Category: My news, views and fun facts

Issac Haxton Wins Super High Roller Bowl V
Isaac Haxton Wins Super High Roller Bowl V – Photo by Poker Central

Isaac Haxton has won the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) V, the $3.67m first prize, and a long overdue place in poker’s major title record books.
It’s a fantastic achievement for the 33-year-old poker pro, who has fought tooth and nail in the highest stakes poker games for as long as anyone in the modern game.
The 36-entrant SHRB V took place over three days. Rick Salomon led 27-survivors at the end of Day 1, and Haxton ended Day 2 knowing he had a quarter of the chips in play and position on the second biggest stack belonging to Stephen Chidwick.
Final Table Lay of the Land
1. Ali Imsirovic – 875,000
2. Stephen Chidwick – 2,405,000
3. Isaac Haxton – 2,415,000
4. Igor Kurganov – 1,550,000
5. Talal Shakerchi – 995,000
6. Alex Foxen – 1,590,000
7. Adrian Mateos – 975,000
Let’s take a look at how Haxton took this one down.

Ali Imsirovic Eliminated in 7th Place ($540,000)

The Poker Masters Champion opened to 40,000 on the button, Stephen Chidwick called in the small blind, before Isaac Haxton squeezed to 230,000 from the big blind. Imsirovic wasted little time in moving all-in, Chidwick folded, and Haxton called. Imsirovic was ahead with JcJh v A5cc, but the Kh9c7c flop handed Haxton a flush draw. The Tc complete that loose end on the turn, while also handing Imsirovic a flush draw, but the deck wasn’t as kind – the 9d ended the action, and Imsirovic moved to the rail for a consolatory hug from his father.

Igor Kurganov Eliminated in 6th Place ($756,000)

The action checked to Stephen Chidwick who bet 65,000 from his position in the middle of the pack and Igor Kurganov moved all-in for 350,000 on the button. Talal Shakerchi, who was next to act, also moved all-in for 1,560,000, and Chidwick folded. The Hedge Fund manager was light years ahead with TT versus 77, and despite flopping a gutshot straight draw, Kurganov couldn’t find the luck he needed to remain in the tournament.
Isaac Haxton – 2,755,000
Adrian Mateos – 2,455,000
Talal Shakerchi – 2,035,000
Stephen Chidwick – 1,910,000
Alex Foxen – 1,650,000

Adrian Mateos Eliminated in 5th Place ($972,000)

Adrian Mateos was first to act and opened to 110,000, and when the action folded to Alex Foxen in the big blind he three-bet to 455,000. Back on Mateos and the Spaniard moved all-in for 1,910,000 and Foxen called. We were at the races with Foxen’s AK searching for luck against the pocket nines of Mateos, and the deck delivered a King on the flop to give Foxen the winning hand, sending Mateos home.
Alex Foxen – 6,440,000
Isaac Haxton – 2,160,000
Talal Shakerchi – 1,285,000
Stephen Chidwick – 920,000

Talal Shakerchi Eliminated in 4th Place ($1,118,000)

First, to act, Isaac Haxton opened to 140,000 UTG, Talal Shakerchi moved all-in for 1,285,000, and Haxton made the call. The partypoker pro was ahead with 99 >ATo, and it stayed that way to send the only non-professional at the final table back to his hotel room.

Stephen Chidwick Eliminated in 3rd Place ($1,512,000)

Shakerchi had still not left the casino by the time his compatriot, Stephen Chidwick tangled with Isaac Haxton in a bout of gymnastics that ended up with the pair all-in pre-flop with Chidwick at risk of elimination. It was another classic flip with Chidwick’s AQ needing to get lucky against JJ, and a set for Haxton on the flop reduced the odds dramatically. The 2d on the turn left Chidwick drawing dead, and Haxton would take on the Global Poker Index (GPI) #1, Alex Foxen, for all the beans with a 4,965,000 v 5,840,000 chip deficit.

Heads Up

Alex Foxen opened to 150,000 holding AdJc, Isaac Haxton three-bet to 630,000 holding pocket eights, and Foxen called. The dealer fanned a Kc7s5h flop over the table, and Haxton bet 750,000; Foxen called. Both players tapped the felt at the sight of the 6s on the turn, before deja vu on the 5s river, and Haxton took the lead with his pocket eights.
Haxton – 7,220,000
Foxen – 3,585,000
Foxen opened to 15,000 holding the crappy looking Qd2s, and Isaac Haxton called with K6dd. The flop of AsTd8d handed Haxton a flush draw, and he rightly called after Foxen had bet 235,000. The turn was the 3d completing the flush, and Foxen, who now had a flush draw, bet 515,000; Haxton called. The river was the 6h, Haxton checked for the third time, and then moved all-in when Foxen wagered 1,400,000 on a bluff. Foxen folded.
Haxton – 9,340,000
Foxen – 1,465,000
Isaac Haxton limped from the button for 60,000, Alex Foxen raised to 225,000, Haxton moved all-in for 9,400,000 and Foxen called for his remaining 1,330,000. Foxen was ahead with A8dd facing KsJh, and the AcQc6c strengthened his lead. The Kh gave Haxton a pair, and the Js on the river handed him two-pairs and the victory he has no doubt dreamt of his entire poker career.

Ike Haxton: Mr Consistency

Haxton debuted in the live tournament scene spectacularly when finishing runner-up to Ryan Daut in the 2007 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship in the Bahamas, banking $861,789.
A decade has passed, and Haxton has grown that $861,789 into a big fat looking $23,654,395 good enough for a 13th place standing in the All-Time Live Tournament Money Earned Leaderboard, overtaking Mikita Badziakouski, Sam Trickett, Brian Rast, Phil Hellmuth Jr, Jason Koon, Scott Seiver and Jake Schindler.
The $3,672,000 Haxton pocketed for his SHRB V win is his most substantial score to date, eclipsing the $2,525,841 he collected after losing to Phil Ivey in the AUD 250,000 Challenge at the 2014 Aussie Millions.
Haxton has now earned $8,194,991 playing live tournaments in 2018, and only seven people have won more. Haxton’s previous best annual score was $3,724,936 in 2014.
What’s incredible about this man is his consistency.
It’s only his seventh live tournament win, and his first major, with three of those victories coming in the past 12-months, but of his 106 cashes, 52 of them have seen Haxton rise to the position of six or above – an astonishing number, and it’s not hard to envisage a parallel universe where Haxton’s play gets the luck it deserves, rewriting the history books completely.
Here are the final table results:
Final Table Results
1. Isaac Haxton – $3,672,000
2. Alex Foxen – $2,160,000
3. Stephen Chidwick – $1,512,000
4. Talal Shakerchi – $1,188,000
5. Adrian Mateos – $972,000
6. Igor Kurganov – $756,000
7. Ali Imsirovic – $540,000

