Daily Archives: January 18, 2020

Imagine that you go to sleep one night, and when you wake up, youre $31,000 richer. If youre Ryan Gerbers fiancee, you dont have to imagine.

Gerber, an Alburtis native, beat out the other 639 players in the first FOX Bet and PokerStars Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker Main Event, taking home a purse of $31,335.64 after entering the tournament for free.

The tournament ended at around 1:15 a.m. so, unfortunately, I couldnt scream and go crazy like I normally would have, being that I had my 3-year-old daughter and fianc sleeping, he said in a press release. Instead I just kind of paced my house a bunch of times and gave my best friend a call who had been railing (supporting) me throughout. I think I just kept repeating Dude, I just won the Main over and over."

The 50-tournament poker series, which took place from Nov. 30 or Dec. 16, was the first of its kind in the state. It attracted more than 12,600 entries and resulted in a prize pool of $1,559,576, well over its initial $1 million guarantee.

Gerber plans to use the money to pay some bills and possibly a down payment on a house, as well as celebrate with family and friends.

I joked with some of my friends that I dont know whats cooler, the money or the title of first PACOOP Main Event Champion, he said. Ill take both!

Connor Lagore may be reached at clagore@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorLagore. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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Lehigh Valley native wins big in 1st-of-its-kind poker tourney in Pa. - lehighvalleylive.com

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One of the most common mistakes essentially all no-limit holdem players make is to use the incorrect bet size. The game is called no-limit for a reason! If you find that you consistently use the same bet size in most situations, you are certainly leaving money on the table. Instead, you should adjust your bet size based on your range, your opponents range, and how you expect your opponent to respond to your bet.

The most common bet size used by many recreational players is a bet of about 50 percent of the size of the pot. If the pot is $100, they bet $50, while the optimal bet may be $25, $75, or even $150, depending on the situation.

Suppose in a tournament with 100-200 blinds, you raise from middle position to 500 in with A K and only the player in the big blind calls. On K 8 4, giving you top pair top kicker on a somewhat uncoordinated board, you should use a small bet of roughly 300 into the 1,100 pot.

Pretty much no matter what your opponent has, he is in terrible shape. Also, you are not susceptible to being outdrawn on most turns. Realize that it is somewhat difficult for your opponent to have a strong hand that can call large bets on the flop, turn, and river. So, in this situation, you should bet small, 300 into the 1,100 pot. While a 300 bet and a 500 bet may not appear too different, most opponents will call much more often when facing the smaller bet size, inducing mistakes on the turn and river.

If instead the flop came K Q 8, you should bet much larger, 800 into the 1,100 pot. Now your top pair is quite vulnerable. Any queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, or club could easily improve your opponent to the best hand, and other random cards may also be bad when they give your opponent a disguised set or two-pair. It is also probable that your opponent has a decently strong hand that can call a large bet, like a king, queen, or draw.

As a general tip, when the board is coordinated, you should tend to bet on the larger side with all your hands that want to bet, and when it is less coordinated, you should bet smaller.

It is also important that you choose the correct bet size on the later betting rounds. If your range on the river is almost entirely premium hands (such as when all the draws come in) and it is difficult for your opponent to have a worse premium hand, meaning they probably have a marginal hand or nothing, you should bet small. If instead lots of draws miss, meaning you could have lots of bluffs, you should instead bet large with your betting range.

Bet sizing is by far the most difficult aspect of no-limit holdem. Next time you are playing, be sure to constantly ask yourself what do I want my bet to accomplish and which size will do that. You will find that generic half-pot bets are almost never the best answer.

If you want to learn more about choosing the optimal bet size, I have many in-depth classes on the topic in my training site that will help you choose the best bet size every time. Check it out at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.

Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and best-selling poker author with over $7,000,000 in live tournament earnings. If you want to learn how to play fundamentally sound poker and increase your win rate, check out PokerCoaching.com. Click here to try PokerCoaching.com for free.

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Poker Strategy With Jonathan Little: Choosing The Correct Bet Size - Poker News - CardPlayer.com

Hall of FamersRay Lewis and Alonzo Mourning will be in attendance at the sixth annual edition of the All-In for All-Stars charity poker tournament on Sunday, January 19, 2020, at the Mondrian South Beach in Miami Beach. The events proceeds will be donated toAfter-School All-Stars, the largest school-based after-school program in the U.S. that helps middle school youth to succeed in school and beyond.

