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2005 World Series of Poker is Under Way!
by Joseph Smith filed under World Series of Poker

Johnny Grooms: 'Shuffle up and deal!'

The cards went into the air at high noon today to begin the 2005 World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite hotel and casino here in Las Vegas. A brief introduction of tournament officials and a welcome to everyone from Tournament Director, Johnny Grooms, and then the much anticipated command to "shuffle up and deal" announced the official start of the 2005 WSOP. Today's event is limited to casino employees and is a $500 No-limit Holdâ€™em contest to determine the best poker player working in the casino industry. Our good friend, fellow blogger and Poker Room Manager for Sam's Town Hotel & Casino, Dick Gatewood, is playing in this year's event. He also played in the 2004 tournament and we hope he does better this year. We begin last year's coverage of the 2004 WSOP with a photo of Dick playing in the employee event and will continue the tradition this yea... Continue reading 2005 World Series of Poker is Under Way!

Andy Nguyen Wins the Casino Employees World Championship at the WSOP
Poker Dealer at Binion’s Becomes 2005 Casino Employees World Poker Champion by Nolan Dalla filed under Tournament Reports

Andy Nguyen

Every year, the World Series of Poker starts off with the Casino Employees World Championship. To be eligible to enter, players must be active employees at a casino. The winner of the event receives a gold bracelet and bragging rights as the ‘world champion’ among casino employees.

The 2005 World Series of Poker began with a record-setting parade of poker players who jammed into the Rio in Las Vegas. The number of entries (662) smashed the previous all-time record for this event, when 279 players entered. It took 14 long hours for the final table to begin, as 653 players had been eliminated by 2 am. The final nine players assembled around the final table and were eliminated as follows:

9th Place -- Justin Porter, a poker dealer from the Isle of Capri Casino in Kansas City was the 9... Continue reading Andy Nguyen Wins the Casino Employees World Championship at the WSOP

Today's word is... T.V.
by Mike Caro filed under Strategy [Originally appeared in the May 30, 2005 issue of Poker Player]

The Mad Genius of Poker: Mike Caro

People are watching poker pros on television playing worse and worse by the minute. We need laws keeping the young and impressionable from viewing this type of poker. Where are the senate subcommittees when we finally need them for something useful? Why isn't 60 Minutes exposing this? Think of the harm that's being done daily. Think of the poker careers shot down in their infancy.

Isn't there a next-generation Ralph Nader out there who cares about the people of poker? I just got a hand shot down on the Professional Poker Tour (the invitation-only, 100- percent-prize-money-andno- entry-fee, spinoff of the World Poker Tour). And it happened at the featured, televised table.

And the hand I got eliminated with was disappointing to me. Maybe I could have easily avoided this one. Now, to be sure, I'm not someone who goes around secondguessing his poker actions. I'm pr... Continue reading Today's word is... T.V.

Industry Player Profile: Jon Miller
by Phil Hevener filed under Profiles [Originally appeared in the May 30, 2005 issue of Poker Player]

Jon Miller: NBC Senior VP

High stakes poker's continued big time appeal may persuade NBC to take a shot at the rights to televise poker's biggest event, the World Series of Poker.

ESPN's current agreement has it televising the Series through the completion of this year's event, but the shape of things to come appears up for grabs. The contract expires this year and although ESPN may be in the driver's seat for the moment, this can change.

Harrah's officials have publicly maintained a very positive tone about their relationship with ESPN, describing the partnership as a "very good one," but a dependable unofficial source says the truth is something other than that.

"Dealing with ESPN is not easy," this source outside Harrah's alleges, "and with big time poker very much in demand, ESPN will feel more pressure than it ever has b... Continue reading Industry Player Profile: Jon Miller

The Editor's Pick

Poker for Children?
by Ashley Adams filed under Editorial [Originally appeared in the May 30, 2005 issue of Poker Player]

Ashley Adams

I digress from my typical column on stud strategy to address a question that has been posed to me and that I have posed to myself with increasing frequency during the past few months - as poker has moved from an adult activity to an activity engaging people of all ages. The question is this. Should we encourage children to play poker?

I'll tell you when the question hit me the hardest. I got a call from the sister of a former girl friend of mine (the girl friend was, of course, from a time before I was married). She had a son who was turning ten. He was absolutely fascinated by poker. He loved to watch it; recognizing all the TV tournament players; he talked about it all the time; and he had friends whom he played poker with regularly.

She wanted to know if I would be interested in hosting a poker tournament for her son at his tenth birthday party. The call did ... Continue reading Poker for Children?

From the Archives

Death by Short Buy-In
by John Vorhaus filed under Strategy [Originally appeared in the Oct 4, 2004 issue of Poker Player]

John Vorhaus

How bad is the short buy-in? Consider this scenario. A guy buys in to a $6-12 game for $60. On his first hand he picks up pocket aces. He knows he should raise to isolate, but he's afraid to commit too much money to the pot, in case the hand doesn't go his way. From the outset he's playing defensively. Or maybe he's thinking he can get a big parlay out of his small stack by taking his aces into a five- or six-way field. In any case, he lets a lot of small holdings limp into the pot, and while he's a favorite over each of them, he's an underdog to all of them. A couple of bets, a couple of raises... lo and behold, he gets all-in on the very first hand. When he loses (which he does 'cause he let the limpers limp) he finds himself back on his heels: sad, steaming, and buying more chips before his seat is even warm.

The damage is two-fold: his short buy-in has inspired his foes because he looks like a loser; that same short buy... Continue reading Death by Short Buy-In