Chapter 4 Ep. 5 Superstitions & Lucky Charms

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Ante Up Poker Magazine
Host: Joe Scales
Episode: Chapter 4 Ep. 5 – Superstitions & Lucky Charms
Date: February 14, 2026

This week's episode centers on the role of superstition, lucky charms, and rituals in poker, as Joe Scales and co-host Elle mix humor, practical advice, and strategy with updates on the live poker scene and upcoming events. The episode features guest Tia Bacon from Arizona’s Gila River Lone Butte poker room, who shares tournament and community insights. Regular segments like Table Talk, Call the Floor, and Hand of the Week add strategy, funny stories, and real-world examples.

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Table of Contents

1. Table Talk: Live Poker in Arizona
2. Charity in Poker: Giving Back
3. Super Bowl Recap & Prop Bet Showdown
4. Exclusive News: Upcoming Poker Cruise Teaser
5. Call the Floor: Late Registration Dilemma
6. Hand of the Week: Tournament Tactics
7. Joe’s One Outer: Superstitions in Poker

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Table Talk: Live Poker in Arizona

Guests: Joe Scales, Elle, Tia Bacon (Gila River, Lone Butte)

Segment Start: [03:50]

Key Discussion Points:

• New Poker Events at Lone Butte ([04:22])

  • Omega Stack: March 17th, $300 buy-in, fun starting event.
  • Triple Draw Tournament: March 17th, $500 buy-in, features Ace-to-5, Deuce-to-7, and Badugi.
    • Elle: “I just like saying the word Badugi, but I also like playing it.” ([05:00])
  • High Roller PLO: March 18th, $1,500 buy-in.

• Arizona Travel & Atmosphere ([05:55])

  • Excellent weather in Feb/March (60–70°F, sunny).
  • Lots of local festivals and activities, including the Ostrich Festival ([07:44]).

• Lone Butte Poker Room Experience ([09:17])

  • Friendly, community vibe—“where everybody knows your name” ([11:02]).
  • Recent expansion: from 30 to 36 tables.
  • Room often split between tournaments and cash games, with massive promotions ($10,000–$75,000 giveaways).

• Games & Limits Offered ([11:44])

  • Range from low-limit ($3/6) to PLO games with $10,000 buy-ins.
  • Variety of mixed games, hold ’em, and promotions like high-hand weeks.

• Promotion & Ambassadorship ([08:37])

  • Branded shirts for the team, more on-site promotion ahead of the series.
  • Satellite tournaments are running with growing morning sessions.

Notable Quote:
Tia Bacon: “It’s super welcoming... It really feels like a community when it comes to Lone Butte.” ([09:41])

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Charity in Poker: Giving Back

Segment Start: [13:46]

• Santa’s Helper Toy Drive
  • Annual December event attracts huge donations (“over $8,000 worth of toys”).
• Back-to-School Supplies
  • “They fill up three to four poker tables of charity toy drives, school supplies.” ([14:48])

Charity Poker Tournament Highlight:

• Camp One Step ([15:44])
  • April 16th, Galleria Marchetti, Chicago.
  • Bob Popper serves as an Annie Up ambassador and bounty.
  • “If you play in a charity poker tournament, people play a little differently... the rebuys are unreal!” – Elle ([17:20])

Notable Moment:
Joe Scales: “Poker players really are just like some of the most giving. It’s one of the most giving communities. You know, we might complain about the price of a sandwich, but we’re gonna donate a bike.” ([15:10])

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Super Bowl Recap & Prop Bet Showdown

Segment Start: [25:56]

• Prop Bets Debrief:

  • Elle dominated the prop bet contest, predicting nearly all calls correctly.
  • Notable props included the national anthem’s length, coin toss, halftime show presence, and Gatorade color.
  • Joe: “Tails does fail roughly about 50% of the time.” ([27:30])
  • Funny debate over what qualifies as a "streaker"—consensus: must be nude ([28:38]).

• Running Score Gags:

  • Ongoing banter about “commissioner” (actually their dog, Ollie!) ([28:55])
  • Joe: “You won that one. And you won... But I didn’t lose as badly as I thought.” ([30:55])

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Exclusive News: Upcoming Poker Cruise Teaser

Segment Start: [31:39]

• Breaking News Teased:
  • “We are cruising again. This is where... we are headed back to the open seas.” – Elle ([32:05])
  • Official announcement pending; hint at major partners and community involvement.
  • Joe: “We have been holding onto this for... quite a while and it’s finally starting to come together.” ([32:22])

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Call the Floor: Late Registration Dilemma

Segment Start: [33:44]

• Situation:

  • Listener Cade Dyer is denied re-entry after standing in line before late reg closes but isn’t at the cage before the new level starts.

• Elliot Schechter’s Ruling:

  • Software may not allow registration after the specified time, regardless of intent.
  • “Should that player be allowed to register if they were in line? Personally, I feel yes... But that doesn’t mean it’s actual or possible.” ([37:09])
  • Emphasizes communication: “If you ask for help, you’re almost always going to get it.” ([45:10])

• Larger Takeaway:

  • Suggests the industry is moving towards cashless/carded registration but warns this won’t solve all timing issues.
  • “Registration doesn’t close when you get in line. It closes when the tournament says it does.” – Joe ([49:35])

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Hand of the Week: Tournament Tactics

Segment Start: [50:30]

• Hand Breakdown: $400 NLHE Tournament

  • Hero: Dan Hamilton in hijack with Ad Qd, 52k stack; blinds 1.1k/2k, avg. stack 45k.
  • Facing a 12.5k 3-bet from a looser/aggressive cutoff.
  • Deep-strategy discussion on 3Bet calling, 4Betting, and properly leveraging stack depth.

• Key strategic questions:

  • Should hero 4-bet, flat, or fold AQ suited here?
  • How to proceed with top pair/top kicker plus nut flush draw after the flop.

• Memorable Exchanges:

  • Patrick: “Patrick a year and a half ago might have just called.”
  • Joe: “It’s not reckless to get the chips in there... You’re forcing the villain to make hard decisions, which is what tournament poker is all about.” ([68:49])

• Result:

  • Both players have AQ; hand runs out to a split.

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Joe’s One Outer: Superstitions in Poker

Segment Start: [74:17]

• Theme: Superstition and luck rituals in poker—do they actually help or hurt?
• Perspective:
  • Joe shares personal philosophy: superstition as comfort, not strategy.
  • “If you attribute success to lucky rituals, you rob yourself of ownership. And if you attribute losses to bad omens, you rob yourself of accountability. That makes growth harder.” ([74:17])
  • Encourages listeners to focus on process, preparation, and discipline.
  • “Friday the 13th is just Friday. The cards don’t know the date. And the poker gods, they’re not checking astrology before dealing the river.” ([76:00])

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Poker Community:
  • Elle: “It’s like Cheers, where everybody knows your name.” ([11:02])
• On Charity:
  • Tia Bacon: “Our players... fill up three to four poker tables of charity toy drives, school supplies. Just—you never expect anything, but they come full on.” ([14:48])
• On Superstition:
  • Joe Scales: “The last thing you need is to convince yourself you’re starting the session off at a disadvantage because you forgot your lucky hat.” ([74:30])
• Comic Relief:
  • Protracted argument about what counts as a streaker:
    • Elle: “You’re not a streaker in my book. Unless there is no streak.” ([28:35])
  • Prop bet “commissioner” is revealed to be the family dog. ([28:55])

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Key Timestamps for Reference

• Table Talk w/ Tia Bacon: [03:50]–[22:11]
• Charity Poker Discussion: [13:46]–[18:47]
• Prop Bet Recap: [25:56]–[32:37]
• Cruise Teaser: [31:39]–[32:38]
• Call the Floor: [33:44]–[50:18]
• Hand of the Week: [50:30]–[73:35]
• Joe’s One Outer (Superstitions): [74:17]–[79:21]

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

Friendly, humorous, and down-to-earth—the episode captures the welcoming and inclusive spirit of everyday poker. Listeners get a mix of live reporting, community spotlights, strategy debates, and relatable laughs, all framed in the language and rhythm of genuine poker enthusiasts. The take-home message: Poker is about decisions, not destiny. Superstitions can be fun, but process and self-ownership are what really move the needle at the tables.

Transcript

[Podcast Narrator]

Take your seat, the cards are flying high Shuffle up and deal at the Aces Lie Longest running show. Yeah, we've seen it all. From the river to the rail we answer the call.

