This weekend wasn’t about life-changing money so much as it was about life-easing money for those who went super-deep (top 1 percent), but not deep-deep-deep in the main event: Margo Outhred reading David Sedaris’ latest (When You Are Engulfed in Flames) while awaiting important updates via text from her husband Alex. Though supposedly tournament poker is all about going for the win, there were points when he got short-stacked that she became very interested in the payout levels, and would rush back into the Amazon Room to let him know what they stood to gain if he could hold on for X spots longer.

63rd-55th place paid $115,800

WSOP Academy instructor Alex Outhred finished in 54th(-46th) for $135,100 — a small but noticeable victory on his way out of the 2008 WSOP main event.

For some reason or another, the following 52 players participated in the $50k HORSE event last year, but not this year. Some of these names, of course, are more interesting than others:

Ariel Schneller
Bart Hanson
Bill Edler
Bob Feduniak
Carlos Mortensen
Charles Kaelin
Chip Reese
Chris Gentile
Cyndy Violette
Daniel Shak
Darrell Dicken
David Pham
David Sklansky
Erik Seidel
Gavin Smith
Harry Thomas
Jack Zwerner
James Owens
Jason Lester
Jeff King
Jerri Thomas
Jerrod Ankenman
Jesse Jones
Joe Tehan
John Cover
John Duthie
John Kabbaj
John Phan
Josh Arieh
Keith Lehr
Kirk Morrison
Kristy Gazes
Luke Neely
Marco Traniello
Mark Tenner
Mark Vos
Matt Lefkowitz
Maureen Feduniak
Meikle Partin
Neal Friets
Nick Frangos
Phil Laak
Q Knopow
Sam Farha
Sam Grizzle
Shih-Ping Sun
Ted Lawson
Tom Franklin
Tony Cousineau
Tuan Le
Victor Ramdin
Vladimir Troyanovskiy

The twins-separated-at-birth concept between the 148-player $50k HORSE fields in both 2007 and 2008 have me playing around like crazy with spreadsheets …

52 players in the 2008 $50k HORSE did not play in 2007 — those currently still alive (with 36 players remaining) in bold:

Aaron Katz
Alexander Kostritsyn
Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros
Brett Richey
Brian Rast
Bryan Colin
Chris Bjorin
Chuck Danielsson
Dario Alioto
Dario Minieri
David Bach
David Woo
Diego Cordovez
Doug Ganger
Edwin Ting
Frank Kassela
Fu Wong
George Lind
Hoyt Corkins
James Mackey
Jamie Pickering
Jan Von Halle
Jason Gray
Joe ‘Tall’ Bunevith
Joey ‘bigjoe2003′ Michael
John Monnette
Jose Luis Velador
Katja Thater
Keith Sexton
Layne Flack
Lee Markholt
Loi Tran
Marc Goodwin
Markus Golser
Matt Glantz
‘Miami’ John Cernuto
Michael Binger
Michael DeMichele
Mike Fiorito
Mikhail Ustinov
Paul Fisher
Perry Friedman
Phil ‘OMGClayAiken’ Galfond
Philippe Rouas
Ram Vaswani
Raymond Davis
Shawn ‘Sheiky’ Sheikhan
Shunjiro Uchida
Kirill Gerasimov
Marcel Luske
Tom ‘durrrr’ Dwan
Tom McCormick

Cards are in the air, and though you technically can still buy in, the $50k HORSE event starts with 115 players. But we knew that was gonna be the case, right? Not a comment on the popularity of HORSE as a game, but just on the state of the poker economy at the top levels of the poker pyramid.

Some will suspect, I am sure, that this 20 percent drop in field size could be a foreshadowing of what’s TK in the Main Event … but I don’t think so. There’s a big difference in a poker player’s ability to get their hands on $10k for some No-Limit Hold’em and $50k for Crazy Pineapple.

To that extent, the 2008 dip probably does more to enhance than it does hurt the HORSE event’s prestige.

UPDATE: I now count 135 players. Gettin’ up there, but surely not going to pass last year’s totals in the next couple hours, right?

UPDATE: They’re up to 140.

New prediction:the HORSE numbers this year, like so many other events, will be roughly the same as last year — either a little bigger or a little smaller — just took a few folks a little longer to buy in than before, for whatever reason.

UPDATE: Crap, wrong again on this … turns out to be not a little bigger, nor a little smaller, but the exact same size as last year, with 148

The $50K H.O.R.S.E. event is only two days away, and players are considering their options:

A. Buy-in directly with $50,000
B. Find backers but face $50,000 in makeup if they don’t cash
C. Sell pieces of themselves if there are enough takers
D. Play the last-minute mega satellites at $2,250 a pop
E. Sit out of one of the most prestigious events in poker

I chatted with David Singer about his choice, and he is no doubt going with A. The bottom line is that he has been doing well of late. Looking at his Hendon Mob results, he has over $400,000 in live tournament winnings this year alone, and that doesn’t count the Full Tilt online heads-up championship that added another $560,000 to that number. In 2007, he won nearly $1.7 million.

