Episode #157: Chris in Connecticut

MAIN TOPIC
Chris calls in from the land of pink carpet and princesses (can't make that up if I wanted to) to give us the lowdown on Mohegan Sun's new electronic-only poker room (live poker returns Sept. 1) and his usual ringing endorsement of Foxwoods. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

World Series of Poker: Kenna James cashes, Jerry Buss busts in time to catch his Lakers, another Man vs. Machine is scheduled and a doctor abandons his stack to help a fallen player.

Mixed games mania: The Imperial Palace in Vegas is dealing a $3/$6 limit mixed game at 7 p.m. on Sundays. Some crazzzzzy games being offered. We love it.

Gas up at the Commerce: Commerce Casino in L.A. is randomly dropping $50 gas cards into poker pots in July.

Sinatra's home game: Who played in it? It was a fun one: Jack Lemmon, Angie Dickinson, Gregory Peck and more.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa bad beat jackpot is hit for $564,912. Glen Upchurch of Clearwater wins $282,452 for his losing quad 6s, while William Lewicke of Winter Haven takes $141,227 (and the pot) with a straight flush. The other eight players at the table won $17,654 each.

One Minute Mystery: We make the call, and take down the pot when our opponent shows K-6 for top pair, weaker kicker.

HAND OF THE WEEK
It's a Crazy Pineapple hand! Dan, a fellow journalist from Greeley, Colo., offers us a home game no-limit high-only hand with loose players who have been hitting the sauce.

He's dealt K-K-7, pops it 5x and gets two callers. The flop is K-8-6, two spades, and Dan bets pot but can't shake either opponent. He dumps the 7, and the turn is an Ace. With just $5 left, he checks (Chris would have pushed, I kinda like the misdirection), but one opponent bets $2 and both players call. The river is a 6, completing the flush but also filling Dan up. He gets it all-in and takes down a nice pot against two smaller boats.

- SCOTT

Episode #156: AJ Benza

MAIN TOPIC
AJ Benza calls us all the way from Hollywood as he waits for the unlikely news that GSN will pick up High Stakes Poker, the hugely popular show he co-hosts with Gabe Kaplan, for another season. We talk cards, and he dishes on celebrities, pasta and The Godfather. Click here to listen to the episode.

OTHER TOPICS

World Series: The WSOP has begun. Attendance is breaking records, and pros are faring well. We'll update the blog after each event when the WSOP certifies the results as official.

UB scandal: Many of you asked us to address the latest scandal at Ultimate Bet. We do, but caution again: online poker is the wild, wild West.

PPA ups the ante: The Poker Players Alliance wants to turn its free members into dues-paying members by offering perks for those who do.

Deadbeat dads: If you're a parent who's walked on out child support, shame on you. But if you have no shame, you might want to avoid casinos in Colorado and West Virginia. Those states will look for you there.

Hotline: We have a little fun with Mike from New Jersey, who finds out how hard it is to analyze a hand on the fly.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Derby Lane is sending four players to the WSOP. Good luck to them, and all the other bay area players who have or will qualify in local card rooms.

HAND OF THE WEEK
Adam from Dedham, Mass., gives us an excuse to revisit strategy for FullTilt's cheap Knockout tournaments, where you get money for each person you felt. He calls a raise with As-10s, and the flops a royal flush draw. Try to take it down quickly? Or wait to hit your hand, figuring that early in a tournament like this you'll get paid off? He chooses the latter and is put to the test when he doesn't improve on the turn but two players move all-in. He calls, hits and goes on to cash - picking up bounties along the way.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW
Chris is on the road, and unlike Scott who goes to wild and exotic and different locations on each vacation, he's going back to Connecticut yet again. Let's hope he has time to make it over to Foxwoods and even Mohegan Sun.

- SCOTT

One Minute Mystery: The Case of the Rock and a Hard Place

We're in a six-player-max no-limit hold'em SNG, with three people left (top two cash). We're the chip leader with about 7,500.

The short-stacked button (850) folds, and the small blind (3,330) calls. We check from the big blind with Ad-Kd, trying for a bigger pot than just the blinds.

The flop: 9c-Qc-Ks.

SB bets 160, and we min-raise.

The turn: Jc.

Check, check.

The river: 3h.

SB bets 800 into the 960 pot.

What do we do?

Times file photo

Episode #155: Poker music

MAIN TOPIC
St. Pete Times pop music critic Sean Daly, who also co-hosts the Stuck in the '80s podcast, rocks our studio to talk about the best music to play for your home game and the best tunes to fire up your iPod with at the tournament table. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS
We're TV stars: If you missed our appearance on TV this week, here's your chance to catch it.

AIPS: Congrats again to rascony for winning the wild, wild rebuy event. Remember, razz is next!

WSOP: The World Series of Poker gets started on Friday with a $10,000 World Championship event (pot-limit hold'em). An eco-friendly poker table will be on display this year, and we wonder aloud about the quality of dealers in Vegas for the next couple of months with a bouquet of other tournament series in town at the same time.

Hotline: PokerGeek says Ante Up helped him through recent tornadoes in Minnesota (glad to hear everyone is alright), and Sharkey gets his aces cracked.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: The bad beat jackpot at the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Tampa is north of $400K, and One-Eyed Jack's in Sarasota is launching new WSOP guarantee tournaments.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo gets cold feet and checks his A-7 down. Good thing. His opponent had played 9-9 - poorly.

HAND OF THE WEEK
Nicholas from Australia sends us a stud8 hand where he starts with buried aces and a 6 door card. He caps the action on 3rd Street, pairs his 6 on Fourth but can't chase anyone away.

It's bricks around on Fifth, and it's bet, call, call. But on Sixth, the original frisky bettor pairs his door card (7) and the action gets capped. On 7th, everyone slows down, which is good for our hero, who loses the high half of the pot to Aces and sevens. Ouch.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW
TBA

- SCOTT

One Minute Mystery: The Case of the All Too Common Scenario

We're deep into a three-table no-limit tournament. Blinds are 200/400 with a 25 ante. We have about 9,800 in chips, with an M of 15.

