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They say in physics that each action has an equal and opposite reaction. The same is true in poker – for every dollar won, there must be a dollar lost (rake notwithstanding). I’m no physicist, but I am a poker player. As a poker player, I read books. Pretty much every book on poker I have ever read talks about only one side of the poker equation – the winning side. Finally, I have found a book that approaches things from the opposite side of the equation. Instead of telling you how to win, two authors have attempted to tell you why you lose.

In Why You Lose at Poker, Russ Fox and Scott Harker attempt to nail down the most common causes of losing. Most books seem to act as if you do what they say, you can fill your boat with gold. These guys attempt to say ‘hey – no matter how much gold you may have in your boat – if you don’t fill the holes…you’ll eventually sink’.

I have reviewed Fox & Harker’s books before, and in a sense I think this book is valuable for the same reason their last one is, which is the way they go about making the points they make. All the real life club examples feature a cast of characters who playing tendencies are described at the beginning of the book. This has been done before – Phil Hellmuth’s labeling of players by animal type comes to mind. But the characters in this book in my opinion are an excellent cross section of the people you seeing playing in the cards clubs of today, and that’s why I think some of their observations are so relevant.

Fox & Harker’s last book forced you to think about yourself, and I think this book forces you to think about your play. Sections like ‘losing because you make incorrect bets in big bet poker’ and ‘the money you lose with poor bluffing habits’ address many of the pitfalls of playing in the modern gladiator arenas known as today’s card clubs.

The advice is well thought out, but more importantly current and therefore relevant. Since the advice comes from the perspective of losing - rather than how to win, it forces the reader to think about the issues from a different perspective. It is this perspective change that I think makes the book worth the $20 you shell out for it. Much of the material has been said in one form or another in the countless number of strategy books that have come out in recent years, but sometimes when you look at things from a different perspective, you learn in a new and different way.

The hand analysis is solid, but at times I did find it hard to stay focused on, as I found the minutia sometimes overpowered the focal point of the analysis. You definitely get your money’s worth with the hand analysis – provided you can follow along.

If I could describe this book in one word, it would be the previously mentioned word relevant. These guys are clearly out in the trenches of the poker world, and they seem to have a good insight into how to survive those trenches. It is clear that these two have played a lot, and I find their language simple, and their message(s) to the point.

This probably isn’t the best book for those new to the game, but if you have been playing a while, and especially if you find yourself in the middle of a bad run, the book is probably worth the investment. Who knows, it may have an equal and opposite effect on your bankroll.

Far beyond his already poker playing abilities, poker champion Phil Gordon has become one of the best poker teachers around. From his initial poker opus, “Poker: The Real Deal” to his “Little Green Book” (and the addition of his Expert Insight DVD “Final Table Poker”), Gordon has been able to rapidly accelerate the learning curve of any poker player at any level. Now comes the crowning achievement for his writing endeavors, “Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book” which nicely caps his instruction from his previous efforts.

“Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book” (available now in any bookstore or online outlet for around $21.00 U. S., $25 Canadian) basically is Phil’s demonstration of all of his teachings through his other outlets. He takes a variety of hands from his poker experiences (be they online or live) and ably shows the execution and thought processes that he used in each situation. Over the 379 pages that make up the book, any player or any experience can sit back and review critical decisions that show up for anyone at the poker tables, but what makes the “Little Blue Book” very exceptional is the demonstration of a process that, while Phil demonstrated on the “Final Table Poker” DVD, puts into print for the first time.

The process that he demonstrates is, as he states in the book, the method to the madness of the poker player that is Phil Gordon. He starts by determining what his potential actions are and the logic of why each action would be appropriate. At the end of this process, he then will make the resulting action and details out the final result. Whether it is good or bad, he then will follow up by demonstrating the merits of his actions and what, if differently, he could have done to change the outcomes.

