J.C. Tran gets second WSOP bracelet
By Barbara Engler

Poker players around the world converge on Las Vegas every year from late May to early July for a chance at World Series of Poker fame, glory and cash. Northern California players are certainly no exception. Once again, many of you, along with your friends and neighbors, have made the trip and come back with stories to tell and, hopefully, some extra cash in your pockets.

So far, the only bracelet headed back to Northern California went to top pro, Season V WPT Player of the Year, and Sacramento resident J.C. Tran. This was Tran’s second bracelet, to go with the one he earned last year in a $1,500 buy-in no-limit Hold’em event. From June 14 to 16, 436 players battled in Event 30, Pot-Limit Omaha, $2,500 buy-in, over a prize pool worth $1,002,800. click here to read the whole article!

The Champ's Perspective
WSOP Main Event winners collide
By Jerry Yang

One of the most exciting and unique events at the WSOP this year was the World Champions Invitational. I was ecstatic when I heard that Harrah’s Entertainment and the WSOP decided to add this event to the schedule.

This special tournament was only for winners of the Main Event and took place in the Amazon Room at the Rio Hotel and Casino from May 31 to June 1. Beginning with reigning champion Peter Eastgate, each of the 20 participants was introduced to the crowd, counting backward from the year of their victory.

We were there to battle not only for the top prize, but also the ultimate bragging rights—being able to say you came out on top against that exclusive group who can lay claim to a Main Event title. click here to read the whole article!

NorCal POY race clears mid point
By Bud Davis

The race to be named the 2009 NorCal Poker Tournament Player of the Year has reached the halfway mark, and it’s still anyone’s guess who will come out on top come December. The lead has changed many times over the last several weeks, and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue over the months to come.

The contest, in its second year, has really taken a big step forward in 2009. We’re only halfway to the end and already there are 50 percent more participants who have earned points, 50 percent more tournaments reported, and 60 percent more total points awarded than there were for all of last year.click here to read the whole article!

Kamikaze Corner
Tournaments: Before & after the bubble
By Davin Anderson

The two most difficult stages of any tournament are the bubble and the final table. The bubble is the stage of the tournament that determines who will make the money (or final table) and anyone who goes out within a few spots of the first paying position is considered to go out on the bubble. The one unlucky person who goes out last before the money is often called the “bubble boy.” This can be the most hated and embarrassing point to go out of any tournament.

Most good poker players (cash game players) can gather chips well and build healthy stacks during the early and middle stages, but they usually fail to adjust their play towards the last third or quarter of tournaments (the last two stages). Probably the most common question I hear every week is: “What should I do when I get down to the final two or three tables and/or the final table bubble?” click here to read the whole article!

Book Review

Snyder's follow up another big hit
By David Schecter

In the May/June 2008 issue of The Cardroom, I took a look at Arnold Snyder’s “The Poker Tournament Formula” and said how it had really influenced the way I was playing no-limit Hold’em. I compared it to the “Harrington on Hold’em” series and strongly suggested it was in the same league as the more popular Harrington texts.

Snyder has done it again. With his latest book, “The Poker Tournament Formula 2: Advanced Strategies for Big Money Tournaments” (Cardoza Publishing, 2008), Snyder has put together what I feel is the best tournament book on the market. Period.

It is World Series of Poker season right now and I really think Snyder’s book hits the mark just right as you contemplate improving your game and kicking things up to the next level in any tournament you choose to play. click here to read the whole article!

Tales from the Floor
Running the floor not for faint of heart
By Johnny Coldeck

A lot of players seem to envy me for the job I have. I mean, on the surface, helping other people play games every night, joking with the players and making the occasional game decision seems like a pretty good gig, but it’s really not all strawberries and orgasms. There are a few situations which require tough judgment calls, and this job is not for the faint of heart.

We hired a new poker dealer this month, and we have discovered just how insufficient the interview/audition process is for our little club. It took all of a week for our players to dub him “Jimmy the Geek,” partly because he is handy with a keyboard, but mostly because “Sammy the Spaz” doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily.

With a big, toothy grin and a, “What are you guys talking about?” look on his face all the time, he is impossible not to like. He turns beet red when a woman speaks about him, near him or (if it ever happens) to him, and Jimmy the Geek is easily the least coordinated young man any of us have ever met. He has fallen down at least three times since he started working here, each time in spectacularly slow motion, and not, as far as any of us can tell, for any reason whatsoever (although there was a female nearby during two of the incidents). click here to read the whole article!