The table is slowing down when it's folded to us in the cutoff with Ad-7c. We raise 3x, and the big blind calls.

The flop: 10c-Jc-8d. Big blind checks, and our bet of 1,400 is called.

The turn: 10-h.

Big blind checks. What do we do?

Times file photo

Let the maniac do your betting

I had been on this guy's left for about 20 hands and it was so clear that he was a maniac. He played almost every hand and raised just about every pot as well. If anyone would check to him he would bet big and people would fold their marginal hands. His stack's not exactly indicative of his play because he called an all-in with only a gutshot and one card to come and he made the wheel to double through a guy with two pair. So I folded to him a few times, which is why I was under my $25 buy-in. But then the following hand came up, and it's not the greatest hand ever, but it shows how a maniac who is desperate to not lose a pot can just shove with reckless abandon, praying (or assuming) the other player would fold like a cheap tent. Plus this gives me a chance to use the Pokerhandreplays.com tool.

Gotta love having him turn over his cards and know he was drawing dead. And the quads on the end was pretty sweet, if not overkill. A few hands later he got it all-in A7 vs. my QQ and I cleaned him out. When he left I typed in the chat box: It was only a matter of time boys.

The moral of the story? If you have a maniac at your table, be sure to have him on your right and then let him bet your monsters.

-- Chris

Episode #153: Justin Bonomo

JustinBonomo.com

MAIN TOPIC
Pro Justin Bonomo, aka "ZeeJustin," gives us a ring to talk about his meteoric rise in the poker world, his string of recent final tables, his new affiliation with Team Bodog and, yes, his past and how he's dealing with it. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Race for the Hundy: Chris is still out of breath from his prop bet win against Fasso. If you missed it, check out the story and video.

AIPS: Event #5 (NL hold'em rebuy) is just a week away. Click here for all the details.

MySpace poker: That's right - this hideously hard site to read has started a poker room. You can even order virtual beers. (Well, not Chris. He's doesn't even drink virtual booze).

Trump does it again: This time, The Donald will install 12 electronic poker tables in the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City by June. Booooooo!

Get your stock on: CNBC has launched a stock-picking contest. One of the prizes? A seat in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event.

More on the WSOP delay: Scott is hung up on just how success or failure will be determined in the World Series' biggest gimmick of the year. Give it up. (Or, keep the debate alive).

Hotline: A caller lets us know of a soccer player named Ante Razov. Close, but no banana ...  and Roger calls in to let us know we can catch NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship on the Internet.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Help out a good cause and get a legitimate reason to say "boobs" by participating in the Bikers4Boobs & Walkers4Boobs Poker Run and 5K Walk on June 8. Click here for the details.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo is on vacation, no doubt solving a crime. He'll be back soon.

HAND OF THE WEEK
Alright, we took a chance (you know what that means). It was our first single-draw no-limit 2-7 lowball HOTW. Neither Chris nor I nor Justin, who stuck around to help us out, have played this version of lowball.

Jan, an Ante Upper playing in a loose 5-person dealer's choice low-limit home game, is in the big blind with 2-3-4 and two paint cards. Everyone limps, and Jan checks. The small blind draws three, Jan two and the rest of players: two, two, three.

Jan improves to 8-7-4-3-2, and after the small blind checks, he bets 6 units into a 5-unit pot. He gets one caller, and then the small blind check-raises to 20 units.

The bet smelled fishy to us, and Jan called, just as we would have. Good move. His 8-7 beat his opponent's rougher 8-7.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW
TBA, but in two weeks, St. Pete Times' rockin' music critic Sean Daly joins us to talk about music and poker.

- SCOTT

Analyze This: Conclusion

The opponent was holding 7-8 of diamonds and rivered the straight.

The 2X raise was used because it had reached the stage where 2X had become the raise of choice about half the time (and was getting the job done).

Thanks for the input. Shoving on the turn sounds better.

Analyze This

This is from a $2+0.25 rebuy tournament on FullTilt.

We are past the rebuy period, down to 21 players from 77 (nine paid), and I have about 4,500 chips with blinds at 150/300/25.

UTG on a seven-handed table, I am dealt KK. I raise to 600 and get one caller, who has about 20K.

Flop is 9-5-K, two spades (the K is one). I bet 1,500 into an 1,825 pot. Opponent calls.

Turn is 3 of spades, the third spade. I check; opponent checks.

River is 6 of hearts. I bet 1,500; opponent raises me all-in. I call.

Episode #152: Dissecting a HORSE tournament

Associated Press

MAIN TOPIC

Hey, we finally did it! Here's the long-awaited (or at least long-promised) show dissecting a HORSE tournament. We'd like to think SickBrain80 for his e-mail that spurred the topic. In a HORSE tournament, you need to be able to adjust to the different games, as well as the changing table. It's the most challenging type of tournament out there. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Ante Up shenanigans: I treat Chris to a Threshers game, and he blows four of my bucks with weak launch-a-ball tosses ... a plastic banana is up for the taking for any and all Ante Uppers who officially name their baby "Ante" or "Ante Up," or have their kid's name legally changed to it ... Race for the Hundy is Saturday, so get your picks in for a chance to win a really cool coffee thermos.

CardRunners wants to train you: ... if you make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event. The online poker training community will pick one of the final tablists this year and offer he/she free tutoring.

Casino Player gems: The May issue has an interesting column by gambling expert I. Nelson Rose on why Barack Obama's election is the best chance for legalized online poker, and it also has a brain teaser from the Mad Genius of Poker Mike Caro on what is the lowest-ranking hand that's guaranteed to win.

Mississippi Stud: Here's a new table game in which you're dealt two cards and have three community cards. You can fold or raise 1x, 2x or 3x on each street. If you get a pair of jacks or better, you win. Wizards of Odds Michael Shackleford breaks it down for you.