David sees no reason to do anything but plunk down the $50,000 to play. When I suggested that he might not hesitate because he finished sixth each of the two past years in this event, he insisted that is not a factor in his decision. He simply has the money for the buy-in and wouldn’t miss the tournament.

How much should a person have in his or her bankroll to buy in to a $50K event? “Lots,” he said, displaying his wry smile. “You can quote me on that. But say you have a $1 million bankroll, $50K for a one-time event leaves you with $950K. That’s not a bad decision.”

The underbuzz at the Rio these days is the upcoming HORSE event. Everybody wants in, but few have the necessary liquid capital bankroll cushion to comfortably do so. The WSOP ran the last $2,250 mega-sat yesterday. These have had some interesting fields … and it was kinda funny late at night to see the last couple tables of a tiny-looking tourney on totally unspecial tables in a hidden corner (right in front of CardPlayer) with a handful of B-level pros … all fighting for $50k for 1st place, $30k for second. $1,500 NL Democratic Conventions are one thing, as our Omaha Hi-Lo bracelet events … but there were some really high-pressure battles amongst some very solid players going on in these attempts to win one’s way into $50k HORSE.

Off the tables, players are shopping around for backers, as very few players have the true bankroll to justify such a big buy-in against arguably the strongest field in the world. Using the most basic bankroll management math, a player should have $5 million put aside just for poker for HORSE to be a no-brainer buy-in. I gotta think there aren’t more than 25 or 30 mixed-game-capable players in the world with the five double-ems in the family BR, yo? Yet we can expect to see probably about 150 runners competing for the Chip Reese title.

CORRECTION: I made a mistake on the podcast when saying a proper poker bankroll for a $50k buy-in is $5 million. Oops, added an extra zero … $500k should suffice.

A common question I’m getting these days: “So are you playing much? How’s it going?”

In a nutshell, at the tables, not particularly well. (Especially compared to last year, whence I shocked myself by making more money playing during the WSOP than actually working during the WSOP.) I’ll see if we can’t whip up a visually compelling WSOP bankroll chart/graph … but in the meantime, it’s not like you have to be able to read music to get a sense of what the following — which is all the poker I have played over the past two weeks — would look like:

Day 2, 2/5 NL, Rio, 3 hours:
-$300

Day 6, 2/5 NL, Rio, 2 hours:
-$300

Day 12, 1/3 NL, Rio, 3.5 hours:
-$187

More…

Dan and Pauly head to the Hooker Bar to talk about finding one’s comfort zone at the WSOP.

Episode 5: Long Road

photo: Jackie Endsley
Putting your last dollar toward a bad-beat jackpot may not have been the best career strategy for this guy.

Audio

I got a call yesterday at the WSOP from the Butler. I haven’t seen the guy for a couple months — not since me and my jiu-jitsu coach and heavy metal teacher got booted out of our sweet pad (pool table, poker table, dart board, 65-inch HDTV, Strip-view bedroom, fireplace/jacuzzi bathroom, no utilities) on the Eastside. We of course knew all was headed south when the Butler — the guy who set the whole housing arrangement up — walked into our casa unannounced to do a cocaine deal, and shortly thereafter got busted by The Boss (who owned the house, in theory, though not on paper) for stealing rent money.

(I met the Butler last year at the WSOP, as he was trying to sell his private concierge services to poker players and convince me to turn him into a recurring character on Pokerati.)

Anyhow, so I got a call from an unknown 973 number yesterday that I answered in the press box. “Hey, Dan, it’s John. Are you at the Series? How’s it going?”

“Um, uh, pretty good? We’re just getting rolling … so what’s up? Did you make it to Kansas City?”

“Yeah, and it’s not good. I’m calling because I need a stake.”

“Yeow, dude … can’t help you out. Wouldn’t know how to get you money if I could.”

“Western Union.”

“Sorry, man Have you tried Tom? His number is 602-97… .”

More…

On Friday I made a pretty big decision that I wasn’t going to play at all here (at the Rio, at least) during the WSOP …

$2/$5 NLH
Buy-in: $300
Cash out: $0
Net: -$300

Argh … the cost of testing out our new little Twitteresque CSR.

From Craigslist:

well know poker player needs backer - $25 (Las Vegas)
Date: 2008-04-17, 1:28AM PDT
I will only accept the right person. I currently have a backer and we will be parting ways if I find a bigger backer. You are welcome to review my results and talk to my current backer. I made him $52,000 last year. I use to have my own money but I started a business that didn’t work out and I lost a few hundred K! Last year 07 I made $104,000 playing 2-5NL. We started with $15k and split everything 50/50. I want need to move up to where I use to play 5-10 and 10-20 and I need a bigger backer. I have an $1,800 mortgage and a $1,000 car payment so playing 2-5 doesn’t make enough for me to move up. My current backer has the same problem and cannot increase his stake. I am looking for someone to put up a min. of $25k for 5-10 and above. Since I made $104k in 2-5 it is easy to see I will make $200k playing bigger and it is the game I am use to playing in the past. I just cannot pay my bills plus save money making only $52,000. My nut is about $40k a year! We can meet and talk and I will choose who I let back me. My current backer knows I will be leaving and there is no bad blood there, just not enough money for me to split at my current level!

