Poker News

The Other Hachem: Life In Joe’s Shadow

Yet thanks to a huge year on the PokerStars Australia New Zealand Poker Tour, where he cashed in four of five events on the way to winning Player of the Year honors, Hachem's brother Tony seems to have found a way out from under it.

“People would say I was just Joe’s brother, that I can’t play,” Tony said. “But now I’ve made a number of final tables and cashes. In my mind, poker is all about consistency and I think I’ve proved I have that.

“People say that it’s tough playing in Joe’s shadow, but I try to be positive about it and use it to my advantage. I was given an opportunity, I took it by the horns and I’m running with it.”

There’s always been a lot more to Tony Hachem than just being the brother of the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion.

He cashed in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, made a final table at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas that same year and found a career best score of NZ$54,000 when he finished runner-up at the 2008 New Zealand Poker Championship.

Plus, PokerStars has always seen him as a marketable character with great networking skills, a socialite with celebrities Down Under and a popular figure amongst the ever growing community of poker players in the region.

As a result, Tony was sponsored by PokerStars for a number of tournaments, a move that immediately garnered its fair share of criticism regardless of Tony's track record.

“People have said to me, ‘What does it take to be a PokerStars pro? Can I just change my name to Hachem,’” explained Joe.  

“I’ve heard it all before and a lot worse,” added Tony. “It’s like, ‘You are Joe’s brother, so you got a sponsorship,’ but that’s not how it is.

“All I can say is when people are given opportunities, they either let them pass or they make the most of them and I made sure I made the most of this one.”

Wearing the PokerStars patch, Tony made 15^th at ANZPT Adelaide for AUD$5,870, 17^th at ANZPT Sydney for AUD$8,874, 16^th at the ANZPT’s 2009 Melbourne Texas Hold'em Championship for AUD$5,450, and 18^th ANZPT Queenstown for NZ$3,015.

As a result, 43-year-old Joe couldn’t be more proud of his 36-year-old little brother.

“He was just consistent and honestly pretty unfortunate not to have a major score,” Joe said. “The thing is, I’m really happy he did something in his own right. He deserves it.”

Tony’s name is rarely written, by the mainstream or poker press, without mention of Joe.

But the ever-humble younger Hachem grew up idolizing his big brother and says he doesn’t mind.

“Honestly, being Joe’s brother isn’t a bad thing,” he said. “He’s always going to be my brother.

“The game of poker is growing around the world and Joe is a big part of that, here and abroad. I guess people are just going to have to get used to the idea that Joe’s got a younger brother who loves the game, loves interacting with the people and can play a little too.”

While he had the sponsorship before, the spoils of winning the ANZPT Player of the Year title includes a cheque for AUD$60,000 and a spot on the Team PokerStars Australia roster.

What that means is Tony will be playing in the second season of the ANZPT kicking off in Adelaide next month, several stops on the upcoming fourth season of the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour and the 2010 Aussie Millions, where he has already made 11^th in a prelim for AUD$9,144 and started play on the final day one flight of the main event Tuesday, just a few tables over from Joe.

“There are some things in poker that I want to achieve this year,” added Tony. “I really want to win a tournament or at least maintain the consistency I had last year and I think the Aussie Millions will be a good start.”

To follow the progress of the Hachem brothers, and the entire 2010 Aussie Millions main event, tune in to PokerListings’ Live Updates through January 30.

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Caesars Atlantic City Bad Beat Jackpot Hit for $553,958

Dover native Steven Gedney hit a record-shattering Bad Beat Jackpot at Caesars Atlantic City of $553,958 last Friday. The behemoth prize pool dwarfed the former largest jackpot of $361,244 and Gedney raked in $276,979 as a result of the beat.

Joe Domenico, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Caesars Atlantic City, commented in a press release distributed by the East Coast casino, "This is an unforgettable day for everyone at Caesars, especially our loyal players and dedicated poker team. The energy building in our poker room over these past months has been incredible and to see it culminate in this record-setting jackpot couldn't be more rewarding.”

Gedney held quad threes in the memorable hand, normally a stone cold lock to scoop any pot. However, in what was likely a mix of dismay and excitement, Gedney watched as his opponent, Chris Dobrzanski, flipped up four aces, triggering the Bad Beat Jackpot. Although dropping the $400 pot, Gedney hauled in a massive $276,979 prize for suffering the bad beat. Dobrzanski, meanwhile, hauled in the $400 spoils and added another $138,489 for dishing out the misfortune. The table was nine-handed, meaning that the other seven players seated each earned $19,784 for paying witness to history, enough to buy a new car just in time for final 2009 year-end closeouts.

Under the terms of the Caesars Atlantic City Bad Beat Jackpot, four of a kind must go down in smoke to a superior hand. Half of the Bad Beat Jackpot is awarded to the losing player in the hand, 25% is given to the winning player, and the remaining 25% is divided equally among the other players dealt to at the table when the bad beat occurred. In 2008, the Caesars Atlantic City poker room awarded nearly $1.2 million in Bad Beat Jackpot money and is well on its way to surpassing that amount this year.

As of January 11th, the Caesars Palace Bad Beat Jackpot stood at $529,436, meaning that it grew by $25,000 last week alone before being hit on Friday. At Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, the Bad Beat Jackpot was $352,873 last Monday. At Showboat, the purse for doling out a bad beat was $118,970 one week ago and, at Bally’s, the bounty stood at $137,493. After being hit on Friday, the Caesars Palace Bad Beat Jackpot sat at $152,000 today at Noon ET.

The Caesars Palace Atlantic City poker room sports 20 tables and 50-inch plasma televisions to allow players to keep up-to-date on the latest in the world of sports. The casino spreads favorites like $1/$2, $2/$5, and $5/$10 No Limit Hold’em and $2/$4, $3/$6, and $4/$8 Limit Hold’em. The venue is ramping up to host a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event in March. The action kicks off in Atlantic City on March 3rd and concludes with a Ladies No Limit Hold’em tournament on March 14th. The $5,150 buy-in Caesars Atlantic City Circuit Championship, a three-day affair, will begin dealing cards on March 12th.

Here is the schedule of events for the Caesars Atlantic City Circuit stop in March:

Wednesday, March 3rd at 12:00pm ET
Event #1: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Thursday, March 4th at 12:00pm ET
Event #2: No Limit Hold'em
$590 buy-in

Friday, March 5th at 12:00pm ET
Event #3: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Saturday, March 6th at 12:00pm ET
Event #4: No Limit Hold'em
$560 buy-in

Sunday, March 7th at 12:00pm ET
Event #5: No Limit Hold'em
$340 buy-in

Monday, March 8th at 12:00pm ET
Event #6: No Limit Hold'em
$560 buy-in

Tuesday, March 9th at 12:00pm ET
Event #7: No Limit Hold'em
$1,080 buy-in

Wednesday, March 10th at 12:00pm ET
Event #8: Deep Stack
$1,600 buy-in

Thursday, March 11th at 12:00pm ET
Event #9: Turbo
$230 buy-in

Friday, March 12th at 12:00pm ET
Event #10: Caesars Atlantic City Championship Event
$5,150 buy-in

Saturday, March 13th at 12:00pm ET
Event 11: Turbo
$230 buy-in

Sunday, March 14th at 12:00pm ET
Event #12: Ladies No Limit Hold'em
$230 buy-in

Microgaming Network Attempts to Curb Online Poker Datamining

On Thursday, one of the top online poker networks in the industry, Microgaming, announced its intentions to eliminate datamining on its family of sites.