Hotline: Jeremy, and his adorable daughter, call in to make fun of Cosenza ... and Jen from Canada (via Australia) needs help dealing with the pain of bubbling out.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: If you're looking for a semi-serious group of players in Pasco County who play for fun, check out www.pascopokerplayers.com.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo goes into the tank, but he tosses his Q-Q. Good thing, too. He was up against A-A.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Longtime listener Tom Turley writes in with an Omaha 8 hand from a recent CHIMPS event.

It's three-handed, and Turley completes his small blind with 10s-3c-2s-5s - a dubious hand no doubt, but arguably playable three-handed, especially as chip leader. All three remaining players see a flop of Qc-6s-7c.

Tom check-raises the button, and gets the big blind to fold.

The turn: 4s

With a made straight and the third-nut low, Tom bets out and reraises his lone opponent. Too aggressive, perhaps?

The river: 8s.

Tom's strong straight turns into a weak flush, and his low doesn't improve. Check-call situation in our opinion, but Tom bets out, is raised and gets scooped. Ouch.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Internet phenom Justin Bonomo, the newest member of Team Bodog, calls in.

- SCOTT

How to Stack/Tilt Someone 101

After tripling my buy-in in Stud/8 last night I decided to buy-in short at a $.10-$.25 NLHE 6-handed table. A few orbits had passed and I felt I had built a tight table image, so I thought I might be able to parlay that into some stealing opportunities, etc. But when you're playing at these stakes people either aren't paying enough attention or they just can't lay down any hand, as you will soon see. I decided to mix it up UTG and here's the hand, (I changed the names and eliminated the inconsequential info):

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to willhopper [5♠ 4♠]
willhopper raises to $0.85 <---- Again, I have a tight image.
JustLooking calls $0.85
stubdog calls $0.75
At this point I decide if the cards come high I can represent them, and if they come low I will hit.
*** FLOP *** [J♣ 3♠ A♥]
stubdog checks
willhopper bets $1.25 <---- Standard C-bet.
JustLooking raises to $2.50 <---- Hmmm, smells like an ace looking to see where he is.
stubdog folds
willhopper calls $1.25 <---- With implied odds to a wheel how can I fold for a min-raise?
*** TURN *** [J♣ 3♠ A♥] [3♦]
willhopper checks <---- If he bets I'm done with this hand. I'm hoping the paired board slows him.
JustLooking has 15 seconds left to act
JustLooking checks <---- Has to be a weak ace or a jack. My plan is to steal it on the river if I miss.
*** RIVER *** [J♣ 3♠ A♥ 3♦] [2♦] <---- BINGO, BANGO, BONGO!
willhopper bets $14.30, and is all in <---- This looks like a bluff/steal, no?
JustLooking has 15 seconds left to act
JustLooking calls $10.25, and is all in <---- Ka-ching! Guess I couldn't have stolen from this guy after all.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
willhopper shows [5♠ 4♠] a straight, Five high
JustLooking mucks [A♠, 10♥] <---- Doesn't he know he shouldn't play The Cosenza against its namesake?
willhopper wins the pot ($26.90) with a straight, Five high
JustLooking is sitting out

But here's the best part of the hand: the ensuing chat, followed by another hand a little later vs. this rube.

JustLooking: &@@&in sick
JustLooking: u r pathic (sic)
JustLooking: 5 4
JustLooking: for real
JustLooking: you suck sooo bad
JustLooking: that was the most oathic (sic, he meant pathetic) beat i have ever lost to in my life
willhopper: ur money tastes like chicken
JustLooking: u are sad
willhopper: no i am happy
JustLooking: i will get it right back soon
willhopper: from me?
JustLooking: yur by far the worst player i have had the pleasure to play against
willhopper: actually it was my pleasure
willhopper: and u actually thought ur A-10 was good
JustLooking: with the &$## u morons have been playing
JustLooking: i just had to see
willhopper: and u called ME pathic? Or did you mean pathetic?
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to willhopper [9♥ T♣]
willhopper raises $0.85
willhopper: here is ur chance to get ur money back
JustLooking has 15 seconds left to act
JustLooking calls $0.75

*** FLOP *** [2♦ J♣ Q♥]
JustLooking bets $0.75
willhopper raises to $2.05
JustLooking: lol
JustLooking has 15 seconds left to act
JustLooking folds
JustLooking: u suck
willhopper: lol
JustLooking: muted
JustLooking stands up
willhopper: aw, i'm gonna miss him

And that is how you put someone on tilt.

This is the type of hand that used to always happen to me: calling off my whole stack with just top pair only to see the other guy turn over a hand I could never put him on. I've stopped calling off all my chips with marginal hands and my bankroll thanks me for it.

-- Chris

Episode #151: World Series of Poker preview

MAIN TOPIC

Responding to the day's big story, we called an audible and devoted this show to a look-ahead to the upcoming World Series of Poker, which begins May 30, and the announcement that the final table of the Main Event will be delayed 117 days to build anticipation. We summarize a media conference call led by WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, and also include a recording of that entire call at the end of the show. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Sweden doesn't mess around: Two guys who lacked the proper permits to host a poker tournament in Sweden have six to eight months to reflect on that mistake - in a Swedish jail.

Hotline: Listener BitGuru calls in with a buffet of comments, including a question about whether the Mirage keeps those dollars they collect from the Texas Hold'em Plus redraws. Nope - they go straight into the pot.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: I ventured out to Lucky's at Tampa Greyhound Track, and was surprised to find not one limit game going at all, and that you can buy into the $1/$2 no-limit for as little as $20. If you're in a charitable mood, help out the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hernando County in a $100 tournament on May 18. For details, call (727) 233-1018.

HAND OF THE WEEK

A new listener Trey writes in with a hand from Ante Up!'s official game - razz.

He starts perfect - 2/3 underneath, with an Ace up. He completes, gets raised and reraises. We like it so far.

On Fourth Street, he picks up a 7 and keeps the pressure on. A Q/6 and a 3/8 come along.

On Fifth Street, the bricks start falling. He gets a J, keeps the pressure on, but can't shake the Q/6/4 or 3/8/K.

