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›››Sorel Mizzi, one of the most successful tournament players in the world, has had his "imper1um" account permanently locked at Full Tilt Poker. It was discovered that Mizzi had bought the stacks of former Bluff Managing Editor Chris “BluffmagCV” Vaughn who was deep in a major online tournament; Mizzi would buy the amateur out and then finished the tournament himself. Mizzi, who also plays on PokerStars as “zangbezan24” and who recently placed 15th in the WPT Championship, has become the biggest name implicated in stack-buying scandals..
››› Phil Ivey is back at the “Ivey Thunderdome,” “Ivey Glue Factory,” and “Ivey Deathmatch” tables on Full Tilt. He and Patrik Antonius played an epic session wherein they began at 500/1000 heads-up Pot Limit Omaha, moved to 2000/4000 heads-up H.O.R.S.E., and then played more Omaha. Ivey lost a quick buy-in to Antonius, but then used his world-class H.O.R.S.E. skills to regain the momentum and book a win of over half a million dollars. Ivey also tangled with Genius28, one of the most feared shorthanded No Limit players, in three sessions at the 500/1000 No Limit Hold’em table early in December. Genius won over $200,000 from Ivey in the fi rst sessions, but Ivey more than recovered by winning $350,000 in the last one.
››› Some big names in online poker are claiming that some of the new faces at the high-stakes tables aren’t new at all. ActionJeff has claimed that Tie53 — who played DaEvils in an epic multi-day 300/600 clash in November — was actually LarsLuzak. Jeff says he got a second-hand report from an insider at Full Tilt, and that the Tie53 account was locked and the money in it transferred back to LarsLuzak. Some regulars in the nosebleed games have also noted that the playing style of the Tie53 account is consistent with that of LarsLuzak.
››› Also, “KObyTAPOUT,” who recently came out of nowhere and sat in the big Hold’em and Omaha games, is rumored to be Patrik Antonius. Antonius has changed accounts more than once in the past, and some say that he’s playing on a friend’s account because he busted his “FinddaGrind” account in the session against Phil Ivey.
››› One of the biggest debates in the poker world — whether online or live players are better — intensified this past month. Prominent poker thinker David Sklansky wrote that he asked both Kenny Tran and Patrik Antonius how many of the twenty best players in the big live No Limit games would be online players. Both said that none of them would be, if Antonius didn’t count as an online player. Very few people disagree that online players are better in shorthanded and shorter-stacked situations, but there’s widespread debate about just how much of an edge live players’ experience and deep-stack knowledge gives them.
›››Meanwhile, young guns with internet experience continue to succeed on the live tournament trail. At the most recent WPT event at Foxwoods, Nick “TheTakeover” Schulman fi nished second for $865,000 and Tom “durrrr” Dwan took fourth for $324,000. Mike Vela, previously little known, won the tournament and $1.7 million.
HIGH STAKES REPORT
1. Genius28 $355,000
2. trex313 $300,000
3. DaEvils $273,000
4. LucLongley $256,000
5. p_c4Libr4ted $179,000
6. UglyPig $158,000
7. AndyMcleod $156,000
8. OMGClayAiken $150,000
9. Aeron73 $138,000
10. pokerkid585 $117,000
“Genius28” began December by dropping $140,000 to Phil Ivey, but he was the winningest nosebleed Hold’em player on Full Tilt in November. Close behind him was trex313, whose identity is one of the longest-kept account secrets in recent memory. DaEvils rode his big score over Tie53 to third place and over a quarter million dollars, and Brian “LucLongley” Hastings tacked $256,000 onto his impressive year. Other notable top-ten players include “AndyMcleod,” an unknown account who is not to be confused with Andy McLeod, and Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond.
The big loser of the month was Shark_Man_Mike1, who was outed as the player known as “good2cu” the same night he dropped approximately $530,000 to Tie53. The activity of Shark_Man and Tie53 led to the rare phenomenon of all the 300/600 Full Tilt tables being occupied by players wanting a piece of the action.
And some of the biggest action in November didn’t even come at Hold’em. Gus Hansen won over $1,250,000 at Pot Limit Omaha, thanks to two consecutive days in which he booked wins of over $600,000. “KObyTAPOUT,” rumored to be Patrik Antonius, won $850,000, and Dustin Dirksen ended the month down almost a million.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT – AARON BEEN
Aaron Been is one of the winningest online tournament professionals in the world, with nearly $300,000 in cashes in 2007 as well as over $250,000 in live cashes since turning 21. As an instructor for CardRunners.com, he opens up his mind, thoughts, and analysis every month to subscribers to show them how to mirror his successes.
BLUFF: It’s been a heck of year for you in the online poker world. We count at least 15 cashes of over $10,000. When did things start to come together for you?
AB: I was in a bit of a slump at the end of 2006 and I resolved on New Year’s Eve to do better. During January I took a long trip to play tournaments in both the Bahamas and in Australia and I didn’t cash either one, but I could tell I was improving. I remember coming down from my hotel room to the lobby after a tough loss shorthanded in the PokerStars Sunday Second Chance tournament, and a lot of people told me they were impressed with how I had played. Playing well has always been more important to me than having good results, so I would say in some ways things came together for me in that tournament. In February I came home and put in a ton of hours and had my first $100k month; and since then I’ve had the confidence to deal with the huge financial swings of tournament poker.
BLUFF: You’ve also made the transition to live play quite successfully since turning 21. A recent $200k score at the Borgata and a third-place finish in the $5000 Mirage WPT Heads-up event. How have you adapted your game to the live arena?
