Poker From The Rail
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Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Planning to hit Las Vegas this summer to play in a few tournaments during the World Series of Poker for the first time or just to rail the action? Even if you’ve been there before, “Tuscaloosa” Johnny is along with a guest post giving you some great ideas where to stay, how to get there, and what to do.
Vegas Vacation Logistics
By “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis
Logistics. It’s generally a pretty boring topic (UPS songs about it be damned), but it’s important to try to figure out the best way to get from Point A to Point B. This applies whether you’re shipping goods across the world or just trying to figure out your Las Vegas plans.
There’s a lot going on not only at the Rio—home to the World Series of Poker—but all of Vegas. If you only plan to stay in Sin City for a week or less, you must try to cram a lot of poker and tourism into a short period of time, depending on your inclination to see the city and experience the other poker rooms. Here’s a quick primer on some of the important logistics of Las Vegas. Consider it your cheat sheet to packing a lot of fun into your stay in the most efficient way possible.
Where should I stay if I want to save a few bucks?
The Rio has actually been running some pretty good rates this summer and you can get a good room–not a true suite as they claim—for a pretty good price, but if you want to stay for weeks and are looking for something cheaper, you have plenty of options in the city.
As a general rule, the farther north you travel on the Strip the lower the rates you will find. Stratosphere (technically just north of the Strip), Circus Circus and Riviera all offer rock bottom prices on rooms, but these properties are practically on an island now with the closure of old-time casino hotels like Sahara, Stardust and Frontier. Your best bets for cheap rates are Imperial Palace mid Strip and Hooters and Excalibur on the south end of the Strip.
Rates Downtown are cheapest, as a rule. El Cortez, which is a block east of the Fremont Street Experience, is offering rooms for less than $20 a night on some dates this summer. While this property is the butt of many jokes, the rooms here actually get decent ratings from customers. If you stay on Fremont Street you’ll need some good transportation to get to the WSOP, which leads us into the next question…
If I choose not to stay at the Rio, what are my best transportation options for getting there?
To really answer the question, we must consider cost versus convenience. If money is no issue, you can cab it all over town. This is not a viable option if you plan to do a lot of traveling and are cost conscious, however, as cabs will cost you an average of $10-$20 a trip depending on how far you go. You can also rent a car for as low as about $20-$30 a day.
The city has a good bus system, with buses hitting every stop on the Strip an average of 15 minutes apart. Each ride costs only $2-$3 and you can buy multi-day passes that provide unlimited rides. Expect an excruciatingly slow ride. Since these buses stop every block or so, with plenty of people getting on (and having to feed their money into the fare machine) and off, you should leave for the Rio well ahead of any scheduled tournaments you plan to play–or expect to be late.
If you happen to be near mid Strip and need to catch a ride to the Rio you have an alternate option. Caesars Entertainment runs shuttle buses from Rio to and from sister properties Harrah’s and Bally’s. These shuttles pick up from each location every 15 minutes or so and can be a viable—and free—option for getting from the Strip to the Rio, and vice versa.
Can you walk it? Sure, if you can stand the triple digit temperatures during the day and the fear of getting mugged on this lonely stretch late at night. It’s about a mile walk from Caesars Palace to the Rio, and that will only take you to the front. It’s several hundred yards from the front of the casino to the WSOP area.
So I busted out of the noon WSOP event rather quickly when my [insert bad beat story here]. What other tournament choices do I have now?
Most events at competing tournament series also start at noon. Those that feature later starting times are smartly (at least in this writer’s opinion) trying to capture some of the WSOP “bustout” market. Namely, events at Binion’s Poker Classic start at 2 p.m. while the Caesars Summer Mega Stack series features alternate type events at 4 p.m., including plenty of large stack turbo NLHE tournament and Omaha tournaments.
Plenty of the casino poker rooms offer daily tournaments, with most in the evenings. Only a few, such as Binion’s and The Venetian, offer buy-ins of $100 or more. Most of the tournament series also have $100 or so “second chance” tournaments, usually beginning around 7 p.m.
Of course, you could just stay at the Rio and play the $235 2 p.m. tournament, the $185 6 p.m. tournament or the $135 10 p.m. tournament. Caesars Entertainment knows how to get the rake.
