The OMG Hand

    This is the world we live in
    And these are the hands we're given         Genesis

  So anyway, I'm playing in my regular Friday night live tournament. The starting stack is 25,000 and the blinds, at 300/600, are at the third level. So the tourney is still in the early stages. I'm sitting at a table with a number of new players and it's fair to say that it's a very 'sticky' table. In other words, most of the players are finding it hard to release their hands. There's a lot of calling and very little raising or folding. My stack size is above the average, somewhere around 28k.
   I'm sitting in the big blind when I'm dealt KK. As usual, nearly everyone limps in, just calling the big blind, from the player on my left around to the small blind. By this time I figure there's over 3000 in the pot. So the first thing I do is make sure the dealer doesn't start dealing the flop, as everyone is used to the BB just checking most of the time. Then I have a decision to make. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I'd decided to limit my pre-flop raising of big hands to around 5% of my stack and just take my chances on the flop. But this is not a big hand, this is a monster hand. And as even the greenest poker newbie knows, AA and KK play very well against one or two callers, but very poorly in multi-way pots.
   I have three options at this stage; push all-in, raise or call. Actually, I don't even consider going all-in. I'm not willing to risk all my chips on the second nuts. It's not at all unlikely that I'd get called by a medium to large ace, and if an ace hit the board, I'd be in big trouble. So it's raise or call. I'd be risking less by just calling, but I'd also be turning my Kings into Dogs with so many drawing hands in the pot. The trouble is, I know that if I raise, I'll have to commit a big chunk of my stack to the hand. I know that if I raise, say five times the blind, I'd be lucky to push more than a couple of players out of the pot. So I decide to raise big in the hopes of forcing everyone to fold. I throw 7000 into the middle, amounting to over 11 times the BB, and about a quarter of my stack.
   The 'under-the-gun' player folds and then I sit and watch as player after player calls my huge raise. By the time the Small Blind calls there are a total of five players in the pot besides myself, and my jaw has dropped enough to go CLUNK on the table. OMG! The pot is now a monster, amounting to an entire big stack on its own. I know these guys are likely to call light but this is ridiculous. I figure there must be at least one ace out there, maybe several. At this point the worst thing that could happen to me would be seeing an ace on the flop.
   So the flop comes A A x. OMG! This is the second worst thing I could see. On the face of it, it could be good news. With two aces on the board, the chances of another ace being out there are reduced. But I just can't get past the number of hands that are in the pot and find it hard to believe that none of the hands that called such a big bet have an ace in them. I can just imagine someone limping in with something like A 5 and then calling into a huge pot in the hopes of hitting on the flop. Then the Small Blind bets 10k. OMG! In hindsight, most players wouldn't do this if they just hit trips. In my experience, a player who hits trips on the flop will usually check. They don't want to scare anyone off. They'll wait for someone else to bet and then either call or raise. If no-one bets, then they can always bet the turn or (if they're very patient) the river. Betting this flop seems more like the action of someone with two pairs.
   However, I'm thinking that even if she doesn't have it, there are still four more players to act behind me, any one of which could have me beat. And if I call this bet, I'll have to keep calling to the river and will probably end up all-in with what could be the second best hand. So I fold my KK and then watch as every other player folds in turn. Then as the player to my right drags in a massive pot she obligingly turns over her hand to reveal..... QQ.   OMG!  Oh    My     God.
   It took me a while to regain my composure after this hand. I played a number of hands after this on auto-pilot, and kept playing the hand over and over in my mind. I nearly went on tilt. I was tempted to push all-in with my next halfway decent hand in one of those call-this-you-bastards moments. But after taking about 45 long deep breaths I finally calmed down and got back into the game. In the end I got knocked out in 11th place. Maybe if I'd called that bet I would have got into the money with my early big stack. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
   Looking back at this I don't see what else I could have done differently. I really don't see myself playing it any other way. The only realistic possibility would be the pre-flop all-in push. But this is an option that puts all my chips at risk for what could be a coin flip. Of course, the advantage of this is that you are forcing your opponents into making a decision. But then again I thought I was doing that by putting in a huge raise! If this ever happened again, what would I do? Probably the same thing. Then again, maybe I'll toss a coin (or a chip); all-in or raise. Let the chips fall where they may.