From the way the hedline sounds, I’d guess this guy is Asian. Just sayin’ … regardless, I suspect Men the Master might see a flaw in Danielsan’s plan.

Joel the MySpace Friend / Account Exec in Dallas writes in inquiring about a possible career change:

—————– Original Message —————–
From: “Joel”
Date: May 5, 2008 2:02 PM

How are things? How is Vegas? I might be moving out there at the end of the Summer to play poker professionally. Cash games and tourneys. Any advice, suggestions or best games you are finding out there? Any tips would help. Thanks!

More…

Part of my master plan for covering the 2008 WSOP has already gone awry …

Last year, you could make a $1,000 charitable donation for access to a VIP Players lounge across the hall from the Amazon Room. Inside was a pool table, putting green (where Phil Ivey $5,000 putts became a semi-regular occurrence) and food catered by Del Frisco’s. Oh, and free booze, too, I think. Yum. So this year, Pauly and I were gonna pony up the G. After all, we spend nearly a thousand bucks on food being at the Rio for 6+ weeks anyhow, so why not do it in a feel-good, tax-deductible way that would provide extra-comfortable seating, superior meals, and super-premium access to top players shooting the poker and non-poker shizznit … off-the-cuff but plausibly on-the-record while the rest of the media is locked down in the media kennel being fed terrible $8 hamburgers and occasional free sandwiches that lose their flavor after about Day 2.

Alas …

Informed sources tell us plans for the 2008 “V-VIP lounge” are still being finalized, but based on feedback from last year’s VIPs (those who got in before lounge access was sold out) that it wasn’t as exclusive a getaway as they had hoped for, this year the price of admission will be a $7,500 contribution to the Nevada Cancer Institute. Supposedly the whole experience will be much more high-end. Not sure yet about what that entails, but the big-dollar pros can at least be confident that it won’t include a couple of bloggers sitting with them drunk and shirtless begging for autographs.

We hear about players going broke all the time — whether they are low- to mid-stakes grinders, semi-well-known pros (Eskimo Clark, e.g.), or total big shots (insert major pro’s name other than John Juanda here, as virtually all have been at least rumored to be broke at some point or another).

So here’s an interesting question: Of the tens of millions of poker players worldwide, how many do you think have netted $100k+ at the tables for three years in a row?

Troy in Las Vegas writes in with a question about bankroll management that I’m going to attempt to answer: (Stop laughing.)

Dan,

I have a quick question for you… in your opinion what is the best for me to do w/no bank roll…. just able to spend about 200-300 every other week…

a. small (50-60) buy in tournys

b. play one larger tourney (say the venitian) once every two weeks

c. invest my 200 in a ring game some where

or d. none of the above and save my cash til i get enough

if the answer is d…. what is “enough” to play? I have a VERY hard time not playing, but, have been on the roller coaster of up down small amounts til i get felted in cash games (can’t seem to stay away from getting my money in w/the best and not fairing well…. or… when i do well in one session i don’t do well in the next two and get felted)

Just wondering your opinion… thanks!

Troy, you pose an interesting question, because I suspect a lot of folks are in your position, where they have money to spend on poker, but they don’t have a real bankroll. We all hear that you should have $2-3k to play 1/2 — and it doesn’t take long playing to realize those numbers might not be a load of shit — but how many 1/2 players actually have a few thousand bucks in a non-interest bearing poker account?

More…

And maybe Tom … and their nice friend from Phoenix whose name I forget:

Somewhere along the way to posting six losing sessions out of eight and after receiving a severe tongue-lashing from Robert G (with echoes of Tulsa in my head) I abandoned my soccer-shootout tally and quest for five wins in a row. Hadn’t given it a thought since then, really, until today, upon seeing the results of my past four sessions:

DATE — VENUE — HRS — GAME — BUYIN(s) — CASHOUT — EXTRA — NET
15-Mar – venetian — 5.5 — 2/5 nlh — 600 (2) — 776 — 2 — 174
21-Mar – paris — .25 — 1/2 nlh — 200 (1) — 249 — 2 — 47
22-Mar – golden nugget — 3 — 1/2 nlh — 200 (1) — 1709 — 0 — 1509
24-Mar – venetian – 2.25 – 1/2 nlh — 200 (1) — 1262 — 2 — 1060

I swear I won’t be thinking about it next time I play.