Often, when writing about poker, an image of the little old woman who lived in a shoe pops into my head. She had so many children she didn’t know what to do. And here I am writing about poker, a game that builds beautiful butterflies, while the rest never make it out of the chrysalis, drowning in their juices.
Another day.
Another article.
The little old woman who lived in the shoe is here again. I can see her fragility, and I can hear the echoes of her screams. The blinkers lost, the earplugs not to be found.
It’s the final day of the Super High Roller Bowl V (SHRB). A $300,000 buy-in, a $10m prize pool, and a £3.67m first prize.
That’s more than enough shoes.
I can choose any angle, like the one where partypoker’s Isaac Haxton finally binks his major title.
Isaac Haxton
He is the chip leader after all. What about the thought of Ali Imsirovic or Stephen Chidwick winning their second major Poker Central title in 12-months. The Poker Masters and US Poker Open winners are choosing to avoid a leg wax to play in the final, later, today.
What about the brilliant Spaniard, Adrian Mateos, who is in the frame to win his fifth major title, after leaving his homeland as a pup, and is now travelling the world, tearing poker games apart like a rottweiler.
And then you have the most obvious angle of all.
Alex Foxen.
The Global Poker Index (GPI) #1 ranked player in the world, and the favourite to take the mantle of GPI Player of the Year (PoY) from the savvy Spaniard who just filled the paragraph above.
He has made the final table of the SHRB.
If I were 12, I would write OMG.
But I am not going to focus on any of these stories (or the caterpillars that crawl over the eyes of the man sitting opposite me), I am going to focus on Igor Kurganov and Talal Shakerchi.
£3.67m is life-changing money.
If Kurganov or Shakerchi win it, then it becomes life-saving.
The two of them have made it their vocation to serve others through philanthropy. Shakerchi ploughs millions into his vision of a better future for earthlings, and Kurganov does the same as a board member of Raising for Effective Giving (REG),
I know I could be doing everyone else at the table a disservice, but I know, like a toothpick knows where the Chia Seeds hangout, that these two people will save lives.
So that’s where I am going to go with it.

Life-Savers Talal Shakerchi & Igor Kurganov Make the SHRB Final Table

Here’s how they did it.
Day 1 began with 36-entrants, and Rick Salomon ended the day leading the final 27-players.
You can read the write up of Day 1, right here.
Here are the hits of Day 2.

Alex Foxen’s TT Bests AK & AK For Triple Up

Alex Foxen’s tournament line was at risk nice and early when he got it in three-ways with Dan Cates and Dan Smith. Cates was the only player not at risk of elimination. Foxen was the aggressor, and showed TT, and was as cheerful as chips when he saw the two Dan’s both held AK. The tens held up; Smith fell into the rail, Cates took a considerable blow to the solar plexus and Foxen tripled-up.

Alex Foxen v David Peters

If you were to let AI choose the two best live multi-table tournament (MTT) players in the world so we could see them duke it out like Ali v Frazier style, then the names Alex Foxen and David Peters would fly out of the printer.
The GPI #1 & #2 clashed in a cooler of a hand that left Peters on life support. Both players flopped huge on QdQs2h with Foxen holding QTo, and Peters ahead with QJcc. Peters check-raised to 58,000, and Foxen called. The 7h arrived on fourth-street and both players checked. The river was the Ts, giving Foxen the best hand. Peters bet 150,000, Foxen shipped it for 278,000, and Peters called. Foxen showed the nuts and Peters fell to 9k. A hand later, and Salomon snaffled them up when his pocket nines beat a K7o that looked as depressed as the man holding them.

Stephen Chidwick Takes the Chip Lead

Before Alex Foxen was on top of the world, Stephen Chidwick held that position for a very long time. The UK pro became a real force in this one when he opened from the first position, Rick Salomon called in late position, and then Alex Foxen three-bet from the big blind. Both Chidwick and Salomon called, and the dealer placed Tc8s4c onto the felt. Foxen checked, Chidwick bet 42,000, Salomon raised to 142,000, Foxen folded, and Chidwick called. The 3s arrived on the river, and Salomon maximised the pressure by moving all-in once checked too. Chidwick took his time before making the call. Salomon was chasing with 96cc, and Chidwick held the slight advantage with T9ss for top pair. The 4d floated down the river, and Chidwick doubled into the chip lead.

Daniel Negreanu Eliminates The Former Champion

Justin Bonomo became the only former champion in with a shout of creating deja vu after Daniel Negreanu eliminated the 2015 winner, Brian Rast. The PokerStars man opened to 12,000 from midfield, Dan Cates and Ali Imsirovic called in position before Brian Rast moved all-in for 145,000 from the big blind. Negreanu followed suit, and neither Cates nor Imsirovic wanted a piece of the action. Negreanu showed queens, Rast ATo, and the ladies reigned supreme.

We Lose The Day 1 Chip Leader

Rick Salomon has featured in three $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop Final Tables. He knows the way to reach the end zone of these things, but won’t be repeating that feat. After falling short, the Day 1 Chip Leader moved all-in with A5o, and Sean Winter called and beat him with A9cc.

Alex Foxen Takes Control

Then we had two huge hands that propelled Foxen into the lead.
The GPI #2 raised to 14,000 from the button, Sean Winter three-bet to 55,000 from the blinds and Foxen called. The dealer placed 9h6c3d onto the flop. Winter had flopped top set, and Foxen an open-ended straight draw. Winter bet 60,000 and Foxen called. The Qh appeared on fourth-street to give Foxen a flush draw. Winter bet 145,000, Foxen shipped it, and Winter made the quick call. The players focused on the space where the river would land, and after a daydream or two, the Ts took its place. Foxen hit his straight. Winter was out.
Then Alex Foxen opened from the cutoff, Justin Bonomo called in the small blind, Nick Petrangelo three-bet from the big blind to 70,000, Foxen raised to 178,000, Bonomo left the party, and Petrangelo called. The dealer delivered Kh5h3s onto the flop, Petrangelo checked, Foxen bet 95,000, and Petrangelo called. The action checked through to the river on a 3c and Th board. Petrangelo bet 175,000, Foxen moved all-in for 1.2 million, Petrangelo called and was shattered to see that his full house (TT) never stood a chance against the KK of Foxen. The GPI #1 was the chip leader. Petrangelo was out.

We Lose the SHRB V Champion

We know one thing.
Whoever wins this thing will be doing so for the first time.
Justin Bonomo, who was first to act, opened to 14,000, Isaac Haxton called in the hijack, Foxen squeezed to 57,000 from the button, Bonomo moved all-in for 710,000, Haxton folded, and Foxen made the call and had his opponent crushed KK>A4hh. Bonomo found no joy on the board and would have to sit this one out, after winning the Las Vegas and Macau events earlier this year.

Daniel Negreanu Eliminated by Stephen Chidwick

The play moved into the bubble phase after Stephen Chidwick removed the dangerous Daniel Negreanu from the equation. Both players were staring at a 6c3s2d flop when the US Poker Open Champion bet 50,000, Daniel Negreanu raised to 100,000, Chidwick made it 250,000, and Negreanu called. The 9d arrived on fourth-street, Chidwick bet 150,000, Negreanu moved all-in for 444,000, and Chidwick called. Negreanu showed pocket sevens but was way behind the T9o of Chidwick who had turned a pair of nines. The 4s ended the action, and Negreanu left his seat.

