Blogged.com ranks Ante Up!'s blog No. 2

The site administrators over at Blogged.com have just let us know that they recently reviewed the Ante Up! blog and rated us a 9.1 (excellent) out of 10! That makes us the No. 2 blog in the Games category. Blogged.com has ratings for 141 poker blogs.

Funny note: The site describes us as "professional poker players" (clearly they've missed both pot odds shows, but we appreciate the thought) and Michael Craig, whose blog is rated No. 3 (though also a 9.1), is just plain old "Michael Craig."

Chris and I will quickly get to work on learning all about the Philippine pool scene, as well as the oil and gas, financial services and information technology industries so we can capture that No. 1 spot.

- SCOTT

PPSN update

The Poker Players Social Network has updated its URL. The address we gave you on the show was a beta address. The new URL is here so be sure to bookmark it. At least 40 Ante Up! Nationals already have joined, giving this site a real boost. Nice job! And a special thanks to ChicagoJason for starting an Ante Up! Nation group, which again, is at least 40 members strong.

-- Chris

AnteUp Chicago MeetUp: Good times, great beer ... goofy hats

Clockwise from left: Laura Long, Scott (he doesn't shave on vacation), Chicago Jason, Chicago Mike, Chi-Guy Brian and Chicago Joe. Truly an mazing coincidence that all these guys' parents named them "Chicago" and then they grew up to live there.

Our whirlwind weekend trip to Chicago is in the books, and the dedicated employee that I am, I'm in the office blogging (and doing real work, too, Boss) just hours after touching down in Tampa.

Laura and I had a blast last night with four great Ante Uppers who turned out at the legendary Billy Goat Tavern. We chatted about poker, the show and life for more than three hours. Our great Billy Goat waiter snapped this photo of us wearing the official Billy Goat hats (Well, everyone except the guy who's idea it was to wear the hats. Well played, Chicago Joe. Well played).

Lots of other photos (and audio!) were captured during the night, so hopefully we'll have a few more things to add to the gallery soon, and some funny clips for this week's show.

- SCOTT

The need to share

Here's another problem with online play: It's such a lonely experience. It's not that when I go to one of the local card rooms I'm chatting it up with the players or being friendly for that matter. I usually keep to myself and try like hell to take every last chip from them. But if you're doing well or if you have a nice rally, there's usually someone saying "Nice hand" or "Nice comeback" and you can sort of celebrate your success. But when you're playing online and you make a nice call you turn to no one in particular and blurt out "I knew he was bluffing!" Then you realize what an idiot you are because you're playing alone in your bedroom while the wife's out shopping.

That's the beauty of home games. If you kick some serious butt you have all of your friends there to witness it and you can have fun rubbing it in or just reveling in the fact that your stack is twice as big as the next guy. But when you're playing online it almost has this mercenary feel. You're there to win money and then sign off. The chat box is a cold place filled with bitter players and it usually serves as a distraction. That's not to say players in live games aren't distracting (just as Scott and his whining companion the other day at the O8B table). But for the most part, live play is so much more rewarding. And, of course, there's the converse of this discussion: When you lose live it's more humiliating or dejecting, but you take the good with the bad. I believe winning live far outweighs winning online, and losing live isn't much worse than losing online. The only saving grace for losing online is, if you aren't playing in an AIPS event, no one really knows who you are and you can just turn off the computer and slide into bed. No one sees you cry like a little girl into your pillow.

But all of this is a long way of saying I had a session yesterday that I was particularly proud of and yet it still felt a little hollow because it was online.

I had a rough early part of the session (as I often do) and had lost a decent portion of my bankroll. I actually had my first losing session in Deuce-to-7 on Stars (though it wasn't a bad session, just a losing one). I kept drawing at the nuts and kept bricking (just like last week's home game). So I played a little 5-card draw and won back half my losses (including making quad-sevens for a nice pot).

Then I had an itch for NLHE, but early on it was very frustrating. I'll give you an example: I'd see a cheap flop with 9♥10♣, flop two pair, but the board would come 9♠ 10♥ J♠. I'd bet out and get a call, then the turn would be an 8♠, which not only put four to a straight on board but three to a straight flush as well. They'd bet into me and I'd be forced to fold. Or I'd have JJ and raise and get two callers. The flop would come with an A and K and someone would bet out. There'd be a caller and when it got to me I'd have to fold. This happened quite a few times and then one runner-runner suckout later I was busted at the micro-limit table.

So I stopped and thought to myself (as it's often professed you should do) "Am I playing poorly or is it just bad luck and bad timing?" I came to the conclusion that I wasn't playing poorly and should buy back in. But this time I went in search of a larger-stakes table that looked easily beatable. I started observing a $1-2 NLHE table that had two maniacs seated next to each other. How did I find this table? The average pot size was $41, so I took that as a sign there was some gambling going on.

