AIPS Event #3 Champion: gadzooks64

Gadzooks64, affectionately known by the Ante Up Nation as PokerSlut, bested 44 other players to take the banana in Event #3, Pot-Limit Omaha Hi. Her Aces and 10s did in MacAnthony. Both survived TooncesTDC, who came to the final table with a 2-to-1 chip lead over second place. But don't cry for Toonces, who earned not one, not two, but all three bounties (and has four overall) en route to a 3rd place finish. He took out Scott on the bubble (6th) and Fasso on the bubble+1 (7th) and Chris in 28th.

Congrats, zooks, and send us that address so we can ship out that banana!

NEXT EVENT: Razz, 9 p.m. Thursday.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
1. heffmike           159.75
2. AHCS110           115.45
3. SoupNzi                 108.00
4. TooncesTDC           102.80
5. gadzooks64                90.00
6. sixama                     77.00
7. RiceF88               72.04
8. HollidayNuts         56.50
9. MacAnthony            51.75
10. TableImage          42.38
11. gosabres66          36.48
12. Zerkaboid             30.60
13. Thornado                27.00
14. willhopper          21.19
15. ElSnarfGrande        20.25
16. gnashville             18.00
17. bodie25             16.95
18. ErsatzSantiag0   13.47
19. txBoot               12.85
20. C furbee            12.71
21. zsg                    12.46
22. ChicagoJoe6       10.80
23. eammeupfast     9.00
24. TTitan71              8.48
25. mmmGuinness      8.47
26. EDcrash                   7.20
Dmat                               7.20
28. ski2005                7.06
rh52056                     7.06
30. Unimpressed        5.65
imtoomuch4u             5.65
32. Nikademus             5.40
schoon157                    5.40
34. Beaker D              5.00
danlpoon                   5.00

New merch on Ante Up! Store!

Scott and I added some more merchandise to our Ante Up! Store. Remember when I joked on the blog about making an "Ante Up! is my Co-Pilot" license plate? Well, we don't have one of those just yet, but now there's an official license plate frame for the Ante Up! Nation. And a couple of new Ante Up! slogans and logos are up on the site as well. I've included a couple of the images here, but you can make the shirts have one slogan on the front and another on the back. We have quite a few orders in, so join the revolution!

Cheers, and good luck in the PLO tournament on Saturday. I don't plan on being the first one out this time. Consider last night a gift, a handicap if you will.

Chris

PPT Update

Scott and I found out the PPT has postponed filming until 2007, and this includes the Foxwoods stop in November. But this does not affect the WPT. Here's the release:

The PPT Season II tournaments scheduled for Foxwoods (November 7-8, 2006) and Bellagio (November 29-30, 2006) have been postponed.

While we continue to negotiate the broadcast of the second season, we have decided to delay these tournaments for the benefit of players who need to make long-term travel arrangements as well as the league itself.  We expect to resume filming in 2007.  Until then, we look forward to seeing you on the World Poker Tour.  Thank you for your continued support.

Also, our blog is the featured blog on TypePad today, and I'm not sure how long it will be up so check it soon. UPDATE: We are still listed but have been bumped to the next one as they update it every day. You can still click the link, but then go to READ MORE at the bottom or click here.

AIPS Event #2 Champion: SoupNzi

Congrats to SoupNzi, who takes the second banana of the year after opening a huge chip lead in the Stud event and holding to best sixama with a pair of 8s. Chris bowed out, um, first, giving danlpoon 5 bounty points. Other bounties went to sixama (Scott) and TooncesTDC (Fasso). Seventy-two Ante Uppers showed up. Thanks again guys and gals!

NEXT TOURNAMENT

AIPS #3: Pot-Limit Omaha High, noon Saturday.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
1. heffmike           159.75
2. AHCS110           115.45
3. SoupNzi                 108.00
4. sixama                     77.00
5. RiceF88               72.04
6. HollidayNuts         56.50
7. TooncesTDC           51.80
8. TableImage          42.38
9. gosabres66          36.48
10. Zerkaboid             30.60
11. willhopper          21.19
12. gnashville             18.00
13. bodie25             16.95
14. ErsatzSantiag0   13.47
15. txBoot               12.85
16. C furbee            12.71
17. zsg                    12.46
18. ChicagoJoe6       10.80
19. beammeupfast     9.00
20. TTitan71              8.48
21. mmmGuinness      8.47
22. EDcrash                   7.20
Dmat                               7.20
24. ski2005                7.06
rh52056                     7.06
26. Unimpressed        5.65
imtoomuch4u             5.65
28. Nikademus             5.40
schoon157                    5.40
30. Beaker D              5.00
danlpoon                   5.00

Episode #68 recap

MAIN TOPIC

Chris and I laid out the basics for getting a home poker game started.

CARDS: Go with KEM or Copag. They're durable enough to last a long time.

CHIPS: 11.5-grams are the gold standard. You'll want a 500-chip set with a metal case.

