Tournament Poker in Russia

Tournament poker in Russia is expanding at a rapid rate, both in Moscow & St Petersburg. The recent “White Nights” poker festival at Olympia Casino, & The Taleon Masters at Taleon Casino, both held in St Peterburg, were resounding successes both in terms of entrants & organization.

New players are constantly emerging & it won’t be long before a substantial player base has been established in this beautiful tourist city. Just as significant is the fact that the traditionally popular poker game 32 card deck, 5-card stud is not even on the tournament schedule anymore.

Now it’s Texas hold’em limit, pot limit & no limit, Omaha pot limit, & 7-card stud pot limit. The fact that high-low games are now being played in Moscow leads me to believe that these games will also be introduced in tournaments, establishing Russia in line with the rest of the poker world in terms of the games that will be played in tournaments here - “out with the old, in with the new”.

We’re all looking forward to Cosmos Casino’s Moscow Open from October 27 to November 4, 2001. It’s major events, Texas no limit & Omaha pot limit will both be run over 3 days, a real first in Russia where tournaments are usually played to completion in one day.

This feature alone is expected to attract a substantial number of European players. With entry fees of $500, rebuys & add-ons, the prize money pool is expected to be the highest on record here. Cosmos Casino is doing its utmost to attract an international field to this event & will provide visa support, free food & beverages to all players, heavily reduced room rates & other incentives. Details from Masha Kurenkova at poker@pref.ru or twins@rsuh.ru

Korona Casino is amongst the leading innovators when it comes to introducing new players to new tournament games. Their main tournament is held every Wednesday & games played alternate – Hold’em, Omaha, 5-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud. Recently John Kocbek, the Australian who is in charge of poker at this plush Vegas-style casino, held a freeroll with $3,000 as first prize. The game played was “Russian Manila,” a variation on Australian Manila, which is a 32-card deck game where each player receives 2 down cards which must both be used in the showdown together with any 3 cards of the 5 on board. Each of the 5 board cards is turned one at a time & there is a betting round on each card. This is the most widely played form of poker in Australia.

Since short deck, pot limit 5-card stud is still the most widely played form of poker here in Moscow, let’s look at some areas of play in relation to starting hands, where incorrect play tends to be very costly in the long term.

STARTING HANDS

1. Small back-to-back pairs: 7’s, 8’s & 9’s, maybe T’s, & even J’s if unduplicated Q’s, K’s & A’s are showing. These should rarely be played, unless some of the following conditions apply, listed in order of importance:

(a) no other card of your rank is showing
(b) the high card is on or near your immediate left AND it’s an Ace or maybe a K
(c) there is some duplication of opponent’s overcards e.g. there are two Q’s showing when your pair is smaller than a Q
(d) no aggressive players are behind you with a big card
(e) no more than one aggressive player has limped in
(f) there is one, & preferably two, smaller cards showing by players who have limped in
(g) the high card brings in for less than the maximum- this is only important if some of the other conditions don’t apply.

It is clear that position plays a crucial role in your decision – you don’t want to be in the middle, as you may have to dump the hand after putting money in earlier in the betting round. Following are examples at both ends of the spectrum.

Example 1

P1	P2	P3	P4	P5	P6
A	J	J	9	9	T, 8 or 7

P6 can call with his pair for any bring-in amount if one or more of the other players limps in. Heads up, whether you should call depends on the amount of the bring in & whether P1 is an aggressive player.

You can never play a small pair for a raise.

Example 2

P1	P2	P3	P4	P5	P6
Q	K	A	T	J	7

P4 with TT must pass - he is out of position, there is no opposing duplication AND there are three players with overcards to your pair yet to act. This is a huge negative equity situation.

2. Ace in the hole: Players here tend to play this almost automatically. You should only play if:

(a) your door card is an overcard to at least 2 of the other cards showing, OR
(b) your door card is at least T high AND an overcard showing is duplicated – with a K or Q it’s often correct to raise, or if you are high card you should bring-in for the maximum.
(c) your door card is not duplicated elsewhere, unless it’s a K.
(d) the game is not very aggressive, with a lot of checking,& with players whose actions are reliable.

You should almost never call with a 7, 8 or 9 up, especially if another A or a card of your door card’s rank is showing. Players will tend to put you on the A or a pair, so you won’t get paid off too often when you do improve.

3. Straight cards: Connectors like 89, 9T, TJ, JQ usually shouldn’t be played, & one gappers should just about always be passed. You can sometimes play these cards if:

(a) The high card is on your left
(b) you have a “compressed situation e.g. three A’s or three 7’s are showing & you hold 9T or TJ, AND two of the other cards showing are equal in rank to your two cards
(c) your cards are live as to their ranks AND you have at least a partially compressed situation
(d) the bring-in is less than the maximum

If you don’t hit a contiguous connector immediately, you can pass at minimal cost.

Bill Marczak

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