Mikita Badziakouski Bubbles the SHRB V

Stack depth saw the remaining eight players compete for three hours before we anyone made any money. Mikita Badziakouski opened to 40,000 from the first position and then moved all-in after Stephen Chidwick had three-bet to 150,000 from the big blind. Badziakouski called and showed AK; Chidwick showed TT and won the flip to set up our final table.
And I never even mentioned Shakerchi or Kurganov once.
Why did I choose that poxy headline?
Maybe tomorrow.
Here are the final table chip counts:
The Super High Roller Bowl V Final Table
1. Ali Imsirovic – 875,000
2. Stephen Chidwick – 2,405,000
3. Isaac Haxton – 2,415,000
4. Igor Kurganov – 1,550,000
5. Talal Shakerchi – 995,000
6. Alex Foxen – 1,590,000
7. Adrian Mateos – 975,000
The action begins at 4 pm (ET) on Wednesday 19 December where we will crown a winner. In the meantime, the remaining seven players have had some broth without any bread, and after being whipped soundly are now all in bed.

Super High Roller Bowl
The build-up to the fifth Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) has been anything but plain sailing. The decision by the organisers to drag the preeminent event screaming and kicking into 2018, has seen a few people fall overboard.
There aren’t enough lifeboats.
Then we had confusion over the lottery with a changed date, and a decision to pull 35-names out of the tombola, not 25. And then nothing but deathly silence when it came to the question of the final headcount.
But that’s all in the past.
As is Day 1.
As it transpired, the ARIA never handpicked any VIP guests because the tournament began with 36-entrants, thanks to the last minute registration from Rick Salomon. You don’t need to know how to program a flying saucer to understand that the ARIA didn’t pick any VIPS because there weren’t any, and that’s going to be a problem moving forward if this event is going to become a mainstay in the poker calendar.
36-entrants makes it the lowest attended SHRB in the tournament’s short tenure. That means the event billed as THE number one draw in the high roller calendar is offering a first prize of $3.67m, only the seventh highest first prize of 2018.

Richest First Prizes of 2018

1. $10m – $1m Big One For One Drop (Justin Bonomo)
2. $8.8m – $10k WSOP Main Event (John Cynn)
3. $5,257,027 – $255k Triton Poker Series Main Event, Jeju (Mikita Badziakouski)
4. $5m – $300k Super High Roller Bowl (Justin Bonomo)
5. $4,823,077 – $270k Super High Roller Bowl China (Justin Bonomo)
6. $3,685,000 – $250k Super High Roller CPP (Steffen Sontheimer)
The prodding and poking didn’t end at the live lottery with the organisers deciding to play eight levels on Day 1, not nine, and to give players 3 x 100,000 stacks to bring into play at any time during the first nine levels.
Rick Salomon was the only player who stacked all three 100k heaps in front of him, and it helped him end the day as the chip leader with 27-players remaining. Nine players saw $300,000 go the way of errant ear wax flying off a the end of a finger, with two of them former SHRB Champions.
Here are the eliminations.

Justin Bonomo Axes Steffen Sontheimer

Steffen Sontheimer was the first player to hit the rail. The 2017 Poker Masters winner got short enough to stick it in with KQxx, and Justin Bonomo picked it apart calling with A2xx. Barry Greenstein’s ace on the river sealing Sontheimer’s fate.

Byrn Kenney Batters Giuseppe Iadisernia

Giuseppe Iadisernia was one of the most inexperienced players to part with $300,000, and it didn’t provide him with much of a ride. Iadisernia limped from UTG; Nick Petrangelo raised to 4,500 in the cutoff, Bryn Kenney called on the button as did Iadisernia. The flop contained more hearts than a pack of Swizzels Matlow candy (Ah6h2h), Iadisernia led for 11,000, Petrangelo stepped aside, Kenney put Iadisernia all-in, and the call arrived. Iadisernia showed KhTd for the flush draw, and Kenney showed AJss for top pair, and it was good after the turn and river remained as heartless as cancer.

Dan Smith Coolers Jake Schindler

Jake Schindler came into this one on a high after taking down the $100k at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic for over a million bucks, but he couldn’t make it to Day 2 in this one.
The Santa hat wearing Dan Smith opened to 4,500 from UTG with pocket aces and Jake Schindler three-bet with pocket kings. Smith called. The flop of 7h5c4s was great news for Smith and a nightmare for Schindler. Smith check-called bets of 11,000 and 28,000 on the flop, and 7s turn before the Ah arrived on the river. Smith checked for the third time, Schindler moved all-in for 72,500, and Smith called to end the tournament life of one of the in-form players in the world.

David Peters Vanquishes Christoph Vogelsang

Christoph Vogelsang will not win a second SHRB. The 2017 champion moved all-in on a two spade flop containing an eight and a jack, holding Q8ss, and David Peters had called holding AJdd for the higher pair. The spades stayed in the garden shed, and Vogelsang was in the dirt.

Bryn Kenney Bumps Rainer Kempe Into the Rail

One former German SHRB champion to another as Bryn Kenney sent the 2016 winner, Rainer Kempe, packing. Kempe thought KQo was good enough on the button. Kenney thought AJo was worthy of a fight in the big blind, and ace-high held after five community cards landed in the middle of the table.

Seth Davies Slaughters Ben Yu

Seth Davies opened to 6,500 in late position, Ben Yu moved all-in from the small blind for 57,000, and Davies called. At showdown, Yu was ahead with ATo v KQo, but a queen on the flop turned the tables, and Yu’s hand never recovered leaving him with a day off on Wednesday.

Dan Smith Destroys Dominik Nitsche

Ok, not quite that melodramatic.
The action folded to Dominik Nitsche who moved all-in from the small blind, and Dan Smith called in the next seat. Nitsche was in terrible shape with his T6dd up against AdTc, and the better hand pre-flop remained the better hand after the flop, turn and river.

David Peters Bests Bill Klein

David Peters bet 9,000 from UTG, Rick Salomon three-bet to 29,000 from the small blind, Bill Klein moved all-in for 122,000 in the big blind, Peters folded and Salomon called. It was a classic coin flip with Salomon’s AK looking to hit something against Klein’s pocket queens and hit something they did when an ace and king appeared on the flop to send the part-timer home early.

Fedor Holz Sends Cary Katz to The Rail

The final elimination was that of Cary Katz.
The man who created the tournament went searching for a straight draw at the same time Fedor Holz woke up with a set of jacks, and the turn and river dodged Katz’ hand giving Holz some much-needed chips for his Day 2 exploits.
Here is the end of day chip counts:
Chip Counts
1. Rick Salomon – 806,000
2. Ali Imsirovic – 661,000
3. Daniel Negreanu – 623,000
4. Stephen Chidwick – 553,000
5. Nick Petrangelo – 460,000
6. Seth Davies – 445,000
7. Adrian Mateos – 378,000
8. Bryn Kenney – 371,000
9. David Peters – 344,000
10. Sean Winter – 339,000
11. Justin Bonomo 335,000
12. Talal Shakerchi – 328,000
13. Isaac Haxton – 309,000
14. Mikita Badziakouski – 261,000
15. Fedor Holz – 240,000
16. Igor Kurganov – 237,000
17. Phil Hellmuth – 237,000
18. Brian Rast – 208,000
19. Dan Cates – 190,000
20. Matthias Eibinger – 180,000
21. Sam Soverel – 157,000
22. Alex Foxen – 127,000
23. Chris Kruk – 96,000
24. Koray Aldemir – 92,000
25. Jason Koon – 82,000
26. Dan Smith – 78,000
27. Ben Tollerene – 74,000
The plan is for the action to recommence on Tuesday at 14:00 (PT) where they will play down to the money, which, incidentally, is the final seven players.

