POKER BETTING LIFESTYLE
www.gx-world.com
AUGUST 2010 USA $5.00
1 year... 1 night...
the ESPYS Stephen strasburg As good as advertised?
world series of poker Coverage of all the action you missed
college football Top-25 list of BCS odds
GX EDITORIAL
Find us on azine ok.com/gxmag www.facebo
RUNNERS & WRITERS
THREE’S COMPANY AT #1? No it’s not the ‘80s. I’m completely aware of the date and time. I haven’t slipped into a time-travelling worm hole and/or tracked down Doc Brown and hopped a ride in the DeLorean back to 1981. This isn’t Janet Wood, Chrissy Snow and Jack Tripper either. Instead, the Three’s Company I’m talking about is a newer, more up to date version that has hogged headlines, hi-jacked front pages and commandeered airwaves for the past month and will continue to do so until October. In case you didn’t hear or you’ve been living up a rock, the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh show are “taking their talents to South Beach” and going to play for the Miami Heat. I’m not going to lie; the path that all three mega-stars took to assemble this super was completely bushleague and resembled the actions of one Judas Iscariot. Now, I ask myself the question, “do I care?” Of course not! This is great for basketball. There hasn’t been a team this good since the Bulls in the ‘90s. If Miami wins, it’s exciting. If Miami loses, it’s even more exciting. What does bother me, though, is that so much has been missed in the name of the “thrice.” Historically, summertime is highlighted by the MLB All-Star Break, which features the State Farm Home Run Derby and MLB All-Star Game. If you missed it, we’ll get you up to speed (see: page 16). Not only did we forget about the mid-summer classic, but the final stages of the World Series of Poker as well. The WSOP was briskly swept underneath the carpet just so television, newspapers, radio and the internet would have time and space to over-analyze and dissect the new kings of South Beach. But, don’t worry, in case you didn’t catch the second half of the World Series of Poker we got you covered (see: page 52). How about the ESPYS? You know, the ESPYS? The award show honoring an entire year of sports in one night? The whole idea of ESPN’s award show is to air it on a night when there’s nothing happening in the sports or poker world. Still, the new-look Miami Heat was the preferred topic of choice. By the way, we’ve got full coverage of the event if you happened to (see: page 4). I don’t mean to complain, but the popsicle headache that was brought-on by the staggering amounts of LeBron, The Decision, Miami Heat and South Beach coverage engulfing my entire month of July still hasn’t gone away. No matter how much ranting and raving I do there isn’t anything that will ever change the great events that got lost in the aftershock of a decision and how Three’s Company, once again was #1 in the ratings.
Derek Gould, Editor
Creative Director Isabel Ferrer Contributors Fred Palley Seabastian Saffari Melissa Bauer-Herzog BSN Sports Rodney Brazeau Jamie Mallon PokerBRB.com Sport Photography Action Images Web Editor Michael Gales michaelg@gxglobalmedia.com Commercial Director US Michael Raounas michael@gxglobalmedia.com Commercial Directors Europe Natalie Kenneally natalie@gxglobalmedia.com Nathan Berman nathan@gxglobalmedia.com Business Development Alex Soro Online Marketing Albert Vellvé albert@gxglobalmedia.com Web Developer John Davison johnd@gxglobalmedia.com
ISSN 2043-0388
GX INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS
06
Designer Ben Stone ben@gxglobalmedia.com
Carlos Perez carlos@gxglobalmedia.com
Until next time, peace and good reading!
UK
Editor Derek Gould derek@gxglobalmedia.com
GERMANY
SPAIN
CHINA
first up
in the news August----September
Obama’s Ballin’ with LeBron?
