I thought I knew the rule ...

but I guess I don't. And I checked Robert's Rules fairly quickly and didn't find anything there. If this rule is there, or someone has an authority on this rule, could you please help me out?

So here it is: Last night I was watching a rerun of High Stakes Poker and it was a hand between Daniel Negreanu, Eli Elezra and Amnon Filippi, pictured at left. Two of those names should be very familiar to you, but the third one might not be. Remember when Ante-Upper John Silva cashed in the WSOP's $1,500 Shootout event? During that tournament John nearly erased Amnon from existence, and I don't mean he knocked him out of the tournament. I mean Amnon was acting, well, like a dork, and John told him so, and then said if Amnon was unhappy that he could take him outside and show him what a dork he was being. (This is a semi-family-friendly blog so I won't type what was actually said.)

So it should come as no surprise to you when I tell you that Amnon was in the middle of this heated pot. At one point Eli mutters something about the pot size, and Amnon chimes in "You can't ask the dealer what the pot size is!" And then Daniel says "Sure he can. It happens all the time, especially in NL," (and I'm paraphrasing this but you get the point). This is when Eli gets mad because some people ask about pot size as a way of slowing the game down, etc. and he didn't want to be called out for that, etc. So there was some tension between Amnon and Eli and Daniel.

Amnon shrunk in his corner for the most part, but he still uttered something like "It's ok if they flatten the pot out for him, but the dealer can't say how much is in there." And then Daniel said the dealer actually could if the player wanted to know. I think they mentioned that you can't do that in tournaments, but I wasn't real sure.

I was always under the impression that the only time you were able to ask the pot amount was when you were playing pot limit, because then it made sense because you had to know what you were betting. But then this came up. And I thought I knew for a FACT that you can't ask pot size in tournaments, as they always preach that this is part of the skill of being a poker player, of knowing how much is in there, etc. So what's the deal? Is there an official rule somewhere? I'd like to know.

-- Chris

NETELLER RELEASES FUNDS!!!

If you don't already know, Neteller has started releasing funds. Here is the story. You have 6 months to request your funds and that's all you can do, REQUEST the funds. You can't RELOAD Full Tilt, etc.

-- Chris

Derby Lane tournament strategy

So last week, one of our brightest, most promising interns at the paper told me he wanted to play a MTT at one of the local card rooms, and he wanted to know which room he should go to.

"Tampa Bay Downs, Tampa Greyhound Track, Sarasota Kennel Club," I said. "They all give you a nice starting stack and have a decent structure."

"Cool, thanks. I think I'll go to Derby Lane," he responds (Gotta love the independence of Generation Y, don'tcha?)

"OK, but you'll have to play a different strategy there," I said, and I proceeded to rattle off a couple of suggestions for the smaller stack Derby event. Well, My Young Prodigy didn't cash (bad beats galore), but he did say my strategy was "spot on." (Thank you, thank you. One letter of recommendation coming up).

But now I'm curious what the Nation thinks of these tips.

Tournament details
Starting chips: 2000
Levels: 20 minutes
1. 25/50
2. 50/100
3. 100/200
4. 200/400
5. 300/600
6. 400/800
7. 500/1000
8. 1000/2000
9. 2000/4000
10. 3000/6000
11. 4000/8000
12. 5000/10000
Player profiles: There are some sharp players at Derby, but in general, the starting field is populated with loose calling stations

Levels 1-2: Play cautiously, since any mistake will cripple you. You want to see flops dirt cheap. Only raise with your most premium hands, because you'll always get several callers. (I'd much rather see 3 flops at 50 apiece with suited connectors than raise one hand 3x with J-J). When you connect, bet aggressively (though not necessarily big), because you will get called. Conversely, don't bluff. You will get called.

Levels 3-4: If you haven't doubled up by now, you're likely in push-or-fold mode. If you have doubled up, pick out the players you think are trying to "hang on" and push them around, and be cautious of bullying the short stacks who appear ready to push.

Levels 5-6: Time to make your move. Since there are no antes in this tournament, you can't count on chipping up big by winning just one hand. You have to be willing to accept coin-flip situations. If not, the upcoming blinds will eat you alive.

Levels 7-end: Aggression, aggression, aggression. From here on out, the blinds are just too big and the stacks too small to play real poker unless you've built up a monster stack. Push those short stacks around and gamble. And if you do have a monster stack, don't get comfortable. A couple of double-ups by anyone at your table, and they'll likely catch you.

- SCOTT

Episode #111 recap: World Series of Poker Academy

MAIN TOPIC

We welcome Ante Upper John Lanier of Lutz to the show as we review the World Series of Poker Academy. The newspaper paid a nominal fee for Chris and me to attend while we were in Vegas, but John bucked up the entire $2,200, so listen to the show and get three opinions on whether you get your money's worth.

What it is: A 3-day instructional camp with professional players (Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Phil Hellmuth, Mark Seif, Scott Fischman, etc.) among the faculty. (They also offer shorter camps for less money).

What you get: Classroom instruction (pros contribute tips, plus a session with Joe Navarro on tells), "lab" instruction (sit at a table with a pro), two tournaments (top prize in each for our camp was a Main Event entry), some meals/parties and a goodie bag.

Is it worth it? Our general consensus was that there's too much in the camp that you can't put a price on, so it'll be a personal decision on the value. For example, if you're really excited about playing cards and learning from a particular pro, what exactly is that worth to you? For some, that alone might be worth $2K. For others, maybe not. Getting two shots at Main Event seat certainly has some value, too. All three of us thought the instruction could have be better structured. The labs were the highlight. If all the instruction was done in this manner, it would have been better.

Other options: While we didn't attend a World Poker Tour Boot Camp (though John will later this year), we did talk with some officials while in Vegas and an interview is included on the show to give you some perspective.

OTHER TOPICS

Who let the dogs out? We found out how fond Chris is of cute puppies when we talked about the dog poker chip set being sold by dogpokerchips.com.

New Florida games: We discussed what a wild and crazy game $2/$5 no-limit can be, since your max buy-in is $100. We also talked about how a good player can clean up in the $1-$5 spread limit hold'em game being dealt.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Scott reviews Derby Lane.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Listener Mike found himself with Kh-Ks in a $4/$8 limit hold'em game at B&M cardroom near his house.

UTG+1, he raised and got four callers. The flop came Qd-7d-2d, and our hero bets out, gets raised and one caller. He calls. We thought a 3-bet here would have been better. It's the "cheap" street, so use it to narrow your future decisions. If the raiser caps it, you can consider folding or proceeding cautiously in the rest of the hand. If he just calls, you've retaken the initiative, and if he folds, well, even better.

The turn is the 4c, and it's checked around to the raiser, the caller folds and now we're heads-up with a decision to make. Mike calls. At this point, we agree. We didn't get enough info on 3rd street to know how strong or weak we are. The river is the 9h, Mike checks, the bettor continues and Mike ultimately calls (good move - one bet to win a huge pot) and takes down the pot as his opponent had Ad-Qc.

- SCOTT

One Minute Mystery: The Case of the Surprise Raise

We're in our Monday night league with a bunch of players we know well. It's Level II of a no-limit hold'em game.

UTG+1 limps, UTG+2 raises 3x and we call with our Js-10d. It's folded around to the limper, who calls.

The flop: 6s-10h-4c. The limper checks, and the raiser bets a third of the pot. We raise two-thirds of the pot, which is enough to squeeze out the limper but the raiser calls.

The turn: 10c. It's checked to us, and we put in a pot-sized bet after a bit of hesitation. We're check-raised the minimum.

What does our opponent have? And what do we want to do?

Didn't think this was possible!

