One time by Richard Larkin

one time

ISSUE 001 April 2016

Keeping you up to date with gossip, tips, and general info on the Perth Poker Scene.

Pub Poker Showdown

HOW TO PLAY ACE KING What to do when you look down and see the hand we love to hate.

CONTENTS 04 Gone Fishing Find out about spotting and exploiting the weakest player at the table and increase your overall profitability.

08 Boot Camps Find out about spotting and exploiting the weakest player at the table and increase your overall profitability.

Ace F*cking King Learn from the pros how to play the most overplayed hand in poker. If you lose all your chips with Ace high, this is just what the poker doctor ordered for you. We discuss the various styles and the generally accepted approach for handling AK in cash and tournament poker.

Support from the Rail

Bankroll Management

Age is No Excuse

How much do you value the support from others watching and cheering you on? Is it part of a winning strategy and give you the motivation you need, or does it bring unwanted pressure?

Learn the key process in ensuring you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose the house from your part time passion.

What do you want to do when you turn 93? How about winning a poker tournament? We talk to Arthur Richards on what it takes to be a legend and vertan of the game.

Deck History

Where did the 52 card deck come from? Some interesting facts to help you appear to be a know it all and therefore someone to bust at your local tournament!

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

Battle of the Titans

Pub poker showdown at its finest. Joe Chamoun and David Irwin take each other on heads up in a free-for-all. Starts with even stacks, ends with a police violence restraining order! Cop that!

Big Boobies Here

If you get distracted by big assets, here are two girls who bust out the moves to bust you out in poker. Learn from two of the pub scene icons about how they use their size AA breasts to get ahead in the game.

EDITORIAL

e love the game, we hate the game. We love the taunts, the suckouts, the bricks, and the slow rolls. We love the wins and curse the bad beats. Bottom line is, we keep playing because Poker is in our blood.

Richard Larkin Issue Editor

Welcome to the one time edition of One Time, Perth’s local poker magazine dedicated to discussing poker-related issues in a fun and friendly format. This magazine is a collection of stories from around the table from different aspects of the game we love so much. Bear in mind, most content is informative and fun, so don’t expect to read this and become a November Niner in 2016! Unless you are Frederico of course, in which case you’ve already made it and we’d be honoured if you use this magazine as your backup toilet paper! But on a serious note, there are always lessons to be learnt and hopefully the stories in this magazine help you in some way or the other. Good luck on and off the table, now shuffle up and deal.

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

GONE FISHING By: Will Graham

Poker is a battle of skill. Yours versus your opponents. Your objective is to find players weaker than you and make money from them, whilst avoiding the players better than you. In cash games, you also need to pay for the rake if you want to be a profitable player overall. So how do you spot the weaker player? Read on as we explore key concepts in finding your fish.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

n the 1994 flick Maverick (starring Mel Gibson), the lead character sits down at a poker table and guarantees to the other players he will lose for the first hour of the game. He then proceeds to make good on his promise, but unbeknown to the other players, he spends that hour observing the others and looking for tells. He is, in effect, finding the fish to go with his chips. Whilst that movie is set in the Wild West era circa mid 1800s, the modern day Maverick need only apply a few simple tests to determine where the next meal comes from (source http://www.pokerplayer365.com/poker-strategy/4ways-to-spot-a-fish/): 1. Opens the pot with a limp call. Limping into an unopened pot is a sign the player has a marginal hand, and can easily be re-raised out of the pot, or taken down with a C bet post-flop.

when he said this, he certainly hid the nail on the head to help enlighten poker players. If you can understand the thought process of your opponents, you can outplay them in key hands and end up a winning player.

2. Bet sizing out of the norms. A normal pre-flop raise will be 2-4 big blinds and a standard three bet will be 8-12 bigs. If a player opens to 10 big blinds, or three bets to just 5 big blinds, you know they are more likely a predictable player.

But in poker as it is in life, it’s easier said than done. How do we not be stung by bad beats, how do we rise up and play the game without the emotional distractions that being human introduces? In essence, that’s the game we are playing.

3. Irrational verbal diarrhea. A fish will whinge about never winning with AK, losing to 3 outers on the river, or go on tilt and try to win every hand.

Yes, learning the maths behind the chance of making a hand is important, but more so is aiming to become a perfect player making perfect plays. Increasing that edge you have over the less developed players so that you become a more profitable player.

4. Calls more than a telemarketer. Fish in the ocean love to swim. Fish on the table love to call. They were born for it, make the most of it. So what if you recognise some of these habits in your play? Does that make you a target for better players at the table? It sure does. So how do you progress along the food chain and get yourself off the menu? The answer can be found in a pokerlistings.com article (source http:// www.mirror.co.uk/features/poker/top-5-skills-separate-poker-1746205): Develop these 5 skills to improve your game: 1. Pay more attention to the game. Amateurs focus on themselves, pros focus on the detail of the amateurs and their playing patterns. 2. Control your emotions. At Black Jack, Roulette, and other table games, the house always wins. In poker, you are the house and your skill level determines how big your edge is. When punters win at the casino, they are celebrated, photographed, and used as marketing for other punters. When you cop a bad beat, you too must think how you will use that to your advantage in the long run. 3. Predictability is your enemy. In poker, you must be able to vary your play so that others don’t know if you have the nuts or air. For example, it pays to occasionally check the river with a strong hand to prevent you being bluffed in a later hand. 4. Adaptability is the key. Einstein said “The measure of our intelligence is the ability to change.” Whilst he probably wasn’t thinking about 3-betting pre-flop

“Potholes on the road of life sharpen our maneuverability skills.”

Kamil Ali

It also means you have an increased responsibility to cultivate the less experienced players as valued customers. Imagine a casino where the Blackjack dealers laughed at the players whenever the player lost a bet. The casino would soon run out of players, othBet ? er than the hardcore addicts playing beyond Raise ? their means (who probably wouldn’t quit at All In ? any cost). So too in poker, whether you win or lost at the table, try and be sensitive to your valued customers as they are the ones that give you the biggest edge. So next time you sit down at a table, spare some thought to the bigger picture of finding your customers and extracting maximum value from them. And you never know, with the skills you develop from fish farming, you just might end up graduating from being a poker player and be on your way to become a used car salesman!♥

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

By: Henriette Pasquale

THE RAIL AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR WINNING STRATEGY

n tournament poker, a big part of your game will be trying to reach the money, then trying to reach the final table, then trying to maximise your payout as best you can. As you progressively get closer to reaching your goal, with bigger blinds, antes, and increased quality of the competition, any mistakes at this level can prove costly to your chances. This is where it helps to have a separate set of eyes to calm you down, help you re-establish your focus, and perhaps even offer strategic advice on your play versus your competition. In this regard, your rail (people that watch from behind the barrier) can be friends/family for the former, or coaches/poker colleagues for the latter (which is often seen on TV). Indeed, just having someone on the rail to bounce ideas off, or tell your bad beat story can be a positive outlet and lets you get back in the game.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