On Sixth Street, it's a mixed bag. He gets a 9, but the 3/8/K/5 is stubborn.

The river improves him to an 8 low, and he's lucky he's not raised by his opponent, who takes down the pot with a 7-5.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

We're beginning to sound a little like Jimmy Kimmel ("... our apologies to Matt Damon") each week as we delay yet again our Dissection of a HORSE Tournament show. We'll try again next week.

- SCOTT

One Minute Mystery: The Case of the Magician's Mirror

It's early in a 6-handed no-limit hold'em tournament, and a middle position player raises to 200.

We look down at Q-Q and raise to 480.

It's folded around to the original raiser, who reraises to 1,200. We call.

The flop: 6s-9c-Ks. Neither of our Queens is a spade.

Do you check ... or push? And if you check, do you call if your opponent bets?

A night of poker potpourri

Monday night is Reality Show Night at the Cosenza household, so I tend to play poker while Mrs. Ante Up watches her Dancing With The Stars and Bachelor. I'm still trying to get Shannon Elizabeth (pictured) on the show, but she must have a gag order on or something because none of my emails to her or her agency has been returned.

Last night I had one of those sessions where you just hang on for dear life and watch your stack go up and down more times than a ride at Busch Gardens. I began by playing NLHE heads up for cold hard cash. We exchanged a few jabs here and there and he kept rebuying for the full amount whenever he would dip below the max buy-in. What do you think of this strategy?

Anyway, the ultimate hand came when I had 7♣8♣ on the button and raised 3X. He called and the flop came with 10♣ 8♥ K♣. He checked and I bet pot. He called. The turn was a 7♥. So I had two pair and a flush draw. He bet out and I raised. He shoved and I was pot-committed. He showed Q♣7♣! I had him crushed at that point, but the river was a club and he felted me. Grrr!

Next I moved on to a $.10-$.25 NLHE 6-handed table. The player on the button during my BB kept raising when it got folded to him, and twice he did it with Ax. So the next time it happened I had K♣ Q♣. I decided to call his 3X raise and trap him. Flop came Q♦ 4♦ 7♥. I checked and he bet pot. I raised pot and he called. The turn: 2♥. So now there are two flush draws out there and I don't want him to get there, so I bet pot again and he shoved. I had to call (again) and he turned over A♦8♦. All he had was an overcard and diamond draw. Can you guess what came? I'm screaming at the computer: "NO BLUE!!! NO BLUE!!!" (Yes I have my screen set to the Lucky Charms colors, as you can now see in this post) A 5♦ on the river gave him the flush and just like that I was down $75 after playing at two tables.

I had been on such a fine streak online that I started to feel like the demons had finally decided to leave me alone. But alas, they returned.

I found another six-handed ring game ($.50-$1) where they were seeing a lot of hands and averaging about $35 per pot. I never really know if that last figure means they're maniacs or if someone just got stacked. But as soon as I sat down I knew they were there to gamble. I made it three-handed and my first hand on the button I was dealt JJ and raised to $3.50. The SB thought long and hard then folded, as did the BB. I think to myself that he's thinking I'm a stealer. The very next button hand for me I get 10-10. I raised the same amount and this time the SB re-raised 3X my bet. I just knew he had a middle pair or some sort of weak ace. I shoved and he waited and waited and waited. Then he called with ... 99. My 10-10 held up and gave me a profit for my session.

That's when Ante Up! National Rant2112, who was railing me and seeing all of these suckouts, said: Want to play heads up? I said sure. We decided to play a $5 HU-NLHE-SNG, and I got some great cards and opportunities. I beat him pretty quickly and then took a break.

When I returned I decided to play $.25-$.50 H.O.R.S.E. I started with $5, fell to $1.50 and then won a decent pot to get back to like $6. That's when another Ante Up! National, I Like Ike, joined the table. We chatted a little as I went on a huge rush, turning my $5 buy-in into almost $25. He wasn't as lucky and left down a bit. But it was great playing with him and chatting.

Finally I returned to heads up play again. I sat down at a $50 table with a guy who already had like $69. We went back and forth for a while, and I was getting the best of him when the following hand came up. On the button I got 9♦10♦. I raised to $1.50 and he called. The flop came K♦ 7♦ 8♥. He checked and I bet pot. He called. The turn was the 4♦. Now he bet pot and I shove. He instacalled with A♦A♥. I have him dead to a diamond and I'm screaming in my head "NO BLUE!!!! NO BLUE!!!" Can you guess what came on the end? It was blue, and so was I. Then he left.

Just like that, all of the profit was gone again, and I never got my money in bad. I was confident my reads of their styles and betting patterns were spot-on, so I continued playing. In my last match of the night I sat down with $100 vs. a guy who had $128 at a $.50-$1 NLHE HU table. In the beginning he was super-aggressive, raising every button, reraising my button raises, punishing my button limps. I started to think he was better than me and should get out of the table while I still had most of my buy-in. But then I adjusted and started trapping. The final hand we played came down like this: On the button I had K♥9♥. I raised to $3.50 and he called. The flop: J♥ 9♠ 10♥. He checked and I bet $4. He called. The turn: 7♥. I had the second nuts. Now he bet out $5. I minraised to $10. He reraised to $40, leaving him only $32 left. I said to myself, "If I shove here and he calls with a naked A♥ and hits, I'm going to throw this computer in the dumpster!" So I shoved, thinking he couldn't fold no matter what he had (hoping he had an 8). He thought and thought and typed in A8, then folded. So he had the straight, but likely not the A♥. I won $90 from him and called it a night, turning a nice profit during a very tumultuous session.

Let's see what happens tonight while Mrs. Ante Up! watches American Idol.

-- Chris

Learn from my mistakes

This really is unacceptable, though I'm not sure I would've gotten away from this hand anyway. Saturday night I visited Derby Lane to play a little NLHE and Stud/8. I had an up-and-down night, which ended down, and likely because of two stupid mistakes on one hand.

