While I hate to push down Dan’s post on the HardRock, here’s some video goodness from the Pokerati people who still give a damn about Texas Oklahoma.

Charles in Fort Worth writes in wanting to know how to donk off his bankroll without chasing straights and flushes:

Hi Dan,

I have an idea for a sports bet and since you are my connection to the world of gambling I thought you could give me some help on who and how to place it.

I want to place a $500 bet on Tiger Woods breaking the record for the most majors won. He currently has 13 and needs 6 more to break the record. I want to bet $500 on him breaking the record within the next 8 and 10 majors. Who could I contact to get the odds and place the bet with. Please let me know what you can find out or where I can go to make the bet. Thanks

GoodChuck

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DALLAS–Man, I thought we were done with the legal proceedings from the first big poker raid in Dallas (June 2006) … and almost done with the trials stemming from the subsequent triple-raid (November 2006). But learned that charges against another dealer from Aces were thrown out just last week — as they should be … but are we done yet?

Go insufficient evidence!

DALLAS–The charity tourney for Bea’s Kids was Saturday night, and none other than your second-favorite host of Beyond the Table won it! No, I’m not talking about Tom … In a field of 80-someodd players — most of whom had little or no experience — Karridy took down first prize, winning a 52-inch HDTV for his efforts and charitable donation(s). Nice!

Karridy Askenasy, counting out his chips two at a time before making a call and sucking out on the river (four outer?) to win the 2nd Annual Bea’s Kid’s Texas Hold’em Tournament.

His victory was extra impressive not just because at one point he was the chip leader at the final table with an M=4, but also because he played taking a note from Gentle Shane and acted the whole time as if this were his very first time playing poker. “For a second there I thought that was Jamie Gold,” said one of his more knowledgeable competitors.

Even if Karridy hadn’t won it — along with my $20 in our lasts-longest bet — this was still a great event. Kudos to tourney organizers for kicking it old-school and insisting on giving non-raffle prizes to the winners, and to Eddie Deen’s for not letting legally questionable threats from anti-poker forces get in the way of raising money for a good cause.

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Just a reminder … good poker fun this Saturday in Dallas, at Eddie Deen’s Ranch, benefiting Bea’s Kids — a 501(c)3 providing educational opportunities for poor children and their families. Buy-ins are $100 — $125 at the door — with cool donated prizes going to winners …

Pokerati will be there, and if you enjoy competing for toys in a non-raffle charity poker format — big props to Bea’s Kids and Eddie Deen’s for not going the weenie raffle route! — you should be, too.

UPDATE: Top prize is a super-phat 52-inch HDTV. Nice. On behalf of helping children, I would really really like to play my best poker.

Baltasar Cruz (D-Dallas) is running for judgeship on the Texas Supreme Court. Just wanted to let you know he is a poker player who likes and respects the game … so if you like to support candidates without any real basis beyond a connection to your own self interests, then indeed, he should probably be your man! His platform philosophies seem reasonable enough, too:

“I want to prohibit Texas judges from accepting political contributions from lawyers and parties who have cases pending in front of them. Incredibly, Texas judges are free to accept political contributions from attorneys and parties who have cases pending in their courts and some judges are known to actively solicit political contributions from lawyers who have cases pending before them! This is an obvious conflict of interest which is entirely indefensible and should be proscribed by the Texas Supreme Court.”

Pettigrew Poker-not-dot-com, via cellphone-cam.

Before leaving Dallas, I traveled to West Fort Worth for the unveiling of a fancy new poker room — at the home of Good Chuck, one of the many good poker friends I’ve corrupted and left behind made in recent years. His family members had bought him a sparkling new handcrafted custom table, personalized casino chips, Kem cards … the whole luxury poker shebang … and to break it all in, the Pettigrew clan got together on the night before Christmas Eve for some tasty Texas barbecue and an inaugural $10+0 no-limit hold’em tourney. (Pokerati got exclusive coverage rights.)

It was a 14-player field comprised of serious amateurs and recreational kinfolk alike — with 4,000 starting chips, 15-minute levels, and a skill-friendly blind structure — enjoying good fun, intense competition, and some sibling rivalry to boot. For me, it was a chance to play with a cool new Kem color scheme and a salient reminder about the importance of the “little people” who make for good fleecing this game special.

