In a high stakes cash game it is not out of the ordinary for me to pay a player a “referral fee” if he brings a fish to my table. Especially if that fish is well funded. I have paid fees in the thousands of dollars to get somebody with a bull’s eye on their forehead at a high stakes game. It is every players dream to land one of these guys regularly. In a cash game, this type “A” player will chase down a flush, a straight, two pairs to a full, all night long. He knows if he catches his hand he will be well compensated. Now and them he actually does. And he takes the pot down. He knows he is out classed and out matched so he has to place his destiny in the hands of fate. By the end of the night, the longer he plays, the more the odds catch up to him. Eventually he goes home busted as usual……again……and again…and again.

Now you have left the comfort of your cash game and decided to venture into foreign waters. It’s now July, and you are in Las Vegas. You have just flopped down $10G’s for a shot at the most prestigious bracelet of them all (the only bracelet in my opinion). You draw a weak table and are playing well. All of the sudden, the same guy you have been busting in cash games shows up at your table. You have enough information on this guy to fill a book. This must be your lucky day. The first time you played with this guy you paid for the privilege of having this fish at your table. And now here he is. All on his own coming to give you his chips. He begins playing tight. That last about 40 minutes until he gets outplayed for the third time he’ is in a pot. All of the sudden, it’s business as usual. He is following along paying off every raise.

A few moments later you find yourself involved in a pot in late position with pocket Aces. The flop comes and it’s 9, 10 A all hearts. You just made a set of bullets. The AK out of position bets, our friend calls, you raise. The AK folds, our buddy does what he does best……makes a bad call. The turn reveals a 4 of hearts. This is not what you wanted to see. At this point you could bet your house on the fact that he just made his flush……yes he needed a four flush on the board. On a good day, he was drawing on the straight but not today. You are now crippled with 65% of your chips in the pot and he has you covered. You make the best lay down of the tournament and he turns over the Kh, Jc off suit he was playing and shows you the nut flush.

Its now two hands later. You are on the button with pocket Kings. You make a play and guess who calls you. You got it. It’s him. He opens a Q J off suite the flop is 2, 7, J rainbow. Not what you wanted to see. The turn is a 6H. And the much anticipated river reveals the third Jack. Congratulations, you are out of the biggest tournament of the year on the bubble. Does it happen? If you need to ask then you need to start playing more tournaments.

Here is a situation that shows how the Novice Player can have a direct affect on how you play and assess a hand. You are in a major tournament, deep into day two. You are four positions out of the money, on the bubble. You have a decent chip stack but there are four larger stacks at your table including the chip leader.

You are third to act and are holding Ah, Kc. First position puts in a raise of 4X the BB. Second position folds. The action is on you. Here is where it starts to get tricky, and it will get much more difficult as this hand progresses. If you are up against a top ranked player that is making a move in the worst possible position on the bubble, then one can clearly assess that this player is holding a very strong hand.

Against a novice player, you have no idea. We now face our first decision. Do we fold, raise of call? If you have decided that you want to play this hand, your best decision would be to just…make the call. With all those players still to act after you, it is hard to tell what they will do. You make the call and another player calls on the button. The small and big blinds fold and the three of you go to the flop. The flop is Ac, 6s, 5s. You have flopped top pair with top kicker. The player at question, in first position, puts out a very large bet almost 2X the pot. What do you do? In a cash game this a no-brainer. In a tournament on the bubble, its not.

Now let’s assume once again that this is a top ranked conservative player. This bet would indicate that he is not giving pot odds for a call from one that is on a draw and he is more than happy to take it down right there and then. As such we can assume that the player did not make a set of Aces and is not on a draw himself. He is also showing little regard for the fact that there is an Ace on the board. With two players left to act it is extremely likely that one of you has paired the Ace. It is very likely that you two are playing
comparable hands.

