OK. Here is the answer I promise last week. But first, the question from the Forum:

Question: Now that most ‘big name’ tournament pros have deals with on-line sites does anyone know if these deals routinely include the sites sites paying the buy-ins for these players so they are no longer risking their own money?

Anyone else have a problem with this? I’m sure I would play tournaments very differently if I wasn’t risking any of my own money … .

Answer: First, I have no problem with it. If someone wants to pay my way into events, I would play, too. Freerolls are hard to turn down.

But I do have n answer of sorts as to the motives of sponsored players. Not surprisingly, the answer is (ready?) “It depends.”

Pretty much every pro has a different contract. Terms such as length, amount of sponsorship, amount of garb required to be worn, number and types of events, other duties (press conferences, sponsor meetings, playing time on the dot-net site) are all variables. A player with a huge name tends to get a long term deal with a lot of money and entries. Lesser players will get less. Some marginal players (not by talent, but by public recognition) will only get paid if they reach a televised final table and have to pay their own way into each event.

So contracts vary. The one primary constant, much like it is in politics, is that one you get a contract (get elected) your primary thought is to get it renewed or improved. And that means generating results.

If a site pays your way into fifteen events, and you bomb out in all of them, you can easily be dropped. Of course,if you have something else going for you, such international recognition, or, say, being the most visible and popular player in your own nation, you have better chances. Cooperation with ancillary demands and representing the brand well also helps.

So the pressure on most pros to perform is enormous. If someone goes zero for a world series, their entire status is in jeopardy. So cashing and making final tables is far more important to sponsored pros that it is to players who just win a satellite or play on their own dime.

The most prominent pros have slightly less pressure, but the majority of contract players feel the clock ticking often. Most contracts are one or two years, and that is not a lot of time to preform to expectations.

Would they play differently with their own money? If that implies that can take more chances to win big since their next entry is guaranteed, I do not think so. They need to show results, and that includes cashing, as much as anyone else, in my opinion.

I remember why I do not play tournaments very often.. As you recall, during BARGE we play a number of tournaments. I entered three, and as luck would have it, I won one of them!

It was the “TOC” tournament, with a format based on the Tournament of Champions Mike Sexton developed and ran for two years. Mike was a major pioneer in this, and his vision of international poker tournaments where only winners of other tournaments were allowed to enter was a terrific one.

Anyway, the format is alternating rounds of limit hold’em, Omaha eight-or-better, and stud high for most of the event, followed by No Limit hold’em for the final two or three tables. It is nice test of all-around skill, and I am proud to have won it (167 participants). However, the event started at 10:00 AM, and ended at 11:00 PM. This totally knocked my out for a couple of days. I went to the next day’s event (No Limit tournament), got knocked out in the first two hours,and went back home to sleep.

I awoke in time for the banquet, and then played a variant of pot limit Omaha (which we call Bing-la-ha after Bingo Reick who invented it), which is a PLO except after the flop betting, the dealer rolls a die to determine whether the rest of the hand will be played high-only or high-low. We play it with $1-$2 blinds and a “mandatory” $5 straddle, and several thousand (at least) on the table. I played three hours, won a bit, then slept all the next day as well.

I was planning to use this Thought to answer a question that came up in the forum regarding whether sponsored players play differently than they would if they played their own money. I had no idea, never being sponsored, but I asked around and found out an answer. I will post it here next week. Tune in.

OK, so it sounds more like a Thought of the Month.

I had PRK surgery earlier this week, so I have not played in a few days. Before that, I played a bunch, but ended sourly with two big losers. In one I perhaps did not play as well as I could. In the second, I played quite well for me, making no observable errors (to me), and I still lost a bunch. So be it.

If you took my advice and signed up for BARGE, please let me know when we get there. I would love to chat with you. If you are still thinking about it, it is too late. I will remind you again next year.

I try to avoid poker politics, but this item really burned me. For background, I had lunch recently with two dear friends who are influential in the poker tournament administration, and I mentioned that it seemed to me that some “stars,” and in particular Phil Hellmuth, Jr., were getting special treatment at the WSOP. We discussed that this might be particularly true in light of the “no exuberant celebrations, no abuse” rules put into place this year.