These processes are the crux of the book and range across the board, from sit and goes and other online events (admittedly, it would be difficult to fully use Gordon’s methods in the lightning fast online world) to his professional highlights, including his World Poker Tour championship and his performances on the World Series of Poker stage. Most remarkable is his recounting of the 2001 World Series Main Event final table, where he was able to lay down pocket Kings to Phil Hellmuth’s pocket Aces at a critical moment (in the book, Phil G. accurately and thoroughly details how he came to the decision), which is worth the price of admission alone.

Other than the thorough poker information that made the “Little Blue Book” a powerful and useful part of my poker library, there were a few other things that made it palatable to any poker fan or player. It is written in a very easy to understand style; Phil doesn’t delve into a labyrinth of statistical and probability-based reasoning. He prefers a much more straight forward style which, for most players, is an excellent approach to take.

Secondly, the book actually had me chuckling at many points. For those who have seen that Phil has a sense of humor from his time on “Celebrity Poker Showdown”, the “Little Blue Book” has some demonstrations of that sense of humor. Even when you are studying his thoughts and decisions, it is still a good idea to entertain the reader, and Phil does that very well. It even sometimes seems as though he was reading your mind if you were playing the hands (as far as what your internal emotional reactions would be).

Finally, for those that want to see accurate demonstrations of his ideas from the “Little Green Book”, Phil provides a detailed section at the end of the “Blue” book that cross-references how the two connect. This was of critical importance; I found myself pulling out my copy of the “Green” book and using the two books together to get a full realization of the teachings. It opened up a variety of ideas that have been critical to increasing my knowledge of the game and, potentially, the bankroll for my game as well.

“Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book” would be an excellent addition to any poker player’s library and, at Christmas, it is a nice size to fit in a stocking. Besides the ability to pick into the mind of Phil Gordon, the book is entertaining and well written. There is more than enough information in it to be gleaned from several readings and, to be honest, is a great way for Phil Gordon, poker author and teacher, to cap off his triumvirate of books.

Throw the structure of hold’em and the volatility of Omaha into a blender and you’ll end up with a cool, refreshing game of pineapple. With more action, bigger pots and even more thrilling suckouts, this flop game with the silly name might look a lot like your regular limit hold’em game with its button and blinds, but contains two key twists: (1) players receive not two, not four, but threei hole cards and (2) one of them will end up in the muck before the hand is over. Pineapple is not just for home games either. Its spread online at Ultimate Bet with every conceivable limit, and spread live in low and mid-limit mixed games at the Wynn, MGM Grand, and Treasure Island in Las Vegas as well as at a number of the larger Southern California card rooms including the Bicycle Casino and the Commerce Casino. Though pineapple is typically played as a limit game ($3-6, $5-10, etc.), it easily translates to a no-limit or pot-limit structure.

Rules

Pineapple poker has three different variations: pineapple, crazy pineapple, and crazy pineapple hi/lo 8 or better. In “regular” pineapple each player is dealt three hole cards to start, followed by a pre-flop round of betting. Each player must discard one of their hole cards before the flop is dealt. The flop, turn, and river betting rounds then proceed exactly as in Texas hold’em. In the more popular “crazy” pineapple variant, players wait until after the flop betting round is complete to discard one of their hole cards, creating a dramatic strategic adjustment. At this juncture, players usually face a decision whether or not to keep a made (but vulnerable) hand or to draw to an even stronger hand like a straight or a flush. Crazy pineapple is often, but not always played hi-lo split, where the best high hand and the best 8 or better low hand are each awarded half the pot. Any combination of a player’s hole cards and the board can be used to make their best five-card hand.

Basic Strategy/ Starting Hands

Pineapple is definitely an “action game” and pots are almost always contested multi-way. As the three hole cards create many more hand possibilities, even conservative players will tend to see a lot more flops. Like in Omaha, hand values increase significantly. While one or two pair is usually enough to take down a hold’em pot, one needs a much stronger hand to survive the showdown in pineapple—typically the nut straight or flush. Someone will almost always flop a flush draw in a multi-way pineapple pot, and the odds to chase it are usually there. Hands like top pair top kicker, or a pair slightly smaller than top pair (J-J-X on a K-8-9 flop) are therefore much more vulnerable than they would be in hold’em.