Photo Credit: Betty Alvarez

NBA legendsRay Allen,Shane Battierand Chris Boshwill also be present at the event, which is hosted byWayne Boich, Mark Groussman, Sean Posner and Michael Simkins.

Photo Credit: Betty Alvarez

As Super Bowl LIV approaches Miamis shores, philanthropists, celebrities, professional athletes and artists will enjoy the high stakes at the poker table, dinner courtesy of the Mondrian Caffe, live streaming of the NFL Championship playoff games, a live auction, a musical performances by rock jazz pianist ELEW, singer/painter Joe Everson and singer Bonn E Maiy. Mentalist Mio will have a special performance. A bayfront cocktail and hors doeuvres reception with will kick the charity event off before heading into the hotels main ballroom.

Photo Credit: Betty Alvarez

While they play, players and guests can enjoy shoulder massages courtesy of E11even. An al fresco VIP lounge will also be available to relax and unwind.

Photo Credit: Betty Alvarez

Over 2,000 students served by After-School All-Stars South Florida will benefit from the funds raised at the event. The organization provides school-based after-school programs for low-income youth inunderserved neighborhoods in South Florida and the country.Event curator, Natalia Sol, says Since its inception five years ago, the annual event has raised more than$2.5 million enabling the charity to fulfill their mission of helping students succeed in school and life. The $3 million milestone is on track to be reached at this years edition of the All-In for All-Stars.After-School All-Stars was founded in 1992 byArnold Schwarzenegger when it was called theInner City Games Foundation (ICGF). The organizations name was changed to its current one in 2003.

Photo Credit: Betty Alvarez

The events sponsors includeRoyal CaribbeanInternational,Mondrian South Beach,DevonWorks, Westime,E11even,Rmy Martin, Louis XIII, Tourneau,David Yurman,Jaxson Maximus,Miami Heat,Haute Living,Santoni,Oliva Cigars,Fanatics,Islamorada Beer Company,andBacardi.

For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, contact April Donelson at [emailprotected].

Photo Credit: Betty Alvarez

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Friday, January 17th, 2020 | Written by Renee

The game of poker has gone through many challenges over the past few decades but it continues to be popular with poker players from all over the world. Poker has turned out to be a profitable career for a lot of players who have consistently invested the time, money, and effort in improving their gameplay and enhancing their skills.

Major tournaments, both live and online, have also continued to offer mammoth prizes, attracting new players aiming to be successful in their chosen path. However, it is safe to say that it will not be a smooth journey for all poker players, considering the complexities and the various highs and lows involved in the game.

Apart from that, there are a number of poker myths that have been around for ages which has continued to influence some players perspective about the game, hampering their progress.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of the worlds most successful poker pros, you need to flush these four common poker myths out of your system:

Poker Is A Game of Luck

While it is true that poker involves an element of luck, what helps a player win is actually their skills, strategy, and decision-making abilities.

Getting lucky in some huge pots does not guarantee you the chance to be successful in every major tournament out there. Poker isnt gambling, and poker pros who have reached the pinnacle of their careers did not do it because of luck. They worked hard for it and used their skills.

Maybe luck was on Chris Moneymakers side when he defeated a more experienced opponent during the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. But Chris Moneymaker was also smart and talented enough to maneuver things and make them work in his favor remember the so-called Bluff of the Century?

If you want to be a successful poker player, dont focus on the luck factor. Instead focus on improving your skills and overall strategy!

Anybody Can Be A Poker Pro

A professional poker career is not for everybody. Its not as easy as you think. Playing poker for a living is still a challenging job. You dont just sit there, wait for good cards and then take home massive sums.

While being a poker pro brings in a lot of advantages, such as time freedom and more opportunities for growth, behind the scenes, players need to observe a great deal of discipline to stay on track.

Players need to keep learning about the different aspects of the game. They need to manage their time and bankroll properly, they need to learn how to make the right decisions, as one wrong move could take away everything theyve worked hard for to have. They need to learn how to have a consistent run and be active at the tables so their earnings dont easily run out.

Above all, poker pros need to have mental fortitude as poker involves a lot of variance and downswings. If youre weak mentally, then a professional poker career is not for you.

Always On the Hunt For One Huge Win

Six- or seven-figure paydays, and even bracelets and other poker accolades are great accomplishments for poker pros but their goals go beyond just clinching that one major win.

