I read the biography of Stu Ungar "The man behind the shades" a few months ago, which was broadly sympathetic to this flawed genius.
This is an interesting film giving some insight into the life of a professional poker player in the old era of poker.
Don't be afraid to use the comment feature on this website!
UPDATE: the rest of this film is here
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
Monday, 30 July 2007
Neteller releases online poker funds
Good news for US online poker players.
Neteller the online service for transferring funds over the web has announced that it will allow US customers to withdraw funds from their accounts.
NETELLER will start the process for the distribution of US member funds by 30 July 2007.
US members will be notified by email when the process starts.
US members should also check this site for updates.
NETELLER will issue an email to US members to announce when they can begin requesting funds.
US members must sign in to their NETELLER accounts to request the release of their funds.
US members will not be able to request funds from the NETELLER website after January 26, 2008.
Funds will be delivered by electronic transfer to the bank account on record with NETELLER or by cheque to the member's mailing address.
NETELLER will not charge withdrawal fees.
As NETELLER is returning $94 million to hundreds of thousands of US customers, it will take some time for all payments to be processed.
Please be careful of any phishing scams. Only log in to the neteller.com website to request the return of funds. Remember it must have neteller.com as the top level domain using the https security protocol - nothing else.
The announcement is on their website here.
Good news for the hundreds of thousands of players who had $94 million of assets frozen.
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Playing Poker against beginners...and monkeys.
I absolutely hate sitting on the same table as a beginner. I know we all have to start somewhere but I worry because they always seem to get lucky.
Sometimes it seems like this video is not far from the style of some players,
very galling to lose to a poker monkey!I don't think Mikey made it to the Main Event of the WSOP
Especially one with such poor poker etiquette!
Sometimes it seems like this video is not far from the style of some players,
very galling to lose to a poker monkey!I don't think Mikey made it to the Main Event of the WSOP
Especially one with such poor poker etiquette!
Saturday, 28 July 2007
Is Online Poker Dead?
There is an interesting article here
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/07/28/poker/
"To put this in perspective, let me briefly relate a hand that I witnessed in Las Vegas in the early 1980s. Stu Ungar -- perhaps one of the best poker players in history -- was playing heads-up (one-on-one) with one of the other great players, Bobby Baldwin. Both put up $50,000. On the first hand, both went all in and turned up their cards. Before the dealer turned up the remaining cards to complete the hand, Baldwin was a slight favorite. He offered to take a small profit on the hand rather than risk all of his money on a nearly even proposition. Ungar refused. Baldwin then offered to split the pot. Ungar shook his head. The next card made Baldwin a 10-to-1 favorite. Again, because of the size of the pot, Baldwin offered to negotiate -- take some profit and give Ungar back some of his money. Ungar ordered the dealer to "deal the cards," a miracle card that won the hand for Ungar. He scooped up the pot and left the table. At the time, I did not understand Ungar's logic. Baldwin's offer had been more than fair; I couldn't imagine a sensible poker player turning it down.
And then I saw the answer. Ungar slipped behind a row of slot machines and handed the money to his sponsor, who, in turn, gave Ungar some of the winnings. The game had not been conducted on a level playing field. Baldwin, who would become the president of Mirage Hotels, was an intelligent, conservative player who was playing with his own money. Ungar was a reckless player with nothing at stake. Watch a few TV poker programs today and you will see certain players who make extraordinarily risky calls or bluffs. We wonder how they do it. Well, if you're not calling or betting with your own money, what's the risk? Imagine how different the TV shows would be if we were told which players were playing with their own money and which weren't. "
What with Polaris and the explosion in poker the game has changed out of all recognition in the last 7 years. Is online poker safe?I have always taken the view that the companies running the online sites would ensure everything was as straight as possible simply because the profits of running a successful fair online poker room would outstrip anything that could be made from a dodgy one.
But how do you know that you are not playing some super computer, or a group of players colluding in the same room or via instant messaging. I am sure there are counter measures in place on some of the big sites but some people will always be ahead of the game. I am put in mind of the old saying that if you don't see a mug at the table after 10 minutes its because its you who is the mug.
I wouldnt be surprised if some story breaks over the next few months, meanwhile I prefer to play around a table where I can see the cards shuffled and play the people not the cards, and know that they are playing with their own hard earned so that calling a bet actually means something.