The Microgaming Network, which includes sites such as 32RedPoker, CrazyPoker, PurpleLounge.com, and Unibet, is one of the top ten poker networks in the industry, according to PokerScout.com. Averaging approximately 1,600 players in its cash games and offering a variety of tournament action, the Microgaming Network draws a tremendous amount of action from Europe. However, this hasn’t prevented Microgaming from taking what is a groundbreaking step in the online poker world.

Effective immediately, Microgaming announced the following changes to its hand history policy: "With immediate effect, hand histories on observed tables will no longer be stored on players’ computers and the practice of downloading and storing hand histories in bulk will be stopped." At most sites, all hands at a player’s table are transferred to a special file on the player’s computer hard drive. This allows a player to go back at a later time and review these histories - and opponents’ tendencies on the virtual felt – and use software like PokerTracker and Holdem Manager to analyze it.

Microgaming feels that such software has tilted the playing field between those who utilize such information and those who do not. Instead of using poker software to analyze play, Microgaming believes that it has become an “exploitative tool” that players use to pick up an unfair advantage.

In the announcement, Andrew Clucas, Head of Poker at Microgaming Software Systems, which operates the Microgaming Poker Network, stated, “Concern has been rising over the long-term effect of third party software upon the poker industry as a whole, and in particular the negative effect it has on the recreational player demographic. The decision to put a stop to the practice of datamining on the poker network is part of Microgaming’s overarching network strategy to support operators in attracting and retaining recreational players. It further demonstrates commitment in providing a secure and fair playing environment.”

While some in the poker playing community may view Microgaming’s move as an assault against those who use the varieties of software available, Clucas emphasizes that the company is simply ensuring a balanced playing field for its customers. “Microgaming is not seeking to alienate its winning players,” Clucas said. “There has been a move in the industry towards penalizing winners; we believe that is the wrong approach. There will always be winners and losers in poker. What we are trying to achieve is a more level playing field for all the players.”

Some in the poker world see the move by Microgaming as just the first domino in a chain about to fall. Steve Ruddock, a writer for the National Online Poker Examiner and a frequent participant in the battles on Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Cake Poker Network, believes that the move by Microgaming should be the standard for the online poker industry.

“I think datamining creates an unequal playing field because it puts the emphasis on data collection instead of hard-work, focus, and skill,” Ruddock noted. “Players are no longer rewarded for their hard-work: instead, players are rewarded for spending $50 to $100 and receiving data in return. Tracking software has turned breakeven or slight losers into winners by negating the advantage that decent winning players held over them: Work ethic and focus. Poker is equal parts strategy, psychology, and hard work; datamining eliminates the need for the third part.”

As to Microgaming’s decision, Ruddock sees that it could be a point of sale for players. “I think Microgaming’s decision will have widespread effects,” he opines. “At some point, ‘Do they allow datamining?’ will be just as important as ‘Do they offer rakeback?’ in the minds of potential customers. I hope more sites follow Microgaming’s lead. It would leave a handful of sites with a player base of dataminers and, once they see that the table is full of tight grinders, they’ll start looking for greener pastures.”

Top poker professional Kenna James, who is sponsored by PokerHost on the Cake Poker Network, took a philosophical approach to looking at the issue. “Datamining is an interesting platform for looking at us, as humans, as a microcosm of what is going on in the advancement of the high-tech world and its applications to us altogether,” James stated. “The issue I see with datamining is that it can reduce people to sets of numbers and I personally find this very impersonal; people are more then just a set of numbers.”

“The complexities of poker go beyond that in a live setting where you have to interact with real people, but maybe not so much online where you can hide behind the anonymity of an avatar,” Kenna explained. “Things get more complicated when you bring in emotion, compassion, and reason, among other things. These human qualities and characteristics can slowly be eroded when you begin to see people as just a number.”

James finished our discussion with an interesting thought: “Hours or days or years of using tools like this and becoming dependent on them for making their decisions may lead to some serious personal issues we have not yet discovered in life off the virtual felt.”

Whether other poker networks will follow Microgaming’s lead in the banishment of datamining and poker software remains to be seen. It also is a question as to how players will respond to not being able to use poker software on the Microgaming Network.

Another Poker New Year’s Resolution

For 2010, I order you to honor the following resolution: have fun playing poker. I know, I know, it sounds odd. There is no quantifiable goal here. It’s like saying, “I’m going to lose 20 pounds”, and then rewarding yourself with a fudge brownie when you see the scale’s needle fall to 170 after it was 190 on January 1st. Plus, we all play poker because it is fun, don’t we? It is a game. Games are fun.

But you see, that’s the thing. I have been getting the feeling more and more that we – the poker community as a whole – have not been enjoying the simple pleasure of playing the game of poker enough. To some, it is an endless, day-after-day grind, a way to make a living. To others, it is a game full of stress. Others just find anything and everything to complain about. We need to change in 2010.

How about the people who complained about the changes to the PokerStars VIP system? Over the last few years, online poker rooms have made it harder to earn bonuses and have developed loyalty systems that even a holder of multiple advanced degrees would need to review a few times to figure out. Now, PokerStars has changed its system in order to reward more players more quickly, making it easier to understand, and people are complaining by saying that six-handed grinders need to be rewarded more. Just play poker and have fun.

The people wanting to burn iPoker to the ground are hilarious, too. For those who haven’t heard, VC Poker has informed some winning players that they are no longer welcome at their cash game tables because the network is cracking down on its member rooms that are bringing in too many tight “sharks” who take money off the site and not enough loose “fish” who must frequently re-deposit.

iPoker’s banning and restricting of certain winning cash game players is unfortunate and those who have had nice rakeback deals there and now need to find somewhere else to play do have a legitimate gripe. However, there are those who are talking about suing the poker rooms and hoping they go out of business without even stepping back to think about why this unfortunate situation might be happening. Rather than make empty threats on internet message boards, how about taking a deep breath and moving your bankroll to another poker room?

A year ago, I said that you should all resolve to stop caring so much about your opponents. To quote myself, “Stop acting as if everything that you don’t agree with in a poker game is a personal affront.” Don’t hate life so much that you feel the need to call people “donks” and “idiots” whenever they suck out on you. That person you are berating could be sitting on his couch just goofing around, playing crap cards because he feels like doing something a little silly. He could legitimately be a bad player who likes to play poker and doesn’t know or doesn’t care that he’s bad. When it comes down to it, he’s having fun and you’re not. Remember, you’re supposed to be the good player. Something doesn’t quite jive there. How about this: take a deep breath and realize that that guy’s poor play will eventually allow you to take his money. Let him have fun doing what he’s doing while you have fun doing what you’re doing.

Finally, if poker is becoming less like a game and more like a chore, mix it up! Play a game that you don’t normally play. Are you sick of No-Limit Hold’em? You should try some Fixed Limit Stud High-Low. Are cash games wearing you down? You should play in a tournament. There is even some decent Badugi action going on at PokerStars right now. Play short-handed, heads-up, full ring, or whatever – just do something different. Better yet, take a break from serious poker and get a home game going with your friends. Make it dealer’s choice and be sure you play lots of games with wild cards.

The bottom line is this. It’s time to make poker fun again. Stop worrying about rakeback, VIP points, your HUD, or whether or not someone is busto. Play poker because you love it. It’s a game.

