2008 April 28

The concept of "indication... is central to winning at poker. You can play your hands by rote, doing exactly what you've decided to do in advance for given situations. And against weak or intermediate players that might be enough to win, just by itself-assuming your preplanned choices are well reasoned.

Las Vegas, NV - All great athletes possess intangible qualities. There's something extraordinary about stars such as Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, and Wayne Gretzsky performing in the prime of their careers. It's not just that they were winners. Many athletes win championships. It was the way they won which captivated fans everywhere leaving an indelible mark on the consciousness of a generation.

Something that we all do daily is use a mirror. We know that everything we see is the opposite of what the mirror reflects. We automatically make adjustments for seeing things backwards. There are a lot of other instances where we also make adjustments to what we see. If look at objects close up, everything else in the background is smaller-even though they may actually be larger than the object we are focused on. We automatically adjust for these background differences and life goes on! Yet, when playing poker, there are a lot of things we can observe that are like looking in a mirror.

I was up about three hundred dollars in a $1-$2 no-limit game and decided to play K-9 of hearts. The flop was Qh-Th-2h. I flopped a king high flush and thought, "This should be easy money."

A guy bets twenty-five bucks, everyone folded, and I called. I thought, "I'll call him the entire way and then raise all-in at the end." The turn brought another ten and the river was a four.

My opponent bet and I went all-in, just like I planned. He called, just like I planned too. He showed a set of tens and I confidently turned over my K-9 of hearts ... which turned out to be a K-9 of diamonds.

I first witnessed Razz being played when Mike participated in the $50,000 buy-in HORSE event at the 2006 World Series of Poker. Razz is the "R" part of HORSE, which is a rotating five-game poker challenge that separates the skilled from the unskilled. It's definitely a game that you want to observe, even if you don't choose to participate.

HORSE will return in 2008 for its third year at the WSOP. Participating in the main HORSE event requires knowledge of hold'em, Omaha, razz, seven-card stud high, and seven-card stud high-low, eight or better, as well as a huge bankroll.

We all have our weaknesses. Some of mine are salty foods, classic Hitchcock movies, and suited aces. For those of us who love to play drawing hands, A-x suited is one of the most beguiling hands in hold'em. Aces can get cracked, kings are vulnerable if an ace flops, Big Slick frequently doesn't connect-and it's pretty much de rigueur to raise pre-flop with all of those hands.

When you win, poker seems so simple. Yet it's the simple things that are hardest to explain. In order to post a winning session your big hands have to hold up, you have to come from behind and beat a superior hand, you have to make your draws, your opponents have to miss their draws, your opponents have to make mistakes, and you have to minimize your mistakes. On the days that you're a big winner, it seems that everything falls on your side of the fence.

How can we make poker legal?

The cleanest way is to get a statute passed through the state legislature.

In my book, Gambling And The Law, I show how California became the draw poker capital of the world because the state enacted laws in the 19th century that outlawed specific games, like 21 and faro, but left draw poker off the list.

Green Valley Ranch's New Tournament Lineup. Tournaments are available seven days a week at Green Valley Ranch. Starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday with a $40 buy-in pot-limit Omaha event, Monday through Saturday is no-limit hold'em at 10 a.m. with a $40 buy-in and Monday evening the event is Pot Limit Omaha/8 at 7 p.m. with a $40 buy-in. Stop in on Wednesday evening for a HORSE event at 7 p.m. with a $40 buy-in and on Thursday evening take your chances on the $100 buy-in no-limit hold'em event with a 7 p.m. start time.

HARMAN FUNDRAISER ONE OF THE BIGGEST OF THE YEAR