The Montesino Casino was witness to a record-breaking poker event as the inaugural World Poker Tour (WPT) Vienna came to town last week and concluded over the weekend after seeing 555 players take their seats.

The participation set a record for a a European WPT event and forced the organization of two opening days. The buy-in was a hefty €3,500 (around $5,000). The event also made history by being host tournament to the first WPT final table to feature live streaming with hole cards on a 30 minute delay.

Dmitry Gromov

Dmitry Gromov from Russia went into the final table as chip leader. Known for winning the $5,000 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza Main Event last July, Gromov’s demolition skills did not wait long in the wings as he sent local boy Markus Jenisch to the rail with a set of 9s. Jenisch filed his biggest win to date with over €36,000 for 8th place, his best result to date had been a €6,000-cash in the Greek Poker Tour stop also in Vienna, in September of last year.

Gromov went on to end Alessio Isaia’s entertaining appearance at the final table – dressing as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of Vienna’s most famous residents. Isaia is still in the running for a shot at the Bluff Player Of The Year title, with a WPT final table position doing him no harm.

Fellow Russian Maxim Kolosov began to help himself to his countryman’s chips when it started to appear that Gromov was unbeatable – he had amassed well over half the chips remaining in play. Kolosov removed the Romanian Valentin Stroiescu and left the door open for Gromov to set the heads-up by saying goodnight to both Italian Full Tilt Poker pro Mario Adinolfi and Dane Simon Ravnsbaek.

In amazingly stark contrast to the marathon heads-up drawn out to eight-hours long at the WPT Venice, the Vienna equivalent lasted only a few hands. Kelosov, eager to strike an early double-up, left himself vulnerable, moving in against the A10 of Gromov with only 88 and having to sit through an even weaker board.

Gromov took the hand, the first WPT Vienna title, a seat worth $25,000 at the WPT World Championship in May and a healthy wad of €447,840 ($631,000) back to his bank manager. Kolosov had to be content with €241,180 but couldn’t match his partner, Natalya Nikitina’s, achievement of becoming a European WPT winner in Europe.

The next stop on the WPT is in Bratislava, Slovakia for their €2,500 Main Event at the Golden Vegas casino fromn 30^th March 30 through 3^rd April. The WPT hits U.S. Shores again on 9^th April to set up camp at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

Tim West

Tim West, a player known for his online success, has taken down the 2011 Wynn Classic Championship that was held in Las Vegas last week.

The final table at the  2011 Wynn Classic kept up the tradition of seating a number of big-name stars and, even though it’s not a televised event, competed with recent climaxes in the international circuits such as the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour.

212 participants paid the $5,000 buy-for a Main Event place and generated a prize pool of $1,028,200.. The final table included a majority showing  of online poker players such as Eric Froehlich, Carter King, Matt Waxman, Annette Obrestad, and Tim West.

West and Obrestad edged out the rest of the field and the other finalists to set up a complex heads-up that followed a long and windy path. The pair took the tournament into a home straight that looked like it might hit the morning sun before West hit two pairs while waiting on a flush draw and scooped up the $318,738 top prize. Obrestad took home $215,922 – her biggest win since turning 21 last spring.

Other top players who got in the money include: Phil Hellmuth, who finished in 19th place, Billy Kopp, who left the tables in 12th and Men “The Master” Nguyen whose run ended just short of the final table when he was eliminated in 11th place.

Obrestad’s leading man, Scott Montgomery won the $1,560 preliminary event worth over $47,000 and placed third in a $1,000 event as well for another $16,000. Chad Brown grabbed a win in one of the two $2,000 buy-in preliminary events to pocket $73,088.

Tara Rice - Stud Poker Player

Variety might well be the spice of life (maybe not married life) so take a look at some of the other games out there in the big bad world of Poker, and Five Card Stud is a great place to start. The grand old man of poker originated during the American Civil War, and it’s still a pleasure to play (even if you’re not tired of Texas Holdem Poker). Although it’s nowhere near as popular as Hold’Em which is clear from its conspicuous absence from the World Series of Poker it’s still a great game. Oddly enough this game tends to be more popular over in Europe, for some reason it’s a popular game in Finland where a variant called Sökö can often be found being played (quite possibly in saunas).