Earlier in the night my first buy-in got depleted and ultimately bit the dust when my pocket jacks lost to Ax when a board came with two spades but all unders. I shoved and he called with A♠7♠. He hit an ace on the river. So after I rebought I won a few pots and then took down a massive pot with The Cosenza, A♦10♥. The flop came all diamonds and there was a bet and a raise. I decided to gamble and shoved only to be called by K♦3♦. He already had the second nuts! But a 7♦ on the river ensured my first buy-in was recovered and I had about a $25 profit. The Cosenza rules!!!

Later I moved to a $2-straight Stud/8 table and lost all of my profit and was down about $20 when the table broke because all of the old salts had to go home to go to sleep. Man, don't play this game. No one folds and the bets add up. There was talk of turning it into a $1-5 spread, but NOOOOOOOOOO! One guy said VETO! Damn!

So when that table broke I got a seat change to another NLHE game and turned a very nice profit for the first hour. And within that hour I flopped a sweet flush with the J♥8♥ and just abused this one guy in the hand, taking almost his whole stack with a very sneaky check-raise on the turn and then a shove on the river. He called, mucked, stood up and left immediately! I was not his favorite person. About three guys at the table said "Ooooooo, that's cold! That was cold-hearted!" when I check-raised him. Funny stuff.

Anyway, I looked at my cell phone and it was around 1:15 a.m. At that point the best starting hand I had all night were those jacks; that's about five hours of play and nothing better than JJ (which isn't too hard to imagine since I only saw about 100 hands in that time frame). There was this little old Ukranian woman on my right who was a regular. She was pretty straight-forward but she did do something a lot of older players do: when she had a hand like JJ she raised $15 and when she had AA she limped and slow-played them to the end. I noticed her do this TWICE with each of those hands. So I had about a $75 profit at that point and there was only about 45 minutes left before Derby Lane closed. There were three limpers and then the little old lady in the SB raised to $15. I looked down at Q♥Q♦. From what I saw she had about $80 left and it was at least her second buy-in. So I knew the other guys who limped had nothing because that's how the table had been playing all night: limp with nothing and hope to hit. So I put her on JJ or 10-10 and reraised her all-in because if I reraised the standard three-times-her-bet rule it would've been $45 and if she had come over the top I couldn't lay down QQ for just another $35 or so. I pushed $175 out there and she called when it folded to her. D'OH!!!!!!! She had A♠A♣ again!!! Three times in an hour, and since the dealers at Derby Lane average like 20 hands an hour this was remarkable. And she played them exactly like the jacks instead of her usual slow-play.

Mistake No. 1: Don't assume your opponents play every hand exactly the same way no matter how consistent and predictable they are.

Mistake No. 2: Look more carefully at your opponents' stack or better yet ask how much they have left. I failed to see the three gold $25 chips under her second stack because from my vantage point they were hidden. This meant she had $75 more than I thought and I lost a $146 pot to her aces instead of just $71.

After that hand it was like 1:25 a.m. and I had almost no time to make up for my losses. I won a few pots and got back to being down just $70, and I'm not sure I would've gotten away from those queens regardless of her stack because the flop came all unders. But you never know. I may have just called and then lost less. I'm an idiot.

On the last hand of the night I was dealt 10-10 and I said "Is this really the last hand of the night?" and when they said yes I said "Raisy-Daisy!" and put $15 out there, hoping it looked like I was just gambling. No one called (it reminded me of the last hand at Snuffy's when I had KK and no one played!). So I left down $70 exactly. Bummer.

Oh well. I went home and played till 5 a.m. online and won $71, so I turned a $1 profit for 10 hours work, that's 10 cents an hour!! I could retire on that ROI!

-- Chris

Episode #150: More poker camps

MAIN TOPIC
Chris steered the Family Truckster over to Orlando to check in on our good friend Kenna James and the Amateur Poker League. While there, he nabbed some great interviews about poker camps with Steve Berman, co-founder of the WPT Boot Camp, and online pro Nick Brancato. Be sure to check out Ante Upper Lee Childs' new Web site, too. Click here to hear the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Texas Hold'em Plus: The Mirage in Las Vegas is testing this new variation. Don't like one of your hole cards? Simply slide it with a chip equal to the small blind to the dealer and you'll get a shiny new card.

PPA update: The Poker Players Alliance (now with more than 1,000,000 members) has formed a new political action committee called PokerPAC.

Housekeeping: Starting next week, Ante Up! will be posted to the Web on Thursdays ... And listen to the show on Rounders Radio on Saturdays ... Don't forget about AIPS this Saturday and on May 22 ... Join Fasso and me in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker. Click here for early details.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: A One-Eyed Jack's regular wins a huge pot o' gold in Europe ... Florida Senate Bill 1006 would expand hours for cardrooms and allow for high-stakes and charity/celebrity tournaments, but don't get excited, as it's stalled in the House.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo decides he's likely beat, so he mucks his second pair. Turns out, his opponent was on a brazen bluff with a weak flush draw and gutter.

HAND OF THE WEEK
An anonymous caller rings in to tell us about a no-limit hand where he called a min raise with 7-3 in the big blind and saw a pretty darn nice flop of 7-7-7. He got his opponent to bet the entire way, taking down a very nice pot. Getting paid off on a monster is one of the hardest things to do in poker. We share some tips.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW
Until Chris changes his mind again, it'll be our rescheduled Dissection of a HORSE Tournament.

- SCOTT

A bad move that turned out well, for once

We had our monthly home game at Snuffy's on Saturday (Remember, Mr. Long was busy in Vegas getting propositioned by a hooker.) and it was a very frustrating session for me. For the first 3 hours or so I never made a hand and when I made a move someone would raise me. I only went to the end in Stud/8 once (scooped that hand at least), only got to the end in Razz once (lost when my 8 was beat by a near-perfect 6-4) and I never stood pat or took a final draw in 2-7 Triple Draw or Badugi. Did I say it was frustrating? So, being down $141, the following hand came up (I had $59 left.)