Cheers
Professor
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/07/28/poker/
"To put this in perspective, let me briefly relate a hand that I witnessed in Las Vegas in the early 1980s. Stu Ungar -- perhaps one of the best poker players in history -- was playing heads-up (one-on-one) with one of the other great players, Bobby Baldwin. Both put up $50,000. On the first hand, both went all in and turned up their cards. Before the dealer turned up the remaining cards to complete the hand, Baldwin was a slight favorite. He offered to take a small profit on the hand rather than risk all of his money on a nearly even proposition. Ungar refused. Baldwin then offered to split the pot. Ungar shook his head. The next card made Baldwin a 10-to-1 favorite. Again, because of the size of the pot, Baldwin offered to negotiate -- take some profit and give Ungar back some of his money. Ungar ordered the dealer to "deal the cards," a miracle card that won the hand for Ungar. He scooped up the pot and left the table. At the time, I did not understand Ungar's logic. Baldwin's offer had been more than fair; I couldn't imagine a sensible poker player turning it down.
And then I saw the answer. Ungar slipped behind a row of slot machines and handed the money to his sponsor, who, in turn, gave Ungar some of the winnings. The game had not been conducted on a level playing field. Baldwin, who would become the president of Mirage Hotels, was an intelligent, conservative player who was playing with his own money. Ungar was a reckless player with nothing at stake. Watch a few TV poker programs today and you will see certain players who make extraordinarily risky calls or bluffs. We wonder how they do it. Well, if you're not calling or betting with your own money, what's the risk? Imagine how different the TV shows would be if we were told which players were playing with their own money and which weren't. "
What with Polaris and the explosion in poker the game has changed out of all recognition in the last 7 years. Is online poker safe?I have always taken the view that the companies running the online sites would ensure everything was as straight as possible simply because the profits of running a successful fair online poker room would outstrip anything that could be made from a dodgy one.
But how do you know that you are not playing some super computer, or a group of players colluding in the same room or via instant messaging. I am sure there are counter measures in place on some of the big sites but some people will always be ahead of the game. I am put in mind of the old saying that if you don't see a mug at the table after 10 minutes its because its you who is the mug.
I wouldnt be surprised if some story breaks over the next few months, meanwhile I prefer to play around a table where I can see the cards shuffled and play the people not the cards, and know that they are playing with their own hard earned so that calling a bet actually means something.
Cheers
Professor
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Humans beat Polaris
The humans have managed to beat the artificial intelligence poker playing 'bot Polaris.
Link to Pokernews article here.
I think this raises a couple of questions.
Obviously the computer program just thinks of the cash as numbers and is programmed to try and get its bankroll value as high as possible, it will not think of its wins and losses in terms of $$$ so it will have an innate advantage on that score.
The article says that it is not set up to play online poker, is this the biggest threat to the online poker market? Once bots become unbeatable will online poker be able to survive, how will you know that your not playing an unbeatable super computer. I am sure the online sites will say they have developed security measures but can we be sure that they work.
Please feel free to add any comments or information in the comments section below.
Cheers
Prof
Link to Pokernews article here.
I think this raises a couple of questions.
Obviously the computer program just thinks of the cash as numbers and is programmed to try and get its bankroll value as high as possible, it will not think of its wins and losses in terms of $$$ so it will have an innate advantage on that score.
The article says that it is not set up to play online poker, is this the biggest threat to the online poker market? Once bots become unbeatable will online poker be able to survive, how will you know that your not playing an unbeatable super computer. I am sure the online sites will say they have developed security measures but can we be sure that they work.
Please feel free to add any comments or information in the comments section below.
Cheers
Prof
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
Last Word on WSOP
Here is an interview with top place Brit John Kalmar who finished fifth in the WSOP.
Who knows, no that a European has won The Open at Carnoustie for the first time in 8 years perhaps next year a Brit can win the WSOP.
Who knows, no that a European has won The Open at Carnoustie for the first time in 8 years perhaps next year a Brit can win the WSOP.
Deep Blue of Poker ? - Polaris Ahead
Jonathan Schaeffer heads a team that is pitting its poker-playing supercomputer, Polaris, against two poker pros, Phil (The Unabomber) Laak and Ali Eslami.Schaeffer is a boffin at the University of Alberta. "This is a world first, and, I hope, the beginning of something that will grow and become an annual event," said Dr. Jonathan Schaeffer, a team leader of the Polaris program.