[Joe Scales]

Hello a team and welcome back to another episode of the eniapp Poker podcast where every hand is an opportunity, every player is a friend, every and every episode is a winning experience. I'm your host, Joe Scales and this week we have another great show and I'm excited to get into it. We have a special guest joining us on Table Talk and I know I'm going to be spending a little extra time to give Patrick a hard time about the super bowl, so I don't want to spend too much here. However, there is a lot happening in the Ant up nation, so let's hit a few quick announcements. First, if you're listening on Spotify, you can now watch the full video version of the podcast there as well. We've been putting time into upgrading the video side of things and I'm really happy with how it's coming together. Of course, you can always catch us on YouTube and that audience keeps growing, which all of this is really exciting to see. But wherever you listen, if you can leave a rating or a review, that goes a long way in helping us reach more everyday poker players. Speaking of everyday poker players, don't forget about the Patreon home game. It's just $5 to join the raise level of Patreon and that gets you into the game. It's just, it's another way for the a team to connect beyond just listening each week. If you haven't jumped in yet, we'd love to see you there. Now let's talk live poker. The NEF Poker Tour continues to build momentum. Our upcoming stop at Gila river in Lone Butte is coming up fast and they've added some really fun events including triple draw games, a 1500 dollar high roller PLO event. Satellites are already running and I think will lead all the way up to the series, which we're going to talk more about on Table Talk. But there's plenty of ways to get in. We'll be on site, we're going to be recording, hanging out and making sure that the everyday poker player gets the spotlight. As a reminder, also, the Ant magazine is free if you're looking for strategy, player profiles, interviews, stories about the people around the game, like the amateurs, the staff, the behind the scenes group that make this game so awesome. Go check it out. That's always been a focus and we're very proud of it. So oh, also keep those hands of the week coming. Tournament hands, cash hands, the ones that keep you up at night. Don't forget. Also call the floor questions. Elliot does a great job breaking down these rulings from a director's perspective. All right, that's enough business for now. Let's get into table talk. Let's welcome our guest and Patrick, my friend, we'll be talking about that super bowl, but that's all I have for now. So let's get on with the show.

[Podcast Narrator]

Welcome to the show. You're on the A team. Stack your chips and chase the the dream. Joe's got the booth, his mic's on fire. Got the laugh, she's taking it higher.

[Joe Scales]

Elle and I are back around the poker table with a guest.

[Elle]

We've got Tia Bacon here coming in live from Arizona. How are you?

[Tia Bacon]

I'm good. How are you guys?

[Elle]

We're good.

[Joe Scales]

We are getting closer and closer to the next stop there at Hila River. I know you guys added some things around the main event, so let's start there. Tell us a little bit about some of the, the new things that have been added and what, what players can expect when they come out.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah, I only added a few. I've added the Omega stack. It's like it starts on March 17, $300 buy in. That way players can start something small, have, have a little fun. And then same day around 4pm we do have a $500 triple draw which is Ace to 5, Deuce to 7 and Maduke.

[Joe Scales]

That's going to be so much fun. I'm. I'm really bummed that we're not going to make it out there in time for that one. But we'll be there for the rest of them for sure.

[Elle]

We hope to catch the tail end of triple draw though. Cause I want to see that in action. We don't land until around 4 o' clock that afternoon, so hoping to get there and see. I just like saying the word badoogie, but I also like playing it. And Deuce to seven is a fun game that we like to play with our Patreon folks at least I don't know, once or twice a year. So it's become a fan favorite. So I'm really excited to actually see that live tournament style. Yeah, it's not something I get to see very often.

[Joe Scales]

And then there's a high roller PLO as well, right?

[Tia Bacon]

Yes. We're going to have one on the next the following day, which is March 18th around 4pm 1500. I'll buy in that's like a little bit after registration for the main event.

[Joe Scales]

Nice.

[Tia Bacon]

That's going to be select few who loves poo, who likes playing high limit. And we're excited for that.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Well, it's going to be. It's going to be Elle and I's first time coming to Arizona as a whole. So what, what do we expect? What's the weather going to be like when we get there?

[Tia Bacon]

It's gorgeous. It's beautiful. Today I was outdoor. I think the high was 60. It was a little windy today, but normally you get the sun. Even if this 60, 70, you feel like it's 80. It's. It's just beautiful. Perfect time in February and March. A lot of festivities, a lot of activities. You can go for a walk, take a hike. Nice Sedona, if you like. But everything is so close by. Just outdoor dining would be the best if you ever go to restaurants and stuff. Because right now it's just perfect weather.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. We do have a couple of days built in after all of the tournament action is over. We have a couple of days that we built into the schedule to be able to do some things. Are there any hidden gems that we need to look for?

[Tia Bacon]

I mean, close by we have the Whirlwind. That's like a golf course by Wild Pass. It's a world class facility with two championship courses. They're actually hosting a LPGA4 championship around March 26th through the 29th. So you got like pro golf level happening right next to us. Amazing weather. And then at night you could play poker beside Long beach, which is the best poker room. You have other places also. W Pass has a lot happening. There's a lot of dining. But overall, I think Arizona has a lot of festivities. You can go through the schedule. We have Ostrich Festival. I mean, amazing places.

[Elle]

Ostrich Festival? What is that?

[Tia Bacon]

It's like State fair. Close to state fair. It's for the locals.

[Elle]

Okay. Okay. I'm definitely. I'm like gonna Google that immediately as soon as we're done. So Ostrich festival.

[Joe Scales]

I. I may have just signed up for a festival. I didn't even. Oh, and we got these shirts. We, um.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

And we. We. I know you guys were sending these, but we got them in perfect.

[Tia Bacon]

It looks great. I love it.

[Elle]

Some big Annie up there. And then of course, we love the logo. I really like when folks, when people do that. Can you hold that up just a little bit? It's on the sleeve. Yes, the Lone Beau logo is on the sleeve. So we're excited. Can't wait to throw those in the wash. We're gonna be wearing them around and on our YouTube and stuff like that coming up soon. And especially we'll have them when we're out there. So thank you guys so much.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah, absolutely. We have the team members going to be starting to whereabouts starting in March to promote. We have a lot of flyers already starting out.

[Elle]

What about some of the satellites? Because you guys already have some satellites that are, that are flowing into that main event, the 18th through the 22nd in March. So how are those going?

[Tia Bacon]

Amazing. They're great. We have night satellites starting off in January, February. But starting in March we will have morning satellites. Those are players favorite 11:00am and we'll have a milestone couple, milestone satellites for that too.

[Joe Scales]

Okay, so tell us about the room a little bit. Is it a good mix of tournament players and cash game players? We're going to be there, you know, during spring training. Do you have a lot of people that come down into the poker room that are there for spring training games?

[Tia Bacon]

Yes, we have Snowbirds spring training. We have a lot of guests coming in for golfing because everyone has perfect weather. Most. I think Bologn Butte is known for friendliness, the commute, the friendly, the familiar vibe. Everyone is super friendly. It starts from, you know, the host to the team members. Everyone know each other's name, just not a. It doesn't feel stiff or intimidating. It's super welcoming, very social and it really feels like a community when it comes to Longview. And then for the room is split in half. Majority tournaments and a lot of promotions. So this is why we have to split them up. Like if we have a main event or major tournament events, then it, the room is reserved for that. And then when we have. We're giving away 36,000 in one day, there's no tournaments so they have to share the room. And we're only growing. We were 30 tables last year. We're 36 tables now.

[Elle]

Okay.

[Tia Bacon]

Sometimes we have to reserve one for the other, but majority of the time is half. Half we have morning crowd, night crowd tournaments and then our players, they come in starting at 11:00 clock to 11:00pm I love it.

[Elle]

I know. I'm already looking forward to it. It's like, you know, cheers where everybody knows your name.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Elle]

You know, like. And those are, that's right up, up our alley. Yeah, that's what, that's what we look forward to.

[Tia Bacon]

We hope those types of rooms.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. And we hope to spotlight, you know, those, those local Players and the everyday player obviously, because first place, I know that they're gonna get obviously the money, they're gonna get the trophy. Everybody loves a trophy. And then they get to be featured on the COVID of the next issue of the magazine after the tournament's over. So I love that because we get to give that spotlight to the, to the local players or the everyday player. So it's my favorite part.

