For the past couple of days, I have had a real hard time getting Amir’s face, voice and laughter out of my head.  I keep picturing Amir, his broad smile, unmistakable voice and trademark cigar.  Whether its playing poker against each other or sitting in a limo together going from Foxwoods to New York, I have so many memories of Amir, and right now, they are all flooding my thoughts, sporadically, throughout the day.  Yet, I have to keep reminding myself that my buddy is actually dead.  It’s awful.  I miss him and I just feel sad.

I spoke to Amir’s brothers, Masoud and Sayed today.  They are heartbroken over the loss of their brother.  While deeply saddened by their brother’s passing, they told me that the outpouring of condolences and support has been overwhelming.  They are very thankful and have asked that I clarify a few facts that have been misreported in the news.

The cause of death is unknown at this time.  An autopsy was performed in Las Vegas, where Amir’s body remains for at least a couple more days, until it is transported to Southern California.  The final autopsy report is expected in 6-8 weeks.  The preliminary findings were that all of Amir’s vital organs appeared healthy, and there were no signs of disease or injury.  The family confirmed that Amir was diabetic, but do not know if diabetes played a role in his death.  They are awaiting toxicology reports.

Amir was 48 years old.  The reports that Amir died without any family are inaccurate.  In addition to his brothers, Amir has two daughters, a son, and two sisters.  Amir’s sisters and children are heartbroken as well.

Amir was in his room at the Golden Nugget when he collapsed.  He was discovered at approximately 1 a.m. on Saturday, January 9th.

His funeral will be on Friday, January 15th, at 3:00 PM, at Forrest Lawn Memorial located in Hollywood Hills, California.  The public is welcome to attend.

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I have spoken to two more of Amir Vahedi’s close friends who have been in contact with Amir’s family.  Sadly, they each confirmed the terrible news.  Amir was a gentle and kind man who always made me laugh.  I will miss him terribly. RIP Amir.

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I’ve just been told by close friends of Amir Vahedi, that Vahedi passed away in Las Vegas on January 8, 2010, due to complications involving blood sugar levels.  Waiting for for more details.  Devastating news.  Very very sad.

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That’s right. For the last hour of any US bound international flight, passengers may not leave their seats nor may they have access to carry-on baggage.  Also, passengers may not have any blankets, pillows, or personal belongings on the lap beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.  Really??

New Security Directive issued December 25, 2009

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
Aviation Security Directive
Subject: Security Directive
Number: SD 1544-09-06
Date: December 25, 2009
EXPIRATION: 0200Z on December 30, 2009
This Security Directive (SD) must be implemented immediately. The measures contained in this SD are in addition to all other SDs currently in effect for your operations.
INFORMATION: On December 25, 2009, a terrorist attack was attempted against a flight traveling to the United States. TSA has identified security measures to be implemented by airports, aircraft operators, and foreign air carriers to mitigate potential threats to flights.
APPLICABILITY: THIS SD APPLIES TO AIRCRAFT OPERATORS THAT CARRY OUT A SECURITY PROGRAM REGULATED UNDER 49 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR)1544.101(a).
ACTIONS REQUIRED: If you conduct scheduled and/or public charter flight operations under a Full Program under 49 CFR 1544.101(a) departing from any foreign location to the United States (including its territories and possessions), you must immediately implement all measures in this SD for each such flight.

1. BOARDING GATE

1. The aircraft operator or authorized air carrier representative must ensure all passengers are screened at the boarding gate during the boarding process using the following procedures. These procedures are in addition to the screening of all passengers at the screening checkpoint.
1. Perform thorough pat-down of all passengers at boarding gate prior to boarding, concentrating on upper legs and torso.
2. Physically inspect 100 percent of all passenger accessible property at the boarding gate prior to boarding, with focus on syringes being transported along with powders and/or liquids.
3. Ensure the liquids, aerosols, and gels restrictions are strictly adhered to in accordance with SD 1544-06-02E.
2. During the boarding process, the air carrier may exempt passengers who are Heads of State or Heads of Government from the measures outlined in Section I.A. of this SD, including the following who are traveling with the Head of State or Head of Government:

1. Spouse and children, or
2. One other individual (chosen by the Head of State or Head of Government)
3. For the purposes of Section I.B., the following definitions apply:
1. Head of State: An individual serving as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth, or any other political state (for example, King, Queen, and President).
2. Head of Government: The chief officer of the executive branch of a government presiding over a cabinet (for example, Prime Minister, Premier, President, and Monarch).

