Feb. 21st, 2002 Volume 2 Issue 4

Content... PokerSchool Online Software Information Championship Poker Tables Poker Dollars Program Player Article Crosswords & Quizzes Poker in America Poker in Europe Poker in the UK and Ireland Poker in Russia by Bill Marczak Poker Down Under by David Parlor Shopping at PokerPages.com Sponsors Paradise Poker - World's Largest Online Poker Room Real People, Real Poker TruePoker.com Inside PokerPages Directory of Poker Rooms & Casinos Search our worldwide poker directory! Tournaments Search for major tournaments, schedules, results & reports Poker Info Rules, history, world wide poker and & more! Poker Articles Articles, player profiles & archives Interactive Section Quizzes, puzzles, chat room, forum & more! Women's Section Special features for women poker players including forum Poker Store Shop online for poker gifts & accessories Classifieds Looking for a game? Got something to sell? Check here first Site Map A diagram of the PokerPages website Mark's Recommended Reading Read Part III of Randy Glover's The Education of a Poker Player: Tales from Tunica. Look for Part IV on Saturday, 02/23/02

Current Major Tournaments: LA Poker Classic National Poker Championships (Australia) Peppermill Spring Poker Tournament Casino Europa Invitational (Costa Rica) Winnin' O' The Green Omaha Poker Championships (Austria) PokerSchool Online PokerSchool Online Sponsorships Available   The Pokerschool Online Tutorial Team Mike Caro "Mad Genius" Nolan Dalla Noted Columnist Lou Krieger Poker for Dummies Referral & Affiliate Programs Launch for PokerSchool Online Refer-a-Friend: Members of PokerSchool Online can earn $$, extend their School membership or add to their virtual bankroll when friends they refer become qualifying members of PokerSchool Online. Read more... Not a PokerSchool member? Read about the school here Affiliates: Businesses can earn $$, when referrals from their web site become a qualifying member of PokerSchool Online. Read more... New in PokerSchool Online: No Abuse Policy has now been implemented in PokerSchoolOnline Bragging Rights section for those players that have placed top in the weekly or monthly ranking tables. Mark has been testing our NEW Heads Up feature, and he has challenged several of the school members. This is something that Mark will continue to do and will eventually have this facility in the school for the members to set their own Heads Up Challenges against other members. He is also planning to hold the first ever PokerSchool Heads up Tournament All multi-table limit Omaha & limit Hold'em tournaments now have $5000 starting chips not $2500 starting chips! Added Omaha Hi/Lo School Satellites Beginners School single table satellite, $2.00 buy-in , 30 seconds on clock. School Satellites No Limit Hold 'em for $5, $20 and $50 buy-in Limit Hold 'em and Omaha Hi/Lo for $5 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha (added on 6th February) for $20 buy-in Coming Soon to PokerSchool Online Mike Caro's Tells on Video clips using QuickTime Interactive homework game for the beginners and advance section. The Big One Your chance to go to the World Series of Poker and play in the main event with a sponsorship from PokerSchool Online is nearly here. The Big One will be held on Saturday March 30th 2002, at 2.00pm CST, and you will have to be a qualified player to participate. There will be no more than 650 qualified players in this $100,000 Freeroll. Annual PokerSchool members promotion On the following dates, there will be an 'annual members only' tournament to qualify more players into 'The Big One.' The winner of each of these events will receive a C qualification and 2nd - 20th will receive B qualification. These events will have no buy-in. These will start on Saturday 16th February at 2.00pm CST and run every Saturday at this time until the last one on Saturday March 16th. Any monthly member that wishes to upgrade to annual membership may participate in these events. 1st - Saturday 16th February @ 2.00pm CST (12.00 noon in CA, 3.00PM In New York, 8.00pm in England, 9.00pm in Europe) 2nd - Saturday 23rd February @ 2.00pm CST 3rd - Saturday 2nd March @ 2.00pm CST 4th - Saturday 9th March @ 2.00pm CST 5th - Saturday 16th March @ 2.00pm CST All PokerSchool Members Promotion On Saturday March 23rd at 2.00pm CST, There will be an 'all members' tournament to qualify players into 'The Big One.' The buy-in for this event will be $100.00 School Bankroll. 