Event 27, No-Limit Hold'em - Live Updates

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Rahmn completes the comeback!

Mats Rhamn has battled all the way back from being down 2-1 and won Event 27. Richard Toth, who was starting to get low, moved all-in after a flop of J♥ 10♠ 9♣. Rahmn called and showed K♦ K♥. Toth flipped over J♥ 8♣ for top pair and a straight draw juice cards. The turn is 5♠ while the river shows 10♣. Rhamn's Kings are good and he is the 2006 WSOP Event 27 Champion.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

1

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Rahmn storms back

After being down 2-1 going into heads-up play, Mats Rahmn has fought his way to the top and now has a substantial lead of $2,435,000 to Richard Toth's $755,000. Rahmn went all-in with #K-6♣ against Toth's K♦ Q♦. The board read K♠ 9♠ 6♦ 4♥ 10♠. Rahmn doubled up with his Two Pair.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

2

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Rahmn storms back

After being down 2-1 going into heads-up play, Mats Rahmn has fought his way to the top and now has a substantial lead of $2,435,000 to Richard Toth's $755,000. Rahmn went all-in with #K-6♣ against Toth's K♦ Q♦. The board read K♠ 9♠ 6♦ 4♥ 10♠. Rahmn doubled up with his Two Pair.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

2

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Heads-up players trade blows

Mats Rahmn and Richard Toth are going back and forth. Rahm will win a few hands and then Toth will win a few. No one has stepped forward and really controlled the game as of yet. Toth still leads with $1,850,000 while Rahmn has $1,340,000.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

2

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Parkinson knocked out

Padraig Parkinson has been eliminated from the competition. He called all-in preflop and Richard Toth made the call. Parkinson flipped over A♣ 4♠ while Toth showed A♦ 3♠. The flop came A♥ 6♥ 3♥ giving Toth Two Pair. The turn, which was K♥, provided no help for Parkinson marked cards. The river came 3♣ and filled Toth's boat. Parkinson has been eliminated third, good enough for $203,139. Richard Toth now has a 2-1 chip lead over Mats Rahmn in heads up play.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

2

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Dinner Break

The players are on dinner break until 9 p.m.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

3

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Trip Counts

The chip counts with three players left in the tournament:

1.	Richard Toth	$1,645,000
2.	Mats Rahmn	$1,045,000
3.	Padraig Parkinson	$500,000

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

3

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Birchby Busted

Chirs Birchby was eliminated from the tournament in 4th place earning $145,100. Birchby moved all-in with Q♦ 5♦, and Mats Rahmn called with K♦ 7♠. Rahmn flopped a pair of K's and Birchby didn't recover.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

3

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Toth Doubles Up

The action has slowed down a little and not many big pots have been played during the last our. However, Richard Toth doubled up against Chris Birchby and took the lead in the tournament. Birchby made a pair of 8's on the turn and moved all-in. Toth called with pocket Q's and won the hand.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

4

Tables Left

1

07/21/2006 (8 years ago)

Intensity Increases

Play is intensifying for the four finalists who are currently on a five minute break.

