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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people over the years say things to me like, “Looks like you’re winning big. You should probably quit before you give it back.”
Frankly, they just don’t understand how poker works. They’re often the same people who suffer huge losses at the table, but only manage very small wins.
You should never be preoccupied with your winning percentage. Basically, it’s a meaningless statistic. People brag to me that they’ve won 22 days in a row and that they’ve come out on top 80 percent of the sessions they play. The thing is, when you look deeper into their results, you’ll often find a very unhealthy pattern.
While these players are winning more than three-quarters of the time, some of them are still net losers in poker. It’s amazing, but true.
I looked at an old friend’s poker records and immediately found the problem with his approach to the game: Monday 3 hours +$147, Tuesday 2 hours +$220, Wednesday 1 hour +$400, Thursday 2 1/2 hours +$160. Then comes Friday: 16 hours -$2,210. Yikes. That’s a recipe for disaster if I’ve ever seen one.
Because my friend was so obsessed with having to win every time, he couldn’t quit when he was losing. That leads to poor play and fatigue, which is better known in the poker world as tilt.
Despite the fact that he won four out of five days, he was behaving the exact opposite of how he should have.
Winning raises confidence
When you’re losing at poker over a long period of time, it’s difficult to play effectively. Conversely, when you’re winning, your confidence rises and this can only help you at the table.
As a rule, your winning sessions should be longer than your losing ones. Nevertheless, too many players do what my friend did and keep digging a deeper hole. In fact, about 90 percent of the world’s poker players share this common problem, and it’s often their biggest downfall.
The good news is there’s an easy fix.
Before you even sit down at a poker table, decide how long you will play. For example, if you show up at 6 p.m. and decide to play six hours, you should quit at midnight, regardless of your result. This strategy will help you shift focus from wins and losses to putting in quality hours at the tables when your mind is alert.
When I started playing professionally, I put myself on a very strict schedule: Monday to Friday from noon-8 p.m., much like a real job. If the game was particularly juicy, I’d play a little bit longer, but only under one condition: I had to be winning.
Stick to a plan
Your mind often plays tricks on you when quitting time rolls around especially if you’re losing. The voices in your head will tell you, “Stay, stay, get your money back. You’re playing well, get these guys!” Do not listen to that evil voice. It will only destroy you.
Your mind wants you to believe that losing hasn’t had a negative effect on your play. Believe me, it has. Continuing to play will only hurt your confidence, your stack and your overall game. Go home. There’s always tomorrow.
As you become more disciplined, you can consider playing longer if the game is lively and you’re ahead.
It’s always OK to quit early if you’re losing. Also, whether winning or losing, it’s smart to leave if you’re not playing your best or if you’re just feeling tired.
The next thing you should do is start focusing on a new statistic. Forget about your win/loss records. Instead, start tracking your hourly rate. Divide your results by the number of hours you’ve played. If you’re earning one big bet an hour, that’s a good result.
Leave the braggarts to their amazing 22-session winning streaks. You take it one hand at a time and focus on making good decisions every time out.
The results will take care of themselves.
By Daniel Negreanu
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las vegas — Amateurs, seasoned pros and celebrities sat down together Friday as the chips were divvied up and the cards dealt for the World Series of poker.
By 2:30 p.m., there were 8,580 entrants registered for the world’s biggest poker game, pushing the top prize to $11.7 million.
Alternates were waiting in the wings and new players were being accepted until Monday, when the grand prize could swell even larger.
At the very least, the last 12 players still standing when the 37th annual no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament wraps up will win at least $1 million. The final table is scheduled to begin play Aug. 10.
“Everybody’s got dreams and aspirations but you’ve got to get through a lot of people here,” said Greg Severson, a 45-year-old building contractor from Upland, Calif., who qualified for his $10,000 seat online.
“One step at a time,” he said. “First break, dinner break, first day. One day at a time.”
By the break after the first two hours, about 80 players already had been eliminated. The first field of 2,140 players was set to play as long as it takes to get down to 900. A staggered start over four days will cut more than half of the field by Tuesday.
Celebrities such as Spiderman star Tobey Maguire, Mekhi Phifer from ER, James Garner of The Rockford Files and Maverick and boxer Antonio Tarver ponied up to the felt for $10,000 each. poker pros Gus Hansen, Eli Elezra, Michael Mizrachi, Barry Greenstein and Juan Carlos Mortensen also took to the tables Friday.