1st Place will receive a D qualification 2nd Place will receive a C qualification 3rd - 20th will all receive B qualifications Single Table Satellites (School) Over the coming weeks you will notice more higher buy-in single table satellites being added to the schedule. As these can be used to increase members bankroll in order to participate in these higher buy-in Super Satellites, see below. Super Satellite Week in the School >From Monday 25th March thru Friday 29th March we will be holding a final week of last minute qualifying Super Satellites with higher buy-ins. These buy-ins will start at $500 of school bankroll. Qualification places for these higher buy-in events will be announced in the school and sent out in email to all school members before the end of February. Return to Top Software Information Pot Limit has now been added to the satellites in the Fun Play Ring Games coming to PokerPages Cardroom for testing next week !!!! The Final table now stays open for three minutes after the winner has been declared so observers and players can continue to Chat. All prize money is divided among the final players by rounding down. That's the way it has always been. Now, the first place winner gets all the money lost due to this rounding. For example, if $50 is to be distributed among the final players and the rounding causes only $49 to be distributed, the first place winner will get the extra dollar. Finally, due to popular demand, the last person to bet on the river is forced to show his/her hand. This will happen even if the 'Muck all losing Hands' box is checked. Read More Return to Top Championship Poker Tables Now Available! The first true casino-quality poker tables for your home Designed specifically for those who want the best poker table possible for their home game, these tables are considered to be of the highest quality and relatively inexpensive... Return to Top Poker Dollars Program We are still awarding Poker Dollars, but this time it is a slightly different system. You play in the Fun Play area and your play in the tournaments is calculated and included in a ranking system (20 games per month). The top 3 players on the ranking system at the end of the month win, 3 months, 2 months, and 1 month respectively in PokerSchool Online. For more information on the latest Poker Dollars promotion, click here. If you are already a PokerSchool member, then you can also participate in the Fun Play tournaments. If you win then, the time will be added onto your existing membership. Old Poker Dollars Program If you still have Poker Dollars that you have not yet claimed for tournament play in a live casino, don't worry: They are valid for a year. These can be claimed at a casino or cardroom of your choice for a tournament buy in or you can use them for membership time in the PokerSchool. Return to Top Player Article By John Lee-Thompson Poker is a Waiting Game... By John Lee-Thompson I'm a 40 year poker player with a background mainly in card schools and casinos. I guess like most people, I've always been reluctant to admit to losses but quick to boast about any wins, however few and far between. As much as I could, I would always minimise the debit side and inflate the credit side (you know, a bit like Enron...). But I couldn't latch on to "The Secret": You know, that indefinable something that marks you a "name", a "face", a talent. Anyway, what I'm getting to is that, yes, I like to play "real" poker, but if I'm honest my real talent was for calling the wrong bet at the wrong time! As my kamikaze instinct further refined itself, I ended up calling all the bets at the wrong time. So not surprisingly, winning became a matter of luck rather than skill. Read More Return to Top Crosswords & Quizzes This new section will feature crosswords and quizzes created by some of the best poker minds around. Have fun while developing your poker knowledge and skills by challenging yourself with this month's crossword, "Winning", constructed by Michael Weisenberg. Return to Top Poker in America By Tina Napolitano Diego Cordovez The LA Poker Classic fever is now at a pitch with the 2nd million dollar event on the 26th February. The number of entrants that have participated in all the events so far has been absolutely amazing and surely this turnout will guarantee that it will be on the calender for many years to come, and a big contender next to the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Open. Will players like Diego Cordovez, the winner of the event #9 Limit Hold'em $1,570 (2 day event), who walked away with the 1st place prize of $569,430 be in with a chance for the million Guarantee? Or maybe Scotty Nguyen will add more to his $42,550 first place finish for the Omaha Hi/Lo tournament. Daniel Negreanu, has shown his strong side with 1st place in the Pot Limit Hold'em and also the 1st place in Omaha Hi/Lo Split with total of $88,000 in prize money. Many other famous names have been in the prize money, and stand a very good chance for this title -- Phil Hellmuth, Barry Shulman and Erik Seidel to name just a few. Erik of course is in the mood for another heads up final table