The basics first off; the round begins with each player being dealt one card (face down), followed by one card (face up). If the game is being played with a bring-in, the player with the lowest-ranking visible card must pay the bring in, before betting proceeds from his action.  After the first betting round, played like any normal poker round, a second face-up card is dealt to each player  (you know have 2 cards face up and 1 face down). Betting begins again with the player who has the best poker hand (on his two up cards). This second round of betting is followed by another (third) upcard to each player and a third betting round. In subsequent rounds the player who has to open the round changes to whoever now has the best hand (based on his upcards). Finally, a fourth face-up card and fourth betting round, and now you (and everyone else) has five cards one face down, four face up. Therefore you can have a really good idea what someone might have, yet still is agonizingly illusive. Then you have a showdown, it’s not usually necessary as most 5 Card Stud games end before the showdown as players tend to fold earlier on.

On the pro side it’s a much faster game than most poker variants as so few games go down to a showdown, playing stud online you can manage dozens of hands an hour, if you find a decent site. This rapid turn means that you can wait for quality starting hands, and when you don’t get them there’s not that long to wait for the next hand. The next big plus is that it’s a simple game to learn and you don’t have a chance to get confused with communal cards, or excessive rules. Finally it’ a game where a little skill goes along way, so you can make plenty of cash if you find yourself at a table with people who are more used to Hold ‘Em.

The best way to play Five Card Stud is to have quite a quiet strategy, remember that Five Card Stud is mostly a game of HIGH CARDS and PAIRS. I wouldn’t recommend starting with anything less than a pair or at least one lively card. As a general rule; don’t go chasing straights and flushes, also Aces in the hole are never as cool as they sound. Fold if you’ve not made at least a pair in your first three cards and (almost) always fold if you’re beat on the board (the board rarely lies). As you’ve only got one down card, it’s a lot easier than most poker games to work out opponents’ hands. Pay close attention to how they each play.

Sometimes a change is as good as rest – poker should be as varied as life.

The new Caesars Palace Winter Poker Classic Tournament is a series of 27 events that will take place from 17 January through 4 February in the famous casino’s Poker Room.

Buy-ins for the events will begin from an economical $120 and steadily rise to $550 for the No Limit Hold’em Championship event which will commence on 3 February. There are two special events in the new series: the Oklahoma Johnny Hale Seniors Event on 29 January which will send its winner to 2011 World Series of Poker Seniors Championship Event as well as please him or her with a large cash prize; and, the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship – a $230 buy-in tournament that is open to everyone in a traditional multi-table tournament for its first day but will convert to a play-off heads-up freezeout format once the number of players left in the competition reaches 16. The overall winner will receive a $20,000 seat for the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in March; essentially the opportunity to play on national television against poker’s biggest names for a look in at taking home the $500,000 top prize that was won last year by Annie Duke.

The enormous Poker Room at Caesars Palace’s offers 24-hour poker action in both its main room and adjoining side room. There are numerous tournaments organized at different hours on a daily basis and cash games of all stakes. The new Winter Classic Poker Tournament is like a sister event to the Caesars Classic Tournament that is celebrated every autumn.

Online Stud Poker Strategy

Stud, like its name suggests is a real “mans’ game” where men are men and virgins are nervous (if you’ll excuse the comparison).

Seven Card Stud is strategy heavy game, involving plenty of skill and discipline it’s more tricky to analyze than Texas Holdem Poker because it has five betting rounds compared to Hold ‘em’s four.

To play and win stud poker online there are some basic rules, tips and tricks that should allow you to clear a tidy profit at the online table.

The first thing to remember is that Stud is a HIGH card game and (especially in Seven Card Stud) winning hands are often decided by the highest pair rather than by straights, flushes and the big hands you see in the movies.

With that in mind if you get dealt the start of a straight or flush, don’t get overly excited unless you have at least two high cards or one card that is higher than anything up on the board.
If you have a low pair as your starting hand, it has to improve or turn a high pair quickly to justify staying in the hand (you’ll still be “in game” if you fold, and you should use this down time to study the players still sitting in on the hand).