See that title? That's what you call a kicker or a hook! Now you're asking yourself, "What is it that Chris never thought was possible?" Well, let me tell you, my Ante Up! friend! I didn't think it was possible to find a looser table than the $1-2 NLHE games I encounter at Foxwoods. But guess what, it is! Derby Lane is chock full of guys who want to gamble. Last night was the first time I went there since the new laws took effect, and WOW! As my esteemed co-host pointed out in a post below, you don't want to get to these tables late in the day because the stacks are just enormous and there's nothing you can do except pick up a hand and go with it.

But first, I sat down with the octogenarians at the Stud/8 table. Scott mentions it's a $1-2 table, but it was straight $2 with a 50-cent ante (the bring-in is $2 and there's no double bets on 5th). I finally understand what Fasso has been talking about all these months. Everyone at this table was generally pleasant (of course I was the youngest person there by AT LEAST 30 years) and straightforward. No attitudes, no punks (except for me, of course) and we had a great time. But, after two hours of breaking even, I decided I had had enough and wanted to see what the NL tables were like. I had heard the full spectrum of details, from never getting paid off to players being so loose they would tip $20.

Hand No. 2 I was dealt 10♣ 10♥ in the BB. UTG raised to $6 and it got folded to me. I made it $20 straight. He called. The flop came 5-3-9 rainbow. I bet $30 and he called. I pushed the rest of my stack in blind and he instacalled! I figured I was dead and would be heading home. He had A5!! I doubled up on the second hand of the night!!!

I should have left Derby Lane right then and there.

Hand No. 3 I got two red aces in the SB! After roughly 5 limpers I made it $20 to go again. One caller. The flop was nearly identical 3♣ 5♣ 6♠, but now I had to deal with two clubs. I again bet out $30 and the guy pushed for $70 more. I quickly realized there's about $150 in there and I'm getting more than 2-1 on my money. I instacalled like an idiot (I probably still would've called, but I should've given it a little more thought) and he turned over 3♥ 5♥. WOW! He called $18 more preflop with 3-5. He knew I had big cards and I knew he had little cards, but I never thought he'd have that. I figured he had something like 7♣ 8♣ and was gambling. But I still had outs. If the 6 paired or if another ace came I could win. The board never helped and just like that my profit was gone and I was down. Wow!

I made some nice moves later on to get back to almost even, but then a few missed flops here and there had me truly shortstacked. I pushed all-in with a straight and flush draw and got called ($50!!!) buy the donk on my left who had called my first all-in with A5. The board was 10♣ 9♣ 7♥ and he turned over J♥ 7♠. I had K♣ 8♣. I got no help and left Derby Lane a rack down.

I'll be back boys, and I'll tear you up next time. You can count on it.

-- Chris

P.S. There was one anxious moment when one guy went all-in preflop and he was called by the big stack. The guy turned over KK and rivered quads. An ace was on-board and if the other guy had pocket bullets we would have split $15K!!! He mucked. DAMN! They had paid out the jackpot the night earlier, so it's possible!!!

A good training tournament

I'm quickly enjoying FullTilt's 90-player SNGs, and the big reason why is that I think it might be the best poker laboratory out there.

One of the more interesting tips a pro offered at the WSOP Academy was that he uses low buy-in SNGs to work on aspects of his game. Think of it like batting practice - you spend the first few hits trying to hit to the opposite field, the next few hits to bunt (insert laugh here). For poker players, maybe you concentrate only on position raises. Or only on restealing. It's a concept I had done before, but I've always used $1 single-table SNGs to do it.

The problem with that approach (aside from the Wild Wild West action), is that a single-table is an entirely different animal than a multi. So how do you work on your MTT skills cheaply - and regularly? Enter FullTilt's 90-player jobbies.

Here's why I like them:

• Generous paydown schedule - 18 players get cash (20 percent of field). Sure, you'll have to finish in the top 3 or something to get a decent payday, but that's not our goal here. Our goal is to try out new strategies. The generous paydown gives us a little extra cover. Even if our new moves don't quite work, we have a decent shot at recouping our "training fee."
• 90 players - you get a MTT feel in a SNG format.
• Double stack - you get some extra chips to play with, which is key when you're experimenting.
• No schedule - since they're SNGs, you don't have to rush home to get in one. If one is close to filling when you're online, bingo, you're in.

- SCOTT

Back to the Silks

So, I had an hour or so tonight in between kickball (we trashed Gambit's employer!) and The Arrival Home of The Wife, so I jetted over to Tampa Bay Downs' Silks Card Room. Not much new to report, though it was much busier tonight than my first visit. Sadly, though, live games still only consisted of $1/$2 no limit and $2/$4 limit (a 70-player MTT was finishing up, and $65 and $120 SNGs were going, too).

After building up a nice vacation roll at Derby all week, I wasn't about to sit down in the top-heavy no-limit games. (One drawback to the new law and the $100 max buy-in that if you get to a room late in the night, you'll likely face a bunch of huge stacks, making you David vs. not one, but nine, Golaiths). So I decided to splash around in the kiddie pool.

Nothing too remarkable, and no big hands to speak of. I dropped 9 clams, but since I used a "2 free drinks" coupon the track had mailed me, I got close to breaking even (I should have opted for the Johnnie Black over the Coors Light. Missed a bet there.).

But, geez, I didn't think it was possible for the players to get worse in going from $2 limit to $2/$4 limit. But, geez, it happened. Three or four players routinely acted out of turn, or bet too much or too little. We also had a few drunks, another "perk" of playing late in the night. Plugged into my XM radio, I tried to tune out the nonsense and not let it get to me, but finally, I snapped. "Seriously, you're in a staredown in a $2/$4 game?!?!?" I barked at a guy who must have thought the World Poker Tour was in town because he took several minutes to finally fold when a harmless deuce of spades fell on the river. (BTW, he had a "World Series of Poker Player 2007" shirt on. Yeah, I have a WSOP souvenir, too, my friend. It's a Harrah's receipt that reminds me that my Regions Bank account is a grand light now. Ha!).

Of course, after I snapped, I felt badly. "What if he had recognized me from Ante Up?," I wondered, since I've been started by just that experience all week. Then, I decided I was in the clear. If he did recognize me, he'd likely be saying, "Man, that Ante Up guy is a real a**. He must be Chris!).

Cheers,

- SCOTT

Derby Lane report

I've paid a couple of visits to Derby Lane over the past week after work, and have done quite well at the tables. The room hasn't changed a great bit, but some changes are very welcome, while a few nagging concerns remain. But all in all, worth a visit if you haven't been there in a while. You'll definitely always find several games going.

THE ROOM: Looks just about the same as always, with a couple of noticeable changes. They did grab one of those plasma TVs to display .... the bad beat jackpot. Grrr... It would put to better use as a wait list board, which is still done by No. 2 pencils and paper. But the wait list process is more efficient than before, and they've moved the queue ropes to the concession stand side, so there's less congestion. The SNG podium remains on the far side of the room. There's still not a lot of places to park yourself while you're waiting for a table except at the bar, but truthfully, there's just not much room to add seating.

THE GAMES: The largest menu of running games I've seen, and almost every table has been use on every visit. $1/$2 no-limit hold'em, $1-$5 spread hold'em, $1/$2 and $1-$5 spread stud, $1/$2 stud 8 and $2/$4 Omaha 8 were going every time I've been there. We got a $2/$4 Double Flop game going briefly my first night, but it died a quick death. The no-limit is a traditional rake. The $1-$5 spread limit is a very nice game in my opinion. Two $1 blinds, so you can speculate cheap and then juice it on later streets when you hit your hand. The jackpot is a bad beat (Aces full of Jacks beaten by quads), and is only for hold'em games. So if you want to skip the jackpot rake, play Omaha or stud. In tournaments, a spade royal will win you a separate jackpot. $60 SNGs were going at all times, and a $100 SNG got going on my last visit. MTTs are held twice a day with $60 buy-ins, and they pretty much follow the same schedule Derby used previously - so those Monday non-hold'em tournaments are still scheduled.

