Washington State Criminalizes Poker

Land of the free?

Thirty years ago, when I was 16, I realized that in 30 years, when my generation was running things, they would open up all the jails and let out the pot smokers, since we all knew it was safer than either tobacco or alcohol and simply evil to lock people up who hadn’t harmed anyone except perhaps themselves. Today, 80% of Americans are against imprisoning pot smokers and yet we still have more people in prison than the Soviet Union did under Stalin. Apparently 30 years wasn’t enough.

Meanwhile, while all poker players’ eyes are on Washington’s annual failed effort to ban Internet gambling, the other Washington, my home State, quietly passed a law banning Internet gambling and specifically including poker. While they were at it, they made it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

ARE THEY INSANE?

Poker is legal in Washington State. We have always had card rooms and now we have big Indian megacasinos. Yet under the pretext that unregulated gambling is a social evil, they have made it a felony to play online poker in the privacy of your own home. Mind you, this bill was passed unanimously in the State Senate and almost that in the House.

What are they thinking?

I am seriously concerned about the future of this country. Why is the government so preoccupied with legislating morality? Do they really believe they can do good? When has it ever worked in history? Or have every single one of them been bought off by Indian gaming hoping to stifle competition?

It’s been a bad week.

 

Washoe Washout: 2006 Reno World Poker Challenge

Time enough for elk

Despite the fact that the main event of the World Poker Challenge was being broadcast by the Shana-less, rights-hungry World Poker Tour, I decided to return to the place where I had busted Phil Ivey two years ago and take a shot. I arrived the evening before in time to enjoy an order of elk at the Reno Hilton Steakhouse with Gary Lent, Al Adler, Peter "Nordberg" Feldman, and a friend of Gary's named Alex. We went through three nice bottles of red: The 2001 Phelps Insignia, which was eminently drinkable, the 2001 Dominus, which had too much merlot in it for my taste, and the 2002 Duckhorn Estate Cabernet, full-bodied and chewy. Alex put forward the following poker puzzle:

You're playing a pot with me heads up in Texas Hold 'Em. The turn card has been dealt and you currently have the best hand. However, no matter what card comes on the river, you can't win. What are the two hands and what is on the board?

Chipping up

The event started at the stroke of noon but about half the 592 starters straggled in late. I drew table 39, seat eight, and picked up a few small pots four-handed before the rest of the table arrived. On my left was Andy Pham, a young player from Sacramento, CA, who had already cashed in three events in the series here. Across the table in seat three was Aidiliy "Lily" Elviro, also known as Ms. Grinder, who finished 27^th in this event last year.

I won and lost a few pots and was just below even at 9725 by the end of level one. In level two nothing worked and I was down to 7650. The structure was excellent, though, and I wasn't worried. With the blinds 50/100 I called a middle-position raise in the small blind with King-Queen of Clubs and Andy Pham called behind me in the big blind. The flop came King-Six-Five with one Club, giving me top pair. With the stacks still very deep I wanted to play a small pot out of position so I checked. Andy bet half the pot, the original raiser folded, and I called. The turn was the Deuce of Clubs, giving me a flush draw to go with my top pair. So much for a small pot; I check-raised Andy all in. He called with Six-Five for middle two pair, giving me 17 outs to outdraw him. The Jack of Clubs came on the river and I doubled through to 17,100 for the last hand of level three.

I reached a high point of 21,725 then was down to 19,300 when they broke the table. I moved to the next table to break, 38, seat seven, briefly. "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan was on my left in seat eight but I didn't play a hand before the dinner break.

I had exactly 20,000 when they broke the table and moved me to 31, seat one. This was a much tougher table with John "JJ" Juanda in seat four and Phil Ivey in seat 10. I didn't bust Phil this time but I can't be good luck for him as he got taken out by Dan "The Piano Man" Slan ("Sklansky minus the k-sky," he explained) in seat six. I ran a squeeze play in the small blind when the short stack in the cutoff moved in for a little more than the opening raise by the player to his right. I reraised with King-Jack offsuit to isolate the short stack and give myself almost two-to-one pot odds. It worked but the short stack turned over Ace-King, making me dominated. I hit my Jack though and knocked him out, chipping up to 22,300. I got all the way up to 27,200 then slipped to 25,975 when they broke the table.

Now I was at table nine, seat eight, and figured to spend the rest of the day here. Matt Lefkowitz was two to my right in seat six; Dan Heimiller between us in seat seven, and Eric Mizrachi, Grinder's very non-identical twin, in seat 10. I had 26,775 at the end of level five. We had two more levels to play. Hasan Habib came into Matt's seat when he busted. Hasan is a sweet guy and a very intense poker player and every time he won a pot I wanted to pump my fists in the air and shout, "Hasan Habib!" I played a few small pots and reached a high of 33,725 before ending the day with 31,600, just below average for the 181 players left.