There are two types of maniacs in poker: One knows how to play and is just wild and unpredictable, and the other is wild and just plain stupid. He thinks his stack, if he shoves it, is like Kryptonite and we're all Supermen. I had two of these types of maniacs at this table and I couldn't resist. So I sat in and waited. You've all been there: You know these guys will pay you off if you pick up a monster and they have a piece of the flop. And you know they'll shove if you show any weakness.

Here's an idea of how they played: I had queens and raised preflop to $8 from UTG. Both maniacs called. The flop came A♦ 9♦ 6♦. I had no diamond and made a continuation bet of $10. They both called. On the turn came a 2♦. I checked, thinking one of them HAD to have an ace and/or diamond. One guy bet pot and the other guy shoved. I folded and the first maniac instacalled. They both had 9-10o, and neither held a diamond. So I realized right there they overvalued their hands and didn't really read the board very well.

I built my stack up nicely with smallish pots but never got into another hand with these guys for at least 40 minutes. Then the first of two big hands with them came up. I had Q♥ Q♦ (again) and was in early position. These two were in the blinds. I made it $8 to go, again, and they both called. It was three-handed to the flop, which came K♥ K♦ 5♦. I had the Q♦ but that didn't come into my mind. I felt it was a very good flop for me in that the odds of them having a K were slim, given the range of their hands and the fact there were two on board. So I bet $10 and this time I got one caller. The turn was another K, so if he had quads or AA I was behind, otherwise I had a lock on this hand. I decided to check knowing he might bluff at it. He bet $44 and I requested TIME. I thought about smooth-calling, but what if he had an A in his hand and I let him get to the river on his terms? So I minraised after about 25 seconds and he folded.

A few hands later I got involved in a hand with the other maniac when I was dealt K♦ K♣ on the button. The UTG player had raised to $6 and I reraised to $20. The maniac called and the UTG folded. The flop came A♣ 2♣ 9♣ and I had the K♣. I bet $30 and he shoved for $80 more. Even though there was an ace on the board I wasn't afraid because I had the nut-flush draw twice and given that he's a maniac I figured him for just a club in his hand, maybe Q♣ Q♦. So I called pretty quickly. The flush didn't get there and when the hand was over he showed 8♣ 8♥. I felted him, but even though he had bought back in like twice while I was there, he didn't rebuy this time. Oh well. I had one last maniac to dispose of, and it didn't take long after that.

I had been so patient, waiting for the right opportunity to felt this guy. My stack was so large (I bought in for $100 and was up to $300) that I took a chance with 4♥4♦. A person with a stack as large as mine minraised to $4 and I just called. The maniac, now with just $90 left, called and the flop came J♥ 4♣ 7♦. And BINGO was his name-o. The raiser checked and so did I. The maniac bet $12 and the raiser got out of the way. I just called. That board had no real draws other than a couple of gutshots or if he held 5-6 he'd be open-ended. So I took a chance he had just a jack. The turn was a 2♠ and I bet $15. He just called, so now I was wondering if he actually was on a draw or not. The river was an A♠. At this point I thought "This guy either now has a decent hand or he missed his draw. If I check he's going to bet either way because he can't win unless he bets a busted draw and if he has something like two pair he'll want to get paid off." So I checked, and he instantly shoved his last $60. I instacalled and he turned over J♦4♠.

Two maniacs, two busts. And with the both of them gone and my stack a very healthy $400 I signed off. But again, no one was there to high-five. I later celebrated with my wife, but the excitement had worn off.

-- Chris    

Episode #137: Pot Odds Redux

MAIN TOPIC

You asked for it, we cried, but we gave it to you. We tried our best to improve upon our previous infamous "pot odds" show. How'd we do? Click here to listen to the show.

To calculate pot odds, first figure the ratio of the money you need to bet to the money that's in the pot. if there's $30 in the pot, and the bet is $3, that's 10-1. Next, figure out how many "outs" - cards that will help your hand - exist, and divide the number of unseen cards by that number. Let's say you've flopped four to the nut flush. Nine remaining cards complete your flush. There are 47 cards, divided by nine is 4.22-1.

Generally speaking, if the first number (10-1, in this case) is larger than the second number (4.22-1, here), then you call. If it's lower, you fold.

We also briefly touch on "implied odds," which is when you can factor in future bets you expect to win if your hand improves.

There are a gazillion good resources on the Web, but we suggest you find a pot odds chart and study it. Just having a basic idea of whether a call, or fold, is the right move will improve your game immensely.

OTHER TOPICS

Just shut up! No, not you. (Well, yes you if you're as whiny as the guy on Scott's left this week). Seriously folks, no one wants to hear bad beat stories or constant crying at the poker table. Grow up.

Chicago is our kind of town: Thanks again to the Chicago Poker Club for keeping us atop their podcast rankings, and come by the Billy Goat on Sunday to rib Scott for not always talking clearly into the mic.

Show!, no you show! No, you show! A playground confrontation between Phil Hellmuth and Jean-Robert Bellande took place on Poker After Dark this week, and listen in to get the real scoop on who was right from Sam Minutello.