[Tia Bacon]

We do have a variety of games. We have hold em games, PLO games, no limits. And then no limits they go pretty intense. For the 2,3 alone it goes up to $1,000 buy in. Then PLO games. Sometimes they do it, they go. All the buy ins are up to 10,000. I mean we have small limits. 3, 6, hold them 4, 8. It's for everybody. If you want to play low limits to have fun, you're welcome. With the 3, 6, everyone just play friendly. They're there for the promotions. You know, all the giveaways that we, we do, we give away $10,000 every day, daily. We go all the way up to 36,000 on special events once a month. And then we have $50,000 giveaway for rakeback and then $75,000 for a whole week of High Hand. That's one of our new promotions that players love. Five days straight they come in and play for about $75,000. Mystery, high end.

[Joe Scales]

Wow.

[Tia Bacon]

We just had that last week. And then we also have 612 mix players who want to just play, come in, have fun with the mix game. They're more than welcome to. And we, but we start any games, any limits, any player want, as long as it's under regulation. Of course.

[Joe Scales]

You know, it's, it's. That's interesting because a lot of rooms will say that they have a mix and they're for, you know, all levels. Yeah. But that what you're explaining there is, is truly a massive level. You know, whatever you want to play, you can play it. It sounds like that's awesome. Yeah, it's not, it's not often that you find a room that can actually handle that. So. So I love that. What other. You know, I. One of our favorite things is bet on better. Yeah. That's what we truly love to see and talk about and promote and I know you guys have some of that there. Tell us a little bit about some of the charity side of things that you guys have.

[Tia Bacon]

Our two favorite charity events that we do is in December we have Santa's Helper, the Toy Drive. Like our poker community. Very giving, super, super giving. Last year, probably they donated over $8,000 worth of toys.

[Elle]

Oh, wow.

[Tia Bacon]

It's big events where we would line up the whole wall with toys. They bring in bikes. I mean, amazing, amazing toys. Just really, really great. Um, these second charity events that we also love is the school supply backpacks.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Tia Bacon]

Big, huge event.

[Elle]

Very heart that is needed. You don't even have any idea how many kids show up to school without a pencil.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah.

[Elle]

Without a pencil. And even the broken ones or the. The really, really short ones from the year before, it's like you've got to be able to equip them with the basics to be successful.

[Tia Bacon]

So, I mean, our players, they are just amazing. They fill up three to four poker tables of charity toy drives, school supplies. Just. You never expect anything, but they come full on.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Tia Bacon]

Those are two of our favorite charity events.

[Joe Scales]

So, yeah, poker players really are just like some of the most giving. It's one of the most giving communities. You know, we might complain about the price of a sandwich, but we're gonna. We're gonna donate a bite.

[Elle]

Look. To even buy the expression of her face.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah.

[Elle]

The coffee's not hot enough. The soda doesn't have enough carbonation, but I'll be happy to throw down $500 for school supplies. It's true. It's absolutely true.

[Tia Bacon]

It's the principle of it.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yes. Yeah.

[Elle]

Yeah. And one of our. We did want to mention this week, one of our favorite charity poker championships is coming up, and if you're not familiar, it's called Camp One Step.

[Joe Scales]

The.

[Elle]

Their annual Charity Poker championship is Thursday, April 6th. So even though it's a. Oh, April 16th. Sorry, you're right. Even though it's a couple months off, we wanted to start mentioning that as well, because registration's open now. It is. And also, are we allowed to share that one of our ambassadors. Yeah. Bob Popper is actually going to be a bounty. He's been dealing at this tournament for years. We actually met him in person for the first time at this particular event. Joe and I have been twice in the last couple of years. We're not able to make it this year, but Bob's going to be representing Annie up. And so we just would love to spread the word that it is happening again at the Galleria Marchetti and in Chicago, which is an awesome venue. And what else can we share about it?

[Joe Scales]

Well, two things. You mentioned Bob Popper.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

When you. Actually, I'll put a link in the show description, but if you go to camponestep.org and click on the events link and you'll see the charity Poker championship. Click on that. When you get to that page, you're going to see Bob Popper dealing. Oh, that's so cool.

[Elle]

So cool.

[Joe Scales]

But also it's important to get registered now because the first hundred people will get an extra 5,000 chips. So get registered, be one of those first hundred people so that you can get that. Those extra five.

[Elle]

Yeah. And have you ever noticed that if you, if you play in a charity poker tournament, people play a little differently? It's kind of like they're willy nilly or they're just, they're a little bit more daring. They, they want to continue to throw cash at the table. And so the rebuys are un real. Like I couldn't even keep up. I was one of those people on the iPad and swiping people's cards and tapping and tapping and like, you know, got to get rebuys in before a certain time. But this event has a high roller room with some awesome. They've had really cool bourbons in the past and like a TV up and a whole bunch of things. And then also the main ballroom is full. I mean there's like 25, 35 tables all set up and broken down in one day. But you will hear things like, it's for the kids. This particular charity event actually is. It's near and dear to my heart. For it's with kids with cancer. They're able to go to camp. They're able to do virtual camps. Their parents or siblings are able to have a respite weekend away because of all of the extensive care that they've been giving for someone with cancer in their family. And it's just a really cool night to be able to come together, throw some cards. There's also a $10,000 seat to the WSOP on the line, which is huge. And so if you are at all in that area on April 16, please, please, please sign up.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Yeah. And I wasn't laughing at the for the kids part of it, except for that there was another charity tournament that was happening in Nevada.

[Elle]

Was this recently? Is this what Chicago Joe told you?

[Joe Scales]

Yes. Chicago Joe sent me this article about the guy who rebot 32 times at $100 a pop.

[Elle]

It was, it was, that was obviously planned. I mean, I would love to be able to show up to a charity event and do the same thing. But I will say charity poker is hard for me. It is hard because it's, because it's unpredictable. And if that person was sitting at

[Joe Scales]

My table, I'd be like, he never looked at.

[Elle]

I need to move now because I don't know what to do or I would just fold or something. Who knows?

[Joe Scales]

But, yeah, he. There were a lot of times that he. He would go all in. Never even looked at his cards. Rebuy. Get the chips all in the next hand. Never looked at his chips.

[Elle]

We know a couple of those guys. We do. We know a couple of those guys at camp One step. And they're fun. They're a fun group of guys who like to show up and. And have a good time and play a little serious. But then there are people that are like, super serious. And then. Do you remember that? Do you remember the guy two years ago that had never played ever, and he made it to the final table and I had to sit next to him and get him sandw and drinks because he was like. I could tell he was shaking. I'm like, what, have you eaten dinner? And he's like, no, I didn't know I was still going to be here. And I mean, it's just anything goes. Literally anything goes at a charity poker tournament.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

So I am super excited to see the Lone Butte Room kind of bringing it back full circle and all the things that they're doing. Truly poker players, our community is one of a kind. And we can't wait to get out and see your community as well. Tia, we're so glad you're able to join us. We cannot wait, wait, wait to get out there on the ground in Arizona. I mean, I. Look at me, I'm still cold in my vest today, and that weather is just calling our name.

[Joe Scales]

Right, Right.

[Patrick]

For sure.

[Joe Scales]

But I know, Tia, you've got to go. Got a lot going on there. I think you're getting ready to go on vacation.

[Elle]

Yes.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah, I'm getting ready for a coup weeks, but I should be back ready. I'll be ready for the event and high alert. What Jack and I were trying to do is trying to even do a live stream for the final day have on Facebook because we have our own Facebook Longview poker room Facebook page. We want to do a live stream for the main event, if not for the main. The main table, just have a camera having live stream and stuff like that. So Jack and I were working really hard on trying to get that done.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, that would be so fun.

[Elle]

Well, and let us know if that's up and running, because then we can also post the live feed or some type of a link on the website. And we would love to do that and post it out on our socials as well. And then that way we could have some of our ante up crew with us.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Tia Bacon]

You guys are going to meet Jack. He's great. He's amazing. Jack will be hosting the event all day for the pass for the four day event. And then even on the final day, hopefully you can stay the whole time. But if not, we'll have a live feed up.

[Joe Scales]

Okay, that's great.

[Elle]

All right, awesome. Thank you to you so much for joining us.

[Tia Bacon]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Elle]

You're welcome. So have a great time.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. And look, I don't know what the food scene's going to be like there.

[Elle]

Oh, I'm not worried.

[Joe Scales]

Right. But here,

[Elle]

you know when you just get so tired of your local.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

And it's expensive. I'm just gonna say we had mom here the other night for burgers. We ended up making our own burgers. What else did we have?

[Joe Scales]

You went and got french fries.