A player of this caliber would not have raised pre-flop in this position, at this stage of the tournament pre-flop with A, 5 or A, 6 so the likelihood that he is playing two pair is very low. He could also have elected to play a mid pair (unlikely with 5’s or 6’s) so he may be on mid or bottom set. Another reason why he would want to take it down right there and then. With a player left to act behind you, you find yourself sandwiched between the two so you decide to call, as does the button. With a novice player you could never logically assess his starting hand based on the information you have compiled thus far. Your only hope would be that you got some type of read on the guy and can act upon it. The turn reveals a 2h that does not appear to have helped anyone. Whatever you assessment was before after the flop, remains the same after this turn card. The player in first position makes a pot sized bet. With a possible straight draw and flush draw you decide to move all in and take the pot down. The button folds.

Now if you are playing a top player you have made the assessment that you may win the pot or even chop the pot should he make the call. In this particular hand the player in first position was in fact a Novice Player. He called the all in and revealed an 8h, 9h. He hit a 7h on the river and won the hand with a 9 high straight. You are out of the tournament.

The above hand is a good example of how a good player can get in trouble quick against a Novice Player. There was very little you could have done in the above example that would have changed the outcome of the hand. Even a raise may have enticed a re-raise from the player in first position. Short of laying down the best hand, which would not have happened, you were doomed.

Most top ranked players would not have raised in the worst possible position pre-flop with that hand. They certainly would not have played that hand from that position at this stage of the tournament. Most importantly, they would not have put their tournament at risk on the bubble calling an all in bet with a gut shot draw. It is a tough predicament but one that we face constantly in tournaments these days.

John “The Greek” Leontakianakos is a professional poker player with 27 years of experience.

Congrats on the November Leader Board Win.

How long have you been playing the #tpt events? I seem to remember you there at first (last year) then on and off again
I started playing TPT this summer, although I don’t remember exactly when. It was in the middle of the last three/four month season. I think I’ve played them all since, it’s an awesome tournament.

How long have you been playing poker?
I’ve played on and off since I was a kid, but only started playing seriously in 2006.

Do you play anything besides NLHE?
I started out playing Limit Hold’em and still enjoy that. I really enjoy Stud Hi/Lo but I’m not very good. I’ve recently gotten into PLO and hope I can get better at that.

Do you prefer live or online play? Why?
Each has their benefits. Live is a lot of fun because the players are usually really bad, plus it’s nice to actually be at a table, see people, whatever. However, I think online wins out because I like to multi-table and can keep notes.

Do you prefer Cash/MTT/SNG and why?
I prefer MTTs, it’s where I have the most experience and I love MTT strategy and the hours-long battles. However my graphs show most of my profits come from SNGs so I suppose I should give them a shout out. I lose too much at cash, yet somehow still come back for more.

Your twitter bio says you used to know a joke, can you remember the joke and tell it now?
Two peanuts are walking down the street, and one of them is assaulted.

Do you play poker for fun or a way to make some extra cash?
Mostly because I love games and the challenge of competition. I’m basically a break-even player, I’ve never made enough profit to withdraw anything, but I’ve never had to redeposit either.

Do you have any favorite poker pros or watch any poker on TV?
I watch Pokertube all the time; WSOP, EPT, WPT, whatever. I like Negreanu, he’s great, but I also like Matusow, Joe Sebok, Phil Ivey… you know, the usual pros. I’d like to see more of people like Steve Dannenman and Paul Wassicka, but part of why I like them is that they are modest.

Have you used any training sites or read any books to help you with your game? If so, which ones?
I’ve read probably too many poker books, I have a whole shelf of them. I’m reading two right now. I’d say “Harrington on Hold’em” and “Power Poker by Daniel Negreanu” were the most influential on me.

I was going through your flickr site and you have some awesome photographs, do you do photography as a hobby or get paid?
Thanks! I love photography, it’s just a hobby for me. I’ve actually made more money playing poker in the last year than I have with my photography. Going out with my camera is a great hobby, it’s peaceful and quiet and helps me get my thoughts straight.

Every photograph tells a story, do you have a particular favorite photograph that you’ve taken?
Hmm. That’s a tough one. I have two that I have framed 18″x24″ prints hanging over my desk. The first is from a marina in Port Townsend, WA. The second is from a playground a few blocks from my apartment. I suppose the red wheel photo is probably my favorite, if I had to pick one out of the thousands I’ve taken.

