventually he goes out and I can concentrate again. We are now
down to the final table. It is about four in the morning. We have
been playing for seventeen hours. Although the Ladies’
Tournament was supposed to be a one-day event, they didn’t
expect so many entrants. ESPN is buzzing around, pleading for us
to adjourn until tomorrow so they can rustle up a camera crew and
film the action.
I’m all for it. I’m so exhausted I’m making stupid mistakes. At
one point I take so long to call a reraise that everyone thinks I’ve
lost my mind. I think I have to call two hundred and fifty thou-
sand, which is almost my entire stack. I am counting and recount-
ing my chips while calculating my outs under the table. Finally,
I decide to go ahead and gamble. Well the flop doesn’t help and I
lose. Imagine my surprise when the dealer plucks three chips off
my massive stack. I was only raised two and a half thousand dol-
lars, NOT two hundred and fifty. I realize I desperately need sleep.
Most of the other girls, however, want to keep playing. One of
them has a plane to catch, and the others, for whatever reason, do
not want to come back. So we play on.
One of my toughest opponents is Theresa Chang. She totally has
my number. Every time I bluff, she reraises me. Sometimes I fold,
www.bluffmagazine.com
sometimes I reraise her, and she folds. Finally I look
down at pocket sevens. I raise, Theresa reraises.
Hoping to shut her down I go all in.
Unfortunately, she calls. I know the ride is
over when she rolls pocket queens.
But a funny thing happens on the way to
Elimination. I runner runner my way to a
gutshot straight. I can’t even believe it. I am
staring at that eight on the river like it’s a halluci-
nation. But it is no hallucination. Theresa is gone,
and since she was one of the chip leaders, I am now the
girl with the most cake.
The next to go is Angel Word; the one who had the plane
to catch. “Look Honey,” says Phil, “everyone who wanted to
keep playing is out of the tournament.” Well, not everybody.
Carolyn Ancheta still wants to finish up tonight, but we take a
revote, and this time majority rules. Cece, Ann Le and I decide to
reconvene tomorrow.
It is 3pm the next day. I didn’t sleep much. As the chip leader
I am expected to win, but I know how quickly that can turn
around. If any of my opponents double up more than once, it’s an
almost even race. It would be my worst nightmare to go into the
final televised table with a monster chip lead and then lose all my
money. I know I have to be really focused.
A small crowd has gathered in the featured table area: some
friends of players, some of the ladies from LIPS and curiosity seek-
ers. I hope they’re not there to see me. I learned early on, I can
either play poker or be entertaining. I can’t do both. I resolve to
ignore them.
The end is swift and efficient. I lead out betting; the other girls
fold. Or they bet and I fold. It’s a little like a tango. Advance,
retreat, advance, retreat, culminating with someone picking up
the blinds. No one says anything.
“Whew,” says Johnny Grooms, at one point, trying to inject a lit-
tle drama for the audience. “You can cut the tension with a knife.”
Well, not really. I’m sure it’s pretty boring to watch.
There is a brief flurry of excitement when Carolyn goes all in
with pocket sevens. I call with an A-8. The board comes blank
and Carolyn doubles up. I’m not happy about that. I can’t afford
to let any of them get stronger.
The next confrontation is between Ann Le and Cecelia. CeCe
goes all in with pocket nines. Ann flops a straight to knock her
out of the tournament. I am relieved to see her go. Cecelia is
another tough cookie. Now there are only three of us.
Carolyn goes all in. I look down at A-7. Normally a no-brain-
er to call, but just a short time earlier, I lost with a better hand. Do
I really want to do that again? I push my cards around for a bit,
assailed by unreasonable doubt. Then I realize I’m being ridicu-
lous: I’m here to play poker. That’s all I can do. I can’t help how
the cards fall. The flop comes ace, blank, seven. Carolyn is out of
the game.
A little while later Ann goes all in with K-J. I call once again
with an A-7. Even though I have the better hand I’m positive she
is going to hit one of her cards and double up. Blank, blank,
blank, blank and blank. Unbelievable. I am staring at the cards
trying to see some pattern; some way, not immediately apparent,
in which I have lost the hand. Then I hear Johnny Grooms
announcing, “Jennifer Tilly has won the tournament!”
I start screaming. I am overcome with love for all the women
who have made it to the final table with me. I hug Ann Le. Phil
92 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
comes running over.
I hug Phil. Johnny
hands me the micro-
phone, and I try to make it
up to the spectators for being so
boring in the game by being extra
entertaining now. “This is better
than an Oscar!” I shriek. (Which real-
ly, I wouldn’t know. I have never won an
Oscar. But I have to imagine it is better.) The
audience laughs. I think of another sound bite.
“I had to win my own bracelet!” I bellow, “because
Phil said if he won one he was going to give it to his
MOTHER!” Phil is embarrassed. The audience laughs
some more. Johnny tries to get his mike back. I wrestle it
away from him. “I’m hooked on poker now,” I inform the ador-
ing crowd, “I’m not going to stop playing until I LOSE BACK ALL
THE MONEY I WON!!”
There, I’m done. I relinquish the mike. Now it’s time to pose
for hundreds of pictures with the gold bracelet, and the piles of
chips, and my two winning cards on the top, just like on the com-
puter game. Except this is real, and the gold bracelet is heavy, and
Phil is with me.
After all the interviews and photos, and people grabbing me, I
am drained. Phil goes back to his tournament, and I walk alone
through the casino towards the elevator. I pass Tommy from the
night before. He points at me yelling from across the room. “I
TOLD YOU YOU WERE GOING TO WIN, DIDN’T I TELL YOU? I
WANTED A PIECE OF YOU!”
I feel a shiver of superstition. The world suddenly seems an
unpredictable and dangerous place. If I can win a gold bracelet,
something very strange is happening in the universe, and I’m not
sure I want to be involved.
I go to our room where the blackout blinds make it a pool of per-
petual darkness. My photo is softly blinking all over the internet
and the phone is already starting to ring. I unplug the phone, go
to bed, and don’t leave the room for three days.
www.bluffmagazine.com
 ‘Stacked’.
As in the chips in front of you; the
cards in the deck; Pamela Anderson…
No wait, that’s something different. The Stacked
I’m talking about is the video game that may very
well change the way you play poker.
hat sets Stacked apart (other than its conno-
W
tative name) is Poki, the game’s highly
advanced A.I. (artificial intelligence) engine.
It’s based on a foundation of ten years of
expert game theory research at the
University of Alberta. And while it doesn’t
exactly ‘learn’ (that is, become smarter as
time goes by), it is set up to continually adapt to your play via ‘bots’.
Each bot is based on sets of rules and playing styles that
describe a particular pattern. For instance, the sophisticated
‘ZenBot’ factors entire tables of starting hands, each with driving
considerations of position, backed up with post-flop rules based on
which particular players are in front of and behind it. Stacked
mixes a whole squadron of such bots – which act differently in the
Limit, Pot-limit and No-limit Hold ‘Em formats – to create a seem-
ingly limitless number of underlying character-strategies.
As Tim Page, successful tourney player and CEO of 5,000ft (the
game’s Reno-based developer) puts it, “You’ve got to learn to really
play Hold‘em to consistently beat it,” meaning you’ll have to mix up
your own play. But you’ll also have to recognize deception, aggres-
94 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
sion, inexperience, randomness and the Sklansky factor (a mathe-
matical bent) in your opponents. If you get trigger happy and click
to speed through the action, it’ll minimize your ability to keep a
running mental inventory of the computer-based ‘NPCs’ (non-play-
er characters) you’ll see throughout single-player mode. Just like in
the real world, if you spot them at your table again, remembering
how they’ve played in the past could make a difference.
Not to be creepy about it, but all the computer characters you
run into will also be watching you! The more observant bots may
spot little nuances, like how often you look at your hole cards. (You
get a flash, then have to check them manually.) Or how you slam
your bet down with authority (using the analog stick). Or how you
play all your hands, always raising on the button or only playing
pocket pairs and high suited connectors.
Speaking of suited connectors, the player 5,000ft chose to rep-
resent the game is ‘Kid Poker’ himself, Daniel Negreanu. They cite
having sought out Daniel (he’s so friendly, ‘Negreanu’ seems too
formal) because he’s insightful, articulate, funny and great on
camera – literally an ambassador for the sport. And of course, his
dozens of top tournament wins and burgeoning fan base don’t hurt
www.bluffmagazine.com
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either. Basically, he’s the perfect choice to both represent the game
