The Rio World Series of Poker Circuit event is wrapping up, Poker Wire has some great coverage. Stacked pro Jennifer Harman has made the final table and starts the final day 6th in chips.

The WPT Party Poker Million IV continues, here's CardPlayer's Day 2 report. Stacked pro and 2004 PP Million winner Erick Lindgren was the chip leader at one point, but he finished the day a bit further down the list. UPDATE: Cardplayer has their Day 3 coverage page up, play continues tonight until they're down to the final 6.

If I had only one wish (that didn't involve Shana Hiatt) I�d wish that my low-limit hold�em opponents played more junk. So go read this interesting NL post on 2+2, and then misapply the info when you�re at the limit tables with me. Thanks!

As previously reported, Poker Pro Phil Gordon was in Minnesota to testify that Texas Hold�em is in fact a game of skill. His argument might have been weakened a tad bit had he not narrowly escaped defeat in a heads-up match with a Minnesota senator. Congrats Phil!

If you�re in the mood for an inspirational story of a lucky SOB, then head over to Pokernews.com and read their interview with Brandon Scheafer. Brandon decided to play in a major poker tourney on a whim and wound up winning it. Jerk.

Daniel Negreanu has a new journal update recapping his experience at the Rio World Series of Poker Circuit event, here's a snip:

There was a fan with a beer in his hand standing over me, "HEY MAN! YOU GOTTA PLAY SOME CARDS MAN!" He had to be the loudest person I'd ever met.

I kindly asked him to just let me take a nap for a few minutes and I'd sign his hat before I got started. A couple more minutes went by and once again I hear, "HEEEEEEEY! HEEEEEEY MAN IT'S TIME TO PLAY SOME CARDS DUDE!"

Sorry about that, Daniel! I'll try to keep my voice down next time. Now go read the rest.

The World Series of Poker Circuit Rio event is happening right now and PokerWire has updates.

The WPT Party Poker Million IV Limit Hold'em Championship is also in progress, here's CardPlayer's Day 2 coverage and their recap of day 1. Stacked pro Erick Lindgren starts today in 4th chip position, and keep in mind he won this event last year.

You're playing in a 10-man home game where it's winner takes all. At the start of the hand you and another player each had $500. You bet-raise-reraise-rereraise-all-in-all-in. Boom! You flip up black Aces and he flips up red Kings. You're a huge favorite, just like Phil Gordon talks about in Brandon's great post below, and you're going to turn your $100 buy-in tonight into a cool $1,000. The flop comes 257 rainbow. The turn is a 10, completing the rainbow. As long as one of the two remaining Kings doesn't show up on the river, you're golden. And here comes the river....

Game selection in poker is everything: playing at limits you are comfortable with against opponents you figure to either be better than or at least not worse than. You'd rather play $5-$10 against SexyBoy69696969 than $200-$400 against Daniel Negreanu. (Although, frankly, even though I know I'm a huge dog in that match, it still might be worth the story...) So what happens to people when they play at stakes they aren't accustomed to against top-notch players? 2+2 Ahoy!

Despite an ambitious attempt to become one of the �cool states,� North Dakota has now gone back to being the four-eyed, pocket-protected geek of the U.S. North Dakota Senators overwhelmingly defeated a bill that sought to legalize internet poker in the state. Looking out for their constituents� well-being, Senators have wisely chosen to ignore an enormous source of untapped income in favor of taking money directly out of taxpayers� pockets. The state of North Dakota can sleep easier tonight knowing that their government knows best.

Phil Gordon wrote an article this week on everyone�s favorite topic � bad beats. Unfortunately, rather than simply cursing his misfortune as we all like to do from time to time, Gordon has a purpose in mind and opts to approach the topic from a logical point of view. He shows just how lucky one has to be to avoid bad beats throughout the course of an entire tournament. The piece is actually quite sobering.

One of the best ways to improve your game is to discuss difficult hands with other knowledgeable players. There is currently an interesting hand being discussed at 2+2, as players are debating laying down the nut flush in the face of extreme aggression on a scary board.

Follow up question: what do you do on the aforementioned hand when after you fold trips takes it down? If your answer involved profanity, breaking things, and questioning your existence, you are correct.

Last month I got to attend the photo shoot for Stacked and meet all of the pros featured in the game. So what are the pros like in person? Read my report to find out! And there's pictures too for those of you who aren't big fans of reading words.