Ugly , ugly Ten

Tournament director Jimmy Sommerfield always assigned seats by chip count rather than randomly to distribute the large and short stacks evenly. I got table six, seat five. The only one I recognized was Renee Wexler in seat seven. I went card dead and dribbled down to 18,800 before I raised two off the button with pocket Nines and got a call from the big blind in seat nine. The flop came Trey-Trey-Four with two Clubs. He checked and I immediately moved all in for a little more than the pot. Astonishingly, he called and turned over Seven-Five offsuit! He didn't hit his four outs and I was up to 38,900. The nice lady on my right, who hadn't played a hand, moved in on the small blind and I called with Ace-King. She showed Ace-Jack and busted, bringing me to 51,600. She was replaced by John Juanda, who smooth called an early-position raise on the button. I had Ace-King on the small blind and reraised. The original raiser folded and JJ moved in. I called and he turned over Ace-King as well. "You were supposed to have King-Jack again," he said. The board came with four Spades and two Queens and we chopped, but the original raiser moaned he folded Ace-Queen with the Ace of Spades.

I was up to 70,000 just from stealing and re-stealing when Gavin "Birdguts" Smith came into seat nine with a short stack. JJ's aggressive play had him up and down and when it folded to him on the button he moved in with his fairly short stack. I moved in on the small blind with Ace-King. JJ showed Ace-Nine, and I once again busted my friend, putting me up to 92,100. Then Carlos Mortensen took JJ's place. I let him bluff off some chips to me and reached a high of 105,500 when Freddy Deeb came into seat eight. Freddy was raising almost every pot so this really changed the complexion of the table. I gave a clinic in folding and was down to 92,900 at the end of level 10. Once again I went card dead and played very little until they broke the table with 54 players left and me with 87,300 in chips.

I moved to table three, seat five. Carlos was now across the table in seat one but the rest of the players at the table were unknown to me. There was a lot of action and I continued to get bad starting hands. I was down to 65,000 at the dinner break with 39 players left. Only 36 got paid, an unusually small percentage.

When we got back from dinner I survived by stealing and we were down to the bubble with 37 players left. Gavin Smith kept going all in and surviving at the next table. I had 57,000 when Carlos made it 11,000 to go on my small blind. A very cautious player on my right smooth called on the button and I saw King-Queen suited. Normally I would jam here, hoping the dead money in the pot and the folding equity would make up for possibly being dominated when called, but I was worried about the button and decided to pass. It turned out he had Jack-Ten, Carlos had pocket Nines, and the flop came Queen high. I felt sick, but the very next time Carlos raised he smooth called with Ace-King, so I had the right thought if the timing was a bit off.

Finally, down to 47,500, it folded to me in the small blind and with 9500 already in the pot I jammed with King-Five offsuit. I got a call from the big blind with pocket Nines. The board came Eight-Seven-Six, giving both of us straight draws. Then my King came on the turn. "Dooze!" I shouted, but the poker gods had had enough of me and the ugly, ugly Ten came on the river, making me the bubble boy amidst the celebration of 36 players.

I didn't win the Ultimate Poker Challenge Player of the Year. John Phan won and deserved the honor.

I'll be passing on Foxwoods and the WPT Championship but there's a good chance I'll play a bunch of the WSOP Circuit tournaments at Caesars Palace in May. Come say hi!

 

Vote early and often

I have been nominated for Ultimate Poker Challenge Player of the Year, and you can vote for me at their web site. I'm not sure what I win but it can't be bad. I haven't even seen three of the four episodes I'm in because the Seattle affiliate dropped the show for season two. Maybe if I win they'll send me a set of DVDs.

I have also been nominated to serve on the World Poker Tour player advisory committee. I did not ask to be nominated and there may well be five candidates more qualified than I but if you are voting and think I would do a good job, I will serve if elected. They should already have sent you an email if you're a voter.

Wish me luck in the Full Tilt $1000 WSOP Main Event Super Satellite tonight.

Mike May Thank Me

If you're on the lookout for good poker blogs, check out Mike May's. His latest post about poker and strippers had me laughing out loud.

Translation software has come a long way

I received the following letter from a fan in Japan:

Besides it is a Japanese fan at the start.

I am an office worker with a normal housewife.

Your book was useful for me with many troubles very much.

Therefore I want to convey a feeling of thanks and, with translation software, write a letter towards a foreigner for the first time.

Because you are rich, I think that there is not the thing which I can present so.

I thought what it was to have on me.

I take a supplement to call Japanese D balance.

I came to drink this and got well very much.

Though it seems to say diagram bacon in U.S.A., it is what even I who am not a doctor sell it to a person in Japan because it is a supplement, and it can offer.

Is not this terrible?

Surely I do this story though good information will gather to you like a mountain from all over the world because I liked at all your book.

It is my feeling of small thanks.

Thank you very much for Richard Brodie.

This story of you when have like it, is glad.