and teach advanced play within it.
In full video, Daniel instructs Poker School, from the basics
(blinds, flops, what beats what) up through advanced strategy
(implied pot odds, counterstrategies, post-flop moves with ‘the
other end of the deck’). Additionally, selecting the contextual ‘Ask
Daniel’ button analyzes your current position and offers advice
based on what he might do in your shoes. And third, players can
see thousands of ‘pro tips’ sprinkled throughout, which provide
pop-up assistance when a particular situation occurs. For instance,
detecting and informing you of a smart call based on the pot odds,
and then offering a link back to the Poker School clip clarifying
that term.
Daniel was apparently very involved in the creative process. But
he was also nice enough to invite a few famous poker buddies to
join him in the game. In his words, “You’ve got all the colors of
Benetton: You’ve got one young black dude [David Williams], a tall
Asian [Evelyn Ng], a petite blonde [Jennifer Harman], the all-
American sports guy [Erick Lindgren], the Spaniard [Carlos
Mortenson] and then you’ve got the bad-ass [Josh Arieh].” A pretty
diverse and impressive stable of well-respected young poker studs!
All seven pros went into the studio and worked with a real-live
director to capture their animated essences as best as possible;
www.bluffmagazine.com
their style, their moves, their gestures, their chip tricks, their ban-
ter. The result is – well, the only way to get a more immersive
experience would be to fly to Vegas with a hundred grand in your
pocket and challenge them face-to-face. In the meantime, you’ll
just have to settle for the most realistic computer-based, TV-like
multitable tournaments out there.
Since Karl Icon owns and finances both Myelin Media (the
game’s publisher) and (conveniently enough) the Stratosphere,
some action happens in a tight 3D replica of the Strat’s famous
sky-high revolving restaurant. Peering out at the Vegas skyline,
you’ll notice that the time of day changes as the tournament wears
on. Amidst any of the backdrops, the tournament tables will break
and players will move, just as with live play. During that time, the
thorough Poki engine will actually play out every action at all the
surrounding background tables. After all, the NPCs have to learn
about the other players (human or not) in case they bump into
them again later on in the tournament!
Stacked also has a huge, scalable online component, in which
thousands of players will be able to compete simultaneously (with-
in each particular platform). Stacked Masters is a system of
leagues, tourneys and brackets. A weighted point system will rank
players (depending on their finish/overall competition) for brag-
ging rights within the online community. You’ll be able to create
private tournaments with a guest list. And, private or public, big
wins will garner you entrance into other tournaments and cham-
pionship rings to be worn by your online avatar!
Your avatar is whatever customizable character you create. On
the other hand, if you happen to see Daniel, Erick, Evelyn or any
of the other stars online, it’s really them! Online play won’t include
a suspension-of-disbelief-busting EyeToy window revealing you
playing in your boxers while eating Frosted Flakes. But you will be
able to voice chat (that is, trash talk) if you have a headset acces-
sory for your system.
Speaking of systems, one of the features we’re most excited
about is the PS2/PSP interactivity. Via an ordinary USB cable,
you’ll be able to share your character progress/information back
and forth. So you can literally take your game with you anywhere!
Cardhouse regulars, online junkies, serious gamers and poker
newbies alike should look for Stacked with Daniel Negreanu on
shelves this Fall for XBox, PC, PS2 and PSP. And be sure to check
out planetstacked.com for more information.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 97
 WISDOM implied odds
WHERE’S MY OVERLAY?
BY CARL ‘THE DEAN’ SAMPSON
ny professional poker player will tell you how diffi-
A
cult it is to estimate your implied odds when decid-
ing whether to continue in a hand or not. This
process is even trickier on the internet, where the
speed of play is substantially quicker than live
play. I’ve observed countless players, even experi-
enced pros, make error after error when attempt-
ing to assess the merits of continuing in a hand.
A lot has been said on the subject of implied odds without fully
underlining how tricky a subject it really is. There are many factors
at work when attempting to estimate the future size of a pot. For
instance, the overall caliber of your opponents will have a substantial
effect on any future action that you’re likely to get if you hit your
hand. Good players are far less likely to pay you off and the implied
odds that you thought you were receiving on the flop may not have
been there at all.
The quality of the opposition is rarely discussed when attempting
to debate the subject of implied odds, and yet it is by far the most
important factor to take into account. Another crucial element in the
problem is the type of hand that you are drawing to, and how con-
cealed it is. Flush draws are far more obvious than straight draws,
and straight draws also differ widely when it comes to how concealed
they are. Gut-shots and double-belly-buster straight draws will drag
more money into the pot on average than an open-ended draw, which
is far easier for your opponents to spot.
When you couple this with the complexity of all the different play-
er-types that you will encounter at the poker table, you can see we
have the makings of a very thorny subject. Two different players in
the exact same position, with the same hand, same flop and same
pot size, may play the situation completely differently.
I have always been a very keen poker student as well as a very
active player. During my studies, I’ve never been afraid to use con-
cepts and principles from other, non-poker related fields of endeav-
or. I’ve always believed that if you are flexible in your thinking, then
important facts and ideas can emerge in areas where most people
would fail to look.
One such example involves horseracing and the work of profes-
sional gamblers in that field. One very successful professional-bettor
friend of mine has been using a very successful handicapping sys-
tem for years. His system provides him with very accurate odds for
horses in certain types of races. However, he once revealed to me that
he will not get involved with a bet unless he has a significant
overlay.
For example, if his handicapping system showed that a horse in a
certain race was an 11:1 chance (I have selected this price because it
represents a gut-shot draw), he would not bet if he could only obtain
98 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
12:1 or 13:1 with a bookie or betting exchange. His reasons are that
the information that goes into the odds compilation is incomplete
and the 11:1 is only an estimate, and could therefore be inaccurate.
This means that the price of 12 or 13:1 may be insufficient to provide
him with an overlay. This problem of incomplete information also
applies to poker, because we cannot see our opponents’ cards (at
least I never get to see them). On many occasions, we simply do not
know how much it will cost us to play on, or how much more money
will subsequently enter the pot.
Imagine, if you will, that you are seated in the big blind with 7-5
in a multi-way un-raised pot. The flop comes A-6-3 rainbow. The
small blind bets out and it is now on you. Let’s say there are four
limpers and the small blind calls as well. The pot is now offering you
7:1 and it is 11:1 to hit your hand. This is a very complex problem
because all sorts of factors are at work here.
1. Will my hand win the pot if it improves?
2. My call will not close the betting.
3. Are my opponents capable of paying me off if I hit the hand?
4. My hand could get counterfeited and I could end up splitting the
pot with another straight.
5. What types of players are to act after me?
6. Is the pot raised or not?
7. Does the flop texture indicate that a call will likely get raised?
The list could go on. It is fair to say that no player in the world has
the ability to accurately calculate implied odds in Limit Hold’em on
a consistent basis, especially in complex scenarios and in speeded-
up internet play. In analyzing this problem, I would take a leaf out of
my friend’s book and refuse to call unless I could be fairly certain of
a substantial overlay. The two most important things to consider in
this situation are.
1. How likely am I to get raised if I call?
2. Will the pot reach a level that is substantially more than the
minimum 11 small bets that I currently need for the play to
break even?
The closer you are in your estimation, the better player you are. No
two situations are the same because no two table-lineups are the
same. As always, there is no substitute for table awareness.
Unfortunately, this means a lot of hard work – but who ever said
poker was easy.
Carl Sampson is a 37-year-old professional poker player. He is also
an ex professional Blackjack player and author of Shuffle
Tracking Report.
www.bluffmagazine.com
 WISDOM ask clonie

