Johnny Joe's is Back

JJ's is playing again! Playing one deep stack tourney at 8 on M, T and W and Saturdays at 1.

Two Burn Cards Before the Flop

This entry is courtesy of Pokorology.com...

Two Burn Cards Before the Flop

The Scenario

During the deal a card is exposed and is swapped for the top card, and the exposed card becomes the first burn card. The hand continues, and after the flop, turn and river, where betting action occurred, one player realizes that there were two burn cards before the flop and not one. The dealer had placed the first burn card (original exposed card) face down on the table and burned another card on top, before doing the flop. This changed the sequence of the cards. One of the players complains and says “this hand should be dead”. What is the ruling?



Kelli’s Ruling

The board cards stand in this situation since action has occurred. Here is the passage from Robert’s Rules of Poker section 5.6 that addresses this exact situation:
“If the dealer fails to burn a card or burns more than one card, the error should be corrected if discovered before betting action has started for that round. Once action has been taken on a board card by any player, the card must stand. Whether the error is able to be corrected or not, subsequent cards dealt should be those that would have come if no error had occurred.”
Kelli Mix is a poker player and author of the ‘Game Day Poker Almanac - Official Rules of Poker’. Kelli is from Georgia, and is the state director for the Poker Players Alliance.

ItsPokerNight.com

Rob, a loyal player at the Fieldhouse in Etters has started ItsPokerNight.com. It is still under constuction but I invite all to check it out and support him!

No Poker Monday 6/22

Due to Quality Inn staffing problems, NO poker tonight, Monday 6/22 at the Polo Lounge in Carlisle.

Sorry folks.

However, we will be hosting tonight in Etters at the Fieldhouse 8 & 10 p.m.

Free to play and there are prize$

Hope to see you there!

Fieldhouse SUNDAYS!

Starting this Sunday and all Sundays there after till NFL, we will be playing Free Texas Hold Em' 4:30 and 6:30... Same format as Monday nights and points will be included for both days for MegaTourney!

Remember, poker is now downstairs in the pub!

SEE YOU THERE!

Monday, Memorial Day

YES... the game on Memorial Day at the FieldHouse is on... 8 & 10... Free Roll Texas Hold 'Em

Quality Inn Fridays

Don't forget... tonight and every Friday and Monday at Quality Inn... Free Roll Texas Hold Em' 7:30 and 9:30!

Fieldhouse Tournament

Sorry this is late notice folks, but the points have finally been done and looking forward to seeing these 40 people tonight at 9 for the big tourney!

Steve Wagner 682
Bob Thomas 456
Lori Bateman 418
Levi Wiederstein 352
Jason Reigle 350
Craig Fox 334
Rob Richard 330
Steve Wentzel 306
Rick Bateman 301
Evil Dick 256
Greg Teter 211
Chad Rotherock 210
Jon Sheely 206
Linda Fasnacht 204
Dan Sopp 197
Steve Bradley 186
Daryl Gutshall 184
Brad L. 176
Jim Benson 170
Andy Bell 168
Josh Ebur 164
Janice Evans 158
Daniel Branoff 149
Bridget Bell 146
Dave Mull 144
Mike Riordan 144
Nick Lee 136
Matt Vassar 128
Justin Casner 110
Rich Gary 104
Bob Wertz 104
Mike Limbacher 102
Bill Bruce 98
Glen Cruz 94
James Burke 84
Jeremiah Spelas 80
Lisa Hawkins 74
Larry Wright 72
Denny Mikos 71
John Elliot 68

Quality Inn now on Mondays and Fridays

Starting this Monday (4/20) we are expanding the play at the Quality Inn to also include Monday nights. So come on out every Friday and Monday for two games: 7:30 & 9:30!

See You Tonight!

Freeroll Friday at the Quality Inn

Starting tonight, and every Friday night, we will be hosting free-roll Texas HoldEm poker at the Quality Inn in Carlisle at 7:30 & 9:30. It will be the same set-up for those familiar with Johnny Joe's and the Field House.

Prizes awarded to winner.

Quality Inn (click for map)
1255 Harrisburg Pike
CARLISLE, PA, US 17013

Directions: 81 to New Kingston Exit (Carlise Pike by the truck stops), follow exit ramp signs to Quality Inn. We are playing in the Polo Lounge.

