If you think you have seen it all when it comes to the game of poker you have to hear this story.

A few nights ago I was playing a $5/$10 nl holdem cash game at the Rio. The game has a $400 min buy-in and has an uncapped maximum.  I was sitting in the 9 seat (game is 9 handed). In an un-raised pot with about 3 limpers and the blinds the flop came out 10s 4c Jc. There was a bet of $30 dollars and two callers. The turn brought the 10s. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I have heard stories of this crap happening but to actually see it for my own eyes. Everyone’s money was given back to them that were in pre-flop. The floor was immediately called and instantly grabbed the deck from the dealer. They did not even count the deck down in front of the players. They didn’t want to alert us if we were playing with more than 52 cards in the deck.

(I did not take the picture. It was taken by a middle aged gentleman that was sitting in seat 7. He kindly emailed me the picture upon request)

One of the floors had this to say when asked if he has ever seen this type of thing before. “Apparently this sort of thing happens more often than you think”. A European kid from Belgium (who was stuck multiple thousands of dollars in the game) had previously lost to a set of 10’s about an hour before the duplicate tens were spotted.  He wanted the floor to give him his money back that he lost in the game. An older gentleman who was also stuck in the game was also complaining that he wanted his money back. Fat chance bud!  The floor gave the older guy the card of the gaming commissioner.

The player in seat two who crushed the Belgium kid in the 4k + pot (with a set of 10’s) came in to the game from a broken table.  People at the table suggested that he might have brought in the duplicate ten of spades.

I have to say that the floor handled the situation pretty good. I would have liked to see what cards were missing from the deck and the amount of cards we were actually playing with.  They didn’t give us the satisfaction of finding out any info on this matter.  I assume they had a few good reasons for this.

I have been playing cash for the past few years at the rio during the WSOP. I have have to say that the floor that covers the late night shift (which heads in to the early morning) do a great job. They are pretty strict but these guys know the rules across the board.

Cheers,

Errol

Ok so it’s that time of year. The 2010 WSOP kicks off May 28 with the annual employees event. I wanted to write a blog posting to give you guys a little prep for Vegas Poker during the WSOP.

Tournaments – Of course the WSOP has great tournaments.  Everyone is looking to get that bracelet. However for most this is just a dream. The wsop has improved the blind structures of all the NL events. As of last year you now get triple the buy-in in starting chips and deep structures. This provides plenty of play for everyone. And yes it now favours the pros (slightly for the 1k events). We no longer see the flipaments that occurred 4 or 5 years ago when you only got double the amount of chips relative to your buyin. In addition to the wsop events the Rio is now featuring June $550 No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments  (Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 1:00 PM throughout June).
If you want to read the official WSOP rules… click here for the pdf.

Main event – satellites: Jump into the Sit-n-go’s satellite room. You can get into the main event and other events via Sit-n-go’s. Or you can play one of the many mega satellites (however the structures are bingo ish).  Or you can try your luck online.

Best value for your money – Venetian DEEP STACK EXTRAVAGANZA III

MAY 28TH THROUGH JULY 15TH, 2010.  These tournaments bring out a wide variety players (both amateur and pros). So there is a lot of dead money in the field. And the buyins for the tournaments are quite small compared to the wop events.  When I play these events I shoot for the top. If you don’t finish top 10 you aren’t really going to enjoy a nice payday. So I don’t mind going broke early on.

For a schedule of the deep stack series go to : http://venetian.com/uploadedFiles/The_Venetian/Gaming/PokerRoom/Deep_Stack/DeepStackIII10.pdf

For Deep Stack Extravaganza Blind Structures visit: http://venetian.com/Pages.aspx?id=458

Cash games – For lower limit cash games ($1/$2 nl and $2/$5) I would recommend playing where the pros won’t be found. Some suggestions would be: The Hard Rock, MGM Grand, Palms, and even the small room at the Rio.  I strongly recommend you check out the small room at the Rio beside the sports book as they offer uncapped NL games.

If you are looking for bigger buyin events you will have to check out the 4 big boys (Belagio, Wynn, Venetian and Ceasars). The Rio also features a cash room during the wsop for all the limits.

Best advice: Play smart and try not to go broke. Allocate a certain amount of money for tournaments and for cash games. Don’t try to outdo yourself. If you are running bad or playing bad take some time off. If you are going down for a long period it is good to hit a gym. Most hotels have one. If they don’t you can also go to the Gold Coast and sneak in to there gym (located beside the pool).

If you have any questions feel free to give me a shout!

Cheers,

Errol