The rail also provides a fresh way to see how you are playing without necessarily all the emotion involved. This can be particularly useful in pivotal moments in the game such as when you reach heads-up, or when the money/trophy is brought out and placed on the table. Whilst there is no timeout in poker, having the rail calm you down at just the right time can make a pay-jump difference measured in thousands of dollars, well worth a friendship by any measure. In major local tournaments, where the players start the final table on a new day, it is common for family to be invited to watch and support and you must guard yourself against playing scared in front of a non-poker playing audience. Luckily, to even reach a final table indicates some level of long-term play which would mean the family is generally supporting anyway. However, it is important to remind your non-playing rail that you may finish next or go all the way, just to take off that added pressure of not wanting to be the first out. A recent final tablist in a major tournament in Perth recalls his story of reaching the final table where the 9th place is $7k and the top prize is $80k. He ended up going out in the second hand of the day but had great rail support from his girlfriend, which makes him a winner in my books.â&#x2122;Ľ

Run Good Coffee Perfect to keep your rail up all night.

HISTORY OF OUR DECK

By: Gareth Jones

It was the French who gave us the 4 suits we love to hate, as a way to enhance the mass production of cards by means of automation. The original suits brought in from Egypt (which are still in use today in Latin countries) are the Batons, Coins, Cups, & Swords. The Europeans introduced Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds & Spades.

ccording to author David Parlett (“History of Card Games”), the Mamelukes of Egypt introduced these cards to Europe in the 13th century, and the French adopted the ♠♥[] suits in the late 1400s. A famous knight by the name of Etienne Vignoles invented a game of Piquet about knights and chivalry, and so he created the 4 suits to match that game: • Hearts - Denotes the Church • Diamonds - Denotes the arrowheads of archers • Clubs - Denotes the husbandmen • Spades - Denotes the points of Lances (a symbol for the knights themselves) This theory of how the suits were created is not uncontested however,

with alternate theories in existence depending on who you speak to. In 1418, the Germans printed cards in great volumes with the suits of Hearts, Bells, Leaves, and Acorns, with these suits still in use today. One theory of the development of the modern ♠♥[] suits we are familiar with, is that the French changed this German design because the mass produced cards were distributed all throughout Europe. From this point on, the modern suit we use today was distributed around the world via trade and colonialisation. Through this mechanism the modern deck became the defacto standard for Casinos, and our beloved Poker game. This gives rise to interesting catch cries were poker played in the old days with the old deck (poker was invented by the French in the 17th century, and popularised in America in the 18th century). Flush draws would be described as “any acorn to win”, or “he needs a bell on the river”, which I guess could be worse. Imagine if the earlier suits were based on fruit, and the players were novices of the day, we would be hearing catch cries such as “the banana needs a banana”, or “the donkey needs an apple to stay alive.” Finally, our modern popular form of the game, Texas Hold Em was said to originate in the early 1900s in Robstown (Texas), and then Dallas (also Texas) in 1925., according to www.thepokerfather.com. Similarly, vagueness about the terms flop, turn and river exist with one suggestion the “flop” simply refers to the action of “flopping” the cards out when dealing the 1st round of cards. The “turn” is supposed to come from the horse racing industry when the horses make the last turn onto the final straight. The “river” supposedly comes from poker players on a boat on the Mississippi river; a cheater would deal the last card to help them and if caught, they would be thrown overboard into the river.♥ Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

Perth Poker Player Brent Ladbrook talks about his experience with WPT Boot Camps

BRENT LADBROOK & BOOT CAMPS By: Patricio Diaz

he game of poker takes ten minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master. So how do you attempt to master a game that has so many dimensions to it, it makes a Rubiks cube look like childs-play? Whilst most people learn poker by trial and error, local Perth player Brent Ladbrook took a more academic approach and enrolled himself in a 3-day WPT Bootcamp held in Vegas. From his experience of that bootcamp, and his subsequent learning journey, he was kind enough to share his experience from the course and how it has moulded his game over the years.

How It All Started Brent started playing poker about 6 years ago after seeing it being played on TV whilst he was travelling for work. From there he watched a local tournament at the Casino to learn more and joined a pub poker game near his house to try his luck. Brent continued his pub poker games for about 3 years before moving onto the casino more regularly, but not before leaving his

mark in the pub poker scene as a rank amatuer. Brent recalls his most memorable performance was when, as a beginner, he didn’t fully understand the game and ended up upsetting a local by check calling with the nuts. Whilst Brent was playing regularly in the pub poker scene, he decided to dive head first into the deep end and enrolled himself in the World Poker Tour’s Boot Camp program (www.wptbootcamp.com).

in the Boot camp was made up for in the personal mentoring sessions where he could work on specific weaknesses in his game and have a personal path for improvement. It was during such a session that Brent had a lightbulb moment when he was taught that you don’t win tournaments by what you do, rather you lose them by what you don’t do. From that point on, he hasn’t been afraid to go all in with 7] 2♥ if he thinks it will win him the pot.

But it wasn’t always like this for This boot camp is a 1, 2, or 3 Brent. He used to play conservative, day adventure where you are taught ABC poker like the rest of us, and in a classroom was often worried environment by about what other established propeople would fessionals vari- • Reading opponents think if he played ous aspects of the • Self assessment bad cards. This Controlling emotions game (see side- • affected his game • Picking up tells bar). • Removing your tells and his ability to

What You Learn in a Boot Camp

• Calculated aggression outplay his opBrent took • Changing gears ponents, and was the full 3 day ad- • Your table image something Brent • Playing short-stacked vanced package • Putting opponents on hands knew was wrong as he wanted to • Avoiding traps with his game. get the most out • Proper betting on all streets He recalls its as of his trip and ad- • Calculating pot odds natural as trying • Early/ middle/ late stages strategy vance his skills • Playing online to smell the colour the fastest. What • Online poker tells nine - it just isn’t he discovered • Overcoming bad beats going to happen. though, was that • Playing short-handed • Planning based on the structure with only havThis experi• Maintaining mental focus ing 9 months ex- • Deep stack strategy ence furthered perience up his • Setting traps Brent’s commitsleeve, the boot • Making moves ment to personal camp subjects mentoring as bewere way over his head and he got ing the most appropriate learning limited value from them. He also no- tool for Brent’s needs. With a personticed the boot camp was more of “this al coach (at $US 50 - 100 per hour), is the optimum way to play” whereas Brent was able to systematically pull Brent was looking for “what am I do- apart his game and undertake more ing wrong and how can I fix it”. advanced scenario planning.