This pub is smoking friendly.

See you there!

Johnny Joe's and Other Places to Play

As most of you know, Johnny Joe's in under construction and our free-rolls there are suspended for an unknown legnth of time.

However, the last two weeks I have never received so many calls and texts from our poker community asking where to play throughout the week... So here is a list of where I have been playing...

Mondays: Our game at the Field House in Etters (8 & 10)
Tuesdays: Coliseum at 8 or Nicks at 10
Wednesdays: Coliseum at 8 or the Moose in Steelton (7:30 & 9:30)
Thursdays: Nicks at 10
Fridays: Our game at the Quality Inn... 7:30 & 9:30
Saturdays: Mr. G's, not sure what time
Sundays: Mr. G's (multiple games starting at 2), Angies at 4 and 6:30 (next sunday at Moose in Steelton), Stadium Club at 6, Brewhouse at 9:30, there is a night game at Mr. G's on the Waterfront but not sure what time...

There is the list that i stick too... feel free to leave a comment in the comment section to add more!

Field House Points Now Updated

Field House Texas Hold'em pointlist is now updated as of 3/16/09.

Will know soon on date for Main Event.

Ben Affleck Did a Good Thing

I am not a big Ben Affleck fan, but he did a super cool thing, and he does play poker, so he must be a pretty good guy! This story is from Las Vegas Weekly (via Vegas Deluxe):

Actor Ben Affleck has arrived in Las Vegas to fulfill a wish for a terminally ill young man.

Ben checked into a celebrity suite at the Fantasy Tower of George Maloof's Palms. He arrived in time last night to host a dinner party for 15 people in the N9NE Steakhouse there. Other guests dining in the hot celebrity restaurant learned that Ben was in Sin City to fulfill a heart-wrenching celebrity request.

Medical experts had told a young man that he would not likely live long past age 18. His wish was that if he made it to his 21st birthday that he wanted to fly to Vegas and gamble with Ben Affleck. The actor agreed three years ago to grant the wish -- and the dream coming true helped keep the unidentified teenager alive!

Jenna Morton, wife of N9NE owner Peter Morton, who was dining in the restaurant last night, heard the incredible story and sent over complimentary desserts for the 15 people. Ben then took the young man to play blackjack and roll the dice at craps.

No word as to any winnings! Ben, with Amstel Light in hand, then led the group up to The Playboy Club atop the Fantasy Tower, where they won a dance floor VIP table and continued partying there early this morning.

Photographers were requested not to take photos of the young man and the group in order to protect and respect his privacy. Vegas Deluxe has been unable to learn how long Ben and the young man are staying at the Palms on his gaming debut weekend.

Field House Points Now Updated

The latest poker standings for the Field House in Etters has been updated. Click here to view the full list:

1 Steve Wagner 210
2 Lori Bateman 180
3 Daryl Gutshall 168
4 Greg Teter 160
5 Bob Thomas 154
6 Josh Ebur 154
7 Rob Richard 132
8 Chad Rotherock 118
9 Andy Bell 118
10 Dave Mull 110

Big Tourny at the Borgata

I know how many of us hit Atlantic City so often, I thought this was noteworthy.

From Bluff Magazine:

Tab Duchateau and the brains behind the Borgata Hotel and Casino Poker Room continue to deliver great value to the players on the East Coast. The Atlantic City resort announced this week yet another $500,000 Guaranteed Deep Stack tournament.

The $1,650 buy-in event will run March 21 - 24 and will include two starting days. Players will start with 30,000 in chips each. In an effort to put as many players as possible into the tournament the Borgata is also hosting a number of qualifying events with buy-ins ranging from $200 to $380.

* Friday, March 6 at 11AM ($165 + $35)
* Sunday, March 8 at 11AM ($165 + $35)
* Sunday, March 15 at 11AM ($330 + $50)
* Friday, March 20 at 4PM ($330 + $50)

In the first two qualifiers one in every 10 players will qualify for the $500,000 Guaranteed Tournament and the final two will award one seat for every five players. For more information visit www.theborgata.com.

Team Poker: A Twist on Tournaments

I am getting this from our friends at the great poker blog, The Poker Prof.