Level

1

Blinds

50/100

Average Stack

0

Players Left

4

Tables Left

1

Taking One Shot at the Big Time

Every player who takes the game seriously enough to know the names Tom Dwan, Di Dang and Huck Seed has considered putting it all on the line to take one shot at the poker dream.
Every year, players crowd around poker tables across the globe and all over the Internet to trade pots worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Some of the world's top online players are winning and losing over a million in a single day. It's no longer remarkable to see online pots larger than $500,000.
Poker has exploded since 2003, and in the last couple years we've seen the largest increase in regular high-stakes action ever. Until recently, nosebleed stakes games have only run occasionally, restricted to private tables.
Now, at any time of any day you can log on to sites like Full Tilt Poker, and watch (or join) intense high-stakes action.
All of this action has made the high-stakes poker lifestyle a more tangible reality. Anyone can look at multiple cheat poker players who went from nothing to millions, some of them in almost no time flat.
Making a million dollars in less than a week is a dream that most people would love to realize.
Poker players can realistically take a shot at this dream anytime they want. The highest-stakes cash games and tournaments are all open to anyone willing to put up the stake.
It may seem far-fetched to people on the outside of the game, but it's surprisingly common for players to put everything they own on the line for one shot at making it.
Real-life people (by this I mean people not living the professional poker lifestyle) have all their money tied up in debt and, for those lucky enough not to be just living paycheck to paycheck, in assets and savings.
Poker players may have debt, savings and assets as well, but they also have a lump of cash known as a bankroll.
Mike Caro compares a poker pro's roll to the shop and tools owned by a mechanic. The roll is the means of making an income. There is almost no mechanic who would put his shop on the line at a 3,000-1 shot at making a score - it's just not realistic.
If your "shop" is nothing more than a roll of $100 bills, however, it gets really easy to put it all on the line.
Ready, Aim, Fire
In the post-Chris Moneymaker world, it's not uncommon for players to win a satellite entry into a tournament before making a run for the win. You hear all about these stories, especially if the players got their ticket by playing their satellite online.
What you don't always hear about are the players taking a shot with their roll.
In every major tournament marked cards lenses, there is a large group of players: professionals on the outs, putting up their roll for one last swing. These players decide to gamble on their future, aware that they'll have to live with either of the two possible outcomes:

• They win, and rock a fat roll
• They lose and go home broke, and find themselves a job

These players play from a unique mental perspective: nothing left to lose, already defeated, yet full of hope, aggressive and unpredictable.
These stories are rarely told, because the players who miss their shot disappear into the real world, sometimes rebuilding and returning for another swing. And the players who make it often don't want the world to know that they were ever as close to defeat as they actually were.
The latest story of such an event is described wonderfully by the player himself - Jason Young. Jason was down to his almost his last dollar, resolved to head home to do ... who knows what if he lost. Not only was this his last lump of cash; it was bank-borrowed money.
He prophesized the win before the event ever happened, and won himself a WSOP bracelet and the cash that comes with it, making him the latest player to publicly hit his shot.
Odds of Making It
Tournament poker, like all poker, comes down to statistical odds and probable ROI. This means the following:
A player has to have sufficient skill and edge on her competition to finish high enough in the money often enough so that she can net more money from her winnings than she loses in the attempts.
Just to give a simple example, let's say that Jane Doe will play a $1,000 buy-in tournament with 1,000 players every day. To keep it very simple, she will always finish in one of two places:

• On the bubble (losing her $1,000 entry fee)
• In first place (winning $300,000 prize money)

This means she has to finish in first place a minimum of once in every 299 attempts to make money.
Let's say that she is a profitable player, and will finish first in 1/200 attempts. This will net her a total of $100,000 for every 200 attempts. In order for her to make this money, though, she needs to have $200,000 worth of money to pay her buy-ins.
There's no telling when she'll make her first-place finish out of the 200 attempts, meaning she could be down $199,000 before she makes any money.
The problem with taking a shot is that even though you're clearly good enough to make money in this specific tournament, you are gambling that your one available buy-in happens to be the one you win the tourney on.
For Jane Doe, that's a 0.5% chance that she hits her shot - 99.5% of the time she ends up humping a crappy job on the graveyard shift.
No matter how good you are, the odds are not in your favor when you take a shot.
But one thing to remember is the classic cliché: you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Some players spend years taking shots until anything pans out, the most famous of these possibly being Howard Lederer.
If taking shots is the route you choose, you may have to be prepared to sleep on couches and run errands for other players to build up enough of a stake for your next shot. It could be a long time before you ever hit your target.
Then again, just like Jason Young did in the 2008 WSOP, you may hit the next shot you decide to take.

There Is (Probably) No "Best" Way to Play Poker

The title of this article is either transparently true or patently false - depending on your point of view, and the game you're playing.
I think it's more true than false, once we specify the circumstances. In a live, cash game or a multi-table tournament played No-Limit or Pot-Limit, I think it's deeply and importantly true, if not (yet) demonstrably so from a game theoretic perspective.
But, you may differ with me, and that's OK too, since the proof is still a faint hope. Let's take a look and see where we end up.
To keep the topic manageable, we'll stick with Hold'em, although the issue generalizes to all poker games of interesting levels of complexity. (Aside: One reason why some of the "simpler" games like Five-Stud are rarely played anymore is that there are optimal ways to play them and the more skilled players quickly bust the lesser.)
Limit - Heads-Up Play
Here, there likely is a reasonably well-defined strategic approach that approximates optimality. The foundations are based on principles involving the expected value of particular plays marked cards and a recognition of the importance of position, and on inducing probabilistic assessments of one's opponent.
The fully developed strategy isn't known but it has been approximated. We discussed this in two earlier articles on bots. The pride of these silicon-based poker warriors is a bot dubbed Polaris, a very long listing of code that resides on a computer in Edmonton, Alberta.