The game was "Capped No Limit Hold 'Em" (the cap is $50 with $1-$1 blinds). In the "BB" I was dealt 6♠ 9♠. The UTG limped and the UTG+1 made it $3. Two callers, including Fasso in the SB, came along. So I said to myself "I'm stuck a bunch and getting the right price" so I called. The UTG limper folded. With $13 in the pot the flop came Q♠ 4♠ 2♥, and the rags may have been different but it's not important here. Fasso checked and so did I since the guy who raised is notorious for c-betting and I wanted to get in a check-raise. Like clockwork the UTG bet $8. One person folded and then Fasso RAISED to $20. What?!? Now, usually Fasso isn't a check-raise kinda guy. He hates it when people do it to him so he usually doesn't do it. Because of this fact I put him on a queen or MAYBE a small set. I felt if I just called the initial raiser might have the right odds to call as well, and I wanted him out in case he had top pair or another flush draw, plus Fasso could just have a pair as well. So I capped it! The raiser folded (he later said he had a queen) and left just me and Fasso, who thought long and hard about it. Then he said it was a no-brainer (which was funny in itself) and finally called. He turned over A♠ K♠. D'OH!!!!!!

How could I put him on that hand, and at the same time, how could I NOT put him on that hand? What a shocker! First, he didn't reraise preflop, which was odd when he had a limper, a raiser, a caller and one person left to act behind him. So I didn't think he had THAT big of a hand. But then again, he did EXACTLY what I planned on doing after the flop, a check-raise with a flush draw. So how could I not think he had a higher flush draw than me? I think it was the oddity of his check-raise because he NEVER does it. So to me it looked like he was thinking the same thing I was about the initial raiser, that he c-bets after every one of his preflop raises. So I felt Fasso was thinking his QJ was good. If he had a hand like that, I felt like I might be able to move him off his hand because he was being a nit and protecting his profit for the final 2 hours. Plus, since I was in the blinds with him I could have ANYTHING there, such as 2-4 or 2-2 or 4-4 or even Q-4.

Anyway, I said "nice call" and turned over my crappy 6-9. I had six outs and the most beautiful 9♣ came on the turn. Then the board paired and I took down a $121 pot. I actually let out a yell when I saw the 9 because I was so frustrated with my play and cards that I really didn't want to go broke and go home. I later apologized to Fasso, and he was very gracious and said it didn't bother him. The best part of the hand was that I got the queen to fold, because if he does something crazy there like call with just top pair he takes the whole thing!

OK, let the thrashing begin. I played this terribly right?

-- Chris

OMM: Case of the Bad Moon Rising

Columbo's in a 6-handed-max multitable NLHE tournament. Blinds are 800-1,600 with a 200 ante. It's down to the final nine so he's playing four-handed and near the bubble. With a stack of 60K he's dealt 10♣ Q♦ in the cutoff, which is first to act. Our detective minraises to 3,200, but the BB (with 22K) calls. Flop is 9♠ 10♠ 5♠. The big blind fires out 8K. Columbo has top pair on an all-spade board and calls. When the A♦ comes on the turn does he call when the BB shoves for 11.5K, or should he save his significant stack? Tell us what you think.

A hand for consideration

It seems lately the best way to get a dialogue going on this blog is to put a hand up for analysis.

So here's a hand from the other night online at PokerStars. It was early in my session at a short-handed table, $.50-$1 blinds and everyone had roughly $100 except the button, who had $240. I had $109 and was in the big blind with 9♥ 9♠. The UTG folded and the button raised to $4. The SB folded and I popped it to $13. The reason the button had so much more than everyone else seemed to be because he was pretty aggressive in position and people folded to his c-bets. He called.

With $27 in the pot the flop came: 2♣ 2♦ 5♣. I bet $25 and he called.

The turn: 6♠.

I checked; he checked.

The river: 7♥.

I checked; he bet $40. I have $67 left and he obvioulsy has me covered. What do I do? I will tell you what I did and the conclusion of the hand after enough responses.

-- Chris

Episode #148: Delay the WSOP Final Table?

MAIN TOPIC

It's just a rumor, but hey, that's what rumors are for - to debate endlessly. Chris and I take a point-counterpoint approach to whether Harrah's should consider delaying the final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event for 90 days. I chose the right side, and Chris chose "in favor." And the only Ante Upper to play in a WSOP Main Event Final Table, Lee Childs, calls in with his opinion. Click here to hear the show.

OTHER TOPICS

New host for Poker After Dark: It's LeeAnn Tweeden, who also hosts NBC's National Heads-Up Championship, which begins airing this weekend.

CardPlayer tidbits: Take a tour of Phil Hellmuth's house (he has heated floors in his office!), get a glimpse of Larry Flynt's high-limit stud game at the Hustler Casino and tipping is back in the news.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: One-Eyed Jack's is holding new Friday night WSOP qualifiers, and the Top Jack at OEJ's, Sam Minutello, is once again running the charity tournament at the Playboy Mansion.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo is taking a well-deserved break and will return soon.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Jerry (loser64) offers up a $1/$3 no-limit hold'em cash game hand from Sam's Town in Tunica, Miss.

The under-the-gun player is a retired local with $250, and the small blind is a maniac with $180. Jerry is in mid to late position with $95.

UTG makes it $9 to go, and Jerry and the SB call.

The flop: 2d-2s-3h

SB bets out $10, UTG and Jerry call.

The turn: 9h

SB bets out $10 again, UTG raises to $35, Jerry and the SB call.

The river: Kc

SB bets $35, UTG raises to $70 and Jerry calls. SB folds, saying he had 7-7.

UTG turns over 3-3 for a flopped boat.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Scott calls in live from Las Vegas!

- SCOTT

Episode #147: Joe Navarro returns

MAIN TOPIC

Ex-FBI agent Joe Navarro, our favorite expert on nonverbal communication, swings by the studio again to dish on some more tells you should look for at the poker table (hint: look at the thumbs). He has a new book, What Every Body Is Saying, and is still heavy on the poker academy circuit. Click here to hear the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Chris gets a gift: Annie Duke's book has made it to the Dollar Tree!

