March 7, 2006
Besides the cash prizes available at the pacificpoker.com players club, all three top players were also awarded glass poker trophies, as well as leis, courtesy of Leis on Arrival. The other players who also made it to the top rankings were Gen Watanabe, who placed fourth, and Terry Fan, who rounded up the final five. Watanabe got $1,770 for his efforts, while Fan recouped and made a tidy profit on his $300 entrance fee (plus $50 commission) by taking home $885. The defending champion in last September's Texas Hold 'Em Pacificpoker Tournament, Toshinari Matshushita, managed to make it to the final 10 but was soon eliminated. He shrugged off his loss and watched the tournament wind up from the sidelines.
Here's how showing your pacificpoker hands can work to your benefit, particularly when you're up against novice players:
- Showing a bluff. Revealing your bluff hand might be good for your online pacificpoker com table image after you've successfully pushed your opponents out of the hand. Bad players tend to have very long memories. By showing just one of your bluffs, they may conclude that you try to steal all of the pots, all of the time. Later in the game, when you are dealt the best hand, you'll benefit because they will call you more often than they should.
- Showing a strong hand. There are two ways to make the most of this situation. If you are up against a weak player, showing him that you bet a strong hand often will allow you to bully him for the rest of the night. It will put the notion in his mind that when you bet, it's always because you have great cards, even if you don't. The other benefit in revealing a strong hand is that it may help to keep an aggressive pacificpoker player off your back. Aggressive players are the toughest to face, and quite frankly, you don't want them attacking you.
Interestingly, besides the main pacificpoker players club tournament itself, the casino also hosted a satellite event called the Bad Beat Tournament, which featured the first 10 players who were eliminated from the main game. The game was complimentary to the players, with a prize of $300 going to the winner. That eventually went to Jose Evangelista of Tinian. Kiri Jackson, TDHC's casino marketing and pacificpoker promotions assistant, said that, at 53 entrants, this was the biggest Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament they've hosted since they introduced the game in February 2005. She said it was Casino Pit Manager and Poker Tournament Director Tony Jackson who introduced the game at the Dynasty Casino.