THE PERSONNEL: I'll say this straight up - in the past, I've been critical of the dealers and floor personnel at Derby, but the dealers are really, really good now. I've seen only one minor mistake in my three visits and only one really slow dealer. The dealers are really personable and make for a pleasant experience. That's a huge improvement in my book. I haven't seen enough of the floor personnel in action to render a fair opinion, though I think one missed an opportunity to educate players. When our Double Flop game died after just four hands, some players (rather rudely) insisted on being put at the top of the wait list for another game. It would have been nice to hear the room's policy on such a request (I did get put at the top of the list soon after, though, so maybe that's the answer). And the whole episode might have been avoided with a little more foresight on starting tables. The Double Flop was opened with a lengthy list, which had been in existence all day. I would have liked to seen the floor conduct a "list check" before opening the game. It's unfair for players to leave their existing game, only to find out there's only 2-4 people at the new table. But I'll give the room points for trying hard to get these rare games started. Numerous announcements were nice to hear. Of course, the biggest weakness at Derby remains - the lack of brushes. I waited about an hour for my $1-$5 seat the first night, and when I sat down, players told me there had been an open seat for about an hour. I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but 20 minutes after I had sat down, a new player was called for even though there had been an open seat the entire time. It's a big room, with a wait list of interested players. It's imperative that those brushes stay on those lammers like wolves on fresh meat so Wait List Central can fill those open seats ASAP.

MY PLAY: One word - ATM. I've taken a nice chunk of change out of the $1-$5 spread hold'em game on every visit. You've read my earlier post about a royal, and I've also turned quads. But it hasn't been all good cards. As I've said, the spread game allows room for a good player to control the downside, while maximize the upside. It really is a nice structure within these new Florida laws. I took a half of one pot in the four hands of Double Flop I played (sadly, it looks as if this fun game is dying. Our dealer told us it was the first time he dealt it since the new laws took effect). I toiled for a bit in a $1/$2 stud game while waiting for a $1-$5 seat and won one hand for a profit since there's no ante. And I played just one hand of $1/$2 stud 8 while waiting for a seat, and freerolled my made low into a nut flush. (Didn't make my table happy that I scooped the only pot I played, and then fled. Sorry.)

As always, post your own experiences from Derby here.

I have two rooms left to visit (One-Eyed Jack's in Sarasota and the Seminole Hard Rock). I had hoped to make it down to Jack's tonight, but work ran late, so I'll try to hit it soon after I get back from vacation. I did run into manager Sam Minutello last night, and he said the offerings are similar to what Tampa Greyhound Track has. He said his last Saturday tournament paid $8K to the winner. Niiice. He also said the state's workshop this week on interpreting rules from the new law went well, and he expects future ones to go well, too.

- SCOTT

I WANT MY WSOP!

Last night I got home from work and was really looking forward to ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker. I've gotten into a nice little ryhthm lately: Mondays I watch the three-hour block of High Stakes Poker on GSN, Tuesdays I watch the two-hour WSOP block on ESPN and Wednesdays I watch the two-hour WPT block on Travel Channel. But for some reason last night when I switched on my ESPN at the appropriate time I saw some dorks talking about NASCAR!!! Where's that haunting intro music?

Bu-dawnt-ba-dawnt-dawnt-daaaaw!!!! Bddding!! (That's my phonetic spelling of the intro riff for the WSOP coverage on ESPN).

I'm jonesing for some WSOP!!!! Not sure why it wasn't on. I haven't researched it, but maybe someone already knows?

I already received my WPT email confirming the Reno event will be on tonight, so that's cool. But what happened to ESPN? Coverage resumes next week, but that's not good enough. I want to know why my Tuesday television viewing habits were ruined!!!

So I played Stud/8 last night and doubled my buy-in in about 15 minutes and left. Not too shabby.

-- Chris

Just one more hand ...

How many times have you uttered those fateful words? And how many times has it cost you a huge chunk, or all, of your stack after a winning session?

I uttered them last night at Derby Lane (review to be posted today). I was card dead for the first hour of an 1.5-hour session at the $1-$5 spread limit hold'em table, nervously checking my phone for that "Time's up" text message from my wife, wondering if I could turn this session around in time. I was down only 20-30 bucks or so, but was frustrated because I could easily fleece this table with cards. (Not to mention that my vacation fund took a serious smackdown at the home game on Saturday, and I need to scare up some scratch to lose at the casino in the Dominican Republic next week).

And, then, things turned around. I limped in with 4c-5c on the button, and out of frustration, called the $5 raise from a weaker player. I flopped trip 5s and walked the dog all the way to my first big pot. A few hands later, I looked down at QQ UTG+1 and juice it to $6. I get five callers (if anyone thought the new limits would chase away the no-fold'em hold'em $2 crowd, I rest my case), and miraculously, my ladies hold up and take down a monster pot. That put me up pretty good for the session, and as I was searching for a rack and the exit, I remember that I'm UTG in the next hand.

It can't hurt to just look at those cards, right? I mean, if they're not Aces, I can toss them, right? I paid for this last hand. Gotta at least peek, right? So I do, and I'm instantly reminded why you never say, "Just one more hand ...."

I look down at Jd-10d, an extremely attractive hand in this game. What I should have done was smile, toss them into the muck, get up and enjoy my newfound cheddar. What I did was toss a buck into the pot. Of course, it was raised behind me, and 678 callers came along for the ride, so I had to call. Gulp.

The flop: Kd-Qd-3s. Ouch. I've flopped an open-ended royal draw. This CAN'T be happening. First to act, I bet out $5. Of course, no one is intimidated (and why should they be? I've only shown down two of the five hands I've played all night, and both were huge winners. Obviously, I shouldn't be feared). The initial raiser pops me to $10, and I call, as does everyone else.

The turn: 3h. Ouch again. If anyone has a 3, they might also have a K or a Q (at this table, I've seen worse play). I check, and it checks around to the initial raiser, who's not scared (he hasn't been scared of anything all night). I call one more bet. So does everyone else.

The  river: Ad. Ka-ching! Royal baby - with a pair on board! That's a jackpot hand if that initial raiser is sitting on pocket 3s. Doubtful, but so long as I'm playing the lottery with everyone else here, I can dream, right? It's a tough decision here. The "book" says I should bet out - can't chance it checking around. But I'm pretty sure the author of the "book" hasn't played at Derby Lane before. That initial raiser will likely bet this hand for me. But, the angel on my shoulder beats up the devil, and I bet out. EVERYONE at the table is shaking his head, but they all toss one more redbird into the pot (love it). Sadly, no one raises, but I take down a monster on my last hand. (And no, no one had pocket 3s.). Karma, I guess, for all those times I've lost my whole stack on "just one more hand ..." Now, if I only believed in karma ....

- SCOTT

Housekeeping, etc.

SPAM-A-LOT: OK, everyone is tired of the spam in the comments of this blog, so, what we're going to do is beef up security. Some of you may have encountered this before if you've posted too fast and a verification code came up to make sure you're not a spam bot. Well, this is going to be the norm now. I hate doing this because I probably post more than anyone here, and it's a little bit of a pain to have to read that encrypted jargon and type it in after I'm done. But, a lot of you have subscribed to our feed and when these donkuspammers hit the old topics they trigger the RECENT COMMENTS feed to blow up, and I don't want you getting frustrated or unsubscribing, like a few of you have done already. I think it's more important to keep the community clean than to make it the most simple way to post.

So, by the end of today we'll institute the VERIFICATION CODE security measures for posting. Hopefully this will end all of the spammers. And if you unsubscribed, please re-subscribe because the spam should be gone.

NEW LIST: I have put a list of famous poker players' sites over on the bottom right of our blog. It's by no means complete, but if a player was on our show and they have a site I tried to list it. I also listed people who are relevant or will be relevant. If you have a player you'd like to see listed on there or think there's someone I missed and they have a site, by all means shoot me an email at poker@tampabay.com and I'll do my best to get it up on there. You can imagine this won't be high on my priority list, but maybe we can add traffic to the poker community.