A quality starting hand in pineapple contains a big pair as well as a big suited draw. Ah-Ad-Qd, Jd-Jh-Kh, and Tc-Th-Jc are all excellent hole card combinations as they give players flush and straight possibilities to go along with the pair. Three suited connectors with a two-flush such as Jd-Qd-Kh are also valuable as well as suited aces with straight possibilities such as Ac-Jc-Td. Small pairs can be playable if they come with other draws (6c-6d-Ac), but do not fare well on their own (4s-4h-Qd). Big offsuit aces, like A-K, A-Q and A-J might be premium hands in hold’em, but they are marginal at best in pineapple without another draw for backup. Three cards from the same suit can also be a trouble hand, as one of your all-important flush outs is already gone.

A player’s biggest decision in crazy pineapple happens after the flop, when one hole card must be tossed away. For example, if I have the Kh-Kc-Qh on a flop of Tc-Jh-6h, I need to decide whether to keep my pair of kings intact and discard the Qh, or go for the possible straight or flush by discarding the Kc. In a heads-up pot, it might feel safer to keep the kings, but facing multi-way action, the combination draw holds much more value.

Sound crazy? It is! But it’s also a whole lot of fun and an instant cure for the hold’em doldrums. Start small on Ultimate Bet and get ready for some huge action. Or, the next time you’re at your local cardroom, ask the floor if they can spread pineapple or add it to a mixed game. It’s sure to add spice to any grinder’s day.

The Game

Baseball is a classic home poker game, played by countless kids in high school and surviving even to this day in cash games all around the United States. I’ve never seen it spread in a casino, but it remains in my mind one of the best variations of poker invented.

It is a form of 7-card stud involving wild cards and extra cards. There are many varieties of baseball. I’ll present a couple of them here.

The Deal

Deal the first round as you would a typical 7-card stud hand – that is two down cards dealt one at a time followed by an up card. There is then a betting round, followed by another up card, a betting round, a third up card, a betting round (when the betting limits typically double as in stud), a fourth up card, followed by a betting round, and then a final down card, followed by a betting round.

The Rules

Here are the rule variations that make it different from regular 7-card stud.

1. There are two ranks that are wild, 3s and 9s. I recall someone once trying to cleverly explain how this is connected to baseball. There are 3 strikes so 3s are wild. There are nine players on a baseball team (before the designated hitter anyway). So 9s are wild. Frankly, I never cared. 3s and 9s are wild – that’s it.

2. Traditionally, as the game was first invented, when players receive a 3 dealt to them face up they must match the pot immediately or fold immediately. The more common practice today is to ignore this pot-matching rule entirely or to severely limit it – say to five big bets. I have only played without this pot-enlarging rule.

3. A player dealt a 4 face up receives another face up card dealt to him immediately. This was explained as being connected to four balls producing a walk. But how is an extra card like a walk? No matter. Just take your extra card.

4. Hands are played high-low with a declare at the end following the final down card and the fifth round of betting. Straights and flushes don’t hurt your low. Hence, the A2345 (known as the “wheel”) is the perfect low.

5. There is a sixth betting round after the declare. Some house rules limit the betting for those who are “locked” with half the pot because they are the only person declaring high or low. Thus, if two players declare high and a third player declares low, the low player is prevented from increasing the size of the pot by initiating or augmenting the betting with raises. Other house rules divide the pot immediately and only allow betting in a side pot between those who actually have a contest – the two hands declaring the same way. Still other house rules have no limits on how “locked” hands can bet or raise. If it’s your house, you decide.

6. One variation of baseball is “night baseball”. Players receive all of their cards face down, do not look at them, but instead turn their cards up one card at a time, with a betting interval after each exposed card. Everything else remains the same. This is also called “no peak baseball”. Frankly, I call it “luck baseball” – but that’s another matter.