Learning to speak Texas Hold’em as well as you play it is all part of the fun and excitement of the world’s most popular poker game!
Some of the terms and slang used are self-explanatory, some humourous, others startlingly apt, but all very relevant to the game and your knowledge of it.
To help you along we have put together a comprehensive list of terms. Read them, memorise the ones you find worthy of repeat, and begin to speak Hold’em as well as you play it!
This is part 3 covering the letters D-F. The remainder of the alphabet will be gradually introduced to allow meanings to soak in.
Have fun reading!

D is for:

Dead Man’s Hand:

• Supposedly the hand Wild Bill Hickock held when he was shot: Aces & Eights!

Deuce:

• A 2

Draw/Drawing:

• A player who needs 1 or 2 cards more to make a strong hand is ‘drawing’ in the hope they will hit what is required and be paid off

Drawing Dead:

• When you are in a hand, or an all-in showdown and unable to win. This is regardless of what remaining cards hit the table

Ducks:

• A pair of 2’s

Down Card:

• Hole cards that are dealt face down

Doyle Brunson:

• This is a Hold’em hand of 10-2. – Brunson won the World Championship for two consecutive years with these cards!

Drop:

• To fold

E is for:

Early Position:

• Considered as the player who is 2 positions to the left of the Blinds. When in Early Position you must act before the majority of other players.

Expected Value (EV):

• This can be described as a positive or a negative as in; +EV or -EV. It is a player’s rating on a specific poker play and indicates whether it will result in long-term positive or negative returns

F is for:

Family Pot:

• This is when all or most players call pre-flop
Fifth Street:
• In flop games this is the 5th community card on the table as well as the final round of playing. It is also known as the “river” card

Fish:

• Don’t be one, but playing against a “fish” can be profitable! It is the term used to describe a weak, inexperienced player

Flat Call:

• This is when you call a player without raising

Float:

• When a player calls a bet with a bluff in mind which will allow them to take the pot on a later street

Flop:

• These are the first 3 community cards dealt in Hold’em (and Omaha). They are dealt in the centre of the table, face-up. It also indicates the 2nd round of playing

Flush:

• A 5-card hand all of the same suit

Flush Draw:

• When a player is holding 4 same-suit cards and is hoping to draw a 5th to make their flush

Fold:

• Surrendering a hand, ending participation in that round and therefore rendering yourself unable to win the pot

Fold Equity:

• This is the implied equity a player stands to achieve by making a bet with the intention of forcing their opponent to fold. Example: This can be used to good effect if an opponent has a small stack. You raise enough to cover the stack. Unless they are willing to play for their total stack they are forced to fold

Forced Play:

• A required play to begin the action on the 1st round

Four of a Kind:

• 4 same ranked cards. Also called “quads”

Fourth Street:

• An alternative term for the “turn” or 4th community card

Full House:

• Yes please! A 5-card hand consisting of 3-of-a-kind plus a pair

Free card:

• In the event all players check they all get to see a free card

Free-Roll:

Two meanings:
• If a tournament states there is no “buy-in” required, it is free to enter.
• A player in a hand that can only win or chop is free-rolling for the win

Freeze-Out:

• In a “freeze-out” tournament players cannot rebuy
That’s it for the letters D to-F in our installment of “Texas Hold’em – The A-Z of Poker speak”. There is little doubt you will be familiar with some of the terms above, but hopefully you have added to your Texas Hold’em vocabulary with ones previously unheard of.

There’s lots more to come:

Do keep a close eye out as we build this extensive compendium on the A-Z of Hold’em jargon. It will add to your knowledge of common terms as well as the more obscure ones. What is more, you will be able to impart your knowledge to friends as well as foes!
Our next article continues with the letter’s ‘G’ to ‘K’ and includes ‘Grinder’, ‘Gut Shot’, ‘Heater’ and ‘Hijack. It will also explain how to ‘Keep Them Honest’!

“Put a towel underneath your door?”
It was an odd request.
“Why?”
“The snake.”
“What snake?”
Then he showed me the longest-arsed python I had ever seen in my life. It lived in a plastic tube and could kill me in my sleep hence the towel.
He was a strange cookie: a firefighter.
He took great delight in showing me his bedroom, and it was deathly cold. The window was wide open — the cold night air sneaking in, hiding underneath his covers.
“Why do you have the window open?”
“I am a firefighter. I need the cold.”
“But what if someone climbs through your window?”
“Oh, they won’t do that,” he said, producing a big gun.
I only stayed one night, and I haven’t thought about him until Matthias Eibinger won another high roller and a vision interrupted my thoughts of high stakes poker players placing towels beneath casino doors in an attempt to keep him out.

Matthias Eibinger Wins The €50k Super High Roller.

Matthias Eibinger
The €50k Super High Roller attracted 40-entrants (30 unique, and ten with a little extra cash to splash the dash), six more than 2017 when Timothy Adams took the title, €555,000 first prize and a bouquet.
It was a spiffing final table with quality players jutting out all over like decades-old gravestones in a long-forgotten cemetery — players of the ilk of the 2017 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) Main Event winner, Charlie Carrel, one half of the mighty Greenwood twins in Luc, and a man experiencing the heater of his life, Andras Nemeth.
But before I wax lyrical about the awesome Austrian, it’s worth mentioning the mighty Moldovan. Pavel Plesuv flew into Prague after winning the World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roller Open Main Event, and then proceeded to make the final table of every high roller that EPT Prague ushered in his direction.
Nemeth, Plesuv, Greenwood and Carrel are top players, but it was Eibinger who continued his incredible 2018 with the win. The Austrian beat Nemeth in a hard-fought and fortunate heads-up match, which in truth, the Hungarian would have closed out had it not been for the Poker Gods repeatedly kicking him in the balls with Eibinger out for the count.
The victory is Eibinger’s third of the year, including taking down the $52,000 event during ARIA Fall Madness for $575,000, and a $25k at the same venue in the summer for $300,000. Eibinger also tore through the PokerStars’ EPT in Barcelona earlier this year cashing in five big buy-in events collecting $1.5m.
Here are the final table results:
Final Table Results
1. Matthias Eibinger – €653,000
2. Andras Nemeth – €451,350
3. Liang Xu – €288,090
4. Pavel Plesuv – €220,870
5. Luc Greenwood – €172,850
6. Charlie Carrel – €134,440