Got a question for Clonie? Drop her a line at

Clonie@Bluffmagazine.com. You can also play poker against her at
www.fulltiltpoker.com.
Clonie, Clonie,
I have a problem playing hands out of position when
Some of the players that I play with on a regular basis are very good
I don’t flop anything. It seems like when I bet my oppo-
at reading people and finding tells. I never seem to have any idea when
nents always call, and when I check they bet. What can
people are bluffing. How can I become better at reading people?
I do to improve the way I play these hands?
- PokaJoe
- Brett P.
Los Angeles
PokaJoe,
This will depend a lot on the type of players you are playing against and
Brett, the size of the game you are playing. In a bigger game, you are more like-
Most players, even many professionals, have a prob-
ly to find tricky players who may give off false tells in order to try to trick
lem playing hands out of position when they don’t flop
you; however, you will rarely, if ever, find this caliber of player in the
anything. Sometimes even when they do flop some-
smaller games. The best thing that you can do is to try to pay very close
thing! The thing to remember is that position is every-
attention to a player’s demeanor when they make a big play. If they end
thing in poker. Try to avoid playing hands unless you
up having to show a bluff, then you will know what they tend to do when
have position. If the hand is so good that you have to
bluffing. Are they rigidly staring at the pot? Are they watching TV, talk-
play it, then be sure to play it aggressively. If you don’t
ing to the waitress, or talking to the other players? These things are cru-
flop anything, and you have already checked and folded
cial, and you will need to pay attention when you are not in the hand in
once or twice, try a good sized check raise. If you play
order to catch these things. Practice putting people on hands when you
with opponents who recognize that you have check
are not playing the actual hand. It takes experience to do this, but the
folded in the past, they will probably lay down a hand
trick is to make educated decisions on what they might have, based on
here. The key is to mix up your play. In order for this
the patterns that you are observing. The other thing you can do is to fig-
to work, you will have to show that you will also check
ure out how you act when you are either bluffing or you have a big hand.
raise when you have made a good hand after the flop.
Most players act the same way; this is the basis for the multitude of com-
Playing out of position is tricky. Mixing up your game
mon tells you can read about in all the poker books out there. Being
and never letting your opponents know where you are
aware when you are playing – aware of both yourself and your opponents
is the key to successfully playing these hands.
– is the key to making winning decisions in poker.

Clonie,
I am currently primarily a No Limit Hold’em cash game player, but I am considering play-
ing more tournaments. What kind of adjustment do I need to make to be successful at this?
— Sara R.
Denver

Sara,
The biggest difference between cash game play and tournament play is the escalating blinds.
In a cash game, it would not be a bad strategy to just wait for a good hand and play a very tight
game. In most games, this style would be a winning style. In a tournament, however, the blinds
increase on a regular basis which means that the amount of chips you have in comparison to
the blinds and the antes decreases rapidly. In order to play successfully, at certain points in the
tournament you will have to open your game up and play a wider variety of hands. I would sug-
gest that you read as many tournament strategy books as you can find. These will give you a
variety of differing strategies that you can use to become a winning tournament player.

100 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 WISDOM in their head

In Their Head:
The Grinder
Mike Mizrachi takes us
through some interesting
hands he’s played recently
remember the hand that started my run. It was December 2004 in

I
the Festa al Lago at the Bellagio. The guy under the gun went all in
for about 40,000 with pocket jacks; the guy next to him just flat
called with pocket kings. I looked down at pocket aces and made it
100,000 to go. The big blind also held pocket kings and went all in –
he had about 450,000 – and I called with my 250,000 or so in chips.
It was great. We had a four way all in and two guys were drawing
dead! I won a huge pot, and I think that was really the start of my
career. I remember feeling this amazing rush and I haven’t stopped since.
There’s no better feeling in poker than busting a pair of aces with your
small suited connectors. Always remember their value against opponents
with big overpairs. If the flop hits you, you’re going to make a big pot, and
if it doesn’t, well… just toss ’em away. I was playing the WSOP and had 2z
3z, knowing my opponent had pocket aces. It’s just instinct – he was a tight
player, and I just knew it. I flat-call a raise of 150 – this is early on in the
tournament – because I know if I hit the hand I’m going to bust him. The
flop comes 9-2-3 rainbow. He bets out 450 and I quickly make it 1,150, and
he goes all-in for 5,300. I call saying, “Your overpair’s no good.”
The strangest hand of poker I’ve played recently was at the Main Event
in the Ultimate Poker Challenge at the Plaza. I’m raising every hand. I look
down at 7-7. There was this kid – I think he’d won his seat in an online satel-
lite – I kind of felt sorry for him. I raise preflop and he just flat calls. The
flop comes 2-5-7 rainbow. I bet out 300, he makes it 700, I make it 2,100, he
makes it 7,000, I make it 17,000 and he goes all in for 30,000. It was so
strange – he turned over pocket sixes. He said to me, “I didn’t think you had
a hand. I thought I had you beat.” How could he think I had no hand after
I’d raised him four times? These kids are funny when they try to
outplay you.
I actually won a $3,000 event at the Ultimate Poker Challenge. I was
heads up with Kathy Leibert. I had about 260,000 in chips; she had about
60,000. Kathy raises 12,000 preflop. I just flat call with Qz 8z. The flop
comes 10-7-8. I knew she had A-K in her hand, so I just barked, “All-in”. She
was thinking about this for a long time, asking, “What do you have?” So I
said to her, “Nothing. I just planned on going all in regardless of what came
on the flop.” She looked at me suspiciously, but ended up calling with
A-K high.
I don't want to give away too much about my game here, but there are so
many situations in which you can talk people into a fold or a call. It all
depends on the situation you're in, and on what you have in your hand and
the quality of your opponents. There's a different remark for every occa-
sion, and sometimes, of course, it's best to just keep your mouth shut.