R
umor has it that President Obama is planning to hit the parquet floor with Miami Heat’s newest member, LeBron James. It’s widely known that the head of the oval office is a huge hoops fan and isn’t that bad of a player either. During his campaign and even on election night, instead of smoking cigarettes to ease some of the tension, the commander in chief strapped-on the Converse weapons and balled it out. How did King James feel when word of the rumor made its way to LeBron’s ears? “’I think President Obama would hold his own. I’ve seen him shoot the ball - he’s a lefty, too. You know, pretty much all lefties can shoot,’” James said, according to The Hill newspaper. “’He’s worked on his game a lot; I’ve seen him playing with the North Carolina University [University of North Carolina] also. I think he’d hold his own.’” With the crisis in the Gulf happening right now and all of the other problems in the world, there isn’t a definite timetable for this supposed halfcourt game of hoops. However, if the showdown actually takes place, it’s a safe bet that every major news network will cover the one-on-one match-up. If and when it does happen, the real question is will King James take it easy on the Pres.?
10
Voice of Yankee Stadium Dies
N
ow batting. Number two. Derek Jeter. Number two.” It’s been an announcement that has echoed throughout the walls of Yankee Stadium for decades. Sadly, Bob Sheppard, the longtime announcer of the New York Yankees passed away on July 11th at the age of 99.
Sheppard, who had been the Yankees PA announcer since 1951 had the honor to announce Yankees lineups featuring legends of the Stadium including Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra. Not to mention the newer Yankee greats including Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Marino Rivera. Not only has Sheppard left an everlasting memory in the old Yankee Stadium, but in the new ballpark as well. In fact, the Yankees organization recognized and honored Bob Sheppard by naming the new media room in the stadium after the longtime announcer. Sheppard called 62 World Series games as the PA announcer for the Yanks and introduced over 70 Hall of Famers throughout his career. One of them, Mr. October, Reggie Jackson at one point dubbed Sheppard as, “The voice of God”. The voice that greeted so many fans into Heaven’s pearly gates with his customary, “Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Yankee Stadium,” will be missed.
I’m Going to Be Frank
A
t the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, it was reported that officials from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) had informed the media that the pro-internet gambling bill in congress may be marked up this week. However, no hearing has appeared on the schedule of the House Financial Services Committee. The PPA originally expected the HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, to be marked up by the week starting July 12th. However, the hearing looks unlikely to happen this week. The PPA has 1.2 million members, many of whom helped raise $27,000 for the organizations July 1st money bomb. The PPA will use this money to fund a new series of advertisements in publications. The July first date marked one month since the date of mandatory industry compliance with the regulations of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Since the bill was originally passed in 2006, its regulations had not
been fully enforced. Now though, credit cards, banks, and other financial institutions must fall into line with the four-year-old bill. All of this is comes at a time when the WSOP arguably had its most successful series in history, including the second largest Main Event.
sports betting omas Berdych of the Czech Republic hits T a return to Spain’s Rafael Nadal during the men’s singles final at the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships
the sports month in review
s Spain’s Rafael Nadal serves to Tomas Berdych s Rafael Nadal poses for a photograph with the winners trophy after defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the men’s singles final at the 2010 Wimbledon tennis championships
s Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych serves to Rafael Nadal
s Rafael Nadal celebrates defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the men’s singles final
13
sports betting olland v Spain FIFA World Cup Final - South Africa 2010 H Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
t Spain’s Xabi Alonso (L) gets a boot in his chest by Netherlands’ Nigel de Jong as they fight for the ball
t Spain’s Andres Iniesta celebrates his goal during the 2010 World Cup final soccer match against Netherlands
t Spain’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas saves the ball kicked by Netherlands’ Arjen Robben during their 2010 World Cup final soccer match at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg
t (Left) Colombian singer Shakira (R) performs before the 2010 World Cup final soccer match between Netherlands and Spain (Right) A fan waves a Spanish national flag as he celebrates after Spain’s win
14
the espys
“