Later that day (or the next, who remembers these things), Phil was gives a penalty in the late stages of the Main Event for abuse. It was just before they broke for the evening, so the penalty was to be invoked at the start of play the next day.

Late that night, I got this Press Release:

“July 13, 2008

‘Phil has now been warned and put on notice in a way that he never has been,’ Pollack added. “
OK, that was the release. Talk about special treatment! Can you imagine an average player (maybe you) getting an abuse penalty, getting a meeting with the Tournament Director, the Regional Vice President, and the Commissioner. and then getting the thing reversed? If you can’t, then you are seeing favoritism in action. You would have missed nine hands.. Phil didn’t.

Even if his case had merit (I heard third hand what the arguments were and did not agree with them, but I could have had them wrong), how could anyone else get such a hearing?

You could argue that SuperStar players in all sports get favorable calls: Shaq gets away with charges, star pitchers get a wider strike zone, and so on. But could you argue that is a good thing? And could you argue that, in world’s richest and probably most important poker event, where “anyone can enter and anyone can win” some should be treated differently than others?

Sorry for the lack of poker content this week, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

OK, it’s time to talk about BARGE (Big August Rec.Gambling Excursion) again. This series of events is a terrific way to have fun playing in low buy-in tournaments and side games against some of the best players around (and some not so great as well.)

You can find all of the information regarding registration here, but I will give you a sneak preview now.

First, here is the “Official” schedule:

Binion’s: Tuesday, 7/29/2008: NL Shootout to Limit HORSE @ 7:00pm. Entry: $50 + $10 + $10
Binion’s: Wednesday, 7/30/2008: Blackjack Tournament @ 11:00am. Entry: $50 + $10***
Binion’s: Wednesday, 7/30/2008: Video Poker Tournament @ 3:00pm. Entry: $40 + $10***
Binion’s: Wednesday, 7/30/2008: Draw Lowball Tournament @ 7:00pm. Entry: $60 + $15 + $10
GN: Thursday, 7/31/2008: Team CHORSE @ 11:00am. Entry $400 + $20 per Team (See Below)
Binion’s: Thursday, 7/31/2008: Stud Shootout @ 7:00pm. Entry: $75 + $20 + $10
Binion’s: Thursday, 7/31/2008: Significant Others Stud Tournament @ 7:30pm. Entry: $20 +$5 (**)
Binion’s: Friday, 8/1/2008: TOC™-style @ 10:00am. Entry: $75 + $20 + $10
GN: Friday, 8/1/2008: Symposium @ 4:00pm, $15
Binion’s: Friday, 8/1/2008: TOC™-style (Finals) @ 6:30pm
GN: Friday, 8/1/2008: “Second Chance” NLH @ 8:30pm. Entry: $55
Binion’s: Saturday, 8/2/2008: No Limit Hold’em @ 10:00am. Entry: $100 + $20 + $10
Binion’s: Saturday, 8/2/2008: Significant Others Hold’em @ 11:00am. Entry: $20 + $5 (**)
GN: Saturday, 8/2/2008: Banquet @ 7:00pm, $25
Binion’s: Saturday, 8/2/2008: No Limit Hold’em Finish (if needed) @ 10:30pm
Binion’s: Saturday, 8/2/2008: Expanded Cash Game Roster @ 10:30pm

I say “Official” because there are tons of other events, from Craps Crawls to Sushi Outings to Karaoke, that are not listed. Also, many fun (mostly invented by BARGERS) cash games. Also sometimes weddings, golf events, whatever people want to do.

The banquet will have a guest speaker, yet to be named. Previous years have seen Gavin Smith, Greg Raymer, Mike Caro (talking on a ledge on the roof of a Strip restaurant), Linda Johnson, Phil Hellmuth, many others.

Registration fee is $25, and the events range from $60 to $130 for our beg NLHE tournament. The winninr, in addition to the prize pool and bragging rights, gets to design next year’s BARGE chip set.

One note: The “significant others” events are designed for total novices accompanying poker playing friends. No ringers, please.

If you think poker can be a great fun time, with players having the most fun they have at the tables all year, please join us. Registration will be open until July 13.