Schaeffer believes the event is an evolution of the 1997 match between IBM's "Deep Blue" chess program and Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion at the time.
"The difference is that chess is a game of perfect knowledge, meaning there is nothing hidden from the players. In poker you can't see your opponent's hand and you don't know what cards will be dealt. This makes poker a much harder challenge for computer scientists from an artificial intelligence perspective," Schaeffer said.
Phil Laak and Ali Eslami are playing play the 'bot and it has drawn one and won one of the two sessions on the first day. There are live updates here.
What I find interesting is the way the test is being conducted, it is interesting to know how another player would play the cards you were dealt eliminating the excuse that you were dealt garbage all night.
I shall be following events with interest.
Cheers
Professor
Friday, 20 July 2007
WSOP Final Hand
This is some footage of the last hand at this years event.
It just goes to show why hol'dem is the Cadillac of all poker variants, simple to learn but also infinitely complex.
Anthony Holden has a good write up of the end of the wsop here.
What a way to win 88 v AQ is an even money shot but not when a q comes on the flop and to use the turn and the river to make a straight
It just goes to show why hol'dem is the Cadillac of all poker variants, simple to learn but also infinitely complex.
Anthony Holden has a good write up of the end of the wsop here.
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
WSOP Europe
So the new champion is crowned, interestingly a WSOP event is coming to Blighty.
The first WSOP Europe will take place in London from September 6-16. There will be three events, starting with Omaha and H.O.R.S.E., scattered around three casinos (the Empire, the Sportsman and Fifty), before climaxing in the £10,000 buy-in No Limt Hold Em.
I shall be watching out for satellites online.
Cheers
Professor
The first WSOP Europe will take place in London from September 6-16. There will be three events, starting with Omaha and H.O.R.S.E., scattered around three casinos (the Empire, the Sportsman and Fifty), before climaxing in the £10,000 buy-in No Limt Hold Em.
I shall be watching out for satellites online.
Cheers
Professor
Monday, 16 July 2007
WSOP Final table
Here are the poker players at the final table, arranged by the seat at the WSOP table:
Jon Kalmar (Chip count: 20.32 million) - Kalmar is from Chorley, United Kingdom, and this is his chance to make it big at the WSOP. Jon Kalmar has competed before at the World Series of Poker, in 2005 and 2006, but finished 82nd and 88th respectively.
Lee Childs (13.24 million) - Childs, software engineer who quit his job to play at the World Series of Poker, is from Virginia and is the leader among the American players at the table. He had the biggest stack most of the time on Sunday, but a bad call cost him the lead.
Philip Hilm (22.07 million) - Hilm is the leader in chips at the final WSOP table, slightly over 22 million. The Danish poker player has competed before - at the 2005 WSOP, where he finished 33rd. Phil Hilm has good poker tournament results, but is yet to finish first.
Jerry Yang (8.45 million) - Yang is another representative of the U.S. at the 2007 World Series of Poker, unfortunately, he is second to last by chip count entering the final round. The Jerry Yang at the final WSOP table is not the co-founder of Yahoo!
Raymond Rahme (16.32 million) - Rahme is from Johannesburg, South Africa and he was the one to round up the final nine. Rahme took the all-in call of the 10th placed Steven Garfinkle to win with a pair of queens and put an end to the Sunday play.
Tuan Lam (21.315 million) - Vietnam native, Lam currently resides in Canada and will enter the final table of the World Series of Poker second by chip count. The former poker dealer has competed at the 2005 and 2006 WSOP, finishing 76th and 46th respectively. If you are superstitious you may think he will finish 6th at the 2007 WSOP.
Alex Kravchenko (6.57 million) - The only Russian at the final table, Kravchenko has the lowest stack of chips for the poker final. But don't let that fool you, Alex Kravchenko is one of the most experienced players at the final table, and has competed in many WSOP tournaments in the past. The Russian poker player was also the winner of the 2007 WSOP Limit Omaha Hi/Lo in June.
Lee Watkinson (9.925 million) - Watkinson is another experienced player low on chips for the main event final. Lee already played a couple of tourneys at the 2007 WSOP, but his best result was at the 2006 WSOP Pot Limit Omaha where he finished first. Lee Watkinson is from Washington, a state where playing poker online is a felony.
