Blue and Green

I spent the bulk of my admittedly nondescript academic career away from the Philippines. Before leaving, however, I spent the 1st through most of the 4th grade in La Salle. I also spent a disastrous 2nd year of high school at La Salle Zobel. So when I was invited to play this weekend's La Salle/Ateneo charity tourney, I felt compelled to don a green shirt.

I've always been aware of the enduring rivalry between Ateneans and LaSallites. Heck, it even spills over onto North American shores. When I first saw the billing for this tourney, I understood it to be Blue VS. Green - a continuation of the perennial interschool rivalry onto the felt. I walked in wondering if I might witness a fistfight or some exciting event.

No fistfights. No bad attitudes. What I witnessed was a great camaraderie between blue-and-greenshirts, all competing for the benefit of the less fortunate. The organizers made it clear that this was an event of Blue AND Green, as opposed to Blue VS. Green.

Thank goodness it worked out that way.

PAGCOR did a smashing job in hosting and supporting the event. Held in the newly renovated PAGCOR Theater, we were treated to a veritable sea of poker tables, within a visually captivating environment. As for the tourney proper itself, I won't go into details and hand histories, and neither will I critique the tourney structure.

I wanna focus instead on one major point:

This is the way a Charity tourney ought to be conducted. Great production values. Committed organization committee. Sponsors who brought lots of value to the table. It didn't feel cheesy, and nobody left feeling ripped off, the risk often faced by charity event organizers.

So kudos to the people who put this together. You can count on my support for every such endeavor.

Peace...

What it all means...

Feb 22 has come and gone, and Elvis has left the building (Mr. Brunson took a 5pm flight to Vegas last night, and by some reports, made a McArthurian promise to return).

Many, many thanks to Col. Wally Sombero, Sonny Shiah, and the folks at PAGCOR for making this happen.

Folks, we had Big Vegas on our shores yesterday. Not just Big Vegas, cuz there are lotsa Big Boys in Vegas. We had Big Poker in the house. And Big Poker, with its current constellation of stars, could not have been more aptly represented than by the two who did arrive: Mr. Jack Binion and Mr. Doyle Brunson. These two, more than anybody, personify the roots of modern poker, the poker we all play. Mr. Binion, heir of Benny Binion and godfather of the WSOP, is a billionaire gaming and poker pioneer. He was in the Philippines talking about investments. Mr. Brunson is the ultimate old-time Texas road gambler and Vegas player pioneer. He was a great gambler (high stakes poker, big bet golf [$20,000 bets on a putt - with the great Stuey Ungar], big time sportsbetting) well before any of today's poker-slash-rock-star types were even a twinge in their parents' crotches.

They are pioneers in every sense of the word. More importantly, they are lasting legends, not simply subjects of fond reminiscence. They are active businesspeople. Mr. Binion is still a force in the gaming business, and Mr. Brunson continues to gamble sums that would come close to paying off our national debt.

So, pioneers here in the Philippines. Spending money. Big entourage. Promises to return. We can expect real investments by these folks here. All the signs point that way (so long as we can get our political BS out of the way - but that's another article). Probably a casino or two, a big push into Asian poker (perhaps based here?). I'm not privy to their plans, but the surface signs are there.

This is a good thing for our game. This is a good thing for our players.

If the industry kicks up and poker becomes a significant gaming activity and inserts itself into popular culture, the Vegas boys will surely be at the forefront. I'd truly love to see some local folks, both PAGCOR as well as private operators (working with PAGCOR of course), deliver and derive as much value from this phenomenon. The money will be big, and I'd dearly love to see a lot of it stay in the country.

History...

Tomorrow, Feb 22., marks the biggest day in Big Name Poker in this country. If you can at all make it down to the Airport Casino Filipino for 6pm, please do. Here's the announcement from PAGCOR.

Airport Casino Filipino presents the 1st PAGCOR International Celebrity Poker Tournament featuring the Greatest Living Legend of Poker. Mr. Doyle Brunson and other world class players on Feb. 22 at 6pm at the PAGCOR Theater, Airport Casino Filipino. The event will be hosted by the Godfather of Poker, Mr. Jack Binion. Tickets at P300.00, which includes food and drinks.