I don’t really want to overpay for food at the WSOP Poker Kitchen. What other options do I have?
Good luck finding cheap food at the Rio. If you buy into a WSOP bracelet event you get a whopping $10 coupon to at least save a few bucks. Too bad the Rio is on an island, so to speak, so you can’t quickly grab a bite to eat somewhere else on your dinner break.
If you have access to a car, you can make a quick jaunt over to the In ‘n Out Burger on Tropicana, which is only a couple of minutes away by motor transportation.
If you plan to leave the Rio in a situation where time is not a factor and you want to find cheap food, avoid the Strip and head Downtown. The buffets are cheaper, and there are a few fine dining options like Vic ‘n Anthony’s at Golden Nugget, Hugo’s Cellar at Four Queens and Binion’s Ranch Steakhouse at, well, Binion’s that generally offer lower prices than comparable restaurants on Las Vegas Boulevard. There’s always the 99-cent shrimp cocktail at Golden Gate, as well.
This is my first trip to the city and I want to see as much as I can in a day. What should I do?
As someone who has spent WAY too much time in Las Vegas, this is the advice I especially love to give since I’m one of those types who isn’t chained to the poker tables and loves to see the city. The advantage of tourism in Las Vegas is that 90 percent of the must-see attractions are all located on or very close to Las Vegas Boulevard, ne “the Strip.”
If you’re a poker player and only have one day to devote to tourism I would first get me a very comfortable pair of shoes as you will be doing a lot of walking. Fortunately, with plenty of sister properties connected to each other you can avoid some of the heat. Now get yourself to Mandalay Bay to start your Strip tour from south to north. Walk through the inside here to Luxor and then Excalibur. Walk across the pedestrian walkway over Tropicana Avenue to New York-New York. Head across the street and explore MGM Grand. Stop and play a little poker if you desire.
Head north to Planet Hollywood and then dart into Paris. From here you can walk through to Bally’s and then cross the street to Bellagio. Visit the poker room, of course. You’ll likely see some familiar faces. Get in a game if you can. Now walk outside and backtrack toward Aria and Cosmopolitan, two of Vegas’ newest faces. Stop to catch a show of the famed dancing Bellagio fountains if it’s near the top of the hour or half hour. If not, wait and catch the show upon your return.
Play a little poker at Aria and then head past Bellagio to Caesars Palace. Check out the massive casino, admiring the sportsbook and maybe playing poker if you have some time. Walk through the Forum Shoppes and you will come out near the entrance to The Mirage. Take the moving walkway into here and head left to see the poker room, which once was boss in Vegas many moons ago (perhaps you recall Mike McDermott’s lust for it in “Rounders.”)
By now the sun has hopefully set so you can take in the nighttime attractions the Strip has to offer. Try to catch the volcano “eruption” outside The Mirage at the top of the hour closest to sunset and then walk across the street to visit The Venetian and see the replica of St. Mark’s Square from the actual Venice out front. The massive poker room-easily the largest in size in Las Vegas—is right at the front of the casino. Try to get into a game for a little while. If you want to see the pirate “battle” at Treasure Island across the street go for it, but you won’t be missing much if you don’t and, besides, you have to line up early to get a decent view.
From either The Venetian or Treasure Island, head down to Wynn on the other side of Spring Mountain Road. You may notice it looks similar to Bellagio. No surprise there since Steve Wynn built both properties. Walk to the back to catch some poker action.
You’ll want to head down to Fremont Street before 11 p.m. to catch the last show of the Fremont Street Experience so keep an eye on the watch. If you’re short on time grab a cab. If you have plenty of time you can take the bus, which stops in front of Wynn. On the ride to Fremont Street watch for the Silver & Gold Pawn Shop of “Pawn Stars” fame, which is located a few blocks south on Main Avenue.
Catch the last showing of the FSE and then walk down to Binion’s. Skip the current poker room and walk back to the former poker room. Here in the back of the casino you will see the former WSOP tournament area and the Gallery of Champions that is still located on the left wall if you’re facing the back. Stop in the poker room on your way out to say you played here and then go get some sleep. If you still have pep catch some $1-$2 NLHE action across the street at Golden Nugget.
