Poker's richest and most prestigious event, the World Series of Poker, is now under way. From May 30 to July 14, the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is the epicenter of the poker world, hosting 55 different bracelet events over 47 action-packed days.
Eli Elezra helps orchestrate the renowned "big game" that is held at Bellagio in Las Vegas; without his coordination efforts, it would be difficult to round up the requisite number of players for the game. That is because the average buy-in is the astounding sum of $300,000, and the stakes are often as steep as $4,000-$8,000. Elezra is not just a poker player, though; he is also a family man and a businessman.
This hand took place in the World Poker Tour Championship in April 2008 at Bellagio. Phil Hellmuth actually wrote about this hand in the Vol. 21/No. 12 issue of Card Player, but he left out some pertinent situational facts, and thought he was playing Michael Binger, instead of Michael's brother, Nick.
At only 27 years old, Gavin Griffin already holds one of the most impressive collections of poker's most prestigious titles: World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour championships.
"Negreanu, one -- Ivey, zero," Daniel Negreanu shouted just moments after winning his fourth World Series of Poker bracelet in a $2,000 limit hold'em event. He added almost $205,000 to his lifetime tournament winnings, but also added $200,000 to his bankroll, thanks to a bracelet bet that he had with Phil Ivey.
When the 2008 World Series of Poker kicked off and Nenad Medic, Erick Lindgren, and David Singer won three of the first four events, there was lots of buzz that this would be a year of utter domination for big-time poker pros at the Series. Amateurs have had a lot of success at the WSOP in recent years (for six consecutive years, an amateur has won the main event), but would this year reverse the trend?
Remember the 1988 World Series? Not the World Series of Poker, but baseball's fall spectacular. I sure do. It was between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A's, and one reason I remember it is because of Kirk Gibson's huge home run to win game one. Gibson limped out -- both hamstrings shot -- with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and hit a walk-off home run off Oakland's phenomenal closer, Dennis Eckersley, to win the game (the inside story of that moment follows below).
All good things must come to an end, and such was my latest visit to Ireland. But before we go, I want to share a funny story that happened while I was there. In the Irish Open, our break was not quite over when I looked up and noticed that a table was in the middle of a hand.
Once you play at a level on which your opponents understand the fundamentals of poker, the major difference in playing ability is reading your opponents accurately and actualizing correct plays for those reads. It's reading not just your opponent's hands or card range, but also his thoughts, and how past events have shaped his thinking for the decisions he will make in the current situation.
Aggression plays an important part in winning poker. However, deciding exactly when and how to become aggressive is not an easy task. One of the themes that develops late in my book, Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy, is that the most likely position for the aggressor changes between the turn and the river. On the first three streets, the player who's last to act can benefit the most from an aggressive posture. On the river, it is the out-of-position player.