Jimmy V Perseverance Award Recipient: George Karl, Denver Nuggets Arthur Ashe Courage Award Ed Thomas Family, Iowa High School Football Coach
I want to thank all of those who sacrificed so much for me and believed in me along the way; especially the offensive line, they put you too far back in the stands. You all should be up front. Drew Brees
”
BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE Nominees: ●● Brittney Griner, Baylor Women’s Basketball ●● Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans ●● Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals ●● John Wall, University of Kentucky Basketball
Winner: Chris Johnson Tennessee Titans
BEST FEMALE ATHLETE Nominees: ●● Maya Moore, NCAA Basketball ●● Diana Taurasi, WNBA ●● Lindsey Vonn, Skiing ●● Serena Williams, Tennis
Winner: Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
22
the espys BEST MLB PLAYER Nominees: ●● Zach Greinke, Kansas City ●● Derek Jeter, New York Yankees ●● Tim Lincecum, San Francisco ●● Joe Mauer, Minnesota ●● Albert Pujols, St. Louis
Winner: Albert Pujols, St. Louis
BEST NHL PLAYER Nominees: ●● Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh ●● Ryan Miller, Buffalo ●● Alexander Ovechkin, Washington ●● Henrik Seden, Vancouver ●● Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
Winner: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
CASTROL EDGE PERFORMANCE UNDER PRESSURE AWARD Nominees: ●● Sidney Crosby in the Olympic Hockey Gold Medal Game ●● Brett Favre in his return to Green Bay ●● Landon Donovan, World Cup vs. Algeria ●● Stephen Strasburg in MLB debut
●● Frankie Edgar over B.J. Penn, MMA ●● Hawaii softball upsets #1 Alabama, NCAA Softball ●● Northern Iowa shocks No. 1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s Basketball ●● Y. E. Yang stuns Tiger Woods, PGA Championship
Winner: Landon Donovan, World Cup vs. Algeria
Winner: Northern Iowa shocks No. 1 Kansas, NCAA Men’s Basketball
BEST MALE COLLEGE ATHLETE Nominees:
BEST GAME Nominees:
●● Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin Hockey ●● Mark Ingram, Alabama Football ●● Evan Turner, Ohio State Basketball ●● John Wall, Kentucky Basketball ●● Garrett Wittels, Florida International Baseball
Winner: John Wall, Kentucky Basketball
24
BEST UPSET Nominees:
●● Twins beat Tigers in Extra Innings (AL Central One-Game Tiebreak) ●● Canada edges USA in Olympic hockey championship game in overtime ●● Duke gets past Butler in Men’s NCAA Championship
Winner: Canada edges USA in Olympic hockey championship game in overtime
sports betting
On The Track:
Red Hot Tem By Melissa Bauer-Herzog
“
The #48 car is testing my patience, I can tell you that. It takes a lot to make me mad -- and I am pissed right now… s Melissa currently writes for Barrel Horse World News and the Bleacher Report. You can follow her on facebook, twitter (@ mbauerherzog ), or e-mail her at mbauerherzog@gmail.com.
36
”
sports betting Sports
R.A. Dickey SP- New York Mets Never heard of R.A. Dickey? Not too many people have. As a matter of fact, Dickey has been a journeyman his entire career and has been a member of four different franchises. He was taken in the first round (18th) pick by the Texas Rangers and only had two full seasons to adjust to MLB hitters. Since bouncing around the league, making stops at destinations such as Minnesota and Seattle, Dickey landed with the New York Mets in 2010. Since the Mets have been in dire need of starting pitching, Dickey was one of the few pitchers that Omar Minaya had on his 40-man roster with big league experience. After John Maine and Oliver Perez went down with injuries, Dickey was called up and got his chance to shine at Citi Field.
Since the call-up, Dickey has been sensational entering the mid-way point of the 2010 season with a 6-2 record through 10 starts. He’s holding a 2.77 ERA with 48 strike outs and a 1.31 WHIP; pretty impressive for a guy that wasn’t seen as anything more than a long reliever just one year ago. What separates Dickey from the rest of the pitchers in the National League is one thing: he’s a knuckleballer. Aside from Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox, Dickey is the only other pitcher in the MLB that throws the knuckler. There are a few things to think about when contemplating Dickey as an “add” to a fantasy roster. Surely, with the deadline approaching, the Mets will be a big player in one of the free-agent starting
pitchers that are being shopped. Does this spell trouble for Dickey? -Perhaps. If John Maine and Oliver Perez come back with a fine-tuned form, Dickey could wind-up in the bull pen. On the other hand, Perez has been a nightmare in the minor leagues while trying to get his head in the right place. So, even if the Mets land a pitcher such as Roy Oswalt or Ted Lilly, Dickey’s job will be safe. The trade deadline isn’t until the 31st at 12:00 AM, so Dickey still has a few starts left. If a spot start is needed, this guy is worth adding. He doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts, but he can get the “W” at Citi Field, with a Mets’ offense that gives plenty of run support. Mind as well ride the wave while it’s swelling and John Maine is hurt.