Hevad "Rain" Khan (9.205 million) - The New York native is making his debut at the 2007 World Series of Poker, taking part at the 2007 WSOP No Limit Hold'em Event #15, placed 41st, and 2007 WSOP No Limit Hold'em Event #35 finishing 88th.
Jon Kalmar (Chip count: 20.32 million) - Kalmar is from Chorley, United Kingdom, and this is his chance to make it big at the WSOP. Jon Kalmar has competed before at the World Series of Poker, in 2005 and 2006, but finished 82nd and 88th respectively.
Lee Childs (13.24 million) - Childs, software engineer who quit his job to play at the World Series of Poker, is from Virginia and is the leader among the American players at the table. He had the biggest stack most of the time on Sunday, but a bad call cost him the lead.
Philip Hilm (22.07 million) - Hilm is the leader in chips at the final WSOP table, slightly over 22 million. The Danish poker player has competed before - at the 2005 WSOP, where he finished 33rd. Phil Hilm has good poker tournament results, but is yet to finish first.
Jerry Yang (8.45 million) - Yang is another representative of the U.S. at the 2007 World Series of Poker, unfortunately, he is second to last by chip count entering the final round. The Jerry Yang at the final WSOP table is not the co-founder of Yahoo!
Raymond Rahme (16.32 million) - Rahme is from Johannesburg, South Africa and he was the one to round up the final nine. Rahme took the all-in call of the 10th placed Steven Garfinkle to win with a pair of queens and put an end to the Sunday play.
Tuan Lam (21.315 million) - Vietnam native, Lam currently resides in Canada and will enter the final table of the World Series of Poker second by chip count. The former poker dealer has competed at the 2005 and 2006 WSOP, finishing 76th and 46th respectively. If you are superstitious you may think he will finish 6th at the 2007 WSOP.
Alex Kravchenko (6.57 million) - The only Russian at the final table, Kravchenko has the lowest stack of chips for the poker final. But don't let that fool you, Alex Kravchenko is one of the most experienced players at the final table, and has competed in many WSOP tournaments in the past. The Russian poker player was also the winner of the 2007 WSOP Limit Omaha Hi/Lo in June.
Lee Watkinson (9.925 million) - Watkinson is another experienced player low on chips for the main event final. Lee already played a couple of tourneys at the 2007 WSOP, but his best result was at the 2006 WSOP Pot Limit Omaha where he finished first. Lee Watkinson is from Washington, a state where playing poker online is a felony.
Hevad "Rain" Khan (9.205 million) - The New York native is making his debut at the 2007 World Series of Poker, taking part at the 2007 WSOP No Limit Hold'em Event #15, placed 41st, and 2007 WSOP No Limit Hold'em Event #35 finishing 88th.
Sunday, 15 July 2007
The WSOP 2007
Today is day 6 and they will get down to the final 9 who will play the final table on Tuesday after a rest day.
From what I can gather there have been one or two moments like a guy lifting a table up when eliminated, it sounds like the players were able to secure their chips and some controversy re a blind player who has a guy helping him...must be an advantage but you couldn't really complain.
Anyway will post again when the final 9 are known.
Cheers
Professor
From what I can gather there have been one or two moments like a guy lifting a table up when eliminated, it sounds like the players were able to secure their chips and some controversy re a blind player who has a guy helping him...must be an advantage but you couldn't really complain.
Anyway will post again when the final 9 are known.
Cheers
Professor
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Telegraph blogger out
Flusfeder chronicles his demise here.
Shame, I always hate three way showdowns.
I might buy his book though!
Shame, I always hate three way showdowns.
I might buy his book though!
Following WSOP on the Net
If like me you are trying to follow the events from Vegas via the Internet here are links to a couple of sites which are providing "live" updates.
Gutshot.com
Worldseriesofpoker.com
Cheers
Professor
Gutshot.com
Worldseriesofpoker.com
Cheers
Professor
Friday, 13 July 2007
Day 3 WSOP
The WSOP has reached the stage where all the survivors can fit into one room. They have past the "bubble" meaning that all those who go out now are in the money.
Anthony Holden, whose book "Big Deal" I read a few years ago has a good blog here with the chip counts of the British Survivors. I think Jac Arama appeared on Late Night Poker years ago wearing weird sun glasses!
