I am THE James

Here are some practical examples of various hands and scenarios.  Tell me what you would do and why.  Note:  Suits, if used, are denoted by lowercase letters.

No Limit Holdem satellite that pays a seat to 10 players. There are 11 players left. Average stack is 35,000.  You are in 5th chip position with 41,000 with blind of 1000 – 2000 with a 100 ante.  The chip leaders have over 100k each, and 2 short stacks are below 15k.   One of the chip leaders raises from middle position and your on the button with A, A.   What do you do? (more…)

The following I found on the front page of Pokernews.com.  It is listed as a rumor, so I don’t know the validity of it, but its still funny as hell.

“This report from an eyewitness at a recent event on the poker circuit. A pretty young woman was having a meltdown of epic proportion at the casino cashiers cage, which was right next to the tournament floor. The woman was screaming at the cashier behind the cage, because the cashier refused to honor the chip the woman had presented for cashing. After some investigation, it turns out the young woman was a “professional” who had been paid for her services….with a tournament chip. When the woman returned to the tournament floor, her “client” was long gone, and she was left with nothing but her dignity. Well, almost.”

I guess thats one use for a tournament buy-in chip. 

It does make me question the woman’s intelligence, or at least her observation skills.  Most tournament buy-in chips are clearly marked “No Cash Value”.   Yes, it is possible it was an ambiguous buy-in chip.  My bet is that she just didn’t look at the chip close enough.

So, for you “working” women out there, or friends of “working” women that work poker venues, pay attention to what you’re receiving for payment.

Wow, I never thought I would be giving hookers advice on how to do their job.  Oh well.  Tally that up to the long list of things I give advice on.

A few days ago I posted a quiz testing your knowledge of poker.  How did you do?  Check the answers below: (more…)

Hi all.  I have recently picked up a couple of blogging gigs.  Nothing really huge, but something to get my name out there a bit.   One is a blog regarding Poker  After Dark and the other on Shark.   The PAD blog is http://pokerafterdark.onnbc.tv   and the Shark on is http://shark.oncbs.tv.   I’m also in negotiations for a couple of other blogs that are gaming related.  Keep an eye out and Ill post about that later.

Not much else going on.  I’m waiting for my trip to New Orleans and then Vegas.  Anywho, thats all for now.

I just read an article on Pokernews.com about a stabbing that took place at the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Anyone that knows me that when I play live in AC, I consider the Taj my home. They always have a great spread of games and have a very solid staff. I always enjoy myself. The Taj is also the place where I broke a 6 month live tournament drought last year with 2 final tables in some daily events. I was really disappointed that something like this happened at one of my favorite places to play, but it also reminded me of the dangers associated with the playing of poker. (more…)

“Why don’t you turn pro?”  That is a question I am asked a lot from my friends when I tell them about some of my poker accomplishments.  They listen to my reasoning and some agree with me and others tell me I should turn pro anyway.  I have other friends that are thinking about going pro and they ask me my opinion about their chances.  When I talk to someone about their chances about going pro, I am straightforward with them about the lifestyle, both good and bad.  Then I proceed to ask them a few questions.  Below are some questions that you should sit and ask yourself if you are thinking about turning pro.  First, let’s start with some simple ones: (more…)

The “Main Event” when broken down to its basic elements, is still a NO LIMIT HOLDEM event. That’s 1 game. The winner is considered a World champion and a great poker player. However, if you take these same players and put them in another event, what have they done? (Chris Moneymaker and Robert Varkonyi are both great examples. After winning the main event Varkonyi only has 1 other WSOP cash.) Winning the main event is great, but what does it prove. It proves you can win a No Limit Holdem event. Great. What about a Stud event? How about a PL Omaha event? I personally cannot see how they claim that the main event is the World Champion of poker when all they did was excel at ONE GAME. (more…)