Play For a Good Cause This Saturday!!!

You've seen the ads on TV, you've seen the posters at the Casino. Now you've seen the announcement here...LaSalle and Ateneo will be holding a Charity tourney benefiting Gawad Kalinga. Buy-in is 5K...I'll be playing. Let's play cards to benefit those less fortunate...cya there.

1ST BLUE vs. GREEN
No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em
Charity Poker Challenge
2:00 pm February 25, 2005
Casino Filipino Grand Theatre
__________________________________


TOURNAMENT FORMAT AND BASIC RULES

Game: No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em

Format: Standard Freeze-Out without re-buys. The participants will be divided into two groups, the BLUE and the GREEN. During the elimination round, the players registered in their respective groups will play among themselves. Players on each side will be seated randomly in Fifteen (15), Ten (10) Handed tables. No table will seat two or more players than any other table throughout the elimination round.

Elimination Round: Players will begin with a starting chip stack of 10,000 units. Players are eliminated when they no longer have chips in front of them. Consequently, players who run out of chips will be eliminated from the tournament.

As players are eliminated, the remaining players will be moved to balance the tables. There will be floor persons assigned to balance the tables.

The elimination round will end in approximately three (3) hours and twenty (20) minutes

Final Round: Standard Shoot-Out without re-buys. The top three (3) players from each side with the most number of units (chips) will move to the final round. The six (6) players will start with a fresh capital of 100,000 units each. Players will be eliminated from the Final Table the moment they run out of chips. The player who gets all the chips will be the champion of the tournament.

The final round will end in one (1) hour.

Blinds: will escalate every 20 minutes (see Tournament Blinds escalation schedule)

Governance: This tournament will use the accepted Tournament Directors’ Association (TDA) Rules

Poker Etiquette. The following actions are improper and shall be grounds for warning, suspending or barring a violator.

• String betting is not allowed. In other words, you can't raise by putting out enough to call and then reaching back to your stack for your raise. As well, since verbal statements are considered binding at most poker games, if you say "I call your bet and raise you ten more," you have called, since the raise was added afterwards. To be on the safe side, when you want to raise it's best to say "raise" so that your bet won't be mistaken. The reason for the string bet rule is to prevent players from strategically misleading other players about the size of their bet
• Deliberately acting out of turn
• Deliberately splashing chips into the pot
• Agreeing to check a hand out when a player is all-in
• Reading a hand for another player at the showdown before it has been placed face up on the table
• Telling anyone to turn a hand face up at the showdown
• Revealing the contents of a live hand in a multi-handed pot before the betting is complete. Revealing the contents of a folded hand before the betting is complete. Do not divulge the contents of a hand during a deal even to someone not in the pot, so you do not leave any possibility of the information being transmitted to an active player.
• Needlessly stalling the action of a game.
• Deliberately discarding hands away from the muck. Cards should be released in a low line of flight, at a moderate rate of speed (not at the dealer’s hands or chip rack).
• Stacking chips in a manner that interferes with dealing or viewing cards.
• Making statements or taking action that could unfairly influence the course of play, whether or not the offender is involved in the pot.
• Using cellular phones at the table
• Spectators will be restricted from the tournament gaming area.



Decision – Making.

1. The Tournament Director reserves the right to male decisions in the spirit of fairness, even if a strict interpretation of the rules may indicate a different ruling.
2. Decisions of the shift supervisor are final.
3. The proper time to draw attention to an error or irregularity is when it occurs or is first noticed. Any delay may affect the ruling.
4. If an incorrect rule interpretation or decision by an employee is made in good faith, the establishment has no liability.
5. A ruling may be made regarding a pot if it has been requested before the next deal starts (or before the game either ends or changes to another table). Otherwise, the result of a deal must stand. The first riffle of the shuffle marks the start of a deal.
6. If a pot has been incorrectly awarded and mingled with chips what were not in the pot, and the time limit for a ruling request given in the previous rule has been observed, management may determine how much was in the pot by reconstructing the betting and then transfer that amount to the proper player.
7. To keep the action moving, it is possible that a game may be asked to continue even though a decision is delayed for a short period. The delay could be needed to check the overhead camera tape, get the shift supervisor to make a ruling or some other good reason. In such circumstances, a pot or portion thereof may be impounded by the house while the decision is pending.
8. The same action may have a different meaning, depending on who does it, so the possible intent of an offender will be taken into consideration. Some factors to be considered are the person’s amount of poker experience and past record.

