In a previous post by Holyman, he stated that many cardrooms don’t enforce the rules, or do as they see fit.

I personally believe that those who make the rules should be the ones to set the example. Tournament Directors make up the rules for the TDA (Tournament Director’s Association).

Here is how I see it, the TDA (or whoever) sets the rules for a tourney. Provided the cardroom is a member of the TDA, the staff is told to enforce the TDA rules. Players don’t like the rule so they ignore it. If the staff insists on enforcing the rule, then the staff gets abused by the players. The casino tells the staff to let the players have it their way. Thus you have the situation where the players run the satellite and willingly leave themselves open to cheaters.  Is it cheating if the other players allow you to do it?

I’ve talked to many players about why a satellite should be random seating. 98% said they don’t care if they are cheated, as long as they can choose the seat of their choice.

That brings me to my post.. here are some ways to take advantage of being able to select your own seat at a satellite. Since 98% of all satellite players don’t care, here is how it can help you. Warning, since you can select your own seat so can your opponent who may be trying the same tricks on you.

(1) In Hold ‘Em position on a player is important. If I know someone is a tight player I want him to the right of me. If he raises, I can get out. If he limps, I can steal from him. Of course, sometimes I want him on my left so I can steal his blinds when I get nothing. Definately important in tournament and satellite play.

Then there is the loose player. Most times I want him on my left. He’ll call me a lot, I can always check to him and let him bet so I can raise. many times when I raise with a big hand, he’ll reraise and get rid of chasers. My odds of winning heads up with him is good.

My strategy is go to a satellite table when it is first spread. I lock up two or three seats just for me. As people come and pick their seats I start deciding which one of my seats gives me the best edge. I sell the worst one. Once all the seats are gone, it’s now time for the Satellite Director to pick up each players buy-in. At this time I still have my seat and one other. Now I look at the other players at the table and the new player who wants the seat I’m going to open. Based on how I rate players, I choose at what end of the table I will play at (I usually lock up an end seat at each end of the table).

I give up one seat, take the other, and I’m sitting in a position that I feel gives me the best edge against the players at that table.

(2) What if you are a senior citizen and have trouble seeing? You could just select seat no 5 or 6 and be right at the middle so you could see and read the board better. So a player who would have been a sitting duck at one end of the table is now given an edge by being able to sit in the mddle.

In conclusion, what Holyman saw as lemons I can make lemonade with. So I thank everyone who lets me take advantage of them at the satellite table.

Next week I’ll post part two in this series, playing with a partner.

In addition to dealers, there are other people to be tipped in the casino industry.

One of the most overlooked is the chip runner. Their job is to get you chips, bring setups when the cards are running bad for you, find service for you, get you cushions, and more.

They do a lot of work and usually get the smallest envelopes from the casino. So it’s important they they make decent tips also for a decent job done. There is one service that they have been providing since the birth of poker.  Something that is customary to tip for. Sadly, I rarely see anyone tip for it anymore.

I’m talking about bringing a new setup to the table. It is (or was) customary to tip whoever brought it. Before there was Hold ‘Em, poker players mainly played Draw and Lo-Ball at an eight-handed table. There were no dealers, you dealt amongst yourself. When the setup was brought, each player would throw in a dollar and the eight dollars gathered would be given to the floorman (back then only the floorman could bring a setup).

Then after dealers became common place, it seems that setups came faster. You could get one around the clock. No longer could a table afford to be shelling out $9 for every setup. So, it became customary only for the person who had asked for the setup to tip. To me this made more sense. The chip runner or floorman is doing that player the favor by honoring their request for a setup. Most all the other players don’t want the setup as it slows down the game.

Eventually new setups were being requested quite often that most cardrooms now have a limit of how many can be passed out. One hour seems to be the majority but some limit it to once every 8 hours.

Sadly, I see the setups passed out and I rarely see the player who requested it ever throw a tip to the runner. Most people ask for a new setup because they believe that it will bring them better luck than the last decks. If that truly is the case, then why not tip the runner $1 for getting rid of those bad luck decks? The ones that had been keeping you from winning all this time. If that service isn’t worth a dollar than I don’t know what is.

Here is a situation that really irks me. It upsets me for two reasons. One, is because casinos who “claim” they are members of the Tournament Directors Association don’t follow the rules they set. Secondly, the reason is there for a purpose yet tournament players don’t want the rule.

The rule pertains to satellites. It specifically says that seats in a satellite must be randomly assigned. All casinos that I have seen that are members of the TDA do not enforce it.

When I ran satellites for the largest tournaments in the world, I would enforce the rule yet 98% of the players yelled at me for enforcing it and 2% applauded me for the balls to stand up to the other players.

So here is my thought. The rule is in place to protect players from partners and other cheats. Either 98% of the players are ignorant to the fact that cheating goes on (or they know it goes on and don’t care about being cheated) or they are the ones doing the cheating.

Now I find it hard to believe they like being cheated, and I also have to believe that 98% of the players can’t be cheaters, so logically speaking.. that only leaves ignorance.

Hopefully this post will open the eyes to all who play satellites. The TDA felt that it was important to preserve the integrity of the game and to make it harder for players to cheat that they passed such a rule. Take a stand and don’t let others cheat or take advantage of you. Please insist to all casino dealers and to casino management that they enforce this important rule.

I was told by a top ranking casino manager that they didn’t care if players cheat each other, they will only get involved if the player cheats the casino.  Funny thing is.. I researched this casino on some legal websites and found many lawsuits filed against them by players who claimed they were cheated by other players. I guess if they lose those lawsuits they will be more concerned about players cheating each other.

If you don’t think cheating goes on in poker games and tourneys you better wake up or lose all your money.

• Unethical Casinos

Here we go again with another installment of strange things I’ve witnessed poker players do.

Jackpots. Typically it is awarded when you make a big hand like Aces Full and get beat by Four Of A Kind or better. Most all casinos have them but the qualifying hands may be different.

In the old days of poker in California (poker has been legal in California for at least 100 years if not more), they didn’t have jackpots. Players had to create their own. The table would agree on what hand had to be beat and then they would take $1 from every pot and drop it into a cup. If you lost with the qualifying hand you won all the chips in the cup.

Then along came larger card clubs and poker dealers. The poker dealer then took the $1 and gave it to the casino who paid it out when the jackpot was hit.

Now lets do some math. If a typical dealer deals 27 hands per hour (some dealers are faster) that comes out to $27 per hour the casino takes out of the pots. Now, most Hold ‘em games are played nine handed. So if skill and luck are all equal, basically each player is paying $3 per hour to have a jackpot at their table (and if you play 12 hours a week you are paying $1,872 per year for your jackpot).

Then back in 2005 or so, the Department of Justice ruled it was illegal for the casino to take money from the players to pay for a jackpot. No longer did $27 an hour disappear into the casinos pockets.

Since jackpots were so poular amongst players the casino decided to keep jackpots eventhough they couldn’t charge the players for it. The catch was, they made the jackpots a little harder to hit. Instead of Aces Full losing to Four Of A Kind, it had to be Four Of A Kind Lose to a better Four Of A Kind or higher hand.

That’s when poker players went strange. The majority of players decided to complain to management or to not play at all. They didn’t want a free jackpot. They wanted the casino to rip them off and start charging them again. They wanted to lose an extra $3 per hour on the longshot they might lose, not with Four Of A Kind, but with Aces Full.

So the casinos talked the DOJ into letting them rip of the players again by taking the $1 jackpot drop every hand.

So I ask you, what is better… a jackpot you pay $0 per year for, or one you pay $1,872 per year for (based on 12 hours per week playing)?

• Poker Players Are Strange