TABLE: The kitchen table will work, especially with a nice coating of felt from Wal-Mart or Jo-Ann Fabrics. But you can peruse eBay for a nice standalone table. Scott got his for about $300. Cheaper, tabletop options are abound for the budget-minded.

SNACKS: Supply them if you're a giving soul, or ask for players to bring their own. Avoid food that will compromise the cards (ribs, chicken wings, pizza, etc.)

PLAYERS: Friends and co-workers are best, because of the built-in relationships that will make the difficult disputes more manageable. But if you need other players, and want to take a chance on strangers, www.homepokergames.com and www.meetup.com are good sources.

GAMES/STRUCTURES: What are you trying to accomplish with your regular game? Is it just a fun time with the guys? Then play whatever comes to mind and keep the stakes low. Or are you trying to become a better player? Stick with games and limits that you'll find in a casino. Do you just want to cash in? Well, invite the losers who played with John Candy in "Stripes."

NEXT WEEK: In Part II of our Home Game discussion, we'll take the thorny issues that crop up when friends play at home. E-mail us some examples or questions.

OTHER TOPICS

We lauded heffmike for winning the first AIPS banana, and then Scott offered these tips for Stud:

1. DON'T DRAW: Play your big hands strong from the beginning. Beware when you're drawing, and rarely if ever slowplay.

2. STARTING HANDS: The best starting hands are three of a kind (rolled up), high pairs (AA, KK, QQ), three to a flush or three to a straight, and then smaller pairs. The second two categories are hands you want to play cheaply and get away from early if you don't improve.

3. READ THE BOARD: Pay attention to the cards that are out, and think about how they play with your hand and your opponents' hands. If you can't beat another player's board, then you can't win by calling. And unless a 10 or a 5 is on a players board, then can't have a straight unless they have one concealed.

4. POSITION CHANGES: Unlike hold'em when your positions remains the same throughout the hand, you may act first on one street in Stud, but not in another. Paying attention to the chances you'll have to act first will save you money.

5. BET FOR VALUE: Like all limit games, you'll make your money over the long haul. Make as much money as you can from your best hands, and save a bet or two in other hands, which will add up over a session or a tournament.

And then Chris offered some wisdom about Pot-Limit Omaha:

1. POSITION RULES: A lot of good hands become worthless after the flop, so you rarely want to be raising from early position.

2. STARTING HANDS: AAKK double-suited is the best, but most any hand with four high cards and flush potential are good as well. Bottom line: You want your four cards to work together.

3. LIMP OR FOLD: When you're out of position, you don't want to be driving the action.

4. AVOID LOW HANDS: While you have a good shot at hitting a straight with something like 2-3-4-5, that straight very likely won't be good.

5. HAVE MULTIPLE DRAWS: It's not uncommon for a flopped straight to lose. Tread carefully with such a hand (or top set) unless you have redraws to flushes or full houses.

Also, Chris titillated us with a recounting of the Paddy Power World Strip Poker Championships, where the winning player earned 10,000 pounds and a gold fig leaf. And Scott mentioned a new poker site, ComeOutPoker, which caters to the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender community. With so many poker sites out there these days, new ones need to have a hook.

And finally, Columbo shared yet another 6-6 hand for us to ponder during the week.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Steven, presumably from the United Kingdom, shared a hand with us where he was heads-up against a tight player with KcQd in the big blind. He called a min raise before the flop, and then was put to the test with a flop of J-10-3, all clubs. He ran out of time in assessing his best move on the flop, and had to check. His opponent then pushed all-in. If Steve folded, he'd have a decent stack left. If he called and missed his draws, he'd be left with 1,000 chips. If he called and won, he'd be sitting pretty with 4,500 in chips. With the multiple flush and straight draws, along with the possibility of overcards that might pair, Chris and I suggested he call, which he did. He ended up losing the hand, but was in better shape than he expected. One lesson: Sometimes the mathematically right decision isn't the best tournament decision.

AIPS Event #1 champion: heffmike

Heffmike wins the inaugural Ante Up Intercontinental Poker Series (AIPS) banana, taking the No-Limit Hold'em title when his A-8 rivered an 8 to bust AHCS110's A-9. A record 113 Ante Uppers turned out for Event #1. Chris represented the Ante Up brass well as always, finishing 7th when his A-K failed to improve on AHCS110's 8-8. Other bounties went to Ersatz Santiag0, who sent Fasso to the rail with 2-2 vs. A-6, and Beaker D, who also used 2-2 (with 2 other deuces on the board!) to best Scott's 4-5 two pair. Heff, send us your address so we can ship out that banana!

