True Competition!!!!!!

Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi had to do something that not has been done in WSOP history. He and his brother Robert made the $50k 8 or better players final table. Most would think that they would stay out of each others way and not mix it up. This was not the case with the brothers. They attacked each other on the felt and represented true competition in a way that has not been seen besides maybe Venus and Serena on the tennis courts. We are excited to see the televised event and wonder if he truly was picking on his brothers game and vice versa. Anyway we are impressed that he took his brother out of the tournament and we think his quote was "I had to win to keep the family name strong, after all, I did take his chips".

Take chips at all costs, poker is a cutthroat game and you must take any edge you have an kill it! That is true competition at it's best. Good on you Grinder!

SHODOWN

Leaving the table after your All In?

While watching Poker on TV we have noticed a trend of players leaving the table after they are all in. Some occurrences are understandable and are not bad etiquette. For instance, if you have a friend in the audience, you may step away and tell them what has happened so they can sweat with you and then come back. Obviously other cases are acceptable as well. Huge scale events like the WSOP Main, and EPT Grand Final tables are all good. However where it becomes silly is when they do it every hand and in spots where the pressure really isn't huge. When it is for $5000.00 instead of a Million. Please do not run away from the camera and off the set to get attention, it's weak. Give your opponent the respect of being at the table when flops, turns, and rivers come raining down! After all this is where the excitement lies. No matter what a player will tell you, SHODOWN's are the most exciting aspect of the game. You find out if you are correct, little ahead, little behind, dominating, dominated, or completely outclassed and dead in the water. Make sure your not part of the latter, but even if you are, MAN UP and learn from what just happened. Don't run away like a coward.

SHODOWN

Mixing it up?!?!?!?!?

Recently there has been new poker on TV. We have had regular tournaments, celebrity tournaments, sit and go's and cash games on TV. But now PokerStars has mixed it up yet again with airing their NAPT bounty tournament. The structure is really cool. How it works (if you don't already know) is as follows: You play a single table sngo and are awarded bounties for knocking players out. The winner of the 1-table sngo wins $60 000.00 and moves on to the final table sngo. Then the bounties are still going and the winner of the final table receives $350 000.00 as well as their own bounty.

New innovations are great for poker. Our players have found watching the bounty much more entertaining because it rewards aggression. The more people you knock out the more you make. So if you are a rock and just chill and and wait for big hands, you miss out on $$$!! This aggression also allows for the other players to play lower ranking hands. Faraz Jaka has made both final tables in the events history and he plays crap cards all the time. However, he doesn't just get lucky but outplays his opponents quite often. His style plays very well into the structure of the payouts in the tournament.

In closing PokerStars has definitely found an interesting format to air on TV. So watch the shows and let us know your thoughts.

Mixing it up in your poker game is just as important as mixing it up in everything else in life. Keeps it fresh and exciting!

SHODOWN

Slow Rolling is a Cardinal SIN!!!!!!

Have you ever been slow rolled at a card game? It is possibly the only thing that is a guaranteed tilt causing phenomenon. It is the dirtiest, slimiest play in the whole world. The only time it would ever be acceptable is if you were playing with your best friend that you were playing with for years in a fun $5 tournament that meant nothing to you. We have seen people get in fights because of slow rolls.

Now for those who don't play and don't understand what a slow roll is. This is the quick version:

Slowroll - To wait until the last possible moment to show the winning hand, in an effort to get your opponent to believe he has won the pot when he has not.

So the reason titling is affected by this, is because a person can genuinely think they are raking in a huge pot (say $1200 in a cash game or 1 million chips in tournaments) to find out the guy was messing with you and giving you false hope. This is disgraceful and we lose any respect for players who do this.

Saying this we saw an example on High Stakes Poker two weeks ago with Daniel Negreanu. He slow rolled Lex Veldhuis. Now here is where the tricky part of what happened was. We beleive that Daniel really thought that Lex had a straight as well, or he had him beat with a higher straight. Mean while Lex only had 2 pair. Danile reluctantly showed his cards asking if Lex had a straight. Lex thought he had won, but then Daniel showed the winner. Lex seemed to be a little upset but took it like a proffessional, we think because he knew it wasn't Daniel's intention. If it was his intention then I am sure choice words would have been said.