Senior citizens have a habit of doing lots of annoying things, and I'm not just talking about sucking off my tax dollars in the form of social security. (Hey, grandpa, you paid in $239 into social security in your lifetime, now you get $900 per month and have for the last forty years?!?!) As if draining our national coffers wasn't enough, sometimes they enjoy opining on the days of yore.

Key things to note:
1) He spelled Ben Affleck's name wrong. Unforgivable.
2) He forgets what getting "the pot out" meant.
3) Who buys a watch from a salesman wandering through the casino, let alone a car?

When wanderlust strikes, you now have a new place to avoid: Wyoming. Here you have a group of people so depressed of living in a state that 99 out of 100 Americans can't spell - let alone find on a map - and all they want to do is relax, drink to their ill-fortune, and perpetuate that misery via losing their lamps, shovels, pitchforks, and whatever else qualifies as "valuable" in Wyoming to their fellow citizens. The police, apparently unable to find the group of teenagers tipping cows, have no alternative but to earn their keep by harassing these wayward souls.

Nothing makes a poker player feel more helpless than a cold deck of cards. You're playing your tight-aggressive game, but you can't hit a flop and your draws never make it home. Meanwhile, PokerMom221795 is playing every single hand, calling down to the river, and scooping in pot after pot. What's a player to do? First and most obvious, you should berate your opponents in the chat box. Second, head on over to 2+2 for some advice.

Be sure and check out this interview with Jennifer Harman. Our very own Stacked pro talks about everything from her kidney transplant to her upcoming book.

Forget giving money to the needy. Forget tithing on your income to your home church. Forget giving from your abundance to those less fortunate. Those days are long gone and I am ecstatic. I can't believe for all of these years I would settle for a lowly receipt that I could transmogrify into a write-off come April 15th (oh no! I have to do my taxes!). From now on, I'm keeping my extra bucks squarely in my pocket unless the needy people in question ante up a tournament.

I love reading Daniel Negreanu's Blog, not just because I want to live vicariously through his ups and, well, more ups, but because I like to depress myself realizing how much more others my age have accomplished.

A few things to note:
(1) When his limo driver has errands to do, Daniel goes along for the ride to take his power naps - I wish I knew this before today because I just spent $1000+ on a new mattress and box spring. (That "S" isn't apparently for "savings" - it's for "sucker.")
(2) The Poker Superstars Invitational 2 would've had, you know, other good players this year besides Barry Greenstein if not for some weird voting union Daniel and other pro's are a part of, said group wanted to recast their vote before scabs like Huck Seed signed on to make my television viewing of a lesser quality.

How I love to shout Gamboooooooooooooooooooooooool in the text box when I'm playing online. The aforelinked 2+2 thread talks about what to do against people (maniacs) that are really gambling it up; whether you are playing live or online, it's something you need to know.

This story is so preposterous not even the writers of Tilt could have dreamed it up. It seems that a former inmate (former, as in 25 years ago) claims that while he was behind bars (for your routine charges of transporting a stolen aircraft across state lines) he played in a high-stakes poker game (among drug dealers and murderers) where the mayor of Las Vegas stole $500,000 from them. The plaintiff, Calvin Wright, had this to say about the alleged poker game:

"There wasn�t none of us joking.�

Wright clearly isn't not serious about getting his money back. Unfortunately, the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, wasn�t unable to not return phone calls.

Poker pro Phil Gordon will be in Minnesota to testify in favor of poker friendly legislation that would classify Texas Hold�em as game of �social skill.� However, Phil Hellmuth be testifying that Texas Hold�em is in fact a game of luck, reiterating his now infamous belief that if it weren�t for luck, he�d win every tournament. (One of the previous sentences is false).

Those of you worried about your future financial security can sleep easy tonight. A 2+2 thread has begun in response to this ebay auction of a "professional" poker player looking for sponsorship. Don�t be fooled by those clever 2+2ers, as their apparent disdain is clearly just an attempt to devalue the auction and scare off other investors! Bid now and thank me later!

For the price of a lap dance, you can own a piece of poker history. For those of you savvy enough to follow Planet Stacked on a daily basis, you are more aware of Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi than your non-savvy brethren who have their fingers nowhere near the pulse of the poker populace. To recap: he's won over a million dollars in the last few months. He is, as they say, a machine. So what do you do when you've become a millionaire? Sign your baseball cap from the big event and whore it off on eBay! Why put it with your trophy - or continue to wear it - or save it for your child? Nope! Sign it and try to score twenty bills.