Perhaps the event will be easier to follow in the latter stages, I hope so.
Professor
Anthony Holden, whose book "Big Deal" I read a few years ago has a good blog here with the chip counts of the British Survivors. I think Jac Arama appeared on Late Night Poker years ago wearing weird sun glasses!
Perhaps the event will be easier to follow in the latter stages, I hope so.
Professor
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Playing Donkeys
Victoria Coren writes about the complaints at the WSOP regarding playing Donkeys in the Guardian. She cites the way that Hellmuth plays against these annoying players who seem to win when any half decent player would never have been in with a garbage hand that does not connect with a flop.
In our Poker Jokers games this is often a complaint made by the more experienced players when a new player chances their arm and makes a straight or a pair on the river, these beginners just do not understand that they should have folded. Ok so if we let them commit first and then try and read them we might stand a chance. There are some nice examples of basic body language that might help on the Telegraph site here which will be helpful.
Cheers
Professor
In our Poker Jokers games this is often a complaint made by the more experienced players when a new player chances their arm and makes a straight or a pair on the river, these beginners just do not understand that they should have folded. Ok so if we let them commit first and then try and read them we might stand a chance. There are some nice examples of basic body language that might help on the Telegraph site here which will be helpful.
Cheers
Professor
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
It's a marathon not a sprint
It seems that the Big One at the WSOP has been somewhat tedious according to this report by Ed Halls in the Grauniad. I am a great believer in following poker etiquette so this sort of language should not be tolerated.
Anyway it seems that Flusfeder from the Telegraph has made it to day 3 {click here}. Well done to him and the blog is a great read it sounds like you need a lot of patience to reach the stages where the prize money is dished out, I guess that now they are down to 700 the play will get even slower with people not wanting to miss out on a money finish.
Still things are bound to get interesting when the final stages are reached but this is the Big One and as the saying goes It's a marathon not a sprint
Anyway it seems that Flusfeder from the Telegraph has made it to day 3 {click here}. Well done to him and the blog is a great read it sounds like you need a lot of patience to reach the stages where the prize money is dished out, I guess that now they are down to 700 the play will get even slower with people not wanting to miss out on a money finish.
Still things are bound to get interesting when the final stages are reached but this is the Big One and as the saying goes It's a marathon not a sprint
Monday, 2 July 2007
He's got the "NUTS"
Seems like former Wimbledon stopper Vinnie Jones is in Vegas! Well according to Victoria Coren in The Guardian anyway, he's playing Roulette with some poker players.
She makes some interesting observations on how playing Casino Table games can be bad for your poker.
Anyway if Vinnie is playing poker you can rely on him to be holding the Nuts.
Here we go!
I thought it was time that I started recording some of the events that have been happening in the recent poker boom! And with the Championship Event, The no limit Texas Holdem Tournament at the WSOP starting on Friday now is as good as time as any.
7 years ago I started playing poker with a group of friends after seeing the Channel Four programme "Late Night Poker". We called our card school Poker Jokers and it still occasionally meets up to this day.
The aim of this website is to bring readers the interesting stories from the world of poker from the "Big One" at the WSOP which starts this Friday to the amusing anecdotes that happen at a home game. I will also be highlighting which of the plethora of Online Poker sites are currently offering the best Special Offers so that you can make the most of your "Online Bankroll."
So to start with I will be following the blog of David Flusfeder who is playing in this years WSOP. It is interesting to see how this tournament which has changed beyond all recognition in the last 7 years will be this year with the US Government ban on Online Poker.
Cheers
The Professor
7 years ago I started playing poker with a group of friends after seeing the Channel Four programme "Late Night Poker". We called our card school Poker Jokers and it still occasionally meets up to this day.
The aim of this website is to bring readers the interesting stories from the world of poker from the "Big One" at the WSOP which starts this Friday to the amusing anecdotes that happen at a home game. I will also be highlighting which of the plethora of Online Poker sites are currently offering the best Special Offers so that you can make the most of your "Online Bankroll."
So to start with I will be following the blog of David Flusfeder who is playing in this years WSOP. It is interesting to see how this tournament which has changed beyond all recognition in the last 7 years will be this year with the US Government ban on Online Poker.
Cheers
The Professor
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