Cash Tables. PAGCOR will set up cash tables for eliminated players who will want to continue playing.

Prizes:
Champion JVC 42” Plasma TV worth P240,000 plus P70,000.00 chips
2nd Place plus P30,000.00 chips
3rd Place plus P20,000.00 chips
4th Place plus P10,000.00 chips
5th Place plus P10,000.00 chips
6th Place plus P10,000.00 chips

All chips are non-cashable and may be claimed at the VIP cashier’s booth and may only be played at designated gaming tables. Aside from the chips, 2nd to 6th place will receive prizes in kind. We are still ranking the prizes we received so far

Special Prize: a brand new Mercedes Benz courtesy of CATS Motors for the first player with a Royal Straight Flush in the Final Table

Raffle Prizes: such as Ferrari jackets worth $300.00, airline tickets to Hong Kong, and other electronic items will be given away every 30 minutes
Tournament Blinds Escalation Schedule



LEVEL BLINDS
Eliminations
1 100/200
2 200/400
3 500/1,000
4 1,000/2,000
5 1,500/3,000
6 2,000/4,000
7 3,000/6,000
8 4,000/8,000
9 5,000/10,000
10 10,000/20,000

Finals

5,000/10,000
10,000/20,000
20,000/40,000
30,000/60,000
40,000/80,000
50,000/100,000

World Federation of Poker

Being far away from the center(s) of the poker universe, it's always good when we hear inclusive language with respect to international poker. My good friend John S., who's always got my back, pointed me to Mr. Steve Rosenblum's article on the soon-to-be-launched World Federation of Poker.

I'm not too clear on what its relationship is with the International Poker Federation, but I assume its different.

The article focuses on the World Cup of Poker, which this new federation will be promoting internationally under its unified umbrella. So we're talking about rules, procedures, structures, etc. Different countries will run regional tournaments and will then field their top players in different classification levels for a culminating annual championship.

So far so good. I get the sense that they'll be promoting the heck out of this (the article states the Federation will launch on Monday - not sure when the article was written, but it has top billing, so I assume we're talking about next Monday). If they do promote this with some real marketing muscle, and they are serious about being a legitimate players' umbrella, like the PGA for golf, then we do have much to look forward to. We can then refer to a complete set of structures, rules and procedures that would make us compliant with their events and thus qualify for the international circuit. Not bad...I love it when I don't have to think.

I could not hit their site at www.worldfederationofpoker.org; perhaps that's going live Monday too.

Anyway, stay tuned.

Thanks John.

Are We a Turbo Nation?

There's a real good thread over at my good friend and all-around smart-guy Miguel's blog. You must read it to get the gist of his opinions. And you must read the comments thread to see where the conversation has gone. I posted a reply to his article, and I'm reproducing it here.

His general thesis: Our poker (Texas Hold'Em) tournament world is dominated by aggressive, fast structures that favor luck over skill in general. He looks for the day we can run longer, less aggressive structures to separate the skilled from the lucky. Anyway,if you give a sh*t about any of this, read the damn article and then read my reply, posted here:

May i weigh in here as a guy who can be (perhaps correctly) accused of running turbos (well, not as turbo as some others but that's another story).

Let's look at the reality of the current infrastructure. Up until the Airport Casino opened up its doors to tourneys, we as a group have been constrained by one major factor.

Time.

When we played outside the casino environment, we could usually be found in backyards, condos, and later, hotels. It's kind of tough to run a mid-to-large-field event in a day. Extending level times to, say, 60 minutes was and to this day has been a non-starter. My five-table tournaments easily push six hours or more.