Phil know a thing or two about Polaris.

Polaris plays superb Limit Hold'em against a single opponent. In fact, it plays better than almost anyone in the world. It has taken on all comers from carbon-based entities to other bots and has won impressively.
So, from a mathematical perspective, the strategic features that have been written into Polaris are closer to the "best" way to play this particular game than anything any human player has developed - so far.
It's important to appreciate that Polaris is a genuine AI (an "artificial intelligence"). It learns. It's programmed with a set of effective initial heuristics, but its success depends on software that allows it to induce a representation of the features of its opponent's play and to make adjustments to them. In short, it doesn't have a "best way" to play; it has a "best way" to adapt.
It's worth noting that this learning feature is so powerful that several of the programmers who worked on Polaris and who play excellently against mere mortals have admitted they cannot beat the beast - even though they wrote the software that it's using.
No-Limit - Heads-Up Play
This game is one step up in complexity from Limit, and there are suggestions that particular strategies are more useful than others.
For example, Daniel Negreanu has developed a primitive approach to this game that is surprisingly effective marked card tricks . It goes like this: Min-raise on the button. If checked to you on the flop, bet two-thirds of the pot. That's it.
It has some interesting effects on opponents. They often get flustered and angry and do things like reraise two or three times the BB, giving you both position on the hand and solid calling odds.
They also often try to play the same game but usually overbet pre-flop again, giving up the opportunity for nuanced play.

Kid Poker's mama didn't raise no fools.

Is it foolproof? Only against a fool, but it makes the point that the game is still sufficiently limited in complexity so that game-theoretic heuristics exist that provide a player with an edge.
But the game is more complex. Loosening the bounds on betting adds a substantial number of variables to the mix and no one has (yet) figured out how to program in a set of workable strategic principles. And, for what it's worth, Polaris doesn't play it.
Limit Hold'em - Full-Ring Game

The computational requirements needed to capture a full-ring game are off the charts, well beyond the capacity of any existing computer.
It isn't just that there are these other opponents whose approach and styles differ from each other, which would be difficult enough to represent. It is that each of these individuals "interacts" with each of the others.
That is, your play (and mine) changes as a reaction to the play of others at the table, whose approach to the game is similarly affected by the play of still others, including you and me. And so forth.
Consequently, the kinds of strategic approaches that Polaris uses cannot be instantiated in any manageable form. And, even if they could, from a pure computational capacity perspective, no one knows what they are so no one knows what code to write.
Of course, there are a bunch of heuristics that have been developed regarding position, hand strength, the impact of the blinds, the role of bluffing and the like. But most good players know them and they are far from algorithmic in nature.
No-Limit - Full-Ring Game
This is the game that Doyle Brunson called, back in the days when the phrase meant something, The Cadillac of Poker. He liked playing it just because it is so deliciously complex and when games get structurally and tactically complex, the psychological elements rise in importance and rules of thumb lose their effectiveness.

There's a best way to play, sonny boy ... MY WAY!

It is for this very reason that there is no best way to play. No-Limit is a not a card game. It is a money game played with cards.
Yes, aggression is important, but it must be scaled back in response to wildly aggressive opponents.
Yes, trapping is effective, but not against players capable of making exceptionally sound reads.
The one element of the game that must be acknowledged is that of position, but since nearly everyone knows this, your knowing it won't help a heck of a lot. No-Limit Hold'em is "interactive," and the shifting dynamic tilts the game beyond the domain of any straightforward strategic approach.
It is a good thing this is true. If there were a best way to play we would all learn it and the game would die.

5 Card Draw Rules and Game Play

Five Card Draw is one of most basic forms of poker, and it's the kind of poker you're used to seeing in movies and on TV.
Because the game has been around for such a long time, and has been played in countless home games and card rooms across the nation, there are a couple different variations on the traditional rules. Below you will find all of the most commonly used rules for playing Five Card Draw.
The game is simple: make the best 5-card poker hand possible after one draw, and bet accordingly. The player with the best hand after the second betting round takes the pot.