102 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 WISDOM omaha tips

The pot’s the limit by Shawn Rice

Shawn Rice is a very successful profession-
al player, who is best known for taking 2nd in
the $2000 No-Limit event at the 2003 WSOP.
While his No-Limit tournament game is excel-
lent, he prides himself in his Pot Limit Omaha
cash game.
1. My good friend Paul Wolfe taught me
the most important rule in poker. KYP(bet-
ter known as “Know Your Player”). If you
know what your player is going to do, or not
do, you can use this information to your
favor. If you are 100% sure that when you
check, they will bet for you, it’s a big advan-
tage.
2. It is best to only raise from good posi-
tion. Being last to act in PLO is a big advan-
tage. If first to act and you flop top two pair,
you are often in big trouble. However, if it’s
been checked all the way around to you and
you have top two pair, you can be confident
that it is the best hand.
3. Don’t overplay aces preflop. AAxx is
only a 2 to 1 favorite against 4 random cards.
Also, by raising preflop with them, you are
basically telling your opponent you have
them. The only raise I like to make with
Aces is a Re-Raise (assuming I can get about
half of my stack out there in doing so.
4. Be certain you understand the math
involved. PLO is a big time drawing game
and you want to make sure you are getting
the right price to make your hand. Be famil-
iar with the odds against the board pairing
with 2 cards to come (about 2 to 1), and how
many outs you need to have to call a pot size
bet if they are all in. (15 outs is a 2 to 1 dog
and you are getting 2 to 1 if you call a pot
size bet). Do your homework, you only have
to learn it once and you will know it forever.
5. Buy in with enough chips to be able to
protect your hand on the flop, If you are
playing a $2/$4 blind PLO game you want to
keep at least $120 in front of you at all
times. This will afford you the ability to keep
many of the draws out if the pot is not dou-
ble or triple raised preflop.
6. Try and see as many flops as you can,
for as cheap as you can. I like to see all flops
with A-A, K--K or even Q--Q in my hand. Be
careful however with lower pairs, as its
highly possible for you to flop a set only to
be beaten by your opponents higher set.
7. Try and see a lot of flops with “connec-
tors” like 6789, or even hands with a gap in
them(5789) When playing gapper type
hands, make sure the gaps are on the small
end, not on the big end(like 5679),cause
these hands are often harder to improve.
These type of hands seem to make for this
biggest pots cause often 2 players will make
the nut straight and get all the chips in, the
one with the live flush draw will be free-
rolling for the whole pot.
8. I love to see most flops with a suited
ace in my hand. I know if I am drawing to
my suit it’s the nuts. On the other hand, be
very careful when you are drawing to a King
or lower flush. Often it is not very good for
you. A big advantage of playing with an ace
in your hand is if you have A{ T{ 9x 8z
and the flop comes something like 884 you
know you have the best kicker and if you are
up against someone with 44 in their hand
you are not a big underdog with 10 outs and
two cards to catch it on. This also puts them
in “no mans land” on 4th and 5th street
because they are not sure what you need to
make your full house, which puts them in
lots of danger.
9. Remember there is very little bluffing
in PLO. Often times a few players will be
drawing to beat your hand or you will be
drawing to beat theirs, so if the board has
the 3 card flush or the board is paired, you
had better respect it.
10. A double raise almost always means
there are aces out. You want to stay away
from having pairs in your hand and having
an ace in your hand in this situation. The
best hands to play against aces are your
“connectors” like 6789. You are not that big
of an underdog and if you hit your 2 pair,
maybe even a set or straight you know
where you stand and the aces have no clue
where you stand.
You can use this
information against
me at Ultimate
bet.com, where I play
under the username
WestTexasMan.

AMATEUR POKER LEAGUE

for 01/01/2005 - 07/27/2005
No. Name Results 13. Robert II 18032.1
1. Greg 23810.85 14. Lewis 17961.85
2. Monica 22769.45 15. Chris 17488.8
3. Roger 20835.85 16. Alan 17251.8
4. Keith 20338.25 17. Ron 17053.5
5. Dana 20149.6 18. Ronald 16768.3
6. Sheila 19511.75 19. Greg 16745.15
7. Jerry 19406.55 20. Jean 16743.25
8. Terry 19199.8 21. Jeanette 16485.85
9. Dwayne 18667.7 22. Jennie 16056.1
10. Shawn 18554.3 23. Sherman 16048.05
11. Joe Jr 18415.85 24. Josh 16043.6
12. Kerry 18356.4 25 Gena 15982.85