The Law

I needed money 'cause I had none,
I fought the law and the law won        The Clash (The Crickets)

   A few weeks ago I decided to check out the legal position regarding the playing of online poker in New Zealand. I don't recall what sparked this enquiry, but it wasn't hard to find the information I needed online. The situation seems pretty straightforward. It's illegal to run an online gambling site from within New Zealand. It's illegal to advertise online gambling sites in this country. But it is not illegal to play online poker. According to the Department of Internal Affairs website (www.dia.govt.nz/Gambling),  'It is not illegal for someone in New Zealand to participate in gambling over the Internet if that website is based overseas.' The site then goes on to warn of the possible dangers of playing for money on sites that are not covered by New Zealand law. This is pretty much what I expected. However the situation for live games is a little more complex.
   Before I go any further, let me make something clear. I am not a lawyer. I have no legal training nor any expertise whatsoever in legal matters. What follows is a summary of my understanding of the law as it relates to poker in New Zealand. Most of this information comes from the Department of Internal Affairs website mentioned above. I am not qualified in any way to offer advice on gambling law and anyone reading this should bear this in mind. Is that clear?
   Apart from casino games, which are in a different category altogether, poker games fall into one of four categories of 'gambling activity'.
   Private Gambling. This  covers any game played in a private residence: in other words, home games. Basically, no-one can profit from the game. There can be no rake, entry fee, commission or any other charge on players, and all stakes must be paid out. Apart from this, the game must not be advertised. So you can invite your mates around for a home game as long as you don't advertise it to all and sundry. Interestingly, there is no limit on the size of the prize pool in these types of games. Also, it must be 'primarily a social event'. I don't know how you could possibly make a judgement on that; isn't any live poker game a social event?
  Class 1 Gambling. This category of poker game is any that is held at a venue other than a private dwelling and where the total prize pool is less than $500. Once again, all prize monies must be paid out and no-one can profit from running the game. The rules and condition of the game must also be clearly spelt out to the participants. These types of games can be run either by an individual or by a 'society' (e.g. a club). However games run by a society have to meet special conditions, which also apply to class 2 games. So for all intents and purposes, class 1 games are those run by individuals.
   Class 2 Gambling. Any gambling activity where the prize pool is greater than $500 can only be run by a society for the purpose of raising money for 'authorised purposes'. The prize limit is $5000 and, unlike the other two game types, money MUST come out of the prize pool. This money goes to 'charitable or other purposes beneficial to the community'. There is a list of approved purposes on the DIA website. As before, no individual can profit from the running of the game.
   Class 3 Gambling. Any game where the prize pool exceeds $5000 must also be run by a society as above and also requires a licence from the DIA.

   I first checked out these rules a few years ago when I decided to run a poker cash game up at my club. Along with a fellow home game regular, I looked into the legal requirements, then we set up a Class 2 game by first getting the approval of the club committee. The charitable aspect was pretty simply done: we charged entrants a 10% surcharge on top of their buy-ins and that money was donated to charity. We did it this way because we thought the prize pool might go over the $500 mark but as it happened we only got 5 or 6 players in each session, which kept the stakes well under that level. Since then I've had a casual interest in the level of compliance of the various games that I've played in. It turns out that most of them have been more or less within the law.
   A few years ago my wife used to play in a monthly pool tournament held in a 'garage club' in South Auckland. I used to go along as a supporter (mainly supporting the bar) and sometimes joined in a poker game that was often played at this venue. This game was run by L, the owner of the venue. There was generally a house rake of one minimum bet for each hand. So the blind bet (usually $2) went to the house, which amounted to quite a bit over a few hours of play. Of all the games I've played in, this one would be the farthest outside the law.
   The home game that I used to hold at my place was kind of in a grey area. We also used to collect the blind bet for the host, which on the face of it is illegal. However it's not that simple.  Firstly, although the game was generally held in my home, the 'host' changed with each round. Each of the people in our group took a turn at being the designated host and collected the 'kitty' at the end of the evening. What's more, the designated host was expected to provide snacks for everyone, and also finger food for supper. Paying for this usually took up a big chunk of the money collected. So although this game didn't comply with the letter of the law, I think it was more or less in line with intention of the law.
   As for the games that I've played in that have been held in pubs and clubs, they've generally been pretty straight (with the possible exception of National Pub Poker League games). I guess it pays to stay on the right side of the law when you could end up losing your liquor licence. The game I used to play in at the Phoenix Tavern was a Class 1 game and, apart from a couple of special games, all the prize pool was paid out. And the one that I'm playing in now on Friday nights is a Class 2 game and as far as I'm aware, the ten per cent that comes out of the prize pool goes to charity as required.
   The one area where a lot of these games don't measure up is in providing information to the participants about the rules and conditions. It may be a bit of a hassle for the organisers, but I'd like to see someone get up at the start and briefly go through the game structure, prizes, and any relevant rules and conditions of play. But that's a small criticism. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the games that I'm currently playing in, whether live or online. It's nice to be able to play a little poker without the authorities breathing down your neck.