Archive for July 2007
New Respect for the Pros!
July 28, 2007
I played in the $540 Omaha/8 tournament yesterday at The Orleans and after being short stacked at $400 in chips I found myself with over $18,000. I then lost pots with AAK10 suited in spades in a pot capped pre-flop and on the flop of KJ10 with two spades. Down to $10,000 I then went to battle with A223 Suited A3 when it was capped to me preflop! the flop came 46K and the other two players were all in for 6,700 and 7,200. A 6 on the river and I was down to $2,600 which does not take long to get in at 800-1,600. I walked out the door with Maryann thinking all the way to the car "HOW DO THESE GUYS DO THIS EVERY DAY!" It does make me respect the pros that I work with even more.
The tournament itself is great $4,000 in chips and hour long levels provides a great amount of play, a $5 snack voucher, and a free buffet ticket for those that make the dinner break.
Alan Kessler was playing and asked me why tournaments like this and the WSOP limit events turn into crapshoots in the middle levels and I explained that it is like a rubber band. Too much early play (Blinds started at 25-25) will kill the middle-late levels of any limit event. I still prefer the faster starts and more play later when it matters most which is the same way I designed it for the WSOP. (See my example below)
ORLEANS
1. 25-25
2. 25-50
3. 25-75
4. 50-100
5. 75-150
6. 100-200
7. 150-300
8. 200-400
9. 300-600
10. 400-800
11. 500-1,000
12. 500-1,500
13. 1,000-2,000
14. 1,500-3,000
15. 2,000-4,000
16. 3,000-6,000
I Suggest
1. 25-50
2. 50-100
3. 75-150
4. 100-200
5. 150-300
6. 200-400
7. 300-500
8. 300-600
9. 400-800
10. 500-1,000
11. 1,000-1,500
12. 1,000-2,000
13. 1,500-3,000
14. 2,000-4,000
15. 3,000-5,000
16. 3,000-6,000
As you can see we reach the same level at the same time but with my suggestion early levels are meaningful and provides much more play in the middle stages and reduces the crapshoot factor.
Jerry Yang................ Refreshing!
July 22, 2007
After suffering through one year of the Gold(en) era I am happy to see a new World Champion at the World series of poker. Like it or not the winner of the WSOP is a representative of the world's best game......Poker. During the last year I was constantly asked the question can I talk about my hand? This was something that Jamie Gold did and got away with at the 2006 WSOP. Tournament Directors Association rules have been made more specific so that players cannot disclose the contents of their hand and I guess that I have Gold to thank for that. While Jerry Yang praised God, his family, and the game of poker, Gold tried to stiff his partner, admitted to cheating, and told people not to play poker unless they can afford to play $200-$400 limit or higher.
Yang, a Laotian refugee, has promised to donate 10% to charity and promote poker and he just might be the boost that is needed for poker right now.
Genting (Malaysia) Visitors
July 21, 2007
My wife and I spent the last week entertaining three executives from Genting Highlands casino, the world's largest casino (10,000 rooms). The Goal is to get poker to Asia and these guys have a real thirst for the game. We are set to have two weekends worth of freeroll tournaments in December with the hopes of two major events in 2008. For more information contact Matt@SavageTournaments.com.
2007 WSOP is Over!
July 19, 2007
I love the World Series of Poker and really miss being involved with the greatest tournament in the world. The thing I miss the most about my involvement is spending time in the trenches with the players. I also like the people I know at Harrah's that are involved in the WSOP at the highest levels. Howard Greenbaum, Jeffrey Pollack, Ty Stewart, Gary Thompson, and Jack Effel are all quality people and I have enjoyed speaking to each and every one of them.
The time I spent at the WSOP in 2002-2004 were some of the best times I ever had and I think of them often. Even if it was 40 straight 16 hour days I still had a passion for going back in every day. Unfortunately, I think much of the tradition of the WSOP is gone but I do think it could be revived if done correctly. The WSOP is obviously a logistical nightmare but I think they were not prepared for this year's tournament as proven by some of the complaints I have heard.
1. Registration- 4 hour lines, not enough windows open, preregistration problems. The registration windows were event closed the night before the tournaments began. Satellite Registration- 2 lines only to find out when you got to the front that you had to play a specific buy-in, open tables with dealers on standby, long waits after winning to get buy-in chips.
2. Structures- I told Jack and Howard Lederer both that the structures needed more work before they started the WSOP. I also spoke to Jack Effel about next year and he has some good ideas about how to fix them. My biggest complaint about it is that they said they could not change them in the middle of the Series. Harrah's has the right to alter the structures at any time as stated in their rules and changes could have been made and announced before the start of the next tournament. I guarantee if they were fixed you would not have had a single complaint from the players.
3. Cards- US Playing cards produced a product that left players guessing what cards they had in their hands and on the flop. The aces and fours and sixes and nines were indistinguishable. Not to mention they misspelled the commissioners name incorrectly on the backs.
4. Tournament Clocks- They are hard to read and player counts are not updated. I prefer to use Paul Westley's clock system or even Patrick Miligan's system they use at Bellagio.
5. Dealers- With so many tournaments going on and great dealers in solid casino jobs the dealing pool is getting smaller. While I played I encountered a couple really bad dealers, some average ones, and a few great ones. Of course the second event I played was Stud 8 and to be fair to the dealers most of them do not get to deal this game except during the WSOP. My #1 PET PEEVE is players that yell at dealers!
6. Payout line- Not like I have ever been there (I played two events and was 0 for 2) but it is rumored to take up to 45 minutes to get paid.
7. Inconsistent Floor Rulings- Another tough one to get correct and believe me I understand that they have a few on the floor that think "they know better". With so many tournaments and so many different games it is understandable why there were some inconsistencies.
8. The Tent- Enough has been said about the Heat/ Wind/ Smell in "The Pavilion".
9. Chip Colors- In my opinion this was the #1 mistake made at this years WSOP. It is really inconceivable that someone looked at the colors of the 5K, 25K, 50k chips and thought id would not be a problem. I spoke to the players, staffers, and ESPN producers and they all said that it was ridiculous that this was not spotted and corrected sooner and I have to agree with them.
10. Tradition- I don't think you could find a pro that has played the WSOP for more that 5 years that does not miss Binion's Horseshoe. Of course there were things that were not glamorous about the building, the bathroom, or the downtown area but there was just something magical that the Rio can just not recreate. As I stated earlier I do believe it could be revived with Harrah's with just a few minor changes.
I don't think this post would be complete without considering some of the good things the Rio and its staff have done. They have truly elevated the tournament to the next level, brought back many of the games that make the WSOP unique and interesting, and completed tournaments with massive fields and for the most part players have a once in a lifetime experience when they enter the WSOP. Until you have been on the other side of the process you cannot understand the time, effort, and stamina it takes to put together the world's largest event and they should be commended for that.