Thomas Boivin and Corentin Ropert Win €25k Events via Live Satellites

Sitting on the EPT Prague undercard was two €25,000 High Rollers and players who qualified for the events via live satellites won them both turning a speculative effort into a mammoth amount of money.
The first event saw 46-entrants (36 unique, ten re-entries) create the first prize of €375,520, and that money now sits in a bank account belonging to Thomas Boivin.
The Belgian defeated a final table that included the WPT Champion Pavel Plesuv, the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) €25k High Roller winner, Michael Addamo, and the high stakes regular, Orpen Kisacikoglu.
But it was the presence of Steve O’Dwyer that caught most people’s attention. O’Dwyer is one of four players (David Peters, Adrian Mateos and Justin Bonomo) capable of stopping Alex Foxen from taking down the 2018 Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year (PoY) award, but the American only bagged 248.25 GPI points with 319.21 points going to the Belgian. That said it was another remarkable run for a man who has now won more than $6.4m in 2018.
It’s the third tournament win of Boivin’s career after conquering a field of 2,887-entrants in a $1,100 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) DeepStack event at The Venetian for $352,153 in 2016, and battering 516-entrants in an AUD 1,200 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max event at the 2017 Aussie Millions for $88,195. Boivin’s win sees his all-time live tournament earnings shift to $2,127,693 putting him sixth in his the Belgium rankings behind Davidi Kitai, Pierre Neuville, Kenny Hallaert, Michael Gathy and Bart Lybaert.
Here are the final table results:
Final Table Results
1. Thomas Boivin – €375,520
2. Steve O’Dwyer – €259,550
3. Orpen Kisacikoglu – €165,670
4. Michael Addamo – €127,010
5. Pavel Plesuv – €99,400
6. Stefan Huber – €77,310
Corentin Ropert told reporters that his EPT Prague experience was so awful he considered spending the night in his room watching movies on Netflix. Instead, inspired by Boivin’s victory, the Frenchman dragged his sorry arse to the poker room to compete in a live satellite for the €25k and ended up winning the lot.
The field size was slightly smaller than the first €25k with 34-entrants (29 unique, five re-entries) carving out a €277,560 first prize, and Ropert beat the Japanese player Tsugunari Toma, heads-up, to take the title.
It’s the second victory of Ropert’s career, and they have come in the last two events the Frenchman has finished in the money (in October he beat 149-entrants in a €1k event in Divonne Les Bains to take the €30,336 first prize). This win was more than double his combined efforts of the previous five years.
Michael Addamo made his second EPT Prague final table, Plesuv made his third, and there was also an appearance from the high rolling Russian born Dietrich Fast.
Final Table Results
1. Corentin Ropert – €277,560
2. Tsugunary Toma – €191,840
3. Michael Addamo – €122,450
4. Dietrich Fast – €93,880
5. Norbert Szecsi – €73,470
6. Pavel Plesuv – €57,140

When we sit in our terraformed Martian homes, popping the cork on our sparkling water while watching pigeons failing miserably to remove their little space helmets with deformed feet, we will think about the history of high stakes poker and Australia will be where it all began.
The Aussie Millions.
Phil Ivey.
Erik Seidel.
Sam Trickett.
It was THE place to be when it came to the biggest buy-in tournaments anywhere in the world, and so, this week, it was nice to be back there, for another high stakes poker tournament, albeit in Sydney, not Melbourne, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP), not Australia’s annual poker extravaganza.
The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) was at The Star in Sydney, and there was an AUD 20,000 (USD 15,000) No-Limit Hold’em High Roller on the menu.
The two-day event attracted 50-entrants, and by the end of Day 1, Luke Martinelli led the final nine players. It was an unfamiliar feeling for Martinelli who had never played in a game this big and only secured a seat after selling action.
But one bullet later here he was – the boss.
Luke Martinelli WSOP Sydney
Day 2 Starting Chip Counts
1. Luke Martinelli – 570,000
2. Michael Egan – 381,500
3. Jan Suchanek – 304,000
4. Ebon Bokody – 291,500
5. Sosia Jiang – 283,500
6. Qiang Fu – 280,000
7. Gautam Dhingra – 224,500
8. Robert Spano – 131,000
9. Jason Pritchard – 84,000

The Action

Here are the highlights of Day 2.

Robert Spano Ousted in 9th Place.

Ebon Bokody opened to 11,000 holding A7ss, Robert Spano moved all-in for 13,000 holding Q6ss, Michael Egan called in the small blind with QTcc, and Qiang Fu made it a family pot by calling in the big blind holding K7hh.
Flop: Ks7c5c
The action checked to Fu, holding the top two pairs, and he bet 30,000, and only Egan stuck around with the flush draw. That ended the conflict as both players checked the turn (Jh) and the river (Qd). Fu took the pot, and Spano left the party.

Jason Pritchard Erased in 8th Place.

Gautam Dhingra opened with a raise to 13,000, Martinelli called in the hijack seat, Pritchard moved all-in for 106,000 in position, Dhingra folded, but Martinelli made the call.
Martinelli: 8h8d
Pritchard: AcQd
Board: JsJh9c4c5d
With the boardless devoid of the right type of regality, Pritchard headed to the rail, and Martinelli extended his chip lead.

Michael Egan Wiped Out in 7th Place.

Michael Egan was the next to vacate his seat, and this time it was the boot of Gautam Dhingra catching an ass.
Jan Suchanek opened to 16,000 in the cutoff, Egan moved all-in from the button holding KTcc. Dhingra moved all-in from the big blind for 147,000 and AcKs, and Suchanek folded. The board ran out Qc6s2d7h7c, and Dhingra swallowed every single one of Egan’s chips sending the tournament into the bubble.

Dhingra Doubled Through Martinelli

Dhingra clipped the ear of the chip leader after his JJ beat AJ in an all-in race to the death.
Dhingra – 472,000
Martinelli – 395,000

Sosia Jiang Axed on The Bubble

Ebon Bokody opened the action to 16,000 from the button, Sosia Jiang moved all-in from the small blind for 276,000, and Bokody made the call.
Bokody: KsKd
Jiang: TsTd
Cooler.
The dealer placed five community cards into the middle of the table, neither of which was a ten, and as Jiang left, smiles broke out amongst the five remaining players who had all made money.
Chip Counts
1. Ebon Bokody – 1,000,000
2. Jan Suchanek – 780,000
3. Qiang Fu – 410,000
4. Luke Martinelli – 290,000
5. Gautam Dhingra – 228,000

Martinelli Dropped to the Bottom; Then Double Doubled

Martinelli opened UTG for 21,000 holding pocket kings, and Bodoky called in the big blind holding Jd9s. The JsJh7s flop was brilliant for Bokody, but he missed a spot of value when both checked. The 7h arrived in the turn, and Martinelli called a 25,000 Bokody bet. The river card was the 3d, and Martinelli called a 70,000 Bokody bet and promptly dropped to the bottom of the chip counts.
Moments later, and Martinelli doubled through Dhingra when he moved all-in holding pocket aces, and Dhingra made the call with K9dd. And then Martinelli did the same thing to Suchanek after the pair got it in on 5s4d3d with Martinelli flopping top pair with the flush draw (Jd5d), and Suchanek flopping a flush draw (T7dd). The 4h and As completed the action and Martinelli’s pair of fives was good.

Gautam Dhingra Liquidated in 5th Place.

With Martinelli climbing through the ranks, it was Dhingra who took his place at the bottom. Then with 20 big blinds in front of him, Dhingra moved all-in from UTG holding AThh, and Fu made the call with pocket tens, flopped the third ten, and that was the end of that.
Chip Counts
1. Luke Martinelli – 794,000
2. Jan Suchanek – 770,000
3. Ebon Bokody – 636,000
4. Qiang Fu – 584,000

Bokody Doubled Through Martinelli; Suchanek Expelled in 4th Place.