For the real pros, playing poker is a grind. They need to earn consistently. They dont rest on their laurels. The journey continues even after conquering major tournaments. Thats just how it works for them.

Poker Pros Risking Massive Sums of Money

Television and the poker media has propagated the false assumption that poker professional players actually put a large amount of their hard-earned money on the line during major competitions. Well, this isnt the case most of the time.

The truth is that the majority of poker pros play on a stake. This means they only put a portion of their money on the line, not all of that cash you see scattered on poker tables during televised sessions. Some people called backers actually invest in players in exchange for a share of their winnings. High rollers even do that to each other to deal with variance.

Most poker pros know how to manage their bankroll. They might spend a lot of money playing, especially in high levels, but they sure know when its time to stop.

So, if you want to be successful in poker, its about time you ditch these myths. Continue learning, improve your skills, and never give up!

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Poker Myths That Stop Your Success | My Blog - Tight Poker

Poker Fraud Alert Radio 01/10/2020 Whos Your Daddy?

(Topic begins at 0:20:04 mark): Druff returns a weird phone call he got two days ago where the caller thought he ran a sperm donation clinic. (0:31:37 mark): badguy23 checks in. (0:41:42 mark): Major Daily Fantasy Sports scandal, as female reality show star winning $1 million dollar tournament appears to have cheated.

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In this rebroadcast of A Little Coffee, I go over Traits of Successful Poker Players! Let me know if you have any questions! If youre looking to take your gameNo visits yet

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On this episode of the Tournament Poker Edge Podcast, Clayton discusses the importance of finding a balance between poker and life, including exercise, social interaction and more. He also reviews another hand from the World Series of Poker Main Event.

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JAN. 10 POKERCAST RECAP:We discuss poker predictions for 2020, plus poker goodwill and a Mike Postle update. Also, we learn OMallys Move and Matt E. has A-J for the Hand of the Week.

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My guest today has had a tremendous influence on the game of poker both online and off through his perspectives on game strategy, coaching techniques, mental health, and more. My conversation today is with professional poker player, coach, and author, Tommy Angelo.Tommy has been playing poker professionally since the mid 80s, preferring to play almost exclusively in live cash games.

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Show Notes for this episode: https://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod273 Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, coach and author. Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel Enable my Daily Poker Tips Alexa Skill for a daily 30-second poker tip in your Flash Briefing. United States Canada United Kingdom Australia India Daily Poker Tips is also a podcast, so look for it wherever you listen to podcasts. Twitter smartpokerstudy Instagram smartpokerstudy

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With Sarah Herring on maternity leave, Chad Holloway joins Jeff Platt as co-host for the latest PokerNews Podcast. This week they welcome guest William Hung, who fans might remember from his 2004 American Idol audition when he sang Ricky Martin She Bangs. Now, he has his eyes set on poker in Las Vegas. The episode also talks about the wildfires during the 2020 Aussie Millions, Maurice Hawkins capturing his record 14th gold bracelet, the Global Poker Award categories, and more. This weeks sponsors: Run It Once and Oddschecker US!

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Dan Dvoress enters the GRID to discuss a hand from a Triton High Roller where Dan flopped quads and got a surprising amount of action.Dvoress is a Canadian pro with over 15 million dollars in live poker earnings. Just before recording this pod, Dan notched his highest ever live score, for 4 Million Dollars at

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January is typically a time that we see a lot of movement with regard to sponsored online poker pros. Nick and Mike discuss this years announcements including the departure of Jason Somerville from PokerStars. On the US online poker front, Michigan has legalized online poker, the Wire Act case had some developments over the holiday period and is partypoker preparing to launch in Nevada?

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If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to sign up for a free 7-day trial membership at PokerCoaching.com for an interactive learning experience from Jonathan Little. To get my audiobooks(Visited 1 time, 1 visit today)

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Lance Bradley and Donnie Peters are back for the first episode of The Fives poker podcast in 2020. Topics include the GGPoker Masters, the Galfond Challenges, partypoker possibly coming to Nevada, and more.

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Today we start by talking about the guy who jumped in front of a bus after blowing his life savings at the casino, surviving, and then gambling away the insurance money. Then we talk about Phil Iveys awesome bluff with 52o vs Lex Veldhuis, and talk about the different levels of poker thinking. Jake then breaks down the infamous fold with quad Queens, explaining what should have happened on every street. Finally, we answer a listener DM about a hand he played with Aces vs Jacks and if he played his aces too strong. Thanks for listening, and enjoy!

