Phan takes poker world by storm
By Arnold Warner

John “the Razor” Phan has been a well-known quantity in the poker world for several years now, but in the last couple of months he has become the hottest name in the game.

The Stockton resident was already off to a great start in 2008, having cashed at several events before making his second World Poker Tour final table at the Bay 101 Casino’s Shooting Star tournament in March. He followed that up with three cashes at the World Series of Poker, two of which brought him gold bracelets. click here to read the whole article!

Poker Ambassador
Seeing old friends & making new ones
By Randall Rapp

On my most recent adventure as your humble Poker Ambassador I had the pleasure of visiting cardrooms that I had previously missed as well as stopping again at some of our favorites. The “main event” for the weekend was the China earthquake relief tournament at Casino Marysville, which featured a special appearance by WSOP champion Jerry Yang. But we’ll get to that soon enough! click here to read the whole article!

The Champ's Perspective
Congrats to the November nine
By Jerry Yang

First of all, I’d like to congratulate Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack of Harrah’s Entertainment and the whole WSOP team for staging one of the most spectacular, exciting and successful events in the history of the WSOP.

This year we had players from all over the world. More than 6,800 players participated in the Main Event making it the second largest field in the WSOP history. Furthermore, we set a record high for the number of contestants registered in Event No. 2, the $1,500 no-limit Hold’em tournament, more than 3,900 players competed in this preliminary event. click here to read the whole article!

Kamikaze Corner
Cash game strategy: Pregame preparation
By Davin Anderson

When I first started taking poker seriously, with aspirations of becoming a full-time player, I learned that (much like in football and other forms of competition) pregame strategy, planning, and preparation are essential to long-term success. If you take any form of poker seriously then you should prepare yourself mentally and emotionally in order to increase your chances of success each and every session.  click here to read the whole article!

On the Button
An exciting and interesting hand from this year's WSOP
By Davin Anderson

Part of the beauty of poker is the different choices that people make and their individual reasons for those choices. These elements create the individual style or strategy that emulates the differences in players as people.

The following is an interesting no-limit tournament hand from an event at this year’s WSOP. A unique situation is created anytime two super stacks (more than 70 big blinds) play a big pot and deserves extra analysis. Buddy, the tournament director at the Capitol Casino, executed an aggressive tournament strategy (I assume) and played great tournament poker to build a super stack. Buddy’s version of the hand, in his own words, is as follows: click here to read the whole article!

On the Rail
Mr. Yang goes to Marysville
By Paul Giambroni

In the last issue I wrote about how my lucky streak culminated with an arrangement to have 2007 World Series of Poker champion Jerry Yang make an appearance at Casino Marysville. The idea was to try to raise money for China’s earthquake victims while having a little fun in the process.

I’m proud to say that the event was not only a success, but educational too.

First of all, it’s always a plus when a WSOP champion shows up to lend his celebrity to a worthy cause. Jerry Yang is definitely “the man.”

It also helps when a group like the Phong family is behind the event. For those who haven’t seen it yet, their facility is first class and they definitely understand the word “hospitality.” click here to read the whole article!

Virtual Roundtable
Nguyen's WSOP behavior leads to questions on speech & rules

In the recently televised H.O.R.S.E. championship on ESPN, the eventual victor, Scotty Nguyen, was often seen berating Michael DeMichele—many times using colorful language that the television censors had to “beep out.” Despite the fact that the Tournament Director’s Association rules (which we assume the World Series of Poker subscribes to) state: “Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of soft play, abuse, or disruptive behavior,” no penalty of any kind was levied against Nguyen.

In this Virtual Roundtable we asked for your opinions on the two main issues at work here:

1. What place, if any, does trash talking and verbally abusing other players have in tournament poker (or live games for that matter). Is it an acceptable method of attempting to get a player on tilt, or merely an example of obnoxious behavior? Where should the line be drawn and why?

2. If the rules state that a certain type of behavior WILL result in penalties, shouldn’t they ALWAYS result in penalties? Are the rules there for tournament directors to use as they deem appropriate and when, or should they be followed explicitly, at all times, for all players? click here to read the whole article!

Tales from the Floor
The mystery of the disappearing gimp
By Johnny Coldeck

We need to quit passing out fliers at the local trailer parks for our little cardroom. Sure, we get the new players, but I’m not sure it’s the caliber and breeding of player we were hoping to attract. This month we acquired two new players, neither of which could be classified as “high-brow” by any stretch of the term.

Carney Joe, a former circus performer, still expects the special attention and privileges he received during his heyday, but it is his relationship with his overbearing wife which presents the most challenges to our staff.

Joe hobbled in twice this week, sporting a bulky cast on his left foot (we don’t know). I should say at this point that the front of our place has large windows situated in such a manner that the players can see the legs of passers-by. Anyway, we had a nice little game brewing on Wednesday, and Joe called a $20 raise from the big blind, when he suddenly sprang from his seat and pulled a David Copperfield, vanishing into thin air! click here to read the whole article!