Thirty-three days of poker have led up to the main event at the Rio hotel-casino. In earlier rounds, 21-year-old University of California, Santa Barbara student Jeff Madsen became a millionaire, and pro Phil Hellmuth Jr. won his 10th bracelet, tying the record with poker greats Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson and Johnny Chan.
James McManus, a poker player who became famous when Harper’s magazine assigned him to cover the World Series in 2000 and he ended up placing fifth for $247,760, said on Day 1 of the main event, he’s already “kind of pooped.”
“I’ve been here since June 26th,” McManus said. “If I advance, it’ll be seven weeks. It, at least for me, answers the question, ‘How much is too much poker?’”
Opening day highlights
BIG NEWS: The world’s biggest poker tournament kicked off with 8,580 registered players, easily topping last year’s 5,619, and pushing the top prize to $11.7 million. The 12 final players will win at least $1 million. More players can still enter for a $10,000 seat until Monday.
STUD OF THE DAY:Saturday Night Live star Norm MacDonald’s pocket aces failed him when Australian pro Mark Vos’ queen and jack both paired on the board. Vos later knocked MacDonald out with an ace-high straight when MacDonald made a lower straight. Vos amassed $79,500 in chips and held the lead heading into the dinner break.
BUSTED OUT: James Garner, Tobey Maguire, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Chris Masterson, Mekhi Phifer, Antonio Carver and Norm MacDonald.
CELEBRITY UPDATE: After busting out, Maguire paid $540 to enter a so-called “second chance” tournament that runs every day at 5 p.m. By 7 p.m. he had about 2,000 in chips, after starting with 1,500, and was getting a massage. Entrants play just for the stakes entered; their main event lives are over.
By Ryan Nakashima
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las vegas, July 27 /PRNewswire/ — On Wednesday, August 2, Caesars Palace will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a toga party at the legendary resort’s outdoor Roman Plaza amphitheater. This historical event will be hosted by actress Jenny McCarthy and feature a live performance by Otis Day and the Knights, the band that rocked “Shout” during the toga party scene in National Lampoon’s Animal House. Following the musical set, toga-clad partygoers will be invited to an after party at PURE Nightclub. Guests who arrive in a toga* will be granted free admission to both the outdoor concert, sponsored by VEGAS Magazine and Hendrix Electric Vodka, and the after party at PURE. Doors to the outdoor concert open at 7:30pm and PURE will open at 10pm.
When Caesars Palace opened its doors on August 5, 1966 the standard of luxury and magnificence for the hotel and casino industry was changed forever. Its opulent Roman-Grecian world of fantasy captured international attention as the first deluxe themed resort casino if its kind. With imported marble statuary, cocktail servers costumed as “goddesses,” a dining experience fit for royalty and nightly performances by the world’s greatest entertainers, Caesars Palace immediately became the industry standard for the ultimate luxury resort experience. Forty years later, Caesars Palace has expanded to almost five times its original capacity. The 85-acre resort features 3,340 guest rooms and suites, the largest poker room in the city, a world-class health and beauty salon and a 4.5 acre pool and garden complex, two dozen restaurants and the world renowned Forum Shops at Caesars. In March 2003 Caesars Palace opened its 4,100-seat Colosseum spotlighting international performers Celine Dion, Elton John, and Jerry Seinfeld. The Roman Plaza, a 4,000-seat outdoor amphitheatre plays hosts to a variety of outdoor sporting events, concerts and private functions.
* (All guests must be age 21 or older and have valid photo ID. Admission limited to venue capacity. Management reserves all rights).
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Local casinos wiped out the statewide competition, according to a readers’ choice poll in the July issue of Casino Player magazine, a 15-year-old magazine with a readership of about 750,000.
Ameristar and Harrah’s took first and second place in every category in the Best of Gaming 2006 poll, with the exceptions of best bar, where Vertigo at Harrah’s was the only bar listed; the best comedy club which went to Penguins Comedy Club at Isle of Capris in Bettendorf, which was the only comedy club listed; and Best Room Packages, which also went to the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf over Harrah’s and Ameristar.
The survey took place prior to the opening of Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, the nation’s 19th largest casino market.
Adam Fine, editor in chief of Casino Player, said he’s curious to see what impact the Horseshoe will have on the local market.
