World Series of Poker -- anyone playing?

[El Gallo]

Any members of our poker contingent playing in any of the WSoP events this year?  I was hoping to go out and play one of the cheapie 3-day no limit events, but catassing on the progression server a lot of unexpected shit at work popped up and it looks like I will have to pass.  I need someone to live vicariously through, other than my pro friend who is way too damn good for me to even pretent to live vicariously through!  So, if any of my fellow f13 donks have played/are playing any events, please share your stories or riches and/or woe!

[Abagadro]

I'm in the middle of a six month poker hiatus so I didn't even make an attempt to get in it this year.

[UD_Delt]

I've played a couple of pokerstars FPP freerolls to try and get in but so far haven't even come within a long shot of making it in.

I still have another 2-3k FPP to burn through if I have the time to play more qualifiers.

I did recently cash in absolute's 200k guarantee. Of course it was just after the bubble and only good for $250. But it was a free entry from a bonus offer so I'll take it.

[WayAbvPar]

I played last night for the first time since I went to Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. Made the final table of a Limit tourney, then made an unbelievably n00b mistake (misread a 6 for a 9 on the board!!!!) and donked off all my chips to finish 10th.

I won't be in any WSOP events any time soon- my fucking retarded state outlawed online poker, so I have very few ways to win my way in, and I would have a wee bit of trouble convincing my wife that $10k + travel and hotel is a good investment at this juncture.

[Morat20]

I played last night for the first time since I went to Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. Made the final table of a Limit tourney, then made an unbelievably n00b mistake (misread a 6 for a 9 on the board!!!!) and donked off all my chips to finish 10th.

I won't be in any WSOP events any time soon- my fucking retarded state outlawed online poker, so I have very few ways to win my way in, and I would have a wee bit of trouble convincing my wife that $10k + travel and hotel is a good investment at this juncture.

Was it Washington or Oregon that got a burr up their ass about online poker? Fucking wankers.

[WayAbvPar]

Washington. I think it has been illegal in Oregon for some time, but I could be mistaken. Nanny state ftl.

[Bunk]

Tried my hand at a $90 qualifier to get in to a Satelite last month. Got killed when someone called my huge reraise on a gutshot stright draw and hit it.

Co-worker of mine made it through to the Satelite though. I think it comes up in a week or so.

[El Gallo]

I played last night for the first time since I went to Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. Made the final table of a Limit tourney, then made an unbelievably n00b mistake (misread a 6 for a 9 on the board!!!!) and donked off all my chips to finish 10th.

I won't be in any WSOP events any time soon- my fucking retarded state outlawed online poker, so I have very few ways to win my way in, and I would have a wee bit of trouble convincing my wife that $10k + travel and hotel is a good investment at this juncture.

There are a bunch of events that only cost $1-2k, so you don't have to drop the whole ten, and they run live satellites for all of them the day before they start afaik.  Still not a great investment though :)

[Nebu]

There are a bunch of events that only cost $1-2k, so you don't have to drop the whole ten, and they run live satellites for all of them the day before they start afaik.  Still not a great investment though :)

Only $1-2K??? You guys must have better jobs than I do.  I can't fathom dropping 10k to enter and the thought of 1-2k on a satellite even makes me shudder a bit.

[El Gallo]

I meant cheap compared to $10k.  And the 1-2k was for real 1-3-day tournaments, not satellites (there are a bunch events in the series aside from the big $10k game http://www.pokerpages.com/tournament/schedule1958.htm).  They have satellites for those 1-2k tournaments that probably cost only 100-200ish to enter.  Though I suppose they have $1k-ish satellites to the $10k event too. 

I wouldn't spend $1k on a satellite or $10k to enter either!  Splurging on a $1k buy-in multiday tournament is a lot different (to me).  I could whine and moan about how I got knocked out in 20 minutes for the rest of my life, which would be fantastic return on investment.  Perhaps I could even get insulted by Phil Hellmouth on TV!

