Episode #136: Tunica

MAIN TOPIC

Fasso returns to the studio after a largely successful visit to Tunica, Miss., site of a World Series of Poker Circuit event and a World Poker Tour event. Fasso learned to tame the SNGs but was helpless against an unknown health ailment. Click here to hear the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Bluff likes us! Well, Bluff readers do. We thank our listeners for helping us become "Best Podcast" in Bluff magazine's annual Readers Choice Awards.

AIPS: The third season gets off to a record start - 155 players! Fasso turns 400 chips into a final table appearance, but Zerkaboid gets the banana. Congrats!

WSOP on the radio: WSOP Radio has debuted, and you can listen in live on Mondays from 8-10 p.m. Eastern.

Chris is a newshound: Chris breaks some news on this very blog, reporting that the Mirage has pulled out of the World Poker Tour. Is Mandalay Bay next?

Players of the Year: The only POY that matters - AIPS - was crowned in December, but a couple other magazines take a crack at it anyhow. Bill Edler wins in Bluff's rankings, and David "The Dragon" Pham wins CardPlayer's honor.

Hotline: Bradford from California calls in to ask us what the best way is to get money in an online poker room. "E-Check" is the new hot way (on PokerStars), and we've heard it's in beta-testing on FullTilt. Outside of that, try a VISA debit card. No dice? Keep trying on the options listed on the poker room's site.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Some folks in Clearwater got nabbed for the fuzz, who accuse them of running a high-stakes illegal poker game; Tampa Greyhound Track offers a $80 no-juice tournament every Sunday with a bounty on Sam Minutello; and the Hard Rock will host a charity tournament benefiting the Brandon Foundation.

HAND OF THE WEEK

yzerman13 sends us a hand from AIPS III Event #1.

Joe24Pa raises UTG, and yzerman calls UTG+1 with 3d-3c. carbidexxx calls from the big blind.

The flop: 3s-Ad-10c.

carbide checks, JoePa bets and yzerman raises.

carbide folds, and JoePa calls.

The turn: 8h.

JoePa checks, yzerman bets, JoePa calls.

The river: Qs

JoePa bets out, confounding yzerman. But yzerman decides to raise, JoePa reraises, yzerman caps it and JoePa calls.

JoePa turns over Kc-Jc for the straight and takes down a nice pot.

Certainly a lot to criticize for JoePa's call on the turn, though Scott meekly takes a stab at defending it, depending on what the read was. But we all agreed yzerman played it too aggressively on the river.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Brace yourself. You've asked for it, and asked for it and asked for it. Now we're ready (we think) to take another stab at Pot Odds. Poker gods help us.

- SCOTT

Comments

[Joe24Pa]

This was a limit tournament. With all the money in the pot, pot odds dictated a call of his raise. (And even if they didn't, IMPUTED pot odds certainly called for a call).

Yzerman and I took turns sucking out against each other early in the tourney. He made the money. I fell two spots short (29th), when my pocket queens were busted by an ace on the turn for an opponent.

My only criticism of myself was not folding into the money--but I had to play the queens with a (remote) chance at "the banana."

The tourney was fun. But unless you want to calculate and post the pot odds, do not criticize the call (please).

[yzerman]

We we both very active early in the tournament.

You can always make the math work in a limit tournament there we only 4 cards out of 46 that make your had on the turn. You were getting 6-1 on the turn and you were worse than a 6-1 dog with 1 card to come. I had a ton of fun playing with everyone last night and i was pissed at the time, i hate the call, but it is what it is. I hate my play more on the river.

yzerman

[Joe24Pa]

Upon further review... Chalk one up for Yzerman's math. On the turn, calling gave me only 6.25 to one odds. I was playing loosely in the early part of the tournament--and I even confided with the table that my attention was diverted because I was watching Celebrity Apprentice (I will pause here until the laughter dies down). In my playing fast and loose, I just assumed I had pot odds there. And you know what happens when you ASSUME? Apparently, at FTP, what happens is you suck out a big pot...

I still think that my call on the turn was no big deal. Early in the tournament, even when expected values are not there percentage wise, they have very small negative expected values DOLLAR wise. And sometimes you can use that loose image to benefit you later in the tourney...

To me the real "interesting" play in the hand was Yzerman calling a raised pot with 33 UTG+1. Granted my raise UTG with KJ suited was loose, but calling with 33 was quite unusual. I would not even call there in no limit--and in no limit, the potential rewards are higher. I would be interested in what the Ante Up hosts and nation have to say about the call with 33...

Separately, did I read in a previous post that the top 20% in each Ante Up tourney were going to receive POY points? The top 20% would be up through number 31. It is bad enough to not get paid in a tourney, but to not get POY points--that is a real kick in the shins. Maybe I read it wrong...

Regards to all and congrats to the final table folks from Thursday night.

[yzerman13]

OK OK, i said that i was very "active" early. Also, i don't think that the raise represented more than 10% of my stack, which is my rule of thumb, but i do agree that it was a loose call.

yzerman

That was a really bad call on the turn, getting only 6.25:1 as a 10.5:1 dog. However, Yzerman paying off like a slot machine on the river like that nearly justifies it...you ended up making the 6.25 that was in the pot plus another 4 on the river, so you made 10.25 BB after the 1 BB call on the turn. But I wouldn't count on getting those kind of implied odds in a limit game very often.

[Nikademus]

With regard to the hand of the week: When JoePa fires out on the river, I honestly put him on QQ. That was the only hand I could come up with that would play that way.

[jherky]

You have to be careful about those gift cards. It has to be one that says for international use and not "US use only." Also, the instant e-check works on FTP very well.

[jherky]

Scott? About the cotton fields...What's wrong with those? That's how my dad makes his living. Cotton fields are beautiful things.

And you are right, Fasso. That road was a very nice addition to get to Tunica from Memphis. Not that I live in MS anymore to appreciate it. *sniff*

[spawgan]

On the one minute mystery, this one smells ripe for one of those classic Columbo moments where at the reveal he drops some beautiful tidbit about the player, not known prior to the reveal, that would change the entire way you answer the riddle. For instance he might say the chip leader who is pushing has been doing that all tourney long being less skilled and rather than be outplayed by more skillful opponents just pushes. Something like that. That said, how can you not call here. Only two hands beat you and if yu can't call with q's there then you will never win one of these tourneys. Chip leaders in this sit n go's will push w/ ace - medium and above all the time in these spots. Given the info I have, i see no way to fold. Easy instacall it would appear