Tags: 2011 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Your Best Bets for Vegas this Summer
By Johnny Kampis
With so many options for accommodations and poker rooms, the choices in Las Vegas can be overwhelming. We’ve compiled some of the best bargains and features of Las Vegas to help you spend your time in the desert gambling mecca wisely.
Best $250 and under tournaments
Several of the tournament series in Vegas this summer are geared to appeal to more modest roller, with Binion’s, Caesars and The Orleans all offering small buy-in affairs. But the best of the bunch is The Grand Poker Series at the Golden Nugget. Held in the comfy and spacious Grand convention area, this series is known for its deep structures. Granted, this means you may play for more than 10 hours and bubble or min cash, but you can’t complain that you didn’t get a fair shake with the structure.
Best daily casino tournaments
For your money, you can’t beat the Venetian for its daily tournaments, as the structures are deep for an event with a reasonable buy in. The 7 p.m. nightly frolic has a $120 buy in and often attracts a few hundred players while the Deep Stack Extravaganza is running. Expect fast structures at most other daily tournaments, and fees of excess of 30 percent on many of them. One of the best returns for your money is the $50 + $10 daily tournament at Mandalay Bay that returns 80 percent of the cash to the prize pool.
Best tournaments for the non Hold’em fans
Although Golden Nugget gets an honorable mention here, the Summer Mega Stack Series at Caesars Palace earns the kudos for its daily 4 p.m. tournaments. Granted, you get a lot of turbo NLHE events in these afternoon gatherings, but you also see plenty of Omaha tournaments—10 in all, as well as a HORSE tournament. In addition, where else can you play a heads-up NLHE event with a $120 buy in? Of course, if you’re a high roller, then the WSOP offers plenty of events in most poker disciplines, but with buy ins that start at $1,500 most of us must watch from the sideline.
Best satellites
If you tire of the turbo structure of WSOP satellites that are designed to collect your money and determine a winner quickly, head over to The Venetian for the Deep Stack Extravaganza. The Italian-themed property has the edge in four ways. First, the structure is fair and gives you some play. Second, these are two winner satellites. Granted, you can’t win as much, but this method reduces the variance and keeps the satellite interesting when one player is running away with the chip lead. Thirdly, unlike the WSOP, The Venetian lets you buy in other players by trading satellite chips for cash, which helps you unload extra satellite chips and makes it easier to sit around and grind these for a profit. Lastly, the satellite chips you win here are good for any tournament held at The Venetian—including the dailies.
Best cash games
It’s hard to top the action at the Rio during the WSOP. You can choose from tables and tables of NLHE games of any size, in addition to games in other disciplines, as well as mixed games. You may find it hard sometimes to get a seat in the non-NLHE tables, as the ratio of tables to the number of players on the wait list tends to be more skewed. Unfortunately, you do not get rated for comps when playing cash games at the WSOP, and the rake structure is not the most favorable around.
On the Strip, the Bellagio offers plenty of action, but expect a long wait to get a seat-especially on a weekend. The Venetian and Aria are other rooms with plenty of action worth checking out during your stay.
Best mixed games
If you have the roll, you will find plenty of mixed games to your liking at the Rio. However, most of the mixed games start at 10-20 limits and go up–way up. For more recreational mixed games, try The Venetian or Aria, which are both open to spreading mixed games if you can get enough interest. The Venetian gets the edge because it tends to run more non-NLHE games.
Best hotel bargains on the Strip
If you can’t afford five-star accommodations, you still have plenty of options on the Strip—it just depends how low in quality and far from mid Strip you are willing to go. It’s easier to find deals north and south of the heart of the Strip. If you want to stay close to Flamingo Road–the thoroughfare that will take you to the Rio—check out Imperial Palace and Bill’s Gambling Hall. Bill’s is right on Flamingo, while Imperial Palace is a couple blocks up the Strip. Check rates at the Gold Coast, the Rio’s next door neighbor. If you can get a good deal here it’s hard to beat the convenience to the WSOP.