7. One variation of baseball is “baseball with rain”. In this variety of the game, when the Queen of Spades is dealt face up to any player the game ends immediately, the pot stays in the middle, and another hand is dealt immediately – with the winner of the new hand winning the entire pot, including the pot from the game called on account of “rain” (the Queen of Spades). Some guys love this variation especially at the end of the night when they’re toasted. I never understood their infatuation – but that’s just me.

Here’s an example of a standard game of baseball – with the pot matching rule suspended – played high low but without rain. This is how I grew up playing the game and how I play it in my home game when it is called. That’s not to say that the other variations are less legitimate. This is just how I learned the game.

Dealt clockwise from top to bottom. 7 players. Mongo is the dealer. Action starts on the high hand. Checking and check-raising allowed. Showing exposed cards only.

Dealer antes $2.00 for the table – instead of each player anteing $.25 or so. The game is played limit: $1 limit on the early rounds, $2.00 on the later rounds. Limits may double on the second up card if a pair is exposed.

Huntz 7h
Schlomo 9s
Moishe Ks
You(3s4d) Ad
Cassandra 4c 6d (dealt extra card when dealt the 4c)
Betty 3c
Mongo Ac

Betty and Schlomo each have wild cards – that can be any card. Zeus and Mongo each have Aces. The two wild cards and the two Aces are all equal in value at this time. When cards are tied, action begins to the left of the dealer among these high cards. So Schlomo goes first. Cassandra was dealt a 4c and then immediately dealt a 6d as is required in baseball.

The betting is as follows:

Schlomo 9s $1.00 (the 9 is a wild card)
Moishe Ks Call $1.00
You (3s4d) Ad Call $1.00 (you’re heading toward a monster so far)
Cassandra 4c6d Call $1.00
Betty 3c Raise to $2.00 (3 is wild)
Mongo Ac Call $2.00
Huntz 7h Fold
Schlomo 9s Raise to $3.00
Moishe Ks Call $2.00
You (3s4d) Ad Call $2.00
Cassandra 4c6d Call $2.00
Betty 3c Call $1.00
Mongo Ac Call $1.00

Pot has $2.00 from antes and $3.00 from 6 players = $20.00

Fourth Street

Schlomo 9sQd
Moishe KsKc
You(3s4d) Ad7d
Cassandra 4c6d8c
Betty 3cJd
Mongo AcTc

Betting begins with Moishe who has the high hand with a pair of Kings.

Moishe KsKc Bets $2.00 (pair may make double bet)
You(3s4d) Ad7d Call $2.00 (you want to encourage high hands to stay)
Cassandra 4c6d8c Call $2.00
Betty 3cJd Call $2.00
Mongo AcTc Call $2.00
Schlomo 9sQd Call $2.00

Pot is $20 plus $2 from six players = $32.00

Fifth Street

Betting begins with Moishe who has the pair of Kings with the Ace kicker.

Moishe KsKcAh Bets $2.00
You(3s4d) Ad7d5d Raise to $4 (you seem to have a lock on low)
Cassandra 4c6d8c8h Call $4
Betty 3cJdQs Fold
Mongo AcTcKh Call $4
Schlomo 9sQdTs Call $4
Moishe KsKcAh Call $2

Pot is $32 plus $4 from 5 players = $52

Sixth Street

Betting begins with Cassandra who has three 8s.

Cassandra 4c6d8c8h8d Bet $2.00
Mongo AcTcKhTd Call $2.00
Schlomo 9sQdTs4h2c Fold
Moishe KsKcAh3d Call $2.00
You(3s4d) Ad7d5d9c Raise to $4.00 (you have a straight flush and perfect low)
Cassandra 4c6d8c8h8d Call $2.00
Mongo AcTcKhTd Call $2.00
Moishe KsKcAh3d Call $2.00

River (7th Street)

Pot is $52 plus $4 from four players = $68.

Betting begins with Cassandra who is high with the three 8s.