Poker Community Reacts to Justin Bonomo Leaving Bodog

On Saturday, the USA-facing online poker room Bodog officially parted ways with sponsored pro Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo by removing him from its website. Now, the poker community, Bonomo’s agent, and Bodog have had a chance to react.

Bonomo’s agent, Matt Palmer, President and CEO of 11Management, told Poker News Daily, “It is true that Justin and Bodog have parted ways. While Justin will miss playing alongside his fellow Bodog teammates and good friends Evelyn Ng and David Williams, he's ready to move on to bigger and better opportunities. We've begun conversations regarding new sponsorship opportunities and we're excited to work with a poker brand that is better able to leverage Justin's poker success and personality.” Palmer is also the agent for Joe Sebok, who recently signed on to be a member of Team UB.com.

Palmer gave us his take on Bonomo’s 2009 calendar year at the felts: ‘Justin's coming off another excellent year at the tables, including a final table appearance at the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event and a win at the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars. I fully expect Justin to continue his winning ways in 2010.” Bonomo’s fifth place finish in the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event commemorating the Series’ 40th running was worth $413,000. In April, he won the Caesars Palace WSOP Circuit Championship, a $5,150 buy-in contest, for $227,000.

Ed Pownall, Global Public Relations Director for BodogBrand.com, explained why the online poker room parted ways with one of its three remaining sponsored pros: “Bodog and Justin Bonomo have agreed that, with the transition of the Bodog-branded poker rooms to the Bodog Network in 2010, now was a natural time to re-evaluate the relationship and have agreed to part ways.” Jean-Robert Bellande, of “Survivor: China” fame, also left Bodog in recent months after his sponsorship agreement was not renewed at the end of October.

Posters on the popular poker forum TwoPlusTwo.com gave their take on what room might be a good fit for Bonomo. TwoPlusTwo member “molinn9” weighed in, “Time for him to move on to pokerstars. would be good pro for them.” Bonomo was traveling to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas at the time of writing and was unavailable for comment. The $10,300 buy-in Main Event kicks off on Tuesday from the Atlantis Resort and Casino on Paradise Island with the first of two starting days. The tournament will crown a champion on January 11th.

In the meantime, Bodog will center its efforts on growing the newly forged Bodog Network, which has taken a unique approach to rakeback. Pownall discussed the methodology: “The new offering has already caused much debate with its re-working of the rakeback issue and will reward operators bringing depositing players to the table rather than the traditional method of rewarding the winning players. The system unveiled at the EiG in Budapest in September has already seen other networks, including Microgaming and iPoker, publicly follow in a similar vein.” The idea, in turn, is to reward winning players indirectly by feeding them net depositing opponents.

Yesterday, the weekly Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed played out. The site’s hallmark event, which comes with a $162 price tag, drew 509 players, meaning that Bodog kicked in $23,000 after the tournament fell short of its prize pool. In the end, reigning UB.com Aruba Poker Classic Main Event winner Brandon “AreTheseUtz” Hall took down the top prize of $25,000 after defeating Brian “AKbigfish” James heads-up. James pocketed a $15,000 consolation prize and “paulyman” took third for $9,500. The top 63 players finished in the money and the top five earned more than $5,000.

The Bodog Network is expected to take on non-Bodog sites this year.

Annie Duke on the 2009 WSOP Main Event, Phil Ivey’s Table Presence

Fresh off watching the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table pan out, Ultimate Bet pro Annie Duke discusses the wild action that unfolded from the Rio in Las Vegas and aired on ESPN.

Poker News Daily: Now that you’ve had a chance to check out the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table, give us your thoughts on what occurred.

Duke: The Main Event was really interesting. On the one hand, I don’t think there’s any question that it was the most skilled final table we’ve seen in a long time. Some of the play was brilliant, but at the same time, it also had some of the worst play we’ve seen. There were some very ill-advised plays at the final table.

The thing I worry about is that I’m involved with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and spend a lot of time arguing that poker is a game of skill. I understand that when someone gets their money in with deuces against jacks, they’re going to hit it 18% of the time. I have a concern that on a national stage, we came out on the weird end of variance. People are going to look at that and conclude that poker is a game of luck.

Darvin Moon did some crazy things and everyone could see that. Joe Cada got his money in with deuces and threes and hit both times. We can have arguments that he overplayed his hands, which proves that poker is a skill game. Because we can argue about it, it’s a skill game. The fact is he hit both of him and to the viewing public, it’s just luck. I actually think in that sense, it was unfortunate.

PND: Can you comment on a few of the other players at the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table?

Duke: Phil Ivey aside, who never got anything going, and Kevin Schaffel aside, it looked like Antoine Saout was playing amazingly well. I was impressed with him. I was also impressed with Eric Buchman and I think Steven Begleiter benefited from the coaching he received. You saw someone change the way they play because of the coaching in between. If you have four months and you’re a player who needs a lot of help, coaching is a good thing for you. If you’re already a really good player, coaching will hurt you. After four months, you’re trying to feel your way around the changes and trying to see where things apply. It’s not a good idea.

PND: What about Buchman impressed you? What were your thoughts on Cada?

Duke: When Ivey was there, people weren’t playing poker. Ivey is a huge presence and no one wanted to be the person to double him up. The other players didn’t want to get their chips in play because they were afraid of giving them to Ivey. Cada and Buchman were the only two playing during this period. They took advantage of that situation and did a good job of taking down the blinds and antes. That shows Cada has something going on. He recognized the situation and played accordingly.

PND: Did Ivey play too tight?

Duke: Ivey folding jacks is the big question. Everything else he did made sense. My guess is that Ivey was sitting there with Moon to his right and felt that he didn’t want to put his chips at risk. If he could double up, he had all of these chips sitting to his right. He was raising in early position in relation to Saout, who wasn’t playing aggressively and pushed in. Saout hadn’t been out there skating and Ivey probably would have called Cada or Buchman. Would I have called? Probably, but I’m speaking in retrospect and I don’t think I’m as good of a player as Ivey is.

PND: What makes Ivey so talented?

Duke: Ivey is the top-winning player in the history of online poker. He’s amazing in cash games. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mixed Games, Stud, or Pot Limit Omaha; pick a game and he’s good at it. His weakest game is probably Limit Hold’em and he’s still really good at that. He’s worked really hard and he puts in the time and hours. He’s good at the math and he’s also good at the feel. He has ridiculous heart and he has the follow-through.

PND: Does Ivey have the same intimidating table presence that your Ultimate Bet colleague, Phil Hellmuth, does?

Duke: Hellmuth’s advantage comes from somewhere else. Ivey terrifies people. No one wants to give him chips. Hellmuth has a different presence. People are so emotionally wrapped up in him that they cease to be able to think. People will throw chips at Hellmuth because they’re so pissed off at him. They want to beat him so badly. You try to avoid him because you’re afraid of getting yelled at or you want to show him up.

PND: What have other players you’ve talked to said about Jeffrey Pollack leaving his post as the WSOP Commissioner?

Duke: The community agrees that it may be bad for the players. What that speaks to, whether it’s true or not, was that he was a big friend to the players and that’s his legacy. What an amazing legacy for someone to have.

PND: What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Duke: I’m celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday as opposed to Thursday. My brother and everyone are converging on my house. I’m doing a small thing on Thursday as well. I love the cooking: turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, and all sorts of desserts.

Blonde Poker set for iPoker axe… due to winning players

The future of online poker room Blonde Poker is in the air due to an extraordinary decision from hosts, iPoker. The iPoker network has given the skin three-months to leave the network due to them having an excess of winning players.