[WayAbvPar]

Yeah, I could see dropping a grand or 2 on a buyin, but that would pretty much wipe out what is left of my bankroll. RoR is far too high at this point.

[Jeff Kelly]

Perhaps I could even get insulted by Phil Hellmouth on TV!

Either that is a freudian typo (he is called Hellmuth) or I just fell into the sarchasm.

Hellmuth is so full of himself and boy can he cuss it's entertainment value if you watch him, especially if you watch him lose ;-).

What really annoys me are people that just keep on babbling or even singing continuously (I have seen a few players on TV listening to music on their mp3-players and sing) just to break the concentration of their fellow players. There should be a rule that you are allowed to punch those people ;-).

[Jeff Kelly]

Any advice for noobs that want to play?

I don't have any play experience but I want to get into the game. So what would be the best way gain experience without spending to much money? Any tips?

[UD_Delt]

Check out www.bonuswhores.com and go through their whoring 101 section and read through the forums a bit. They're even testier than the folk here though so make sure to read a lot and search on questions before actually posting anything.

They also have a section there on sites that offer "free" bankrolls. A lot of sites will drop $10 or so into your account just for signing up with them. Most of the time there will be play restrictions on cashing it out so you can't just sign up and take the $10 and run. Instead take it over to the lowest limit tables and start messing around.

Read through a few sites like the bonus whores strategy forum, twoplustwo.com's forums. There's lots of good poker blogs out there. Start at guinnessandpoker.blogspot.com, he has less strategy posts than mosts but lots of general poker info and he links to just about every poker blog that exists.

Once you mess around for a month or two I would suggest picking up a book on low limit holdem. There's a lot of books out there now so ask when you're ready to pick one up and someone can make some good suggestions.


Edit:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13834272/
Man this is the type of shit that's fucking it up for the rest of us. First the asshole that did it and second the media that's going to puke this story all over the place and third the assholes that are going to use this exact story to push their goddamn moral agendas.

[WayAbvPar]

Must reads-

Starting out:

Getting Started in Hold 'em
The Theory of Poker

More advanced-
Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play
Hold'Em Poker for Advanced Players

Tournaments-
Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Strategic Play (Vol. 1)
Harrington on Hold'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Endgame, 2

Harrington has a 3rd book of problems to work through about tournaments that I haven't read yet. Also, Ed Miller and David Sklansky wrote a No Limit book which I have yet to read as well.

[Margalis]

You can play very low stakes games. PokerStars offers 1cent/2cent games.

I would not bother with play money, you will pick up some bad habits. I learned by playing super low stakes online and playing with my friends at the kitchen table.

And yes, reading books is great. The more the better.

[UD_Delt]

Must reads-

Starting out:

Getting Started in Hold 'em
The Theory of Poker

I would move the Theory of Poker book a bit later in your career. I didn't find it all that helpful at the very small stakes games. Unless of course you have a strong interest in game theory and how it should be applied to poker.

The Lee Jones book Winning Low Limit Hold-em was good as well for a start. Gary Carson also wrote an e-book you can get very cheaply (like $4 or so) from his website that isn't too bad either. It's not as detailed as some of the others when it comes to play strategy but it breaks down the basic concepts and gets you started thinking the right way. He does go into more detail about live play though with descriptions of how lists work, where to find the brush, various rules for live play you might not be aware of, etc...

[WayAbvPar]

Lee Jones' book is decent, but his style is a bit weak-tight IMO. Probably not bad to learn that way, but hard to break out of those habits once they get ingrained.

[El Gallo]

I am biased probably because it is the first book I read, but I like suggesting that people read the Jones book early.  It IS too tight/passive, but I think most new players are so very over-the-toop loose that they could use the shock treatment.  Better yet, deal yourself 2 cards at random for 12 hours and shock your genitals with a car battery every time you don't see QQ, KK, AA or AKs.  Though now that GSHE exists, that's probably the best intro book.

