Poker Player Newspaper Online

World Series of Poker Continues - Seven-Time Gold Bracelet Winner Phil Ivey Currently in Third Place

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Official Report

Event #57

World Championship

World Series of Poker Main Event

No-Limit Hold'em

Buy-In: $10,000

Number of Entries: 6,494

Players Remaining: 64

Total Net Prize Pool: $61,043,600

Number of Places Paid: 648

First Place Prize: $8,546,435

July 3--November 10, 2009

Tournament Highlights:

The Main Event Continues

-- The 2009 WSOP Main Event continued with the play and conclusion of Day 6. The day included a deep run into the money, as the tournament field size was reduced by nearly two-thirds. All 185 players who started play were already guaranteed $36,626 in prize money. Now, after 11 days and 50 hours of tournament play, all finishers are guaranteed at least $90,344 in prize money.

-- Day 6 began with 185 players. The day ended with 64 survivors.

-- Prize money payouts increase at various in... Continue reading World Series of Poker Continues - Seven-Time Gold Bracelet Winner Phil Ivey Currently in Third Place

Stealing Those Blinds

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Thievery is an essential part of poker. If poker were simply a game where the best hand always drags the pot, it would lose much of its strategic nuances and in turn, much of its appeal. The giant all-in bluff is the most dramatic form of poker larceny, but there are many others. Stealing the blinds and antes is small potatoes by comparison, but it's still a crucial tactic, especially in tournaments.

Typically it goes something like this. Pre-flop, the early position players fold, the mid-position players fold, everybody folds ... until the action reaches a late-position player who opens for a raise. The small and big blinds are then faced with deciding whether or not to call the raise or fold right there and let the raiser, whom they suspect in on a steal attempt, take their blinds. Statistically speaking, the blinds are likely to be holding only random so-so cards. Very often the players in the blinds will fold, even if they suspect they're being mugged, rather than de... Continue reading Stealing Those Blinds

Steel Meets Royalty

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Desiree, a poker dealer in a southern California card room, wrote to ask two hold 'em bad-beat questions. The first question was tougher than this one and we'll wait for a later column to answer it. She asked what the odds were against a steel wheel losing to a royal flush.

We think the math is fun and logical so we'll break it into small chunks for easy digestion. You should skip to the end if you're not at all interested in combinatorial mathematics. Here goes.

There must be an ace on the table in any one of four suits. There must be two wheel cards out of four on the table and there are six ways to do that, C(4,2). There must be two royal cards out of four on the table and there are also six ways to do that. There are 144 boards similar to the one shown that qualify.

There are 2,598,960 ways to deal five cards from a standard deck, C(52,5), so the probability that a board will qualify is 5.54068*10-5.

Forty-seven cards rema... Continue reading Steel Meets Royalty

Poker News - WSOP; Europe; Barney Frank; PPA

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

While the poker world focused its attention on the 2009 World Series of Poker, legislative and legalevents concerning online gambling dominated June's international scene. As four-fifths of the 2009 WSOP events hit the books, the series had already produced one triple winner (Jeffrey Lisandro) and two double winners (Phil Ivey, Brock Parker), the most prodigious production of multiple winners in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the United States' increasingly isolated stance regarding online gaming continues to come under siege, both from within and outside the country's borders. The news highlights:

LISANDRO NOTCHES RARE BRACELET TRIPLE

News from the World Series of Poker dominated the poker headlines in June, with international star Jeffrey Lisandro claiming the lion's share of the glory. Lisandro turned in a rare triple at the WSOP in all three stud variations, claiming gold in $1,500 7-card stud (Event No. 16), $10,000 world championship 7-card/8 (Event No... Continue reading Poker News - WSOP; Europe; Barney Frank; PPA

World Series of Poker Continues - 185 Dreams Remain Alive in Main Event

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Tournament Highlights:

The Main Event Continues

-- The 2009 WSOP Main Event continued with the play and conclusion of Day 5. The day included a deep run into the money, as the tournament field size was more than cut in half. All 407 players who started play were already guaranteed $27,469 in prize money. Now, after ten days and 40 hours of tournament play, all finishers are guaranteed at least $36,626 in prize money.

-- Day 3 began with 407 players. The day ended with 185 survivors.

-- Prize money payouts increase at various intervals. Every player still alive in the tournament (185th place and higher) is now guaranteed at least $36,626 in prize money.

-- This was the 45th day of the WSOP. Play continues for three more days, plus the finale to be played in November.

-- Tomorrow (Sunday) begins at noon and is expected to include five levels of play.

... Continue reading World Series of Poker Continues - 185 Dreams Remain Alive in Main Event