43
sports betting
The next three teams in the rankings are all from the Big 12. Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma are all capable of winning the national title, but only one is going to emerge as the clear-cut contender since all three teams play in the same conference.
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns find themselves in same boat as Oklahoma as the Longhorns enter 2010 without their prized quarterback, Colt McCoy, who is now in the NFL. Garrett Gilbert is now the man under-center in Austin and his play will be crucial and, quite frankly, determine how far Texas goes this season. The Texas Longhorns are at 14-1 to win the national championship in 2010.
Nebraska Cornhuskers The Cornhuskers lost and will miss DT Ndamukong Suh. However, Nebraska is still going to be putting a very good on defense on the field each Saturday. The offense should improve and take a big step forward from 2009; not that it will change the game, but Nebraska might have the best kicker in the country in Alex Henery. Odds at winning it all: 14-1.
Virginia Tech Hokies Virginia Tech returns quarterback Tyrod Taylor and running back Ryan Williams which could be enough of an offensive punch for them to survive a tough diluted ACC conference. The Hokies always have a good defense and if they win the opener against Boise State they could make some noise in the national title race. VT is 18-1 to win the national title.
TCU Horned Frogs TCU enters the summer as the 5th ranked team in the country and have had the best defense the past two seasons. The Horned Frogs suffered a tough loss to Boise State in their bowl game last year, but can get right back to a BCS game this season. 16 of their starters in 2009 return in 2010, including their quarterback, Andy Dalton. Since TCU does play in the Mountain West, the Horned Frogs aren’t given any respect from the odds makers, as Vegas has them 18-1 to win it all. Don’t fall asleep on TCU though. They might just surprise in ’10.
48
Oklahoma Sooners
Oregon Ducks
Oklahoma was banged up last season but in 2010 they should be fine although they will miss quarterback Sam Bradford. They didn’t have him much last season though so the loss is not huge. Landry Jones filled in nicely and the offense still has DeMarco Murray and Ryan Broyles. The defense is led by Jeremy Beal and Quinton Carter. Of the three teams in the Big 12, Oklahoma has the lowest odds to win the national title at 7-1
The Ducks have the most talent in the Pac-10 even with the loss of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Nate Costa will be under center and LaMichael James will be running the ball for the Ducks this year. Now, with USC ousted from any bowl games due to their infringement of NCAA regulations, Oregon slide as the favorite to take the Pac-10. The Ducks are at 30-1 to take the National Championship.
POKER GX
So it´s a goodbye for now from the Royal Flush girls. Maybe they´ll be back in November. Maybe they won´t be. Whatever the outcome, we´ll never forget them.
been reminiscent of some kind of post Cold War three-way espionage encounter in a shady cafe on the back streets of Beirut. Or so I’m told. But with three super powers together, there could only be one winner – and that was Tomer Berda from Israel. Tomer won $825,976 as he fended off the other 1,941 runners to win the first bracelet of the Series for Israel. The Russian player who came second meanwhile, has such a difficult surname to pronounce that we’ll inform you of the players who finished 6th and 7th, Hungcheng Hung from Taiwan and Ali Alawadhi from the US, because their names roll off the tongue like a very rolly Rollo.
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS.