VP of Bodog Poker Network Discusses Expansion

Recently, officials from Bodog announced the formation of the Bodog Network, a family of poker sites encompassing the various Bodog brands around the world with expansion to non-Bodog domains expected in 2010. Poker News Daily sat down with Jonas Odman, Vice President of the Network, to review the company’s plans to take on new sites.

Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Can you give us an update on the Bodog Network? When can we expect more sites to be added?

Odman: We’re talking to potential partners now and will hopefully get someone on board. We have a target list, but we’re looking for someone who is technologically savvy to be the first partner. Ideally, we would like to find someone with a big European base of players.

PND: Are American-facing sites more attractive than those that do not accept U.S. players?

Odman: It’s possible that we would not want or require the customer database of our partners. So, if our partners take American players, it’s fine. They can take players from anywhere they want. It’s a big project. We will have to develop things on the business-to-business side. It’s new to us and will be a big project. We want to move up in player liquidity.

PND: Explain the importance of seeking out European-focused online poker sites to join the Bodog Network.

Odman: We want to cover all limits at all hours so you always have a game when you log in. If you’re a high-limit player and log on during European hours, you might have trouble right now. Also, we will be able to offer better tournaments.

PND: What will happen to Bodog.com’s team of sponsored pros, which includes Evelyn Ng, David Williams, and Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo after the departure of Jean-Robert Bellande?

Odman: Team Bodog will represent Bodog.com and continue to do that. Our operators on the network will have their own teams of players.

PND: Are you planning to offer payment services and other ancillary features as well or only focus on online poker?

Odman: Initially, it will just be poker. The sites will have to do payments themselves. Our target partners are bigger and they won’t need to have those types of services provided to them anyway.

PND: What are the benefits of potential partners moving to the Bodog Network?

Odman: There are some unhappy operators on other networks. On Bodog, the operators can keep their customer databases. That will differentiate us from some networks. We also have a unique solution to rakeback where operators that bring in net depositing players will earn more money than they would on other networks.

The players that the network wants are net depositing players, but with the way the rake is split now, the winning players get too large of a proportion of revenue. We don’t think that’s fair. We want to reward operators who bring in net depositing players.

We will take the players’ deposits as a factor before we split the rake between the operators. The typical rakeback player will be worth much less. The winning players will come anyway because we will have good players for them to play against. By focusing on net depositing players, it will benefit the whole ecosystem.

PND: What is the long-term focus of the Bodog Network?

Odman: Our long-term goal is to be in the top three and it depends on which partners we get. We have a good liquidity now, but we want to move up the ladder.

Creative Thinking

If you are a winning player, you play more hands and you will make more money. Simple, right? Having just come back from a hectic schedule of tournaments in Vegas with the promise of fame and fortune (I came 549th in the Main Event, am I famous now?), I felt that I needed to get back to the grind and put more time in online.

DeepStacks University beta goes live

Headed up by Mike Matusow, the brand new training site been developed to help poker players develop the skills necessary to be a winning player.

"Serving as Dean of DeepStacks University is one of the most exciting projects I've ever been part of," said Matusow.

"The team, from the experienced instructors to the talented executives running the company, is first class all the way.

"I've been around a long time, seen tons of ideas and projects come and go, but when it comes to online poker education, nothing compares to what DSU has to offer. I'll be able to transfer my years of knowledge, experience and strategy development to you in a way that is not possible anywhere else."

The key feature of DeepStacks University is something the site is calling Reactive Training Technology, which essentially allows players to interact with a training video.

Players are able to use separate "modules" to help work on a specific part of their poker game. The University is scheduled to release new modules every week.

DeepStacks University instructors include the aforementioned Matusow, TJ Cloutier, Michael Binger and Adam "Roothlus" Levy.

"DeepStacks University is going to be one of the best training sites around," said Levy. "With interactive modules letting players really feel a part of everything and a team of top-notch professionals, DeepStacks University is sure to be around a long time."

Special early access offers are available for first time users and registered customers through the beta site found at www.deepstacks.com.

Visit PokerListings.com

Showing Emotion in Poker by Nolan Dalla

If the opposite of a bad beat is a good beat, then the player sitting at Table 67/Seat 2 during a typical night at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) was most certainly the benefactor of a miraculous catch – in other words, a good beat.  Most players remember their bad beats, but we usually forget the synchronized miracles that are dealt just as impartially.  Every player who gets crushed by a bad beat has a smiling correlated counterpart with fading memories of gifts from the poker gods.

The smiling man positioned at Table 67/Seat 2 would likely have remained unnoticed amid a roomful of hundreds of tournament players, except for one thing: his reaction.  The instant the player caught his miracle card, he bolted out of his seat, did a few fist pumps in the air, and shouted to no one in particular “Yes!”  He may have even shouted “Yes!” a few times.

No one needed to see the cards or view the board or replay the hand to understand exactly what had happened.  One player got lucky and caught the perfect card.  The other player took a bad beat and began to exit.  It’s a common occurrence at all poker tournaments – whether the buy-in is $20 or $10,000.

As the winning player was stacking the sizable pot, a floor man approached.  He issued a warning, citing the so-called “excessive celebration rule.”  The player expressed surprise at being reprimanded, but accepted the warning without protest.  In his defense, the floor man acted responsibly, enforcing a rule designed to encourage good sportsmanship and deter annoying distractions.

So, what’s the problem?

Looking back at this year’s WSOP, which included 57 gold bracelet events, for the first time ever, I can’t recall a single case of a player who grossly overstepped the bounds of proper behavior.  Perhaps an infraction happened at some point, but I never saw any such incident - and I was there at the Rio without exception for 49 consecutive days.  There were no Hevad Khan sideshows, no Mike Matusow tirades, and no Phil Hellmuth outbursts (as long as ceaseless whining doesn’t count).  Many players and fans probably think this is a good thing.  Sorry, but I think it’s a very bad thing.

Before I explain, I should make it perfectly clear that I despise quiet poker games.  Nothing bores me more than a game where there is absolutely no table talk.  We seem to be forgetting that poker is a game played by people with feelings and emotions, not robots - although sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference with so many ears wired up to iPods, eyes concealed by menacing sunglasses, and faces sheltered by hats and hoods that only serve to bunker a player emotionally from what’s supposed to be a social game.

Call me odd, but I like it when people talk at the poker table and show themselves as they really are.  I like it when people get mad.  I like it when people cheer for themselves.  It might be bad form to curse, but that should be permitted (as long as an opposing player or staff member is not abused).  I fail to understand why occasional outbursts or expletives are considered unacceptable in poker tournaments when all other sports encourage the expression of human emotion.  Last time I checked, anyone who enters a poker room is an adult and participates voluntarily.  If a player pays his entry fee, it’s his or her right to behave like a gentleman or act like a jackass.  And if anyone gets upset at seeing a player pump his fist in the air and celebrate a little, then I have some blunt advice: grow some thicker skin.  Deal with it.  I frankly don’t care to witness 7,000 perfectly-behaved members of a church choir playing in a major poker tournament.  I want to see 7,000 unique individuals – the quiet, the loud, the angry, the boisterous, the flashy, the thinkers, and even some jerks.  What’s wrong with that?

One of the worst bits of poker advice ever written was the absurdly toxic suggestion that players should always stay quiet at the table.  What absolute rubbish.  Of course, when you’re not involved in a hand and a big pot is at stake, that moment should be respected with silence.  But to sit silent and emotionless for hours at a time is not only senseless, but it’s also counterproductive.  I find that it’s much easier to learn something about your opponents - not to mention have a much better time at the poker table - when there is table talk and people are communicating.