Be Chris' social network friend! Chris has joined the new Poker Players Social Network, kinda like a Facebook or MySpace for poker players. It's pretty new, but is picking up steam quickly, all by word of mouth.

What's on your Poker Bucket List? Let us know.

Poker pitchmen on wheels: Online gambling site 888.com has joined up with cabbies in London to promote its site. When you climb into a cab, a cabbie might try to get you to talk about poker. If you do, then he might try to convince you to play on 888.com. Hey, what else are you going to do on the average 16-minute cab ride in London?!?

Hotline: Ross from Indiana calls, suggesting that we use our "card dead" periods to pay attention to action and try to steal in optimal situations. We agree.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo makes what he says is a reckless call, and it works out as his opponent was making a move with 2-2.

HAND OF THE WEEK

To demonstrate our proficiency in pot odds (pause for laughter), we break down a hand from the Ante Up! Home Game where Chris tiptoed on the border of correct odds to win a no-limit hold'em hand.

It's a six-handed table, with blinds of .50/1 and a 50-unit cap. UTG+1 raises to 3, and Chris calls on the but-ton with Ad-Kd, as does the SB.

The flop: 3s-8d-4d.

The SB checks, the original raiser bets 6. Chris figures he's getting 2.7-1 on his money, and his odds of improving are 3.1-1. He makes the borderline call, and the SB check-raises to 15. The original raiser folds, and now Chris is getting 4.1-1 to call, and his new odds are 5.875-1, since he has to assume some of his previous "outs" are no longer good with a player showing strength. That's not enough to call, but Chris reasons he has enough implied odds to make the call profitable.

The turn: 10c.

SB bets 12, which gives Chris 5.3-1 on his money. When considering the cap, Chris makes the call, hits his flush on the river and extracts a value bet out of the SB, who had 3-3.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, now chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, calls in to field our questions on what the PPA is up to these days and to give us an update on the legislative climate for poker. Have a question for the senator? Post it here.

- SCOTT

Ante Up! influences CardPlayer Brasil

Well, okay, Ante Up! didn't actually influence CardPlayer Brasil, but we did influence one of our listeners, Guilherme Kalil, to write a piece for the magazine on ... RAZZ! Our mantra of "Let's Play Razz!" has affected Gui so deeply that he submitted a column on this fine stud variation and it was published recently in CP Brasil. Of course the article is in Portuguese, so it might be tough to read for most of you. It just goes to show you that Ante Up! really can make a difference in the poker community (sniff, sniff). Also, did anyone besides the people in Brasil even know there was a CardPlayer Brasil edition? Just kidding.

Congrats, Gui!

-- Chris

Hey folks, let's be nice to our dealers

I found myself playing Omaha Hi/Lo at a local card room this week, and as any of you who have played Omaha Hi/Lo know, there's never just one dealer per table - there's always 11.

Once the cards are turned over, the barking begins like market traders haggling over the price of frozen orange juice concentrate. Screams of "Lock low!," "He has hearts!," "Two lows, one high!" bellow from all corners of the table (if you can work in a "live deuce!" shout you make the short list for Backseat Omaha Dealer of the Year). All of this insanity carries on while the poor dealer - the only one who should be making such declarations - struggles to separate fact from fiction, and then swallows a bottle of Tums as he prepares for the eventual "Why don't I have a low?!?!" cries from those who really, really should pick a far simpler game in which to lose the Social Security check.

All of this brings me back to my experience this week, when I found myself feeling really bad for a very nice dealer who obviously struggles to understand the complexities of Omaha Hi/Lo. I certainly don't fault him - there are few games more difficult to deal, especially if you don't play it often. His only knock was that he took his time, followed his training and eventually figured it all out, even if it wasn't on the timetable of the players in the hand.

So I pose this question: What dealer would you most like to have at your Omaha Hi/Lo table? The one who quickly dispatches with awarding the pot, and in his haste may overlook the true winner, or the one who painstakingly considers all four cards from all seven or so players and arrives at the correct determination?

I know which one I'm choosing.

- SCOTT

What's on your poker 'Bucket List'?

Warner Bros.

This month's box office blockbuster (well, at least until Cloverfield landed) is The Bucket List, in which Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two terminally ill guys who set out to fulfill all those things they had hoped to accomplish before they "kick the bucket."

Despite my lofty respect for both of these fine actors, not on my "Bucket List" is dropping 9 clams at the Woodlands AMC 20 to see whether Red and Code Red have anything poker-related on their lists (I'm guessing not). But it didn't stop me from pondering what would be on my "Poker Bucket List."

Turns out, it's not all that easy of an exercise.

The list can't have squishy, hard-to-define stuff (such as "learn to read opponents" better), nor can it have things that there's no guarantee of success (such as "win the World Series of Poker Main Event." I'll pause here to say winning that event may indeed be a worthy "goal" for all poker players, but a more appropriate "Bucket List" item would be to "play in the World Series of Poker Main Event," since anyone who's 21 years or older with $10,000 and is not a PokerShare.com chimpanzee can enter, even if they're smelly.)