NEXT TOURNAMENT
AIPS #2: Stud, 9 p.m. Thursday.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
1. heffmike           152.55
2. AHCS110           101.05
3. RiceF88              72.04
4. HollidayNuts        56.50
5. TableImage         42.38
6. gosabres66          31.08
7. willhopper            21.19
8. bodie25               16.95
9. ErsatzSantiag0     13.47
10. C furbee            12.71
11. TTitan71             8.48
12. mmmGuinness     8.47
13t. zsg                    7.06
13t. ski2005              7.06
13t. rh52056             7.06
16t. Unimpressed      5.65
16t. imtoomuch4u     5.65
16t. txBoot               5.65
19. Beaker D             5.00

Show #67 recap

Here's a look back at this week's show, and it was a doozy.

ANTE UP! STORE: That's right, you asked for it and now you got it. Have you been pining for boxers that show a little insight into your character but just couldn't find that perfect pair? Do you need to buy that perfect gift for that special someone in your life? Then look no further! We have what you're looking for here. That's right, Scott and I have created the Ante Up! merchandise line at cafepress.com. Everything you could ever want in cheap, mass-produced swag, from bumper stickers and clocks to mouse pads and (gulp) thongs. That's right, I said thongs. It's real simple. Head to the site and pick out what you want. We will update the store with more designs as the demand grows. Also, if you buy something, send us a picture of you with the item (wearing it or using it) and we'll post it here on the blog (and perhaps use it in some grand blackmail scheme down the road when Scott and I want to retire). But please, send only tasteful photos, if you catch my drift.

AIPS: Well, it's here, the first tournament in our Ante Up! Intercontinental Poker Series. It's a $5+.50 NLHE event at Full Tilt Poker on Thursday (9/21) at 9 p.m. Since we are an educational show first, we thought it would be helpful to give five tips for that week's game. We'll do this every week during the series. This week I get the class started with these gems:

Tip No. 1: Be aware of position. Don’t make a move when you have a short stack behind you. If you’re thinking about stealing the blinds, be aware the players behind you might be ready to push with any two cards.

Tip No. 2: Wait for the antes to kick in before really getting involved. That’s when your stack can really take off and yet a lot of players tend to forget just how much is out there every hand.

Tip No. 3: Avoid trap hands such as KQ, AQ, AJ. If someone comes in for a raise from early position and you’re looking down at AJ in middle to late position, you might want to pass.

Tip No. 4: Don’t go broke with a queen in your hand. Our good friend Gambit reminded us of this before we played in the charity tournament and what did we do? We went broke with a queen in our hand. A queen is weak when you’re playing for all of your chips.

Tip No. 5: If you’re playing against Fasso, any two cards will do. And if you’re in a hand with me or Scott, fold.

WPA MEMBERS NEEDED: I received an email this week from Kenna James regarding the World Poker Association. The founder of the WPA, Jesse Jones, is looking for members. The WPA is a non-profit organization that looks out for the best interest of poker players worldwide. They have about 860 members right now and need 1,000 members so they can nominate and elect the WPA Initial Board of Trustees. Go to the WPA Web Site and if it’s something you believe in and want to support you can join for $50 with a credit card.

SLOW-PLAYING ADVICE: One of our newer listeners is catching up by listening to our back episodes and was wondering if we would dedicate a whole show to slow playing. We didn't think we could do a WHOLE show on it but we offered some advice. The gist of what we said was to be heads-up or to have a real monster like a boat or nut flush if you choose to slow play. Most experts will tell you that you'll make more on your big hands if you bet them and play them fast. Slow playing hands like AA or trips can get you into a lot of trouble by the river.

ONE MINUTE MYSTERY: Columbo returns to conclude Episode 23. Scott and I felt the check on the turn was weak, but that wasn't what Columbo was asking us. He wanted to know what he should do NOW that he has made this weak play. We agreed that the opponent was likely riding his rush with overcards and that Columbo should push to get max value for his hand. If you would like to see a complete recap of this mystery and read what some of our listeners had said go here. And as always, if you'd like to read the blog of our Columbo go here.

MAIN TOPIC: Scott and I decided to delve into the psychology of poker and how it pertains to us. We were hoping that you might be able to extract from our discussion lessons or philosophies that you can relate to and learn from. As we found out, I like to compete more than I like to gamble, which is why possibly the bad beats are harder for me to take, especially from a RCG vs. a human dealer. Being an athlete and competitor my whole life, if I was better than someone they weren't going to beat me unless I broke an ankle. But in poker, I can be better than someone, and play better than that person and still lose, and we discussed how that made me feel (tissue anyone?).

Scott made some good points in that there is less risk in Limit play (as did a lot of our listeneres here and here) but then I countered with the fact that there is no reward if there is no risk. (This is putting it gently, I had a harsher way to get my point across on the show). Scott also said I have very little gamble in me as a person (not that I don't gamble when playing poker) and so that is another reason why I have trouble dealing with these bad beats.