Blinds and Antes

There are two main ways to play marked card tricks 5-Card Draw:

1. Ante
2. Blinds

The ante method is the original way the game was played, and is most commonly the system used in home games around the world. In this version each player must pay a predetermined ante before being dealt any cards.
In the second system, the game functions as a blinds game, similar to Texas Hold'em. In a blind game, only the two players to the left of the dealer must pay money before the cards are dealt.
The player to the dealer's immediate left pays the small blind, while the player to the left of the small blind pays the big blind.
Although the blind amounts can be set to any amount you like, the small blind is typically half of the big blind, the big blind being approximately 1/100^th of your total buy-in.

The Deal

Once all players have anted (or the blinds have been paid), the dealer deals every player (starting on his left) five cards face down.
After all players receive their five cards, the first betting round ensues. If you're playing with blinds, the betting will start with the player to the left of the big blind (same as Hold'em), while if you're playing with antes, the betting must start with the player to the left of the dealer.
In an ante game like this, the first player to act is allowed to check (meaning they are not forced to bet, and can choose to stay in the hand for free).
For more information on the rules and specifics of how a betting round functions, head to Texas Hold'em Rules and Game Play marked cards lenses.

The Draw Round

When the betting round completes the draw round begins with the player closest to the dealer's left. Assuming this player hasn't already folded, they have the option of changing any amount of cards they choose.
A player can "stand pat", meaning they keep all five cards, or they can throw away any amount from 1-5 cards, getting them replaced with an equal number of cards from the top of the deck.
In some home-games and rule-sets a player may only exchange up to a maximum of three cards. This rule is typically used only in home-games as it only benefits the weaker players. It is almost never correct to call in the first betting round, only to throw away four or all five of your cards.

The Second Betting Round and Showdown

Once all players have received their new cards, each player must evaluate their hand and proceed to the second (and final) betting round. Once this betting round is completed it's time for the showdown (assuming more than one player still has a hand).
Just like almost every other form of poker, the player with the best 5-card poker hand at showdown wins the pot. Head here for a complete list of poker hand rankings.
Once the showdown is complete, the dealer collects all the cards, and passes the deal on to the player to his left.
If you have any questions or comments, drop them in the comments box below.

Who Really Wins at Poker?