Now (what should be an obvious warning) as soon as you see your high hand beaten on the board, fold, repeat FOLD it’s unlikely that you’ll still have the best draw hand, unless say you have the nuts.

Play your early high hands FAST this could have you winning without improvement (and all these wins add up soon enough).

If you have good draw hands play em SLOW to draw in the other players, and let the pot swell.
Stud allows you to plump your bankroll by stealing the antes. A good excuse to bay (aka steal) the ante is when you get dealt a scare card (usually an Ace or a King) face up, which happens (odds say about 11% of the time) bet as if you’ve got the big pair and watch your opponent (hopefully) fold their hands against your “mighty” hole cards.
But beware; take the time to figure out the skill level of your opponents before you bluff. Bad players are often incapable of grasping the simple concept of the bluff, especially if they just don’t know whether or not they’re holding a decent hand.

Even the greats remember being beat by a rube who didn’t have the sense to get out before he rivered a winning hand against the odds.

The Gods of poker have a wicked sense of humour.

Next tip – become a card pathologist, that means know when your hand is alive and when it has “passed on”. Most pairs, straight draws, flush draws can e played when your cards are live (that means when there are still cards to dealt) know what you need to make that winning hand, know what cards are left out there, think about the odds and do the maths. As the great Dan Reed said, “You will show your poker greatness by the hands you fold, not the hands you play.”

Online Stud favours aggressive play but don’t play every hand as if you’ve been on the angry pills.

Stud poker is probably the classic version of this age-old card game. There are several varieties, including seven-card and five-card. Some versions call for the player to make the best high hand possible while others, such as Razz and 2-7 low-ball, call for the lowest hand.

One major difference is that position at the table is not determined as it is in Holdem. In this game, the player who “brings in” can change from one round to the next. For example, in 7-card games where the high hand must bring in, the player who has the highest card face up on the first round and the highest hand on subsequent rounds is forced to bet the set amount.

Stud games are known for the mystery that surrounds the hole cards each player has face down. Player’s have the opportunity to use this information to bluff and build pots since the others don’t know what he is holding.
In the last few years, 7-card in several variations has become a regular part of many tournaments. However, this version of the game has taken a back seat to Holdem and Omaha because of television coverage and the celebrity status of many pros. The World Series of Poker has long included a couple of versions of stud, including the low-hand game of Razz. Most players will not see a five-card game unless they are at home or in one of the rare poker rooms that still offer it.

Bets are determined by the limits set from the start. For example, if you sit down in a $2/$5 game players must bet $2 in the first two rounds and $5 minimum for the rest of the rounds in that hand. Poker rooms sometimes play spread limit games, in which the players bet $2 or another minimum amount and any amount up to the high limit – $2/$10 for example. Tip: Make sure you understand how the betting structured before you start.
You will probably hear veteran players call the third card third-street, and so on. The final card is often called the river, just as it is in Holdem and a few other games.

Over the years, stud players have created a wide variety of games based on the foundation of seven cards with some cards hidden from view. A popular home game is “roll your own.” In this version, players are dealt three down cards to start and choose one to turn face up. This is repeated throughout the hand, allowing each player more choice in what he wants to hide from his opponents.

This wrinkle adds some excitement and danger to the game, especially if a particular card or cards is determined to be “wild” before the hand starts. For example, if deuces are wild, a player should probably keep these in the hole, unless he wants to expose one of the wild cards for effect.

Legendary poker player Doyle Brunson has called Holdem the “Cadillac” of card games. In comparison, stud poker might be a reliable old Chevrolet that many people still enjoy.

Stud poker is also available on most of online poker sites.

7 card stud has started to gain in popularity because of the mixed games that are quickly becoming players favorites. In looking for a little more spice than hold’em on its own can offer, HORSE allows you to play 5 different games. The well rounded poker player can dominate these types of tournaments and cash games. In order to do so, you are going to have to master playing 7 card stud as it shows up in three different varieties in the game of HORSE.