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In this rebroadcast of A Little Coffee, we go over How to Count Combos! Let me know if you have any questions! If youre looking to take your game toNo visits yet

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The first show of 2020 welcomes Joe Castello, motorsports podcaster, to the show to discuss the parallels between poker and drag racing, two niche sports with avid fan bases. He also talks to BIG Dave & Joe about the upcoming Super Bowl in South Florida and its effect in sports tourism in the area. Earlier, BIG Dave runs down some poker results from holiday tourneys and recaps the worldwide Player-of-the-Year winners.

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On this special edition of the pod, Nick and Mike sit down with Alex Scott, Managing Director of Poker for Microgaming. With the network preparing to close down, Alex and the guys get into the reasons why behind the decision and a bunch of other interesting topics including why online poker operators run live poker events, what its like to lead the development of a next-gen online poker platform, the truth about hand histories and anonymous tables, what it was like to work at Full Tilt Poker pre and post Black Friday, and much more.

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Todays guest is Canadian online tournament specialist and prolific Twitch streamer, Arlie Shaban.For Arlie, poker and streaming are inseparable. Hes made a name for himself not just because of his poker ability, but also because of his relentless pursuit to be one of the biggest and best poker streamers on Twitch.

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Alex Livingston, 3rd place finisher at the 2019 WSOP Main Event, is Bernard Lees guest.

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This Week on DAT Poker Pod: The first podcast of 2020 is without Adam but Daniel and Terrence pull the slack! They begin talking about the new decade with no PCA to attend. DNegs has an interesting hand history from 1949 that has applications today and weve also got a new hand from Live At The Bike. Daniel is excited about the first GG Masters event that went off this weekend and it had a little bit of overlay, some people who staked the winner had a nice ROI as well! In the news an ex Bachelor contestant is involved in a collusion scandal after winning $1M on DK last weekend. Weve also got some tweets, including the greatest poker tweet of the decade and an email from probably our youngest listener.

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Steve Fredlund, Jim Reid, Chris Jones, John Somsky, Rob Washam, & Taylor Maas look at a couple of hands from Chris recent tournament. We also reflect on 2019 and look forward to 2020, including exciting content plans for 2020.

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This is a Rebroadcast of A Little Coffee! Im currently at the partypoker MILLIONS UK; Win 1% of my action: HERE Let me know if you have any questions! IfNo visits yet

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On this weeks episode of The Rake Podcast, Jamie & Marle lay out the newest updates to the Galfond Challenge, address BitBs Twitter attack on Matt Berkey, the challenges of putting yourself out there as a content creator, and Kym Lims recent fold that caused a stir in the poker community.

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(Topic begins at 0:20:20 mark): Druff spends his New Years 2020 in Tahoe instead of Vegas. (0:55:56 mark): Independent investigator Michael Lipman is now representing Stones Casino in the lawsuit against them. (1:16:59 mark): .

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Poker is an interesting game and people from all levels love playing poker games. However, not everyone reaches the heights of some of the greats of the game. However, that doesnt really matter. Everyone has their charm and tricks. However, Poker players give hints. It doesnt matter how big the player is, there are always hints. One needs to be observant and watchful to get these indications.

Here are some of the most common and effective hints that one can get from the poker players. So, when you seat in a local tournament, be very particular not to give away anything and be very observant to read your opponents.

Legs give the early indications. If someone is joyous, they would shake slowly. That gives the early indications. Generally, they wait for their turn to get their dues. Well, dont be overjoyed and be calm. It gives an even better indication when you are nervous. People shake their legs, even more, when they are out of their comfort zone. Some people even hit the table with their shaking legs. Well, dont be one of them and keep calm. Let the cards do the talking and not the legs.

Eyes are expressive and they tell a story. Do you know why poker players wear shades? Well, they dont want to reveal anything. If you overlooking a few cards, that simply gives the hint or coming back at certain cards also give enough idea. So, dont express anything and wear shades.

Do not talk at the table when you are playing. Over talking at the table would be disastrous when the cards are given away. Be quiet and play the game instead of talking too much. When you speak, you fail to notice the senses of the cards.

Never fiddle with your chips. This gives away more information than someone would have imagined. If you continue to fiddle with your chips while betting, it totally provides a glimpse that you are nervous. If someone looks at the chips and the cards, again and again, that gives the under-confidence of the player.