Don't get burned

Virtual deck

Do online poker rooms use burn cards? Every few weeks someone asks me this. In a live poker game, before each round of cards after the first is dealt, the card on top of the deck is "burned" – discarded. They do this in order to reduce the ability of cheaters to recognize a marked card on top of the deck and gain an unfair advantage. Since the top card is not used, there's much less (but still some) value in knowing what it is.

In online poker rooms that particular form of cheating is impossible, since there are no actual cards to mark, which raises the question: do online poker rooms still burn a virtual card before they deal, and if not, does it change the odds?

The short answer is: it doesn't matter and no.

Since there is no actual deck of cards, burning a card is almost meaningless. If the order of the cards is random, it doesn't matter if you take 23 cards off the top of the deck, the bottom, or the middle. A proper virtual shuffling algorithm will make the order of the cards completely unpredictable to a player.

People sometimes argue that no computer shuffle is random; they like to use the term "pseudo-random" as if there were some truly random process in the universe better than what the computer uses. In reality, today's most trusted card rooms, such as Full Tilt, use hardware random-number generators based on such factors as thermal noise and timing of user input, ensuring the unpredictability of the deal. It's safe to say that the cards on Full Tilt are dealt more randomly than in any live poker room, where frequently a trained eye can track the approximate location of at least one card through the perfunctory three riffles and a strip commonly used.

But suppose we are playing Texas Hold 'Em at a full nine-handed table. Eighteen cards are dealt, there is a round of betting, and three more cards come on the flop. In a live card room there would be 30 cards left in the deck because one was burned prior to the flop, but online there are 31 cards left. Doesn't this change the odds of, say, making a flush draw?

No it doesn't. What matters when computing odds is the ratio of unknown cards that help you to unknown cards that don't. You could burn five, 10, or 25 cards before dealing the turn and river and it wouldn't change anything. The fact is you don't know which cards are coming and it doesn't matter whether the cards that aren't coming are burned, at the bottom of the deck, in other people's hands, or down the paper shredder. Conversely, if you were to see one of the cards you needed in another player's hand, that would change your odds, regardless of whether or not cards were burned.

The math of Hold 'Em is pretty easy. With a flush draw, open-ended straight draw, or set, you're about a two-to-one dog to improve with two cards to come and about a four-to-one dog with one. Make sure you've got the right odds to play your hand and you won't get burned.

 

It's my party

There's no feeling in poker like getting deep in a big tournament. Today I outlasted all but two players in a field of 3141 to take down the third-place prize of $46,486.80 in the $215 buy-in $500,000 guaranteed tournament on PartyPoker. I played the $60,000 guaranteed on Full Tilt at the same time and as usual was the last "red pro" standing but finished out of the money in that record 457-person field.

The buggy PartyPoker started the tournament without bothering to open my table. When I finally figured out how to open it I saw I had pocket Aces on the button and had to quickly decide how much to bet. I made a big raise and took down the pot, but I saw Aces many more times en route to the final table. I won almost all my coinflips, my steals worked, my Ace-Kings held up, I cracked Aces (played donkily by the aggressive player to my left who, after coming over the top of my steals six or seven times, just smooth called for almost half his stack when I raised with Deuces. I flopped a Deuce and busted him.), my Aces weren't cracked, and all in all it was flowing and grooving until we got down to three-handed.

(It was below freezing in Seattle and I had set up on the kitchen table, which was right by a lot of windows that were radiating cold and I was freezing. I made some tea and Trader Joe's chicken chili verde (man, that stuff is good) in between hands to warm myself up as my wife Heather was out on assignment.)

It was down to me, an unknown and seemingly inexperienced player on my left, and WSOP bracelet winner Gavin Griffin on my right. I was bullying the short-stacked Gavin mercilessly when he called my Ten-Seven offsuit button raise and then led out on a King-Ten-x board. The lead-out often indicates a tenuous holding and I decided I had the best hand and moved in. He called with King-Ten for top two pair and I was drawing dead to runners. That gave him almost as many chips as me. Then I called a small raise of his on the big blind with Ace-Four of Spades. The flop came Queen high with two Spades. he bet out and I jammed with my flush draw and overcards. Once again he had a monster, Ace-Queen, and I missed my flush and was short stacked. I jammed on the small blind with Queen high and got called by a King, which held up.

The $46k was my biggest tournament win to date, online or otherwise. My buddies Matt Maroon, Matt Matros, and Chris Fargis sweated me -- thanks guys!

Despite the nice prize, I much prefer playing on Full Tilt. The Party software is inexplicably buggy even after all these years. They just released a new version and they still haven't fixed the problem that causes players to sometimes pay the big blind twice in a row or to skip it because players come or go from the table. To their credit, they caught a cheater playing multiple accounts last week and disqualified him from the $140k first prize, moving everyone else up a spot. They also seized $40k he had in his other account. This kind of scrutiny and punishment is essential to keep the integrity of online poker.

I've been happily skipping the big live tournaments in places I don't like to go and looking forward to the circuit returning to Vegas. Rumors are that the WPT will change its release to make it more reasonable and I'll be happy to be playing in some of those events again. I'm told I'm due.