shootout, as he was 2nd in the recent World Poker Open to Humberto Brenes from Costa Rica, who took home the title for this year. Well, will there be life after the LA Poker Classic? I expect so as the players move onto The Reno Hilton for The Player of the Year event, or the Bicycle for their annual Winnin' 'O the Green events. For those RGP players, SARGE II will be held on Feb 28th at the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Tunica and it'll last until March 2nd. You can be sure of great hospitality from the Poker team under the watchful eye of Jack Binion. They sure do know how to make their players happy and comfortable. The Peppermill in Reno will also be running the Spring Poker Tournament and you will again have a fantastic team ensuring all those that attend a time to remember. In Costa Rica, there is the Casino Europa Invitational event from Feb 27th - March 3rd. Many players will be taking the trip from the USA to this beautiful location to participate in tournaments that offer unbelievable value for money. Can you believe $10 buy-ins with $10 rebuys for a $40,000 guaranteed event? And wait there is more -- for a $100 buy-in there is a $100,000 Guaranteed with rebuys and 1 add on. On March 1st the Station group of casinos start their $100,000 Poker Plus Freeroll, you have to play 50 hours in any of the Station casinos and you will qualify for the elimination tournament, with the final event being held on May 11th and 12th. These events were exceptionally popular last year and one elimination event had 1,600 entrants. Casino Regina in Canada is hosting the 6th annual Harvest Poker Classic, which again promises to be bigger and better than ever. This will run from March 5th - March 9th, with a free dinner on the 5th to all those that pre-registered for the Harvest Poker Classic. Now remember when you attend these events that it has taken much time and preparation to put them together. So please be thankful to the organizers and especially the dealers, as I am sure that they would like to deal the winning hand to every player. Take care Tina Napolitano Return to Top Poker in Europe By Tina Napolitano Ram Vaswani The Euro Finals of Poker have just finished at The Aviation Club in Paris, which also included the First Euro of Poker Heads Up Event. Alan Glover from the UK beat American Steve Zolotow in the final heads up match, to take home the new title and 40,000 Euros. The event started with 64 runners and took 3 days of playing and knockouts to reach the last 2 sitting at the table. The European Texas Hold'em Championship was won by Ram Vaswani from the UK, and he took home 107,500 Euros. Next on the agenda is the Omaha Poker Championship in Bregenz, Austria, Feb 21st - Feb 24th, my favorite for this would be Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot, as I am sure that most of you would agree that he is probably the world's best Omaha player, but my guess is that he will be in Los Angeles with most of the top players trying to win the Million Guaranteed No Limit Hold'em event. On Feb 28th the Royal Prague Hotel and Casino will be hosting the Prague Poker Open, this will last until March 3rd. There is free food and beverage available to all tournament participants, and lots of great site seeing to do in this amazing city. March 5th sees the start of the Vienna Spring Festival from the Concord Card Casino. This runs until March 16th and also includes the 6th Annual World Series of Poker Trail, over 4 days, with an estimated 100,000 Euros for 1st place. They will also be holding back 3% for the best allround player prize. Tina Napolitano Return to Top Poker in the UK and Ireland By Tina Napolitano Recently the North of England Open from The Grosvenor in Manchester took place, and if anyone has the results I would be grateful if they could email them to me so I can include them into the results section. The Teeside Poker Festival starts tomorrow at the Gala Casino in Stockton on Tees and runs from the 20th - 24th. Please note that players must register by 7.30pm for all events, and there will be satellite and cash games from 4.00pm. The British Open will start at The Vic in London from March 18th. Early registrations are being advised -- postal entries may be accepted between Feb 1st and March 11th, but no later. If players have any information regarding their local cardroom or "up and coming" events that I don't have the information for, please let me know as I will be very happy to update the information immediately. Also, if any of the players from the UK would like to complete a Player Profile or submit articles or trip reports, then again I would be happy to look at them and consider them for PokerPages. Tina Napolitano Return to Top Poker in Russia By Bill Marczak Moscow Report Quite a substantial