Where To Play Poker In Chicago

• Where To Play Poker In Chicago Suburbs
• Where To Play Poker In Chicago Right Now
• Where To Play Poker In Chicago Il 606
• How To Play Poker Online
• Best Poker Games To Play

(Jan. 16). BREAKING NEWS: News is just reaching the poker wires that Ronald Golz of Orland Park, IL has won the 2010 Quad-States Poker Texas Holdem Championship. Kevin Rush finished 2nd ahead of Jason Trezak of Portage, IN who finished in 3rd Place. The Final Table included David Kheel (4th), Michael Kroll (5th), Bret Martin (6th), Logan McCoy (7th), Ben Reinhart (8th) and Vicente Torres in 9th.

Find local Poker groups in Chicago, Illinois and meet people who share your interests. Join a group and attend online or in person events. The game was allegedly invented in an underground poker club at Hammarbykajen, Stockholm in Sweden owned by the Russian mafia. The game is a variation of the Swedish card game, Fem-kort.The poker-related card game called Chicago is one of the most popular card games in Finland today. Relying on the keeping of score instead of the placing of bets, it is suitable even for environments such as.

David Kheel of New York, NY, was crowned 2010 Grand Champion due to his stellar finish in both No-Limit Texas Holdem and Mixed Games events. Chicago Poker News will bring you the full story and photos as they become available.

(Jan. 16). BREAKING NEWS: Francesco 'Cheech' Barbaro of Willow Springs, Illinois wins the 2010 Quad-States Mixed Games Title Bracelet after over 14 hours of non-stop competition at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary. Jon Johnson of Hoffman Estates, IL was runner-up and Dan Miller of Nappanee, Indiana finished 3rd. The Final Table included Gary Lucht (4th), Donald Hines (5th), Alan Milesky (6th), Thomas Martin (7th), Michael Foster (8th) and Kevin Bohling.

Tournament Advisor Stew 'Chicago Mike' Bishop watched the event and noted that of the final 12 players '...anyone of them could have won it... it was one of the most solid fields I've seen.... these are veteran players who know poker is more than just Texas Holdem... that's why a special Runner-Up title bracelet was declared..'.

Bishop described the Championship as '...throwback poker to the early days of marathon Vegas tournaments... it took more than skill and some luck, you needed experience, patience, and alot of stamina. It also required an efficient and dedicated management team. 'The Majestic Star poker tournament staff did an amazing job running such a challenging tournament,' noted Bishop. 'Because the dealers were experienced at all the games, there were very few calls to the floor for rulings.'

To put Barbaro's accomplishment in historical perspective, at the rate the 45 players were eliminated from this event the 6500-person 2009 WSOP Main Event would have taken about 180 days of 12-hour play and the 770-person $1500 HORSE which lasted 3 days would have been stretched out to 21 days! The grand prize for endurance goes to the WSOP World Championship HORSE which in 2009 took 62 hours to eliminate 95 players!

The Runner-Up title bracelet was awarded to Jon Johnson who finished in 2nd place. '...Johnson battled to the end...' said Bishop, '... he was right down to the felt with 5 players to go and came back to make it a photo finish... he sure earned it.'

'Cheech' attributed his victory to several factors, especially having played Mixed Game and High-Low Tournaments for over ten years, '... my strategy was to use my experience and play each hand based on how it presented itself...', he said, '... when you're playing 3 different games both no-limit and limit against this quality of competition you can't take your focus away for a second...'

If a bad beat at the final table were awarded it might go to Kevin Bohling who was all-in for a major double up holding A-Q vs. A-J. When the Jack came on the river Bohling slammed the table, resigned to the 'agony of defeat', out in 9th place. 'I think it was toughest on Gary and Donald', said Bishop, '...to come so close after playing so brilliantly... they've both been playing Mixed Games for decades'.

The Championship started at 6pm Friday and concluded with the morning sun well overhead around 9am Saturday. The final payout percentage was nearly 90%. The Quad-States Championship continues today with the No-Limit Texas Holdem Event.

The Championships are sponsored by Win Texas Holdem Card, 'the Science of Poker'. Chicago Poker News will report the full story on both of these historic tournaments as the information becomes available.

(Jan. 12). BREAKING NEWS: Chicago Poker News announces the 2010 Quad States No-Limit Poker Grand Championship, scheduled for January 15 & 16 at the Majestic Star Casino & Hotel in Gary.

Publisher Stew 'Chicago Mike' Bishop reflects on the significance of these tournaments: '...This is the Regional Championship of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin... Players come from all over the country... it's the series that puts the players to the test and decides it all... you have to get it right: the buy-in, the payout, the awards, everything has to be focused on establishing who the true Champions are...'