Cassandra 4c6d8c8h8d Check
Mongo AcTcKhTd Check
Moishe KsKcAh3d Check
You(3s4d) Ad7d5d9c (Js) Bet $2.00
Cassandra 4c6d8c8h8d Call $2.00
Mongo AcTcKhTd Call $2.00
Moishe KsKcAh3d Call $2.00

Pot is $68 plus $2 from four players = $76

You now have the declare round. This game is played with a simultaneous declare. Each player puts either one, two, or three chips in his hand. One chip in the hand for low; two chips for high; and three chips if the player is going high and low. He then hold his hand over the table and at the same time all players expose how many chips they are holding. A player must have the best high and the best low hand (or tie in either direction) to win with a declaration of high/low. If he loses in either direction his hand is dead and the pot is awarded based on the remaining hands in the pot.

You know you have the best possible low and are insured of at least a tie if you declare low. If you declare high/low, on the other hand, there’s a chance that someone has a higher straight flush or five of a kind. Even so, based on the boards and the betting action you doubt that anyone has a higher high hand than yours – even considering that there are a total of four unseen wild cards. You decide to gamble and declare high/low.

The players declare as follows:

Cassandra HIGH
Mongo HIGH
Moishe HIGH
You HIGH/LOW

You are all competing. Since you declared HIGH/LOW you must win (or tie) with your high hand. You have no competition for your low hand since no one declared low. The betting after the declare begins with the high or the high hands showing. That would be Cassandra

Cassandra 4c6d8c8h8d Check
Mongo AcTcKhTd Check
Moishe KsKcAh3d Check
You(3s4d) Ad7d5d9c (Js) Bet Bet $2 (You feel confident based on their checks)
Cassandra 4c6d8c8h8d Call$2
Mongo AcTcKhTd Call$2
Moishe KsKcAh3d Call$2

Pot is $76 plus $2 from four players = $84.

You reveal your hands as follows:

Cassandra 9dQh4c6d8c8h8d2d Four 8s
Mongo 5c6cAcTcKhTdJc Ace High Flush
Moishe Kd8sKsKcAh3d6h Four Kings
You 3s4dAd7d5d9cJs 8 High Straight Flush (wheel for low too)

You win the entire pot of $84.

With eight wild cards and the extra cards generated by the exposed 4s, baseball is a game with high hand values and lots of action. Still, there is a lot of skill involved in trying to figure out which way your opponents are likely to declare and in estimating, based on your opponents betting action and exposed cards, where your hand is likely to rank for both high and low. If the fog of drinking, having a good time, and laughing it up isn’t too thick, the skillful player has a shot at winning a large share of these large pots.

After eleven months of battle ranging around the world, the Poker Player of the Year race comes down to three tournaments during the month of December. The three tournaments (the Bellagio’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas, the Trump Classic in Atlantic City (both have preliminary events going at this time) and the WSOP Circuit event in Atlantic City (which starts December 9th) are the only ones that will generate the fields (and the points) that one of the contenders for the crown can take down for the POY title. With that said, it could be close to impossible for someone to capture the title other than Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi.

Mizrachi, who has held the 2006 POY lead seemingly since the beginning of the year, has dominated the field on his march to December. He picked up some points during the preliminary events of the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods and seems to be in the driver’s seat when it comes down to the race. If everything stays status quo at this point, only five players out of the Top Ten would have a shot at knocking Michael from the top slot (and then they would have to win the Five Diamond, not an easy feat). Mizrachi is at the Five Diamond, preparing to play in the $15,000 Buy In WPT main event and making sure he doesn’t have to step into any of the preliminary tournaments to keep his lead.

Second place Shannon Shorr is one of the players attempting to make Mizrachi sweat the month of December. He has earned cash in the $1,500 No Limit event, but no points went with that finish. The Bellagio has been good to Shorr, though, as he is the champion of the Bellagio Cup II and looks to add another prestigious Bellagio championship to his record for 2006. If Shorr can do that, he is close enough to pass “The Grinder” and take the POY championship as well.

Nam Le, a good friend of Mizrachi’s, is putting on some early heat on Michael as well. The Huntington Beach, CA resident made up some points on the Top Ten with a points earning finish at the Bicycle Casino’s Turkey Shoot/Ho-Ho Hold’Em tournament and has cashed as well at the Five Diamond (in the $2000 No-Limit event won by David “The DevilFish” Ulliot). If he continues to earn points, it may bring Mizrachi off the bench to fight to retain the POY title.