“It’s a fantastic property for the Midwest,” he said.
Fine also said he wants to see how Harrah’s goes about fitting into the expanded Council Bluffs market and what moves Ameristar may make in response to the Horseshoe.
Ameristar Casino Hotel won Best Overall Casino and Best Overall Hotel accolades and 28 overall awards including 15 first-place awards in the market. Slots, craps and video poker took the top awards, with Prairie Mill Café winning Best Coffee Shop and Ameristar taking the top spot in the Best Overall Entertainment category.
Ameristar General Manager Teresa Meyer said the company’s investment in the facility, training and recognition of team members is paying off.
“It’s just wonderful,” she said.
Meyer said she was most proud of winning in the category of Best Casino Hotel.
“And I like the one, Luckiest Casino, because luck is a perception,” she said. “It’s kind of a happiness, feel-good kind of thing. I think that’s really a compliment to us.”
Harrah’s won 13 first-place awards, including Best Overall Hotel Casino and Best Casino Promotions, and 29 awards overall. Reel slots, blackjack and players club were other areas where Harrah’s took the top prize.
Christie Scott, manager of public and community relations for Harrah’s and Horseshoe Casinos, said the company was pleased with the number of first-place honors Harrah’s Council Bluffs received.
“The variety of awards shows that our customers really have fun playing at Harrah’s and that they receive a real value in our Total Rewards program,” Scott said. “Our guests know that they can play with us and earn comps that can be redeemed at any of our Harrah’s Entertainment properties around the country, including our new Horseshoe Casino as well as all of our casinos on the las vegas strip.”
Casino Player’s Fine said Iowa took some risks in starting out as the first casino riverboat state, and that has limited the industry’s growth.
“It’s very frustrating to see that from an industry standpoint,” he said. “The market is there. The problem is the casino facilities themselves.”
The biggest problem, as he sees it, is an absence of hotels.
“If you have the rooms, you have the people downstairs,” Fine said. “And that Horseshoe can handle a great hotel.”
By PHIL ROONEY
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When the Professional Domino Association tour got started in February, Jerome Wooten of Kansas City had no idea what to expect.
But here he is, more than $40,000 richer. Wooten is the leading money winner on the inaugural tour of a league that most people don’t realize exists, and he has been declared the champion even before the tour is finished.
The association was founded by former music executive Jay King, whose group Club Nouveau topped the pop charts in 1987 with its remake of “Lean on Me.” The final tournament of the regular season is today in Atlanta.
The 12-city tour has stopped in such places as Los Angeles, Dallas, Cleveland and Phoenix and has averaged 55 participants at each stop. The association has doled out $30,000 in prize money in each city, and one of the ESPN networks plans to televise three or four of the tournaments, starting in October.
Association officials have high hopes for the sport, if that’s the right word. They want to take dominoes off the picnic table and put them on the big-screen TV, transforming the game from a geriatric pastime to a major spectator event.
In short, they want to see it explode in much the same way that poker has.
“We are going to be to dominoes what the NBA is to basketball, what MLB is to baseball, what the PGA is to golf,” King said by phone from his Los Angeles home. “People will eventually get paid a salary to play in the PDA just like everything else.”
Wooten and some other Kansas Citians hope to be among those who will reap the rewards.
“If this thing gets as big as poker, I’m going to give up the real estate,” said Wooten, 30, a home appraiser.
The game played at tour stops is called “Five Up” or “High Five.” The dominoes — 28 white tiles etched with zero to 12 black dots — are face down when each player draws seven of them. There are two players in each game, and each takes a turn laying tiles with numbers that match those at the end of the line of tiles.
Players earn points by placing a domino that, added with other dominoes at the end, equals a multiple of five. Players also earn points by being the first to run out of tiles. If they cannot play, they keep drawing from the pile.
The first player to earn 150 points wins the game, which can be over within five or 10 minutes — or less, if Wooten is playing. His strategy is to play fast and keep his opponents off guard. Other players are more deliberate and thoughtful. Still others run their mouths incessantly, talking trash.
Travis Newsome, owner of Newsome Realty Co., this year formed a domino team called the Kansas City Show-Me Domino Dominators. Members of the team have won seven of the 11 tournaments on the PDA tour and nearly half of the prize money.
Three team members are ranked among the tour’s top 10 players — Wooten at No. 1, Newsome at No. 9 and Eddie Rice at No. 10. They practice a lot between tournaments, playing dominoes nearly every day.