Best hotel deals Downtown
You would be hard pressed to find an expensive room on Fremont Street, as both the price and quality of most hotels here are quite a downgrade from those on the Strip. For a good deal and a nice room, it’s hard to beat the Golden Nugget, which offers regular $39 weekday rates on its accommodations. This rate tends to double on the weekend, but you will get a room that’s better than basic rooms on the Strip that rent for higher rates. Main Street Station is worth a look, too, as the accommodations get high ratings and the rates are even lower than the Nugget’s. The catch is that Main Street Station is a block down Main Street, which is an area you may not want to walk after dark.
Tags: 2011 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Your Vegas Summer Series Guide
By “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis
As usual for a Las Vegas summer plenty of tournament series abound to attract some of the masses that descend on the Rio for the World Series of Poker. Tournament types and buy ins vary widely across the city and events can be found on the Strip, off Strip and downtown on Fremont Street.
Bellagio Cup
Only heavy hitters need apply to the Bellagio Cup this year, as the schedule is trimmed down to only two tournaments—including the $10,300 World Poker Tour event.
Bellagio will offer two $1,080 super satellites into the main event on July 10 and 11, and the WPT tournament will run from July 12-19. A second $5,180 NLHE tournament will take place on July 18 and 19.
See the schedule at http://bellagio.com/casino/world-poker-tour.aspx
Binion’s Poker Classic
String, duct tape and perhaps this event are all that continue to hold together the stalwart downtown property, which has seen its hotel and famed coffee shop close in the last few years. The Binion’s Poker Classic returns for a fifth year of competition from May 30 to July 11 with most tournament buy-ins at $150 and $200.
This series has been known for a wide variety of offerings, but tournaments definitely lean more toward No-Limit Hold’em in 2011 with 32 of 43 events in this format this year. The main event is a $1,000 NLHE tournament that lasts for two days, beginning on June 30. Of note is the final event on July 11, a $150 Dealer’s Choice tournament. The structure sheet for this event only reveals that all games will be of a limit nature and that games will rotate every eight hands, and does not specify how games are called.
Most events at the Binion’s Poker Classic begin at 2 p.m. A nightly $100 NLHE second chance tournament will be held at 7 p.m. Despite the lack of a hotel, players can get discounted room rates here—they are put up in sister property Four Queens across the street.
See the complete schedule at http://www.binions.com/gaming/poker_classic.php
Caesars Palace Summer Mega Stack Series
Want a big series? Try Caesars Palace, which will host 91 events in its Summer Mega Stack Series from May 30-July 15. No, that is not a typo—91 events.
This series will feature a NLHE event each day at noon and a variety of other tournaments daily at 4 p.m., including turbo NLHE, heads-up NLHE, HORSE, Limit Hold’em and all of the Omaha disciplines—including a Pot-Limit Big “O” Hi-Lo in which each player gets five hole cards instead of four.
Most buy ins will be in the $120 and $230 range, with a four-day $1,060 championship NLHE event that has two starting days.
Check out the schedule at http://www.caesarspalace.com/casinos/caesars-palace/casino-misc/poker-mega-stack-summer-2011-noon-detail.html
Grand Poker Series
This Golden Nugget series throws in some interesting wrinkles this year with the addition of a “Young Guns” NLHE event in which players must be 30 and under and the “Guys ‘n’ Dolls” NLHE tag team tournament with teams consisting of one male and one female player.
The majority of the buy-ins are in the $125 to $230 range, and this series is notable for the large number of Omaha tournaments, with 15 events in the Pot-Limit Omaha, Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo and Limit Omaha Hi formats. Most events begin at noon and players start with 10,000 chips in each tournament (2,000 more can be had for the ubiquitous $10 dealer bonus).
The series runs from June 4 to July 4 with a two-day $1,080 championship NLHE event on July 2 and 3 and the annual Suzie and Howard Lederer charity tournament and pool party on Independence Day. The charity tournament, which always draws plenty of poker pros and semi-celebrities offers up a $20,000 seat on Poker After Dark to the winner.
Room rates begin at $42 per night on weekdays.
See the event list at http://goldennugget.com/downloads/gps_2011.pdf
Orleans Open
Once a major player in Vegas summer tournaments, the Orleans Open now consists of a small series of events prior to the WSOP. Running from May 21-29, most events cost $255 to enter and the final NLHE tournament will feature a $540 buy in. The Orleans, which is about a mile off the Strip, is home to some of the most populated Omaha Hi-Lo games in Vegas and this series will feature three events dedicated to that poker discipline, with one HORSE tournament among the mix.