HOME GAME SUCCESS: I had another winning session in the home game last weekend. I won't get into too many specifics because this post is already getting long, but let's just say I more than doubled my buy-in. The coolest hand came vs. New Scott and one of our regulars, Kyle. It was 1-2 NLHE with NO cap, and I had about 150 units in front of me. Kyle, UTG, min-raised to a mere 4 units. This, of course, sent warning flags up because he was shortstacked so if he had a hand he'd want to get paid off for it. So I figured if I was going to play my hand I better hit it hard! It got folded to me and I looked down at J♠9♠. I called the raise and New Scott (Snuffy) in the SB (I think, he coulda been BB) also called. The flop: 7♠10♠8♣. I flopped the absolute nuts with a redraw to a straight flush. I think Snuffy was first to act and he checked to Kyle, who bet 8 units into roughly a 13-unit pot. Not a bad bet, but I think he has an overpair and if I bump it he'll come along for the ride. So I made it 25 units to go. From out of nowhere Snuffy pushes all-in!!!! OMG!!! He has 49 units left so it's only a 24-unit raise to me if Kyle folded. Now I'm praying for Kyle to call, and he thought about it for roughly 90 seconds. Finally he folded (He had AA and now knows he made a mistake not raising more). I called instantly and said "I have the nuts!" and Snuffy says "I do, too!" He turned over J♣9♣. That's when I informed him that I was on a freeroll to the flush as well. But another club came on the turn giving him a chance at stealing this pot from me!!! What drama!!! That's when the sweetest 4♠ peeled off the deck to give me the winning flush. I was already up a bit, but that hand really made my day and allowed me to play the type of poker I like.

Snuffy didn't mind too much 'cuz he always has to lose his initial 100-unit buy-in before he can post a winning session, which he did. It's like a pre-requisite. Fasso wasn't present (he's in the Great White North) so no stories of blowups to report, unless you count my co-host's performance. LOL!!! I'll let him tell you how he did, though I doubt he will.

-- Chris

Sans hole cams: yay or nay?

As I began to nod off around 5 a.m. during the final table of the WSOP Main Event, I started to have delusional thoughts. I suppose this is when I normally experience my REM sleep, so forgive me if this sounds ludicrous.

Maybe it was the fact that DA MAN Lee Childs began the day at this final table, or maybe it was because I participated in the WSOP this year, or maybe I had been watching this final table for 14 hours and needed to get some serious shut-eye, but I had a thought as I finally gave up on watching the final hand of the tournament: Would anyone out there PREFER to watch poker this way? Let's face it, the drama is pretty intense. You have absolutely no idea what cards they had, especially Jerry Yang. When we have the luxury of the hole cams, we know if he's bluffing or if he has a monster and will call the all-in. This makes it anticlimactic.

These "lipstick" cams are bittersweet in that it makes poker engaging when you can see that this player is risking millions of dollars by "making a play" but at the same time, it detracts from what would be anxious moments had we not known that this guy had 7-2 and will fold to the reraise but he's just Hollywooding for the cameras.

Is this a case of "6 of one, half-dozen of the other" or was I just caught up in the whole excitement of having an Ante Upper! at the final table? I mean, this final table was clearly more exciting than any of the old-time final tables that re-run on ESPN Classic, and yet it only differed in money and amount of chips.

Could you handle a steady diet of zero hole cams or do you HAVE to see the cards now?

Just curious.

-- Chris

P.S. We're working on the SPAM problem and I'll post an update with the solution as soon as I get one.

Episode #110 recap: Lee Childs

MAIN TOPIC

The Ante Up Nation's first superhero, Lee Childs, gives a ring just a day after returning home $705K richer from finishing seventh in this year's World Series of Poker Main Event. To hear the show, click here.

Get the lowdown on his poker history, how those ESPN interviews went, his endorsement deals, his reaction to the pay-per-view announcers, what he thinks of champion Jerry Yang, how CardRunners helped him, what other games he plays, what he plans to do in the future, what he plans to do with all that cash and what he thinks is harder to do: make a World Series Main Event final table or win an AIPS banana (we think you know the answer. It's yellow).

Oh, yeah, and he talks about a certain hand where he laid down QQ and showed his opponent. Maybe you've heard about it?

OTHER TOPICS

Chris and Fasso kiss and make up: OK, there's no proof there was a kiss, but Chris shaved his beard, so all is right in the Ante Up universe.

AIPS: We recount Chris' lightning fast exit, Scott's inability to defend against the resteal and congratulate GapBand85 for his victory. Click here for the schedule of future events.

WSOP: Chris and Scott debate Jerry Yang's final table strategy, Scott gives props to Alex Kravchenko, who cashed six times, made three final tables (including the Main Event) and won a bracelet - all in different events, and take a guess at how many chips Harrah's produced for World Series play? (Psst: Hint is 310,000).

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Scott gives his thoughts about Tampa Greyhound Track's new room, Lucky's. Bottom line: Nice room, great management, but no loyal base of customers yet.

One-Minute Mystery: Columbo puts it all together, remembering that in all great mysteries, the biggest clue is in the first act. Since a Jack was folded, and a 2 underneath is an unlikely holding for an opponent who completed on Third Street, our Aces up should be good and we should be jamming. In fact, they are, and we win.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Lee sticks around to share with us a death-defying hand from the World Series.

With about 36 players left and blinds at 15,000/30,000, his opponent raises to 160,000 on the button. Lee looks down at Ac-9c in the big blind and calls. Lee checks a flop of 3h-2h-2s, and when his opponent bets 225,000, he check-raises to 500,000, hoping to push his opponent off. It almost works, but after a period of contemplation, his opponent calls and Lee resigns himself to ending the hand. But the turn brings a 9d, and now that he has a hand, Lee pushes 450,000 chips into the pot. But his stubborn opponent won't go away, and a terrible, terrible card hits on the river - 4h, putting a flush and straight on the board, as well as the pair. Lee checks, but when his opponent instantly pushes all-in, Lee takes some time to think over his options. Finally, he deduces that no hand that he's scared of would react the way his opponent did, and he calls the 1,085,000 bet and wins with top two pair. His opponent's holding? 5c-5s.

And, that, folks is how you make it to the World Series of Poker Main Event final table.

- SCOTT

World Series of Poker: Final Toteboard

Here's the final World Series of Poker toteboard. Quite an impressive list in all three of our categories: Lee Childs waves the Ante Up Nation flag proudly at the Main Event final table, Tampa's Donald Baruch (an Ante Upper!) brings a bracelet home to the Tampa Bay area and Ante Up guest Joe Sebok cashes in five events, while his old man Barry Greenstein cashes for $305K.

Here is the final list of World Series money winners, in order of cash won, with number of cashes denoted:

Ante Up Nation
1. Lee "acumen53" Childs, Reston, Va., (1), $705,229
2. Donald Baruch, Tampa, (1) $264,107
3. Andrew Greenberg, Tampa, (1), $12,197
4. Jason "ChicagoJason" Finn, Chicago, (1), $7,205
5. John "yzerman" Silva, Warwick, N.Y., (1), $6,757
6. James "Joker" Whitehead, Canton, Ga., (1), $3,871
Totals: 6 cashes, 1 bracelet, $999,366 prize money