The original 7 card stud game is the 4th leg of HORSE and where a seasoned player can really make a move. A lot of players will fall in love with certain hands when they are clearly second best or worst. This is the type of scenario that you need to avoid. If you are not clearly going for the best hand, you have to get out.

Hands that cost 7 card stud players the most money are mid pairs that they play out on the string. For example, you have Q9 in the hole a 9 on board. There are 6 other players in the game and they are showing A, K, 10, J, 7, and a 5. The 5 leads out on a force bet, the A calls and then the K raises, the 10 folds, the J calls and then the folds. You are next to play, what do you do?

If you are smart, you are going to dump the hand. You can be pretty sure that you are up against KK and possibly JJ. You still have the A to play behind you who very well may be setting up a check raise. The problem is the at most amateur players are going to fall in love with their split pair and will try to chase it down. It is the wrong decision and it is going to cost you a ton of money in the end.

It has been said before and it is worth saying again, stud is not a chasers game. With so many bets, you will end up broke if you continue to chase down hands. If you are not clearly sitting on the best, you must get out of the hand. In reality, the only hand that should still be playing in this example is the K and depending upon what the A does, he should possibly be out of the hand.

One of the major keys to 7 card stud is ensuring that you are not chasing down a losing hand. While you cannot always assume that the player has matched their card underneath when they are showing a high card, how they play against the other high cards gives you a ton of information.

Here, it would be foolish for the K to fire unless he was already paired up. He can be assured that anyone behind him that has matched a card will at the very least call him if not come over the top to see where they stand. Of course, he still has the A that is in front of him to worry about as well. You can easily see where playing mid and small pairs can get you into a heap of trouble. When you are deciding to go in or not, you want three cards to the flush or straight or the high pair going on board. If you play to anything else, you are playing to second best.

Let’s start this out by telling you that you should never be in a hand to solely go after the low side of the pot. You will see far too many people going head to head on 4th street with no chance of hitting the high hand and then end up splitting the pot if they get lucky. Even them, they still lose money because of the rake, it just does not make any sense.

The low in 7 card poker should be something that you happen to get, not the main focus of your hand. Realize that even if there are multiple players in the hand and you start out chasing the low, you still only may end up with a quarter of the pot or less. Plenty of people will play any hand that start with A2 and if you are looking at the same cards, you are going to split the split.

However, you can stay in a hand if you were going for a high and it falls apart on 6th street and you now only need one card to win the low. At this point, you only have one card left and the odds more than dictate you hanging around to capture some of the pot.

When you start your hand out, the only way you have a chance to scoop the pot is by going high and low. This is the ideal situation and one that you look for in starting quality hands. For instance, you start the hand with Ah2h4h. You are in huge position to scoop here. You have the A high flush draw and are also looking at a possible straight for the high. In addition, you are starting down at 3 to a low. This is not only a starting hand, but a raising hand.

The key to a good starting hand in hi/low is to have the ability to scoop the pot, which of course means that you get both the high and the low. While you may end up only getting the low as the hand plays out, you have to make sure that you start out with the intention of getting them both. If all you do is try and chase down low hands, you are going to find your bankroll continuing to shrink and you will eventually go broke.

This is what separates the good hi/low players from the bad ones. It may be a little tough to fold that 247 hand, but when you realize that you are conceding one half of the pot every time you play a hand like this, reality will start to settle in and you will realize how foolish it is to play a hand like this. Remember, if you don’t have a chance to scoop with the first three, the hand is not worth playing.

Hold’em has taken over the poker universe and is the most popular game in the world right now, but multi games like H.O.S.E. and H.O.R.S.E are quickly gaining steam at the casinos and online.  People are getting a little bored with Hold’em and are looking for other games to spice it up a little bit.  Well, in order to be successful in any of these multi games, you are going to have to get back to the roots of the game and become proficient at 7 card stud if you want to win the cash.

