12/22/24
May 16, 2003
"You have to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em...":
Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino is once again hosting the World Series of Poker. With dozens of mini-tournaments of all different versions of poker, the grand finale is the $10,000-a-seat No-Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament with a final prize of over $2million. UNLV has a great retrospective of the tournament.
The Travel Channel has been doing a great series lately on the World Poker Tour. I can't get enough of watching these guys compete. They may not be athletes but the competition is fierce. Check out the message board. I LOVE to play Poker, I love mid-range stakes (we usually play five-dollar limit, three-raise limit, $1.00 ante) but I like to play games where the dealer calls. I dig crazy-ass varieties of Poker like Chicago, Guts, Baseball, and 7-27. I left a friends group a few years ago because it became Texas Hold-'em exclusively, and I like other games. Any Seattle Spo-Fiers want to meet up for some cards?
posted by vito90 at 11:02 AM on May 16, 2003
Also, forgot to mention that there is a new book out about poker called Positively Fifth Street (Fifth street being the term for the last card turned up in Hold-'em) that is supposed to be pretty good.
posted by vito90 at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2003
I always thought 5th street was a stud term, while the River is the last Holdem card... I watch poker on TV whenever I flip past it. I've watched Varkonyi win at least 10 times in the past 5-6 months. I need to find more games around here so I can hone my skills against actual people and not online at a site of questionable integrity...
posted by Bernreuther at 11:31 AM on May 16, 2003
Bernreuther - I think you're right, actually. See why I left that group of players? ummm two pair beats three-of-a-kind, right?
posted by vito90 at 11:39 AM on May 16, 2003
On a lark, myself and a buddy entered an all-comers 'mini-tournament' in Vegas about 15 years ago. We thought we could do some damage - since we'd dominated our college circuit - and ended up getting our butts kicked by a couple of stone-faced, chain smokers from Hong Kong. Despite a lifetime of athletics it still ranks as one of the most competively intense things I've done. Although, **cough** **choke** not necessarily one of the heathiest.
posted by kloeprich at 11:49 AM on May 16, 2003
I'd love to find a nice $100-buy-in tournament in the local area. I don't think I'd win, but the competitive nature of the games with that sort of cash on the line would be exciting. My best poker night was a trip to the Brantford Casino poker room about 6 months ago. I brought $200Cdn with me to play at the 5-10 Texas Hold'em table. A quick survey of the people at my table: - 2 Chinese fellows who were chewing nico-gum like crazy (no smoking in the casino) - elderly Italian fellow who took FOREVER to make a decision...I attribute it to being half-blind and not seeing the flop cards - elderly Jewish woman who kept rubbing her lucky talisman around her neck - 3 twenty-something college students who travelled together from Detroit - another quiet geek like myself By the end of the 4 hours at the table, I was up $350. I guesstimate that the other geek was up $400. The rest of the players were all in the hole (measured from my arrival time). Myself and the fellow geek developed a nice little trust dynamic where if the other geek raised, it meant "get the fuck out". No cheating involved as it was a learned system from both of us burning the other one twice on hands. None of the other people at the table were smart enough to figure it out. I haven't been back since, but my weekly poker buddies have made a couple of trips with some positive results.
posted by grum@work at 12:13 PM on May 16, 2003
elderly Italian fellow who took FOREVER to make a decision...I attribute it to being half-blind and not seeing the flop cards At the casinos, this guy is your BESTEST FRIEND. He keeps the number of hands per hour down and helps you lose your money much more slowly.
posted by vito90 at 12:22 PM on May 16, 2003
But after an hour of playing against these fish, I wanted MORE hands, not less. ;)
posted by grum@work at 12:27 PM on May 16, 2003
And at the BJ table this guy is constantly pulling my dime cards trying to make his 13 beat the dealer's six.
posted by kloeprich at 12:28 PM on May 16, 2003
Unfortunately, the website for Binion's Casino and the official site for the tournament are currently down.