104 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005


DEFINED: Betting with nothing, with the
intention of making your opponent(s) fold.
YOU HOLD: 3{9{
YOUR OPPONENT
HOLDS: Kx Q{
BOARD: Ax Ky 7z 6y
The only way you can win this hand is if
you can make opponent fold, so betting
here would be a bluff.
Alot of new players think no limit
hold’em is all about bluffing. While they
aren’t entirely wrong(bluffing plays a larger
role in no limit games than any other), most
don’t go about it the right way. When first
starting out, it is a good idea to go out of
your way not to bluff. If you are new to the
game, you should be focusing on learning
what kinds of hands will win when showed
down, not trying to make your crappy
ones win.
DEFINED: Betting with a hand that is
weak now, but if called, it can become the
best hand.
YOU HOLD: 3{ 9{
YOUR OPPONENT
HOLDS: Kx Q{
BOARD: A{ Ky 7{ 6y
There are 2 ways you can win here
A: you bet and your opponent folds
B: you bet and get called, and catch any
www.bluffmagazine.com
fish food WISDOM
spade on the river
The big difference between a semi-bluff
and a good old fashioned bluff is that there
are two ways you can win when semi-bluff-
ing, and only one way you can win if you
are bluffing with nothing(AKA stone cold
bluff). Next time you are on a big
draw(open ended straight, flush, or prefer-
ably both) and you think your opponents
hand is weak, try a semi bluff instead of
calling. Make a solid bet into the pot, big
enough to allow your opponent to make the
fold, but small enough so it doesn’t overly
commit you to the pot. Employ this play and
you will be amazed how often you
take down pots where you were likely a
3-1 underdog.
DEFINED: Making a small bet to try and
guarantee that you will get called by an
inferior hand, instead of making a big bet
where you are less likely to be called.
YOU HOLD: Ay A{
YOUR OPPONENT
HOLDS: Kz Qy
BOARD: 7y 2y Kx 6y Jy
Nothing feels better than pushing every
last chip into the middle of the pot, know-
ing that there is no way those chips won’t
be returning shortly with a bunch of their
friends. However, it is not always the best
play to push all of your chips in when you
have an extremely powerful hand. In this
the queen high flush will call. In this case
example, your over pair turned into the nut
flush, while your opponents top pair is now you could try what's known as a value bet.
a queen high flush. Assuming the pot is If you bet 2500 into this pot, the Queen
5000 chips, and you both have 10000 chips high flush will have no choice but to call
left to bet, an all in move here would prob- and pay off your higher flush. Sometimes
ably not get called. Even if you bet about its better to bet small and guarantee a call
the size of the pot, its not very likely that than to bet big and hope for one.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 107
 WISDOM quiz

F SHQUIZ RATE YOUR POKER PROWESS

Are you a minnow or a shark? Answer these
questions to find out!
By J. Phillip Vogel

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 10. In 7-Card Flip, players receive _____ cards face
down and must then expose ______ cards before
1. The final buy-in option available to players betting begins.
in a re-buy tournament is called: A. 5, 2 B. 4, 1
A. Add-on B. Add-in C. 3, 1 D. 4, 2
C. Overbuy D. C-Buy

2. In Hold’em, the term ‘Ajax’ refers to: BASIC POKER MATH & STRATEGY
A. Cleaning-up at the table B. Holding an A-J
C. Taking a cleansing breath D. Holding pocket jacks 11. True or false: If played correctly, pocket aces and
pocket kings offer nearly equal levels of profitability
3. A weak player who rarely raises, yet calls most bets in Hold’em.
– even with poor hands – is typically known as a: A. True B. False
A. Luck mucker B. Call waiting
C. Calling station D. All bettor 12. In draw poker with a 53-card deck (including joker)
which of the following hands are you most likely to be
4. In high poker, 2 4 6 8 10 of various suits is often dealt before the draw?
called: a______. In games where this hand has value A. Three aces B. Straight
it’s called a _______. C. Flush D. Full House
A. Rizlo, Scotch straight B. Skip straight, Rizlo
C. Scotch straight, Jump straight D. Both are called Rizlo 13. True or false: In Seven-Card Stud when your oppo-
nent stares at the river card for a long time it typically
5. A table full of tight, conservative players is some- means that he made a good hand and is deciding how
times referred to as a: to bet.
A. Stone wall B. Rock garden A. True B. False
C. Rock lobster D. Rock ring
14. In a fixed limit game of Hold’em if you held
K?10?and flopped J? J? 7? giving you four to a flush it’s
VARIATIONS ON A THEME often advised to:
A. Check immediately
6. A form of Seven-Card Stud where the cards are B. Hesitate then call any raise
passed to left and right is called: C. Immediately call a moderate to large raise
A. Anaconda B. Pass the Trash D. Fold against a bet
C. Screwy Louie D. A, B, & C E. None of the above
15. In a game of Hold’em, if you hold an unsuited Q-J,
7. Deuce-to-seven lowball is also called what are the approximate odds against flopping an ace
A. Kansas City Lowball B. Spit on the Ocean high straight?
C. Wild Annie D. Texas Tech A. 50-1 B. 180-1
C. 300-1 D. 500-1
8. In Mambo Stud, the highest ranking low hand is:
A. A-2-3 B. 2-4-6
C. 2-3-6 D. There is no low hand PSYCHOLOGY
9. True or false: In the game Double-Barreled Shotgun 16. True or false: A conservative or tight player is often
there can be either eight or nine rounds of betting. called a drummer.
A. True B. False A. True B. False

108 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com


17. Using the joker as window dressing in lowball to
scare other players is:
A. Always effective B. May have the opposite effect
C. Is never effective D. Is prohibited
18. Checking a very strong hand and subsequently call-
ing bets – instead of raising – in order to set a trap is a
maneuver known as:
A. Skipper bluffing B. Slippery Annie
C. Slippery Sandbag D. Post bluffing
A planned bluff where a player bets or raises both
before the draw and after the draw with nothing is
called:
A. Skeet bluff B. Rush bluff
C. Drawing snow D. Both B and C
An example of a _______ tell is when a player holding a
_______ hand acts like they have a strong hand.
A. reverse, strong B. squeeze, strong
C. working, weak D. None of these.
Answers: 1.A 2.B 3.C 4.A 5.B 6.D 7.A 8.A 9.A 10.D
11.B 12.B 13.B 14.D 15.C 16.A 17.B 18.C 19.C 20.A
How well did you do? Add up the total number of questions
answered correctly to find out your score.
18-20.................................................... Shark
14-17 .................................................... Barracuda
10-13 .................................................... Bluefish
7-9 ....................................................... Flounder
Less than 7........................................... Minnow
Gone Fishin’
J. Phillip Vogel
oker rooms, both online and terrestrial, have lately
P become flooded with players just aching to make their
mark – and fortunes – courtesy of America’s number one
game. And if you’re among the millions of players to recently
join these ranks, you may even be harboring your own secret
dream of making it big on the poker circuit. But how well do you
really stack-up against seasoned poker players? Are you truly a
force to be reckoned with or just a fish waiting to get hooked?
Let’s find out!
You’re a fish if…
…you’re afraid to bet or raise. Let’s say you’re sitting with ‘big
slick’ when the flop comes K-10-8. While you’re in a pretty good
situation and threatened only by a limited number of hands
(pocket aces, a set of tens, etc.), it’s important to bet or raise
for a couple of reasons. First, you want to try to establish the
relative strength of your opponents’ hands. How did they react
to your bet? Did they hesitate and then call or rush right in and
www.bluffmagazine.com
WISDOM
re-raise? Proper betting technique allows you to discern
valuable information or may even let you scoop the pot
without a fight. Second, you want to try to drive out play-
ers with unmade hands who would otherwise stick
around. In this example, a player with an A-Q would like-
ly fold a solid bet, rather than fight to make their inside
straight. But checking allows them a free card that may
cost you the win.
…you don’t bother finding the best games. Nothing gets
the blood moving like taking a seat at a poker table, but
rather than just rushing headlong to the first table you
find, take a few moments out and choose where you’re
going to play. By sitting at a game that offers the highest
profitability afforded by your bankroll – and not simply
because of convenience – you stand a greater chance of
making a profit. Also, don’t feel that you need to stick it
out at a game when there’s cash to be made by switch-
ing tables. Treat poker like a business and set up shop
where the money is. It’s definitely worth the extra effort.
…you routinely overvalue the strength of your hands. As
much as we’d all like the contrary to be true, not every
hand is worth playing. Many weak or inexperienced play-
ers have a tendency to overvalue their cards and bet into
risky flops that offer only a limited chance of success. An
unsuited K-6, for example, is a weak hand that can
become costly should it result in a pair or some sort of a
draw. And if a king does hit the board, it becomes
extremely difficult for most players to fold because they
hang on to the hope that their kings will triumph despite
the weak kicker. Yes, you will undoubtedly scoop the
occasional pot with this ‘strategy’, but in the long run,
playing and sticking with weak hands is a foolish waste
of chips.
Watching poker on television can be misleading to new
players. Seeing poker icons battle-it-out can give wanna-
be players the wrong impression about how tough the
game really is. They see bold plays, stone cold bluffs and
other maneuvers handled so flawlessly that they look
simple. But appearances can be deceptive. With each
hand, there’s a lot more going on than simply luck or
aggression. Professional players know how to calculate
the odds, measure the strength of their cards and play on
the fears of their opponents. They know which hands to
play, when to push and when to lay it down. It’s a com-
plex game of strategy and deception that only a select
few will truly ever master.
Although you don’t have to be a pro to enjoy playing
poker, you do have to spend time practicing and learning
in order to profit from the game. And while it may not
come quickly or easily, with some hard work and dedica-
tion you’ll slowly rise from the rank of fish until you even-
tually become a shark.
J. Phillip Vogel is an expert on poker and the Editor-in-Chief
of TheOPN.com. His next book, The Internet Gambling
Companion will be available in April 2006.
OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 109
109
 WISDOM texas tips

