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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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

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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Lots of inquiries regarding two matters.  The WSOP Advanced Academy recently held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and as to whether I am “Buster Love” on Full Tilt Poker.  The WSOP Advanced Academy was awesome.  Phil Gordon, Paul Wasicka, Alex Outhred, Joe Navarro, Sam Chahaun, and Charley Swayne kicked ass!

With respect to the Buster Love thing, the answer is I can not disclose my screen name/online identity at any poker sites I am not officially affiliated with for contractual reasons, and therefore, as a matter policy, can not cofirm or deny any screen names used on any sites.  Sorry, for the weak answer. Dang lawyers :)

– Mark

We’re still in the process of completing the new site. We’ve just added the “BIO” page. Check it out and let us know what you think.  Check back later today for more pictures in the photo gallery.

You’ve stumbled upon my new website. Please check back in a couple of days when we’ve finished.