After a couple of days' thought, I ended up with a rather sad list. Maybe it's because I haven't spent enough time contemplating my mortality, or maybe it's because "poker" just doesn't provide enough material for such an endeavor.

But here's my list, and perhaps I'll add more as the days turn into weeks:

1. Play in the World Series of Poker Main Event

2. Play in the $50,000 World Series of Poker HORSE event

3. Play in a World Poker Tour main event (sensing a weak trend here?)

4. Play an entire lineup of events at a tournament. Doesn't have to be a BIG tournament, like the WSOP, but maybe a smaller event, like the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge or one of the L.A. casinos' events. I'd like to see how I fare in a relentless day-in and day-out tournament frenzy.

5. Visit and play in as many world casinos as possible. Aviation Club is Paris is at the top of that list, and I think it would be cool to skip from European country to European country, sizing up how the play is different each time I cross a border.

That's it. Sad, I know. But it is what it is.

What's on your "Poker Bucket List"?

- SCOTT

Ante Up! wins Chicago Poker Club's "Best Podcast" award for second year

A good month for Ante Up! just got a lot better - for the second year in a row, Ante Up! has been named "Best Podcast" by the Chicago Poker Club.

Click on the link above to read the entire text, but here's a highlight:

"... Ante Up!’s accessible style and its consistency are the two keys to its success. Other great podcasts have come and gone, waxed and waned, or disbanded and rejoined, but Ante Up! marches on as poker’s podcast beacon."

ChicagoJason even flew down to Tampa last night, as a testament to how strongly the Chicago Poker Club feels about Ante Up! (well, he got to visit his Dad, who lives here, and his wife, who is on business in Orlando, and he got a cheap fare on Southwest, but think how impressed you would have been had I not told you all of that).

And again, on behalf of Chris, we humbly thank our listeners for all of our success. Last night, Jason laughed about how he just walked up to my table, said "Hey!" and I turned around and said "Hey!" like we were old friends, even though we've never met. He said he felt that way because he's grown to know us over 135 weeks of shows. To me, that's the real award in all of this - that Ante Up! has that effect on its listeners. We feel like we're old friends with many of you, too, regardless of whether we've ever met.

But to that end, let's not forget that I'll be in Chicago - home of the Chicago Poker Club - this weekend, and would like to have a beer with as many of our "old friends" as possible. Come out if you can (details here), and if not, we thank you for listening week in and week out - and we hope to meet you sometime and someplace else.

- SCOTT

More NBC Heads Up invitees

The list of invitees to the NBC National Heads Up Championship has reached 60 people. Some of the new invitees include Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), our good friends Tom Schneider, Bill Edler and Jean-Robert (Don't call me Bobby) Bellande. One of the shocking names on the list (and there are quite a few, Mr. George Costanza) is Orel Hershiser. Remember the former Dodger pitching ace? They called him the Bulldog in his playing days. Wonder what they'll call him in poker .. Bull shark? Can't understand this pick. I think NBC would get more viewers if they picked Scott Long or me to be honest. Do you think I'll ever be able to parlay this blog into a shot on any NBC poker show? Of course not! Anyway, here's a link to the latest release for this event.

-- Chris 

Which game is more frustrating?

A lot of you may not play these games on a regular basis, and because of that, you may be smarter than you think. People often talk of Razz as the most frustrating poker game, but I have a new contender: Deuce-to-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

We had our monthly home game on Saturday and the Ante Up! Brass had a nice showing, each of us (me, Scott and Fasso) winning a nice chunk of change and being the only ones positive for the session. But during this session I discovered just how frustrating Deuce-to-7 can be. I have to admit, I've been playing this game a lot on Stars and have never had a losing session. I owe all of my success in this game to Daniel Negreanu's chapter in Super System 2, which I read very often. I try to play as optimally as possible, utilizing position to the fullest extent, checking when I'm behind, betting when I'm ahead, good starting hand selection, etc. But, when playing optimally, the losses still can really add up when you don't make your draws. No fewer than six times on Saturday I was dealt three or four to a wheel (a wheel in 2-to-7 is 2-3-4-5-7) or three or four to a 7 low (a 6 is not a wheel card but is still ok). And I NEVER made even a 9, much less an 8 or 7. The one pot I won in this game (and we played it twice in the rotation during the day) I actually was heads-up and had to bluff when I paired my 7 on the final draw. Turned out I was bluffing with the best hand as he had a pair of 8s. But to not even make an 8 or 9 all day? Wow. As a matter of fact, the best hand I made all day was a K on the final draw and, of course, I folded it to a bet.

Having a 6 in your hand is a very slippery slope because you can make straights, which count against you. So I always treaded lightly with a 6 in my hand, and of course I made back-to-back straights on consecutive draws in one HUGE pot and had to fold on the river.