Participants in each tournament get a $5 food voucher for use in casino dining areas. The Orleans will offer $35 weekday and $75 weekend room rates during the Orleans Open.
The Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza
This thrice-annual series at The Venetian is the closest that the WSOP has to a rival, and may be the root of Harrah’s offering low-buy-in afternoon deep stack tournaments to ostensibly keep the crowds from heading to the Strip. Despite Harrah’s ploys, the DSE still attracts plenty of players.
This is a great tournament series for fans of No Limit Texas Hold’em and not so much for fans of other poker games. As usual, the DSE summer schedule only features one HORSE, one PLO event, and one PLO8 tournament among the dozens of NLHE events during its May 27-July 15 run.
Most buy ins here are in the $340 and $550 range, with a handful in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. The series culminates in a $5,000 championship tournament. All tournaments with buy ins of $550 and less will be two-day events; those with higher buy-ins will be three-day events.
The top 10 players during the series will be awarded additional money, with one-half percent of each prize pool going to these rewards.
Room rates are higher this summer as management at The Venetian has decided to be tougher on comps and discounts in 2011. You can get a room here—all of them are suites—for $129 on weekdays and $179 on weekends. In addition, you must pay a $17 resort fee and there is a $30 charge to switch from one king bed to two queen beds.
Find the schedule here http://www.venetian.com/uploadedFiles/The_Venetian/Content_Blocks/Gaming/Deepstack_Extravaganza/DeepStackIII2011.pdf
Tags: 2011 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
By “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis
Since we are a few weeks into the new year, I hope you haven’t broken any New Year’s resolutions you made among the revelry of welcoming in 2011. Surveys have found that a high percentage of people who make such resolutions tend to break them. A major reason why? Those goals are unreasonable. It’s one thing to say you’re going to lose 20 pounds in a given year, and one major undertaking to actually do it.
The same is true of most poker goals. You have a chance to maintain goals if you set the bar at a reasonable level. Let’s take a look at some goals you should not set, as well as good goals and how to reach them.
Set goals for level of play, not winning “X” amount of dollars.
For years I maintained a streak of winning at least $10,000 in a calendar year—a streak that ended in 2010. The reasons are myriad, the largest of which was a reduction in playing time from having a newborn son. Every year my goal for the next year as it pertained to poker was to simply win my five figures for the year, but it’s a goal I could not reasonably expect to keep up. Unless you are playing in games with exceptionally low variance—such as against a weak field day in and day out—it’s hard to maintain a consistent win rate over 12 months.
A graph of some of the top tournament players (who experience high variance) might show a win greater than $1 million one year and a loss of the same amount the next. I recall a post on 2+2 in early 2010 from a guy whose goal was to win $100,000 that year playing low stakes online poker. After he won only a few hundred dollars in January he was never heard from again. Set a standard of play and play to it. If you win your $10,000 or more in a given year all the better.
Pledge to experiment in other games
Sitting at a desk and typing on a computer all day can be quite tedious. Just ask yours truly. So can playing the same $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em game online for hours on end. If you have yet to branch out beyond NLHE cash games, pledge to try something new this year. I always enjoyed heads-up sit-n-go’s, and tried the ultra turbo variety on Full Tilt Poker last year when they began offering them. I’ve found these quick SNGs both fun and profitable over the long term.
FTP offers no shortage of options if you want to experiment with new games. In addition to the variety of games, from staples like Pot-Limit Omaha to new draw games such as Badugi and Deuce-to-Seven, you can try several different formats, such as capped pot games or steps. Try something new and you may see your profits increase.
Work toward the WSOP or online equivalents like FTOPS
If you are an online regular but haven’t played live poker beyond the casinos in your state, set a goal of traveling to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. No, I am not saying you should gather together $10,000 to play in the main event. That would be a prime example of an unreasonable goal. Set aside what you can to pay for airfare, hotel rooms and in-city transportation needs, and then use what’s left over to play some poker in Vegas. Perhaps you will have enough to try your hand at one of the smaller WSOP events. Maybe you can only play small cash games or try a tournament at The Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza. Whatever your bankroll, just head to Sin City, see what all the WSOP fuss is about and have some fun.