[Elle]

Oh, I did go buy french fries.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah.

[Elle]

But I mean for, for under 20 bucks.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah.

[Elle]

We all had burgers and fries which normally would have been like $60. Eating out. And you never know what they're putting in it.

[Joe Scales]

Right. That's the big thing. Right.

[Elle]

So you just, you can't tell what if you're sticking to a program.

[Joe Scales]

The problem, the problem I think that we run into isn't so much about trying to eat healthy as much as just it gets to be 9 o' clock and we're like, oh God, we haven't eaten yet. And you know how I am with chopping vegetables. It takes me forever to chop vegetables.

[Elle]

Oh, this is true. We're talking a long time.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

A long time.

[Joe Scales]

Anyway, I, I, I don't like doing it, but I, I certainly don't want to be doing it at 9pm yeah.

[Elle]

Sometimes we have got long days and it's been really helpful to have factor meals ready to go. I cannot tell you the weeks that we've had them. It, we're like, whoa, we just got dinner done right. And it tastes real good. So. Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

I don't think people have a hard time eating healthy. It's, it's that no one has an extra three hours to plan, to cook, to clean up.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

It's just, it's a lot. And factor allows you, you don't have to prep the recipes there. You throw them in the microwave for two minutes.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

And it's.

[Elle]

Or they're already ready if it's cold. If it's.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

Salad ready to go.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. And you're eating real food. It's prepared by chefs, it's put together by dietitians. So you've got whole food ingredients. What are they? No refined sugars, nothing artificial.

[Elle]

There's none of those refined seed oils that you have to worry about. Like, basically what we would cook if we don't have a super busy week with all of the prep that has to go into getting things ready. When we prep and we're ready, life is good.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elle]

And so what we typically will say is, we need some factor meals, because we know it's going to be a week or two of craziness, intense scheduling, and sometimes it just happens. It's not all the time. It's just sometimes. But if you want something more calorie, smart, Mediterranean, they've got ready to eat salads. There's a hundred rotating meals every week. You're not getting bored ordering from factor. They've got a pro muscle line for strength and memory. You know, you just get to actually pick what your goals are.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

And it's not frozen. It's not showing up frozen. It's fresh. There's no cleanup. There's no dishes. It's awesome.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, it's. It's their. Their slogan. It's not motivation to eat better.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

It's eliminating the reason you don't, which is the perfect tagline, because that's exactly what it does. And we. We do have a code.

[Elle]

So how do we get there?

[Joe Scales]

If you go to factor meals.com, ante up 50 off and then use the code, ante up 50 off. Which I know sounds kind of redundant.

[Elle]

A little redundant. But you get 50 off your first box, plus free breakfast for an entire year, making healthier eating easier.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

So we had a lot of snacks last week, and I do have my iced coffee this week. I'm kind of enjoying having a little something while we're recording. But we cannot go into the weekend.

[Joe Scales]

We really gotta go.

[Elle]

No, we're not going into the weekend without going back to those prop bets, because let me just tell you, nailed it. Did I or did I not nail almost every one of them?

[Joe Scales]

Okay, I have done the math here, and I honestly, I didn't do as bad as I thought I did, But I talked to the commissioner, tried to get some things to go my way. That didn't work out too well. But you even got a message from somebody during the game that was like, did you miss any?

[Elle]

No, no, no. I don't think I did.

[Joe Scales]

Okay, so let's go through them, we'll start with the national anthem, which is over. Under 119.5.

[Elle]

I told you. He's gonna keep it short and sweet.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

This is one of the ones I went to the commissioner about because you originally said over, but once you learned who it was, you changed it to under.

[Elle]

You gave me the opportunity. You asked me the question. Don't put me in a place to change my. My. My answer. If you're not going to go with my, fine. My final answer was under.

[Joe Scales]

It was. And it was only 16 point.

[Elle]

And let me just also say his family wasn't able to make it out there to be there, but they were all crowded in an. An awesome. Just family environment. Watching him sing from far away.

[Joe Scales]

Oh, that's so cool.

[Elle]

Yeah. So it was awesome.

[Patrick]

All right.

[Joe Scales]

Then there was the coin toss.

[Elle]

Got it.

[Joe Scales]

I said tails never fails.

[Elle]

Yeah, baby.

[Joe Scales]

You chose heads.

[Elle]

Yep. So did our granddaughter.

[Joe Scales]

Apparently, tails does fail roughly about 50% of the time. So that give you a two nothing lead.

[Elle]

Golden Gate Bridge.

[Joe Scales]

Next was the Golden Gate Bridge. We both said that.

[Elle]

I never saw Alcatraz.

[Joe Scales]

I don't think. I don't think they ever showed.

[Elle]

I saw the full house. What do they call those? This is terrible. I don't remember the name of them. There is. I think it's like the painted ladies or something. I can't remember the name. There's a specific name for those houses. And then the curviest road, which was insanity.

[Joe Scales]

Anyways, so we both got that. But now streaker. We both missed this because we would. Neither one of us said there was going to be a streaker. I bring it up because Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez actually ran onto the field and shout out to. To Just cards because he provided a link to it in the. The discord.

[Elle]

Just Cards helps with this. Yes, I see you. I hear you. This guy coming to get you.

[Joe Scales]

This guy. He bet on himself to do it.

[Elle]

So there really was a streaker.

[Joe Scales]

There was. Yeah.

[Elle]

You gotta be kidding me.

[Joe Scales]

And he was wearing pants. Just so you know.

[Elle]

You can. You're not a streaker in my book. Unless you're. There is no streak.

[Joe Scales]

Here's the thing.

[Elle]

I have no streaking. That's just interrupting. That's just interrupting. You're not streaking unless you're butt naked. As we say. Naked. Naked down here in the South.

[Joe Scales]

I. I went to the commissioner on this one too, because.

[Elle]

Who is the commissioner?

[Joe Scales]

Just Ollie.

[Elle]

Our dog. Our dog? You asked.

[Joe Scales]

Our dog didn't go for it.

[Elle]

Oh.

[Joe Scales]

But I thought I should get A point on this one, too, because I was right in that he was considered a streaker and he had pants on, so it didn't fly. Didn't fly.

[Elle]

Next. All right, special guest, Cardi B. She was there, but she didn't sing.

[Joe Scales]

It doesn't matter. It was. It was a point for me.

[Elle]

We both sing.

[Joe Scales]

It was still a point. She was still considered to be there.

[Elle]

All right, next.

[Joe Scales]

Missed kick. This is where I tie things up. I think I should have gotten an extra point.

[Elle]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Joe Scales]

The commissioner didn't agree on this one either.

[Elle]

But you're really pushing it with these. Look, rules. We're gonna make extensive rules next year.

[Joe Scales]

I think there should be bonus points for some things. In this case, the kicker for the Seahawks broke the record for most field goals. You thought there was going to be a missed kick, and he did the exact opposite. He broke the record for most field goals in a Super Bowl.

[Elle]

You just don't like that you lost the profit. Admit it. And that listeners were messaging us during the game.

[Joe Scales]

It's true.

[Elle]

Okay?

[Joe Scales]

It's true.

[Tia Bacon]

I.

[Joe Scales]

Look, I know. I know I lost. I know I lost fair and square. I'm just really giving you a hard time because it came down to the Gatorade color.

[Elle]

And what did I tell you when I made that bet? Yeah, I was pulling. This is who I was pulling for. It had to be a Seahawk color, that is. And as soon as they dumped that Gatorade, I was like, I did.

[Tia Bacon]

I know you?

[Elle]

Yes.

[Joe Scales]

I. I said it was going to be orange because I was like, they're just going to go with the original.

[Elle]

Absolutely not. Not when you have a Seahawk color available.

[Joe Scales]

No.

[Elle]

What way?

[Joe Scales]

It's fair. So you won that one. And you won. But I didn't. I didn't lose as badly as I thought. Before I started tallying them all up, I thought I was just like, five to nothing.

[Elle]

Burnt toast. Burnt toast. Yeah. No, you did pretty good.

[Tia Bacon]

All right.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. I at least got to feel like I was tied for a minute.

[Elliot Schechter]

Okay.

[Elle]

Just keep remembering how that feels.

[Joe Scales]

Yes. This is the second year in a row, too, that you've won, which I think I hate that more than. Than losing. It was the fact we didn't put

[Elle]

anything on the line here.

[Joe Scales]

That's true. So that's your fault.

[Elle]

And noted.