Beyond Bootcamp All was not lost however, as the experience reinforced to Brent how much skill and learning was involved in the game, and how much more he had to learn to be a competitive player. With this in mind, Brent then enrolled in a one-on-one mentoring programme where he was coached by none other than 2008 Bluff Magazine Online Player of the Year, David Chicotsky (“The Maven”). What Brent felt he was lacking

This fits in well with Brent’s off the table profession, Industrial Instrumentation Sales Engineer, which requires a lot of hands-on activities, backed by sound formal training. Brent also enjoys watching poker on TV and models himself on Joseph Cheong for his developed emotional control.

Managing The Swings Brent now knows not to get too emotionally attached to the game,

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

or results, as so much of the game is outside his control. Now Brent understands variance, he accepts bad beats more readily and agrees with his mentor that Poker has nothing to do with him (ie, its not personal). He has also become more analytical about the game, taking lessons from Matthew Hunt (http://www. matthuntpoker.com and sponsored coach at the Tournament Poker Edge training site). Brent learnt a lot from these lessons as his coach was able to verbalise various concepts of the game in a way Brent could best understand. One useful technique Brent shared was, in order to better understand and appreciate the variance in poker, write down on a simple ledger the number of times you receive a bad-beat versus the number of times you suckout. When Brent did this, he realised that so much is outside his control in this game, and that gave him the creative licence to play a wider range of hands.

Finding His Edge Nowadays, what Brent enjoys most about poker is observing others at the table and getting an edge based on his profile of the other players. He feels he can work out an optimal strategy for play against a particular player by profiling them and acting accordingly. For example, if Brent hears a player whinge about once having his pocket Aces cracked so now that player raises ten times the blinds, Brent knows that player is irrational and fearful and uses that to his advantage. This is why Brent never shows his cards unless he has to, that information is arsenal to a well prepared opponent. Instead, Brent recommends spending your time, energy, and money on getting a lot of online play (so you can be faced with a wide range of scenarios), and using that hand history to let the coaches tell you how to improve.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

“People who play poker seriously are different to people who seriously play poker.”

Brent Ladbrook

Lessons Learnt Brent admits he probably went to Vegas Bootcamp too early, and got a lot more from the personal coaching sessions he has had once he was a more established player. With coach Matt Hunt, Brent has had 25 hours of coaching ($USD 1,200) over a 6 month period. This stretched version of learning allows Brent to put into practice lessons learnt, monitor his progress from hand history trackers, and then fine tune his play based on his coaches reviews. But not everyone wants to be taught, try it yourself, give someone feedback at a poker table and see how they react. You will be lucky if one person at a full table appreciates your feedback, but that’s what makes the game of Poker profitable, so don’t feed the fish unless they are hungry! Brent also doesn’t play cash games, preferring to play tournaments only. He does this because he doesn’t believe he has any edge in the cash game, and therefore there is no point in trying to beat a system he has no edge over. He also plays a lot of online micro tournaments, with his best performance coming in 13th out of a field of 3,000 runners. And for those of you who whinge about last week’s bad beat, or how unlucky you are because your Aces got cracked, remember what Brent says. Poker is a long-term game. The sample size is over your life, not just one unlucky hand last week!♥

NUTS OR

BLUFF YOUR CHOICE

MANAGING YOUR BANKROLL

sk any poker player and they will tell you, the more the play, the more chance you will finally have a bad run losing Bloody a number of buy-ins in a row. This Aces! is just the natural variance of the game that every player will experience at some point in their career.

tournaments, you will need a bigger bankroll as you will most likely go a longer period without cashing thanks to the looser play/higher variance required. In tournaments, up to 90% of the field will walk home empty handed, so it may be a long time between drinks and you’ll need deep enough pockets to last the drought.

Your Ability

So how do you stop yourself drowning when the tide turns and the hether you play a loose or tight game going gets tough? Here are a few tips will also determine your bankroll size, to help you manage your money in the as the looser you play, the higher varilong run. ance and the larger bankroll you will require as a result. So when starting out at building your Starting Stack bankroll, play more conservative until you get enough bankroll and experience to play more deally, make sure your buy- tricky situations/hands. This doesn’t mean you in is not more than 5% of should stick to ABC poker, but take it easy Cinciyour bankroll. So, if you natti kid until you have a stack size capable of play cash $2/$5 with a buy in of $500, absorbing the bad beats poker will inevitably you should have a $10,000 bankroll. In send your way!♥ Apr 2016 | ONE TIME 11

PUB POKER SHOWDOWN It’s been billed as the ultimate battle of skill versus luck. But get to know these egotistical personalities closer and you might agree it seems more like mind over matter. By: Terry James

David Irwin

Joe Chamoun

hroughout July and August 2015, Perth’s Pub poker scene will witness a three match heads up battle between two of Perth’s most celebrated characters on the felt. And whilst both players have a similar goal and certain score to settle, their individual stories make for an interesting insight into how this event may play out.

So, following a meeting with a pro in Asia, Joe has progressed onto a more developed game. Joe knows that playing any two cards against a big hand will cost him minimum but potentially lead him to stack the unsuspecting opponent. He also knows how to fold if he doesn’t get the flop he is looking for. Joe described this as his personal light-bulb moment

You would be hard pressed to find two more different individuals who are playing for the same goal. Joe is a professional property investor and applies the same regimented discpline to poker, at least in principle. Read all the books and they tell you about starting hands, bet sizes, pot odds, and all the right moves you are supposed to make in a given situation. But Joe knows that doing so makes you a predictable player, and in poker, predictability is weakness.

David, on the other hand, has worked hard on reading people and gains his edge based on that. His skills, he says, allows him to assess each situation on its own merits and he pays meticulous attention to his opponent during the hand. Phil Helmuth calls this “White Magic”, David simply refers to it as intuition.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

As an example of his intuition, he recalls the time he was in a big tournament near the money bubble

and woke up with the holy grail of poker, A♥ A♠. In this hand, the fact he was near the money bubble and based on the action before him, he decided to fold pre-flop because in his words, “it didn’t feel right”. This sort of reasoning may be counter-intuitive to most, but to David, he places a strong emphasis on his feeling at the time. And it has obviously paid off handsomely because David’s biggest win to date was a 3rd place finish in a side event in EPT Barcelona. This win, explains David, was an affirmation that he can play with the best and will make poker a large part of his life. Unbeknown to David, it was also the time he stopped being a fish and started being a shark. He could now swim with the big boys.

Joseph too had a pivotal career moment initially when he final tabled a free-league main event (which gave him the confidence to play in the pub pro-league), and then went on to make final tables in both the APL main event (Australia wide), and one of Perth’s significant tournaments in the year, Crown’s Sapphire Series. The confidence Joe obtained from playing, and in some cases outplaying, more established professionals further fuelled his desire to learn more about the game and its situational variations.