Have you listened to the Ustream broadcast of the twitter poker tour? What are your thoughts on it?
I did the other day for the first time. It was awesome! I love listening to the live commentary. I kept waiting to get involved in a hand so I could hear it being discussed! I’ll absolutely come back in the future and listen along.

Do you have a favorite hand to play?
I don’t really play it, but Q4 off-suit has won me some serious pots a couple of times. Every time I am dealt it, I want to play, but I take myself too seriously for such shenanigans. Suited connectors are a more serious favorite hand.

What’s your biggest win whether online or live?
I chopped a $60 buy-in tournament at MGM in Vegas for $1000 a few years ago. Online, my biggest score was $340 or so.

Every poker player goes on tilt at one time or another, how do you handle going on tilt?
I am lucky enough that I hardly ever go on serious tilt anymore. When I do, I usually shut down the computer, grab my camera, and run around taking pictures until I feel a little better. The real problem I have is minor tilt that flies under the radar and eats away at me. I don’t know how to fight that, other than to remain vigilant.

Do you play different online then you do live? For some reason live, I play much tighter and am trying to play that way online.
My strategy is the same live or online, but live players play differently (usually a lot more limping and MUCH less three-betting) so I make adjustments to my play to accommodate that. Usually in a live game, I make a point of finding out who is an online player, and plan my strategy accordingly.

Will you be playing the #tpt in the future? Do you have any ideas on how to improve it?
I will continue playing until the hosts get tired of me. I think it’s a great series and I wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe I’d like to see a few other games thrown in the mix, but I am realistic and understand that those events don’t get any participants. Heck, I skip the HORSE game that runs on Fridays…

I know you’ve only played a few #tpt events, but is there any one player that sticks out that you either love to get in a pot with or want to avoid playing pots with?
Sort of. I have notes on most of the regulars, and there are a few opponents who fall into each category. I don’t really gun for anyone, but if I have someone pegged as loose, of course I am trying to trap them, and if I know someone is a rock I’ll usually stay out of their way.

Is online poker rigged for the underdog to give more inexperienced players a reason to keep playing the shit cards they seem to win with consistently?
No, I don’t believe online poker is rigged at all. I’ve seen some really crazy things happen in live poker. Also, why would the sites risk getting caught? They make tens of millions of dollars a month in profits playing fair, so why screw it up?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, any final thoughts or shout outs?
Thanks for the great questions, this was fun. Thanks to cprpoker and the rest of the people running TPT, it’s a super fun tournament and I love seeing it grow. And thanks to anyone who actually stuck around and read this!

Congrats on your 1st place finish in the #tpt event! How were you able to luck box your way to the victory?
I think I played a pretty solid game. Made a few mistakes, but that’s expected. I’m satisfied with how I did. I did have a “Luck Box” moment against LVSparky at the final table. I min raised my QQ, and he pushed me all in. I thought he was trying to steal it, so I called, and he flipped over KK. I was as good as done until the Q came up on the river.

How long have you been playin’ the #tpt?
I started playing this past summer, found out about it while looking for poker people to follow, and decided to see what it was all about. It was a good decision. I have enjoyed playing the TPT. There are some really good players in this tournament, and I’ve enjoyed the variety of personalities, and made a few new friends.

Are you a long time poker player? When did you get your start?
I started with play money on Party Poker in 2003, and stuck with that for a couple years until I was doing good, then moved to real money, and realized it’s a completely different game when there is real money on the line. I read some forums, and started watching how other people played, and started picking up the proper way to do things. After losing a good bit of money, I finally moved up to a break even player, and continued to play and learn.

I’ve only considered myself to be playing seriously for the last two years, so I know I still have tons to learn. At least I’ve gotten to the point where I’m making a little money. Just this past summer, I finally passed all I ever lost, so I’m in the positive.