Huck Sows His Seed When 27 of the world’s finest poker players lined up in anticipation of battling it out to become The Top Dog, The Bees Knees, The Cat’s Pyjamas and any other animal related way of describing a poker champion, they all knew there could only be one winner. Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth were just a handful of those competing – and the rest of the field wasn’t any easier as Joe Hachem, Mike Sexton and
Greg Raymer were lurking elsewhere on the felts. But it was none of the above who were able to claim the Tournament of Champions victory and the $500,000 that went with it as Jonny Chan, Howard Lederer and Huck Seed eventually emerged as the final three. The latter of the three, 1996 World Champion Huck Seed, was the man who finally triumphed and thus etched his name down into the all-time poker annals as one of poker’s greatest ever players. Huck shows them who´s boss after taking down the Tournament of Champions and ethcing his name into further poker folklore
.EVENT #57.
Opening Up It’s unlikely you’ll have heard too much about David Warga before despite his bracelet win in 2002. And that’s because the 41-year-old won the Casino Employee’s Championship eight years ago, and thus this was his first bracelet in an open event. He has now made history though, as no other Casino Employee’s Championship winner has gone on to win an open bracelet before. Warga won the Seven Card Stud Hi-Low 8 or Better $1,500 buy-in event for more than $200,000.
57
GX POKER
THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER
And Now For The Main Event Johnny Chan’s hopes of a second World Series win and Tom Dwan’s last chance in his bracelet quest. Anyone in search of headlines at this year’s Main Event was in for a real treat as the poker gods once again conjured up story after story in a truly enthralling 41st World Series of Poker. PICTURES ANNE LAYMOND
A
nother year and another World Series. We had so many high hopes for the 41st World Series of Poker with our beloved sport getting bigger and better with every passing hand. The WSOP once again broke all records in terms of runners and prize pools and as 7,319 players lined up on the eve of the Main Event, us spectators weren’t the only ones with fairytale scripts just waiting to be written. Yet before we get lost in a Main Event dream world though, where Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson would be lining up in the mother of all final tables against sports stars Shane Warne and Boris Becker, Hollywood beauties Jayde Nicole and Shannon Elizabeth, and reincarnated poker gods Johnny Moss and Stu Ungar, let’s just take a step back and remember the facts.
58
With approximately 600,000 hands being dealt throughout the Series, and over 7,300 poker players entering the Main Event, making it through a single day’s play is a feat in its own right, let alone cashing or making the final table. And so while many would have been disappointed to see reigning champion Joe Cada, English enigma James Akenhead and even Maryland logger Darvin Moon bust without cashing this year, there was still enough drama for the romantics to pounce upon.
and brutal event. If that wasn’t a proud enough moment for Michael’s mother, she also saw her eldest son Robert make the final table and take home $341,429 for his 5th place finish. Two cashes with a win then, in the most expensive tournament of the Series, would have provided ample enough reason for most of us to kick back and enjoy the rest of the summer sipping cocktails by the pool. Not the Mizrachi’s though.
At the top of their list would undoubtedly have to be the story of The Mizrachi Family and, more importantly, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi. In the first open event of this summer’s World Series, the $50,000 Player’s Championship, Michael Mizrachi won $1,559,046 for topping a shark infested
For Michael then went on to make two more final tables in Stud events as well as grabbing a fourth cash of the Series in a smaller Hold’Em event, meaning the 2005 LA Poker Classic champion could roll on to the final event of the summer with confidence running higher than a poker
GX POKER
The World Series of Poker in Numbers
No Limit Hold’em Event 6, ran all the way to the final day of the event before being eliminated in 11th place for $635,011.
BRITISH POWER CUT
WORDS CONOR MILLS
8,944,138 Amount in US dollars that will go to the winner of this year’s Main Event; the second largest total in WSOP history.
7,319
Number of entries in this year’s Main Event. The huge number of entrants required four Day 1’s and two Day 2’s so that all the competitors could be seated in the Amazon room at the Rio.
57
Total number of events at this year’s World Series of Poker. The total is the largest amount in the event’s 41 year history and is up two from last year’s 55.
71,424
Lowest first prize total in US dollars received by an event winner. The modest sum went to Hoai Pham for winning this year’s first event, the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em tournament.
117
Number of different nations represented; the largest number ever, two up from last year’s previous record total.