Here's a brief look at the hands:
Dealt                     1st Draw           2nd Draw             3rd Draw
2-3-4-5-K                   K                         6                           6
A-2-4-5-6                   3                         2                           6
2-2-3-5-7                   7                         K                           7 (I won)
2-4-5-6-J                   6                         2                           3
2-3-5-A-A (in BB)       A3                       KQ                         folded
2-4-5-10-J (in BB)      KJ                        J9                          folded

These aren't bad beats, just a painful reminder of how frustrating this game can be and, dare I say, MORE frustrating than Razz? Take the third hand listed for instance. I was on the button and raised to take control of the hand. I got two callers and they threw away 2 each. At this point I have four 6s, four 4s and probably four 8s to likely make the best hand. That's 12 outs three times!!! An 8-7 might not be the best hand but I'll take my chances with guys drawing two. They threw away two and I paired my seven, which makes me wonder what they were drawing to anyway since I had now thrown away and drew two wheel cards (and that only increases the value of my hand). What makes this game more frustrating than Razz is I can't see any other cards, just my own. As Razz progresses you can see your outs dwindling before your eyes. In Triple Draw you can't tell which ones are out (except for the ones you throw away). I know Razz can be frustrating when you brick three times or make three pair, but in a game like Triple Draw where your actions are almost automatic, to still not make one legitimate hand is tough to take!

Thankfully I made a nice C-note on the day by winning at the other games, such as double-flop hold em, limit hold 'em and a huge hand in NLHE (nut flush vs. a set). The difference between winning and losing on this day really was about hand selection, minimizing losses and maximizing the winning hands.

-- Chris

AIPS III Event #2 open for registration

AIPS III Event #2 (Stud) has been created and is now open for registration.

Click here for all the details on the Ante Up! Intercontinental Poker Series.

- SCOTT

AIPS III Event #2 (Stud) has been created and is now open for registration.

Click here for all the details on the Ante Up! Intercontinental Poker Series.

- SCOTT

Who are the best non-American players?

My fellow paesano, Max Pescatori, is about to turn 37 (Jan. 23), and for some reason it got me to thinking: Who are the top-five poker players who aren't American? The title of this post may seem awkward, but you can't just say "foreign" players. Do you include players who were foreign-born but live here now and have U.S. citizenship? Do you only list players who were born abroad and still live there? A lot of people automatically think of players from Europe and Australia, but you can't forget Canada and Asia. So, here's my list, and I'm inlcuding players born outside America who may or may not live here now:

1. Daniel Negreanu. He's Canadian but lives in Vegas. He's won three WSOP bracelets (and player of the year), two WPT events (plus player of the year) and countless other titles. He has an incredible ability to put people on hands and his table talk is second to none.

2. Carlos Mortensen. Born in Ecuador, moved to Spain and then to America. He won the big one (WSOP Main Event) in 2001, and he's the last pro to do so. He also won the WPT World Championship, the only player to win both world titles. You never know where you stand in a hand with him, and that's what makes him so dangerous. 

3. Gus Hansen. Born in Denmark but now living in Monaco, he was a backgammon whiz before turning to poker. He has the most WPT titles of anyone and he took down the Aussie Millions last year. His ability to play any two cards and make mathematically sound decisions based on his reads makes him a threat to win any tournament. The WSOP bracelet still eludes him, however.

4. Johhny Chan. He came from China and now lives in Vegas. He has 10 WSOP bracelets, including back-to-back WSOP Main Event wins, and a second-place M.E. finish the following year. Nuff said. Oh yeah, and he made an appearance in some movie called Rounders.

5. Scotty Nguyen. WSOP champ in 1998, four bracelets in all. He also has a WPT title and nearly made the final table at the 2007 WSOP M.E. He only plays tournament poker because he doesn't like taking money from people in cash games. That's awesome, baby!

Runners-up: Men "The Master" Nguyen, Chau Giang, David "The Devilfish" Ulliott, David Benyamine, Thor Hansen, Joe Hachem, Jeff Lisandro, Marcel Luske, John Juanda, Humberto Brenes, Phil Laak, David "The Dragon" Pham and of course my BFF Freddy Deeb.

Mi dispiace, Max.

What say you Ante Up Nation?

-- Chris

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

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

One-Minute Mystery: The Case of the Dancing Target

We're in a one-table SNG, and are down to the final three players, all in the money.

The big stack has 9K in chips, we have 4K and the short stack has just 700.

The short stack folds on the button, and we look down at Q-Q in the small blind. We just call, and the big blind pushes all-in.

What do we do?

Times file photo

AIPS III, Event #1 Champ: Zerkaboid

Congratulations to Zerkaboid, who wins the first AIPS III banana as champion of the Limit Hold'em event, which drew a record 155 entrants.

Zerkaboid won the last hand against Bazkar when his 6-3 big-blind special paired a 6 on the flop to beat Bazkar's Q-2. And special congrats to Fasso (stpetebeach) for coming back from 400 chips or so to make the final table!