The “excessive celebration rule” was ostensibly adapted in order to dissuade players from turning events like the WSOP into a platform for antics more suitable for circus animals.  Undoubtedly, some players have acted like idiots in recent years, but one unforeseen consequence of having television cameras to record everything for posterity is that many players are now clamming up.  Some players don’t want to say anything stupid or appear foolish on television.  I’ve witnessed countless players who are usually colorful personalities at the table suddenly get stage fright and say absolutely nothing when sitting at a feature table.  There are notable exceptions, of course: Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, and Phil Hellmuth immediately come to mind.  Imposing penalties on human emotion, even stifling stupidity, is a bad tournament rule no matter where it’s implemented.

By contrast, one doesn’t see restrictions on player behavior on “High Stakes Poker,” even though the magnitude of decisions is often worth six-figures.  That program is among the best on television because viewers get to see some of the world’s top players in a mostly unfiltered format, complete with their raw emotions exposed – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Take emotion out of poker and you rip the heart and soul out of the game.

One of my favorite writers and best friends is English journalist Tony Holden.  He once famously wrote, “Whether he likes it or not, a man’s character is stripped bare at the poker table.”

Holden was absolutely correct.  I now fear that draconian measures like f-bomb rules and excessive celebration restrictions are becoming the pseudo-utopian utensils that are stripping humanity out the game.  We are now stripped bare, not by our own successes and failures, but by rules – however well-intentioned - which aim to suppress that which is most genuine and beneficial to poker as a spectator sport.  It’s our personalities, which sadly have become stripped bare.

Nolan Dalla can be contacted at nolandalla@aol.com.

2 Months, $2 Million: Tilt Room Debuts, Team Up $200,000

This week on the G4 online poker show “2 Months, $2 Million,” the Tilt Room made its premiere, featuring garbage cans, stuffed animals, and fresh fruit. When the smoke cleared on Week 2, the team of four was up $198,600.

“2 Months, $2 Million” followed G4’s airing of the comedy hit “Wayne’s World.” The online poker show, as usual, began, “Welcome to Las Vegas, where fortunes are made on the flip of a card.” Fortunes were actually made on the golf course to start this week’s “2 Months, $2 Million” episode. A variety of prop bets were featured, including Jay Rosenkrantz getting 4:1 odds that he could make a putt. In the end, he didn’t collect on the $1,000 bet and neither did Dani Stern, who was offered 13:1 odds that he could hit a fairway. However, he earned $2,000 from Brian Roberts when he purposely hit a tree. In the end, Stern owed Rosenkrantz, Roberts, and Emil Patel $1,000 each.

The foursome ended last week up $35,700, with the goal of boosting their bankroll by $2 million collectively. Roberts lamented, “That’s not that far off from $0. We need to be putting in a lot more hands.” Stern was the only player in the red last week and kicked off the episode by continuing to struggle. Down $10,000 early on in Week 2, Stern told “2 Months, $2 Million” cameras, “Lately, I’ve been losing a lot of money and it’s getting a bit frustrating.” Stern promptly headed for the Tilt Room, which was unveiled for the first time.

Patel gave the background of the Tilt Room: “The Tilt Room was Jay’s idea. It’s a place you can go to and take out your frustration.” The room, which appeared to be the garage, featured objects like watermelons, stuffed animals, and a full-sized aluminum garbage can. Meanwhile, Patel interviewed eight candidates to be Personal Assistants, giving the prospective employees various tasks to test their skills. They included a shopping run for exotic foods, removal of golf balls from the bottom of the swimming pool, organizing Patel’s closet, and cutting hair. In the end, Stephanie Tuggle was chosen as the new “2 Months, $2 Million” Personal Assistant.

By Week 2, Day 2, the team was up $122,000. To combat his losing streak, Stern planned a Lockdown Day, 24 straight hours of online poker. He claimed, “In poker, the more you play, the better your chances of winning assuming you’re a winning player. When you play tens of thousands of hands, the luck factor slowly dissipates.” Six hours into Lockdown Day, Stern had dropped $16,000. By hour number 12, he was $30,000 in the red. Consequently, halfway through the day, Stern began drinking instead of playing.

Roberts and the team elected to hire a harpist for Stern in hopes of improving his mentality towards the game. Rosenkrantz quipped, “I feel focused, sort of zenish.” Whether it was due to the dulcet tones of the harp or an attitude adjustment, Stern began winning and Patel’s fortunes turned for the worse. Patel was irritated at the harpist, asking the woman playing the large instrument to “turn it down.” Consequently, Patel and Stern edged closer to each other in bankroll over the week, leading to the first ever heads-up match for Week 2’s Penalty Stunt.

A best of five heads-up duel was held on Full Tilt Poker for the humiliation of carrying out the Penalty Stunt. After dropping the first two games to Stern, Patel righted the ship and won the next three. In the final hand of heads-up match number five, Stern pushed with A-3 and was called by Patel, who held pocket sixes. The better hand held and Stern was forced to carry out the Penalty Stunt. When the week’s results were tallied, Rosenkrantz was up $147,000, Roberts was up $46,000, Patel was down $11,500, and Stern was $18,600 in the red. Collectively, the team was up $162,900 for the week and $198,600 overall.

For his Penalty Stunt, Stern had to play the harp dressed as a fairy godmother on the Las Vegas Strip. In a scene reminiscent of an “Amazing Race” task, Stern had to generate $20 in tips before he could stop his serenade. A chorus of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” was featured, as was a woman telling Stern, “You look better in a dress than I do.” It was Stern’s second straight Penalty Stunt; both have involved the youngster donning a pink outfit.

Next week, a rival group of online poker players challenges the “2 Months, $2 Million” cast. Catch the show at 9:00pm ET on G4 every Sunday.

Commerce Casino To Host New Autumn Tournament Series

After moving the extremely popular California State Poker Championship to May earlier this year, the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, CA, was left with a gap in its schedule of poker events in the fall when the CSPC traditionally was held. To cover up that gap and offer some innovations to the poker tournament world, the Commerce announced last Friday that the Commerce Casino Hold’em Series would take place from September 10^th to September 25^th.

The Commerce Casino Hold’em Series will feature sixteen tournaments that offer buy-ins from as low as $220 up to the $2500 buy-in for the Championship Event. In a departure from most tournaments, nearly each event will have guaranteed prize pool ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 guaranteed for the players. The $335 No Limit Hold’em Shootout tournament and a $1065 Pot Limit Hold’em event will not have guaranteed prize pools and other tournaments that do not have guarantees will offer seats to the $2500 Championship Event to the victors. Along with a wealth of cash, there are other innovations that will be tested during the run of the Commerce Casino Hold’em Series.

One of the best innovations is offered to players in the first tournament on the series, the $220 No Limit Hold’em tournament with a $500,000 guarantee. Slated to have three Day Ones and be a four day tournament, a player who is eliminated on Day 1A has the option to come back and buy in again to play on Day 1B. Any players eliminated on Day 1B will also have the option to buy in again and play Day 1C. The potential exists for a player to take three shots at the $500K prize pool, which should exceed the guaranteed amount.