Every poker player is a winning poker player ... to hear them tell it. But how many of these players are telling the truth?
Winning. It's a drumbeat theme on Web sites and poker blogs, and in chat rooms and discussion groups.
I'm active on a couple of these and have invested a lot of time and energy on this topic.
My fellow poker junkies are a knowledgeable and successful gang. A good bit of what follows comes from our discussions, although the opinions expressed are mine.
I expect that not everyone will agree with me. If you take issue, leave a comment. There are few better ways to learn than by having legit, solid disagreements.
The Stakes Matter
First, the stakes being played marked cards for are critical.
This feature so overwhelms all others that we need to break the discussion down into levels - where "level" refers to cash, not skill.
You can find excellent players at the lowest stakes and truly horrible players at the highest.
Second, private house games are different from games in licensed cardrooms, live play is different from online poker play, and short-handed play is different from full-ring games.
For this essay, I'm restricting myself to ring games played live in a brick-and-mortar casino or cardroom with a dealer hired by the house.
The other settings have a host of basic differences that force a different kind of discussion - which we can have some other time.
Lowest Levels: Limitations of Low-Limit
Here I'm thinking of the lowest stakes routinely played, from the 50¢/$1 Texas Holdem Limit games (although games this small are rare), through the more frequently spread $1/$2 Limit, to the popular $2/$4 games.
An awful lot of folks play at this level of poker.
I suspect that maybe as many as 80% to 85% of all regular poker players never venture above it.
There aren't any No-Limit games spread these days that, in my mind, qualify.
The least costly that's commonly found is $1/$2 with a maximum buy-in of $100, which is certainly not at the "lowest" level.
I am quite certain that, among these legions of regulars, there are no long-term winners.
None, ningunos, net, keine.
This game essentially cannot be beaten on anything like a long-term basis. The problem is the natural variation in the game (i.e., "luck"), plus a host of other factors.
These include the rake - usually between $3 and $5 (although some rooms are now raking $6) per hand - the dealer's toke and, as is often the case in these lower-limit games, a "bad beat" jackpot.
Combined, these costs mean that up to $8 is taken out of every pot. In a $1/$2 game this amounts to 4BBs an hour.
Winning 1 or 2 BB/hour under these conditions would be a glorious but essentially unreachable goal and, even if you were sufficiently skilled to pull this off, the gas, food and waitress tokes will flatline you.
These lowest-level games marked cards lenses are for recreational players only. If you play here and are only losing a little, which I interpret as 1SB an hour or less, you should be very pleased with yourself and happy.
You're having a great time playing a fabulous game with friends and compatriots, and it's costing you less than dinner at a decent restaurant or a movie for two at the local Cineplex.
Life is good.
Low to Mid-Levels: The Five Percenters
Here I include Limit games from $4/$8 up to $10/$20 or perhaps $15/$30, and No-Limit games with blinds of $1/$2 provided that the maximum buy-in is no more than $200.
At these levels it is possible to be a long-term, consistent winner, but it is a tough row to hoe.
As in the above games, the rake, tokes and bad beat jackpots present a nearly insurmountable barrier.
It's difficult to see how one can play with +Expected Value at this level.
My guess is that fewer than 5% of the people who routinely play at these levels in legitimate cardrooms are making money.
Yes, a few whose skills are near to top of the game, with good bankroll management and nonexistent tilt factor, are clearing 1 or perhaps 2BB a hour.
But they are rare creatures.
Mid- to Semi-High Levels: The True Pros Emerge
These games run from $20/$40 to $80/$160 Limit and $ 2/$5 to $10/$20 No-Limit.
At these levels, things change. My estimate is that between 10% or 15% of regulars in these games are long-term winners (it could be a tad more; it's hard to tell).
The impact of the rake is lessened at these stakes, but the critical factor is that it is at this level that you first find regular "contributors" - folks with a lot of money and a lot of gamble in 'em.
Regular gamblers who routinely shoot craps with black chips and play blackjack with purples like to play poker too, but they don't get any zip out of playing at lower levels.
They are rarely sufficiently skilled to present much of a problem to the experts and, as a result, provide the profit margin.
Not surprisingly, it's at this level that the true poker professional first shows up.
High Stakes: Preying on the Rich
I'm counting as high stakes anything above the previous levels.
Here, things shift once more. My educated guess is that well over half of the players are longtime winners.
As with the preceding category, this is mainly because they feed off a (smaller but reliable) stable of well-heeled contributors.
There are a lot of millionaires who love action - you would likely recognize some of their names.
They are often good players and might do well at lower levels, but prefer to play with the very best.
Without these folks, the top players would just move money around and around the table.
A common guesstimate is that only about 5% of all regular players are long-term winners.
This is probably correct, but you need to appreciate that these players are distributed unevenly throughout the levels at which poker is played.

Bank staff overdraft cash advance cash to go to Macau to gamble

God of Gamblers" of a plan to earn more money Feng to Macau "make a big." In handling a dozen credit cards and cash 100,louboutin soldes,000 yuan,Woolrich outlet online, the Pang came to a fourth Macau. This time Pang a lost a mess. Qingdao bent after he returned to win back the use of his position marked cards lenses,moncler bambino outlet, identity impersonation handled more than 50 credit cards. Then, Pang a credit card with a credit card to buy gift cards in major shopping malls,jordan retro 3 pas cher, and then sell gift cards for cash,pigalle louboutin pas cher, go gambling in Macau. January of this year,hollister outlet, a result of long-term absenteeism Pang dismissal banks. In this case,mercurial pas cher, Pang one fellow that he intends to find real estate mortgage loans, Pang promised a one privately the loan themselves. In mid-February,woolrich sito ufficiale, Pang found a business card to make recycled shopping Ryu,Woolrich Outlet, said hand with a 160,magasin hollister france,000 yuan shopping card,giubbotti Peuterey, intended to 140,000 yuan cheap to sell marked cards. Pay when you go to the mall after Ryu test card and was told that this shopping card is empty card spending over, Ryu to immediately JinHu police station. In mid-June,moncler outlet online, a master Feng hiding after the address,hollister soldes, police rushed to arrest him for Zhuhai. Pang a handle on their own more than 50 credit card cash advances over two million yuan confessed to the crime. Pang certain that he hid again after losing in Zhuhai, a living by doing odd jobs,hollister soldes, until police investigators arrested. Currently,tiffany outlet roma, Pang has been a Southern Qingdao City police criminal detention.

