Poker

The main event of the 2008 WSOP finally began yesterday with the first of four ‘Day Ones.’ Anyone who managed to survive the rigours of Thursday’s action is now given a taste of what it will be like to reach this year’s final table as they will not resume their quest for the title until Tuesday.

The official number of players for Day 1A is 1,297 and as each subsequent starting day tends to have a slightly bigger field, we could be looking at a total around the 5,500 mark. Of the final total, at least 2000 are online qualifiers, reflecting both the popularity of PC Hold ‘em and the effect of the online poker boom.

Indeed, had the Bush …

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European poker players currently casting an envious eye stateside may be delighted to read that the schedule for the second annual World Series of Poker Europe was announced yesterday.

It will feature bracelets for four tournaments and include a new addition, a £1500 NL tournament for the opening on September 19th.

The main event begins on September 27th and interested players can fork out the £10,000 buy-in at any Harrah’s venue in Vegas, or by contacting the organisers, London Clubs International. They can also visit any LCI casinos.

This evolution of poker will be televised and for the first time it is likely to feature global distribution, including an eight-hour broadcast in the US. Regular readers of this column and seasoned pros …

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In the world of print media the months of July and August are sometimes known as silly season. As governments go into recess and their elected representatives join normal people and take a summer holiday, half-empty newspaper offices feature pasty-faced hacks trying dredge up human interest stories.

In Britain, these tend to feature the weather, dog-shows or the latest humiliation for the England cricket team.

One man who has a long history of subjecting England’s cricketers to a dejected shuffle back to the pavilion is Australia’s Shane Warne.

The Sheikh of Tweak intends to exhibit his characteristic style of bowling and grooming in Las Vegas today. He is playing in a celebrity match with the Las Vegas cricket team, a …

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It is now a mere 2 days until the main event of the WSOP begins.

Established in 1968, it was originally little more than a home game as the players had to receive the nod before they could attend. Clearly this was against the spirit of poker. Benny Binion, casino owner and card sharp, hauled it to over to Binion’s Horseshoe and started the process that caused it to evolve to the current format.

In 1971, there were only 6 entrants and the first prize was a mere $30,000. In 2006, swelled by online qualifiers, the tournament saw 8,773 hopefuls contribute a $10,000 entry fee which ultimately handed Jamie Gold a 12m dollar pay day.

It is big business and it appeals …

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Although you can’t escape from yourself at the table, if you want to retreat from the outside world for a while, poker can be a great activity.

For some Italians, it must have been a Godsend to hear of last weekend’s Summer Fun poker tournament just a short hop across the border to Slovenia.

The Azzurri, proud holders of the World Cup, had a massively disappointing campaign during Euro 2008, so presumably few natives of the boot had much interest in watching this summer’s trophy being awarded to Spain, the tournament’s most creative side.

For a significant number of Italians, it was far better to stump up the €1000 and skulk in the Perla Casino trying to win a NL …

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A lot of people are aware that poker can be extremely simple or deeply complex. When it is the latter, one of the most likely reasons is that the players are implementing aspects of game theory.

In its simplest terms, it is an attempt to study situations in which the success of an individual’s choices depends on the reading of the action sof others. Let us give you an example, one that is quite similar to one posted last Friday and may leave the regular reader wondering if a) this column is turning into a series depicting dating disasters, or b) the team of writers ever get laid.

Three men are playing pinball in a hockey ‘n ribs bar.

Minutes later three …

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At Bodog, one of our favourite moments from The Simpsons occurs when Homer opens a kitchen cupboard and pulls out a jar with a label that states:

Peanuts and Gum!!

Together at Last!!

We were reminded of that sublime moment when we heard the news that All In : The Poker Musical is to receive its world debut at the Masquerade Theatre in the Rio All Suite Hotel, Las Vegas, on July 4th.

Created by Tim Molyneux, whose back catalogue includes work for Playboy, it promises a range of styles including pop, rock, blues, jazz and musical theatre, so presumably it won’t appeal to those people who like both country and western.

Phil Hellmuth’s ego has spared some time from its other …

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Such is the footfall over the thresholds of Las Vegas casinos in June due to the WSOP that there are impressive prize pools to be had almost everywhere on the Strip.

Take the Bellagio.

It competes with Hurrah’s Rio Hotel & Casino by offering tournaments that cater for the group of poker hungry individuals who may have arrived to sample the WSOP but crave the unique atmosphere offered by the Bellagio.

It offers a basic NL tournament on Friday and Saturday but the $2000 buy in has been snapped up by the tourists, the WSOP outcasts and the people keen to feel like they are on the set of the Ocean movies.

The likelihood of yet another well-groomed film featuring Pitt …

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Poker is a hard activity to construct a narrative around.

If you take the standard archetype of a story set around sport (look, we know it is contentious to place poker in the sport bracket but shut up, ok?) it tells a tale of a gang of plucky outsiders / underdogs / criminals who have just finished bottom of the league.

In a fit of devil may care inspiration, the wealthy chairman decides to award one last chance to a down-on-his-stash-coach who used to be brilliant twenty years ago but has had one too many battles with himself / debtors / pterodactyls and is twenty showers away from respectability.

Inevitably, it a redemption tale - the coach stops wearing belts …

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Looking at the list of players who made it to the final table of the Austrian Masters on Friday, it is possible to form some wild conclusions.

Take the dominance of an Austrian one-two. This could be a direct consequence of the civic malaise detailed in an early post.

We are sure Michael Csango and Lu Zhe Zhang owe their position at the top of the prize money to the failure of their nation’s side - the hosts - to provide any stimulation in the group stages of Euro 08.

Another of their countrymen popped his head up in 7th and it was Csango’s first experience of getting his clutches on the top prize.

Coincidence or a case of a …

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