The mouth can express a lot of things. Moving lips, moving jaws or something similar is very common while playing poker. Well, we all know about the Poker Face and that is what exactly we are talking about. Never make the poker face and give hints to the opponents.

Have you ever seen a player looking back as if they are searching for someone? Well, that clearly indicates that the player is bored. This becomes even more dangerous when there is no waiter nearby and your glass is full. It is best to look at your cards without looking here and there.

If an experienced player is engaging with others then be very sure that he or she wants people to know how you are defeated. This is an obvious sign to understand where the game is going.

Make sure that you learn from this and dont do anything as such on the table. However, if your opponent has not read about this, then you have got your advantage.

Source: https://calvinayre.com/2020/01/15/poker/the-first-seven-poker-tells-you-ever-gave-away/

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Seven Things that You Should Not Do on Poker Table - Tunf.com News

January 14, 2020Martin Harris

We live in a "social media" world these days where people from all walks of life have found numerous, inventive ways to make entertaining and/or edifying "content" out of their everyday lives. It's not surprising, then, for this phenomenon to have become part of the poker world as well, with online poker in particular having become a favorite context for some players to find audiences (and even make a little extra dough, too).

Streaming your online poker games over Twitch has become easier than ever to do, and as a result many online poker players have tried doing just that with varying degrees of success. Most discover it's a lot harder than it looks, with no one becoming the next Jason Somerville or Lex Veldhuis overnight.

Recently PokerNews spoke with Fintan Hand a.k.a. "EasyWithAces" who like Veldhuis is a member of Team PokerStars Online and likewise has become one of the more successful online poker playing Twitch streamers.

In the video below, Hand delivers five tips for becoming a successful Twitch streamer. As you might imagine all five involve putting in some genuine effort.

Interestingly, all five of Hand's tips correspond in a way to recommendations you often hear successful online poker players making to those who are trying to improve their games.

Hand says to be consistent with your streams and generally try to follow a regular schedule and not get too carried away putting in "crazy long hours" with shows. Online poker players similarly should be wary of playing irregular or overly long sessions.

He recommends streamers be part of the community and get involved with others' streams. This is probably less of a concern for the online poker player, although it is always worthwhile to be a positive, constructive member of any community in which you plan to spend a lot of time.

When Hand recommends you be yourself on streams and not try to play a "character" or be someone else, that sounds a lot like discovering the playing style that best suits you and gives you the best chance of being successful.

Hand notes how streamers should invest in equipment that ensures the show is of decent quality, noting how it doesn't cost that much to make sure your webcam, sound, and lighting are all up to speed. Again, this recalls how serious online poker players should consider investing a little in laptops, desks, chairs, and so on in order to make their set-up comfortable.

Finally, Hand notes that it's always nice to run well since winning at the tables often translates into attracting more viewers. After all, "everyone wants to see the deep run."

Just like in poker, there's a bit of luck involved in becoming a successful Twitch streamer. But there's a lot you can do to increase your likelihood of success, too.

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Five Tips to Become a Successful Online Poker Twitch Streamer - PokerNews.com

Most books on poker strategy are written after a great feat, while some come merely as an afterthought of the writers prowess in the poker space. Such books are crafted to capture the attention of those who are ready to read and learn a few things from people who have been there and done that.

A 2004 book by Matt Matros, dubbed The Making of a Poker Player is not what you would expect as it was written when Matt was in the process of becoming a poker player, and not after he had achieved success.

As he stated during a recent interview, he wrote the book way before he was even considered a proper poker player. He adds that he started as a writer before becoming a poker player because he was looking for a project to work on.

However, this changed when he, out of nowhere, finished third at a $25000 entry World Poker Tour championship at Las Vegas Bellagio.He added that his original plan was to launch the book, at a time when he was virtually unknown. In the time between when he began selling and when it was scheduled for publication, he decides to make try out at the WPT Championship in Bellagio. Thereafter, the expectations turned out quite differently, so he was forced to add the final chapter.

He walked away with close to $706903 but had only paid $100 as the entry fee. On a spring break from his graduate writing program at this time, he played the $100 satellite right from his home and ended up winning $2500, which consisted of a super satellite plus a plane ticket to Las Vegas.

Matt stated that he had nothing to his name, so he was not able to put $25000 down and he was not known enough to attract backers at the event. His plan was to get to Vegas, take part in the Satellite. He was not sure he would get into the main tournament. The next thing was to fly back home to his writing program.