A Short History on Indian Casino Gaming

Indian casino gaming as we know it all began with the Seminole tribe of Florida. It wasn't very long ago at all.

The Seminoles first opened a high-stakes bingo hall on their reservation in 1979. And just like anything in the United States, the government in Florida quickly moved in, attempting to close down the operation.

However, the courts interceded and stopped the attempts by Florida to overthrow the bingo hall. But despite the early victories in court by the Seminole tribe, the legality of Indian casino gaming marked cards lenses was still very much in doubt.

There have been a few landmark events which sparked a flame of revolution in the Indian casino gaming venture. One important case took place in California.

The case of California versus Cabazon Band of Mission Indians took place in 1987. It was ruled by the Supreme Court that Indian tribal governments could operate gaming institutions in their sovereignty, without the interference of outside state regulations. This of course entailed that gaming operations not be directly prohibited in that particular state. At the present date, only two states in the USA strictly prohibit gambling: Utah and Hawaii.

After the Supreme Court gave definitive legal rights to Indians, it was time for congress to act. Indian casino gaming was to be taking very seriously. Some say it was a way to partially make up juice cards for all the wrongs of our predecessors in this country. The way the Indians were treated was nothing less than appalling; the least the U.S. could do was allow them to operate gaming halls in their own country. In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to set the rules and regulations for Indian casino gaming.

For starters, the IGRA separated Indian gaming into three separate classes. Class I gaming is defined strictly as traditional gaming, or social gaming which offers minimal prizes. There is no regulation at all for Class I gaming outside of the respective tribal governments. This leaves Indians to operate any sort of Class I gaming without any regulation whatsoever.

Class II gaming includes games of chance. Any game that isn't based on a skill-set is deemed a game of chance. For example, bingo and other similar games such as cards are included if they are played solely against other players and not against the house. However, slot machines are specifically prohibited from Class II gaming. Class II gaming is allowed on Indian reservations for as long as such activities are already permitted by the individual state.

The third class, Class III gaming, involves any games that are not included in classes I or II. This does include the aforementioned slot machines, and also blackjack, roulette, craps, etc. Indian tribal governments must first work out a compact with an individual state in order for a Class III gaming operation to be instituted.

Gambling at Casinos in Laos

Nestled between Thailand and Vietnam, Laos is one of the true jewels of Southeast Asia. Though some parts of it may not be as highly developed as its Indochina counterparts, there is one area where it has managed to keep up - casino gambling. 

The Dansavanh Casino is located in Ban Muang Wa-Tha, Vientiane Province. This Laos casino brings in many jobs for the locals, who sometimes do not always have a chance to earn a living wage. The Dansavanh Casino is heavily reliant upon tourists in order to make money. Locals normally only work there and do not spend their wages on gambling trick cards. Because neighboring countries such as Thailand are littered with flashy, flamboyant casinos, Dansavanh Casino relies more on tourists from China, which borders Laos on the Northeastern tip (though they do get some Thai tourists in to gamble).

The Chinese government has always been very much against gambling, especially within its own borders. This is why places such as Laos can open up casinos and be instantly successful--gamblers from other countries. Because gambling is so taboo in China, the tourists flock to casinos in excitement to satisfy their curiosity, and they usually spend pretty big. Laos casinos have long benefited from this type of spending.

Recently, the Chinese government forbid their citizens to travel to other countries to gamble. This especially meant neighboring countries such as Thailand and Laos. Because Laos does rely so heavily on commerce with China for income, they agreed to enforce the ban infrared contactlenses. Though this greatly hurt the income of Dansavanh (amongst others), they are still open for tourists from other countries. It is also believed that many Chinese still come to Laos to gamble, but it is not always in big public Laos casinos, such as Dansavanh.


Casino gambling in Laos features many of the same games that you would find at any other casino around the world. Games such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette, slot machines, and video poker can be found in the casinos. You can even have private or public tables to play at, if you so desire.