“Poker allows me to engage my opponents on a deeper level. The unique poker scenarios I play in provides a rich mental reward.”

Joe Chamoun

Luckbox or Skillful Artist So where then did Joe’s image of luckbox come from and is it a justified one? Joe is committed to developing as a player, improves his skills by numerous means (books, videos, chat forums, simulation apps), and spends a lot of time on reflection to improve his game. As most players do, whilst learning the game, Joe got it in bad more than he should have, and being an active player keen to learn, Joe played a lot of pots. This naturally resulted in the inevitable suckouts and people started labelling him a luckbox. Joe’s quality of poker improved, but the label stuck and in his modern game, Joe likes that (it translates into more action for him on the felt). In a book about a successful businessman (Andy Beale) taking on the worlds best in high stakes poker, this brand cultivation is well documented: “Professional gamblers faced this all the time, choosing between the conflicting goals of maximizing their advantage and marketing themselves so people would gamble with them.” “The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King” Joe also is a strong believer that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, which is why he has spent the last few months focussing on heads-up play to gain an edge over David. But that challenge will be no walk in the park. David has been preparing for this battle as well, and has modelled himself on his 3 poker idols: Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Antonio Esfandiari. His biggest lessons from those pro’s, and their books he has read (especially Ivey’s) is learning to let go and not chase at all costs. David also reflects on his past tournaments to improve his game further and loves the mental challenge that poker provides. Being in the right state of mind, reading Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

players well, and feeling comfortable has led to David being a profitable player overall. Indeed, notable professionals such as Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Negreanu have stressed the need for “mental conditioning” and have even enrolled themselves in a formal personal development programme to develop the self confidence required. Antonio credits this as part of his success in winning the 2012 Big-One for One-Drop $1m buy-in. So Joe and David’s approach to self development is well grounded. We can also learn a lot from poker players based on the way they handle their tournament bustouts. Does busting out to a bad beat make them go on tilt? Whilst Joe likes to surround himself with his family and loved ones following a bustout, David is more reflective and likes to discuss any key hands with close friends. He dislikes brooding alone at home, especially if his bustout was due to a bad beat.

The Fish Test In “The Mental Game of Poker”, author Jared Tendler lists 17 attributes to determine whether a player is a “mental game fish” (see sidebar), one of which is how a person plays their favourite hands. For David, his favourite hand is 10] 7] although he doesn’t play stupid with it or hold some sort of false belief that it will win him hands more often than it ought to. It is however a hand he likes to see a flop with and is one he is able to disguise well. Like Joe, David also enjoys poker for the mental challenge of trying to outplay an opponent. He obtains immense satisfaction from making the right play to manipulate (and beat) his opponent, and dislikes playing against ABC type players who don’t provide such a challenge. Both Joe and David guard themselves against going on tilt and recognises that a poker tournament is like a battle, and it’s the enemy within that has the potential to do the most damage. Of course, on the other side of the coin is playing against new players who on occasion get lucky delivering a bad beat with bad advice.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

According to the “Mental Game of Poker”, there are 17 ways to determine if a player is a “mental game fish”. If any of these apply to you, time to re-evaluate yourself: 1. Change a proven winning strategy because they are running bad/hot. 2. Never recognize when someone has played well against them and/or believe everyone they play against is bad and just gets lucky. 3. Try to win every hand. 4. Think the outcome of a hand can be changed by shouting, praying, or playing a favorite hand. 5. Get frustrated when a bad player plays badly and they even educate them as to why they are bad. 6. Feel like a failure when they lose a hand that was played profitably. 7. Think the solution to running bad is to stop playing or change stakes. 8. Read a poker book cover to cover and think they know everything in it. 9. Watch some of Phil Galfond’s training videos and think they should now be able to crush the game like him. 10. Believe that they are cursed or that other people are luckier than they are. 11. Believe it’s possible to own another player’s soul. 12. Play more hands when they are winning/losing. 13. Play fewer hands when they are winning/losing. 14. Play badly when the stakes are too small for them to care. 15. Allow things to get personal with another regular. 16. Tell bad beat stories to anyone that will listen, while doing nothing to improve how they react to bad beats. 17. Say “one time.”

“Great people have great egos; maybe that’s what makes them great.”

Both David and Joe share a similar pet-peeve about poker - when a novice or drunk outdraws you and celebrates lie only a drunk knows how. David also dislikes inexperienced players because believes he runs bad against them and they provide no mental challenge. He does however recognise their role in the game

Mental Game Fish

Paul Arden

and the need for such players. On the other hand, Joe simply hates being outdrawn by drunks who don’t put the time and effort into the game like he does. Welcome to variance boys!

What both Joe and David are coming to realise is that as they become better players, and that translates into a profitable edge, they themselves are like a casino and the drunk or inexperienced players are like the customers. Without the customers winning some of the time, there simply wouldn’t be any business.

Poker With Purpose What is obvious from talking with these two, is that they are both committed to self improvement. They talk to others about their hands objectively, and they listen to feedback (even when its critical of their play). But more importantly, they both appear to be playing with purpose, and that is what makes viewing this battle so much more intriguing - they both take this very seriously, very passionately.

do differ, however is with who they look up to as professional idols, and the styles those idols represent.

Future of Poker

For David, having Phil Ivey as someone to base his game on, you start to understand the mind games and controlled emotions that David mimics from Ivey’s game. David and Ivey also culvitate their personal brand and exploit that as part of their gameplay to its fullest potential.

To help understand their personal journey, we wanted to know where Joe and David thought poker would be heading in the broader sense. This would be indicative of their committment to the game, as well as how strategic they operate at from a non personal level.

Joe’s style is modelled after Gus Hansen, who plays with heaps of aggression and zero Joe is playing fear. Joe enjoys this for self confidence, “It’s not how good powerful combathe’s done it before in his founda- you are, it’s how good like style, especially enhanced with tion days, final tayou want to be.” his timing skills to bling a free-league Nicole Jacek pick the right spot. event, then running Joe also lists Ausdeep in Crown’s tralian Joe Hachem as an idol based Sapphire Series (beating semi-pros on his humble poker beginnings. along the way). There is no bigger boost to self-confidence than that of accomplishment, and Joe has progressed well to this point. Whilst Joe has taken the longer road to poker maturity, Dave was thrown in the deep end with an early tournament run-deep that has him hooked on the game. Dave’s purpose is to engage at an enjoyable mental level and seek intellectual satisfaction based on his feelings and intuition. Joe’s purpose is to prove to both the world and himself that he can compete with the best, and hold his head up high as a result. No matter who ends up with all the chips after this heads-up battle is over, the real winner is the beneficiary charity - Princess Margaret Hospital. Over $1,350 has already been raised in donations before the first shuffle up and deal. This is not only a great outcome for these two individuals, but all of Perth’s poker community benefits from the positive branding association.