We also discussed our philosophies regarding rebuying or reloading. Scott had lost some cheddar recently and decided to reload. I decided to take a break. But, I have been known to reload when I have a bad session via bad beats. If I am playing well while losing I will take a chance on a rebuy, but if I'm donking off money I will quit. Scott pointed out that overall in his career he's a losing player while I won from the first tournament and never have been in the red. These two facts make it easy to see why we play the way we do. I tend to think of it as their money I'm playing with so I choose to play the higher limits to get more. Scott thinks of the money he plays with as tuition, a learning curve if you will. So he's gathering information in dribs and drabs and I'm getting it in bulk, so to speak.

One of the things we felt a person could do to minimize the losses while not having to sacrifice playing the game they love is to play pot limit or now CAP GAMES, which Full Tilt ironically introduced the same week as my burnout. The show got long so we decided to cut the strategies involved in playing these cap games, so I'll supplement here:

♠ Take chances in pots you might not take in a deep-stack game.
♠ Pick up your semi-bluffing game. If you were in a deep-stack game, your semibluffs might be forced to fold on the turn, but when the pot is capped then the odds could stay in your favor and can keep you in a hand for a price you can afford.
♠ Play some medium-strength hands more aggressively.
♠ Slow playing comes back into play with little risk.
♠ Enhance your reading ability. Since you can only lose 30 bets total, you might start calling when you think you are ahead. You can start to trust your reads, and if you’re wrong, you only lose a max of 30 bets.

A full explanation of cap games and strategies by Howard Lederer was emailed to Full Tilt players last week, but you can find the article here.

HAND OF THE WEEK: Our friend Greg emailed us to say the Hands of the Week should have been called Hands of the WEAK lately. He decided to send us one with some meat in it. I pointed out that although some of the hands didn't involved big decisions and might have been played poorly, we are here for instruction. And some players truly don't know where or why they went wrong in a hand. Everyone can learn, and if you can get Johnny Chan or Daniel Negreanu to listen, why not?

Anyway, Scott and I agreed that Greg should have played his bottom two pair fast on the flop. Any passiveness can get punished with a vulnerable hand here. He was right to fold to the river bet, but he shouldn't have been in that spot to begin with. Thanks for that meaty hand Greg, and if you send us your address we'll get you a SunPoker hat or shirt or deck of cards.

That's about it, and we hope to see you at the tables.

Chris Cosenza

AIPS 101: Reading assignments

OK class, settle down. Settle down. In a few short days, your 10-part poker exam begins, so Prof. Long wants to make sure you're well-versed in all poker games. Here's your reading assignments for the fall term, chosen from my personal bookshelf. Do you have personal favorites? Well, raise your hand (and post) and share them with the class.

NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM: If you can't find a no-limit poker book, well, order a doubleshot of carrot juice, straight up - your vision is horrible. I'm among the chorus of players who have been convinced of the powers of Harrington on Hold'em Volume I and Harrington on Hold'em Volume II, both by Dan Harrington. And, of course, you can do much worse than the Bible of poker, Super System, and the New Testament of Poker, Super System 2, both by Doyle Brunson. And all of these books at least touch on short-handed and deep-stack play, so they'll serve you well in the three AIPS no-limit events. Bottom line: there are so many no-limit books at Barnes & Noble that you'll probably best served by choosing a tome by the player whose style most closely fits your style. For me, it's Action Dan.

LIMIT HOLD'EM: No book has done more for my poker game than Winning Low Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones. It's an interesting, accessible read. I also prefer Jennifer Harman's chapter in Super System 2 to Bobby Baldwin's chapter in Super System. But don't get cheap on me: No one book will teach you every game, and Lee Jones is a must for limit players.

STUD: The only book on Stud on my shelf is Super System, with the chapter penned by Hall of Famer Chip Reese. And it's a good one.

RAZZ: Again, Super System is my only source for razz information, and again the few pages written by Joey Hawthorne are about all you need. Honestly, there's just not enough nuance to razz that you need much more than 8 pages of instruction.

STUD HI/LO: Pay attention, class. I just reread Todd Brunson's chapter in Super System 2 twice. It's that good. And here's a very important tip: DON'T rely on David Sklansky's chapter in Super System. It's about Stud Hi/Lo WITHOUT a qualifier. On FullTilt and in AIPS, you're playing 8-or-better, which Todd talks about. Vastly different strategies in the two styles.

POT-LIMIT OMAHA HIGH: Lyle Berman's chapter in Super System 2 is a good one. It's perhaps not as textbooky as some students would like, but it offers very sound advice nonetheless. Don't go looking for Omaha in Super System - it wasn't around back then.

POT-LIMIT OMAHA HI/LO: Nothing on my shelf address the pot-limit version, but you have two good options that discuss the limit variety. Read them, borrow a little from Berman's chapter, and you'll be able to hold your own in pot-limit. Winning Omaha 8 Poker by Mark Tenner and Lou Krieger is a tremendous book that breaks down the game much like Jones does with limit hold'em. Bobby Baldwin, with a big assist from Omaha legend Mark Gregorich, writes a nice chapter in Super System 2 as well.

