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Poker Shufflers Gallery 23-04-09

April 28, 2009

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Bobby’s Room booms at Bellagio

April 20, 2009

Doyle Brunson claims they lowered the limits in Bobby's Room to attract more players and it is working.

Doyle Brunson claims they lowered the limits in Bobby's Room to attract more players and it is working.

The $25,000 WPT Championship may be in town this week, but the real high stakes action at Bellagio in Las Vegas is going on inside Bobby’s Room.

Named for 1978 World Series of Poker Champion and MGM MIRAGE Chief Design and Construction Officer Bobby Baldwin, the frosted glass encased space at the back of the Bellagio poker room has always played host to the highest stakes games in the world.

But since big game regular Doyle Brunson blogged about lowering the limits to attract more players during the WPT Championship, it has been busier than ever.

“It’s not just [trying to attract new players],” said Bobby’s Room veteran Barry Greenstein.

“Most of us have less disposable cash than we had before. Before the poker boom, we didn’t have investments and all these websites and different things. A lot of us have lost money in the stock market and real estate.

“Several years ago nobody played $4,000/$8,000 so we would all play against the same five people. And actually, I can’t even afford to play $4,000/$8,000 anymore and neither can a few of the other players.”

Another regular in the big game behind the glass walls, 2003 WSOP Main Event runner-up Sam Farha told PokerListings the games they play and the limits inside Bobby’s Room have always been negotiable.

“It depends who is around in town,” he said. “There are certain limits for each player. Sometimes you get big players that want to play higher.

“We play here almost every day, so we start with a small limit, which is huge itself. It starts at $2,000/$4,000, but sometimes big players come into town and they want to play $4,000/$8,000.”

On Day 1a of the WPT Championship Saturday, Greenstein said the game was $2,000/$4,000.

A day earlier they were playing $1,500/$3,000.

“Occasionally there’s been a game as big as $4,000/$8,000, but the average has been about $2,000/$4,000,” he said.

The lower limits have done the trick in attracting some new blood to the game, where Greenstein, Brunson and Farha are usually joined by Phil Ivey, Eli Elezra, David Benyamine, Chau Giang and often Gus Hansen.

“We have had some players [this week] who haven’t played in the past,” Greenstein explained.

“A lot of the younger players have stepped out and played some of the mixed games and I think it has helped that on PokerStars there’s a new 8-Game format that has gotten some people indoctrinated.

“I also think some of the people have been practicing the games to get ready for the $50k H.O.R.S.E. at the World Series and the $10k Mixed Game Championship.”

The 8-Game Mix on PokerStars includes Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, Limit Hold’em, Limit Omaha Eight or Better (Hi/Lo), Razz, Limit Seven Card Stud, Limit Stud Eight or Better (Hi/Lo), No Limit Hold’em, and Pot Limit Omaha.

Farha said they’ll play all these games in Bobby’s Room and although his game of choice is Pot Limit Omaha, he’s game for just about anything.

“To me, poker is all the same,” he said.

Greenstein said he’s just happy to see a good mix.

“Over the past few years it has just been No Limit Hold ‘em and Pot Limit Omaha because that’s what a lot of the young players have been playing online,” he said.

“These days we see them playing some new games. They’re realizing it’s more interesting to play more games and also if you learn the games before some other people it gives you an edge.

“We play five or six different games and it varies depending on who’s in it. I always want to play as many games as possible because I play all the games reasonably well and the more games there are, the more likely it is that some will have some games that they really don’t like at all.”

There are six days left in the WPT Championship and Greenstein expects the big game to keep running all the way through to its conclusion.

“Frankly, things are usually pretty dead in Vegas except during the big tournaments,” he said.

“So until the end of this tournament there will be a game every night, and during the World Series they’ll be a game practically every day.

“As long as I’m winning I’ll keep playing and I’m hoping that other people will be there.”

With a total of 337 entrants in the $25k WPT Championship this year, they are playing for a $2,143,655 first-place prize – the kind of money Bobby’s Room players could win or lose in just a few sessions, even at the lowered limits.

A testament to the action was the fact Brunson was in Bobby’s Room all weekend, skipping the event.

PokerListings coverage of the WPT Championship continues with Day 2 starting at 12 p.m. Monday on our Live Tournaments page.

Sourced via pokerlistings.com

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Former star Vieri to try his hand at poker

April 17, 2009

Former Italy striker Christian Vieri has decided to compete in poker competitions but has no plans to hang up his boots just yet.

The 35-year-old former Inter Milan forward is without a club having quit Serie A side Atalanta this month after fans jeered him during a training session.

“I enjoy cards a lot, but my future is still in football. I will stop when I’m fed up chasing after a ball and I am not bored yet. When I’m retired, who knows, I could become a professional poker player,” he told Sportweek magazine.

Vieri is a big fan of Texas Hold’em Poker and just came back from Los Angeles, where he participated in two tournaments.

He will also attend the Pokerstars European Poker Tour in Sanremo from April 18-23 and the Grand Final in Monte Carlo at the end of the month.

“I have always played cards during training camps,” revealed Vieri. “I used to play Italian card games, though. I rarely played poker.

“However, Texas Hold’em is just wonderful and it really gets you pumped up. I’m having a blast.”

Sourved via soccernet.espn.go.com

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Iv been playing poker for a few years now but have been more committed to my online poker than live games. Playing online requires a bit more alertness and concentration in terms of not having visual ques to help but rather a deep concentration on player activity, position and hand value. Playing online poker raises a few more issues-mainly the fact that the environment a player plays in is usually his/ her home. Disruptions may arise, children or spouses may interrupt and so forth. With regards to this i have come up with a with points of when not to play online poker. Don't play poker when: Your wife (or husband) calls you on the phone in the middle of a hand. Switch off your phone-this will save you loads of money and unnecessary bets or folds. You’ve had more than one alcoholic beverage. Drinking and playing under the influence can be disastrous. I’ve found that one drink can add a bit of an edge to what might be a more passive style, and can throw off opponents who think they have you pegged, however, any more than that usually leads to reckless aggression, sloppy decision making and loss chasing.  Don’t mix your entertainment with your poker business, and you will have more money left over at the end of the day for additional entertainment! You are angry or emotional. Most players try to take their frustration out on the table-dangerous!! YOU WILL LOOSE TONS OF CASH!! Do what you need to do to get yourself in the proper frame of mind BEFORE you sit down at the table. You are tired.  I’ve read the exploits of online players who have literally fallen asleep in the middle of late-night tournaments, and have woken up to find that they still made the money!  I’ve found that the first thing that usually disappears when you are tired is your patience.  When your body is crying out for sleep, it is much easier to convince yourself to throw away the rest of your chips on a prayer that a more rested self would know has zero chance of being answered. More to come... All-in StefK