After being snowed in at DFW for a night, a contingent of Batfaces is en route to Vegas — presenting the biggest threat to my bankroll since setting up camp in the Valley. A lot of these guys and other friends/sisters have wanted to know how I am doing out here in cards/women. Here is the answer, for Dec 30-Mar 7:

Spaceman apparently couldn’t stay off the poker-bloggy horse, and he’s got an interesting article in Poker Listings about the Mathematics of International Finance and its effect on high-stakes tournament players. Way too high-brow for me to understand, of course — and I imagine the Euro players are saying, “Hey, we’ve been paying out our bloody Vegas arses forever!” — but still good to see something resembling real journalistic analysis of where poker fits in the world and life, er, beyond the table …

More…

TJ Cloutier’s latest column … an interesting if not prescient tale of some poker southern-circuit old-timers that include a game-runner who takes an extra rake right under someone’s nose ($100 a pop); a bookie sent to jail and kicked out of Dallas, Hazzard County-style; and legendary players with a not-so-unique philosophy on credit and debt.

Considering that TJ has been running good of late — and they don’t have craps in Oklahoma — I can’t help but give some thought to the road-gambler ethos he extols, and wonder where it fits in today’s contemporary poker economy:

“I’ve still got 30 days to pay that off,” Jack said, “so quit bothering me.” And the guy left. As the first man was going down the stairs, a second man was walking up them. The door was still open, so Jack let him in.

“I’m down on my luck,” the man cries to Jack. “Could you loan me $10,000 till I get back on my feet?” And Jack peeled the ten grand right out of his pocket and gave it to him! I couldn’t explain Jack Straus any better than telling this story.

One time when we were on the golf course, Straus told me that he liked me because I was like him. “I’m broke one day and have a fortune the next day,” he said, “and I don’t give a damn.”

Recently stumbled across this video, where Phil Laak espouses the basics of bankroll management — i.e. 10 buy-ins and 100x the big blind. Personally, I think the 10 buy-ins needs to be increased for no-limit players … because otherwise, how does the “10 percent rule” apply when you lose your first four sessions of $1/$2 NLH? Are you still just waiting out the variance that you’ve accounted for, or is it already time to drop your stakes to a game that doesn’t exist?

I recently received a thoughtful email from a young guy who has great interest in playing poker for a living or finding a good job or possibly doing both. He has asked for my advice regarding various topics of passion and career. I thought that my response might be helpful to others figuring out where poker fits in their lives, and Pokerati readers might be able to provide genius insight or alternate feedback.

Here are some excerpts from what he sent, and my honest opinions:

My name is Ralph, and I am a very big fan of your book. I am an avid poker player who is hoping to become a professional in the distant future. I just wanted to commend you on authoring such a simple, yet brilliant book. It has reemphasized so much of the values that have already been instilled in my life, yet has reminded me so much of the important things that I have forgotten along the way. I just couldn’t put the book down.

Right away, you can tell that this young man has wonderful taste, and no, this is not a fictitious caller on Beyond the Table.

I was hoping you could pass along some winning wisdom to me if you had the time. I am 26 years old and graduated from college with a BA in Communications in January 2007. I have been unemployed during this time with the exception that I have been working part time for the past 7 years. I’m really struggling to find my place in the “real world” being that I don’t consider myself too business savvy, or intellectually smart.

More…

I was noticing that I was playing VERY sloppy SnG’s lately. I had a nice MTT win and had pretty much pissed it all away before deciding to try to occupy myself with a few more tables, hoping it would keep me from trying to get too tricky, which seemed to be my major downfall. I think my test went very well in the short time I applied it. It started going better when Robert (Goldfarb) suggested that I use the “aim for third” strategy. I’m a little disappointed that during this period, I decided to play 6 tables at a time, as opposed to the 4 that I was playing before. It was a little tough to handle and I think Robert’s advice would have paid off even better otherwise.

My results so far…

Total Tables: 14
Total Fees: $176
Average Fee: $12.57
Won: $297
Profit: $121
Profit Per Table: $8.64
ROI: 68.75%

Granted, this is a small sampling size and pretty short “one round” sessions (For better or worse?)… I wanted to do some rough projections. If I were able to maintain this and played 50 SnG’s a day, I would net $432. Not a bad daily rate. If I stepped it up to $20 SnG’s, I believe my win rate would be the same or better, because the players will be a little better and at these stakes, that’s a good thing. So, keeping it the same and playing 50 a day, I would drag $864. $30 SnG’s makes it $1296.

This all sounds great, but I know my rate would suffer as the day went on. But then again, who’s to say that I have to play all of these in one chunk? I also know the competition would get a little steeper, but I’d be fine with even a 20 percent dip in ROI based on these factors.

Not very scientific, but interesting I think.

From the Dept. of: They all look alike …

Players around Dallas/Danang may recognize this guy:

Kinda funny.

There seems to be a rash of donkeys putting themselves in holes around the country.(Photo: AP)

NOT THACKERVILLE, Okla.–Crap. Did I say that already? You can’t be a good poker player if you let going bust upset you too much … always sucks … but man, does it really suck to go bust after sunrise. Hurts even more when the winner of your final hand turns his cards up in disgust after seeing the turn and the river and says, dejectedly, “you got it,” when in fact you don’t.

