As the original host to the World Series of Poker and home to countless legendary poker players, the poker room inside Binon’s Horseshoe Casino is considered by practically everyone to be the most important card room in the world. They’ve even dubbed themselves “the place that made poker famous”, and it’s hard to argue that point, as the infamous Moneymaker WSOP victory that launched the poker boom was in fact held at Binion’s, which allowed the casino to enjoy much of the insane press that came after the rest of the world learned that a no-name accountant could win millions of dollars in a poker tournament.

Still, the poker room for a long time was considered old-school in both look and feel, a far cry away from the glitz and glamour poker rooms found on the main Vegas strip. While many old-timers enjoyed the classic nostalgia of the original poker room, it came across as too hardcore and unfriendly for new players, one of the reasons poker had trouble gaining popularity before the boom. Finally, Binion’s has decided to update with the times and has unveiled a gorgeous new room on par with any in Vegas.

The new 10-table poker room was built out an old lounge that resided within the Binion’s Casino, though according to poker room manager Brad Thomte, none of the original materials survived the update. “Everything in this room is brand new, built from scratch,” said Thomte. “It was built entirely based on the recommendations of our players.”

Additional modernizing of the room included adding 11 plasma TV’s and a vastly updated look, meant to entice new and returning players to remember why poker legends for years choose Binion’s as their poker room of choice. Still, some of the old-school flavor exists, as a number of black and white photos adorn the walls all around the room, each photo capturing a different major moment in poker history.

I’ve already scheduled another poker trip to Vegas just for an opportunity to play in the new digs. The original Binion’s poker room was where I first sat down on my 21st birthday to play my opening legal hand of poker. If you haven’t had the chance to take in a few rounds of hold’em at the ultimate in classic poker destinations, you’re truly missing out.

Last season, the Rays went from a 96-loss, last place team to 97 wins and one game from making the World Series. It was an incredible turnaround, the likes of which few other teams in history have experienced (’69 Miracle Mets, ‘91 Braves and Twins, come to mind). But according to Nationals pitcher Collin Balester, Washington is about to experience the baseball miracle to end all miracles: The Nats are going to go from 102 losses to sweeping the World Series.

*If they can sign Mark Teixeira (via D.C. Sports Bog):

"If that happens it’s going to be a dream come true," Balester said during his monthly satellite radio appearance, ‘Deep Thoughts with Collin Balester,’ on Minors & Majors with Grant Paulsen. "That guy is a great player, and if he comes to the nation’s capital, watch out, we’re going to the World Series and we are winning it all. I’m calling it right now. We’re playing four games in the World Series, sweep, see ya!"

There are three reasons that I can figure that would cause Balester to say this: 1) He actually believes it, and if so, should be checked into a medical facility immediately — he is a danger to the public; 2) He was completely joking, obviously, because any fool knows the Nats aren’t even close to being a .500 team, let alone winning anything; 3) He felt safe saying this because he knows that Nats aren’t going to be able to sign Tex.

The possibility of the Nats landing Teixeira, however, seems to be increasing by the day with more teams becoming frustrated with Scott Boras and thus dropping out of the sweepstakes. Last week, it was the Red Sox, and now the Angels say they’re removing their offer from the table. If the Sox and Angels are to be believed, this really only leaves the O’s and Nationals as possible suitors, unless Teixeira is willing to take less money and sign with — deep sigh — the Yankees.

As Big League Stew pointed out last week, a line-up with Ryan Zimmerman, Mark Teixeira and Elijah Dukes in the middle of it, is, if nothing else, interesting. But when all you’ve done to bolster the worst rotation in baseball is sign mega-bust Daniel Cabrera, your World Series dreams will have to remain just that.

(UPDATE: Somehow, I forgot about the addition of Scott Olson to the rotation as well.)

The Rays won the AL pennant last year and they would have done it even without Jonny Gomes.

However, there’s not a chance they would have won it as colorfully if he weren’t around.

Gomes batted a dismal .182/.282/.383 in ‘08, easily the worst of his four seasons in St. Petersburg. He had only 11 plate appearances after Aug. 4 and was inactive for the entire playoff run. Therefore it came as no surprise that Tampa Bay non-tendered him on Friday, sending Gomes to free agency.

Non-tender is an excellent way of putting it because it’s very un-tender to cut someone who’s been with your organization since turning pro in 2001. And Gomes, despite a paucity of good statistics this past season, was important (yes, we’re stretching the word’s definition here) to the Rays rise to power in the AL East.