Tampa Bay area players
(Tampa Bay players are classified as anyone listing a hometown within the St. Petersburg Times' 5-county circulation area: Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus. A handful of folks from the Sarasota/Bradenton areas also cashed, but aren't included here. And I missed some folks throughout the Series. Those changes are included at the end).
1. Donald Baruch, Tampa, (1), $264,107
2. John Bird, Zephyrhills, (1), $82,476
3. Joe Shield, St. Petersburg, (1), $67,535
4. John Dutchak, Tampa, (1), $58,570
5. Donna Blevins, Inverness, (1), $51,398
6. Jared "Smokinokun" Okun, Tampa, (1), $39,445
7. Matthew Smith, Lithia, (2), $38,856
8. James Weir, Tampa, (2) $30,957
9. John Racener, Brandon, (2), $25,906
10. Stephen King, St. Pete Beach, (1), $20,806
11. Johnathan Stanton, St. Petersburg, (1), $20,320
12. Thayer "JINXY MONKEY" Rasmussen, St. Petersburg, (3), $18,391
13. Chris Shubert, New Port Richey, (1), $16,585
14. Andrew Greenberg, Tampa, (1), $12,197
15. William Burdick, St. Petersburg, (1), $10,728
16. Eugene Bauerlein, St. Petersburg, (2), $10,585
17. Nashaat "Tony" Antonious, Redington Shores, (1), $9,212
18. John Gordon, Largo, (2), $9,162
19. Andrew Kelsall, Lutz, (1), $9,049
20. Mark Smyrski, Seminole, (1), $7,538 
21. Joseph Alberger, Lutz, (1), $6,816
22. Greg Warner, Tampa, (1), $5,547
23. Bonnie Leinhos, Tarpon Springs, (1), $5,514
24. Paul Wolfe, Apollo Beach, (1), $4,797
25. Samuel Wax, Tampa, (1) $4,484
26. Bill Byers, Apollo Beach, (1), $4,259
27. Sherman Ibarra, Oldsmar, (1), $4,125
28. Manelic "Manny" Minaya, Tampa, (1), $4,010
29. Chris Gunter, Port Richey, (1), $3,828
30. Randy Reagan, Tampa, (1), $3,408
31. Ira Gibbs, St. Petersburg, (1), $2,795
32. Jerry DeNicholas, Tampa, (1), $2,655
33. Tim Dobbins, Wesley Chapel (1), $2,104
34. Chris Debock, Tampa, (1), $2,067
35. Tonia Williams, Tampa, (1), $1,931
36. Janeen Coriale, Port Richey, (1), $865
Totals: 42 cashes, 1 bracelet, $868,575 prize money
Changes
Event #2 - William Stead deleted (hometown is now Gainesville)
Event #2 - Tim Dobbins name added (name was unknown previously)
Event #12 - Added Matthew Smith, Lithia, 42nd place, $5,844
Event #37 - Added Paul Wolfe, Apollo Beach, 50th place, $4,797

Ante Up guests
(Ante Up guests are those who have appeared as the main guest on the Main Topic segment of the show)
1. Barry Greenstein, (4), $305,011
2. Donald Baruch, Tampa, (1) $264,107
3. Gregory "Fossilman" Raymer, (4), $168,854
4. Daniel Negreanu, (2), $122,672
5. Andrew Bloch, (2) $52,892
6. Joe Sebok, (5), $50,496
7. Michael Craig, (3), $43,053
8. Johnny Chan, (3), $27,742
9. Paul "Kwickfish" Wasicka, (1), $23,030
10. Clonie Gowen, (2), $11,300
11. Susan Genard, (1), $6,168
12. Jennifer Harman Traniello, (1), $4,422
Totals: 29 cashes, 1 bracelet, $1,079,837 prize money

- SCOTT

AIPS II Event #7 Champion: GapBand85

Congratulations to GapBand85, who wins the seventh AIPS II banana as champion of the Pot Limit Hold'em event, which drew 93 entrants.

GapBand85 won the last hand against Scotsman420 when his J-4 paired with a Jack on the flop. Scotsman420's Q-5 paired a five, but didn't improve. Congrats to the entire final table!

Bounties go to:

• imtoomuch4u (Fasso "stpetebeach", 22nd place)
• GapBand85 (Columbo "columbo", 23rd place)
• Rant2112 (Scott "OffDeadline", 61st place)
• Scotsman420 (Chris "willhopper", 92nd place)

NEXT EVENT: Stud Hi/Lo, Thursday, August 23, 9 p.m. Eastern

Click here for the Player of the Year standings. (Special thanks to Ante Up! scorekeeper Gambit for compiling them and the first bananahead of the year Blazman for hosting the results).

Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS II events. We'll update it as we set dates for future events, and recognize champions. (This link is also permanently posted on the right-hand side of the blog with all the other important links).

- SCOTT

Congratulations to GapBand85, who wins the seventh AIPS II banana as champion of the Pot Limit Hold'em event, which drew 93 entrants.

GapBand85 won the last hand against Scotsman420 when his J-4 paired with a Jack on the flop. Scotsman420's Q-5 paired a five, but didn't improve. Congrats to the entire final table!

Bounties go to:

• imtoomuch4u (Fasso "stpetebeach", 22nd place)
• GapBand85 (Columbo "columbo", 23rd place)
• Rant2112 (Scott "OffDeadline", 61st place)
• Scotsman420 (Chris "willhopper", 92nd place)

NEXT EVENT: Stud Hi/Lo, Thursday, August 23, 9 p.m. Eastern

Click here for the Player of the Year standings. (Special thanks to Ante Up! scorekeeper Gambit for compiling them and the first bananahead of the year Blazman for hosting the results).

Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS II events. We'll update it as we set dates for future events, and recognize champions. (This link is also permanently posted on the right-hand side of the blog with all the other important links).

- SCOTT

Congratulations to GapBand85, who wins the seventh AIPS II banana as champion of the Pot Limit Hold'em event, which drew 93 entrants.

GapBand85 won the last hand against Scotsman420 when his J-4 paired with a Jack on the flop. Scotsman420's Q-5 paired a five, but didn't improve. Congrats to the entire final table!

Bounties go to:

• imtoomuch4u (Fasso "stpetebeach", 22nd place)
• GapBand85 (Columbo "columbo", 23rd place)
• Rant2112 (Scott "OffDeadline", 61st place)
• Scotsman420 (Chris "willhopper", 92nd place)

NEXT EVENT: Stud Hi/Lo, Thursday, August 23, 9 p.m. Eastern

Click here for the Player of the Year standings. (Special thanks to Ante Up! scorekeeper Gambit for compiling them and the first bananahead of the year Blazman for hosting the results).

Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS II events. We'll update it as we set dates for future events, and recognize champions. (This link is also permanently posted on the right-hand side of the blog with all the other important links).

- SCOTT

Congratulations to GapBand85, who wins the seventh AIPS II banana as champion of the Pot Limit Hold'em event, which drew 93 entrants.

GapBand85 won the last hand against Scotsman420 when his J-4 paired with a Jack on the flop. Scotsman420's Q-5 paired a five, but didn't improve. Congrats to the entire final table!

Bounties go to:

• imtoomuch4u (Fasso "stpetebeach", 22nd place)
• GapBand85 (Columbo "columbo", 23rd place)
• Rant2112 (Scott "OffDeadline", 61st place)
• Scotsman420 (Chris "willhopper", 92nd place)

NEXT EVENT: Stud Hi/Lo, Thursday, August 23, 9 p.m. Eastern

Click here for the Player of the Year standings. (Special thanks to Ante Up! scorekeeper Gambit for compiling them and the first bananahead of the year Blazman for hosting the results).

Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS II events. We'll update it as we set dates for future events, and recognize champions. (This link is also permanently posted on the right-hand side of the blog with all the other important links).

- SCOTT

Congratulations to GapBand85, who wins the seventh AIPS II banana as champion of the Pot Limit Hold'em event, which drew 93 entrants.

GapBand85 won the last hand against Scotsman420 when his J-4 paired with a Jack on the flop. Scotsman420's Q-5 paired a five, but didn't improve. Congrats to the entire final table!

Bounties go to:

AIPS II Event #8 created

AIPS II Event #8 (Stud Hi-Lo) has been created and is open for registration. And don't forget that tonight is Event #7 Pot-Limit Hold'em at 9 p.m. Eastern. Details on all AIPS events can be found by clicking here.

