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.