HORSE: Again, nothing on my shelf directly discusses HORSE (limit hold'em/omaha hi-lo/razz/stud/stud hi-lo), but if you've read everything above, guess what? You're ready to saddle up.

Class dismissed.
- Prof. Scott Long

Ante Up Intercontinental Poker Series (AIPS)

Who's the best poker player in the Ante Up Nation? We'll find out over the next 6 weeks as the biggest tournament series in Ante Up history unfolds (OK, so it's the ONLY tournament series in Ante Up history, but hey, feed our egos a bit, will ya?).

The Ante Up Intercontinental Poker Series is a 10-event marathon that will test your skills in every game that FullTilt offers. Join us at the tables, and take your shot at cash, prizes and Ante Up immortality.

WHEN

Here's the schedule (all Thursday events are at 9 p.m. Eastern and all Saturday events are at noon Eastern):

#1 No-Limit Hold'em: Thursday, Sept. 21

#2 Stud: Thursday, Sept. 28

#3 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi: Saturday, Sept. 30

#4 Razz: Thursday, Oct. 5

#5 No-Limit Hold'em 6-handed: Saturday, Oct. 7

#6 Stud Hi/Lo: Thursday, Oct. 12

#7 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo: Thursday, Oct. 19

#8 Limit Hold'em: Thursday, Oct. 26

#9 HORSE: Saturday, Oct. 28

#10 MAIN EVENT - No-Limit Hold'em Double Stack: Saturday, Nov. 4

HOW MUCH

Events #1-9 are $5.50 and Event #10 is $22

WHERE

FullTilt.com, home of Ante Up Poker Night every Thursday.

POINTS

It's simple: For every dollar in prize money you win, you earn 1 Ante Up Player of the Year point (fractions count). In addition, knock Scott (OffDeadline), Chris (willhopper) or Fasso (stpetebeach) out of any tournament, and you earn 5 bonus points. Points will be updated on the blog after every event so you can see where you stack up.

PRIZES

PLACERS: FullTilt's normal payout structure is in effect, so you'll win money if you cash.

EVENT WINNERS: The World Series has bracelets. The Circuit has rings. AIPS winners, true to the event's name, win Bananas. That's right - your very own Ante Up! Banana, embossed with the event name. We're encouraging Banana winners to email us a photo of you (tastefully) posing with your prize so we can post it on the blog.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: The player with the most points after all 10 events will win the Ante Up Player of the Year trophy. It's stunning collection of the finest items available at the Dollar Tree store, including two decks of Made in China cards, four columns of Made in China chips and topped by a signature Ante Up! bell - and an ape for good measure. In addition, you'll get to name the trophy - a name that will live on well after we're gone. And finally, you'll be invited to join us as our guest (in person or by phone) on the Nov. 8 podcast. Worth playing for? (Yes, Jeff Probst, it is).

HOW TO PLAY

Simply log on to FullTilt and enter. Tournaments follow the same naming convention: AIPS Event #1, AIPS Event #2, etc. You'll find the tournaments listed under the "Private" tab, organized by date. The password for all events is "anteup". New to FullTilt? Get an account. You can send us an email to get a referral, but you're better off just doing the site's current new members bonus.

WHAT DID WE FORGET?

Let us know, and we'll answer promptly. Let the games begin!

Episode #66 recap

MAIN TOPIC

Sam Minutello joined us to talk about the World Series of Poker and poker in Florida. Sam, a WSOP dealer last year, called all the action at the final tables this year and you'll see him often on ESPN's coverage. He was the director of poker operations at The Silks card room at Tampa Bay Downs for the past two years, and this year will be director of poker operations at One-Eyed Jacks, the new card room at the Sarasota Kennel Club.

Sam clued us in to some of the behind-the-scenes action at big tournaments, and gave us a preview of what to expect when One-Eyed Jacks opens on Nov. 24. We also talked about tournament structures, and how antes are important.

OTHER TOPICS
CHRIS QUITS: We talked briefly about Chris' decision to give up online poker (see previous post) and we'll devote next week's show to the psychology of poker.

VINNY TOURNEY: We chatted about how cool the Vinny Lecavlier charity tournament was last week, even though both us went broke with a Queen in our hand, despite Gambit reminding us before the tournament not to do that. Shame on us. We also talked about the PokerPro video tables at the Hard Rock and their live SNGs.

ANTE UP INTERCONTINENTAL POKER SERIES (AIPS): We ran through the details of our 10-event Ante Up tournament of the year. A future post will have all the details.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Sammy the Deuce stuck around to help us analzye a hand from Matt (bodie25) of Rochester, Minn. Matt was in a short-handed no-limit ring game with A-7 off under the gun. He flopped a 7, turned another 7 and rivered a flush to take down a nice pot. Sam suggested some better ways to play the hand, starting with being much more aggressive before the flop and on the flop, but admitted that Matt got more money out of the hand playing it the way he did.