BY MARCEL “THE FLYING DUTCHMAN” LUSKE

n the world of No Limit Hold ‘em, the fold is a moneymaker. Why?

I
Because it’s the chip saver – and a chip saved is a chip earned.
Every chip you put into the pot is no longer yours, but the chips
sitting in front of you are still yours, so protect them. What I am
trying to say is that, in marginal situations, situations where you
are debating whether to fold or call, folding is usually the right
decision. Folding provides what I call ‘pressure relief’. Think of
folding as an anti-headache precaution.

STARTING HANDS
Aces and kings are a dangerous starting hand: they look fantastic, but
they can get you in trouble, so tread lightly. It’s very hard to fold A-K – it’s
a hand that can improve tremendously on the flop but you need to hit the
flop, otherwise it becomes a hand that too many players hold on to for too
long – the most overplayed hand in poker.
Small pairs are also hands that bring mixed feelings. On the one hand,
you have a pair, but at the same time, the flop is very dangerous, because
if you don’t hit anything to improve your small pair, chances are that
someone else will find something that can top you.
Hands like A-Q, A-J and A-10 are also hands that need to hit the flop. If
you don’t find something on the flop, think seriously about laying down
your ace, especially if you have a small kicker.
If you invest too many chips on marginal hands like this, you become
committed. You try to steal, or you pay to see the next card in the hope you
will improve your situation. In most cases you get to deeply involved and
lose too much out of your stack.

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE NEXT POINT:

Losing a pot makes you itchy: your pride will lead you to try to make
up for it as quickly as possible (you want it back!). You start to take more
chances with your hand selection, and you now consider any hand to be
playable. You see the beauty and potential of any two given cards while
you dream of the perfect flop.

WAKE UP! YOU ARE TILTING!

The best way to avoid tilt is to avoid risk. However, with so many pos-
sible moves that will arise throughout the game, it is inevitable that you
will make the wrong decision sometimes. Even the best players make bad
decisions once in a while, and you shouldn’t worry about it if you do. What
you should do is figure out why the move didn’t work and figure out how to
make it work the next time. Whenever you have your chips in the pot and you lose, consider that move a LEARN rather than an EARN.
When you have the cards and you have the position, be the aggressor. In other situations, sometimes it’s the smart move to fold your
cards and save your chips for a better opportunity.

110 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 WISDOM strange games

Rollin’ on the River by James Ernest and Mike Selinker

H
ow many times has this hap- Low Hole Wild Roll Your Own, you get to calling it English Stud, but poker pro
pened to you? The game is 7- turn over whichever cards you don’t want Daniel Negreanu set us straight in a recent
Card Stud, and you catch a to be wild. You can play this normally, or magazine column. Vanunu is 7-Stud, High-
fourth ace face up. You bet, like Flip, or even All Day Long. Note that Low Split, Roll Your Own All Day Long,
and get raised by a bunch of most Low Hole Wild games allow you a bit with a ‘Pitch and a Buy’. The Pitch and Buy
loose players with open- of control even if you’re not rolling your is this: when the final betting round is
ended straight flush draws. own: if your last card would normally stay over, players may exchange one card from
The answer is probably never. Actually face down, you can pay a dollar (or four big their hand. If they do, they have to pay for
you’ve probably never even seen a fourth bets) to get that card face up. it. Swapping an upcard costs a quarter (or
ace, because by the time you have three of In Dakota, a high-low game named for whatever your big bet is), and the replace-
them, people are looking for new, faster two nearly indistinguishable midwestern ment will be faceup. Swapping one down-
ways to fold. card instead costs a dollar (four bets), and
states, you play 7-Stud, Low Hole Wild, Roll
You miss a lot of action in Stud when the replacement is facedown. There’s a
Your Own All Day Long with a High-Low
your killer hand is dealt out in the open. declaration round, and then a showdown.
Split. We’re not sure if this game has a
Obviously, you’d rather have your best Negreanu talks about Vanunu a lot, so
nickname because it’s really good, or just
cards down, or at least have some control we think maybe he’s trying to get his spon-
over which cards you show. And that’s because no one wants to say 7-Stud Low
sor, The Wynn, to start running Vanunu
why card players have invented the ‘roll- Hole Wild, Roll Your Own All Day Long tournaments. Just in case they do, Daniel,
your-own’ concept. with a High-Low Split. Your wild cards are sign us up.
In any roll-your-own game, you’re dealt wild for high hand only. There’s a declara- James Ernest and Mike Selinker swear
more facedown cards than normal, and tion round at the end, to say whether that the only things they roll are cards and
you decide which ones to show, or ‘roll’. you’re going low, high, or both ways. And dice. You can learn 200 other strange games
You can reveal a great hand if you want, or if you declare for both ways, you have to and a lot more in Dealer’s Choice: The
you can keep those winners a secret. We win both. Complete Handbook of Saturday Night
suggest you keep them a secret. Finally, a new classic: Vanunu. We’d Poker (Overlook Press, by James and Mike
The basic roll-your own game is 7-Stud, played a version of this game for years, with Phil Foglio).
in which players get three facedown cards
to start, and simultaneously roll one of
them. We say ‘simultaneously’ because no
one should be able to change his mind
based on what another player has rolled.
From this point on, the game continues as
basic 7-Stud, with the next three cards
coming faceup, and the last card face-
down.If rolling just one card isn’t enough,
try Flip. In this game, you get four cards to
start, and roll two of them at once. From
this point Flip proceeds like 7-Card Stud:
The next two cards are faceup, and the
last facedown.
You can even play Roll Your Own All
Day Long, which means that all cards are
dealt facedown and, starting on third
street, you roll one up after every deal, all
the way to the river. This means that the
last five cards will be face up, so if you get
the aforementioned four aces, you’ll have
to show at least two of them.
Rolling your own fits with other rules
about down cards, such as Low Hole Wild.
In Low Hole Wild, your lowest hole card
and others of that rank are wild for you. In