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Pokerati limo driver Bob Haney, headed to Vegas where he will join nearly a dozen other Rounder Club expats in pursuit of a better poker life.

STATE HWY 287 (Somewhere in the Texas Panhandle)–Call it a whim if you will, but Pokerati has decided to relocate … to Las Vegas. And we’re en route right now. Like literally — as I type we’re slowing down for the junction with Farm Road 2530 as we head in to Childress. As far as I know, there’s no law against blogging while driving, right?

OK, that’s kinda a joke … we’re not stupid, and Pokerati likes to roll in style, which is why we have a chauffeur handling some of the commute. Meet Bob (pictured). Bob was one of the first Lodge Amateur Poker players … who would go on to win the LAP Player of the Year, earning him a seat in last year’s WSOP Seniors event. He woulda cashed, too, had he not gotten it all-in pre-flop with AA against 55 … only to see a flop of 10-5-5. Ah, yes, the 21+ hour drive from Dallas to Las Vegas will clearly be much more enjoyable as we get to trade bad-beat stories all along the way!

Anyhow, Bob is headed to Vegas, he says, “to pursue my new love, which is cards.” And apparently he gives me some sort of credit blame for his addiction playing poker cupid. So after recently getting fired from his job as a security guard under legally nefarious circumstances (two-time whistleblower vs. an allegedly embezzly boss), he said “fuggit!” and decided to hitch a ride with Pokerati to the Nevada desert, where he plans to go to dealer school and start a new chapter in his life.

Hmm, sounds good to us.

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.”

It’s kinda funny sometimes the way news spreads … all the way to Chicago. Should be interesting to see how the non-poker masses respond (if at all) to the Dallas poker plight.

It’s much easier to be in the news than write the news …

Well maybe not for kids directly, but still, a good cause nonetheless. Pokerati is happy to be taking part in and supporting the Second Annual Texas Hold’em and Casino Night benefiting Bea’s Kids, a charity that provides educational and leadership development opportunities for low-income families. The event takes place on February 2nd, and all it will take is a $100 donation to play. Should be good, clean fundraising, rebuy-ish times … the feel-good event of the year! And if you want to do more than just play, click here for info on sponsorship opportunities.

Gary Smith, a Dallas player known as “Carpet Gary,” experienced a massive heart attack a couple weeks ago while at the table. The game stopped for the night as a few fellow players who knew CPR tried to revive him until paramedics arrived. He died later that evening at the hospital, survived by a wife and two daughters.

Smith was a Vietnam vet and all-around friendly family guy who was well-liked for his good nature, charming personality, and action-happy play around the low- and mid-stakes recreational games he frequented.

According to one player:

He played hold’em at whatever limit was spread between 1-2 and 5-10. He did not seek out specific games, he just liked to play. Enjoyed it because it was competitive even though his personality was more friendly than competitive. He enjoyed visiting with people as much as the competition. Like golf, I suppose. Whether the place was comfortable or the people were nice was more important than how juicy the game was — although he definitely was an above-average player who won more than he lost. He didn’t like to talk strategy openly, but every once in a while might ask a question or bring up an observation if there wasn’t anyone else around. He never, ever berated other people’s play and accepted bad beats for what they are — frustrating, hopefully infrequent, but more or less inevitable.

Several players followed him to the hospital and helped track down family members while he was being rushed to it. Many others attended Gary’s funeral. His remaining chip stack from what would turn out to be his final table was turned over to his wife, Mary.

FYI, another episode is up … for those of you who haven’t yet subscribed or synced your iPods. In this episode, our favorite non-bracelet-wearing cruiser-stakes pro sits in for Tom.

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• Robert G drinks the BTT Kool-Aid.
• WSOP scheduling, the Houston poker bust and felony charges, an Illinois amateur poker crackdown, Charles Nesson as the Timothy O’Leary of Poker.
• Gratuitous pimping: Up for Poker and the PokerStars Blogger Championship.
• Action junkies and Karridy’s online sit-n-go multitabling master plan — big screens and upside-down calculator words.
• Tom goes to Spain in search of plaques and CardPlayer points.
• Karridy hits the Stockyards in search of family values and professional online poker dreams.
• The Fort Worth police vs. Beyond the Table.
• Dan tries to take credit for bringing the Mob into Texas poker.