Inspired Poker Both players list Daniel Negreanu as one of their idols - and it’s probably no surprise given the charasmatic style David and Joe play with (has it been mentioned that they both love to table talk!). Where they

Preparation is the Key Joe says to prepare for a big tournament, he will bow out of the pub pro-league poker for a few weeks and just play free league poker. He does this to achieve two things: To remind himself of why he is playing, and just as importantly, to surround himself with players who don’t value their chips and play as if they have no fear on missing out on a big payday.

Joe is very vocal on the political legislative framework that exists in Western Australia and would like to see increased competition through deregulation. Joe feels that the monopoly held by the Casino prevents game development (as does most monopolies), and that there are better equipped organisations that can promote the game (as opposed to Crown where it is just one of many games). Joe would like to see a dedicated poker room as they have in other jurisdictions (throughout Oz and worldwide). David takes a more personal interest in the game noting that along his journey of 8 years of poker learn-

Joe values this preparation as he knows when it comes to big tournaments, he will be playing against opponents who have this capability, as well as using these skills to pick up pots he would otherwise miss out on. David is all about preparing his mental state to focus on the day. Each hand, each play, each opponent is situational so his preparation is cultivating his personal brand. He makes sure people thinks he bluffs too much; he is a very vocal player for a reason. Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

ing, he has come across many situations where beginners are turned off his table talk, and they don’t really appreciate feedback on how they played their hands. He sees the art of poker growing, but would like to see more quality in the field, not just growth in terms of quantity. Whatever the future holds, having the privilege to learn more about the personal challenges and journey both Joe and David have gone through, I hope they are a big part of it and take it to better and bigger heights.♥ (Editor PostScript) - This particular heads-up game was abandoned after one round due to a dispute of epic proportions resulting in police action! There was a silver lining though, the event raised $4,481.30 for the very needy children of PMH. To read more about this charity, head on over to pmhfoundation.com

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One of these is a man. Can you tell who is bluffing?

Become an expert on reading people with Mike Caro’s legendary book of poker tells before you find out the hard way.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

ACE HIGH KING KICKER By: Washley Arner

The hand many players tend to overplay the most. In this article, we look at how best to play AK (suited or unsuited) in various common scenarios.

f there was ever a hand we fall in love with the most, but feel disappointed with so often, it has to be the old AK. So many players have gone to the rail, dispatched by their Ace High, King Kicker hand, and they are left wondering whether they played it right. Meanwhile in cash games, players keep nightly tallies of the $$$ lost with AK and end up questioning whether the hand has any value at all. So what is the best way to play this hand in various phases of a decent tournament? Well, the general consensus seems to be to take a slow and steady approach until the final stages where other players are going all in with smaller Aces (AQ, AJ). Ace King is, after all, largely a drawing hand and typically needs to improve to win the pot. Against an underpair like pocket Jacks, AK is a slight underdog (44% to 56%) and that’s only if you can end up seeing all 5 community cards.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

Most players don’t mind a race early on in the tournament if they are up against a player who has a smaller stack (say up to one third) where even if you lose the flip, you still have an opportunity to get back in the game. And AK has much more appeal when you are the first to go all in (versus calling an all in) as there is a chance the other player(s) may fold and you win an uncontested pot. So, if you find yourself with the Big Slick early on in a tournament, certainly make a raise to protect your hand, but don’t inflate the pot too much (ie, your continuation bet should be one third to one half pot) and consider slowing down on the turn to keep the pot size reasonable. When you are short stacked, or there are 4 players or fewer at the table, then certainly the strength of your AK hand is increased, probably to a point where you can go all in confident you have the best starting

hand. Also, bear in mind that there are more possibilities to make an AK hand, so you will be seeing it more often than AA or KK combined. Where you are in relation to the button is also an important consideration. If you are in early position, you want to raise to 4-5 BB to really keep the field thin. If you make it just 3 BB, and you get 1 or 2 callers, suddenly every man and his dog wants to be in the pot and your chances of winning go out the window. In late position, feel free to raise the standard amount of 3 BB as there are less players behind you (presuming there is no preceding action).

What If I Am Re-Raised? If you are re-raised in the preflop situation, you are advised to fold as you are most likely up against AA or KK, or even if you are up against QQ, they will shut down if an A or K comes on the flop. Of course, if you feel you have a read on another

player, or they will pay you off handsomely, then carry on by all means. Once the flop arrives, you can expect to connect with an A or K one third of the time, which means there will be a lot of empty continuation bets - make sure you are comfortable betting even when you have nothing, otherwise pack up the deck and start learning how to bluff. And be prepared to let it go if your continuation bet is called or raised and you didn’t hit the flop.

Cash is King In cash games, going all in pre-flop with AK is risky business since you are mostly going to be up against AA, KK, or QQ - and you are well on your way to a hiding against 2 of those 3 hands. So save your twohanded shoving action for the tournaments where blind-stealing is a major part of the winning formula. One thing to note, is that a majority of the time, you can only make a 1-pair hand with AK, so don’t make the pot too big as 1-pair is not that all it’s cracked up to be.♥

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

I LOVE TO COMPETE SO TRY AND KEEP UP 93 year old Arthur Richards has seen it all. From commanding a school of riotuous kids, to bailing out of an on-fire airplane in WWII. In this article, we learn more about the man, the poker player, and the legend, John “Arthur” Richards.

hen Arthur was 7, if he wanted to go to school he would first have to master his only mode of transport available. That meant his father had to break in a wild horse, and Arthur had to learn how to ride it. He did this for 2 and a half years more before things really got bad and in 1932, the great depression hit our shores. For Christmas that year, he received but one gift - an inflated pigs bladder to be used as a soccer ball. On an academic front, his family could not afford to send him to secondary school and Arthur knew he

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

had to take responsibility for his own future. Arthur sat for and received a scholarship to attend secondary school and then as a 19 year old, joined the Air Force having become aware of the outbreak of WWII. Once in the Royal Australian Air Force, Arthur had to beat two-thirds of the field just to qualify as a pilot and he did this through perseverance and talent - traits he still uses today at the Poker tables. He turned 21 in New York whilst on his way to Britain to learn how to fly bombers. Whilst nowadays Arthur fights

the Germans on the Poker table, his original encounter was being shot down and captured by the Luftewaffe over war-torn Germany. After spending time as a prisoner of war, and then eventually being repatriated back to Australia, Arthur served in the Education sector as an administrator and school principal before entering retirement. But retirement in Arthur’s terms doesn’t mean afternoon naps and jam scones. It means check-raising, 3-bet bluffs, and set-mining with pocket threes.

The Poker Life

any secrets or tips for this?