Bokody moved all-in over a Martinelli three-bet, and the chip leader made the call. Bokody showed AdAc, Martinelli held KsQc, and the best hand in poker held up.
Bokody then took the chip lead when he called Suchanek’s all-in during a spot of button v big blind bartering. Suchanek showed 87ss, and Bokody had him smashed with pocket kings. Suchanek did flop a seven, but the turn and river evaded him, and Bokody rose to the top of the ranks.

Qiang Fu Dismissed in 3rd Place.

If Martinelli was going to have any chance of winning this thing, then he needed to be the man holding the knife when the scalp of Qiang Fu vanished from the top of his head, and that’s what happened.
Fu opened to 33,000 on the button holding pocket treys, Martinelli three-bet to 135,000 from the big blind holding KdQd, Fu moved all-in, and Martinelli called. The 7d4d2s flop maintained Fu’s lead but did give Martinelli flush outs. The Tc changed nothing, but the Kc changed everything. Fu was out, and Martinelli began his heads-up encounter with Bokody with a 1m v 1.5m chip deficit.

Martinelli Wins The AUD 20,000 High Roller

After trading blows for a while, Bokody failed in a bluff that saw Martinelli take a 1.9m v 600k chip lead, making a brave call with the second pair.
And then this happened.
Bokody opened to 40,000 holding 8d7cm, and Martinelli made the call holding 9h6s. The dealer fanned the 7h6h6d onto the flop giving them both a reason to be happy. Bokody continued his momentum with a 45,000 c-bet, Martinelli check-raised to 110,000, Bokody three-bet to 250,000, and Martinelli called.
Turn: Td
Martinelli checked, Bokody moved all-in for 400,000, and Martinelli made the call. Only the sevens in the deck would help Bokody, and they remained there. The Ah came out to play, and with it, Martinelli had won the biggest tournament of his life.
ITM Results (Payouts in USD)
1. Luke Martinelli – $257,675
2. Ebon Bokody – $159,278
3. Qiang Fu – $112,342
4. Jan Suchanek – $85,955
5, Gautam Dhingra – $79,821
Martinelli is also well positioned for a good run in the WSOPC Main Event bagging the third largest stack on Day 1A.

Learning to speak Texas Hold’em as well as you play it is all part of the fun and excitement of the world’s most popular poker game!
Some of the terms and slang used are self-explanatory, some humourous, others startlingly apt, but all very relevant to the game and your knowledge of it.
To help you along we have put together a comprehensive list of terms. Read them, memorise the ones you find worthy of repeat, and begin to speak Hold’em as well as you play it!
This is part 3 covering the letter C. The remainder of the alphabet will be introduced gradually to allow meanings to soak in.
Have fun reading!

C is for:

Call:

• To make a “call” a player needs to match another player’s bet if they are to continue the hand and either see the next card or force a showdown. A call will define who wins the pot.

Calling Station:

• Don’t become a Calling Station! This term is used for a player that calls bets excessively and it is rare to see them Fold or Raise.

Cap:

• Taking the last of the maximum number of raises allowed for each round of play.

Case Card:

• This is the last card in the deck of a certain rank. Example: If you are holding 3-of-a-kind you will be hoping to get the fourth matching card (the case card).

Case Chips:

• Not what you want, but it will happen! This relates to a player’s last chips.

Cash Game:

• Chips have a point value in tournaments. In cash games the value is cash!

Check:

• Opting not to bet and passing the action to the next person in the hand. In table games a check can either be verbal or by a hand pat on the table.

Check-Raise:

• This should be a tactic you employ profitably. You Check in the hope (expectation!) of drawing other players into the bet. When they commit, you raise.

Chop:

• If participating players have the same value in their hand on showdown they “Chop the pot” and receive and equal share of it. This is also referred to as “Split the pot”

Coin Flip:

• Texas Hold’em regulars will come across this fairly frequently. It is when 2 players are all in and both have a fairly even chance of winning. Example: 1 player is holding high suited “connectors”.
E.g. Ace, King – The other has a “pocket pair” such as pocket 10’s. Coin Flip is also known as a “race”.

Cold Call:

• A Cold Call in Hold’em is classed when 1 player raises in a “pre-flop” round and then another player “calls” it.

Collusion:

• Don’t do it! Don’t partner up! As the term suggests, collusion is when 2 or more players conspire to cheat in a game.

Community Cards:

• The cards that are dealt face up on the table. All players can use these cards in order to make their hand with their two “hole” cards.

Connectors:

• 2 cards in sequential order. These are usually a player’s “hole” cards.

Continuation Bet:

• As a general rule, when a player opts to bet pre-flop they will almost always bet on the flop. Continuation betting can also be used as a type of bluff: If you have what appears to be a strong pre-flop hand and place a bet, but post-flop things are not looking so positive you bet again anyway. Your opponent will often assume your hand remains strong as they are not aware of this change.

Cooler:

• When multiple players have strong hands this inevitably results in a big pot as well as unavoidable actions. When this happens, the outcome is usually all-in bets and calls.

Cowboys:

• A pair of Kings.

Cut Off:

• A player to the right of the dealer is termed as being in the Cut Off position.
That’s it for the letter ‘C’ in our installment of “Texas Hold’em – The A-Z of Poker speak”. There is little doubt you will be familiar with some of the terms above, but hopefully you have added to your Texas Hold’em vocabulary with ones previously unheard of.

There’s lots more to come:

Do keep a close eye out as we build this extensive compendium on the A-Z of Hold’em jargon. It will add to your knowledge of common terms as well as the more obscure ones. What is more, you will be able to impart your knowledge to friends as well as foes!
Our next article continues with the letter’s ‘D’ to ‘F’ and includes ‘Ducks’ and ‘Drawing Dead’. Where the term ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ originated from as well as ‘Fish’ ‘Float’ and ‘Fourth Street’!

money tree
Growing up thinking there’s a money tree in the garden that’s always barren it’s not the prelude to a philanthropic life. I existed in a perpetual state of lack, and not-enoughness for 35-years before deciding to dam up the waterfall of alcohol that used to burn my throat.
The fog lifted.
I saw the cat’s stare.
I heard the men in white coats cut the bulls off a horn.
I smelled my son’s hair in a pillow soaked in my tears.
I became a voracious reader. Mentors who filled my mind with the blueprints of success, made me feel like I could do more than tie my shoelace.
One of the men with a helicopter pad on his roof said If I donate my money to someone or something needier than I, then the universe will return the bounty with compound interest.
Selfishly, I began donating.
Like strobe lighting at a Motown gig, it never felt right.
It was for me.
Not for them.
Time passed.
Perfume faded.
My Elvis Costello LP warped in the sun.
Oliver’s Army trudged off to war.
Then I found Raising for Effective Giving (REG) and Effective Altruism, and things changed. Maybe it was age? Perhaps it was nausea produced by all of those Fabergé eggs, unslept in beds and slit wrists.
REG made me feel right about being in the poker industry. I no longer felt the kid hiding his fish paste sandwiches. Shame became pride. Poker players became ambassadors for greater meaning and purpose, and I looked across at them as a man on equal footing instead of looking up to them like a little boy seeking approval.

Amongst them, Dan Smith.