[Joe Scales]

But in all seriousness, we literally just got off the phone and have some interesting news to share.

[Patrick]

Yes.

[Joe Scales]

I'm excited about this.

[Elle]

Are you ready? Because I have a sound effect.

[Joe Scales]

Okay.

[Elle]

As soon as we. As soon as we got off the phone, I was like, are you ready?

[Joe Scales]

I'm ready. Anybody know what that is?

[Elle]

You're damn right. We're cruising. We are cruising again. This is where we are headed back to the open seas. We cannot share anything until it's 100% signed, sealed, delivered.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elle]

But we will have that for you next week.

[Tia Bacon]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

And, and it's so exciting. We're is. This has been a thing that's been in the, the works for a while. A year. We've been, we have been holding on to this for a, for a. Quite a while and it's finally starting to, to come together.

[Elle]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

We're partnering with, with some very well known people. Yes. And yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited. We probably could have waited until we had more details this year, but I couldn't hold it.

[Elle]

It's a great way to go into Valentine's Day weekend with you. I will say that.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Elle]

We are headed to eat wings and drink beer and listen to the band that played at our wedding.

[Joe Scales]

That is true.

[Elle]

And it all came together just by happenstance. This is not something we orchestrated. We are not big Valentine's people. But we certainly have a lot to say, cheers to and look forward to this year. Yeah, for sure. So as always, it's a pleasure being around the table with you.

[Joe Scales]

Likewise.

[Podcast Narrator]

Big blinds, big stakes. Raise it up. Let's make no mistake.

[Joe Scales]

Elliot Schechter joins us each week to say how he would rule in situations that come up in your games. And he's with us again this week. Elliot, how's it going?

[Elliot Schechter]

Going pretty well. This is an Annie up sweatshirt.

[Joe Scales]

Got my logo. Nice.

[Elliot Schechter]

Absolutely.

[Joe Scales]

You are, you're actually, I'm, I'm, I'm not actually sporting a, A logo wear this time. So you're a step ahead of me this time,

[Elliot Schechter]

folks. We have a wide selection of outerwear and paraphernalia. So help out the cause and promote a great poker community.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Check it out. It's on the website under Shop at the very top. There's a little tab there. So go check that out. And in the meantime, check out this. We got a, we got a. Another interesting one. I, I'm really interested in seeing what you say on this one. We have a call of floor sent in by Cade Dyer and Cade is playing a multi day tournament. So it's day one A of this tournament with Late Reg open through the end of break. Right. Once the next level starts is when Late Reg officially closes, which is the way most usually it works. So Cade had played, had been playing up to that break and he got knocked out right before that break. He said it was a pretty tough beat and he took it pretty hard. So when the break started, he had stepped away for a few minutes to clear his head and get some more cash to buy back in. As the break was winding down, he said a few players had seen him walk into the bathroom with about three minutes left before late reg closed. He comes out and he heads straight to the registration line and gets in line before the level restarts. When the new level begins, he's still in line at the cage. I guess he's next in line at the cage. And so then when he gets to the cage the staff tells him that Late Reg is closed and that he won't be allowed back into day one A. He says they tell me to I will have to wait until or wait to re and register for Day 1B instead. So Cade asks to speak with the tournament director. The TD comes over, listens to the situation and after a brief discussion tells me that the system won't allow them to register him anymore. And he says that explanation doesn't sound right to me from his perspective. He says I was eligible for RE entry, I got in line before registration ended, I wasn't trying to delay the game. And this is a multi flight tournament where registering on day one A and day one B absolutely matters. He says if a, if a player is physically in line before Late reg closes but the level changes before they reach the cage, should that player be allowed to register? And how much of this, this decision is actually system limitations versus tournament policy.

[Elliot Schechter]

That sounds like a whole bunch of questions with only one question mark.

[Joe Scales]

Well,

[Elliot Schechter]

usually you see run on sentences but you rarely see run on questions.

[Joe Scales]

Very true.

[Elliot Schechter]

So should that player be allowed to register if they were in line or in the queue before the registration period closed? Personally, I feel yes, it makes sense, it's fair, it's, it's a pretty common standard, it's reasonable. But that doesn't mean it's actual or possible. Some of the poker software out there in use by various rooms can allow for Late reg past whatever time or, or level you designate as closing the registration period simply because there is no connection between the clock or the registration software. There's very little difference other than the transferring of player entries to the clock. There may not be reverse communication from the clock telling the the registration software what level they're on or what time has elapsed. The actual clock time of the tournament might be programmed into the registration software. So yes, at this level we will begin at this level, the break happens at this level, the next break happens at this level, we're done. And it obviously, knowing how long you program the, the levels to be, it will then determine that, yes, the registration period has lapsed. No more registration will be allowed. So, yeah, it is, it is absolutely in the realm of possibility that the software itself will keep players from being registered based on the parameters that were set by the tournament director programming the tournament into the software. And again, I mean, sometimes you just can't accommodate everybody who's in line. The tournament has to get off with some semblance of order. I mean, if, if seven tables worth of players showed up two minutes before the end of the registration period who didn't play in the tournament and wanted to get in, now, I don't know if it's reasonable that all seven tables worth of players get registered into that tournament. They had all those levels and the break to actually think about it and wait until the last second somebody's going to miss out. Heaven forbid it's actually you. But yeah, sometimes things just can't work out.

[Joe Scales]

The, the thing that comes to my mind immediately is it's in the room's best interest to have as many people register as possible. So they're, they're not going to just make a ruling that you can't register.

[Patrick]

Right.

[Joe Scales]

Just because, you know.

[Elliot Schechter]

So it serves them no purpose to turn you away.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elliot Schechter]

An unhappy customer who's not thrilled with service and decisions is not gonna very likely go to the casino and then spend lots of cash. Generally doesn't work like that. Generally they get in the car and leave. So.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, right, yeah.

[Elliot Schechter]

The casino was not interested in making you unhappy or interested in turning you away. Sometimes a boundary is set. I mean, if this were a horse race and you were at the ticket window and you intended to bet, but then the trumpets had blared and the bell had gone off and the horses had left the gate, you're not going to be able to bet on that race. Even though you were in line before the, before the race had started and they were still taking action on the race, and the two are not equal. I fully get you. A horse race is not a hand of poker or a poker tournament. That much is true. The in line waiting to pay identical. So in not every circumstance will somebody be in line ready to pay, be eligible to actually pay for said event.

[Joe Scales]

I. The reason I found this so much of an interesting submission is because this is one of Those things that I think I've been probably on, I probably err on the other side of that. Like if I'm planning on buying in, I'm probably going to do that first so that I have that taken, taken a care of and I can get to the seat later. You know, I, I, I can buy my, or I can buy my, my seat, pay for it, get my slip, then go to the bathroom and then make my way to my seat rather

[Elliot Schechter]

than, as your point is well taken, the the player clearly states that they had stepped away to both clear clear their head and retrieve more cast cash with which to buy in. So as a tournament director I'm supposed to build in some time to allow these players to access the ATMs and various cash withdrawal receptacles and devices. I have worked with a couple different softwares and yes, I've tried to build into it the allowance for people to actually register barring disaster. So yeah, if they're getting a cash advance, I mean that's not a 30 second process. You got to sign your life oil to the cage and prove who you are before they'll release the cash. And again, as a casino operator it is my job to allow somebody to give me cash. It's my job to collect it for the casino and to enhance the prize pool and our revenue. So again, I'm not thrilled that this happened. I think our hero has a great point. They were in the line before the registration of the registration period, before the exploration. Yeah. So again I empathize. Again, if they're not equipped to run the software correctly or if the software cannot be overrode, overridden, they got to do what they got to do. And that may not be good, but at least it's definitive and at least it's fair for everybody. I mean a good chance there were other people online too who couldn't get registered. I certainly understand wanting to play day one A versus day one B. There may be a lot of different things in play. Day 1amay be a shorter field and maybe easier to advance. There may be a double bag bonus where if you can advance through both flights you're going to get a significant bounty or at least a min cash which again if you only register for Day 1B, that's not available to you.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elliot Schechter]

So yeah, I, I see the advantages here. This is the tough part because nobody ever says this and it's not written on the format sheets or the tournament information handouts but communication is key. If you had intended on getting cash to come Back to play the tournament and re enter. Letting the people at the registration desk or the TD know that look, I have to go to the ATM or do a cash advance. I'm going to try to be back as soon as possible. I am absolutely playing this event. Let me go get my money. Especially if you've already had an entry in again, as soon as you communicate that to somebody who can actually assist

[Joe Scales]

you,

[Elliot Schechter]

very likely they're going to find a way to make it happen for you, even if they have to. And I don't recommend this, especially if you're in a regulated jurisdiction and you're an operator. Don't do this. They might actually pull an entry for you and if you don't come back with money, they'll void it out. Okay, I've, I've done that at casinos for the higher, highest tier players. Look, I'll be right back. I gotta go get some cash. We look them up in the system and all of a sudden, yeah, they're, they're the, the absolute highest tier. The casino offers at the, at the players club. Yeah, the golden rule applies. He who has the gold gets accounted for. So yeah, you got to communicate too. And it says it nowhere. It's not in the fine print, it's not in bold letters, but communication is key. If you ask for help, you're almost always going to get it.