If you can’t afford the plane tickets, visit a major tournament stop near you to try your game against good live competition. If you are the kind of player who just can’t stand live poker due to the slowness of the game, set a goal of playing some FTOPS events this year. Set aside some of your bankroll to play satellites or buy in directly. Take your shot at a major haul by winning one of these major online tournaments.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
WSOP Schedule Likes & Gripes
By “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis
Everyone was waiting on the edge of their computer chairs for Harrah’s to release the 2011 World Series of Poker schedule, which they finally did January 24th. Not much has changed, which depending on your point of view could be a good or bad thing. Since the “Spaceman” has already filled you in on many of the details let me share my likes and gripes about the plans for the Rio this summer.
I’d like to see them move events around on the schedule more. I can cite the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split tournament as a prime, and personal, example. This event is always held on the first week of play at the WSOP. It’s one I would have loved to have played in, especially with some Battle of the Bloggers freeroll money I’ve been fortunate enough to win in the past, but due to its presence early on the schedule I’ve never been able to enter. Like most regular folks, I am unable to attend the entire WSOP—even in the pre-baby days around the Kampis household the most time I spent in Las Vegas in the summer was five weeks. Since my focus has been on being there for the Main Event, I have never attended the first week of the WSOP.
The Harrah’s brass should rotate events around the schedule so that those players who only come to town toward the end of the Series can occasionally play the $1,500 O8 tournament, or the $1,500 Limit Hold’em event, to cite another example.
A lower buy-in heads-up tournament would be great, but I can understand why they choose not to offer such an event with a buy-in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. Can you imagine how many tables they would need for a low buy-in HU field? Last year’s HU tournament had a buy-in of $10,000 while that has increased to $25,000 this year. We mortals can merely dream.
Tournament organizers were definitely smart to hold more $1,000 NLHE events on the weekends. Each of five weekends on the schedule features one of these tournaments, which draws crowds of thousands of “weekend warriors” who aren’t quite willing to pony up $1,500 or more for other bracelet events. I sometimes wonder how many people they might draw if they dropped one of the buy-ins for an open bracelet event to $500, like the Casino Employees NLHE tournament. I don’t think they could fit all the players for that theoretical event. Of course, I think the four figure buy-in will never drop to three digits for a bracelet event, either, lest it “cheapen” the winner’s hardware. I have a few friends who have never played a WSOP bracelet event who plan to try their luck in one of the $1Ks this year. Were the buy in $1,500 I doubt they would enter.
While we are on the subject of low rolling, another wise decision is the continued presence of the daily afternoon deep stack tournaments. Harrah’s plans a daily $235 tournament at 2 p.m., a $185 one at 6 p.m. and a $135 event at 10 p.m., all offering more play than the normal cheap WSOP tournaments. They started these last year to keep more of the crowds at the Rio from wandering over to The Venetian for its Deep Stack Extravaganza. Smart move, but I heard that maybe the play was a little too good in these WSOP deep stacks, as it took until the wee hours of the morning to play down to the final table in the afternoon tournaments. Although I doubt they will, organizers should scale back the structure a bit so players aren’t playing until day break.
The rake continues to be ridiculous, but what are you going to do? As long as people keep paying it and continue to show up in droves, the rake will only go up or remain the same. It will never go down. Harrah’s takes 10 percent of the prize pool out of bracelet events up to a buy-in of $1,500. They collect 9 percent of $3,000 events. They even take 4 percent out of the $50,000 Players Championship. That’s a whopping $2,000 (!) per entry. Although it doesn’t expressly list this on the schedule (another gripe of mine about many tournament listings—but that’s another subject for another day) I can assume the afternoon deep stack is $200 + $35. That’s a nifty 15 percent per entry. The rake in tournament poker continues to be harder and harder to beat.