Is NLHE your only game or do you branch out?
The games I play most often are No Limit, and Limit Hold ‘Em. The strategy in each of these is quite different, and I enjoy playing both of them. I’ve been toying with some Pot Limit Omaha, but not much, it just doesn’t keep my interest for long.

How important is learning other poker games?
I would say that depends on the player, some people may be able to gain something by playing different flavors of poker, while others, may just benefit from focusing all their attention on one or two.

Have you used any training sites or read any books to help you become a better player? If so what?
I did read through the little green book by Phil Gordon. I don’t remember much from it, I read that when I first started playing for real money. Otherwise, I’ve learned everything from experience.

Do you play live? Prefer live or online?
I definitely prefer live play. There are so many tells you can pick up on in a live game, and it becomes even more of playing the person instead of the cards. I always seem to do much better at live games. I try to head to the nearest casino any time I can, or get involved in one of the local club games.

Cash/MTT/SNG? Which do you prefer and why?
I mainly play cash games. I have a busy life, with two kids, and a very hectic on-call work schedule, so playing cash games online works best for me. I can come and go as I need.

I’m trying to get involved with more MTTs, since I’m building my skill level up, and doing pretty decent at times. I just make the mistake of getting into some at the wrong time, and end up not being able to give my full attention to it.

As for SNG, I’ve had some fun playing the double or nothing turbos on Stars.

Your twitter name is “BWolfPoker”, your FTP ID is “avediswolf”, I’m guessing you like wolves, were you raised by wolves?
I was born in the back woods amongst a pack of wolves. Seriously, though, it’s my last name. The Avedis part comes from my drumming roots, Avedis Zildjian was the first generation cymbalsmith who started the Zildjian Cymbal Corporation in 1623.

Your twitter bio says you’re a drummer, are you in a band or do you just bam bam your way around the house?
At this time, I’m not in any formal band. I just get behind the set whenever I have a few minutes, pop on the headphones and jam. It’s a great way to relieve stress as well.

And you are an apple geek, what kind of apples? Red/Green?
I would say mostly red, slightly green. A Macintosh. The Apple geek comes from my technical side, I love all things Apple, such as my MacBook, and my iPhone. I’m proud to say I don’t do windows.

What’s your biggest win in poker?
Since I’ve only recently began playing MTTs, I don’t have any awesome stories yet. One time, though that really sticks out in my mind as the biggest win was the first time I played live at the casino. I was at Wheeling Island in West Virginia, started playing some $1/$2 NLHE, and caught on to reading people, and was running hot. In a couple hours I had ended up doubling up twice.

What hobbies do you have when you’re not playing poker?
I play drums, and I like to go geocaching quite a bit. If unfamiliar with geocaching, it an activity involving using a GPS to find things, kind of like a scavenger hunt. I love hiking in the hills, and geocaching takes me to quite a few interesting places.

I am beginning to hate playing poker online because of the horrendous bad beats and the seemingly ineptness of the other players, do you think online poker is rigged in anyway?
Not at all. I think most people see more bad beats and such because they are playing a greater number of hands due to the speed of online poker. Then take into account the stakes one plays at, at the lower stakes, you’ll have more people stay in a pot only to donk out, it’s easy for a new player to justify calling a $10 all in on a flush draw.

I think the online poker rooms make too much to risk it, because if word ever got out, they’d be hurting.

Is poker a game of skill or just dumb luck?
I believe from personal experience that it a mixture of both. It leans heavily to the skill side, but that luck factor is still there at times. I would have to say it is 80% skill, and 20% luck.

If it was 100% luck, I doubt there would be many doing it professionally, and the income level would be determined by a coin flip, but if it was 100% skill, I guarantee we’d have a different WSOP Main Event champion.

As for poker regulation, it should be deemed as a game of skill, as the majority of winnings comes from the decisions one makes with their cards. The person holding the best hand doesn’t always win. Reading other players, Well timed bluffs, and knowing how to play that monster hand are skills one needs to have to win consistently.

Do you have a favorite pro?
I have a great deal of respect for anyone who plays this game as a professional, but of them all I think my favorite is Daniel Negreanu. He always seems to have such a good attitude.