No-Limit is a Mug's Game

I will add my thoughts to the psychodrama. Do you ever wonder why other people suck out and you don't? It's simple: They play bad hands to the river and catch (but mostly miss), and you fold bad hands before the river (mostly) and aren't around to catch. So you never catch the 1-, 2-, and 3-outers like the fish do. The only time I hit those long shots is when I am in a MTT and short-stacked. But let me talk about the joys of limit poker. I sit down, I buy in for 20 big bets, play razz,  stud 8 or O8B, and with a little bit of patience I bank a win and leave. Today I sat in a 3-handed O8B game, won the first hand, took my 5 big bets in profit and left. On the downside, I will miss my Stud 8 draws, lose the 20 bets, and shut it down for the evening (or play a cheap HORSE). There is also the new cap NL on FullTilt, which I've tried and (on limited experience) like. You can't lose more than 30X the big blind in a hand, and the games are looser. Do you wonder why the best players in the world don't play no-limit? That little game at Bellagio? The $1/$2K O8B game on FullTilt that has been so fun to watch lately with Matusow et al.? Limit. And about the split-pot games. Do you understand that by only playing solid hands with the potential to scoop you are already ahead of about 80 percent of the low-limit players online? That when you board-lock them on the low side and freeroll into a high it is like printing money? There is no anxiety. Zip. The fish will chase endlessly, building big pots for you when you have the goods. The suckout factor is reduced by about 90 percent. So to recap: Patience. Limit. Split pot. Life on the high wire is what Hollywood (for lack of a better word) tells us poker is all about. OVER THE TOP! AGGRESSION! But it's not true. It's just not true.

-- Mike Fasso

I am done (just kidding)

Hopefully enough time has passed for me to get my first dig in on my wear-his-emotions-on-his-SunPoker.com T-shirt-sleeves co-host. But you know me well enough to know that no matter how bad things get, I'll never quit any aspect of poker. I plan to be betting right up until the moment of truth, when I'll offer an over/under on whether my casket will lay exactly 6 feet under the ground. (BTW, I'm laying 5-1 on the over). And, in the end, poker is just too much fun.

And here's a case in point:

I, too, had a dreadful weekend, from post-Vinny tourney action, to FullTilt, to the home game. I had so many bubbles that I was sure Don Ho was serenading me. I headed out to Derby Lane last night for the Stud Hi/Lo tournament and, frankly, have never been happier to lose 23 clams.

In the tournament I, of course, bubbled. Went out 10th - a few spots short of the official bubble, but bubblicious nontheless. I then got in a $2 stud game while waiting for a spot in the $2 Omaha Hi/Lo game, and over the course of the next 2 hours, I lost boat-over-boat not once, not twice but THREE times - and I still ended up $27 for the live games (down $23 counting my tourney entry). To me, that's validation that I'm playing really good poker. If I can handle that many tough beats and still turn a profit, well, I can leave with a smile.

And smile I do, no matter the result. That's poker. And I love it.

- Scott

I am done.

I'm sorry to report that, because I recently have lost too much online (predominantly to unbelievably poor calls and ensuing suckouts), that I'm finished with poker online (and perhaps elsewhere). This final hand shows my frustration with online play and with these "random" programs. Click on the image to see it clearly and you will also see I'm a 97.73% favorite to win the $430 pot. I raised the size of the pot preflop on the button, got one caller and a flush draw came. We got it all-in on the turn after I made the nut flush, and he had ONE out. It came.

These kinds of bad beats (although not THIS bad obviously) have been happening to me with more frequency lately and I just can't take it anymore. I assure you that this is not me overreacting to one bad beat and writing this in the heat of the moment. There are no exclamation points in my writing, no bold type.

I'm just tired.

Tired of making the right decisions and not being rewarded for it. Tired of being ahead in a hand and losing on the river to a 3-outer. Tired of people calling with nothing because they don't know any better and getting rewarded for it by getting runner-runner to beat my set or my top two pair.

I will continue to play in our Ante Up tournaments because of my obligation to the show and our listeners, but you will not see me playing anymore in online cash games or in tournaments. It's just not worth it to me. I'm going to take the bankroll I earned, while I still have a decent one, and spend it on something fun or useful. My dreams of World Series play or WPT entries or even playing higher limits are over. I'm sorry if this disappoints some of you, but I have to do what's best for me. Therefore, my posts will be few and far between as well. If I have something to say I will. And I will still play live, more than likely, but I have to remove myself from online poker.

I got into poker because it was fun and a way to fill the competitive void that was left when I quit being a semipro bowler. I became a decent player and enjoyed the competition. But when I can't even win a $430 pot when I'm a 98% favorite, it's time to hang it up while I can still show a decent profit for my hard work.

Sorry all.