Chris gets a scoop: So, have you heard about the high-stakes poker player who has been using high-priced call girls? You'll never believe who it was.

Chris gets a lawyer: Well, not yet, but he and other members of the Poker Players Alliance can now get legal advice on poker laws in their hometowns through the PPA's Litigation Support Network.

Chris goes to Washington: Well, again, not yet, but if he had, he would have heard testimony on Capitol Hill this week about how the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is a bear to enforce. Ante Upper Short-Stacked Shamus covered the hearings, and he also has a new podcast.

Chris gets a bracelet: Okay, now I'm really stretching the fantasy. But if he wants a bracelet, Harrah's says cash buy-ins to the World Series of Poker this year of $3,000 or more will have to come with a Social Security or Tax ID number. Also, the Golden Nugget plans a monthlong tournament during the World Series, and check out David Matthews' blog Gambling in Space for some good reviews of Vegas card rooms.

Hotline: StatikKling is relieved to learn that our Omaha analogy was to a stool, not, um, stool. And John from Texas wants to know how people fit all those multitabling tables on their computer screen.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: The Florida Senate has passed a bill allowing quarter horse racing, which could lead to several new Florida poker rooms if the House and governor go along with it. One-Eyed Jack's is now running Daily Doubles, and help out the students at St. Petersburg Catholic High School by playing in their $200 charity tournament.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo makes the call with his rivered wheel on a board that has flush possibilities, and is rewarded for his bravery as his opponent had just two pair.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Alan (aka BigAl) sends us a hand from a $2/$5 no-limit cash game from Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls.

An early position player, new to the table and believed to be tight aggressive, bumps it to $20, and Alan calls with Js-Jc. The loose button calls as well.

The flop: 3h-Ks-6c.

The raiser bets out $30, Alan calls and the button folds.

The turn: Ac.

Check-check.

The river: Ah

Raiser bets $30 into the $127 pot, Alan calls and takes down the pot against pocket 9s.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Dissecting a HORSE tournament. A member of the Ante Up Nation sent us the strategy he uses to attack HORSE tournaments, and we'll share ours. Send us yours, too.

- SCOTT

What would you do here?

This hand came up on PokerStars last night. I'm in a $.25-$.50 six-handed cash game and it's pretty early. I have about $55 and the rest of the table has around the original buy-in of $50. On the button I get dealt MY FAVORITE HAND ... A♠ 10♠. I raise to $1.50 and get a call from the big blind (I know nothing about this player). With the pot about $3.25 the flop comes Q♠ 10♥ J♠. He checks to me and I bet $3. Now he makes it $12 to go.

What should I do? Or more correctly, what should I have done?

-- Chris

P.S. A-10 is NOT my favorite hand.

My return to the home game

After a month of recovery from surgery (and then a week of work) I finally got to play some poker with the guys as Scott's home game resumed, and it was great to be back.

I lost almost half my buy-in after about 30 minutes (missed draws, TPTK vs. overpair). I stopped the bleeding for a while but then I kept making the second-best hand and was growing very frustrated. I had the guys laughing pretty hard when I dropped a few "Unbelievables!" and the occasional "Unreal!" But my ensuing expletives really got them rolling on the floor, and that's when I realized I was minus-$63, down from $100 at noon to $37 by 2:30 p.m. That's also when I knew they'd think I was on tilt, which I wasn't. I like to vent my frustration when I play, but it doesn't always make me play less than optimally. At this point I remember thinking that I was just glad to be there after what I went through and that I was determined to have a winning session. So I bought another $60 in chips and buckled down.

I went on a rush that got me almost back to even when the following hands came up, and they're partly the reason I'm posting. The game was Juarez (pronounced War-ehz). Not familiar with it? It's a hybrid of Omaha/8 and Double Flop Hold 'Em. We were taught this game by a dealer at Binions during our Ante Up! Meetup in Vegas last summer.

Everyone gets five cards and, like Omaha, you MUST play two from your hand. But here's the twist: There are two boards, four cards on top, four on the bottom, and then only one river card is dealt and it's used with both boards. There's just one high hand and one low hand overall, and you must play each board individually without combining cards. So here's an example and I won't use suits to keep it simpler:

Your hand: A-3-Q-Q-J
Top Board: 2-4-7-9
Bottom Board: Q-5-9-4
Community River: 4

You've made the nut low (A3 makes a wheel on the top board and there's no low on the bottom board to compete with it) and you've made the nut high, your queens full on the bottom can't be beat on either board. Now, there's just one overall high and one overall low, so you would scoop. If someone had the case nines in their hand they'd have a boat on both boards but neither is strong enough to beat your boat, so you win the lone high. Still confused? Sorry. Maybe we'll do a show on it someday.

So here's the first hand:

I have K♣ K♥ J♥ 10♠ 9♦. It's not a fantastic hand in that I can't scoop if there's a low, and in Juarez there's almost always a low because there are two boards. But I was in a blind and got to see the flops for free. The bottom board was inconsequential but did make a low. The top board came K-4-8 rainbow (or something similar). I flopped top set, and like I said the other board didn't have a pair or an ace so I had the nut high at the moment. I bet and I got a few callers. The turn was another 8 on my board so now I have the nut boat. I bet and again got like two callers. The community river card was an 8 as well. I made a mistake here and bet out. I got raised and then there was a call. So I knew someone had the nut low, but I was hoping the raiser had the low as he's apt to bet out when he has the nut low in split games. So I just called and said: "You have the 8?" And of course he did. One-outer. Cost me a bundle. I didn't know his other cards, so it's hard for me to criticize, but I hope he had something like a wrap or a low draw on the other board to stick around to catch the 700-1 shot to beat my high. I think I said "Sick!" at that point, which made everyone chuckle again. But I was cool because I was about even at that point and knew if I continued playing my game I'd be a winner by the end of the session.