Would you play poker for a living or is that something you want to do?
I really love the game of poker, and I love having a good session, and I’d like to keep it where I continually enjoy the game. If I did it professionally, I believe it would become tedious, and feel like work, so I’m not driven in that direction.

Sure, I’d love to make enough when I could quit my day job, but I don’t want to have to ever be at the point when I “have” to play to make sure my family is taken care of.

I really like the #tpt as it feels like a home game, playing with the same players over a period a time, do you have any thoughts on how to improve the #tpt or do you like it the way it is?
The TPT is a ton of fun in it’s current form. I’ve met, and played with a bunch of great people. I like it the way it’s set up. I enjoy the leader boards and such. I think the powers that be are doing a great job.

Only thing I would change would be to move it to Stars. FTP is ugly, and their Mac programmers aren’t very good at weeding out bugs.

Will you join me and others and ALWAYS raise KingSteve7′s (KingSteve) blinds?
I’m confused, I thought we were supposed to always raise Street3‘s blinds.

Any thoughts or shout outs? Otherwise this interview is over!
Um, Hi Mom! Hi Crystal!

OK, I’m done, I really could use a beer or two.

The expletives and finger pointing started up after Street3 dropped out of last week’s event. His flopped trip jacks were no match for his opponent’s flopped straight and he let everyone know what he thought of that situation. Players and the TPT President attempted to calm him down, but a half liquored up Street3 was having none of it. That is when the threat occurred and security was called in to resolve the situation.

Speaking at a hastily convened 7:45pm EST news conference, Twitter Poker Tour Press Spokesperson, The_Gov, stated

Street3 is an exciting player and has a lot of potential on this tour. But in no way should an official, player, or bystander of the Twitter Poker Tour ever feel physically or emotionally threatened. His behavior is inexcusable and we have fined him the maximum amount at this time.

I will not be answering any questions from the press at this time. Thank you.

Street3 could not be reached for comment at this time.

• The featured story is on Steve “Poker Reverend” Hall and the melding of poker and religion.
• A two page spread on Week One’s Tour winner, MNFulltilt and Week Two’s Tour winner, Cuzzinlaw. Congratulations are in order to both winners.
• The expert’s unanimous pick of “Worst Poker Player of the Tour” is given to Street3.
• The story of Grifter Jim’s return from self-imposed exile. He envisions a return to the poker tables soon, and possibly at the TPT.
• Finally, the last storyline revolves around the TPT’s discussion with some poker professionals. Will they join up and play in any tour events? We hope so…

The tour is heating up and Week 3 is only a few days away. Here is the pertinent information you need to know so you can join up and play.

Poker Site: Full Tilt Poker
Tournament Name: Twitter BiCentennial Open
Buyin: $5 + $.50
Game: Holdem
Limit: No Limit
Password: street3
Date: 11/13/08
Time: 9:00 PM Eastern
Directions: In Full Tilt Poker, click Tournaments, then the Private Tab. Scroll down to Nov 6 21:00 and find the tournament. Click and register.
Bonus: $5 on MNFulltilt

Remember, if you have any questions relating to the tour, there are a few ways to you can get the answers.

• Contact the tour directly.
• Pose a question to thetpt.
• Use the the hashtag, #tpt on twitter, and the loyal following will answer your question.
• Finally, depending on the which week the tour is playing at, you can contact that week’s tournament director. At Full Tilt Poker, contact PokerPlasm or at Poker Stars, contact CompletePokerRules.

Do you want in? Of course you do! Sign up occurs at TPT:Poker Stars Central Command. You still have plenty of time to register. The event begins at 9pm EST.

There are many sub-plots being played out in this event. We will go over what we know and keep you updated.

