After spending the majority of the past 3 weeks in Detroit, Columbus, and Carlsbad attending weddings, I’m back in my one-bedroom apartment at the intersection of Flamingo and Maryland in Las Vegas. Maybe it’s just the annoyingly vast amounts of construction and “improvements” they’re doing on my building, but there seems to be higher than standard levels of particles and dust in the Vegas air. People are excited, poker players are selling pieces, and Phil Hellmuth moved into the Aria penthouse for 2 months. That electric feeling can mean only one thing… the World Series of Poker is almost here.
I’ve never sold on the open marketplace, so bear with me as I figure this process out. I’m not a high volume tournament player, but I agree with Phil Galfond when he says that strong cash game players can find success in tournaments if they take them seriously.
Poker rooms across town (well, those in Caesars-owned properties anyway) are ramping up their promotion efforts for the series, offering a plethora of ways to win a seat into various events. On top of that, you can step into one of many rooms to pick up a flier for their own mini-series which will run concurrently; events with smaller buy ins but still impressively sized fields and prizes can be found up and down the strip as well as downtown. WSOP time in Las Vegas is awesome. If you like poker, you simply need to see the sheer size of the production that takes place inside the Rio Convention Center. Rows and rows, hundreds of tables (in use, no less…). Strip poker rooms overflowing with players. So many hopefuls, so many fans of the game, all the superstars and several soon-to-be poker-famous players descending on one spot. And let’s not forget… so many fish!
Have you seen this new reality show on CNN called “The Republican Tea Party Debate”? LOL, the new season is just getting underway, but already I’m looking forward to seeing who gets voted off the island. The first episode last night was full of groaners and OMGs and gawkable moments … the characters are about as good as any Real World/Survivor crew I’ve ever seen before. You can already tell Michelle Bachman is gonna be the Omarosa and Rick Santorum the Puck.
The poker-player’s candidate, Gary Johnson, apparently didn’t make the cut … but poker did enter into the debate when Mitt Romney challenged Texas Governor Rick Perry’s record on job creation … essentially calling him a luckbox.
Not quite the “licensed and regulated online poker” stuff we mighta hoped for … but hey.
Unfortunately, not only do these two look-a-likes reveal an inherent conservative opposition to “regulation” that the Barton Bill will have to overcome, but also they seem to be talking 5-card draw or maybe 7-stud with the four Aces analogy — as if they’re totally unaware that much of the country is playing Pot-Limit Omaha.
Hand of the Night: Good times from middle position for $0 with the 13th-worst starting hand in Omaha.
Believe me, I realize a lot is going on in the poker world right now that you’d expect any fine folks at Pokerati to be all over … we probably are, but sometimes before pressing publish you gotta play a few hands, ya know, to remember why it is so many people have a special affection for a game that’s causing so much consternation. And because I recently blew 98 percent of my Zynga bankroll (thanks to sleepy play), pretty much my only option for a certain fix I crave is the Pokerati Game … now playing at the Palms.
We’re settling in to our new home nicely, buzz is spreading, and new players seem to like our kinda-sorta unique brand of half-PLO half-no-limit hold’em; the dealers are starting to figure out the slight nuances in how we play, too, and before long, anyone in the room should be able to recite rule #3a on command in English and Spanish. OK, maybe I jest … but the Palms has been really supportive of our game — so much so that they made us the nifty banner to go with my food comps.
It’s PLO week on Poker after Dark, and thus the first new televised poker I’ve been excited to watch (on first run) in forever. Though I’m sure someone had to play a 4-card hand on ESPN in 2004, I can’t remember any PLO on TV since learning the definition of a “wrap” … and certainly not since the Pokerati game began introducing low-stakes players in Vegas to PLO (with run-it-twice!) a year-an-a-half ago.
(L to R) Adams, Antonius, Ivey, Dwan, Hastings, Galfond
Hard to believe televising a short-handed cash game session of the second most popular poker game in the world — the one that has produced the biggest online pots in history — would prove “revolutionary” … but really, it is kinda historic; and that says something about the limits of creative innovation in the online poker infomercial biz.
But kudos to PAD for at least taking a peak outside the ’06-’09 box to embrace variance. Though I wouldn’t contend pot-limit Omaha and four-color decks are what will reinvigorate poker on TV … for a semi-regular PLO player who doesn’t necessarily dream of playing the game for $100k buy-ins but just wants to beat my friends once a week at 1/2, hearing about a different sector of hand possibilities almost feels fresh … and it’s always good-fun to see extra cards on the table:
Talk of PLO on Poker After Dark comes as I personally have been jonesin’ for mo-bigger low-stakes PLO … and based on emails, tweets, and Facebook, a stream of Vegas visitors and locals seem to be, too. Interest in PLO may be growing, but players in Las Vegas looking for starter stakes can’t always be sure where to find reliable action.
Word from the Strip is that a rather strong 1/2 PLO game has been running lately at the Venetian, apparently fueled by the November Deep Stacks. But one-bullet buyers beware, a $5 bring-in at the V makes the game kinda steep … especially for those with a strategy of pushing with weak two-pairs, calling with non-nut draws, and relying on run-it-twice to stick around long enough for a meal comp. (Don’t ask me how I know.)
And Aria Poker spreads a vibrant 1/2 NLH/PLO that occasionally makes. Their game plays most similarly to the Pokerati Game of old — and though it runs only sporadically, Aria often has the game posted on the board with a list of mostly 1/3 and 2/5 no-limit regulars ready to take a seat against any and all PLO tourists.