Arthur is a true champion, recently receiving France’s highest award for his war-time service - the Legion of Honour. But in his poker life Arthur has become a local hero of somewhat, instantly recognised by that incorrigible laugh, usually as he bluffs you out of another pot.

A4) I’m not completely sure why I have so much satellite success, but I am a better player in tournaments than cash games due to my patience. So my tip for young players is develop a sense of patience for poker.

Whilst Arthur has played various forms of the game for many years, he enjoys playing at the casino and prefers the big tournaments where often qualifies via a satellite. His best result to date was placing 7th in the 2013 Western Classic for a $9,500 pay day. But if you ask him, Arthur says his best poker moment is yet to come. We sat down with Arthur to get more of an insight into this legend of the game.

Q6) How supportive has your family been in your poker endeavours?

Q1) Arthur - What do you love about the game of poker? A1) Firstly, I’m a competitive person and I consider tournament poker to be the ultimate form of competition. You are not only competing for bragging rights, but there is money on the line and that makes it more important to get it as right as I can. Q2) Do you find the game gets easier as you age and how has the game changed over the years?

Q5) What would be your ultimate goal in poker? A5) Winning a main event here in Perth would make my dream come true. I’ve made the final table a number of times, but actually taking home the trophy would be a crowning achievement.

A6) Sometimes they question why I am whittling away their inheritance, but if I enjoy it, then they are supportive of me continuing to play. Q7) You recently received the French legion of honour, is recognition important to you either in poker or outside? A7) I am proud of my contribution to protecting this great nation of ours and consider my recognition immensely important. The medal given is the highest medal the French give out and it recognises an important contribution our nation made during WWII. The end result is that in Australia we speak English instead of German. Q8) How would you like to be remembered for your contribution to poker? A8) The fact I was a contender and when I lose, I lose with the same dignity as when I win. That’s been my

A2) I feel I have become more impatient in my older years resulting in me taking more risks and paying the price for that. I grew up playing blind bluff poker where the betting amounts were capped and your exposure was limited. In Texas Hold-em, more cerebrial attention is required to know the odds, know the competitor, and have the patience to pick your moment to make moves. Q3) If life was a game of poker, what would be your equivalent of holding the nuts? A3) From the perspective of an airman in the RAAF, there is an immense satisfaction in shooting down the enemy that is trying to shoot you down. Q4) You seem to do well in satellite tournaments often winning multiple entries into the main event. Do you have See https://anzac.dpc.wa.gov.au/Resources/Pages/JohnArthurRichards.aspx for Arthur’s personal story. Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

motto during life and how I’d like to be remembered once my ticker stops ticking.

Holding Up Under Pressure Poker is a game where you need to hold your nerve and perform under pressure. When you’ve been checkraised on the river, can you call for all your chips with just one pair? Is the guy bluffing you out of the pot, or does he really have a strong hand? For Arthur, he’s been experiencing pressure since he was 20 - where he needed to quickly master twin engine planes before being posted overseas to defend his country. Whilst it would be hard to think of a poker situation that was life and death, certainly learning a skill that your life depended on exposed Arthur to high pressure situations from a young age.

caught were a lot higher. But aside from his poker skills, Arthur is most appreciated for his contribution to war time efforts and that he has put his life on the line protecting our freedom. Arthur has experienced enough about life not to get too hot and bothered by bad beats - they are just all part of the game and like his times at being held a prisoner of war - you must take the bad with the good. General George Patton of the U.S. Army once said: Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.

Gratitude

and you can see the parallels that Arthur holds with his war efforts and poker - albeit for a different stake.

Many in the Casino are certainly both appreciative and respectful of Arthur for his competitive spirit and ability to disguise when he is bluffing - a key aspect to successful poker. Perhaps it’s something he learnt growing up in a war-time environment where the stakes for being

So next time you find yourself at the poker table and Arthur is playing, don’t expect him to lie down and coward under pressure - he will be the one taking the stand and triple barelling you off the hand. And the crowd will love him for it! ♥

Poker Sending You Crazy? Perfect your game and learn how to play more profitably

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ONE TIME | Apr 2016

When it comes to losing your train of thought on the poker table, nothing beats a solid pair. We take a closer look at a Tamara Diaz, a gifted player who has turned the oldest trick in the book into an art form.

hey’ve heard them all. “You must have a big pair, I fold”, “I wouldn’t mind going all in”, “I may be short stacked but your at least 36D”, and so on. But to these young, gifted, and talented players, using their assets wisely is all part of the game. Poker is a game of relative skill. The better you are compared to your opponents, the more profitable you are going to be in the long run. And being better than your opponent means playing to your strengths as well as exploiting their weaknesses. For example, Daniel Negreanu

a tournament and $1,650 in cash, so knows how to go the distance. Tamara utilises books and friends to improve her playing ability but has honed in on one particular asset to gain a competitive advantage, her cleavage.

Tamara’s Advantage In addition to being broadchested, Tamara is also broadminded with her poker tactics. Her 2-step process involves using natural talents to distract her opponents then charm, wit, and a cunning persona to outplay her opposition.

“Manipulating people is what’s so fun about poker. I love that you can just look into someone’s eyes and lie - and it’s perfectly acceptable.”

Cheryl Hines

uses his gift of the gab to either get information or influence his opponent’s actions to some degree and he is one of the best in the business at doing so. But if your talents lie more in the visual spectrum, why not use them to the best of your abilities? One local lass who deliberately uses her femininity to try and gain an edge was asked in a broad sense (pardon the pun) to discuss how she uses her assets most effectively? Tamara has been playing poker for 4 years after first watching a pub game with her gambling-loving partner. She’s won big too, $1,000 in

One such tactic involves leaning over the poker table to stare down her opposition and in doing so, presents a distraction that unnerves her opponent who then gives off more tells for Tamara to pick up on. It’s a tactic that works especially well for players not used to it, although it has its limits against the more experienced opponents. And it also has limited effect on other females at the table who tend to show either a love or hate response to the big weapons. Fortunately, there are much less women playing poker than men, so the intended audience is as good as it gets. Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

Uneven Playing Field

A Poker Bust-out

So why are there simply less female poker players compared to their male counterparts? Research suggests that male recreational gamblers prefer games that are strategic and competitive in nature whereas females prefer non strategic, machine-based gambling. And the game of Poker favours the agressive style on a table with nonaggressive players. So in a way, the game is naturally suited to male players (Chicks with Decks, International Gambling Studies 12:3, 2012).

But whilst a great bust may save you from going bust, females in general are more empathetic and able to better identify another persons emotions and thoughts (Prof Simon Baren-Cohen, Cambridge University). Understanding another poker player lends to predicting their next move and strategically countering that, so females should be natively better able to do this.