Needless to say slow rolling is not needed in the game of poker and we will never be affilaited with a player who uses these tactics. We would rather slow roll them under a steam roller!

SHODOWN

City Centre is CRAZY!!

SHODOWN recently had the privilege of being in Las Vegas to sign our newest Pro-Team member Joe Cada. This was our 4th trip and we have seen everything Sin City has to offer. Except the recently opened city centre. THIS IS A MUST SEE!! This was the first unreal architectural experience our team ever had! It is tough sometimes to appreciate what is around you when all you are focusing on is cards and crushing your opponents. The city centre is like nothing else we have seen. It was an 8.4 billion dollar development and the outcome shows how amazing it really is. When you are surrounded by the waterfall and looking up, you are engulfed by skyline and do not see a horizon anywhere. The buildings look as though they are falling down on top and away from you, and the cleanliness of the architecture is amazing.

In the centre their is the highest end and most expensive fashion stores in the world. We stopped by TOM FORD shop which is only 1 of 5 locations world wide. Needless to say this is a must see when you go on your trip to Vegas.

Now lets get to the poker room at Aria which is one of the hotels within the centre. It is one of our favorite rooms. The chairs are the most comfortable chairs our team as ever sat in. They have great back support and are fully adjustable. Sounds like a funny thing to comment about, but chair comfort is as important as comfortable clothes at the tables. You need to have zero distractions to play your best. The servers are quick and efficient, you even get a Starbucks like coffee cup when you order a coffee. Vodka Redbull's come in a big sturdy glass and the dealers know what they are doing. The action was also good, we played the 1-3 NL tables because the average person that stays at Aria has some wealth. They don't care about the buy in. This makes for some good fish! The action was great and you could control pot-size quite easily. For more information about Aria and the City Centre, go here.

We were impressed by the poker room and City Centre but make sure you get out and see all that Las Vegas has to offer. There are many great poker rooms and things to see.

SHODOWN

Poker Brat gets punished?!?!?!?!?

Phil Hellmuth is either one of your favorite poker players or you despise the man. Needless to say he is a character. On recent televised events he has been facing some pretty harsh criticism. Antonio has laid into him a couple times and granted the WSOPE ridicule was warranted. He did call off all his chips with a smaller full house. Antonio said it best- " I wouldn't have called in that spot" Which again is the truth! He played badly in that spot, but we don't know the history leading up to the hand.

Now we lead into the reasoning behind the post. In this weeks HSP season 6 episode (1st) Phil was being berated by the other players. Now he does deserve some of this but what he does not deserve, and any other player is to be picked on or made fun of while involved in a hand. When the integrity of play is compensated by teasing or needling it needs to stop. After all we are playing for money, and in their cases hundreds of thousands! It is expected that Hellmuth will say he's the best ever and berate players, but that is part of his marketing image. Phil never makes fun while in a hand, he tries to get info. He has never been seen to effect the play of a hand when he is not a part of it. He respects the game and should receive that respect back when playing.

Even Doyle took Jabs at him in the WSOPE saying his entrance was embarrassing. No matter how much you love or hate Phil he is GREAT for Poker.

SHODOWN

Comfort is key?!?!?!?!?

Live and online poker can take it's toll on your body. Major events can have you playing 12+ hours on a regular basis. Comfort becomes more important as the session goes by. As time passes you become less alert and things begin to bug and annoy you. Same effect on kids if they haven't had their nap!

"Comfort can help make you mind at ease while playing." - Paul Wasicka "KwickFish"

When SHODOWN developed their t-shirts we wanted to make sure our players will be as comfortable as possible. So we sought after the softest and most comfortable fabric we could find. That fabric happened to be BAMBOO. It is antibacterial, absorbent, and soft. Everything that is needed during a long session.

"I'm a Sucker for BAMBOO FIBER" - Mike "Timex" McDonald

Our Pro's are dedicated and love Poker. They wear SHODOWN because it is simply the best for comfort at the poker table. Another benefit of BAMBOO is that it is eco-friendly.

Look out for sweaters and hats in the near future!

SHODOWN