Special Guest Article
Because Wally's been the recent subject of discussion after his two-peat performance at the ACF5K, I'd like to post, with his permission, an article that was published by the Philippine Journalist Group, publisher of Peoples Journal in 4 Series on May 20, 21, 22, 23 this year.
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SPECIAL REPORT
THE ORIGINS OF TEXAS HOLD’EM POKER AND ITS EVOLUTION AS A “MIND SPORT”
By: Wally A. Sombero Jr
When this writer retired from the service as an officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) five years ago, it was already a foregone conclusion to tackle another career in the gaming and entertainment tourism industry. Among other reports, this article was actually an offshoot of this writer’s hands on exposure in gaming operations conducted in Central America, Las Vegas, and other parts of North America.
The forays into the depths of the Las Vegas gaming industry had been a costly experience but it yielded invaluable contacts and information that could collectively provide the key for the radical transformation of the gaming and tourism industry in the Philippines.
Now, allow me to share the wisdom and knowledge painstakingly gathered over years of immersion in the global gaming and tourism industry as a friend and consultant to some of the biggest names in Las Vegas, Taiwan and Macau gaming and entertainment industry.
And so, it is only proper to first acknowledge the fact that most of the data and information contained herein had been derived from interviews and casual conversations with the likes of the Las Vegas gaming legend and Godfather of Poker Mr. Jack Binion, the former owner of the Horseshoe hotel and casino chain; Steve Wynn, owner of The Wynn Resort that recently opened in Las Vegas strip; Tom Breitling and Tim Poster of the reality TV series “Casino” and former owners of the Golden Nuggets; the famous celebrity and gaming lawyer David Chessnoff; Uncle Doyle Brunson, the greatest living legend of poker; and numerous poker pros, including Gary Lu owner of Taiwan’s Royal Pacific Cruises. Tapping this network was made possible thru my very good friend from New York Mr. Timothy Shiah also known as “Sonny Nevada” in Las Vegas, regarded as a genius for his innovative efforts and contributions to the gaming and entertainment industry.
Significantly, I was able to befriend the mayor of Las Vegas city - the flamboyant Oscar Goodman - who described himself as the happiest mayor in the world. Well, it has always been evident during the numerous times that we met. As a matter of fact, we have nurtured a friendship that enabled me to formally introduce some of our noted countrymen, to include Batangas Governor Arman Sanchez and retired General Lucas Managuelod in different occasions. And last year, during the World Gaming Convention that was held in Las Vegas, I have formally presented to the good mayor PAGCOR Chairman Ephraim Genuino along with several officers and directors of PAGCOR who attended the convention. The meeting subsequently accorded Chairman Genuino with the opportunity to explain to the good mayor the strategic location of the Philippines as the ideal country for the development of the robust gaming, entertainment and tourism industry, and the chance to convey his invitation to Mayor Goodman to visit the Philippines. Indeed, it was a productive meeting as it enticed the Las Vegas mayor to engage possible investors for the Philippines. In due time, Mayor Goodman promised, he would eventually arrive in our country to provide invaluable insights based from his colorful Las Vegas experience, and bring his retinue of investors.
Over the years, poker aficionados came to realize that playing poker is not a way of life, it has actually became life itself to most. It is not an occupation or a set beliefs but an entire state of existence or purpose of living. While in the midst of a cash game in Las Vegas, this writer’s associates - Timothy “Sonny” Shiah the guy responsible for introducing this writer to all Las Vegas big guns mentioned above and Mr. David Chessnoff, Law partner of Mayor Goodman and also a pro poker player- confided that the evolution begins with the changes in your working pattern that becomes noticeable when you devote your life to the propagation of poker by playing poker almost all of your waking hours. Well, Mr Chessnoff managed to integrate his two careers as a lawyer for top celebrities and as a professional poker player since; he admitted that playing poker honed his analytical skills that greatly enhanced his abilities as a good lawyer.
Mr. Shiah added that whenever he plays poker – specifically Texas Hold’em - he considers himself as a ‘gladiator’ engaged in a mortal combat with his opponents. Of course, the arena is the poker table and your weapons are derived from the variety of card combinations that you may use in myriad of ways.
But before anyone can truly understand the game, it is crucial to be knowledgeable on the origins of poker, particularly Texas Hold’Em, and its evolution as, perhaps, the most popular “mind-sports” in the world today. For all its worth, please allow me to share with you the following information gathered from the numerous discussions and casual conversations with several renowned people in Las Vegas.
Where did Texas Hold’em poker originated? According to several professional poker players that this writer had been privileged to meet in Las Vegas, the exact origins of poker is actually unclear. It seems to have originated from a 16th century Persian card game known as “As Nas”. This game was played with 25 cards with 5 different suits. The game played in a similar fashion to modern 5-card stud and possessed similar poker hands rankings, such as two of a kind, three-of-a-kind, etc. When Europeans began to play the game, they called it 'poque' or 'pochen.'