So my experiment has come to an end. Brought $1,000 to play with, and finished down $837. I’d like to say I got average cards and played them below-average. But considering my results of late, I think I might have to admit that I was playing them full-on average for me.

To be good at poker you’re supposed to see the action just in terms of chips, not dollars. But I sometimes wonder if that’s 100 percent true. Because it is real money you’re playing with, and perhaps keeping that in mind can help you make better decisions. Regardless, as part of my punishment for 15 hours of poker sloth, here’s a list of what else I could’ve done with $837 besides hanging out on an Oklahoma Indian Reservation with a bunch of mostly Asian guys not getting any sleep:

Numbers Game

• An HD Tivo and Nintendo Wii (with plenty leftover for service and games)
• Laser back-hair removal
• 2 or 3 ounces of high-grade marijuana
• 4 third-row seats (on the 27-yard-line) to the Bears-Cowboys game at the new Soldier Field
• 5-night vacation in Maui
• 1,637 shares of PartyGaming stock (PRTY.L)
• 1 pair of Chanel multi-tweed printed lizard ankle-strap pumps

OK, for some reason that last one makes me feel better about everything. Guess I won’t quit poker after all. Baby don’t need no shoes.

UPDATE: I forgot I had three one-dollar chips in my pocket. So really, I only finished down $834. Movin’ on up!

Let’s not talk about me (and how turning the straight with the second-nuts flush draw didn’t get there) … no no, there’s far more excitement going on in Scottsdale, as our good friends in the Arizona Posse are making quite a showing online this weekend.

Big Robert won a 300-player multi on Full Tilt last night–paid about $7,000–and tonight he’s sweating Pat Poels and Ryan Hughes, who are both at two different WCOOP final tables on PokerStars.

Poels is chip leader with seven left in 2-7 Triple Draw, and Hughes is sitting solid in Pot Limit Omaha (6-max). Both are playing for big five-figure payouts … actually Poels Hughes is already there.

Meanwhile, I’m deciding whether or not to drive home … or to Arizona.

UPDATE: Poels — pstarfish – finished 2nd (out of 649) to win $18,821. Hughes — elycash41 – finished 3rd (out of 1,818) to win $27,379. Nice job, Arizona! Way to represent. So wanna party like you guys.

THACKERVILLE, Okla.–Damnit, where’s my head? I guess I went on tilt when I folded away a $700 pot. I had K-J (with a jack as the top card on a no-straight, no-flush board) and folded to an all-in from Mr. iPod Hoodie Happy Feet. He showed me Q-J.

Tight is wrong! That or I shoulda thought longer to keep him on the hand I put him on on the flop.

Two questionable all-ins later (one of which fell victim to a three outer) I find myself down about $500 and some change. Have already put a call in to Goldfarb to talk me through this mini-meltdown.

Well that went fine but not great. Out early in level 4. (Posted two updates earlier, but ran into technical difficulties with my non-iPhone.) Anyhow, all I know is that i will be a better player when I learn how to lay down trips when I suspect I might be outkicked and the all-in big stack really has a flush.

But not all is lost. Saw lots of friendly faces here and one has owed me $388 since February. I knew he was good for it — had just been awhile since we had seen each other, and indeed he paid me. So despite the early bustout, I am so far up $163. Cool, ish.

UPDATE: They are at the final table … Como is alive and healthy, and Fubu is the chip leader! No cash game got rolling, however, so I am heading north … to Oklahoma. Should be there in an hour or so. You know, from Mexico.

I’ve got a plan in place — a test really — and am ready to embark. I’ve got a specified wad of cash, two packs of cigarettes and some breath mints in my pockets, a change of shirt in the bag, and am fixin’ to hit the tables. We’re going to see how much I can return home with by the time most of you are reading this Monday morning.

First stop: a $225 “deep stacks” tourney somewhere in “Mexico.” 7,500 starting chips and 30 minute levels. Should be fun.

If I bust out early I will probably play some cash in the nearest 1/2 game. If I last long enough that I need a little break before action resumes, I am headed to Oklahoma — to WinStar, to try a little 2/5 no-limit hold’em. Not sure what the weekend tournament scene is like there, but that’s part of what I’m looking to go find out.

Will try to update as I go along, but as always, that is often internet-dependent … so I make no promises there.

I’ve thought this all through clearly, thoroughly, and rationally. Worst case scenario I am home early this evening and kicking myself while doing real-world work to recoup my losses. Best case scenario I’ll come home significantly more phizzat having finished off the extra-pokery weekend with a late-Sunday night amateur victory at the Lodge … where I hear the (tournament) action is still good. It will be a test of discipline, focus, and fortitude. Wish me luck!

Tom loves nothing more, I am sure, than getting a call from me late at night to relay a bad beat story. One of the things he’s been on my case about lately is the concept of running it twice and/or offering insurance. (Say I get it all in with a straight against another dude’s trips.)