Besides the $40,500 he already has won, Wooten has earned $30,000 for being the tour’s regular-season champion. He said that total haul of $70,500 is significantly more than what he makes annually working for one of Newsome Realty’s appraisal firms.
It also is far more than the $5,000 or less he made in the previous seven years, bouncing from one domino tournament to another.
For now, the Professional Domino Association is very much a startup organization trying to find its niche.
King said that he and a cousin were “carrying the ball” financially and have spent about $1.8 million this year. As King said: “That ball is heavy.” A few corporate sponsors also have contributed financially.
When the tour swung through Kansas City in late June, participants and organizers locked up only 20 or so rooms at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center hotel. By comparison, the International Society of Glass Beadmakers has more than 230 rooms booked this weekend at the hotel.
PDA events aren’t yet populated by celebrities. While poker has Ben Affleck, dominoes counters with Omar Gooding, younger brother of actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
In fact, the “crowds” at tour stops generally are limited to participants, a few family members and an occasional wayward hotel guest who expects to see rows of upright dominoes tumble methodically.
Tour participants hope that will change soon.
The Professional Domino Association will distribute $555,000 in total prize money this year, including $150,000 next month at the Tournament of Champions in las vegas.
“We want our team and our players to be the center of attention,” said Newsome, who learned the game at age 12 and has played in tournaments since 1978. “We want to be right in front when this thing really gets popular.”
By STEVE ROCK
For more inforamtion on the game of dominoes visit Dominoes HQ
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Dear Mark,
Could you please explain the ace as it relates to poker, both using it as high or low, and using it in a straight? Also, can the Ace ever be used in this scenario: Queen-King-Ace-2-3 to form a straight? Ray W.
The genesis of the Ace’s mighty rise to power can be traced back to the French Revolution, when the lowest numbered card (in that era the one) was positioned above the King to represent victory over the monarchy by the common man. Its chest did swell with pride, Ray.
Many games today, such as poker and blackjack, alDeal Me InColumn.ems low the player to choose whether the ace is to be used as a high or low card. For example, in Hold’em poker, an Ace is considered the highest card in the deck, with one exception: it can help form what’s called “the wheel,” or the lowest straight possible; an Ace - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5. With this 5-high straight, the five is the top card, not the Ace. Conversely, the highest straight, called an ace-high straight or “Broadway,” is
Ten-Jack-Queen-King-Ace. Unless you are playing a game where an Ace is specifically given a high or low value, it’s usually played as either, never both. Wrapping the Ace, Ray, a Queen-King-Ace-2-3, would never constitute a straight.
When playing best low hand, there are some poker games that permit the Ace to play low, ignoring both straights and flushes. For example, the 5-4-3-2-Ace is the best possible low, even if it makes a straight or straight flush. Other games count straights or flushes against you, but let the Ace play low, making 6-4-3-2-Ace the best possible hand. In games where the ace is ranked below the deuce, a pair of aces would also score lower than a pair of deuces.
Dear Mark,
Here is a tip your readers might be interested in. Deal Me InColumn.ems When ordering a cocktail in a casino, you might as well order a quality drink. Why get Scoresby when you can order Johnnie Walker Black. Robin L.
Holy befuddled with booze, Batman! Robin’s got it right. Casinos will actually serve you the best call liquor behind the bar, that is, if you ask. But, Robin, if you’re trying to hustle premium drinks versus some hooch from the well to offset your losses at the table, fugedaboutit. A little select spirits might be a good thing, but too much of it and you’ll find yourself, not the drink, on the rocks. Besides, they don’t call it chip remover for nothing.
Dear Mark,
Can a player toss in his cards, then change his mind, and get them back from the dealer? Jay F.
No way, Jay, afterthoughts are not allowed in poker.
That collection of faceDeal Me InColumn.ems down cards near the dealer composed of discards and folded hands is called the muck, garbage pile or trash. When someone throws one’s cards into it, the thrower automatically withdraws from further participation in the current pot.
gambling Wisdom of the Week: “poker is a microcosm of all we admire and disdain about capitalism and democracy. poker can be rough-hewn or polished, warm or cold, charitable and caring, or hard and impersonal, fickle and elusive, but ultimately poker is fair, and right, and just.” — Lou Krieger
By Mark Pilarski
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