72,966
Total entries spanning all 57 events; up a very impressive 20% on last year.
187,109,850 The largest cumulative prize pool in US dollars in WSOP history, up 3.5 % on last year’s record year. 60
THE ROMANCE OF THE BRACELET In spite of the November Nine dashing thousands upon thousands of dreams, the Main Event still threw up plenty of stories for the romantics to sink their teeth into. One of these came in the shape of Johnny Chan, who after a barnstorming start, harbored high hopes of battling through eight arduous days of poker and reaching the final table. Chan, the 1987 and 1988 Main Event winner, ran deepest out of the former world champions and for more than a while looked capable of making it all the way. Unfortunately for Chan though, dreams of a third World Series win disintegrated on Day 6 in desperately unfortunate circumstances as first his Kings ran into Aces to decimate his stack and then, hoping for a double up, his Jacks ran into another pair of Aces. This sent Chan packing in 156th with just under $60k for his efforts and meant no further part would be played by any former Main Event winners. Scotty Nguyen was in fact the only other former winner to cash in the event; the 1998 champion finished in 209th. There were still a handful of 2010 bracelet winners in the event though, really proving just how much a bout of confidence can affect a player’s chances even in a 7,000man+ event. 2009 November Niner Eric Buchman, fresh off the back of his bracelet win in the $2,000 Limit Hold’em Event 18, reached the furthest out of all last year’s final tablists and cashed in 554th. Tomer Berda meanwhile, who had won Event 56 just days prior to playing the Main Event, made it to Day 6 before busting in 134th. And Pascal LeFrancois, winner of the $1,500
Following the success of the British players this summer, who mustered five bracelets between them as well as several other second places and final tables, there was initially hope that we’d see a repeat of James Akenehead’s success last year and have a home grown player to cheer come November. Akenhead alas, fell on Day 2A, while bracelet holder Praz Bansi did manage to run deep before cashing in 240th. 2009 bracelet winner JP Kelly also went deep but couldn’t finish higher than 111th. All this meant little known 26-year-old Redmond Lee from Barnett was the last English hope. Lee, who has cashed twice before at the World Series of Poker, but who could have quite honestly been called Lee Redmond and we’d have been none the wiser, made it to the final day’s play before running his pocket fours into pocket tens. Lee finished in 21st place, a fantastic effort from the Barnett-based Brit, and received $317,161 for his efforts.
NOTABLE OTHERS Those looking for a few stories elsewhere would have been following the progress of 21-year-old American John May. The youngster turned 21 the day before competing in the Main Event and would have beaten Joe Cada’s record had he gone on to win. May eventually busted in 177th place, ensuring Cada’s record will stand for at least another year, but the 50k May took home would have eased his angst at not threatening Cada further.
POKER Strategy
Moves That Mold Champions Top 10 flop moves Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” It is the only reference book to reveal the plays the Pros use to win a poker tournament. These plays are based on reviewing 20 years worth of tournament poker strategies and by actual play against Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is available on Amazon and rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers. Find out more about Mitchell Cogert by visiting Tournament Poker or his website APokerExpert.
T
he flop moves listed below are mostly bluff and semi bluff moves designed to win pots on flops you haven’t caught a piece of. Since you will often represent a hand you don’t have, it is of the utmost importance that your betting history, in the hand and general table image, tell a convincing story. In addition you have to choose your flops and opponents carefully. Ideally you want to be up against a maximum of 2-3 opponents who will be able to lay down their hands depending on the move you choose. Needless to say flop moves require a lot more
62
skill and experience to master as compared to preflop moves.
1
Bet at flops with pairs
If the flop comes with a pair and is uncoordinated (no flush draws and obvious straight draws) you should bet if you are first to act or the action is checked to you. Take advantage of your opponent’s fear of facing trips. If you get called on the flop you need to consider whether you want to bet the turn or not. Your opponent could have hit trips but the probability is small since there are only two cards
in the deck that could give him this hand. Your opponent could also be planning to steal the pot from you on the turn if you show weakness and check. Notice how poker player level thinking really comes into play when considering what to do on the flop, turn and river.