Other interesting tweaks to tournament poker can be found later in the Commerce Casino Hold’em Series schedule. The Commerce will put a twist to the Heads Up format when they offer the $545 Double Elimination (meaning that a player has to lose twice before they are eliminated) Heads Up Championship on September 22^nd, which will feature a seat into the $2500 Championship Event for the eventual winner in addition to the cash prize. Also on the 22^nd, the first ever $335 Knockout Bounty Tournament with a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool will play out. For each player that a competitor eliminates in that tournament, the winning player will get $100 on the spot from the Commerce Casino.

On September 23^rd, arguably the most original event of the Commerce Casino Hold’em Series will take place with the $1600 Ironman Challenge. The tournament, which will have $10,000 added to the final prize pool, will truly be a test, as it has no scheduled breaks and will test the abilities of the players under extreme and unrelenting pressure. While the tournament does not deny the players the opportunity to leave the felt, the tournament does not stop and the player’s stack continues to be in play and blinded off. The payout of the event is also like no other tournament, as 50% of the prize pool is paid to first place and no deals are allowed at the final table.

Some of the new twists on tournaments are courtesy of the gentleman considered the finest tournament director around today, Commerce Casino’s very own Matt Savage. “The series will feature huge guarantees and unique tournaments that have never been seen before in poker,” Savage commented during the announcement of the Commerce Casino Hold’em Series. “The diversity of events and unusual formats will continue to make Hold’em tournaments at Commerce Casino exciting, stimulating and rewarding for our players.”

With the fall schedule a little slow in the poker community, Commerce Casino’s Hold’em Series should offer different innovations for players and plenty of guaranteed money for the winners. For a full look at the schedule of events or other information, visit the Commerce Casino website to learn more.

“NO IT ALL” - The unknown loser in Full Tilt Highstakes Games

FullTilt highstakes-games are played not only by the big names, but by many unknown players aswell. Usually they stay nameless, because the money flows into the pockets of the pro’s. Most of the new players are mere shooting stars.

A few dauntless inviduals come back again and again. One of these players - no matter his extremely poor performance - is the person behind the nick “NO IT ALL”. His first visits in the big games were seen as far back as 2007.

Losing and still coming back

In 2007 “NO IT ALL” played the highstakes games during six calendar months, totaling a loss of $134k in 48 logged sessions.

If he went broke or not during 2007 is unknown, but the next attempt wasn’t seen until July 2008. The venture was short. He lost $26k in 22 sessions, losing the money in a timeframe of a mere month. He was done losing for some time, as he did not come back for a half year.

Within 2009 “NO IT ALL” has tried to do a comeback into the scene. He cannot be called a winning player even with good humor; In 7 sessions - in January and in June - he has dig himself down nearly $26k.

Total losses of $210k in 77 sessions

As is very well known, poker is a game of great variance. To a professional player it’s not a problem, because a bankroll big enough can buffer the inevitable downswing. To someone extremely rich the problem is none-existent aswell, the gaming account can be reloaded again and again.

No matter, if a poker player wants to win money out of the game, and perhaps even play for living, he should stay far away from “NO IT ALL”’s footsteps.

Source: www.highstakesdb.com

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“NO IT ALL” - The unknown loser in Full Tilt Highstakes Games

Adjusting to a tight game

In order to become a successful poker player you need to be a master of the ability to change gears. In this article we will go over some of the strategies that can be applied to a tight game.

Many poker players make the assumption that they will not be able to make any money playing at tight tables, they are wrong. A good poker player will be able to adjust his game to make him a winning player even at tight tables.

A tight player will always be making the mistake of folding way to many hands, this is something that you can take advantage of and take down a lot of small pots. As they will be folding a lot more than a loose player you can raise with a wider range of hands then normal and in this way you will be taking down a lot of small pots. Eventually the tight player will pick up a good hand and call your bets but by then you will be playing with the money that you have been winning in all the small pots and not having to risk the money you initially brought to the table.

Try out this strategy without risking any of your own money by getting a no deposit poker bonus to your favourite online poker room.

Chris Wallace (Fox) Interview with Poker News Daily

Poker News Daily: How did you get started in poker?

Wallace: I needed a distraction in my life. I needed something to focus on. When I learn things, I get very into them. I was working with exotic hardwoods and developed an allergy to them that was going to kill me if I didn’t stop, so my career was over. My marriage was over and I needed something to distract me. Poker was a good thing. I had a friend, Adam Stemple, who goes by the name “Hatfield.” He had been playing semi-pro for 20 years and I had been playing blackjack for 10 years. He said I should try poker and sold me on the idea. He loaned me a couple of books and, a week later, I had 20 books and five notebooks trying to learn the game.

PND: You’re an instructor at PokerXFactor. What separates it from other poker training sites like it in the industry?

Wallace: It’s a tough industry. It’s like the “Cola Wars” for poker training sites right now. Everybody is starting a poker training site. The tournament roster at PokerXFactor is incredible. The technology that they have available is incredible. When I ran my own site, we were a little two man operation and didn’t really put a lot of money into it. While we were good teachers, we didn’t have a lot of technology. Now, I use the PokerXFactor Replayer with all of my students. I load their hand histories into the Replayer before we start a lesson. Then, we can look through them and talk about hands.

The constant adding of technology is also big. You can watch a hand in the Replayer, stop it, and then add an audio comment. When someone replays the hand, they can hear your comments. Having Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy commenting on your hand histories – it doesn’t get any better than that.

PND: Explain how you become involved with PokerXFactor.

Wallace: I ran my own site. I think we were one of the first poker training sites ever. We were tired of being webmasters and wanted to be poker players. We wanted to teach people poker, but we didn’t want to run a website. It got to be a real pain. We got tired of trying to deal with the technical problems and all of that hassle. We knew that it was going to be the year when everyone was going to start a poker training site. There have to be 100 of them now, at least. We didn’t want to be just another site and we didn’t want to spend a lot of money to compete with the big dogs.

We were looking around trying to decide what to do. I met Scott “Mindwise” Pendergrast from PokerXFactor. He wanted to expand his cash game roster and cash games were what we did. He brought us in and bought our site. We have both primarily done cash game videos. I’m really happy about the way it worked out.

PND: There is a big debate in the poker software industry as to whether PokerTracker or Hold’em Manager is the better program. Which do you prefer and why?

Wallace: I probably hear that question once per day. I even made a video comparing the two on PokerXFactor. They’re remarkably similar. They both took a lot of cues from a lot of modern programming. PokerTracker 3 and Hold’em Manager are a quantum leap from what we’ve had in the past. They’re remarkably better. The two are so similar that it’s tough to pick one.

What I tell everyone is that they both have a free trial where you can run some hands and see how it works on your computer. They were designed on different systems, so some people have bug problems with the Heads-Up Display in PokerTracker 3. People also have problems importing hands. Some people have problems with Hold’em Manager, which doesn’t run on their computer. I tell everyone to download them both because one of them is going to be the most important piece of software that runs on your computer. See which one works better and which one makes the most sense to you.

PND: What advice do you have for newcomers in the game?

Wallace: Study. There are so many resources available to you now. Originally, there were a couple of books. “Super System” was the big one. You could talk to your friends and try to learn the game, which was tough. If you didn’t have any natural talent, you weren’t going to make it. When I got started around 2002, there were a lot of books and I bought them all. I have a huge shelf full of poker books. I studied really hard and, right from the beginning, I was a winning player. The first time I deposited, I was winning. I’ve never had to re-deposit on a site. I’ve only deposited when I try out a new site.