The Quad-States Poker Grand Championship is designed as the most challenging and prestigious tournament series in the Lake Michigan Region. Three title bracelets will be awarded along with trophies and high-percentage cash payouts. '... the Lake Michigan region is known for the heart of it's competitors... Dick Butkus would have played football for free just to compete... that's the dedication of Quad-States players... from Green Bay to Chicago to Indy to Detroit, you can't find better competition...' said Bishop.... '....we'll play in 20 below weather, just shuffle up and deal !...'

Players may compete in one or both of these championship tournaments. In addition to generous cash payouts to the top 10%+ of finishers, one title bracelet will be awarded to the winner of each event. The player with the best combined standing in both events will be awarded the Grand Championship Title and Bracelet.

Both tournaments will be conducted 'double elimination' style with one full re-buy and add-on available. This is the toughest tournament style and effectively means that to win you must 'beat everyone twice', leaving no doubt who the Champion is. Double elimination tends to reduce the luck factor and increase the skill factor in the contest.

The Quad-States tournaments have an excellent payout structure, offering over a 90% prizepool payout at full buy-in & rebuy in addition to trophies and the coveted Championship Title Bracelets. 'The payout percentage for these tournaments is about as high as it gets', says Bishop, '... players can do the math and recognize the value here...'

Despite the popularity of the Texas Holdem Event, Bishop advises players not to overlook the Mixed Games Championship: '... Texas Holdem gets alot of attention these days, since Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP in 2003...', Bishop reflects, '... I've been managing poker events almost 20 years, I can tell you absolutely, without question, the number one way to improve your poker game is to play Mixed Games. It's like an athlete needs to cross train, a poker player needs to play all the games if they want to get to the top... that's one reason Chicago Poker News recognizes this series as the 4-State Regional Championship, because it offers both Texas Holdem AND Mixed Games and has a great payout...'

A special hotel room rate will be available to players at the event. See calendar page for complete details.

All players reaching the final tables will also qualify for the Player of the Decade Championship. For more tournament information click here.This championship event is brought to you by Win Texas Holdem Card, the 'Science of Poker'.Click here for a special offer for tournament attendees.

3rd ANNUAL HOLDEM CHAMPIONSHIP

(June 20, 2009). BREAKING NEWS: On Sunday, June 14th, over 90 Chicago poker players met to compete at the 3rd Annual Chicago No-Limit Poker Grand Championship. The tournament featured all the competition and drama you would expect of an event of this caliber. As one measure of difficulty, four of the players making the final table had previously qualified for the 2010 Player of the Decade Grand Championship!

Chicago's most challenging poker championship features Double Elimination No Limit Texas Holdem. This structure gives every player two full opportunities to win. Tournament Director 'Chicago Mike' Bishop explains: 'This is the toughest tournament structure because double elimination format effectively means you must beat everyone twice... it increases the skill factor while reducing the luck factor. This format was first introduced right here in Chicago and it's one reason Chicago poker is respected around the world...'

After nearly 10 hours of play, Championship honors went to Kostas Tsonis. Chicago poker veteran Jamie Grenon was second runner up. Tsonis came to the Final Table short stacked and adjusted his game accordingly, '... I waited until the right situations came along... I folded some medium pairs along the way, I just didn't want to chase marginal situations...'

Bishop remembers one very fateful heads-up hand: '... They'd been playing heads-up back and forth for awhile when chip leader Jamie Grenon hit a good made hand and put Kostas all in. It was one of those Joe Hachem moments where Kostas had a well-hidden inside straight and the huge pot really swung the tide his way...' When the final hand was dealt shortly thereafter, Chicago Mike gave high praise to Tsonis, '... I've seen him excel at tournament poker for years... but more than raw talent he's got a love for the action... it's something the great throwback players were born with because their game seems to improve under pressure...'

Besides Tsonis, this year's Final Table included 3 other players who had previously qualified for the 2010 Tournament of the Decade including Jennifer Lewkowicz, Richard Lambert, and 2007 Player of the Year Fabian Ramos. The entire Final Table will return to compete in the 2010 Chicago Poker Tournament of the Decade.

Acting Tournament Director for this event was Stew 'Chicago Mike' Bishop, a rules forum administrator for the Poker Tournament Directors Association. Interviewed after the tournament, Bishop commented: '...TDA Rules are the industry standard. The TDA has been working tirelessly for almost a decade to bring uniformity to the industry. By following a consistent set of rules the players know what to expect from tournament to tournament, it increases the level of the game and reduces the surprises....'

Bishop continues to be impressed by the skill level of players in the region:'... the tournaments just keep getting better year after year.... new players emerge and the veterans have to prove themselves again... The entire Lake Michigan region is great... This is the home of Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Kenna James, Bill Edler... Scotty Nguyen first lived in Chicago when he came to the States. Greg Raymer started playing when he practiced law here.... you can't find better competition than in the Quad-State area...'

For complete photo coverage of the 2009 Championship, click here. More information can also be found at the event websites at the Chicago Poker Group and the Chicago Texas Holdem Group.