2
Bet the rainbow “Steal flop”
Some flops contain low cards of different suits (rainbow) and in addition are uncoordinated meaning that there is little chance that one of your opponents has picked up a draw. An
POKER
TOUCHING THE POKER SURFACE
What would you do with a Microsoft Surface multitouch table, a love of gaming and a handful of spare phones? Create a revolutionary interactive poker game – Poker Surface.
iPad developers may come up with something similar
70
P
oker Surface is the handiwork of a group of students at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany; gameplay mainly happens on the Surface itself, but you view your cards on a wirelesslyconnected smartphone, tilting the handset toward yourself to catch a glimpse of what you’ve been dealt. The phones are also used to organise and register players, with each person inputting their name and how much money they want to risk on the handset. That’s then transferred over to the Surface, and the cards virtually dealt. Accelerometer feedback is used so that when you tilt the handset toward yourself, you
get to see privately what sort of hand you’ve been given, rather than risk showing it to everyone on the main display. Other interesting features include being able to double-tap a chip to split it down into smaller denominations; you can also fold the hand by shaking the phone horizontally. The research also looked into how people preferred to interact with the game, finding that players were more comfortable with the combination of a smaller, private screen rather than doing everything on the Surface. Of course, most people will never have a Surface in their home, but perhaps iPad developers may come up with something similar for a slightly more affordable multitouch device.
lifestyle
the month ahead August----September
GX takes a look at the best sporting, musical, cultural and lifestyle events around the country this August.
1
2010 Legends of Poker Bell Gardens, California July 28th – August 30th
The poker “Tournament of Tradition” kicks off in July 28th at The Bicycle Casino at Bell Gardens, California and goes through the entire month of August. Over 26 events ranging from No Limit Hold’em to H.O.R.S.E to Omaha 8 or Better will be featured at this summer’s poker mega-event. As it shapes up to be one of the most talked about poker events of July and August, it is surly one that shouldn’t be missed.
2
NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Game Canton, Ohio Sunday, August 8th
While it’s true that no one really cares about the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in the NFL, it is tradition. Since 1971, on the weekend where NFL’s best are inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, one team representing the AFC takes on another representing the NFC in an exhibition game. This year, the Cincinnati Bengals will match-up against the Dallas Cowboys at Fawcett Stadium in Canton. There is no history here between these two teams, but NBC’s coverage is normally worth a look. Most importantly are the names of the players on the docket for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Class of 2010: Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, Floyd Little, John Randle, Jerry Rice and Emmit Smith.
72
3
Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band August 7th – October 21st
Get ready to hit the beach parrot heads as Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band kick-off their summer tour beginning August 7th at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. The tour which always brings out the inner-beach bum in us all is sure to be an out-of-this-world show. Buffet is known for putting on a show, where he plays his island hits including, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Volcano, Boats, Beaches and Bars, Fins and The Captain Morgan Song. The tour comes to an end on October 21st for the final showing at the Irvine Meadows/Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA.
baseball lifestyle
SCORES
Presentation 8.0 Tiger Woods ’11 sets the bar with its features, golf course design and life-like feel. However, the game still hasn’t made that giant leap that will blow gamers away.
12 vs. 12 Online Team Play Very similar to the Ryder Cup mode, players can go online and choose sides (USA or Europe) and play with up to 23 different players. The 12 vs. 12 Online Team Play features the “tracer” mode where you can follow all of your competitor’s shots by watching them on your own screen. New Animations Though the player models have remained the same from last year’s title, EA Sports has updated the realism where gamers will now see the golfers hair and clothes flowing with the wind. The new grass textures and course physics and time of day change are remarkable, adding a crisper accent to each course.
New Courses & Golfers
The long-anticipated list of new courses and golfers in Tiger Woods ’11 is short, but rich in history.