“Did you ask, did you ask? Did you tell the dealer to stop dealing?”

The answer’s always the same … I did, and they said no … this always seems to baffle him, as if he doesn’t realize why a 2/5 game simply isn’t big enough for poker room management to overlook Chickasaw Nation gaming regulations that prohibit side bets.

Anyhow, I know and get how running-it-twice works and am still trying to get my hands around the insurance concept … and thus I was particularly interested in this episode of Premier League Poker (a British knock-off of Poker after Dark) in which Phil Hellmuth wins the hand but loses his $4,000 insurance bet, happily he contends:

Good stuff from J Todd and friends, as is generally the case, to those of us interested in the socio-political-economic waves (and butterfly effects) of the poker biz.

• New British gambling laws go into effect. The moralists fear “normalisation.”
• APCW takes on NPR for their gambling-law coverage.
• New American tax on poker winnings chaps some hides.
• Brokeback Harbor.

Yeow. The tax thing is pretty big, I think. (It’s gotta be enough to make Eskimo Clark’s heart skip a beat, yo.) From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem to take into account losses. And the 25 percent … perhaps a tax-minded Pokeratizen can clarify for us … is this in addition to standard income tax that all poker players dutifully report on their W-2Gs?

I mean it’s hard enough for low-stakes players to beat the rake. Now high-stakes players face a juice that seems almost impossible to successfully swallow.

UPDATE: Found a little more good information via Lou Krieger. His take makes it seem just that all casinos have to be like Harrah’s now, and automatically withhold the taxes, that’s all. Sucks, sure, but understandable? Unacceptable? Undesirable?

New episode of Beyond the Table is up.

Click here to listen.

On this week’s episode:

• The Arizona State Poker Championship
• Fake Karridy interviewing Fake Doyle Brunson
• Tom goes to Wyoming to golf with drunken naked old men
• Other poker pros opt for Doyle Brunson & Dewey Tomko High Stakes Golf
• Dan comes to Phoenix for intense poker training
• Dan loses his bankroll
• The grow-your-money:lose-your-money time ratio in poker
• Going almost-broke with Brad Booth, Brian Townsend, et al.
• Bankroll management: How to avoid losing $3 million
• Fake Karridy interviewing Fake Brian Townsend
• The Education of a Poker Player: Plunge the Toilet
• Public pooping etiquette and mad plunging skills
• The problem with satisfying your sexual desires at the poker table

Again, obviously, if you haven’t already … click here to audio it up. Or here to get your podcast on and keep it that way.

And as always, feel free to call 888-820-8091 — or email — to let us know what you think of the show, the people on it, and our topics for expostulation. There’s even talk of an “Oops I Won too Much Money” hat for someone.

For now, here’s a picture of Tom in a bathrobe:

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The former Rev. Good Chuck in Fort Worth wants to play in the $1,000 Red River Roundup main event, being put on by the mighty-noble-legendary Winstar tribe of Thackerville, OK. We all know he’s a pretty good player in few-hundred dollar tournaments, so he’s looking to try his hand at something a little bigger.

But he also wants to do it with a little backing love. He has a potential investor, and he’s trying to figure out the best, most sensible deal for both parties. His initial thought is to allow the backer 30 percent for $500, or 50 percent for $800. As you know, we learned a lot about backing deals during the WSOP, specifically that the “you buy me in and get your money back + 50 percent” isn’t necessarily the standard. So anyone got any thoughts on this?

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Four what, you ask? Since coming home from the WSOP I have had four of my worst live-action, cash poker sessions in a long time. All have been 40+ BB losses. Sure, I have had losses this big in the past…in fact I expect to have one every once in a while. You can play perfectly and they will happen. I never like them…and its not much fun having them come all within a 10-day stretch.

I came home from the WSOP with the plan of rebuilding the portion of my bankroll that was expended in tournament buy-ins over the past two months. I was counting on the super-juicy $40/$80 and $60/$120 limit hold ‘em and mixed games at CA (Casino Arizona) to do the trick. I’m not off to a good start. There is a $1,000 buy-in tournament at CA on August 18, limited to 450 players with a guaranteed $250,000 1st place prize. I am planning on winning, so that just might get me even for the series.

I have always kept perfect records of every session of casino poker I have ever played and whenever I have an especially brutal run, I have found comfort in being able to reflect on the bottom line. As long as I can boot up the spreadsheet and see black ink, I can remind myself that I am a winning player. Individual losses hurt, but it’s one long game.

LAS VEGAS–Just like old times … I’ve got so many super-fascinating browser tabs open I can’t keep up with them all. So please, allow me to unload:

The major tournament action underway is the LEGENDS of POKER at the BIKE in CALIFORNIA. Perhaps we’ll swing by …

MIKE MATUSOW, with his second-place finish in the main event of the BELLAGIO CUP III, is no longer broke. Apparently his $670k payday left him with 50 grand all to himself. In the real world this means he now qualifies for a loan. In the poker world it means he no longer does, unless he goes broke again.