Chicago Poker News is honored to have been a part of this historical tournament and congratulates all competitors for making it such a great success!

For an index of pictorial coverage of all prior Championships in the series, click here.

• Chicago - variants
• Follow the Queen - variants
• The Bitch - variants

In most of these seven card stud poker variants, a special role is played by the spades, the queens or the queen of spades.

Chicago

This poker variant, also known as High Chicago, is a seven card stud game in which the pot is split between the highest hand and the highest spade in the hole. Face up spades do not count, so for example if the ace of spades is dealt face up, the king of spades in the hole is sure to win half the pot.

The cards are dealt as in seven card stud: two cards face down, four cards face up and the last card face down. There are five betting rounds: one after each round of face up cards and one after the final card. Each betting round is begun by the player with the highest hand showing.

After the final betting round the active players declare whether they are going for highest (face down) spade, highest hand or both. A player declaring both wins only if holding both the highest spade and the highest hand. Declaration can be either in sequence, starting to the left of the dealer, or simultaneous, using chips.

You must have a spade face down to be eligible to win the spade half of the pot. Without this, you cannot declare spade and win, even if all the other players are going for high.

Variants

In Low Chicago the pot is split between the lowest spade (ace counting high) and the highest hand (it is not a low poker game). Similar games can of course be played using any suit: for example in High or Low San Francisco the high hand splits the pot with the highest or lowest heart.

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Follow the Queen

This is seven card stud in which when a queen is dealt face up, the next card dealt face up and the other three cards of the same rank become wild for all players. For example a player gets the Q face up and the next player is dealt the 7 face up: all sevens are now wild. If another queen is dealt face up, the previous wild card is cancelled, and the face up card following the new queen becomes wild instead. If the last face up card dealt is a queen, there are no wild cards. In the showdown the highest hand wins.

Variants

Some play that all queens in the hole are wild. In this version there can be as many as seven wild cards in play: three concealed queens and four wild cards created by an exposed queen.

Some play that if no queens are dealt face up, no one wins and there is a new deal, played for the same pot, involving only the players who did not fold on the deal without a face up queen.

Some play that if the last card dealt face up is a queen., the dealer deals one further card face up. This card belongs to no one, but the other three cards of the same rank are wild.

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This is similar to Follow the Queen, except that the event that causes the next card to become wild is the appearance of a natural pair among any player's face up cards.

So whenever a card is dealt face up that is the same rank as another face up card held by that player, the next card that is dealt becomes wild (as do all cards that are equal to it), and the previous wild card (if any) ceases to be wild. If the very last face up card that is dealt creates a pair, then there nothing at all is wild.

Two details need to be clarified before playing this variant:

1. What happens if a player who has a wild card face up is dealt a second (equal) wild card face up? My suggestion: these cards are equal so they count as a pair, and the next card dealt will change the wild card.
2. What happens if a player who already has a natural pair is dealt a third equal card face up? My suggestion: this is not a new pair, so the wild card does not change. However, if a player has 5, 8 face up and 5's are currently wild, and the player is then dealt a second 8 face up, this pair of 8's is a new natural pair, and the next card dealt changes the wild card.

Variants

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Some play that after a pair is dealt, the next card is immediately dealt face up to the centre of the table. This centre card belongs to no one, but all cards of the same rank as it are wild. Whenever a new pair appears, another card is dealt to the centre on top of the previous one, and this will normally change the wild card. In this version, a wild card is dealt to the centre even if the very last card dealt face up to a player is wild - so there will always be a wild card if any player has a pair showing.

Some play that each player's seventh card is dealt face up, unless the player pays a fixed price to the pot to have the seventh card dealt face down. By buying a face down card at the end you avoid the risk of changing the wild card if it pairs one of your face up cards, and also gain the advantage of having three rather than two cards concealed from the other players.

The Bitch

The Bitch in this seven card stud variant is the queen of spades. If the queen of spades is dealt face up, the deal and betting immediately stop, all the cards are thrown in and shuffled, and there is a new deal involving only those players who had not folded when the queen of spades appeared.

In the showdown the player with the highest hand splits the pot with the player who has the queen of spades in the hole (if any). If the queen of spades was not dealt at all the high hand wins the whole pot.

Variants

Some play that the queen of spades in the hole is wild. In this case the pot is not split.

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Black Mariah

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This name is used for at least four different variants.

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1. Often, Black Mariah is used as an alternative name for The Bitch.
2. Some play Black Mariah as a variant of Follow the Queen in which if the Q is dealt face up, the play immediately ends, as in The Bitch.
3. Some play Black Mariah as a seven card stud variant in which you must have the best hand and the highest spade to win the pot. The high spade can be any of your seven cards, not necessarily face down. If the best hand and the highest spade in the showdown are held by different players, or if no one has any spades, no one wins and the pot remains for the new deal, in which only the players who were in the showdown take part.
4. Sometimes Black Mariah is used as an alternative name for High Chicago.