Now, we have an incredible amount of information. Join a training site and become active. Be active in the TwoPlusTwo forums. Be active on PocketFives. Be active on FlopTurnRiver. Become a member of a poker training site and a part of that site’s community. There’s a chat room on PokerXFactor where you can drop by at 3:00am and there may be no one else except for me in there. That means you’re getting a free one-hour lesson with me. If you want to study, there’s so much information out there and the training sites give you such an advantage. I don’t know how people survive without being a member of these training sites.

WSOP To Offer Players Ability To Help Charities

Over the past five years, poker players have stepped to the forefront for a variety of charitable causes. Online tournaments have raised funds to assist the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other deserving organizations. The Heartland Poker Tour makes contributions to the Disabled American Veterans. There is even an organization – founded by Poker News Daily guest columnist Mike Sexton, tournament directors Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher and philanthropist Lisa Tenner – called Poker Gives, that focuses on using poker to assist in fundraising for charities. Now the World Series of Poker will step up and take poker philanthropy to the next level.

For the first time in its forty year history, the WSOP will offer players who cash during each event on this summer’s schedule the opportunity to donate part of their winnings to an organization that the WSOP has aligned itself with. All that a winning player has to do is to ask the payout clerk to leave one percent of their winnings to the Nevada Cancer Institute and the WSOP will arrange to transfer the funds to the Institute. As with many charitable donations, they are tax-deductible and contributors will receive a letter from NVCI for accounting purposes.

During the run of the tournament schedule, a special VIP lounge will be set up for players who pay a membership fee to be able to use the room. The “Aces Club” will be donating a large portion of each membership taken for access to the room to the Nevada Cancer Institute. As of press time, there are still memberships available and anyone who wishes to access the “Aces Club” should visit the area during the first few days of the WSOP.

One of the most popular fundraisers during the last few years at the World Series has been the “Queens of Heart” that play during the Ladies’ Championship Event. Featuring such players as former WSOP Ladies’ Champion Jennifer Tilly, poker professional Kristy Gazes and actresses Mimi Rogers and Cheryl Hines, the team has raised large amounts of money for women’s causes over the past few years. This year, the WSOP has created a special line of poker clothing for women, available at the Rio and on their website, WSOP Shop. The proceeds from sales of the “Queens of Heart” merchandise will go to the Nevada Cancer Institute, continuing the tradition the team has driven while playing on the felt.

There will be two special charitable tournaments during the run of the WSOP. “Ante Up For Africa” – the cause promoted by actor Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke – will be back for their third annual event. The $5,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em tournament is open to anyone 21 years or older and this year, for the first time, will be a part of the ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP. For the Media Charity Event this year, the players who reach the final table will have donations made in their name to the Nevada Cancer Institute.

Finally, the Championship Event of the World Series will also have a way for players to make their mark in a charitable way. Poker pro Phil Gordon’s charitable cause “Bad Beat On Cancer” and the Nevada Cancer Institute will both benefit from players who donate, much like earlier in the tournament schedule, one percent of their winnings to charity. All contributions are tax deductible and will benefit research into the cure for one of mankind’s worst diseases.

With the WSOP adding in this charitable aspect to their poker schedule, the poker world is once again proving that, while there may be no charity at the poker table, there is a charitable heart inside all who play the game.

Why beating other players isn’t enough?

You are playing in a nice homegame and winning all the time - taking other peoples money. Feeling like a real winner! Then you switch to the local casino or an online pokerroom and start breaking even - or even losing?

What happened to the winning player you used to be?

Are the opponents tougher or are you not playing your A-game anymore? Might be but actually the thing that can turn you from a winning player to a losing player is the amount of money that pokerrooms and casinos take from running the games - the Rake.

To beat the game you first need to beat the rake - and then the players. You might think that it is not that big of a deal, but it actually is. Online pokerrooms normally can take up to $3 rake/pot, live casinos for example 10% of the pot (with some cap like 10$).

Think about having poker as a hobby, would you like to pay $50-100/day to just play poker? Some professionals even pay as much as $20.000 in rake/month! Pretty expensive hobby!

Beat the rake!

Step 1: Rakeback

Be sure to have a good rakeback-deal or pokerbonus-deal - you can get 27-50% back from the rake paid to casinos. That can easily be hundreds or even thousands each month.

Top rakeback/bonus deals by Highstakesnews.com:

1. Full Tilt Poker - 27% rakeback

2. Red Kings Poker - Excellent Bonus-program

3. Propaganda Poker - Excellent VIP-program

4. PokerHeaven - 30% rakeback

Step 2: Races

On top of rakeback you can join some races to get even more money back. For example Highstakesnews.com is offering the $1000 Race for only our players. There are still not too many people competing for the money - so you can easily win extra hundreds of dollars!

Read more: $1000 Race for HSN-players

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Why beating other players isn’t enough?

Top 5 least popular WSOP Main Event winners

Most people would cite Chris Moneymaker's win at the 2003 WSOP as the catalyst to the poker boom that occurred shortly thereafter.

Moneymaker's amateur status, passion for the game and fortuitous name all helped turn poker into a multi-billion dollar industry and he has to be considered one of the Main Event's most popular winners as a result.

But there have been some winners, especially recently, that have done little to grow the game and, in fact, may have even kept poker from becoming more mainstream.

With the 40th anniversary of the WSOP just weeks away and plans in place to bring every living Main Event champion back for the 2009 Champions Invitational freeroll, the debate has been opened yet again as to the top five least popular WSOP Main Event winners in history.

The top candidates, by common consensus:

5. Jerry Yang (2007)

There's no question Jerry Yang brought his A-game to the final table of the 2007 WSOP Main Event. The social worker entered the day as the short-stack but quickly went to work knocking out seven of the eight final table players.

He was the most aggressive player and walked away with the biggest prize as a result. Yang also had a fairly inspirational background, including spending four years in a refugee camp in Thailand and winning a $225 satellite into the tournament.

Unfortunately Yang never really embraced his status as an ambassador for poker. And since winning $8.25 million at the 2007 WSOP, Yang has one cash - $1,324 at the Binion's Poker Open.

Yang's religious nature proved difficult to market and even when he took on a poker nickname (The Shadow) it failed to gain him much credibility.

Some poker sites called Yang "a bigger bust then Jamie Gold" and in 2008 Wicked Chops Poker dubbed him "the most anonymous WSOP Main Event winner in recent history."

Yang is an outstanding person and a good citizen, but his contributions to the poker world have been minimal. He will likely go down in history as one of the most forgettable Main Event champions.

4. Amarillo Slim (1972)

Amarillo Slim (born Thomas Austin Preston, Jr.) was one of the most popular WSOP champions when he won back in 1972.

He went on talk shows and was the face of poker for some 30-odd years.

Although he was often branded a hustler and his character was questioned throughout his life, it wasn't until much later things really went bad for Preston.

In August 2004 Slim was indicted on three charges of indecency with a 12-year-old family member. The charges were reduced to a misdemeanor assault in a plea bargain.

"Slim is a great character and was crucial to the growth of poker and the WSOP in the seventies, but darker recent chapters in his life have tarnished his reputation," explained ESPN columnist Gary Wise, who also runs www.wisehandpoker.com.

"There are many poker players who won't associate with him as a result of the charges brought against him in 2004."

Slim is another classic case of a missed opportunity. The outspoken Texan could still be one of the ambassadors for the game, but instead was cast as a villain.

There were even rumors that Nicolas Cage was set to play Slim in an motion picture before the charges were laid and the movie was canned.