Charity tournament and more

Hey there,

I know a lot of you are wondering how Scott and I did and what the tournament was like at the Hard Rock, but I think we're going to leave this until the show since there's so much to talk about. No, we didn't win, but a lot of funny stuff, and cool stuff, happened.

Housekeeping: We've received a few emails the past two weeks complaining about the audio level of the show getting quiet. Our engineer is very good and hasn't noticed a change in anything. The show sounds fine to me on my computer, but I don't download it into an MP3 player or into a car stereo. I'd like everyone here to tell me how it sounds on their various components, because if it's a case where we need to pump up the volume we will.

What would you do? Last night after the tournament I got home and logged on to Full Tilt to see if the Ante Up Nation was still lingering. There was a HORSE SNG still going but other than that no one else was around. So I went to a $100 NLHE table and played for about 45 minutes. After getting as low as $80 and then rallying to get even, I had the following hand and scenario: I was UTG and the guy in the BB was very aggressive, especially with bluffs and big bets. So I have K♥Q♥ and raise the pot to $3.50. Everyone folds to this aggressive player and he just calls. Pot = $7.50.

Flop: 8♥8♠Q♠

I have K♥Q♥, so I have top pair with second-best kicker, plus the backdoor second-nut flush draw. But I never like to think of backdoor possibilities unless I'm playing limit, and even then I only give them about half an out. The guy (and his name was POOPY PANTS in case you come across him on FTP) checks. Also, a name like that should tell you a lot! He's been aggressive all night and now he checks the flop? Weird. I'm not going to play scared so I bet $8. He just calls, and he called pretty quickly. Hmmm. This pot is $23-ish ... Does he have an 8? I think I'll find out on the turn, which was the 2♣. He checked again (!) so now I'm wondering if a check-raise is coming, but with two spades out there I didn't want to give a free card. So I bet $12 and he called again (?!?). The pot is about $48. Does this guy really have the 8? Does he have a worse queen? Or is he on a flush draw? He didn't give me any information on the turn so off to the river, which is a 7♥. Instantly he checks. That's when I put out a value bet of $9, and then came the check-raise. He bet $80 on the river. What do you do here? Let me add to this that I had a crappy weekend of poker and lost a bundle so this was the first time I was playing online since, so I was a little hesitant to lose a bunch more money.

So, does he have the 8? A queen? A busted draw? Let's look at this hand like a story, and see if it adds up. I raised preflop and he called. He could have any two cards being that he was (1) hyperaggressive and (2) in the BB and only needed to call $2.50. He just called the flop bet, which told me two things (1) either he's on a draw or (2) he had a monster. The turn revealed nothing as he just called again. But if you're paying attention the turn reveals EVERYTHING! Anyway, we're off to the river, and if I was unsure what to do at this point, his check-raise cemented my actions.

If you had trips, would you check the turn? And even if you would, would you check call? And even if you would, would you then check the river? First of all, I could have been betting a nut flush draw. Would he really want to give me free cards to make my flush if he had trips? And when it gets to the river, would he really check again when the flush misses? Would he really risk losing a bet to me when I have been betting the whole way and have a decent stack in front of me? But when the check-raise came I knew he was bluffing. First of all the amount was ridiculous. Why so much? Doesn't he want to make sure I can call him if he has the nuts? Wouldn't he min-raise there if he had trips? Also, his betting pattern told me FLUSH DRAW! It just screamed it! His raise essentially put me all-in and I called. He turned over 7♠9♠ for a pair of sevens and busted flush draw. I took down a HUGE $200 pot and felt great about my poker play. After that tournament at Hard Rock and the weekend of poker I had before that, it was a great confidence booster.

But there is an important lesson here: Trust your instincts and follow the story. If it doesn't add up, go with your instincts and make that tough call. In the long run you will be a better (and more profitable) player for it.

Horse Sense

Just a quick update on the FullTilt HORSE scene, especially the sit-and-gos. These have become my personal ATMs of late, and it doesn't hurt that in nearly half of the ones I play (including a $20+2 last night) someone will play the first razz level like stud high. Free chips, git yer chips here! The stud games reward the attentive player, because you get so much more information about your opponents' holdings (and whether your cards are live) than in hold 'em. And bricking up need not be fatal. I have patiently hung around in last position in many, many HORSE SNGs only to leap to the chip lead with one good razz, stud or stud/8 hand. Patience, attentiveness, and making consistently correct *small* decisions -- not the go-for-broke NL stuff -- these are rewarded in HORSE. I highly recommend that all Ante Uppers give these SNGs a try.

Bard/Fatso/Cineaste

Show 65 Recap

We had a great show, highlighted by a great conversation with Daniel Negreanu, who is the most recognizable face in poker these days. Here’s a look at the highlights:

Ante Up Invitational III: Well, Scott learned the hard way that you really don’t want to play A♠J♠ UTG in the beginning stages of a tournament, and you certainly don’t want to put your tournament life on a the line on a draw. That’s OK, he went out second out of a record 88 entrants. I went out when I thought I was being overlooked and/or squeezed in the BB. Turns out I had the worst hand of three all-ins! I went out around 57th place. In case you missed the post about the tournament, which recapped who won and who knocked us out you can go here. And Scott and I will have a big announcement next week regarding our tournament (Scott thinks it’s HUGE! I think it’s cool, but you’ll have to decide next week.)