112 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005 www.bluffmagazine.com

 WISDOM omaha tips
Side Splitting
A primer on low-limit Omaha Split (aka Omaha Hi-Lo)
By Steve Horton
ust think of Hold’em as your gateway drug. Omaha Split
J
has been around a long time, but by dodging the country’s
national obsession, it’s kept smaller crowds in ring games.
Omaha players tend to be worse than the average Hold’em
player, due to the increased complexity. Most players play
Omaha like Hold’em, or are completely confused by it.
Poor Omaha players do suck out sometimes, it’s true, but
most of the time they call bets way too often. This primer
should give you an advantage against those poor players.
A GAME OF DISCIPLINE
Omaha is a game of discipline, not aggression. It’s also a game
of starting hands and knowing when to fold when you miss your
flop or when your nut hand disappears on the turn or river.
Average Omaha players stay in hands long after they should and
are punished for it, even more so than in Hold’em.
STARTING HAND SELECTION
There are no sure things in Omaha Split starting hands, but
there are starting hand choices that will maximize your chance to
get the best hand that you can bet on with confidence. In Omaha,
you are always on a draw before the flop. You’re going to have to
get something close to the nuts to win, if the table has the normal
level of action (six to seven callers per hand preflop).
1. High Pair
High pairs give you the best chance to get the nut full house.
Remember, when the board pairs, there are multiple full house
possibilities. Having the highest means you can only lose to the
less-likely four of a kind. Of course, a high pair is only good if it
hits, which will happen on the flop only 10% of the time.
2. Ace Suited
Any ace suited with another card is good, because you have the
highest card in the deck, plus a chance at a nut flush.
3. Nut Low Hand
A-2 are the best two cards to have for winning the low hand. It’s
almost always worth seeing the flop with A-2. Beyond that, you are
looking for card combinations including any two cards, A through
5. There are no guarantees with hands like A-3 or 2-3, unless you
fill in the lower numbers. The more combinations, the better the
hand is for a low (A-2-5, A-3-4, 2-3-4 are great) because you have
more ways to get there.
You have to be ready to fold if you don’t get at least two cards
toward the nut low from the flop.
4. Connectors
Straights are the most common winning hand when the board
doesn’t pair or flush out. The nut straight is easier to get, but has
the drawback of easily being beaten by a draw or being tied by an
identical hand.
The best starting hands have combinations of these qualities.
For instance, Ay-K{-Kz-2y is a very good Omaha Split hand.
114 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
Ay-10{-7z-6x is not as good. Always keep in mind that the odds
difference between starting hands is very low before the flop.
Choose hands wisely, but put more weight on the number of
callers and the potential for being raised preflop. Calling a preflop
raise is acceptable if you know there will be plenty of callers, but
few situations favor you raising preflop.
A lot of players have a habit of announcing that they have A-2,
A-A, or K-K by raising before the flop. Watch out for this tendency.
READING THE FLOP
Judging the texture of the table after the flop is at least as impor-
tant in Omaha as in Hold’em. You’ve got to consider the tendency
of the other players to call a raise, for example. Or what the oppo-
nents would do with the best possible hand.
Figure out the chances of getting the nuts based on simple odds
(the number of cards that would give you the nut hand divided by
the number of cards remaining in the deck).
If there’s a pair on the board, your chances of winning with a
straight or flush draw are diminished, as opponents could have a
full house or quads.
Pot odds are important in Omaha Split. Always remember the
split, as many showdowns result in a divided pot, which seriously
cuts into pot odds.
The low draw is where money is made, as many players don’t
like to let go of their low draw. The biggest pots are won when a
player gets the best high hand and the low draw never comes.
You’ve only got a 36% chance of getting that nut low on the river,
and pot odds can come into play here too, as a split of the low only
gives you a quarter of the pot.
If you flop a straight or flush, be very careful, especially if it’s
not the nuts. There are many ways for a nut straight to lose to
draws in Omaha. A flush will almost always have to be the nuts to
win, unless it came through the back door (last two cards). Even if
you flop a full house, you have to be aware if your full house is like-
ly the best one. For instance, if you have A-8-3-2 and flop 2-2-3, a
pair of threes beats you. If the turn is a 10, suddenly a 2-10, 10-10,
or 3-3 beats you.
BETTING
Unless you make your hand, avoid the heads-up showdown
because of the split possibility. It’s usually more profitable to call
a raise rather than re-raise and risk having the other players drop
out. Unlike in Hold’em, the idea is to maximize callers – since it’s
likely that your nut hand won’t last or you’ll have to split the pot.
The exception is if you make your low hand. Raise in this case.
You might get the high hand out of the pot and win the whole pot
right there. Don’t live in fear of splitting the low and only getting
a quarter of the pot, as you can still make money this way if there
are a lot of people in the pot after the flop. Good luck!
www.bluffmagazine.com
 chip tricks WISDOM

Faro Shuffle
Effect: You divide the deck into two equal parts, proceed to
weave the ends of each stack into each other and then perform
a beautiful and skilled shuffle. Meanwhile, onlookers are
thinking, “Dang, I wish I could shuffle like that!”
EXPLANATION: Tired of being the person at the table that doesn’t deal the cards because you
don’t know how to shuffle well? Here are some steps to being better than the rest!
Reach over the deck that sits atop the felt table and grip the long sides on each end with the
thumb and middle fingers. Lift up the edge closest to you with your right thumb and slide half
of the cards away. Your left thumb and fingers hold the bottom stack in place. Put the removed
stack along the right end of the tabled stack. Push the two stacks end to end to ensure the cards
are completely squared up. (Figure 1)
Slightly lift up the far ends of the packs and push the corners of the packs that are closest to
you into each other. (Figure 2) You will need to use the first fingers to help guide the top cards
together perfectly. Your goal is to get the very top card of one packet to go under the very top
card of the other packet. When you get the alignment correct, the rest of the cards will start to
engage, or ‘weave’, as you continue to push the cards together. Once all the cards are weaved
into each other, simply shuffle them together or push the all the cards all-square. A smooth way
of squaring the cards when they are mostly aligned is to pinch the opposite corners with your
thumb and middle fingers along the sides until your fingers come together.
To add some flare, do the shuffle in the air. Hold the cards on top with the left hand and
underneath with the right. (Figure 3) Separate the cards into two equal parts as before. Move
the packets to the ends again, applying pressure on each end to ensure each packet is squared
up and flat. (Figure 4) As before, interlace the cards together, starting with the top card. You will
only have your left first finger free to help hold down the top cards, so it is better to aim the right
packet’s top card below the left packet’s top card. (Figure 5)

TIPS: Once the cards are weaved together, it won’t be hard to pick them up and bow them into
a nice arch like some people do when shuffling in the standard way. The difference is that you
have merged the cards in a very professional manner, as apposed to harshly bending each side
of the packets up and allowing cards to drop together in messy chunks. There are a variety of
amazing effects possible once you are able to Faro/weave the cards together. Also, it is good to
do a few overhand shuffles and cuts to mix the cards in a random order. The Faro shuffle mixes
cards in a near mathematical way.