Of course, the other option is to step our levels more conservatively, giving skill a larger chance to shine within the tournament proper. But that beats us back into the reality of having to battle time. I for one believe that my structures are among the least aggressive out there, and attempt to give skill ample opportunity in the early to mid levels to triumph over luck (understanding, of course, that short-term luck and variance are more pronounced in tournament settings than they are in the ring). But because of time, and hence, cost - remember, for some of us organizers, there is no real money in delivering tourneys - we have to step it up at the late levels.

I've always structured my Texas Hold'Em tourneys to end roughly around the level at which the BB is equivalent to the starting stack. So, for example, at a 1K starting stack, I try to shoot for the end of the tourney by the time blinds are at, say, 500/1000. Often the vagaries of play will push it past that, but not much. I generally give 50xBB as a starting stack to give people room to play at the early stages. After the BB=starting stack point, i'm not afraid to get agressive with blind increases because the intent is to end it, and end it soon.

Having said all that, I would love for the day to arrive when we can run a large (300+) field, two-or-more day event with a structure that massively favors skill over luck.

The necessary conditions for this are:

1. Time: the facility/casino will need to allow two or more days of tournament activities

2. Buy-in: Must be comparatively large to entice players to commit two days of their lives.

3. A guaranteed prize pool: to increase the chances of strong seat sales.

When I, as one little voice in the wilderness, can find those conditions, you can rest assured that you guys will get your wish ;).

Live and Online Play...the nuances according to little old moi...

The past two weeks have seen Barb and I take a hiatus from the almost year-long nightly grind of live play. An exodus of household help forced us to stay home and spend more quality time with the kids (of course we also spent a lot of quality time with a bunch of online opponents) heheh...

So between the two of us we've logged several thousand ring and tourney hands in the last say, fourteen days. Glad to say things are working out, and we're showing net wins on an almost daily basis.

We were both quite active online before things boomed in the Manila brick and mortar world, but have had virtually no online hours in the last 8 months.

In reviewing our performance, we noted a key thing that held for both of us:

Playing at roughly the same stakes, our win rates are the same, but our average win per day in terms of absolute dollars is lower (except a $550 dollar tourney takedown Barb managed to accomplish last Monday). What I mean by this is that if I won, say the equivalent of $100.00 in a live session, the average win online (at the end of the day) would be $60.00, given the equivalent stakes and games.

This is worth thinking about - cuz we ultimately will have to make a choice regarding live or online play. If going out and sitting down at the casino makes more money over time (in Barb's case, about 40% more per winning session), then we ought to simply log off and put our dancin' shoes on.

So let's look at some of the stark and not-so-obvious differences between the two worlds, and how they should affect profitability.

More hands per hour (HPH) online. The casino dealers here push out roughly twenty to thirty HPH. Online you can easily double, and depending on the site, treble that. For a winning player that ought to translate to bigger wins per hour. Secondly, you can multi-table, playing more than one table at a time. Again, for a skilled player, you ought to pump up those wins. So why do we make less on a daily basis.

But, with more HPH comes higher variance, which affects all of us. One gets tempted to play out as many HPH when sitting comfortably at home. And remembering that two weeks does not a statistically meaningful stretch of time make, we may be getting "varianced" more now than we might in future.

The quality of opponents is also different. Online, and at the right stakes, one tends to find die-hard online veterans who can play a mean game of poker. Of course, the same situation can be found in the real world, but we tend to stay away from the bankroll munching games. In the casino, Barb has chosen to play at lower stakes, as her winrate has been astronomical playing not-so-seasoned players. So there's another reason, better players means less money won, even when you have a winning session.

Another variable is the absence of the overt tell that can be picked up from a physical opponent. Avatars don't twitch. Chats and betting patterns/speed are about all one can go by online, so I imagine we've both folded hands we would otherwise called and profited from in a live situation.

And a final factor is this: Tournaments and Sit and Go's (SNGs) are abundant online, and registration is but a click away. As we all know, tourneys are tough to beat short term, and can drag down the daily take.

So there. I've explained to myself why, for 14 days or so online, we're making less per winning session. In the process, I hope I haven't bored you heheh. Gonna try to cut down on the tourneys and focus more on rings, and see how that plays out.

Till the next time