2007 October 29

On a thunder-stormy Thursday in July, I signed up for a low-limit hold'em game and looked around our local poker room. Fred beckoned me to his table, took a break, and asked me about the Independent Chip Model. He hoped the ICM would validate his decision to call two all-in players with his pocket aces. (See "Aced Out," Poker Player Vol. 11 No. 6 p.20.)

While the Las Vegas Strip is known for big money games, the home of highstakes poker on a regular basis is the Commerce Casino, the world's largest poker casino.

No-limit hold'em may be all the rage right now, but in the United States there are still far more limit hold'em games spread in public card rooms than anything else, probably more than all other games types combined.

A plethora of books are available for those who are beginners to low limit hold'em, but much less is available for experienced players who are looking to win at the middle and upper limits. Barry Tanenbaum has had success in these games for many years. Finally, he shares some of the secrets to his poker success in his aptly named new book, Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy.

Casinos continue to grow and thrive and we enable them to build bigger, better, more opulent palaces by playing games we can't beat. Most of you reading this are poker players, and I suggest you stay in the poker room rather than battling it out against the casino. A few issues ago, I wrote about some of the tricks the casinos use to help separate you from your bankroll.

Your poker philosophy should be built on two principles: aggressiveness, and honesty. Aggressiveness is a given. Anyone who plays the game for any length of time quickly learns that the person who takes command and control of the poker game has the best chance of scoring a big win. But honesty? What's up with that?

I was cited for a "PWI" this past weekend in downtown Las Vegas, specifically at the legendary Golden Nugget Casino and Resort. PWI stands for Playing While Intoxicated, and is the most dangerous thing any poker player can possibly do. I drank a few beers. OK, I drank a few beers and had a shot. OK, I drank a few beers and had several shots and proceeded to play poker... I was "playing drunk!"

Before we move along in the next issue with our questions and answers, let me correct a mistake two columns ago. The concept explained in the text was valid and important-but the figures given in the question and answer didn't compute.

Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall is one of the Boyd Gaming Corporation's 18 properties that includes the Borgata. Sam's Town represents the first major Las Vegas casino project to be directed specifically toward the local Las Vegas market. Crowded with locals from day 1 the resort quickly grabbed the attention of Vegas tourists to the Boulder Highway at Flamingo Road location. Sam's Town's wild west style of hospitality has kept the locals and tourists returning for more since it opened the doors in 1978.

The rapidly approaching, annual Midwestern phenomenon known as deer hunting season looms before us. Historically, every November hundreds of thousands of men armed with an arsenal of weapons make their yearly pilgrimage to our abundant, serene northern woodlands and forests in hope of bagging a buck.

Today's my 50th birthday. I'm old enough for the seniors poker circuit for the first time. It's hard to believe.

I received two birthday cards (at least so far). Each has to do with poker-in a way.

The first was from my mother. It was one of those modern cards that sings a song when you open it up. On the front it said "Happy Birthday-Another Year Older." On the inside it said "And You're Hotter than Ever." The card played Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash.