Speakeasy Regulation - Part Deux

This is a follow up to a piece I wrote not too long after Black Friday. That was also a time when I was stepping back into this industry after keeping it at an arm’s length for a while and not nearly as embedded as I am now. I had to rely on my knowledge of our government's procedures throughout history and that helps to keep my objectivity in play. In it I expressed my thoughts on how The US Department of Justice uses a method regulating “vices” that is a bit abrupt and tedious; and not consumer friendly. I like to call it "Speakeasy Regulation." Its pitfalls do not swallow its rewards no matter how deep they are. Think of the US Government as your parents. They see you doing something, stop you from doing it and then give it back to you with annoying rules and some sort of sacrifice. The sacrifice of taxes and regulations for online poker may not be the same as having the car home before 11PM and still be sober. Our childhoods may have differed. Right now cigarettes in some states cost $10 a pack that is outrageous. I would quit stone cold the day it was effective, yet it is still a mega industry all over, I may be in the minority. While I have the deepest empathy for all those that lost money, jobs and whatever else, I am not fully against the events of Black Friday.

What took place that day follows the same blueprint as the other vice regulations before it and you will probably be happier they did at some point. I have stood by a time of five years for the US to regulate poker and other online gaming. Many things will happen in a like it or not scenario before, yet I feel the timing is the most critical part. The haste of the voter to quickly gain back favor with its politicians and the reverse to get the vice back, only serves to produce a less than desirable product with duct tape rules. Five years from now may not be when we get the regulation for the first time, but I promise you it will be the first time we get it closer to correct. The real fear I have is the current candidates and our incumbent president use it to get elected thus needing a longer roll of duct tape. Political footballs are rarely caught by the voter in the end zone.

There is a part I do not mind, and proves my liberalism does not render my patriotism and love for this great land faulty or incorrect. The grey area as to whether the methods and claims by the DOJ were the most solid of charges is only an ideological issue and not a relevant one at this point. That is a little painful to say but the machine is already running, just let it go. They have put mobsters away for far less heinous crimes, still does not make them any less culpable to the bad, bad things they did do. This current Ponzi scheme accusation, true or not, is only another step in the prohibition process. One of the benefits of prohibition was that it stopped the bootleggers from indirectly negotiating the trade price of international goods into the US. It also helped stop the flow of bootlegger to bootlegger international trading. I’m certain they didn’t end the practice but they cleared the way for American companies to take seed and compete at home and abroad. It’s ok to swing the big stick once and a while or it becomes a cane. So how do they do that? The easiest way is to simply find a law they are breaking and take it all down. No law exists? Well we have many, they are convoluted… make one and then wait.

There is a cause for debate to the legality of whether or not a Ponzi scheme fits with Full Tilt. There lies an even murkier discussion on whether or not Full Tilt, Poker Stars and the rest were using fronts to funnel poker funds and if that is even a problem. It’s not really, loose personal freedom beliefs aside; you can sell me a rug online for chips at a poker table if needed. However, the US Government says those chips are not legal and thus not a product. If you’re selling me a rug, I better get a rug even if my credit card statement reads “golf balls.” Incidentally, I personally know that this practice was going on after the UIEGA long before the DOJ used it as a stepping stone. I am in no short detail alone. The latest Ponzi moniker is more of a propaganda method than a judiciary one. I recently spoke with Scott Long from "Ante Up Magazine," and he raised some great points on whether Ponzi works. I need to follow up and ask him if the law says no product exists, does Ponzi work now?

The same holds true for the pink elephant in the room, The Merge Gaming Network. There has been some scuttlebutt that the DOJ is ready to strike the hand of justice upon them. An example of what I refer to originally posted in the 2+2 Forum is HERE! Propaganda is my historically based assertion, not something I can attest to. They do have 10,000 players actively and ten times that in email database assets. The network started to leak information that they would re-allow Americans to sign up again. Currently only existing US players are allowed to play for real money. The threat of interdiction by the DOJ is their way of telling Merge, “Watch it buddy, we’re watching you!” In the end it is still my contention that Merge and any other network housing more than a few thousand players will get some sort of slap by the DOJ. Sports books are probably a safe bet for the next round. Still, all that will do, even though the current player will begrudgingly have to accept the terms while it unfolds, is create the right type of landscape for the most profitable poker they will ever see.

When it is all said and done and the markets are once again whole, the money is going to burst and spread like volcano ash. I doubt that any other country, not including the theocratic and monarchic ruled ones that exist, will continue to vilify online gaming if the US no longer does. The freedom of the marketplace will create some of the most amazing and off the wall bonuses and promotions that will give you the money to be the bad guy in an episode of "Miami Vice". If they ever get it right, it will be a fantastic spectacle. That is our dying empire's river card. The WSOP will have 20,000 entrants and could signal its brick and mortar downfall. Sure would be a lot easier to manage that kind of action online. At the very least it may keep the new crop of whippersnappers from raining on the senior’s casino parade. Once the TV money rolls back in and the stigmata are stitched up again, the recipe can go in the oven. Those are the last pieces you need for boatloads of F-U money to toss around. You will see satellites to win trips to actual satellites. The often misplaced component of the speakeasy style are the fringe companies and service providers that now troll in a much smaller pool of sea creatures. The marketplace opening up will quadruple their value day one, allow more to come and create competition, etc. The formula works in the end for all, bumpy ride or not. There has to come a point when we say to ourselves… “Self, this sucks, we’re screwed, how do we get out of it?” The player will benefit from this in time; I wish I knew how long that time will be.

And if you have made it this far... to my American friends who have a very important election coming up sooner than they may realize, I stress calculated caution. The Republicans have an interesting crop of cardboard cutouts to choose from this round and they are some of the cartoon wackiest yet. Obama or not, be very careful when you close that curtain. Take step back and be sure to not vote with your hole cards alone. Some of the candidates for the Republican nomination have some horrid ideas for what’s in your wallet. If those are the same ideas you have for it, pull the lever all day long down the line. That’s why you’re there. There will be free and legal big money poker again online; patience is an undervalued commodity, proven over time. A solid player, more aptly a winning player, would have a very rough go at calling my bluff there.

by Ryan Sayer
COO of OnTilt Radio

Plugging Leaks

 Originally posted on August 30, 2011 at OnTiltRadio.com

Constantly plugging leaks in your game can build your confidence, and of course your bankroll. There are 3 basic leaks that MTT & SNG Players have and need to focus on in order to succeed and increase their ROI (return on investment).

A lot of these problems will not be easy to overcome, but having a good understanding of them is the right way to go in eliminating these types of mistakes. It will be up to you to decipher which part of your game has the biggest leaks and try to plug them one at a time. 

 Now, let’s get down to the 3 basic leaks.

Leak #1 — TILT (The Devil)

Usually translates into playing too many hands, too aggressively, or just making poor decisions. I strongly believe the best way to control going on tilt is having an understanding of the short term luck factor in poker. Even the best payers in the world expect to have a bad streak every now and then.

Leak #2 — Weak Basic Strategy

A lot of things other than the hand you are holding need to be considered, such as your table image, your position, and also how tight or loose your opponents are playing. If your having a hard time in certain spots then your basic strategy probably needs work. When you don’t understand the correct line to take on a particular hand, then you can’t expect to be successful.

Leak #3 — Bad Judgement

Developing good judgment skills will require lots of experience, seeing lots of hands, along with always thinking about the game and trying to improve. Being able to talk things over with someone whose game you respect and trust, is also very important. It can take along time to develop this skill at a high level and practice is the only solution to not making bad decisions.

Mike Owens
CheckRaze.com

Back From Vegas Part 1 - from our resident Ombudsman, SCBig

Originally posted on August 8, 2011 at OnTiltRadio.com

Made it back in one piece from a week in Vegas.  Time Flew by way too fast.  Played in many tournaments at many casinos at many different levels.  Played a few cash tables as well, but not nearly as much as usual.

Over the coming weeks, I'll  recap & review Poker Rooms, Tournaments & more from Casinos including:  The Venetian, The Orleans, Aria, Hard Rock Hotel, Green Valley Ranch (Station), Santa Fe Station, Boulder Station, Sam's Town, Red Rock and Fiesta Henderson.

Starting with Fiesta Henderson. They don't have a poker room anymore. Discontinued it sometime since my last visit. Not that it was a great room (they only had 4 tables) but at least it was something to keep me occupied while my wife played BINGO ( The all paper/dauber kind)    BUT..................

Green Valley Ranch Station Casino is only 3 miles down I-215.  It is a Stations Casino, but they tend to downplay that part of the name as I think they are trying to appeal to a more upscale market.  It is a nicely appointed casino, but the  Poker Room Strikes me as  an afterthought and not originally designed into the Casino.  It is Long, narrow at spots and there are support pillars 3 feet into the room on one side.  The room has 22 tables and  a Deco feel to it. Earthtone colors similar to its Sister Red Rock Casino.  There were two 1/2 NL tables and one 2/4 limit table running and an interest list for 4/8 Omaha8.

My two chief complaints:  The chairs are standard upholstered pull up chairs, not the comfortable, adjustable swivel chairs most rooms have these days.  The Other is a big one. They have NO tournament board of clock to see. The tournament director ( who doubles as cashier, register, floor person, timer, etc. has a little timer to keep track of the time. There is no structure sheet available either, but most of the tournament players are regulars who know the levels better than the dealers.  The number being paid and the payouts were only announced verbally after losing 3 players from the final table. 

So why play a tournament here?  For me there are 2 reasons:  PLO8 & H.O.R.S.E.

  Both tournaments offer re-entry (rebuy) for 1 hour and are lower buyin ($45-50)  There were only 3 tables, but with re-entries, the field was around 45 for each.

      The Monday night Pot-Limit, Omaha, 8 or better  gives 4000 starting chips and like most Vegas Tournaments, is designed so you have to work at being eliminated in the first hour (blinds are 25/50, 50/100 & 75/150) and designed to end in under 4 hours (Blinds escalate exponentially.)  The play was average to good, with it appearing that most players were regulars and played this tournament every week. I went out on 12th, (about 2 hours in) never really getting any good cards to play.

      The Wednesday H.O.R.S.E. tournament only starts with 2000 chips.  The Dealers use a black cube to track the game being played and have a little photocopied worksheet for the antes & blinds. The dealers were acceptable at dealing the varied games and only hesitated to be sure when spliting the pot in the low games.  It was enjoyable enough, the play again was average to good, age skewed older. I think the youngest player was probably 40.  I went out 6th. The money bubble was 5th since 4 were being payed.  I would certainly play this tournament again, since it is the only H.O.R.S.E. tournament that fits my schedule. (The other 2 being at the Orleans on Friday & Sunday.)

NEXT:  My adventures at Sam's Town, Boulder Station & Santa Fe Station.

Back From Vegas Part 2 - from our resident Ombudsman, SCBig

Originally posted on August 10, 2011 at OnTiltRadio.com
 
My adventures at Sam's Town, Boulder Station & Santa Fe Station:

These are all locals casinos, away from the Strip.  Why would I play out there?  one word......BINGO.  That's what my wife likes to play so......you get the idea.

Sam's Town is owned by the Boyd Group/Coast Casinos.  It was one of the first casinos I played Poker in when my wife & I started going to Vegas regularly over 20 years ago. It had a very western theme back then, and a very active poker room.  It has gone through multiple expansions and modernizations (toning it done quite a bit) and the poker room has moved around, but has not been modernized that much.

It has about 10 poker tables. On Sunday Night they had 1 cash table ( 3/6 Holdem, Kill) and  had 2 tables playing a tournament. It was too late to register and I wouldn't have played.  It was CRAZY PINEAPPLE.  I watched for  a few minutes and it was nuts.

They have no signup board (or tournament clock that I could see) & the cash table was full. So I walked to the podium and asked how long the wait list was and was asked how many chips I wanted. I asked again about the wait list and was told there would be an open seat for me in just a moment. ( I figured a player may have been racking their chips to leave that I didn't realize) what happened was the floor yelled out Dan and raised his arm up. "Dan" almost immediately stood up and racked his chips and the floor said "There is your seat sir."  It seemed to be a fairly tight table, so when a kill pot came, and I had K  Q suited in position, I raised and all but 1 folded.  Flop was  rag, rag, Q so I bet out and got a call, Turn was K, bet & call. River was A, I'm confident, bet again and call. My 2 pair were beaten by his better 2 pair, A-K.

Down $42.00 one hand.  I  was astounded at no point was there a raise or value bet. But chalked it up to ..???.whatever.

Then as someone busted out of the tournament, they said "get ready Bill" and went up to the podium to buy chips and the Floor yelled "Bill" and motioned up with his hand. "Bill", was the player who so passively played A-K, almost immediately racked his chips and stood up.   I played another 30 minutes till wife's bingo session was over and  cashed out down $50.00.  I heard from one of the players next to me that Sam's Town uses Prop players to get games started and keep them going. Their prop players are not supposed to act or bet overly aggressive (I guess they consider raising with the nuts to be aggressive) toward the guests.

I heard that they have a Monday evening NL Crazy pineapple tournament as well, but that sure didn't interest me, Nor the $23.00 Buy-in at 10:00 A.M. which they proudly mentioned had been ALMOST filling a full table last week.

I wouldn't make a special trip to Sam's Town and in fact the next time wife played there, I scored Extra Points for playing Bingo WITH her in the Bingo room instead of in the Poker room !

The trip to Boulder Station, which is also on the east side, on Boulder Highway, about 5 miles from the Strip was a Push. Again they have a Bingo Hall which is why we were there. They have a room with about 10 tables and all were full and active, they had several NL, Limit & Omaha games going.  There is an electronic waitlist system to sign up by swiping a players card and I signed up for several games. By the time the Bingo session ended, I had moved up a few places, but was not even close to getting a seat, so we went to eat and moved onto greener pastures.

I've played this room before, at a less crowded time.  It is a smoking room, which can be bothersome but they do have some nice high hand bonus and the Stations Casinos Bad Beat Jackpot, as well as a lot of Omaha.

Wednesday was time for a visit to Santa Fe Station.  Another Stations Casino, It is on the North side of the Valley, about 10 minutes from Downtown.  They have recently  expanded/remodled the entire Casino, along with the Poker room.  They have about 10-12 tables, lots of flat screen tvs, comfy adjustable rolling chairs. I would say it is a close second to  Red Rock as the nicest Stations Poker room

They have a Noon NLHE tournament that plays almost exactly like the one at the now closed Sahara, which I used to love (and do well in)  A $50.00 buyin gets you 6000 chips and the $20.00 rebuy gets you 4000 chips.   I believe most pros will tell you to (,& I always) utilize the rebuy as soon as I sit down.  Thus your $70.00 buyin gives you 10,000 chips and you can play this tournament like a deep stack (Turbo). I was the only one to immediately use the rebuy at my table and  I didn't see anyone else  at other tables rebuy early either.

The tournament also allows re-entry for the first hour, after using the rebuy. Anyone familiar with the Sahara Tournament will recognize this pattern.

I didn't have any outstanding hands or any bad beats, just played what I think was solid deepstack poker for 2 hours and ended up at the final table with a pretty good chip stack.

All of the Station Casino poker rooms have a progressive bad beat jackpot and a royal flush bonus for cash games. BUT, This is the first (and only) tournament I have seen that has a Tournament bad beat jackpot. It was $28,000 for  Aces full being beaten by quads.  There is also a tournament high hand payment for straight flushes and royals. Truly a unique promotion by Santa Fe.  You also earn poker comps while playing the tournament. They have the Bravo electronic tracking system and you earn $1.00 per hour on  cash and tournament tables here.

Once to the final table, it became apparent that the remaining players where pretty good & pretty regular.  The dealer will know your name by the bravo system, but all of the other players seemed to know each other as well.  As with most Vegas tournaments, the blinds start to increase painfully  after the  2nd break. Even an average chip stack at that point only has about 10 big blinds. So I felt obligated to push with 7's against an A-Q that hit the Q, then the A just to rub it in.  Ended up 4th for $290.00 !!!!

I liked the Santa Fe (Cash win aside)as  it was a well run room, & tournament. And the "feast" buffet was decent and  a bargain since we used the comp money off the card !

Next:   Getting closer to the Strip:  The Orleans & Hard Rock

Overplaying AK

Originally posted on September 9, 2011 at OnTiltRadio.com

“Many talented people… fail simply because they could not leave a loser when they no longer had the best of it” — David Sklansky

Playing MTTs you will lose more money with AK, a.k.a. ‘Big Slick’, than any other hand, so playing it proficiently and profitably becomes very important. The most profitable way of playing AK is planning how you are going to play the hand postflop, whether you hit or miss the flop. Playing AK preflop is also very similar to playing Aces, in the regards that you’re rarely ever limping in and almost never folding.

    

An advanced strategy to playing AK in MTTs is to cbet flops with any paint cards 100% of the time, when checked to or first to act. A high percentage of the time your opponents will miss the flop or be holding a smaller pair. If you cbet the flop that you missed, and get check raised, it will be easy to let go. When you cbet a missed flop and get called, then you have to reevaluate the hand on the turn and proceed with caution.

Knowing when to shove AK and understanding your ‘M’ is also very important. Your ‘M’ refers to your tournament life, which is simply your stack size divided by the blinds and antes added together (Introduced in the ‘Harrington On Holdem’ series). With a low ‘M’ of 6 or below, you should always be shoving ‘all-in’ with AK. If your ‘M’ is 7 or higher, you should be making your standard raise. I will be getting more into the ‘M’ theory in later blogs.

As an example of playing AK profitably, lets say that we have AK offsuit and the flop comes K, 7, 3 rainbow. Now we have to be careful not to overplay our hand. If we start out check raising here, it will be very obvious that we hit the flop and will most likely drive out some of the weaker hands. If we just check call, we might be able to get action from those weaker hands. A better play in this spot would be to avoid slow playing and lead out at the pot with a cbet just like you would any other time. This will help build the pot and also prevents our opponents from catching a free card that could cost us on the turn.

Crunching the numbers: AK preflop
PreFlop Match Up               Favorite
AK versus QQ                    48% to 52%
AK versus AJ                      70% to 30%
AK versus Q10                   57% to 43%
AK versus 72                      68% to 32%
AK versus 54 suited           59% to 41%

Stack Size divided by (SB+BB + ANTES)  = M Note: no antes just divide the blinds

Spending time thinking about AK will make you more comfortable playing it and also, make you more money over time. Hopefully this blog has given you some ideas on how to best play AK.

“Keep getting your money in good, that’s all you can do”

Mike Owens (HOLDEMAG)

CheckRaze.com

Speakeasy Regulation Part One

Originally posted on April 16, 2011 at OnTiltRadio.com

It occurred to me that we have been so busy providing all of you such wonderful events to attend; I haven’t had a single moment to blog. Well that moment is now and how lucky for all of you. I’ve heard yesterday’s events described as the “Online Poker’s Black Friday!” I suppose for those involved it is a little dark, not their greatest afternoon. It sounds like from the indictment that they have had many a pleasant afternoon more than me. Perhaps though it is not as dark as black, more a shade of grey that just needs a touch of color. For those that had accounts at Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker, and are out any sum of money then we all feel for you. In a time when America specifically needs people on the streets filling cash registers, they continually find ways to strain how they give you the means to do so. There still lie options for the US player to play online. I bet you whatever you lost that they may receive some of the best deals and bonuses ever because of it. So if you were good enough to amass a worthy stack of dough at on the site affected, you can probably do it again and now quicker with the enhanced offers. For our foreign friends, your options are tenfold that of the ones left for our people by the short-sided government they continually put in place. That is by far one of the tastiest paradoxes of living in a great republic like ours. Ask the Romans how it worked out? It seems trifle to be arguing over gambling like this because it is online and not on the ground where the US can watch over it like the Cosa Nostra. Yet before I go off on our dying empire, let me address the one that may have actually spawned today, and was conceived five years ago. 

    You know when a company decides to build something new; how they get a bunch of people in suits to stand in freshly browned dirt in their penny loafers and look excited? Then they cut ribbons and dig useless dents with military color guard shovels. Everyone cheers, the newspaper takes pictures, and life is good! Before that pretty shovel was stuck in the ground, those suits spent weeks, more likely months, arguing about where that shovel would strike, how much it would cost, when it would… Authorizing the enforcement of yesterday’s unsealed indictment (See it here) makes the United States Justice Department the big shiny scissors so the U.S. Government can pave the area behind the ribbon for profitable and manageable regulation. Further, they ensure that the regulation benefits new and existing American companies. “Speakeasy Regulation”, means they cleaned the rats out the nest before they will allow it hatch big buds! They’re doing the same with weed in a broader sense and cigarettes will one day fall too. As a smoker, one who wants to quit every day, I think the tax on cigarettes should be a gazillion percent! Let’s be honest these sites were clearly snubbing the U.S. law, like it or not and were doing essential matchstick man business out in the open. Setting up mob-style fronts is the only guarantee in the gambling world; the house will make sure you don’t win. The more you try to prove to them you can, the farther out they push you when they make the climate ripe for seed. Al Capone is a good example, they find a way if they have to. Hoover’s operation of the FBI fostered it and somewhere they decided if they can’t get you, they will create a law they know you cannot help but break. So yesterday the Justice Department decided it was time to get the brooms and do some sweeping. By clearing out the big three off-shore they pave the way for American online poker rooms to once again take root. Way more important than that is they produce the right regulations that keep the government in the loop, the companies reputable and honest, and most of all competitive at home and abroad. That entire sentence is open for interpretation.

    Who can say if this will be the only rug they check under? I imagine they will leave a fair portion of the smaller off-shore rooms to still play when the time comes for welcomed exchange of money for online poker, et al. unfortunately, you may want to grab a newspaper because those that get left behind will depend entirely on where they are. From that will determine if they stay or go depending on the current relations of trade and treaty between the United States and whatever country is in play. Make sure you know your current events and you can at least stay in the game if not be a step ahead. The US could want to sink a big company in a country that we owed money too and that country could then say, “Well America ok, come on in and get your guys. Oh by the way, we are going to call in on that vig we have on you so if you could just settle that with Mary at the front desk we would sure appreciate it!” Think the US will move to the next name on the list? Don't be naive to the world-wide schoolyard, it's recess 24/7! I for sure could be dead wrong, the US Government may want to level the field completely and build a Wal-Mart. Disallowing any company that did business with a single United States Penny during the time the UIEGA was in effect, would leave a molecule size chunk of poker rooms left. New ones would pop up like watching ten minutes of “Meerkat Manor.” Frankly to me, that sounds a little imperialistic, but then again this is an empire like it or not.

by Ryan Sayer

Who is OnTilt Radio

OnTilt Radio (OTR) is the premier Poker Radio Social Network catering to the world of live casinos and e-gaming clients, including the industries that support them and far beyond. OTR began in 2007 and has grown exponentially in its life span, continuing to do so today. Our approach to understanding all social networks aside from our own is how we stay above of the fold and build solid foundations within our shared and diverse global communities. Our partners find working with us a fun and profitable experience and it's their word of mouth that is the catalyst for our long held reputation as the top Poker Radio Social Network!

Not just a website, OnTilt Radio is an online radio station with a deep content library of shows that cover everything in anyone’s world… not just poker and they do it for listeners in over 100 countries. We have rich expertise as an industry multimedia powerhouse specializing in online and live event coverage or promotion, live show formats, and advertising channels for our partners. Still not finished, there is the newly launched OnTilt Radio Creative. The team at Creative can give your website or promotional materials the same innovative bar to set high above your competition with precision site design and graphics tailored to your personal hidden creativity. 

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