2. IN FLIGHT

1. During flight, the aircraft operator must ensure that the following procedures are followed:
1. Passengers must remain in seats beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
2. Passenger access to carry-on baggage is prohibited beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
3. Disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone, internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems) prior to boarding and during all phases of flight.
4. While over U.S. airspace, flight crew may not make any announcement to passengers concerning flight path or position over cities or landmarks.
5. Passengers may not have any blankets, pillows, or personal belongings on the lap beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.

AIRCRAFT OPERATOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The aircraft operator must immediately provide written confirmation to its assigned PSI indicating receipt of this SD.
AIRCRAFT OPERATOR dissemination required: The aircraft operator must immediately pass the information and directives set forth in this SD to all stations affected, and provide written confirmation to its PSI, indicating that all stations affected have acknowledged receipt of the information and directives set forth in this SD. The aircraft operator must disseminate this information to its senior management personnel, ground security coordinators, and supervisory security personnel at all affected locations. All aircraft operator personnel implementing this SD must be briefed by the aircraft operator on its content and the restrictions governing dissemination. No other dissemination may be made without prior approval of the Assistant Secretary for the Transportation Security Administration. Unauthorized dissemination of this document or information contained herein is prohibited by 49 CFR Part 1520 (see 69 Fed. Reg. 28066 (May 18, 2004).
APPROVAL OF ALTERNATIVE MEASURES: With respect to the provisions of this SD, as stated in 49 CFR 1544.305(d), the aircraft operator may submit in writing to its PSI proposed alternative measures and the basis for submitting the alternative measures for approval by the Assistant Administrator for Transportation Sector Network Management. The aircraft operator must immediately notify its PSI whenever any procedure in this SD cannot be carried out by a government authority charged with performing security procedures.
FOR TSA ACTION ONLY: The TSA must issue this SD immediately to the corporate security element of all affected U.S. aircraft operators.
FOR STATE DEPARTMENT: Retransmittal to appropriate foreign posts is authorized. Post must refer to STATE 162917, 201826Z Sep 01, Subject: FAA Security Directives and Information Circulars: Definitions and Handling, for specific guidance and dissemination.

Gale Rossides
Acting Administrator

Some of the world’s top poker players have signed on to the newly created World Team Poker, a league in which International teams will compete in an Olympics-style format. Among the announced captains of their five-player teams are Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Mark Seif, Freddy Deeb, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Jeff Lisandro, and Eli Elezra. The competitions will be taped for broadcast on pay-per-view, the internet, and network television.  This is a new concept that will rock the poker world.

If you are a poker player of Egyptian heritage and want to be on World Team Poker’s Egyptian Team, regardless of where you were born or where you live, please submit your bio along with poker resume to Team Captain Mark Seif at WorldTeamPoker@gmail.com. Thanks and good luck!

With the recent launch of the World Series Of Poker Academy’s Cash Game Edition, and all the buzz that has created, I am often being asked what are the differences between playing a No-Limit Hold’em tournament and a No-Limit Hold’em cash game. Here, I will briefly discuss the fundamental differences and how one might want to adjust their play accordingly.

Blinds. The blinds (and antes if applicable) go up during the course of a tournament, so that it doesn’t last forever. In cash games, the blinds and antes never go up. Thus, in a tournament you may be forced to play certain hands, because otherwise, the blinds and antes will eat up your stack. In cash games, that kind of pressure doesn’t exist. Accordingly, you never need to “make a move” in cash games. You can sit there and wait for premium opportunities without suffering much stack deterioration. The phrase “tight is right” is very applicable to cash game strategy for the most part.