ADVANCED: After weaving the two stacks together, push them together an inch or two and press
one end into the table vertically (Figure 6) or stretch one hand to each end of the weaved packs
and squeeze the packs together. Now your hands are weapons!

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 117

 poke fiction WISDOM

The Nuts
I
drummed my fin-

gers on my pocket
aces, staring at a
rainbow board of
ace, seven, king,
wondering why
Cowboy Matteson
had called my
$200,000 bet at the final table of the Vegas International Poker
Championship No Limit Hold’em tournament.
The crowd behind the loser’s rail had oohed appreciatively
when Matteson pushed his chips to the middle to make the call.
Frankly, I liked the game a great deal more before the railbirds
started showing up in flocks. We’ve always had watchers, but it
wasn’t the event it has become over the last couple of years. Maybe
I didn’t like them because I’ve never been the crowd favorite;
never had a posse, a crew, an entourage or any other group pulling
for me. Not once in 20 years.
So, the crowd was pulling for Matteson – big surprise. He was
their favorite and the only local left at the final table. Better than
twelve hundred had hopes for the $1.2 million first place prize, but
now there were only six of us left. Six left after three
ten-hour days.
In my twenties or thirties, I could have played three straight
twenty-four hour days, let alone ten-hour days, without the blink
PART 2
aver
By James L.We
of an eye. But, at 42 years young, I could feel the
game’s wear and tear chipping away at me, eroding my granite
wall of stamina like water repeatedly crashing into rock. It might
take a long goddamn time for that water to erode that rock, but it
would eventually. Everything breaks eventually.
Given his chip stack at the start of the final table, I’d pegged
Matteson as the favorite to win if he could get past Gus Hansen,
who sat this hand out. Hansen played and bet just about anything
and, more often than not, nailed it on the river. I call him River
Gus sometimes, but never to his face. Gus Hansen can not only
swim in the river in which most men drown, but I’m pretty damn
sure he could walk on its murky brown waters.
The dealer tapped the green felt table three times before reveal-
ing the turn card, a harmless 2 hearts. Matteson stared for a
moment, then checked, tapping the table with manicured finger-
tips. Without a straight or a flush on the board, whatever Matteson
had been chasing was no longer possible.
I looked down at my chips and pulled out three large stacks,
pushing them forward with trembling hands. To those watching

www.bluffmagazine.com OCTOBER 2005 BLUFF 119

 poke fiction
TIPS &
TACTICS
It’s all about betting
One of the more difficult
skill-sets for the improving
poker player to develop is an
understanding and innate sense of what the proper size bet
should be, given the situation.
As opposed to the typical player, who determines an
arbitrary amount that simply exhibits strength, the solid
player first weighs the factors in play: an opponents style,
patterns, chips stack and pot size.
The solid, informed player will then determine what
purpose his/her bet should have, whether it be to protect a
good hand, get maximize value from a great hand, or simply
acquire more information. Students who attend WPT boot
Camps are taught that having a purpose simply paves the
way for making an appropriate, if not perfect bet.
By betting the right amount in the correct situation,
students learn that they can force their less skilled opponent
to make an incorrect decision. Without this basic, but difficult,
skill you might as well flip coins blindfolded while praying.
Alex “The Insider” Outhred is a producer with the World
Poker Tour™ and an instructor with the WPT Boot Camp™ and
can be reached at theinsider@wptbootcamp.com
120 BLUFF OCTOBER 2005
they looked steady, but to me, they shook like I had the
worst damn case of Parkinson’s known to man. The
crowd leaned forward in their seats as the dealer
announced my bet of $400,000. It was a big bet. Some
would say I should have slow-played my set of aces, but
I wanted him to think I was trying to buy his pot.
Matteson stared blankly at the cards, twisted that
thick neck ever so slightly to get a gander at me, and
then looked down at his chip stack. Calling my bet
would put a little over half his chips into action. I
anticipated a flick of his wrist as he sent his cards to
the muck pile with the rest. Instead, he pondered for a
moment, then nodded and pushed three of his stacks
in play.
“Mr. Matteson calls the bet of $400,000,” the
announcer said. The crowd smelled blood in the air and
edged forward. There was slightly over $1.4 million in
chips in play. Whoever won this baby would be in the
driver’s seat. Raymer and Hansen both looked at each
other and raised their eyebrows, either glad their chips
weren’t in play or wishing they had the cards to play it.
I was surprised and suddenly wary of Matteson.
What was he still doing in the pot? I was still confident
my trip aces were the nuts. As the dealer pulled our
respective chips in the center, I thought back again to
the way he played before the flop. He acted before me
and had simply called the big blind of $50,000.
Matteson loved his kings and religiously raised with
them. He’d named himself Cowboy after them, for
God’s sake. “I always win with kings,” was his favorite
saying after busting some guy’s nut sack with a king in
his hand.
As the dealer tapped the felt and burned the next
card, I wondered again just what in the hell he had in
the hole. He didn’t have pocket kings or even A-K,
because he would have raised with them. I’d watched
hours of tournament play with Matteson and he always,
always, always raised with a king and anything above a
nine. No, I put him on two pair, kings and sevens. He
had to think I only had a pair of aces, not a set of them.
As the dealer turned the river card over, my heart
tried to jump out of my throat: the king of clubs. A boat,
I had a big ol’ goddamn boat of aces over kings.
I was trying my best to keep my composure and not
let my hands shake as I looked over to Matteson. Here
was my chance to take down the mighty Cowboy, a nice
payback for all the wrong he’d done to me. If I was
right, he was now holding a full house, kings over
sevens and was going to go for my jugular. All the
better, I thought.
Matteson looked down at his chips, pulled off a large
stack of $100,000 and pushed them into the center of
the table. Bet into the raiser, Brunson always said. More
often than not, he’ll toss the hand away. That’s what he
was doing; a show of strength, but it was a weak bet.
After pausing just a few seconds for effect, I pushed all
my chips into the center. Every one of them. This pot
was mine. I owned it and, for one hand, I owned the
great Cowboy.
www.bluffmagazine.com