Interesting twist on Texas Hold'em tournaments, Team poker, sounds like fun and am wondering if we could implement something like this for our quarterly tournaments at Johnny Joe's and the Field House:

The second annual Dream Team Poker Event takes place at Caesars Palace from March 27-29.

Unlike last year's event, the $500+50 tourney has now been opened to all, with an opportunity to go up against poker celebrities and professionals.

An expected 100 teams composed of 300 players will be vying for a $150,000 prize pool.

The tournament is patent-pendingly unique in that players compete individually while also receiving scores as part of a team (teams will be given customized jerseys to wear). Players then compete for both individual as well as team prizes.

To register and for more information, visit Dream Team Poker.

Top Ten Hold’em Starting Hands

There was a debate last night at the Field House of Etters about the best pre-flop hands, here is basically the answer, it can be argued if A-K is higher than Q-Q, however, mathematically it is not... Here is an article from OnlinePoker.com

When beginner Texas Hold’em players first pick up the game, there’s a tendency to want to over value hands and to call big raises with mediocre starting cards. The common mistake is believing that having a Ace with any kicker is something worth holding on to, or thinking that any suited cards (two hearts, two spades, etc) will more often than not lead to a flush. Until you learn the more intricate math and theory behind Hold’em, you would be wise to adhere to a system followed by many intermediate and even some professional poker players. That system involves playing only the top ten starting hands. Now just how aggressively or conservatively you should play the top ten hands depends on where in the list the particular hand ranks.

Here are the Top Ten Texas Hold’em Starting Hands:

1. AA
2. KK
3. QQ
4. AK
5. JJ
6. 10-10
7. 9-9
8. 8-8
9. AQ
10. 7-7

Now there is some debate as to order of these hands, and yes it is true that any pocket pair has a slight mathematical edge over any Ace-X hand, but hands like AK rank higher overall because they carry a higher potential for success on the flop, turn and river.

Stick with the top ten hands during the early stages of your poker development and you will find yourself winning more when it counts and losing less overall. Then as your skill grows, you can start to add a wider range of hands to your repertoire.

No Snow Here! JJ's is on!

Late notice, but I have received phone calls, a few of them despite being in New York, Brandon will only bite if you call him! ;)

YES, Johnny Joe's is playing poker despite the weather on Wednesday (today) 1/28!

Good Luck!

Johnny Joe's Will Have Poker on Mondays

There was some talk about JJ's not having poker on Mondays, but that rumor is officially squashed!

THERE IS POKER AT JOHNNY JOE'S TONIGHT
AND EVERY MONDAY!

The lineup is as follows:

Mon-Thurs: 8 & 10
Sat-Sun: 1 & 3:30
(No Friday Poker)

And remember, there is poker at the Field House in Etters on Monday at 8 & 10 as well, and Brandon and I run that game as well!

See you all tonight!

PA Judge Rules Poker Game of Skill

Three cheers for once to Pennsylvania! I have been rough on the state and local government, but finally, we have a judge that knows the game we all love!

Poker hero of the Year: Judge Thomas Jones

“The Court finds that Texas hold’em poker is a game where skill predominates over chance. Thus, is it not ‘unlawful gambling’ under the Pennsylvania Code.”

Article found through Poker Players Alliance via CardPlayer.com:

A Pennsylvania judge has dismissed a case against a resident who ran a small-stakes poker game out of his garage on the basis that poker is a game of skill and can’t be governed under the Commonwealth’s gambling laws.

Columbia County Judge Thomas James couldn’t be clearer in the last paragraph summing up his ruling: “The Court finds that Texas hold’em poker is a game where skill predominates over chance. Thus, is it not ‘unlawful gambling’ under the Pennsylvania Code.”

The ruling only covers the judge’s jurisdiction, which is Columbia and Montour counties, located north-East Pennsylvania.

The Commonwealth charged two people with unlawful gambling for hosting a $1-$2 no-limit game in their garage. No rake was charged, but players were encouraged to tip the dealer. State police got wind of the game and sent an undercover officer to it around 20 different times to investigate, and charges were filed.

Pennsylvania’s laws governing gambling specifically define gambling games as games that rely predominantly on chance.