For the past four years, Smith has leveraged his status within the poker hierarchy to do tremendous good in the world. Last year, his championing of poker as an effective and altruistic vehicle resulted in the astonishing number of $4.5m raised for effective charities.
This year, he’s back, with a new look campaign that has the same old guts and bolts feeling beneath the hood. From now, until to December 29, Smith, Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) pro Aaron Merchak, and fellow poker pros Stephen Chidwick and Matt Ashton, and some anonymous donors have promised to match $1,290,000 in charitable donations for effective charities.
Luckily for you and me, I got the opportunity to ask Smith a few questions about the new initiative and began by asking him to share his ‘service’ biography.
“Years ago, I would have considered myself a negative person, so if anything went slightly wrong, my first thought would be negative. For instance, if my cell phone weren’t where it should be, I would think, “Maybe the goddam maid stole it'” before realising I had moved it to the kitchen or something.
“Now, I think with years of mindfulness – and I have started therapy in the past year which has been very helpful, taking care of my body both mentally and physically – I think I have changed to the core to be a more positive person. Now, if something bad happens to me, I think I could take rough events in my stride, and in some cases see the good in everything.”
Who is the DoubleUpDrive designed for?
“The campaign is designed for everyone,” says Smith. “I like the idea of making it more accessible. I loved the idea of changing the narrative that one person can’t make a difference. Of course, I had a lot of help and support along the way even contributions as small as coming up with the name of the drive or the logo, the logistics. Ultimately, I feel I created the project. I had the idea and executed it, and I like the idea of reminding myself and others that one person really can make a difference.
“With GiveDirectly you can give money to people in Uganda who are living off 65 cents a day. 65 cents is not an amount that even registers for me. I think a lot of people get caught up in their head about not caring about other people, so they don’t ‘do charity’, and yet you can still prioritise yourself over other people and help others. Even if I value my mental well being more than others – by how much? When it comes to supporting someone for 65 cents a day, I do think for your own mental wellbeing helping other people is very satisfying. I will look back on my life, and this will be one of my top accomplishments. I am super thrilled that I achieved my dream of becoming a great poker player. But I take more pride in doing this thing that provides a real positive impact in someone’s life.”
What is the worldview of the people you are hoping to reach?
“Small donors and I like the idea of giving a big donor an avenue for matching and inspiring other people. To make it bigger than just yourself. I am trying to convince people that it’s possible to make a profound difference in the world without dramatically inconveniencing yourself. People think you can’t be self-indulgent and charitable and you can do both. I live a very nice life where if I were completely utilitarian I would live in a one bedroom shack, spending as little as possible and donating more. My primary energy is to take care of myself, even if that’s ‘selfish.’ When I take care of myself, I can be there more for other people.”
When it comes to ‘service; what do people fear?
“I think some people are afraid that they are not inherently charitable people, but I don’t think people are born charitable,” says Smith. “When I first wanted to get into this world it was just something I wrote on my New Year’s resolutions list – ‘be more charitable’.
“I didn’t know how to go about doing it. It wasn’t until I started that I realised it was about going through and putting in the motions. I used to think that some people had a different view of the world and cared more but I think it’s entirely a thing that you can create.
“I also think that people are afraid of trying in some cases. I was nervous when I started this that I would come across as preachy, or that I was bragging that I could afford to donate some larger numbers or maybe I would flop on my face, but I think it’s important never to be afraid to try and do a good thing.”
What change are you seeking to make in the world?
“I would like to reduce harm and then suffering,” says Smith. “GiveWell is a great organisation that tells you what the most efficient causes are that you can support. Generally, malaria nets or even treating people with malaria is super cheap or feeding people who live off very little money. The Helen Keller Vitamin A Supplementation Program, where people, especially children, are malnourished. You give them Vitamin A Supplements, and it helps – they don’t go blind and prevents people from dying.
“I am trying to maximise the change I can do and am happy to defer to experts, and I am also hoping to move up the ranks and become an expert myself. Secondly, helping people with mental health issues is a passion of mine. I have tried to do a bit of writing about it because I think with interviews like this it comes across like I have my shit together when I go through periods just this February where I was struggling to sleep through the nights because I had many anxious weeks. When you’re not sleeping great things, get worse, and I get anxious about being anxious. I have done some writing to express that I have issues, and I am hoping that people can see that even a successful poker player who seemingly has it all, struggles. I am hoping that someone sees it and views their struggles as normal. It’s easy to feel like we are alone when we’re all dealing with a lot of the same things.”
Why will people tell their friends about DoubleUpDrive?
“It’s a remarkable story.” Says Smith. “It’s easy to get numb to it, but last year we raised $4.5m. I have seen a statistic that on average, $3,000 saves a life. That’s 1,500 people that might have died. That’s a tremendous impact and I think it’s a wild story, taking an inherently selfish thing and doing good with it and I think it’s challenging and will motivate people. It’s a magnified impact for people thinking of donating, so it’s a much better deal for them as well.”
If you could rid the world of one thing, what would it be and why?
“There are a lot of problems in the world, but I will go with my gut and say mental anguish.”
And with that, Smith thanks me for my time, and the recording stops. Typically, I would go for a walk, stretch my aching neck like a giraffe reaching for the tallest acacia leaf, thinking about the swimming pool full of worries I have in life.
Not today
Today, I’m walking into the backyard to shake the shit out of that money tree, and donate whatever falls off to www.doubleupdrive.com safe in the knowledge that this marvellous young man will match my contribution.
Do you want to join me?

Learning to speak Texas Hold’em as well as you play it is all part of the fun and excitement of the world’s most popular poker game!
Some of the terms and slang used are self-explanatory, some humourous, others startlingly apt, but all very relevant to the game and your knowledge of it.
To help you along we have put together a comprehensive list of terms. Read them, memorise the ones you find worthy of repeat, and begin to speak Hold’em as well as you play it!
This is part 2 covering the letter B. The remainder of the alphabet will be gradually introduced to allow meanings to soak in.
Have fun reading!

B is for:

Backdoor:

• This is when you hit the required cards to make your hand on the turn and the river. Example: 1 Diamond is on the table, you have 2 in your hand and 2 more Diamonds show on the turn and river. Result: You have hit a ‘backdoor’ Flush

Bad Beat:

• A player who has an initial, substantial, statistical lead over their opponent but lose the hand after the Flop, Turn or River

Bad Beat Story:

• Tales often retold (and then retold again!) relating to a player’s disbelief that their hand was ‘surely’ unbeatable. They staked high in anticipation of collecting a big pot only to be ‘mugged’ by an opponent due to some incredible cards produced on the turn and the river.

Big Blind (BB):

• The size of wager the 2nd player to the dealers left has to bet. The amount placed depends upon the stakes of each game. The BB must be placed before action begins and is equivalent to 1 complete 1st round bet. The reason it is called a blind? Because the player concerned has to place the bet without seeing their cards first.

