Davidow is 2009 POY
By Arnold Warner

Gerry Davidow of Fresno was looking for something extra to feed his competitive nature and he found it by entering The Cardroom’s NorCal Poker Tournament Player of the Year contest. Just playing in the tournaments gets him going, but adding the concept of going up against players from all over Northern California makes it even sweeter.

When asked about what made him interested in the POY contest, Davidow immediately responded, “It’s the competition. It’s recognition by my peers that I’m good.”

Good enough that over the course of the year he racked up 46 final tables and a grand total of 3,952.51 points. Second place went to C.J. Herro of Livermore with 3,270.15 points and 30 final tables, which was also quite an accomplishment after he came in third place in 2008.. click here to read the whole article!

Poker Ambassador
News from the Ambassador's inbox
By Randall Rapp

Sometimes your humble Ambassador doesn’t make it out of town as often as he’d like, and, what with holidays and all the other extras that come around this time of year, I never had the chance to go off on an ambassadorial tour.

Nevertheless, in my never-ending quest to point out where cool things are going to happen, I’d like to share the following bits of news and upcoming events that have come to my attention recently. click here to read the whole article!

Kamikaze Corner
To limp or not to limp
By Davin Anderson

One of the biggest mistakes and most common errors I have observed over the years, while running tournaments and playing in cash games, is players limping when they should raise or fold. When playing Hold’em, the most overlooked and underrated decision is actually the first one.

Deciding what to do preflop with your two starting cards is monumental and effects everything else that happens during the remainder of the hand. For instance, if you decide to limp in (call the big blind) with a lower level or bad hand, and then flop a losing hand or a draw that misses, it all stems from the decision to play that hand in the first place.  click here to read the whole article!

Tales from the Floor
Dipstick Dan receives wake up call
By Johnny Coldeck

There is a word in our little poker club, one single syllable, the utterance of which draws sharks from all corners of the local map. In fact, when the phone calls go out (and they do go out), there is no long explanation of the nature of the other players at the table, the action in the game, the amount of money on the table or any other information to transfer. A single name on the answering machine will cause the local poker players to abandon any project, ditch any date, turn off the last few minutes of any ball game and beat a path to the front door of the poker room. That name is Sam. There is only one Sam, and if there were two, we would give the other one a fancy nickname. The real Sam doesn’t need one. click here to read the whole article!

Blame yourself and improve your game
By Bernard Harris

Poker is perhaps the only sport in which many of its players feel their abilities are beyond reproach. I’m always amazed at where we place the blame for our losses. We yell at dealers, scream at donkeys, and curse the poker gods without understanding what this allocation of blame really does.

When these factors become the reasons for our wins and losses then our skill becomes irrelevant, does it not? It is only when we take responsibility for our losses that we can find and fix the faults in our game, improve our strategies, and maximize our profits. Regardless of whether you win or lose, learn to blame yourself for the results. click here to read the whole article!

Tells-n-Lies
Escaping from poker purgatory
By Victor Shaw

I have played in too many places to mention and even a few places that I truly don’t know where I was. I go back to some pretty wild road trips. I remember driving to Susanville for a Blackjack tournament with a $7,500 guarantee and a $20 buy-in. I end up fifth and one place outside the money. I would still make the drive given the same circumstances; the deal was just too good to pass up.

I lick my wounds and sign up on the list for Hold’em. They do not have enough players and there is not going to be a poker game. I talk to a guy that is waiting for the game and he tells me he is going somewhere else to play. I ask if I can play there and he says, “Sure follow me.” I jump in the car and roar off behind him. click here to read the whole article!

Observations of a poker manager
By Daniel Higginbotham

While talking to some of my staff the other day, we got into a discussion about some of the changes that have taken place in the poker industry. The majority of my employees began their journey into this business after Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker and Texas Hold’em became the main game in poker rooms across the country.

Listening to their views about where the industry is headed reminded me of similar conversations I had with my shift managers and poker room managers as a young dealer in Las Vegas. It was interesting to me to see how the thoughts of my dealers paralleled my thoughts when I was in their shoes. click here to read the whole article!

A short story

Honest John Baudine's Glass Eye
By Big Jim Williams

An Old West superstition said bad luck would follow anyone playing poker with a one-eyed gambler.

Some claim that during the frontier Gold Rush and cattle days of America there lived a gambler who drifted from one boomtown to another. He called himself “Honest John” Baudine. He was tall and skinny, like a hair-thin stalk of yeller sun-dried wheat.

Honest John wore all black—boots, pants, string tie, and double-breasted frock coat—except for a fancy white shirt, diamond studs, and shiny gold vest. A tall stovepipe hat ringed an outcropping of long white hair that tumbled below his stiff collar.

His face was long and thin. He weren’t ugly, just on the bad side of looking good, like an undertaker missing out on a $500 funeral. He wasn’t a Boot Hill planter. He was a professional gambler. click here to read the whole article!

Johnson, Sexton & others to hold May poker seminar in Santa Rosa

Linda Johnson, the “First Lady of Poker” will be presenting a one-day no-limit Hold’em seminar on May 8, 2010 at the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa. Also appearing will be Mike Sexton, the “Ambassador of Poker” who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 9, 2009.

Sexton was introduced by Doyle Brun­son at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony where he received a standing ovation from major poker players and celebrities. In addition, Jan Fisher, a well regarded author, teacher, poker professional, and partner in CardPlayer Cruises will also instruct at the poker strategy session. Tickets can be purchased at WineCountryPoker.com. click here to read the whole article!