Pete Campana, the attorney representing the two defendants and a life-long poker player, knows that poker is not a game of chance.

“I’ve seen poker players of all calibers; there’s no question in my mind that skill controls poker more than luck of the draw,” he said.

Campana referenced a wide-range of texts, including “Caro’s Secrets of Winning Poker,” and noted that there are more than 600 books on improving poker play. The entire ruling can be found on the Poker Player Alliance’s webpage.

“The judge in this case issued a well-researched and reasoned decision which supports arguments the PPA and others have made about poker being a game of predominant skill,” said John Pappas, executive director for the PPA. “The decision does not have legal precedent outside the two rural counties in Pennsylvania, however, it is a significant victory in the overall battle to demonstrate that poker is not pure chance gambling. The PPA hopes to leverage this win in other trials in other states where we have an opportunity to argue the skill of poker.”

Campana does believe that the ruling may force legislators to either expand Pennsylvania’s unlawful gambling law to include poker or change the law to regulate the game of skill.

You can read the complete and official ruling from Judge James at Poker Players Alliance!

This ruling is also important because the fight has started in our state congress to allow gaming tables (Poker, BlackJack, Craps... etc...) to our casino's in Pennsylvania! Thanks Again Judge James!

Pot Odds

You here it all the time in the freerolls... "Well, I had pot odds so I had to call", but I do not think most people understand this...

Here is an excerpt from Mike Caro's article, Todays Word Is... Odds, found here:

Question 139: You say the importance of poker odds is overestimated. But
aren’t you the guy who’s spent a good share of his life calculating those odds?

I’m that guy. In the 1970s, I calculated lots of poker odds, and I’ve been doing
so ever since. When Doyle Brunson’s Super/System—A Course in Power Poker was
published in 1978, I contributed 50 statistical table covering various forms of
poker. Up until then, no truly comprehensive set of poker odds was available—at
least none that I’ve ever seen. Poker books in those days were basically
homespun wisdom, and the math included was frequently wrong and not very
encompassing.

Hopefully, I corrected that shortcoming. But I did something more than
that—something worse. I became obsessed with poker odds and with calculating new
ones. You don’t need to share this obsession to play excellent poker. In fact,
you don’t need to calculate odds at all, because mine and other sets of
excellent statistics are easy to come by. You can even memorize them, if you
want. But you don’t need to. You’d be surprised how small your extra edge is
after you’ve memorized the exact odds.

What mostly sets great poker players apart from ordinary ones is an
understanding of opponents and a good feel for what decisions to make at the
moment. Sure, you need to know approximately what your chances are—and the
closer you come to the exact number, the better you’ll fare. But the difference
between knowing approximately and knowing exactly is small in terms of profit.

Question 140: Are there any poker odds that are important enough to memorize?

Yes. Those are usually ones that come up repeatedly in your game. In hold ’em,
you’ll average a starting pair once in 17 hands. If you begin with a pair, on
average you’ll flop at least one more of that rank twice in 17 hands. A pair of
aces shows up once in 221 deals, on average. That gives you good perspective and
teaches you patience.

Those are the kind of statistics that it’s good to know. But even if you don’t,
you’ll still probably make money, as long as you have a good understanding of
situational and psychological poker, seek out weaker opponents, and play a
disciplined game.

Question 141: How do you use pot odds?

You count the chips in the pot and measure them against what it will cost you to
call or bet. Then you equate that to the chances of your hand winning. For
instance, if there’s one card to come in hold’em and you’re trying for an
unbeatable flush, you’ll figure that there are six cards you know about (two in
your hand and four on the board). Of these, four cards of your suit are
accounted for. Among the 46 unknown cards are nine remaining members of your
suit. Divide 46 by 9 and you see that you’ll connect once in 5.1 times, so the
odds are a bit more than 4-to-1 against you. If the pot is more than four times
as large as your bet, you’re getting an overlay. If it’s less, you aren’t.
Unfortunately, it isn’t quite that simple.

Question 142: Are pot odds always a good measurement when deciding what to
do?

No. I just said it wasn’t quite that simple. You need to factor in the amount of
additional money you might win or lose from that point on. Many experts call
this “implied odds”—and I think David Sklansky was the first to coin that term.
If not, I’m giving him credit anyway, because he’s contributed vastly to poker
theory and understanding.