Just-for-recognition bounties go to:

• reaganballa11 (Fasso "stpetebeach" 6th place)
• MadMiraclematt (Chris "willhopper" 41st place)
• Unknown (Columbo "columbo" 64th place)
• WirdPair (Scott "OffDeadline" 116th place)

NEXT EVENT: Stud, Thursday, Feb. 21, 9 p.m. Eastern

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

Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS III 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 Zerkaboid, who wins the first AIPS III banana as champion of the Limit Hold'em event, which drew a record 155 entrants.

Zerkaboid won the last hand against Bazkar when his 6-3 big-blind special paired a 6 on the flop to beat Bazkar's Q-2. And special congrats to Fasso (stpetebeach) for coming back from 400 chips or so to make the final table!

Just-for-recognition bounties go to:

• reaganballa11 (Fasso "stpetebeach" 6th place)
• MadMiraclematt (Chris "willhopper" 41st place)
• Unknown (Columbo "columbo" 64th place)
• WirdPair (Scott "OffDeadline" 116th place)

NEXT EVENT: Stud, Thursday, Feb. 21, 9 p.m. Eastern

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

Click here for the schedule and all the info on AIPS III 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 Zerkaboid, who wins the first AIPS III banana as champion of the Limit Hold'em event, which drew a record 155 entrants.

Zerkaboid won the last hand against Bazkar when his 6-3 big-blind special paired a 6 on the flop to beat Bazkar's Q-2. And special congrats to Fasso (stpetebeach) for coming back from 400 chips or so to make the final table!

Just-for-recognition bounties go to:

Mirage pulls out of WPT Season 7

Though the schedule for Season 7 of the World Poker Tour has yet to be released, there's one event that won't appear in 2008: The Mirage Poker Showdown. After receiving a tip late last night I contacted Donna Harris, director of poker operations at the Mirage, for confirmation. “Because of a scheduling conflict we won’t be holding our event,” Harris said. When asked about the Mirage’s agreement with the WPT (it's in the middle of a 10-year pact), Harris said there are no penalties for not remaining on the schedule. “We, or they, can opt out at any time without penalty. But we fully intend to be back next year.” The event is always a cornerstone on the WPT slate and usually kicks off its season. So what does this mean? The WPT says it is still firming up its schedule for 2008 and wouldn't confirm or deny this report. My efforts to get someone at MGM/Grand regarding the Mandalay Bay event were met without substance as well. I will update if they return my call. This may be tied to WPT scheduling problems during the months of May-June but the WPT will only say that it hasn't been able to solidify its schedule and would not comment on any production or scheduling problems.

It's not hard to see the scheduling dilemma. The WSOP and Venetian Deep Stack tourneys have a stranglehold on the poker revenue in the summer. Where would the $10K buy-ins come from if the Mirage, et al, had to continually hold an event so close to these other major tournaments? Stay tuned.

UPDATE: I have heard back from the MGM people and they are feverishly working on a release that will address this issue. Don't be surprised if the Mandalay Bay event is pulled this year as well. They wouldn't confirm that fact for me right now on the record, so when they come to a decision they will call me. It makes sense that both events would be pulled since they are always so close to one another and if one can't handle a "scheduling conflict" then the other likely can't handle it either. Stay tuned again.

Chris Cosenza
Times Staff Writer

Score another one for non-hold'em games

Got my pretty Wynn Classic flier in the mail this week, and I found this note in it promising for those of us hungry to see tournament versions of any game other than no-limit hold'em:

"Last year we received so much positive feedback about offering a variety of games that we decided to bring them back!"

This year's Classic, which runs from Feb. 26 to March 19 at the Wynn in Las Vegas, includes events for Omaha Hi/Lo, HOSE and Pot-Limit Omaha with rebuys.

The variety isn't as vast as the much larger World Series of Poker, but the "we received so much positive feedback" comment is good sign that players are demanding options in tournaments these days - and some directors are listening.

- SCOTT

Ante Up! wins Bluff's "Best Podcast" award

Congratulations, Ante Up! Nation!

Bluff Magazine, one of the widest-read poker magazines in the world, has just posted the winners of its annual Readers Choice Awards - and your votes helped Ante Up! win the "Best Podcast" award!

Here's what Bluff had to say:

"Ante Up! is now not only one of the longest-running poker podcasts, but its also the Bluff Readers Choice winner. With the banter from Christopher Cosenza and Scott Long, Ante Up! provides quality poker entertainment for poker players of all abilities."

Honorable mentions went to Bluff Poker Radio and Full Tilt Lessons from the Pros.

A very heartfelt "thank you" to every listener who voted for us, and we promise to keep turning out great shows week in and week out.

Cheers!

- SCOTT

Episode #135: 'Save Chris'

Chris has battling a dogged sickness this week, so we offer a "lite" version of Ante Up! so we have time to paint "Save Chris" on all the water towers in the Greater Tampa Bay area. (Don't worry - he'll live and be back to yap about poker nonsense next week). He did muster the strength to at least call in this week. Click here to listen to the show.

TOPICS

AIPS: It all gets started on Thursday. Click here for details.

Bluff awards: The magazine's annual Readers Choice Awards are out ... and they forgot to run the "Best Podcast" winner in this month's issue. Stay tuned to see if Ante Up! is immortal.