Nevertheless, this did not happen. Rather, he managed to win a lot of money, which changed his life and book, completely.Strangely, in his view, he was writing a book that would teach people how to start on poker, while ordinarily, people would expect a book on how to become an expert, which is not what the book was meant to do. He hoped he would be able to fit the turn of events in his book.As for the money, it was a lot more than what he was used to. For a young man, which is what he was at the time, the money amounted to a value he could not quite compute, despite being well versed with numbers.

He stated that his winning completely blew his mind and affect his thought process at that time. Although he did well in the game and won big, the entire experience was quite surreal. For a few days afterward, he was in limbo.

While he did well for himself, it is important to point out that had he won the entire event, he would have walked away with $2.7 million, a huge payment score compared to the value he took home after his podium finish.

Having come in third, he looks back on this experience with a measure of pride. His life changed, but he took the change in stride. 15 years later today, he credits being clam through the entire experience to his age, which helped him stay calm and in control of what he ended up doing with the money.

He admits that he never did anything that would be considered silly; he bought an apartment and set aside a sum for his bankroll. Everything else came in after that. He states that he is glad that the experience comes in at the age of 27, and not 21, otherwise that would have been a disaster.

The book depicts him as incredibly endowed in mathematics in the UK and the Americans certainly feel he is a math geek. Although he loved writing, mathematics was his greatest love.

The book ended up being a huge success, which pleased both himself and the publisher. He went on to write a second one, titled The Game Plan, which was published 15 years later.

Source: https://calvinayre.com/2020/01/16/poker/poker-in-print-the-making-of-a-poker-player-matt-matros-2004/

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Poker in Focus: The Making of a Poker Master According to Matt Matros - Tunf.com News

January 18, 2020Will Shillibier

Rob Campbell makes his way across the Crown Casino poker room where the 2020 Aussie Millions is being held to where PokerNews is waiting for him.

"You know there's no Player of the Year points on offer here right?" we ask the 2019 World Series of Poker Player of the Year.

"No POY points? What are you talking about, that's why I'm here!" replied Campbell.

Its the type of response you expect from the former stand-up comedian and something that many people mention when talking about the Australian.

Hes very funny once you understand his humor, former WSOP Main Event winner Joe Hachem told us. Hachem is one of only two Legend members of the Australian Poker Hall of Fame, the other being Jeff Lisandro, and says that he and Campbell first met around 12 years ago in 2008.

Hes always been a nice guy from day one, said Hachem. But he came from the online poker world, so he was very uncomfortable when he first started playing live. He was just this weird-looking robotic acting guy who told us he was a stand-up comedian on the side.

"We called him Robbie Robot"

We called him 'Robbie Robot'. Hed sit there keeping still the whole time because he didnt want to give off any tells, so Robots stuck with him all this time.

Robot or not, Campbell is back in his native Australia for the Aussie Millions, a festival that until his double-bracelet winning summer was the site of his only career victory.

In fact, his victory in the 2013 A$5,000 8-Game was his most recent cash at the Aussie Millions (Was it?" said Campbell. "I'm hopeless") but his relationship with the Crown goes back even further than that.

Im 99.9% confident we taught him to play, said Aussie Millions Tournament Director Joel Williams when we asked him about Campbell. I remember teaching him the difference between a spade and a straight!

According to Williams, Crown used to run a A$2/4 Limit Holdem table called Beginners Luck. This was pre-Hachem as Williams put it before the poker room was renovated and expanded following the Australians historic victory in 2005.

Beginners Luck was a table reserved exclusively for new players, each receiving a card that would be stamped every time they played. After the player had filled their card with stamps, they wouldnt be allowed to come back and play at that table.

This game would run with all the locals and regulars on the rail wanting to get in and play with the new people. Im 99.9% confident he came through that game.

"If he argued a point or spoke up and said something, it was rare that he was ever wrong."

Campbell then moved on to the A$4/8 Limit Holdem Table, Williams remembers, and it quickly became obvious that Campbell was an out and out student of the game.

He reviewed his play afterwards, said Williams. He came in every time slightly more experienced than when he left, and he was one of those players even at an early age that if he argued a point or spoke up and said something, it was rare that he was ever wrong.

It was clear he had a poker head and was a little bit special.

Thats a sentiment echoed by 2019 Aussie Millions H.O.R.S.E. champion Daniel Mayoh who, despite only knowing Campbell for 18 months, says he made a positive first impression.

