Does Size Matter?

Judging by the gargantuan size of the fields in the first five events at this year's World Series, poker's popularity shows no signs of slowing down. Consider these numbers:

Number of WSOP Entries (2004 versus 2005)

2004 2005 Percentage +/-

Event #1 Casino Employees World Poker Championship 279 662 137 percent increase
Event #2 $1500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em 831 2,305 177 percent increase
Event #3 $1500 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em 363 1,049 195 percent increase
Event #4 $1500 buy-in Limit Hold'em 610 1,049 72 percent increase

Pat Poels quits his job, plays poker, and wins $270,100

How many recreational poker players could walk up to their spouses and say with a straight face, "I'm going to quit my job to play poker for a living."

Pat Poels did.

[Visit the Photo Gallery and 2005 WSOP Tournament Results]

Eric Froehlich becomes youngest WSOP winner ever!

You'd have to have spent the last few years or so in a coma not to notice how phenomenally popular poker has become. The World Poker Tour is rating its ass off. Punters are dumping mortgage payments into online games much larger than they'd ever dare to play live. The article you're reading now, and others of its ilk, contribute to the ever-broadening stream of public poker interest. Taken as a whole, this stream has earned the name (okay, didn't really earn it, just got labeled it by me): poker porn.

To date we've examined several common leaks that plague many a player's game. We've then attempted to set a goal to eradicate the leak to become better, more focused players. Traits that will lead to enhanced bottom-line performance. Let's talk about drawing hands this time out. The vast majority of intermediate players know their odds when they are on a draw. But, do they always use that knowledge correctly? I know that I see opponents who regularly get out of line with their draws. Are you one of them? Today, let's just delve into one type of drawing hand... the straight draw.

I had a friend who started a beauty shop in a small town. Unfortunately for her, there weren't any places available near the main traffic, around other businesses. She had to set up business on a side street, a little off the main path. Therefore, there weren't enough people driving by to discover her business. Even though she advertised heavily, her shop just wasn't convenient enough to warrant people going out of their way. Her business, sadly, didn't flourish.

Allen Cunningham wins WSOP gold bracelet number four - captures $725,405 in record-setting event

Pot-Limit Ace:
Thom Werthman Wins Largest Pot-Limit Hold'em Event in World Series History

Thom Werthman, a 35-year-old owner of a high-tech telecommunications company in Detroit, MI, staged a memorable comeback and won a stunning upset victory over one of poker's most enigmatic personalities. When play became heads-up, Wertherman overcame a 3 to 1 chip deficit versus the always-unpredictable Layne Flack, who was shooting for his 6th WSOP gold bracelet. But after a two-day, 26-hour poker marathon, it was the newcomer Werthmann who earned his first major tournament victory.

Just after 4 AM on June 7th, history was made at the Rio casino in Las Vegas. Eric "Efro" Froehlich became the youngest ever bracelet winner at the World Series of Poker. He turned 21 on February 9th.

Eric "Efro" Froehlich from Los Angeles, CA took first place in the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em tournament and won $361,910 in the process. Efro is a close friend of the 2004 main event runner-up David Williams, who stayed on the rail the entire time to cheer him onto victory.

[Visit the Photo Gallery and 2005 WSOP Tournament Results]