DANIEL NEGREANU’s got a pretty good skill column this week, talking about manipulating table image to better reap the rewards of shifting gears. Hmm, something to think about?

From the Dept. of: Awesome … PHIL HELLMUTH will appear on The Surreal Life. Might an ass-kicking be inevitable, as he moves into a house with RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE, MISS CLEO, NANCY MCKIBBEN (who?), DABNEY COLEMAN, and the uber-pumped CARROT TOP.

BILL RINI, whom I consider an expert in matters of online cheating, has up a video that I thought was informational warning about a new form of MARKED CARDS circulating. But upon closer look, turns out to be just an ad hawking the illicit poker gear (compliments of GOOGLE).

Interesting (biased?) article here on what Google supposedly does to keep online poker seekers away from the bad poker sites.

Speaking of cheating … has anyone heard word of who might have been the high-stakes players allegedly swindled in major cheating scam at the BORGATA? Famed cheating consultant STEVE FORTE, of course, was one of the guys busted, even though he uses the journalist’s beloved excuse of “I was just working on a story!” Suddenly scary: the notion of tapping into hole-card cams.

Suddenly needed: a big-time poker security accreditation system?

Check it out … DUGGLEBOGEY is back to his old tricks sticks:

Glad to see the return of some more friendly faces.

Here’s a great article on the rise and fall of an ONLINE PRO — how you can go from $10k to $1.5 million and back down again. It coincides with a semi-related story about KaiBuxxe / RealAndyBeal — a 22-year-old Austrian and former MAGIC player who is tearing up the world of POT-LIMIT OMAHA.

And BRIAN TOWNSEND (aka “sbrugby”) — an online superstar turning to live games — is in the midst of a $3 million downswing. This according to his own blog. [via PokerKingBlog]

Dude, tell me about it … I’ve been running similarly bad:

POKER IS HARD!

Looks kinda like a PARTYGAMING stock chart, no?

SHANNON ELIZABETH was unable to play in the Victoria Poker Championships in AUSTRALIA … because she got carded at the door and didn’t have her ID. The male contingent of Pokerati has always wondered why ladies go anywhere without their license/passport/prescription.

Speaking of Australia, it may have slipped under your radar that the AUSSIES, along with CANADA and MACAU, have joined the WTO dispute against the UNITED STATES over the UIGEA. The beef started by ANTIGUA and BARBUDA seems to be growing some teeth, as others fighting against the chief enemy of AL QAEDA include COSTA RICA, INDIA, and … the EUROPEAN UNION. Think this fight isn’t about the future of international online economies as much as it is about poker?

A group called IMEGA continues to challenge the controversial internet law in court, and have their fingers crossed that a federal judge in New Jersey will issue a TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER in September.

Speaking of lawsuits and court actions in September, attorney and PPA representative LEE ROUSSO has a hearing set for his suit, which challenges the Constitutionality of WASHINGTON STATE’s law that makes playing online poker a felony on par with CHILD MOLESTATION.

A CARIBBEAN BUSINESS CONGLOMERATE will be entertaining a bunch of AMERICAN CONGRESSPEOPLE in November to explain Antigua’s WTO stance, among other things. In attendance will be CHARLIE RANGEL (D-NY-Taxes) and BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS-Homeland Security),

AMERICA ONLINE wants in on online poker. Or at least online SPORTS BETTING, as AOL has entered into an internet bookmaking contract with a GERMAN company, FLUXX, which will target punters in the UK.

A good article from the BRITISH PRESS here — describing the UIGEA as a “TROJAN HORSE” given to the European gambling industry.

Meanwhile, British online gaming company WILLIAM HILL says they are having a hard time keeping poker players, because the EUROS really want to take on the AMERICANS (at Bodog, for example).

Over in the PHILLIPINES, they have (finally) opened up a bar-and-grille with amateur Texas Hold’em tourneys (scroll down near the bottom).

The nightly non-wager Hold ‘Em tournaments at the Player’s Den hope to further sharpen the skills of the Pinoys in this ultimate mind game where we can eventually excel worldwide.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

You may notice a lot of linkage today from this PokerKing guy. He has a lot of good stuff to read, including this article on why JERRY YANG is bad for ONLINE poker. Maybe maybe not, but I tend to agree with the wisdom of LOU KRIEGER, who recognizes that poker is a long-term game, and Yang couldn’t have come at a better time.

Here’s one of the more balanced takes on the JERRY YANG FOR PRESIDENT campaign.