Entering into the Top Ten this month and placing his name in the ring for POY honors is J. C. Tran. Tran picked up valuable points when he won the $3000 event at the World Poker Finals in Foxwoods and, by picking up those points, has made a statement that he is a player to be watched during the next few weeks. Tran is one of the consistent forces on the tournament poker world and seems to be finding his groove at the right time of the year to possibly steal the thunder of those that are in the Top Ten and take the title.

John Hoang is in position to take a shot at the title in fifth place and it is arguable to find a person who has had a better year. He has made fourteen final tables in 2006 and in a variety of disciplines of poker. While some may look at his record of playing in smaller tournaments and feel that he isn’t qualified to take the POY, he has been a consistently strong player in ANY tournament he has played in. With thoughts of possibly winning the POY, Hoang has stepped up and is playing in larger tournaments lately and, with a good streak in December, could capture the title.

The remainder of the Top Ten, Phil Hellmuth (sixth), David Daneshgar (seventh), Jeff Madsen (eighth), Alex Jacob (ninth) and Top Ten newcomer Roland De Wolfe (tenth), do not have a mathematical chance of catching Mizrachi…UNLESS they play in the preliminary events of the Five Diamond and win, then finish at the final table of the WPT event, or win the Trump Classic. All of these gentlemen must be commended for their excellent seasons and, perhaps, they could make the rest of the month interesting.

For now, though, it does appear that the Player of the Year title is Michael Mizrachi’s to lose. It isn’t uncommon, though, for the POY champion to literally be determined during the last tournaments of December. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on the action at the three big tournaments during the month and, just before Christmas, we should know who the 2006 Player of the Year is

Yesterday, shares of PartyGaming (UK:PRTY) and SportingBet (UK:SBT) were trading down on the news that a new B&M competitor was entering their UK online gaming space. In my humble opinion, online gaming investors are getting it all wrong.

Monday, Las Vegas Sands Corporation announced its intention to launch an online poker and gaming venture in the UK by the second quarter of 2007. It’s true that the European online gaming space is already competitive, as many online gaming companies seek to replace their lost US revenue due to the October passage of the UIGEA. But as is often the case, investors are trading on the short-term change in the competitive landscape rather than the long-term positive of Sands’ entry into the online gaming space.

One of the biggest hurdles that online gaming companies face is the perception that they can not meet the benchmark of B&M gaming regulatory standards. Much of the rhetoric surrounding the passage of the UIGEA and other anti-online gaming proposals outside of the US, revolves around the issue of regulatory control. Even the incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the pro B&M gaming Democratic senator from Las Vegas, has stated that “Internet gambling cannot be controlled and, therefore, it should be illegal.” Sands’ entry has the potential to alter the paradigmatic view relative to online gaming regulation and in doing so may open markets, not crowd them.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation operates in Las Vegas; perhaps the most highly regulated gambling market in the world. In picking their platform supplier, Sands chose Cantor Gaming, an affiliate of the global financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald has built a stellar reputation within the highly regulated environment of investment transactions. Its affiliate Cantor Gaming was the first company licensed as a manufacturer, distributor and operator of a mobile gaming system by the Nevada Gaming Commission. In its first online gaming venture, Sands chose to be licensed in compliance with the laws of Alderney, British Channel Islands and operate in the UK; one of the best regulated online gaming markets in the world.

While one B&M entry into online gaming does not a trend make, the Sands-Cantor combination bodes well for the industry; dispelling the myth that operators are either unwilling or unable to fit within a legal and regulatory framework. As more regulated B&M companies enter the online market, it will pave the way for a more constructive dialogue relative to legalizing and regulating online gaming.

Today’s investors view Sands entry as one more competitor in a crowded UK market. They are totally missing the relevance of their first regulated industry player and what that may mean for legitimizing and expanding the reach of the online gaming market.