Due to the beautiful resort communities and the ability to gamble within its borders, Laos will continue to be a force in the Southeast Asia tourist market. More beachfront properties and even resort casinos are in the planning and are likely to be opening in the near future. This provides not only entertainment, but also a source for jobs and government income for this underdeveloped nation.

Common Misconception in the Bible teachings – Gambling is not a Sin

Common Misconception in the Bible teachings – Gambling is not a Sin.
Written by Joseph Ho, May 2nd, 2009.
To those who seek the truth shall find the truth, to those who seek to justify their sinful actions shall also find the reason to justify their actions. The truth is spiritual discerned by the men who have submitted to the Spirit of Truth, so they can see the Truth; this is not of the human mind but of the Spirit. All who loves the truth will see the Truth; all those who are covetous minded will see the lie and believe the lie send to them. Satan is a great deceiver and he still is.
Isaiah 6:9
He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

1 Corinthians 2:13-16 (New International Version)

13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
What is the prime objective of gambling?
The act of gambling involves the wager of money to obtain a higher return. This is a zero sum game someone loses and someone gains by the device of producing an outcome, heads tails, red black, odds evens, and big small. There is an outcome. But what is the objective of gambling? Isn’t the sole purpose being to increase your monetary returns within a short period of time, not through providing a service or a product but by pure wager in one casting of the dices?
I am deeply applauded that some Christians who are men of high position and even leaders in their personal trick cards careers can say that gambling is not a sin, occasional gambling can be fun. It is the same as saying that stealing a little and sinning a little is fun and is not a sin. This goes to show that men of status in the community are not necessarily men of spiritual understanding. This is not synonymous at all and they should not be allowed to speak on behalf of God in their lives. Rich men are not necessarily godly men, we do not know how they gain their wealth and we can not say they must be blessed by God since; the poor spiritual man is more highly esteemed in the eyes of our Lord God. What is highly valued in the eyes of men is an abomination to our God.





Men who achieved wealth are also not truly knowledgeable in spiritual things. Even pastors tend to make such mistakes about these people. They may achieve status and position yet they can be sinners who are church goers, professing the faith but choosing their own ways versus God’s way. My ways are not your ways, says the Lord of Host. We are to follow the teachings of Christ and the Scripture; we are not to follow the situational logical human thinking of our own imagination. After all, Jesus is the one who will judge us not our own understanding and presumption.
If you seek the truth you shall see it clearly, it is written in the Ten Commandments. But if you insist that the word gambling must be written then it is not. Covetousness is the act of coveting someone else property that include money as well. Because I see gambling as a sin therefore the word of God reads to me as the same thing which I meditate in my mind. Yet my mind is already washed by the blood of the lamb so I see the truth. Subject all argument to the obedience of the Spirit of Christ. The word reads that we are not to covet anything that belongs to our neighbor and that includes their money as well.
Exodus 20:17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet
2 Peter 2:3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Luke 12:15
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
No one’s life will be judged by the abundance of his possession, no he will be judged by how rich he is in God.
1 Timothy 6:17
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

Luke 12:19-23 (New International Version)

19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
Do you know what is inside the pack of 52 cards?
I will present to you the evil of playing poker or in any matter the games of cards as an example. If some of you still think this game of deck of 52 cards are an innocent devise for fun, think again. The origin of such cards came right off the Tarot Cards, except for the 22 major arcadia cards the rest of the 52 minor Arcadias are all represented in this deck of cards. So when you dwell and play with such things, you are actually practicing divination. And you are divining your winning hand therefore practicing witchcraft.
Oh, you may think I am too uptight or even legalistic, but am I? I have dwelt in this witchcraft before and so I am telling you from experience, that the spirit of covetousness will enter your heart and defile your mind juice cards. Why will the gypsies use a deck of cards to tell your fortune? It is because the deck of cards actually hides a Spirit of divination. The heart is deceitful and constantly seeking evil and no good can be found unless it is subjected to the obedience of Christ.