You all know him as one of the greatest players in the history of the game - as well as CardPlayer's MVP - but his latest articles have been particularly noteworthy in not only their strategic and tactical nature, but also for their entertainment value:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

While many of us would be happy to simply not die in the next 10 years, the fine folks at 2+2 have taken it upon themselves to debate ... and redebate ... and debate some more ... this hot topic of where poker is going in the next decade. For my $.02, I have no doubt that we are nowhere near poker's height in popularity, and it will only be more popular tomorrow, and the day after, than it is today. With 5,000+ expected in this year's WSOP, it's looking good for poker in the 21st century.

We managed to get our hands on a bunch of new Stacked screenshots, including our first look at Daniel Negreanu in-game. Go feast your eyes!

More Shots

How I love Roy Cooke - whether he's huckstering land deals in Las Vegas, making sure his wife is in every photo with him, or talking about stakes I can't imagine him besting when his play seems poor for $4-$8, let alone $40-$80... A key factor to this article is not the example provided, but rather how to think through a hand. Granted, his opponent could have nothing as who doesn't bet at Roy who will check-call-check-fold unless he hits the stone cold nuts? Regardless of this weak-tight outlook , utilize his thinking when working through your own hands, especially since you, like most of us, should be playing far better than Mr. Cooke.

Once you forget the point that many live players play online and vice versa, this lengthy discussion at 2+2 provides lots of insight as to which players are better and why. One thing they leave out is that if you play just online, you won't have a chance to check out all the hot women that one finds at every table.

Well, MY favorite hands are worth playing: Aces, Kings, Queens... You get the idea. Lou Krieger in the newest CardPlayer talks about a habit people have of playing bad hands as they have some sentimental value. For example, I know too many sophomoric guys who must play 69. One thing of note is that the example Lou uses in this article is a horrendous example of a hand not to play - J9 suited - as, in today's ultra loose and oftentimes very passive games, J9 suited is a hand you should play from ANY position (as described in 2+2 books such as David Sklansky's). When I find most $10-$20 games being 7-8 handed on the flop without a raise, you bet I'm running J9 suited. Regardless, valid overall point.

Once upon time, when I had to deal with a bully I needed to do nothing more than run home to my mother and she would handle her business like no other. Unfortunately, this just doesn�t work at the poker tables (I speak from personal experience). So what�s a timid player to do? Head on over to 2+2 and read a past article from their internet magazine for some solid, albeit elementary advice.

It can be difficult to make the transition from limit to no-limit. In limit, a bad move on your part can cost you a few bets. No big deal -- a lesson learned, yada, yada, yada. In no-limit, it can cost you your entire stack , which can put you on tilt, which can blow your entire bankroll, which means you don�t have the money for your girlfriend�s birthday present, which means you�re going to have to pawn her grandma�s earrings, which means you�re going to have to chloroform an elderly woman, well, you know where I�m going with this right? I mean, who among us hasn�t been there at some point? I digress. Here�s the article.

What? Why are you looking at me like that?

Here is a nice thread about winning in the long run.

In case you're as lazy as I am and don't want to go through all the effort of clicking, scrolling, and reading, here is the best nugget of advice found in the entire thread:

�Follow the winner out to the parking lot and jack him for his roll.�

...trying to make me look bad. You long-time Planet Stacked fans will remember a post from yours truly a veritable lifetime ago, where I questioned why we were hearing about some new kid that, well, I hadn't heard of before. I am happy with how it is now, that I know the major names of the major players and I would prefer to not have any new names added to my mental list, thankyouverymuch. Alas, Michael Mizrachi continues to generate interest, pick up tourney wins, AND lands the cover of CardPlayer magazine?!?

Please continue past the second sentence of this article, for while he does list Sam Grizzle (?) as the second member of this "star-studded" table, Thomas Keller's newest CardPlayer article is otherwise a terrific read about the situations and decisions one faces in a major tournament where one wrong move could cost you thousands - or even millions! - of dollars.

In the beginning, there was Moneymaker in 'o3; then came Raymer in---

Hold on, skippy! There were WSOP events before Moneymaker, won by some people you'll know (Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, etc etc) and by some you've never heard of. Arguably the #1 never-heard-of guy is Robert Varkonyi who many believe to be the absolute worst world champion of all time. These days, he writes for CardPlayer magazine while bemoaning his fate of being a colossal lucksack a year too early. In those missives, he has continually tried to sound younger and hipper, so he has adapted an almost P.O.D. mentality (you kids out there like P.O.D., right?) in his latest on the world we live in. Maybe he isn't going for a P.O.D. thing, but more of a Genesis flava. I shall investigate.