Nevertheless, Mr. Jack Binion, acknowledged as the Godfather of Modern Poker, quickly emphasized that while poker may have originated in Europe and Persia, it truly developed in the United States. Poker was first widely played in New Orleans in the early 1800's.
As most gaming historians concede, it was actually as early as 1880 that Texas Hold'em had been invented as among the many variations of the game and this is the one that triumphed as the game of choice for the high rollers, and thus imposed on the whole poker-playing community. However, Texas Hold’em, christened as the ‘cadillac of poker’, rose to prominence in the 1970's when it was featured as the title game in the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Today, Texas Hold’em is indisputably the most frequently played and most popular poker game in the world played in casinos and on home game tables the world over. It may be said that no poker game has ever captured the imagination of the public like Texas Hold’em, and this is evident in the millions of viewers who watch the WSOP, the World Poker Tour (WPT) or the Celebrity Poker no limit hold’em tournaments on television every week.
When did poker tournaments started? Sometime last August 2005, while having a sumptuous dinner at Bellagio’s Prime Ribs – one of the most expensive steakhouse in Las Vegas – this writer managed to ask Mr. Jack Binion about the history of the Binion family and why they became synonymous to poker tournaments. He revealed that his father Benny Binion started running casinos in the Dallas area in 1930s. In 1946 he gave up on Texas and headed (pre-Bugsy Siegel) to Vegas where he set up the Westerner Hotel and Casino and later the Horseshoe. In 1949 Benny Binion sponsored the first major poker competition, a five-month contest between Nicholas "Nick the Greek" Dondolos and Johnny Moss. Johnny Moss won the contest and $2 million. But the event didn't take off.
It was only in 1970 that the first WSOP took place at Binion's Horseshoe with seven players. The winner, Moss was elected by his peers as the first World Champion of Poker and received a silver cup as a prize.
According to Jack, it was actually Tom Morehead, owner of the Riverside Casino in Reno, Nevada who started the World Series of Poker in the late 1960s, but that event had limited impact, as it was only an invitational event. Thus, it was widely acknowledged that the set of tournaments that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) eventually evolved into was the brainchild of his father Lester “Benny” Binion, his late brother Ted and Jack himself.
The Binion family not only nurtured the WSOP, but poker in general. Prior to the 1970s, poker was not found at many casinos because of the difficulty of keeping cheaters out. Through better security techniques as well as the Binion's tireless promotion through events like the WSOP, poker became a very popular game.
Different Forms of Texas Hold’em - Hold’em is played with three different betting structures. In limit hold’em, the amount of money you can bet at any one time cannot exceed a predetermined amount. No limit hold’em, on the other hand, allows players to bet all their money in the table at one time – and this is known as going ‘all-in” – even before the flop. The third variation is called the “pot limit hold’em” which only allows players to bet as much as the size of the total pot. Now, poker professionals generally agree that playing “limit hold’em” is a science while “no-limit hold’em” is an art as the variables of betting propositions tremendously increase. Texas hold’em is also played in two formats: tournament games and cash games (when played at the site of an on-going tournament, cash games are known as side games). The basic difference is that when you are playing in a cash game and lose all your money, you can buy more chips to stay in action. But if you lose all your money in a tournament, you cannot buy any more chips – you leave the table and wait for the next tourney.
How do you play Texas hold’em? What are the four betting rounds? As the old poker adage goes: Texas hold’em takes just a minute to learn but a lifetime to master. Indeed, the rules are fairly simple but the infinite possibilities are simply mind-boggling. In Texas hold’em each player is dealt two personal cards facedown – these are known as the hole cards – which will be combined with five community cards to make each player’s final five-card hand. The best hand is a royal flush followed by a straight flush, four of a kind, full house, a flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs and one pair. In rare cases when nobody has a pair, the player with the highest card wins the pot. Now, luck actually determines the “hole cards” of the players as well as the community cards drawn by the dealer. Thus, the test of poker playing experience lies in the betting skills.
Now the four rounds of betting in Texas Hold ‘em are as follows:
• First round of betting starts after all the all players had been dealt their hole cards. When it is your turn to act, you can do one of three things: you may fold or surrender your cards to the dealer; call or match the size of the required bet by placing the exact amount of chips in front of you; or you may raise by increasing the minimum bet (also called the “blind”) at least two fold or double the amount. After every player has acted, the dealer draws the first three community cards called the “flop” and puts them face up in the center of the table.
• Second round of betting can be participated by all players who did not fold before the flop. They can either check or stay active without making additional bet, fold, call, or raise. But once a player had made a bet, all active opponents must match or raise the amount or they must fold. Then the dealer draws the fourth community card called the turn.