7 card stud was once a game that dominated poker rooms and households alike.  All of a sudden, The World Series of Poker started getting televised and everyone wanted to become a professional Texas Hold’em Poker player and become an instant millionaire.  Now, with the popularity of H.O.R.S.E, 7 card stud is making a mild come back and people are realizing this is a true poker playing game.

The fact of the matter is that 7 card stud makes up 60% of H.O.R.S.E.  Razz Poker is just a variation on stud and uses the same basic principles.  After you play regular stud, you finish up with Stud hi/low before starting all over again.  If you are a great stud player, you can clean up in this cash game or tournament.

Most Hold’em players get into a very bad habit of chasing down hands.  They are used to playing common cards and not actually working a hand and betting against other people’s board.  Stud Poker makes you not only keep track of your hand, but every card that is played.  Part of the art of stud is to know which cards for your draw and your opponents draw have been burned.  When their hand is not made on the board, you will make your play based on your hand and the perceived chances that they were able to draw out.

For instance, if you are holding a 34 in your hand and they are the filler cards for the straight that your opponent looks to be chasing down, you already know that he has only 6 live cards.  Maybe two 3’ and three 4’s were already folded by other players who have dropped out of the hand.  He is not paying attention to the other hands and is throwing good money in after a bad chase.

The other thing about stud is that the more experience you gain, the better you will be able to read players hands based on pre-flop action and how they follow it up on 4th and 5th street.  If someone is banging away pre-flop with a 5 showing, you are pretty assured that they are sitting on a set or a monster high pair under.  If they catch another 5 or catch AKQ on one of the streets, you know your mid pair is in a lot of trouble.  By paying attention to everything, you will find that you are much more successful than the average player at stud.

If you have never played stud, you may find all of this a little difficult in the beginning so do not play for high stakes.  Go play online at the quarter tables until you get the knack for this.  As you get better, you can move up in level until you are in the games that you usually play at.  When you really get comfortable, it is time to exploit weaker players and get in on the H.O.R.S.E tourneys and cash games.  Just remain patient during the Hold’em and Omaha stages and then drop the hammer when the stud games are being played.  Make the chasers pay and build your stack to get the coveted first prize money.

Yesterday I started off talking about age stereotypes in stud. I started a story about a stud game I played in Tunica when I was first starting to play.

Around the third level of play, the cat was semi let out of the bag regarding my ability to play. Before the start of the third level there were a couple of comments regarding my not being able to find a hand. I picked up a split pair of kings and raised. The older players looked at me as if to say, “Ok, you picked up kings” and they all folded. The two younger players stayed in the hand. This was the best case scenario for me.

I instantly picked up aces up on Fourth Street. I bet out and was called by both players. Fifth Street saw me pair my ace. I now held aces full. I naturally bet out, I received a call and then a raise. The kid that raised was showing three cards that were double gapped for a straight. Either this kid was raising with a straight or a big draw. Of course, I capped the betting. Both opponents called. The older gentlemen at the table were confused.

Sixth Street made a pair of threes for the one player that had called along with all the raising on fifth. I bet out, and now he raised. Now the player that had the two gapped straight showing was now showing a three flush. He three bet. I cap it. Both players call.

I bet out on seventh and this time the two opponents finally slowed down and only called. I looked at the guy at the table that appeared to be the best stud player and said “what do I have?” He said, “Aces full.” I show aces full against a set of threes and a flush.

At this point, I am now the chip lead. Over the course of the round, I eliminate both of the kids at the table. Finally, one of the players asks me, “Where are you from?” When, I tell them I am from Virginia, they instantly change their tune to, “Oh no wonder. You’re from the east coast. You grew up playing stud.” And the cat was out the bag.

I ended up going through and eliminating all but two of the players at the table. I got heads up with a low limit stud poker player from Los Angeles whom I cut a deal with. I had such a massive stack that he accepted my buyout offer of $100. When I am out in the LA area, I still run across him from time to time. He is an interesting gentleman. In his mid 70’s and can outrun most people half of his age.

If you are a younger person playing stud, remember the above story. Players will discount you due to your age. When this happens, just sit back and play your game. Over time, the astute players will figure out you know what you are doing. And for those that don’t, enjoy taking their money.