Gomes had a strong rookie season in ‘05, and owned the club’s record for home runs by a first-year player until some guy named Longoria came along. Gomes has struggled at the plate since, but he still has several mad skills that would be of use to a new ball club.

Perhaps Brian Cashman could sign him to a Yankees contract? If the New York GM or anyone else is interested in taking a further look, we’ve listed a few roles he would be able to fill for a major league squad:  

1. Celebration specialist: Nobody was more visible than Gomes as the Rays clinched a playoff spot, the AL East title, an ALDS victory and a World Series berth.

2. Shot pourer: Gomes had a special bottle of Patron at the ready when the Rays beat the White Sox in the playoffs. Joe Maddon drank some — of COURSE he did — and James Shields‘ esophagus might never recover. The tequila again surfaced after the ALCS.

3. Mohawk consultant: Gomes didn’t start the Rays’ odd team-bonding procedure of getting a Mohawk (or, as the term has been coined, a RayHawk) but his B.A. Baracus head was undeniably the scariest-looking of the bunch.

4. Basebrawl enforcer: Gomes was a supporting figure in the big Red Sox fight, but he ran the anchor leg of the brawl with the Yankees in spring training. If a team needs to involve itself in a solid bad-bloodletting, Gomes is a man you want on your side.

5. Athletic supporter: Gomes gave Major League Baseball its own version of the Stanley Cup by drinking Bud Light (nobody’s perfect) shooters out of Dioner Navarro’s jock.

Let’s make it a merry Christmas for Jonny. Let’s find him a new team.

The world may have had to wait 24 hours to see Peter Eastgate win the World Series of Poker this year on ESPN, but when PokerStars crowns the World Cup of Poker champions, it will happen live and for the whole world to see.

PokerStars announced today that the live finals of the World Cup of Poker V will happen live on PokerStars.tv. Not only that, PokerStars.tv plans to show the event with the hole card cams exposed. So, as the nine teams fight it out for the World Cup of Poker title, you will be able to see every bluff,, every laydown–every card!

The live finals are scheduled to take place over one day on January 6 in the Bahamas. Live coverage of the finals will begin on January 6 and run into a champion has been determined.

Stay tuned for more information on the finals, the teams, and the players over the next few weeks.

One of the most important skills a poker player will develop is the ability to take notes on their opponents. Poker is a game of incomplete information, where players have to make decisions based on betting patterns or tells and as a results, are often incorrect in their thinking and therefore make a mistake. In online poker, there is no need to make the same mistake twice.

Dan Harrington mentioned in his tournament strategy book series, ‘Harrington On Hold’em’ that he knows of players who have dozens of notebooks filled with notes they have written down during poker games and throughout the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, eventual winner Greg Raymer famously jotted down his observations on a notepad during breaks in the action.

Whilst taking notes at the casino can be cumbersome, online there is no excuse not to build up a portfolio of detailed notes on the opponents you face on a regular basis as there is a note taking facility built into the software. Although you will meet regulars in the micro-stakes, you will find as you move up in stakes, the number of players drops so it is far more likely you will face the same opponents time and time again. Ideally, it is the regulars that you will have notes on.

The first thing to make note of is their overall playing style, do they play a typical tight-aggressive (TAG) or loose-aggressive (LAG) game? Another important observation will be how the villain plays their draws. Do they call without the correct odds? Do they prefer to play their draws fast by raising to push out weak made hands? How often do they steal from the cutoff or on the button? All these are basic notes that will help you make a great lay down or make a heroic call if you are in a similar situation again.

Whenever a hand has been completed, have a quick look at the hand history and see if anything really stands out at you. Did the player play out the hand in a straight forward manner or did he make a delayed continuation bet holding an overpair on a dry board? Finally, you may want to add any information you notice about betting or timing tells, for example, do they make a certain sized bet with strong or weak holdings or do they always bet the flop and turn but give up on the river?

One of the most important aspects of note taking is to be prepared to change your notes if a player develops. You may note early in the session that he is LAG but it could simply be a good run of cards and he is really a rock. Having extra information is key but having incorrect information is worse than having none at all.

Related Readings

Strange list of player notes - Poker Web Watch
Top ten tips on winning at online poker - WSOPE
How to build a bankroll - Roland De Wolfe
Random? Moi? - Matt Broughton
Pud’s Poker Progress - Matthew Pitt