Chicago MeetUp: All you Chicago fans are invited to share beer, burgers and blissful conversation with Scott at the end of the month. Click here for details.

Super Bowl poker tournament: The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund is hosting a $1,000 buy-in poker tournament during Super Bowl Week. Go Packers!

Catching up on the blog: We talk about the merits of women's tour on the World Poker Tour, whether a player should be forced to post a blind before playing and the intriguing possibilities of "instant checks."

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Lots happening at local rooms - Registration is now open for One-Eyed Jack's second Pro's vs. Joe's tournament ... Derby Lane is holding midnight tournaments on Fridays and Saturdays ... the Hard Rock's rotating Sunday tournaments now include stud and ladies' no-limit hold'em.

One Minute Mystery: Our favorite mystery man continues his hiatus, but we expect him back next week.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Brandon from St. Louis offers us a no-limit hand where he used a cool read to take down a monster pot. It's a $1/$3 no-limit live cash game. After a few limpers, a maniac player on the button makes it $15 to go. Brandon calls (we likely would have folded here, but his logic is worth considering), as does one limper.

The flop: 8-5-3, two hearts.

It's checked around to the maniac, who bets $25. Brandon calls, reasoning that he's good and might be able to use a third heart to his advantage. It's heads-up to the turn.

The turn: 6 (no heart)

Brandon checks, then check-raises to $100 on a $50 bet. He gets an instacall.

The river: 6 (no heart)

Brandon is forced to check, and his opponent pushes all-in for $87.

What do you do? Well, Brandon had been studying his opponent, and his mannerisms and betting on this hand led him to believe he was on flush draw. He took a deep breath, called ... and took down a monster pot when his opponent mucked Kh-9h.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Fasso returns from the cottonfields and churches (and casinos) of Tunica, and regals us with tales of his woes.

(Schedule note: The interview with former U.S. Sen Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, has been postponed to Feb. 1).

- SCOTT

This week's show

Ante Up! Nation,

It's been a rough week for Chris, who's been at home battling sickness. His battle will continue at home tomorrow, and we hope he'll be well enough to return to work next week.

Obviously, we haven't had the time to prepare a show in the manner we normally do, and added complications in the office are contributing to that challenge.

There's probably a case to be made for just taking this week off, letting Chris rest, resolving our other complications and coming back stronger next week. But we haven't missed a show since we started Ante Up! more than 2.5 years ago, and darn it, we decided we're just not ready to end that streak.

It'll be a shorter show (we'll skip a Main Topic, and maybe one or two of our regular features) and Chris will be calling in from his bed, but we promise that we'll give you everything we have to make it as enjoyable and informative as possible.

We hope to have the show posted on its normal schedule, but those added complications I mentioned may mean it won't get posted until Monday. We'll do our best.

Thanks for your understanding, and thanks for listening each and every week. We appreciate it.

- SCOTT

AnteUp Chicago (mini) MeetUp

Hey Chicagoans,

I'll be in your fair city yet again the last weekend of this cold, blustery month, and Mrs. OffDeadline says since we don't have any plans the second night of our short visit, that she's cool with just hanging out at my second-favorite bar in the world chatting with AnteUppers.

Sorry, no poker this time, but someday, someday ...

WHEN: 8 p.m. til ???, Sunday, Jan. 27.

WHERE: The original Billy Goat Tavern, 430 N. Michigan Ave. (lower level).

I'm sorry that it's a school night ... and PokerSlut night ... but, hey, gimme credit for trying. If you have the time, swing by and have a cheezborger and an Old Style and we can make fun of Chris.

- SCOTT

WPT announces women's tour

The World Poker Tour today announced the WPT Ladies tour, a five-event tour exclusively for women that starts on Jan. 20 culminates with the $1,590 buy-in WPT Ladies' Championship at Bellagio in April that will be filmed for TV.

Other tour events will have buy-ins that range from $350 to $1,065, and be held at Borgata in Atlantic City, Commerce in Los Angeles, Bay 101 in San Jose and Foxwoods in Connecticut.

Players can donate to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization at each stop, and 15 percent of each championship entry will be donated to the charity.

- SCOTT

Sen. D'Amato on Episode #137

Chris has been out of the office this week, so we haven't had a chance to nail down a topic for this Friday's show, but here's a heads up on some future shows:

Episode #136 (Jan. 18): Fasso and Snuffy (aka New Scott) are in Tunica now, trying their luck at the World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker Circuit events and the accompanying cash games. Fasso will join us to share his tales from the road.

Episode #137 (Jan. 25): Former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, will be our guest to update us on PPA efforts and the status of legislation. Post your questions here or e-mail them to us.

- SCOTT

Alfonse D'Amato photo/Associated Press

Should you have to post?

In the ongoing debate (dubbed "Scott's Big Buford" on the forum) over whether I should have had to leave my buck in the pot when I didn't hear a raise made, Blazman also raised the issue of dealers being inconsistent on their room's policy on when (and how) players need to post a blind to enter a game.