WPT Ladies Night: From a field of 419 women at the WPT Ladies Poker Party (an event that benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation) Californian Kelli Griggs emerged the winner. After her win, Kelli kicked in an extra $2,500 donation for the cause, a topic all-too familiar to Kelli. A four-year survivor of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Kelli lost her grandmother to breast cancer and has an aunt currently battling the disease. Now Kelli will face five of poker’s hottest female players—Academy Award nominee Jennifer Tilly, Joanne “JJ” Liu, Vanessa Rousso, Anahit Galajian and Erica Schoenberg—at the poker table in WPT Ladies Night IV, airing October 28th on The Travel Channel.

Columbo, Epsidoe 22, Part II: We saw how not raising preflop with a very good hand in PLO can sometimes backfire, as it did for Columbo when his opponents made a boat on the river. But would his opponent even been in the hand with two nines had Columbo raised? A valid question. Stay tuned for Episode 23 on Sept. 13.

Daniel Negreanu is coming to Tampa for the Vinny Lecavalier charity tournament on Thursday (9/7) so he graced our show with an interview. He says, given the structure, the tournament’s going to be an all-in fest, so it should be fun to see how we all do. Our good friend Dan from WVA phoned in a question for Daniel via our toll-free number (recorded of course, we’re no live) and basically asked how Daniel is so gracious when it comes to his fans, especially his special needs fans. Daniel had a very classy answer, noting that how can he NOT make time for these special people who look up to him. And this question of course led into his MySpace page, which led to a funny anecdote about fans calling him at home and saying they’re his friend so, basically, it’s OK to call him at home. Good stuff, and wait till you hear Daniel’s accent. Other topics he covers: his video game Stacked, the WPT lawsuit, his “feuds” with players, fullcontactpoker.com, and of course his blog, where he discussed The Big Game and the $1.3M hit his bankroll took.

Hand of the Week: Daniel stuck around and gave a very poignant analysis of the hand sent in by a Los Angeles listener named Bryant. Kid Poker basically said playing pocket 10s shouldn’t be played like aces, and should be played cautiously. He also gave a very good tip on dealing with hypermaniacs at the table. That's it, and we'd like to thank everyone who made the show possible! Chris Cosenza

Update to Vinny's tournament

Hey,

Here's an update to Vinny Lecavalier's Charity tournament at Hard Rock in Tampa on Thursday (Sept. 7). The tournament is $500 but there are only a few seats left. I was wrong about the general public just showing up. At this point it is a ticketed affair and they are over capacity, so if you're not on the list, the only way in is to pay the $500 and enter the tournament. Sorry. Also, We finally locked up Daniel Negreanu for the show tomorrow (Sept. 6) and we have a lot of your questions, and, of course, a few of our own, so it should be a real good interview. As you know Daniel is playing in Vinny's event so that should be cool. Also, we have plenty to talk about in the world of poker, including what's in store for Ante Up IV.... hey, that rhymes!

Email down!

Hey all,

Nice job last night by everyone! We love to have your comments but our email is down this morning. If you sent us one and it got bounced back please try again later, or better yet, put your comment on here or the post below, or call our toll-free number that's located on the side. Sorry about the inconvenience, but we really want your comments and audio clips from your experience in the tournament, which had 88 players!!!!!!!

Thanks

Chris

BrownOxford wins Ante Up! Invitational III

A couple of big stacks slugged it out at the final table of the Ante Up! Invitational III, and in the end, it was BrownOxford who reigned supreme with a set of 8s to oust Captain Fink (Loren, to most of you).

Scott showed off how valuable Dan Harrington's book is by bowing out with on a flush draw with AJ 87th of 88 players. (Hey, I thought I had 15 outs!). Fasso left in 69th and Chris capped a triumphant night for the Ante Up brass by getting booted in 57th with AQ against KK and AA. (As Mike "Sexton" Fasso reminded us, "don't go broke with a Queen in your hand."

Delee928 claims my bounty, and Ttitan71 takes Chris'. BrownOxford and those two should email us their addresses to we may lavish you with swag.

I did have one shining moment in my night. I got in a $20 razz MTT and took a serious amount of chips off of good Ante Up friend Andy Bloch when my pair of deuces turned into a wheel. I got greedy later and tried to earn the Bloch bounty with a 7 high, and despite having a 2-3-4-5 showing, I got called down to the end by another player, who took the HUGE pot ... and the bounty. I limped into the money at 15th. Sigh.........

Stay tuned for details for Ante Up Invitational IV!

- Scott