Courses: • • • • •
Celtic Manor The Greenbrier Liberty National Golf Course TPC Scottsdale Whistling Straits
Golfers: • • • • •
Stephen Ames Paul Casey Danny Lee Boo Weekley Suzann Petterson
Graphics 8.0 The graphics on the course and environments have improved vastly, however character models are still a bit robot-like and need to have their movements tweaked to resemble humans.
Commentary Scott Van Pelt and Kelly Tillmann take the mic once more and give their insights on all modes. Though they do a great job setting up a shot, more interactive dialogue that corresponds to the golfer’s situations would add for a more realistic feel to Tiger Woods. Golf is a game of emotion, it isn’t captured again this year with Van Pelt and Tillmann doing the announcing.
Sounds 7.0 The sounds while golfing on the courses are superb. However, Scott Van Pelt and Kelly Tillmann need to be more vocal and interactive to different situations. It would make for ultimate realism. There’s always next year, right? Gameplay 8.5 The gameplay is still the same as last year’s Tiger Woods. New features enable a more realistic and more difficult experience on the course. Still, the gameplay on the XBOX 360 and PS3 consoles hasn’t changed much. The Wii ranks as the best of the three systems to play Tiger Woods ’11 on.
Time to “Move” It’s true that the Wii has been the most replayable and overall fun version of the Tiger Woods franchise (because of its interactivity of motion controlling), the video and graphics and visuals have been one of the setbacks that continues to nag the aesthetically-needy gamer. That will come to an end in September as Sony and EA Sports announced that Tiger Woods ’11 will offer a download via PSN (Playstation Network) that will enable Sony Playstation’s Move (a program much similar to the Wii will allow motion controlling) to be fully functional with Tiger Woods ’11. Talk about a saving grace.
Replay Factor 8.5 Though Tiger Woods ’11 is a great way to pregame with your college buddies on a Friday night, it still feels the same as previous Tiger Woods games on XBOX 360 and PS3. The Wii is still the best system to play it on, but the fun never ends whether you’re playing 9-holes or 18. Just wait until Move comes out for the Playstation 3 this fall. Then we’ll be talking about a whole new game.
Final Grade
8.0 79
GX LIFESTYLE
Driving In The Fast Lane
The McLaren MP4-12C MCLAREN REVEALS ITS WINNING FORMULA BY JAMIE MALLON
T
The one word, McLaren, says it all really. It’s rare that you can use one word to identify a company synonymous with an industry. Ok, so maybe ‘Hoover’ cracked that nut first, but your Hoover is unlikely to propel you to 200km/h in under 10 seconds… From Formula 1 to the McLaren F1, this organisation lives, breathes and sleeps – although probably rarely by the looks of the MP412-C - motorsport.
EXTERIOR Initially the most striking thing about the McLaren MP4-12C is the perfectly balanced stance which suggests you may be looking at a serious supercar. You might think this is weird, it’s not. Design director Frank Stephenson claims “it’s the whole idea;” in a decade that has produced the Pagani Zonda and the Lamborghini Reventon Roadster, maybe subtlety is the new “In-Your-Face” for 2010. For anyone who spent their youth drooling at the McLaren F1 you can see some similarities in shape with the MP4-12C. As
80
subtlety is the order of the day for McLaren, the louder aspects usually associated with supercars like the legendary F1 have been toned down to create an uber-functional yet stunning design. Take for instance the wheels and tires, which were overhauled following
their initial design to save an astonishing 9lbs. Even the embossed McLaren badge on the magnesium beam from which to mount the dashboard was re-engineered to a recessed design saving 8oz. I love McLaren. The MP4-12C is narrower, shorter and lower than its rivals (think Aston Martin DB9, Lamborghini Gallardo). Couple this to the low-curb weight and the sort of obsessive aerodynamic research you would expect from an F1 team and you would just about be on the way to possibly understanding the ultimate agility of the little McLaren packing a big punch. INTERIOR Functionality and simplicity remain the theme throughout the interior. Unfortunately for the big kids among us, looking forward to another innovative seating arrangement from McLaren, you will be disappointed. The central seating arrangement in the F1 has always evoked some sort of childish excitement. It does however mean the car has to be wider.