This is an issue that has frustrated me, too, so let's throw it out there and see what everyone thinks.

I don't get why players have to post to enter a game period. And many card rooms agree with me, because less and less am I being asked whether I want to post these days. When I sit down, just dealer me some cards. Sure, I might be getting up to eight hands "for free," but everyone else would get more or less the same deal when they sat down, too.

It has the potential to create needless acrimony, and that's my biggest beef with card rooms. Why tick offer players from the very start? For example, many rooms that require posting waive it for players being moved from other games. How many times have you been sitting at table in one of these rooms, a player sits down and says "I was playing over there, and don't need to post" and then the dealer has to stop the game to verify it? Just needless, IMHO.

Am I missed something?

- SCOTT

"Instant check" a nice funding option

Michael Bluejay, "apprentice" to Wizard of Odds Michael Shackleford, reports in the Wizard's most recent e-mail newsletter that Bodog is now offering "instant check" as a funding option. (And the newsletter is worth reading this time just for the story about Shackleford's $158 haircut).

"Instant check" pulls the money from your bank account like a check. Even better, your money is deposited on the site instantly, even though it hasn't yet been pulled from your account. Bluejay reports that Bodog only offers the option to players who have previously used it, but a few Ante Uppers have reported that PokerStars offers the option, too.

"Instant check" seems to be a way to exploit one loophole in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which gave banks some measure of protection when it comes to checks, which are much harder to police. Some banks say they are impossible to police in regards to the ULIGEA.

Let us know what other sites are offering "instant check" and what fees (if any) are associated with the option. Could be a nice development if more sites use it.

- SCOTT

Episode #134: New Year's Resolutions

MAIN TOPIC

It's that time of the year - when Chris and I commit to improve our lives through poker ... and then see how long it is before we fail. Click here to listen to the show.

We spice things up this year by including some very good resolutions shared by our listeners, as well as a few from pros, courtesy of CardPlayer magazine. But here are ours:

CHRIS

1. To play in a non-hold'em live tournament with a buy-in of at least $50.

2. To win an AIPS banana and make a serious run at AIPS Player of the Year.

3. To play more live and less online.

4. To bluff more.

5. To play more tournaments.

SCOTT

1. To not feel that he HAS to buy-in directly to a major tournament.

2. To get better at no-limit cash games.

3. To commit to hosting a home game once a month.

4. To blog about all WPT and WSOP Circuit tournaments.

5. To keep having fun playing poker.

OTHER TOPICS

Poker After Dark: Dream Week on PAD provides us a lot of material, from the freeroll winner's play to a wrenching Scotty Nguyen story.

A tip from Fergie: Chris Ferguson takes a stab at a frequent Ante Upper question: How do you handle it when you're running bad? Read his whole answer at FullTilt.

Scott's $1 menu: Scott rants about the Hard Rock dropping a buck rake on every hand, even if there's no action, and then Scott and Chris argue about a ruling at Tampa Bay Downs when Scott didn't hear that the bet had been made $5 straight, mucked his hand, but had to keep the dollar he called with in the pot.

Housekeeping: New photos have been added to the Ante Up! Gallery, and the first AIPS event is open for registration.

Hotline: Ante Upper Jeff calls in, wondering when you should play a guarantee tournament. Divide the buy-in from the guarantee, and that'll determine the number of entrants needed before the overlay evaporates. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide whether it's worth taking the risk for the reward of the overlay.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: One-Eyed Jack's second Pros and Joes tournament is unofficially slated for March, with lots of new poker stars slated to attend.

One-Minute Mystery: Columbo is on hiatus. He'll return shortly.

HAND OF THE WEEK

It's a gem from the Ante Up! Home Game, during the $1/$1 pot-limit hold'em ($30 cap) rotation.

Scott opens for pot ($4) UTG with K-10 off. Chris rightfully ridicules him for playing such a weak holding from early position, but Scott says he was hoping his complete absence from the pot-limit rotations would garner respect, plus he was sitting on a deep stack.

It's folded to Gambit on the button, who calls with J-10 off. The blinds fold, and we're heads-up to the flop with $10 in the pot.

The flop: Js-9s-2x.

Scott makes a pot-sized ($10) continuation bet. Chris suggests a smaller bet. Gambit reraises cap and Scott calls, saying, "OK, I'll gamble with you."

Cards are turned up, and after an extended period of stunned silence, the laughter ensues.

Scott doesn't improve, and Gambit takes down a nice pot. Scott said he figured Gambit for a 50 percent bluff, and if he was wrong, there was no holding that didn't leave him outs.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

TBA.

- SCOTT

What are your New Year's poker resolutions?

On Friday, Chris and I will share our poker resolutions for the next year, just as we have the past two.

But hey, why are we the only ones putting our poker necks out there publicly?!?

Be a part of this week's show, but posting your poker resolutions here. Better yet, e-mail them to us. Best of all, give the Ante Up! hotline a ring toll-free at 1-866-371-9605.

- SCOTT