Here are the details:
Name: AIPS II Event #8
Where: FullTilt
Cost: $5+.0.50
When: 9 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, Aug. 23

Password: anteup

You can find it under the "Private Tournaments" tab.

- SCOTT

AIPS II Event #8 (Stud Hi-Lo) has been created and is open for registration. And don't forget that tonight is Event #7 Pot-Limit Hold'em at 9 p.m. Eastern. Details on all AIPS events can be found by clicking here.

Here are the details:
Name: AIPS II Event #8
Where: FullTilt
Cost: $5+.0.50
When: 9 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, Aug. 23

Password: anteup

You can find it under the "Private Tournaments" tab.

- SCOTT

Lee Childs on Friday's Show!!

Ante Upper and 2007 WSOP ME 7th-place finisher Lee Childs just called me from Vegas as he celebrates with his friends and family over dinner. He told me he didn't like calling the all-in with KJ but he knew he was ahead. We talked for about 15 minutes and he said he should be able to do the show on Friday. So, with that in mind, please post your questions here for him.

-- Chris

Meet ... LEE CHILDS

After exchanging a few emails with Lee Childs, he emailed me his cell phone and asked me to call him. I couldn't dial fast enough.

Lee Childs (aka William Lee Childs Jr.), 33, of Reston, Va., is one of the nicest guys I have ever had a phone conversation with. He's down to earth, happy to be where he is, looking to be friends with just about anyone who comes his way and is taking everything in stride.

And what a story this kid is. He's having the trip of a lifetime, cashing in other big tournaments out there as well, such as the Caesars nightly $550 tournament. He's knocked out Jen Tilly in the Main Event when his pocket aces held up against her open-ended straight draw, he was actually chipleader for a while but says he's happy where he is right now, he ousted Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (Lee had QQ and Chris had A5), and he's gotten respect from none other than Scotty "The Prince of Poker" Nguyen! He also was making some serious noise on Full Tilt before he headed out there, winning the $150 nightly tournament on more than one occasion and cashing numerous other times. Those big cashes led him to the WSOP, where he didn't do so well in the preliminary events back in June, but his dad came through with the buy-in for the Main Event and the rest is history.

He says he has been making plays he didn't know he was capable of, and a lot of that comes from his tight solid, nice-guy image. He said he's been fortunate to have his aces hold up on more than one occasion and he has had monster hands get paid off like when he had KK and the flop came K-6-6 and he checked to a guy who pushed with AK.

But here's the best part: Lee had just quit his job with National Geographic last month. Now, no matter what happens tomorrow, he will be guaranteed at least $500K, and that doesn't even include endorsement deals (I have a feeling you'll see him wearing Full Tilt gear at the table), etc. He's had a tough last couple of years and this couldn't have come at a better time. His wife and his dad will be out there for him on the rail as he goes for the world title. Lee will be the one with the shaved head and the sunglasses. But don't confuse him with pro Lee Watkinson. And an interesting note: Lee Watkinson and Lee Childs were both wrestlers. Weird huh? Two guys named Lee at the final table, both with shaved heads and both wrestlers. Interesting.

Our friend Lee wants the Ante Up! Nation to know he thanks us for any support we give him and that he has been a fan of the show for more than a year. He said "I just pray I don't make any stupid moves," and then he chuckled. He says Ante Up! is easily the best poker podcast out there and he hopes to be able to give us the exclusive first interview with the next world champion. Well, if they give chips for personality and all-around coolness, Lee Childs is a shoo-in. We're rooting for you buddy, take this bad boy DOWN! We're hoping to have him on the show Friday. I'll call him Thursday regardless of the outcome. Good luck LEE!!!

-- Chris   

Breaking news: Ante Upper at WSOP Final Table!!!

I knew I was foolish for updating the World Series of Poker toteboard from home this morning (but you'll notice I left myself an "out" like all good poker players do, saying no Ante Uppers - that we know of - are still alive).

Well, we get to work to find an email from Jenny Childs, the very excited wife of Lee Childs, who's sitting on 13,320,000 in chips for tomorrow's Main Event Final Table. That's good for fifth right now with 9 players left. She says Lee is a big fan of Ante Up!, and has been listening to the show for a long time.

They'll shuffle up and deal at 3 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, so let's get the whole Ante Up! Nation in Lee's corner for the biggest day of his life!

- SCOTT

WSOP: The Main Event

And then there were 10. They're down to the Final table at the World Series of Poker's Main Event, and sadly, Scotty Nguyen was the bubble boy, bowing out in 11th. Lee Watkinson is still alive at what certainly is a melting pot of a final table. Look at the nationalities represented among the final 10: Denmark, U.S., Canada, South Africa, U.K, and Russia. That's way cool.

No Ante Uppers (that we know of!), Ante Up guests or Tampa Bay players are among the final 10, so I'll go ahead and update the toteboard now. Some really nice finishes from the Bay area. And I'll do one last sweep through the records to make sure I didn't miss anyone on previous posts. Congrats to everyone who made some money at the WSOP this year (now share it with me!)

Event #55, No Limit Hold'em World Championship, $10,000 entry, 6,358 entrants
Tampa Bay area players
89. John Bird, Zephyrhills, $82,476
99. Joe Shield, St. Petersburg, $67,535
160. John Dutchak, Tampa, $58,570
179. Donna Blevins, Inverness, $51,398
346. Jared "Smokinokun" Okun, Tampa, $39,445
590. Johnathan Stanton, St. Petersburg, $20,320  

Ante Up WSOP totals
Ante Up Nation!: 5 cashes, 1 bracelet, $294,137 prize money
Ante Up guests: 28 cashes, 0 bracelets, $815,730 prize money
Tampa Bay area players: 42 cashes, 1 bracelet, $860,038 prize money

- SCOTT

Tampa Greyhound Track report

I had a gazillion better things to do on Saturday than braving I-275 across the county to play some cards, but when Jody Russell, assistant manager of the new Lucky's room at Tampa Greyhound Track, posted on this blog that his room was offering a $2K freeroll, the grass in the front yard suddenly didn't look that long anymore. (You should see the grass today. Ugh. My guess is Jody isn't going to help me mow it).

So full of folly, I headed over to new room Saturday morning. About halfway there, I made peace with the fact that I was silly for thinking I'd be one of the first 100 folks there, and thus eligible for the freeroll. But, hey, if we're not dreamers, we're not poker players, right? I pull into the lot, and there are more cars there than at a Fred Ricart dealership (inside humor for my Columbus folk). Ha, silly me. So I force my way into the room, and head straight to the live game podium, knowing there's no way I'm getting into the freeroll (I bumped into Ante Upper John, who'll be on our show this week, and we just laughed, as he had the same folly).

I talked to one woman who had gotten there at 8:30 a.m. (the room opens at 11 a.m.) and she said she was 25th in line (they were just giving away money, folks, not iPhones). Jody  told me later that the crush of people proved to be a pleasant problem (filled the seats, but he and his staff had to do some quick good PR to appease those who didn't make it into the freeroll). More on that later.

THE ROOM: I like it. One huge thing I noticed off the bat was the ample comfortable couches in the room where players can park the a** end of their straight while waiting for a seat at a table. Very nice. Two podiums - one for live games, one for SNGs - though even on a busy Saturday, they were only using the one. But lines seemed to move quickly after the place opened. No plasma screen wait list, but at least the next best thing - a large dry erase board. Certainly better than paper and pencil. Restrooms on either side of the room, which is a plus when you're in a tournament. The room's design, however, is a little schizo right now. Overall, it has an elegant classical feel, with etched glass, light golds and browns, and green carpet, but the tables and signage are cut from a much more modern look and blue. There's a separate line to get your players club card. I didn't get details on what exactly you earn, but players who log 50 hours through Aug. 15 are entered into a freeroll where 15 folks earn money, and top prize is a cool $10K.