Fieldhouse in Etters

Starting today and on all Mondays, Brandon and I are pleased to announce we will be hosting Poker at the Fieldhouse in Etters.

The Fieldhouse was formally Kokomo's and KClinger's Tavern, and the directions you can find here.

The setup will be two games of no limit Texas Hold-Em, 8 & 10 p.m. every Monday night and it will be setup the same as Johnny Joe's, with chip stacks starting at 400 and blinds start at 5/10. There will be a bonus Food chip awarded as well for those who eat.

Come on down and help us break the game in right!

3-Way Split in Tourney

There was a three man split in yesterdays Johnny Joe's big Winter Tournament!

Congrats to Brad L, Seth and 'Crazy' Dave for winning the big tournament, all three agreed to split the prize money equally!

Thanks to JJ's and Brandon for another great tourny, good luck all in the next 'season'!

from left to right: Seth (thanks for doing outstanding with my chips, Brad L (far right) and Crazy Dave! Good Job!

Jennifer Tilly Turns 50

Jennifer Tilly, one of the hottest poker players around turns 50 today. She looks outstanding at any age, let alone 50...

Happy Birthday Jennifer

picture from peacegames.org

Jonny Joe's Big Winter Tournament Today

The big winter Tourny for Johnny Joe's will be today, Sunday, 1/18, at 3:30

Updated pointlist, click here.

The top 40 point leaders are invited to play, reminder, no 1 o'clock game today...

(Remember no poker Fridays any more at Johnny Joe's)

Good Luck All!

No Poker at JJ's on Friday

Effective immediately, Johnny Joe's will no longer be hosting poker on Friday nights. However the remaining six days will still be the same; Mon-Thurs will still be at 8 & 10 p.m. and Sat and Sun at 1 & 3:30.

Management is opting for a DJ dance party for Fridays instead. grrrrr!

Johnny Joe's Wedding

As of the last hour or so, I am pleased to announce and congratulate my good friend Andre and his now wife, Kristy...

I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Andre Woods!

Do Poker Dealers Make Good Poker Players?

With all the new young guys playing regularly at Johnny Joe's and two of them being dealers at the Borgata, i had to chuckle at this article from OnlinePoker.com:

"Do Poker Dealers Make Good Poker Players?

I have always wondered why most poker dealers are poor poker players. Nothing seems to make a game better than a dealer who just finished working and then hops into the game. I don’t know if it is because they are tired from work but they always seem to play poorly and immediately start to gamble it up. You would think that a dealer would become a better player simply by watching all that poker while working. They certainly should become better at reading hands from seeing a couple hundred hands a day. Dealers could also imitate things that the winning players do and incorporate it into there own games.

So why do most dealers play poorly? Maybe they see 2 3 off-suit crack aces for a big pot and they figure they can do it too. If approximately 90 percent of poker players are losing players, then your average poker dealer is watching primarily poor play and then do it themselves. It seems that most dealers know how to play good poker but choose not too most of the time. They seem to want to blow off steam and “gamble with the boys” instead of playing good, fundamentally sound poker. Maybe that’s the reason they are dealing in the first place; because they couldn’t make it playing and are now trying to rebuild their bankroll by dealing.

On the other hand, there is a long list of successful professional poker players that started out dealing poker. Mike Matusow, Johnny Chan, Scott Fischman, Ted Forrest, and Scotty Nguyen top the list of dealers that have had success on the other side of the table. Most of them attribute their good card reading sense to the countless hours they spent in the box dealing cards. I think anyone who spends 40 hours a week watching poker should quickly become an expert at reading hands. A dealer should certainly be aware of the pitfalls of playing professional poker such as playing out of your bankroll, gambling in the pit, and going on tilt. They see it ruin poker players every day!

I think that any poker dealer who wants to become a good poker player certainly has the opportunity to become one. It comes down to deciding to play your best game all the time and having the discipline to play good solid poker. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more dealers make it “big” and reach professional status as a result of the poker boom. There are certainly more people dealing poker at casinos around the country than ever before and just on strictly a numbers basis, some of them will climb to the top of the poker ladder."