I was playing heads-up 25/50 mixed game cash with him one day, and he was just letting me pick whatever game I wanted to play. That was my first time talking to him. Id seen his name in the WSOP results over the last few years.

He came across as really friendly and was happy to share his knowledge, and over the last year weve played more and more, especially in some of the cash games around Melbourne.

The two are common foes across the felt in both cash games and tournaments, including one encounter Mayoh says may have been the catalyst for Campbells summer of success.

According to Mayoh, in the week before the 2019 World Series of Poker, both he and Campbell made it to heads-up in a mixed game tournament in Melbourne.

It was heads-up and I had a lead, Mayoh recalls. I suggested that it was time to do a deal because the first prize was triple what second would get, but he said no. I need the practice is what he said to me.

So we played it out, and it was a good 45 minutes worth of heads-up play, but eventually I came out on top. I like to think Rob got the practice from me that put him in good stead when he went off to Las Vegas.

Campbell is back in Australia playing at the Aussie Millions after an extended stint on the west coast of America, but his tournament appearances have been limited to just the H.O.R.S.E. so far.

As much as I love the Aussie Millions, sometimes when I'm here I play cash games. I know that's blasphemous, I'm not a tournament player."

"Not really a tournament player" comes as quite a shock to us, but as the festival progresses its clear to see why.

Situated on the second tier of the Crown Casino poker room, Table 46 doesnt quite have the same ring as Bobbys Room at the Bellagio or even Table 1 at the Aria but make no mistake this is the table everyone wants to rail.

Literally, on occasion, as a rope is drawn up just feet away from the tables edge allowing anyone to wander in and catch a glimpse of some of Melbournes biggest mixed game cash game in action.

A couple of days ago, with this table occupied by the record-breaking A$25,000 Challenge field, there was a crowd of anxious-looking Mixed Game regulars waiting for the Big Game to get underway.

Its these big games, Williams says, that helped Campbell hone his craft when he was emerging onto the scene.

He put himself in these big situations as quickly as possible to learn as much as possible, said Williams. He always was courageous and/or risky if you like. Back then he was pretty out of his depth, but he would have seen it as paying for their knowledge, which in hindsight was the right move.

Players like Jeff Lisandro, you know, the best that were ever available. He put himself in that sort of world.

Now, Campbell was joined by Lisandro and a whole host of mixed game players such as Billy The Croc Argyros and Jan Suchanek in waiting for what they consider their table to become available.

He runs that game, Suchanek told us. Hes the king of running that game. Hes probably the best player and everyone lets him run it. Thats the dynamic of the game.

Suchanek has his personal feelings about his business partners position in the poker world, especially framed around last years POY contest, and he makes them known.

"The rules of the game werent in his favour and he binked it anyway"

Its a shame because the whole POY thing became more about Deeb and Daniel losing and not him winning. Its a shame that hes not more popular than he is. Hes a very unique character.

The rules of the game werent in his favour and he binked it anyway. Hes gonna keep focusing on poker. Thats what I love about him.

Hachem agrees that it is Campbells focus, especially during the months in Vegas during the World Series of Poker, that propelled him to win Player of the Year.

The POY is not set up for limit players which is what he is so that just shows the effort that he put in to get there. Anyone who knows Rob or has spoken to him knows that when hes at the WSOP he clocks on the minute he lands and doesnt clock off until the minute he finishes.

"This year it all came together for him"

Most of us go out there and play some tournaments, but we also play some golf, go out and party, have some dinners, that sort of thing. He deserves everything he gets as a result because he put in the hours and the time and the effort to get there. It wasnt like a sheer coincidence. If you look at his record the past few years, hes been doing pretty well in all those events. But this year it all came together for him.

Campbell says he understands the new role his POY success will bring him going forward. Knowing hell be his countryman in adorning the walls of the Rio Hotel & Casino when his Player of the Year banner is hung up later this year, does Campbell feel a sense of responsibility with regard to Hachem's effect on the poker community, especially in Australia?

Personally, I do feel a little bit of responsibility, but I know Joe and he takes it quite seriously. He understands that hes a permanent face of the game whether he likes it or not. I think thats a good thing. He should be like that.

When he sits down next to me, hes just Joe. But people always want to speak to him and hes instrumental in the Australian poker scene. He carries himself well and hes how youd hope a WSOP Main Event winner would be.