But there are numerous factors other than the game itself that keep women away from the table. When a man loses a pot, his primal instinct and competitive beast kicks in which if unchecked, could create an unpleasant atmosphere for the ladies. So whilst the deck appears stacked against the ladies, to the wiser girls out there this creates an environment of opportunity. Knowing the male psyche and thought processes creates another dimension of levelling that can be readily exploited.

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

Men on the other hand are better at analysis and determining an underlying system, which lends to a different set of poker-related skills. Understanding the above helps to potentially explain why men are (generally) better than women in engineering, maths, physics, aviation because all of those fields deal with rational systems governed by rules. Women are better at languages and judges of character as they have better people reading abilities. So what about poker then? Granted, there is math in poker, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not overly complicated and can

be easily learnt. People reading skills, however, are more involved and any innate ability in this field is a most welcome advantage. Al Pacino reminded us in such beautiful prose (Any Given Sunday), that life is a game of inches. Whilst he was referring to a football game, he might as well have been talking about Tamaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weapons of mass distraction, as every inch up top helps gain chips on the felt. Tamara decided to use her WMD approach after modelling herself on Poker Player Jennifer Tilly, who is also gifted in a similar fashion.

Looking Forward So with her WMD skills mastered, Tamara sees a bright future for their continued use, albeit a lot less now that she has started a high end pub poker business with good friend Maddy Baxter (pictured below). Named Wynners Poker Lounge, their business is booming on the back of great personalities, value added meals/drinks, and competitive prices. Whichever path the future takes these bright young girls, we wish them all the best. â&#x2122;Ľ

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

PLAYERS PERSPECTIVE Understanding the thought process of a poker player is both intriguing and insightful to say the least. In this article, local Perth player Brent Ladbrook analyses a hand he has played some years back, and with the benefit of hindsight, what he would do different today.

PLAYING 67 OFFSUIT By: Brent Ladbrook

here are as many opinions about how to play a hand as there are poker players at the table (and often well beyond the table). Here I look at a hand that I played a few years ago in an online $7.00 45-seat Pokerstars turbo tournament and reflect on what I would have done different if I had my time again.

The Scenario We are playing 8 handed and I’m in the cutoff seat with about 47 BB. We are in the second level and the blinds are at 15/30. The action folds to me (cutoff) and I have 6[ 7]. I make a standard 2BB open for $60. This play is optional and a fold here is quite an acceptable and profitable play in the long run (particularly given that there are no antes). The likelihood of hitting the flop hard is not great (we will often have two undercards to the board and have to fold during the hand to action on later streets). We

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

do have position on our side and we are nearly 50 BB deep. In regards to bet sizing, I’m not totally convinced that I like it. In hindsight, I think that I would have preferred my raise to be between 2.5x and 3x (ie, $75 - $90). Our real reason for raising here is to steal the blinds, but our hand strength makes it tenuous at best. What eventuated in this situation was a min re-raise by the button (who has 34BB) to $90. SB and BB both fold and the action is back on us.

Our Thought Process It’s nearly impossible to fold here given that the pot is now $195 and we are getting 6.5:1 odds to call. With such good odds (and some implied odds here if we hit the board), I intend to make the call but will think through the hand in more detail first. Before making the call to see the flop, we need to assign a range of

hands to the button and decide if reraising is an option for us. What do we know about the player? We only have limited hand history on him from 7 hands, but we do know that he has not 3-bet before, has not raised before, and has limped or called on one prior occasion. We can’t tell a lot from this given the small sample size, but I think that we can agree that raising indicates strength here as it’s not a hand that he wants to call with. I think it’s possible that he has a hand like 77, A7 s, A8 offsuit, KJ, or better. This gives him 176 combinations that he can have (16% of all possible hands) which sounds about right for his raise amount. Because he min raised however, this tends to depolarise his range to the higher end, but since we don’t have much of a read on him so we can’t say for sure. Based on this, I think raising his re-raise pre-flop is out of the question (as is folding given the pot odds). Based on this, we just call.

The Flop The flop comes 6] 6} 3[. Based on the range we assigned to our opponent, I don’t think that his hand has improved at all. On the flip side I also don’t think that he will be putting me on many 6’s either, so I have him in a good position. There is $225 in the pot, and since I am first to act, I check. The villain checks behind me. Again, in hindsight, I think that this is bad play (on my behalf) as I’m nearly always way ahead here (I don’t think he has 33 very often or a better 6) and most likely our villain still likes his hand.

Play With the End in Mind At this stage we want to build the pot as much as possible but without scaring him away, and betting is the way to achieve this. If I had my time again, I would bet around $85 - $110 and be aiming to build a pot that gave a SPR (Stack to Pot Ratio) of 1:1 for the effective stack on the river. Failing to bet here makes it so difficult to stack our opponent as he has $920 behind and our pot is only $225. Getting it all in with only two streets to go is going to be difficult without building the pot now. Based on the pre flop ranges we assigned the villain, we have about 97% equity in the hand. There are so many cards to come that only improve my equity and do not improve the villains hand, and will kill our action. So, failing to bet here is a huge error. With this board we can likely take out any strong pairs such as about 99 - AA from the villains range as he will often bet these for value.

Let’s See the Turn As I didn’t bet in the actual situation, we go to the turn still with $225 in the pot, and it’s the A{. I check again. Again in hindsight I am not happy with this check. Why is this so, you may ask??? Based on the hands that I took out of his range on the flop, I think Ax hands are now a pretty big part of

his range (in fact 74 out of a possible 121 combos that he has include an A and he likely isn’t folding to many of them if I bet here). My whole hand profitability is not reliant on the villain to do my work for me. In this situation, I’m lucky that he does bet $120 and I flat-call. I could have re-raised there and he would only fold the weakest of Ax hands for which we don’t think that he has many (based on his preflop action). He could be a bit stabby there or like his hand. There is a greater chance that he likes his hand as he can’t take an Ax out of my range and could be thinking that his Ax is better than my Ax given my check call, or that I don’t even have an A and have something like KQ, KJ, or QJ.

And Now, the River The pot is now $465 and the river, the 2{, a total brick. I bet $180., again in hindsight probably too small an amount. I feel this way now because I understand that the river deuce makes the board pretty inelastic (the player will either be calling or folding to virtually any bet and the bet size relative to the pot hardly matters). If he has an Ace he is likely calling a wide range of bet sizes here and I think the $180 is too small and something closer to $275 - $300 would still be called by all his Aces. Nonetheless, he does call and shows A} 10{ and I win a pot of $825.

Copies In-Store Now!

Lessons Learnt? In hindsight, I don’t like that way that I played any street here and I lost a lot of value on this hand. I feel I could have taken all his chips without too much of a problem. Raising more pre flop, betting the flop, betting the turn, and betting the river would have seen all of his chips committed and I would have been so much more profitable in the hand. But this is why I love the game of poker - there is so much to learn to become a strategic player and its rewarding when it all works out.{

Only

$7.

