PD Archieve 11-08

Articles from Other Publications Small Ball, the Bluff, and the Boom
James McManus	The "Poker Boom" unofficially detonated on the evening of March 30, 2003, with the Travel Channel's first broadcast of the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio. Produced by Steven Lipscomb, the show's lavish production values blended tabletop holecard cameras, informative sidebars, and beginner-level explanations from Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, and all of it was hosted by Playboy cover girl Shana Hiatt, who often wore just a bikini. (The commentary would become more sophisticated as casual viewers began to pick up on the tactics and lingo of tournament hold'em.) The World Poker Tour went on to average 1.1 million viewers during its first season, with reruns attracting an estimated 4 million per show. Finish the Story
Inside Straight
Card Player News Team	An act that would establish a legal framework to license and regulate online poker in the United States was introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (New Jersey) on Oct. 1. If passed, S. 3616, called the "Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act of 2008," would amend current U.S. Code to "provide for the licensing of Internet skill game facilities." The text of the proposed bill defines "Internet skill game" as "an Internet-based game that uses simulated cards, dice, or tiles in which success is predominantly determined by the skill of the players, including poker, bridge, and mahjong." Finish the Story
Ties Are Not Like Kissing Your Sister
Steve Zolotov	When a hand is tied and the pot is split, players will often say, "It's like kissing your sister." They mean that a split pot is not very exciting. (I also have heard players say this when they break even for a session. To me, breaking even is far from boring, especially if I've been way behind or even way ahead earlier in the session.) Ties are so important that I believe it is necessary for me to interrupt my series of columns on suited aces to cover the subject. Ties are a very important consideration in poker games with common boardcards, like hold'em, Omaha, and Omaha eight-or-better. It is essential to get used to thinking of your share of ties as part of your winnings. The terminology is often a little muddled. Finish the Story
Raising issues Raising from late position in a tournament can sometimes be a major leak depending on the table
Aaron Hendrix	You're playing a poker tournament and it is folded to you on the button. The two players in the blinds are tight and you know that you’re supposed to raise with any two cards here. But as you look down at your cards and see 7♣-2♠ you can’t bring yourself to do it. You fold, the small blind folds, and the big blind sheepishly turns over 4♣-2♠ and rakes in the pot. A day later you’re playing a different poker tournament and once again it is folded to you on the button. You have Q♠-9♠ and although the big blind is a very loose, aggressive player you remember your mistake from yesterday. You raise and the big blind moves all-in over the top of you. You fold and the big blind grins and shows pocket twos. Finish the Story
Lose the Pick 'n' Mix ‘Mixing it up’ in tournaments by adding a random element to one’s play is often a mistake
Dr. Tom Sambrook	Poker players are always being told they need to ‘mix up’ their game. It’s lazy advice bandied about by all levels of player, but what exactly does ‘mixing it up’ mean? A mistake many players make is to assume it means introducing an element of randomness into their play. They reason that it is important to be hard to read in poker and the ultimate defence against a read is to make some of their plays random ones. If you are completely outclassed in a game there may be a case for being random rather than trying to be clever, but to be honest your best strategy would be to keep sticking it all in pre-flop with a range of values that go up as your stack goes down. This is highly non-random, highly readable and still not easy to find a big overlay against. But if you are the better player, randomness is always a poor choice. Finish the Story
After 24 Years, History Repeats Itself
Mike Caro	You’ve heard about Orac, right? Of course not! And if I don’t tell you about Orac, apparently nobody will. I’m pissed. True, I'm supposed to be this mellow poker ambassador who politely shares his research and plays the clown as the so-called “Mad Genius of Poker” and never gets upset. But yesterday I was gloomier than ever. So I asked myself this unspoken question: “What’s wrong, Mad Genius?” And in the time it would take you to roll over a straight fl ush to win a $100,000 showdown, I had blurted out, “I’m really pissed!”. Finish the Story