THE GAMES: I toiled for the first two hours at a $3/$5 Omaha 8 table. I like that structure. $3/$6 would, of course, be better, but our lawmakers won't allow that. It kind fills Fasso's complaint about a straight $5 game (that 4th and 5th Streets should cost more), even if it's not a true double. Blinds are $2 and $3, which means you're playing more hands (not a lot of Omaha 8 hands worthy of the muck when you only have to cough up another buck to win 10-20 times that). The jackpot on Omaha was high hand (quad 10s are higher, two of them in your hand). I like it better than bad beat, but any quads would be better. The Omaha game broke up soon after the 1 p.m. tournament started, but they got another one going later in the afternoon. Stud ($2-$5 spread) was going in fits and starts throughout the day, and of course, most people were playing no-limit. They offer two forms: $1/$2 blinds and $2/$3 blinds. (I feel horrible for not asking, but I'm not sure whether the rake is timed or traditional on no-limit). They got a couple $50+$15 SNGs ($250 for 1st, $150 for 2nd and $100 for 3rd) going while I was there. Most people I talked with said attendence has been slooooow since the room opened, but the freeroll definitely got people out. One cool thing Lucky's has in cash games and tournaments is a bright orange "All-In" button that the dealer tosses in front of anyone who is, well, all in. That's a low-cost, high-reward feature I'd like to see all rooms use. It takes away a lot of confusion.

THE PERSONNEL: Jody was a true professional, and the floor personnel were in suits or at least ties. Dealers were very skilled - not one mistake (aside from a flipped up card in a deal) in my five hours there. One newbie dealer did appear to be a little scared dealing my tournament, and regrettably didn't admonish a player for talking on his cell phone. But aside from that, I was impressed - and more so because the dealers were salespeople for the room. True, this can be over the top sometimes, but I like it when dealers use the downtime while shuffling or during tournament breaks to tell you about the room, upcoming events, etc. Of course, one gave us bad info (he said all MTTs are no-juice; Jody said just Saturday's was). Cocktail waitresses were efficient and friendly.

MY PLAY: I escaped from my Omaha game up $11, mostly thanks to the luckbox lady in the 9 seat who had A-2 every hand except the one when a 2 landed on the flop (then she had A-3. Grrrrr..) I can easily beat this game over the long haul. My ears went up like radar dishes, though, when the loud speakers announced registration for the 1 p.m. MTT - $65 entry, no-juice, 6K chips to start with 20-minute levels. Very niiiice. (Jody tells me this is something they did to ease the ruffled feathers of those denied entry into the freeroll.) They capped entries at 50 players, paying top 5 (1st was north of $1K), but I heard the registrar say if tournaments go over 50 players, they pay 10 spots. I played good poker through the first 5 levels, slowly building my stack. And then 3 hands in a row of "that's poker" got me a little off-kilter. I raised from late position with The Cosenza (A-10 off) and a short-stacked player moved in with just a little more than me. I called, he flashes A-K, but I turn a 10 and eliminate him. Whew. (There are antes at this point, so any pot won is a nice one). The next hand, I get K-Q off in late position and raise. Another short-stack moves in for a little more, and I called. He flashes K-Q, too, but his are diamond-encrusted, and of course, diamonds get there. Ugh. The next hand, I get my new nemesis (red Kings), and a short-stack moves all-in before me. I push all-in, too, to isolate, and it works. He turns over 5-5 and, yes, four spades come in a row and he flushes me down. So I then nursed my now average stack to the end, eventually pushing with 9-8 off and getting called by KQ, which held up. Gone after 3.5 hours, but you get a lot of play for your money in this structure (they have a 75-150 level, which not all rooms have, but jump from 300-600 to 500-1000, and then 1000-2000).

That's it for today. I'll try to pop into another local room this week. As always, post your experiences with Lucky's here.

- SCOTT

Shall we play a game?

As you all know, when it comes to photos I am no Ansel Adams. Hell, I'm not even Uncle Fester Addams! And no one make any light bulb jokes please! But I had my camera at the WSOP and I took some shots of players. And as is almost always the case, these big tournaments don't want you using the flash on your camera. Occasionally I would say the hell with it and take one anyway, but sometimes I wasn't sure if the flash was on or not so I would take a quick shot and then pull the camera down quickly. As you can imagine this made for some interesting images and isn't exactly textbook photography. So, I would like you all to know that the best of the shots (and there are quite a few) have been posted to the gallery. Please go there and check them out because some are pretty funny and some are cool. The shots of me were taken by Mike Fasso, so thanks Mike. The rest were either taken by me, strangers passing by who I asked to snap them or were sent in by fans.

Now, with that said, I thought it would be fun to post these abstract renditions of photos to see if you can guess what they are. I'll give it a few days and then post the answers next week.

1. OK, do you think you know what the shot above is? I'll give you a hint, two very famous poker players are in this shot. You should be able to get it from that, right? LOL!

2. Here's another gem. I like to call this one "Did he sell his soul patch to the devil?"

3. My final entry touches on my impressionist period. I'm particularly proud of the likeness. I'll give you two words: Chinese and Mayfair.

OK, that's it! Thank you for playing Chris' wonderful world of photography. Again, I'll post the answers some time next week. Good luck!

-- Chris

P.S. Sorry I haven't been posting since I got back from Vegas, I was under the weather. But I'm back baby!

Episide #109: Vegas, baby!

MAIN TOPIC

Part II of our four-part Vegas experience has us reliving our stops at the various poker rooms around town and sharing with you some great interviews that we (and by we, I mean Chris and Fasso. You don't really want me interviewing folks again, do ya?) got with pros at the World Series of Poker. Next week's show will break down the World Series of Poker Academy, and the final installment will highlight the cool and unusual items being peddled at the WSOP Gaming Life Expo. Listen to this week's show here.

ROOMS: Chris and I played at Monte Carlo (Scott's favorite), Orleans (tough, tough), Luxor (odd 3-blind structure), Paris (no cell phones allowed, yay!), Caesars Palace (Scott likes it, Chris doesn't), Treasure Island (off by itself down a hall with shops) and, of course, Binion's (how can you not like a room that not only spreads Juarez, but teaches you how to play it?)

INTERVIEWS: Marcel Luske complains about the dealers, Roxci Roads also complains about the dealers, new World Poker Tour host Layla Kayleigh tells us why she's excited about her new gig (and cheats certain firing by talking to the Ante Up! WPT Host Killers), Frank Henderson gets old-school with Fasso, Nick Frangos talks about stud and Gus Hansen makes Fasso's trip by supporting a return of 5-card stud.

OTHER TOPICS

WSOP: The Main Event is in full swing, and Gus Hansen was among the chipleaders at the time of our recording. We recount some of the funnier WSOP nuggets uncovered by the Associated Press, which is doing a bang-up job covering the Main Event. Among them: Phil Hellmuth wrecking his race car, Jamie Gold's mother, Jane, briefly flirting with the chip lead, Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon describing how Homer Simpson would play the Main Event and the fact that 6,358 players entered this year, down from the 8,700+ last year.

AIPS: A reminder that Event #7 (Pot Limit Hold'em) is Thursday night at 9 p.m. Eastern. For all the details, click here.

TAMPA BAY POKER REPLAY: We welcome our new feature, a short look back at the Week in Poker at Tampa Bay card rooms. (Subtle reminder to poker room managers: Send us stuff to talk about). This week, we talk about the new limits in Florida, a July 23 meeting to iron out rules and Scott's visit to Tampa Bay Downs.

HAND OF THE WEEK

We break down a Stud 8 hand from a micro limit HORSE cash game on FullTilt. Our hero engstrok starts with buried Aces and a J showing and joins a parade of callers on Third Street. On Fourth Street, he picks up a 3, which gives him a twinge of life for a low and a flush, and he bets out, only to get three callers.