And what did God say about people who seek divination?
Leviticus 19:26,
“ 'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. " 'Do not practice divination or sorcery.”
Deuteronomy 18:14
[ The Prophet ] The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
2 Kings 17:17
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
If gambling is not a sin, why do constant gamblers go into deep trouble and get entangled in this bad habit which is very hard to quit. Anything that can cause bondage to the soul has a spirit, and its call the spirit of divination and covetousness. It causes you to hallucinate about winning the big one and then you don’t have to work anymore. The bible says whatever has mastered you, you shall be its slave. So when we are hooked to something and have to do its bidding then we are a slave to it, so there has to be a master and guess what, it is a demonic spirit; because it devours your resources and energy.
Jesus said many times, if you love me do what I say, not what you think is correct. How are you able to think what is good and bad unless you become submissive to the word of God? Jesus also says if you love me practice what I teach. But many are saying they are Christians yet they do not obey neither do they follow all of God’s teachings. They pick what they like and discard what is not convenient. This is the act of Satan and the sons of disobedience who ignore the words of God and make light of his teachings.
Many do not fear God, they have not met God much less know what is he like? They are fed by covetous teachers with words like God is good, nice and kind and merciful, even words like you are highly favored deeply blessed and greatly loved, as if God does not punish or chastise you anymore, and that God is so crazy and craves your acceptance of him that he will overlook all your trespasses. No more sanctification by the truth, only receive Jesus and all is well and fine and you are saved forever; is this truth?

2 Peter 2:3 (New International Version)

3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
They have not seen the holiness, righteousness and wrath of a God who is frustrated with his creations who constantly seek to go away from his words and do what they like or prefer. These Christians can even select scripture to say what they want, thereby twisting the word of God to their own selfish desires given to obeying the satanic act of disobedience and rebellion. Their time to see the chastisement of God is at hand, if God were to be their true father, he promises to chastise everyone he calls sons. But if he doesn’t chastise or rebuke you then you are not his son; the bible says so if you ever bothers to read it, that is?
Should you desire to seek the truth go to or email your questions to me at prophet3333@yahoo.com. God promises that whoever will seek him with all his heart mind and soul, he will find him. And those who find him find favor and blessings in his words of wisdom and salvation for the lost. It’s the truth that sets you free from your sins and bondages. God bless.

David Naber – How to be a Consistent Poker Player

There are some truths when people say it is difficult to achieve fame in the poker world. Some of the best poker players in the world display cool disposition and know when to bet or pull out. Consistency has been their greatest virtue and has kept them around for a long time.

Consistent Poker Player David Naber knows how to manage a bankroll. When you manage a bankroll efficiently you have won half the battle, says award winning David Naber. When you don't have a grasp marked cards over the money, there is always the danger of going broke, says David Naber.

Winning a million dollar poker tournament is a dream for most poker players, yet few accomplish this feat. Hardly a handful reaches the final level. It is consistency alone that ensures big wins in the long run. When you reach a peak level as a poker player, you have all the more pressure of remaining on top. A professional poker players need to play at least 3-4 times a week to keep that winning streak alive in him. The game being highly competitive and unpredictable can have tremendous swings on your money, emotions and mood. A consistent poker player is in full control of the situation always, says enthusiastic David Naber. It definitely is a tough job being consistent as a poker player. It means being very careful, remaining positive and putting in hours of game play.

Fame is always an incentive for poker players, but finally it is the hard cash that all of them crave. There are no particular mathematical formulae for poker players to apply. However, they can apply marked cards lenses many strategies after carefully studying the game.

Consistent poker players factor the volume of poker players and also judge their strengths and weaknesses. One also needs tons of luck besides the skill as sometimes you never get a good hand. Making the best out of the situation is the ability of consistent poker players.

David Naber's tournament record is an impressive one and he not just plays for the big money but also for the intellectual challenge that it offers him. If it was just the money at stake, you would make mistakes in the game with the pressure to win. David Naber is a cool, calculative and confident poker player. When he started playing poker he did not immediately win many tournaments. He worked his way up through consistent practice and level-headedness. David Naber in the last few years has given a wire-to-wire performance and made a big mark in his career earnings.

Despite a senior player, David Naber can give the younger players a run for their money. He continues to dominate the tables and wins major tournaments. He is a tough player and when he plays a table, people know he means business.
There are some truths when people say it is difficult to achieve fame in the poker world. Some of the best poker players in the world display cool disposition and know when to bet or pull out. Consistency has been their greatest virtue and has kept them around for a long time.