• Third round of betting follows after the turn card had been drawn by the dealer, and all remaining active players shall either check, bet, raise or fold. Finally, the dealer places the fifth community card called the river.
• Fourth and last round of betting follows after the river card had been drawn. Of course, the manner of betting is the same as in the previous rounds, and if more than one player remains active after the final round of betting they turn over their hole cards to see who has the best hand – this is also called the showdown. The showdown determines who shall get the pot that may actually be ‘split’ if two or more players have identical hands.
Significantly, any player can go “all in” at any round of betting and he or she will automatically win the pot if no other player would call the bet.
Indeed, the key in winning poker games lies in the betting skills. A good poker player must know exactly when to fold, when to call, when to check, and when to raise. Most often than not poker games are won not by the player with the best hand but by those who knows how to play a good hand. Thus, poker is generally regarded as a ‘mind-sport or mind-game’.
Why is Poker regarded as a “mind-sport”? Indeed, poker is one of most grueling mind-sports as it is basically a battle of wits. One needs to exert his full mental faculties analyzing the body language of your opponents while exerting tremendous mental discipline to control your own emotional responses that could give away your hand. Moreover, poker is just like chess, which is basically a strategy game.
Yet, it is more cerebral than chess. Well, in hold ’em games; you win the hand if all your opponents fold when you make a bet, or if you have the best hand at the showdown. But in no limit hold ’em few hands are played all the way to the river, and you may actually win by bluffing – or making your opponent believe that you have the better hand and force him to fold.
In short and simple language, if you hold on to your hand long enough you could actually turn garbage into gold. Now, this reminded me about the unforgettable interview that I conducted last Feb 2006 with the greatest living legend of poker – MR. DOYLE BRUNSON - who acquired ten gold bracelets from the World Series of Poker.
For the uninitiated ones, Uncle Doyle Brunson is to poker what Babe Ruth was to baseball -- a larger-than-life giant of a man who not only helped to revolutionize and popularize the game he loved, but set the standard for achievement and excellence by which all other players are measured. He won the World Series of Poker twice -- in 1976 and 1977 -- with the exact same poker hand, a full house -- tens full of deuces. Actually, the hold'em hand "10-2" eventually became known as "a Doyle Brunson".
Indeed, quite a number of players – including this writer- have been betting substantial sums of money on the 10-2 hand out of sheer respect to the man…and, more often than not, it ends in a disaster. And so, after this corner was finally given the chance to ask Mr. Brunson whether what we were doing was right or not, I sheepishly posed the question on what to do with a 10-2. And you know what he seriously replied? “Fold the fuc#*ng hand!” and he’s not bluffing when he said that.
The Impact of Poker Tournaments to the Gaming, Entertainment and Tourism Industry: Almost 6,000 poker players participated in the WSOP 2005 Championship Tournament. Additionally, an estimated 30,000 more family members and friends of the players came to Las Vegas mainly to watch the tournament, and ended up patronizing the Las Vegas hotels and casinos as well as the numerous tourist and entertainment spots. As a result, more revenues had been generated by these industries than the income derived from the tournament. This year the estimates would be around 10,000 plus players to compete in the 2006 WSOP edition. Most of these players were product of hundreds of live satellites and on-line Internet poker events conducted all over the world.
Indeed, the same phenomenon could be replicated in the Philippines as well as in other Asian countries. At this juncture, it is important to emphasize the fact that we have already taken the initiative to lay the foundation for the projected launching of the Asian Series of Poker (ASOP) in the Philippines. This was achieved with the 1st PAGCOR World Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament held last February 22, 2006 at the Airport Casino in Parañaque City, Philippines.
In as much as it was hosted by the legendary Jack Binion and participated by the great Doyle Brunson together with some international poker professionals and notable Las Vegas personalities, it was conducted as the main highlight of the 1st Asia Gaming and Entertainment Plus Leisure Expo Manila.
Indeed, the historic event that was launched under the auspices of PAGCOR signaled the birth of the world-class poker tournaments in the Philippines as well as in Asia. It also resoundingly demonstrated our capability to serve as the prime mover in the development of the Asian Series of Poker (ASOP).
Yet, the enthusiasm and the momentum generated by the engagement must not be allowed to wane otherwise other groups may take advantage of the protracted implementation of the ambitious project. Hence, at this point in time, this writer who served as the prime organizer of the event is already in the thick of preparations for its 2nd edition this time to be renamed as The 2007 Asian Classic Poker Championship hosted by PAGCOR and Mr. Jack Binion set to be held on Feb 2007.
In the meantime, poker aficionados are enjoined to submit their comments and reactions through Email: wallyreports@yahoo.com.