AB: I think my play style has always been well adapted for live play because I approach hands very deductively and I rely heavily on my initial impressions (which are obviously easier to get face to face). Most live players tend not to value bet thinly, which I like because I feel more comfortable making big calls and big folds when I know that, for example, I’m not letting a guy with top pair weak kicker accidentally bluff me out. The biggest adaptation I’ve made is smooth calling more pre-flop. I think it’s more important to disguise your hand pre-flop live because people pay more attention, but it has also improved my online game. I have been traveling the US circuit and I’m looking forward to the spring when there are a lot of events in the California/Nevada area. I usually skip the Mediterranean, European, and Asian tournaments because I don’t like long flights and now the dollar is very weak.
BLUFF: You make regular instructional videos for CardRunners.com. What are the concepts you typically emphasize for low-stakes MTTs?
AB: There are so many clueless players in tournaments that I think anyone who plays a tight solid game and understands position can win, even at higher stakes. I try to emphasize this in my videos and I also recommend that beginning tournament players watch Taylor’s (Green Plastic) oldest cash game videos because he covered the fundamentals so well. I also try to focus on the next steps for someone who is already a small winner at low-stakes online MTTs, which I think are shorthanded play and adapting to specific opponents.
BLUFF: How did you get your start in the poker world? How did you initially build your bankroll?
AB: I started out playing home games and then internet play money games. My online bankroll started when a poker site gave away $11 as a free promotion. I’ve always been very cautious with my bankroll and I’ve never needed to deposit. In the past when I had less money I decided to get backed in some tournaments, but I try to keep as much of my own action as possible now.
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
PokerStars Game #13697182992: Hold’em No Limit ($100/$200) - 2007/12/06 - 22:23:06 (ET) Table “Eros II” 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Genius28 ($22,305 in chips)
Seat 2: MrSweets28 ($38,117 in chips)
Seat 3: teacuppoker ($32,080 in chips)
Seat 6: BrynKenney ($53,586 in chips)
Genius28: posts small blind $100
MrSweets28: posts big blind $200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
teacuppoker: raises $400 to $600
BrynKenney: folds
Genius28: folds
MrSweets28: raises $1,400 to $2,000
teacuppoker: calls $1,400
*** FLOP *** [7♦8♣6♣]
MrSweets28: bets $2,700
teacuppoker: calls $2,700
*** TURN *** [7♦8♣6♣] [K♣]
MrSweets28: bets $6,200
teacuppoker: calls $6,200
*** RIVER *** [7♦8♣6♣K♣] [Q♠]
MrSweets28: bets $9,450
teacuppoker: raises $11,730 to $21,180 and is all in
MrSweets28: folds
teacuppoker collected $40,795 from pot
teacuppoker: shows [5♠5♣] (a pair of fives)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $40,800 | Rake $5
Board [7♦8♣6♣K♣Q♠]
Seat 1: Genius28 (small blind) folded before flop
Seat 2: MrSweets28 (big blind) folded on the river
Seat 3: teacuppoker collected ($40,795)
Seat 6: BrynKenney (button) folded before flop (didn’t bet)
Andrew Wiggins is an instructor for CardRunners.com and a mid-stakes NLHE specialist.
In this hand, teacup opens with 5-5 under the gun in a 4-handed game. It’s standard to open with any pair UTG in a 4-handed game. MrSweets reraises teacuppoker out of the blinds. It is not unusual for a player to defend his blind with a marginal hand when playing in a 4-handed game. Of course, it’s also possible that MrSweets has a big hand. Teacuppoker has position and a reasonable hand, so he opts to defend his raise and call.
The flop is decent but not great for teacup. After his pre-flop reriase, it’s standard for MrSweets to bet out here the majority of the time. Teacup may be ahead at this point, and if he is behind he is likely to have eight outs to a straight. Furthermore, if MrSweets has a big pair, this is a reasonably scary flop as teacup easily could have flopped two pair or a set. Teacup knows it might be possible to take the pot away later even if he doesn’t improve.
The turn brings the Kc which makes a three-flush on the board. The chances are that MrSweets doesn’t like this card. First of all, it brings a possible flush and it wouldn’t be unusual for teacup to have a flush draw on the flop. If MrSweets has a hand like J-J it also brings an overcard. Teacup knows if MrSweets had A-K or K-K, the card would have helped him. However, teacup knows that if that is the case he can still represent a set, two pair, or even a flush and possibly get MrSweets to fold. In addition, if teacup is behind, a fourth club on the river may make him a winning flush. The bottom line is that teacup has a plethora of opportunities going into the river due to their deep stacks and the fact that he has position. Teacup opts to call and reevaluate his situation on the river.
The river is a seemingly harmless queen. Teacup was unable to improve his hand, but the board remains scary for MrSweets. MrSweets bets $9,450 which is a little less than half the pot. MrSweets is definitely trying to represent a big hand, but the smaller-sized bet makes it very possible he’s either making a thin value bet or completely bluffing. Teacup must ask himself if MrSweets actually has a hand at all. Teacup must also decide if he can move MrSweets off a marginal hand like A-K. At the same time, there’s the chance that MrSweets has a monster like K-K. If that’s the case, teacup is in a bad spot. Realistically, there’s a better chance that MrSweets has a marginal hand or nothing at all. When teacup moves all in on the river, it appears he has very little fold equity as his raise is essentially a min-raise. To MrSweets, the small raise makes it appear less likely that teacup is bluffing, which would encourage him to fold a decent hand, even a king, because it is so unlikely that teacup would be bluffing in this spot.
Teacup stayed in the hand with a marginal holding and decided to turn a weak, marginal hand into a bluff on the river. Teacup played the hand in a high variance manner, but went with his gut and got MrSweets to fold. He put MrSweets in a very diffi cult spot on the river, because he made it nearly impossible for MrSweets to call with anything but an absolute monster. In this case, we don’t know what MrSweets had, but we can only presume he had a medium strength, non-monster hand.
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