LAS VEGAS–Just looking at a little more thorough analysis of all my gambly activity over the past two months — including what went down before I began formal experimentation — and it’s pretty interesting, if not accurate. The numbers below represent a total of 144 hours with something at stake … spread across 56 various sessions. Still not exactly adequate sample sizes — but the numbers do give me an idea about the tables where I may or may not want to be spending my time:

Total Amount Won or Lost / hours played

2/5 NLH +$5,819 / 74.5
NLH Tourneys +$1,550 / 15
1 to 1000 +$190 / na
1/3 NLH +$134 / 8.5
4/8 OHL +$108 / 3
Lime Tossing +$80 / 0.5
——————————————
Bowling -$10 / 2
Video Poker -$190 / 2.5
Paigow -$220 / 0.5
1/2 NLH -$1,481 / 24
Blackjack -$2,169 / 13

Hourly Rate*

Lime Tossing: $160
NLH Tourneys: $103.67
2/5 NLH: $78.10
4/8 OHL: $36
1/3 NLH: $15.76
——————————————
Bowling: -$5
1/2 NLH: -$61.71
Video Poker: -$76
Blackjack: -$166.85
Paigow: -$440

*hourly rate not calculated for 1-to-1000, because everyone’s gotta eat/drink

Some other interesting related stats … based on 13 sessions, a typical 2/5 sitting nets me $448 … while 1/2, based on eight sessions, costs me about $185 each time I play. (I suspect most Dallas players can confirm this is in line with my their expectations every time I show up at a game.)

Blackjack … wow, might I actually remove this long-beloved pastime from my arsenal, considering I lose roughly $217 every time I get the itch to double down?

Clearly the moral of this story is that I need to be tossing more limes.

LAS VEGAS–So as hinted at before, I can’t seem to leave Las Vegas. Something about this place … would like to think it’s the phalanx of hotties around every corner — none of whom seem to have rings on their fingers — but it might just be the 24-hour nature of this city. At any hour of the day night I can find a cheeseburger, a double cappuccino, a bowling alley, and/or a poker game. Really, what else do you need?

(I just really miss my bitch. And sadly she can’t read Pokerati to know how much I do.)

Anyhow, one of the things that had me thinkin’ was indeed the poker. Perhaps a bit to my surprise, I’ve done really well out here at the tables. Like cards have been a source of revenue, not a drain. Kinda new to me. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no delusions about becoming a pro. But the notion of generating a quantifiable chunk of extra income by playing Texas Hold’em has had me taking my poker play relatively seriously while out here … and thus, at the encouragement of TBR and Donkey Bomber, I decided to put $4,000 at risk to conduct a controlled not-so-scientific poker experiment in an attempt to shed some light on how I might hack it as a $2/$5 player and begin calculating a conceivable hourly wage. Though TBR tells me not to be too results-oriented, here are the results:

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LAS VEGAS–It all started with a joke from senior floorman Jimmy Sommerfield. But now BJ Nemeth is doing the math and realizing that indeed, a chop might be sensible. He writes on PokerNews:

With 72 Players Left, a Chop Would Be Worth 9th-Place Money

With 72 players left, there is still $37,866,039 left in the prizepool. If everyone agreed to chop the rest of the money, each player would receive $525,917.

By comparison, ninth place is worth $525,934 — just $17 more. The numbers just get more compelling.

And …

An 81-Player Chop?

When there were 81 players left, Assistant Tournament Director Jimmy Sommerfeld announced that they had reached another level in the prizepool, and everyone was guaranteed at least $106,382 — finally breaking the six-figure barrier.

When everyone finished cheering the news, Sommerfeld added, “Unless you’d like to chop it 81 ways.”

Well, we’ve run the numbers here at PokerNews, and with $38,823,477 left in the prizepool, an 81-player chop would give everyone $479,302.19. Almost half a million dollars each for 81 people.

Before you laugh off this idea, keep in mind that 72 of these players will make less than that. To earn more, they’ll need to reach the final table.

If it were me, I’d seriously consider it.

Click here to see the actual payouts for yourself.

I for one, am not a fan of chopping, even though sometimes it makes mathematical sense — as BJ points out that it clearly currently does. I just want to play it out authentically — and see other people do the same. What I definitely don’t mind is redistributing the wealth. So perhaps a better alternative would be to leave $5 million for the winner, $3 million for 2nd, $2 million for 3rd, and $1 million for 4th-9th.

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LAS VEGAS–Pokerati good friend Michele Lau will be playing in the main event tomorrow (Monday) and she is looking for some additional backing. She’s already bought herself in, but would like to give you a chance to make a little money on any success she may find. She’s selling 8 percent pieces of herself for $1,000 — but basically we’re talking the same 80-cents-on-the-dollar deal that Como offered (and sold 45 percent of himself under). Will sell in smaller increments, of course. Play starts tomorrow at noon pacific … so if you are interested, get in touch with me or Marcel Luske (whom she works for/studies).

LAS VEGAS–Michele, check out beapokerboss.com. I’m not sure what to make of it yet — it’s a site that helps bring together backers and backees, whether they be pros or amateurs. They’ve been a quiet but noticeable presence here at the WSOP … and while in general I’d tend to dismiss any company with a CEO named “G Cash” as little more than snake-oil poker, these guys seem like they might be legit.

I’ve also learned about how other backing deals work in high-stakes tournament poker … it’s not always so simple as “buy me in and you get 50 percent.”

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