Blind:

• This is a generic term for either/or the Big Blind (BB) or the Small Blind (SB). You are one of these blinds when you are:
• Sitting immediately to the dealers left = SB
• Sitting immediately left of the SB = BB

Board:

• Refers to the community cards every player uses in combination with their pocket cards in order to form the best hand

Bubble:

• In a tournament this is the label you do not want! The Bubble refers to the top finisher out of the money. Example: There are 350 players
in a tournament and the top 35 are in for a payout. The player finishing 36th is known as “The Bubble”

Burn:

• The top card is discarded before each betting round. If there happens to be a distinguishing mark on the burn card it stays where it is in order to conceal the next card to be deal before it comes out. In this way, no information (intentional or unintentional) is evident to any player

Button:

• Nice place to ‘B!’. This donates the position of the dealer. In live games it is usually indicated by placing a plastic disk in front of the dealer. This moves clockwise from player to player each time the dealer shuffles for a new hand. The huge advantage being “on the button” has is that you get to act last in the betting of that particular game.

Buy-In:

• This is the cost you will pay to enter a tournament or the minimum amount you will need to sit down in a cash game at a certain table. It is usually 20 x’s the BB (Big Blind). Example: If you are at a $5/$10 table you will need $200 to take a seat.
That’s it for the letter ‘B’ in our 1st installment of “Texas Hold’em – The A-Z of Poker speak”. There is little doubt you will be familiar with some of the terms above, but hopefully you have added to your Texas Hold’em vocabulary with ones previously unheard of.

There’s lots more to come:

Do keep a close eye out as we build this extensive compendium on the A-Z of Hold’em jargon. It will add to your knowledge of common terms as well as the more obscure ones. What is more, you will be able to impart your knowledge to friends as well as foes!
Our next article covers the letter ‘C’ and includes ‘Cap’, ‘Case Card’, ‘Chop’, those potentially useful ‘Cowboys’ and one you want to come out on top of the pile in: ‘Cooler!’

e534033b2d
I’m listening to William Shatner on Spotify.
What’s going on?
William Shatner?
He’s banging on about mountains in the air, and the need to get it together man. I would have thought a man like Shatner would have been on the scrapheap by now. What versatility.
TJ Hooker.
James T. Kirk.
Singer.
I need serenity.
I need peace.
It hasn’t happened yet.
Well, let’s see if I can bang out the week’s top stories from the world of the High Rollers before it does.
Online Poker News: Record-Breaking Online MILLIONS; Greenwood Doing His Bollocks; Talal Shakerchi Making Sunday Million Final Table
I don’t know how much air to put into a tyre. I don’t understand when the oil needs topping up. Temperature means nothing to me.
But I know this.
partypoker made history this week.
The online poker behemoth hosted the wealthiest online poker tournament since the days of the Allosaurus, when 4,367-entrants created a $21,385,000 prize pool, easily beating the $20m guarantee that many (including me and Shatner) thought they had no chance of achieving.
Four people had their siblings hoping for a handsome handout.
Manuel Ruivo won the world-record prize of $2,329,944 after cutting an ICM deal with Pim de Goede that saw the Dutchman become only the fourth player in history to win a $2m+ prize, collecting $2,309,995.
And check this out.
The Slovenian, Scarmak3r, parlayed a $5 online satellite win into a $1,364,688 windfall.
The dream is still alive.
Pedro Marques was the fourth player to bank a seven-figure score = $1,091,750.
And there was another record, but one Sam Greenwood likely didn’t want.


So that’s how they make these imperious guarantees!
partypoker didn’t reserve all big money for the partypoker tournament tables. Sam Trickett and Rob Yong had a good week, collecting $300k+ each from a $200/$400 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) game that included the likes of Matt Kirk. Trickett used the money to buy himself a nice new shirt in preparation for handing Team USA their first Mosconi Cup win since 2009.


Moving from partypoker to PokerStars, and Talal Shakerchi, finished sixth in the $215 buy-in Sunday Million, showing his love for the game. The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, Alex Foxen, also had a good week picking up his third PokerStars High Roller Club title. Fellow high rollers, Joao Vieira, Ivan Luca and Alex Papazian also picked up PokerStars High Roller Club titles.
Live Poker News: SHRB Draw; Million Dollar Cash Game; WPT Garden and WSOP Sydney HRs
 
Super High Roller Bowl
The organisers of the Super High Roller Bowl V (SHRB) had a brain fart this week. The live lottery to determine the first 24-picks should have gone ahead on Nov 27, but Poker Central cancelled it without telling any of the players.


The lottery did happen, albeit late, and 34-names came out of the hat, not 24.
Here they are:
1. Justin Bonomo
2. Daniel Negreanu
3. Fedor Holz
4. David Peters
5. Dan Smith
6. Bryn Kenney
7. Phil Hellmuth
8. Jason Koon
9. Jake Schindler
10. Brian Rast
11. Mikita Badziakouski
12. Isaac Haxton
13. Christoph Vogelsang
14. Stephen Chidwick
15. Cary Katz
16. Rainer Kempe
17. Dominik Nitsche
18. Adrian Mateos
19. Nick Petrangelo
20. Igor Kurganov
21. Steffen Sontheimer
22. Sean Winter
23. Koray Aldemir
24. Ben Tollerene
25. Sam Soverel
26. Alex Foxen
27. Dan Cates
28. Ben Yu
29. Talal Shakerchi
30. Bill Klein
31. Matthias Eibinger
32. Ali Imsirovic
33. Seth Davies
34. Chris Kruk
That leaves 14-spaces left.
The SHRB V takes place December 17, 18 & 19.
One player who is not on that list is Patrik Antonius, and this week the fabulous looking Finn was in India where he guested at Deltin Corporation’s 10th-anniversary celebrations aboard the Deltin Casino in Goa. Antonius finished runner-up to Justin Bonomo in the inaugural Super High Roller Bowl China earlier this year, earning $3.1m.
In other high rolling live tournament news the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced a $25k buy-in event as part of the WPT Gardens Festival 16 January, and the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) at The Star in Sydney has an AUD 20,000 buy-in event penned in for 12th/13th December.
From tournaments to cash games and the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles has announced a million dollar cash game. The game is $100/$200 No-Limit Hold’em with a $100k Minimum buy-in scheduled for ten hours of action Friday, December 14 – Garrett Adelstein and Nick Vertucci feature.
And Ben Lamb seems to have created a new game.
Short-Deck is so last week.


Lamb joined Justin Bonomo, and a whole host of degens as Short-Deck, Medium-Deck, Call-It-What-You-Want-Deck appeared on Poker After Dark for the first time this week.
Thor Hansen Passes; Smith Charity Drive; Bathroom Bet Update
The Norwegian legend Thor Hansen finally lost his battle with cancer this week, but boy, did he put up a fight. Six years ago, doctors gave Hansen three months to live after diagnosing him with cancer, and yet Hansen was still riffling chips at the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida last month. Tributes poured in from all over the poker globe, but I particularly like this one from Mike Sexton.


Rich Alati’s father (also Richard) has told the poker media that the $100k Bathroom Bet is more to do with the personal challenge than the money. Cash game grinder, Rory Young bet Alati $100k that he couldn’t stay in a darkened bathroom without human contact or any external stimuli for 30-days, and although his father is ‘concerned’ about the bet, you sense he feels confident that Alati junior will get the job done.
Finally, Dan Smith launched his fifth annual charity drive. This year, Smith has labelled his philanthropic effort DoubleUpDrive, and the plan is for Smith and his team to match donations up to a ceiling of $1,140,000.
If you want to make a difference in the world, then donate to one of Smith’s charities, and send your receipt to receipts@doubleupdrive.com.
And that’s this week’s Pinnacle.