[Joe Scales]

Does this bring up a point of like a bigger point here that our casinos running on an antiquated system with only taking cash, is it?

[Elliot Schechter]

Well, overseas a lot of casinos are moving to cashless and tournament registration is certainly becoming cashless. And I dare say with the advent of various systems in place around the world and soon to be at the World Series, that tournament poker is very likely to become cashless pretty soon. Would that makes things easier? Yes, but not in all cases. And I mean there's gonna be a lot of jurisdictions where using a credit card to buy into a tournament is just never going to happen.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, that's fair.

[Elliot Schechter]

And some casinos are still not going to allow you to use your, your checking account. So if you're, if you're using a debit card, it's gonna, it's gonna have to be an actual casino wallet card. But yeah, we're heading in that direction and that would make things a lot simpler for everybody. But again now you've still got to load your card and getting money into the card may not be the most easily easy thing to accomplish. So again, while we're heading there, we still haven't worked out all the details,

[Joe Scales]

it doesn't, doesn't necessarily solve all of the problems such as this either, because people are still going to wait until the very last second that they can and you're still going to run into. Well, but I was, but see, what happened was what had happened. Yeah.

[Elliot Schechter]

And again, I, we get that a lot. You advertise a 7pm tournament with late registration through 9 o' clock or something. Well, three people show up at 7 o', clock, you cancel the tournament because nobody's here. And then of course, 25 people show up at 9 o'. Clock. Where's the tournament? Well, you can start it now. No, it had a start time of 7 o'.

[Elle]

Clock.

[Elliot Schechter]

Registration was allowed through 9. It didn't say we'll start later when everybody shows up.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elliot Schechter]

The start time was not merely a suggestion like serving juice and milk and, and toast with a bowl of cereal. It's not a serving suggestion. It's an absolute start time. And I'm not keeping my dealers around twiddling their thumbs for a couple hours waiting for everybody to show up for a tournament that should have started already. So.

[Joe Scales]

Right.

[Elliot Schechter]

Yeah. Starting on time is important. Getting things done on a schedule is important. Knowing how to manage your labor and resources is important. So accommodating everybody is great, but that comes with instructions, boundaries and reality. So, yeah, not everybody gets to be the last person to register. Not everybody gets to wait until the last second. So if that's going to be your strategy, you got to think it through a little bit because sometimes they're going to close the window.

[Joe Scales]

Right? Yeah. I think, bottom line, late registration doesn't close when you get in line. It closes when the tournament says it does. And it's, it's, you know, once it's closed, it's closed. So. Yeah, Kate, I, I, I love this one. I think it's another great talking point and I appreciate you sending that in. If anyone has a call for that, they would like to know how Elliott would roll. Send it to podcastyupmagazine.com Please keep in comment. Elliot? Yeah. Appreciate you again. We'll see you next week.

[Elliot Schechter]

Looking forward to it.

[Joe Scales]

Welcome to Hand of the Week, where Patrick, our resident fish, and I dive into listen to submitted hands. Each week we tackle everything from questionable bluffs to hero calls and the hands that make you scratch your head. Whether you're looking for strategy tips or you just want to see if you would have played it any better, we've got you covered. Patrick. You recovered? You doing all right?

[Patrick]

Yeah. It's what Turned out to be a miserable Sunday evening. One might call it Super Bowl Sunday. I don't know what the hell we were doing anyway. Yes, I'm recovering slowly but surely.

[Joe Scales]

Hey, look, I mean it's only like what a few weeks to baseball season, so.

[Patrick]

Yeah, yeah, that's true. The Olympics are on. That was nice to watch right afterwards you have a little feel good moments. It was, it was a shellacking. I, I, I can hand up, you know, when I'm wrong on something. I did say, you know my buddy Drew, who does, I think, listen, he, he and I did say, you know, we either find a way to scrap it out and win, we play perfect, or we get, you know, it's a 14 point plus loss. You said 17 and you were very close. It just, they dominated in all facets of the game and if it wasn't for our defense, shout out for everyone, his defense, they, we would have lost by 35.

[Joe Scales]

I mean at one point I thought the field goal kicker for Seattle was going to get the mvp.

[Patrick]

Yeah, I mean it, the most points scored a Super Bowl. I mean that just what is what it is. I mean, wow. You know what? Good for them. We got there. We, we shouldn't have been there. I mean we should not have been there, but we, we made it there and you know, we're still better than, you know, 31 other teams. 31.

[Joe Scales]

Can I just throw out one more point before we get into this hand of the week?

[Patrick]

If you get me fired up, I will fire back. So continue.

[Joe Scales]

Is anybody ever made the comparison of Dan Marino to drink May?

[Patrick]

I have not heard that. I think Miami Dolphins fans would probably be a little disturbed by that, but no, I have not.

[Joe Scales]

Here's why I make this comparison. Drake May, second year, right?

[Patrick]

Yep, yep.

[Joe Scales]

Made it to the super bowl. Dan Marino, second year, made it to the Super Bowl. Both 23 years old. Both had very similar stats in the Super Bowl. Dan Marino never made it back to another Super Bowl. Just saying. Let's go to the hand of the week. Segments.

[Patrick]

I got nothing. No, Drake May is not another coming of Dan Marino. Although Dan Marino is a Hall of Famer. But he didn't, he didn't get back to another one.

[Joe Scales]

I thought he just never one, one super bowl in his second year and never made it back to another.

[Patrick]

I will say that there's no way that Drake made is another Dan Marino. And only because in this day and age we don't, we're not as loyal as, I mean as we used to be. And you know, social media, media calls for cry. I mean, I don't think if he was to last, you know, five, six years and we never even made it back to another one, I think there would be an uprising. I think we would have to trade him. In all seriousness, I. Listen, I love the guy. I would be shocked if Drake May was as good as he was during the regular season this year, if he continued to do so and didn't make any more, you know, playoff runs, if we were still talking about him six or seven years from now. But I think he's going to. I absolutely do. I. I very much like you, but I. The fact that you brought Dan Marino up is disturbing at best. On that note, I still will be talking about this long before the first pitch is thrown at baseball. So we will address this again next week after I've calmed down a little bit. But in the meantime, I think we should play some.

[Joe Scales]

Let's get into a hand of the week. Maybe that'll cheer you up a little bit.

[Patrick]

I love it.

[Joe Scales]

This hand of the week sent in by Dan Hamilton. Okay. And Dan is playing in a $400 buy in, no limit hold' em tournament. It's day one. Late reg has closed. So the blinds are 1.1k 2k with a 2k big bad, big, big blind anti. And the average stack is 45K. Dan says, I am in the hijack in this hand with about 52k to start. The hand action folds to me with the ace of diamonds. Queen of diamonds.

[Patrick]

I like it in the hijack. 1000, 2000. Do you play different in tournaments than you do every day? Games every week games? Yeah, without a doubt. Right?

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Patrick]

Yeah. Good. Well, we're obviously playing bed size.

[Joe Scales]

You're saying bet size, so I'm assuming you're not just calling.

[Patrick]

No, I wasn't planning on it.

[Joe Scales]

Thank God.

[Patrick]

Yeah. Absolutely not. Listen, Patrick, a year and a half ago might have just called.

[Joe Scales]

Was it fair?

[Patrick]

I probably 10. 10K?

[Joe Scales]

Is that.

[Patrick]

Yeah. No, too much. A lot.

[Joe Scales]

The way I do tournaments is I will start the game out at three times and then I'll go to two and a half times.

[Patrick]

Oh, you go the opposite way. Okay.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah. Because your stack sizes in comparison to the blinds.

[Patrick]

Oh.