There's also the fact that Jones only helps you with limit play, iirc, while no limit seems to be taking over the poker universe (much to my dismay).  GSHE will teach you to be a winner at almost any no limit game you can find, so long as you are willing to play his very boring system.  Harrington's books are just awesome, but only after you have played a while (I just got his workbook and the new Sklansky no limit book, but haven't read them yet).

If anyone finds themselves entering a no limit tournament without much expertise, skip everything else and study the book "Kill Phil" for a weekend.  Most people would have to study and play for years to do better "the right way" than that book will teach you to do the cheap way. 

[WindiaN]

I'd say Small Stakes Holdem book by Ed Miller is really good for newcomers. Skalansky's Holdem for Advanced players/Harrington on Holdem 1 and 2/Super System II and, as said above, theory of poker are also excellent reads. I think Super System can be a good first read because it mixes strategy with some poorly written but nevertheless interesting stories from a poker legend.

Even though I'm too young to play I bubbled on a WSOP qualifier, i was going to use the pstars credits to go to one of those 18+ Caribbean tournaments they have.

[Margalis]

Gary Carson's book (not the ebook, unless they are the same thing) is the best low limit loose game book I've read.

Loose low limit games are just totally different than other games. If you understand why and how you'll be fine, if you don't you can pick up some awful habits.

Whatever happened to the F13 poker tournament? I did a couple with another website and it was a lot of fun.

[Hoax]

Were we going to have a poker tournament?  Wow that is a fucking fantastic idea.

[Margalis]

We should hold a private one at PokerStars, something small like $5 or $10 so everyone can enter and have a rollicking good time.

[UD_Delt]

I believe Carson only has one book on poker but might be wrong and I believe the e-book is the same as the other book available through amazon just a lot cheaper going directly through him rather than a publisher. He's also a nice guy despite his RGP personae as I had a number of issues with the size of the ebook and getting it through email (download version wasn't working at the time) and he was nice enough to work things out by sending chapters one at a time so I could clear them out as they came across.

I have access to create tourneys at Absolute since I have VIP status there. Not sure how tough it is to get private tournies at other sites. But I can play at just about any of the majors: Party, Stars, UB, PokerRoom, Absolute. Only bigger sites I don't have accounts on yet are FullTilt and BoDog.

[WayAbvPar]

I can't play in an online tournament without being a Class C felon (and probably a terrorist and pedophile), or I would be all over it. Fucking clownshoes nanny state. ARRRGGHGHGHGHHHGhhh.

[Jeff Kelly]

I can't play in an online tournament without being a Class C felon (and probably a terrorist and pedophile), or I would be all over it. Fucking clownshoes nanny state. ARRRGGHGHGHGHHHGhhh.

Isn't online gambling illegal in all of the US since this week. I read in a german newspaper this week that congress has passed a law to that effect.

[Ironwood]

Shanna Hiatt.


And whatnot.

[WindiaN]

I think the house passed the bill, but it has not become a law yet

EDIT: http://insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_4061617

also i heard that theres a good chance it will never get debated by the senate since it is relatively low on the priority list.

[UD_Delt]

Oh for anyone bored here's a WSOP blog from Pokerstars: http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/

Wil Wheaton is one of the bloggers to the writing and coverage is normally above par.

[WayAbvPar]

Shanna Hiatt.


And whatnot.

SO much hotter than the broad who replaced her.



Golly she is swell.

[El Gallo]

Perhaps I could even get insulted by Phil Hellmouth on TV!

Either that is a freudian typo (he is called Hellmuth) or I just fell into the sarchasm.

No chasm here, I apparently just want to make out with the man.  But really, who can blame me:


 

Edit: Assuming this post doesn't get me banned, I'm up for losing some money to you bums in a little tournament.

Edit 2: Ms. Hiatt looks a bit lacking on the Ironwood-Mix-A-Lot Booty Scale (TM).  Just saying 'cuz it's topical.