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

THE DARK SIDE OF

POKER Ask any experienced player, and they’ll tell you poker is not all about the best hand winning. Its usually about bluffing, overbetting, table talk, and other skills of deception. But there is a dark side too. In this exclusive interview, we chat with Joe Chamoun to hear his side of the feud involving another of Perth’s prominent personalities.

hat started out as a charitable endeavour to raise much-needed funds for Princess Margaret Hospital quickly degraded into a heads-up farce resulting in a Police Restraining Order being put in place. With so much confusion and heresay out in the Poker Community regarding this matter, Joe wanted to sit down and present his side of the story so that people may make their own informed decision. We did ask David for his comments but due to legal proceedings, he preferred not to comment at this stage.

Disclaimer As the matter is currently before the courts, I should preface this article noting that acts mentioned here are (at this stage) alleged and will remain so until demonstrated in a court of law.

On With The Show From Joe’s perspective, the situation is simple. He believes in PMH, having sent his son there at a young age, and so was keen to raise as much funds as possible through the heads up charity event. Joe admits to creating controversy during the lead in to the heads up battle as part of his effort to promote the event, and it worked with a decent attendance on the day and generous amount of funds raised overall. Joe alleges that at the heads up event, David arrived with 6 tins and at the end of the day, Joe asked Dave how much was raised. Joe alleges he was told it was none of his business, and Joe responded by requesting an independent committee be put in place to handle the event in the interest of transparency. Joe alleges David agreed to this providing he was to be kept in the loop, and Joe agreed. Joe then claims that during the

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

1st committee meeting, David aggravated the other members to the point where many of them resigned on the spot, not wanting any drama, just wanting to help out. It was then that Joe gave David an ultimatum transparency with the collection tins or Joe will pull out. With Dave’s refusal to comply, Joe withdrew from the heads-up battle, promptly updated the Facebook forum, and was then criticised for his decision.

The Real All-In Move forward to September 25th at the Albion Hotel (Cottesloe), a self described perfect cosy winter spot set in plush Cottesloe. Joe alleges that Dave approached Joe, the two then continued arguing about the PMH collection tins, and ending with Dave allegedly trying to push Joe, but was intercepted by a third party. Dave was then escorted off the premises by the Tournament Director. Joe then proceeded to secure a Violence Restraining Order following the alleged threats he received that day.

David contested the VRO and a hearing was held by the courts to decide whether the VRO would stand - that decision was not finalised and the two parties will return to court on July 4th to finalise the matter once and for all.

Close Encounters

So this may get ugly even further. I know most of the Perth poker community has had enough and would like to see an end to it sooner rather than later. We hope in this regard a mutually agreeable solution can be found and all parties involved can get on with what we love, bad beats and suck outs on the river.{

Following the VRO being put in place, and the Perth poker scene being somewhat small in number, it was inevitable that the two parties involved would clash once again and it did happen twice in fact. The 1st time was at the Civic Hotel (where Joe was asked to leave by the hotel management) and a 2nd time at the Casino where the police and security staff were involved, but allowed both parties to play in the event providing they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cause any trouble.

The Climax In light of the continuous need to play at the same events, Joe offered to amend the VRO allowing both parties to play at the same events (basically removing the proximity limitation part of the VRO) however Joe alleges this was rejected by Dave. Joe then offered to remove the VRO altogether if the following conditions were met: 1. Joe receives an apology regarding there not being transparency with the PMH tins collection disagreement. 2. Joe receives an apology for the threats made on the 25th of September at the Albion. 3. Dave donates $2k to PMH, or alternatively, finishes the PMH battle. This offer was also not accepted by Dave, as alleged by Joe. At the end of all this, Joe feels like he has been vilified by the Perth poker community for trying to maintain an open and honest heads-up battle. His hopes are that through this article, his side of the story can be heard and the reasons behind his decisions can be better understood, and on that note, he asks for the community to hear him out.

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

Book Quotes from The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King • “A weapon in the arsenal of every good poker player ... is an indifference to the stakes.” • “Going broke is both a rite of passage and a badge of honour, a reminder that they live life on the edge.” • “The creeping doubts were merely the functioning of a highly developed brain. The heart, however, was that of a gambler.” • “David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, two expert poker players and writers with strong backgrounds in mathematics, have written on several occasions about capital requirements for professional poker players. To overcome the roller coaster of short-term fluctuations, an excellent player needs to have a bankroll equal to about 300 upper-limit bets in his regular game.” • “Among the top players, few of them had families initially supportive of their decision to become professional gamblers. Even Todd Brunson, whose father was Doyle Brunson, had trouble at home with the decision” • “Leaning far back from the table with his arms folded on his chest, he more resembled a chess player studying the board than a poker player in the heat of battle.” • “But he had an intellectual certainty in the correctness of his actions and an overwhelming desire to succeed.” • “Jennifer Harman, for example, wanted a medical career. She played poker for fun while in college, but started winning and improving. When asked how she chose to become a poker player, she has replied, “Poker chose me.”” • “From that point on, the poker pro has more in common with the casino than with other bettors. Like the casino, the professionals, with their edge, merely have to allow enough trials to even out the role of luck.” • “He came to the poker room to win, not to gamble.” • ““You have to take risks,” she explains, “or you’ll never get there.”” • “Luck is the residue of design. — Branch Rickey (1881-1965)” • “If Andy Beal’s history proved anything, it was that he did not attempt anything casually.” • “Howard Lederer said, “One of the things I focus on when someone shows me a ridiculous hand is, ‘Okay, that’s why I’m here.’”” • “The pros want the live ones to get lucky sometimes and win. They just want it to happen in someone else’s game.” • “He won all their money, but that didn’t make him an enemy.” • “Professional gamblers faced this all the time, choosing between the conflicting goals of maximizing their advantage and marketing themselves so people would gamble with them.”

ONE TIME | Apr 2016

Crossword Puzzle 1 2

5 6 7

16 17

19 20

Down: 1. two malcolms 5. right down the middle 6. well fuck you too 8. happens to everyone eventually

Across: 2. awesome hand bro 3. reveal at once 4. not in my house 7. how many bluﬀs can you pull

9. once an orbit 11. great starting hand

10. grassroots poker 12. that was not crunchy

19. always on the river

17. have to beat that too 20. no more action so lets go

14. you'll be kicking yourself upwards 16. not a great situation to be in 18. how many

13. leave your wallet in your pocket 15. f*cked it up 16. when you get dealt 3 cards in Texas Holdem

Build your own custom worksheet at education.com/worksheet-generator

Apr 2016 | ONE TIME

one time [[Hold my fucking aces }}let him miss his gutshot draw {{donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let the idiot/drunk player win ]]let me suck out like a two dollar whore

ONE TIME | Apr 2016