Stack Sizes. Most tournaments mandate that each player start with the same amount in chips, and with the exception of rebuy tournaments, you can not add to your stack during the course of the tournament. In most cash games, you can determine how much you buy in for, and whether and how much to add to your stack as you play. Also, and quite importantly, most cash games play with much deeper stacks than tournaments. Deep stack play is very different than short stack play. Typically, you’ll find in deep stack play, the majority of the chips go in on the turn and river as opposed to pre-flop and on the flop. Thus, in order to master cash games you will have to learn the intricacies of playing deeper into hands where there is more information available to you and your opponents, specifically, the board will be more complete.

Correct Pot odds. In a tournament, you may find yourself in a situation where you are getting the correct pot odds to make a call, but you must also consider and factor in, how such a move may impact whether you are eliminated from the tournament, in other words, your tournament life has to be factored in. Thus, you may be getting the right price to call with your flush draw, but you might still have to fold because if you don’t complete your flush, you will be eliminated. This should never be the case in a cash game. As long as you are playing within your bankroll, you should take any edge being offered to you, every time! Even very small edges add up big over the course of your entire cash game poker career. Remember though, the key here is to play within your bankroll so that you don’t risk going broke.

Chip Values. In cash games the chips are like cash. In tournaments, the value of chips depends on the stage of the tournament and the payout structure. If you triple your stack in a tournament during the first hour you can’t cash out for triple your buy-in. In fact, you can’t cash out at all, until you are in the money.

Time. You can play as little or as long as you like in a cash game, that is not true in a tournament. The tournament structure will dictate how much time you’ll have to put in each day, if you are lucky enough to survive.

Coin Flips. In tournaments, especially in the later stages, you are likely to be involved in some coin flips wherein you and your opponent are all-in, pre-flop with no real edge for either side. Coin flips are quite rare in cash games because of the deeper stacks.

These are just a few of the basic differences between No-Limit Hold’em tournament and cash game play. There are more. The WSOP Academy (wsopacademy.com) now offers a Cash Game Edition that does an excellent job of flushing out the differences between tournament and cash play in detail, over the course of two days. Both types of No-Limit Hold’em are extremely fun and can be quite profitable. But, you have to adjust your decision-making to fit the game you are playing.

Now go kick some aces!

– Mark A. Seif

This past weekend I was the lead instructor at the second ever WSOP Cash Academy. What a great weekend! There was a huge turnout and the students scored high on their poker IQ tests.

Jeff Haney from the Las Vegas Sun attended the two day event and wrote about his experience in this article Like war games, but for poker.

In the dealer’s perch for once, rather than in his familiar position in a player’s seat, Mark Seif was shuffling a deck of cards and holding court at a poker table in a Caesars Palace ballroom.

One of the participants in last weekend’s World Series of Poker Academy, a two-day instructional camp focusing on no-limit Texas hold ’em cash games, had just asked about the possibility of learning optimal strategy through a chart listing which starting hands to play from various positions.

The essence of Seif’s reply: It wouldn’t work in no-limit hold ’em. Although such charts are commonly used in teaching limit hold ’em, the no-limit version of the game contains many more nuances, rendering the by-the-number, chart-based approach ineffective.

Here’s a more powerful technique, Seif explained as he dealt the next hand. The “live hand demonstration” portion of the poker academy allows the participants to play out sample hands just as they would in a live cash game, and provides for a dissection of the action afterward that touches on important facets of poker theory.

Seif was one of four poker professionals serving as instructors for the latest World Series of Poker Academy, along with Alex Outhred, Mark Gregorich and Michael Gracz. This was only the second camp — and the first in Las Vegas — to focus on Texas hold ’em cash games rather than tournaments, and it drew more than 50 participants. The cost was $1,899 — typical for the seminars, which regularly sell out.

The students arrived with varying levels of talent and experience but with a similar goal: to sharpen their skills and ultimately make more money in no-limit cash poker games.

