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Play poker with pros
Published: 2005-10-01
 By Ric Manning
ricman@courier-journal.com
SCENE Gizmo Editor
The first time I played Texas Hold 'Em, I raked in a $30 pot.
But not until after I'd lost about $40.
That's how it goes with poker. It's a stimulating mix of skill and luck. I credit the $30 pot to luck and all those losing hands I played to skill.
There's not much any of us could do to change our luck, but a little practice -- without putting the mortgage payment at risk -- could help any poker players improve their skill.
I vowed I wouldn't go back to the game until I had a lot more experience.
"World Series of Poker," a new console and computer game from Activision, lets you take a seat at a high-pressure, high-stakes table without the pressure or the stakes.
The game is based on the championship poker tournament that seems to have replaced beach volleyball as the program ESPN airs when it has no football or basketball.
The digital version includes some of the same characters that you might see on TV: Scotty Nguyen, Max Pescatori and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, the 2000 "WSOP" champ who also served as a consultant to the game designers.
The star players look a little like their human counterparts, and players can create their own in-game persona using the same character-creation engine that Activision built into the Tony Hawk games. There's also an option for a little bit of table talking and punctuating your bets with your personal catch phrases.
But this isn't The Sims Play Poker. You won't be chatting or interacting with the other people at the table. What little action there is takes place when the cards are dealt.
Your opponents display varying strategies in their approach to the game. Some play aggressively, trying to intimidate you with a big raise, while others prefer to play tight and quiet. They're all pretty smart, though they tend to bet on a draw hand a lot more than you or I probably would.
The table offers seven variations of poker, including Texas Hold 'Em, 7 Card Stud, Omaha and Razz. Never heard of Razz? It's Seven Card Stud, except you're shooting at the low end of the deck.
The game lets you start with $10,000. You can jump into the main event or use some of your cash to buy a seat at one of the smaller tournaments where you can build up your bankroll. Winners can upgrade their clothing -- get that gold lamé suit you've always wanted -- and a better room at the hotel.
In addition to cash, your bold moves also get you collector's chips. If you bluff your way into a winning hand or go all-in before the flop and still win, the special chips you pocket can get you into restricted tournaments.
The chips can also be won or lost in online play.
"WSOP" doesn't have a learning mode or an option that lets you see players' hands as they play. The closest feature to that is one that lets you see your folded hand to judge how you might have fared.
And don't expect "Jesus" or any of the other pros to explain their strategies or even offer a few tips. You're on your own, just as you would be in a real casino.
In the end, that's probably the best way to learn -- only a heck of a lot cheaper.
Ric Manning's technology column runs Saturdays. Call Ric at (502) 582-4240 or e-mail him at ricman@courier-journal.com.
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Poker across the pond
Published: 2005-10-02
 Before I get into it, you should know that, from here on in, all the words and phrases in this column surrounded by quotes are the -- much beloved by me -- local London lingo. For those of you who've already guessed it, ''bloody right,'' this piece is about a little U.K. poker!
While in London last weekend shooting three parts of a reality show (the UltimatePoker.com Showdown on Channel 5), I thought it would be a treat to make an appearance at a poker club, out of respect and ''honour'' for the United Kingdom's poker scene and its players. So at 3 a.m. on Sunday night, after filming the show's finale, I strolled into the Gutshot Club in London's west end to say hello. By the way, a ''gutshot'' is an inside-straight draw, or more precisely, a one-card straight draw. (You may remember when your granddaddy told you, ''Never draw to an inside-straight,'' and wondered what he meant.)
Once I arrived, I found the club quite ''lovely,'' and they even had a regular table named ''Hellmuth,'' which I thought was absolutely ''spot on!'' Of course, the players and management urged me to play in the local game, which was a 1-2 blind pot-limit Hold 'Em game, with a 50 ''quid'' (pounds) buy in. I sat down, threw four $100 bills to the dealer and said, ``deal me in!''
The $400 amounted to 222 quid, and the game was on!
Player X opened for 7 pounds, and I called with 10d-7d. In a poker tournament, I would have thrown this hand away right then and there, but in this game I felt like I could take a few chances. (I also knew that I wasn't going to play more than about 30 minutes.) Three other players called, and the flop came down 8d-6s-5d, which was a huge flop for me. I had an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw, and a nine would make me the deluxe end (high end) of the straight.
And if a nine did come off, then I would bust anyone who was holding a seven, since they would make a nine-high straight and mine would be 10-high.
Player X bet out 25 pounds into the 35-pound pot, and it was my turn to act. I certainly wasn't folding this hand, which left calling or raising it up as my only options. If I called the bet, I might be letting Player X hit a card like an ace or a queen, which might make him a pair or two pair, and then I would be forced to call his next bet (perhaps a pot-sized bet) as an underdog.
But if I raised, then I would have a good chance to win the pot right then and there; and even if he called my raise, or moved me all-in, I still had a ton of winning cards. I mean, how much of an underdog could I possibly be here?
So I called the 25-pound bet and raised 85 pounds more -- the biggest possible raise, because in pot limit you can bet only the size of the pot -- or 105 pounds total in this case. Player X now called me fairly quickly, which meant he had something fairly strong -- he certainly had 10-high beat!
The next card was the 10s, and Player X checked. The 10s wasn't my best card (a non-diamond nine would have been better), but it was certainly ''emm,'' an ''excellent'' card for me. Now I could beat any other pair on the board, like eights, sixes or fives, and I still had my straight draw and flush draw working for me.
So I moved all-in for my last 110 pounds, and Player X called me. I flipped my hand face up, and waited while the last card was dealt.
It proved to be the 5c, for a final board of 8d-6s-5d-10s-5c. Now my opponent said, ''Emm, that's good,'' meaning that I had won the pot.
As the chips were pushed to me, Player X showed down the Kd-9d. Like mine, his flush and straight draws had both failed. In fact, he had flopped a higher flush draw and higher straight draw than I had, and I basically needed to hit a non-diamond 10, nine or four to win the pot. Despite having a huge-looking flop, I was in bad shape! (On the flop I was roughly a 2 ˝-to-1 underdog to win the pot.)
''Emm,'' still, it was an ''honour'' to play at the Gutshot; I played this hand properly; and it was ''spot on'' for me to hit the ''lovely'' 10s for 475 ``quid!''
Phil Hellmuth is a nine-time World Series of Poker champion and the author of Play Poker like the Pros and Bad Beats and Lucky Draws (both published by HarperCollins). His column appears Sundays in Tropical Life.
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