11th June 2007

In this week's E-Letter -

        Wise words from Greg Raymer about Betting Patterns and
        There's Gambling - and there's GAMBLING !!!

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Hi - how have things been going for you? I wasn't able to play in this Sunday's online tournament
as I went to play live at the Oxford Cup. Last year - it was the biggest Live Tournament in Europe but this year there were only 150 players and it was a more sedate affair.

I crashed out in 85th place but it was a good day - I just love the atmosphere of Live Multi-Tournaments - they are a good laugh and the sound of all the chips rattling in the room fill my
little heart with joy !

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The more chips you put in the pot...

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This week I want to highlight, not so much a great hand, but some really wise words from
Greg Raymer. The hand is taken from the European Poker Tour in Barcelona played last year
but aired on the telly a couple of weeks ago.

It's down to 6 players on the final table and the blinds are 10,000/20,000 with a running
Ante of 2,000. So there is 42,000 in the pot and Jeffrey Lissandro picks up JS and 10S.
  

He raises 40,000 so the pot stands at 102,000.

The next guy folds and David Daneshgar from the USA has a pair of 10's - 10C & 10D.
  

He calls the raise so there is now 162,000 in the pot.

David Gregory folds and so does Phil Ivey and the Chip Leader.

So as the two of them go into the flop - David is 61% to win against Jeffrey's 39%.

The Flop is AD, 7S and KS.
    

As Jeffrey Lissandro can hit any spade, any Queen or any Jack - his percentage goes up to
57% over David's 43% even though David has a pair and Jeffrey is only on a draw.

Jeffrey acts first and goes all in and David has to fold.

He can't possibly call with two overcards on the table.

Greg Raymer says: "I don't like the way Daneshgar played that hand - he just called with Pocket 10's. Even though Lissandro has not been playing loose or anything like that, I still think I would re-raise with Pocket 10's (pre-flop) to make sure I get rid of the blinds and play this hand heads-up and in position."

Colin Murray says: "Even if nothing else but to get some information".

And then the quote which is the whole reason why I wanted to highlight this hand...

Greg Raymer says: "You do always have to find the other players hand. The more chips you put in the pot, the fewer hands they can hold that they're willing to continue with".

Such wise words and definitely worth thinking about !

Colin Murray continues: "I think alot of people think, you know, coming into poker, 'I don't play poker that much, the way you read players' cards is through some kind of telepathy'. Sometimes they can do something or say something to give it away, but alot of the time you get your information through the way they bet the hand in front of them".

Greg: "We call that betting patterns - that's one of the tells you can use online, sometimes betting patterns alone will tell you a whole lot about exactly what cards they're holding. Now you can go beyond that and you can look at the body language and you can look at the pulse in their neck and the way they're breathing, the look on their face, where their eyes are, you can use all those thing to guage whether they're strong or weak, but the betting pattern is by far the most reliable tell because you can't fake that. You made that bet or you didn't make that bet."

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The Cowboys got Cracked !!

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Gavin Smith is a mad american and he is known to have some crazy bets - but one that took
the biscuit was during the WSOP 2006 Harrah?s New Orleans Circuit Tournament.

On Day 2 he had a side bet with Allie Prescott - If Gavin won the tournament, Allie had to pay
him 700k over the next ten years. If Allie won, Gavin would have to pay him a million dollars over
ten years. So that was quite an incentive to win.

They both made the final table on Day 3 and Allie went out in 7th place.

He had to watch Gavin play from the sidelines and pray that he didn't make top place.

If you watch the videos it's quite hysterical to see Allie's face as Gavin won some big pots.

It was down to Heads Up - Gavin Smith -v- Peter Feldman. There was one particular hand
when Peter raised first - Gavin had Pocket Kings so he re-raised and they ended up all-in -
Peter showed a Pair of 6's against Gavin's Pair of Kings.

In Gavin's own words: "I felt the win within my grasp and brought Allie Prescott on stage to watch. Peter then proceeded to flop a six, and put a nail in the coffin when he turned quads."

I tell you - Allie's face is an absolute picture - he's facing having to pay Gavin $700K over a
10 year period and virtually has a heart attack when Gavin's Kings get cracked !!

Gavin ended up coming second and the bet was off !

Another quote from Gavin Smith: "It was a grueling four-plus hours of heads-up, and I was
very happy with the way I played throughout the entire event. I had four days of complete
clarity, and I played as good a game of poker as I could play. I couldn?t ask for more than that, except for maybe the million dollars those quad sixes cost me."

I've heard of gambling - but there's gambling and GAMBLING !!

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Anyways - I hope you've enjoyed this week's e-letter - I'll be back again next week with another highlighted hand and some news or tips that I pick up. In the meantime - may the cards be with
you and let me know if you have any good stories to tell.

All the best

Meg Arana