[Joe Scales]

So you don't have to make it as big.

[Patrick]

Okay. Well, if we're still on day one and relatively early on, if, you know, late registration just closed. Is that too big? I mean, five times.

[Joe Scales]

I think it is too big.

[Patrick]

Okay.

[Elle]

Okay.

[Joe Scales]

Two and a half times would be.

[Patrick]

That's 45,000 5,000 correct? Yeah. Yeah. Three times is 6,000, so that's good to know.

[Joe Scales]

Dan says, I opened a 45, so he was in the same boat, which has been the standard open size for this blind level. He says, ace, queen suited. Feels strong enough to open and continue if we get some pushback pressure. And I want to build a pot against worse aces and Broadway cards. He says, so villain in the cutoff. Three bets to 12,500. He says Villain starts the hand with about 78,000. He has been an aggressive player, opening a lot of pots, hasn't shown down many hands, and I haven't seen him show up with junk, but is definitely applying pressure.

[Patrick]

Well, we're calling for sure.

[Joe Scales]

I'm not calling.

[Patrick]

You're raising.

[Joe Scales]

I am raising.

[Patrick]

Count me yet? See? Hot dog. Let's go. So 12, five. What was it? 12 five. Yeah, like I'm getting my chips in no matter what. About 10 I was gonna be in anyway.

[Joe Scales]

That's true.

[Patrick]

All right. 12, 5. You're gonna. You're gonna double them up or more. So you're gonna. What are you gonna. 30.

[Joe Scales]

You're gonna shove exactly where I'm going. 30,000.

[Patrick]

Okay, 30. Yeah. And we started at 45, so we're not far off.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah.

[Patrick]

Do you just shove?

[Joe Scales]

I was just getting ready to say that's only going to leave us about 11 big blinds behind.

[Patrick]

Yeah. So are you gonna see this flop and run if need be, or shove?

[Joe Scales]

I think that. Yeah, I think I can see the. If they go. If they shove.

[Patrick]

Yeah. You're calling.

[Joe Scales]

More than likely I'm calling. Unless I get some kind of crazy read here. Yeah, I'm. I'm probably calling, but not shoving here and leaving myself 11 big blinds, actually, I feel like. Puts the pressure back on them. They know that most of the flops are going to be a shovel, so I still have options, but they have all the pressure.

[Patrick]

Gotcha.

[Joe Scales]

So I'm going to bet 30,000. And let's see. Dan just calls. He says, I don't love 4 betting here. Okay. He says, I don't love 4 betting here because villains stack covers me. I don't want to turn ace queen into a bluff. Folding feels too tight this deep. And calling keeps worse hands and bluffs in. So instead, that makes the pot 30,000. And our stack after the call is 39,500. The flop is queen of clubs, eight of diamonds, five of diamonds.

[Patrick]

Well, there's not a. I mean, there's definitely better ones out there for us, but that's. That's a thing of glory.

[Joe Scales]

That's pretty darn good.

[Patrick]

Top pair, top kicker, top flush draw,

[Joe Scales]

and we're first to act.

[Patrick]

Do you have the guts or the. Do you check into him and let him go?

[Joe Scales]

I think that's where I'm going.

[Patrick]

I think that's what I'm doing.

[Joe Scales]

Here's my goal is to get it all in there, right?

[Patrick]

Absolutely.

[Joe Scales]

And if I lead out, I might get them to fold. If I check, it still may go check. Check, right?

[Patrick]

Yes, they very well might.

[Joe Scales]

They were the pre flop aggressor. So as played, I think I can check. And they probably c bet then. Nice shove. So that's. That's.

[Patrick]

See, this is where I would have. Now, I don't know how, you know, the villain would have responded, but if I lead out for significantly more than that, you know, 4500 or whatever it is and they just call, then I was the pre flop aggressor and now I've got to rethink my whole strategy. So listen, hand up. I would have messed that one up, but I'm definitely checking here. I'm stomaching a check. Check.

[Joe Scales]

For the record, I wouldn't say you mess it up because it's just a different way of playing it. So you just would have had to continue your aggression or whatever.

[Patrick]

But yeah, true.

[Joe Scales]

It's just. It's just a different style, just a different way of going about it. So I wouldn't say you messed it up. But Dan checks as well, right? The villain does bet. He bets 9,000.

[Patrick]

I love it.

[Joe Scales]

So I mean, we just put it all in, right?

[Patrick]

Yeah. Right. You come over the top. Yes.

[Joe Scales]

Dan says this board favors the villain, which I completely disagree with.

[Patrick]

Okay.

[Joe Scales]

And when he bets small, it feels like aces or kings wanting protection. I don't know why we're being so quick to rule out king, queen, Jax. Ace, king makes sense here too. So, yeah.

[Patrick]

Ace, king, king, queen, queen, jack, king, jack, ace, jack, ace, jack. Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

So Dan actually just calls, which makes the pot 48,000. And we now have 30,500 in our stack. The turn is the nine of spades. So the board is queen of clubs, eight of diamonds, five of diamonds, nine of spades.

[Patrick]

Really would not have made them on ten jack, but ten jack got there.

[Joe Scales]

Right. That's exactly what I was just thinking.

[Patrick]

But I don't think it. Well, and maybe this is part of my problem. I mean, if I'm sitting at the table, I really don't make them on that. I see it, but I don't make it on it. Right now, the fact that you and I are doing hand of the week right now, you know, alarm barrels are going off.

[Joe Scales]

I don't. I don't think they could have Jack 10 here. I mean, they can.

[Patrick]

They can.

[Joe Scales]

I don't think they have Jack 10 here.

[Patrick]

I don't either.

[Joe Scales]

I think the question is, do we then since we check, called, do we check, call again, or is it too risky for them to go check, check this time and give them a free river? Do we just go ahead and put it in now?

[Patrick]

Yeah, I mean, I think I do. I would have wanted to on the last one in the sense, you know, I want to pay. Have them pay to see anymore, and I definitely want to now. So, I mean, if they're sitting on ace, king, you may catch a fold, maybe king, queen, you're not.

[Joe Scales]

We want that, though. Do we want them to fold, ace, king here?

[Patrick]

No, we don't. But the same. Yeah, I mean, ace, I mean, king, queen. You're catching a call. King, jack, you're probably catching a call.

[Joe Scales]

I think I'm still gonna check because they've been aggressive each street. So I let them go ahead and continue aggression. Although it is dangerous because they could go check, check. But then, I mean, we're getting a free card too. We still only have top pair, top kicker. So it's not like. It's not like we are holding the nuts here. True, but I'm gonna check. Dan also checks, and the villain bets 18,000. Okay, so still shoving, right?

[Patrick]

Shoving, yeah. No matter what. Yeah, but here's the deal, and this is a good point. If you. If you lead out to him by shoving, you may not get an extra 18,000. I mean, he may not call, so you never know. But, yeah, I think checking is a great move there, Dan. So

[Joe Scales]

Dan says this card changes a lot. Not sure that it changes a lot. It allowed the jack 10 to get there. It opens up a few more draws with straights, but. But, yeah, I'm not sure it changes a lot. He says, now I'm in a weird spot. Calling leaves me 12,500 going to the river. So Dan says I jam for the last bit of my stack, and villain calls

[Patrick]

and shows king, queen.

[Joe Scales]

We're in a great spot because they also have ace, queen. Oh, they have great ac Clubs. Queen of spades.

[Patrick]

Show me the diamonds.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, we want that diamond on the river, but it looks like it's the three of clubs. So we miss our. Miss our flush and end up splitting the pot.

[Patrick]

Ouch. Okay.

[Joe Scales]

So he asks some questions. Is, is calling the three bet pre flop standard here, or should this be a four bet or fold? It's not a fold, but I do think it's a 4 bet. He says, on the flop, do you ever raise for protection slash value? I think we've answered all of these throughout the hand, so.

[Patrick]

We did. Yeah, we got there before even knowing

[Joe Scales]

the answers on the turn. Is jamming actually better than calling, or are we just lighting chips on fire? No, no, we did that one already too. And the last question is, how much does stack depth and tournament life matter in this spot? And the answer there is a lot.

[Patrick]

A lot. Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

But not enough to justify playing scared.

[Patrick]

Yeah. I said, well, I think that's a delicate balance. And for, I mean, Dan's probably significantly more inept to, you know, answer this as well for himself. But I mean, it's definitely something to think about. But you got to go into it knowing. Okay, well, you know, keep in mind how many blinds you have left. But you cannot change your strategy and play, like you said, tentative or scared, because if you do, you're just gonna lose your chips anyways. You might as well give them, go do whatever.