Poker players have long debated Slim's level of guilt and he did explain himself in an exclusive interview with PokerListings.

But at this point it would likely take a miracle to completely clear his name.

"With that in mind, Slim did a lot to grow the game while there have been a number of champions who did little in that regard," added Wise.

3. Robert Varkonyi (2002)

Robert Varkonyi outlasted 630 players to take down the 2002 WSOP Main Event and the $2 million that came along with it.

Varkonyi was so new to poker and considered by so many people to be a fish that Phil Hellmuth agreed to have his hair shaved off for charity if the MIT graduate won the Main Event. Varkonyi won and Hellmuth made good on his promise.

That was essentially the peak of Varkonyi's poker stardom.

Possibly due to his uninteresting nature, many in the poker industry have Varkonyi pegged as the worst overall champ.

"Not really sure how anybody could make an argument for anyone other than Robert Varkonyi," said Steve "Chops" Preiss of Wicked Chops Poker. "Varkonyi almost single-handedly made poker uncool."

What makes Varkonyi even more intriguing is the fact the very next year another virtually unknown player won the Main Event and changed the landscape of the poker world forever. His name was Chris Moneymaker.

"Had Chris Moneymaker not come along in 2003 and erased the memory of Varkonyi from the collective consciousness, where would the game be today?" Preiss asked.

"Varkonyi seems like a nice enough guy. But there isn't one cool thing about him. If anything, he probably would've turned away all of the hipsters that flooded the game and made it so big.

"Not to mention Varkonyi is probably recognized as the worst player of any winner. So, this one is really a no brainer."

2. Jamie Gold (2006)

The WSOP Main Event peaked in 2006 with 8,773 players. The halls of the Rio were overflowing with sponsors, online poker rooms and professional poker players. In many ways it was the biggest year in the history of poker.

The final table had some compelling stories with Michael Binger, Paul Wasicka and Full Tilt Pro Allen Cunningham all gunning for title.

Instead it was monster chip leader and former Hollywood agent Jamie Gold who took home championship honors and the whopping $12 million that came along with it.

Gold wasn't exactly known as the most honorable player during the tournament as many accused him of angle-shooting and taunting other players. But it was what happened less than a month later that seriously damaged his reputation and his bankroll.

In mid-August, Crispin Leyser, who had allegedly partnered with Gold for half the winnings, sued Gold for not paying up.

Gold eventually settled out of court with Leyser, but the damage to his reputation was already done.

There are a lot of shady moves in the poker world, but the cardinal sin in many players' eyes is welching on a debt.

To make matters worse, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement act was passed in the fall of 2006 and the start of Gold's reign as champion seemed to usher in a dark time for poker.

He wasn't exactly the type of character poker players wanted on late night TV and ESPN promoting the game. Gold was almost universally trashed in the poker world with people calling him a "donk," a "chump" and worse.

In September, an article written by Stanley R. Sludikoff for www.pokerplayernewspaper.com seemed to encompass what most poker players were feeling at the time.

"Now we have a new champion, Jamie Gold, who is leaving a bad taste in our collective mouths, by showing us a side of his character that appears to be despicable," wrote Sludikoff.

It didn't help Gold's case that he came directly after Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, considered by most industry insiders to be huge advocates for the game.

Gold won the biggest tournament in poker history and yet most people in the poker industry seem to prefer to forget about him completely, speaking volumes about his marketability.

1. Russ Hamilton (1994)

So you've heard it all. Some of the worst WSOP champions in history. In all their boring, controversial and distasteful glory.

But there's one name that rises above the rest.

Only one of those Main Event winners would go on to help run one of the most popular poker rooms on the Internet and allegedly cheat players out of their money.

Russ Hamilton won the 1994 WSOP Main Event and the $1 million that came with the title. Strangely, Hamilton also won his body weight in silver thanks to a promotion run by the World Series.

At the time, many considered Hamilton a great champion as he was a popular Las Vegas insider with plenty of poker experience.

Everything changed in the fall of 2008 when the Kahnawake Gaming Commission claimed it had found evidence that Hamilton was the main person behind the multiple cheating incidents that had occurred at ((Ultimate Bet)).

The reaction from the poker world was both predictable and passionate.

"I gotta think that Russ Hamilton is clearly the worst for poker," said Dan Michalski, founder of the popular Pokerati.com blog.

"Who would have thought when he won in 1994 and received a hefty overlay in silver - a celebration of his gluttony - that he would later become the poster boy for just how bad poker can be sometimes."

Hamilton was slagged by almost every media source in the poker world and some players were even less kind.

2006 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider was particularly incensed by Hamilton's bad behavior.

"He has done more to hurt poker than the next 100 worst [players] combined," said Schneider.

"He has tainted poker nearly beyond repair and has ruined and hurt more poker player's lives than anybody else."

According to Schneider the damage went deeper than simply taking a few bucks.

"He made winning players question their abilities, had people borrow money to pay him off and had people questioning their whole existence," he said. "No one is even close."

Hamilton's fall from grace proves that when large amounts of money are being traded back and forth, there's always the risk of corruption.

On the plus side, the situation has reminded poker players around the world to be ever-vigilant and always aware of what's going on in their poker game.

That's the list. Glaring omissions, bad picks and new suggestions are all welcome in the comments below.

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Little seeks POY repeat at WPT Foxwoods

In fact, WPT Season 6 Player of the Year Jonathan Little will enter this week's Foxwoods Poker Classic within striking distance of a repeat performance here in Season 7.

Little sits tied for third on the World Poker Tour's Player of the Year leaderboard, his 1,000 POY points just behind John Phan (1,400) and Kathy Liebert (1,300) with only two events left on the schedule.

Players earn points for finishing in the top seven at WPT events, with seventh taking 200 points and first a cool 1,000.

"I'm well aware of [the standings] and getting a fourth-place or higher [finish] will put me in the lead," Little told PokerListings.com. "Hopefully I can make it happen. Winning Player of the Year back to back would be huge."

Little's 1,000 points, ironically, came with his win at Foxwoods' World Poker Finals this past November, a victory that earned the Pensacola, Fla. native a cash reward of $1,120,310.

It was another strong showing for Little, who with two WPT titles and nearly $4 million in career earnings, has cemented his reputation as one of the hottest young talents on the Tour.

"I'm very, very excited about this one," Little said in an interview with PokerListings following the win. "I wasn't really excited about the Mirage one [his first WPT victory], for some reason."

"I mean, I was excited, but this one confirms that I can actually do it again and it's not just a huge luckfest."

Full Tilt's Erik Seidel is actually the Foxwoods Poker Classic returning champ, but it's Little who returns to Connecticut this week with a chance to make history. And he likes his spot.

"Foxwoods is a great place to play poker," Little said. "They have a giant poker room and they always take care of their players."

And the opposition?

"In general, I think the players are worse than the players in Vegas," he said, before suggesting the same is true for every other casino in the world.

"I do think the players [at Foxwoods] are a little more stubborn than normal."

The main event at Foxwoods begins Friday, with the first and only Day 1 getting under way at noon Eastern Time.

Action will continue over the weekend and into next week, with the final table playing out on Wednesday, April 8.

For his part, Little remains realistic about his shot at double POY honors.

"I'm probably one in 50 to take the top four in Foxwoods and one in 100 to take the top five at Bellagio, so I'm probably around 3% to repeat," he said.

Tune in to the PokerListings Live Tournament section all week for a glimpse of FieryJustice in action.

 

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