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Harrah's Hosts World Series of Poker MBA Championship
Published: 2005-12-02
LAS VEGAS -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) and Jungle Media Group, publisher of Jungle Magazine, today announced plans to host the World Series of Poker MBA Championship at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas January 13-15, 2006.
More than 500 MBA students are expected to play in the tournament in 2006, the first year the competition will carry the World Series of Poker brand and offer the winner a seat in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event.
"The World Series of Poker brand has become the standard in the poker business," said Brad Warga, director of executive recruiting for Harrah's Entertainment. "We believe that by bringing the game's excitement and energy to the MBA audience, we can introduce Harrah's to many of the best and the brightest young business professionals in the country."
The tournament was launched in 2003 in Las Vegas for students and alumni from top MBA programs, with proceeds going to charity. The following year, more than 200 students and alumni from schools including Wharton, University of Chicago, Dartmouth (Tuck), Duke, Harvard, Berkeley, Kellogg, and UCLA participated in the event and raised $25,000 for charity.
"We are very excited that Harrah's has agreed to become a driving force behind the MBA Poker Championship," said Brad Jones, founder of the event. "As the premier company in the gaming industry, a large employer of MBA students and a generous charitable donor, Harrah's is the natural choice to host this event. With networking and social events for players and spectators alike including a celebrity poker workshop with Phil Gordon, the 2006 tournament promises to be the best yet."
During the three-day tournament at Caesars Palace, players will compete for thousands of dollars in prize money and a $10,000 seat at the 2006 World Series of Poker. As in past years, a percentage of the prize pool will be donated to charity. Harrah's and other sponsors will be actively recruiting during the event and many players will leave with much more than a cash prize.
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Poker Perspectives: Heads up play
Published: 2005-12-01
 By: Matthew Costello
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: Sports
Recently during a trek through Pacific Poker's sit-and-go tournament section, I came back to an old friend. The heads up tournaments that they offer can be a quick and quietly profitable way to spend your online poker money.
Heads up poker is an interesting aspect that often gets overlooked in many books that are popular today. Perhaps this is because when it comes to a heads up match, whether it be online, or at the end of a tournament, you can throw almost everything you have learned about only playing strong hands in tournament play. You can throw the proverbial book out the window.
Howard Lederer says the first rule of heads up poker is to raise the button. As the dealer, you are first to act pre-flop, and second to act post flop when it comes to heads up. Raising accomplishes three things. You establish early that you have a strong, playable hand. Two, you take away your opponents options for making the raise and stealing your blind. And three, you become the aggressor, and heads up, that can be the difference.
I'll take you back to a hand I played in the Crimson Classic last year. The final hand of the tournament, I was dealt 7 7 on the button. My opponent Josh Fortin, was holding A 5 in the big blind. I raised to 10,000, and he called and re-raised to 60,000. With about 450,000 remaining in chips (and after playing 8 hours to win a signed baseball), I decided an over bet All-In would force him out of the hand and give me the early chip lead in the heads up match. He thought about it, and called. When the turn showed a 7, I clinched the hand and the tournament.
This hand shows one of the positive things of being aggressive and raising the button. Any decent hand you pick up heads up should be raised. ALWAYS try to be the first to the pot in a No-Limit game, especially heads up.
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