Hachem believes there are many different types of poker ambassadors, with both he and Campbell completely different versions.

Hes still an ambassador though, said Hachem. And hell be a great ambassador. He cares about the game. He works hard and hell go out of his way to educate and share with people around him.

Mayoh agrees, saying his newfound fame will only serve to help the Melbourne mixed game scene and beyond.

He comes across as one of the elders of the Melbourne mixed game scene and always been quite friendly with the other players and supporting them. Thats important with mixed game players because when people play, theyre often learning and its important they dont feel discouraged or made to feel stupid if theyre still learning the game. Robs great at that.

He has a great personality, continued Hachem. Its not a vibrant out there kind of personality, but its a personality that is warm and honest and very sincere to the game of poker. We may be different personalities but that doesnt mean he cant step up to fill those type of shoes as well.

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Why do fellow Aussie pro's like @JosephHachem refer to @WSOP POY @SonicJaxx2019 as 'Robbie Robot'?

Im 99.9% confident we taught him to play." Aussie Millions TD @JoelGWilliams tells about @WSOP POY @SonicJaxx2019's early poker days.

Read how @WSOP POY @SonicJaxx19 worked his way up from 'Beginners Luck' to running the game.

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From 'Beginners Luck' to Running the Game; WSOP POY Rob Campbell is Back Where it All Began - PokerNews.com

A successful poker player told how losing over three stone has helped him stay at the top of his game.

Last year, John Bousfield came third in the 2019 National Poker League run by Grosvenor Casinos.

The 43-year-old was also voted Teesside's top player by the poker playing community.

Today, he is the picture of health and enjoys a healthy diet and regular exercise.

But rewind three years and John was suffering with dangerously high blood pressure and breathlessness due to being overweight.

"The weight just seemed to come on gradually and I hadn't really thought about it," he said.

"I had bought a really expensive jacket - something I wouldn't usually buy - and when I went to try it on about 18 months later for my dad's 70th birthday, it didn't fit."

John, who runs Smithfield Timber in Middlesbrough and lives in the Whitehouse Farm area of Stockton, travels around the world with his poker hobby.

As the game involves spending long period of sitting down, John was often left feeling "sluggish", choosing quick, easy and unhealthy food options.

"I was eating fast food and take aways - just grabbing food on the go," he said.

"In the house I wasn't bad, it was during the day I'd nip into Greggs as I was passing."

It was following a health scare in 2017 that John's wife Rebecca, who is a Slimming World consultant, insisted he take action.

"At that time I had really high blood pressure," explained John.

"I was taken into hospital with sky high blood pressure of 240/120 which was off the scale.

"I had to up my medication to three tablets a day and it was still high at 140/100.

"I was struggling with my energy levels and getting out of breath. The doctor thought I might have angina and Rebecca said, 'Come on, you need to do something about it.'"

When John signed up to Slimming World in April 2017 he weighed 16st 8lb.

After losing two stone he took up regular exercise and even signed up to the Great North Run.

In September 2018, John completed the half-marathon in three hours. The following year secured a time of under two hours.

Within just 11 months John had reached his target weight of 13st and has maintained the healthy weight ever since.

John said he found it easy to follow the healthy eating plan.

"It's just getting out of bad habits and thinking differently about how you cook things," he said.

"The food I fresher and tastes just as nice. I still eat cooked breakfasts for example I just cook it in a different way.

"I still have chips but they are cooked in the oven rather than fried."

John's blood pressure has now stabilised to 130/90. And he believes his change of lifestyle thanks to Slimming World has improved, not just his health and energy levels, but also his game.

"I've been played for a few years now but I've played more since getting fit and I can think clearer," he said.

"It definitely has helped the mind as well as the body.

"Losing the weight as the plan encourages you to stick to a healthier lifestyle.

"So you look at all aspects of what you do and your habits and then that helps you in other aspects of your life - for me fitness and poker.

"And this brings more confidence in achieving things."

He still follows the plan and attends the group sessions and enjoys cooking meals for Rebecca and their five children such as fajitas, spaghetti bolognese and steak.

And his success has even inspired other poker players from around the world to sign up to the Slimming World plan.

John's wife Rebecca runs Slimming World sessions at St Patricks Church Hall in Fairfield every Tuesday at 9.30am, 11.30am, 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

For more information call her on 07710 830165.

Read the rest here:

Poker star John gave up the chips and lost weight - after high blood pressure health scare - Gazette Live