Fifth Street brings a worthless King, while one opponent pairs his 10 and another gets his third baby. It's, oddly, checked around, which sets up some killer guessing by everyone on the last two streets. Sixth Street leaves two pairs of 10s on different boards, a pair of 7s on another and gives us a worthless deuce. It's called around. On Seventh Street, we don't improve and fold to a bet and two calls. Queens and Sevens scoops the pot.

Chris and I would have taken distinctive different routes than our hero. Chris would have gotten out earlier, while Scott says there's some validity to considering raising the whole way to drive players out. It definitely shows how cool, and cruel, of a game Stud 8 can be.

- SCOTT

One-Minute Mystery: Case of the Ducky Board

We're in a Seven Card Stud AIPS event (thanks for the plug, Columbo!).

With levels at 40/80 with a 7 ante, we just call with buried Aces and a 7 showing after the Jack of hearts completes. (There is a folded Ace, BTW).

On fourth street, we pair our 7, and bet out. We're raised by J-2, and call.

On fifth, we get a Jack, bet out and again are raised by what is now a board of J-2-2.

So.....

Are we going to the showdown? And if so, are we checking-calling, or raising?

On the road ...

So, The Wife and I are finishing up booking our September trip to Texas right now (easy, Ante Up Texas Chapter, we're so booked I likely won't be able to break free to check out the underground card rooms with ya, sorry), and it made me remember that I meant to post some non-poker travel stuff from the recently concluded Vegas trip. You can handle a post with very little poker content, can't ya Nation?

PLANE
You'll usually find me crisscrossing the country on Southwest (gotta love those Ding! fares - 3 trips to Ohio Stadium coming up in September - 88 bucks each). But the Guys with the Crackers could muster only a $419 fare for us to Vegas, so fortunately the good folks of Delta stole our business with a $219 fare. Ka-ching! Memo to Southwest: If you expect to me fly bare bones, you NEED to be the cheapest. Always. For half the price on Delta, I got in-flight movies, in-flight TV (on one leg) and the fun of turning down a Vodka-and-Fresca (interesting signature cocktail, Mr. Delta). Of course, Chris whined about assigned seats (huh?), but mostly because he wanted to hijack my viewing of Ocean's 12 on my laptop. (Good flick, not sure why people hated it so much. The Julia Roberts story line was hilarious. Oops, sorry. Spoiling it for Chris. Next time, buddy!).

CAR
I'm a Blue Chipper at Thrifty (always the cheapest), and it's usually only a couple of bucks more to bump up from Rickshaw class to Full Size. So when they pointed me to my row, I jumped in a shiny silver Dodge Avenger. Nice looking car. Fired that baby up, and satellite radio started blaring! Nice touch, Mr. Thrifty! The new Uber Rental Car Taj Majal in Las Vegas is brutal, though. Took me 20 minutes to get past Thrifty Security (here's an idea for travelers - do your freakin' chip n' dent walkaround when you get in the car. Don't wait until you get in line. That steams efficient folks like me off). (Side note - the line for the bus back to the airport on our return was like 678 people long. At 4:30 a.m. NOT kidding).

After I clear Checkpoint Charlie, I zoom out of the garage. Except this car lacked zoom. I tromped on the gas pedal, and I swear the car laughed at me. It eventually said, "OK, OK, I'll go" but geeeeeeez. Why build a car to look like a muscle car, but decide not to give it muscle?!? And one more note to the Dodge Brain Trust: Please fire the Executive Vice President of Blind Spot Technology. I've never been able to see out of any Dodge I've ever rented (and if you "drive" like I do, you NEED to see in the blind spots).

HOTEL
Orleans was a good pick. It's off Strip, so you're not going to be walking anywhere, but they have shuttles. The room was large enough - a table, loveseat and comfy chair, plus a work desk. Not bad for $60 a night weekdays. Bed was really comfy, and the best part: Fire Department-rated water pressure in the shower. What a difference that makes when you've been dropping racks of chips all over the city. Pool was nice, but uninspiring, but the Jacuzzi was big. Until that big hairy dude came in. It got really small, really quickly.

FOOD
As we said, we didn't go anywhere without a Las Vegas Advisor coupon. (Cue shameless plug: Even if you go to Vegas for just one weekend a year, you gotta subscribe.). Orleans buffet is a steal for the price (and wine drinkers can get a bottle for $6. And it's not Boone's. Really). Gold Coast buffet is pretty similar. Rio's buffet, once the class of Vegas, is rebounding again, but definitely not worth the price. Skip the Palms coffee shop - if I'm paying $7 for a chicken salad sandwich, at least put it on a croissant, Mr. Maloof. But the best meal deal in Vegas continues to never disappoint - the $4.95 sirloin dinner at the Ellis Island coffee shop. And don't forget to tear off the $5 blackjack matchplay coupon on your place mat. You win that bet, and you just got paid 3 bucks and change for eating a 10-ounce hunk of tasty meat with all the sides. Niiiiiiice.

ENTERTAINMENT
We were so jam-packed with the WSOP, the WSOP Academy, playing cards and hangin' with Kenna that we didn't have much time at all to do anything else. But we did manage to squeeze in a viewing of Live Free or Die Hard on Friday. Chris and I are both huge Die Hard fans (Chris saw the original 17 times in the theater. Um, freak.). And I gotta say, the latest installment dies hard. Absolutely terrible. The jokes were forced, the action was predictable and the plot had more holes in it than my WSOP strategy. I even got into a terse fight with two girls at the grocery store this week about the movie. They loved it. Turns out, they really only love Bruce Willis. Sigh. Memo to 20something girls: Kate Winslet is gorgeous. But she's been in plenty of unwatchable movies. Just because she's in a movie doesn't make it a winner. Same with Bruce Willis (You see Unbreakable?).

OK, next post is on poker. I promise.

- SCOTT

Tampa Bay Downs report

I got dug out of my post-Vegas mountain of work much more quickly than I expected, so I hit Tampa Bay Downs last night, the first stop on my tour of Tampa Bay card rooms after the new state law took effect.

THE ROOM: Definitely more spacious than Downs' former crowded room. There was black draping over the track windows, which gave the room kind of a retro industrial warehouse feel (or kind of like the WPT Hollywood Home Game set, minus the beaming lights and Mimi Rogers). Two podiums - one for live games, one for tournaments - and a plasma screen waiting list for live games, though it wasn't turned on (likely because they were only spreading two games). Chairs were available for people on the wait list, which is nice. There is a bar and snack bar in the far end, which I didn't wander over to.

THE GAMES: I had decided to give this new $5 Omaha 8 a whirl, but my dreams were dashed when I said "You have Omaha?" and the answer was "no." "Stud?," I asked. "No." "What do you have, then?," I asked, wondering why I was playing Abbott and Costello as the wait list plasma screen stood dark. "Just $2/$4 hold'em and no-limit." Ugh. So he put me on the list for no-limit. It was a Wednesday night around 7 p.m., which I have to imagine is a slow time, but I'm wondering if my fears of $1/$2 no-limit gobbling up all the other games is coming true. The $1/$2 no-limit charges a $5/30 minutes time rake (more on that later), and I believe you must go bust before rebuying (though I didn't clarify that with a dealer. If so, that's different from Derby Lane, where you can rebuy in multibles of $20 up to $100, and the Hard Rock, where you can top off to $100 in any multiple). They had a 5-table evening tournament going, and got one or two $65 SNGs going while I was there. During the evening tournament break, an entrant who was disappointed with the payout told his buddy, "I could make that in 30 minutes here" pointing at the cash game no-limit tournament. True dat. I have been wondering how many people would continue to play tournaments in a climate where a good player can make much more in cash games. We'll see.

THE PERSONNEL: Couldn't help but notice that the floor personnel weren't in their Tampa Bay Downs-trademarked suits and ties. I wasn't really bothered by it (it is 90 degrees with 134 percent humidity out, after all), but the suits were always a point of distinction for this room. But the floors were skillful and friendly as always. I didn't recognize many of the dealers, but they had game - just one misdeal (bu