Featured Articles Archive - Page 386

What's so bad about splitting pairs of 10s in blackjack?

The most frequently occurring pairs in blackjack are 10s. The probability of receiving such a pair is 9.40 percent. Against a dealer’s 10, it’s 2.85 percent, against any other rank it’s 0.73 percent individually and 6.55 percent collectively. The “book” decrees standing on the 20 and not splitting the pair...read more

Poker players find reason to unite

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- If anything positive has arisen in the three months since federal prosecutors imploded the Internet poker world, it's that the subject is no longer taboo.A few members of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- support legalizing and regulating Internet poker...read more

Hellmuth, Negreanu headline large Day 1C WSOP Main Event field

LAS VEGAS - Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu began their quests for World Series of Poker Main Event glory Saturday as 2,181 players turned out for Day 1C of the $10,000 event.Saturday's large field gives the Main Event 4,056 players with one Day 1 remaining...read more

Language issues lead to bizarre play at WSOP Main Event

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The World Series of Poker Main Event is attracting more and more players from outside the United States. And that influx is leading to more and more opportunities for bizarre hands because of language barriers.One such hand occurred in the Pavilion during the first level of Day 1C...read more

The World Series of Poker is all grown up

LAS VEGAS -- Day 1B of the World Series of Poker Main Event saw another 978 players begin their quest to win poker's biggest tournament. While Friday's field was bigger than Thursday's Day 1A flight of 897 players, the atmosphere was remarkably similar -- quiet and studious.The new mood in the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino is a marked departure from the poker boom era Main Events from 2003-2006.Those tournaments had an almost carnival quality to them...read more

Multi-talented Maria Ho focusing on poker goals

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Maria Ho burst onto the poker scene in 2007 after finishing in 38th place in the World Series of Poker Main Event and earning the distinction of being the last woman standing.She burst onto the national scene in 2009 when she competed on the hit CBS reality TV show The Amazing Race with fellow poker player Tiffany Michelle.She has appeared on American Idol, played in the World Mahjong Championships, appeared as a guest on Anderson Cooper 360 and worked for her family real-estate business.But poker is where Maria Ho’s heart is, and you know that’s the case when she says the biggest cash of her career is one of the toughest losses she’s ever had in the game.Maria Ho burst on the poker scene after her deep run in the 2007 Main Event...read more

Deal Me In: Distrust any shuffling machine that smiles at you

Dear Mark: I would like to know if the shuffling machines, specifically the Shuffle Master, could be programmed/set to deal out certain kinds of hands like straights, flushes, 4-of-a-kinds on table games such as four-card poker, crazy four-card poker, three-card poker, etc? I've been told by dealers yes and no...read more

Black Friday effects worn by players at Main Event

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- When the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the founders of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker on April 15, many pundits expected to see big changes at the World Series of Poker. They were predicting everything from major drops in field sizes to major changes in wardrobes.Who could blame them? According to PokerScout, traffic fell at all three seized sites by more than 25 percent in the immediate aftermath of the indictments.This left those three rooms in a bind...read more

Texas Dolly decides to play, but is eliminated from WSOP

LAS VEGAS -- The World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off Thursday with Doyle Brunson, who earlier had announced he wasn’t planning on playing in poker's marquee event, changing his mind and sitting at ESPN’s featured table after asking dealers to "shuffle up and deal." Six hours later, Brunson was eliminated from the tournament he hadn’t really wanted to play in the first place.After busting out of the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship earlier in the week, Brunson tweeted that he wouldn't be playing in the Main Event."No main event for me," tweeted Brunson...read more

Hellmuth a class act in defeat

LAS VEGAS – Make no mistake, Antonio Esfandiari was rooting for his good friend Brian Rast during heads-up play against Phil Hellmuth in the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship at the World Series of Poker on Wednesday night at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino...read more