In the ensuing sample hand dealt by Seif, the flop revealed two 3s and a 10. Two players went to war, and it turned out one guy was holding pocket aces against his opponent’s pocket 4s.

Seif’s postmortem of the hand was illuminating. He had no problem with the pocket 4s raising the aces’ postflop bet. After all, that flop probably missed a lot of hands. But Seif did take issue with the 4s calling after the guy with aces thought about it for half a second before re-raising all-in.

One table over, Outhred was analyzing a hand he had just dealt. It was fine for a limper to enter the pot with pocket 6s, although a case could also be made for raising in that spot. Raising from the position of one behind the button with king-8 suited? Well, it’s not a play Outhred would normally make, though he seemed satisfied with the player’s explanation that she sensed weakness from her opponent and figured she could take the pot down right there. Calling that raise on the button with ace-5 offsuit, however, was a mistake, Outhred said. It’s a hand that can run into all sorts of trouble if an ace happens to flop.

“It’s OK,” Outhred said. “That’s why we’re here, to talk about this stuff.”

Sunday’s session concluded with a discussion of all 30 hands in a tough test of no-limit hold ’em play all of the participants took on a computer. The pro instructors as well as the students often disagreed among themselves on the correct course of action on certain hands. Seif, a former prosecutor for the district attorney’s office in Los Angeles, demanded logically coherent explanations rather than just “right” answers to the problems.

Overall, the participants’ scores on the test were substantially higher here at Caesars than they were at the first cash game academy last month in Atlantic City, Seif said.

In fact, in Seif’s estimation at the conclusion of the camp, 90 percent of those in the room were already better than 90 percent of the players in a typical $2-$5 no-limit hold ’em game on the Strip.

After two days of detailed, hard-core poker teaching, Seif and his colleagues wrapped up the camp with some more far-reaching advice.

“Always be a student,” he said. “The game is changing at this moment.”

How you act at a poker table, Outhred said, can be seen as a microcosm of how you deal with other people in society at large.

“The better you get, the more ‘bad beats’ you’re going to take,” Outhred said. “There’s no point in getting grumpy. Don’t let that happen to you. Enjoy yourself, challenge yourself. If you enjoy this game and you enjoy making the best decisions you can, the ‘bad beats’ and the ugly stuff won’t really matter.”

Fallen Heroes LA

For the past 3 years the poker industry has supported the Memorial Poker Classic benefiting the Fallen Heroes Fund charity. The Fallen Heroes Fund, Inc. is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2007 to help provide financial support for the families of law enforcement officers who have lost a loved one while on duty. To date, the Memorial Poker Classic tournament has raised more than $50,000.

The 20010 Memorial Poker Classic takes place on February 19, 2010,  at The Bicycle Casino. I’ll be co-hosting this tournament alongside James Woods and will be joined by some of the top poker professionals such as Chad Brown, Nam Le, J.C. Tran and many more!

Steven Murphy of CardPlayer just published a great article on the event to read the article click here. For more information about the Fallen Heroes Fund go to http://www.fallenheroesla.org

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Back in September I made the final table at The Borgata Poker Open. The first half of this WPT Final Table aired for the first time this past Sunday on GSN (Game Show Network). The second half of the show is coming up this Sunday so I won’t spoil it for you but I can’t resist telling you that I had A A up against opponents 10 10 for a 12 million dollar pot and of course my opponent sucked out! Ouch! I’m still feeling the pain. The first half of the show is broken up into four separate videos. This video is the first segment.

To see the rest of the first half of the show check out the videos page by clicking here.

The WSOP Academy recently launched it’s newest poker training event - WSOP Cash Academy. The first cash game event took place in Atlantic City  a couple of weeks ago (I’ll write more about that a little later). To sum it up the cash game academy was a huge success and received a flurry of attendee praise. 

The next one takes place this coming weekend at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

The WSOP Academy Cash Camp is featured in the Las Vegas Sun today in an article titled A poker survival skill: Cash game play by Jeff Haney.