Tags: 2011 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
What’s Right, What’s Wrong with the ESPN WSOP Coverage
by Jason “Spaceman” Kirk
by “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis (in italics)
While there are always things that can be improved, I think that the WSOP coverage on ESPN tends to get better from year to year. Just take a look on YouTube at a final table from even a few years ago and it’s hard not to notice the little differences that add up to a better product. (Remember those “Here’s how you play Texas Hold’em” segments, anyone?) That doesn’t mean the ESPN crew can’t make improvements, but all told the 2010 WSOP was a better watch than past years’ coverage. A few of the high notes:
- I enjoyed the fact that the hands shown this year had a lot more information for me as a viewer than they did in the past, something I think is particularly important since ESPN has chosen to market poker as a sport. From knowing each player’s position without having to be told by a commentator, to seeing statistics on how aggressive each player had been, to knowing how different players’ stacks had risen and fallen throughout the day, there was a fuller picture of the tournament on display than ever before. I expect that the presentation of these stats will continue to involve as ESPN looks to improve its product.
While I also appreciate what ESPN has done to increase the information available to use hardcore poker fans and players, these statistics need some context. Did a player voluntarily play 30 percent of his hands because he was overly aggressive or a card rack that day? Did a player win a high percentage of hands because he was playing against a weaker table that let him run them over? And please separate the percentage of ties from the overall winning percentage of each hand. This is confusing and misleading.
- The cuts away from the Main Event to other bracelet events that Johnny mentioned in his second point really helped to establish that the WSOP is more than just its final tournament. I would love to see these cutaways expanded into longer segments that highlight some of the year’s bracelet winners, especially those who have a good human-interest backstory or a long history in the game. Maybe I’m crazy, but I really think that giving the general audience a better sense of the sheer scope of the WSOP – in terms of both the annual event and its long-term history – can never be a bad thing.
Perhaps they could take this a step further and show viewers the entire scope of the WSOP area, from the satellites to the daily tournaments to the registration desk. This might encourage more average Joes to make their way to Vegas if they knew there was more to the Series than $10,000 and $50,000 tournaments.
- The Tournament of Champions was an excellent addition to this year’s coverage. Every other sport covered on ESPN has its own all-star game, so why not the WSOP? The new format is perfect for television, especially considering how the Main Event is touch-and-go each year in terms of how many recognizable pros go deep enough to warrant coverage. Since the ratings were strong when the TOC was shown and dropped later after the public had been exposed to about 578 episodes of the Main Event, maybe ESPN should consider devoting a few more episodes to the fan-friendly TOC.
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, ESPN, Guest Posts, Jason "Spaceman" Kirk, Tuscaloosa John, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
The best in Japanese poker poetry
By “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis
The form is simple, but the message is often deep. The haiku, a famous form of Japanese poetry, only consists of 17 syllables, with three phrases made up of five, seven and five syllables respectively. Apparently, when poker players aren’t sitting at the tables many of them spend their time coming up with poker haikus, as I have read many funny ones on various forums and blogs over the years. Evidently, you can form a haiku for about any situation in poker. To wit:
A lament of queens:
In poker and life
Two broads seem like good fortune
But will leave you broke
A lament of kings:
Do pocket kings win?
Always an ace on the flop
I should just muck them
A hand shakes and shakes
As my opponent looks down.
Can I lay down kings?
Trepidation about bluffing:
Went all in with rags
He is reaching for his chips
My fate is at hand
On bad calls:
Why did I call him
With middle pair, no kicker?
It was not a bluff
About catching up:
I paired my kicker
His chair is now empty seat
Victory is luck
A gutshot straight draw
My card comes on the river
Poker gods love me
On trapping opponents:
Yes I have the nuts
Check, must hide my emotions
You’re all in? thank you
Of tiring tales:
A bad beat story
That my friends don’t want to hear.
I know a forum…
A dream situation:
World Series, Heads Up
Turn Gives Me The Holy Nuts
He Moves All-In – Call!
A discourse on Hellmuth (circa TOC 2004):
I was beat by Duke
Was outplayed by everyone
But I still whined loud
About everyone’s favorite hand, “The Hammer”:
7-2 off suit
Who would have ever thought that
The boat was coming?