contingent of Russian players went to Paris for the Aviation Club tournaments, Feb 1st-17th. Many of the young players, mentioned in previous Newsletter articles as up-and-coming future stars, have performed exceptionally well. Russian players to reach final the tables were: Eddy Kapitonov, Moscow, Placed 2nd 500 Euros Pot Limit Omaha: prizemoney 22,535 Euros Alex Kravchenko, Moscow, Placed 8th 2,000 Euros Pot Limit Omaha: prizemoney 2,870 Euros. Placed 8th 5,000 Euros European Texas Hold'em Championship, 2 day event: prizemoney 6,900 Euros. Placed 6th 500 Euros Omaha Pot Limit 5 Cards: prizemoney 1,300 Euros. Placed 3rd 1000 Euros No Limit Texas Hold'em: prizemoney 12,850 Euros. Kirill Gerasimov, Moscow, Placed 6th 500 Euros Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo prizemoney: 1,590 Euros. Placed 3rd 100 Euros No Limit Texas Hold'em: prizemoney 1,295 Euros. Placed 4th 1,000 Euros No Limit Texas Hold'em: prizemoney 7,700 Euros. Placed 10th 1,000 Euros Pot Limit Omaha: prizemoney 330 Euros. Akob Vardanyan from Armenia, but based in Moscow, Placed 4th 500 Euros No Limit Texas Hold'em: prizemoney 5,510 Euros. Sergei Pomerantsev, St Petersburg, Placed 5th Euros 500 Omaha Pot Limit 5 Cards: prizemoney 1,950 Euros. Arseny Mescheriak, Moscow, Placed 6th Euros 1,000 No Limit Texas Hold'em: prizemoney 3,440 Euros. Read More Bill Marczak Return to Top Poker Down Under By David Parlor The National Poker Championships have started in Canberra, the Australian Capital. Some of the early results have included some well-known names in the Australian tournament scene. Steve Somerville took out the Limit Holdem event, while John Maver has proved his versatility in winning the Draw tournament only weeks after winning the No Limit Holdem event in Melbourne. An early leader in the overall points tally is Michael "The Pianoman" Marcos who I believe is sure to be amongst the leaders at the conclusion of the tournament. Crown Casino is continuing with the weekly Thursday and Sunday tournaments, leading up to a freeroll event for entry into the "Aussie Millions" 10K Tournament to be held at The Australasian Championships in January next year. Current points leaders are James Potter and Wes Bugiera, two well-known names in Australian Poker. The 2002 New Zealand Poker Championships are fast approaching, due to begin on the 21st April. Tournaments will range from $300 to the main event of $1,200 and will be spread over one week. Super satellites have been planned for most nights, which should ensure a large field for the No Limit Holdem main event on the 27th. Some of these tournaments are likely to sell out, so I urge all who are planning to attend to book their seats early. I recently received an email from a player interested in any games in the Coffs Harbour region of New South Wales. If anyone knows of a game or would like to start one, email me and I will put you in contact with each other. For any questions about Poker in Australia please email me. David Parlor Return to Top Shopping at PokerPages.com By Tina Napolitano Be sure to browse through our Shopping Mall! Our Shopping Mall features a huge catalog of products, with you the poker enthusiast entirely in mind. Products by KEM Playing Cards, Kestall tables and Wilson Software are among the many items available. So be sure to visit the mall for all of your poker needs. Our recommended product for February: Middle-Limit Hold'em By Bob Ciaffone and Jim Brier This book contains five hundred hands, most taken from real games, where the reader is given a poker problem. Every phase in a hand’s development has both a detailed explanation of the key ideas and a set of problems where the reader can see which ideas are most applicable. This book will give you all the poker skills needed to master holdem -- and get the money. $25.00 + $5.00 US shipping $25.00 + $11.00 International shipping Please allow 2-3 weeks shipping time. Texas residents add 8.25% sales tax. Return to Top Feedback Poker Pages has produced this newsletter for you, the poker enthusiast. We have a worldwide audience of Beginners, Intermediate and Professional players and we try to accommodate all. With this in mind we would really appreciate your feedback and ideas on how we can reach perfection in this newsletter and at www.PokerPages.com. This Newsletter is being distributed to over 70 countries worldwide. I for one would be very interested in hearing about Poker in your part of the world. I would be delighted to hear from players from anywhere in the world that is not currently being covered at PokerPages.com. Please contact me and we can discuss it. Tina Napolitano Submit Your Profile We would love to feature you in our Player Profile section. Just send us your photo along with a Profile summary. Click here to submit your profile.