One rotation later this hand came up, and again it's still Juarez:

I'm dealt A♣ 2♣ A♦ K♦ 3♥ on the button. This is a MONSTER hand in Juarez. I have two nut-flushes covered plus the nut low and a backup in case I'm counterfeited. So a few players limped and I raised. Why did I raise? Well, Scott mentioned it on Friday's show: You raise to thin the field or to build a pot. I did it to accomplish both of these tasks, and it worked. I got the blinds to fold and the limpers called. Then I got dream flops, and I may not have the exact cards right but it won't matter: 4♣ 7♣ 10♥ came on one board and I flopped a set of aces on the other board. That board never paired, however. Anyway, it got checked to me so I bet and got called in a couple of spots. The turn was the 5♣ giving me the nut low-flush-high hand on both boards and a chance at a steel wheel (A-5 straight flush). I can't remember if someone bet out or if it got checked to me again but the betting was heavy. The river was a blank so I had both nuts, or so it seemed. I said "I got the nut low and the nut high flush, both on this board." I thought I was scooping a huge pot and that's when Steve said "You have the nut flush? I have the nut flush." And he turned over the 6♣ 8♣. It could've been some other combination but he made a straight flush to beat my ace-high flush. I took the low and split it. Another one-outer cost me again essentially because if any other club comes I have the nuts, but that one club cost me half the pot. My set of aces on the other board likely would've been good for high even if no club came.

This beat was easier to take because (1) I still won half the pot, unlike the other hand and (2) I was just grateful it wasn't NLHE. But these two hands were brutal and could've set me off completely. Instead I just stayed the course and continued to play good poker. Ultimately I won $60 on the session, which isn't too bad considering my start and those brutal beats. There were some other beats and second-best hands that cost me pots as well (plus I had AA in the BB once when it got folded around to the SB and we were on automatic-chop mode all day) so it could've been an incredible session, but I'll take it regardless.

This is the type of session I'm most proud of because of a few reasons: In the old days I would've just donked off my whole stack and left. Or, I might've re-bought and continued to spiral down to an inevitable losing session. But I was able to vent, make the guys laugh, have fun and still turn a negative start into a positive session, and all of this while suffering some pretty horrendous beats.

I may not be a pro, but at least I'm still getting better.

Are there any sessions you're proud of? How did you do over the weekend?

-- Chris

One Minute Mystery: The Case of the Toy Prize Inside

We're in a 105-player 6-handed max No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

We have 14,000 in chips, and the average stack is 5,000.

It's folded to us on the button, and we look down at Kd-5h. We limp, the big blind checks, and we see a flop heads up.

The flop: 4d-9d-Ad.

The big blind checks, and we bet half the pot. Big blind calls. Pot stands at 450.

The turn: 3h

Now, the big blind bets pot. We call.

The river: 2s.

The big blind bets pot again.

Do we raise, fold or call?

Times file photo

Episode #145: Kill Everyone author Steven Heston

MAIN TOPIC

Steven Heston (Kim Lee), co-author of the latest Kill Phil book Kill Everyone, joins us to talk about how applying equilibrium thinking can improve your tournament game, especially on the bubble. Click here to listen to the show.

OTHER TOPICS

Go to school: If you have $850 burning a hole in your fanny pack, check out the U.S. Poker Tour's first "Q-School" at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas May 11-16.

Go shopping: Chris used his time off to clean up the Ante Up! Store. Buy something.

Go to the movies: The Grand debuts this weekend, and 21 is in wide release.

Go get a life: Chris whines yet again about The Best Damn Poker Show.

Red Sox gambling: Jonathan Papelbon cleaned up playing cards on the team's flight to Japan.

Will the madness stop? Once again, the heavy hand of the law (or risk management) has denied a worthy charity of money that would have been raised in a poker tournament. The victim this time? Nourish International, a charity that would have benefited from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tournament that the college's lawyers advised shutting down. Boo. Click here for CardPlayer's story.

Tampa Bay Poker Replay: Derby Lane offers a ladies tournament, and Tampa Bay Downs, Tampa Greyhound Track and Sarasota Kennel Club are doing World Series of Poker qualifiers.

One Minute Mystery: Columbo decides to swing his big stack around, pushes all-in, runs into Kings, but spikes a Queen on the river.

HAND OF THE WEEK

Chris has had plenty of time to play poker during his recuperation, so he offers up a no-limit hand that's the root of the latest in a looooooooooooooooong line of recent epiphanies for him.

In a $1/$2 no-limit cash game on FullTilt, he's dealt As-9s on the button. With one limper, he raises 4x and gets heads-up.

The flop: 9h-4s-5s.

It's checked to Chris, who bets $10, which is called.

The turn: 2d.

His opponent bets out $7, and Chris, sensing weakness, raises to $30. His opponent then shoves, which would put Chris all-in. Trusting his read, and considering his outs if he was wrong, Chris makes the call.

His opponent had flopped a set of 5s, the spade doesn't get there, and Chris goes broke.

The epiphany? He needs to stop making these borderline calls. He wasn't even getting 2-to-1 on his money.

NEXT WEEK'S SHOW

Omaha.

- SCOTT

Episode #144: Tax expert Russ Fox

MAIN TOPIC

Russ Fox, an enrolled agent for Clayton Financial and Tax in Irvine, Calif, and a poker author, calls in to offer us tips on how to handle our winnings and losses on our income tax returns. For more answers, check out his blog, and he also welcomes e-mails - though hr reminds you that this is his busy season. He's the author of three poker books, including his latest called Winning Strategies for No-Limit Hold'em, which deals with deep stack cash game play. Click here to listen to the show. (And our IT folks continue to work on the iTunes feed).

OTHER TOPICS

Help the animals: Jennifer Harman is hosting a charity tournament on Full Tilt at 9 p.m. Eastern this Sunday. The $5+$5 no-limit hold'em tournament benefits the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A long list of Full Tilt pros and celebrities will be playing. The tournament is listed under the tournament tab and called "Animal Lovers."

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