[Joe Scales]

Right, Right. I mean, I think we had top pair, top kicker, right?

[Patrick]

Yep.

[Joe Scales]

Plus the nut flush draw.

[Patrick]

Yep.

[Joe Scales]

We dominate their ace, queen without, without the diamonds.

[Elle]

Right.

[Joe Scales]

We dominate a lot of hands that they have in their range. Correct.

[Patrick]

Yep.

[Joe Scales]

And we actually have strong equity even against made hands there. So getting chips ends not reckless. You know, you're, you're just, you're forcing the villain to make hard decisions, which is what tournament poker is all about. And while tournament life matters, this is not a survival spot. I feel like calling in those spots feels safer, but it's really not. Even though shoving may get you out of the tournament, it may bust you. Sometimes calling is, to your point, this slow, unavoidable death busts. Yeah. And you lose, and you lose all the control. Yeah. So, so I, I, I think that this particular position, this particular spot, it's not reckless to get the chips in there. And, and even though survival, it's a tournament that is important, but it's not you, you can't play scared. You've got to be able to get those chips in there. So.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

That's a good one, though. We haven't played a tournament in a while. Thank you. Thank you.

[Patrick]

No, we haven't. I would, if, if anyone has some more tournaments out there, I would like to see it. I think the, some other, other folks, you know, expert Level to novice would as well. So if you got any more tournament hands, bring some tournament hands.

[Joe Scales]

Yeah, I want a tournament with Omaha.

[Patrick]

No.

[Joe Scales]

7 triple draw.

[Elle]

No.

[Patrick]

You want to see my head explode on life? No, actually, that would be wild to play. Count me in. No. Hey, also on, you know, hand up. I. My apologies significantly when you've got two kids for missing a Patreon game. Sports kids sick. I. Yeah. My apologies. So it is on. It will be on the calendar for next month. Do you have the date? Right in front of you, Joe. For everyone.

[Joe Scales]

You. You have.

[Patrick]

I know.

[Joe Scales]

The mix.

[Patrick]

The mixed. I know, I know. I'm not against that one either.

[Joe Scales]

Triple draw. I just mentioned deuce to seven. Triple draw.

[Patrick]

Deuce seven triple draw.

[Joe Scales]

You're going for the low hand. Oh, I know that it's up your alley.

[Patrick]

Why don't you just say that? Why does it gotta have a crazy name?

[Joe Scales]

Well, it's not. It's. It's. Deuce to seven. Is. Is your. Your lowest hand. Right.

[Patrick]

Right. What's the triple draw? You got three of them throughout.

[Joe Scales]

They get to draw three times.

[Elliot Schechter]

Okay.

[Joe Scales]

So you can discard cards and get cards.

[Patrick]

So that's next Thursday.

[Joe Scales]

It is a week from.

[Patrick]

From everyone listening to this. It's. It's. Yeah. Week from yesterday. Correct. Yes.

[Joe Scales]

All right.

[Patrick]

All right, all right, Joe.

[Joe Scales]

Let's see.

[Patrick]

He's up, man. So I'm sensitive the last couple days.

[Joe Scales]

We need you in the chat. We need you in the game. I mean, hey, look. What's up? Doc will be in the chat. Fellow. Fellow patriot.

[Patrick]

Okay.

[Joe Scales]

That's fan. You guys can commiserate together.

[Patrick]

Listen, by next week, I might be. I mean, the Bruins are playing great. There was a. There was a quote in the Wall Street Journal and. And I. Without butchering it, I got to read it to you. And it was spot on for how great of fans we have. I mean, the best fans in all sports. No offense to the Bills or anything. Royals. If the Patriots win, which we didn't. I know. It's already happened. Relax. If the Patriots win, that will be ring number seven. That's a lot. So that means we have six because we didn't win, but still have six, which should keep New England satisfied for a couple of weeks until they start yelling at the Red Sox, which is very true. Pitchers and catchers report next week. So let's go.

[Joe Scales]

Yes.

[Patrick]

Yes.

[Joe Scales]

We're going to be. We're going to be in Arizona for. And Annie up. Tour stop.

[Patrick]

I like it. When? During.

[Joe Scales]

During spring training. Yeah.

[Patrick]

Oh, it's beautiful.

[Joe Scales]

So hopefully I can go down and catch a game. I'm, I'm working on it, but I like it. Yeah, I've never, I've never gone to a spring training game, so I'm, I'm really looking forward to it.

[Patrick]

You know, I did as a kid, we actually used to do Spring Breakdown at Disney and my, my father very connivingly snuck us off across the state to, to a baseball game one day. Um, it was great. So.

[Joe Scales]

Nice.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Joe Scales]

Nice. Well, we got completely off, off subject here, Dan. Thank you for sending that in.

[Patrick]

Great one.

[Joe Scales]

If anyone has a hand of the week that they would like to know how Patrick and I would play it, send it to podcastyupmagazine.com Patrick, we'll see you next week. We'll see you in the Patreon game. And you know, sorry about your team.

[Patrick]

Yeah, that was heartfelt, but thanks. Sounds good. See you next week.

[Joe Scales]

It's Friday the 13th. For some people that's going to mean don't walk under ladders or avoid black cats or maybe don't register that tournament today because obviously the poker gods are going to be planning something. It's Friday the 13th after all. Poker and superstition, even sports and superstition, they've all gone hand in hand. Lucky hoodies, special card protectors, maybe the same pre session meal. I've seen rabbits feed at the table, I've seen crystals, actual crystals at the table and like specific chip stacking rituals. And if that's your thing, I'm not judging. But here's my take. I try to stay away from superstitions as a whole, but especially, especially in poker. Not because I don't understand the comfort factor. I do. The game is, is volatile, it's unpredictable, it's emotional. When you're sitting there at the table and the river peels off a one outer against you, you want something, anything to blame. But here's the danger. It's not that a lucky card protector won't help you win. It's that if you don't have it, you start thinking you're doomed. And that's where it gets you. Because poker is already psychological warfare. The last thing you need is to convince yourself you're starting the session off at a disadvantage because you forgot your lucky hat. The moment you believe the universe is working against you, you're gonna play different. You may hesitate or second guess yourself more. You interpret normal variants as some kind of punishment from the poker gods. Now, instead of focusing on ranges or stack depth player tendencies, you're thinking, of course It's Friday the 13th. This was bound to happen. And that subtle shift is where mistakes creep in. We crave patterns. We want causes. We want to believe that wearing the red hoodie is why we final tabled last week. But it wasn't the hoodie. It was the decisions. And if you attribute success to luck rituals, you rob yourself of ownership. And if you attribute losses to bad omens, you rob yourself of accountability. That makes growth harder. I'd rather anchor myself to process rather than luck. Because process travels with you. Your lucky rabbit's foot. It might not. And the irony is, sometimes those superstitions actually increase your fear. You start to be afraid to change seats, afraid to wash the hoodie, afraid to break routine, afraid of Friday the 13th. Poker can already be intimidating enough. Why add ghosts now? If carrying a card protector makes you smile and relax, great. If it centers you, fine. But understand what it really is. A comfort object, not a strategy. The real edge comes from preparation, from emotional discipline, from understanding that the deck has no memory and knowing that variance doesn't care about calendars. Friday the 13th is just Friday. The cards don't know the date. And the poker gods, they're not checking astrology before dealing the river. So instead of worrying about curses, maybe focus on playing well, making good decisions and accepting the outcomes. Because if you bust today, it won't be because you forgot your lucky card protector. It'll be because sometimes in this game, the other guy just gets there. And that's not superstition. That's poker. That's today's one outer. And that's today's show. I'll see you next week, a team. And until then, I'll see you at the tables.

[Elliot Schechter]

The Ante up podcast is a production of anyupmagazine.com. contact the show at podcastsnyupmagazine.com or call the show at 543-397-7741. If you'd like to advertise, send an email to editoryupmagazine.com Reggie, I just sold my car online. Let's go, Grandpa. Wait, you did? Yep. On Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered a few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture frame.

[Joe Scales]

You don't say.

[Elliot Schechter]

Yeah, they're even picking it up tomorrow. Talk about fast.

[Patrick]

Wow.

[Elliot Schechter]

Way to go. So, about that picture frame. Ah, forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested.

[Tia Bacon]

Car selling made easy on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.