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
Greetings and salutations from your friends here at Full Tilt and Poker From the Rail. Things will be a little slow around here as we partake in various holiday festivities which will involve over-eating, gift giving, and more than our fair share of family time. I’m sure there will be plenty of time to hit the online tables once the food coma subsides and the little ones are distracted buy loud shiny objects so be sure to look for either one of us gambling it up this weekend.
Guest blogger “Tuscaloosa Johnny” Kampis took a little time to ask some of your favorite players their holiday wishes for the coming year and here’s what we heard.
“Some jewelry.” – Team Full Tilt member Andy Bloch
(When we asked him if he meant the WSOP kind he replied, “Is there any other jewelry worth getting?”)
“I wish for good health for my family and friends and to run well in life and poker.” – Full Tilt Poker Pro Roy “The Oracle” Winston
“Healthy baby boy. (My wife and I are having our first child Jan. 28.)” – Full Tilt Pro Scott Clements
“The cards to break even.” – Full Tilt pro Bill Edler
“I wish for a quiet recharging holiday with the gift of run good for the new year.” – Poker agent Eric Brewstein
“WSOP bracelet and red pro status on FTP.” – Allen Kessler, professional
Leave it to one of our favorites, Allen Kessler, to give us a little levity at the end. I think making “The Chainsaw” a red letter pro could be one of the most entertaining things to happen during 2011. Combine that with perhaps a durrrr-like Challenge except at the micro-limit tables with a hard cap on stop/loss limits. We’d like to hear from our readers, what are your holiday wishes for the coming year?
No matter how you plan to spend the next few days, fellow blogger Dave McCarthy and myself would like to wish everyone a great, safe holiday season. If you are fans of the Full Tilt Poker page on Facebook, check us out for a series of freerolls between now and the New Year. Until next week, we present you with the latest episode of the hit online animated series “The Micros”. With special guest appearance by Team Full Tilt’s Erik Seidel.
Cheers.
The Micros: Holiday Special!
The Micros: Episode 1
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, The Micros, Tuscaloosa Johnny
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
With less than 24 hours until cards are in the air for the 2010 November Nine, the players are all in town taking care of their business and making final preparations. Photos and videos were taken yesterday on top of the Rio, there’s a little rehearsal in the Penn & Teller theater this afternoon, and then I’m sure they will try to relax as much as possible before tomorrow. The last question of the 2010 World Series of Poker will be who is our World Champion.
On a less critical note, the WSOP Player of the Year title is still somewhat up for grabs. Frank Kassela currently leads but can find himself in a tie should Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi pull past the other 8 players to earn the title Monday evening. One topic of discussion recently has been whether Mizrachi accomplishments this summer are greater than Kassela should he be victorious. Mizrachi’s resume would include a bracelet in the two most prestigious events ($50,000 Player’s Championship and the Main Event) plus two other final table appearance while Kassela finished the summer with 2 bracelets, a third place finish, and another final table bubble.
We began to wonder if the Player of the Year system was flawed and should it be changed/tweaked. In my opinion the system needs to be changed to allow the points for each event to weigh the buyin/field size similar to the way our friends at Bluff Magazine award their Player of the Year. But no one is asking for my thoughts.
After speaking with a few colleagues, I thought it would useful to get differing ideas about the entire process. “Tuscaloosa” Johnny and Jason “Spaceman” Kirk jump right into it below, we would love to hear your thoughts on it as well.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
It’s about that time for more and more folks to start making their way to Las Vegas as we edge closer to the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. Whether this is your first time to Vegas or you’ve been here each summer there are places around town other than the two big rooms of poker in the Rio. If you are here for the Main Event you will have plenty of time off until you find yourself sitting in Day 3.
Tuscaloosa Johnny brings us another guest post with some of the news things around town you might not know about. He starts right off with the popular WSOP Deepstack tournaments going off each afternoon. The fields have been growing daily and plenty of good value in the event.
New in Vegas
By “Tuscaloosa” Johnny Kampis
Las Vegas continues to grow and change from year to year, with new casinos rising and old ones imploding. Each year you travel to the desert mecca you’re bound to find something new and interesting. The year 2010 is no different. If you’re headed to Vegas for the WSOP this summer here are some new poker offerings and attractions that might be worth your time.
Tags: 2010 World Series of Poker, AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Guest Posts, Tuscaloosa Johnny, WSOP
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