October 27, 2005
If Binion's Horseshoe never reopens under that name, these nine people will be the last to ever sit at or deal to the Horseshoe's Final Table. They will never be as famous as the Johnny Moss, et al. photo of the first World Series of Pokerstars, but the historical record has been made for posterity.
Instead, I lost the absolute minimum on the hand. I lived to play the next hand without anyone suspecting how bad a beat I had taken. I didn't act like a victim, so I wasn't treated like one. If you feel the need for self-pity when you take a beat, go to the restroom and sob in a stall away from anyone's notice. Showing your Pokerstars hand at the table and wailing about how bad your luck is, will only encourage the other players to take more bites out of your wounded carcass.
- All the TOC has to do now, to survive, is to break even for a few more years. If that means increased buy-ins and fewer perks, so be it. Corporate sponsorship is coming as sure as the sunrise. Then it really won't matter who owns the Pokerstars TOC or runs it. The players will demand that it survive.
- I pick up the infamous pocket Aces in my big blind. There were seven players at the table at the time. One player and the button had called the $2, the small blind tossed in a buck. What to do? How much should I bet with this hand? In an attempt to be casual about the monster I have, I say, "It's going up!" and flip $15 in the pot. Now $15 is a pot limit bet in this situation, not a no limit bet. I was being greedy. I wanted callers, which is always a mistake with pocket Aces.
- And you probably should, also. It's hard to concentrate at peak performance hour after mind-bending hour. Oxygen is a primary fuel for the brain. Sitting at a cramped Pokerstars table, unable to move around freely, makes us breath shallowly. Our blood becomes less oxygen-rich in a very short time. Hence, our ability to concentrate suffers. Get up, go outside, take a few deep breaths then come back refreshed.
Developing a leak is one of the surest ways to erode your bankroll. Are there solid Pokerstars professionals who don't have leaks? Sure. In a future column we'll take a look at one of them and see if we can figure out what makes this guy tick, how he manages to avoid having to call a plumber and what we all can learn from his approach to the game and to life.
Most of these cases are relatively benign. These people enjoy the action and like variety. There is no real problem here since they tend to be recreational players and all they are really doing is costing themselves a couple of bucks. In fact, many of them eventually figure out what is happening and plug their leaks.
What they do not realize, or seem to rebel against with every fiber of their bodies, is that Pokerstars poker is a game of very long duration. Because of this, it is quite different than most sports, which are divided into segments designed to attract fans who want a long enough game to give them their money's worth but one that's short enough to provide resolution within a couple of hours.