• A $5 bounty has been placed on Geoff “geoffm33″ Manning. Who wants it?
• Can MNFulltilt repeat last week’s tournament win?
• Voting for “Who Will Donk Out First?” is still ongoing! Get out the vote and be heard. At time of publishing, Street3, the human donk machine, was leading all candidates.
• The Jester has been disqualified for unsuitable behaviour and has been escorted to the airport. He will be on the first flight back to the UK.
• Reliable sources are reporting that Grundy will not be present due to problems with the law, which he has blamed on his wife. A sad state of affairs there.
• Jimbl has been asked to leave his pets at home and not bring them to the table

Please join us tonight and help the Twitter Poker Tour continue to grow. For twitter search fanatics, the hash tag #tpt is being used on twitter for updates and trash talking. The latest talk can be viewed here.

• Six players started the tournament. But only five were in this specific hand.
• Blinds were at 2/4.
• Starting chips were set around 150.
• The hand was around the eighth hand dealt.
• The chip leader had around 250 chips, Zonetrap and three others had around 150-175 chips, and one player, Mr. BC, had 50 chips.

Now that the history has been established, let’s discuss the hand. Zonetrap was sitting to the left of the big blind, and was dealt his two cards. He did not look at them and raised 10 chips blind (14 chips total). The dealer, Mr. BC, is the only one that called the raise, and asked Zonetrap why he hadn’t looked at his cards. Zonetrap stated he can play his hand as he likes.

The flop comes Nine, Eight, Four, rainbow. Zonetrap checked his hand, and pleasantly discovered he was holding Queen, Queen. He checked, and Mr. BC pushed all in for around 35 chips. Zonetrap immediately called and flipped over his pocket queens. Mr. Brad was irate and flipped over Jack, Three suited. The turn and river do not help him, and Zonetrap won the hand.

Mr. Brad was angry and stated that was a bush league play.

Tell us what you think and if you like, make a comment.

Let’s say you entered a nine player sit n’ go tournament. It is no limit holdem (turbo’d up) and the top three spots pay. You are still playing, with a total of four players left. The leader has more than double on any one player, the other three players having around 3,000-4,000 in chips. The blinds are 250-500, so the event is moving quickly, and someone is going to be left out of the money.

How are you playing in this situation, knowing that the top three spots pay?

I just flipped through it rather quickly, but here are the main points I picked up.

• Steven “Grundy” Murphy really put his foot in his mouth this time. His Who Killed Poker Chat? piece has the poker masses very upset. What is this guy thinking?
• The editorial by BizarroGrundy is spot on. A fresh take on poker in my opinion.
• Street3 is back in jail…no surprises there.
• Nothing about The Jester, thankfully.
• A fantastic hand analysis article by Complete Poker Rules, called Villain in Early Position with AA! Vote today!
• And finally, The HoneyDipper Invitational is gaining momentum. This tournament is going to be huge. Even the twitter community is jumping through hoops to register!

Pick up your copy today and enjoy one of the most popular magazines on this side of the Pecos. And remember, even Wikipedia has defined it

Presented by Smarties Candy and Milwaukee’s Best Light

The Weekly Poker Game, aka the Twitter Weekly Poker Event, has been revived and will be played every Thursday…for forever. You say Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday? I don’t care, you better be on Full Tilt Poker playing cards with us. No excuses, you have to play every Thursday. Check out the Death Clock to find out when your last tournament will be, so we can pencil in other people.

In commemoration of his birthday, as well as, being an Okie honeydipper truck driver, who talks a lot of crap on twitter, a bounty of $5 has been placed on Street 3 (Full Tilt Poker ID). That is right, $5! You take out Street 3 (on the poker table only), and 5 big ones will be transferred to you immediately.

Remember, this is a non-BizarroGrundy sanctioned event.

Poker Site: Full Tilt Poker
Tournament Name: HoneyDipper Invitational
Buyin: $5 + $.50
Game: Holdem
Limit: No Limit
Password: smarties
Date: 10/30/08
Time: 8:30 PM Eastern
Directions: In Full Tilt Poker, click Tournaments, then the Private Tab. Scroll down to Oct 30 20:30 and find the tournament. Click and register.
Bonus: $5 Bounty on Street 3!

Keep tabs on the Weekly Twitter Poker Event through this link! Everyone is talking about it.