Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley recently introduced a bill that calls for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a yearlong study of Internet gambling to identify the "proper response" that the U.S. government should have to it.
The summer season is the only time of the year when players can find more than 100 high-profile tournaments being played in Las Vegas within a month-and-a-half period. This year's summer season boasts 113 big buy-in tournaments to be held between June 1 and July 17, only 55 of which are part of the World Series of Poker itself.
How flat is the poker world these days? As flat as the so-called Meadows of the Mojave Desert sprinklered into bloom by Las Vegans, or as the smogbound pavement of Los Angeles and the felt on the thousands of tables in its hangar-sized cardrooms. It's even as flat as the alluvial mud of...
It's World Series of Poker time again! For this issue, we asked most of our columnists to write about their WSOP experiences and offer advice to get you to the final table. I hope you enjoy it.
In the early 1990s, I made a final table at the World Series of Poker in one of the no-limit hold'em events. I remember that I had the chip lead with about $110,000 in chips going to the final table. Unfortunately for me, I managed to play like a donkey and finish in eighth place that day. I do recall that poker legends Dave Crunkleton and Hans "Tuna" Lund were both at that final table with me. I don't remember who won that day or how Tuna and Dave finished, but I do know that they both finished ahead of me and neither of them won it that day.
Obviously, with such a high price tag on the buy-in, most of you won't be playing in this very prestigious event. However, just because you aren't willing to pony up $50,000, that doesn't mean you should pass up a chance to be part of such an awesome and historical event.
It seems like just yesterday that the World Series of Poker ended. I know that I still haven't completely recovered yet. Thank God that we still have … six … no, five … wait … damn! It's nearly time again? Ahhhhhh!
Poker is an exercise in optimism. There is an arrogance - the presumption of success. We conquer anxieties and insecurities to take a shot, with a certain amount of bravado and confidence. We don't sit down at the green felt and plan to fail. We begin with nothing and harbor not only the hope but the belief, the expectation that we can and will make something good from our efforts. And there is no more hopeful beginning for tens of thousands of poker players than World Series of Poker time in Vegas!
I love the World Series of Poker. That probably sounds strange to you if you know that I don't play tournaments. But, the side games are generally excellent, and the atmosphere of hundreds of players competing in final-table action, major events, minor events, satellites, and cash games simultaneously for weeks on end is exhilarating.
I would like to tell you about the first time I played in the World Series of Poker championship event. But first, here's a little background. I took up playing no-limit hold'em back in August of 1978, at the age of 37. I had played an enormous amount of limit poker before playing my first hand of no-limit. I knew that I would like the game, and it turned into a love affair very quickly. I broke even my first three sessions, then ran off a streak of winning 20 sessions in a row. This streak transformed me from a guy who made about half his income from playing poker to a full-fledged pro. Two years later, I moved from Detroit to Dallas, so that I could play no-limit hold'em poker every day.
