Poker News

Jan Fisher

Thanks to all of you who answered my question about the four-card flop in my last column. I received comments and suggestions from many readers as well as cardroom executives around the area. Most notably, Mike Shaffer, a lead supervisor at the Rio in Las Vegas, loved the idea of the scramble and reflop of three-fourths of the original bad scenario. He was going to present it to his cardroom manager, Jerome Stone, for possible inclusion into their rule book for both everyday usage and for the 2008 WSOP and beyond.

Danette Morway, a shift manager at Treasure Island, wrote to me to tell me she liked the rule suggestion and how much she had learned since turning in her black and whites for a floor position. She wrote to me that in making the move from the box to the floor she really had to study decisions to learn how to remedy the tough situations that arise on a daily basis. As a dealer she really hadn’t learned to make those calls. She is approaching the cardroom manager at Treasure Island, Chris Coffin, with the suggestion to use the randomization method.

I also heard that many Northern California cardrooms have used this fix for a while with great results. I think live poker might be on its way to a standard ruling, much as the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) does in tourneys, and as a player, it is a great start.

The next person I happened to chat with about the flop situation was Alan Pyles, a tournament director from Binion’s. This is where my column gets a bit mushy. I go to the ‘Shoe whenever I am home in Las Vegas on a Wednesday to attend the weekly Wednesday Poker Discussion Group (WPDG) meeting. This is a group of very nice people with a common goal and passion. It’s all about the poker … whether we are trading war stories, discussing strategies, or having a holiday party where a game breaks out, the bottom line is poker. The group is now more than 100 strong and 30 or more members usually attend a meeting.

Anyway, instead of going to the meeting yesterday, I decided to play in the $200 buy-in HORSE event. To my surprise, the previously smoky Horseshoe cardroom was truly smoke-free at last. Though the cardroom went smokeless a long time ago, sweaters and passers-by were allowed to imbibe while on the rail. No more! There isn’t even smoking allowed in the sports book area or hotel check-in and it made for a very nice environment.

The next thing I noticed was that rarely did I need to assume the role of table captain. The dealers were welltrained and those who needed an occasional assist were of good nature and attitude and responded appropriately to help. HORSE events are not always the easiest to run. The raising of blinds and limits was always on time and the floor personnel handled problems in a professional fashion. Has a Phoenix risen from the ashes? I don’t know but other than an occasional play after a trip downtown, I haven’t played a tournament at Binion’s since the WSOP moved up the road. It was such a nice experience and the structure so player-friendly that I plan to play a bit more often. So, back to Alan … we chatted as I was leaving-just shortof the money-and told him of my good feelings for the room. He told me he was in favor of the “scramble the four cards on the flop” ruling I suggested and that they, too, may add that to their rule book. All in all it was a very good day. Moving right along…

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